“I do,” one of the pregnant women said. She hesitantly moved forward. “You are here to save us?”
Noah nodded. “We are. We’re taking you somewhere safe, and we have contacts to reunite you with your families, if you wish. And if you don’t, you will be given the means to start off new. I promise.”
The woman nodded. “They are dead?” she asked, glancing around Noah as if she could see the dead bodies of the guards.
“Yes,” Noah assured her. “They’re dead. Very, very dead.”
The woman slumped in relief, then turned to the room, repeating everything in Spanish for those who didn’t speak English. Immediately, everyone pushed to their feet, and Ink clapped a hand to my shoulder. “I’ll get the truck,” he said quietly, and then, he was gone.
“Fuck,” Halo whispered from behind me as Noah began leading them out of the storage container. “And there’s more in the others?”
Swallowing thickly, I nodded, still trying to keep it all locked down. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “There are.”
He shook his head and grabbed the bolt cutters Ink had left leaning against the container. He and Gidget slipped off without another word, going to free the others. As all the victims began loading into the truck Ink had brought around, Noah tugged me into her arms and rested her head on my chest. My arms folded around her tiny form immediately, that ugly feeling festering inside me bleeding away as she held me.
“You okay?” she asked quietly.
I nodded. “I am now, mama.” I dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.”
She hummed. “Hell of a time for declarations—” I chuckled— “but I love you, too, Blayke.”
27
Blayke
There was nothing like finally getting to come home afterdaysof constant go-go-go and watching our backs. After Alejandro informed us all the victims would be reunited with their families, and the ones who didn’t have families to be reunited with would be given a fresh start wherever they wanted to go in the world, we began packing. And as soon as Ink informed me that Joey was expected to make a full recovery, we hit the road to come back to the states.
The Russian problem was dealt with, and Alejandro was still the reigning crime lord in Mexico. Everything was right as rain once more, and maybe now, we couldfinallyget some rest. Fuck knew I just wanted a few days of lazing around with my woman.
But before any of that could happen, I needed to bring her patch-in to the table. Johnston might fight me on it, but I was determined. She’d busted her ass to prove herself, and she would be a valuable member of the Satan’s Worshippers MC. Shedeservedthis, and I loved her so goddamn much, I wanted to give her the world on a silver platter.
“So… what now?” Noah asked as she slid off her bike. She crossed her arms over her chest, frowning as she stared at the clubhouse. “Is this it? Because Johnston doesn’t seem keen on patching me in.”
I grunted and pressed my hand to her lower back before grabbing both our duffels in my other hand. “You’re getting patched in, whether he likes it or not, mama. You busted your ass and protected all of us without batting an eye. You deserve this as much as the rest of us.”
She snorted. “Doesn’t matter what I deserve when your president is a sexist pig.”
I laughed. “Well, I think with enough time of you being around, he’ll change his mind.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Come on. You can shower and change while I go talk to Johnston. He’ll want to hold church first thing now that we’re back, and unfortunately?—”
“I’m a prospect. I fucking know,” she muttered before heading for the stairs. I quickly followed her, instructing her on which room was mine, then deposited our bags on what would now be our bed. She headed straight for the bathroom, and deciding she needed just a little bit of space, I left the room and shut the door behind me before heading for Johnston’s office.
Aaliyah was sitting on his desk when I walked in, and he was standing between her thighs, his hands on her hips, and his mouth mere centimeters from hers. I cleared my throat and knocked loudly on theopendoor. “I know you two don’t care much about whether anyone walks in on the two of you fucking, butIcare. So… close the door next time? Lock it? You could even just put a sock on the door—you know, universal sign for I’m getting laid, don’t bother me?”
Johnston sighed and pushed back from Aaliyah. She slipped down from his desk, leaned up on her tiptoes, kissed his cheek,then slipped past me into the hall. “Good to see you home, Blayke. Where’s Noah?” she asked.
“Upstairs showering,” I answered. “Think you can take her something to eat and drink? She’s gotta be starving, but she’s in a… mood.”
Aaliyah laughed, patted my shoulder, then headed up the hall. “Yeah, I’ll get her something.”
Johnston crossed his arms over his chest and arched a brow at me. “What is it?” he demanded. “You literally pulled in the lot not even five fucking minutes ago, and you’re already bothering me.”
I pressed my hand over my heart and pretended to swoon. “Oh, look at you being all sweet to me,” I teased. He rolled his eyes. I dropped my hand back to my side. “I wanted to talk to you about Noah.”
He sighed. “Fucking knew it,” he muttered. “You’re not letting this go, are you?”
I shook my head. “She’s a damn good fucking asset to this club, Johnston, and I’m not saying that just because she’s my old lady. She can hold her own, she’s not afraid to get her hands bloody, and when things go sideways, she’s damn good at improvising. She’s fucking incredible, and if you’d give her a chance, you’d see that, too.” He opened his mouth to speak, but I continued before he could. “Brother, I’d probably be fuckingdeadright now if not for her.” And that was the honest fucking truth.
He scrubbed his hand down his face. “Let’s call a vote. If the majority says yes on patching her in, then she gets a patch.”
