The Biker's Fate Chapter 236

She leaned against the bar. "It's sweet how you take care of your sister, Hatch."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But you've been kinda distant with me lately."

"Been busy," I said, and poured another drink.

"You brushin' me off?" she asked.

I cocked my head. "Didn't make promises, Lila."

She tapped her fingers on the bar. "Got it."

"Good."

She walked away, and my sister sent me a questioning look before talking to Lila for a minute. She then headed back to me and sat back on the stool.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

I leaned forward to study my sister's lip. "Get the ice back on that."

"You're not going to tell me?" She huffed. "Really?"

"Ice, Cricket."

She lifted the baggie to her mouth. "I don't want to give up my job at Blush, Connor."

"I heard you."

"Will you at least reconsider?"

I frowned. "We'll talk about it on Sunday."

We'd made a pact as kids that no matter what, no matter where, Sundays would be our days. We'd never missed a day to debrief about the week and even when we moved up from San Diego, we came as a group. Even though my brothers didn't agree with my decision to leave, no one chose to stay in Southern California.

"That's a no," she grumbled.

"It's a, we'll talk about it on Sunday."

"Why are two of my favorite people glaring at each other?" Katie asked as she breezed into the main room of the compound. Cricket faced her, and Katie gasped. "Holy shit. Are you going to finally let the club deal with that shithead?"

"Yes, she is," I answered for her, then took another shot of whiskey.

"I took care of him," Cricket said.

"Not fast enough, apparently," Katie said, as she checked Cricket over and smiled. "Ibuprofen and ice. Nothing feels broken, but if the swelling and pain aren't better in the next day or two, you're getting x-rays."

"Yes, Mom," Cricket quipped.

"Okay, I'm gonna grab a beer. Can I get you anything?" Katie asked.

We shook our heads.

"Sorry if I cock-blocked you," Cricket said, and I groaned.

"Fuck me, Cricket, I'd rather not talk about my cock with my sister. Or anyone."

"Why are you so easy to mess with?"

I dragged my hands down my face. "How about I drop you home?"

"I have my car."

"You drove?" I snapped.

"No," she said slowly. "Flea brought me here, Buzz drove my car."

I relaxed… sort of. "How about I follow you home, then?"

"Or I could stay and have another drink."

I chuckled without mirth. "You're funny."

She sighed. "Fine. I'll see if Katie wants to come over."

"Great plan," I said.

"You're kind of a pain in the ass, Con."

"Backatya, sis."

With my need to make sure my sister was okay, my plans were effectively shot to hell, so I followed Cricket home, then headed to Blush. I couldn't help my mind from turning to the class act I'd helped earlier as I rode. Fuck, she was gorgeous. I wondered if she'd made it home okay and if she was having any other issues with her car. Not that I could do anything about it, unless I was willing to cross over to the stalking line and have Booker do a background check. I had her license plate, it would be easy.

I shook my head. No, I wouldn't do it. She was far too classy to be anything but high-maintenance, and the last thing I was lookin' for was more drama. I'd done that once before and suffered the cost. Never again.

I walked into Blush and Booker led me downstairs to where Matt was handcuffed to a metal chair, his mouth duct taped closed.

Matt's eyes darted between Pug and Train, two of the scariest individuals on the planet, but, then again, Matt hadn't seen what I could do.

"Hey, Hatch," Train said, and stepped away from Matt.

I gave him a chin lift and then turned my attention to Matt. "You remember who I am?"

Matt nodded.

"So, you also remember how you and I had a nice little talk about how you needed to treat my sister right?"

Matt nodded again.

"And remember how I told you that if you didn't, there'd be consequences?"

Matt scowled in response.

"So, we seem to have a little problem here, because my sister has some bruises and a bloody lip. Blush cameras got a real good look at the person who put those bruises there… and it's you; in case you were gonna try to deny it, so I'm real disappointed that you didn't listen to my warning." I cracked my knuckles, then crossed my arms. "Do you know why they call me Hatch?"

Matt shook his head.

"It's short for the Hatchet Man. I take care of people who get in the way and I do it without blowback. You have just become one of those people who got in the way, Matthew, and I'm going to take care of you."

Maisie

Saturday afternoon, the kids were bouncing off the walls and I was ready for a break. The rain had stopped, so I decided it was time to take a little walk to the neighborhood park and see if I couldn't get them to run off some of their energy.

Don't get me wrong, I loved watching Ryan and Ali's kids, but three on one was a lot more work than just Poppy. She and I had a symbiotic thing going on, plus I could theoretically beat her since she was my own.

"Right, loves. Let's go," I called down the hall.

"Can I bring my skateboard, Auntie?" Merrick asked.

"Yes, as long as you wear your helmet."

We leashed Curly, donned rain jackets (just in case), and piled out of the house. I loved the rain, which, in a roundabout way, was how we ended up in Portland. I couldn't fathom the thought of leaving London and going somewhere perpetually sunny. I craved the rain like most people craved the sunshine, so when Niall had been offered his dream job and discovered they had an office in Portland, we jumped at the chance. I smiled at the memory, the grip on my heart easing as I took a few deep breaths of the clean air. The smell of the ground after a downpour was always so peaceful… and peace was something I longed for more often than not.