Page 2 of Xane

Back then, my grandfather was considered a notorious gangster who controlled the police force.My father steered the company, and the motorcycle club he founded, away from illegal to legal stuff.All while keeping all connections to the underground and law enforcement.I grew up in this town and might have been a reckless teenager, taking after my grandfather.

My father called me out on my shit, and I had a harsh wakeup call that spurred me to make a selfless decision and leave town.I served my country, and ended up with Broken Deeds MC, working law enforcement.Respecting my father and steering away from my grandfather’s criminal side.

Since I’ve returned to my hometown, I’ve been trying to retrace my father’s steps to hopefully find out what got him killed.Who did it will be my next target.Meanwhile I’m trying to save this goddamn town, because they think the peacekeeper is gone.

Some shops have closed and sold off their property to quickly move out of town.It’s a fucking mess all around.Crime rates have gone up, and the tension is pliable on the damn streets.

Simply taking the gavel and showing my face around my hometown doesn’t automatically give me the respect of the community.Hell, I’m still trying to weed out the club brothers to see who’s loyal and who wants to stab me in the back.The only two I fully trust are Fawkes and Roux, both are undercover with me and also belong to the Broken Deeds MC NJ chapter.

For now, we’re working on one case at a time, and it’s why I’m standing in these fuckers’ basement.Someone is stirring shit in this town and is making it difficult for me to focus on my father’s death.And he’s the one behind it all and is doing it to throw me off or wants to end me to take over this town.

The baby is still screaming upstairs, and it pulls me from my mind and into the here and now.

“Goddamnit,” I grumble and follow my VP up the stairs.

When I take another flight of stairs, I can smell what I’m guessing my VP called me up here for.

Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I tell him, “Call Remmer and let him handle the cleanup in the basement.Do not mention the baby, got it?”

Remmer is our government contact.He’s the one who can basically make miracles happen when we’ve run into shit we can’t deal with or needs to be handled without our interaction.

“What are you gonna do with it?”Roux asks.

Releasing another deep sigh, I tell the only person I trust in our club, “Don’t call the baby an it.He or she is a tiny person, a human being who didn’t asked to be thrown into this damn mess.”

My VP winces.“The baby is a he.I know ’cause he’s not wearing a diaper.”

I nod my head at him.“Handle Remmer and tell the others to head back to the clubhouse.I’m going to drop this baby off at the clinic myself.I don’t want this shit sticking to him for the rest of his life.If his mother dumped him, and his father killed a woman for a lousy grand?No.”I point at the baby and glance in his direction as I continue, “This kid deserves a...oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Instant hate fuels my decision even more.It’s a shame I already killed the fucker because the sight before me wishes I’d made him suffer some more.The baby, who looks a few weeks old, is lying on the floor surrounded by his own filth and whatever was already in the room before he was dumped here.

I stalk into the bathroom and turn on the tap to fill the sink with piss-warm water.Glancing around, I find a clean towel and a cloth.

“You’re gonna bathe him?”Roux asks, curiosity lingers in his voice.

Shooting him a glare, I snap, “The little man didn’t ask for shit and still he’s rolling around in his own feces while it’s burning into his skin.”

“Dude.”VP rubs his neck.“How can you torture a man without so much as a sliver of emotion on your face...besides the creepy as fuck grin...and then totally flip your shit when you see this?To be honest?It’s a bit disturbing, man.”

I turn the water off and walk to the baby to scoop him into my arms.It’s hard to ignore the stench and even harder not to gag.Fuck.

“Right and wrong, good and bad, there’s a fine gray line in the middle of everything, Roux.The only way to stay sane is to walk that fucked-up line with your head held high.Now, call a prospect to get here with a flatback and load up my bike to bring it back to the clubhouse.Be sure to handle the rest I ordered you to do.I’ll be out of the house within five minutes and will be back at the clubhouse once I’ve dropped off the kid, understood?”

“Yeah, Prez,” VP rumbles and I hear him leave the room to call Remmer before he goes down the stairs.

I quickly clean up the baby and wrap him in a blanket.There’s nothing here for the little man.No diapers, no cream for his red as fuck butt, no nothing.Finding another towel, I make sure the kid is warm and toasty before I head out of the house.

The clinic is only two blocks from here.I hope Angie, the medical receptionist, is still working there.I’ve known the woman all my life.Well, minus the decade since I left my hometown, but my father always kept me up to date about everyone.Angie is in her mid-sixties, stern, well respected, and a woman with a heart of gold.

It’s late, and I know they’re about to close by the time I get there.Thank fuck I see someone stepping out.Though, as I watch the woman with delicious curves, I know she’s closing up.

I call out to make sure not to freak the woman out as I come up behind her.“Wait before closing, please.”

The woman has the keys in hand and turns to face me.I’m momentarily stunned as my mind is thrown back into my past.Familiar blue-green eyes hit my blue ones.Her heart-shaped face, big eyes, pouty lips, and long dark hair, which is pulled back into a braid, are all the things I vividly remember.

Fuckin’ A.It’s Zora Pierson.The girl whose mother babysat me, allowing me and Zora to grow up together until we were teenagers who went head-to-head at every damn turn.Turning to young love...childhood sweethearts.

The first and only woman I ever loved and hurt by leaving without a word...for the right reasons in my boyish mind.Fuck.Seeing her now?I was a stupid motherfucker who should have been selfish.Yet, no one can change the past and regrets are useless.My chest painfully constricts, reminding me how this woman still manages to throw me off-balance.