Revolution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 1) (34 page)

Kel squeezed her hand again. ‘That’s all over now, kiddo.’

She turned her head to look at him. ‘Is it? Because, sometimes, it feels like it’s only just beginning.’

He looked down. ‘Coby is a worthy leader, Lexi. He knows what we need – what we
all
need. He’s promised to take this chapter into a whole new era, and I believe him when he says that.’ He raised his eyes to meet her’s. ‘You should, too.’

Lexi sighed, standing up, flicking the brake off Ozzie’s stroller. ‘Come on, baby boy. Let’s go see what’s happening in there.’

‘Lexi! Hang on!’

She swung around to see Kip running towards her. ‘Something up?’ she asked, shielding her eyes from the sun as her brother approached the table.

‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Kel said, giving her back a little rub. ‘You gonna be okay?’

She nodded, turning her head to quickly kiss his cheek. ‘Yeah. I’m gonna be just fine.’

‘Okay… Church in five, Kip.’

‘Yeah. Won’t be long.’ He watched Kel walk back into the clubhouse, taking off his cap and pushing a hand through his dirty-blonde hair. ‘You really okay?’ he asked, looking at Lexi.

She cocked her head slightly. ‘If one more person asks me that… anyway, never mind me. I thought you’d have been gunning for me, full of hell, telling me how all of this is my fault… which some of it is, to be honest.’

Kip crouched down beside Ozzie’s stroller, reaching in to gently touch his nephew’s cheek. ‘Yeah, well, I’m tired of all that crap now, Lex. I think we all are.’

‘I
am
sorry, Kip. And I know that word can sound so pointless and empty when attached to something so big, but…’ She sat back down on the bench, clasping her hands together on her lap. ‘It just all got out of control.’ She looked at her brother as he sat down beside her. ‘And I had no idea about Shane. About what Coby and Dad were doing. I knew nothing about any of that, I swear.’

‘I know,’ Kip said. ‘I know.’

She looked back down at her hands. ‘What I did to Jesse, that will always hurt.’

‘Neither of you were saints, Lex. He was acting like a prick at the time, and you lashed out in the only way you knew how. By throwing yourself at another man.’

‘You make me sound like some cheap stripper.’

He looked at her, a slow smile starting to spread across his face. ‘Well, by all accounts, that’s exactly how you got our new President into bed in the first place, wasn’t it? By acting like a cheap stripper.’

‘Fuck off!’ she laughed.

‘Setting everything up with Shane like that, though…’ He sighed, putting his cap back on. ‘We spent years hating a brother for something he hadn’t even done.’

She said nothing. What
could
she say? The guilt and the regret still flowing through her was never going to go away. But even that wasn’t a worthy enough punishment for the crap she’d put people through.

‘But, you know, it’s gonna be good to have him back,’ Kip went on, standing up, taking another look inside Ozzie’s stroller before his eyes met Lexi’s again. ‘It’s gonna be good having
everyone
back… anyway, I’d better get inside.’ He started to walk away.

‘Kip?’

He turned back around, his hands in his pockets as he looked at her. ‘Yeah?’

‘Thanks.’

‘For what?’

‘You know what.’

He smiled, before turning and walking into the clubhouse.

***

‘They still in there?’ Lexi asked, looking over towards the meeting room, parking Ozzie’s stroller just outside the kitchen door, checking he was okay before walking inside, over to Angie who was busy making up sandwiches.

‘Yeah. I can hear stirrings though so I don’t think they’re gonna be long now. Just thought I’d make up some lunch in case they’re feeling hungry.’

Lexi leant back against the counter, folding her arms. ‘Yesterday was quite a day.’

‘Can’t argue with that, darlin’.’

‘Mum?’

Angie looked at her daughter – her beautiful, beautiful daughter. ‘What is it, baby?’

‘You’re not mad at me, are you?’

Angie put down the knife she was holding, reaching out to touch Lexi’s cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb. ‘Why would I be mad at you?’

‘Because of what’s happened.
Tay
losing the presidency…’

‘He didn’t lose it, Lexi. He had it stolen from him.’

Lexi exhaled deeply, looking down at the tiled floor. ‘Coby didn’t set out to deliberately hurt
Tay
.’

‘I know,’ Angie sighed. ‘I know he didn’t.’ She picked up the knife and continued to slice the bread. ‘And if truth be told, there’s a part of
Tay
that’s relieved he isn’t in charge anymore. He’s not getting any younger, and if it means we get to spend more time together then I am all for it.’ She stopped what she was doing, staring down at the chopping board full of freshly sliced bread for a few seconds before she looked at Lexi. ‘You’re gonna have to be twice as strong as before, honey. You know that, don’t you? Coby’s head of that table now, and with that role comes responsibility, for every single one of the men who belong to this chapter – their families. And sometimes, no matter how much he claims we’re going totally legit now, something
will
happen that means he might have to make decisions you don’t always agree with. Decisions that might scare you or worry you and make you feel like walking away from all this shit. And I know you’ve felt like doing that before, Lexi. That you still feel like doing it right now, and I understand, I do. Because I’ve felt that way, too. So many times. But what’s ahead of you… I just want you to be prepared.’

Lexi took another deep breath, raising her eyes to the ceiling as she tried to think straight, to get her head around the decisions
she
had yet to make. ‘You
will
help me, won’t you, Mum? Whatever I decide to do.’

Angie put down the knife again and pulled Lexi in for a hug, holding her so tight, as though she would disappear if she let her go. And that was something Angie didn’t want to happen again. She wouldn’t lose her daughter a second time. ‘I’ll be here, baby. Your momma will always be here.’ She held her out at arm’s length, taking in everything from her long, slender legs to her toned, tattooed arms, to her beautiful face that still carried a hint of sadness. Her eyes, they still looked a little lost. ‘What do you really want, Lexi?’ Angie asked, stroking her daughter’s blonde hair from her eyes.

‘Coby,’ Lexi whispered. ‘I want Coby. And I want our baby to be brought up in a happy and safe environment, surrounded by people who love him. Because I can’t do this on my own.’

Angie smiled, leaning in to kiss Lexi, tucking her hair behind her ear. ‘Then you need this club, darlin’.’

Lexi looked up at the ceiling again, letting out another long, deep breath. ‘I know.’ She lowered her gaze, her eyes meeting Angie’s. ‘And that’s what scares me.’

Ozzie’s cries quickly shook all those thoughts out of her head, and without leaving a beat Lexi ran over to his stroller, gently lifting him out, lying him over her shoulder, rocking him gently and rubbing his back as his cries subsided. ‘Oh, there we go, baby. You’ve got to keep the noise down because your daddy’s trying to hold a very important meeting in there.’ She turned her head briefly to look into the chapel, her eyes falling straight on to Coby at the head of the table. He was sitting back in his chair, looking comfortable and relaxed, surrounded by the men who made up this chapter, the gavel lying just in front of his right hand. ‘Come on, gorgeous. Let’s go see grandma, huh? See if she’ll make you up a bottle, and make me a cup of coffee while we’re waiting for daddy.’

She’d no sooner gone back into the kitchen than everyone started to leave the meeting, the clubhouse once more filling up with the sound of chatter and music – familiar sounds. Almost comforting, because to stand there and listen and watch everything that was going on, it was hard to believe the events of the last couple of days had happened. It was almost frightening how quickly people adapted to situations in this world. But maybe that was because, sometimes, in this world, you had no other choice.

‘All done?’ Angie asked, turning to see
Tay
walk in.

‘All done,’ he sighed, pushing a hand through his dark hair.

‘You look like a big weight’s just been lifted from your shoulders,’ Angie said, walking over to him. ‘I take it that meeting was a positive one?’

‘Let’s just say it was like closing the book on a particularly bad chapter, and moving on to one that promises so much more.’

Angie reached out and gently cupped his cheek, kissing him quickly. ‘Good.’ She smiled. ‘Things
will
get better, baby.’

He smiled, taking her hand. ‘I hope so. I really do.’ He looked over at Lexi, letting go of Angie and walking over to her. ‘Here. Let me hold the little guy. I haven’t had time to say a proper hello to my beautiful grandson yet.’

Lexi handed Ozzie over to
Tay
, smiling as she watched her boy snuggle in against him, gurgling away happily. ‘He likes you.’

‘Yeah, well, who doesn’t?’
Tay
grinned, his eyes meeting Lexi’s, holding her gaze. ‘Lexi, I…’

She leaned in to him, kissing him on the cheek. ‘It’s over,
Tay
.’

He caught her hand as she walked away, and she turned back to face him. ‘I love you, kiddo.’

She smiled. ‘Yeah. I know. I love you, too.’

She walked out into the clubhouse, leaning back against the wall for a second, just looking around, taking everything in, this place she called home. But was it always going to be that way?

‘Coby’s looking for you.’

She looked up as Jesse leant back against the wall beside her, his eyes staring straight ahead, his hands in his pockets. ‘Well, he can’t be looking very hard, can he? It’s not like this place is a maze or anything.’

Jesse scuffed the heel of his boot against the skirting board, his eyes on the floor now. ‘I regret so much, Lexi.’

‘Don’t. Don’t do that, Jesse, please.’

He finally looked at her, their eyes meeting. ‘President or not, if he makes you unhappy, I’ll fucking kill him.’

She couldn’t help smiling. ‘Is that a promise?’

He smiled, too, laughing. ‘Yeah. You bet your perfect ass it is.’ He pushed a hand through his long dark hair. ‘Jesus, Lex. Are we ever gonna start getting our shit together?’

‘Probably not,’ she sighed, pushing herself away from the wall. ‘But I guess that’s what makes this place so much fun, huh?’ She winked at him, and he laughed again.

‘Prick tease.’

‘You wish, handsome.’

‘Always, Lexi. Fucking always.’

She threw him another smile as she walked backwards towards the chapel, bumping into Shane coming out of it. ‘Oh, Jesus, sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.’

‘Hey, sweetheart, you can bump up against me any time you like.’

She looked at him. ‘Five minutes back here and you’re already sounding like you’ve never been away.’

‘Guess that’s what this place does to someone, huh?’

‘Yeah. I guess it is.’

‘Everything all right with you?’

‘I think so. Just got to have a word with Coby and then…’ She looked down for a second before lifting her head to look at him. ‘I’m fine.’

‘Okay… well, Coby’s just in there, so… I’ll leave you to it.’

He started to walk away, but Lexi called him back. ‘Shane!’

He turned around, throwing her that smile and transporting her back to a time when he’d just been one of the guys that hung around this clubhouse. Before all this shit had kicked off.

‘Are you glad to be back?’

His smile grew wider, and for a brief second Lexi once more allowed the intense pain and crushing guilt to take over. ‘I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else, darlin’.’

She watched him walk off – from dead man to Vice President in less than two years. Shit! This place was twisted.

Pushing the chapel door open a little wider she stuck her head inside. Coby was still sitting at the head of the huge wooden table, his hands clasped together on top of it, his head down. He looked deep in thought, his eyes open but staring at nothing in particular. Her big, brave, Scottish soldier.

‘Hey. You okay?’

He looked up at the sound of her voice, pushing his chair back and standing up, walking over to her. ‘Come on.’ He took her hand, leading her down the corridor to the apartment, saying nothing more until he’d closed the door behind them. ‘It’s a bit more private in here.’

Lexi looked over at the unmade bed, the clothes he’d been wearing yesterday lying in a heap on the floor. ‘How’s it feel to be in charge, President?’

He looked at her. ‘Strange.’

‘You gonna be able to get used to it?’

‘It’s what I’ve always wanted. I just wish the circumstances had been different, that’s all. Where’s Ozzie?’

‘He’s with
Tay
. He’s fine.’

‘And you?’

‘Me? I’m having a party here, Coby.’