Ram
I’d anticipated a lot of questions, even hostility. However, the brothers who knew I was back and had already seen me in person were supportive. It didn’t matter if they knew why I’d been gone or not. To them, I was family and I’d come home. It didn’t mean everyone wasn’t confused about my absence, or my return for that matter.
Badger introduced everyone I hadn’t met before, or those who’d been Prospects and patched in after I’d left. There were more families than I’d realized. It was a good thing, though. Maybe it would make Riley and Talia feel more at ease. As much as Talia distrusted men, being at the club had to be hard on her. She hadn’t complained. In fact, we’d had a great outing with Riley, and I thought the two of them would settle in nicely here at the Devil’s Fury.
“How come some of us have never heard of you?” Dingo asked. “You don’t find it odd the club never mentioned you?”
“Back off, son,” Blades said. Dingo bristled, but kept his mouth shut. I wondered if the two had some connection aside from the club.
“It’s a fair question,” Badger said. “I contacted Ram periodically. Even though I knew he was alive, and Grizzly was aware as well, it was clear Ram needed time away. We didn’t ask questions. I admit, I’ve been curious all this time. I can’t imagine what could have sent you running, completely turning your back on your brothers.”
“He wasn’t even wearing his cut,” Dingo said. “First time I saw him, I thought someone had broken into the compound.”
I could tell this was going to be a long meeting. “You’re right. I stopped wearing my cut years ago. It stayed in my saddlebags, as a reminder, but I thought it would be better if I never came back.”
“Why?” Blades asked.
“Because my mistake cost people their lives,” I said. “It was after Badger came back from prison. The last job I went on…”
Badger leaned back in his chair. “I wondered if that had anything to do with it. If I remember right, a few people died that day.”
“Yeah. They did.”
“Grizzly told you none of it was your fault,” Badger said.
“Didn’t make me feel any less responsible for what happened. Innocent people died because I got too anxious and made a move before I should have. They got caught in the crossfire, and nothing I do will ever make up for it. One of them was only nine years old. A little girl who had her entire life ahead of her. I should have turned myself in and gone to prison.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Outlaw said. “You’ve done a lot of good since then, Ram. Sure, maybe you made a mistake and people got hurt and some died. It could have happened to anyone in the same situation. Since then, how many people have you saved?”
What the hell? Had he been keeping tabs on me all this time? Who else had known I was still around? When Badger said Outlaw was no longer able to work his computer magic, I’d thought it meant I’d been hidden all these years. Only reason Badger had managed to reach me was because I’d kept the same number. The first year, I’d ignored pretty much everyone. Badger was the only one I’d ever felt inclined to answer. Everyone knew Grizzly had a soft spot for him, and he’d been the first of us to settle down.
“Why don’t you tell them what he’s done?” Badger asked.
Outlaw tossed a thick file onto the table and I stared at it. Jesus. He really had kept tabs on me. Badger acted like he had no idea what I’d been doing those first few years, and later I could tell he wasn’t completely blind to my activities. I still hadn’t realized they’d have such detailed accounts. No way the file would be so thick otherwise.
“The first year Ram was gone, he saved a total of forty children and five women. The second year, he rescued more than one hundred people. Every single year he’s been gone, he’s taken down men the government set free. He’s stopped human traffickers, taken out large drug operations, and even dismantled a slave auction all on his own.” Outlaw shot a smirk at everyone around the table. “What the hell have you fuckers been doing? No offense, but there’s not a single man here who has done as much as Ram, and he did it without the support of the club. No money from the Devil’s Fury. No one at his back. Could you do the same?”
“Fuck,” Slash muttered, his eyes going wide as he flipped through a few pages. “How the hell did you accomplish all this?”
“I wasn’t one hundred percent on my own,” I admitted. “Lock helped here and there, mostly with intel. Once or twice, we teamed up because we were after the same people.”
“Lock? Who’s that?” Frost asked.
“Assassin. You’ve heard of Casper VanHorne and Specter. He’s on par with them, except even more tech savvy,” Outlaw said. “And a bit more personable. At least, to those he considers a friend.”
“The point is Ram has been doing a lot of good out in the world. More than this club has done for anyone. Grizzly refused to take his patch. When I took over, I promised him I’d accept Ram if he ever came back. It’s why I’ve tried to keep in touch here and there.” Badger drummed his fingers on the table. “I didn’t call Church to ask if you’d be okay with Ram coming back. He already has a house here. Far as I’m concerned, he’s been one of us longer than quite a few of you. There’s never been any question about his place in this club. If you don’t like it, I’ll be happy to let Ram hand your asses to you.”
Frost held up his hands. “I have no problem with him.”
“Like anyone is going to go up against someone who’s done all that?” Smuggler asked, pointing to the file. “I don’t think anyone here is that fucking stupid.”
“The women and girls I brought with me may need some help for a little while. None of the girls wanted to go home. The older ones will be able to get jobs and sort their lives out. Not sure what to do with the ones under eighteen,” I said. “I came here because I knew they’d be safe with my brothers.”
“And the two in your house?” Demon asked. “Do I need to get a property cut for the mouthy one?”
I flipped him off. “Her name is Talia, asshole. And no, not yet. She’s been hurt too many times. I need to show her I’m not like the other men she’s known. Even her father was a piece of shit.”
“And the other one?” Demon asked.
I glanced at Badger who gave me a slight nod. I didn’t have the test results back yet, but I didn’t really need them. My gut said Riley was mine. “She’s my daughter.”
“As in you’re adopting her, or…” Blades’ brow furrowed. “Where’s her mom?”
“She’s mine, genetically. As to her mother, I need to make sure Reba can’t get her hands on Riley ever again. She’s been a bad mother and has had a trail of assholes in her life. Riley refuses to go back there, and I can’t blame her. She’s going to live with me from now on. If Reba shows up, I’ll hear her out. Doesn’t mean she’ll be moving into my house or getting a damn thing from me.”
“Except maybe a boot print,” Badger said. “You going to tell me you don’t harbor some ill will toward the woman who mistreated your daughter, let her get kidnapped, and doesn’t seem to give a shit what happened to her?”
“For Riley’s sake, I’ll let Reba walk away. At the end of the day, she’s still Riley’s mom.”
“Which brings us to the next order of business,” Badger said. “No whores here until after tomorrow. The Prospects are scrubbing the clubhouse. We’re going to have a family night. Talia and Riley need to meet everyone, and I’m going to offer an invitation to the other women Ram brought with him. Even though there will be a lot of men packed into the room, I think it will do them some good to see how many women and kids we have here, and how happy they are.”
I nodded. My thoughts exactly. Although, I had no idea how happy any of them were. Adalia and Shella were the only two I’d met, and I’d known Adalia before I left. It would certainly be good for Riley to meet the two kids closer to her age.
“I’ll make sure I introduce myself to the women and girls,” Outlaw said. “I’ll bring Elena with me. I’m sure they’re going to need documents like birth certificates, licenses, and possibly school files for the younger ones. I’ll help track down what I can and ask Wire to create anything else we need.”
“There’s one more thing,” I said. “One of the women, Heather, heard Vega talking about an offshore account. If there’s a way to track down those funds and access them, I’m sure the money would prove useful. We could set up an account for each of Vega’s victims, or at least the ones here at the compound. Feeling financially secure will go a long way to helping them feel less frightened.”
“Jesus,” Badger murmured. “What other insights do you have?”
“Is that a dig at my upbringing?” I asked. “Because President or not, I can still knock you on your ass.”
He smirked. “You can try.”
Fine. I’d let it go. I didn’t need to openly challenge him like this, especially not in front of our brothers. If he thought I was going to undermine his authority, I knew he’d do whatever it took to put me in my place, as he should.
“Your upbringing?” Dragon asked.
“My mother was a psychology student when she got pregnant with me. She didn’t get a chance to graduate, but she used what she learned to teach me how to observe people and give them what they need.” I shrugged. “Kind of like with Talia. If I told her she was mine and I was keeping her, it would be detrimental to her mental health. She’s independent, has put up walls so high there’s no point trying to scale them, and uses sarcasm as a weapon.”
“Then how are you going to convince her to stay?” Dragon asked. “Just curious. I didn’t really go through that with Lilian.”
Demon stared at him. “Really? You knocked-up Grizzly’s daughter, while he was still the president of this club, then she fucking ran and nearly died. All while being knocked-up with your kid. Maybe we should ask him to analyze you.”
“You let her leave while she was pregnant with your kid?” I asked.
“Let is a bit misleading. Lilian is strong-willed. Everyone saw her as this weak, damaged woman. She’s the one who pursued me, not the other way around.”
“As for Talia, she needs to see I’m not going to hurt her, that I’ll keep my promises, and I’ll do what it takes to not only make her happy but give her the things she needs. I don’t necessarily mean material objects, but things like stability, trust, friendship, and anything else she’s lacked in her life so far. I don’t need to scale that wall she’s built because she’s going to take it down herself.”
Steel let out a long whistle. “Damn. Makes me scared to ask what you see when you look at me. You’ve only known that woman a day, right? And you already gleaned all that?”
I gave a nod. Everyone had issues, including me. As for Steel, he had a hero complex. Hell, most of us did. For him, it went to the extreme. Since he had a daughter now, I hoped he’d settled down some and didn’t volunteer for so many dangerous jobs. Badger had been a stoic loner. I didn’t think being with Adalia had changed him much. At the end of the day, I’d bet money he’d rather be home with his woman than hanging out with the club. And Demon… No, I wasn’t even going there. The fucker was crazy, simple as that.
“Adalia already spoke with the women. Everyone is cooking or baking something to bring tonight. Since the Prospects are cleaning, I’m going to need two of you to make a drink run. We need sodas and juice for the kids, and anyone who doesn’t want alcohol. Maybe bottled water too.” Badger looked around the table. “Any volunteers?”
“I’ll go,” Bandit said.
“Me too.” Hound raised his hand. “Want me to grab something like pretzels or chips with dip? I don’t know what the women are making, but the kids might like some snacks.”
“Lilian is making a Mexican casserole,” Dragon said. “I’d thought it was for our dinner tonight, but now I know why she had two pans out on the counter when I left.”
“I saw Minnie making sushki earlier,” Doolittle said. “Uh, my wife is related to the Devil’s Boneyard by blood. Her grandfather is Stripes, so she’s been learning a lot of Russian recipes since discovering her ancestry.”
“What the hell is sushki?” Dingo asked.
“It’s a snack. They’re hardened sweet dough rings. At home, Minnie lets the kids have them with jam, but I’ve seen her dunk hers in tea or coffee. Just give it a try. You’ve liked the other things she’s made so far,” Doolittle said.
“My China didn’t think anyone would want traditional Chinese fare,” Blades said. “I think she’s helping Meiling make something.”
“Meiling?” I asked.
“My woman,” Dingo said. “Mei. After I claimed her, we found out she’s Blades’ daughter.”
“Naturally, we had to get him out of prison,” Outlaw said. “But that’s a story for another day. Hell, there’s so much you’ve missed. We could sit here for days and not cover everything.”
“Should Talia and I bring something?” I asked.
“Just yourselves. Next time, we’ll let Talia and Riley help with the food,” Badger said. “Tonight is to welcome your family, and give you a chance to catch up with everyone.”
“Anything else, Pres?” Slash asked. “If not, I’m going to run home and make sure Shella hasn’t decided our kid would be better behind bars. Audrey has been a handful lately.”
“Church dismissed,” Badger said. “Everyone go home. Those of you who are single, if you wouldn’t mind making sure the clubhouse is fit for women and kids, I’d appreciate it. Let the Prospects do most of the work, just keep an eye on them.”
“You got it, Pres,” Smuggler said.
“Kids like balloons. I’ll run to the store and grab a helium tank and a few packs of multi-color balloons,” Colorado said. “Maybe I’ll get some party favor-type stuff for the smaller kids.”
“I’ll bring a few games from the house,” Steel said. “We have some for all ages.”
I stood and walked out, letting them figure out who was doing what. On my way back to the house, I stopped at the apartments and let the women and girls know about the gathering. I also made it clear they could leave if they felt uncomfortable at any time.
When I got to the house, I found Talia pulling things from the dryer. Riley had her room set up and had fallen asleep on the bed. The place was already looking more like a home than a temporary place to stay. Shit. I never even asked Talia where she’d been abducted, if she’d left things behind she needed, or anything along those lines. Did she have a car she’d want? Her purse? Any personal items that meant something to her?
“Hey,” I said, since she hadn’t noticed me yet. “I never asked if you left anything behind that you’d want.”
She shoved her hair out of her face. “Actually, you kind of did. I didn’t have much. But it’s been hectic. I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”
“What about a car?” I asked. “Do you have a license? If you didn’t have a vehicle, we’ll need to get one. I need one anyway so I can take Riley places.”
She blinked at me, the linens clutched in her arms. Had I said something wrong? When she finally spoke again, I realized she’d just taken down another chunk of her wall.
“I’d like going car shopping with the two of you. A family car is a good idea, but maybe an SUV or truck? I think you’d need something bigger than a sedan. You don’t seem like the type of man who’d get in and out of something low to the ground.”
“All right. Tomorrow, then. We can check a few car lots and see what’s available before we make a decision. Maybe test drive some different types and see what fits us best.”
She gave me a warm smile, and I knew I was one step closer to Talia staying with us. Soon enough, she’d realize we needed her as much as she needed us. The three of us worked well together. Riley really liked Talia, and even seemed to be doing her best to convince the woman to be her stepmother. Between the two of us, we’d eventually convince her she belonged here. Sooner rather than later, I hoped.