Page 30 of Lost King

"Thanks." I take the beer Reid offers me and watch Emerson's face light up as the other women huddle around her and gush over the new mom to be—her happiness lighting up the room.

"How's it feel?" Gabriel's ask when he comes to stand beside me.

It's everything I've wanted for two years. I give Gabriel my honest answer, "Fuckin' great, brother."

Lunch was good. For a couple of hours, we let go and enjoyed the day. When it comes time for Emerson to leave, I asked Austin to follow her to the hospital. "I love you, Sunshine," I lean down and kiss her lips that still taste like the cherry pie she ate earlier.

"I love you too," she says back.

I help her into her Jeep. "Text me when you get there. I'm gonna run by the youth center this evening and help Liam with his bike, but I'll be waiting on you when you get off work. Don't leave until I get there to follow you home. Got it?" Grabbing the back of her head, I pull her in for one more kiss after she has fastened her seatbelt.

"Got it," her nails dig into my scalp when she pulls me in and presses her lips against mine once more. This time the kiss is different. Deep and desperate.

She pulls away too soon, leaving me wanting more. I stand outside and watch until I lose sight of her and Austin before walking back into the clubhouse.

"Church," Prez announces just before downing the beer in his hand when the door behind me slams shut.

Once we've all taken our seat around the table Prez speaks. "This shit with your car. It's not sitting well with me, his eyes cut to mine.

"It hasn't sat well with me either, Prez. Something's truly fucked up with the sequence of events lately. First, my run-in with the fucker who put his hands on my woman. Second, we have to run him and his new-found biker buddies from town, then my dad gets shot—" I look around the room. "I don't believe my old man was shot by accident, and I don't think a poacher did it either. That message left on my car was personal." I let my words resonate with my brothers.

"You thinkin' it was Twiggy? You think he's been holdin' a grudge against you ever since you fucked him up?" Reid's arm folds across his chest and he leans back in his chair.

"He's made it known more than once he has a hard-on for my ass since showing his face in our town. And somehow, he made his fight their fight," I finish.

Logan leans forward resting his forearms on top of the table. "From what we have learned about the Satans Reapers reputation, they don't need much coaching or reason to pick a fight with anyone. For them, it's more for sport than survival."

Tension builds in my neck, and a headache starts to develop. Rolling my neck from side to side, I try and loosen my muscles. Every damn thing is linked. My gut says so. The problem is proving it when there have been no signs of the bastards for more than a week now. One of those motherfuckers messed with my family.

"Here's the thing. We've had our men along with some of our known contacts in town keeping their eyes open and ears to the ground trying to find these fuckers. We've turned up nothing," Logan adds.

I think back to my dad and where he was when he got shot. "What if these assholes went off the grid? We have a shit ton of mountains around here. It's one place they could hide. Plus makes it damn near impossible to find someone unless you know every area like the back of your hand," I throw the theory out there. It makes sense, and I don't know why I haven't thought of it before.

Prez scrubs his hand down his beard. "If that's the case it would pose a problem for us. We don't have the manpower to send them trekking through the thick, dense woods around here. If they are hiding in the shadows of the trees, it makes it that much easier for us to not see them if we go in to investigate. What extra men we have are already keeping tabs on our women and children." The wrinkle on his forehead deepens while deep in thought.

Doc, whose sitting alongside the wall shifts in his chair. "Jake, you still keep in touch with Ian?"

"From time to time. I haven't talked with Ian in a few months," Prez leans forward. "I see where you're going with this."

I, like the rest of the men, wait for him to divulge more, but he leaves us hanging. "Listen up. I'm gonna make some calls. For now, let's keep things as they are. We have eyes posted throughout town. The women have been instructed not to leave going anywhere without a brother with them, so I'm going to keep it that way. Quinn—," Prez pauses and focuses his attention on me, "Reid has a guy putting the finishing touches on security over at your parents' home. I advise you to let them know what's going on or I will."

I nod my head in agreement. Knowing is half the battle. I fuckin' hate it, but they need to know our suspicions. I regret all this shit leads back to a grudge held against me.

"Get out of your head, son. None of this shit is your fault. These fuckers were lookin' for trouble. It just so happens Twiggy took up with them," Jake deadpans. "Humiliating their Prez in front of his men added fuel to the fire." He adds rubbing his knuckles and grins.

After a few moments of silence passes, the gavel hits the table. Most of the men head out towards their homes. Me, I head towards town riding alongside Reid because he's riding in the same direction since him and Mila still live downtown. We part ways at the intersection, him turning right, me turning left in the opposite direction heading towards the youth center. One thing about our youth center is they keep their doors open 24/7. They always have at least one staff member on site, because the need for help of any kind knows no timeframe.

Pulling around to the backside of the property where the garage is located about twenty yards from the building, I park my bike alongside Liam's silver truck.

The doors to the work shed are open, and rock music is playing from inside indicating he's been here for a while. I scan the area, and double check my surroundings making sure it's secure. Liam is hard at work when I walk inside, having already broken down the entire engine with every part neatly laid out on a clean blue tarp across the floor. "Shit, kid, you've been busy," I hover over him.

"Hey, Quinn," he stands, turns the radio down and wipes his hands on a shop rag. "Yeah," he removes his hat, runs his fingers through his hair then places that cap back on his head. "I didn't have any other plans, so I've been here most of the day. By the way, thanks for coming," he says with appreciation.

"No problem, kid. Let's see what we can get done before it gets too late." Working side by side we clean all the motor parts and start to reassemble everything. We've almost got it together when I peer outside into the darkness. "It's getting late. You wanna head on home? Don't need you to gettin' into trouble," I mention as I wipe my forehead with the back of my forearm.

"Could you grab the gasket set out of the back of my truck real quick?" he asks.

"You got it," I offer.