Chapter 2

Tav

W andering down the long hall towards the guest rooms the kids stayed in last night, I can't help but be impressed by what Marx and Rhodie's dad, Mad Dog, achieved here. The clubhouse from the outside looks little more than a massive warehouse, but the inside is just like home. Wooden floors run the whole way through the main common room which houses the bar, dining tables, and a lounge area. There's a pool table and dart boards, even a foosball table. All of which Pops has been banned from using. There's a solid wooden door that hints at our church and double wide doors indicating the mouth of the long hall where Marx's office and all our rooms are located.

I hadn't planned on moving in when I decided to prospect. Originally, I had asked Marx if I could live at home with my family, work at Tombs Security as usual, and then stay at the compound on the weekends to do prospect duty. However, as time has moved on, I've found myself in my room here more and more.

I love being surrounded by people, but with Dayz, Gus, and even Pops having significant others, it feels different at home. I can't just let myself into my siblings' houses anymore. Not since I walked in on Rhodie in the smallest onesie I've seen in my life. He threatened to kick my ass if I told anyone, but that didn't stop me from snapping a pic through the window. I'll keep that safe for the future. You never know when you might need to blackmail your future brother-in-law.

"They left already, Prospect," Rider's voice calls.

Turning to look at him, I see he has Whitney by the arm and is leading her to the common room. The other few bunnies that live here full-time follow behind.

Raising a brow in question at him, Rider smirks at me. "The bunnies need to learn where they fit in the hierarchy. Ol Ladies come first, always. After last night's brawl, none of them are allowed on the premises."

Whitney starts to whine and then snaps her jaw shut quickly when Rider shoots her the most chilling look. Huh. Looks like happy-go-lucky Rider may have a bit of a dark side. Shaking my head at the thought, I remember that all these men saw things on deployment. So much shit, in fact, that watching Dayz do her thing is probably a walk in the park for them. I watch Rider lead them all out, hopefully to somewhere they can make better life choices.

Looking into one room the kids used, I note the made beds and the open curtains. I should have expected that. They're good kids to their core, but then what else would you expect when they've been raised by a badass woman? The first time I met them had been nerve-wracking for Blanche, less so for me. It's no secret that I've dated a few women with children in the past. People give kids a bad rap, but if you treat them like people and not like cock blockers, you're fine. Kids can sense bullshit, which is why I always try to tell them the truth. Like last night when I claimed Blanche in front of the kids. Niko may be pissed now, but he'll come around.

"Prospect," Savage nods as he and his Ol Lady Nat pass me in the hall on their way to the common room.

"Savage." I give him a chin lift back before smiling at Nat. "Morning, Nat. How are you feeling today? Need anything?"

She smiles wide at me, and then rolls her eyes when Savage pulls her even closer to him. "I'm doing good thanks, Tav. Peanut seems to not be making me too sick," She smiles as she rubs her small belly, Savage then laying his hand on top of hers.

It's a good look on the man. That and the DRMC cut he now wears. The first time I met him we were trying to rescue his Ol Lady and other innocent women who were in the process of being sold. After that it's been shit show after shit show, which must have really been weighing on his shoulders. Since he, his VP and his enforcer patched over, you can see the weight lifted, meaning he can enjoy his Ol Lady and her pregnancy without the constant threat of violence. Well, maybe.

"I'm on duty around the clubhouse today, so if you need anything, let me know. I always keep a pack of saltines on hand for Ana, but she's about the same amount of pregnant as you, so I can double up if need be."

Savage holds out his fist to bump. "Thanks Prospect," I gently tap his fist and wave to Nat as they continue down the hall.

Breakfast is already done and dusted, what with the bulk of the brothers off to their day jobs at the various businesses DRMC own. Normally I'd be in the office, but I've been taking Mondays off to help out the MC a little more, maybe even get my patch a little sooner. As a part owner of Tombs Security, being able to change my hours to suit is easy enough to do. Just run it by my pain in the ass family and voila! An extra day at the clubhouse spent cleaning up shit and running around after the brothers and I love it.

I snap out of my thoughts as my phone vibrates in my pocket, letting me know I have to meet Tank in the common room ASAP. Hustling my ass down the hall, I stop next to the huge man leaning on the bar.

"We got a run. Old Man Whitlock has run out of ‘shine, so we gotta call by Old Man Henderson's and grab a case. We may as well check in and deliver to the others while we're out."

"I'll grab the keys to the SUV." I nod at him, feet already moving.

It may not be the type of run other MCs are doing. No guns, drugs, or women for us. We run moonshine back and forth to a small network of vets in the area. Henderson makes smooth stuff, still high enough proof to knock you on your ass and see Jesus, but it's safe. We do pickups whenever the men run low, deliver it, and spend a little time with them. They may not have wanted in on the MC lifestyle, but as the MC sees it, they are still brothers in arms and they deserve to be taken care of.

Signing out the keys from Wire and Remy, who I'm certain were in the middle of some type of geeky foreplay, judging by how red Remy's face was, I head out to meet up with Tank. But not before checking in with every brother I pass along the way. These guys are an extension of my family, and just like with my family, I like to ask how they all are, offer advice (not that I have any), and help them in any way I can.

Settling into the soft leather of the SUV I'll be driving today, I wait for Tank to pull up alongside on his Harley. Instead, the door flings open, making me almost shit myself.

"I'm driving, kid. You're shotgun."

"Sorry, I thought you'd take your bike,"

"Nah. Figured I should do my sponsor duties." He smirks at me before grabbing my shirt and pulling me out of the driver's seat. Which would have worked better if I was the type of rebel to not buckle up. As it stands, I'm hanging out of the door like a goddamn puppet, trapped by the seatbelt. Tank lets out a huff, leaning over me to press the release button. Because of the odd angle, my head is now level with his groin, and he has a really fucking unfortunate hole in his jeans. I now know that Tank is a free balling type of guy. Well, either that or he wears bandaid colored boxers. Wanting out of the danger zone, I grab onto his pockets and try to wriggle back a little, using him as leverage.

"Why the fuck won't this unbuckle?" Tank grunts.

"It's the safety feature. It thinks I'm upside down or something," I grunt back, still trying to use my grip on Tank's jeans to lever myself back into the car seat.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" I let go of Tank and let my body go limp. I know that voice. That voice haunts my dreams. "Son, is Blanche your beard?"

"What the fuck, Pops?" I peer at Pops through Tank's legs before Tank moves slightly, grabs me under my arms, and shoves me back into the car, none too gently.

"Fix this," Tank says, poking his massive finger into my chest. Hard.

"Pops, Blanche is my Ol Lady, once I convince her. And I would never go there with Tank. I respect him too much." I shoot a grin at Tank, who is now in the passenger seat, having given up getting me out of the car.

He just runs his hand down his face and makes the motion to get on with it.

"Well, I'd be fine if you were with Tank. I mean, it'd take a bit to get used to, to know my grandkid was a catcher and all, but what you do with your ass is your business."

I gape at him for a moment before all his words register. "Wait, what do you mean I'd be the catcher?"

Pops looks at me, darts his eyes over my shoulder to look at Tank, before looking back at me. Then shaking his head and walking off.

Turning with indignation to face Tank and his smug smile, I decide to cut my losses.

"Just get us to Old Man Henderson's in one piece, Prospect."

"Aye aye Captain."

Blanche

Axl Rose gently whistling the opening bars of "Patience" drifts through my waking consciousness so I yank the covers even higher until they cover my face.

"You can't hide from Axel Rose, sis."

The music gets louder and louder until I have no choice but to fling back the covers, angrily kick them off my legs and launch myself at Vic, knocking him on his ass, both of us sprawled on the floor. Not that it stops that infernal song. When I hit Vic square on, it knocked the phone from his hand. Now Chris and Dom have taken over singing backup vocals.

"Um, I heard a ruckus. Are you all OK?"

Our heads snap to the doorway, Lovely chewing her lip, shuffling from side to side, her floor length blue dress with lace collar swishing as she moves. Chris stops GnR and Vic and I get up off the floor and act like we're normal people. Well, as normal as we all can be. Especially when I'm braless in a butt ugly oversized tee with my mom panties on. The big ones.

"Oh hey, sorry, when Blanche is here we like to wake her up with GnR's Patience," Chris grins at her.

Her eyes dart around a moment before she clears her throat. "Why?"

"Didn't she tell you?" A grin starts to grow on Vic's face, so I punch him in the shoulder, not even rocking the big jerk. "Her real name is Patience. Which is an absolute joke because she doesn't have any - hey!" Vic yells when I charlie horse him and then leap back onto the bed to escape retaliation.

"Oh. Um, yeah, Patience, doesn't really quite suit you I guess." Lovely realizes what she says and turns bright red.

"Got that right," Dom snorts. "Let's head down for breakfast and we can come up with a plan. What do you say, new little sis?"

Lovely's face brightens, and she beams at our brothers while I take in the scene. Jesus, our father's genes are strong. All of Mercy's offspring have thick black hair with not a kink to be found. All of us have his dark eyes and pointed chin. All of us are solidly built. Obviously, it looks better on the boys, who at around 6 ft pull it off. Unfortunately for Mercy's daughters, the tallest tops out at around 5'5, making us short and sturdy.

"Get eyes for Christmas, Patience ?" Dom asks with a smirk and then runs out of the room, the other two following behind him, cackling like loons.

"You know, people outside of the Keep are not at all like I imagined," Lovely says, a smile playing on her lips before shaking her head wistfully before she too follows them downstairs.

Flopping back on my bed, I check my phone messages to make sure that everything is all good at home. Niko sends me a pic of the little kids dressed and ready for school and I blink my eyes to clear the tears. I know in my head I should be there with them, but in my heart I know what I do, saving people like Lovely, is important. My kids understand that sometimes mommy needs to help people, but sometimes mommy feels guilty about that.

A message from Niko vibrates the phone in my hand. I glance at it and then bark out a laugh.

We're fine. Stop being a pussy, suck it up, and get back to work.

Following my eldest's orders, I throw on some clothes and head downstairs to find Lovely holding her baby, staring as our brothers work together to make pancakes and bacon.

"You good?" I ask as I plop down at the table beside her.

"It's like watching three unicorns. I've never seen men in the kitchen before," she whispers back in awe.

"We kinda had to learn when Blanche refused to feed us anymore," Vic shrugs.

Lovely turns to me, wide-eyed. "Why would you refuse to feed them?"

The boys snort before Chris answers her. "When the Prophet banished us, we had nowhere to go, but we wrangled a ride from a car salesman relocating a vehicle. He dropped us off at the diner here, and the first person we met was a tough old lady named Blanche. After we found jobs, we ate all our meals at the diner."

"Until Blanche kicked us out, telling us she didn't want us to die of heart attacks in her diner. After that, we had to learn to feed ourselves," Dom finishes.

Lovely's eyes bounce around as the boys continue cooking and finishing each other's sentences.

"Um, why were you banished?" Lovely asks, then realizing she asked something that could be misconstrued as overly personal, she lowers her gaze, head down.

"Hey, you can ask us anything you like. We're family, remember?" Vic says gently, waiting for Lovely to raise her head and look at him before smiling at her.

"Lovely, have you ever noticed that the men with the largest number of wives are all old fuckers?" Dom asks as he scrambles the eggs in the pan he's manning.

Lovely's brows pinch before she nods. "That's because they're the council members, remember?"

"Or, stay with me sis, they are making up the rules. The men with the most power get the women, the others get what they are given, which don't get me wrong, a lovely, willing wife and children is what everyone should want. But for guys like us? From the family line, young, virile, handso- ow!" I cuff my brother round the head to get him back on track, "Harpy," he hisses at me. "As I was saying, we are a threat to the council. As Mercy's eldest sons, it would be natural for at least one of us to take the mantle when he's elderly, infirm or deceased. Hell, if we really wanted to, we could have challenged him to stand down. The threat was too great, so instead, he turned us out onto the streets, to fend for ourselves in a world we knew nothing about."

"That must have been very, very scary," Lovely whispers, her eyes welling up. I thank whoever is listening that Lovely managed to get out of there. This woman is exactly what her name means. Royal would have destroyed her if she had stayed.

"It was. That's why we do what we do. We take in the young men who are cast out of the Keep for nothing more than being of age and wanting a wife. Blanche goes in and collects women such as yourself, then she brings you to us and we take over." Chris answers, working in perfect rhythm with Dom and Vic as they plate up our breakfasts.

"When I left Eden's Keep I was lucky enough to have been in contact with our brothers. I knew I would never survive in the outside world, pregnant and alone. The boys came and got me, and taught me everything I would need to live out here. Blanche, the wonderful woman from the diner, she taught me to thrive." I say with a big grin, digging into my eggs. Vic always cooks them to perfection.

"Yup, Patience's first night as a free woman we introduced her to Blanche. The two grumpiest women in the world fell in love over bitching about us," Dom grumbles.

"Fell in love is right. Loved her so much I stole her name," I add, wiggling my brows at Lovely.

She looks down at the tiny bundle in her arms, running a finger over her little brow, and down her button nose. She straightens her shoulders and looks up at me.

"You asked me last night what her name was. I'd like to name her after the aunt that saved her."

" Patience ? Look, it didn't work out the last time. Maybe think of another name, Lovely," Chris says, his eyes darting to me, probably waiting for a nut punch.

"Ew no, not Patience. I meant Blanche. Blanche is the name of a strong woman. I want my baby to be strong and tough and not put up with any poop," she says, chin tipped in defiance.

"Baby Blanche is it. But I'm gonna call her Bee because I already have enough Blanches in my life." Vic says, smiling down at the baby as he places a glass of juice in front of Lovely.

"Is that OK with you?" Lovely asks me, her fork hovering over her breakfast.

I take in my new sister and her infant. She had enough guts to realize that Royal is a piece of shit and wanted a better life. Going so far as to beg me to take her girl if I couldn't take both of them. She's a lot stronger than she seems and she wants her baby to grow up with the name of two very rough, crotchety women. Who am I to stop her?

"It's OK with me. It's a tough name for a tough little girl." I nod, noticing all my brothers smiling softly at the exchange. In return, I flip the bird.

"Baby Blanche, Bee, you're going to grow up strong, and tough and kind," Lovely's eyes flick to mine, and she smiles.

"Not once, not even in the Keep, have I ever heard Blanche referred to as ‘kind'," Chris says, almost inhaling his breakfast. That's what happens when you grow up with two older brothers.

All four of us are a year apart, and if my mother was still alive I would give her a medal. That poor woman would have been pregnant for five years straight. I shiver at the thought.

"If Blanche wasn't kind, she wouldn't have saved me. Us. If she wasn't kind, she would have left the Keep and never had a second thought about the people in there needing help. Instead, she is out at night meeting women like me, women who need help, saving, and she does it without complaint," she huffs.

"Well, looks like little sister might have some claws," Dom says with a smirk.

Vic nods his head in agreement, "Yup. I was wondering what would push a sweet girl like you to leave. I see it now. You're not that much different from our Blanche here."

"Stick with us, kid. You'll be a badass in no time," I tell her as our brothers groan about "another one".

Lovely drops her head to look at her daughter, and I can see a little smile playing on her lips.

"Well, I think later on to celebrate your arrival, Lovely, we should take you to the diner. Blanche passed away a few years back, but I'm sure there are other grumpy old women to name yourself after," Chris says, the rest of us nodding in agreement.

"Or you could keep your name," I suggest with a shrug. "I changed mine because Patience never suited me and I wanted nothing to remind me of that place. You, though, I think you suit your name."

A thoughtful look crosses her face before she looks around the table. "Did you all change your names?"

"Nah. We aren't that imaginative. Victory, Wisdom and Christian," Vic answers, pointing to himself and then our brothers.

Lovely bursts into giggles, a little snort escaping before a belly laugh rips out of her, jostling her baby.

"Give me that baby before you deafen her, sheesh!" Dom says, swooping in to take Bee from Lovely's arms, allowing her to hold her stomach as she laughs more.

She takes a moment to settle, taking deep breaths before looking up at us. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I just never really thought how silly our virtue names sounded until now." She wipes a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Well, get used to it little sister, a couple of days in the real world and you'll realize how nuts the Keep really is, and you'll vow never, ever to go back." I smile at her, knowing that this is the first day of the rest of her life. And if I have my way, it'll be one hell of a life.