Riding down main street behind Grace, I spot Quinn sittin' on his bike in front of the bakery smokin' a cigarette. Grace parks in her usual spot next to the alley as I pull in next to Quinn. Getting out of her car Grace makes her way toward me while Remi jogs over to Quinn and begins chattin' with him. Remi has taken a shine to Quinn. Kids are drawn to him. He says it's his easy going and charming personality. I suppose it's because he acts like a big fuckin' kid all the time and they see him as a peer. All the brothers give Quinn shit from time to time, but we wouldn't want him any other way.

I turn my attention back to my woman when she wraps her arms around my middle, and her scent invades my nostrils. "Will you be here at closing or is Quinn following me home today?"

"I'll be here. I'm going to go see Reid and we're going to find a solution for getting Remi in school." When I see apprehension flash across Grace's face, I tilt her chin up forcing her to meet my eyes. "Whatever we come up with, I promise you your girl will be safe. The club won't let anything happen to Remi. I want you to trust me on this, Little Bird." Taking a shuttered breath, she runs her fingers through my beard, something I've come to love, and nods. "Yes, Jake I trust you. It's just, Remi is my life. I'm always going to worry. But I know this is going to be good for her. I want her to have a normal childhood."

Kissing her on top of her head and then again on her lips, I murmur. "She will." Slapping her on the ass, "Now get inside. I'll see ya later." Turning on her heel in the direction of the bakery's front door, I watch the sway of her hips as she walks inside before I then turn my attention to Quinn who is wearing a goofy ass grin on his face. "What," I gruff narrowing my eyes.

"Nothin' Prez, just like seeing ya happy is all."

Losing some of the bite in my tone, I regard him, "Thanks, brother."

"Well, I'm going to get inside. My stomach is talkin', and Grace's cinnamon rolls are about to answer." Quinn says getting off his bike and rubbing his hand over his stomach. "Brother, you can't tell me Lisa didn't already feed your ass this mornin'. That woman doesn't let anyone leave the clubhouse without a full belly."

"Yeah, Prez, but that was two hours ago."

Chuckling I shake my head, "Alright, man, I'm headed to see Reid. Call me if ya need anything."

"You got it, Prez." Quinn says lifting his chin and then strides into the bakery.

With one last look at my woman through the window, I fire up my bike and head in the direction of Kings Construction.

Walking into Kings Construction, I see Leah sitting behind the front desk with her face hiding behind her glasses and mass of brown curly hair. Though Leah has been in Polson and around the club for over a year now, she is still shy as ever. I'm always mindful of my tone and how I approach her. The last thing I want to do is scare her. And this poor girl looks like she is scared of her own shadow. There's a story there for sure. I don't know much; only she's layin' low from her father and Nikolai and Reid pay her in cash.

"Hey sweetheart, is Reid in yet?" I ask striding up to the counter.

"Yes, Mr. Delane. Mr. Carter is in his office," she replies, her voice low.

"Thanks, sweetheart," I say giving her a wink. "And no more of that Mr. Delane nonsense, okay? You can call me Jake."

With a slight blush, she drops her head and nods.

Walking down the hall, I stop in the doorway of Reid's office, and see he is typing away on his computer. Rapping my knuckles on his door, I make my presence know.

"Hey brother, you have a minute?"

Peering up from his screen, "Yeah, Prez. Come on in." He gestures for me to take a seat in the chair in front of his desk. "You saved me a trip to the clubhouse. I was about to head that way." Reaching into his desk drawer, Reid pulls out a folder, and hands it to me. "This is everything I found on Ronan De Burca."

"Excuse me." Nikolai cuts in from behind me. "My apologies, I don't mean to interrupt but your door is open, and when I was walking by I heard you mention the name Ronan De Burca?" I take in Nikolai's stature and notice his body language has gone tense.

"Do you know who Ronan is, son?" I ask.

Thinning his lips, Nikolai gives a tight nod. "Irish Mob." He states.

Knowing I can trust Nikolai, I state, "He's also Grace's husband." I watch as something like recognition passes over his face.

"Anna De Burca?"

Sitting up straighter in my seat, I turn to face him fully. "What do you know about Grace?"

"Personally? Nothing. The Volkov's have never worked with the Irish. But that does not mean I don't know how they operate. Personally, I find their family unfavorable. The Volkov's are no saints, but my father and I refuse to work with any man who places such little value on their women. A few years ago, we heard rumors of Ronan and how his wife and daughter had disappeared. Some say she fled and some suspected she was dead. Neither stories were surprising," he says, his voice dripping with malice. "Would you like mine and father's help? I'm going to assume the Kings are going to war if need be. The Volkov's will have your back." He declares.

"Make the call to Demetri. See when will be a good time for him to have a sit down with my brothers and me."

"I'll let you know something by days end," he confirms offering me his hand, and I offer mine in return.

Once Nikolai has left, I turn my attention back to Reid. "As soon as I hear back from Volkov I'm going to call church. Hopefully with what information you dug up and whatever Demetri can tell us we can get a better grip on what we are going up against."

"You got it, Prez." Reid backs me up without hesitation.

"Alright, in the meantime, I need your help with something else. Remi has voiced she wants to go back to school. Grace's friend Glory has been homeschooling her. Despite Grace's worries she wants to make her daughter happy and so do I. The kid is desperate for some normalcy and structure. I want to do my damndest to give her some."

"What did you have in mind, Prez?"

"Anyway you can come up with a new name and a fake birth certificate, social security number? You know, all the shit kids need when registering for school?"

"I can do all that. No problem. I can have everything done in a few hours then drop it by the clubhouse."

"Thanks, son. I knew I could count on ya," I say standing up. "Listen, I know you guys have been swamped with the construction of the resort, but you think you can spare Austin? I want to put him on watch when Remi starts school. I'll want him where ever she is when she's not with Grace or me. If you can spare him, then maybe I can steal Blake away from Gabriel."

Reid shakes his head. "Nah Prez, you can have Austin. Sam is always willing to take on extra hours. He's a good kid and never complains. We'll make it work." Reid assures me.

"Alright, son. I'll see ya at the clubhouse in a bit." I tell him clapping him on the back.

Several hours later I'm in my office back at the clubhouse when Logan comes striding in with Reid tailing him. Reid is the first to speak. "I have what you asked for Prez," he says handing over a large manila envelope. It turns out Montana has 176 girls between the ages of five and fifteen named Remi. So, I kept it simple. Remi De Burca is now Remi Cohan. I gave her the same last name as Grace."

"This is perfect. Thanks, brother," I say, but am interrupted by Blake knocking on my office door.

"Prez, you have a visitor at the gate. Says his name is O'Rourke."

"What the hell is he doing back in Polson?" This coming from Logan.

"Fuck if I know," I say just as confused as I stand and make my way out of my office and toward the front of the clubhouse. "I talked to him the other day. He never mentioned anything about coming."

"He's got some balls showin' up at the clubhouse. Being a cop and all," Reid put his two cents in as he and Logan fall in behind me. And he's not wrong. A cop showin' up at our compound takes a fuck ton of guts. Damn it's hard not to like this guy. Stepping out of the door and into the parking lot, I see Finn O'Rourke sliding out of his rented SUV. I also take notice of his appearance. The last time I saw him, he was in a suit that reeked of being a pig, but today he's in jeans, t-shirt, and boots. Finn being the man who helped my woman is what has earned him respect with my club. My brothers know about him, so cop or no cop he will be treated accordingly. "O'Rourke, want to tell me what you're doing here?" I ask crossing my arms over my chest. Leaning against his truck and casually crossing one foot over the other he answers. "After our phone conversation a few days ago, I got the feeling that you and your men would soon be up to something."

"So, what? You thought you'd come to Polson and to my clubhouse because you think you can stop us? Because I can tell you right fuckin' now, that shit's not happenin'." I challenge.

"I'm not here to stop you, Mr. Delane. I'm here to help."

I narrow my eyes with suspicion. "What the hell ya talkin' about?"

Pushing off the side of his SUV, O'Rourke comes to stand toe to toe with me. By this point, the rest of my men join us. Gabriel, Bennett, and Austin. We are all awaiting Finn's next words.

"I took a leave of absence from the force. I am not here as a cop. I'm here as Grace's friend and a friend of the Kings. I left my badge back in Chicago. Today I stand in front of you as a man who is ready to take on the De Burca family and put that son of a bitch Ronan in the ground." He finishes.

Leveling his stare for a moment, I determine I see nothing but truth in his words. Holding my hand out to him, I ask, "You have a place to stay while you're in town?" Shaking my hand, he replies, "No. This was my first stop. But I was thinking of asking Grace if I could stay in her old place above the bakery."

I jerk my head towards the clubhouse, "You can follow me over there in a bit. She doesn't get off for another hour. In the meantime, let's go inside and grab a beer. And you can call me Jake. You showin' up here, puttin' your job on the line to help my woman; you've more than earned the right."

"I can handle that," he says following me inside, "and thanks for not shooting my ass when I showed up."

Settling at the bar, I motion for Raine to give us a round of beers when I hear the door opening behind me. Turning in my stool, I watch Demetri and Nikolai walk in. "Heard you may need a little help exterminating a De Burca infestation." Demetri says leaning against the end of the bar. Raine, knowing what he likes, sits a tumbler of straight brown whiskey in front of him. "I would like the opportunity to be a part of this adventure," he smirks. The allure of violence gleams in his eyes.

"I'm out for blood--for retribution, brother. I plan on being Ronan De Burca's judge, jury, and his motherfuckin' executioner," I declare with a lift of my beer.