Chapter 19

Caden

“Ice,” Declan says into the phone.

“We’ve got a lead,” I reply.

“Good! What can we do to help?” he asks.

“They’re at Maghaberry Prison. I need four guys—two to watch the front entrance and two to watch the back where we’ll take them out. Can you spare anyone?”

“We got you. Like I said before, we’re here to help with whatever you need. When and where?”

I proceed to fill him in on the details. Once he has everything down, I thank him and disconnect the phone.

Now that my purpose for being in Ireland is coming to an end and all the details have been finalized, it’s time to deal with the next pressing matter at hand—Emma’s fucking stalker. I go back into the house to round everyone up.

“Reb, let’s take this discussion downstairs.” I look at Emma and say, “You and Honey come, too.” It’s my way of saying that I don’t want the extended family to know our business.

Once we get downstairs, everyone grabs a seat at the table. I say, “So, I bet you all are wondering why the girls are here.”

Doc speaks up and says, “Well, the thought did cross my mind, but I wasn’t gonna ask.” He laughs. “Not my business, man,” he adds.

“Me too,” says Ryder. “I figured that was between you and your old lady.”

“Well, for the record, it’s not a thing between me and my old lady, Ryder. This is more pressing and fucking serious, so cut the laughter.”

“What’s up, boss?” Doc asks, the smile disappearing from his face.

“Well, it appears that we have another situation back home: threatening notes and a fucking stalker. This guy—I assume it’s a guy—is after her as well as me. My first thoughts go directly to Grayson, but … shit, I don’t know. I have nothing on this.”

I continue, “I want to call Hawk and get his take on this, but I also want you all here when I do. Who knows, maybe he’s gotten more info since the girls left the States.” I turn toward Emma and say, “But before we call Hawk, why don’t you get the boys up to speed on what you know?”

She nods and proceeds to tell them about the threats, the rose, and the rattlesnake.

“Fuck, Emma! A rattlesnake? Did anyone get hurt?” Rebel asks.

“No, luckily we heard the snake before it was able to bite anyone. Spike shot it.”

“You got anything else, sweetheart?” I ask. “Maybe something that you might have overlooked?”

She shakes her head. “No, that’s everything that I know.”

“Ok, I’m calling Hawk now.”

I dial and the phone starts ringing. I set my phone down on the table and put it on speaker—after three rings, Hawk answers. “Ice, man, listen before you say anything. You need to know that I had no fucking idea that she was going to Ireland. She left no clue until she was at the airport boarding a flight. I couldn’t stop her, man. I tried, but I found out about her leaving too late. I’m sorry. I fucked up.”

Holy shit, he’s really beating himself up about this, I think with a chuckle. Poor guy, he’s probably been dreading my call.

“Hawk, stop.” He’s still talking, but I say over him, “Hawk, I know. It’s ok.” I think he finally hears me.

“What?” he says.

“Emma told me everything. It’s ok,” I say, then add, “I’ve got the girls, Rebel, Doc, and Ryder here. You’re on speaker.” I wait for him to say something, but he doesn’t, so I keep on going. “Emma filled the boys in on everything that she knows up to the point when she left the States. You got anything to add? Anything happen since?”

“Possibly. I’ve had Dbag doing some digging and I think we might have an idea who’s doing this.”

We’re all expecting him to continue, but when he doesn’t I prod him along. “And?”

“My initial gut feeling told me that this had something to do with Grayson. So I had Dbag poke around Grayson’s aunt first, since he lived with her. Then I had him look into the Graysons themselves, the family who adopted him.”

“Anything?” I ask.

“It looks like Mark isn’t their only kid. They adopted three other children—two boys older than Mark and a younger girl. Both adoptions happened after Mark was adopted.”

“So, he has siblings. Do you really think they could be involved in this?” I ask.

“Not these siblings.”

“He has others?”

“Well, I believe that the Grayson family is clean. But, if you remember, he spent his earliest years with his mother’s sister. She couldn’t keep him and after a year put him up for adoption.”

“Yeah, I remember that. So?”

“Well, Aunt Jenny did give up Grayson. But she kept his brother.”

“His brother?” I ask, confused.

“Yep, Mark had a brother. A biological brother.”

“How do you know they are biological brothers? Maybe Aunt Jenny had another drug addict sister who had kids,” I say.

“That could be the case, but I seriously doubt it,” he replies.

“Why?”

“He’s a twin.”

“A what?”

“A twin.”

I look at Emma. “Did you know anything about this?” I ask her.

“No,” she says, astounded. It’s clear that this is as much a shock to her as it is to me.

“So which one did I kill?” I ask, worried.

“The right one?” Hawk says. “Hell, I don’t know, Ice. This is so fucked up.”

“So you think that this twin is the one terrorizing Emma?” My fucking brother. I go from only having Ari to having family members coming out of the fucking woodwork. Will this family shit ever end?

“It makes sense,” Hawk replies.

“Where does he live?”

“Upstate New York. I’m sending a few guys up there today to check things out.”

“You got a name?”

“Yeah, Joe Russo.”

“Ok, good work, Hawk. Keep me up to date on what you find out.”

“I will.”

“Anything else going on that I need to know about?”

“Nothing earth-shattering, but things are moving along here. Brianne is out of detox and awake. I’ve had Spike detailed to her room and I’ve been checking on her daily. Doctors say she will be heading to rehab in a day or two.”

Emma says, “Hawk, please ask them to wait to send her until I can get home. I really need to see her.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Emma, but I can’t make any promises.”

“Anything else?” I ask.

“Clubhouse renovations are moving along. And I met with Gypsy yesterday. Everything’s going as scheduled with the Satans. What about you guys? Any luck with Rebel’s parents?”

“Yeah, we finally got a lead. If all goes well we should be home day after tomorrow. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll wait to hear back from you about the brother,” I say. I can’t bring myself to refer to him as my brother. Having one psychotic brother is enough; I really don’t need two of them.

“Will do, boss. Talk to you soon.”

We disconnect the call and I look around the room. “Any thoughts?”

Nobody says a word for the longest time. Then, Emma breaks the silence. “It all makes sense now,” she says as if she is talking to herself.

“What, babe?” I ask. She looks at me curiously, as if she knew I was talking but hadn’t heard a word I said. I repeat, “What makes sense now?”

“Mark. There was always an uncertainty that I felt about him. I could never pinpoint the reason why I was never able to set a date for the wedding. I always thought it was because of you, but at the time, I never believed that you would be back in my life. It’s the question that’s always plagued me about him and it’s all so clear to me now,” she says. When nobody responds to her words, she continues, “Mark was always odd. One minute he would be this sweet guy and then next minute he would seem very aloof and detached. He truly scared me during those times, but I always chalked it up to him having a bad day. There were so many times when I almost believed he was two different people. I thought I was losing my mind. Now I know he was two different people, and both of them messed with my head.” She gets up from the table.

I shake my head. “What a fucking asshole,” I say under my breath. It infuriates me that he messed with her as much as he did just to get to me. I’m glad that at least one of them is dead. Now, what to do about the other one?

“You ok, babe?” I ask as I walk toward her. I pull her into my arms and say, “We’ll get him. I promise.”

“I know,” she says. “I know.”

I turn back toward the group. “I think we’re done here. Unless anyone else has anything to say? We’ve done everything we can on the Grayson thing. It’s now a waiting game until we hear back from Hawk. And everything is ready for Friday. So, I think you all deserve a break. What do you think?”

“A break?” Rebel asks.

“What do you mean, a break?” Ryder chimes in. “You never give us a break when we’re working on shit.” He laughs.

“I do too!” I say defensively.

“Yeah, boss, sure you do,” Doc says sarcastically.

Only Rebel remains quiet. He fucking knows better than to comment on this topic.

“Well, if you all don’t want a break …” I say.

“No, no, we do. Really, we do!” Ryder says quickly.

“That’s better! Now, what I was saying is that you all have been going 24/7. But now everything is in place and we don’t need to do anything until Friday. So, if you want to take in the city, do it. If you want to go hang with Declan at our sister club, do it. Take the next 36-odd hours and do what you want to do,” I say. They all look at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “What?” I ask. “Can’t I give you fuckers a day off?”

“Well, Ice,” Doc says, “in all the years you have been our prez, you have never given us a day off.”

“Of course I have.”

“Name one,” he retorts.

“Well, there was the time when … ok, so maybe the time when … oh, fuck it. Never mind. Just take the fucking day off,” I say.

They all start laughing. I turn to Emma, who is laughing right along with them, and say, “You too?”

“Well …” she says sheepishly, “you have to admit, it’s kinda funny.”

“Fuck it, you fuckers can do what you want. My girl and I are gonna do some sightseeing. If anyone wants to join us, feel free.” I pause and say, “Babe, get on the web and check out the sights. Let me know where you want to go. The day is yours.”

They’re still looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind, but they don’t say another word about it. Every one of them gets up from the table and hurries out of the room. I laugh to myself. I’m sure they’re expecting me to change my mind any minute and are trying to get the hell out before I do.

Emma is the only one who remains in the basement. “Do you really want to go sightseeing?”

“I do. But only with my best girl.”

She squeals and turns toward the steps. “Where are you going?” I ask.

“To make a list. There are so many things I want to see.”

I laugh as she runs up the stairs. Life with her is never gonna be dull, that is for sure.

Later that morning Emma comes into the living room and hands me a piece of paper. “What’s this?” I ask.

“My list.”

I look over the list. It’s a page and half long. “Babe, we only have a day and a half. I don’t think we’re going to be able to see all this.”

“Oh,” she says, disappointed.

“I’m sorry, babe. I promise we’ll come back and do all these things you want to do. But right now, this is what we’ve got.” I pause and add, “Why don’t you pick three things on this list and I promise, we’ll make a point to see them. How’s that?”

She takes the list back and says, “Ok.” She plops herself down on the couch and begins to peruse her list. She’s scribbling and writing on her paper and I’m worried that she’s adding more to it. I hate disappointing her, but this isn’t a vacation. We came here for a reason and that has to take first priority.

Handing the list back to me, she says, “Ok, I’ve narrowed it down to three. But you need to sign the bottom.”

“Sign the bottom?”

“Yes, please.”

I glanced down at the bottom of the paper and read what she’s written:

I, Caden Jackson, do solemnly promise to take my best girl, Emma Baylee or Emma Jackson, whatever her name is at the time, to all the places that are circled on this list the next time we’re in Ireland, or within 5 years, whichever comes first.

Following that is a line for my signature and the date. I laugh out loud. “You’re fuckin’ nuts!”

She replies very matter-of-factly, “Just sign it, please.”

Shaking my head, I reach out toward her as she hands me her pen. As she asked, I sign the paper. I look at the list again to find the items she didn’t circle. They’re Giant’s Causeway, Game of Thrones Tour, and a night on the town in Belfast. Giant’s Causeway and the night on the town in Belfast I can do. But what the fuck is the Game of Thrones tour?

“Game of Thrones tour?” I ask her.

“Yes, it’s a tour of all the places where they film Game of Thrones,” she replies.

“Game of Thrones? You watch that show?” I’ve heard a lot about the show, but I can’t remember the last time I watched a show on TV.

“Oh my gosh, you don’t?!” she says, surprised. “I thought everyone watched Game of Thrones,” she adds.

“Not me. So what’s this tour all about?”

“It’s a driving tour basically on the way to Giant’s Causeway. We can either do it on the way up or on the way back. It’s up to you.”

“A driving tour? You do realize I don’t have a car. We can do this on a bike?”

“Oh, I didn’t think about that,” she says, and I can hear the disappointment in her voice. Then she adds, “You know what? It will be fun on a bike. Let’s do it.”

“Are you sure? You’ve only been on a bike once. Are you really ready to go cruising around Ireland on the back of my bike for several hours?” I can’t think of anything I would like better than to have Emma on the back of my bike, but I want to make sure she knows what she’s getting herself into.

“Yes, I think I’ll like it. But we might need to stop somewhere so that I can get appropriate clothes.”

I nod as I look her over; she has on a lightweight shirt, a pair of jeans, and loafers. I have no fucking idea if she’s got a coat. “I guess we’re going shopping first.”

Just then Rebel and Ari walk into the room. “You guys decide what you are gonna do the rest of today and tomorrow?” Rebel asks. I hand him Emma’s list. “What the fuck is this?” he asks and I laugh.

“The things that are not circled are the things that we’ll be doing, plus we need to find a Harley store. Emma needs clothes,” I reply.

“Reb, babe, can we go with them?” Ari asks.

“Go where?” Honey asks as she walks into the room.

“We’re gonna do some sightseeing. Wanna come?” Emma says.

“Sure, where’re we going?” Honey asks.

“Rebel, can we go?” Ari asks again.

“Fucking stop! You all are making me fucking dizzy,” I say and they all stop talking and look at me. “This is what’s gonna happen. Emma and I are going sightseeing tomorrow—Giant’s Causeway, Game of Thrones tour, and a night on the town in Belfast. Today, we’re hitting the Harley store so she can get appropriate riding attire. Anyone who wants to go, be ready in thirty minutes.”

Rebel, Ari, and Honey decide to join us. When I check in with Ryder and Doc, Ryder wants to go but Doc decides to hang at the house to catch up on some z’s. Apparently he isn’t adapting well to the time difference.

Thirty minutes later, we all leave for the Harley store. Emma gets a pair of boots, a sweater, and a jacket. Ari gets herself some boots. Honey, of course, has everything she needs and doesn’t purchase a thing. After shopping, we all grab some lunch and then return back to the house around four. We spend the rest of the evening just hanging out.

The next day the sightseeing begins. We leave right after breakfast and spend the whole day enjoying the sights. Ireland is a beautiful country and even if Emma didn’t have me sign that ridiculous list, I would definitely want to return with her someday. Maybe we’ll return for our honeymoon?

We do all the things Emma wanted from her short list. We drive north up to Giant’s Causeway and take in the Game of Thrones tour on the way back. We get back to the house around 6:30, and everyone prepares for dinner and a night on the town in Belfast.

Later that night when Emma and I are in our room getting ready for bed, she looks over at me and says, “Thank you, Cade, for a wonderful day.” She walks over to me and puts her arms around me, giving me an enormous hug. “This was one of the best days ever. I love you.”

“I love you too, babe.”

It was definitely a day that we all needed, to relax, unwind, and be fresh for what’s to come.