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Chapter Twenty-Three
People stared as we pulled into the courthouse.
I understood though.
When the Brothers by Blood traveled together, they drew attention from everyone. They’re such a tight unit, it’s almost like watching animals travel in a pack, the way they move together so fluid and mesmerizing.
Easing myself out of the truck, I moved to open Chelsea’s door, offering her my hand. She smiled gratefully, allowing me to take some of the pressure off her as she climbed down. Hadley and Skylar walked with us as we made our way to the front doors of the courthouse, waiting patiently as the brothers parked their bikes, and Optimus seemed to huddle them together for a pep talk before they made their way toward us.
“Swooning right now,” Hadley whispered, making Skylar giggle softly.
“It’s quite a sight to see isn’t it,” Skylar agreed as they strutted across the carpark.
“Rose?” I spun at the mention of my name, just in time to see Amy Shaw walking down the front steps. Moving away from the girls, I met her half way. “It’s good to see you.”
My eyes took notice of the briefcase in her hand and the keys dangling from her finger. “Are you leaving?”
She cringed inwardly as she swallowed past an obvious lump in her throat, almost as though it pained her to answer. “I am. I suggested the Sanders find other representation for today.”
“In other words, you know we’re going to win,” Blizzard said harshly, stepping up behind me and placing his hand on my hip.
Amy didn’t flinch. Instead, she forced her shoulders back and met Blizzard’s intense glare head on like she had nothing to lose. “I have morals and beliefs. This case conflicted with those, so I stepped back.” Amy was strong, I had to admire that in her, and she obviously had her head screwed on right. She cleared her throat and lowered her voice to almost a whisper. “I wish you all the luck, but I’m almost positive you won’t need it.”
Her gaze wandered, in obvious awe of the scene in front of her. A smile seemed to quirk at the corner of her mouth as if she was almost happy that her clients had lost. It was reassuring. Until she froze completely, her breath seeming to catch. She gripped her keys a little tighter, the sharp edges no doubt cutting into her skin.
I peeked over my shoulder to see Skins staring directly back at her, his face showing no emotion and his eyes hidden by dark glasses. He had his fresh prospect cut on, one Optimus had only just handed him yesterday, a day after Ham had fully patched in. With a short-sleeved shirt on, his tattoos were displayed proudly to the world, not one inch of skin left uncolored and undecorated. Finally, he took a step forward, away from the group, but this only forced Amy backward.
That’s when it all made sense.
Skins got his cut because of the information he found for us to use on our case and the information he found, he got from Amy. It was evident that before today, she had no idea of his affiliation with the club, and that’s exactly why Blizzard’s plan had worked so well.
“G-Good luck,” Amy finally forced out, refusing to make eye contact with anyone as she fled.
My heart sunk and I took a step forward before spinning and forcing my steely gaze on the men. I loved these boys, I loved that they had taken me in even when I’d hurt them so badly. I loved how they cared for their women and their families. I loved how they stood up for what was right. But in that moment, I didn’t like them much.
“You used her,” I stated, seeking clarification. Blizzard simply stared back at me, his face unreadable. I knew better than this. It wasn’t my place to challenge him in front of his brothers. That shit was kept on lock down. It was disrespectful and stupid.
But they knew my history.
They knew what I had been through. So no, this time, I wouldn’t hold my tongue.
“You manipulated her, lied to her, and you used her?” I accused, none of them looking away from me, but not giving me a reaction either.
“We did what we had to do in order to get Jay,” Blizzard confirmed finally, his voice tense and obviously upset. “Now, can we go inside this fucking building and finally get those damn papers that say she belongs to us?”
“You should have found another way,” I countered, feeling my eyes well. After years of being treated like shit and told lie after lie by my father so I would do his bidding, I couldn’t stand to see it happen to others. There could have been another way. We’d all met Amy, and we knew she was only doing her job, we could all see the real person that she was. She stepped away from the case when she knew that she couldn’t, in good mind, fight for those people. She didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Used and thrown away.
“Rose!” Blizzard admonished, stepping forward. “This isn’t about the past, this is about our future. I’ll be damned if I was going to let anyone stand in the way of that future involving Jayla.” He gripped my face between his hands. “I fucking love you. You want to yell and scream at me later for being a fucking asshole, that’s fine. But right now, I don’t give a flying fuck about her. I want the rights to that girl, and I want reassurance that no mother-fucker from now on, can try to take her from us. Are you with me?”
I stared into the eyes of the man I loved. He was everything.
This is what we’d spent so long fighting for. This is what had kept me up every night worrying. I needed to ride today out and appreciate the family I had standing around me, the family who had fought for us to have this day.
“I’m with you,” I echoed as I huffed out a short breath. “But don’t think I won’t take you up on that yelling and screaming stuff.”
He smirked before pressing his lips to my forehead. “I wouldn’t expect any less.”
“All right, move it, people.” Chelsea walked around us, ushering us in the direction of the door. “Daughter now, fighting later.”
