He nods. “Yeah, I’m fine. Can I come over tonight and check on Ms. Emily?”
“Of course. You never have to ask. All my grandchildren are welcome in my house.”
He smiles, and fuck if my heart doesn’t ache with how much he reminds me of Chains. “I’m still getting used to that,” he admits. “I’ll be over once my prospect jobs are done.”
“All right then. Let’s get this van back to Buck so you can get to cleaning it.” Turning back to Duke and Roar, I ask, “You both good here?”
“All good, Red. We’ll keep an eye on him over the next twenty-four hours. Hopefully, Hard-Drive will have found something by then and we can put this to bed. Emily didn’t deserve what this shithead did to her.”
“No, she didn’t,” I agree. “Appreciate your help. I’ll see you over at the clubhouse. Let me know if you need me for anything. I’ll go and fill Maestro in.”
I have Ford drop me off at the clubhouse before he takes the van back to the garage.
I’m itching to get back to Emily, but I know the protocol. First, I need to check in with Maestro not only about Chad but also about the business opportunity to buy the roadhouse diner, shop, and gas station opposite the motel. It’s too good of an opportunity to pass up.
I find him exactly where I expect him to be —in the office. He looks up at my knock. “All good?”
“All good, son,” I reassure him, walking in and taking a seat opposite him. “Got him in the shack. Ted switched off the cameras. He had some news that I think we should move on.”
Maestro sits back in his chair. “Do we need Cash for this?”
“May as well as he’s the money man.”
Leaning back, he bangs on his office wall shouting, “Cash.”
I shake my head when he gets an answering knock back. Not two seconds later, Cash appears in the open doorway. “You called?”
“Red’s got something to tell us.”
Cash takes a seat, and I fill them in on what Ted told me. They are both looking interested by the time I’m finished telling them about the opportunity.
Cash says, “I’ll reach out to them. See what they want. Depending on the price we may be able to swing it. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve got news.”
“Sounds good,” I tell them standing up. “I’m going to check on Emily. Is everything set for this weekend?”
“Yeah, Red, everything is organised. Cut’s ordered, food and drink are in hand. Stacey, Lizzie, and Jenny are sorting it. Don’t worry. Give Em our love. I’ll be over later to check on her.”
“Will do, son.”
I leave them to the business of running the club, glad I no longer have that headache. Walking up the steps to my porch, I open the front door, slipping my boots off my feet so that I can walk quietly in socked feet to the bedroom. Seeing that Em is still fast asleep, I strip off my dirty clothes, dump them in the hamper, and take a quick shower before slipping into a clean pair of boxer shorts and sliding into bed behind Em, wrapping an arm around her waist.
I sigh contentedly as I lay my head on the pillow. Did I care that it was the middle of the day? No, I fucking didn’t. Emily had come to mean the world to me, and I didn’t want to have to go through a day like today ever again. My heart almost stopped when I heard the fear in her voice.
I wanted to spend the next few hours holding her in my arms, knowing that while she was there, she was safe.
That’s all I cared about.
CHAPTER 9
EMILY
I couldn’t believe that tomorrow was the day I was getting my cut. After what had happened, Deck had barely let me out of his sight. The family had rallied around, and I’d been coddled to the nth degree. I’d loved every minute of being surrounded by our family’s love.
I knew they had the guy locked up somewhere, and for that I was happy. I’d have hated for my girls to walk around worried that one of them was going to be attacked. He hadn’t been all that smart coming after me without first doing some research.
As far as I was concerned, it was done and dusted; the club could do with him what they wanted. I was happy, and tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough as far as I was concerned.
Deck had left earlier to give Buck a hand at the garage with something, and I was on my way to the clubhouse to give the other Old Ladies a hand prepping food for tomorrow. This would probably be one of the last barbecues because the weather was turning. We’d be in the middle of winter before we knew it. We only had a few more months until Christmas. How different this year is for Ford and me compared to last year!
