Page 90 of My Secret to Protect

Confusion, rage, and a million other emotions twist my dad’s expression, and he glances left and right at the men he trusts with his life. I see the moment he decides this is a conversation we need to have in private, and he turns, walking away as I follow, muscle memory of shadowing the man for the first two decades of my life kicking in.

He leads me into the chapel, a room used to discuss club dealings, and I inhale deeply. It’s the same. The walls are a bit more yellowed, the chairs a bit more worn, but it’s the same room where I told my father I’d made my decision and we wouldn’t be a part of each other’s lives anymore.

It’s been twelve years since we saw each other, and we didn’t part on bad terms. I had the choice to stay or go, and I chose to go, but that meant cutting ties. It hurt us both, but we were both raised in this life, and we both knew we’d stick to the rules. That’s why the surprise on his face is so evident today. He never expected to see me again.

‘What’s this about, kid?’ he asks, and he sounds tired. If I wasn’t so on edge, I’d laugh. Kid… I’m thirty-nine years old.

‘Bree’s been taken. I need to get her back.’

‘What does this have to do with the club? With Horse?’ He doesn’t hesitate to push back even though I know he wants to raise hell at the mention of Miles, his best friend, his brother, but I knew it was going to be a tough sell.

‘She was being stalked. Mrs. C asked me to help. Two nights ago, a couple of fucks in BR cuts trashed my place, burned my bike, and tonight, they took her.’

I feel my body shaking as rage ignites inside of me.

‘You’re mistaken, Arlo. You know I wouldn’t…’

‘Thenexplainwhy yourfuckin’ VPis guarding the place where she’s being held.’

‘Don’t you raise your voice in my house.’ He stands from the table, and I look up at the man I respected and feared all my childhood. He’s as big as me, still clearly in good shape, and could still kick my ass, but I don’t give a fuck. Standing to my full height, I stare him down as I slide my cell across the table. The photos I snapped of his guys outside the cottage are blurry but clear enough to make them out.

Viking picks up the phone but doesn’t say a word as his nostrils flare and his jaw tightens.

‘You told me to stay away from the kid, Dad, but I didn’t. I fell in love with her, and now they have her, and I can’t go in there alone. Not with them armed and patrolling.’

My dad’s fist slams against the table, and he roars in anger as he stands, his chair pushing back. He’s furious, and I can see the impact of the betrayal in the set of his shoulders and the expression on his face, but I don’t have time for his feelings. I stand. ‘You going to help me or not, dad?’

‘I need to figure out who the fuck I can trust.’ I’ve never heard my father sound so despondent, but I don’t have time for that from him. I need him to be Viking, president of the Bone Roses MC, the angry, dangerous mother fucker I know and love.

‘Then do it fast.’

As we walk out into the common area once more, I fall back, letting him take the lead as he pulls out his weapon and shoots the huge TV mounted on the wall, silencing the loud movie action scene that was playing.

‘Anyonewho isn’t patched, get the fuck out.’

He turns to me as the girls and prospects and hangarounds make quick work of vacating the premises, and I nod. I may not be patched now, but I was, and I’m going fucking nowhere.

‘Listen the fuck up and listen good because if I have to repeat myself, I’m going to getrealfucking angry.’ There he is. ‘Miles Campbell’s daughter has been kidnapped.’ There’s a rumble as the men surrounding us stand ready to act, and my dad nods. ‘Your reactions speak volumes, but I’m not done. If I find out a single one of you knew this was happening or had anything to do with it, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what I’ll do to you, and my advice is to start running right the fuck now because when I find you, I’ll make you bleed for a week before I let you die.’

‘Prez, what the fuck? We would never…’

‘Horse is involved. The guys who rode with him tonight are, too.’

A chorus of ‘What the fucks’ ring out as my dad raises his gun and shoots the speaker to the left of the TV he destroyed earlier, just to get their attention.

‘Most of you don’t know my son,’ he gestures to me, ‘get familiar real fast. This is Arlo, and he needs us to ride with him tonight to get his girl back. Wrecker, my father, made a promise to Miles Campbell that this club would protect his family. I intend to honor that promise, even if it means putting down men I thought were my brothers. I need to know who of you I can trust to ride with us tonight. If you’re not okay with what’s going to go down, you can walk out of those gates and keep walking. If you’re with me, step forward.’

Without hesitation, every man in the room takes a step forward, and as my dad picks out the men he wants with us and assigns control to one of the guys staying behind, my heart pounds in my chest at the memory of how it felt to be a part of this, the brotherhood, the unity.

‘Let’s go.’

Climbing onto the Harley, I wait for the men to join me out front when my dad comes to a stop beside me.

‘That yours?’ He looks at the bike, and I nod.

‘It is tonight.’

‘Dome?’ he questions, and I shake my head, so he reaches behind him to call up a spare and hands it to me. When I’ve secured the helmet, he gives me a satisfied nod, and I take a breath. ‘Let’s go, kid.’

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