Page 104 of Patching Over

Chet. One of the motherfuckers who will feel the wrath of our club.

“Hawg, keep digging. I’ll get on the phone and reach out to Dragon as well as Raptor so they can start nosing around. In the meantime,…”

He doesn’t get to finish because Ryleigh appears in the still-open doorway. “Brick? My water just broke.”

He doesn’t miss a beat even though Rory’s question has opened up a whole new can of worms, as he slams the gavel down and states, “Church adjourned!”

“I’m sorry I broke into y’all’s meeting,” Rory whispers in my ear as we wait for Brick to tell us how Ryleigh is doing.

“It’s not permitted, but I think you’ll get a pass this time, minx. And even though this is now club business, I will say that it appears that Patrick was part of a club that used to be based here. It’s the club that took Ryleigh, sweetheart. One that RiffRaff thought they’d wiped out a long time ago.”

“I like him.”

“Who, RiffRaff?” I ask, momentarily distracted by her scent. Under any other circumstances, I’d pick her up and find a quiet spot so I could fuck her. Except, my only blood family member is about to bring her baby into the world, so I quickly get myself under control.

“Yes. He’s got so many stories about you and Brick from when y’all were kids,” she replies, giggling.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s full of bullshit,” I advise.

“Mmhm, guess that what he told me as to how you got that scar was just fiction, huh?” she teases, lightly brushing her fingers over the small mark over my eye.

“Depends. What did he tell you?”

“That you, Brick, Kracken, and Scythe decided you wanted to try bungee jumping, so you got some cords, tied them together, then jumped from the roof.”

I grimace at the memory. It was a few years after Ryleigh was taken, and we thought it would be good to try something out that we’d seen on a video. Me crashing into the ground after whacking my face on a tree branch as I fell because the cords separated is something I’ll never forget. Head wounds bleed like a motherfucker and when I walked into the clubhouse, RiffRaff nearly lost his mind.

“Yeah, that one was true, but I was the only one who got hurt.” Because I had gone first after a rock, paper, scissors game that I won. Some win; I got ten stitches and nearly lost my eye.

“Y’all were holy terrors,” she replies, giggling.

The door to the waiting room finally opens and I see Brick standing there with a grin so wide, I’m surprised his cheeks don’t split. “It’s a girl!”

After seeing my sister and holding my niece, Aubree Brianna, who looks just like Ryleigh did as a baby, we head back to the clubhouse. I’m anxious about the future now; because it won’t take much for Patrick’s brother to figure out that we were involved in his disappearance since Rory’s now with me. However, first, we’re going to celebrate my new niece.

The end…for now

EPILOGUE

Jingles

Several months later

Exhaustion unlike anything I’ve ever felt before engulfs me as I finish my shower then flop down on my bed. Every brother who’s able to do so has been helping Banshee get his house built. He wants it done for Christmas if possible, and if the weather holds, I think he’ll get his wish. Whoever isn’t helping on that project is running the roads chasing leads that Hawg, our IT guy, has dug up about the Devils Demons MC. Hell, a lot of our other chapters are doing what they can to help as well; seems the two ol’ ladies we’ve got in our chapter have made an impression on those they’ve met or something. Regardless, the fatigue that permeates every cell of my body has me not caring right now about anything except some rest. I’m nearly asleep when my phone rings. Grabbing it from the charger, I see it’s Wiley, from our Cleveland Ohio chapter.

He and I didn’t start out as friends; we were both students at rival high schools who ran cross country. However, a grudging respect turned into friendship and because of that, I spent a lotof time with him at the club his dad was a member of. Hell, I even earned my road name long before I prospected for the Raiders who are now the Royal Bastards, thanks to Ghost.

Smiling at the memories, I answer the phone. “Hello?”

“Brother, I need your help,” Wiley says. “Can you come up here?”

I’m already standing up, my fatigue now forgotten as I hear the fear in his voice. “What’s going on? I’ll check with Brick, but I don't see a problem.”

“It’s Belle, she’s been taken.”

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