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I cringe. “Not all bad things I hope.”
“Not at all,” she’s quick to answer. “Everyone’s been so excited.”
Mayhem slings his arm around her and presses a soft kiss to the side of her head. After the shit he went through with Logan’s mum, I’m glad he’s found someone nice.
“Wow, guys, I go away and you’re all single. I come home and you’re all settled down. I never thought I’d see the day,” I joke.
“Had to happen one day,” Chaos hollers and everyone laughs.
A sudden surge of memories flood my mind, the vivid image of blood staining my vision causing me to instinctively close my eyes tightly. It's a painful reminder of a time when I had someone by my side, someone who was supposed to cherish and support me. But in the end, they revealed themselves to be nothing more than a deceitful and unfaithful person. Someone who turned out to be a two-timing arsehole. Everyone’s lives have moved on. But not mine.
Louis pushes a bottle of beer into my hand and lowers his voice when he asks, “You good?”
It’s not an outright lie when I tell him, “I’m okay.”
I wasn’t expecting a party welcoming me home but it’s nice. I would sometimes worry that I’d be forgotten after being sentenced to such a long stretch. Louis never missed a visit, and he always answered my calls when I rang. It’s nice to know I’ve been missed by more than my brother.
Louis clears his throat and shocks the crap out of me when he hollers, “Has every fucker got a drink?”
Bottles are raised into the air, and he goes on, “I just wanna say a few words…”
“Fuck me, I must be dreaming. Psy talking?” Riot hollers and gains a laugh from every brother and their old ladies, and old man.
“Shut the fuck up,” he grunts then smiles at me. “I wanna say welcome home, sister. Ten years has been far too long and while you did whatever you had to do while in there, you’re home now. You’re free and anything you need, I’m here for you.”
“Here, here. The club is here for you, Lex,” Chaos adds, and I raise my beer in thanks.
“To Lexi!” Mayhem boasts.
“Lexi!” Everyone cheers, and I want to die on the spot from embarrassment.
“And if anyone crosses you, stay away from cricket bats and come to us. We don’t want to lose you again,” Riot says jokingly but I see the sincerity in his baby blue eyes.
He pulls me into his arms, and I hold him back. Some of the events of that day became clearer over the years, but the attack itself has never come back to me. It’s buried so deep I don’t think they’ll ever return. From the photos shown in court, I tried to imagine how it went down but it seems I’ll never know for sure.
“You scared the shit out of me seeing you covered in blood that day, don’t ever wanna see it again,” he whispers in my ear.
“You won’t. I’m too old now, anyway,” I say, laughing it off.
People assume violence runs in my blood, one because of the crime I was convicted of, and two, because of the reputation I had inside. But these men knew the woman I was before the bastard ex and bitch of a best friend shattered my already fractured heart.
I’m not the same woman I was before I went to prison, and in time I hope not to be the woman I was while I was in prison. And while my head is spinning with everyone here at the club, I have hope I can build a life that makes me happy.
Chapter Two
Manik
It’s hard to miss the water as I ride along the coast. Even as a kid when my mum and dad took us to the seaside for our summer holiday, I was never a fan of the beach. I couldn’t understand everyone’s fascination with the sand that gets everywhere and the freezing cold sea that all the kids piss in. I’d watch people splashing each other thinking they’re literally splashing each other in a mixture of salt and piss. But for the foreseeable future, I’ll be laying low with my brothers in the Eastford chapter. My president back home thought it’d be for the best if I got out of town for a while until the dust had settled after a night out turned bad. I can’t say I fought hard to stick around and weather the potential storm. Too much shit has gone down in such a short amount of time, and I’m drained. Before the trouble I landed myself in, life had become monotonous. Each day a repeat of the one before. Nothing ever happens out of the ordinary. My mum used to say I had far too much energy for her liking, that I was her test from God to know her own strength. As an adult, I can’t say it’s changed much and perhaps that’s where I keep going wrong. Energy, the worst kind at that, was buzzing through me two nights ago and now… well, now I’m hiding out two hundred miles from home and I’m tired as fuck.
I slow to a stop outside the gates to the Road Wreckers Motorcycle Club clubhouse and tip my head at the prospect.
He saunters over, flicks his eyes over my patches, and asks, “Chaos expecting you?”
“Yeah, so open the fucking gate, I ain’t got all night,” I grunt.
I earned my full patch seven years ago. The fucker has no business questioning me. I wouldn’t be here if Chaos wasn’t aware of my arrival. Fuck, I wouldn’t be alive if I were wearing these patches for fun.
He’s on his toes and uses his shoulder to slide open the gate and I ride through. It seems I’ve arrived at a good time. Music blares from inside and the place is in full party mode.
