Ride Or Die (Hell's Tribe MC Series) [Book 5]

Chapter 27: Off The Deep End

Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you enjoy chapter 27!!!

~Carter~

I tried to sleep but I couldn't. My mind just wouldn't stop racing. I'd tossed and turned for hours before I finally decided to get up out of bed and stop trying. There was too much going on for me to relax and it seemed like I wasn't the only one who felt that way. I'd headed into my grandma's tiny kitchen, surprised to find both Ronnie and my mother already sitting at the round table with a cup of tea in hand.

"Couldn't sleep?" Ronnie asked, peering up at me.

I shrugged. "You too?"

My mom and Ronnie both nodded.

"No matter how many times this shit happens, it never gets any easier," my mom sighed.

After being with my dad for almost thirty years, you'd think she'd be somewhat used to this kind of thing by now. She had dealt with her fair share of lockdowns, prison sentences, threats, blood, and violence. I could still vividly remember my dad coming home in the middle of the night after a run or a hit gone wrong and secretly watching my mom tend to his wounds while they thought I was asleep. It happened a lot when I was a kid and mom had always been the one to put dad back together again before Cash and I woke up in the morning. They thought we didn't know what was going on, but Cash and I were well aware that our dad wasn't like most. Mom had always been so strong then, holding it together until she thought no one was around to see her cry. Tawny McPherson was one tough bitch, but even she fell apart sometimes. The last time my dad had been inside for a long stretch had been horrible for her. I was not older than eight or nine at the time, and Cash was just a teenager. Mom held it down those whole twelve months, but it wasn't easy on her. It only seemed to get harder and harder as the years went on, and every time we'd been faced with a situation like this in the last few years, mom had fallen apart.

She loved club life, I knew she did, but part of me couldn't help but think that she was ready to leave it behind and start something new. I couldn't help but notice that dad seemed that way too.

"Did we hear anything yet?" I asked.

Mom and Ronnie both shook their heads.

"Knox texted me right before they boarded their plane, but I haven't heard anything since," Ronnie informed.

"I had Tweaker call Bear before he went to sleep, but they don't have anything yet either. Mack is trying, but so far, everything they have leads to a dead end." Mom added.

"If only I could fall asleep," a familiar voice rang from the hallway.

Tweaker came out from the living room, hair dishevelled and eyes bloodshot. He looked exhausted and I couldn't blame him because I felt the same way. Not to mention, if I was over six feet tall and trying to sleep on a tiny ass love seat, I wouldn't be very well rested either.

"Take the master," my mother offered. "I can't sleep anyways."

Tweaker shook his head. "Not a chance, Tawn. I should probably stay awake to keep an eye on you three anyways before you get any ideas."

Ronnie scoffed. "And what kind of ideas are you referring to?"

Tweaker rolled his eyes. "Oh please, don't go acting all innocent now. I heard all about what you two did to sneak Nora out during lockdown," he said gesturing between Ronnie and me.

I fought a smile when I met Ronnie's gaze and so did she. We had been pretty devious and sneaky, and we had gotten away with it too.

"I don't recall," I teased.