Of all nights to be so restless. Our first night together in the new bed, a room once void of emotion is now overflowing with love and I can’t settle the anxiety stirring in the pit of my gut. I watch Callie as she sleeps peacefully on her side facing me, her knuckles resting lightly beneath her chin, her ginger locks splayed out over the pillow around her angelic face.

How the fuck did I get so lucky?

Today is Callie’s birthday and I fought Malek to have her party here instead of at the clubhouse which was his preference. Dirty old bastard will do anything for a rise from me. The time will come when Callie will have to spend time around the clubhouse, but that time won’t be while celebrating her birthday. Her freedom.

Of course, I had to meet the prick half way and agree to a compromise. All members and club whores would be attending. Missy was scheduled to show up mid-morning and take Callie to brunch and treat her to a girlie pamper session while I prepped the place for the party. The fucking party would be a biker party and there’s no getting around it. I invited some of the staff from the bar, especially the chicks I was confident would be respectful of my relationship with Callie.

The last thing I want is Callie surrounded by only club whores and bitches I’ve fucked in the past. More than anything I want her to make a life here. With Missy a few hours away, she needs some girlfriends. Especially when the club calls, I don’t want to be leaving her all alone to worry about my safety and whereabouts.

I toss and turn a few more hours before I finally start to drift off to sleep holding the girl of my dreams. On the verge of deep sleep, slipping into a dreamy state, my phone buzzes on the bedside table and I am immediately awake again.

“Kai, church in half hour.” The sound of Malek’s voice has me on high alert. The fact that he hangs up before I have a chance to respond is not good.

I roll out of bed, cursing under my breath. The last thing I want is to wake Callie. Especially being her birthday. It is two in the morning and I am confident I’ll be home again before she wakes. I know I wore her out completely yesterday; I couldn’t keep my hands off her.

I throw on a pair of jeans, the white t-shirt I’d thrown in the corner earlier and my cut. To be safe, I scrawl a quick note on the whiteboard Callie recently purchased for the fridge for such occasions. Hastily, I cram on my boots and make my way out to my bike. An FXDX Dyna Super Glide Sport, and the first rebuild I attempted alone. The chrome finish Vance and Hines pipes and Screaming Eagle logo stamped on the engine, a reminder of all my blood, sweat and tears.

I push it out of the garage, part way down the drive before I start her up. Before Callie, she was my favourite ride. Each time I throw my leg over her, satisfaction fills me. She’ll always be my first love.

It was a quicker than usual ride to the clubhouse at this time of the morning. When I ride in, there are at least thirty bikes parked in the compound. Most members are already here, probably still on the piss from the night before. I park my ride and stride toward the main entrance of the Crude Bar.

“Mmm, good morning, Kai,” the smooth purr of a woman catches my attention to my left. A quick glance tells me to nod and keep walking through to the back. A club whore I’ve seen around but never actually met was on her knees between the prospects legs, his cock in her hand, her lips still swollen from taking him in her mouth.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her reefed up and thrown on the couch face down, fully naked, tits swinging. As I continue toward the back of the clubhouse, I hear her nonchalant groans with each pump of Agro’s dick in her arse. He is standing behind her, rhythmically driving into her, not at all perplexed by my sudden entrance.

“Hey there, sugar, you looking for some lovin’?” Amber, one of the longest standing club whores who is still working hard to make old lady status, runs her filthy hands up over my shoulders and whispers in my ear. Her voice grates my nerves and sets my body alight for all the wrong reasons. My skin crawls with disgust, less than zero percent chance of her ever reaping another fucking orgasm from me.

“Fuck off, Amber.” I’m not normally that rude, I always treat women with respect, whoever they are, but this bitch has been up in my grill since that first drunken night I fucked her and her girlfriend up in the loft above the bar.  That was well over a year ago now and she has to know I am now spoken for. News like that travels fast through the whores. I guess it made the chase more of a challenge for them, to see who could be slutty enough to nail me. But that shit won’t fly with me anymore.

“No need to be so fuckin’ rude, Kai. Didn’t your daddy ever teach you how to treat a woman?” Stepping from her grasp, I scoff at the thought of Malek and his history with women.

“You seem to love the way he treats you while you’re riding his cock, Amber. Go wait in line for your turn.” I shouldn’t have said it, but I wasn’t in the mood for games or being a fucking chess piece pushed around their imaginary board. She drops her bottom lip and batters her false eyelashes at me. My feigning ignorance earns me a scowl and she flips me the bird before she retreats back to where she came from; to the pool tables where a couple of the young mechanics are racking up a new game. They toss me a quick wave as I continue on my way to the back room.

“About fucking time, son,” Malek growls as I walk into the soul room to take my seat at the massive old oak table, the Crude Souls MC patch carved into the centre of it.

Without making eye contact, I glance at my wrist where my watch would be if I wore one, and say, “I’m five early, relax.”

Doing the rounds, I share a back slap, fist pump and a hand shake here and there with the boys; my brothers. “What’s the urgency, Prez,” I ask, taking my seat. “I’ve left my girl at home on her birthday, this better be good.”

“Believe me, it’s much more important than Red waking up alone,” Fury interjects. It shouldn’t bother me that he’s taken to calling her Red, but there’s no changing Fury’s ways and he’s harmless enough.

“Well let’s get on with it,” I add as Agro finally joins us, still readjusting himself in his jeans.

The gavel sounds on the table and the room falls silent as Malek starts to fill us in on the urgency of the meeting.

“It seems my son’s retaliation a few weeks back may have caused some backlash.” He sits forward in his seat and stares at me until my gaze meets his. My back bristles at the suggestion of trouble and me being the cause of it. “The Grafton Chapter had a run in tonight with some out of town coppers, undercover of course. There was no question in their mind that they were dirty cops. They were asking questions about a drug deal with some southerners that never showed with the goods.”

Fuck. Somebody is looking for Randall and Rance and somehow they have pieced together our possible involvement. “How the fuck would they end up at one of our clubs asking shit like that? Hun and his men cleaned up every trace of evidence. Burned the car, the drugs and the bodies.”

“The how isn’t the problem. It’s more the why and to what lengths they will go to find out the truth,” Malek answers. “The Grafton boys aren’t too worried, they just wanted us to be aware and be on the lookout for any possible threats.”

Fury addresses the room. “We want to send a few members south, undercover, no cuts, no weapons, no bikes. We need to keep tabs on those slimy bastards and make sure they don’t make their way up here.”

“Show of hands, who is willing to go rogue for a bit?” Malek asks.

A few members raise their hands, and Razor cheers, “I’m all in if it means some new pussy!” Laughter rumbles around the table and Malek slams his fist on it.

“Stop thinking with your dick, man, it ain’t a fucking holiday,” Malek scorns.

The laughter fades and a vote is taken. Ace, Razor and Naylor will head off at dawn. With that settled, church is finished and I’m riding off to be with my baby when she wakes. As I get closer to home, paranoia sets in. I’m looking at every parked vehicle like it could be a threat. What if they’re still searching for Callie and they find her? Maybe some added security for tonight wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Parking the Dyna back in the shed, I make a mental note to ring in some more reinforcements from the bar for security. I creep into the house, strip out of my clothes and climb into bed. Callie stirs slightly, curling into me as I relax into her touch and drift off to sleep.