by Mallory Funk
My eyes widen when I looked at my attacker or, should I say, victim?
Elliot, or Dr. Carrington, was standing there with a look of shock on his face, and there is amusement in his eyes.
My cheeks instantly become red with embarrassment and I can’t help but hold my hands up to them in shame. I honestly want to hide from him in this very moment.
“Oh my god, Elliot, I’m so sorry!” I say, and I am not surprised that my voice is still high-pitched.
“I honestly didn’t mean to hit you with…” I look down to the floor and realize that I threw my snack size bag of chips at him. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at myself. Wow, what damage would that have done, seriously? I couldn’t have grabbed my massive bottle of water or the apple or orange I had in front of me, I just had to throw the lightest thing in my bag!
“… A bag of chips,” he replies with a chuckle, bends down to pick up my weapon of choice, and proceeds to place it in front of me like it’s a fucking grenade.
“Really,” I mutter dryly. He is not at all funny.
Of course he thinks he’s a fucking comedian and starts laughing.
“Here, I’m just heading on shift and brought you a coffee and sandwich from the shop down the street,” he says while placing a brown paper bag in front of me and the largest coffee that I know Flavours Café serves.
I can’t help the smile that comes over my face because not only is this the best coffee there is out there, but also the hospital’s coffee tastes like foot water.
“Thank you! You’re a life saver!” I say with excitement.
“What are friends for? Anyways I better head out there. I start my shift right away, so I will meet you out there,” he says with a grin. Elliot then winks at me and walks out of the breakroom.
I look inside the bag and there is a small note from him in it.
Enjoy your sandwich, I got your favourite. I know how much you hate bringing lunches.
Elliot
I can’t help but smile at his thoughtfulness. I haven’t had many friends over the years, but I’m glad that I finally have someone that I can just be myself with while I’m at work.
Sometimes there are tense and sad moments here and it’s nice to have someone by your side. You are either there for each other or you try and make each other feel better by lightening the mood with jokes or harmless teasing.
I’m glad Elliot is that for me. I smile to myself thinking that I finally have a friend. Wow is it ever a good feeling.
Aiden ‘Steal’
The night went off without any problems. We must have eaten and drank our weight in junk food.
The smile that was on Hale’s face was worth it. I was glad to be a part of a tradition that he had with his uncles.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Torch had made a big deal that he had to come too. I knew he already loved Hale like he had always been a part of our lives.
Hale had a blast when we spent some time working on our bikes and showing him a few things that will help him when he gets his first bike.
Seeing how much he loves bikes, I already know that he is going to own one as soon as he can.
Once Hale had finally crashed out after all the sugar and junk, we had moved him to the loveseat to sleep.
I guess the whole point was to crash out in the living room together. That part was always special to Hale. We all couldn’t crash in the living room, but I made sure that everyone knew that I was sleeping on the couch so that I could be close to my son.
We ended up moving to the kitchen so we wouldn’t wake him up. We spent the rest of the night getting to know each other while having some beers.
I could already tell that Bax and Charlie were going to fit in with the club.
They never once looked down on us or judged us for being in an MC, and that is always fucking great.
I had sent Olivia texts throughout the night and she replied when she could. It seemed that she was making it through her shift and had asked how Hale was constantly, but she had nothing to worry about. I wouldn’t let anything happen to my son. Some people would have to be fucking stupid to fuck with my family or Vicious Snakes MC.
I was woken up in the early hours of the morning. The sun was barely up; however, it didn’t stop my phone from going off. Being part of the MC, I knew to always answer my phone. You never know what could be going on.
By the fact that my phone was going off this early in the morning, I knew something was wrong. Not only was it early in the morning, but I could feel it in my gut that something was going down.
“Speak,” I answer quickly.
“Steal, brother, get to the club now!” The voice on the other end said. I could tell it was Damien and whatever it was sounded urgent.
Fuck me, what the fuck was going on now?
I got up and as I was grabbing my cut and putting it on, Torch came out from my room while he was pulling on his cut too. I just give him a nod and we both head to the club.
I knew that Olivia’s brothers would stay with Hale so I didn’t bother waking them up. I just left them both a message so that they would see it when they woke up and made sure that the door was locked before we took off.
Walking into the club, I notice every brother is there but only a few seem to have a clue what is going on.
Prez comes in with a look on anger on his face. This is the time where he’s President of the Vicious Snakes and not my father. Something serious must have gone down.
We all know to be quiet until he tells us what’s going down, so there isn’t a sound but breathing throughout the main room.
“Crash and Kid were arrested this morning,” he says and blows out a breath of frustration.
I can’t help but let my jaw drop. Those are the two that I would least expect to be arrested.
“What the fuck for?” Torch shouts in anger.
There is a moment of silence before he speaks. “The murder of Frank Carmichael, otherwise known as Demon, the dead president of the Devil’s Souls MC.”
“What the fuck?” I can’t help but shout.
When we had taken care of the remaining members of the Devil’s Souls, we made sure to cover our tracks like we usually do. I don’t understand why two brothers that weren’t even a part of getting rid of them were arrested for it.
We had made sure that Demon paid for everything he did to the club- starting with Ella’s mom, the club whores, all of the people who were shot and, of course, Ella.
It was weeks before we finally finished the job. Now, I won’t go into detail about it, but we had made sure that no one would ever know what we did with him.
“I’m off to the station now. This does not leave this room until we get to the bottom of it,” Prez grumbles before heading out with Damien on his heels.
When there is serious club shit going on, the Prez and Vice President always stick together. You never know what’s going on.
I stand there looking at my brothers and wonder what the hell is going on.
The only people who know shit are the brothers, and the brothers’ Old Ladies if the brothers decide on their own to tell them. There is a rule in the club that if you trust your Old Lady enough, you can tell her. You don’t have to tell them club business, but you are able to if she is your Old Lady.
I already have told Olivia everything that she needed to know. Which was pretty much what Ella told her had happened to her and the events surrounding it. I trust her not to tell anyone about anything that goes on in the club.
I can’t imagine any brothers going into detail about the death of Demon. I honestly don’t think any of the women would care after everything he has put this club through.
We spend the morning waiting to hear any news about Crash and Kid. I have to wonder why they were the ones to get picked up and not any one else.
I had made sure to message Olivia since I know she would have been wondering why I wasn’t at her place when she got home.
I wanted to be there when s
he got back, but I guess with being in a club you never know when shit is going to pop up.
A couple hours later, we find out that there was an eye witness saying they saw the two club members with Demon before he was never heard of again.
I can’t believe that shit. Sure, they were there the moment we picked up the Devil’s Souls from the accident, but there were more brothers with them, so I don’t get why they are the ones to be suspected of murdering Demon, or why the charges are only regarding Demon. What about the other members that were in the SUV that day?
Chapter Nine
Two weeks later.
Aiden ‘Steal’
The past couple weeks have been hectic at the club while we try to figure out who ratted out two of our bikers.
They don’t have a body. We made sure that one would never have been found in case someone would try to come after the club.
The higher ranks had a talk and decided that someone was ratting out the club.
The cops had been coming by more and more with bullshit stories.
There was talk that most of our businesses were just a front for illegal shit when I know for a fact that the Snakes don’t deal with that shit anymore.
For some reason, the police had believed that we sold drugs and the bars and diner were just a cover for us. That had led them to getting a search warrant for some of the properties we own. One of our bars, our diner Hole in the Wall, and the mechanic shop where we fix up vehicles had been searched
I will say that no one in the club had been pleased to have our places searched, but there was fuck all we could do at this point.
Prez thinks that maybe if they search everything they would see that we are legit and leave us alone.
I’m pretty sure that they would have brought up some bullshit about selling women too, but thanks to us rescuing those women two years ago when Ella’s shit went down that we had the girls to back up our stories saying that the Vicious Snakes don’t deal with sick shit like that.
We didn’t let it spread around that we thought we had a rat in the club since we wanted to catch whoever it was.
I hated that I had to be paranoid of every brother I fucking talked to. A club shouldn’t be like this. I shouldn’t have to watch what I fucking say, I should be able to trust any one of my brothers whether I was close to them or not. We are supposed to have each other’s backs instead of this shit.
What didn’t help was that I saw less of Olivia. Sure, I spent any time that I wasn’t at the club at her place, but she had been working night shifts for the past week and when she got back, Ella would take Hale for a few hours so that she could get some sleep when she got home from work. I could always tell she was fucking tired after her shift, but she also told me how much she loved her job and that working a few nightshifts every now and then was worth it to help people. I honestly couldn’t argue with that.
When I got back from work, we would have supper together before she would be off again for any other twelve-hour shift.
The first couple nights I slept on the couch. When she caught me, she had given me shit and told me to sleep in her bed since she wasn’t using it. I couldn’t fucking argue with that either, so I happily agreed and when she came in I couldn’t help but get her ultimately relaxed before she fell asleep and I went to work.
I had brought a bunch of my clothes and shower supplies over since I didn’t want to keep walking back and forth. If she thinks that because she isn’t on nights anymore that I’m taking it all out, she is sadly fucking mistaken.
She’s my woman and it’s really only a matter of time before she has my club name tattooed on her beautiful skin.
As my Old Lady, Olivia would get a cut with my club name and the club patch on it and would have my name tattooed on her body wherever she chooses. All the members’ Old Ladies have a cut and tattoo of their men.
I haven’t officially asked her to be my Old Lady yet. I’m giving her time to adjust to the idea of me before I ask her to mark my name on her.
I figure that if she doesn’t fight me on moving my shit in here then I will just ask her to be my Old Lady.
Her brothers have left, and Bax was offered a job at the shop since he already works at one where he’s from. Charlie was offered a job in the bar. They haven’t decided yet if they want to patch in, but they knew the option was open.
Things with Hale have been fucking awesome and I love having my son in my life. When I first found out about him, I didn’t know how I would be as a father and was scared shitless that I would fuck up somehow, but I think that after the first couple temper tantrums I did fucking okay. I just had to know when my own son was playing me.
The thing to watch for were triggers that he was lying. There is the fake crying when I don’t see any tears in his eyes, he only makes a face when you look at him, and only his mouth is moving.
Then there are the ones where he tries to hold his breath. The first time his face turned red and I realized what he was doing, I freaked out, and when Olivia walked by and wasn’t at all phased by him doing that, I couldn’t help but yell at her for not caring. Then she explained how he was only doing that to make us give in and get a reaction. She also told me that he hadn’t pulled that tactic in a long time, so she knew that he was only doing it to test me. The next time it happened, I was more prepared and not freaking out trying to figure out how to make my kid breathe.
When I’m bringing him around the clubhouse, he sticks to my side like a little sidekick. He wears little black boots, jeans, and white shirts like he sees me wear a lot.
I still get stares and smirks from the other brothers from me saying I wasn’t going to have a kid. I don’t let that shit bother me though. I didn’t know then that I had Hale out there. I just hope that I didn’t get anyone else knocked up. I don’t think that I could handle that shit. I want Olivia to have my kids. Fuck, missing her pregnant with Hale makes me want to see her pregnant right now with another kid.
One thing at a time.
Olivia
Things around the club have been tense. Aiden had explained to me that there was shit going down and a couple brothers were arrested. There had seemed to be cops at the club every other day doing something or watching the place, but I couldn’t figure out why. If the club is clean, what reason do they have to pretty much stalk it?
I have heard a lot of talk, but most of it is from Ella. We have become very close and she only tells me what she can and then Aiden fills in the rest. They don’t want to leave me in the dark since not only am I seeing a member, but my son is also the son of a member which makes him a part of the club too. Also, one day I hope to be a part of it and not just because of my son.
I am very thankful that I am finished with my night shifts for a month so that I can spend more time with Hale and Aiden.
I loved going to sleep when I got home from work and smelling his scent on my sheets. Knowing he’s in my bed has made me wish that he lived with us instead of it just being a temporary thing because of my work hours.
I did notice, however, that a lot of his clothes and stuff has made its way over to my house. I like having his clothes next to mine in the closet. I never thought I could feel so calm about sharing my space with a man. I don’t want him to leave, but I also don’t want to ask him to stay.
We haven’t been seeing each other that long and I also don’t want to seem like a clingy girlfriend, so I just decided to keep my mouth shut. If he doesn’t take his stuff back to the club then I will be happy until we have the talk, and I know that we have to have one sometime although I’m not sure I’m ready for it yet.
I’m lost in my thoughts when my phone beeps with a text. I have a feeling that I know who it is before I look.
Elliot
We have been talking a lot lately and he has become a really good friend. I have gotten to know him throughout the last couple weeks from our night shifts, and on one of the nights we exchanged numbers so we now text.
I haven’t told
Aiden about him specifically. I told him that I had made a couple friends at the hospital, but not that one was a man. I have a feeling that he would be territorial and go possessive caveman on me if he knew that I was friends with a man outside the club.
I like having someone to talk to who isn’t involved with the club since so much has been going on with it.
I guess I’m also afraid that Aiden will scare Elliot away from being my friend when I have no romantic feelings for the guy. I can only hope that he will understand when I think of how to tell him and, for all I know, I could be overreacting, and he could be just fine with it.
I can’t help but laugh when I read the text.
Elliot: This shift is dragging on without someone to complain to. Are you sure you don’t want to work the next couple weeks of nights with me?
Me: You’re on your own! I will enjoy sleeping at night while you are working hard! I will think of how tired you are though!
Elliot: You’re evil.
I can’t help but let out a chuckle and shake my head.
There always seems to be easy banter between us. This is how it should be with friends.
I decide to get up and get ready for the evening. I can’t spend a lot of time in bed if I want to get my sleeping back on track while I have a couple days off, or I will be very tired come Thursday.
It’s just past lunch when I am finished getting ready for the day. I head over to Hole in the Wall for some lunch before I go to Ella’s to get Hale.
I am very happy that she has been watching him for me so that I can sleep. Aiden went back to work full-time. I see him in the evenings before I go to work, but tonight since I don’t work I am hoping to have some time with him before bed.
I feel like two weeks is too long to have him again.
I’m sitting at the diner eating a burger when someone sits in the seat across from me.
I look up and can’t help but smile when I see who it is.
“Hey darling, what are you doing eating here all by yourself? A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t eat alone,” the deep voice says with a grin.