Page 5 of Ravage

He was either eager to prove he was ready to ride again, or he had a gut feeling trouble was headed our way, and he wasn’t letting us face it without him. Either way, he was pushing it, and I was going to keep a close eye on him, right along with every other brother going on the run.

Because that’s what we did.

We looked out for one another.

The invoices were starting to blur together when my cell phone rang. I glanced down at the screen and grumbled when I saw that it was Ava calling. She and I had been divorced for just over two years, and while we ended on good terms, she only called when she wanted something. I wasn’t exactly in a giving mood, so I answered with a harsher tone than usual.

“Yeah.”

“Well, hello to you, too, Mr. Sunshine.”

“Been a long day, Ava… Just tell me what you need.”

“What makes you think I need something?”

“Don’t you always?”

“No,” she clipped. “Sometimes, I just call to check in.”

“Been two years since we’ve split, and not once have you called to check in.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

She was being flippant. There was a time when I found that amusing, but not today. Today, I found it irritating and juvenile. So, I snapped, “Not today, there isn’t.”

“Okay. Okay.” Her voice softened. “You were right. I do need something.”

“You gonna tell me what it is?”

“Jeez. You’re always in such a mood.” Before I had a chance to bite back, she added, “I was wondering if you could take the kids this weekend.”

Her request didn’t come as a surprise.

Ava had been asking for extra weekends more and more lately. I hadn’t said anything about it, but I had a pretty good idea why. “I had them last weekend.”

“I know.”

“And you want me to take them again?” I loved my kids. I loved being with them and wanted to be with them every chance I got, but I didn’t want Ava thinking she could just ditch them whenever the wind blew. They needed to know they could depend on her, just like they depended on me. “That makes four weekends in a row, Ava.”

“I’m fully aware, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important.”

“Important?” I scoffed. “So, who is he?”

Silence.

Yep. I was right.

“Come on, Ava. I’m not an idiot. I know there’s someone.”

“Well, if you must know, his name is Ted.”

“Ted?” I chuckled. “You serious?”

“He’s a great guy, Cole.”

“His name is Ted.”

Ava was a beautiful woman with a good head on her shoulders. She was pretty ballsy, too. Hell, she wasn’t scared of anything. It was one of the things that drew me to her. That and the fact that she got pregnant within the first three months we were together.