Axel (Ride Series Book 3) (9 page)

“I don’t understand,” I shook my head. “They’re rich. Why do they want our money?”

“Maybe they’re not so rich anymore,” Axel surmised. “Can we press charges?” he asked Mr. Greenwood.

I stiffened, the reality of the situation slamming into my chest and causing my heart to fly.

“You can try,” Mr. Greenwood nodded. “Though you might have difficulty making anything stick as the checks weren’t cashed. Unless you can prove they made a concerted effort to acquire the funds they can claim they had no forwarding address and were simply holding on to the money.”

“Shit,” Axel growled.

“I’m sorry about this,” Mr. Greenwood offered, seeming sincerely distressed. He handed me an envelope which I held in my lap.

“Is this the address future checks should be sent to?” he asked.

I looked to Axel. So much was yet to be worked out between us. Confirming an address felt like so much more. It meant not only that Maddox and I would be here, but that I trusted Axel in a way I couldn’t even trust my own parents.

He held my gaze, his eyes glittering with emotion. “Yes.” He confirmed Mr. Greenwood’s question without breaking eye contact.

I looked back into his eyes knowing I was about to take a leap of faith.

“Yes, use this address.” I nodded, looking toward the banker.

“Okay then,” he stood, reaching out to shake both our hands. “I’m off to your brother’s house now,” he confirmed. “You two don’t have the same last name?” he questioned as he straightened his jacket.

I shook my head. “We’re half siblings. He was born with my mother’s maiden name. I have my father’s and what became my mother’s married name,” I explained, fighting back the urge to add that neither name was anything to write home about as it turned out.

He nodded in understanding.

“Thank you for coming out,” I said, walking him to the door.

“Have a good day,” he returned, clasping my hand briefly before turning and heading out to his car.

I looked down at the envelope in my hand. “I’m almost afraid to open it,” I admitted quietly once we heard the banker’s car rumble off down the road.

Ax pulled me close to his body, hugging me tightly. “You know we don’t need it, right? I can take care of us. I will take care of us,” he spoke, his voice low and commanding.

I looked up at him. “I know.”

“All that time you struggled.” He swallowed against the anger I saw rising to the surface. “You could have been taken care of. You wouldn’t have had to work so damn hard.”

I shook my head, stopping him from going down that road. “You know what? It’s okay.” I shrugged, shocking us both with my response. “Was it hard? Hell yes. But I proved a lot to myself. I took care of me and Mad after being sheltered and coddled my whole life. I’m glad to know I have that in me.”

“You’re so fucking strong, baby,” he murmured reverently, pulling me close again and rubbing his hands up and down my back.

In the end, we finished breakfast, got Mad dressed and only on our way out the door did I open the envelope.

I studied the sum, realizing not for the first time how money and privilege had stifled me throughout my life. It had constrained me with expectation and pedigree. I’d be damned if I let the same thing happen now – not when I was finally free.

I didn’t want the life I knew in Hawthorne to change too much. It was shaping up beautifully as it was.

Chapter 8

I
t was my first time at the club since I’d arrived back in town. We walked in with coffees in hand and I found myself feeling comforted by the smell of leather, engine grease and men. My eyes swept the common space noting that not much had changed. The pool table still sat in the corner near the bar. The pictures documenting the club’s history still hung from the walls.

I smiled warmly as Cal, the club’s president and Cole’s father, wandered in from down the hall where they had a private meeting room and some other rooms whose purpose I didn’t know.

Nor did I really want to.

“Sophie,” he greeted with a grin that crinkled the edges of his beautiful blue eyes.

“Hi, Cal,” I smiled, accepting his brief hug.

“We’re glad to have you back,” he noted sincerely, sweeping a large hand affectionately over Maddox’s head. “No doubt who your daddy is,” Cal chuckled, looking down at Mad.

Axel made a noise of approval in his throat in response.

Cal looked to Axel. “Hank and Wes are here, in the back. The rest of the guys are en route. He cocked his head toward the hall in silent direction that they head that way.

“Sure, be right there,” Axel grunted before turning to me. “Sal’s bringing Kat to hang with you. I’ve got to brief the guys. You gonna be okay?”

“Fine,” I assured him.

Pride flickered on his face as he regarded me. “Good girl,” he replied, stooping to kiss me briefly. I was surprised at the display of affection and it must have shown on my face. “Gonna take your mouth anytime, anywhere, babe,” he assured me with a slow grin.

I nodded, liking the sound of that entirely too much.

It wasn’t long before Sal and Kat swept into the room. Her belly seemed to be getting bigger by the day, protruding like a little beach ball on her thin frame.

“You all right, birdie?” Sal asked, eyeing her with concern.

“Fine,” she sighed, sitting down on the couch with a huff.

“Hi, Soph,” he added, grasping my shoulder briefly.

“Hey, Sal.” I smiled as he swept a hand over Mad’s head of hair. All the guys seemed to do this with him. It was such a tender gesture from such badass men.

“You get a visit this morning?” I asked with a cocked brow.

“Yep, fucking shocked the shit out of me.” He shook his head, seeming stunned.

“I bet,” I smiled softly.

“Now we just gotta figure out why the fuck another club would be trying to get at you,” he growled. “That’s way more important than some unexpected cash.”

I nodded, watching him throw another concerned look to Kat before he stalked back to the offices.

Cole sauntered in not long after, followed by Mack, Tag and Xander.

“Where’s Ryker?” I asked Kat, referring to Axel’s younger brother.

“He’s not patched in yet so he and Jeb don’t get invited to these meetings,” she informed me.

“Patched in?” I asked with a tilt of my head.

“Jeb and Ry are still prospects. There’s a whole ceremony where they become officially part of the club. I think it might happen soon for Ry, not sure about Jeb.”

“But he got stabbed trying to protect you!” I exclaimed, surprised he wouldn’t be part of the club already. It was then I realized I hadn’t seen Jeb around since being back.

She nodded. “I know, but I guess there’s more to the story. I don’t know the details,” she shrugged.

I nodded, though I was still perplexed and went about setting up Mad’s Pack ‘N Play.

Kat kept me company while the guys met. We played with Maddox in the main room before taking him into the sunshine out back.

“You feeling okay?” I asked when I noticed how tired she looked.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “The doctor just discovered my iron is really low which is why I’ve been so tired. I should be feeling better soon. Of course, Sal is acting like I’ve been diagnosed with something terminal.” She rolled her eyes. “If he makes me another burger or tries to slip spinach into another smoothie, I’m going to throttle him.”

I tried to smother my laughter but nodded sympathetically. “I know he can be overprotective but I’m glad you have someone to take care of you,” I said.

Her eyes opened wide. “Oh, shit, Sophie, I didn’t even think about how you were alone. I must sound like an ungrateful bitch,” she lamented.

“Not at all!” I rushed to assure her. “I’m just glad you and my brother have each other.”

“Me, too.” She reached over and squeezed my hand briefly.

“So what’s all this about anyway?” she asked, cocking her head inside to where the guys were. “Sal didn’t want to share much. I think he was too pissed to talk about it.”

“Jill called me last night to say that some bikers broke into my old place. It seems as though they were Black Riders.”

“Oh, shit, Axel must be ready to blow a gasket,” she exclaimed when I was done.

“Just about,” I agreed. “Now with what we learned this morning, Axel seems worried my father is somehow connected which…oh crap,” I breathed, my eyes opening wide with realization.

“What?” she asked.

“All those things my father threatened me about, I never really questioned how he would have information on the club. He must be paying someone else from another club.” I gasped, handing Mad to her and storming inside.

I paused in the hallway, afraid of interrupting their meeting. I knew there were all kinds of rules that I didn’t yet understand. I wanted to respect that but I also needed to get to Axel.

I settled on texting him while pacing restlessly.

I heard the door open a second later and he stepped out, eyeing me warily. “Yeah, babe?”

“My father,” I blurted, my hands on my hips. “He must have someone on the inside of another club! I didn’t even think of it until now. That’s how he had all the information about you before Mad was born. That must be who was looking for me now,” I exclaimed in desperation.

“Uh, yeah, babe, I figured that was the case,” he replied as though I were completely daft.

“You did?” I asked, shocked.

He had the gall the chuckle. “Baby, I appreciate that you thought you were bringing me late breaking news but it’s pretty damn obvious. We’re just trying to figure out who to throttle.” He cocked his head toward the closed door.

“Oh,” I replied lamely.

“Christ, you’re cute.” He chuckled again, pulling me closer and pressing his full lips to mine.

“I thought I was helping,” I mumbled against his mouth.

“You can help me when Mad goes down for a nap,” he grinned between kisses.

Heat pooled between my legs at the very thought. “I can do that,” I whispered, my fingers tangling up into his thick hair and pulling slightly.

“Hey, love birds, save it,” I heard Cal bark as Wes chortled in the background.

“I’ll let you get back then,” I blushed.

“Okay, darlin’, see you in a few.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

I grumbled my way back to Kat and Maddox. Apparently, my detective skills needed some serious help.

******

“Brake! Christ, babe,” Axel half chuckled half groaned.

“I’m braking,” I replied impatiently. “You’re not very good at this. For such a badass, you’re kind of a pussy,” I taunted before I had to bite back a laugh as he shot me a glare.

We’d dropped Mad off at Scarlet and Cole’s for our date. Axel had insisted we start with a driving lesson, which is how we’d found ourselves in an abandoned parking lot in his F-150. His giant F-150.

“Couldn’t I learn in Kat’s old Corolla or something? This is ridiculous,” I complained. “I feel like I’m driving a small country.”

“You’ll need an SUV for getting up the mountain in the winter, and anything after this will feel like a piece of cake.”

I shot him a glare. “Is this how you’re gonna teach Mad everything? The hardest way possible first?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Great,” I muttered.

“Let’s practice parking,” he suggested warily.

By the time we got to the restaurant, I was ready for a drink. He decided on a steakhouse just outside of town that Scar had mentioned more than once was amazing.

We sat at the bar while we waited for our table. I ordered a cosmopolitan while he sipped at a beer.

“I gotta head out of town later this week.” He looked over at me with an appraising stare as though gauging my reaction.

“What? Why?” I asked with a mixture of disappointment at being away from him and straight anxiety about him being gone.

He hesitated and I narrowed my eyes. “Ax, remember what I said? I want to know what’s going on.”

He sighed and ran a hand over his beard. “A few of us are riding out to take a meet with the Black Riders. Henry and a few of his guys are comin’ too. We’re trying to get to the bottom of this shit and we will.” I’ll be back as soon as I can. While I’m gone, you and Mad can stay with Sal.”

It irritated me that he hadn’t even asked me what I’d prefer.

“Actually, I’d rather not change Mad’s surroundings again so soon. He’s just starting to get used to your place and I like my sleep,” I grumbled.

“I’d rather you were in town while I’m gone. The house is too isolated,” he countered as he shook his head.

“Well, these are the types of conversations we should have before you make up your mind.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not going to fuck around with your safety. You can be a pain in my ass all you want,” he retorted.

“We still should talk about it first, geez!” I exclaimed. “I’ve taken orders all my life. I’m not about to do that again.”

He gave me a look like he didn’t know what the hell to do with me. He probably didn’t. It occurred to me that while he was more experienced than I was in most ways, he’d never had a relationship like this before. We both had a learning curve to climb together.

“Listen,” I began, my tone much softer. “You think I won’t do what’s best for Mad? All I’m asking is to be a part of the decision making process. I trust you to take care of us. But I need to be in charge of my own life. I need to have a say,” I told him firmly.

He looked at me for a moment longer. “Fine,” he agreed somewhat reluctantly. “Now, can we stop fucking fighting on our first date?” he demanded.

“It’s our second date,” I corrected him.

“Christ!” He threw up his hands in the air in exasperation.

I couldn’t help it, I burst out laughing.

He pulled my stool closer to his, tilting me toward him so he could kiss me.

“Didn’t know you had so much sass, but I like it,” he admitted, his forehead pressed to mine.

“You bring it out in me,” I shrugged with a smile.

Chapter 9

T
he next evening, the club was packed with members and their families. Everyone was there, and at first, I was overwhelmed. Those I hadn’t seen wanted to welcome me home and to meet Maddox.