My Vice: Fallen Angels MC (Fallen Angels MC Series Book 1)

by Breanna Mansfield

  “Well, that is pretty badass.” T winks at her. “Also, we have Vice’s back, and because of that – we got your back, Schuyler.”

  That’s my boy, I think to myself. Knowing he has her back is all I want.

  “If anyone has any issues with this, speak now, or else you will be depended on for anything we will need. Your brother is asking you guys to have his back on helping his ol’ lady. One day you might just need the favor returned,” Chris’ voice booms across the room.

  No one speaks up, and they all look as fierce now as they do whenever we have to face a storm together.

  “If we are being honest, even if she wasn’t your ol’ lady, I think I’d still help. Something about a man forcing himself onto someone doesn't sit well with me or anyone else at this table. I don’t like speaking for anyone else, but that’s one thing I think we can all agree on, yeah?” Brock says.

  Everyone grunts their yes around the table and Brock nods his head.

  “Also, if you ever want to practice those blades of yours, hit me up. I’ll spear with ya,” he smiles smugly.

  “Only if you have Bandaids handy,” she replies looking unsure.

  “Oh, I promise not to cut you up, darlin’,” he draws out.

  “Oh no, not for me. I was worried about you, Viking.” She winks at him,

  Everyone erupts in laughter.

  “Viking!” Chris slaps his leg. “I think I’m going to call you that now.” He laughs.

  Brock just flips him the bird as we stand up, ready to leave.

  Hawk and Alex walk toward me and I put my arm around Schuyler.

  “Hey, VP, got some shitty news and some even worse news. What do you want first?” Hawk asks. Chris walks over to us to listen in.

  “Give me the worst first,” I tell him, wondering what now?

  “Well, Nathan pulled a slip somehow. I had Stewart on him, but he just called and said he went and took a piss and came back to an empty stall.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me, Hawk?” I roar.

  “‘’fraid not,” he replies just as angry.

  “He has to fucking go. This is the third time he was where something didn’t play out right,” Chris says, pissed. “Strip him of his prospect cut and send him on his way. Something isn’t right about him and get him to take his bitch, Anne, with him,” he adds.

  “His bitch?” I ask.

  “Yeah, that’s his ol’ lady,” Chris answers and everyone looks at him like he’s lost his mind. “What?” he asks.

  “She plays like she’s a curb monkey. She is trying to get into everyone’s bed. Fuck, she just tried to get in mine again this morning.” I tell him.

  “Again?” Hawk asks with a tilt to his brow.

  “Not like that, you jackass. I mean, she keeps trying, and she tried again,” I clarify and feel Schuyler relax under my arm. I grin at her noticing her subtle way of showing her jealousy. She scrunches her face up and punches me in the chest. I love that in this tense moment, she can still make me feel human.

  “Well, that makes me wonder more then. Who the fuck is he and why is he here?” Chris thinks for a second longer. “On second thought, don’t do anything. Let me deal with Stewart.”

  “Ten-four, boss,” Hawk says.

  “What’s the shitty news then?” I grumble, just wanting to get Schuyler home.

  “Ahh… well. Your ma called,” Alex says hesitantly.

  “And?” I drawl out.

  “Well, she’s sitting in a jail cell and wants you to go talk to the cops because she knows we are friends with some of them,” Hawk says.

  “Jesus Christ.” I run my hand down my face.

  Schuyler runs her hand up and down my back and when I lock my eyes onto hers, that fire is blazing bright in them.

  “Remember what I said. It’s not your job to do her bidding,” she says, softly.

  “You just don’t get it though,” I reply, sounding like a broken record.

  “I don’t?” she says back with a humorless laugh.

  “That’s not—” I start to say and she cuts me off.

  “What you meant? Yeah, I know. I get you, Vice, I do. And, you’re about to hear me out on this matter. I never have met your mom. I don’t know what she’s like, or what she’s done in the past to have you so tightly wrapped around her finger. But I can tell you one thing I do know, she’s done.” She rests her hand over my heart. “She made sure her boy had the best heart out of anyone. And I will always be thankful for that. However, it’s not fair of her to take advantage of the heart you have,” she whispers the end.

  “Schuyler is right, VP,” Chris says. “Not to mention, your mom is the reason Nathan was here. Didn’t you pay him off yesterday? I thought that’s what you told Doc on the phone when he called ya.”

  “Yeah, I thought I did,” I say, while thinking of what she did with that three grand I gave her.

  We stand there in silence while they wait for my move. I look down at Schuyler and I see the smile she has on her face for me.

  “Whatever you choose to do, I’ll support you,” she tells me with so much raw emotion on her face.

  With that, I’ve made up my mind to ghost my mother. But today, I want to just take Schuyler home and cook her dinner, and just be with her before this war hits.

  “We will worry about this tomorrow. Right now, I’m going to get my ol’ lady home, and have one night of quiet before the chaos starts from the war we are going to win,” I tell them.

  “Alright, brother, keep me updated. Let’s get out of here,” Chris says as he walks to the door.

  All the other members have left already; it’s just Prez, Schuy, Hawk and Alex.

  “Where has Doc been, anyway? I thought that thing with your friend was over,” I ask as we walk out of the bar.

  “It is. Well, it is for now. We still have not seen sight of Brandon. But there was a woman in the house where they found Bridget that needed his care. He had to go back to his day job after that, but he said if we need him, just give him a ring,” Chris says as we walk toward our bikes.

  “You know,” Schuyler starts to say as she tilts her face up into the sunshine. “I never understood as a kid why a dog sticks its head out of the window.”

  She kicks her leg over her motorcycle and she looks at me and Chris.

  “But I get it now. There is just something about the wind in your face, and the worries of the world are stripped off your shoulders. I think more people should ride, maybe they wouldn’t be so depressed in this world, you know?” She shrugs her shoulders as she pulls on her riding gloves.

  Chris looks at me and his face must match mine because we both laugh.

  “What?” she asks, looking back between us.

  “Just you, sweetheart, you have a way of thinking,” I tell her as I mount my bike next to her.

  “It’s refreshing,” Chris adds in as he starts his bike.

  She tilts her head and soaks up the sunshine.

  “Sometimes if you don’t find new ways of thinking, you’ll always get stuck with the same ol’ thoughts. And when you get stuck with the same ol’ thoughts, in the end you get stuck with the same actions. If you want to change your actions, change your thoughts.” She winks before she starts her bike.

  Chapter 12

  I’m leaning against the diner bar when it hits me. I gasp as a lady walks by and she reminds me of it. I pull my phone out and with shaking hands, I dial Vice.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” he answers on the first ring.

  “I don’t know, I just thought of something,” I breathe.

  “Okay?” he asks.

  “Do you have a prospect named Chris? He would have come along the same time of Stewart and Anne,” I rush out.

  “Chris…,” he repeats.

  “Yeah, if I’m thinking right, they all have the same last name, Martin.”

  “Fuck!” he bellows and I have to pull my phone from my ear. “Big spider tattoo on his neck?”

  “Yes,” I say a
s my heart starts to beat faster.

  “How do you know him, Schuyler?” he asks, his voice is hard to place.

  “They are part of the Strykers. They go by the name SCAM. Whenever my dad needed to plant a spy, he would call his SCAM team. Chris, aka Spider, and Stewart are brothers. Anne is Stewart’s ol’ lady, but he lets her run from bed to bed in order to hear any slip-ups from the members. Stanton, you need to get them out of there. They know too much to help my father, not to mention that Anne saw me, too.” I start to panic. “I don’t want them to let my father know how to get in to hurt, Vice.”

  “Calm down, babe. We already have them under watch. We have their phones tapped and I’m following Anne now. We are watching their every move. The Avengers are on Stewart, and you don’t have to worry about Spider,” he ends with a darkness to his voice.

  “Okay,” I whisper.

  “Don’t worry. T is watching your diner,” he also tells me.

  “I don’t need a babysitter, Vice,” I grumble as my thumbs run along the top of my blades in my waistband.

  “He’s not babysitting. He’s watching,” he says exasperated.

  “What’s the difference?” I ask, annoyed.

  “The difference is, a babysitter tells you what you’re allowed to do, someone who is watching just keeps an eye out for danger. Do as you please. Schuyler, but it makes me feel better knowing there is an extra set of eyes watching out for you,” he says. “Just deal with it for me, and my sanity, please?”

  “Only if you do me a favor in return,” I tell him with a grin.

  “Hmm... I can think of a couple things I could do,” he replies as my smile gets wider.

  Before I can comment back, the bell dings on our front door and I have to go back out and get back to work.

  “I gotta go. Someone just came in and I have to go be a proper waitress and take some orders,” I tell him while looking out of the tiny window trying to see if I can see the customers.

  “Okay, sweetheart. I’m going to come in after a while for something to eat,” he says, his voice holds a hint of lust.

  “I’m waiting,” I smolder.

  “Fuck it. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he says as he hangs up.

  I giggle to myself and put my phone in my back pocket. I fix my hair and walk out of the kitchen. As the swinging doors close behind me, I look up and the smile I’m wearing melts off my face when I see who is sitting at my counter.

  “Anne,” I say, my mind reeling wondering who Stanton is following if she is sitting here right now.

  “Schuyler,” she says in a sing-song voice as she peels the paper off a straw, not even looking at me.

  I lean my shoulder blade against the wall and cross my arms over my chest.

  “What can I do for you?” I ask.

  “Well, I’m not really sure,” she pouts.

  I just want to reach over and strangle her. She has always been a problem when she was in my father’s MC. She wants to be the alpha female, but in all reality, people use her to get what they want. She will do anyone’s bidding for them, thinking it gets her one step closer to being the ultimate ruler. Her puppet master just sits back and laughs while their hands stay clean, and Anne’s gets dirty. You can see on her face she doesn’t want to. She wants to be the one calling the shots. But she never will; she will always be number two, at best. I would feel bad for her, but it’s her choice in the end.

  “How about you think real hard and tell me,” I say with an arch to my brow.

  “Your smart mouth is only going to get you in trouble,” she says in that sing-song voice again.

  I lower my head and blow out a breath, completely annoyed. I can’t believe I didn’t pinpoint her that day in Vice’s room. Her hair is cut shorter, and she colored it dark. I didn’t really look at her face that day. She has a heart-shaped face, and green eyes. She is shorter than me with an hourglass figure. She’s wearing short shorts and wedge heels with a tank top that says “Fallen Angels” across the chest.

  “I can’t believe you have the nerve to wear that tank,” I huff.

  “I can’t believe you have the nerve to fuck a rival MC member,” she taunts.

  “My personal life has nothing to do with you. Also, I’m not a member of the Strykers. So, it’s not a rival member for me,” I say with mock boredom.

  “Oh, but it is, and you know it. Too bad they are onto me, or else I would have enjoyed putting more roofies into your drink.” She winks.

  My heart beat slows down and I look her in the eyes and see her twisted way of thinking. She was there that day when I got out of the bathroom. She was sitting right next to me and I remember seeing Nathan out of the corner of my eye before I blacked out. I thought he was winking at me, but he wasn’t now that I think back. He was winking at her.

  “You fucking cunt,” I tell her on a breath.

  “Ohh!. You’re putting it together now, aren’t you!” She laughs with glee and claps her hands.

  “You drugged my drink,” I say with shock.

  “Well yeah, you know when your daddy needs anything done, he calls in his SCAM team,” she says like I should have known better.

  I should have known. She was sitting at the bar. Stewart was bartending, and Chris was at the door. I’m so fucking stupid.

  “Well, guess what? I’m not drugged now. What do you think is stopping me from gutting you right now?” I ask.

  “I am so scared. Not.” She points to the door and snickers. “If you even try to touch me, those two will be in here faster than I can cough.”

  There were two members at the door from my father’s MC. I groan thinking of the backlash that’s going to come from this. The war is starting. And I’m going to be the one to shed someone’s blood first. But at least it’s not as soon as everyone thought. It’s been three days since we had that meeting in the bar. Three days everyone has been preparing for someone to make a move. Three days of being with Stanton and growing to love him. And then this twat walks in my diner trying to scare me.

  I lift my head up and blow out a breath. Then I walk closer to Anne and smile as I do it.

  “Here’s the thing, you cold hearted bitch,” I whisper while shaking my head. “You see those guys out there?” I point to the doors again, “They just want their money. The loyal members in the Strykers are close to my father. The ones he lends out to his puppets, like you,” I point to her, “are only money loyal. So, he pays them a very tiny fee, and they do whatever he says. They make their money by the job, rather than doing an actual part and being an actual member of his MC.”

  Anne furrows her brow and you can see the wheels turning in her head.

  “Keep thinking. You’ll get it one of these days. Sadly though, you won’t be here for that moment. Because I’m going to gut you, and when you are bleeding out, you’ll watch me pay them more money than my father ever did and they will zip their lips, go back to the Strykers and tell him they couldn’t find you, or me.” I wink.

  “They are devoted members. They would never do that.” She laughs nervously.

  “Have you ever taken a look at their patches?” I nod to their cuts. “They don’t say Strykers MC. They say Strykers HH.”

  I watch her face and her angry eyes gaze back to me.

  “So? Still says Strykers.”

  “Right, here. I’ll let you in on the secret; it stands for Strykers Hired Help. The name Strykers is on it for my father’s benefit, not theirs.” I tell her while walking to the door. “It’s so when he hires them to do something, whoever they are hurting, threatening, or very rarely helping, they know to listen and follow through because it’s the Strykers after all. And that is as far as a member they will ever get. Watch and learn how this game is played.” I open the door and see the two HH members. They turn their heads and the one’s eyes flash with recognition when he sees me.

  “Hi, Carl. How much were you paid to come here and stand guard to make sure nothing happens to sweet Anne in here?” I ask while point
ing with my thumb at the woman behind me.

  “Two hundred each, Miss Schuyler,” Carl tells me.

  “Really? Wow. He isn’t paying you guys well enough.” I tsk my teeth.

  “No, ma’am, but we need to feed our families,” he answers with embarrassment.

  “Right, I understand that. I ain’t mad at ‘cha. But listen, if I give you five hundred each, will you go back and tell the boss that Anne never met you here? I can promise you, she won’t be able to tell him differently.” I smile a wicked grin and Carl gets it. He was always nice to me when I was with my father.

  “Miss Schuyler, you don’t have to do that. If I had known she was meeting you, I wouldn’t have agreed to this job.” He shrugs.