Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

T here was a heavy air to Church the next day. No matter what Bulldog did to the man, Billy Merrick was still clinging to his innocence. He shouted obscenities and called them names, but he never once indicated that he was responsible for the bomb found on club property. Despite the evidence, Billy should have cracked by now. From the way Cage described the man, he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. There was no reason many of them could see for Billy to still claim he was innocent unless he was innocent.

Steel slammed his gavel down on the table. Everyone went immediately quiet. “When we first discovered the cellar, I never thought it would be put to use in the way it has been in the past two years. Additionally, I never thought we’d turn into executioners. Don’t get me wrong: I have no regrets. The men, and women,” he added begrudgingly, “who have died by our hands have all deserved it. Whether they threatened us, this town, or the innocent, they all deserved to meet their fates. Some,” Steel said pointedly with an inclination of his head towards Demo, “died too quickly as later crimes have been discovered. Regardless, we cannot raise the dead.

“I have never been conflicted about someone in our cellar before. I know what the evidence states, but I also know what my gut says. And I am questioning Billy Merrick’s guilt. He’s been in the cellar for nearly two weeks. Bigger and stronger men have not lasted half as long.”

“The evidence is solid,” Keys argued. “Everyone saw the video. Unless we believe that somehow Yelizaveta framed her husband and built that bomb, which I don’t see how she could have because she was on the other side of their truck at the time it was planted?”

“I hate to ask this,” Grumpy leaned forward, “but what sort of background check did we do on her? She’s Russian and I know she got a green card into the country when she married Merrick. Does she have any connection to the Bratva or any other syndicate?”

Keys shook his head. “I did a very thorough background check on her. No connections whatsoever. She calls her aunt in Russia weekly. Beyond that, she has no other family. They were all either executed or imprisoned years ago when she was a child.”

“How did she come to America?” Angel asked.

Keys shifted uncomfortably. “Merrick paid a mail-order bride service. Yelizaveta was barely legal at the time.”

Other than the officers who already knew this fact about Yelizaveta’s history from the time when they’d hired her, everyone’s jaws dropped.

“Wait, so Yelizaveta is an honest-to-God Russian mail-order bride?” Pirate asked with awe.

Steel’s gavel hit the table with an echoing thwack . “Yelizaveta is to be treated with respect at all times!” he admonished. “She is a hardworking employee who deserves no less. Her marriage and the circumstances of how she obtained sanctuary in this country is no one’s business but her own.”

Pirate nodded. “I meant no disrespect,” he said sincerely. “I just didn’t know that was still a thing outside of porn.”

“Yelizaveta has been in this country for nearly twenty years and still struggles with everyday English,” Bulldog pointed out. “That should tell all of you how little her husband pays attention to her. He hasn’t even tried to acclimate her to this country.”

Cage cleared his throat. “I’ve heard him call her ‘the bitch’ to some of the other guys on a jobsite. More than once. I’ve never put up with that shit, even before I knew who Yelizaveta was. He’s careful not to say it around me anymore after I threatened to knock his teeth out last summer.”

“He calls her ‘Elizabeth’,” Angel added. “He doesn’t even use her real name.”

“We can all agree that the man’s an asshole,” Steel interjected. “Unfortunately, if that was the stipulation we used for entry into the cellar, we’d need to build a rotating door into it.”

“And a bigger cellar,” Lucky stated dryly.

“He’s more angry than scared,” Angel added. She was running her fingers along the edge of the MC’s insignia carved into the long conference table. “I even offered Moore a free day if he got Merrick to talk, but Merrick proclaimed he was innocent and that we were fucking idiots.”

“ He is a fucking idiot,” Cage emphasized again. “I don’t think you guys are comprehending just how stupid this man is. I am not saying anything against those mentally challenged,” Cage quickly added towards Lucky. “I am saying that Merrick is just plain dumb. He is the worst plumber on the team. No one wants to work with him because they know they’ll have to go behind him and fix everything he just did. I once saw him apply duct tape to a fitting because he couldn’t figure out it was on backwards and that was why the threads weren’t matching up.” Cage shook his head. “There’s no way he built that bomb. You’ll never have me believing so.”

“Any idiot with Google can build a bomb,” Demo argued. “Hell, most supplies needed are in people’s kitchens and they just don’t realize it. Who here knows that sugar can be used to make an explosive more powerful than dynamite?”

Some faces looked more shocked than others.

Demo turned his attention back to Cage. “Only a really stupid person would use rubber glue to fuse wires to battery packs and forget to add a trigger.”

“Or someone really smart,” Jumper added softly.

Everyone turned towards the quiet man. As a general rule, Jumper didn’t talk during Church. He preferred to listen. More than once, Demo had heard him tell Bulldog or Lucky that it helps to keep him in the present. Aerial was lying peacefully at his feet. Jumper was always careful of the wheelie chairs around her.

“You think he’s being set up?” Steel questioned the other officer.

Jumper shrugged. “You have a man of questionable intelligence being accused of making a sophisticated explosive device that required making a homemade plastique. That in and of itself is difficult, regardless of one’s search histories. The smallest mistake could make the plastic explosive useless or too volatile.”

“He’s right,” Demo agreed. “We used to call it the Goldilocks Effect. The recipe has to be just right. ”

“Yet he makes the one mistake that rendered his creation utterly useless?” Jumper inquired of the table as a whole.

“ He put the bomb in the parking lot,” Keys reminded them all, again.

Jumper shrugged, “Maybe. But who says he knew what was in the duffel?”

“You can’t honestly believe someone was able to trick the man into leaving a bomb in a duffel on our property?” Cage scoffed.

“According to you, he’s a dumbass.”

“Even he’s not that dumb.”

Steel wrapped his knuckles on the wood table. “The bomb took time to create. Regardless of the fact that it was a dud, it took purpose and intent. Merrick lacks motive.”

“He hates us,” Pumpkin put in. “Yelizaveta has lent me a hand a few times with SJ. I’ve asked her how she likes working here. She says she loves it but her husband doesn’t. He wants her to quit.”

“Her broken English is difficult to understand at times,” Lucky said gently. “I’ve tried to talk to her but it’s hard. How did you get so much from her?”

Pumpkin shrugged. “My deadbeat of a dad was Ukrainian and spoke Russian. I grew up bilingual before he left us for his secretary. Took a bit to remember some things, but we muddle through. While I can’t guarantee a perfect translation, it’s enough for us to hold a conversation when she helps out.”

“Why is she working here if her husband doesn’t want her to?” Everyone turned to Grumpy.

Angel’s eyebrows flew up. “Because a wife needs her husband’s permission to work somewhere?”

Grumpy did not take the bait, though his perpetual scowl did deepen slightly. “Of course not. I meant, given her history and what seems to be the uneven dynamic of their marriage. Merrick seems like the type of man who is misogynistic by nature.”

“She knew of the job opening from Harper,” Lucky said from the other side of the table. Yelizaveta’s son, Carter, was one of Harper’s students. “Steel and I interviewed her. She likes cleaning and has always wanted a job but she can’t leave Carter home alone. Harper assured her before she came in to interview that Carter was welcome here whether she was on the clock or not.”

“Merrick not approving or wanting Yelizaveta to work here still isn’t a motive to plant a bomb ,” Bones piped up from beside Pirate. Demo knew he’d been quiet for most of the meeting because he was trying not to draw Steel’s attention to him. Steel was still pissed about Bones not calling for help following his therapy session two weeks ago. Since then, Will had been at Bones’ beck and call per Steel’s order.

“And around and around we go,” Bulldog scoffed. “I am fairly certain we could argue this all damn day.”

Steel hit his gavel against the table. “Which is why I am calling for a closed vote now. Normally we openly vote,” Steel explained, “but given how divided we are, I am willing to do a closed vote should anyone here wish it.”

Demo flipped the top sheet on his legal pad to a blank page as Lucky said loudly, “All in favor of a closed vote?”

No one spoke up.

Lucky turned to Steel. “Open vote it is.”

Steel looked to Demo. “Ready?”

Demo nodded.

“Those who believe Billy Merrick is guilty of planting the bomb at the clubhouse with the intention of having it explode to wound and/or kill many of us, raise your hand.”

Out of sixteen patched members, eleven raised their hand. Bear, Angel, Cage, Bones, and Jumper did not. Though an officer, Bear, as Road Captain, did not get a vote unless it was to be the tiebreaker. Since there were sixteen in the room, removing Bear from the voting members gave them an odd number so there couldn’t be a tie. If someone was absent or wished to transfer their vote to Bear, then he would become the tiebreaker.

Clearly, more than half of the club believed in Merrick’s guilt.

“That settles it then,” Steel said. He turned to Bulldog. “Merrick is yours.”

Bulldog looked to Ghost. “I’m taking Abby out on a date tonight. I worked him over good yesterday. Take him his last meal tonight and let him say his prayers. I’ll take care of him in the morning and then the prospects can clean up the mess.”

Ghost nodded.

“Which brings me to our last topic of discussion before we adjourn,” Steel said, “we need to vote on patching in Sara and Will?—”

Loud laughter rose from the other end of the table. Demo was one of the few around the table who looked confused. Bear looked like he was torn between amusement and nausea while Lucky let out a long groan and laid his head down on the table.

“Kill me now.” His voice was muffled by his arms and the wood table, but Demo was close enough to hear him where others probably couldn’t.

“What’s going on?” Demo asked Ghost, who was keeled over laughing.

Steel smacked his gavel down on the table numerous times. “What the fuck is wrong with you? If something happened that would prevent either Sara or Will from being patched in, I need to know about it.”

The table quieted down, but most of the members were looking at Lucky expectantly.

“Lucky?” Steel demanded. “Is something going on with Sara?”

The question was a reasonable one. At Christmas, Lucky’s daughter, Sissy, had come out to the club as bisexual and was dating Sara, the club’s female prospect. Rumor had it that Lucky had not handled this revelation well. Not because of his daughter’s sexuality but because Sara had not come to him to ask permission to date his daughter. After whatever family confrontation had taken place, Lucky had pronounced to the club that he supported and approved of their relationship. No one had said a word about it since. It just was.

Like the action pained him, Lucky sat up. He did look a little green in the face. “Scotty was really excited by the news that Sara’s going to be patched in soon.” He spoke as if he had something sour in his mouth. “He asked Sara if he could give her her road name like he did with Grumpy and Pirate.”

Snickers came from around the table again but were silenced by Steel’s intense glare.

Lucky tried to speak but failed. Demo seriously wondered if he was going to throw up. Finally, he was able to get out, “Apparently, Scotty overheard Sissy and Sara talking about…scissoring and,” he winced, “how great Sara is at…scissoring…” Lucky swallowed hard. “So he wants to give Sara the road name of ‘Scissors’ and then asked Sara to see her scissor collection.”

There was a collective silence before the entire room, aside from Lucky and Steel, burst out into uncontrollable roars of laughter.

Once everyone calmed down enough for the votes to be cast, it was unanimously decided that Will and Sara would receive their patches the following week. Viktor and Darrin, the club’s newest prospects, would be arriving around the same time. Mitch’s vote wouldn’t be until mid-March.

Lucky got outvoted as to whether Sara would be named ‘Scissors’. Since no one had a specific name for Will, he got to choose his own. Once Demo had his road name, he would be able to order the rockers and patches necessary for their new cuts.

Demo also planned to ask Sara, or Scissors, if she wanted him to order her a property cut for Sissy. Once Sara was patched in, she could claim Sissy as her ol’ lady. Demo didn’t want to presume but he was ordering a property cut for Paige and denim cuts for her boys for when she was ready. Dare he hope by the first club run of the year?

The clubhouse was crowded as the patched members descended the stairs. Before heading to Church earlier, Demo had dropped Paige, Mikey, and Nelly Bean off at Harper and Lucky’s house. The four of them were heading to Johnstown after the meeting to spend the afternoon at a trampoline park that had a toddlers’ foam pit.

The sight of Paige and her boys mixed in amongst the ol’ ladies and club kids did something to Demo’s insides. It settled a part of him that he hadn’t even realized had been unsettled within him. The only other time he had ever felt something like it was his first time returning to American soil after his deployment. Like walking off a ship you hadn’t realized was rocking until you stepped back onto solid land.

He walked right up to her, sidestepping where the boys were playing on a rug with Caleb, Abby and Bulldog’s boy, and leaned over where she was sitting on the couch to kiss her.

He felt her lips curve into a smile against his. “Hi,” she let out in a chuckled breath.

“Hey,” Demo said.

A tugging on his pants had him looking down to see Mikey had seated himself on Demo’s right foot and was holding himself to his calf. Realizing this, Nelly Bean followed suit with the other foot. Looking disheartened that Demo didn’t have a third leg—the immature boy that resided in Demo’s head let out a snort at the unintended innuendo—Caleb started to pout.

Unable to resist, Demo dropped his right arm down so the toddler could leap onto it and swing like Tarzan on a vine.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Demo said down to a smiling Paige, “I have to go walk over there,” he pointed randomly over his left shoulder with his thumb, “for no apparent reason whatsoever.”

“Of course,” she answered while also taking out her phone. “Don’t let me stop you. That’s a very important reason to head in that random direction.”

Weighed down by three giggling munchkins, Demo hobbled his way around the clubhouse. The parasites currently attached to his legs and arm laughed and giggled as he took exaggerated steps and swung his arm needlessly. Demo waved to his club brothers and even stopped at the bar to have a very animated conversation with Ranger behind it. Then he made his way back over to Paige on the couch.

The adoring smile she gave him was totally worth it.

“Good thing I wore a belt today,” he commented as he sat down on the opposite side of the couch from her. He turned on his butt, swinging legs and children up onto her lap. He brought Caleb up onto his chest.

Paige grabbed up her boys as they scrambled to hug her. “Probably not the time or place to lose your pants.”

Demo chuckled. He took exaggerated breaths to make Caleb rise and fall on his chest. The two-year-old toddler held on to his hands tight like he was on an exhilarating roller coaster ride.

“The boys and I just had lunch with the others,” Paige told him. “We’re ready to go when you are.”

“Good. Why don’t you take the boys to the bathroom? I snacked a little upstairs but I want to make a sandwich or something for the road. Coffee?” he asked her.

“Please. My water bottle’s in my purse at the door. Can you fill that and the boys’ travel cups?”

“Of course. Let me see if I can find any takers for this one.” It wasn’t like Abby or Bulldog were hiding.

Demo swung Caleb up over his shoulder and lugged him off, calling out playfully that he had a kid for sale. Unfortunately, the boy’s parents claimed him before Demo could make any money off of him.

The boys had a blast at the trampoline park. Demo even went into the foam pit with Nelly Bean because he was too short and would have gotten lost in the foam blocks. Paige loved how taken the boys were with Demo. Despite her reservations about jumping into a relationship with him so quickly, she hoped it was a good sign for their future.

They both fell asleep on the car ride home, so Paige was extremely grateful for Demo’s help in getting them all into her house before leaving for the night.

The house was quiet as she started breakfast— not donuts! —and the coffee machine the next morning. Demo had been appalled when he’d discovered she was reusing coffee grounds. The next day, a delivery box came to her door with probably a year’s worth of coffee. The company, Grounds and Hounds , used a portion of their profits to support animal rescue organizations for dogs. Damn him for finding another loophole, because there was no way she could have returned that coffee knowing the funds from his purchase were going to such a good cause.

Demo was still denying having any part in the fact that cream and sugar had mysteriously shown up in her fridge and cabinet that day too. Paige shook her head, fighting the amusement she should not feel every time she saw that damn cardboard box of coffee bags in her pantry.

Tires on her drive had Paige looking out her window. She smiled at the sight of the Bronco. Though she’d learned her lesson about opening the door without checking who it was, she didn’t wait for his text message. Paige watched Demo exit his car and walk up her steps. He paused there to pull out his phone.

Before he could message her, Paige unlocked and opened the front door. She held out his mug of coffee, grinning at the surprise on his face.

“Fuck, I need that.” He took the coffee from her hand and stepped inside. After closing and locking the door, he placed the mug on the little shelf built into the wall by the door. It was supposed to be for keys but Paige always kept hers in her purse. Therefore the space was empty for him to put the mug in.

Then he took her by her shoulders, spun her around until her back was to the front door, and he kissed her. “Need you more,” he moaned into her mouth.

As sleep and caffeine deprived as Demo was that morning, there was nothing like the feel and taste of Paige to get his body and mind moving. She was a wonder and he loved seeing that wicked smile on her face when she’d surprised him at the door. The lack of noise in the house confirmed that the boys still weren’t up yet.

Good. Demo needed more of Paige. So much more.

Pinning her to the door, he took his fill of her mouth. She tasted like coffee and toast. He would need to get her a more substantial breakfast after this. She could insist she wasn’t a ‘breakfast person’ all she wanted, but he was still going to make her eat more. If they could wear the boys out again this morning and early afternoon, there could be adult time later during their nap time.

Careful not to be too rough, Demo spun her around until her front pressed against the thick wood of the door. He rubbed his own wood against her spandex encased ass. Paige moaned, pushing back against his hard cock. Demo made quick work of her lounge pants. He loved how her ass looked in them, but right now they were in his way. He dropped them and her panties down to her knees.

Winter clothing was so overrated. If it was warmer out, she might be in a summer dress that required only a quick flip of her skirt to get to her sex. Fuck, he couldn’t wait. The idea of stealing some quickies with her in some not-so-private places held some serious appeal.

Demo would never allow another man to see her naked. Her body was for his eyes only. But hearing her moans? Knowing that he was the one giving her pleasure? Fuck yeah. If Paige was all for it, so was he.

He kicked her legs as wide as her pants would allow her to go. A quick check with his fingers confirmed she was soaked between her thighs.

Demo removed the condom pack he kept in the front pocket of his jeans for occasions just like this. He lowered his zipper, freed his straining cock, and sheathed it in the latex. Paige’s tight little ass tempted him like no other, but that would take more time and prep than they had at the moment.

“Wet already?” he murmured into her ear. His teeth scraped along her lobe. “You dirty, dirty girl.”

“Only for you,” she moaned, tilting her head to give him better access to her ear and neck.

Demo’s chuckle was low and heady. “Damn straight, only for me.” He nipped at her exposed neck, though not hard enough to break the skin or leave a mark. As much as he wanted to, Paige could not go to work the next day with a hickey on her neck. “You’re mine, Paige Hannigan. Only mine.” He rubbed his cock between the gap of her thighs. “Say it. Tell me who you belong to.”

He worked his right hand under her shirt and into the cup of her breast.

“You!” she gasped as he pinched a nipple. “I belong to you, Demo!” Before he could respond, Paige reached behind herself and grabbed his cock. “But you belong to me too!”

Paige backed herself up, sliding his cock inside her tight, wet pussy.

Demo groaned, relishing every inch that he sank into her. “Fuck yes!” He leaned down and kissed the back of her neck. Paige dropped her hand as his pelvis ground against her ass, his cock inside her as far as it could go.

Paige braced both hands against the front door. Demo had his left hand on her hip to help guide her and his right continued to play with her nipple. Her back pressed against his chest, their hearts thundering against each other.

He fucked her slow at first, letting her adjust. Eventually, though, he simply couldn’t stop himself. He increased his speed, pounding into her again and again. Her moans grew louder with each thrust. Aware they were out in the open where small people could come walking in on them at any moment, Demo brought his left palm up to her mouth to help muffle her cries of pleasure.

Dropping his right hand down, he rubbed ruthlessly against her engorged clit.

Paige cried out as she came around his cock, his palm blocking the sound.

The feel of her inner walls fluttering around him had Demo coming too. He pressed his mouth to the back of her head, burying his face in her thick curls to dampen his own noises.

They fell against each other, Paige’s arms giving out until they were both using the door to stay upright. Demo held her close, savoring the smell and feel that was Paige.

“How did I get so lucky as to find you?” he muttered against her hair.

“Pretty sure you had no choice.” Her voice was breathless from their shared passion, but humor rang loudly. “Steel threatened to drag you to me by the ear, if you recall.”

Demo chuckled. “Remind me to send him a Thank You card.”

Since the boys had gone to bed without a bath the night before, Demo and Paige spent most of the morning in the bathroom with them trying to contain the water to the limits of the porcelain tub. Demo didn’t have a spare change of clothes with him, so he removed his sweater—much to Paige’s appreciation.

It was very domestic, the act of giving two giggling and squirming boys a bath. It certainly hadn’t been on the list of things Demo expected to be doing with them that day. But there was a simplicity to it that brought joy to him.

Both Mikey and Nelly were big enough that they could sit up on their own and only needed assistance with the actual bathing part. Paige had a couple of water toys for them. Demo didn’t know much about kids or their needs, but he couldn’t help feeling like the number of toys was limited. It wouldn’t shock him in the slightest if he learned that Paige had to sell some, or most, of their toys. He’d picked up early on that they didn’t have electronics in the house other than Paige’s phone.

He wished he could do more. He wasn’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, but he lived comfortably. He didn’t pay rent or utilities living at the clubhouse. He owned his Bronco and hog outright. With limited expenses, he’d been able to save a good chunk of change.

He’d spend every last quarter on Paige and these wiggly, soaked boys if she’d let him. All he would ask for in return would be a kiss. He would never demand sex or even the promise of a life with him in exchange for helping her. That wouldn’t be right, nor would it be honorable. All he needed was her happiness.

Some Disney soundtrack was playing on his phone. He knew Paige had a cheaper, limited-data phone plan so he offered to stream the music from his account. Christ, it would be so simple to add her to his phone line if she would let him.

Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries interrupted a song about not talking about some guy named Bruno.

Paige’s eyebrows flew up in confusion as Demo dried his hands off with the towel that had been covering his lap.

“Scotty likes to change our ringtones,” Demo said in way of explaining the song choice. “Lila’s been helping him to expand his song choices.”

“Is that why Bulldog’s ringtone was I’m Sexy and I Know It the other day?”

Demo laughed as he reached for his phone that was sitting up on the bathroom vanity, safely out of the splash zone. Unlike him. He’d had to move a towel to his lap to save his jeans or risk needing to take those off too.

Paige might be comfortable with him helping to bathe the boys, but he was pretty sure that would change if he started stripping down to his birthday suit too.

“No doubt,” he answered Paige as he slid his thumb across the screen. “Steel, what’s up?”

“Are you with Paige?” his President asked without preamble.

“Yes,” Demo answered honestly. Paige and he were sitting close enough on the tiled floor beside the tub that there was a chance she could hear Steel’s voice without Demo having to put his phone on speaker. To warn Steel that she was near without being obvious, Demo said, “We’re giving the boys a bath. What’s up?”

Steel got the message. “Are you able to come to the clubhouse when you’re done? There’s no rush. It’s not going to change what we discovered.”

Demo’s eyes flew to Paige. She stiffened, having heard. He raised an eyebrow at her. Steel hadn’t phrased his statement like a question for Demo’s benefit. “Did you hear him?”

Paige nodded rigidly. “Just tell me.” Even her voice sounded stilted. Demo tilted the phone more towards her. The boys were playing obliviously beside them. “Just tell me, Steel. Please.”

Steel didn’t say anything for a moment and then his gruff voice changed her life forever. “He’s dead, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

Paige let out a mix between a sob and a whimper. She closed her eyes, turning her face into her right shoulder.

Demo transferred his phone to his left hand and brought it to his ear. “We’ll be there as soon as we can,” he told Steel as he placed his right hand on Paige’s shoulder.

“We’ll be waiting,” Steel said shortly before hanging up the phone.

Demo knew this was coming. It was the cleanest way to break Paige of her marriage without Keys having to fake a divorce. Paige might get suspicious if she never spoke directly to or saw Richard during the entire process. Richard was dead. Telling her was the right thing to do—even if the club fudged some of the details surrounding his death.

Demo didn’t know what Steel had planned. It was decided to keep him in the dark so his reactions were a bit more genuine. Another thing Demo hated about the entire situation. If it was only his fate in her hands, Demo would sit her down and tell her everything. From start to finish.

But it wasn’t just him.

It wasn’t a lack of faith in her either. Demo believed in the club and the good they were doing. There had to be a path where Demo could not betray his club but still be honest with Paige. This was the closest he could think of.

By telling her Richard was dead, not only would Paige get closure but so would Harper and her parents. Demo could care less about Ronald Hannigan’s feelings, but he liked Cindy. She deserved to be able to officially grieve her son. To know once and for all that he wasn’t coming back. Harper suspected, but like the Hannigans, she didn’t know Richard’s actual fate.

Perhaps in doing it this way, they could all move on. The Hannigans and the club. Richard had brought a blight to Mount Grove, but he’d also brought Harper, Paige, his sons, and Cindy. Demo couldn’t entirely fault the man. In a twisted way, he owed him.

Demo let Paige have a minute. He knew better than to ask her if she was okay. She’d openly told him that she didn’t love Richard anymore. That it had been years since she had and was only sticking out her marriage for the sake of her sons.

But Richard was a part of her life whether Demo liked it or not. It chafed, knowing the bastard had her first, but Demo couldn’t change the past. He could only move forward and help her do so too.

When Paige sat up again, Demo saw that there were no tears in her eyes or on her cheeks. She was shaking slightly, but there was almost a look of anger on her face where he expected to see grief.

“What do you need?” he asked softly. “Steel said to take our time. It won’t change anything he has to say whether it’s in an hour or in five hours. What do you need, Paige? The choice is yours.”

She shook her head. “I need a bottle of gin and a pillow I can scream into.”

“Done,” he said automatically. “What else?”

She gave him a side-eye. “Really? I have to go deal with even more sh—” Paige cut her word short with a glance down at her boys. “ Stuff ,” she amended. “All the stuff Richard now left behind. Can’t do all of that drunk.”

“Don’t care,” Demo shrugged. “If that’s what you need, then that’s what you need. I’ll call Steel back and tell him that we aren’t going to make it. Today, tomorrow, next week… It’s not going to change anything, Paige.”

“But it changes certain things,” she argued. “I need to figure out what it means for me, the boys… Oh God!” Her eyes went wide. “Cindy and Ronald! I need to call them. And Harper.”

“Stop!” Demo ordered. “You do what you need to do for you ,” he emphasized. “I am here to help you and take care of the boys. If you need to get drunk and shout or cry into a pillow, then that’s what you do.”

Paige shook her head, scoffing. “Bastard doesn’t deserve my tears.” She stood up, taking the towel that had been on her lap to dry off her hands and arms. “I just… I need a minute. Can you…?” She gestured to her sons.

He nodded. “Of course. Water’s getting cold anyway. I’ll get them cleaned up, dried off, and we’ll meet you in your room. Okay?”

Paige nodded solemnly. “Thank you.” She headed towards the door and then paused. Turning around, she said, “I’m not sad he’s gone. I’m angry. Confused. Maybe even hurt. But I’m not sad. Is that wrong of me? Shouldn’t I be sad?”

“You’re asking the wrong man,” Demo told her honestly. “You have a right to how you feel. After all he’s put you through, I’m not surprised anger is your first reaction. Maybe sadness will come later.”

She turned to go again. Only to pause. Over her shoulder, she said softly, “Thank you for being here.”

“Of course. We’ll be out in a few.”

The bastard was dead. Paige was a widow .

In a haze as if she was drunk, Paige wandered into her bedroom. The room she’d shared with Richard. Who was now dead. The bastard.

She stood for a long moment in the doorway. There was no trace of Richard left in this room. She’d sold all of his belongings for every scrap of money she could, including his large mahogany dresser. Hell, there wasn’t a trace of Richard left in this house after two years. Unless one counted the gaudiness of the actual house.

Christ, Paige hated this house. She hated everything about it. A family of four did not need a five bedroom monstrosity. It had a three car garage and so many electric ‘smart’ utilities that sometimes she wondered if it qualified as a robot more than it did a house.

Her eyes landed on her closed closet door where her camera equipment was. If Demo thought that it was strange the boys’ bathtub didn’t have a shower curtain on it, he hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t returned it after posting the donut video.

Shame washed through her—followed quickly by anger. The fucking bastard had left her and their two toddler children to fend for themselves with a mountain of debt, a house too big for them, and no resources. She’d starved herself, limited the heat in her home during the dead of winter, and had to sell her sons’ toys to help make ends meet. And the fucking bastard had been dead ? Had he been dead the entire time? Had the loan shark caught up to him before coming to Mount Grove and attacking Ronald and Cindy?

She didn’t know and wouldn’t know until she spoke with Steel’s PI.

That seemed like so much energy. Did she even have that in her?

Paige didn’t think so. It was too much. It was all too much.

She didn’t remember laying down on her bed. That hadn’t been a conscious decision. At some point, Demo came in with her boys. Their hair was wet but they were clean and dressed. From their milk mustaches, she knew Demo had taken them to the kitchen before joining her in her room. Her boys’ innocent laughter gave her the spark she needed to sit up.

Paige leaned her back against the headboard and pulled her sons onto her lap. Then she spluttered out a laugh when she saw Demo had a matching milk mustache.

He pursed his lips like a duck as if modeling a new fashion trend.

Paige shook her head at his ridiculousness but was also grateful for it. She crooked a finger at him around Mikey’s back to indicate for him to come closer. Demo bent over her. When she tried to kiss him though, he backed away.

“You’ll ruin my mustache!” he exclaimed with feigned protectiveness.

“Where’s my mustache?” she demanded. “I feel like the odd woman out here.”

Demo brought his hand out from behind his back and held out a glass of milk for her. The boyish expression of excitement on his face was exactly what Paige needed to snap the rest of the way out of her funk.

She might be a widow, but she wasn’t alone. That mattered more than she could express.

Cindy and Ronald sat on the couch next to Jenna, who was present for moral support. Lucky held his pregnant wife on his lap in one of the lounge chairs. Though morning sickness had passed after Harper entered her second trimester, she had woken up feeling extremely nauseous—and that was before she’d gotten the news that there was an update on her brother’s whereabouts. She was currently sucking on a honey lollipop while Lucky rubbed her round belly soothingly.

Demo had brought over two barstools for Paige and him to sit on. Paige had a death grip on his left hand that she held between her two on her lap.

Steel and Carlos stood in the background. Word had been spread for everyone to stay out of the clubhouse for the time being. The last thing Harper and Paige needed was spectators, even if they meant well. Mikey and Nelly Bean were playing with their cousins in the Pentagon backyard. There was a snowman building contest going on that should keep them entertained for a long while. Both were too young to understand what was happening. Though Richard was their father, neither remembered him.

Perhaps that was Paige’s fault. Nelly wouldn’t have remembered Richard regardless, but Mikey might have. While Paige made an effort never to say anything negative about Richard in front of them, she also did not make an effort to speak about Richard to them. She didn’t mention their father at all.

Standing front and center was a police detective from Atlanta, Georgia. Paige hadn’t been paying much attention when she’d introduced herself. She looked vaguely familiar, but Paige couldn’t place why.

“He’s been listed as a John Doe for nearly fourteen months. The city cremated him.” Her southern drawl accentuated her words. She had her dirty blonde hair pulled back in an intricate French braid that started at the front of her hairline and went all the way down to between her shoulder blades. “The City of Atlanta will be shipping the remains up to you as soon as I get some information from all of you. Now that they know who Mr. Hannigan is, they will continue the case.”

The detective turned towards Paige. “I understand you and Mr. Hannigan were married at the time of his disappearance. Were divorce proceedings started?”

Paige shook her head. “He just didn’t come home one day. Things were really crazy around town. I still wasn’t very familiar with everyone and the town itself.”

“Did you report his absence?”

“I called Rona—um, Sheriff Hannigan.” She looked towards her father-in-law.

“You were sheriff here at the time?” the detective inquired of Ronald.

“Interim, but yes.”

Carlos stepped forward. “I brought our file on Mr. Hannigan’s missing person’s case.”

The Atlanta detective took the offered manila file folder. Paige wasn’t sure why it surprised her it was so thin.

“Not much here,” the detective mussed. She looked at Ronald. “Your own son goes missing and this is all you have?”

Ronald shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “The first few days that he was missing, I…I didn’t know what to think. There was also an arson investigation that was happening at that same time. My son… He had his problems, Detective. I’d warned him prior to us moving to Mount Grove that I was no longer going to dig him out of any more financial holes he got himself into.”

“Are you referring to the financial troubles he had with one Mateo Castillo?”

Paige felt Demo stiffen beside her but was concentrating on Ronald’s reaction.

Her father-in-law flinched at the name and then nodded.

“This would be the same Mateo Castillo who attacked you and your wife in your own home the following August?”

“Yes,” Ronald answered gruffly.

Mateo Castillo must be the name of Richard’s loan shark then. Ronald’s reaction to the man was understandable. He’d tortured Ronald and threatened Cindy. Who knows what would have become of them if the club hadn’t stumbled upon them?

The detective turned back to Paige. “I understand you’ve had some financial troubles of late.” She indicated between Paige and Demo. “How long have you been involved with Mr. Snyder?”

Paige swallowed hard, not liking the implications behind the question. She’d been a widow for over fourteen months, but she hadn’t known that when she’d started sleeping with Demo. For all intents and purposes, she had been unfaithful to her marriage because she didn’t know she was no longer married.

“Less than a month,” Demo supplied honestly.

“And did you ever meet Mr. Hannigan?”

Demo shook his head, “Never.”

“It would be helpful to our investigation if you gave us access to both of your phone records,” the detective prompted.

“Whatever you need,” Demo told her. “Neither of us have anything to hide. Paige was not even aware of the extent of Mr. Hannigan’s debts until creditors started contacting her a few months ago.”

“Is this true, Mrs. Hannigan?”

Before Paige could answer, her phone rang from inside her purse. It was sitting on the bar across the way. Everyone looked in that direction. Paige sighed as she got up with a muttered, “Excuse me,” to the detective. The only reason she was going to answer it was in case it was Abby or Bulldog regarding her boys.

When she saw the caller ID was her mom, Paige hit ignore and threw the phone back inside her purse. She was not dealing with her mother right now. The woman had the worst timing ever and, frankly, Paige did not want to hear her mother bitch and complain about Paige taking a restraining order out on her husband.

There was enough drama going on in Paige’s life right now that she did not need to add her mother’s to it too.

“Sorry about that,” Paige said as she retook her seat. “What was your question?”

Before the detective could voice it, her phone rang again. Paige scowled at her purse. She stomped over to the bar, pulled her phone out, ignored the call, and then put her phone on silent. She would deal with her mom later. Like, in five years.

Paige retook her seat.

“Are you sure you don’t need to get that?” the detective asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Paige said shortly. To Demo’s inquiring look, she whispered, “My mother.”

He nodded his understanding.

“Mrs. Hannigan, other than contacting the police,” the detective looked pointedly at Ronald and then Carlos, “what efforts did you make to find your husband?”

Paige wished she could correct her and claim Richard was her ex- husband. As morbid as the thought was, Paige was grateful that she didn’t have to fight her way through a messy divorce. At least Richard’s death would give her that.

But the fact that that thought even crossed her mind made her feel guilty, even after all he’d done to her and the mess he’d left in his wake.

“To be honest, not much. I inquired with the police often, but nothing beyond that. I had two small children at home that required my full attention and I needed to get my business up and running. Richard running off with his latest floozy wasn’t exactly a high priority.” Glancing at Cindy, Paige added, “Sorry.”

Cindy waved her harsh words off. “It’s taken me a long time, but I’ve come to terms with my son’s faults. I know he had many and I’m sorry you got involved in them at all.” She dabbed under her eyes with a tissue.

The detective gave them a moment before continuing, “So your husband was having an affair?”

Paige let out a long sigh. “I suspected for a long time that he was. I can’t give you a name or names. I never saw actual evidence of such. There was a time, just before we came here, that Richard came home crying. He said he’d had a hard day at work. He brought me flowers and this expensive jewelry set. It was diamond earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace. I never knew why he was so upset, but I suspected. I always got gifts after he was away on business trips and I found more than one piece of clothing with lipstick stains or missing buttons.”

Demo took her hand again. She squeezed it tightly. Her suspicions regarding Richard’s behavior was one of the reasons she had such a hard time accepting gifts from Demo.

With her eyes on the detective, Paige missed the exchanged looks between Demo, Steel, and Lucky. She did notice Ronald’s flinch, though, and suspected it was difficult for the man to add infidelity to his son’s long list of sins.

Harried footsteps came barreling down the stairs to the main room. Paige had never been upstairs in the clubhouse. She knew the club called the large conference room their Chapel and it was where they held their meetings they called Church. Demo attended an officers-only meeting there on Fridays and then a meeting for all patched members on Saturdays. Even Harper said she’d only been up there once and that was because she’d followed Jasmine inside after the other ol’ lady had barged into a meeting to tell them something she’d remembered.

Keys leaped down to the main floor, skipping over the last three or four stairs. He came running up to them, a frantic look in his eyes.

Lucky and Demo stood. There was a change in their posture and expressions that made Paige want to immediately find her boys and ensure their safety. Steel even moved closer to Jenna, though his attention was on Keys.

Both Carlos and the detective looked around as if for danger, their hands on the holsters guns at their hips.

“You need to see this,” Keys said through gasped breaths. He handed Steel a large tablet. From her seat, Paige could only see a paused newscaster standing outside of a gated lawn.

Carlos, Demo, and Lucky moved closer to also see the tablet as Steel pressed Play.

“…outside the home of Detroit Philanthropist and Entrepreneur, Thaddeus Barrington. At this time, the Barringtons are not making a statement regarding this latest blow to their, up until recently, flawless reputations.

“For those of you just tuning in, in the early hours this morning, a popular adult website, Fan Feet Fun, servicing clientele with a proclivity towards feet was hacked. The names, addresses, billing information, and fantasy requests of both the clients and the models have now been released to the public. On that list, is Thaddeus Barrington’s stepdaughter. Married to Barrington Holdings’ former CFO, Richard Hannigan, Paige Hannigan has been revealed as one of the models. She currently resides in Mount Grove, a small town in southern Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.

“The Barringtons, who have always claimed to uphold Christian-American values and strong family ties, have chosen not to comment on this latest scandal, one that has not been seen on such a global scale since the Ashley Madison scandal in 2015. Politicians, city officials, and even members of the clergy are being named alongside average citizens. Unlike with Ashley Madison , no one is taking responsibility or laying out demands. Officials cannot confirm or deny if the once proclaimed Impact Team is involved again.

“Unlike other adult sites that will accept fake names, profiles, and email addresses, Fan Feet Fun requires all who subscribe to prove their identities before they can model or purchase products. They do this with a picture of themselves holding up their country’s driver’s license or passport with a codeword the site provides to prove the picture was not forged or AI generated. The Fan Feet Fun company claims this is for the safety of all involved. Their earlier statement regarding this hack did not show any remorse for what their site has to offer, but rather apologizing to those on the list whose lives will never be the same. Back to you, Norm…”