It's early Sunday morning. Grace and I lay awake in bed with her tucked into my side. Both our internal clocks usually have us up before the sun. We lie here together, neither of us saying a word. Something Grace and I have in common is we are content with silence. Although this morning she is the first to break the stillness. "Will you tell me about your wife?" Rolling over Grace turns to face me, then tucks her hands under the side of her face as her eyes fixate on mine. "You've told me she passed away from cancer, but you have never really talked about her." Gauging Grace's face, I see nothing but warmth and curiosity, and she must take my silence for something else because she tries to shut down her question. "Never mind. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sure this is a painful subject for you," she rushes out as she goes to move away from me.

Reaching out, I snag her around her waist and haul her back towards me. "Come here, babe." I rumble. "You have nothin' to be sorry for. I want you to know you can ask me anything." Once her body relaxes back into me, I continue. "I never talked about Lily because I wasn't sure you wanted to hear about her."

"Of course, I want to hear about her," Grace says. "I just never asked because she was your wife. Losing someone is painful. I still have a hard time talking about my mom and dad. So, I can't begin to imagine the pain of losing a spouse. I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Jake," she chokes out.

"Don't cry for me, Little Bird," I say claiming her mouth with mine. After stealing a kiss, I sit up on the bed and lean back against the headboard bringing Grace with me, and she rests her head on my chest and wraps her arm around my waist. "I only had Lily a few short years, but I'll always cherish the time I had with her.

Lily was spontaneous, quick-witted, caring, and at times wild. I met her not long after I retired from the Army. She came into the garage one day, and the rest is history. We fell in love, married and she was by my side when I started the club, and I was by her side when her sister died, and we took Logan in.

Then I was by her side when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and then I held her as she took her last breath. When Lily died, I thought she took a part of me with her. I was lost for a long time. Until you."

Feeling wetness spilling onto my chest, I look down to find Grace silently crying. Placing my finger under her chin, I coax her to look at me. "The first day I walked into your bakery, and you looked at me, that was the day I was found. That was the day I no longer felt I was roaming around this earth without a purpose because, in that exact moment, I had found my purpose. Before Lily died, she made me promise that when I found the woman I knew was meant to be mine, to never let her go. You, Little Bird are my promise. Nothing and no one on this earth is going to take you from me." I say with conviction.

By the time I'm done speaking Grace has tears running down her face, and I wrap my arms around her and haul her up my body and hold her as she buries her face in my neck. Once her tears have stopped, and her body is no longer trembling, Grace pulls her face from my neck and cups my face with her delicate hands. "I love you, Jake Delane."

"I love you too, babe," I say kissing each of her tear-streaked cheeks before claiming her mouth with mine.

An hour later Grace, Remi and I are in my truck as we cruise down the road. I told the girls we were going out for breakfast. When we make our way down a long paved driveway and park in front of a two-story colonial style home Grace asks, "Where are we? I thought you said we were going out for breakfast."

"We are. Ma cooks breakfast every Sunday," I say shutting down the truck and stepping out before Grace has a chance to say anything back. When I walk around to the passenger side door and open it, I am not at all surprised to see a furious looking Grace.

"I can't believe you brought me to meet your parents without telling me," she fumes, crossing her arms over her chest while not attempting to get out of the truck. In the meantime, Remi wastes no time flinging her door open and rushing over to the field about thirty yards to my right. Grace immediately jumps in her seat and darts her eyes over my shoulder to see where Remi is headed. "She's going to see the horses, babe. She's safe out here," I assure her with a soft tone.

Relaxing her posture, I step forward into the truck and snake my arms around her middle and scoot her body around to face me. Leaning in, I rest my forehead against hers. "I didn't tell you because I knew you would be nervous and work yourself into a frenzy. My parents have wanted to meet you for two years, babe." At my confession Grace's eyes go round. "Two years," she squeaks.

"Yeah, babe. My parents know about you. They knew about you since the first week we met. They're even excited to meet Remi. Ma has been chompin' at the bit. She likes havin' someone to spoil," I chuckle. "What do you say, babe? Want to come meet my folks?" I ask nudging her side, and my action earns me the sweet sound of her giggle.

Nodding, she says, "Yeah, I want to meet them. I'm sorry I got so worked up."

"You have nothin' to be sorry about, babe." I remind her again as I offer her my hand to help her step down out of the truck.

No sooner do I shut the door when my mother steps out of the house and onto the front porch followed by my dad, both wearing big ass smiles. By the time we make it to the front steps Remi runs up behind us and stands at her mom's side.

Before I have a chance to make introductions, my mother beats me to it by pulling Grace in for a hug. "It's so good to finally me you, Grace."

Returning her embrace, Grace replies, "It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Delane."

"Oh, honey, you can call me Karen. And this is my husband Charles." Once their introductions are over, my mother's attention turns to Remi. "And who is this beautiful young lady?"

"Ma, this is Grace's daughter Remi."

With a warm smile, my father speaks up. "I saw you over with the horses. Would you like to ride one sometime?" he asks.

"Yes!" she shouts with excitement. And just like that, my father has won Remi over. "Alright," my father chuckles. "How about we eat some breakfast and if it's okay with your momma, we'll go for a ride."

Remi turns to Grace. "Can I, Mom?"

"Sure you can, as long as it's no trouble."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all."

An hour and a half later after breakfast, Grace insisted on helping Ma with the dishes, and now the three of us are sitting on the porch watching my dad teach Remi how to saddle a horse. When I cut my eyes to Grace, she is beaming from ear to ear as she watches her daughter.

Over the next couple of hours, conversation flows as Ma asks how all the boys are doing and how excited she is that Logan and Bella are expecting. My parents love Logan and think of him as their grandson. They have pretty much taken on the grandparent role with all the guys. As the afternoon wears on, we say our goodbyes to my parents, and my mom hands me a foiled covered plate. "For Quinn," she tells me, and I smile and shake my head.

With a promise to come back next Sunday, we load up and head in the direction of the clubhouse. "Are you cool with hangin' at the clubhouse for a bit. The guys and I have church, and I think all the women are there. Bennett said something yesterday about Lisa getting everyone together for dinner. But if you're not feelin' up to it, I can take you home."

"No, I think dinner with everyone sounds nice." She says threading her hand through mine and I lift them, kissing the back of hers. When we pull up and park in front of the clubhouse Remi once again jumps out and runs inside, no doubt seeking out the children. I'm thrilled she has adapted and embraced the club and my family.

Inside, Grace and I are met by my brothers, O'Rourke, Nikolai, and Demetri sitting at the bar and Ember serving drinks. As soon as Quinn notices us, he stands from his perch and strides in our direction. He wastes no time taking the dish my mother gave me out of my hand, then mumbles a quick thanks before heading off in the direction of the room we hold church. I watch as all the other men follow suit.

I turn to Grace. "You going to be okay while I talk with the guys?"

"I'll go see what the girls are up to in the kitchen. I promise I'll be fine. Now go and quit worrying about me."

Going up to her tiptoes Grace kisses me before turning and making her way to the kitchen, and I head in the direction of church. Walking into the room, I cut my eyes around and note that everyone is here before closing the door and striding around the table to my seat. Slamming the gavel, I direct my first question to Demetri. "I want you to tell me everything you know about the De Burca family."

"The De Burcas' are the second most powerful Irish family in the Midwest. Last I heard they were looking to join forces with the Curran family who is the number one most powerful Irish family. They live in Boston. Once the two families unite, they will hold a great deal of power and essentially become the most powerful syndicate in this country." Demetri explains without sugar coating his words.

"Fuck me," I hear Logan from my right. Demetri's words even have Quinn's attention as he stops eating.

"What's the plan, Prez?" This coming from Gabriel who has remained silent throughout the meeting.

"It's time to prepare for war," I say without missing a beat. "It's time for my woman to stop hidin' and start livin'. She and Remi will never be able to do so unless Ronan is in the ground and that's where I plan on puttin' the motherfucker."

"Do you require my assistance, Jake?" Demetri asks.

"I hate to ask you to put yourself in my shit show, but I'm not stupid enough to turn down your offer. Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated, brother."

"This club is my son's' family. Therefore you all are my family. The Volkov's will stand with you." At his father's declaration, Logan sits up straighter in his seat and gives his dad a nod.

"We're runnin' low on artillery, Prez." Quinn cuts in. "The warehouse is damn near empty. Been that way since we quit runnin' guns."

"Weapons won't be a problem," Demetri adds. "Give me a list of what you need, and I can have it here in a week maybe two. I'll have several of my best men accompany the shipment."

"Sounds good. Quinn, I want you to get with Demetri on what we need."

"You got it, Prez," he nods.

I cut my attention back to Logan. "I want you to put a call in to Riggs. See how things are goin' down South. If all is quiet, ask him to be on standby. We might require his assistance."

"On it," he replies.

I'm just about to wrap the meeting up and bring church to an end when there is a knock on the door followed by Lisa's voice. That gets everyone's attention. The woman knows we are not to be interrupted during church unless necessary.

Bennett is out of his chair and opening the door within seconds, and we can see she is visibly upset. "I'm sorry to interrupt, Jake, but you need to come get Grace," she pleads her voice shaky.

I am up and out of my seat before the word Grace finishes leaving her mouth. I'm storming down the hall with my men hot on my heels when I hear a frantic Grace. Rounding the corner of the kitchen, I'm almost brought to my knees with what I see in front of me.

Grace is on the floor hunched over and rocking back and forth on her knees with her face buried in her hands sobbing. Ignoring everyone around us, I stride to my woman, lean down to one knee and scoop her shivering body into my arms. Grace complies while fisting my shirt and tightly clings to me as she hides her face in my chest. "Lisa, come with me," I bark walking out of the kitchen, pass the bar and upstairs to my room.

When we get to my door, I motion for Lisa to open it. Walking in ahead of me, she turns the lamp sitting on the table by the bed on as I lay Grace down on the bed. "I'll be right back, Little Bird. Can Lisa stay with you for a minute?" Releasing her hold on me, Grace nods, and I kiss her temple.

"I want you to stay with Grace," I tell Lisa. "Lock this door, and nobody but me can enter."

"No problem," she says without complaint as she goes to sit on the bed beside Grace and begins to stroke her back. This is one of the many things I love about Lisa. She is quick to take care of those she loves. "Thanks, sweetheart," I say kissing the top of her head.

Returning to the kitchen, I see Bella, Alba, and Mila visibly shaken by the events that transpired here moments ago. I also see Ember cleaning a shattered bowl and mashed potatoes off the floor, and to my left I see a very angry looking Raine shooting daggers at Liz.

I don't even know why the hell that bitch is here. The women love Ember and Raine, but Liz isn't usually welcome around Old Ladies. "Who wants to tell me what the hell just happened in here?" I ask, my voice hard.

Bella is the first to speak up. "One minute we were all chattin' and about to set the table and the next I hear a loud crash and Grace is on the floor frantically trying to clean the mess while pleading with us not to punish her. I think she was having a flashback." By the time Bella finished her account of what happened, she turns into Logan upset.

Fuck.

I'm about turn and leave the room when I pause as Raine speaks. "That's not all that happened."

"Explain," I demand.

Without taking her eyes off Liz, Raine pushes off of the counter and steps in front of Liz. "This bitch," she says pointing her finger at Liz, "shoved Grace with her shoulder causing her to drop the bowl. I heard her tell Grace, "Look what you did. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Taking another step closer to Liz, Raine gets right in her face. "Yeah, you didn't think I saw that shit, but I did."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I didn't do shit." Liz counters.

Without a second thought, I rush Liz, grab her by the arm and press her against the wall. "You made the wrong fuckin' move messin' with my woman," I spit.

"That bitch is lying," Liz tries pleading once again.

"Shut the fuck up!" I bellow in her face. "I know she isn't lyin'. You, on the other hand, have been deceiving this club for too long. You are no longer allowed on Kings property. When you walk your ass out of my club tonight, you better be thankin' God I decided not to put a bullet between your eyes. Because woman or not, fuckin' with what's mine will get you dead. Do I make myself clear?"

Once Liz sees I mean every fuckin' word I just delivered, she nods.

"Gabriel!" I bark over my shoulder. "Get this whore out of my club. She has ten minutes to pack her shit."

"You got it, Prez," Gabriel says snaggin' Liz by the arm and leading her out of the kitchen.

Looking around the room at the rest of my men I give them a nod silently telling them the show is over and for them to take their women home. A few seconds later the kitchen has cleared all except for Ember and Raine who are busy cleaning the mess. Walking over to Raine, I place my hand on her shoulder giving it a light squeeze. "Thank you, sweetheart. You did good tonight. You proved your loyalty to the club and my woman. You have my respect."

"You're welcome, Jake. Go on and see to Grace. She needs you. Ember and I got this."

Leveling both girls with one more look, I turn on my heel and head upstairs to Grace. On the way there I pass Logan, Bella, Sofia, and Remi. "Is it okay if Remi stays with us tonight?" Bella asks. "She and Sofia talked about having a movie night. You think Grace would mind?"

I run my hand down my face, "I think Remi stayin' with you guys would be a great idea. I'm sure Grace won't mind."

"Yay! Thank you so much, Jake," Remi cheers then steps forward and wraps her arms around my waist hugging me. It is not lost on me that this is the second time she has hugged me. I note that this is a big step for her. It shows she is starting to open up and trust me. Returning her hug, I ruffle the mass of red curly hair on her head. "I want you to be good. I'll have your momma call you before bed, okay."

"Okay, and I'll be good. I promise."

Walking into my room, Lisa is sitting in a chair by the bed and Grace is fast asleep. Without a word, I lean over and lift her into my arms. "Jake," she murmurs.

"Shhh, it's okay baby. I'm going to take you home."

"Remi?"

"She's staying with Logan and Bella tonight. No worries baby, she's safe." I say walking out of the clubhouse and to my truck. Opening the passenger side door, I sit Grace down and buckle her in.

"I'm so embarrassed," Grace confesses as she looks at me with her tear stained face and red puffy eyes.

"You have nothin' to be embarrassed about, Little Bird," I say resting my forehead on hers. "My family is now your family, and they love you. Not one of them would ever judge you for what happened tonight. If anyone can understand demons, it's them. Every one of us has had to face down our own demons a time or two. Just remember your family will be there to help you through.