Revolution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 1) (28 page)

‘Really good to see you,
Tay
.’

‘Yeah, you too, Charlie. Been far too long, brother.’

‘And where’s my boy, huh? Kip! Get your arse over here and say hello to your old man.’

Kip pulled himself up off the couch, saying something to Jesse before he walked slowly over to Charlie. His relationship with his father had always been somewhat strained over the years, even though Charlie had never done anything except love and support his son, even from all those miles away. It was just that Kip had turned to
Tay
for most of the time, sometimes shutting his own father out completely. And that’s what had hurt Charlie. What continued to hurt him even now.

‘Hey, Dad.’

‘You look like you could do with a good wash, son,’ Charlie said, before bursting out laughing, the rest of the clubhouse erupting into a barrage of catcalls and whoops all aimed at Kip. ‘Jesus, come here. You’re never too big for a hug off your old dad.’

Angie watched as her son and his father exchanged a few words, even laughing together. It wasn’t something she’d ever thought she’d see again. But then, she’d never really thought she’d see
Charlie
again – that she’d
have
to see Charlie again. He might be the man who, to all intents and purposes, ran everything as far as this club was concerned, but he hadn’t set foot in
California
for over twenty years. Not since he and
Tay
had bought the land to build this compound.

She watched as he was introduced to new members of the chapter, and greeted those men he already knew. She watched as he made himself at home, but for how long was anyone’s guess. And Angie wasn’t sure that a long visit from her ex-husband was something she wanted. Or needed.

‘Is he gonna be in
California
for a while?’ Angie asked
Tay
, slipping her arm around his waist. She suddenly needed the safety and comfort he gave her.

‘Not sure. He didn’t really say… where are Coby and Lexi?’

‘Still outside. We should probably leave them for a bit, they’ll come in when they’re ready.’

Tay
leant over to kiss Angie, squeezing her waist tighter. ‘You okay with him being here?’ he asked, looking over at Charlie who was by the bar talking to Kip and Jesse.

‘Are
you
?’ Angie threw back.

Tay
chuckled quietly, letting go of her. ‘He wouldn’t be my first choice of visitor. But I’ve always respected Charlie. None of us would be here if it wasn’t for him. But I wasn’t married to the guy.’

‘You were his best friend.’

Tay
took a swig of beer from the bottle he was holding. ‘Like I said, I wasn’t married to the guy.’

Angie looked over at Charlie again. ‘I’d rather one of the others had brought Ozzie over. I mean, it’s one thing talking to him on the phone, but… coming face-to-face with him again after all this time… it’s strange.’

‘Yeah,’
Tay
sighed, indicating to one of the Prospects behind the bar to get him a whisky. The beer wasn’t having any effect. ‘I know.’

‘Anyway…’ Angie tore her eyes away from Charlie, ignoring the smile he’d thrown her way. ‘I’d better go sort out the apartment. For some reason Lexi wants to
 
stay over at the clubhouse tonight, with her boys. I’ve had Cain and Luca set up a crib in the bedroom, I’ve made sure there’s plenty of formula in the kitchen and Blake’s spent all day in the garage customizing a stroller for the little guy.’

‘But you’d rather she was bringing Ozzie home with us, right?’
Tay
took the glass of whisky Red held out to him as he walked past.

‘She wants to be with Coby.’

‘They’re a family now, baby. You’re gonna have to get your head around that.’

‘I know,
Tay
, but… Look, I know she’s thirty-five years old, but she’s still a new mom. And she needs her own momma at a time like this.’

‘Don’t put any pressure on her, honey, okay? Let her spend the night here, with Coby and Ozzie, and Christ knows who else who decides to crash here. Because you can bet your life they won’t be alone. Just let them have tonight. They need this. The past few weeks have kicked everyone’s asses, but those two, especially, have been kicked harder than most.’

Angie sat down on the arm of the couch, letting out a sigh that was heavy with a mixture of relief and frustration. ‘Is he gonna be a good dad,
Tay
? Is Coby gonna be what my grandson needs? What
Lexi
needs?’

‘All I know is he will do anything in his power to look after his boy; to look after his girl. He’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they’re both safe. But sometimes I think you forget how tough that daughter of yours is.’

‘She’s not as tough as she thinks she is.’

‘She was away from here for eight years, Angie. And she walked back into this compound after all that time like she’d never been away, despite everything that had happened. That took balls.’

‘She should never have gone,’ Angie said quietly, standing up, pushing a hand through her hair. ‘If we’d dealt with everything here, when it had happened, then I wouldn’t be going into that apartment to make up a bed for her and Coby. I wouldn’t be making up bottles for their baby… I wouldn’t be wishing none of this had happened.’

‘But it has.’

She looked straight at
Tay
, right into his eyes. ‘And there’s no law anywhere, even within this goddamn club, that says I have to like it.’

Twenty-Eight

‘Tea? Coffee? Whisky?’

Lexi slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly a few times to try and get some focus as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, pulling the sheet up over her naked breasts.

Kel was sitting on Coby’s side of the bed, smiling at her, nudging his head in the direction of the three drinks sitting on the bedside table. ‘Didn’t know what you’d be in the mood for this morning so the guys suggested giving you a choice.’

‘Yeah. You’re all hilarious,’ she said dryly, stretching out, and then quickly realising she needed to keep one hand on the sheet that was covering her.

‘We try our best.’

‘Where’s Coby?’ She leant over to grab the mug of coffee.

‘Showing Ozzie the compound. He’s already changed his diaper and given him his breakfast. Having kids of my own I’ve been showing him the ropes, so to speak. He’s a pretty fast learner.’

She couldn’t help smiling. ‘Thanks, Kel. We’re probably gonna need all the help we can get for a few months, until things have settled down. Until we all get used to everything.’

Kel smiled again, reaching out for her hand and squeezing it gently. ‘You’ll be fine. Because you won’t be on your own.’

She took a sip of coffee before replacing the mug back down on the table. ‘Well, I guess the days of being woken up by my man’s incredible hard-on are well and truly over, then.’

‘Not necessarily, kiddo,’ Kel said, standing up and retrieving the mug of tea and glass of whisky. ‘Like I said, you’re not on your own. There’s a clubhouse full of babysitters out there all ready and willing to help out. We’re family here, remember?’

She smiled, hugging her knees to her chest. ‘Yeah. I know.’

He smiled back, opening the apartment door. ‘Want some breakfast? Blake’s on kitchen duty and you know he does a mean fry-up.’

‘Any bacon on the go?’

‘I’ll put your order in.’ He turned to leave, but then turned back around to face her, one eyebrow raised as he threw her a questioning look. ‘ Incredible?’

She lay back against the pillows, stretching out again. ‘Fucking amazing!’

Kel raised both eyebrows, then left her to it, closing the door behind him. Lexi kicked the covers off, heading into the bathroom to pee and brush her teeth before she hurriedly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, pulling on her faithful battered biker boots.

‘Jesus! How many of you lot stayed over here last night?’ she asked as she walked into the living area of the clubhouse.

‘Everyone except Jesse, Kip and
Tay
,’ Blake replied. ‘They all went back to your mom’s.’

‘Looks like we’ve been frigging raided,’ she said, looking around at the mess – empty beer and whisky bottles, half eaten plates and bowls of food; blankets, pillows and clothes strewn all over the place. ‘You might want to think about tidying up a bit before Angie gets here. She’ll throw a shit-fit if she sees the state of this place.’ She leant back against the bar, folding her arms. ‘Anyone seen Coby?’

‘He’s in the garage showing Ozzie how to strip a Harley,’ Luca grinned, piercing a sausage with his fork before taking a huge bite out of it.

Lexi looked at him. ‘Oh, you lot are killing me this morning.’ She turned her attention to Blake and his frying pan. ‘I’ll be back in a bit for that bacon. And don’t hold back. I’m starving.’

She started to make her way out of the clubhouse.

‘Hey, Lex?’ Luca shouted after her. ‘You breastfeeding by any chance?’

She gave him the finger without turning back around.

Coby was sitting on a table outside, pushing Ozzie’s stroller back and forth with his foot. ‘What’s going on in there?’ he asked, looking up at Lexi.

‘They want to know if I’m getting my tits out.’

‘Huh?’

‘Breastfeeding. What did you
think
I meant?’ She crouched down in front of the stroller, reaching out to touch her sleeping son’s cheek. ‘Is he okay?’

‘He’s fine. Just been showing him around. Getting him used to the place.’

She sat down on the table next to him and he grinned at her, reaching out to cup one of her breasts with his hand. ‘So, is the little fella here getting the pleasure of these puppies? Or are they still all mine?’

She smiled, leaning in towards him, closing her eyes as he kissed her, his hand squeezing her breast. ‘Oh, they are so still all yours,’ she breathed, her fingers stroking his scarred cheek.

‘Good. That’s good.’ His mouth stayed close to hers as he spoke. ‘Because I missed them this morning.’ He looked down at Ozzie, who was still fast asleep, his head covered by a tiny black beanie hat bearing the Lone Riders colors. ‘But it was kind of worth it. To spend some time with him. Something I should have done a long time ago.’

Lexi slipped her arm around his waist, laying her head on his shoulder. ‘We’re together now. All three of us. And that’s all that matters.’

He turned his head slightly to kiss her quickly. ‘I’m so sorry, baby. For all the shit that happened. All the crap I put you through. For walking out on you like that… for not coming back when you needed me.’ He kissed her again, a little longer, a little deeper. ‘I love you so much, Lexi. So fucking much. I probably always have. Right from that very first second you stood there and… Jesus! All the times we fucked-up, kid. All the fucking times…’

‘Sshh, hey, come on. What happened, it’s happened. And we can’t change it, none of it. Yeah, we fucked-up. Big time. But look what we’ve got now.’

Coby stared down at his sleeping son again, a wave of pain and regret and fear tinged with a shot of hope flooding his tired and bruised body. ‘It took you walking back into this compound to make me realize that the life I was trying to forget existed was the life I really wanted.’

She gently stroked his hair, tucking it behind his ear. ‘You’re actually quite romantic when you want to be, aren’t you, soldier?’

‘Yeah, well, let’s keep that quiet, huh?’ He smiled, winding his fingers into her hair as he kissed her again. ‘My head’s still all over the fucking place, Lex.’ His thumb lightly stroked her cheek as he looked deep into her eyes. ‘But things
are
gonna be okay. Things are gonna change, I promise you that.’

She smiled, too, kissing him again, his fingers wrapping around hers. ‘Yeah. Maybe they are.’ She rested her forehead against his, reaching out to touch his cheek again, running her fingers along his scar. ‘What happened the other night, it scared the shit out of me, Coby.’

‘I know, baby. But we are out of all that crap now. We’re out of it.’

She closed her eyes for a second, squeezing his fingers tight. ‘I hate being weak,’ she whispered, keeping her eyes closed as she felt him kiss her forehead. ‘But I need you now.
We
need you.’ She opened her eyes and looked into his. ‘You’re no use to us if you’re in jail. Or dead.’

‘That isn’t gonna happen, baby.’

‘You don’t know that. The shit you get involved with, don’t sugar-coat this crap for me, Coby. I’ve lived this life
all
my life.’ She looked down at Ozzie, his sleeping face beautiful and peaceful. So tiny and innocent. ‘Is this what he’s destined for?’ she whispered, letting go of Coby and crouching down beside the stroller. ‘Is this what we’ve signed him up for?’

‘If you don’t want this life for him, Lexi…’

She stood back up, her hands in her pockets, her head suddenly starting to spin as everything that had happened over the past few days caught up with her. ‘I just want you safe, Coby. I want us
all
safe.’

‘And that’s all
I
want, too. Believe me.’

‘Everything okay out here?’

Both Lexi and Coby turned to see Charlie approaching. He was wearing his cut now, over the familiar black biker jacket he always wore, his dark, slightly greying hair pushed back off his face.

‘You brought it with you, then?’ Coby smiled, indicating Charlie’s cut.

Charlie returned the smile, crouching down to take a look at Ozzie. ‘Never leave home without it. My grandson all right?’

‘Fine,’ Lexi replied. ‘He seems to be settling in okay.’

‘Well, he’s been used to having lots of people around him since the second he popped out of his mum, haven’t you, kiddo?’

Coby looked at Lexi. ‘My son’s arrival had an audience, huh?’

‘I gave birth in the middle of the clubhouse so, yeah. Kind of.’

Coby bowed his head, clasping his hands together, and Lexi felt her heart break so many times over for the mess they’d made of everything. Half the
Newcastle
chapter of the Lone Riders had seen Ozzie come into the world, but his daddy had missed it all.

‘Hey, come on, soldier.’ She reached out and touched his face, making him look up at her. ‘It really wasn’t very pretty. And I made a
lot
of noise.’

He gave her a small smile. ‘We never talked about it, did we?’

‘You didn’t want to.’

‘I do now.’

Charlie stood back up, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. ‘Well, before you two get into some kind of mummy/daddy conversation I really don’t want to hear, I need a word with Coby.’ He looked at Lexi. ‘Listen, sweetheart, why don’t you take the little ‘un back inside, let everyone fuss over him for a bit.’

Lexi frowned slightly, looking over at Coby, but he just nodded, throwing her a reassuring smile.

‘Okay.’ She knew better than to argue. ‘Come on, Ozzie. Let’s go see if Uncle Blake’s got mummy’s bacon sandwich ready.’

Charlie waited until she was back inside the clubhouse before he spoke again. ‘The past couple of days must’ve been a real head-fuck for you.’ He lit up a cigarette and offered the packet to Coby.

Coby took one, pulling his lighter out of the top pocket of his cut. ‘I’ve handled worse.’

Charlie studied him closely for a second or two. ‘Yeah. You have. But that was before you got involved with Lexi – properly involved with Lexi, I mean. Before you had a son to think about. Once kids come on the scene – once you fall in love – everything changes, Coby. Everything.
Are
you in love? With my daughter?’

Coby looked at Charlie, keeping his eyes on him as he took a long drag on his cigarette. ‘Why do you think I’m doing all of this, Charlie? It’s for her, all of it. Maybe it wasn’t before, because I didn’t know how hard I was gonna fall, how much she was gonna fuck with my head. I couldn’t have known that. But now – now it’s all for her. And Ozzie.’ He took another drag on his cigarette. ‘And the club.’

Charlie leant back against the table, staring out ahead, into the compound. ‘You should have come to me sooner.’

‘It happened, Charlie. There wasn’t anything we could do about it.’

‘That’s bullshit, and you know it.’ Charlie turned to look at Coby. ‘You were almost forty years old, for Christ’s sake. You knew you shouldn’t…’ Charlie sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘You both knew.’

Coby hung his head, taking one last drag on his cigarette before throwing it down on to the ground with an almost violent force. ‘I couldn’t help myself, okay?’

‘You were thinking with your dick.’

‘You weren’t there.’

‘She was with Jesse. A fellow brother, and you know the rules, Coby. You don’t go there, you don’t cross that line. No matter what she’s doing, or what she’s saying, and I know what my daughter was like back then, all right? But that’s still no excuse. You should have walked away.’

‘You think I don’t know all of this?’ Coby looked back at Charlie. ‘You think I don’t regret what happened? What it forced us to do? All the shit it caused?’

Charlie looked straight ahead again, finishing his cigarette, stubbing it out on the table. ‘Yeah, well, it’s done now.’ He left a couple of beats before he spoke again. ‘You having second thoughts about this?’

Coby shook his head, his eyes back down on the ground. ‘I want that gavel, Charlie. I want to be in control of this club, take it down the route I think it
should
be going down. Because you’re right.’ His eyes met Charlie’s. ‘I’ve got a family now. And I need to think about what’s best for them, as well as this club.’

‘It won’t be easy, you know that, don’t you?’

Coby nodded, bowing his head again.

‘And there might be a little bit of resistance. People respect
Tay
, even if that respect
has
been waning slightly. The guys, they still look up to him.’

‘I know,’ Coby said quietly. ‘
Tay
was my best friend. A man I could trust with my life. But somewhere down the line he got sloppy. He wasn’t putting this club first, wasn’t thinking about everyone else. I couldn’t trust him anymore, Charlie.’

‘We’ve both got our reasons, Coby.’

Coby looked up again, his hands still clasped between his knees. ‘Is this really still all to do with you bearing a grudge from twenty years ago?’

‘He stole my wife. He took my kids away from me. You don’t forget that easily.’ Charlie’s eyes bored into Coby’s. ‘Believe me.’

‘Exactly how much is everyone else gonna know, Charlie?’