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Reaper and I head outside, and he locks the house up before putting Round’s baby girl in the middle seat of the SUV he got me. After climbing in the driver’s seat, he drives to the clubhouse, where everyone else is waiting for us. As I look around, I notice one person who definitely doesn’t belong here. My mother is standing just outside the gate, looking scared to death as she takes in the men wearing leather, a crying Rebel, and more bikes than I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Stepping out of the SUV, I don’t hesitate to race to the gate where she’s standing. Jameson is standing just inside the closed gate, and he turns his head, watching my approach.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I yell, not giving a shit what my mother thinks of me right now. “You have no business being here any day. Today is not the day for you to come do your husband’s bidding. Go the hell home.”
“Alejandra, what are these men doing to you?” she questions, a lone tear sliding down her cheek.
My mother looks older than her age. Her hair is graying, and her skin is pale where she used to have a tan. As normal, her clothes are wrinkle-free, and she’s dressed as if she’s going to a luncheon with the same women who talk shit about her behind her back. Bruising covers her arms from what little bit of them I can see, and she’s got a black eye. Nothing is ever going to change with my family.
“These men would lay down their lives for me. To ensure I’m still alive, safe, and breathing. What the fuck did my father or husband do for me? Nothing. They beat me, and sold me to the highest bidder in an attempt to get their hands on the money your mother left me because she didn’t even want your hands on it. These men love and cherish the women in their lives and give them the freedom to be who they truly are without restraint,” I tell her, not giving a shit about her. “Today, we’re burying two men your husband killed for no reason other than I’m not you. I don’t bend over and let him beat on me and walk all over me because I’m too weak to fight for my life. He left a little girl without a father because he’s an arrogant prick. You want to talk to someone, go talk to your husband. I’m done with all of you. Don’t ever come back here. I’m no longer your daughter or anyone you know.”
Turning around, Reaper and every single member of his club is standing at my back. Even though today is one shrouded in sadness and darkness, there’s a hint of pride shining from his eyes as he looks at me while holding Marsha’s car seat in one hand. His other hand wraps around my body and pulls me to him, giving me a deep kiss filled with all the love and emotion he’s feeling right now. Without another look in my mother’s direction, we head to the limo waiting on us.
Rebel, the baby, and I will be in the limo while the guys ride their bikes. My eyes land on all the bikes parked and waiting for the guys to straddle them. There have to be close to a hundred bikes here today. The Fallen girls are waiting outside for us to leave. Once we head to the cemetery, they’ll head back inside and make sure all the food and drinks are ready to go. Some of them were pissed as fuck Rebel hasn’t been working the bar, and they’ve had to take over for her. They’d rather be fucking the guys than serving them and making sure they have drinks for the night. Oh well.
Reaper helps me in the limo and hands the car seat to me. I place Marsha on the seat between Rebel and I and fasten it in before turning to face forward. Rebel, who is quickly becoming a good friend of mine, is already crying. I’m not sure how she still has tears left to cry, but she does. Laying my hand over the car seat, I place my hand on her arm in a silent show of support. We all need that extra bit of support and love today as we say goodbye to two family members. Even though I haven’t been around as long as everyone else here, I’ll still mourn their loss with everyone else. I’ll be here for the guys and Rebel to help them heal and grieve the loss of their fallen brothers.
When we leave the compound, the men in Reaper’s club are in front of the limo while the rest of the guys are behind us. We ride through town with the two hearses in the very front after they pulled out in front of everyone when we got to the funeral home. Everyone walking along the main street stops and stares as we all make our way through town and out to the highway so we can head to the cemetery just between the two towns. The rumble from so many bikes is like thunder filling the air as the ground vibrates with so many bikes rolling down the road simultaneously. People on the highway are pulled over to make way for us to ride without stopping. I think I’m the only one who notices all this as we make the drive.
Pulling up to the cemetery, Rebel’s sobs are uncontrollable as she sinks into the corner of the limo and buries her head in her hands. One of the guys opens her door and helps her to the chairs on the side of the two empty holes in the ground. Jameson helps me over to my seat after taking the car seat from me. When I’m in my seat, Marsha is wide awake, so I unfasten her and pick her up as the guys carry the two caskets to their final resting places. We have no ministers to speak about the two men who lost their lives. Reaper will speak about both men before the rest of the guys in the club say something about their brothers.
A picture of each man has been blown up and sits at the end of their graves. A small bouquet of flowers sits at the bottom of each picture because these are bikers, and I know they wouldn’t appreciate the thought of flowers being on their caskets or decorating the site as they’re lowered into the ground. No, these men are rough around the edges, hard and unforgiving at times. So, I made sure not to order a bunch of flowers they wouldn’t like. The only other people are the workers who will lower the caskets and finish burying them. They’re staying as far back as possible, with the bikers standing as close as they can.
I’m in tears as I listen to the words surrounded by emotion as Reaper speaks. When he’s done, he walks up to stand just behind me. Placing his hand on my shoulder in a sign of silent strength, turning my head, I place a soft kiss on Reaper’s hand as the men get up and speak one by one. When they’re done, each biker here with us today walks between the two caskets after they’ve been lowered to the ground and tosses a handful of dirt on them. Reaper picked their cuts off the caskets and is holding them draped over his arm to take back to the clubhouse with us. They’ll be framed and hung on the wall with the rest of the members who have lost their lives too soon.
“Let’s get back to the clubhouse,” Reaper says as I lean down to strap Marsha back in her car seat.
“Okay. Marsha is going to be ready for her nap soon,” I tell him as he lifts her up and carries her for me.
“I love you, Alex. I’ll see you back at the compound,” Reaper tells me just before he backs out of the limo.
“I love you too, Reaper.”
Rebel sits with her legs pulled up to her chest, and her head buried. Her sobs fill the back of the limo as we ride in silence with the weight of what today is sitting on our shoulders. None of us will ever forget the men we buried today. Not just because they were family, but through the memories that will be shared and the stories everyone tells Marsha as she gets old enough to understand what happened and what it means to have a father who isn’t Reaper or me as her biological mother. I only pray she doesn’t hate me for what my sperm donor did to her daddy.
