Page 9 of Finn

“Well, speaking for myself, I’d like you to put on some fucking clothes because I need to bleach my eyes to get this fucking image out of them,” Riley says.

I laugh as I step up next to him. “We’ve got trouble. We need everyone around the table tomorrow morning.”

He goes to slam the door, but Riley sticks his boot in the way. “How about you get dressed, and we take you back to Souls now.”

“Back off, Riley. I’ll be there tomorrow,” he hisses.

“You didn’t answer tonight when Enzo called and texted telling you to be around the table. But you want me to believe you’ll be there in the morning? I know you’re going through some shit, Porter, but club shit first. Get dressed,” Riley says.

Riley is always the one joking and teasing. It’s a rare moment when you see this side of him. The serious, concerned side.

“I’ll meet you there,” Porter says.

Riley pushes the door open, and we walk inside. “We’ll wait for you.”

Porter walks away, mumbling what a pain in the ass Riley is. He glances at me, running his hand through his hair. “This is how he was when his ex took Mia and left. I don’t know what the deal is with her, but maybe you can talk to her. See if she’ll just sit down with him, give him a chance.”

I nod. “I’ll bring it up. I can’t push her to do anything, though. It’s not my place to force family on her.”

“No, it’s not, but you can try to help your brother,” he says, raising his eyebrow.

I look at him, crossing my arms. “I always do.”

Riley is texting Gillian, so I look around. Most of the photos hanging on the walls are pictures of him with club members. There’s one of him, Riley, Brooks, Enzo, and Axel. I stare at it and notice how each of them looks a little happier, a little less hard. The club has been through a lot of shit since that picture was taken. Too many attacks and lives lost. This shit with the feds needs to end. This club, all my brothers, deserve to have peace again.

There’s only one picture hanging that isn’t the club, and it has to be Mia. She’s little, like maybe three, but it’s definitely her. Her eyes are the giveaway. This picture hanging up proves he never stopped thinking of her. She needs to know that. I can start to help the healing of this club with Mia and Porter.

“That’s Mia,” Porter says, walking toward me.

I turn to him and nod. “I know. Same eyes.”

He sighs and runs his hands down his face. “I should’ve fought harder,” he whispers.

“You did what you thought was best,” I say.

“No, I did what I was fucking told,” he hisses.

I grab his shoulders and force him to look at me. “You don’t know what would’ve happened if you fought. She had a good life, a happy life. She doesn’t hold any anger in her heart. She’s pure, sweet, funny, and sensitive. Letting her go might have hurt you, but you allowed her to have a great fucking life. I wish someone would’ve done that shit for me. You did right by her, Porter.”

He grabs me in a quick hug and pulls back with a nod. “Thanks, Finn.”

I nod, and Riley walks over. “You girls done?”

“Says the guy whose balls are no longer his,” Porter says.

“My balls are well taken care of. They were in the sweet, hot mouth of my girl this morning,” Riley says, grabbing his crotch.

“Christ, shut up. Let’s get back,” I say, walking away.

There are some images of Gillian and Riley I could do without.

We’re all sitting around the table, waiting on Brooks to say something. He sighs and scrubs his face. “Our brothers in California have an inside guy. I think we should see what they have to say and fast. I’m not going to bend over and wait to get fucked again. So, all in favor of going to see our brothers in California?”

It’s a unanimous vote. We’re going to California.

“We’ll head out in an hour,” Enzo says.

We all leave the table and go out to have a drink before getting our shit together. Kace brings us all a beer and sits down. “I fucking hate California,” he says, tipping his beer back.

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