Page 1 of Going Home

Chapter One

Griffin’s Beach

Colt

"Lex,areyouokay?"Colt Nichols asks his blonde, curly-haired wife as she walks inside the Griffin's Beach clubhouse after stepping out to take a phone call.

Alexis Nichols looks up, her face pale, making her blue eyes almost glow, and Colt feels his stomach drop. They're supposed to head out to pick up their kids and drive back home to Summerville. The place they call home after leaving Griffin's Beach because Lex needed a fresh start. The look on her face tells him she's either ill or something is seriously wrong. Knowing his wife the way he does, he's betting on the latter.

"I-I don't know," Lex says and blinks rapidly as she looks at him. No, she doesn't lookathim.Throughhim is more accurate. Her surefire sign that she's trying to process something.

"What's going on?"

Swallowing, she peers up and remembers she's in a room full of bikers. She looks into his eyes and shakes her head slightly as though trying to brush away something from her mind. "I can't... There's... I don't know enough yet."

That sounds more than a little ominous, but he opts to stay calm. The unease she exudes almost vibrates against him because he's so in tune with her. If they were any more in sync with one another, he'd be able to read her mind. "That's okay, baby. It's okay. Ready to go get the kids and make our way home?"

"Um... no."

"No?"

"I think... I think we might need to stay in Griffin's Beach for a while, Colt."

The room falls silent, and he stares at her for more explanation, but she doesn't seem willing to offer up anything further. Whoever called her dropped one hell of a bomb on his wife because she looks almost lost. This isn't Lex. Lex always knows what to do in any situation. She's the brains of the operation. Hell, she's the only person in this room of fifty or so bikers who can truly think on her feet some days.

"That's fine, baby. We can stay here. Do you know how long?" he asks, trying to be supportive without letting on he's dying to know what that call was. What could possibly create such a conflict behind her beautiful blue eyes?

Chest heaving, she looks as though she’s struggling to keep her mind in check. Colt glances over at her father, Nash "VP" Dalton, but he looks just as lost as Colt feels. "I... We... It might need to be permanent."

All breath leaves him. Moving to Summerville has been a blessing for the two of them. Not only has she had a chance to heal from the pain Griffin's Beach has caused her over the course of her life, she's finally thriving. Coming into her own and becoming the Lex he first fell in love with again.

In Summerville, she doesn't have the same expectations and responsibilities thrust upon her like she does here. No one turns to her and expects her to have the answers or a plan. She's not the one everyone turns to in order to solve the toughest problems. As much as Colt misses their hometown and families, it feels too soon to come back. He can't help the overwhelming fear that coming back now will only push them backwards and out of the good place they've finally settled into. That his wife won't be happy anymore.

"What now?" he asks, hoping—no praying—he heard her wrong.

"We... This... I don't know enough yet, and I was asked not to say anything. But I need you to trust me," Lex says.

Dax Hart, the Summerville President, shakes his head while his newly found wife, Dani, grips onto his arm in fear. He just got Dani back after thinking she was dead for almost three years, and Lex has helped her cope as best as any untrained person could.

"No, you can't transfer back. No," Dax says. He continues shaking his head, and his dark hair with streaks of gray fall into his eyes. "No."

The feeling is pretty mutual.Colt remembers how reckless Dax was when he thought Dani was dead. It was the reason the Drifters patched over the Hellraisers a year ago. And of course, it was Lex who stumbled upon Dani. And it was Lex who found a way to get Dani to trust her enough to walk out of that basement she was chained in. Dani's had small breakthroughs since she came to stay with Lex, and Colt not only feels but understands Dax's panic. There's nothing like the fear of losing your wife.

"If Lex says they need to come back, it must be important," Diesel Short says. The surrogate father to both of them looks at Lex with worried eyes. "Talk to us, sweetheart."

"I can't yet," she says and looks up at Diesel. "I'm sorry. I know this doesn't make much sense, but I don't really understand yet, either. But I need you to trust me. Please."

Laughing, Colt shakes his head. "Baby, I trust you enough to let you walk me off a fucking cliff. I just don't understand why you can't let me in."

"I was asked not to. And I don't know enough to even try and put it into words. As soon as I can explain it, I will."

Shaking his head again, Dax holds up a hand. "No!"

"If it's about being short too many men, I'll stay in Summerville," Venom offers, his eyes looking at Lex with the same concern, if not more, than the others.

The man has become the most recent stray Colt's wife has taken in, and Colt suspects Lex was drawn to him because of the similarities between Venom and Psycho. He's the man they call upon to do the things no one else can stomach, but the truth is, he didn't fit in Summerville. Lex saw that, and she gave him a place to belong before asking for a favor to get him transferred to Griffin's Beach.

If there was ever a question about how Venom feels about Lex, it's been answered and settled now. Venom wants away from Summerville because of his failed sort-of relationship with Marnie Banks. He hated to ask Lex to call in the favor, which shows how much he wants to get away from the woman who broke his heart. His willingness to put his own discomfort aside for Lex speaks louder than anything else he could have said.

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