Reclaiming her ( Forgotten Sons book 1)

Chapter 5

Viper (Nate)

Life has always been chaotic, except for those nights with her. My father had groomed me to take over the club from a young age. So, with that, I was exposed to violence and crime, s*x and Dr*gs my whole life. Being the only child of the notorious Brian Jones had always put me in a strange position. Other kids were never allowed to play with me, their parents not wanting them to associate with the son of a criminal. Club girls would try to act like mothers to me, just to try and gain my dads attention.

When I was twenty, my father d*ed from lung cancer, I guess all those years of smoking caught up with him. I took over the club and cleaned it up, so to speak. We still do illegal dealings, but now it's mostly in protection and arms dealings. I don't deal in dr*gs or s*x trafficking, and I keep a close eye on the scumbags who do, making sure they aren't causing too much trouble.

Blackwater is my town, and I want to keep it clean for my brothers and my community. My reputation is still a feared one, but I've managed to win over some of the folk with our clubs' annual toy run and other charity events we do in hopes of legitimising the club more. Mr. Philips, the baker, has always been a big contributor to our charity events, making breads, cakes, and cookies for the people in our town who don't have food security. The forgotten sons are mostly made up of guys who have had a rough upbringing, the ones who didn't have wealthy parents or they were raised by addicts and much more. That's why giving back is so important to us. We don't want kids to go through what we did.

Looking down at my desk, I try to focus on the paperwork in front of me, but there is no point. Every time I feel lonely, my mind drifts to her. The girl who stole my heart and then disappeared into thin air. Her parents always refused to say anything to anyone about where she went, like it was top secret for some reason.

Sighing, I started reading the paper in front of me, trying to shake my memory of her. The most recent summary of our clubs finances all look pretty normal, nothing standing out or raising any flags, so I sign off on them before putting them in the tray of completed paperwork. This has to be the most boring part of my role, I love riding, and the dirty dealings don't phase me much, but finances and paperwork are not something I would do if I didn't have to.

A knock at my office door draws my attention. " Who is it?" I call out, not in the mood for a random visitor. "It's me, Blade." My vice president calls back. Blade was my only friend throughout school, never caring if anyone judged him for hanging around me. There was never any question who would become my VP when I took over the club, Blade has always had my back, and I've always had his.

" Come in." I say and watch as my best friend walks into the room with a sly grin on his face.

" If you're here to brag about your latest conquest, then save it. You know I hate hearing about your d*ck." I say, Blade laughing in response. " Haven't conquered this one yet, brother. Haven't even met her yet." He says as I raise a brow at him. " I was round visiting Chase earlier, getting the numbers for the next shipment. When we finished and Ellie came inside, she told us all about the new kid across the street and her pretty mum. According to my niece her mum is the most beautiful lady she's ever seen. So of course, I'll need to check this out for myself." He winks at me, but my mind isn't taking in whatever dirty jokes Blade is making. " Wait, Chase lives opposite the Sinclair's old place." I say, trying to work out why someone is staying there. Since the Sinclair's were k*lled in a car accident, I've kept an eye out for any sales listing's of the house, but there hasn't been one.

" Yeah, someone must've bought it." my friend says, oblivious to the panic going through me right now. " Did Ellie say what she looked like or get her name?" I ask, desperately wanting to know if it could be her. " Nah man, just that she was pretty. She did say her name though, uh... what was it? Lexi...Lainey...Lacey! Yeah, Lacey. That's it." He says and my stomach does a backflip.

I don't know if it's definitely her, but surely it's not a coincidence. I don't know how to feel. Am I happy that she has returned after all these years? Where has she been and why did she never reach out? Anger suddenly hits me as I remember what else Blade said. She has a kid, does that mean she has a husband too? Just because Ellie didn't see a man there doesn't mean she's single. " Is everything okay, man?" Blade asks as he watches me with concern.

See, even my best friend didn't know about the girl who kept me sane on my darkest nights. I always felt the need to protect the special bond we had and if I told anyone about us that it might not last. The joke was on me in the end, though. It didn't last even without anyone knowing.

" I'm good, brother. I was just thinking that I haven't been round to see Chase and Ellie in ages. I don't want them to think I don't care about them." I say, hoping he will buy my terrible excuse. Blade looks at me as if he is trying to work out if I'm being honest about what's on my mind before he finally comes up with an idea. " We could always drop round there tomorrow. We don't have any plans with the club. What do you think? I can text Chase now and let him know."

I nod at him, and the next minute, Blade is pulling out his phone and typing what I assume is a message to his younger brother.

Almost instantly, his phone beeps with a message notification. " He says he's going to help Lacey arrange her furniture tomorrow. Did you want me to tell him we will come around another day?" He asks, but I smile and shake my head, another idea coming to mind. " No. Tell him we will come and help. Heck, we'll even bring lunch for everyone." I say, knowing this may finally be the chance to confront the girl who broke my heart.