that, figuring I could stay the night. That should be long enough to get some rest, get some food, feel human again.
But then I needed to show my face, see my men, assure them that I was fine, get a plan of action into play. Even if we didn't move right away.
"Anything else I should know?"
Oh, shit," he said, laughing. "I forgot. We had a mole," he said, shaking his head. "A fucking mole for months."
"Not Brooks," I said, wincing. I liked that kid. I thought he had a lot of potential.
"Nah. Tyler. Helped Jacob escape that night he came to steal your clip and help save your life. Got him down in the basement. I think Huck, Fallon, and Pagan are taking turns scaring the shit out of him. But I told them to keep their hands off until you were there."
"Fuck, man, you've been busy."
"Psh," he said, shaking his head. "Mostly, they threw my ass up in the glass room for my own protection while they had all the fun."
"They were being smart."
"They never would have thrown you in the glass room."
"No," I agreed. "But they needed to make sure we kept a central leadership. And Wolf, as good as a brother as he is, isn't exactly communicative enough to run shit."
"Yeah, well, your ass needs to be locked in a fucking bubble from now on, because I can't do this shit again. I aged ten fucking years in a week."
"I'm still kicking. And I have a lot of thinking and planning to do."
"Not tonight, man. Just take the fucking night. Summer is going to make herself sick if you sign out of here too fast. Give the woman a break. Lo said she hasn't been eating or sleeping. Let her fuss over you for one night. Then get back to shit."
"That's the plan," I agreed. "Are the cops here yet?"
"Managed to get rid of the uniforms, but Lloyd just came to replace them instead. You know him."
Yeah, I knew him. Not exactly as understanding as Collings had been, but not on a witch hunt either. He wouldn't go away until we answered his questions. And he wouldn't believe any of the shit I fed to him. But he would write it down, file his report, and let it drop.
I could deal with Lloyd.
"Alright, thanks. Go back and fill them in, yeah? Give them one last night of leadership for me. Let them get a little reckless then sleep it off. Shit is going to be crazy for a while. And tell Huck to hang back if he doesn't have any pressing issues. What?"
"Nothing. They showed up beat to shit. Che could barely move. Think the new chapter is hitting some rough patches."
"They'll get through them," I said, having no doubt. I'd chosen carefully. And so had Huck with his men.
"So will we," Cash added, knocking his knuckles on the side rail of the bed before making his way toward the door.
He was right.
We would.
And then we would get revenge.
And then, well, a lot of shit was going to happen.
I just had to iron out the kinks first.
"Alright, what lies are you going to tell me today, Reign?" Lloyd asked a moment later, stepping into the room, brow raised, smile knowing.
"All of 'em," I told him, smirking.
"Yep. Sounds about right. Let's get this over with, so you can get out of here and I pretend I don't know you will be plotting some sort of war on the streets of my town."
And so I did.
Then I let my woman fuss over me, climb into bed with me, fall asleep on my chest.
Eventually, I caught some rest too.
Then I signed myself out.
And I walked out of that hospital, ready for whatever was going to come next.
Or, you know, so I fucking thought.
ELEVEN
Eva
I had no idea what the president looked like.
But if I had five minutes to sit down and ponder that kind of thing, I imagined I would have pictured someone almost exactly like the man who made his way through the front door of the Henchmen clubhouse the afternoon after he got out of surgery.
His face was bruised.
He walked a bit hunched to the side like his ribs hurt.
And his arm was in a complicated-looking sling.
But even so, he was the perfect biker leader—tall, fit, handsome, keen-eyed. He was a sexy silver fox who wordlessly got the respect of all his men as he walked inside, everyone falling silent mid-conversation when they saw their leader returning.
My heart ached