Chapter 10
Brynn
The whole next day, I thought of Diesel and our deal. Of how I felt about it. My father had gotten a call from him the next morning and the Black Hornets called an emergency meeting to vote. They all piled into my father’s house as I sat in the kitchen, my engagement ring on display for all of them to see. Family. Diesel was officially family, so they all voted a unanimous decision to protect the Dead Souls and get them out of all the shit they had dug themselves into.
Though I still didn’t know all that had happened.
I heard Dean and Diesel talking on the phone, and I caught enough to know my father was informing them of the club’s decision. And all day, my mind had been preoccupied with what was happening around me. What type of trouble was Diesel in? What all had transpired while I was gone? I couldn’t get any answers out of my father, so I figured Diesel would talk with me.
Going into Redding for the day would get me away from my father, who was already spouting off about the wedding to make things official.
I needed to know what was going on. I needed to know what I had gotten myself into.
Despite my father’s insistence, I drove into Redding alone. I told him I was going to find Diesel, so I’d be fine for the twenty minute drive. He didn’t believe me, so I told him I would text him once I found Diesel. Then, I sent him a fake message. Told him I’d found him in the middle of town in a grocery store. That got my father off my back, and it gave me time to think.
And trust me, I did a lot of thinking.
I didn’t know where to start looking for Diesel, but it didn’t stop me from trying. I drove around town and ducked into some places that would’ve seemed like him. The local leather and lace shop. A few of the mechanic garages. Some of the dive bars and eateries in town. I even did stop into the grocery store and aimlessly walked around to see if he would come in.
But the second the sun set and I saw the sign for Skull and Bones, I knew he would be there.
Especially with all the bikes sitting out front.
I recognized his instantly. A completely blacked-out bike to match his brooding stare. The only color on it besides the chrome of the brake handles was the logo of his crew painted onto both sides of his bike. I parked my car and saw the cigarette smoke already pouring out the door.
And I heard the rowdy drunkenness ensuing inside.
Diesel had never been that kind of guy. He wasn’t a partier. Never had been. And sure, people changed. But part of me hoped he hadn’t changed in that regard. Drunkenness was something I couldn’t stand. The sloppiness of it all and the slurred words. The actions done in the heat of the moment that someone usually regretted later. Getting drunk and doing anything was never a good idea. I walked up to the entrance of the bar and pushed through, hoping and praying Diesel was off in some corner watching everyone else drink and have a good time.
Yet there he was, right in the thick of it, throwing back a shot and trying to keep himself upright.
I stood there and watched. The guys slapped him on the back and I took every one of them in. I didn’t recognize any of them. But I could tell they were all close. I watched as a very large, very tall, very loud man ordered the entire bar another round of shots and I waved mine away. So, the extra shot was placed in front of Diesel
“To the man about to get married,” the brute one said. “May you fuck her until all of Redding can hear her scream!”
“Yeah!”
Diesel was all smiles as he threw his shot back. Everyone in the bar banged on their tables as I stood there in disgust. Really? A fucking Bachelor party? For a fake engagement? If he thought he was fucking me until anything happened, he was sorely mistaken. If he thought some fake-ass engagement would get him anywhere near my naked body drunk the way he was, then he was sorely mistaken.
I almost turned to leave.
Until the bartender approached Diesel.
I didn’t know who she was, but I didn’t like the way she was looking at Diesel. Those heart eyes with that bleach blonde hair and her tits pushed up to her chin. She practically hung them over the bar so Diesel could have a look. I had no idea if he was looking, but he sure as hell was drunk enough to. He could hardly keep himself upright in the pathetic excuse for a bar stool. I slowly walked towards him, watching the bartender smile and smooth her hand over his arm.
What the fuck did that woman think she was doing?
“I’m the engaged one, but sure. I’d like another,” Diesel said.
Oh, great. He was okay with being engaged but also okay with being a completely drunken asshole. Wonderful. I stood there with my arms folded, waiting for him to turn his head away from the bartender. Waiting to disengage his eyes from hers so he could pay attention to what was happening around him.
But he never once looked away from her.
“Well, congratulations. Who’s the lucky gal?” she asked.
I stood right beside Diesel and watched him blow out the shot before he tossed it back. He grimaced, and for a split second I thought the man was going to vomit. Then he placed his shot glass upside down onto the bar before he suppressed what would’ve been a very loud, very disgusting belch.
“Really?” I asked.
Diesel’s gaze panned over to mine and I watched the shock roll over his features. Yeah. It was me. I was there. Holy shit. My arms were crossed over my chest as he turned to face me, his body swaying on top of the stool he sat on.
“What are you doing here?” Diesel asked.
I didn’t really know anymore. It was a damn good question. And suddenly, I didn’t want to be there any longer. He squinted at me to keep me in focus. That was how drunk he was. And it made me sick. I guess some things changed, after all. I scoffed and shook my head before I turned on my toes and left, making my way as quickly as I could for the door.
“Brynn!?”
I ignored his voice and kept walking through the crowd, shoving every single one of his ‘crew members’ out of my way. It was as if they were trying to stop me, but they were all too drunk to do anything about it. I could’ve blown in their fucking direction and knocked them off balance.
There were the assholes who were supposed to be protecting me?
No wonder these fuckers were in trouble.
“Brynn!”
I slammed through the front door of the bar and dumped out into the parking lot. I was ready to go home. I didn’t give a damn about having any answers to any of my questions. All I wanted to do was to tell my father this engagement was done for, and let them flounder on their own. I didn’t owe Diesel shit. Especially when he wanted to lock eyes with big-breasted bartenders. Sure, the engagement was fake. But we had to make this look real so my father wouldn’t shit a brick.
Was that how Diesel treated actual engagements? By getting piss-ass drunk and letting other women touch him?
The fuck kind of man had he turned into?
Whoever he was, I didn’t want any part of it. I didn’t give a shit about his club. If they allowed him to get that kind of drunk--or worse, facilitated the actions in some way--then they weren’t family. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to treat them as such. Maybe my father was right. Maybe I shouldn’t have come back. Maybe I should’ve stayed in Los Angeles and continued working as a sous chef and taken over the restaurant once my boss retired.
Maybe coming home to see Diesel had been a mistake.