L
My phone ringing on the table next to my bed pulled me from the best sleep I had in years. Jennie was draped around me, our legs intertwined like vines. Rolling her with me, in an attempt not to wake her, I reached for the phone.
"Yeah?" I answered.
"It's Seokmin." I blinked my eyes open, trying to focus an wake up enough to understand what he was going to say. "Church in an hour. Make sure everyone is up."
"Yeah, copy that."
He didn't say anything else before cutting the call.
"What time is it?" Jennie asked, lips moving against my chest, causing her to mumble.
I looked at my phone, "Seven thirty."
"The kids," she whispered in a panic, pulling away from me quickly. "They never sleep this long." She was out of bed before I could stop her, stumbling as her feet hit the floor in a hurry. I kicked off the covers following after her. When I caught up, she was standing in the doorway between my room and the clinic, hand covering her mouth. Her kids were sleeping still, snuggled together. They looked peaceful.
"They know they're safe," I whispered, pulling her to me and wrapping my arms around her. "So are you." I'd remind her every day for the rest of her life if that was what she needed. With my dying breath I'd protect her and her kids. Taehyung would never touch them again. I was going to gut him, put his head in a jar and keep it as a memory that I slayed the worst demon in her life.
"Thank you," she breathed.
We stood there for a long moment, arms wrapped around each other, staring at her kids–our kids. What was hers was mine. I didn't give a fuck about biology. Taehyung wasn't worthy of them or her.
"Seokmin called. I've got church in an hour. I'm gonna set you up with some clothes for you and the kids, and make sure you eat."
"Are Marie and Meg going to be around?" she asked nervously. Jennie never liked meeting new people.
"Yeah." She didn't know any of the other old ladies, but they'd welcome her. That group of women was fiercely protective of each other and their men, but they welcomed newcomers with open arms–ones who didn't have an ulterior motive. "And there are plenty of kids for Holden and…" I trailed off. Did I forget she told me her daughter's name? "Did you tell me her name?"
"I don't think so. Olive."
"Cute," I whispered. She smiled softly at me, like she was suddenly shy.
"Thank you," she whispered again. I just stared at her. "For taking us in."
"Babe," I said, grabbing her hips and dragging us together. "Look at me." Her eyes tilted up, still full of emotion. "This has always been your home."
"You," she mumbled brokenly. "You've always been my home."
"It took you a long time to get back to me, but yeah. I'm home. This. Us. I don't give a shit about how long it's been, how many kids you had, what you went through. You. Are. Mine."
"Always have been," she affirmed.
My attempt at a chase kiss was blown right off track when she crashed her lips to mine, taking control, pinning my body against the doorframe while she took what she needed. Her lips moved against mine, and I let her kiss me, taking what she needed. I was hers to use. Parting my lips, I invited her in, but before she could react, we were interrupted.
"Mama?" a little voice whispered.
Jennie pulled away, an apologetic smile on her lips. We were going to have to work on that; she should never apologize for going to her kids when they needed her, even if it left me behind hard as hell for her.
"Hi, sweetie," she said, kneeling in front of the bed.
"Where are we?"
"At a friend's place." I had to bite my cheek at the moniker. We weren't fucking friends, but she couldn't spring me on the kids either. "This is my friend, Lisa," she said, turning over her shoulder to look at me. I was still in only my boxers, but she waved me over. I squatted next to her, offering Olive my hand.
"Nice to meet you." She took my hand, eyes wide and alert. She looked just like Jennie.
"I'm hungry."
Holden stirred next to her, sitting up slowly. His hair was messy, sticking up on all sides, and he still looks exhausted. Does kids always look like that when they wake up?
"I'm gonna get dressed," I told Jennie. "I'll grab something for you to put on too. We can raid the nursery for clothes for the kids." She nodded at me, still completely focused on listening to Olive. It was going to be a huge adjustment for them. I had no idea what to do with kids. Whenever the club kids got hurt, I could deal with that, but that was only for a few minutes. But suddenly, I was gonna be a parent.
If I said that to any of the guys, they'd think I was insane. Seokmin, Jaehyun, Lucas, Mike, Diesel, all the guys who were around when she left me, were going to think I was nuts. But once I explained she didn't leave willingly, that it was her dad who sold her in some fucking trade, they'd be out for blood too.
I steadied my anger. Letting it loose right now wouldn't help anyone. I tugged on a pair of jeans, a club sweatshirt, and my cut, grabbing joggers and a sweatshirt for Jennie. They would be too big for her, but she could borrow something from Megan or Marie when they got here. I'd have to get her clothes, and clothes for Olive and Holden too. There were a million things to do, but right now, I needed to focus on their safety, and getting food in their bellies.
I handed Jennie her clothes and watched as she tugged them on, distracted by her long legs. Fuck. She was back. I couldn't believe it. Half of me worried I was going to wake up any minute from the best and worst dream of my life. Once she was dressed, she offered a hand to each of her kids and stood, letting them walk next to her while I guided us out of the clinic.
"Go sit in the bar," I told her. "I'll make them breakfast."
"Thank you," she whispered, moving past me. I didn't want to let her go without a kiss, but I had to.
Joshua and Wonwoo stood in the kitchen when I walked in.
"Who is she?" Wonwoo asked as he flipped bacon in a pan.
"My woman."
Wonwoo and Joshua were good kids, but were too curious for their own good. "How long she been your old lady?" Joshua asked.
"My entire life." His mouth opened again, going to speak, but Wonwoo cuffed him upside the head to get him to shut up.
"Bet her and her kids are hungry," Wonwoo said. "There are pancakes, eggs, and sausage ready." He nodded to the plates on the warmers. "Thanks."
"Dude, I had more questions," Joshua hissed.
"Shut up," Wonwoo snapped. I shook my head, ignoring them as I piled food onto a plate and took three extras.
"Church in forty-five minutes. Spread the word."
"Sure thing," Wonwoo said.
"And bring me two cups of coffee and whatever kids like to drink."
"You got it," Joshua said enthusiastically. He wasn't a prospect anymore, but he still had prospect energy, eager as a puppy to please.
I carried the food into the bar area, spotting Jennie immediately. She was in my usual booth, the one we sat in countless times before I enlisted. She looked like she belonged.
"Here," I said, setting plates in front of the kids, and the full one in front of her, slipping in next to them.
"Lisa?" Holden asked.
"Yup, nice to meet you buddy." He nodded, already having a sausage in his hand, shoveling it into his mouth.
It was quiet while the kids ate. There was a lot for Jennie and I to say to each other, but I didn't care about any of that. It could all wait. All that mattered was that she was back and she was safe.
Slowly the brothers who didn't stay at the clubhouse anymore trickled in, old ladies and kids in tow. Seokmin nodded at me, and so did Jaehyun. He was probably up to date. Ten looked confused, brows furrowed but kept moving. Lucas and Nickhun nodded, knowing exactly who she was. It was the old ladies who looked most confused of all. Except for when Megan and Marie walked in.
They raced to the booth, and I stepped out, letting Jennie out too. I couldn't understand anything that was said through the tears and squeals of excitement. There were hugs, and jumping, and pointing at kids, and all I could do was watch, heart clenching.
She fucking belonged here.
"I gotta go to church," I said, grabbing her and pulling her away from them and to me.
"We'll take care of her," Marie promised. "Get her some clothes and make sure the kids settle in okay."
"Thank you." Jennie looked up at me, tears in her eyes. I was sure there was a mix of emotions there, lots of reasons–happy and sad ones for the tears.
"Thank you," she murmured.
"I'll come find you as soon as church is done."
"Okay." I wanted to kiss her, but wasn't sure with all the eyes on us, and her kids. She made the decision for me though, tilting her head and kissing me. It was chaste, lips barely brushing together, but it was still a kiss, still a claiming.
Reluctantly, I let go of her and headed into the conference room. I was the last to arrive, sitting in my usual spot. Everyone stared at me.
"All right," Seokmin said, hitting the gavel and pulling my attention to him. "Let's hear it."
"Some of you know who she is," I began. "For those of you who don't, that's Jennie. She's my old lady." Looks were exchanged, but they were smart enough to stay silent. "She left six years ago, before I got back from my last tour. I found out when she showed up last night she didn't leave me willingly."
"This is gonna be ugly, isn't it?" Nickhun asked. I nodded at him.
"She belongs to Taehyung."
"Taehyung?" Lucas asked.
"As in president of the Raiders?" Joshua asked.
"Yeah." Whistles and low murmurs of fuck surrounded the room. "Her dad used her to pay off a debt. She ran the night before their wedding, almost made it here, but got caught, and dragged back. She's been living in hell ever since. He's been using the kids to keep her in line, but he turned on them last night. Jen hit him over the head and ran. I had Jackson fuck with the GPS on the ride she jacked, but he knows our history. He's gonna come looking for her."
"We're on lockdown," Seokmin said. "Starting now. Lucas, get with Brenda and make sure we've got enough to feed the crowd for a while. Set up a delivery for whatever we need."
"Sure thing, Seokmin."
"This is gonna be war," Seokmin continued. "It's been brewing for a while with the Raiders. They're been pushing in on our territory, and I haven't wanted to escalate it." Since his woman and kids, Seokmin always looked for the least violent way to solve our issues–not that it ever worked.
"You're sure she's not a plant?" Jackson asked, joint hanging from his lips with his computer in front of him.
I glared at him, shooting him daggers. "The bruises on her neck say otherwise. The chunk of skin missing on her thigh–where he carved out my initials on her say no, she's not a goddamn plant."
Jackson put his hands up. "I'm just saying, we've been burned before."
Fuck if he wasn't right. But there was no way.
"She's not a plant," I growled.
"What's the plan here?" Joshua asked. "Do we just wait for them to show up?"
"Does he know about your history with her?" Seokmin asked.
"Yeah." I nodded my head, looking him in the eyes. He would never turn Jennie away. Seokmin was lethal, fucking terrifying because he was so much fucking smarter than the rest of us. He ran the club like it was a chess match, always thinking three steps ahead, what move his opponent would make based on the one he did.
"He'll reach out," Seokmin said, absolutely sure he was right. I thought so too, but I wasn't as sure about it as he was.
"And then?" Jaehyun asked. "We gonna deny we have his woman and his kids."
"They're not fucking his!" I shouted, banging my fist on the table.
"He's not gonna see it that way," Jaehyun countered. "As far as he's gonna be concerned, you stole what belongs to him. And he'll want them back, and to gut you."
"I don't give a shit about that. He dies, and so does her fucking father for what he did to her."
"Agreed," Lucas said. I could always count on him to want to spill a little blood with me.
"One thing at a time," Seokmin said. "Jackson, you're positive the GPS won't track her here?"
"Yes," Jackson replied. "I hacked into it, made it look like it headed north to Canada before cutting east through Idaho."
"It'll hold?"
"Look," Jackson said, always annoyed whenever anyone questioned his work. "I know none of you fuckers understands what I do. But neither do any of them. Trust me, it'll hold. They don't have a hacker on their roster."
Seriously, kid was fucking terrifying. He could end us all if he wanted to.
"Good. Keep it that way."
"I can take it further," he continued. Seokmin nodded at him to continue speaking. "I can make it look like she's using her credit card along the way–gas, food, hotels–build a false trail."
"Do it."
"And in the meantime?" Jaehyun asked.
"Lockdown. Keep the kids and women safe. Keep Jennie and her kids out of sight. Make sure she doesn't have a phone or anything that can be traced on her."
"Lockdown is gonna throw up some red flags," I commented.
"Don't give a fuck. Not taking a risk of the women or kids being caught in the crossfire."
Since the last time there had been an attack on the clubhouse, almost everything had been upgraded. The front had bullet proof glass, the gates were upgraded to open and close automatically. There were security cameras that turned on and off at Seokmin's command so none of our activities could be tracked, but that anyone who might come after us could be caught on camera–for our use, not the cops'.
"Dismissed," Seokmin said, hitting the gavel on the table again.
Usually, I took my time leaving church, in no hurry to get anywhere or to anyone, but this time, I was the first one out of my chair. I stood, striding to the door, and straight into the bar area.
My heart stuttered as I took in what I was seeing. Jennie sat with The Pride, right in the middle. It looked like they weren't drinking yet–still too early–but there may very well be liquor in some of those coffee cups. The old ladies could drink their men under the table.
All the attention was focused on her while she spoke softly to them. She was sandwiched between Marie and Megan, both of them with their arms around her.
"Can't believe she's back," Mike said. "Marie talks about her all the time."
"I can't believe it either," I whispered.
The table looked more somber than usual, but when the rest of the guys started to trickle out behind me, and their heads all snapped this way, smiles on their faces as they caught sight of their men, I kept staring at my woman.
Her eyes lit up the same as all the other old ladies. Love radiating off of her, mixing with the sense of safety that it would take her time to get used to.
Yeah, babe. I got you. Nothing's gonna hurt you ever again.