DAY THREE…

 

KATRINA

 

My brother Jordan was a member of the Winter Cobras MC. Ever since he was young, I knew how much it meant to him to have his own ride. It was inevitable that he eventually patched up.

I left Ivory to find myself like any young woman would after high school. Jordan stayed behind, dedicating himself to the club. By the time I came back home, I found that he’d worked his way all the way up to club president. I was as proud of him as any sister could be.

Jordan was always getting into trouble. Wearing a patch meant that it came with the territory. I never worried about him though because I knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

Getting involved with Blake complicated things. The Cobras had a beef with the Black Reapers that stemmed so far back that nobody even knew how it started in the first place. When Blake and I got together, the two clubs managed to come to an agreement to stay at peace with each other. They weren’t friends. They never would be. For the sake of my daughter and me, the two clubs agreed not to get involved with each other.

Things were different now. The shooting at The Grindhouse wasn’t club business. It was personal. Jordan took it upon himself to try and make a point to Blake. Now they both had to spend the night in jail.

The clubhouse of the Winter Cobras was called The Bone Pit. It was a place as raucous as any other bar in town, outside of maybe Finn’s. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night anyway.

I huddled on a couch in one of the backrooms of the clubhouse with Bella in my arms. I thought about the shooting. I thought about Blake. I thought about my brother. But more than anything, all I wanted to do was keep my daughter safe.

All of the thoughts running through my mind exhausted me to the point that I actually drifted off to sleep.

A sudden knock at the door brought me out of my slumber. I blinked my eyes open and saw the sunlight shining in through the windows.

The door slowly opened up and my brother stepped in. He stared at me for a moment before moving forward. A couple of fresh scrapes on his face weren’t anything out of the ordinary. Always getting into trouble as usual.

“Hey…”

He pulled up a chair and took a seat down in front of me. I looked away from him, turning my attention to my daughter in my arms as I rocked her back and forth.

“Look—”

“I know, I know,” I sighed. “You had to do what you had to do.”

“There was a drive-by shooting at his clubhouse. You almost got hurt or worse.”

“I didn’t get hurt or worse. I’m just fine.”

“You know you shouldn’t be taking this lightly. I can’t remember the last time someone tried to pull a hit on a clubhouse. This is serious.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

I did my best to keep my voice down so as not to wake my daughter up. I rocked her gently, my eyes locked on my brother.

“We’ve already been over this before,” I said. “Blake is Bella’s father. We’re engaged. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

“I know. You’re your own woman. Stubborn as ever.”

“I didn’t choose to fall in love with Blake. You can’t expect me to stop caring for him.”

“Maybe not. But that still doesn’t mean I have to stop doing my best to protect you. Now that Bella is here, I have to try even harder.”

“Then what are you doing to help Blake? You know what happened to that prospect. They’re the same ones responsible for the shooting. It’s not a secret.”

Jordan put his head down. My brother was as confident as any man I’d ever met. But at the moment, he looked as defeated as I’d ever seen him.

“Nobody knows what happened,” he said. “That shooting was a mystery. They’ve got feds working the case and they don’t know who did it.”

“You can still help.”

“You’re right. I can help. I have to do my part to make sure that you and Bella stay safe.”

“Me, Bella, and Blake.”

“I think Blake agrees with me more than you.”

I scoffed at the thought. Blake had too much pride to get along with Jordan, even if Jordan was my brother.

“What do you think—”

Before I could finish, the door opened up. Blake walked in flanked by a couple of other Cobras. He looked at the two club members and held his hands out to them.

“You wanna call your bodyguards off?” Blake said to Jordan. “You know I’m not gonna try anything.”

Jordan gave his two men a nod and they left the room. I immediately got up from my seat and wrapped one of my arms around Blake. He held me tight then looked down at his daughter.

“Are you all right?” Blake said.

“Of course I am,” I said. “I’m not some piece of porcelain.”

“No, you’re not.”

Blake smiled at his daughter and brushed her cheek softly with his index finger.

“Maybe you should sit down,” he said.

I looked into his eyes and immediately knew something was wrong.

Blake had a confidence about him that never went away. It was one of the first things I noticed when I first met him. His arrogance made me fall for him in a way I didn’t want to admit.

It wasn’t there right now. I looked for it but it wasn’t there…

I took a seat and Blake stood right in front of me next to Jordan. The two of them looked at each other and nodded.

“I got some info last night when I was behind bars,” Blake said.

“What kind of info?” I asked.

“The kind of info I need to get to the bottom of everything that’s been going down. Garnet put out an order to everybody. There’s… There’s something I need to do.”

“And that is…?”

“I have to take care of business. Club business.”

Even though I was as close to Blake as I could be, I was never let in on club business. I knew that there was no point in asking. All I could do was sigh and look away.

“It’s serious,” Blake said. “Real serious.”

“I talked to Blake about it,” Jordan said. “We both agreed that the best place for you and Bella is to stay here.”

“We’ve been over this before,” I sighed. “I’m not a child—”

“Look,” Blake cut me off. “I know… I know you love me. But this is something that I have to do. Your brother is right. I can’t put you in danger. I can’t put Bella in danger.”

I already knew what was coming. Jordan and Blake gave me a moment to gather my thoughts. Blake was about to handle his business and there was nothing I could do about it.

I got up from my seat and looked right into Blake’s eyes. The arrogance I usually saw in him still wasn’t there. I had to help him find it.

“Go,” I sighed. “Handle your business. And you come back, okay? Your daughter is waiting for you… I’m waiting for you.”

Blake leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips. We closed our eyes as he pressed his forehead against mine. Sharing this moment with him, I felt the confidence he usually had coming back.

“Nothing will stop me from getting back to you,” he said. “No matter what happens. I’ll get back to you. I promise.”

“I know you will.”

He kissed me on the forehead then did the same to his daughter. Just before he left, Blake turned toward my brother.

“I’d sacrifice everything for Katrina,” Blake said. “I’d sacrifice everything for Bella. I expect you to do the same.”

Jordan got up from his seat and held his hand out. They shared a firm handshake.

“If that’s what it takes, I won’t hesitate,” Jordan said.

Blake looked at me and gave me a smirk. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. Then he turned around and left me alone with my brother. I sighed as I took a seat back down on the couch.

I rocked Bella softly in my arms. Despite everything that just happened, my daughter remained silent in her sleep the whole time.

“What do you think he’s up to?” I asked.

“I don’t know. You know I’m not a fan of Reapers. But if it comes down to it, I’ll be there for him if I have to.”

We’d all been through too much to throw it all away now. Whatever Blake and the rest of his club were dealing with, I knew they would get through it.

My eyes on Bella, I whispered to my brother while he watched over me.

“Thanks…”