Rufus is hissing through the pain as Prez salts the last cut that is on his face.
“Had enough, yet? Ready to talk?” Prez asks as he practically skips to the table and places the salt down and turns to Rufus, lighting a cigarette.
“Fuck you, hound.” Is all Rufus gets out before Prez puts the cigarette out in Rufus’s eye. He screams in pain as he pushes the cigarette more into his eye. Prez walks to the table and lights another cigarette and strolls back to stand in front of Rufus who is trying hard not to close his eyes as the eye lid scrapes across the burned eye. It looks terribly disgusting as he fights to keep it open—looking like a wide-eyed crack head looking for their next fix. I chuckle at the thought of him being a tweeker.
“Well, how about this. I’ll let you live.” Prez says as we all look at each other wide-eyed in confusion. He can’t be serious, after all the pain he has caused this club, his father.
Rufus’s one good eye scowls at him as he tilts his head and questions silently what Prez just said.
Prez steps forward with his cigarette and takes a long drag from it and ashes it to the floor. He speaks.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that, like I’ve lost my touch. I’m hurt, Rufus.”
As he places a hand over his heart and looks like he just had his heart broken. He laughs just shortly after.
“I’ll let you live long enough for Poodle to watch me finish the job. That could be days or weeks to catch him. I’ll have to practice on you until he gets here.” He says laughing to himself harder. He rubs his chin, thinking.
“You know what? I think I’ll call my Brother from Mississippi, he loves men. You know, like how you love women. You raped her, he will rape you. Yea, that sounds like a plan to me.” He says as he lowers his hand from his jaw.
Just as Prez’s words leave his mouth, his phone rings.
“Speak.” He barks, clearly annoyed that he was interrupted. His face changes from annoyed to delight as he looks to each one of us and nods. My heart skips a beat; I know this is about Avery. I take a step closer to Prez and keep my eyes on him.
“Well, Fang. That is exceptional news.” He sings to the cell pressed to his ear. His smile goes bigger as he looks directly at me.
“I’ll see you at the yearly cookout, Brother.” He hangs up the phone, turning to Rufus and says. “Looks like you’re not getting butt fucked, although, I think you would like it.” He winks to Rufus with a smile on his face and turns back to us. I see the scowl on Rufus’s face as he growls at Prez.
“Quiet, mutt. Real hounds are talking.” He throws over his shoulder.
We all laugh at the joyous sound that comes from his words.
“Brothers, the hunt is over! Let’s ride!” He yells and heads for the door. I am the first to run after him, hot in his heels. Colt follows close behind me.
“Coin, watch Rufus. Let him know Poodle will be joining him soon.” Prez says to Coin who in turn, nods with a smile and heads back inside.
“Brothers, Cole is with Little Hero and Harley and Tech. Eli and the Yellowcreek chapter is searching for April. Jack is at the hospital with Melissa. We have just us for this mission. Let’s Ride.” Prez says, throwing his hand in the air in a circle motion.
He gets on his bike and straps his helmet to his head. We all start our bikes in unison and follow Prez. My stomach is doing so many flips that I’m surprised I haven't puked yet. I’m so fucking excited to get Avery. She needs me. All I can say over and over in my head is “Daddy’s coming, baby girl.”
*******************************************
Harley
Finally after pacing for ten minutes, Tech finally spits out what had Colt running out the door. After he is finished, I ask.
“This is good, right?”
“It can be, yes.” Tech says to me. I know he isn’t going to go into detail about what will happen or what could go down—being club business and all. I sit on the bed sighing. I check the time on my phone. It’s a half hour until visiting hours start with Lissa. I’ve gone to see her every single day. I will not miss today.
“Tech, I need to get to the hospital.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” He asks in a panic state, eyes wide as he stands from his desk, finally, after two hours.
“I need to see Lissa.”
“No.” What? I am not missing this visitation for my best friend because some psycho’s messing with us. I will not let her lose anything else because of these monsters.
“Excuse me? I am going, Tech. With or without you.” I tell him matter of fact.
“What about Caleb?” He says to me looking at Caleb as he watches me have my little fit.
“I can stay with Cole, Grandma. We’re good friends.” He says to reassure me. I turn my eyes to Cole and he stares at me for a moment and nods, agreeing to keep Caleb.
“Thank you, Cole. This means more to me than you know.” He has something flash across his face, before I can catch it he goes back to his poker face. Understanding maybe? Sympathy? Doesn’t matter. I appreciate it all the same. I turn back to Tech who is now huffing and puffing at me.
“Harley, this is a bad idea.” He tries to warn me. I don’t care, she needs me. I’m going to be there, damn it.
“Tech, you have two minutes to meet me outside by Scamp’s bike or I’m leaving without you.” I tell him as I turn on my heel and head for the door.
“You can’t ride that thing.” He says laughing at me. I turn and shoot daggers in his direction.
“Wanna bet I try?” I leave out the door, throwing over my shoulder.
“A minute now, Tech.”
Tech is out the door after me in thirty seconds. Ha. We straddle the bike and head to the hospital.
Sitting at Lissa’s bedside, Jack and I are making small talk. He tells me how when he was little he learned everything from fixing cars and bikes to changing out pool filters. He literally knows everything about everything. He says he got his road name when he was a prospect.
One day the AC went out at the club, the president was going to call someone to fix it and Jack stood and had said. “No, that will cost a fortune. I can fix it.”
“You?” the president gave him a doubtful look. Jack nods and went to work on the AC.
“If you fix that AC, I’ll pick up your tab for the night at the bar.”
“Get your checkbook ready, Pops.” Jack said.
So, after fixing the AC and enjoying the cheers from the members of the club, he had randomly fixed the refrigerator and the flickering light in the meeting room. Hence his name. “Jack of all trades.” Pops called him Jack for short.
Sitting here and chatting with Jack, we hear. “J-J-Jack...”
We both look at each other with wide eyes, making sure we are not going crazy. We heard her speak. With excitement, we jump up and make our way to her bed, both of us on either side of her. Her eyes are still closed. We eye each other again with confusion. I know I heard her speak. She said Jack. I’m not dreaming. Am I? I hurry to pinch my arm and hiss in pain. Nope, not a dream. I see Jack looking at me with questions in his eyes. I shrug to him in confusion myself.
“Jack...” I know we both heard that. We smile at each other for a slight moment before we turn to her and her eyes are partly open. Her voice comes out scratchy. I quickly hold the water for her and she sips it endlessly. After it’s nearly gone, I place it back on her stand.
“Baby, I’m here.” Jack says to her, holding her hand. He brings his lips to her forehead and kisses her gently.
“Harley and Avery... Oh my God, Tech was shot. Jack...” She starts to say. Worry covers her face as tears hit her eyes.
“I’m here, Lissa.” I tell her, placing my hand on the side of her face. She turns her eyes to me. She must not have seen me yet. Relief washes over her worried, wet eyes.
“I’m so sorry.” She tells me with tears again. What is she sorry for? She went through fucking hell and lived! She has nothing to be sorry about. I owe her an apology.
“What are you smiling about?” Jack asks her. She turns to him and laughs a little harder. It coming out horse with a cough. She speaks. “You should have seen Harley, she was a modern day ninja.” She chuckles to herself at the memory.
“Baby, are you okay? I can get the nurse if you’re feeling loopy from the pain meds?” Jack tells her. She glares at him.
“Jack, Jack of all trades, I am not loopy. I’m proud.” She chimes. She heard our conversation. Jack smiles at her as do I.
“I’m more proud of you, babes, you are so strong.” I tell her.
She turns to me.
“Hey, I protected my family. It’s nothing. You would have done the same if you were in my shoes.” I can’t believe she is taking all of this so well. Maybe she doesn’t remember most of it. I’m a little worried at her chipper attitude. But, I don’t want to press her. I’ll take any attitude she has as long as she keeps talking. I never thought I would miss the sound of her voice so much. It warms me like a blanket. I missed her so much.
We sit and talk and laugh.
*******************************************
Ford
We stop on a side street in the suburbs. What the fuck? We all park and walk to Prez. Just as Ruckus is last to join us, Prez speaks. “Boys, the house is just around the corner. We will scope it out and surround it. Wait for my signal.”
We all follow him to the corner and turn. My stomach is in knots. I have the feeling this isn’t going to be easy. I want to storm in there and rip Poodle limb from limb. I have to keep my anger in check. This is life or death. Colt comes up beside me and places his hand on my shoulder.
“Brother.” he says, silently giving me comfort. I didn’t think I needed it, but as soon as the word left his mouth I felt a bit better. Nodding to him, we continue until we are just a few houses away.
Prez uses his fingers to point to us and the house. We all nod and work our way to the back yard. As we reach the side of it, we all stop and get our guns cocked and ready.
“When you hear us kick the front door in, bust through the back door.” Prez tells Jester and the others. They nod with stone faces, ready to kill.
Weapons drawn, we all take a deep breath as we quietly surround the house.
Prez, myself, Colt, and Jinx move to the front, as Jester, Ruckus, Banshee and two Yellowcreek members take the back.
Two of us take each side of the house, looking through the windows. Stopping with Prez, I follow his line of sight through the dirty window—Avery! She’s sitting in a corner naked. My poor baby girl. No father should see a daughter in this state—ever. A low growl comes from me as Prez growls with me. We continue moving to meet at the front corner and we see Jinx and Colt. I mouth ‘Avery’ to them and point my finger to this side of the house. Colt’s eyes go wide for a moment. Then he lifts his hand and has three fingers up, stating there are three on his side of the house. Then he lifts one finger and mouths ‘woman’ and we all four nod. We head to the front door. Prez puts up his hand and silently counts down with his fingers.
Three... Two... One.
BOOM!
We burst through the door. Prez heads straight for Avery while Colt and I head to the side with the three men and woman. She screams as we come busting through the house. The back door gets kicked in and I see Jester and the others come through the tiny hallway. One of the guys grabbed a gun and I watch him bring it up to Colt. I bring up my gun and point it straight at the man stupid enough to point a gun at my brother. I shoot and hit him right between the eyes. Another shot rings past me and I turn to see the second of the three men holding a gun, ready to pull the trigger a second time. Dumb ass missed the first time. I turn my gun to him and shoot him in the chest and see that he falls to the floor as the woman continues to scream. The third is standing, no weapons. Fuck it. I shoot him in the face. I’m on a rampage, they held my little girl here. Hurt her. Tormented her. Tortured her. Scarred her. Fuck this whole house. I turn my gun to the woman. Female or not, this bitch helped hide my daughter, therefore I hold her just as accountable as the men. I point directly at her head and pull the trigger. She slumps to the floor. Just as my brothers are rounding the corner from the hallway, I hear Jester.
“COLT! Fuck, God, no, COLT!” He’s screaming from behind me. I turn to see Colt on the floor. Bleeding from a chest wound. I fall to my knees, no. No. NO! This can’t be how it ends. God. No. Jester is cradling him in his arms. I crawl over to Jester and hold both of them. Time stops at this moment. I can’t lose any more people. I can’t. I’m not strong enough.
Prez comes walking into the room, holding Avery to his chest. She is staring at Colt on the floor. She drops to her knees and screams his name.
“Colt, don’t leave me! Damn you! You promised me!” She screams as she takes Jester’s place and cradles him to her chest. His breathing is becoming shallower. Jinx had already taken off his shirt and pressed it to his Chest. I see blood coming from Colt’s mouth as he stares up at Avery. She has tears running down her cheeks as they fall to Colt’s face. She’s wearing Prez’s shirt. I’m glad she has some coverage. I hear Colt struggle with his words.
“I’m... sorry... baby... girl.” He says, trying to bring his hand to her face above him, she grabs his hand and places it to her face and she runs his palm up and down her cheek.
He’s falling in and out of consciousness.
“NO, COLT!” She screams. He opens his eyes, and gives her a faint, pain filled smile. She smiles slightly to him.
“I love you, Colt.” She whispers to him,
“I… (gasp) love... (gasp) you... (gasp) baby... (gasp) girl.” He says closing his eyes. She leans down and kisses his lips. A slight smile comes as fast as it leaves his lips.
He’s not breathing anymore.
“NO! COLT! Stay with me! Colt! YOU PROMISED!” She screams, rocking him back and forth again. She’s crying so hard. All of the brothers have tears in their eyes.
I can’t think of anything right now. I’m lost. Hurt. Heartbroken. I want Colt to be okay, I want Avery to have him back. I knew I saw something between them and he would have protected and loved her fiercely. We all stand still with time, watching Avery lose another piece of her. We lose a brother. I turn to Prez, he’s crying too. I’ve only seen him shed one tear. One. For his father. He has tears falling now. I go to stand and just as I do, I hear gun shots from upstairs. I can’t move. Jinx runs to the steps. Not wanting to lose any more brothers, Jester slowly gets up from Avery’s side and kisses her head. He leans down and touches Colt’s cut. He turns and runs toward the stairs. I still can’t move. I can’t leave her or Colt. I stand, staring at her crying, begging for Colt to open his eyes. Saying over and over she loves him and he promised. I see Prez lean down and take Avery in his arms. She fights him until he sits behind her and begins to rock her; she cries harder and grips his cut, saying Colt’s name over and over. She still has Colt on her lap with one hand on his pale face as her other grips Prez’s cut. Shots ring out from upstairs, but I can’t move. They sound so faint to my pain. I feel for my daughter. I lean down to her, finally finding my damn feet. I touch her face and she looks to me.
“Daddy...” is all she says, so weak and innocent. I quickly pull her to my chest from Prez’s and hug her as tight as I can.
“I’m here baby, I’m here.” She then grips me tighter and cries even harder. Never leaving Colt’s side; she lets it all out into my chest. All of her pain, her sadness, her heartache. The cut on her face is starting to bleed through her stitches more than before from the tension in her face from crying.
I hear a rustling behind me, I turn and see Poodle fighting Jester’s an
d Jinx’s grip on his arms.
“He shot Mikey in the head.” Jester says with a growl. A Yellowcreek member. I bring my gun to his leg and shoot. He falls into their grip.
“Tie him up, throw him in the Van.” Prez barks, rage rolling off of every word.
“Then come get Colt and Mikey.” He says lower, softer.
A slight break in his hard voice, Avery shoots her eyes to Prez and they stare at each other with the same pain in their eyes.
I slowly help her to her feet and walk her to the door. She stops at Prez and places her hand to his face. He leans into her touch as another tear slips from his eye. He nods to her and she continues to walk out with me. We stand at the bikes as I pull a bottle of water from my saddle bag and tell her to drink. After Colt and Mikey are loaded up, Avery refuses to leave with me. She wants to be with Colt. How can I not allow her to be with him? I can’t. If she wants to be with him, fuck yea she can be, I dare someone to stop her. She goes to climb in with Colt, Prez grabs her arm.
“Are you sure?” he asks with softness in his voice. He knows how much she has been through and she cracks his hardened outer surface. She nods and climbs all the way in.
We have two extra bikes now. I stare at Colt’s bike. Prez comes to me and lights a cigarette. After a few puffs he says.
“We’ll keep it in a case at the club. So we’ll never forget.” I nod. We all ride back to the warehouse.
Avery stays with Colt, quietly crying now, still holding his lifeless body. I break for her. I turn my heartache into rage as I see Poodle being pulled from the van passenger seat. I had him ride upfront so he couldn’t mess with Avery as she mourns for Colt.
I follow as they place him in a seat next to Rufus who is still awake, surprisingly.
Coin comes to Prez and smiles, and as soon as he sees his face, he knows.
Delayed Love Page 21