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But I knew why.
She did it because someone was hurting a person she cared about.
And I was proud as hell of her.
I may not have been raised in a way the world considered normal, but if there was one thing I could say about my family that rivaled that of the rest of society—we did what we had to do to protect the ones we loved.
“Is Tate okay?” I asked, laying my head back against the building and closing my eyes, imagining I was home rather than holed up in bumfuck Montana. Our club VP, Blizzard, and I had been here for over a week thanks to a storm that rolled in the same day we did—a freak event that caused downpours and historic flooding as the rain melted the snow on the mountains. The rain and the roads had finally cleared a couple of days ago, but Blizzard and I decided to stick around to help some of the club families whose houses were damaged.
Today, though, we were about to start our trek home, and with more than twenty hours on the road ahead, I was already mentally preparing myself for the pain my body was going to be in by the time we rolled into Athens in a couple of days.
“Tate’s okay,” Stella answered, and I could hear her feet scuffing the footpath as she walked home, the rhythm of her steps a little slower than usual.
I’d learned that about Stella—she moved through life to a beat.
Whether it was while she was cheerleading or just walking, everything she did was in perfect time, and whether that timing was fast or slow would often be my clue as to how she felt that day.
Today, it was sluggish.
And while I knew she’d been through a shitstorm at school, there was a twisting in my gut telling me that wasn’t the only thing worrying her.
“What is it you are not telling me, Stell?” I questioned, and there was an immediate pause. Her footsteps stopped. “There something else goi?—”
“Jaxon!” Blizzard’s call had me pushing off the wall and rounding the clubhouse, his eyes scanning the yard for a second before settling on me. “We need to go in a minute. Something’s come up, and we need to be back by Friday. They’re saying another storm is coming through, so it’s important we beat it before the waters rise again.”
“Got it,” I replied with a nod. “I’ll be in in a second. My stuff’s already packed, so I’m ready when you are.”
“Good. Meet me out front.”
He disappeared back inside, and I turned my attention back to Stella. “Sorry, babe, I have to go. We’re about to get on the road home.”
“Thank God,” she said, her voice picking up a little. “I can’t wait to see you.”
“Same here.” It was killing me to be away from her for this long. More than a few of my Montana brothers and their old ladies during the past week had asked whether I had someone special. But when I told them she was still at high school finishing her senior year, they were quick to blow it off as puppy love. I wasn’t convinced, though. I felt something more. Something different. And I was sure she did too. “We’ll be on the road for a couple of days, but I’ll give you a call tomorrow and update you on how we’re doing.”
“Okay, ride safe.”
It was clear to me that she had more to say, but if Blizzard said we needed to go now, there was no arguing. I hurried back inside, gathered my pack, thanked the club members and their families for housing and feeding us, and said goodbye. Then I met Blizzard out front, where he was loading his Harley with his things. “You said something had come up?” I questioned as I did the same.
He nodded. “Your sister’s coming into town, and she wanted to make sure you were around. Think she maybe has some news.”
I scrunched up my nose. “You don’t think she’s going to try to introduce another boyfriend to Dad, do you?” During Harlyn’s teen and college years, she’d had her fair share of relationship disasters. The disaster being that Dad scared away almost every guy she tried to bring home.
He scoffed loudly. “You think she didn’t learn her lesson the first three times? I’m pretty sure she’s making better choices in men these days. And by better choices, I mean busting more balls to really weed out the weak ones.”
He wasn’t even exaggerating.
My older sister was the definition of fuck around and find out. She was independent, tenacious, and had bigger balls than most men I knew. But that was to be expected given she was raised by a clubhouse full of outlaws and our father was Optimus, Brother’s by Blood MC president.
Dad had a reputation.
He was hard but fair. That’s how he ran his club and had for more than twenty years as its president—a presidency which, one day, I hoped would be entrusted to me, just like his father had to him.
Which is why I’d been eager to take this ride in the first place.
Montana had just patched in a new president, Tag, and it was customary for each club to send a representative to witness the patch over and celebrate a new leader.
While I was still a prospect, I’d started offering to take on extra duties and join patched members when they went on important runs. Each job was another chance to prove to Dad and the club that I could meet their expectations and be the man I needed to be, which honestly, hadn’t always been the case.
