“Walking away from Bolo doesn’t even necessarily keep her safe either,” Shay pointed out. “If they found out that she had Bolo’s baby? They’d still come after her.”
“And she would’ve given up the offer of the club’s protection,” Mom added, understanding ringing in her voice.
We all stared at her. Dad shook his head. “You’re all in favor of this?” But we could see that he was slowly coming around.
“Bolo ran into that house to save me, Dad,” I told him. “And he saved Sophie, too. He didn’t have to do that.”
“You’re the mother of his child. Of course he saved you. And Sophie’s your sister,” he said, cutting me off before I could say anything else. “He wasn’t going to leave her there.”And there it is.I could see in Dad’s eyes that he knew Bolo was a man of honor.
“He would’ve gone in even if he didn’t know who lived in that house,” I told him in a calm tone. “He reminds me so much ofyou. His morals, values, his courage, they all align with yours. You gave me the blueprint of the kind of man I should fall in love with. You can’t blame me for following it.”
He looked around at all our determined faces. Even our mother was accepting of my choice once she heard what I’d had to say. He sighed. “It’s just like you girls to use my morals against me.”
That was when I knew that he’d accept Bolo, and the club, as a part of my life. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, but he’d eventually admit it and he’d treat Bolo as though he were a son. And I hoped that one day he could rest easy, knowing that Bolo would tear the city apart with his bare hands to keep me and our baby safe. It was a certainty that I had already come to know.
CHAPTER 36
Bolo
Three days later, I walked into the clubhouse and sat down at the table, ready for church. This was one where Ruck had invited Merc, Hype, and Code to attend as well, since we’d be discussing The Collective.
Dr. Natalie had kept Dev in the hospital for a couple days—she’d been released this morning and was waiting for me at her parents’ house—just to make sure she and the baby were okay. They were, thank fuck. I’d barely slept, sitting at her hospital bed. Not because it was uncomfortable. I’d been in the Army and I could literally sleep anywhere, anytime. It was the fucking dreams.
I kept waking up thinking I was back in that fucking house, searching for Devyn. Then I’d spend the rest of the night watching her sleep, keeping an eye out for any trouble. None came, but I was ready. I hadn’t expected Bowers. The Collective wouldn’t catch me by surprise again.
“How’d it go?” I asked, looking at my brothers’ grim faces. Frowning, I realized Kilo wasn’t here.
“Someone managed to give them a head’s up,” Ruck said, frustration heavy in his voice. “We got maybe a third of them. The rest managed to get away.”
“Not for long,” OD added, a scowl on his face. “They won’t be able to hide forever.”
“Couldn’t just kill all the motherfuckers,” Strike told me, “since we were in the middle of the city.”
“Most had already taken off before we got to the second location.” Drifter shook his head. “We had the perfect damn plan. What fucking happened?”
Flir tapped at his laptop, then pointed up to the TV on the wall.
We all watched in anger and frustration as Bowers entered one of the apartment complexes. “Shit,” I muttered. “I had no fucking clue that jackass was working with The Collective. Didn’t think he’d toss his career away so readily.”
“None of us realized,” Ruck replied. “I’m just sorry he focused on your old lady and everything that happened that night.”
“Not your fault,” I told him. “He didn’t give any indication he was dirty. I just figured he wanted to send our asses to prison.”
“That’s what we all thought,” Relay said. “He gave us no reason to think otherwise.”
I frowned again. “Where the fuck is Kilo?” A thought occurred to me and my head snapped in Ruck’s direction. “He okay?”
“He’s fine,” Ruck told me.
“He’s with Camila and the baby,” OD explained. “Watching over them.”
I relaxed hearing that and nodded. “I’ll be heading straight back to Dev after this. Isaac is there with her and her family right now.”
“About that,” Ruck said. I narrowed my eyes at the look he was giving me. “You, OD, and Kilo are out for now.”
I froze, confusion taking over. “Out?” I glanced over at OD, but couldn’t read the expression on his face. He didn’t seem upset about Ruck’s statement though, so I was guessing it wasn’t the first time he heard it.
“We’re not letting The Collective go. We have them on the run and we’re going after them. We can’t afford to slow up our attack.”
