CHAPTER TWELVE
The doctor stepped out of the recovery room and went to the waiting room. His nurses informed him it was filled with some huge bikers but until he stepped through the door, he didn’t imagine what that statement really meant.
He swallowed hard when he saw wall to wall bikers. Some were wide and tall. Others just looked downright dangerous. Maybe the one he wanted would be more civilized or reasonable? He called out, “Talon Morgan.”
Then he saw the man in the corner. When he stood, he grew and didn’t stop. At least a foot taller than himself, the doctor swallowed hard again. When the giant stepped toward him, the doctor was glad he had good news to tell him. In fact, the whole room full of men stepped toward him.
“How is she, doc?” Talon whispered.
A young woman with the same silver blonde hair stood beside him.
The doctor looked back and forth at the pair. “Your wife is going to be fine. We were able to stop the bleeding. Her blood pressure is stable now.”
“And the baby?” an older man in an expensive suit asked.
The doctor looked over at the older man. What in the hell? He wondered. The mob is here too? “The baby is small but he’ll be fine. He’s breathing on his own and his vitals look good.”
“So I have a son?” Talon asked.
The young silver blonde woman gasped and took Talon’s hand in hers.
“Yes, you have a son.” The doctor smiled. “He’s just over four pounds and eighteen inches long.”
“Was there ever any doubt, Mountain?” Another big, light haired biker slapped his brother on the back. “You know us Morgans’ always have boys.”
Mountain grinned. “Well, that’s true enough, Chance.” He swung his happy gaze over to the doctor. “Can I see them?”
“Your son is in the nursery and in an hour or so, we’ll have your wife in a room. At the moment, she’s heavily sedated. As soon as we get her into a room, you can see her.”
Mountain nodded. “I guess I’ll go see the boy then.”
The young woman smiled though tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re a daddy…dad!”
The doctor smiled and nodded his head, though he really wondered now. This was Talon’s daughter and now, he was having another child with a woman the same age as his first daughter? He shook his head to push away the muddled confusion. “The nursery is just down the hall.” He released a huge breath of relief as he hurried away from the large, dangerous and apparently odd group.
~* * * *~
Mountain and the whole group moved down the hall to stand in front of the huge glass window. Row upon row of plastic cradles lined the room.
Mountain and Dominic stood in the front closest to the glass and peered down at the baby in the front.
His cradle had a dome over it and a monitor that beeped a steady rhythm free standing behind him. He was a small baby but he looked perfect. His hair was peach fuzz, the color of his father. His little face looked serene and for the moment, his eyes were closed. His hands were up beside his face and his tiny fingers were curled into fists.
Deke came up behind him and studied the baby boy. “What are you going to name him?”
“Daniel Mac Morgan.”
“Daniel Mac?” Deke questioned.
“Daniel was my father’s name and Mac for her father.” Mountain turned to see what Dominic had to say about that.
Dominic stared at the other man. He had tears welling in his eyes. “You would give your son my name?”
“Izzy wanted it that way,” Mountain told him quietly. “She said while she lacked the courage to take the damn test, she felt in her heart that you are her father and she wanted to honor you in this way.”
“Yes, that is what she told me too,” Melora finally spoke.
Dominic turned back to the baby. “I know in my heart she is my child. The test doesn’t matter, it never mattered to me.” He turned back to Mountain. “The honor is mine.”
Just then, two nurses pushed two more cradles near the front. One was pink and the other blue. But it wasn’t the colors that caught Mountain’s eye it was the name attached to them. Then he began laughing. He laughed so hard, he had to step back.
Deke stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “I know you’re happy, but—”
Mountain pointed to the window and waited for Deke to step forward.
When he did, he didn’t know what he was looking at. Then his eyes caught sight of the name on the pink cradle next to Mountain’s son. “What the fuck?’ he whispered. He turned and barreled through the crowd calling his wife’s name. “Cassie, where are you?”
Melora and Mountain kept laughing and the rest of the MC joined them.
Deke glared at them all.
They quieted instantly and tried to look anywhere but at their president.
He started down the hall and ran into Iceman. Then he grasped the leather of his cut and hauled him to the side. “We need to find our women.”
“Why?” Iceman frowned. “They’re here somewhere.”
“Yeah I know, but they just put two brand new babies in the nursery and they put our last names on the cradles.”
“What?” Iceman yelled as his face went white. He pushed his way toward the window and stared at the front cradles. He saw Mountain’s son then next to him he saw Deke’s daughter, then he looked again and saw his own son. He barley glanced at the baby before he was yelling for his wife.
There were chuckles from the group behind him.
“Oh, the tale of two babies.” Melora laughed.
Reva stepped out of the room down the hall and motioned for Deke and Iceman. “Your women are in here.” Her smile was huge.
Deke and Iceman looked more than panicked as they ran toward the room. When they came to a skidding halt in the doorway, they saw Cassie and Peaches sitting up in separate beds. They both looked very pleased with themselves.
When Deke approached her bed, Cassie smiled. “Surprise?” she said softly.
“Try shock, it would be closer to the real thing.” He scolded her as he sat down on the bed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were where you needed to be. You needed to stay with Mountain until he knew what his future held. He needed you more.”
Deke leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Yeah he did. Izzy is going to be fine and the baby, while he’s a bit small right now, the doctors think he’s going to be fine.”
“What did they name him?” Peaches asked from the cradle of Iceman’s arms.
“Daniel Mac, after their fathers.” Deke smiled. Turning to Cassie, he asked, “And what shall we name our little princess?”
“Piper Leanore,” she stated confidently.
“Piper Leanore?” Deke questioned.
“Yup, I’ve always liked the name Piper and the Leanore is for a woman we knew when Peaches and I were living on the streets. She was a wise old woman. Made everyone think she was touched in the head but those of us who knew her well, knew she was anything but. She lived her life the way she wanted and to hell with everyone else. She was a great storyteller and kept us well entertained when we couldn’t do anything but sit there. She taught us more than anyone and as far as we’ve come since then, I still remember everything she ever taught us.”
Deke smiled. “Then Piper Leanore it is.”
Iceman gazed at his own wife. He smiled at the tender expression in her eyes. “Does our son have a name yet?”
Peaches smiled. “Yes, he does. How do you like the name Elliot James?”
“Elliot James Caulder?” He grinned. “I like it. It goes well with Jesse Andrew Caulder Jr.”
Peaches snuggled into her husband’s arms. “I thought so.”
~* * * *~
Leon got up and walked over to the door of the warehouse when he heard the vehicles drive up. He sent Dominic a quick text but knew the other man was occupied elsewhere at the moment. They had been together when the call from Mountain came in. And Iceman had kept him in the loop as far as events went that day.
He glanced back at the empty room. He knew Calico and his men were to arrive at anytime, but he wanted to meet Max Bordeaux, John Paulson and Jack Fremore on his own first. He wanted them to admit what they had done and then he would leave justice up to Calico and his MC.
Leon waited and Calderone joined him as they watched Max, John and Jack get out of their cars. They saw four men get out of the second vehicle and Leon knew the four men were Max’s bodyguards.
He looked around at the six men he used as bodyguards and nodded at them to be ready. Leon and Calderone moved away from the door and stood waiting for the other men to join them.
Leon then looked over to his guard. “Unarm everyone before they come inside. Tell his guards to remain outside and watch them.”
His guard went out of the warehouse and was joined by three other men who were already outside.
A few minutes later, the door opened as Max, John and Jack came inside. The door slammed behind them.
John turned to frown at the noise.
Max hesitated for a moment when he saw Leon and Calderone standing there. Then he stepped forward. “I thought I was to meet Dominic Marconi.”
Leon nodded. “He’s in the city but his daughter is in the hospital at the moment. As head of the East Coast families I came to speak to you myself.”
Max frowned. “Speak to me about what?”
“About how little control you have over your nephew for one thing,” Leon told him.
Max stiffened. “What has Micah done now?”
“Did you know Micah was stalking a woman for the last four months?” Leon narrowed his eyes as he stared at the three men. “Did you know these two snatched her off the street in your city and beat her?”
Max turned a glare to the two men beside him. “I knew Micah was interested in a woman yes, but I’d hardly call it stalking.”
Calderone’s hands curled into fists. “So you approve of terrorizing a woman when she tells you no?”
Max shrugged. “How do you know she said no? Some women like to play games.”
“Like Jolene?” Leon asked.
Max stiffened again. “What’s Jolene got to do with this?”
“The woman Micah was stalking is Jolene’s daughter.” Leon waited and watched for his reaction.
Max’s frown deepened. “Jolene was killed last month. I haven’t seen her children since then, in fact they didn’t even claim her body.”
“Do you know how she was killed?” Calderone asked. “One of Micah’s thugs kicked the shit out of her. She died of a bleeding in her brain from the attack.”
Max shook his head. “That isn’t possible. Micah wouldn’t do that, not to her. He knows how I felt about her.”
“But he did,” Leon confirmed Calderone’s statement. “Sawyer and Jordan were there the night Micah and his thugs broke into their home. They witnessed the attack on their mother.”
“Why?” Max asked. “Why would he hurt Jolene?”
“Because Sawyer told him no again,” Leon informed him.
Max growled. “That dirty rotten bastard. I’ll kill him.” His hands were fisted and he began to pace. “I’ll kill the little weasel.”
“You don’t have to,” Leon informed him. “He’s already in hell.”
Max snapped his head toward Leon. “Who did the deed?”
“Sawyer’s father,” Calderone replied in a cold tone.
Max barked a laugh. “That freak? I chased him off years ago. I never thought he’d come back.”
“So you did tell Jolene to get rid of him.”
Max nodded. “Yeah, I told her to get rid of him. He was nothing but a dirty biker. I told her then if she didn’t get him to leave, I would have him killed. Whatever she told him she convinced him to leave. He walked away from both of them with very little effort on her part.”
“She convinced him she didn’t love him,” Leon told him. “She lied to him to keep him alive.”
Max shrugged. “What she did or didn’t do is irrelevant at this point. He was gone and she was mine again.”
“Expect, she really wasn’t, was she?”
“Whether she was or wasn’t isn’t anyone’s business but mine.” Max snarled.
“It became my business when you let your business slide into the dirt.” Leon sneered. “You were warned to leave this woman alone before and you chose not to listen to advice freely given. You were told by the Council to leave her alone and you ignored that order time and time again.”
Max strode forward. “No one can tell me what to do. I’ve held my seat of power for too long for that.”
Leon shook his head. “That’s where you are wrong, Max.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“We all have to answer to a higher power,” Leon stated. “Before we get into that, what happened to Jolene’s body?”
“I had her cremated and her ashes are at my estate,” Max grumbled. “She’s mine.”
Just then, the silence was broken by the sound of motorcycles. The roar of the engines bounced off the roof of the warehouse and shook the windows. When the engines cut off, the silence was deafening.
Then the door opened and dozens of men filed inside. They took their place against the wall of the room.
“What is this?” Max demanded.
A door on the opposite side of the room opened. Calico, and his men came in and joined Leon and Calderone. Then Sawyer and Jordan came in. They too, joined Leon and Calderone.
“Who the hell are you?” Max asked.
John and Jack began to look uncomfortable and tried to back away from the group but the men standing behind them moved forward.
“We are Jolene’s children,” Sawyer told the older man.
“And I’m the reason she never came to you,” Calico sneered. “She never stopped loving me even after she sent me away.”
Max stared at the man in front of him. He had never seen him before and he wished he hadn’t now. The man was huge and murder was in his eyes. He looked over at Leon and saw the look in his eyes. “What is this Leon?”
“This is a tribunal,” Calico answered. “It’s common in the MC world. If you betray the MC, you face a tribunal.”
“But I haven’t betrayed anyone.” Max rolled his eyes.
“Yes, you have,” Leon informed him. “You have betrayed the family and you have betrayed them.” He motioned toward Sawyer and Jordan. “You put their mother through twenty years of living hell. You made her send the man she loved away, you murdered the man who fathered her second child and your actions ultimately cost her, her life. That is a betrayal of the worst kind. You were told to give her up and warned to get your house in order, not once but several times. Now, it is no longer your house.”
“What about us?” John asked. “We had nothing to do with Jolene’s death. That was Micah all the way.”
“You kidnapped my daughter and abused her for your own merit.” Calico snarled. “For that alone I will see you dead.”
“Leon,” Max argued. “You can’t allow this to happen. The family will never stand for it.”
Leon nodded. “I’ve been in contact with the Council and they agreed. Normally, we wouldn’t allow this to happen. We take care of our own problems but this time, they did agree. This is the product of your own making Max. You are the one who betrayed your post, you are the one who wouldn’t let go of Jolene and take care of business for us. As we speak, your men are being replaced by a new regime of men. Men, who are more loyal to us than you ever were.”
“What’s going to happen to us?” Max asked.
“I’m going to leave that to these men.” Leon motioned at the group of bikers surrounding them. “They have their own style of justice for those who betray them.”
“That’s murder anyway you fucking slice it, Mr. Vincinti and you know it!” Jack shouted.
“Just like it was murder when my mother was being kicked to death!” Sawyer screamed. “Just like when Max gave the order to kill Jordan’s father? Or when Max beat my mother shortly after Calico left us. She almost died when she lost the baby she was carrying!”
“What the hell?” Calico turned to stare at his daughter. “What baby?”
“She was pregnant with your child when she sent you away,” Sawyer sobbed as she told him her mother’s secret. She turned to glare at Max. “When he found out, he beat the hell out of her and she almost bled to death because of it.”
Calico’s hands turned into fists and he advanced on the other man. “I’m going to enjoy beating the shit out of you, you bastard.”
“Come children, we don’t have to stay for this part,” Leon ushered Sawyer and Jordan to the door. Once they were outside, they could all hear the sounds of a rumble inside the building. Leon nodded to his men and walked to his limo. Getting the children inside, he gave a nod to his driver once he and Calderone were settled. As they drove away, they all heard gunshots echo in the stillness.
Sawyer’s tears spilled down her cheeks. She felt numb but there was something she had to know. “Did he tell you where my mother’s body ended up?”
“He had her cremated and her urn is at his house. I will get it back for you.” Leon nodded. “I have to go to Rochester in person to appoint a new person to Max’s position.”
“Thank you,” Sawyer whispered. “I hated having to leave her there alone but there was nothing I could do. Micah was coming after me. I didn’t want him to kill Jordan the next time he found us.” She turned to her brother. “I had to protect him, he was all I had left.”
“My dear…” Leon patted her hand. “You did what was necessary at the time. No one can fault you for that. I’ll bring your mother back to you.”
“But now, I’m not all you have left,” Jordan told her. “You have your father back.”
Sawyer shook her head. “But for how long?” she whispered. “He walked out of my life before, how can I expect him to stay now?”
Leon chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think he’s leaving anytime soon. Fathers can be a very stubborn lot, you know. That man loves you very much and he isn’t ever going to leave you again.”
“How do you know?” Sawyer whispered.
“Because I am a father as well. There is no way in hell I would ever leave my child. I am also a grandfather and a great grandfather and I would give my own life to protect those I love.”
Calderone smiled as he felt his phone ping with a text message. When he checked the text and his smile grew. He knocked on the window and told the driver a new destination. Turning to his own father, he said, “Peaches had the baby, another boy. Elliot James was born this morning.”
Leon grinned. “You see, there is so much in this world to be thankful for. I hope you see this as a new beginning. Get to know your father again. Maybe even find a man who loves you and deserves your love in return. There is too much violence in the world.”
“But don’t you live in the violence?” Jordan asked.
Leon shrugged. “Yes, our world has violence in it, but we are also businessmen. I prefer not to dwell in the violent part of it but rather in the business part of my life.”
“Can I tell you something?” Sawyer asked.
“Of course.” Leon nodded.
“Max had some pretty shitty stuff going on in Rochester. Stuff I don’t know if you even know about.”
“Such as?”
“Well, besides the drug racket and the gambling, he had a sideline of smuggling.”
“Smuggling?” Calderone frowned. “What was he smuggling?”
Sawyer shrugged. “Nobody knows for sure but he always used Bascomb’s Import/Export. He also ran an illegal poker game. He moved the place they played every week to avoid getting busted, but the cops were very interested in the money generated by the game.”
“Don’t forget the money laundering racket,” Jordan made mention.
“How pray tell do you know all this?” Leon asked.
Sawyer shrugged. “Max didn’t care who knew what he was into. That way, no one in his right mind would bother his places of business.”
“I see.” Leon glanced over at Calderone. It was beginning to sound as if just replacing Max wasn’t going to be an easy job. They would have to delve into what the man was doing all this time and how his business would affect the family.
“Now, may I ask you a question?” Leon wanted to know.
Sawyer nodded.
“Why are you telling us this?”
“Because I want Max to go to the next world with nothing to his name.” Her eyes were full of wrath. “Rochester used to be a decent town to live in but the last ten years or so, it’s become a dirty town. Crime rules the streets. Max cheated everyone there, so I wouldn’t doubt he cheated you as well. He showed my mother his safe once when he was trying to impress her. She told us it was the whole length of his basement and it was filled with money and jewelry. He told her it would all be hers if she would only accept him, instead of reject him.”
“What did your mother do then?” Calderone asked.
“She came home with a bruise on her face where he hit her, so I assume she rejected him again.”
They pulled up to the front door of the hospital.
Calderone and Leon ushered Sawyer and Jordan to the maternity floor and went in search of Peaches.
Sawyer and Jordan waited with Melora, Sam and the Morgan brothers.
~* * * *~
When the Vincinti men returned a couple of hours later, Calico and the others had come back as well.
Leon pulled Calico away from the crowd and Calico handed him some things. They spoke in low voices.
Then Calico turned and found his daughter. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close, “I love you girl,” he whispered in her ear.
Sawyer wrapped her arms around his waist. “I have missed you. When you left that day, you took a big chunk of me with you.”
“I will never leave you behind again,” he vowed.
“Can you accept Jordan as well? I won’t abandon my brother.”
“Of course, I can baby girl,” Calico assured her. “He’s part of Jolene and no matter what happened in the past, I did love her. I think I loved her all these years.”
Sawyer smiled. “I know she loved you. In the hospital, she was unconscious but she kept calling for you right up until she died.”
“That doesn’t help you know,” he whispered as he looked pained.
“I’m sorry,” Sawyer whispered back. “I just wanted you to know that my mother loved you very much. She didn’t forget you and she wouldn’t let me forget you either.”
Calico leaned back and frowned at her. “What does that mean?”
“When I was little, she used to tell me stories about you. We’d lay there in my bed and she would tell me how you met, some of the things you did together. She would have this special smile on her face when she spoke of you. Over time, she lost that smile but I still remember it. Just before she died, she had it on her face again and I was glad.”
Calico closed his eyes against the pain in his heart. He didn’t know what the future had in store for him but he did know Sawyer was going to be part of it. He wasn’t going to leave her behind again. He made a silent vow to Jolene. He would never leave Jolene’s behind again.