Chapter Fifteen

Alana

F OR THE LAST week, I’ve been burying myself in work and everything else I can to forget the fact that Terrence is still on the run and no one knows where he is. I try to forget the fact that he put a fucking tracker in my neck so he always knew where I was from looking at an app on his phone. When we were at Doc’s office, I broke down in tears and everyone left me alone with Kaden and Colton as they held me and murmured words of comfort and safety. Yes, I’m angry Terrence thought he could put a tracker in my body. However, I’m so fucking upset about the betrayal I’ve felt at his hands so many times over the year we were together. It might have been on and off but every single time I took that stupid fuck back it only reinforced in my mind that he's nothing more than an asshole. I’m the stupid bitch for taking him back so many times. I didn’t learn anything from hearing my mom’s story when she told us about her past with Jameson and Reagan’s sperm donor.

When we were at Doc’s office, he did the X-rays on my hand and determined it was time to take my cast off. In order not to have me dragged away from the compound once again, he removed my cast that night and put my hand and wrist in a brace. I definitely like the brace better than the cast, but it still hinders what I do and how I move my hand. Doc also said I can take a full shower after checking the wounds where I was stabbed and then needed surgery to remove my spleen. The stark reminders of what the asshole did to me standing out against my pale skin with the angry, red, puckered skin that was once smooth and blemish free. Now, I will always remember Terrence no matter how desperate I am to forget all the pain he put me through.

Today, Ghost gave me a day off from the shop. I wasn’t sure if I’d like working at Phantom Ink, but I’m pleasantly surprised to realize I love being there. The women who walk through the door always try to flirt with my man and he does nothing to encourage them. While most of the women take his words to heart and simply sit in the chair to get their tattoo done, there are several more brazen women who don’t give a fuck that he has a woman of his own. When it comes to those brazen women I also saunter over to my man and wrap my body around his. He kisses me deeply and then I tell the women where they can go with their interest in him. Crab and Beckett always laugh when I put these skanks in their place and start cheering when they leave the shop. Those people don’t end up coming back for tattoos in the future.

Ghost has assured me he’s not mad when the women say they aren’t coming back to the shop for future work, but it still bothers me. This is not only his job, but the club’s business. The last thing I want to do is make anyone mad since they all took a chance on me working here so the guys didn’t have to worry about the counter and all that goes with sitting behind the desk. None of them like worrying about cashing out the clients and filling out paperwork. I do everything I can to make this shop run smoothly when I’m here. I’ve even decided to start doing the orders so Ghost doesn’t have to stay late or show up early in the morning to go through the stock and put orders together. It’s not a hard task for me to do and something my man doesn’t have to worry about when he’s got so many appointments on a daily basis.

Geek has been glued to my side when he’s at the clubhouse. Valor has been sending him out on jobs more often because it’s what my man needs right now. When he’s in the clubhouse or out searching for Terrence, Geek tends to get lost in his head and drift from the rest of us. Ghost and I are the only ones who can pull him out of his head when he gets so completely lost. So, I give him what he needs and let him whisk me away when he’s here and we disappear into the room to lock the world away for a little bit of time.

When Geek and I are alone in our room, or with Ghost, we usually end up in bed. Or the shower. Against the wall or door. They’ve certainly been introducing me to the various ways they can bring me pleasure and what they like when I touch them. I did have the conversation with them about not being good enough when it comes to sex and Geek was quick to shut down that way of thinking. He assured me that they both enjoyed what we did when we were together the first time. And that they love that no one’s touched me and they get to teach me what they like and help me discover what I like and don’t like. Geek told me that the best part of being with me sexually is that I’m real. I don’t pull out the fake pornstar moans and every word I say is genuine and not just to stroke their egos. For now, I’m just taking their words as the truth because they’re showing me with their actions that they mean them.

Every single day over the last week, the guys have been out searching for any sign of Terrence when they aren’t at work or dealing with other club business. They’re riding up and down every single street, talking to various contacts they’ve made over the years and since moving to Pine View, and doing all sorts of other things in order to find the asshole who has made my life hell. The guys from Cedar Bay who haven’t made the trip to Clifton Falls are out searching closer to their town as well. With all the manpower the clubs have put into this, I’m surprised the stupid fuck has managed to hide this long.

This morning, I spent time in our room cleaning and editing pictures. Ghost and Geek have pretty much moved into my room with me and don’t go back to their rooms for more than to grab clean clothes. Honestly, I’m glad they’re in the same bedroom with me because they help keep me out of my head and always stop the nightmares from keeping me locked in their hold when I have them. With Ghost and Geek by my side, the nightmares are almost non-existent at this point. These days, I dream of them and the future we’re slowly building together.

Heading down to the common room, I find Genesis, Savannah, Annabell, and Hope sitting at a table together. They’re talking and laughing while keeping an eye on the kids as they play and run around. The Phantom girls are cleaning and avoiding the kids as they move through the room.

“Alana, you’re here,” Annabell says, drawing everyone’s attention to me as I stop on the bottom step.

“I am. I’ve been cleaning our room and editing pictures,” I say as Brynn enters the room with one of the triplets in her arms. “Look at you!”

I race to Brynn’s side and ask her without words if I can hold her little one. Brynn hands over her baby and I cuddle the little girl in my arms.

“Look at you, Alara. You’re getting so big already,” I gush, loving the sweet smell of a new baby as I keep my eyes locked on the little girl in my arms.

“How the hell do you know that’s Alara?” Savannah asks me, her voice full of shock and wonderment.

“Alara’s eyes are slightly different colors. While they’re both blue, one of them has the slightest bit of gray in one of them. Remy’s eyes are a dark blue to the point they’re almost navy. If the triplets are covered, Bishop has dimples. He’s the only one who has them,” I answer, not taking my eyes off of Alara as Brynn walks over to grab her son from the portable rocking chair he’s sitting in.

“She’s not wrong,” Brynn says, a smile on her face when I look at the table of ol’ ladies. “King and I are the only ones who have picked up on those facts. How did you know when you haven’t been around the babies very much?”

“After taking pictures for so long, I’ve learned to pick up on the subtle differences of each family or person I work with. It only took me seconds to learn the differences in the triplets. Plus, when you have a family as big as mine, you only need a few seconds to read the room and the people with you,” I answer honestly, making my way back to the table and taking a seat between Brynn and Genesis. “Brynn, when did you want to do the photoshoot with them?”

“Whenever you’re ready. Is your hand good enough to do one?” she asks me, worry filling her voice.

“I am. When I was with my brother and sisters, I did photoshoots for them. It’s a little harder without the use of my hand like normal, but I can get it done. Since we’re not doing anything now, we can get it done,” I tell her, already filling with excitement at the prospect of getting my camera on these precious babies.

“I’m down for that. Do you have any ideas of what you wanna do?” Brynn returns, a smile on her face.

“I’ve got a ton of ideas. I just got the perfect thing for this shoot considering who their dad is and where we are,” I inform her, handing Alara over to Brynn carefully before rushing to my room and gathering what I need.

I’m so fucking ready to work with the babies and surprise King with the photos I’m about to take. Yes, I know he can watch us through the cameras installed all over the clubhouse.

T he photoshoot went better than anticipated. All three babies were so easy to work with and I can’t wait to edit the pictures I took today. Especially the ones with the smaller motorcycle I now have. I hope Brynn and King love them when I hand them over.

“So, Alana, what’s going on with your situation?” Savannah asks me, her voice soft and gentle because she knows this is a hard situation for me.

“Nothing at the moment. Apparently after beating the shit out of me and stabbing me, Terrence has disappeared. No one can find him and there are so many clubs involved in the search. Clubs I haven’t interacted with growing up are helping us,” I answer her as my eyes land on Liz hiding in the entrance of the hallway, glaring daggers at me. “Liz, aren’t you supposed to be cleaning or something? Staring daggers at me isn’t really anything you’re supposed to be doing. Unless you want me to beat your ass once again.”

Everyone turns to face where I’m looking to find Liz’s face turning a bright shade of red as anger fills her face.

“Are you serious right now? You steal my man and now you want to be a bitch and call me out?” she asks, stepping into the common room so we can all see her.

“First of all, I didn’t steal your man. Kaden has never once touched you. He can’t stand you or anything you stand for. My man has been waiting for me for years. You’ve never been a blip on his radar. You’re the one working on getting booted the fuck out of here on your own. And yes, I’m gonna call your ass out when you’re standing there glaring at me because whatever delusion you're living in isn’t working out the way you want it to,” I state, my voice lacking all emotion as I stare at the bitch where she stands.

“You can’t call him Kaden. His name to you is Ghost,” she shrieks, her voice making the kids stop and wince.

“I’ve known him my entire life. When his name was Kaden and Ghost wasn’t even a thought in anyone’s head. He’s my man and I get to call him whatever the hell I want. You are the one who doesn’t get to call him Kaden. He’s Ghost to you and everyone else here. Very few people call him by his given name and if you try, not only will he put you in your place, but I’ll beat the fuck outta you. I’m not usually so violent, but you bring it out in me because you’re not gonna take my man from me with your petty bullshit and scheming,” I inform her, taking Kember, Genesis’ daughter, into my arms.

“I don’t give a fuck what past you think you’ve had with Ghost. I’m his future and he knows it. He told me last night that he’s just stringing you along so Geek and you hook up so he can ditch you both,” Liz says, a smirk on her nasty face.

“Really? Last night you were with him? That’s funny because he was balls deep in my pussy all night long. And yes, I mean all night. Colton and him didn’t leave my bed until it was time for them to get ready for work. I only took a nap once they left,” I inform her as she stomps her foot like a fucking toddler and rushes from the room, screaming her head off like a lunatic.

“You’re not really who I thought you’d be,” Genesis says as Hope and Savannah start laughing their asses off.

“Look, I grew up with three brothers whose greatest joy in life was making our lives a living hell. My sisters and I learned early on that we have to be quick and never let anyone take advantage of us because we’re better than how we were treated at times. My dads and Pops taught us how to defend ourselves from the time we were old enough to understand what they were saying. This skank has nothing on me and I know that. Kaden and Colton would never be with her even if I weren’t here. She talks too much shit about Colton for Kaden to want her,” I say with a smile on my face as Kember rests her head on my shoulder.

“When did you know you liked Ghost and Geek?” Hope questions me, knowing our families all hung out over the years.

“From the time I realized what a crush was. In high school I didn’t give any of the guys a chance with me because I was saving myself for them. It’s always been my dream to be with the two of them. No one else will ever compare to them in my eyes. I think my family and theirs knew where my mind and heart were too. My dads, especially Cage, would always watch over me a little more when the two of them were around. Back then, I don’t really believe they saw me as anything more than another club kid. I’m not sure when it changed for them though,” I answer Hope, a friend I’ve known my entire life.

“We definitely saw you, Tink. It changed for both of us when we realized what was happenin’ in our pants and with our hearts. You’re the only woman who’s ever made our hearts race and beat out of control from simply walkin’ in the room,” Ghost says, leaning over me to press his lips against mine as Kember starts giggling and reaching up for him. “There’s my girl. Have you been good today?”

Kaden tickles Kember while holding her close as her little giggles fill the common room. I watch on as she presses a little hand on each side of his face and presses her lips to his cheek in a messy kiss. Kember pulls back and immediately buries her head in his neck, her shy side showing as we all laugh at how cute she is.

“It looks like I’ve got some real competition for your affection, Kaden. What am I supposed to do with this new knowledge?” I ask him, knowing Liz is watching the scene unfold.

“You’ve got nothin’ to worry about, Tink. You’re always my number one girl. Been that way for as long as I can remember,” he responds as the door opens and Geek strides in and doesn’t stop until he’s behind me.

Geek lifts me in his arms from the chair I’ve been in and I wrap my legs around his waist while he presses his lips against mine and doesn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss we’re sharing. Without a word, he carries me from the common room and straight upstairs as I listen to Kaden’s footsteps following us. Kaden opens our bedroom door before letting Colton carry me inside. He doesn’t break the kiss as I’m lowered to the bed with his body covering mine. I’m not sure what the hell happened while he was gone, but I’ll give my man whatever he needs to feel safe and know I’m here with him and that I’m not going anywhere.

“Sweet Angel, I need you. Are you sore?” Colton asks me when he finally breaks the kiss as we both pant for breath.

“I’m not sore. Are you okay, Colton? I’ve never seen you like this before,” I ask him, watching his eyes to find the truth hidden in the depths.

“I’m okay, Sweet Angel. It’s just been a long day and I feel as if I haven’t seen you hardly at all over the last week. I know we’re with you daily, but it feels like so much is goin’ on and I’m startin’ to crack under the pressure,” he answers me honestly as I nod and watch as he stands back from me to remove his clothes while Kaden moves to help me strip out of mine.

Before anything else happens, Kaden leaves the room so Colton and I can have this time to ourselves. Colton worships my body for the rest of the night. We don’t leave the room for dinner or anything. Kaden brings our dinner up and the three of us eat in the safety of our room before we take a shower and spend the rest of the night exploring one another as we’ve been doing since the first time we had sex.