Chains is the first to move, going straight to his old lady. “Get your fucking mitts off my woman.” His tone is all growl from the stress of the moment. No heat behind it, but it’s enough for King to back away quickly with his hands up to avoid a beatdown.
A second later, half the damn club comes in from outside. Not sure who called who, but I’m not about to complain. We’re family, after all, and nosy as shit. If one of us is dealing with something, everyone is.
“What the hell is going on?” Law’s bark has us all stilling once again, and I smirk as I watch Milly focus on the real one in charge.
I can’t help myself; I smile. And then I sing, “Somebody’s in trouble.”
I smile wide as she glares deep. And I just can’t help but think that it’s good to be home.
Chapter 6—Milly
This place isn’t so bad. Not the Taj Mahal, but it’s better than a few places back home I’ve been to. Not that I’m going to say that out loud. Don’t need these people to look any harder at us than they already are. And while it might seem like a compliment if I said something, there’s no telling how they’d take it. Last thing I need is more enemies gunning for me and Ollie. Kid already took a swing at one of their own and just now pulled a gun on one of them in their home. They’re looking at us hard as it is. If I’m lucky, I can twist it so they look one way while our other issues are looking another.
And can we just take a second to recognize that my kid pulled a gun on these guys? I’ve never been prouder in my whole life. If I could call my family, I would. It was epic on a scale of landing on the honor roll at school. Which might seem small, but not one of us kids ever did that, not even Ma or Pops. Don’t think anyone in my entire family ever did that.
Despite all that, they aren’t treating Ollie like a criminal, for which I’m grateful. Kid’s only nine, and he was just looking out for me, nothing more. Do I think he would have had it in him to pull the trigger if needed? Yes, absolutely. Kid’s been through hell and back. He has enough dark in his past for him to pull the trigger when it’s required.
He’s sleeping on the coach in the corner next to Grace and Teddy, Chains’ kids. Mama Bear is there, too, with a sleeping baby in her arms, but the woman herself isn’tasleep. No, she’s three coffees in and not slowing down. Not that I blame her. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing my kid was next to someone who had no issue threatening everyone close to them.
Not that she should worry. Ollie wouldn’t hurt her or the kids. We both draw a line in the sand at that, but only because of our own history. Nothing more. She could also get some sleep if she wanted, because she isn’t alone watching the kids. No less than four club guys are close by, all within arm’s reach of Ollie as they watch some sort of movie on low. They switched it fromScooby-Dooonce the kids all crashed.
Which took some time, as Ollie kept one eye on me for as long as he could. It took so long for him to crash that General, who’s apparently their doc, had to patch me up at the bar. He grumbled the whole time about not being in his clinic, even going as far as not giving me any numbing cream to be petty. Not sure if it was the room issue or if he was just still upset about my kid pulling a gun on him. But after about five minutes of not getting the reaction out of me that he clearly wanted, he gave me a shot to numb the area.
I’m grateful—another thing I’m not going to say. I’m stubborn to the core and will keep my face blank as I scream in my head about the pain, but I’m not going to give him, or anyone, the satisfaction. Vinny says it’s a problem that I refuse to show emotions when things like this happen. Bobby just laughed and said I was a tough bitch. And coming from Bobby, the second oldest, that meant more to me than Vinny, the oldest, always trying to keep me in line regarding what a girl should do.
“Done. Try not to get it soaking wet for a bit,” General says, punctuated by a snap of his gloves coming off. I look at myarm and see the grazed bullet wound sewed up tight, and I raise my eyes to him. If he thinks I’m going to thank him, he’s got another thing coming to him. And he must realize it, as a snarl comes over his face. “Or don’t. I don’t give a fuck. Just don’t expect me to fix it if you fuck it up again.”
“Didn’t ask you to fix it this time,” I say, shaking my body out to settle into my chair as I look straight ahead and watch whatever show is on. I can’t help but smile and add just one more jab. “Not that you seemed to mind.”
He curses as he stomps away, making me smile even more. Guy’s an easy read, even if he denies it. He cares. Not something I thought I would find here, but everything’s been a bit of a surprise since we arrived in Kansas a few weeks back. Never expected that I would make nice with the landlord, or that Ollie would find a friend so quickly. Definitely didn’t see us becoming chummy with a biker club, or that the club’s doctor would care more about getting me fixed up faster than my brothers would have.
Certainly didn’t think someone would find us so quickly either.
“You don’t know when to give up, do you?” Bass grabs the chair next to me and flips it around to straddle as he takes a seat. He’s been close, like the rest of them, but stayed out of the way while I was getting patched up.
I shrug. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Start talking,” Casper barks as he and Law each take a seat as well. He might not be the one in charge, but he’s got no problem taking the lead, and I notice his boss doesn’t seem to mind.
“Not much to say.” I pick at the notches in the wooden table. Wonder if it’s handmade or if they buy in bulk. It’s gotenough dents and scratches in it to let me know it’s seen its fair share of bar fights.
“Start at the beginning,” Bass says from my left.
I cast a quick glance his way and can’t stop myself even if I tried. “It was a warm spring day, and the fucking sun was shining when Ma decided she was done waddling around and took herself to the hospital, telling the nurse to take out the kid who was kicking her uterus so much that she had to pee every five seconds. Four hours later, yours truly was born.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Bass runs a hand down his face hard, and Casper’s jaw tightens in anger.
Law is the only one smirking. “Cute.” It’s the first time he’s said anything since he first yelled about what was going on.
“I’ve always thought so.” Another shrug from me. If I keep this up much longer, I’m going to get a shoulder ache.
I take a deep breath and look around. Ollie and I aren’t getting out of here by them just letting us walk out the front door. They’ve got enough people to keep us here, which they’ve made crystal clear since they brought me in. I’ve even seen a few walk around who don’t stop to say hello. This place is crawling with people, and no doubt each one will put up a fight if needed.
I take a page out of Vinny’s rule book. As the oldest, naturally he had one, and he always tried to teach it to the five of us—not that we listened much. While he isn’t the biggest in the family, he knows when to talk and when to shut up. He has a gift of knowing when to show a hand to get something in return. And as my eyes rest on Ollie for a second, I know I would show more than I have in the last few years to get a good night’s rest for that kid. It took some time,but I know these guys aren’t like the ones who snuck into my house. And I know they aren’t playing games to get me to talk. They’ve got nothing on me. If they did, I’d be dead, and Ollie would already be in a car headed east.
“We didn’t come looking for trouble,” I say with a glance at each of the men at the table, meeting Law’s eyes the longest.
“Then what did you come for?” Law asks, holding my stare.
