by Erin Trejo
How I ever made it through 5 years without him, I will never know, but I do know how I will make it through the next 5. Right in his arms where I’ve always belonged.
“Always, Creed. Always.”
The End.
TANK
Chapter 1
Hearing the rumble of a bike coming up my driveway, I grab my gun and creep down the stairs. I don’t know who the hell is rolling down here this late but they picked the wrong house.
Making my way down the stairs I hear the front door close softly, nothing gets past me these days. We have heard the Shadows have a new president and after the hell we raised with them, you can never be too careful.
Turning the corner, I aim at the back of a black hoodie.
“Move one fuckin’ inch and I will blow your fuckin’ head off.” I don’t play around with people breaking into my house. This is supposed to be my safe haven, my private space.
“I doubt you will do it.” That voice has me dropping my arm but not the attitude.
“Where the fuck have you been?” The black hoodie spins around to reveal those deep blue eyes that rip my heart open every time I see them.
“I went out. What is with the gun? Are we under attack?” Her laughs sound just like her mothers.
“It's fuckin’ two in the Goddamn mornin’ Bella. What the hell are you sneakin’ outta here for?” I raise my voice as she rolls her eyes. I can’t deal with females at two a.m.
“I didn’t know I was on lockdown. We aren’t at the club dad.” Trying to stomp her way past me I grab her arm and pull her back in place.
“I don't give a shit where we are. When I say you aren’t goin’ out that doesn’t mean you sneak the fuck out. Who the hell were you with? I warned you about bein’ on a fuckin’ bike with someone that isn’t experienced.” Growling between my teeth, I want to shake the hell out of this girl. I swear having a teenager is harder than anyone even knows.
I met Bella’s mom when I was sixteen. She was the sweetest girl I ever knew. We hooked up a few times, hell I loved her at sixteen years old. I didn’t know how to be a man back then but Candy and I were together until she turned eighteen. I met up with the club and began to prospect and Candy hated every part of it. She hated the other girls that were always around, the runs I had to go on. None of it fit into her plans so she left me taking Bella with her.
I lost my heart that day. Losing Candy took a toll on me with her being my first love. Add the fact that she took my daughter with her and I was ruined.
Bella showed up on my doorstep a little over a year ago. Where Candy was was the question we all asked ourselves. Bella said Candy left with some guy like she usually did and never came back. She waited a few days and when she didn’t show up, she called me.
We never did figure out where the hell she went but I don’t care. I got my daughter back. How she found me wasn’t a question I ever thought about asking, I was just glad she was back. I tried to find Candy through friends but I quickly gave up on that.
“Just calm down, he’s in your club.” Those words set a fire inside of me. As deep in the club as I am now I tried to keep it separate from Bella, I wanted better for her.
“What the fuck do you mean he’s in the club? Who is it?” Growling, I swear I am going to fuck someone up. She doesn’t need to be with anyone in the club.
“Joey.” Bella walks past me and up the stairs where I trail along behind her. The hell she will walk away from me.
“The fuckin’ prospect? Don’t walk away from me! You were told not to be around them, damn it Bella! I tried to keep you out of that shit!” Stopping at the bathroom door, she spins around to look at me.
“I’m sixteen years old dad! I’m not a baby.” Scrubbing my hand over my head, I thank god I’m bald or I’d rip every piece of hair out of it right now.
“You are sixteen years old and that is a fuckin’ baby! Get your ass in bed and don’t come back out. I will deal with Joey later.” I watch the nasty look cross her face before I turn and head back to my room. The bathroom door slams shut as I shake my head.
“Got your fuckin’ hands full with that one.” Grumbling to myself, I drop back on the bed. I have to be at the fucking clubhouse in six goddamn hours. Looks like they will be meeting my daughter sooner than I had hoped but clearly, she can’t be trusted to be left alone.
I lay here trying to fall asleep but now I hear every damn noise in this house. I can’t believe she snuck out. More so, I can’t believe I didn’t hear that little shit when she did!
And with Joey? Of all fucking people, it would be him. I don’t like that little shit. He isn’t much older than Bella but I don’t need her ending up a mother at sixteen like hers was. Shit, I’m only thirty two years old myself!
I make a mental note to talk to Creed about this little prick when I get in. For now, I need to try and get some sleep. Like that’s going to happen now.
I lie in bed and thank god for the guys. If it wasn’t for Griff I would have never been able to keep Bella under the radar for so long. I knew I didn’t want her in this shit since she came to live with me but it’s not an easy task to keep her away from it.
Griff and his ex-wife, Sandra did all they could to help me but it looks like that’s about to come to an end tomorrow. She can’t stay here anymore and sending her to Sandra’s isn’t an option either. She has her own life to deal with and Bella is mine. It’s about time I man up and take responsibility like I should.
I don’t know that I can ever thank Griff and Sandra enough for helping me as much as they have. Closing my eyes, I know I need to get some sleep to deal with this hell.
Chapter 2
Riding into the clubhouse parking lot with Bella on the back of my bike isn’t the way I planned for today to go. I didn’t want her around this shit but I guess it was inevitable.
I pull up and park before I climb off with Bella right behind me.
“I don’t know why I have to be here now.” She crosses her arms over her chest in the defiant way she always does. I swear this girl wants to test my patience today.
“Well, let’s see. You snuck out of the fuckin’ house while I was in it! I don’t think you can be trusted at home all day alone.” Stomping her foot, I watch her roll her eyes.
“I have lived here for a year dad! You always let me stay at home. I don’t know why Sandra can’t just come over like always.” Giving her my evil eye, I shake my head and walk towards the door. I bet Sandra was clueless to the fact that this little shit kept getting out.
“Yeah, I wonder how many times you stayed there.” Mumbling under my breath, I know she heard me.
I pull the clubhouse door open and wait for her to drag her ass over to it. I swear with her attitude I want to ground her or spank her or whatever the hell you do with a sixteen year old.
“This is stupid.” She stomps through the door with me behind her.
“Who the hell you tellin’?” I hope she isn’t the one bitching when I caught her ass sneaking back in.
“Hey Tank,” Creed calls to me as I step inside with one hand on Bella’s shoulder. Yeah, I don’t trust this kid anymore.
“What’s up Prez? Got a minute?” Glancing over I can see the confused look on his face as he looks between Bella and me. He slowly nods his head before I yank her that way.
“Stop pulling on me!” Oh this girl and her mouth. I walk her into Creed’s office and direct her towards a chair but she just stands with her arms over her chest.
“Sit the fuck down. Have a little respect.” Shaking my head, I turn towards Creed as he smiles.
“Who is that?” Nodding towards Bella I shake my head.
“This is Bella. Fuck! She’s my kid Creed.” Creed raises his eyebrows as he looks between the two of us. A stunned silence fills the room making it awkward.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Creed.” Bella smiles politely but doesn’t move. I’m surprised she can even smile without hurting herself.
“I didn’t kno
w about this.” With his attention back on me, I know Creed wants answers.
“Is Jada around?” I ask. Creed nods and pulls out his phone, dialing her number.
“Hey come up here please.” Setting the phone back on the desk he looks at Bella. She doesn’t look a lot like me, I know but she is the spitting image of her mom. She always did look like Candy. A soft knock on the door and Jada walks in all smiles.
“Hey you, ” She says sweetly as she walks over giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, this is Bella. Do you think you can take her down to the kitchen and get her somethin’ to eat?” Jada looks as confused as Creed as she looks between us. I know what she’s thinking too. I am still dating Cher.
“She’s my kid,” I mumble. Jada’s eyes look like they may pop out of her head as she looks at Bella again.
“Fucking Christ dad. They get it!” Bella snaps as Jada’s mouth falls open. I spin around on Bella quickly and pin her with my eyes.
“You talk like that in front of her again, I will bust your fuckin’ mouth. That woman right there deserves some respect. She ain’t your mom.” Bella snaps her mouth shut as she stands.
“Hey, I’m Jada. Come on. Let the guys talk.” Bella stands and follows Jada out of the room before closing the door although she didn’t look too happy about it.
“What the hell is this?” Creed runs his hand through his hair as he looks at me. I blow out a breath before I begin to talk.
I tell him everything. Meeting Candy and how she disappeared. I told him about Bella showing up a little over a year ago.
I fill him in on how Griff and Sandra helped me keep her under the radar so no one knew she was around. Most of the time Sandra would come hang out at the house with her which worked because nobody came out that far.
“Jesus Christ. Why didn’t you ever say anything brother?” Creed sits across from me, and watches me for a minute.
“I didn’t want her in the middle of this shit. I wanted her as far away from this as possible but that fuckin’ blew up on me last night.” Creed’s eyes narrow in on me as I shake my head.
“What the hell happened last night?” Scrubbing my hand over my face, I look back at him.
“Caught her ass sneakin’ back in after sneakin’ the fuck out.” Creed looks confused before I continue. “With Joey, the goddamn prospect.” Creed breaks into a grin before laughing. Glad this is funny for him.
“Jesus man! I’m sorry. Look, you been my boy for a long time and you always had my back. Whatever you need from me just say it.” I nod as I drop my head into my hands.
“I don’t know, brother. I need to find her a home school teacher and shit. The last one took the fuck off on me.” Standing up I pull out a cigarette and light it. I don’t know what the hell to do anymore.
“What about Cher? Can’t she do it?” The thought never occurred to me to ask her. That would give her the time alone that she has been asking for. She has been talking about spending time with Bella to get to know her. Cher has known about her for a while now.
“You know what, that’s a good idea brother.” I puff my cigarette a second longer before I turn towards the door.
“Let me go make sure she ain't skinnin’ your girl.” Walking out of the office Creed laughs. Yeah, laugh it up, you don’t know the little shit. Just wait until he has a kid, he’ll get it then.
Chapter 3
Sitting at the bar enjoying a beer, I listen to Jimmy and Shell talk. Apparently, the Shadows have been out in full effect but haven’t crossed lines again. Honestly, I can’t say that I blame them after the hell we rained down on them.
“Hey babe.” Lips land on my neck and a shiver rolls over me. Cher has been an absolute godsend. I don’t think I have met anyone like her in a long time. She knows my past for the most part and she still accepted me.
The day I met Cher when I was with Creed and Jada back in their hometown something snapped inside of me. I didn’t know her from a fucking hole in the wall but there was something that pulled me to her.
The more shit that went down over there the more I felt that pull to her. Somehow, she quickly became a fixture in my life. She has become someone that I don’t want to let go of. We haven’t been together long and I don’t think she knows it but she is the glue that holds me together. I’ve never felt the things I feel when I’m with her.
Her whole being just calls out to me. My heart needs her and if I didn’t have her I’m not sure how I would handle that. There’s an invisible chain that holds me to her and if that ever snaps, I might snap with it.
“Hmm. Baby, keep that up and I will fuck you on this bar.” Turning sideways, I grab a handful of ass and pull her into my lap. Damn I love feeling her ass.
“How’s it going with Bella?” she asks. I pull back and give her the look. Cher just laughs and kisses me. I love those soft lips on me. Nipping her bottom lip, she squirms in my lap, grinding against me. Shit, she has me hard as a fucking rock already.
“Damn baby. I’m fuckin’ you all kinds of ways later.” With another squeeze of her ass, she giggles.
“Are you serious? Just fuck her in public dad!” Cher pulls back slightly embarrassed but my hands stay planted on her ass. I don’t give a shit who sees me.
“You’re sixteen, get used to it.” A slight punch in the chest by Cher and I let her go. She slides out of my lap adjusting her shirt before smiling at Bella.
“Hey. I’m Cher.” She steps forward extending her hand, which to my surprise Bella takes. Cher knows who Bella is but never officially met her. I wanted to try and tame that little devil before I introduced them.
“I’m Bella. Are you one of the Angel chasers?” I almost choke on my beer seeing how I have told Bella all about Cher. She knows she’s with me.
“Last fuckin’ warnin’ Bella!” I look over at her but she won’t make eye contact.
“I’m sorry. I know who you are,” Bella says as she rolls her eyes before she turns and walks back into the kitchen.
“She’s adorable.” Cher turns to me smiling. I can’t help the stunned look I have on my face right now.
“The girl is the fuckin’ devil himself!” Cher laughs before slapping me and walking towards the kitchen.
“I’m going to talk to Jada.” A slight nod of the head and I watch her walk through the door.
This shit is going to get awkward if Bella doesn’t stop with her bullshit.
I watch Creed as he walks down the stairs looking a little pissed off. I wonder what the hell happened with the little chat he was having with the new Shadow’s president.
“Not good huh?” He pulls up a stool next to me before looking at me directly.
“They want a meet and greet.” My spine stiffens when the words leave his mouth. That is never a good sign, at least not in our world.
“What for?” I ask bringing my beer to my lips and taking a long pull. I have a bad feeling about this.
“Some kind of truce. They want to discuss runnin’ Fort Hen together. We supply the guns, they run the crank.” Shaking my head, I already know this is a bad idea. I don’t even need to let him finish.
“Fuck that. Hen’s a safe haven. We don’t need anything runnin’ through there.” Shaking my head again, I’m not into this. Fort Hen is a little town, not many people, right on the outskirts of town. The people that live there are quiet and nice. There is no trouble or drugs there. Hell that’s why I bought a house there!
I don’t want Bella around this shit but if she has to be then I at least want our home to be safe.
“I know brother. This isn’t the ideal situation. I’m not even sure we should show the fuck up.” Creed lights up a cigarette before passing me one.
“I’m goin’ to do whatever I can to keep them out of here.” The kitchen door flies open and Bella stomps her way out into the main room looking all pissed off too.
“Can I go home?” Crossing her arms over her chest, she glares at me as I take a long drag off my cigarette.
“No. Seems you can’t be trusted there remember? Go clean somethin’ or help the girls out.” Flicking my hand in the air, she squeals. The girl actually stood there and squealed.
“I don’t know what the fuck kind of noise that was but I sure as hell don’t want to hear it,” I tell her in an annoyed tone. Cher walks through the door a second later looking between us. The look on her face is downright hysterical.
“Hey darlin’ can you find her somethin’ to clean.” Grabbing Cher around the waist, I pull her against me as Bella stomps her foot.
“I don’t want to sit in this dingy ass club all day dad!” Creed chuckles as he spins around to look at her. Yeah, I told you she was the damn devil.
“If it’s that dingy darlin’ feel free to mop,” he tells her. The annoyance is clearly evident on Bella’s face but she stands her ground. Watching her eyeing Creed the way she is almost makes me proud. She has a lot of my attitude in her that much I can see.
“I’m not a maid. I won’t be cleaning up your messes.” Creed stands up as Bella steps back. I know Creed is a good guy but I think he just met his match with that kid.
Blowing out a ring of smoke, I watch the show down between the two and almost laugh. As much as I don’t like him in her face I know she needs to learn this lesson.
“I’m glad you’re as strong as your dad but there are some ground rules in this club. I get that you’re still a kid and all but your mouth is goin’ to get you in some trouble. Clearly your dad brought you here because you couldn’t handle bein’ left alone. You can find somethin’ to do around here while we handle business.” Creed nods his head at her but she stands tall. Damn that makes my pride soar.
“She is just like you.” Cher leans in and whispers in my ear. Turning my head, I capture her lips with mine. Goddamn right she is.