Moving On by Erin Osborne
Chapter Seven
Irish
WE ARRIVED IN Cedar Bay almost two weeks ago. This trip it’s only the men of the club. Not all of us are here, but more than enough of us are. We left the women home this time so we could get a majority of the construction done without worrying about them having somewhere to sleep and all that shit. It just makes things easier on us. They’re not happy with us but understand our reasoning. The hotel is being remodeled to fit our purposes. We’ve torn the wallpaper from the walls of each room and are painting them depending on what the room is going to be used for. Most of the guys want their rooms painted either black or dark gray. I’m not sure what the appeal of having a dark room is, but it’s not my choice. I’m just following what we have to do and go where Grim assigns me each day.
Grim has us on a rotating schedule based on what needs to be done and where. If one of us has a knack for doing anything, we’re put on that job and taken off what we were previously doing. With the exception of Rage since he does construction for a living and has for many years now. He’s all over the place overseeing the work and talking to Grim about the jobs he feels are too big for even himself to handle. The only thing we have hired out for is the pool and hot tub in the hotel we’re converting for the kids to use as their clubhouse. None of us want to deal with that mess; including cleaning them and making sure everything is perfect for them to use all year round when they move in.
Today I’m working with Goose at the hotel as we paint the large conference room they’ll use for church. It’s going to be light gray with a darker border around the room. Pops has already started working on the table we’ll move into the room. Yes, it’s going to take all of us to move this damn thing because it’s huge and is going to weigh more than any of us are capable of moving on our own. Thankfully, there are double door installed which we’ll be replacing so they can be locked and secured when no one’s in the room. It’s something we should have done at our clubhouse but never thought to do so. Now, we’re going to make sure what’s discussed in church can actually stay in church for these guys.
“Have you talked to Whitney or Sami?” Goose asks me, his voice filled with emotion at the mention of my wife and daughter.
“Not today. I talked to Whit for a while last night. Everythin’ okay?” I question him, continuing to paint the wall I’m working on.
“Yeah, I think so. Kelsie was havin’ a rough time. I swear I never knew terrible two’s could start before a kid was two and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight at this point,” he tells me, his voice almost filling with laughter as he talks about my grandbaby.
“Well, I mean, Sami is her mama. And, you’re her daddy. Combine the two of you and I expect no less from my perfect little angel,” I tell him, making him huff out because my granddaughter is perfect in my eyes.
“I love my daughter like nothin’ I ever experienced before,” he assures me which I already know. “Sami has seemed distant since we’ve been here. I know she didn’t want me to come, but she won’t tell me what’s goin’ on. Somethin’ either happened or she’s worried about it happenin’ and I’m not there with her.”
The one thing I will always say about Goose is he’s amazing with my daughter and granddaughter. He pays attention to them and spends all of his free time with the women in his life. There is no hanging out longer at the clubhouse other than he has to and Goose doesn’t always have a beer with the guys after church. Unless his ol’ lady and daughter are already at the clubhouse. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if he was going to wait for my daughter to turn eighteen. To say I was surprised is an understatement. Goose met my Sami and fell instantly for her. Now, they are married, she’s his ol’ lady, and I have a beautiful almost four-year-old grandbaby who I spoil rotten along with my wife.
“Sami is stubborn as hell, and she gets it from her mama. She’s either not ready to tell you what’s goin’ on for her own reasons, or she is simply upset your here to help the new club and not home with her and your daughter. Goose, it’s the first time you’ve left her side since you found out Sami was pregnant. She’s gotten used to you bein’ home when you’re not workin’ or at church. Now, she gets to hang out with the rest of the ol’ ladies and spend time with Kelsie one-on-one.”
“This is different. I’ve seen Sami be stubborn. Now, she’s quiet and only usin’ one word to answer anythin’ I ask her. I don’t know what to do here,” he informs me, letting me know there is something definitely wrong with this situation.
“I’ll talk to Whit later tonight and find out if she knows what’s goin’ on. You sure you didn’t knock her up again?”
“No. Hell, I can’t even tell you the last time we had sex.”
That’s not something I ever want to think about when it comes to my children. Well, my daughter and granddaughters. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all virgins and will live their entire life never once letting a man close enough to see them naked let alone have sex with them. Letting Goose know we’ll get to the bottom of whatever is going on, we continue to work in silence. It’s almost time to pack up for the day and get a beer with the guys before crashing for the night so we can get up early in the morning again tomorrow. I want this room to be done before we call it quits. Then I’ll focus on finding out what’s going on with my daughter.
Everything is cleaned up; we’ve had our dinner in the next town over and are sitting around the hotel with a cold beer before crashing for the night. Everyone is talking and laughing as another long day of hard work has been put in here. I’m thinking it’s not going to take more than another month at the very most before every building we bought is ready to use. Including the warehouses which have sat empty for longer than anyone could tell us. We had to run the assholes who have been causing the problems in town out of them more than once. And they’ve fucked up the work we’ve already done more than once. Our boys got their damn hands dirty and beat the fuck out of a few of them each time we’ve seen them. For now, they’re hiding out somewhere else. I’m not sure where but they’ll be back. These fuckers just keep coming back, and you can’t kill them. At least not that we’ve found. Yet.
I’m sitting with Goose, Rage, and Grim when my phone starts ringing in my pocket. It’s late enough at night I’m positive it’s Whitney for our evening talk before we both fall asleep. Looking at my screen, I smile when I see her name displayed on my phone.
“Hey baby. How are you today?” I ask her answering my phone.
“Irish, you need to get the fuck home. Now!” she says, her voice filled with tears, fear, and panic.
“What’s goin’ on Whit?”
With those four words, I have everyone’s attention. No one else is talking as Grim sits up closer to me so he can hear what’s going on. I’m just not sure this is something I can put my phone on speaker for.
“Sami’s been taken,” she cries out, loud enough for the men sitting with me to hear.
Including Goose. His face turns red, and he quickly pulls his phone from his pocket. There isn’t a doubt in my mind he’s trying to call his wife.
“What do you mean she’s been taken? Maybe she’s just out and didn’t let you know.”
“The front door was left wide open, Kels was home alone, screaming even though she was hiding in her bedroom, and the living room and kitchen is a mess. There was a struggle and I see blood on the floor in both rooms along with the top of the counter in the kitchen. Irish, our baby has been taken!”
“Fuck!” I roar out, knowing I’m heading out. “I’m leavin’ now baby. Where is Kelsie now? And where the hell are you?”
“I’m still at their house. Kelsie is packing a bag to bring to my house. I had to do something to keep her distracted after I finally got her calmed down enough to call you. It took me over a half hour to get her to even come out of her closet to me, Irish,” Whitney tells me as Goose literally breaks right in front of my eyes.
Rage and Grim hold him up as Zander and a few other kids make their way to his side. Goose might be older than them, but he’s always hung with them instead of the rest of us. Zander is now stepping up to hold his friend up the way we all held him up when he lost Aryn. Goose has tears rolling down his face as he tosses his phone down on the table in front him after trying several times to call Sami. He’s as lost as I am right now.
“Head home and make sure you lock all the doors and windows. I’ll call and make sure you have someone on you since we have no clue what the fuck is goin’ on,” I tell my woman as I hear little feet racing back toward Whitney in the background. “I love you and we’ll be home as soon as we can make it there.”
“Put the phone on speaker so I can talk to her for a second before you hang up,” Grim says, standing right next to me. “Whitney, go to the clubhouse. I’m gonna call Bailey and have all the ol’ ladies and kids head there. I’ll also call and give the guys still there a head’s up. If you hear from Sami before we get there, call us immediately and we’ll make a plan on the road if we have to. We’ll bring your daughter back home to you.”
“I love you Irish. Goose, I love you and I’m so sorry,” Whitney says before hanging up the phone.
“No!” Goose roars out, letting out all of his pain and anguish out in the large room we’re currently in.
I step around the table to stand next to him as he drops to his knees right there. This is not what we have time for, and I know he’s not going to be able to ride his bike back to Clifton Falls. I’m not sure I’ll make the entire trip on my bike without losing my shit. However, my focus is going to be on my daughter. Goose was right about something going on. This only proves what he was feeling and it’s going to hit him even harder than me because he saw it. This is not a good situation since we’re several hours from home and aren’t there for our women.
“If I had stayed home with her, this wouldn’t have happened,” Goose finally says, not even attempting to get up from where he collapsed.
“You can’t say that,” Grim states, getting on his other side from me as we help him stand. “If you had been home, who’s to say we wouldn’t be buryin’ your ass right now. Or that they wouldn’t have taken you with them along with Sami. We need to get back to Clifton Falls so we can figure out what the hell is goin’ on.
“I want you guys to take him out to the SUV and let him ride home. Zander, ride his bike back for now. We’ll go as fast as we can to cut down on the time it takes to get home. Irish, you’re in the middle of the pack. You need to fuckin’ stop and get in the SUV with Goose, you let us fuckin’ know. I’m not losin’ either one of you because your head isn’t on the road and is back with Sami and what’s goin’ on with her. I’ll have a few guys go to your house and see what they can find out.”
Without another word, we leave everything where it is and head straight outside for the SUV and our bikes. After putting on our helmets and making sure Goose is in the SUV, we head the fuck home. I can’t believe someone went into my daughter’s house, her fucking sanctuary, and took her. They left my grandbaby all alone after seeing who knows what. If Whitney hadn’t stopped over there, who knows how long it would have been before we found out Sami had been taken. I know my granddaughter is smart, but I’m not sure she would have known what to do in this situation. It’s definitely something we’ll be working on with her if I have any say in the matter.
When I find out who took my daughter and left my little angel alone, they’re going to pay with their damn life. It’s going to be painful and slow. I’m not going to let them get off easy for taking my daughter. Goose will be right there with me, and I know he’s going to want to get his hands on the fucker. As her ol’ man, it’s honestly his right to be the one to dole out the punishment. I know he’s not going to keep me from getting my hands on the asshole once we have whoever took her.
Hearing Whitney say there’s blood on the floor made my heart stop in my chest. Before they even got my daughter out of her home, they hurt her enough to make her bleed. I feel as if the breath has been sucked from my lungs, the light is diminishing before my eyes, and my heart isn’t going to beat normally again until we bring our Sami home. That’s my daughter. I may not be her biological father, but I raised her from the second Whitney, and I got together. She the daughter of my heart and I will always be her dad. No matter what anyone says.
I try to pull myself out of my head from thinking of all the different scenarios of what’s going on with my girl. It’s really no use though. So many thoughts are flying around my head. Not a single one of them are good either. It’s bad enough to know she’s already hurt. By the time we get home, she’ll already be gone for hours, and we have no way to know who has her or where she’s been taken.
“Irish, you good?” Grim’s voice filters through the coms in our helmets.
“No, I’m not,” I answer him honestly.
“You’re swervin’ man. If you need to get in the SUV, we’ll stop so you can get in and let one of the boys ride your bike back.”
“Not happenin’. I just need to get home,” I state as I twist my throttle and pick up more speed.
Grim and the rest of the guys follow suit, and we all speed down the highway. I’m weaving in and out of traffic and taking far more chances than I should be. With my daughter on my mind, I know I need to be careful; I simply don’t give a fuck right now.
