Colson (The Henchmen MC 20)

"That's the plan," I agreed. "Are the cops here yet?"

"Managed to get rid of the uniforms, but Lloyd just came to replace them instead. You know him."

Yeah, I knew him. Not exactly as understanding as Collings had been, but not on a witch hunt either. He wouldn't go away until we answered his questions. And he wouldn't believe any of the shit I fed to him. But he would write it down, file his report, and let it drop.

I could deal with Lloyd.

"Alright, thanks. Go back and fill them in, yeah? Give them one last night of leadership for me. Let them get a little reckless then sleep it off. Shit is going to be crazy for a while. And tell Huck to hang back if he doesn't have any pressing issues. What?"

"Nothing. They showed up beat to shit. Che could barely move. Think the new chapter is hitting some rough patches."

"They'll get through them," I said, having no doubt. I'd chosen carefully. And so had Huck with his men.

"So will we," Cash added, knocking his knuckles on the side rail of the bed before making his way toward the door.

He was right.

We would.

And then we would get revenge.

And then, well, a lot of shit was going to happen.

I just had to iron out the kinks first.

"Alright, what lies are you going to tell me today, Reign?" Lloyd asked a moment later, stepping into the room, brow raised, smile knowing.

"All of 'em," I told him, smirking.

"Yep. Sounds about right. Let's get this over with, so you can get out of here and I pretend I don't know you will be plotting some sort of war on the streets of my town."

And so I did.

Then I let my woman fuss over me, climb into bed with me, fall asleep on my chest.

Eventually, I caught some rest too.

Then I signed myself out.

And I walked out of that hospital, ready for whatever was going to come next.

Or, you know, so I fucking thought.ELEVENEvaI had no idea what the president looked like.

But if I had five minutes to sit down and ponder that kind of thing, I imagined I would have pictured someone almost exactly like the man who made his way through the front door of the Henchmen clubhouse the afternoon after he got out of surgery.

His face was bruised.

He walked a bit hunched to the side like his ribs hurt.

And his arm was in a complicated-looking sling.

But even so, he was the perfect biker leader—tall, fit, handsome, keen-eyed. He was a sexy silver fox who wordlessly got the respect of all his men as he walked inside, everyone falling silent mid-conversation when they saw their leader returning.

My heart ached in my chest at the sight of him, knowing that my son had seen that, had known the abuse he had been enduring, and thought it was okay, turned his cheek, tried to even cover for the men responsible.

I hadn't gotten a lot of time to talk to Jacob. You know... rationally. When I wasn't a raving lunatic. Though, to be fair, I still whole-heartedly believed I had a right to be a crazy person about his involvement in such a fucked up situation.

But after the yelling and lecturing and crying—on both our parts, though I wouldn't rat him out about that to the men around him—Colson had come back to talk to me, Jacob had passed out watching his disgusting horror movie, and we hadn't gotten any alone time after that.

I felt my stomach twisting as the man—Reign—scanned the room, looking all his men in the eye, acknowledging them and their injuries in their efforts to get him back.

I couldn't imagine having a support system like that.My gaze slid to Colson, wondering if he was aware just how blessed he was to have them. He seemed to sense my gaze, turning to look at me, moving back a step to stand behind me, giving my hand a quick squeeze, mistaking my look for one of worry or fear.

"Hope you guys had a few for me last night," Reign said, getting some smiles. "Huck," he singled out the giant with the granite-like jaw. "I appreciate you coming up. I know you have your own shit going on," he said, offering his good hand to the man who took it, giving him a shrug like it was no big deal to drive all the way from Florida, leaving his whole life behind, to pitch in.

"We have a lot to go over. We are going to have an emergency church meeting, but I see someone I need to have a talk with," Reign said, his gaze falling on Jacob who was trying to blend in with the wall. "After that, I have some talking to do with our guest downstairs," he added, getting some grunts and curses from the gathered men. "Pagan, can I count on you to be my good arm?" he asked, gaze falling on a man who looked like a younger, and even more attractive, Robert De Niro.