“Love you, too, Daddy,” I told him.
When we got in the car, Griffin pulled out his phone and called someone at the clubhouse. “Need you to meet me over at Wren’s house. You’ll need to help her get her stuff loaded and back to the clubhouse while I go to the meet.” There was a brief pause, and then he said, “Good. We’ll be there in ten.”
As soon as Griffin hung up his phone, Wyatt asked, “Are we going somewhere, Momma?”
“Yeah, buddy. We’re going to go over to Griffin’s clubhouse to stay with him for a few days. The bug man is coming to spray, and we need to be out of the house for a couple of days,” I explained. Normally such news would throw him off balance. He needed time to adjust to changes in his routine, but he seemed to like the idea.
“We get to stay there… at his clubhouse?” he asked excitedly.
“Yeah, bud. We do.”
“That’s awesome. Can I take my game?” he asked.
“Sure. And anything else you’d like to bring,” Griffin answered. “And there’ll be some other kids there you’ll get to meet. Dusty is about your age, and he loves video games, too.”
“Okay,” Wyatt said smiling.
When we pulled up to the house, there was a motorcycle parked in the driveway. We all got out of the car, and one of Griffin’s brothers walked over to us. I remembered seeing him at the club the other night. He was a little younger than Griffin, and unlike most of the others, he wasn’t sporting any facial hair. I wanted to run my fingers across his cheek to see if it was as smooth as it looked. Then, he seemed so nice, sporting a big, bright smile, but today he looked different. Today, he had the same serious expression that Griffin was wearing, making him seem a little intimidating.
When Griffin noticed me looking at his brother, he cleared his throat and said, “This is Clutch. I had him come over so he could help get you packed. I’ve got to get back to the club.”
“You’re leaving?” I asked.
“Don’t have a choice here, Wren. I’m the club Enforcer, and my club needs me right now. Clutch is one of my brothers from the club, and I trust him to take care of you both. Once you get your things together, he’ll get you over to the club where he can watch over you and the other women.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Hey, Clutch,” Wyatt said. “That’s a cool road name.”
“Thanks, little man,” Clutch told him.
“I’ve got to get over to the clubhouse. Prez wants all the officers at the meet. Just make sure they get the necessities and get gone,” Griffin ordered.
“No problem. Cotton gave me my orders. I’ve got it from here,” he told Griffin. “And you can just take my bike back to the clubhouse. I’ll ride with them.”
Before he left, Griffin walked over to me and said, “You with me on all this?”
“I’m with you,” I answered, lifting up on my tiptoes and quickly pressing my lips to his. When he turned to leave, my stomach dropped and my chest grew tight with worry. I had no idea what he was about to face, and the thought of losing him filled me with dread. Watching him walk towards that bike made my anxiety skyrocket to an unbearable level. “Griffin!”
He quickly turned around and before he could say anything, I rushed over to him, hugging him tightly. “Please be careful. I don’t know what is going on, but I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
He wrapped his strong arms around me, holding me tightly against his chest, and said, “Wren, it’s going to be okay. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“Promise?”
“I’ll be waiting for you back at the clubhouse,” he said. He stepped back, releasing me from his embrace and said, “I’ve got to get going.”
“I know. I’ll go pack,” I told him as I turned and headed towards the front door. I heard the motorcycle engine roar to life just as I was closing the door and before I even had a chance to think, Wyatt came running towards me.
“Do you know where my socks are?”
“Umm… I think they are on the dryer,” I told him. “I’ll get them.”
“And I need my good pajamas… and my slicky pants and pullover… and my…” he started.
“I’ll get everything. Just get your suitcase out of the front closet and take it to your room. I’ll be in there in a second to help you,” I explained.
Clutch was amused by Wyatt’s excitement, laughing under his breath as he watched Wyatt race back to his room. “He’s pretty stoked about all this, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea. Once he gets there, he may never want to leave,” I laughed. “Griffin doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into.”
“I think he does, and he seems pretty happy about it. You need any help with anything?” he offered.
“Not yet. Just make yourself at home,” I told him. “And if you’re hungry, there’s some food in the kitchen.”
“Want some coffee?”
“I’d love some. Thanks,” I told him as I headed for the laundry room. Once I’d bundled all of Wyatt’s things in my arms, I started towards his room to help him put everything in his suitcase. When I walked in, he had all of his clothes and games in neat little stacks on his bed. “Got the rest of your clothes. Why don’t you put them in your suitcase while I go get my things together?”
“Okay,” he answered.
I went into my room and opened my closet door, trying to decide what I needed to pack. Since I didn’t know how long we’d be there, I had no clue how much I needed to take with me. After mulling everything over, I decided to stick to the basics – jeans and t-shirts. I grabbed what I could fit in my suitcase and started loading it in my bag. When I was almost finished, I decided to go check on Wyatt’s progress.
Just as I was walking across the hall, I heard a man’s voice coming from the kitchen. It was low and husky, and even though I couldn’t hear what he was saying, something about it sent chills down my spine. Clutch roared back at him, and seconds later, I heard a thunderous bang. I’d never heard one up close, but I knew it was a gunshot. I stopped frozen in my tracks as pure panic washed over me. My first thought was to get to Wyatt; I needed to make sure that he was okay. I was headed towards his room when I heard Clutch call out to me.
“Run!” he shouted.
My breath caught in my throat when I heard another gunshot explode through the house, followed by the sound of footsteps charging in my direction. I slammed Wyatt’s door, locking it behind me. Adrenaline pulsed through my body as I hurried to pull his dresser in front of the door.
“Wyatt, I need you to come over here. I’m going to help you out of the window, and then I want you to run. Don’t look back… just run!” I pleaded as I opened his window.
The doorknob clicked back and forth, and when it didn’t open, a booming thud echoed through the room as someone tried to kick down the door. My breath quickened as I reached over for Wyatt.
“Momma, who is that?” he cried. His little body trembled as I lifted him into my arms. I eased him out of the window, and just as he feet were about to hit the ground, I saw him. His face was distorted with rage as he stole Wyatt from my grasp.
“Michael, NO!” I cried.
Chapter 18
Stitch
I was not a fan of lockdowns. Having everyone crammed in close quarters for days was not my idea of a good time, but the thought of having Wren and Wyatt there actually had me looking forward to it. I was ready to get the meet over with so I could help them get settled. I hated leaving them back at the house, but I trusted Clutch to make sure they got here with everything they needed. When I pulled into the lot, the club was already rumbling with activity. The families were coming in, unloading their cars as they prepared for the days ahead. Along with them, the brothers from the Forsaken Saints had turned up even earlier than expected. But that was a good thing – meant they were eager. We were all ready for the shit with the King Pythons to end, once and for all.
When I walked in, the bar was packed. The brothers were all gathered around talking, waiting for Cotton to call church. I glanced around the room, watching the women scurry around the room making sure all the guys had what they needed. Cassidy was at the bar with Dive, the Forsaken’s Sergeant of Arms, and they both looked pretty fucking cozy sitting there talking. I shook my head and thought Cotton would have a field day if he caught sight of them. But then again, Cass was smart – she knew Cotton would be pissed to see her talking to him. Dive was a good guy as far as I could tell, but I wasn’t going near whatever shit-show Cass was starting. Scanning the room, I spotted Guardrail was sitting at one of the tables in the back, so I headed over to ask him about Allie.
Before I had a chance to speak, he said, “She’s rattled, but she’s doing fine.”
“And the construction company?” I asked.
“We put the fire out before it got out of control. It’ll take a little work, but we’ll be back up and running in a few days,” he explained.
“Why Allie?”
“Doesn’t matter. Going after her like that was a big fucking mistake,” he growled. “I’ll kill those motherfuckers with my bare hands for even thinking about touching her.”