Page 153 of Colt

Atlas jerked a nod. “If you don’t tell him by midnight on New Year’s Day, I’ll have a chat with him. I’m doin’ this for Freya. You’ve touched his girl who you knew was off-limits. I can’t respect that.”

“What if it was Sophie who was off-limits,” I asked.

“Nothin’ would keep me away from my woman,” he retorted. “But the fact remains that she wasn’t. I wasn’t breaking the rules the second I touched her. You were.”

I jerked a nod. “Message received.”

“It’ll be a blow to the club to lose ya, Colt,” he admitted. “We’ll feel your loss.”

“That’s just it though, Atlas.” I rubbed at the tension headache forming in my temple. “You don’t need to lose me. I’ll always help ya if you need me. I won’t abandon you.”

“Even if I took a leap of faith, Prez wouldn’t entertain it after he finds out about you and Freya.” He shrugged.

“Yeah.” My lips thinned. “I know.”

He clapped me on the back. “We better move our asses. Stitch will be wondering where I’ve gone. Don’t need her givin’ me shit, especially when she’s knocked up.”

We turned for the door and walked up the corridor in silence.

Suddenly, it had become even more real. There was no turning back now, even if I wanted to—which I didn’t.

We took our seats again and I smiled at Freya as she finished her conversation with Kennedy.

“Everything okay with your mom?” she asked.

“All good.” I told her, grabbing my wine glass and draining it. I almost laughed out loud when across from me, I saw Atlas tuck into his food like our powwow had never happened.

I think he understood that I’d never put the club in danger or jeopardize anyone’s safety. As much as I’d done shitty things, I still respected, loved, and cared for my brothers.

The table seemed quieter than when I left. I realized the kids had left the room. “Where have Sunny, Kai, and Kady gone?” I asked Freya, filling my wine glass again before I topped hers up.

“They asked to go outside,” she explained. “I said it was a bit cold, but Dad said it was okay as long as they wrapped up.”

“That’s weird,” I mused. “New kittens, dirt bikes, and toys comin’ outta their assholes and they wanna go out back?”

“You’re right,” Freya replied softly, craning her neck to see outta the window into the backyard area. “I hope they’re not going up on that death trap slide.”

I barked a laugh. “Baby. Sunny won’t go within ten feet of it after she got stuck at the top with Atlas. She’s shit scared of it.”

Freya giggled. “It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen—”

As my girl spoke, an ear-splitting scream sounded from outside.

Chairs scraped back as every man—including me—jumped up from the table and checked their cuts for weapons.

Kai’s voice bellowed. “Dad! Help!”

My heart began to race as I stood and sprinted after Bowie, Breaker, and Cash who all darted for the corridor leading to the kitchen where we could get to the closest exit leading to the backyard.

“Who’s got a weapon?” Breaker called out.

“Me!” Atlas replied from my back.

“Get up front with me,” Breaker ordered, his dark eyes blanking. “Be careful and remember the kids are out there. They could cop a stray bullet.”

My shoulders tensed at the mere thought of one of the kids getting shot. I kept my head down, following Breaker and Atlas through the kitchen until we all burst out of the door together. I looked up when suddenly, an eerie, high-pitched bugle sound filled the air.

My eyes widened at the scene before me. “What the fuck?”

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