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“That’s the goal,” Em says. “We don’t want the women who stay here, no matter how long that is, to feel like they’ve somehow been institutionalized. They’ve been through enough.”
Beth squeezes my hand, frowning at me when I climb out of the SUV and don’t take a step past the end of the hood.
“You’re not coming?”
I shake my head. I guess this is something that Em didn’t explain to her.
“Men don’t go inside,” I tell her.
“The women inside need to feel safe. We figure since they can see the boundaries we’ve set with Cerberus, they’ll know they can trust us,” Em adds.
“What about the women with teenage sons?”
Em smiles before speaking, and I can tell she’s just as proud as I feel of Beth being willing to ask the question. I don’t know if she’s aware of the increased incidence of teen partner violence, but her question makes me believe she is.
“There is a separate place in town for families with that dynamic. Let’s go inside so you can meet Victoria.”
Before she can walk away, I pull her to my chest and press my lips to her forehead. “You’re going to do great.”
She gives me a quick smile, her cheeks turning a little pink when she sees Kincaid give Em a kiss as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. I honestly can’t tell if she’s a little embarrassed about seeing them or if she’s catching herself wishing for what they have.
“Do you know how long it will take?” I ask once the front door closes behind the women.
Kincaid chuckles. “Separation anxiety?”
I don’t bother denying it.
The guys in the other SUV stick close but they don’t join us. We try our best to be discreet, but I have no doubt there are neighbors hiding in their homes and looking through their sheer curtains, trying to figure out why these dark SUVs pull up like the damned president is visiting rural America.
“This new branch,” I begin, hoping he’ll tell me more.
He doesn’t, and I have to chuckle. Kincaid isn’t the type of guy to be dishonest, but there are also times he isn’t willing to offer anything extra.
“You considering going?” he asks after a long beat of silence.
I shake my head. “I think Farmington is where I’m meant to be.”
“You weren’t so sure two years ago when we offered you the spot.”
“And I was even less sure after the six-month training and vetting process.”
Kincaid gives me a quick grin before he switches his gaze back down the street.
“You did well.”
“Are you saying there are people you recruit that don’t make the cut?”
He shakes his head. “We’re pretty good about knowing who will work out, but there have been occasions where someone changes their mind.”
“Like Ace?”
This question takes us right back around to the possible new branch of Cerberus.
“Ace was wild as hell. He never wanted to settle down. I don’t think he was meant for Cerberus for the long haul.”
“He was one of the founding members.” It isn’t a question. We’re given a full history of every member who has ever been a part of Cerberus, including Wrench, one of the guys who went off the rails and came back with sworn vengeance against the club. He was connected to Em’s ex-husband on some level and came back to the clubhouse decades ago with plans to hurt everyone there. It didn’t work out so well for either of those men, and they left the clubhouse in body bags.
Thankfully, Curt “Catfish” Rogers is the only man who has been killed on a mission while working for Cerberus, and I know his death brought on many changes for the club.
Ace and his best friend in the club, Skid, along with Snake, Harley’s adoptive dad, are the only other three men who have left the club.
Snake lives in Texas, but he visits often to see his grandchildren.
Ace, like Kincaid said last week, is working for ICE.
I have no idea what Skid is doing these days. His portfolio ends with him leaving the club. I know it was amicable.
“He was,” Kincaid agrees with my last statement. “I think he was a little afraid that all the guys in the club settling down was something contagious. He wanted a different woman in his bed every night, had no interest in the picket fence and two-point-five kids.”
I chuckle because I’m the same way. Even thinking that doesn’t feel right. Was? Would that be the proper correction in my mind? I was the same way. There’s a very real chance I feel differently now than I did a couple weeks ago.
“I know you’re curious, but I don’t know much more about the new team. There are a lot of moving parts, and not many of them have settled into place just yet,” Kincaid says and I can sense a hint of irritation in it. Not that I asked but that things maybe aren’t going the way he expected them to.
