More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel) (65 page)

I’m not sure why, but I still feel like there’s more to say. “Murphy told me…he told me you were there for him when his mom died.”

She blinks a few times before answering. “That was a rough time.”

“I know I met her once or twice, when I was little, but I barely remember her.”

“Hey, Trin,” my brother says, interrupting the supremely awkward talk Trinity and are weaving through.

“Where’s Blake?” I ask.

“Christ, you
can
be apart for five seconds, right?”

“No. Not really.” I stick my tongue out at him, because well, he’s my big brother.

Next to me, Trinity shakes with laughter. “Young love.”

A flash of pain freezes my brother’s face for a second. Whether it’s physical pain from the accident or something else, I’m not sure. “Hey.” I lean forward and tap his hand. “I never got to tell you about running into Mom.”

His blond eyebrows shoot up and his jaw drops. He’d look less surprised if I’d smacked him upside the head with a branch. “What? When?”

For the next few minutes, I recount my two recent encounters with our long lost mother.

“What a bitch,” he mutters.

“Pretty much,” I agree.

Trinity nods at Blake and Wrath, who are making their way over to us. “Jeez, the four of us could form a ‘shitty mothers club.’”

It’s an awful thing to laugh about, but that doesn’t stop us.

My brother grabs my hand, giving it a quick squeeze to get my attention. “I want you to stay away from her.”

“No problem there.”

“I’m serious, Heidi. She’s bad news. If she calls you again, let me know.”

Marcel’s gradually eased up on the overprotective big brother antics over the last few months, so I take his warning seriously. “Okay. I will.”

“What’s going on?” Wrath asks as he sits next to Trinity and pulls her into his lap.

“You tell us.” I glance up at Blake. “Are you taking off?”

He runs his hand over his beard before settling down next to me. “Not tonight. Tomorrow.”

I wait for more information, but instead he asks about Alexa.

“She’s fine.”

Rock and Hope wander over. Hope waits patiently while Rock smooths out a blanket next to ours.

After they’re sitting, Rock lifts his chin in Blake’s direction. “Ol’ ladies were invited down, too. If that makes it easier.”

“Fuck that,” my brother snaps.

Blake ignores Marcel’s outburst. “I know Tawny said it would be family friendly, but I don’t want Alexa down there.”

Part of me is a little annoyed Blake’s making this decision without asking me. In some ways, I’d very much like to go to the downstate club and have Blake introduce me to everyone as his ol’ lady. But the responsible mother part of me knows he’s right.

“Um.” Hope waves her hand in the air. “I’d rather stay here and help Heidi with the baby.”

My heart skips. I was worried I’d be the only one staying behind.

Trinity turns to Wrath. “Are you running down, too?”

Wrath shoots a glare at Rock. “Apparently.”

“I volunteer for baby duty, too,” Trinity says, making Wrath chuckle.

I lean over and whisper, “Thank you.”

She flashes a quick smile and mouths, “No problem.”

My brother falls back in the grass. “I’m out. Still can’t ride.”

“You can always sit in the van, ya fuck,” Blake says, leaning over and smacking my brother’s arm. He turns to Rock. “Sway gonna be pissed if no ol’ ladies come down?”

Rock lifts his shoulders. “Fuck him if he is.”

Later, when everyone has drifted off to…do their own thing, Blake turns to me with uncertainty brewing in his eyes. “Are you mad about not going?”

“No.” I’ve been working hard on being truthful with Blake no matter what. The way he asked me to. “I’d really like to have you”—I feel childish admitting this—“you know, tell everyone I’m yours. That you’re with me. But you’re right, it’s not a good idea to bring Alexa down there, and I can’t ask Hope to watch my daughter all the time. So, no. I’m not mad.”

His mouth slides into a hint of a smile, but his eyes still seem troubled. His words are strong, though. “Believe me, Heidi, I’m yours. I’m not going down there to… I meant it when I said there was no one else for me.”

“I’m not worried about
that
. I trust you.”

He covers my hand with his. As always, his touch is gentle as he picks my hand up, dipping his head to kiss my open palm. “Thank you.”

“I
’m fine, I swear,” Heidi says for the tenth time this morning.

Even though I’ve asked her ten times, there’s no exasperation in her voice. Nope. She wraps her arms around me, kissing my jaw.

“I haven’t spent enough time with you.” I lower my voice, my mouth hovering over hers. “I don’t want to spend a night away from you.” I squeeze her a little tighter against me.

She makes a sweet “aww” sound and presses her lips to mine.

“For fuck’s sake,” Z groans from a couple feet away. “We won’t even be gone for forty-eight hours, Murphy. You’ll survive.”

“Jealousy’s an ugly color on you, Uncle Z,” Heidi teases, making him smirk.

Z kisses Alexa’s cheek and adjusts her in his arms. “Your mom’s got a smart mouth on her, baby girl. You’re gonna be just like her, aren’t ya?”

Laughing, because that’s probably true, I let go of Heidi, but sling an arm over her shoulders. “Where’s prez?”

Z cocks his head to the side. “Where do you think? Having a goodbye slamfest, no doubt.”

Heidi slaps her hands over her ears. “Ew! Why would you say that in front of me?”

Z and I chuckle at her expense, and my reward is her hand slapping my chest.

She stomps over to Z with her arms out. “Give me my daughter back. I don’t want her first word to be
slamfest
.”

“Could be worse.” Z chuckles as he hands Alexa over.

Our attention’s pulled toward crunching leaves and snapping twigs in the woods. A few seconds later Rock and Hope come strolling out.

“About time,” Z grumbles.

“Sorry.” Hope giggles, not looking one bit sorry.

Behind us, the front door slams open. “Are we going or not?” Wrath bitches. Trinity laughs and nudges him down the front steps.

We circle around Rock. My hand’s tight around Heidi’s waist. I don’t want to let her go until the very last second. We discuss the route we’re taking and when we plan to return tomorrow.

Then, it’s time to go.

I take Alexa out of Heidi’s arms and cuddle her against me. “Be good, baby.”

“Da!” she yells, slapping my cheeks. A burst of high-pitched baby giggles spill out of her, and my reluctance to leave grows even stronger.

Rock kills the moment a few seconds later when he kicks his bike over. The rumble startles Alexa and she wails, tears sliding down her red cheeks. “Shh. It’s okay.” But Alexa’s not having it. I hand her back to Heidi. “Better take her inside.”

Heidi gives me one last quick kiss. “Love you. Be safe.”

“I’ll be thinking of you the entire time.”

She gives me a soft smile in return. “Me, too.”

I’m surprised at how calm I am as I watch the guys take off from inside the clubhouse.

Last night I meant it when I told Murphy I trust him. I don’t feel abandoned either.

Hope steps next to me. “They’ll be back before we know it.”

“I know.”

T
he back county roads we take down to Sway’s place instead of the Thruway are slow. For the first time in my life, I’m not enjoying the wind in my face.

Something’s missing and I know exactly what it is. Heidi at my back.

Wrath’s crankier than I am about the trip and has been giving Rock shit every chance he gets for forcing him to come along.

Z’s amused by all of it.

Rock signals for us to pull over about twenty minutes from Sway’s compound. “Are you two done sulking?” he asks, pointing at Wrath and then me.

“I’m cool, prez,” I answer.

Wrath just folds his arms over his chest.

“He’ll have church first thing tomorrow morning, and we’ll head home after.”

“I might stick around,” Z says.

Rock tosses him a look. “That’s fine.”

When we finally arrive, Sway’s place is quieter than usual. Only a few bikes in the front parking lot. “Where is everyone?” I ask Rock.

“On a run. Just supposed to be Sway, his VP and new SAA. Rest of the guys will be back for church in the morning.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Wrath grumbles.

Sway greets us right inside the clubhouse doors. “Hey, motherfuckers. Took ya long enough.”

He gives Wrath a hard handshake. “You haven’t been here in forever.”

“I know.”

Tawny sets us up in rooms, and Sway asks us to meet him in their chapel.

Surprisingly, he sweeps us for bugs before letting us into the room. That’s new.

“What’s going on?” Rock asks.

“Listen,” he says, his gaze straying to me. “I need to come clean with you.”

An unease spreads through my gut.

Sway focuses on me. “The case on Bull’s been closed. You’re fully clear.”

I hadn’t given that much thought in a few months. But, it’s good to know. Wrath sits forward and pins Sway with a hard stare. “What aren’t you saying, brother?”

Sway’s gaze flicks from Wrath to me to Rock. “Bull was a snitch.”