“Yes, she does. I’m thinking we should start with the threatening letters. It’s obvious someone is after her and I want to know who the fuck they are and why they thought they could try and kill my little sister,” he said, starting to get himself wound up. “I say we get that squared away and then we can find out why she kept your boy a secret. That okay with you?”
I really wanted to know why she kept James from me, but I understood where he was coming from. We needed to make sure Reese was safe first. If she was in danger, so was my son. He could have easily been in the car with her when she was hit. “Yeah, that works. I want to know why probably more than you do, but I get it, safety first.”
“She tell you she’s moving back to Croftridge?”
I tried to keep the shock, and if I was honest, also the hurt, off my face. “No, she didn’t. When did she make that decision?”
He smirked. “She didn’t. I did. Surprisingly, she agreed without any argument. Figured we could get what she needs from her house and hire someone to pack the rest of her shit. If Patch okays it, I’d like to head home today. I don’t want to be in this town any longer than I have to.”
“Works for me. Think we can get Reese out of here without drawing a lot of attention?” I asked. I didn’t want whoever was after her to know she was still alive and that she left with us. I had a feeling they’d been keeping close tabs on her.
“Already on that. Batta and Tiny are going to go back to her house to get the things she needs right now. Make it look like they’re checking stuff out like they did last night. We’ll pull a cage up to the back door and load her and James, then pull out the front gates. Nobody will be able to see them in the back.”
“Are they going to stay with you?” I asked. I wanted them with me. They were mine, damn it, even if she didn’t know it yet.
He eyed me suspiciously before answering. “I thought it might be a good idea to put them in a room in one of the buildings on Ember’s farm. They would be safe there. Most of the brothers are around there as much as they’re at the clubhouse. Plus, Ember’s there most days, too.”
I nodded and kept my thoughts to myself. Mainly, when Ember gave them a room, she would be giving me one right beside them.
***
Hours later, we were on our way back to Croftridge. Reese and James were riding in Patch’s SUV with me and Carbon. We loaded our bikes in a trailer we borrowed from Copper along with the items Batta and Tiny had packed from Reese’s house. Coal, Edge, and Patch were following us in the other cage, Phoenix and the rest following on their bikes.
It wasn’t a long drive to get back home, but I was worried about Reese. She slept through the night, but woke up in a lot of pain. Patch came to the clubhouse when his shift was over at the hospital and gave her a shot to get her pain under control. He reminded her to take her pain medicine as scheduled, not as needed, for the next few days.
James was asleep as soon as we hit the highway. I shot a sideways glance to Carbon. He subtly nodded and began speaking, “Reese, we need to talk.”
“I know,” she softly replied.
Turning in his seat to face her, he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me about the letters?” She gasped, her shock evident. “Oh, you didn’t know I knew about those?”
“No, I didn’t. When did you find out?”
“Batta and Tiny found them when they went to your house last night to look for you or clues as to where you might be. How long have you been getting them?”
She cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, “I got the first one the week after I got home from the hospital with James. After that, I would get two or three a month.”
“How were the letters delivered to you?” I asked.
“A few were in my mailbox. They weren’t actually mailed to me, someone just stuck it in there. Sometimes they were on the windshield of my car when I left work. The last two were stuck to the front door.”
Carbon growled low in his throat, “Damn it, Reese. This psycho knows where you work and has been to your house. Why didn’t you fucking say something?!”
“Because I didn’t want you to know!” she screamed.
“And why the hell not?” he yelled back.
“Hey,” I interrupted, firmly, but not too loud, “if we can’t discuss this without disturbing my son, we will wait until we get back.”
Reese turned her gaze to the window and Carbon muttered, “Sorry, brother.”
“Sugar, can you tell us why you didn’t want Carbon to know?” I asked, keeping my voice soft.
She continued to stare out the window, but she did answer me. “Because I know who they’re from and I didn’t want to upset him.”
Carbon stiffened in his seat and opened his mouth to speak. I shot him a warning look. I would not hesitate to pull over and put his ass in the other cage if he didn’t get his temper under control. My son would not be exposed to a screaming match between his mother and uncle. Not happening.
“Sugar,” I said gently, “you know you’re going to have to tell us who they’re from. Wouldn’t it be easier to tell us now, while your brother is contained?”
