Meyah (The Club Girl Diaries Book 9)

by Addison Jane

  Romeo grabbed my shoulder. “Come on. I’ll stay and help the boys make sure the mess is dealt with. Go. Be with your woman.”

  My heart was already out the door.

  I turned and followed, hoping it would still be beating when I got there.

  “You sure about this?” Op asked as he stood in the doorway to my bedroom, watching me pack my shit together into as little space as possible.

  I nodded. “Ain’t nothing left for me here, Op, you know that. Meyah has always been it.”

  He took a deep breath, folding his arms across his chest. “Yeah, I know, it’s just a shame to lose a brother. It’s like a member of the family is fucking dying.” He shook his head.

  I grinned, shoving the last few things into my duffle bag before zipping it up. “I’m not fucking dying, you dramatic bastard. You know where I’ll be. Come visit sometime.”

  He walked inside and patted me on the back. “Let me know when you’re ready to head into town, I’ll round the boys up.”

  “You ask Dice if he’ll help me out?”

  Optimus stopped and looked over his shoulder at me with a smirk. “You know Dice, that shit’s right up his alley.” Leo appeared in the doorway as Op was heading out. “You boys have got fifteen minutes… don’t kill the kid before he leaves.”

  “I make no promises,” Leo replied, his face straight, looking me directly in the eye.

  I had a lot of respect for this man. He’d been there at times when I’d struggled and reminded me that life wasn’t fucking easy. That we all made mistakes. Sometimes the same ones over and fucking over again, but it wasn’t about how many mistakes you made, it was about how quickly you picked yourself back up and tried again.

  “You come to lecture me?” I asked seriously, dumping my bag on the ground and moving into the bathroom to grab my things from there.

  This had been a decision I’d been considering for a while now, but I’d pushed to the side, hoping for some other kind of magical option to appear. I didn’t make it lightly, but that hadn’t stopped the boys from all giving me hell for it.

  Did I want to leave these people who had given me a second chance and a second home when I thought I was a complete fucking failure? No damn way.

  But there came the point where my priorities changed. That point was when I fell in love with Meyah, and then watched her almost die. It’s hard to explain to someone how it feels to have your heart ripped from your chest, but that’s the pain I went through for more than three days as I sat beside her bed in the hospital, telling her I needed her, that she wasn’t allowed to leave me yet.

  I thought about all the time I’d wasted with her in Arizona and me in Alabama, and the minutes and fucking hours we’d spent apart when we could have been together.

  They were completely wasted. And I didn’t want to waste another day.

  I’d already had my parents torn away from me in the blink of an eye, and then spent years wishing I’d had one more day, a minute, or even a few seconds just to tell them I loved them.

  Then Romeo and Phee had been taken, and I was never going to get those six years back, no matter how hard I tried.

  I just couldn’t do it.

  Time was too precious, and I wasn’t going to spend hours and fucking days away from Meyah when I could be there with her.

  “Why would I lecture you? You love my niece probably more than any other person in this world,” he fired back as I stepped into the room. He stalked in and took a seat on the edge of my desk.

  “I think her mom or Huntsman might have something to say about you making those claims,” I argued, a smile tugging at my mouth.

  “It’s not gonna be easy…”

  “The best things never are, or everyone would have them,” I threw back, standing taller and waiting for him to come back.

  Instead, he just laughed and shook his head. “Gonna miss your fucking ass around here, kid,” he said before taking a deep breath. “It’s hard ‘cause I don’t want you to fucking leave, but I know at least Meyah will have someone with her, protecting her, and making her feel safe. Which is going to be an uphill battle after what happened.”

  I lifted my chin. “I promise you, I’m never letting her out of my sight again.”

  He grinned and pushed off the desk. “Yeah, good fucking luck with trying to tell her that.”

  We both moved toward the door. There was emotion building in my throat as I looked around the bedroom where I’d spent the last four or so years. I’d changed a lot in this place, and these guys had shown me what it was to be a brother when I felt like that was something I’d ultimately failed at.

  They had my back when I had no one.

  They fought for me when I was standing on my own.

  It hurt to walk away.

  I wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

  “You ready to finish this last bit of business?” Leo asked, patting me on the back as we slipped out into the hall.

  I rolled my shoulders and narrowed my gaze as we walked down the stairs to find all my brothers there waiting for me—including Romeo. There was one thing I’d left unfinished, but before I left, I was going to make sure no one had to go through the torment I’d felt.

  “Hurry up, will you,” Dice demanded as I reached the bottom step. “The guys told me how old this broad is, and I’ve been looking through Penthouse magazines for half an hour trying to get it up.”

  The boys all laughed, and I patted Dice’s chest as I walked by. “Think happy thoughts.”

  The way Dice slipped into the barstool beside her and fluttered his eyelashes, you’d think he was almost a bitch. But you know what, it did the trick.

  She laughed and giggled and touched his arm like he was some kind of damn gentleman.

  The kicker? She wasn’t even drunk.

  Lady didn’t drink.

  Surprising, with the husband she had, you’d think she would have been continuously drunk. But maybe she was just fucking stupid.

  Or scared…

  It wasn’t long before Dice’s hand was trailing up her leg, and she was eagerly spreading them. A few moments later, he was leading her out the back, and I couldn’t help but grin as I headed for the bar and asked the waitress to call her husband.

  My old buddy Kent.

  As if on cue, twenty minutes later he stormed through the door, looking around, his fists clenched as he stalked up to the waitress and demanded to know where his wife was.

  The bristles on the back of my neck stood up. I wanted to drag the bastard out the back, and get this shit the hell over with, but I also wanted him to know he wasn’t the only one who could play his fucked up little games.

  As I followed him down the hallway, hiding in the shadows as he stomped forward, looking into each room he passed until he reached the exit door which was open, the noises from outside already floating through the air and bringing a dark grin to my face as I moved quickly up behind him.

  The moment he saw what was going on outside next to the dumpster, his mouth opened ready to let loose no doubt a roll of expletives, but before he could, I pressed my gun into the back of his skull, and he froze, his eyes matching his big fucking mouth.

  “Don’t fucking speak,” I warned, my voice low.

  There were times in this life where I’d had to do things I didn’t like to share, and that Meyah would probably never know about.

  I had blood on my hands, plenty of it. But I’d never taken the life of someone who was innocent. Kent would be no fucking exception.

  He was far from innocent, and the stories I’d heard from people after I got out of there, the things he’d done to them or to people they cared about—there was a special place in hell reserved for men like Kent, and I just happened to have his ticket.

  “Kent, my good friend,” I whispered with a light chuckle. “Fancy seeing you here. I saw your wife sitting at the bar, my buddy Dice took a fancy to her, you don’t mind him borrowing her for a minute, do you?”

  I knew he could se
e them, he was standing just outside the door, his eyes focused on their bodies, hearing his wife moaning in utter delight and asking for more. I could practically hear his heart thumping hard and his breathing getting heavy as his anger grew.

  “Your face is going red, Kent,” I taunted quietly. “Are you not enjoying this as much as I am? Is this causing you some kind of fucking pain, asshole?”

  “What do you want?” he asked through gritted teeth, trying to act tough, but I saw the way his hands shook. He was the big man on campus when you were handcuffed and locked in a jail cell when his word was the only one they would believe over an inmate who he’d decided he didn’t like for no fucking reason.

  “I’ve heard stories, Kent. About you. Your heavy hand. Your bad attitude. And me and the boys… well, we don’t take too well to people like you terrorizing our fucking town.”

  One of the girls we’d talked to had admitted her brother had gone to county jail for a couple marijuana charges. He should have done three months. He ended up doing life… because Kent and his buddies beat him up one night, and he had internal bleeding.

  He died alone in a jail cell.

  Because this asshole didn’t like him? It made me fucking sick.

  That could have been so easily me.

  “This is where your reign ends,” I whispered, taking joy in the way his eyes moved past me to where my brothers began to fill the hallway, each and every one of them. They had my back. They stood beside me, they were the true meaning of family. And it was going to be as hard as hell to leave them. But Meyah was my future, and I was lucky that even though I was walking away, they still stood behind me one hundred fucking percent.

  “You know, Kent, I’m leaving town,” I told him, digging my gun further into his neck, forcing him to cringe in pain. I grinned.

  His eyes widened, and the jackass who thought he ruled the world was gone, in his place, a fucking idiot who thought no one would ever come after him. As proven by the way the front of his pants suddenly gathered.

  “So I have to thank you because you’re giving us this one last bonding experience to share.” I patted him on the back and made sure he heard me loud and clear, moving my mouth right beside his ear. “Digging graves is a real team effort.”

  Check and fucking mate, asshole.

  A soft hand on my hair pulled me from my dreams, my eyes slowly peeking open. It took a lot of effort, I was utterly exhausted and my body ached. The doctors were weaning me off the strong painkillers because I was set to head home tomorrow.

  To which home, though, I really wasn’t quite sure.

  “Hey, baby girl,” my mom whispered, her hand gently stroking my hair back from my face, a gentle and warm gesture which reminded me of what she used to do when I was sick.

  “Hey, Mom.”

  She smiled.

  She’d been to visit me every day for the almost two weeks I’d been in here. Spending hours just sitting in the corner reading, keeping to herself, while the others came in and out—Ham and Romeo, Ripley and Huntsman. Eventually, my dad would drag her away, grumbling about giving me space to heal and not crowding me.

  I could already feel the difference in her. It was in her smile. It was in the way she seemed like she was finally at peace.

  I knew there was a conversation we needed to have, and with my time here coming to an end, I wasn’t sure if I would get another opportunity to ask her the questions I needed to hear the answers to, and also tell her one thing.

  “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  Her eyes widened before her brow creased between her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat.

  This was it.

  I needed to say what I needed to say.

  “I’m sorry for the past few months. How I treated you. How I argued and fought with you…” I stopped and cleared my throat, trying not to get emotional. “You didn’t deserve that.”

  Her face settled, the tenseness leaving as she seemed to understand what I was saying.

  “I was a brat—”

  “No, Meyah. You weren’t a brat. You were right,” she admitted, reaching for my hand and squeezing it tightly. “You’re so much stronger than I was at your age. You have this amazing and beautiful power inside you, and that’s something to be proud of. I let things break me down so easily, and I didn’t fight back. First with Huntsman’s wife, then with Mom and Dad dying…” she clenched her jaw, “… and things with Isiah.”

  “That would have broken anyone,” I assured her, lacing my fingers through hers.

  She shook her head. “No. It wouldn’t have broken you. You’re so much more than that, and I’m so proud of you for fighting for what you want.”

  I cleared my throat and blinked back the tears, her words warming my heart. “What about Denver?”

  Her body jerked like she’d been struck by a bullet. She took a moment to fill her lungs again before looking at me with tears in her eyes. “Maybe one day I’ll have to tell him… but I hope that day never comes.”

  My heart ached for my little brother, who drove me crazy on the best of days, but who was going to get to an age where he wanted to find his dad too.

  Thinking about it that way, I almost lucked out with Huntsman compared to what Denver was going to have to face, and the emotions it might make him feel about himself.

  “He’ll be okay,” Mom assured me, patting the back of my hand. “He’s going to have a lot of family to get him through the tough stuff and teach him how to be strong. I’m sure the club won’t let him break down.”

  My heart skipped a beat, and my mouth fell open.

  She laughed. It was free. It was laid back. It was her finally letting go of the past and having it control her. I could see in her eyes, the way she smiled, the tone of her voice. Things had changed.

  “Close your mouth, you catching flies or something?” she teased playfully. “I’m never going to be perfect, Meyah, I’m still going to try and protect you in ridiculous ways. I’m still going to nag you, and I’m still not going to be the biggest fan of the MC because I know the danger that comes with them. But I’m also not going to stop you from doing things or being with someone who makes you as happy as Ham does.”

  I laughed as tears poured down my cheeks. “I love you, Mom.”

  Things were going to get better, I could tell. She would still have her opinions, and I could tell there would be things we would disagree on, but who gave a shit. Because all that mattered was that we were both happy.

  I knew no one would likely tell me what happened for her to get this kind of peace and understanding over her life and the world around her, but I didn’t care. Whatever it was, she needed it.

  We needed it.

  “I have one more question,” I grinned as I wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What?”

  “Are you and Huntsman going to start something?”

  She started to laugh, her head shaking back and forth.

  “So fucking funny, is it?”

  I jumped out of my skin, looking over to see Huntsman leaning in the doorway, a smirk on his face.

  “I’m not good enough for you now I’m old?” Mom didn’t even bother to turn around, just rolled her eyes. “And don’t roll your eyes at me, woman.”

  “Exhibit A,” she muttered, pointing to my father.

  I don’t know if I’d been hoping for it or not, but it was obvious there was no electric spark between my parents, even though they seemed to be getting along pretty damn well the past two weeks. And my mom hadn’t told me, but Ham informed me she was even staying at The Exiled clubhouse.

  “We were never meant to be,” Mom carried on. “I love him, but only because he helped me create you. There isn’t anything else there.”

  “The past is gonna stay in the past,” Huntsman agreed, nodding at Mom when she looked over her shoulder at him. “Future is all that matters now.”

  I nodded, smiling at b
oth of them. “I second that.”

  “Stop! Damn it,” I snapped at Ham who had been pacing the room for a little over twenty minutes as he waited for the doctor to come and hand me the release papers.

  I’d been there for twelve days, my hospital room had been filled to the brim regularly with club members from fucking everywhere. Brothers had come in from all over the country, with their old ladies and whoever else they could gather.

  Ham and Romeo managed to fill eighty percent of Isiah’s club with family, including guys on the doors, men out the back, and people behind the bar. Hundreds of fucking people, all with one goal—me.

  “You know I hate this place,” he grumbled, continuing to pace back and forth and totally ignore me. “I’m ready to take you home.”

  We hadn’t discussed where home was yet. Even Mom, Uncle Leo, and Huntsman had all kept pretty quiet about where I was going after I got out of here. And given how much they loved to make their opinion known, that was pretty surprising.

  “Just let him pace,” Romeo commented from his permanent seat in the corner of the room. “He gets this way when he gets nervous. You should have seen him when he was at school taking a test, or before a baseball game. He’d practically wear a hole in the floor.”

  I rolled my eyes as the doctor walked in, thankful Ham was going to be able to calm down, and I was going to be able to get some fresh air and real food.

  “Meyah, I’m so happy to see you looking better,” Doctor Theo proclaimed with a wide grin before looking down at my chart and running his finger over everything. “Looks like you’ve really bounced back… extremely quickly for someone who came in like you did.”

  He meant dead.

  When I got through the hospital doors, I was dead.

  They managed to bring me back around pretty quickly, so it seems.

  But there were a couple of days where things were really touch and go. They kept me in a coma for the first two to help my body process the new blood I’d received, and to try and make my brain heal given I’d spent some time without oxygen.