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“Things were good between y’all when you got locked up, right?” he asks and I nod, remembering the night I took her back to the middle school where we first met and dropped down on my knee as I held a diamond ring out in front of me. Her smile was so damn bright that night it’s burned into my memory forever. That was only a week before I got arrested.

“Yeah, we were engaged… and trying to have a baby.”

“Shit,” he hisses and I nod again as I toss the remnants of my cigarette on the ground before stepping on it with the toe of my boot. “I had no idea.”

“It wasn’t really something you were concerned with back then.”

He hangs his head for a moment before glancing up. “You’re right.”

“I didn’t mean for that to be an insult,” I tell him, guilt nagging me from his sorrowful expression. He nods.

“I know but I was a damn fool back then and I hate thinking about all the shit I fucked up. Y’all put your trust in me and I lost sight of what was really important.”

I turn away. “We don’t have to have this conversation.”

“No, there’s something I need to say to you. When you first joined this club, I know you were looking for a family after your parents abandoned you but despite all my grand claims, that’s not what you got. After you were arrested and I was shot, I saw how much I’d lost sight of the true reason I built this club. I’m just so damn sorry that you lost so much of your life because of me.”

I nod, glancing back at him. It sounds like a line of shit but there is sincerity in every damn word and I can see the regret on his face. “I appreciate that but I don’t blame you. It was my fuck up and I knew what I was doing was going to end badly. It’s why I was planning to get out. It just didn’t happen soon enough.”

“That motherfucker, Biche.”

The hair on the back of my neck stands on end and I growl. “Don’t mention that name to me.”

“Just know, after we find your girl, whatever you want to do about that situation, this entire club is behind you.”

I nod, clamping my mouth shut so I don’t start cursing out my president. Ever since the moment I realized that low life son of a bitch set me up and got me arrested, even just hearing his name has sent me into a rage. Sucking in a breath, I clench my fists and slowly release them in an attempt to calm myself. Biche is tomorrow’s problem and I’ll deal with him after I find my girl and only then.

“Listen,” Blaze says and I turn back to him. “I gave Streak another person to look into. Hell, I’m not even sure if anything will come of it but Kady was always real close to Bobby before he passed so I told Streak to investigate him.”

“Shit, I forgot he died. How long ago was that?” Bobby was one of the original members of the club and the man who sponsored me when I wanted to join. We became pretty close and after growing up in the foster system, Kady was always looking for a sense of family and I think she found a piece of that with Bobby. I know he thought of her like the daughter he never had.

He shakes his head. “Five years or so, I think. I don’t know. He wasn’t involved with the club as much when I started making changes and we lost touch for a while.”

“You really think he knew anything?” I ask and Blaze shrugs.

“Who the hell knows with Bobby but we are turning over every damn stone in this town until we find your girl, Henn. I promise you that.”

I nod. “I appreciate that, Prez. Thank you.”

“That’s what this club was meant for and as long as you let us, we’re going to be the family you were looking for all those years ago.”

Nodding, I drop my gaze to the ground, feeling choked up. It’s everything Kady and I wanted back then but without her here, it just feels empty. What the hell kind of life could I live without her in it?

“You ready to head inside?” Blaze asks and I glance up. “I think Quinn is about done with the ribs.”

I nod to the door. “You go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

Blaze studies me for a moment before nodding and heading back inside the clubhouse. When I’m alone again, I lean back against one of the parking blocks and drop my head back to look up at the stars, my mind going right back to my girl and where she is right now. I wonder if she can see the same stars I can. The thought is quickly followed by the image of her being held somewhere against her will - somewhere dark where she can’t see the stars and my stomach churns. As much as I don’t want to sit down to dinner right now, I know I need to make an effort. I can see the change that everyone has been telling me about and I’m trying not to get my hopes up but maybe this is a sign that things are coming together. I scrub my hand over my face and blow out a breath, watching as a billow of steam rises in front of me. I shiver.

Shit.

It’s getting colder and that means my time is up.

Sighing, I shove my hands in my pockets and walk back into the clubhouse. Everyone is chatting and laughing with each other and when I walk in, they all turn to me as silence descends over the room. I freeze in my tracks, watching each one of them.

“Jesus, way to make it weird, guys,” Smith says and it seems to break the spell as they go back to their conversations. I don’t know if they are wary of me or just feel bad about my situation but I can’t fucking wait for the day when everyone can just go back to being normal.

“Hi,” a blonde woman says, walking up to me. “I didn’t get to meet you last night. I’m Quinn, Lucas’s fiancée.”