Gunpowder and Lead (Savage MC book four)

Chapter four- Maybe next time he'll think

Grace

"So," I began speaking looking into the sink at the dishes I was washing, "You're Mom owns the house." Zip was drying and putting dishes away behind me.
"Yeah." He said.
"Thought it belong to a distant relative?" I asked gently, knowing I was prying but if we were going to be stuck here together, we might as well get to know each other. He continued to put stuff away behind me for awhile before he spoke, long enough I figure he wasn't going to reply to me.
"I didn't know my Mom until I was well into my early twenties." He answered shortly. I felt my body jerk in confusion. Early twenties?
"You grew up with your Dad then?" I continued knowing I was out of bounds but unable to leave the conversation hanging when the topic was so intriguing.
"No. I grew up with my adoptive family, moved out when I was eighteen and my birth Mom came looking for me when I was twenty. She didn't find me until I was twenty two." he explained and I let the water flow from the sink, the dishes finished. I turned to look at him.
"Can I ask what happened?" I watched his face for reaction but he didn't have any. He simply shrugged before speaking.
"She couldn't keep me when she was pregnant so she put me up for adoption. I found out when I was about fourteen. Not that it really mattered, I loved my parents anyways. Lena approached me when I was twenty-two and we slowly got to know each other. My parents don't live anywhere near here or the club so I was kind of shocked to find that Lena did. She'd owned this house for years and when she passed, she put it in her will that I was to get it. I come up every so often to keep it in check but it's far enough away I don't make the trip often." He turned from me continuing to put stuff away.
"I'm sorry." I spoke softly, my heart aching for him.
"S'Okay." he shrugged away, moving to sit at on the counter top, facing me.
"How'd she pass?" I queried, moving to sit on the counter opposite him.
"She got sick." was all he said.
"That's rough, Zip. I'm sorry. It's lovely you got to know her though. She had an eye for style as well, judging from this house." I laughed softly and his lip turned up at the corner.
"She told me I wasn't to change anything. She'd come back and haunt me." he laughed at the memory. There was more there I could dig into but I sensed I had taken it far enough, if I push further I might lose this newfound neutral ground we were currently on.
"She's dead right as well, it's beautiful. It has the old country house feel but the warmth of a house lived in." I smiled looking around the kitchen with new appreciation. Hopping off the counter I offered, " Tea?" to which he replied with "Beer.". Smiling still, I make my way to the fridge first and got him his beer. Turning to the kettle I filled it with water from the tap before turning it on.
"So tell me, what was growing up for you like? lot of legacy behind you." He spoke and I felt myself​ freeze slightly. I knew turn about was fair trade but I very rarely spoke about my mother. It was my turn to shrug.
"It was good, I was showered in love, Uncle Tony was the best growing up. He was like a Dad, Mom, grandparents all wrapped into one. His whole family took me in and raised me like one of their own and I am. I was no different than anyone else growing up. I went by the same rules. It was good." I smiled at him and watched him look from my mouth to my eyes.
"Do you remember her?" He asked and I took a sharp intake of breath. Yep, we were going there.
"Yeah..." I blinked seeing her face in my mind, "I was young when she passed but I remember bits of her, bits of us together. Anything I didn't know, uncle Tony told me. He always had a story to tell me about her, everything I did growing up, he would relate it in someway to her. He tried his best to make her memory real for me." I said looking him in the eyes. He nodded in response.
"She was a big part of our club for awhile, from what I've heard." Zip said and I nodded.
"Yeah, from what I've heard. She stayed there for awhile." I agreed and Zip focused intently on me.
"Fox's Mom was your mothers best friend." He said watching how I would react to his words. I took a deep breath.
"I know, like I said, uncle Tony tried to keep her memory alive for me as much as he could. He told me about Millie when I was young." I informed him.
His head tilted to the side, his gaze skeptical.
"You didn't think of ever coming to meet her?" he asked and I shook my head.
"She was my mothers best friend and I understand that but I had my mothers family. Uncle Tony was Moms family, he took me on and I think we can both agree that the man was not young taking me on. I felt home with uncle Tony's family and feeling that, I felt closer to Mom." I said bluntly. "I remember Mom and I don't remember Millie being there. I remember uncle Tony, I remember uncle Benny. I don't remember a Millie and I don't hold that against her but no, I never felt the need to seek her out when I had people around me that had been around me since the beginning. I wouldn't know Millie, she was my Moms best friend yes, but, to me she's a stranger.".
He nodded like he understood but he still said, " She would love to meet you, as would Cut. If we get out of this alive." he joked, trying to lighten the mood and I felt the tension break. I laughed a small bit.
"Yeah if we get out of this alive, which Zip I'm counting on you for that to happen." I pointed a finger at him and a small grin spread on his face.
"Nothing bads going to happen while I'm here, Grace." he promised and I gave him a small nod in acknowledgement. Jumping off the counter I turned towards the forgotten kettle, turning it back on again. I sense Zip moving from the room but I didn't turn to watch him. A second later i heard the shower turn on down the hall. The house dropped into silence, only the faint buzz of the electrical shower could be heard along with the kettle boiling.
It was long after we had finished dinner and Banks had left again, having put in a fully wired security system. It was like nothing I had seen before, more sensors and alarms connected to all doors and windows in the house. No one was getting in even if they tried their damnedest. Disabling the back door I slid it open to stand outside in the night air, tea cup in hand. The night was clear, stars could be seen right across the sky, the moon illuminating the woods, casting shadows of trees across the garden. The air was crisp, the sun having set long before, the heat of it no longer present in the air. Taking a sip of my tea I let it warm its way through me, wondering what the next few days, weeks even had in store for us. For as much as Zip was assuring me of our safety in the seclusion of the house, it didn't reassure me the extent at which Banks had to secure the house.
"Come in, you're letting the heat out." Zips voice came from behind me. Turning I walked inside to him, securing the door correctly behind me.
"What's happening at the club house? Is everyone safe.?" I asked, my mind running laps around what could be happening.
"Don't worry, Fox has it under control. Need to know." He answered not looking at me.
" Is that why we're completely locked into the house under a secure system so heavy I haven't seen something like it before? Because Fox has it under control?" I asked not to be rude but just feeling the urge to know. Zip focused on me.
"Need to know, Babe. No harm in taking protective measures either way but they aren't close to us. Don't be worrying." he said and I nodded but still spoke.
"Hammer will find me, he has a way." I whispered and watched Zips face get firm.
"He hasn't met my way yet. He won't get through me. He won't get through the club. You're safe, we promised you that." He reminded me and I nodded, beginning to feel the panic settling in me. I needed to keep my head straight before I drove myself mad. The club had this, I hope anyways. I moved forward following Zip into the livingroom, trying to focus on the now and not the what ifs.