by Erin Osborne
Chapter Three
Psycho
I PULL BACK into the clubhouse after the last run to the Phantom Bastards. We’ve all been staying vigilant with a new threat against us from Snake’s Revenge. Today there was nothing out of the ordinary though. We made the exchange, talked for a few minutes, and went on our way. Snake’s Revenge has made a few moves against the Phantom Bastards, but nothing really against us yet. In my mind, that tells me it’s more personal with Slim and his club.
They haven’t met us when we’re doing any of the exchanges or tried to ambush us. But, we also have a new system in place, and I think it’s working pretty good. No one knows the location of the drop until an hour or so before we leave.
Slim and Renegade go back and forth choosing the location. Since no one knows where we’re going to be now, there’s been less trouble, and I’m thinking one of the clubs has a mole in it. I haven’t voiced my opinion about this to anyone just yet.
For now, I’m going to watch what happens around me when I’m in the clubhouse, and see if I can find someone with us asking questions they don’t need to know the answer to or hanging around the office.
As I walk into the clubhouse, Nails comes running up to me and jumps into my arms. I have no choice but to catch her or let her fall on her ass. That’s not something I can do because I’ll never let a woman get hurt on my watch. That’s why hurting Hadliegh the way I did guts me. Nails tries to plant a kiss on me as I turn my head and pry her off of me.
“What the fuck are you doin’?” I ask, making sure I step away from her.
“I’ve missed you. I know that you need a release, Psycho, let me be there for you and help you relax,” she says, pouting her lips in a move I’m sure she thinks is sexy. I find it repulsive and childish.
“Nothin’ to miss. Never touched you, Nails, and I don’t know why you think I’m goin’ to change that now,” I say, walking toward the bar.
“It’s time for new beginnings, and I’m the one that can make you feel good. Psycho, give me a chance and I’ll show you,” she says, following me like a clinger.
“My new beginnin’ will never include you. Do you really think I’m that dumb and don’t know what game you’re tryin’ to play right now?” I ask, grabbing my beer before sitting down. “You’re all about tryin’ to become an ol’ lady. Here’s a hint for you; stop spreadin’ your legs for every guy in here, and you might find someone willin’ to put up with your skank ass. But I guarantee you it won’t be a member of this club. We all know you by now, and most of the guys here have had a taste. Don’t see them runnin’ back for seconds.”
“Fuck off, Psycho,” Nails says, walking away from me finally.
“That was harsh,” Bear says, sitting down next to me and nodding his head to let the Prospect know he wants a drink.
“If I’m not harsh and honest with these bitches, they’ll just keep tryin’. Maybe now I have a few weeks before she tries this shit again,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders.
“So glad I don’t have to worry about that shit,” he mutters, taking a long pull of his beer.
“How are Knox and Jazz doin’?” I ask, wanting the attention off of me.
“Growin’ like weeds already. I can’t believe they’re almost seven months old already. Man, there’s nothin’ like goin’ home and seein’ their smiles light up the room,” he says, causing the pain in my chest to increase at the thought I might not ever have that with my child.
It’s been a few weeks since my last fight. As Bear suggested, I let the guys in the club know what I’ve been doing. They were supportive and told me they’d be at my next fight in a show of support and strength. So, I’ve been training instead of putting in so many hours at the different construction sites. Clay has let on that the man I’m fighting tonight is also in a club, and that it’s drawing a huge crowd in.
Renegade has been going to the gym with me on a regular basis to watch me too. I won’t allow anyone else to go with me. It’s one thing to support me at a fight, but it’s another thing entirely to go to training sessions.
Bear and Smokey want to come, I know they do, but they aren’t what I need right now. Renegade might not be, but he knows why I’m fighting. They all do, but he’s my brother and President. So, I let him come watch and hope he doesn’t think I’m giving this up if he demands me to. It’s my life and my choice.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Renegade asks as I step out of the ring after sparring with Clay for the last two hours.
“Yep,” I answer shortly.
“You nervous?” he asks, following me into the locker room.
“Nope,” I answer, not trying to be difficult, but not wanting to talk either.
“Are you ever goin’ to be the old Psycho? The man that liked to have fun and wanted to be around his brothers?” my brother asks, stopping me in my pursuit to get dressed and leave for a few hours before the fight.
“Look, I fucked up. Big time. I told Hadliegh I didn’t ever want to have kids. Fuck, I basically told her that she was pregnant by someone else and tryin’ to pawn it off as mine. Renegade, I never wanted kids. This isn’t fuckin’ news to anyone that knows me. Now, she’s gone with my baby, and I wish I could get her the fuck back,” I answer, dipping my head so I don’t have to see the pity and shame in his eyes. “Now that it’s a reality, I want to be a dad and prove that history isn’t going to repeat itself.”
“Okay. That’s a big fuck-up. It’s not insurmountable, though. What are you thinkin’ about your girl now?” he asks.
“That I want her and my baby home. Hunter is on her, and I don’t like what I’m hearin’. But, she’s not gonna give me another chance now. I pushed her away the one way I knew would mean it’s over for good,” I tell him, looking up at my big brother.
“No, it’s not. You need to really think about what you want, and then make her believe it,” he says, shrugging his shoulders as if it’s a simple reality.
“Whatever. I’m out of here. Need some time alone before the fight tonight.”
Picking up my bag, I head from the room without bothering to change clothes. The only thing I do is throw my tee shirt and cut on so I’m not riding naked from the waist up.
Straddling my bike, I peel out of the parking lot and just ride. There’s no destination in mind as I take off for the day. I only want the sun, wind, and peacefulness that usually finds me when I ride. It may not be smart right now with the shit we have going on, but it’s what I need right now. I need to get away and turn my mind off of everything and everyone invading it and vying for space.
I’ve been in the locker room, alone, for almost an hour now. The only one that I’ve allowed in is Clay. No one else needs to be in here, trying to fill my head with shit I can’t change when all I need to do is concentrate on the fight that’s about to take place. Especially since I found out the man I’m facing is one of the men that we’ve been trying to find from Harry’s old crew.
His name is Vulture, and I guess he’s looking for payback of some sort. Yeah, we took out everyone in his crew, but his national President knew we were doing it. Hell, he gave us his fucking blessing when he found out we’d done it because of what they were up to. We’ve been hearing now that he’s joining up with Snake’s Revenge to fulfill his revenge on our club.
I know this fight is gonna be more than any other fight I’ve ever been in. Vulture is a mean fuck, and I know it’s only a matter of time before weapons are brought in by him. I’m not changing my game, though. I’ll fight him like I’ve always done and we’ll see who’s laughing when it’s all over.
Finally, we’re in the ring, going pretty hard at one another. I’ve already got a cut above my eye and a busted lip. Vulture looks worse than I do. He’s got cuts on his face, and I know I busted a rib or two. As I go in to land another kick to take him down and beat the shit out of him on the mat, I feel a searing pain in my side.
Looking down, I see a blade sticking out of my side and Vulture twisting
the handle before pushing it in even further. Pain, like I’ve never felt in my life, rips through my body as the blood begins to slide down my side.. I drop to the mat as Vulture swoops in and pounds me with hit after hit.
With the knife still lodged in my side, I don’t do a lot to fight back because I can’t right now. I’m fading out, and I know that it’s just a matter of seconds before I black out into the blissful and painless blackness.
Chapter Four
Hadliegh
I’M WALKING OUT of the storeroom with a box of whiskey when I hear my phone going off. Since we’re not open yet, I set the box down and pull my phone out of my back pocket to see Callie’s face filling my screen. A smile forms as I answer it.
“Hey, bitch,” I say as my normal greeting to my best friend.
“Hadliegh,” Callie says, her voice catching and instantly putting me on alert.
“What’s wrong? Where’s Bear and the kids?” I ask, all sorts of scenarios running through my mind.
“It’s not them. It’s Psycho,” she says as my eyes well with tears, and I have an irrational fear running through my body.
“What do you mean? Where is he?” I ask frantically as the tears finally spill over and start cascading down my face.
“He was fighting in an underground fight, and he got stabbed. He’s in surgery now, and we don’t know what’s gonna happen. Hadliegh, you need to come home. Psycho is gonna need you more now than ever,” Callie says, her voice turning pleading as she tells me to come home.
“I’m on my way,” I say, hanging up the phone as Hunter and Chris come up to me.
I quickly fill them in on what’s going on and rush upstairs to pack a bag to go home. Somewhere along the way, Shadowville became my home, and I left it because I didn’t want to stay around Psycho. In reality, I should’ve stayed and been with my friends and family while being pregnant. I can’t change that now.
Once I have my bag packed, I rush down to my car as fast as my pregnant ass will go without falling down the stairs. Hunter is waiting by my car on his bike, and I know he’s going to follow me home. It’s going to take me three days to get there. But maybe I can get there faster if I push myself and don’t take as many breaks as I did on the way here. The only time I need to stop is for gas and a nap or two on the way back. I can grab something to eat when I stop for gas.
My mind is racing through all this nonsense so I don’t have to face the reality of losing Psycho. That was never a part of the plan and not an idea I ever entertained. Yes, I know the men in Satan’s Anarchy live dangerous lives and anything can happen. Especially when they’re on their bike. What I never thought was that he’d start fighting, whatever that means, and get stabbed because of it.
The last two days have been horrible. Callie called me when Psycho got out of surgery and told me he had a collapsed lung among other cuts and bruises because of the fight. He’s got a broken nose that will heal with time, and he is causing a scene already.
According to my friend, he’s ready to leave and letting everyone know it. His doctors are telling him he’s going to be in there a week at least, but he’s not having it. Psycho has yanked the I.V and shit off of him more times than they can count at this point. What hurts the most is that he has no clue I’m on my way back. Callie and the guys decided he didn’t need to know that shit yet. They’ll tell him when I show up at the hospital.
Today seems to be that day as I walk through the doors of the entrance and make my way up to the room Callie told me he was in. Hunter has never once left my side, and I know he’s been in constant contact with Renegade to let him know where we are and where we stop. Renegade wanted to send a few guys out to meet us, but I refused when Hunter told me.
I don’t want to draw attention to being back in town and that’s sure to do it. Plus, I don’t want to be around a lot of people right now. I just want to see what’s going on with Psycho and then go from there. If Callie gets her way, I’ll be moving back with her and Bear and at this point, I think that’s one of the better ideas.
“Hadliegh, you’re here!” Callie says, standing up from her chair in the waiting room. “Renegade and Bear are in with him right now. Go on in and see him.”
“I don’t want to disturb them,” I tell her, knowing that I’m just stalling for time.
“Nonsense. He wants to see you,” she says, pushing me toward the door and away from her.
I walk to the door, followed by Hunter. I’m not sure what his deal is right now unless he wants to say hi to his cousin. Pushing the door open, I see the three men in a private hospital room. Psycho looks like shit. His face is all bruised and swollen. There’s tape over his nose, and a huge split in his lip. My gasp alerts them to my presence, and I slap my hand over my mouth as tears fill my eyes.
“I think it’s time that we went and got somethin’ to eat?” Renegade says, walking by me and setting his hand on my shoulder for a minute.
“You guys don’t have to leave on my account. I got the call and came to see how he is. Psycho, I’m sorry this happened to you, but I’m not needed here. It was nice seeing you all. Bear, I’m sure I’ll see you later on,” I say, trying to make a quick getaway.
“Stay, Hadliegh,” Psycho says, looking at me and never once taking his eyes off of me.
“No reason to stay. You made yourself more than clear a few months ago,” I say, turning only to see that the door has been blocked by Bear and Renegade.
“There’s reason to stay. Please,” he says, his voice getting horse as he tries to move and pain floods his body.
I’m honestly torn right now. I don’t want to get into another fight with this man, but at the same time, I want to hear what he says. I’ve never heard him sound so unsure of himself or have the need to beg anyone for anything.
Psycho is a man that takes what he wants and doesn’t worry about anything other than that. It’s one of the things that first attracted me to him. I saw how he just went for anything he wanted. It didn’t matter if it was me, something in the club, or the way he wanted a run to go.
The men leave the room and for a few minutes, it’s nothing but silence. There’s so much I want to say to Psycho, but I don’t want to talk to him about the baby or anything regarding the pregnancy. Right now, with just over two months left, that’s all that’s on my mind. I can’t even concentrate on much else.
For the last almost seven months, my mind has only been consumed with working, making sure my responsibilities are taken care of, and the baby. Now that I know we’re having a boy; my mind is on everything I need to do to get ready for the baby.
“How have you been?” he finally asks, turning his head to look at me.
“Okay. I’d ask you the same, but I can see that you’ve obviously been better,” I respond, sitting down so I’m off my feet even though I’ve been sitting in the car for almost three days now.
“How are things with the baby?” he asks, looking at my stomach and not taking his eyes off it.
“We’re not talking about the baby. You made yourself totally clear, and I’m trying to respect that. So, we can talk about anything other than the baby,” I say, letting my inner bitch come out.
“Had, I know I said some shit and treated you like shit. I’ve had time to think and know that I fucked-up more than I ever have in my life. I want to spend some time with you and know what you’ve been goin’ through. I want to know about the baby,” he says, finally taking his eyes off my stomach and looking me in the face.
His chocolate brown eyes bore into me and hold me captive. I can see that he’s sincere in wanting to know about the baby and make up for the shit he said, but I’m not there yet. In all honesty, I’m really hurt by the things he said, and I don’t know when I’m going to get past it.
There was no reason for him to treat me the way he did and say what he said, no matter how he felt about having kids of his own. That’s the part that pisses me off because I’m better than one of their babes, and I damn sure am not anyo
ne’s fucking whore. Yeah, there are people out there that fuck around and play games with men and being pregnant; I’m not one of them. I have no reason to lie to anyone about anything.
“Psycho, it’s going to take time for me to get there. I get that you’re sorry and all that, but I’m still pissed and hurt about it. I’ve never once given you any indication that I wanted more than you were willing to give and yet you still treated me like one of the club’s babes. I’m happy that you’re going to be okay, but I think it’s time for me to go,” I say, standing up and making my way toward the door.
“You’ll see, Hadliegh. I’m goin’ to prove to you that I’ll be there for you and that baby,” he responds as I open the door and let it shut behind me.
Making my way out to the waiting room, I take a seat next to Callie. She grabs my hand and holds it while the rest of the guys look at me. I know they have questions about why I left and why it affected Psycho the way it did. That’s not my problem though. He made his bed and he’s going to have to lie in it or figure out a way that he can prove to me that he’s going to be in his son’s life.
“So, that’s why you took off?” Grave asks, never hiding behind what’s right in front of him and saying what he wants to.
“Yep,” I answer shortly.
“You destroyed him,” he accuses, standing in front of me with his arms folded in front of his chest.
“If you don’t know the whole fucking story, then don’t say I destroyed him. You have no clue what happened, Grave, and I’ll be damned if a single one of you blame me for this shit,” I say, prepared to leave where I’m not wanted.
“Don’t. Grave, I get that you’re tryin’ to protect your brother, but she’s right. None of us know what happened between them. I know what I’ve been told, and I’d say Psycho played a pretty big part in what went down and why she left,” Renegade says, sticking up for me as he sits down next to me. “Now, if you’re movin’ back, I want you to know that I’ll be a part of my niece or nephew’s life from now on. If you need anythin’, you call me and I’ll be there.”