“Great.”
“Zeb Blackwood got himself into some big trouble, killed a bunch of people out on Route 66.”
I feel a flicker of irritation and then mild concern. I’m one of the founding members of the beta chapter out East, at least I should be. This whole situation with Tylee has me beyond fucked in the head, and I haven’t gone out to do any work for Ethan for longer than a few days. They claim that there’s room for me to take my time and sort out family shit, but I feel like a goddamn bitch for not having my house in order.
I hate it. I especially hate that I seem like the last one to know about the Zeb situation.
“Ethan didn’t tell me.”
“He sent whoever was out there to handle it,” Wyatt says. He glances over briefly at Hunter. “And Tamiya just got back to us with information about the dead guys and their jackets. Zeb’s suspicions were right.”
“Department of Homeland Security,” Hunter says, raising his eyebrows as he drops the bad news on my lap like it’s nothing. That can’t be possible.
“So we just killed a bunch of federal agents?”
“Not quite,” Wyatt says. “We killed the ones fucked up enough to get the pink slip. Tamiya has a conspiratorial mind. She thinks they’re working with the government to handle their shadier business. Like mercenaries.”
“Going after us?”
“Seems like it,” Ryder says. “Those men must have been following Zeb all the way from Boston.”
“Not following him anymore,” Hunter says.
“Nope,” Wyatt says. “Not anymore.”
I have plenty of questions about the bikers, but my children are a bigger priority for me than club business. Part of the reasonI’ve been so checked out. I try to sip more beer but I’m done with my can. The nearest bottle of hard liquor is so far away that I’ll have to stay plastered to this chair drunk for a few more minutes before I stand a chance of getting up.
“What about Tylee?” I ask. “The kids?”
There’s a flicker of irritation across Wyatt’s face. I try not to let it get to me. He warned me about Tylee probably a hundred times over the years. She’shis sister.Maybe I should have listened. But Wyatt doesn’t understand. He’s not a gruff, unlikeable bear like I am. Women are drawn to him. The only woman who ever had the courage to be near me was Tylee. I’ve always felt like a beast out there in the world. The only thing I ever wanted was to have a wife and kids for security. Love. Family.
I thought Tylee wanted the same thing. I thought she had her flaws, but in the end she would put love over everything.She’s changed – and not for the better.I didn’t think this would happen when we got married. Wyatt’s irritation bothers me, but I’m in no position to argue with him and utterly resentful of my vulnerability.
Does he think I want to be in this position? I need to know what’s going on with my family and my ex-wife…
“Tylee has fucked off somewhere,” Wyatt says. “She has the kids with her and I’ve tried calling everyone, including Selma to ask about her.”
Selma. That’s my mother, and one of the most frustrating women in my world. I hate the idea of Wyatt talking to her without me. Selma can be… tricky. She hates every Shaw she’s ever met too because she thinks that gambling is the devil’s vice. (She doesn’t mind liquor as much, but she hates it too.)
“What did she say?”
“That she hasn’t seen Tylee. Then she started crying and worrying that Tylee would drown her babies one by one.”
I hate that I feel a chill.
“My mother has a way of making me feel better,” I mutter under my breath.
“Sorry,” Wyatt says. “Tylee wouldn’t do that, but I was very specific with Selma that if she wants her holiday money from the club this year, she’ll tell us if Tylee comes through with the kids.”
“Great.”
“We have no idea where she is, Isaac. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.”
He comes right out and says it instead of dancing around it, but that doesn’t make the news any easier to hear. My ears burn.
“And the Zeb situation?” I project a sense of calm that I don’t feel. Where the fuck is Tylee and more importantly – where the fuck has she put my children?
Chapter Nineteen
