CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Brick
As promised, I deliver Starlet to the clubhouse at ten o’clock the next morning. We both fell asleep on the couch together, too exhausted to make love again. My betrayal is complete as I direct her to the dining area where she can grab some coffee and breakfast. There’s several old ladies sitting at the table. A couple look up at her with pity. Word must have spread about our situation once we left for Shorty’s cabin. There’s no room in the Iron Norsemen for a runaway from a rival MC. No tolerance for a rebellious old lady who broke the rules.
I give her hand a last squeeze before I let her go and head to Eagle’s office, feeling lower than I ever have.
I’m surprised to find the door open, Eagle and Shorty inside. Eagle glances at the wall clock and then waves me in.
“You made it.”
I blow out a frustrated breath and slam myself into one of the guest chairs, wearing my fucking emotions on my cut for anyone to see.
Eagle gives me a knowing look. “Got a call from Silver early this morning. I expect he’ll roll in here in a few hours to pick Starlet up.”
“What does he know?” I ask.
“What he needs to. We protected her until we found out who she belongs to.”
I slam my fist on his desk.
“Easy, brother.” Shorty pats my shoulder. “I think it’s time,” he says to Eagle.
“Time for what?” I ask.
Eagle leans back in his leather chair and steeples his fingers under his chin. “There’s no reason for you to be here when the Devil’s Crusaders arrive. I want you to take a long ride with Shorty.”
The temperature in the office just shot up by thirty degrees. I swallow hard. “No,” I refuse. “I started this shit. It’s my responsibility to see her off safely.” My eyes dart over his head, scanning the back wall of the office where there’s dozens of framed pictures of my brothers and their families. This is what I live for, swore to protect.
“It’s not a request, Brick,” Eagle says. “This is a direct order—to protect you and the charter.”
“I don’t need protection,” I ground out, sounding too bitter.
“Yeah, you do.”
Shorty stands and taps my shoulder. “Time to go.”
I shake my head.
“Get up, Brick,” Eagle commands.
Hands fisted on my lap, I gaze at his president patch, wondering what would happen if I challenged his authority—told him to go fuck himself. Our eyes meet—Eagle has never done anything to hurt me. If anything, he’s given me more than one chance to prove myself.
“You’re thinking with your dick,” he observes. “The sooner there’s distance between you and the girl, the sooner you can get your head straight. Until then, Shorty is your shadow.”
If I needed rehabilitation, I’d check myself into a psych ward. Not that they’d be able to figure out the crazy shit that goes on in my head. No one can. I stand. “I want to say goodbye to her.”
Eagle shakes his head. “You had all night to do it. Take the back door so she doesn’t see you leave. There’s a loaner bike ready to go.”
Shorty moves to the door, gesturing to the right, the opposite direction of the kitchen. “Ready, brother?”
Talk about cornered with no place to go…
I stomp out of the office and follow Shorty outside.
“Did you get to tell her everything you needed to?” he asks.
I’m half a foot taller than the old timer, but he’s as tough as nails and worthy of my respect. “No.”
He gives me a sad smile. “She do all the talking?”
“Yeah,” I admit, more than curious how he knows.
“That’s the problem with the fairer sex,” he says. “We think with our dicks, they feel with their hearts.” He indicates the newer model Softail parked next to his chopper. “One of the bikes we let visiting officers use. Good bike, just had a tune up last week.”
The key is in the ignition and I climb on, not caring about what I’m riding or where we’re going. No matter how far we get, Starlet will dominate my thoughts. I know what she represents now—who she reminds me of, Charlotte. Not the girl who abandoned me the night my father went crazy—but the girl I had hoped Charlotte would be. That’s what makes it so hard to leave Starlet alone in her time of need. I know if I were the one in her shoes, she’d fight to protect me—possibly kill to keep me.
But I’m not that man. I’m a nomad, not meant to get tied down by some brokenhearted old lady looking for a new life.
* * *
Starlet
I hear the bikes rumble down the driveway over the meaningless chatter going on around me at the table. Brick is gone. Whether he went voluntarily or otherwise, our time together is over. The realization is hard to take as I sip on my coffee. The hospitable old ladies have offered me eggs and bacon, pancakes, and doughnuts. How could I possibly eat when my heart is breaking? I can feel it inside my chest and as it slowly creeps down into my stomach—a wave of nausea.
So much so, I gag and jump up, running for the bathroom.
I barely make it in time, but manage to kick the door shut and lift the toilet seat. I throw up as I drop to my knees. The sinking feeling I have is overwhelming. Silver will be here soon and I’m helpless to do anything about it. My last hope just sped away on a Harley.
My gut revolts again and I lose whatever was left in my stomach. Once the violent waves subside, I sit back on my heels. How did it come to this? Why did I drop my guard and open my life up to Brick? I should have let Juanita shoot him in the shop…
Someone knocks on the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I call.
“Starlet? It’s Angel.”
The president’s wife? I try to stand up but I’m too dizzy. “Come in.”
She opens the door and steps inside.
“Did Eagle send you?”
“No. One of the old ladies told me you were sick and I wanted to check on you myself.” She closes and locks the door.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She steps closer. “For throwing up?” She indicates her pregnant belly and smiles. “I puke every morning.”
I can’t resist the urge to grin back at her. “For different reasons.” I close the toilet seat so she can sit and move aside, positioning myself on the floor, leaning my back against the wall for support. “I’m sorry for bringing my problems to your club.”
“Don’t be.” She accepts my invitation to sit down. “I know you were married to the president of the Devil’s Crusaders. Sometimes our men do things we completely disagree with. And no matter how much you plead for them to reconsider their decisions, it falls on deaf ears.”
“Are you saying you tried to talk Eagle out of sending me away.”
“Every woman at that table did.”
Her kindness is unexpected, and tears sting my eyes. “Thank you,” I manage to say before a sob follows. “You’re fortunate to have a man who values your opinion—a club that allows their old ladies to say anything.”
She leans forward and rests a comforting hand on my head. “It wasn’t always like that for me. In fact, I bet we have more in common than you think.”
I palm the tears away and look up at her, wondering if it’s possible. She’s so centered and happy, and I’m shattered—like a prisoner on death row waiting for the warden to come and escort me to the execution chamber. “I ran away because I didn’t want to live the life anymore. Once Sammy died…” I swallow my words, not wanting to share the burden of my misery.
“Eagle and I were separated for six years,” she begins, her radiant features suddenly mournful.
I close my eyes and listen wholeheartedly as she tells me her story. How she faked her own death at sixteen to protect Eagle from the Dead Dogs. How she fled her home and relocated to a new city and state under an assumed identity, living on the fringes to avoid discovery. How she suffered emotionally, depriving herself of the right to be happy. But one fateful night changed everything for her … she reconnected with Eagle at a bachelor party. And though he didn’t recognize her because she had plastic surgery to alter her looks, she was willing to risk everything for a chance to love him again.
“One night together changed our lives forever,” she says.
I open my eyes, in awe of her tenacity and courage. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” she assures me, massaging her stomach. “This baby is proof of the love we share.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Although I’m sure Angel meant to comfort me, hearing about someone else’s happy ever after doesn’t do anything to make me feel better. In fact, I’m close to losing it again. I jump up and rush to the sink, throwing up. Turning the cold water on, I rinse my mouth out and then drink handfuls of water.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Angel says apologetically. “I wanted you to know you’re not alone. Every old lady knows how it feels to suffer in silence.”
I turn the faucet off and give her an appreciative look. “I know.”
“Still do when I reminisce about the past and miss my brothers before they were patched members.”
I spread my hands wide on the vanity and dare a peek in the mirror. Considering my current emotional state and the lack of sleep, I’m surprised I don’t look worse than I do. My eyes are a bit swollen and red, but if I wash my face and apply a bit of makeup, Silver might not notice I’ve been crying. I don’t want him to see me this way—it would give him great satisfaction to know I’ve been upset. He’s as heartless as my father ever was, maybe even worse.
“Can I get you anything, Starlet? Maybe something to eat?”
I straighten up, turning to look at her. “A toothbrush and toothpaste?”
“Sure. Wait here…Starlet!”
I drop to the floor, too dizzy and weak to hold my head up.
I sense Angel beside me, even hear the concern in her voice, but can’t make out what’s she saying exactly. The world is suddenly spinning, the light fading in and out. “A-Angel?” I don’t want to be alone.
“Stay down,” she says. “I’ll get help.”