Page 7 of Bound By Consequences
There was no doubt in my mind that there would be a day of reckoning. He had a lot of questions, and it was my job to answer them. Or at least try to.
It had been four years ago, and the things I thought were important back then frankly didn’t mean shit today. Would he understand? Could he understand? Time would tell.
He held out his hand, and I took it. His grip was hard, but so was mine. My body had changed over the years, and I didn’t get pushed around very easily. I wasn’t the little boy who left Sumner all those years ago. Not only had my mind grown, my body did as well, toning itself to a well-oiled fighting machine. I didn’t need a gun to kill. My hands did the job just fine. So much training went into me becoming the man I am. The United States Marine Corps made me into a weapon, and with that inside of me, I stood proud against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That was my new reality.
Cruz pulled me in and patted me on the back. Quietly, but firmly, he issued the command. “Tomorrow. Noon at the clubhouse. Don’t make me come find you.”
“Yes, sir.” The answer was automatic. It had become second nature. This was more than that, though. He deserved the respect that I’d never given him. He was the President. He earned that position, and for me not to give him that respect would go against everything I’d learned being a Marine. Not to mention he was a fellow Marine. He served in the Corps too.
Didn’t mean I’d like what happened tomorrow, but no use in sitting around wondering when the ball was going to drop. Get in, and get it done. Whatever the consequences would be. That was how we worked our missions. We planned, went in, did the job and got the fuck out, trying to come out unscathed. This meeting, though, I would be scathed in some way. I had to pay a penance, atone for the storm I’d brought down. That was a given. I’d be stupid to think they were going to allow me into the fold and forget everything my kid mouth ran off.
“Today we celebrate in your honor.” He shocked me once again as he pulled away, and his features relaxed.
“What?”
“Family. We’re eatin’ and welcoming you home the right way.” Cruz completely and utterly baffled me. Cruz, more than anyone else here, had to hate me. Why would he want to have a party for me? The fact that everyone was here, and dare I say happy to see me, was enough to make me wonder if I was dreaming, but a Ravage welcoming party… Never in my drunkest moment could I have seen this coming.
“You sure about that?”
“Yes.” His eyes turned dark, but he didn’t scare me. Not anymore. He’d been a Marine. He’d know exactly the training I’d had. It was one connection he and I had together now. But that stare told me he didn’t forget a damn thing. He was just putting it aside to welcome a brother’s kid home.
I understood that. They were all here because Tug was Ravage; therefore, Ravage would do anything for him—that included letting a shithead such as myself get the welcoming my father had earned with his cut.
“Yes, sir,” I answered as he stepped away.
Handshakes were given with several, ‘thank you for your service’ comments made.
There were also several threats about getting what was coming to me. These came from GT, Cooper, Breaker and Rhys. Had to admit, if anyone were to actually make me tremble, it would be Rhys, but I held my own. They were livid, and just because they were here seeing me home, didn’t mean they had forgotten a damn thing I did. Whatever they planned to dish out, I was prepared to take. My mind was as strong as my body. I would endure.
As Emery approached, I swore Jacks growled. I tried not to smirk at his jealousy, but it was there all the same. She slapped Jacks playfully on the arm. “Knock it off. He just got home.”
Emery’s arms opened wide to me, but one glance in Jacks’ direction told me he wasn’t happy. I grabbed Emery’s hands and clasped them in front of us. This was another way to show Jacks respect, and I wasn’t here to go after his woman. That boat had sailed. I knew my place, and I wasn’t about to cross those lines. “Thanks for comin’. Maybe in due time I’ll get that hug.”
A tear welled in her eye as she nodded. “Yeah. So glad to have you home.”
“Me too.”
Releasing her, she made her way over to Jacks who lifted his chin. While I didn’t expect it, I nodded back to him. It would be a hard one gaining his respect, but I hadn’t backed down from anything difficult in four years. Not about to stop now.
It would take more than a party to earn the trust and respect of the club. The road would be long and wide on that one.
The brothers and their women surrounded my parents’ SUV on the drive home. The respect, though, was for our country—the red, white, and blue. I got that. I accepted that. And seeing the flag on the back of a few bikes was a reminder of everything I’d been through. Everything that had changed. Everything that was worth anything.
This was family. Come hell or high water, I’d face it head-on to fix what I had fucked up.
2
Ensley
“Remy, get back here.”My little girl ran through the apartment, laughing so hard she had to gasp for breath every once in a while.
Arms in the air, her little naked bottom on display, she took off down the small hallway and turned the corner into the tiny galley kitchen which was her faulty move. There was no out this way, only a wall to block her escape. This was both one of my favorite times of the day with her and the most exhausting. She was only going to be little so long, and I wanted to be present for every second of it all. Working full time and raising a rambunctious little one meant sleep was never plentiful. Chasing her around our small place was fun even if I was more than ready for a quiet moment to myself.
The apartment was tiny, and with three people living here, space was tight. Two bedrooms and one bath set in the town of Sumner, Georgia. The middle of nowhere, yet the middle of somewhere; if that made any sense. It was exactly what we needed—a safe, secure place to live.
Remy squealed and squirmed as I picked her up, tossing her into the air. I blew raspberries on her belly as she tried to squirm out of my arms. “I’ll teach you to run away from me.”
She laughed the entire way down to our bedroom, which was about ten feet. Remy and I shared the postage-sized space. With a double bed for me, a small dresser and Remy’s crib, there was barely any room to walk around, but it was functional. I’d utilized the space by taking the doors off the closet and positioned the dresser inside. Considering there was an entire wall of closets, we were able to hang our clothes on the other side and still have room underneath. I added shelving inside the closet above the dresser for more storage.
