“I missed so much, Cat. I don’t know how I will ever make it up to you.”
Turning to face him, I cupped his face and said, “Just love me and never leave me again. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and soon Colin will be home where he belongs, and he will need us both.”
It was hard to say the words, but deep down, I meant them. I knew I wasn’t the only one going through this. I needed to remember that Reggie was dealing with his own demons, just like I was. Nothing had been easy for us, but we were together now. What we did moving forward would define us for the rest of our lives, and I refused to let my own demons stop me from moving forward. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but with Reggie beside me, he would give me the strength to endure until our son came home.
“Want to see the house?”
Nodding, he took my hand, and together we walked back towards the house.
It truly was a stunning home. I learned that Reggie and Dwayne bought the property two years ago, and together they built the house from the ground up. According to Reggie, they wanted a place that was just theirs. I understood that. Everyone needed a safe place to call home.
The house had three bedrooms, a large kitchen living room combo, but what I loved the most was the deck that gave a panoramic view of the ocean. I could imagine sitting out here with Reggie watching the sunset over the Atlantic Ocean while Colin played in the sand.
It was a beautiful thought.
One I prayed that came true.
According to Reggie, the house still needed a lot of work, but the foundation was solid. Not understanding, I just smiled at him as he showed me around the house.
“Player,” Chaos said, walking out onto the deck where we were standing. “Phantom called. We need to get back.”
“Is it Colin?” I asked, turning to the man. When he said nothing, I looked at Reggie, who nodded.
“Come on baby. Let’s get back to the compound.”
Something was said between the two men. Whatever it was, it changed Reggie. He tensed as a blank mask fell over his face.
Saying nothing more, I found myself back on his bike as we all headed back to the clubhouse. We pulled into the clubhouse an hour later to find several bikes lined up as men and women walked about. Seeing us, they all stopped, and when Reggie brought his bike to a stop, two men I had never seen before walked over us.
“Player.” A tall man with jet black hair greeted.
“Ravage.”
“The whole club is here. You need anything, just ask brother. We all want to help.”
“I appreciate that,” Reggie said, getting off his bike, then turning to help me. After removing my helmet, I turned to the tall, muscular man, as Reggie added. “Ravage, this is my woman, Catarina. Cat, this is Ravage. He’s the president of the Tennessee Chapter.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The tall, handsome man smiled and said, “The pleasure is all mine, ma’am.”
“And this is Doolittle, the president of the Montana Chapter.”
“Ma’am. I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but it’s really nice to meet you. I brought my woman, Raina, with me, and I would really like the two of you to meet.”
“I would like that too,” I smiled as a pretty woman with long auburn hair walked over and wrapped her arm around the man’s waist. He leaned over and kissed her temple before saying, “Baby, this is Catarina. Catarina, this is my wife, Raina.”
“Hello,” the pretty woman smiled.
“Russian, right?” I asked, noticing her accent, and greeted, “Priyatno poznakomit’sya.”
She smiled brightly, “It’s nice to meet you too. You speak Russian beautifully.”
“Thank you.”
“Anche per me è un piacere conoscerti. The ladies and I were about to get dinner ready if you would like to help. Do you know how to make carbonara? I was in Rome when I was little and have loved it ever since. The American version is okay, but it’s got nothing on the authentic Italian version.”
I laughed. “It’s rather easy to make. If you have the ingredients, I could make it.”