Chapter Twenty-Five

 

Maddox

 

Later that night, when Audrey and I are back upstairs, War and Nova come over to our table in the corner and sit down with us. I’ve got a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and a two-liter of Coke sitting in front of me. Once I pour Audrey and myself a fresh round, War picks up the bottle and takes a long pull.

“I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you enough earlier,” War says as he wipes at his lips.

“About what?” Audrey asks.

“Not you, him,” War snorts. “Even with the birth certificate on Thanksgiving, I was still, I don’t know, skeptical of everything…”

“You were being stubborn, and a bit of a d-i-c-k,” Nova interrupts.

“Yeah, that too,” War agrees. “Anyhow, I made Reece run your records again, you know, so I could see things for myself, and…” he trails off to take another pull from the bottle. “I saw a police report with your name on it, from when you two were down in Wilmington during the storm. Report says there were some looters in her building, and you fought them off and then turned them over to the Guard out there.”

“Yeah, it was a crazy few days,” I admit to him. “We should have told you about that too, but I just didn’t know how to tell you about Audrey and I after…I don’t know, man, after all you have been to me, you understand? You’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to a real father, and I didn’t want to disappoint you…”

“Disappoint me?” War scoffs. “When I read that shit, I was so damn proud of you. You took care of her, maybe not like I asked you too, but the best way that you could. She’s just as stubborn as I am in her own way.”

“Hey!” Audrey protests, kicking at War under the table.

“Keep your pointy-ass toes to yourself, woman,” War snarls playfully before taking another drink. “I talked to Nova about it, and she convinced me to say…” War trails off, looking at Nova, almost helplessly.

“It’s all right, you can do it. Spit it out, Warren,” Nova reassures him.

With a heavy sigh, War says, “Reading that report made me realize that you belong here. Both of you. Audrey, you deserve the truth, from me, from Maddox, hell, from everyone in your life. And Maddox, boy…you deserve your place in the Kings and with my sister. You could ride a lot further and a lot harder, and I don’t think you two would ever find a better match for each other. I’m glad you’re together, even though I don’t always like looking right at it.”

As soon as he finishes talking, War gives a firm nod to Nova, then stands up from the table, the bottle of Jack Daniel’s still clutched in his massive grip. “I’ll bring another bottle,” he mutters before he stomps away.

“Give him a minute.” Nova smiles. “He needs to compose himself after getting all that off his chest.”

“War!” I call out to him before he can get further away. When he turns around, scowling, I hold up Audrey’s hand, our fingers intertwined. “Thank you, brother. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”

Warren gives me another of his nods then turns away, but not before the overhead lights catch the shine of wetness in his eyes. He raises a hand to swipe at his face as he stomps off to the bar.

“Don’t mention that when he comes back,” Audrey cautions me.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I snort.

I keep half my attention on the big man as he stands by the bar, noticing that Reece walks over to him and leans in close to speak with him. When War turns to come back to the table, he jerks his head for Reece to follow him over. Reece pulls up a nearby empty chair, then sets his beer on the table as he sits down with us.

“Well, this is unusual.” I grin at Reece. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company this evening? What brings you up out of the dungeon?”

Reece sits up and cranes his neck to look around the crowded bar, then turns back to us with a slight frown. “I was just asking around to see if anyone had seen Cynthia. I’ve been kind of busy dealing with some things with Dalton, and just realized I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

“You are looking for Cynthia?” I ask in surprise.

Thinking that I don’t know exactly who she is, he starts describing her. “Tall, wavy red hair, kind of…” Reece trails off and flushes slightly as he looks between Audrey and Nova, then mumbles, “Kind of stacked, I guess is a polite way to say it?”

“Is this Cynthia your girlfriend?” Audrey asks, causing War to snort as he takes another shot of Jack, then starts coughing violently.

Reece reaches over and pounds War on the back a few times, until his spluttering cough turns into laughter. “Cynthia is everybody’s…friend, and nobody’s girl,” War finally manages to choke out.

“War! That’s terrible,” Nova protests, even though she grins slightly as she looks around at some of the club’s other ladies. “I take it she’s one of the, uh, regulars?”

Reece nods, and says, “Yeah, she’s been hanging around for a while now, looking for an old man, I guess.”

“You thinking about filling that position?” I ask him pointedly.

“No,” Reece protests, a bit too quickly and loudly in my ear. “I’m just…I’m supposed to look out for threats to the club, and if something has happened to her, it’s important I find out what, that’s all.”

“Well, you were going to run that plate number for Mike’s old lady the other day. You’re bound to have this girl Cynthia’s, if she ever drove over here. Could you try to track her down?” I ask him.

“I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.” Reece sighs. “It feels…I don’t know, like I’m being a stalker or something. I guess I don’t have much choice, though, if she doesn’t show up tonight.”

“When has feeling like a stalker or a Peeping Tom ever bothered you?” Audrey asks, this time, making me snort and choke on my drink. If War ever heard about that incident in the alleyway, god help us all!

Audrey and I both burst into laughter, while War and Nova just look at each other and shrug, obviously not concerned about whatever the inside joke might be. As soon as I recover, I try to steer the conversation away from that particular topic as quickly as possible. “Yeah, man, stalking is kind of your thing. Why would you feel bad about doing it to Cynthia?”

“No reason, no reason at all,” Reece replies, unconvincingly. “You know what, I’m going to go get to work on that right now. You guys have a good night.”

Reece stands up, grabbing his beer and rapping his knuckles once on the table.

“You too, Reece,” Audrey says sweetly. “Go get your girl!” she adds to his back, causing him to flip us the bird as he heads for the stairs to the basement.

“There’s something weird going on there,” War observes once Reece disappears. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard him ask about a woman.”

“Well, if he needs anything, we’ll be here for him,” I say, as I raise my glass to War. “But on the way over here tonight Torin told me that my father used to have a saying that I think is appropriate right now. Deacon used to say, ‘don’t try to tackle tomorrow’s problems today.’ That sounds like good advice to me.”

“True words, brother,” War agrees as he clinks his bottle against my glass in toast. “Enjoy your evening, Maddox. And welcome to the family. Both of them.”