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“You’re a fucking rock star, Paddy,” Drake says as we come out of the elevator on the top floor of Kessler’s office building. “I didn’t think you’d get ol’ Quick to agree to a meeting with us.”
“He agreed to a meeting with me. He doesn’t know that the three of you are tagging along,” Paddy grumbles.
We make our way through a maze of posh glass cubicles, standing out from the crowd. Everyone else is wearing suits and smart dresses in shades of white, black, and grey, and the occasional pastel for the more adventurous junior account executives while we’re all in leather and jeans, studded boots, tattoos and piercings aplenty.
Not exactly a sight for sore eyes, I tell myself when we walk into Kessler’s office.
As soon as he turns around, smiling as he expects to greet just Paddy, I can see the joy drain from his face. “Paddy, you traitor,” Michael grumbles.
“Oh, come on, you should’ve known this was coming,” Paddy laughs and takes a seat in one of the fine leather guest chairs.
“You all need to get out of here,” Quick waves us away.
“Actually, you need to shut the fuck up and listen to what they have to say, or I swear to God, I’m going to rescind your club membership and tear you out of every single MC photo we have,” Paddy replies with a harsh tone. “I’m done dealing with your stubborn ass.”
Michael stares at him in shock and disbelief, but to my relief, he doesn’t object. Instead, he takes a deep breath and sits behind his giant glass desk, his gaze bouncing between us. A minute passes in the heaviest silence, though I swear I had a full speech ready. It’s always easier in theory, I guess. But my longing for Nadia is strong enough to push me. Strong enough to overcome this moment.
“The truth is, we did wrong by keeping this relationship from you,” I begin, and exhale sharply. “We were worried you wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re right, I don’t,” he shoots back.
“Hard as it may be to believe, we love Nadia—the three of us, in equal measure,” I reply. We didn’t see it coming. We’ve shared women before; we’re blood brothers, man. You know how that goes.”
“Yeah, when you’re young and restless and fucking around, but certainly not with my daughter.”
“True enough, but it’s different with us and Nadia. First of all, we’re not so young and restless anymore, Quick. Come on, look at us. We’re still reeling in after these past few months. We don’t fuck around, we haven’t fucked around in eons. We want something real, and we found it with Nadia. I know it sounds crazy but it works. We’re happy with her, and she is happy with us, Quick. She makes our lives better, and we are constantly devoted to making her life a fucking paradise,” I say.
Drake offers a slight smile. “We want to be with her. She wants to be with us. And at the end of the day, you can fight us all you want, but we’re still going to be together. We’d rather have you on board, though. You’re all the family she’s got left, Quick.”
“We’ll take good care of her,” Kai adds. “She’ll never be without. And now that the club has taken a different direction, she’ll be safe, too. We’re practically untouchable.”
“What makes you untouchable, exactly? You’re disgraced bikers as far as Orange County’s MCs are concerned,” Kessler replies.
Paddy chuckles dryly. “There aren’t any MCs left in Orange County except the Blackthorn Riders, and they’re known associates of the federal government. Any MC that does have the balls to come up will be subject to serious law enforcement scrutiny, Quick. The olden days are gone. It’s done, brother.”
“I find that hard to believe, but I have no choice, do I?” Michael ultimately concedes, running his fingers through his blonde and silver hair. “As much as I hate to admit it, Nadia has been miserable without you three. She’s also been remarkably respectful of my wishes, which tells me that she is maturing, and I’m inclined to believe it’s got something to do with you. You’re a good influence on her, and God, I feel like I could puke just for saying the words out loud.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Quick, we’d appreciate your approval, tacit or otherwise. We can’t hope for your blessing; we wouldn’t dare. But I know Nadia would be more at ease if she didn’t have to lose her father so we could be together. Hasn’t she lost enough already?”
“She has,” Quick sighs deeply.
“We want what’s best for her,” Drake says. “We kept our word to you. You can’t deny that. We got her back, and then we stayed away. But it’s time for us to move forward, man. She belongs with us.”
He points a stern finger at Drake. “As far as the public is concerned, she’s with one of you. You three decide which one is going to be the face. Everything else stays private, you hear me? If I hear a single rumor about this anywhere in the press, I will bury you. I’m not kidding.”
“I know you’re not kidding,” I reply.
Paddy rolls his eyes. “Aren’t you tired of this same horseshit, you old fool? It’s a new world, a new day. Embrace the fucking future already. These are good men, the best men you could hope for, for Nadia, and you know it. It’s weird as hell, yeah, but it works for them. What you and Cassandra had was special. We didn’t really understand it at first. We supported you, though, didn’t we? We funded your club retirement. You got rich off our backs. Let Nadia carve her own path through life. Let her be happy.”
“I could smack you,” Kessler grumbles. “But you’re a decrepit biker. I might break something.”
“Let’s take it outside and see who falls apart first,” Paddy retorts with a sly grin. “You old sack of bones.”
This is their way of making up, which tells me we’re headed in the right direction. We finally convinced Quicksilver to let us take his daughter back home with us. I’m filled with joy and relief—in quantities I didn’t think were humanly possible. My mind is already weaving all sorts of plans for the future.
Projects. Trips. Moving in together.
We need a place. A house for the four of us. Holy shit, the six of us. We’re going to be a family soon.
