Chapter Six
Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will
~ Unknown
Indra
Oddly enough, I like him. At the sight of his leather vest I didn’t want to, though. Deep down I figure if they were really bad people, their MC would be crapped on by the local media. But I haven’t heard a thing. Plus, Elizabeth Ashers is dating one of them. She’s a woman of integrity and she’d never involve herself with someone who was corrupt and wanted to hurt others. I don’t know the woman, but I’m telling myself that last bit.
The waitress Belle brought me my shake and Dixon went ahead and ordered for me. Never in my life have I allowed a man to order my food. Hell, Cornell never did it either. He ordered jalapeño poppers and mozzarella sticks as appetizers and got a mushroom swiss for me and a cheddar bacon for himself.
“I hope you plan on sharing some of that. Just because I’m a woman who works out doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate some bacon,” I tease. Before Belle brought over my delicious milkshake, we chatted for a couple minutes about how I work at the yoga studio and the jewelry store.
“Whoa, alrighty then. We’ll split everything, how about that? I’m even willin’ to split my onion rings. But first you gotta tell me how you met Hawk and Sakura.”
Instantly I smile because I genuinely like both Hawk and Sakura. Hawk is a rough guy around the edges but once you get to know him you can truly see how much he cares about those around him. As a mother, he melted my heart when he found a way to have Bridget and Danica in his proposal to Raven.
Now Sakura, I don’t know much about her because I only met her when Hawk came to pick up the jewelry for the girls. What I can say is that she’s a determined woman. She came back time and time again until I agreed to come out on this date. If it ends well, I’ll have to thank her.
“I’m the woman who designed the jewelry for Hawk. Sakura came in with him to pick up the jewelry.”
Dixon chuckles lowly, brushing his hand across his face. “Damn sneaky bastards.”
“You know, I’ll be honest. I don’t get how you’re single.” I state while Belle’s setting the mozzarella sticks and jalapeno poppers on the table in front of us. Dixon is quick to grab a popper and shove it in his mouth, pushing it over to the side so he looks like a chipmunk with an acorn in his mouth.
“What’s so hard to believe?”
It’s so hard to take him seriously when he looks like this, so I struggle to hold back a laugh but break out into laughter anyway. “You’re cute, nice, have a good sense of humor. You’re even part of a biker club which makes the bad boy aspect a little high. Women love that stuff. So, it doesn’t make sense. I don’t see any red flags.”
“You know, I could say the same about you. Minus the whole biker club shit, ‘cause you’re a real sweetie. You seem to have your shit together, are hard-working, mature. So, what’s your reasonin’?”
Whoa. I guess this is the part where I go into my truth. I take a sip of my milkshake before I answer, sucking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm my nerves. “I was off the market for a while. To be honest with you, I wasn’t even looking for love, or even the possibility of it. Sakura and Hawk wouldn’t take no for an answer so here I am. Long story short, I married the first man I ever loved. We were together for years, happily married, and . . .” I choke up every single time I ever think about the accident. Even to this day it cuts me deep. No matter how much I try, I’ll never get the image of the metal stuck in his head out of my mind. It’s burned into my memory until the end of days. “W-we went out on a weekend trip. I can’t remember what happened, but I awoke and the car was upside down. My husband was already dead when the ambulance got there.”
“Holy fuckin’ Hell. I’m so sorry,” Dixon immediately says.
“I haven’t been dating because I had it all with him and honestly, it somehow feels like a betrayal to him. I know it’s been years but . . . it’s still sometimes hard to imagine my life without him. Now I know I need to move on and live life to my fullest, so this is my attempt at doing that.”
Dixon nods, letting a half smile slip out. “It’s all understandable. I can only imagine what this is like for you.”
“It’s okay, I’m managing. There is something I should probably tell you before we end our date, though.”
“Fuck, you’re already wantin’ to split? I must be doin’ somethin’ wrong.”
I let out a laugh, appreciating his humor. “No, you’re doing everything perfectly. I’m not normally so straightforward but talking to you is easy. I don’t feel pressured or like I have to say something specific.”
“Alright, good. I’m not tryin’ to make this harder for you, darlin’.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that. So, before I get side-tracked with your charm and good looks. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old son. His name is Jalen.”
Again, Dixon half smiles. “What a gift.”
“I’m sorry?”
“If you couldn’t tell, I’m not much of the religious type. But, the fact you had his kid is a fuckin’ gift. He’s your way of remembering your husband.”
I don’t know why, but Dixon’s words cause water to form behind my eyes and I’m trying my hardest not to let them slip out. “I thought you might want to run for the hills when you heard I had a kid.”
“Not even gonna lie, darlin’. Normally I would, but I like you. I know we’re not too far into this blind date or whatnot, but I’d like to do this again if you’re willing.”
His question doesn’t feel like much of one to me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t already enjoying his company. I nod, “Yeah, I’d like that very much.”
Chapter Seven
It’s not the future you’re afraid of. It’s the fear of the past repeating itself. That haunts you
~ T. W. W.
Dixon
“Got the mail!” Mouser hollers, waltzing into the clubhouse. He shuffles through the papers and stops dead in his tracks. He looks right at me and grimaces. “Who’d be sending you a letter from prison?”
I blink a couple of times. There’s only one person that comes to my mind. “My ol’ man,” I reply, risin’ from the couch to go grab the letter from Mouser’s nosey ass hands. Once I have it, I immediately open it and see notebook style paper with my dad’s chicken scratch writing.
Dixon,
I know I haven’t been a true father to you. I was a piece of shit and I’d be lyin’ if I said I wasn’t anymore. I’m the type of man who has plenty of demons. Hell, now I feel dumb as shit even writin’ this letter to you.
I suppose I should get back on track.
Anyways, I’m getting released next week and I’m hopeful you and I can start over again. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most, and that I kept fuckin’ up at every turn.
Everythin’ is my fault. You gettin’ put in the system. You gettin’ separated from your lil’ sister. It’s all my fault. One day I hope you’ll forgive me for that shit.
Anyway, I’ll end this letter now. I heard a rumor the Reapers have a clubhouse in Las Vegas. One of my buddy’s kids came in and said they knew of a guy called Dixon. I’m holdin’ my breath hopin’ it’s you. If not, I guess I’ll make a fool of myself. After I’m out I’ll stop by the club to pay you a visit.
I know what you’re thinkin’, but I’m not gonna ask you for shit.
It’s been too long. See you soon.
-Dad
“Your dad’s in prison?” Hawk asks. He’s one of the brothers I’m the closest with and I never even told him.
“Yeah, he can’t seem to ever stay out of there.” I mutter, foldin’ up the paper I shove it back in the envelope.
“What did he want?” Mouser questions.
“Shit, you two are as nosey as some of the ladies here. What the fuck’s up with that?” I grumble.
“You never told us your pops was in prison, brother. We’re allowed to be a little nosey.” H
awk hisses.
“Fuck, fine then! He wants to stop by after he gets out. He can stop by all he wants, but I don’t know if I’m gonna bother seein’ his ass.”
“Why wouldn’t you see him?” Hawk asks.
I huff, “It’s a long story. I’ll sum it up though. My dad promised me I could depend on him after my mom died. We knew he was my only option for a guardian . . . but the fucker couldn’t keep his word. He had to go out and rob a department store. Idiot got caught, thrown in the slammer. I was put into the foster care system. Got split up from my little sister in the process. We had two different dads, so, I suppose it was only natural. I jumped from group home to group home until this one foster dad agreed to take me in. I was there with two girls. They were like thirteen and eight I think? Anyway, he decided to beat on the eight-year-old until she’d get black eyes. Eventually he started alternatin’ between the girls every other night. I lost my shit and attacked him with a baseball bat. Thought it would be good karma to show the motherfucker what it felt like. I ran away after that.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry brother.” Mouser says.
I wave my hand in dismissal, “It’s all good. Taught me how to be tough and I needed that shit.”
“You ever see your sister after?” Hawk asks.
I shake my head, “Nah. I don’t even know where Abbey is. Can we talk about somethin’ else now?”
“Yeah, yeah. How’d it go yesterday with Indra?”
I smile, ‘cause it went so fuckin’ good. We ended up stayin’ in that diner until almost eight at night. Time flew by and the two of us couldn’t stop talkin’ about shit. She told me about her son Jalen, told me her father is some hotshot partner at a law firm out in Phoenix. Her mother works as a paralegal at the same firm and he’s been pressuring her to move back home, but she won’t. I asked why and she said it reminds her about what she lost. Told me about how she was the typical corporate American before her husband died.
I’d never believe that, though. She seems like such a carefree bohemian spirit type of woman. It gives her an edge I like a lot if I’m honest.
Honestly, we spoke about both our families. I told her my story about my mom dyin’, my dad gettin’ locked up and how I was separated from my sister. Indra started to cry. Normally if I talk about it and people get choked up I get pissed. The reason I get upset is because watchin’ them cry and shit brings up old feelins’ I don’t wanna acknowledge. When Indra cried though . . . it showed me how beautiful her fuckin’ heart is.
“I don’t think either of us wanted it to end. Now, you’d better not tell Sakura this shit but I think abstainin’ from sex has been good for me. It actually made me interested to learn more about her.”
Mouser chuckles lowly, covers his face and walks over next to Hawk, takin’ a seat right next to him.
“Ha! I knew it! And you were complaining the entire time!” I hear her voice before I see her. She comes out from the kitchen, clappin’ her hands like some amused child.
Fuck, I didn’t want her to know I was appreciative of it. “Dammit. No one could give me a warnin’ this chick was lurkin’ in the shadows?” I growl out to everyone in the room. I’m not just here with Hawk and Mouser. Chaz, Widow and Damon are on the other side of the club.
“To be fair, we weren’t listening to your conversation,” Damon, our Prez, speaks up.
“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes, lookin’ right back at Mouser who very well knew she was here. “What’s your excuse?”
“Oh, I don’t have one. I just like witnessing you get riled up a bit. It’s fuckin’ hysterical.” He comments, makin’ me get up from my seat and charge toward him.
“How fuckin’ funny is it now?!” I ask, standing a mere couple feet away from him.
“It’s the funniest thing ever.” Mouser’s gonna enjoy fuckin’ with me real well when he has my fist in his fuckin’ mouth.
“Keep goin, bitch. Can’t wait to see how you keep goin’ when I’ve shoved my fist into your mouth and knocked all those pearly whites out,” I hiss.
“Dix, calm down. He’s only screwing with you.” Sakura comes to her man’s defense, and I walk off, needing to get out of here before I lose my shit. At least I’m smart enough to walk away. I can’t say the same for others in this club.
Chapter Eight
Be stubborn about your goals and flexible about your methods
~ Musely.com
Dixon
The back door to the club slams shut, causing me to turn back and see Damon. He doesn’t seem too happy with me right now. “What the fuck? Are you being a defiant piece of shit today?”
“What?” I reply.
“I sent a text out thirty minutes ago saying we were having church. We got some shit that was alarming to say the least.”
I’ve been outside for a bit, but not one brother came out here to tell me we were havin’ church. “Sorry, Prez. Must’ve left my phone in the trailer.”
“What the fuck ever. Get your ass in here and stop wasting my damn time. We have heavy shit to go over.” Damon heads back into the club and I’m hot on his heels. We go down the hallway and walk into the room where we’re having church. Shutting the door behind me, I quickly make my way over to my assigned seat and Damon slams the gavel down onto the wooden table.
“I’ll keep this plain and simple for you. We received video confirmation of Titan declaring he was bringing a war to the Reapers.” Titan was the old enforcer for the Lucifer’s Heretics MC. But, he shouldn’t be a problem anymore considering he’s dead. I don’t see why this matters, and from everyone else’s expressions they’re thinkin’ the same thing I am.
“Isn’t Titan dead?” Widow’s the dumb fuck who chooses to ask the question. If Damon’s arm was long enough, I swear he’d reach across the table and slap him.
“Yep.” Damon grumbles his response.
Amara speaks up, taking over for her brother. She’s our VP, the only woman to ever be in the club. One who’s been given an officer position no less. She’s only in the club because the Brotherhood MC patched into the Reapers a few years back. She’s been the VP ever since. “Not too long ago we made a connection to a man named Lucian. He works with the Steele brothers who are friends of friends. Lucian is of importance because he’s a hacker, and a mighty fine one. I might’ve given him a job to keep a lookout for anything that could raise some red flags when it came to the Lucifer’s Heretics. He was able to get into some sort of private forum the Lucifer’s Heretics run. The last upload is a video of Titan declaring war against us. He made it a point to state his . . .” Amara looks directly at Cobra, “Forgive me for what I’m about to say, but I’m quoting him. He said his weakling of a son was part of this club and directed the others to cause trouble if they saw us. We aren’t even worth mercy in their eyes. He issued a kill on sight order. It was uploaded a week before the run to their clubhouse in Kansas.”
Cobra snickers, “No apologies needed Amara, but he was the weaklin’. A man who chose to beat on kids.”
“Why does this shit matter now? If they even try to come for us, we’ll fuck them up.” Widow’s quick to comment.
“We barely have any intel on their club. It’s like they live in the shadows. Lucian was able to get a bit of information from the forum and he thinks their second clubhouse is in North Carolina or Virginia.” Amara states.
“It’s in North Carolina. Right, Cobra?” Mouser asks.
Cobra nods, obviously displeased. “Mhm. I kept tabs on them as much as I could but Amara is right. They keep a very low profile when it comes to stirrin’ up trouble. I’m not dumb enough to think they aren’t doin’ anything wrong . . . but they’re great at covering up their tracks. It’s somethin’ we need to be mindful of.”
“Were you able to get a list of road names or anything?” I ask Amara.
“Nothing useful unfortunately. Well, maybe it is useful. Lucian was able to find the name Lucien.”
“Huh?” Chaz says from the other side of the table, nar
rowing his eyes.
“She means they have a guy in their club named Lucien.” I explain to the room.
Amara nods, “Thanks, Dixon. So, we know one guy’s name. It’s not much help but at least it’s something.”
“Yeah, I’m not complaining about that. However, don’t ever go rogue on me ever again Amara or I’ll have a vote to strip you of your patch.” Damon snarls, keeping his glare fixated on his sister. Blood or not, you don’t ever go against the Prez. And I know for a fact the club didn’t vote about hiring Lucian to help us with gaining intel on our rivals ‘cause I would’ve been at the voting.
“I won’t apologize for helping the club.” Amara states, standin’ her ground.
I know she helped the club but . . . there’s certain shit you just don’t do. “Alright. Let’s do this shit now,” Damon’s voice grows deeper than it ever has before, givin’ us all an indication he’s pissed beyond belief. “Since Amara doesn’t understand the severity of what she’s done, I call for a motion to strip her of her VP patch until she can show the club she understands the hierarchy. All in favor, say aye.”
Everyone in the room sides with Damon, knowing if we go against him the consequence could be even greater. Amara is officially no longer the VP and Damon reaches next to him and rips the patch from her cut. “You will never be the VP again under my watch if you don’t honor the structure of the club. What you did does nothing but show us all disrespect.”
“But— I was only trying to help the club! Something was better than having nothing.” Amara tries to defend herself.
“I won’t hear more of your excuses. Now, we’ll vote for a new VP. We’ll go around the room and state the name of the person you’d vote for.”
“Dixon,” Widow states, but I wonder if he forgets I’m Sgt at Arms.
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