Page 5 of Wildcard

“Guess you’re right.” He shrugs, then tilts his head to one side and asks, “You came all that way to remind me to study?”

“Nope.” I give him a smile. “I came because I really like your sister and I want to start seeing her. I’m not asking for permission, but I thought you should know.”

His face drops.

“What?” I ask.

“My sister is fantastic, and my choices have made her life harder. I don’t want that for her anymore. No offense, but you have a reputation of love ’em and leave ’em. Lollie deserves better than that.”

I think it’s cute that he still calls his sister Lollie. He’s the only one who does, and that speaks to their special bond. “Did you know that before Guard met Ava, he never lacked for a woman’s company? Same goes for Orion, Risk, and pretty much all the other men who now have one woman in their lives and are completely dedicated to them. You get what I’m saying?”

“Well, yeah. But—”

“I can’t see into the future, but I know what I feel and what I want. I also know what Charlotte’s been through. And what you’ve both endured. I wouldn’t make a move on your sister without thinking it through. If this goes how I hope, she’s it for me. Because when it’s the right woman, it’s the only woman I’ll ever want.”

“Don’t hurt her, man.” His tone is low and shaky.

“That’s not my plan. I’m meeting with her tonight. War’s picking you up after school today. He needs some help at the garage. You good with that?”

“For sure,” he replies. “I’ll call Lollie later, though. Just to check in.”

“Good idea. She loves it when you call.” I’m not sure whether to ask about their father, but curiosity wins out and I ask, as casually as possible, “You know, I’ve been wondering, have you ever thought of finding your father?”

His eyes go dark, and his lips form a tight line. “Never.”

“That’s pretty decisive.”

“He walked out on our mom. She worked herself to death while Lollie had to grow up too fast to look after me. He left without giving a shit about us. Why the hell would I search for him? To hear his sorry-ass excuses? Nah. No way. He’s dead to me, if he’s not already six feet under.”

“That’s definite.” I try to ease his pain. “Didn’t mean to get you upset, bud. I assume your sister feels the same?”

“Worse.”

“Right.” The school bell goes off, and we say our goodbyes. I watch as he makes his way into the school. Noah is clueless about his father coming to town, which makes me all the more concerned about Charlotte’s safety. Why contact his daughter, but not his son?

* * *

The club parkinglot is packed with bikes. Falling in beside me are Saint and Risk. Saint’s wife, Izzy, is a teacher at the local elementary school. At first, I didn’t get how they fit, but when they’re not working, they’re inseparable. Risk is devoted to Hanna and their son, Romeo.

“Yo, brother, I hear you called this meet,” Saint says and slaps a hand to my back. “Everything okay with you?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out,” I say.

Risk raises a brow and narrows his gaze. “Whatever you need, we’re here for you.”

We enter the compound, where a bunch of brothers are already hanging out. I’m surprised to see Steady and Hammer shooting pool, and Roscoe is in the corner talking with Ghost. They must have caught up with the guy they were after who jumped bail. I search around for Priest, but don’t see him anywhere.

I move to where Ghost and Roscoe are standing. “Where’s Priest? He didn’t go alone, right?”

“Nah. It was a quick snatch, and we’ve already delivered him back to the police station. Priest is showering. He’ll be down in a minute,” Ghost says. I worry about Priest because he thinks he needs to prove himself twice as much and twice as hard as anyone else. He figures he has to undo all the wrongs he’s committed to find redemption, but that’s not how this club works.

Ghost sees me, and he gets me. He’s already reading what I’m thinking.

“I got him, Wildcard. I’m keeping an eye out,” Ghost says, and I have no doubt that’s true.

“Thanks,” I mumble.

Guard comes into the room with Demon and Thunder. He looks at the group of us and waits until he sees Priest and a couple of others enter before leading us into the room we call church. Although, many of us call it the round-table room, like the knights.

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