As we make our way down the sidewalk, we walk by the church where the men are now standing, and I slow my steps.
“I’ll see you soon,preacher,” I say to Walter.“The next confessional will make sure you never lay another hand on anyone else.”
“You have her, don’t you?”he asks of Sutton.
“She’s long gone, and you’ll never find her,” I divulge and keep walking.He starts yelling for an officer, and I can only wonder what’s got him in a tizzy.
After walking in, Turner leads us to an empty jail cell.
“Try not to cause any more problems, will ya?”
“Now, Chief, let’s not start placing blame until found guilty by a jury of our peers,” Brass taunts, making Turner roll his eyes as he locks the metal door.
I’m not sure how much times passes until Stone appears with Chains, one of our enforcers, next to him.
“How come I didn’t get the invite to the brawl, VP?”Chain asks sounding a little offended.
“What part of lying low, didn’t you understand?”Stone utters, his face locked up tight.
“Why doesn’t anyone believe that the holy rollers started it?I could be the victim here, geez,” Riot remarks from the bench he’s stretched out on.
“I have a good mind to leave you brothers here for a few days until I know you won’t go all cowboy again,” Stone growls.
“This is all on me,” I say standing up and walking over to where they are perched by the door.I lower my voice, “Shepherd Walter was meeting with someone who had quite the entourage.I think this might be bigger than we think.”
Stone gives a slight nod in acknowledgement then shoves off the metal bars.
“Turner issued each of you a ticket for disorderly conduct since there were no witnesses.Donald is paying the tickets as we speak,” Stone says about our club’s attorney while producing a key from his pocket.He slides it in the door and pushes it open after turning the key.Having the police in your back pocket does have its advantages sometimes.
We pile out of the back room and out the front, but Turner stops us before we make it too far.
“Walter thinks you kidnapped his daughter and filed a missing person’s report on her,” he tells us.
I scoff, shoving my hands in the front of my jeans.“She’s not missing.”
“Told him I’d look into it.”
“We’ll have her give you a call,” Stone tells him as we walk down the pavement towards our bikes.
We mount our rides, flipping our ballcaps backwards.Stone spins his pointer finger in the air.“All gas, no grave,” he calls out, and we follow behind his lead as we make our way back to the clubhouse.
When I arrive home laterthat evening, the house is dark, and my son is nowhere to be seen.My muscles ache, and my tired bones are ready to crash for the night.When I pass through the living room, I see the back gate open which tells me that my little man is at my favorite girl’s place.Why she won’t stay here still infuriates me as I haul my ass across the backyard, dodging the landmines of toys he has strung out everywhere.As I get closer to Sutton’s backdoor, I can smell the delicious scent of food, and it makes my mouth water.
From the windowpanes on the door, I watch as my son stands on a chair stirring something at the stove.Sutton is right behind him keeping him at a safe distance from the hot pots.They have some kid music on, and my chest constricts at the sight.When I found out that Debbie was pregnant, I thought this was how it was going to be for our son.A present mom who cared more about her child than herself, but I was wrong.Debbie only cares about one thing and that is money and her next fix.I was lucky she stopped snorting through her pregnancy because I made her take a drug test every week with the incentive of giving her a fat stack of cash if she quit.After giving birth, I didn’t give a shit.
Zane looks over and sees me through the glass as Martha comes in with a sack full of items.
“Daddy!”he calls out, and it makes them turn their heads.
I walk in and greet them like it’s the most natural thing for us.Stepping over to Sutton, I’m careful to wrap an arm around her waist to not touch her back and plant a kiss on her plump pink lips.
“Hey, beautiful,” I say and see the spark in her eyes that wasn’t there a few days ago.
“Hi,” she greets, tucking a section of hair behind her ear.
“Daddy!”
Leaning down I lift Zane up in the air.“Hey, buddy, did you have fun today?”
