Page 9 of Rhett Redeemed

She surprised me with how sensual and giving she is in bed, and I would definitely fuck her again, given the chance. With protection this time. I realize I should leave before she wakes up and turns the perfect one-night stand into something awkward.

As I head to the door, I see a piece of mail on her table and read her name: Constance Wilder. Wild she is.

I call a cab that takes me back to my place. Once I get home, I take a shower and hop into my own bed. I just rented this house, but no one knows about it aside from the Wind Dragons. Clover and Cara don’t even know that I’m in town right now and not miles away, near the clubhouse. After an incident that happened with the street gang the Forgotten Children, aka the FC, I put Cara and Clover in danger, and when that was over, I stuck around to make sure that they were okay. Since then, I’ve been going back and forth from here and the Wind Dragons clubhouse, which is about a two-hour drive depending on the traffic.

I also own a house with Cara near the clubhouse, one that Cara thinks is being sold, but it’s not. It’s just sitting there. I know how much she loved that house, and I just can’t seem to get rid of it. Maybe I’ll keep it for her and she can do with it as she chooses. I just can’t be the one to sell it. If she wants to, fine, but I won’t do it.

I check my phone, and I don’t miss how dry it’s been since Cara and I broke up. I know Clover is still disappointed in me, and I know that Cara and I will never be the same, which tears me up inside. This just shows that all those times Cara accused me of being too impulsive and warned that it would get me into trouble, she was right. Once I made up my mind that this was the path I was going to go down, I made sure to be seen talking to women and stopped going home to Cara. By the time I realized the implications of people thinking I was cheating, it was too late to turn back. The damage was already done.

Cara and Clover have been my best friends ever since I can remember. Growing up, the other boys at school thought it was so weird I was so close with them. They even tried to tease me about it.

“How come you’re best friends with girls? Are you gay?” one asked me in front of the girls.

I remember sharing a look with Cara and Clover, both such strong girls, even back then. Clover had a big mouth on her and wasn’t afraid to use it, whereas Cara was quieter and more reserved, but always had our backs.

“Maybe it’s because we have bigger balls than you,” Clover had replied to the kid, with a cocky smirk.

The kid got angry and tried to hit her, so of course I stepped in and taught him a lesson. No one hurts my girls.

No one except me, apparently.

I contemplated telling Clover the truth right before everything went down with the Forgotten Children, but then shit hit the fan and I was gone for weeks. By the time I got back and had a chance, everyone had made up their minds about me, and I took the easy way out and let them.

I know this is all my doing, but it still hurts.

I think about the Wind Dragons, where we’ve been, where we are and where I want to lead us. The club went through so much, with a few of the members doing time behind bars, like Arrow and Irish. But no matter what, they all stayed loyal to each other, and they would go to the end of the earth to protect the extended family they’ve created.

Am I setting myself up for failure by wanting the same kind of club I grew up around as a kid? A ride-or-die club of men who have each other’s backs and have a genuine bond that will never end? I wonder if the men I’ve surrounded myself with are going to be as loyal to me and the club as past members were. When all of the older generation steps away, what will we have left? And will it be enough? It takes a certain type of man to live and breathe this life, and I hope that kind still exists in the younger members.

I realize that I have no one to speak to about this, no one to confide in. Dad warned me that it would be lonely, being the man in charge, but at the time I didn’t really hear what he was saying. Maybe it’s not just the Cara thing that has me questioning if I’ve taken on too much too soon.

But I’ve come this far and I can’t back away now.

If not me, then who?

“You’ve been MIA,” Arrow comments when he sees me the next day, finally making an appearance at the clubhouse. He’s an intimidating man, even when you’ve known him since you were a kid, like me. He demands respect, and we all give it to him.

“I know,” I reply, pulling out the bar stool next to him and sitting down. “Just getting my head right.”

Arrow nods. He looks tired, and I feel like shit that I haven’t been here, proving to him that the MC will be left in good hands. While there’s nothing too big going on with the club at the moment, from experience I know that can change in an instant. Not to mention I’m supposed to be spending time with the prospects, forming a bond with them and weeding out the men I don’t want at my back. These are my generation of MC brothers, and I need to make sure I’m surrounded by people I can trust, especially if I want the MC to continue to be strong and resilient.

“I know you’re still fucked-up over Cara,” he states, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “Trust me, the first heartbreak is the worst, but as president, you’ll need to be strong for the club, no matter what’s going on in your own personal life. I talked Rake out of wanting to fight you, so there’s that, too. I think you should have a talk with him.”

Rake is Cara’s dad, an OG member of the club and someone I’ve always looked up to. He has always been like a second father to me, but I understand why he’d be mad. I respect it, even. If I had a daughter and someone broke her heart, I’d want a piece of him, too.

How many fucking bridges have I burned just because I lied? Too many to count.

But that’s not the real reason I don’t tell Cara the truth, is it?

No, it’s more selfish than that.

I needed to choose between the club and Cara.

Before I jumped headfirst into my ruse, I contemplated giving the club up. But I had nothing to fall back on. I knew nothing else other than the club and I realized I didn’t want to know anything else other than the club. The Wind Dragons are my home, just like my mother’s house will always be my home. I couldn’t give that up even if it meant losing a piece of my heart.

It’s pretty fucked-up when I think about it that way. But seeing how happy she is now, I know that I made the right choice, even if it’s killing me.

“I will talk to Rake,” I promise. I’ll continue to be the bad guy, because to be honest, it’s an easier role than the truth. “What was it like when Sin stepped down and you took over? How did you keep everyone together? I want us to remain the tight-knit unit that we are known for, but I’m not sure how to do that with all the new people coming in.”