Page 105 of When You Stayed
Once I kissed her enough that she was breathless, she plopped back into her pillows. I stood up and tried to tug at the sheet. “I want to cuddle, come back.”
She flipped over, showing her bare ass cheek, which I gripped with my palm. “We gotta go shopping for some furniture and shit, so get up.”
I didn’t want to leave. Cuddling sounded really fucking good actually, but I needed to get some shit for the apartment. Killian had been gracious enough not to kick me out as I sat against his daughter’s door night after night. However, I knew that was because I wasn’t touching his daughter. I had no doubts whatsoever he’d tell me to get the fuck out now that I’d gotten back into Royce’s good graces.
“Okay, fine,” Royce huffed. She rolled back over and sat up with a fresh gleam in her eye. “But we’re getting one of those cat backpacks with the airholes, that way Gus can come with us.”
Royce had picked out my new living room set and the bedroom set. I didn’t care as long as she was happy with it. I’d helped her pack up her things from her room, but the more we packed, the more she wanted to keep at home, saying she wanted to be able to come back and visit and have a space to hang out when I was busy with the club.
So, she basically took her clothes, and a few notebooks for work, and two boxes worth of bath and hair care shit.
Taryn had been in and out enough to see the new apartment and check on Royce, only to dart off again. Now that we were near the club, and Royce was safe, I took my first public church meeting as president where we gathered upstairs in the main part of the club.
It was the original room where Killian had held all his church meetings, and my dad before him, and my grandfather when he led. It felt good to sit in the head chair, wearing the president patch.
The room filled with my men, then Killian, my dad, and Jameson…and shockingly, Silas joined. His pale blue eyes met mine as he gave me a slight nod, and then he slid into a chair off to the side, not at the table. If he were anyone else, I’d kick him out, but I knew his history with this club. I knew that my own father revered him, and not to mention, Silas was like an uncle to me. Once the table was filled, Kody shut the church doors, and we got started.
“What have you found out about the Murdoch Devil Rider’s?” I asked Killian. He’d led a team down south to figure out who had hired them to dig up that video. Silas led the conversation with the leader, although I hadn’t asked for details on how or which methods he used.
Killian glanced at Silas briefly, then cleared his throat. “They didn’t give up a name exactly, but they told us they knew which club he was from.”
I glanced at the men at the end of the table, seeing the way they shifted in their seats. The way Jameson’s jaw was hard, and his eyes focused on the surface.
“Which club?”
Deep down, I already knew, though. I wasn’t even sure how, or who exactly, but I knew.
“Chaos Kings.” Killian’s chin dropped to his chest as a silence covered the room.
Jameson spoke up, his voice rough. “Not Giles. I already confirmed it wasn’t him.”
“Then how the fuck did they know I had stepped into this role before anyone else in our own club did?” I yelled. Giles had been with us as long as Silas or Lance…but Giles was like another family member to us. He gave me presents growing up, he was blood-related to Jameson. There was little chance it was him, but I had no idea who else would have known.
“That’s what we’re going to figure out,” Killian explained to the room.
I wanted more answers than what they were giving me, but I knew I had to be patient. “How exactly are we going to do that?”
The church doors opened, and Connor walked in. His face was gaunt like he’d gone through a battle of his own. He wore a leather cut, with a patch and insignia on it, but it wasn’t ours.It wasn’t fucking ours.
I stood from my chair. “I knew you were over there figuring things out, but you fucking pledged?”
Connor dipped his face. “I’m your best bet at figuring this out, Ford.”
“Why?” I scoffed, feeling outraged that my own best friend had left me for so long, and now appeared in a different patch and different colors than the ones he always swore he’d wear.
Connor leveled me with a firm stare, and that’s when I realized he wasn’t just in any cut.
His looked nearly identical to mine, except his name was in gold instead of red, and his president patch was on the right side of his breast instead of his left.
“Fuck you, Connor.” I pointed at the patch.
He pointed at mine. “Fuck you back, Ford.”
“We need to stay focused here. If you’re gonna fight, then go outside, but Connor is going to help us,” my dad spoke up.
My jaw rotated as I processed what this meant. “You’re leading the Chaos Kings now, and you’re going to work with us to find the mole in your club?”
I didn’t buy it, not if he was the new president. “Where is Giles? How come he isn’t here?”
