Wheeler
There’s this thing called a honeymoon phase. It’s when everything is fine and glorious, before the inevitable fallout that happens because that’s just how things are. Coming to the San Diego club, being with Ember, getting into something of a routine? That was the honeymoon phase.
The call that I got from Leech on the start of the third week in San Diego was the shit hitting the fan.
I was still in bed. It was early. Ember and I had had another night wrapped up in each other. Since the beach, it was like we couldn’t get enough. My phone had rung once, and I had ignored it—I saw that it was Leech and I couldn’t be bothered when the sun hadn’t risen yet. Then there was a second call an hour later I ignored. The third one, I picked up on.
“What the fuck do you want, asshole?”
“I’ve been trying to call you since six.”
“I figured me not answering you would give you the sign that you needed to piss off and leave me the hell alone.”
Leech scoffed, but there was something gleeful in it.
“You’re so goddamn full of yourself. That’s gonna bite you in the ass, you know, Wheeler. Dead in the ass.”
“What the fuck do you want, Leech?” I was getting beyond agitated, and Ember was stirring beside me now, roused from the interruption of sleep.
“I was calling to let you know that Satan was shot,” he said.
“What—”
“There was an altercation at the clubhouse. Some of the boys in blue decided to slide on by while the others were out on a run. Some words were said, and some things were done.”
“Is he …” Did I dare ask? “Is he dead?”
“In intensive care but it’s not looking too well. I’m acting president. Got Pop’s blessing and all.”
I grimaced and sat up straighter.
“I bet you love that.”
Leech laughed.
“I love the fact that you can’t do or say anything against me now. Satan knows what a shitty dodger you are. You cut out and don’t even tell him, not a word? You hang out with Boss all cozy. You’re out, Wheeler. You made the wrong choice.”
“What exactly are you saying, Leech?”
“I’m saying if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay gone. You and that piece of yours you’re so fond of.”
The line went dead.
I set my phone aside, my mind reeling.
Satan had been shot. He was in intensive care while Leech ran the Sons. I hadn’t heard from Bones or from Elise.
And that warning from Leech … something didn’t add up about his story … why had the boys been out on a run when there was something so big going on?
I had my suspicions. They made me fume.
An hour later, the San Diego Sons, Ember, and myself, were downstairs. Boss had called everyone together after I’d relayed to him what I had been told by Leech.
“It looks like things are getting a little sticky,” Boss commented. “They’re also saying on the news that they’re moving in fast on the Sons. Anyone out wearing their colors will be apprehended and taken in for questioning.” He stroked his beard. “But this business with Satan … Leech …”
“It seems rotten to me,” Smith spoke up. “This story of Leech’s. How he was shot by the cops while no one else was around? Does anyone else believe that?”
There were murmurs among the Sons. N0—none of us believed that.
Boss spoke up again.
“I wasn’t willing to do this earlier, but I think the situation has come to call for it a little more than usual,” he said. He leveled a look at me. “We’re riding out in the morning. To Big Sur.”
My eyes widened.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not afraid of cops. But if things have gotten so bad that Leech has gone and tried to off or incapacitate Satan … in the midst of this … having been the cause of all of this.” Boss shook his head. “I have to, and will, step in. Everyone, get ready.”
The club was in a state of preparation. I noticed that Ember had withdrawn—she wasn’t anywhere downstairs where we had had our meeting.
I walked up to my room.
She was sitting on our bed, her legs crossed. Her eyes were downcast to her lap.
“What’s wrong?” I walked over, not liking her posture or the vibe that I got from her. She fiddled with her hands—I thought something was in them—but I didn’t pay attention to those as she looked up at me. I was started. Her eyes were glassy, as though she was about to cry.
“Hey, hey.” I sat down beside her and put my arm around her. “Don’ t… don’t do that. Everything will be fine, okay? I’m not going to let myself get into any trouble. You gotta know that. I’ve steered well so far, right?”
She drew in a breath.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. It’s just …” She shook her head and bit her lip. There was a sigh that wracked through her and she leaned against me. “This is just. Wow. This is big. Satan … Leech … and… and everything.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Like last night, I got the feeling that there was something that Ember wasn’t telling me. I tilted her chin so that she would look me in the eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I asked her. “Something’s on your mind … something more than this.” I didn’t want to press but if there was something that was this wrong I needed to address it now—definitely before tomorrow.
Ember didn’t answer me. Instead she raised her hands. I was confused at first, until I realized that there was something in them. I looked down as she passed two white sticks toward me. My eyes widened as the realization dawned on what they were.
Two positive pregnancy tests.
Oh.
Oh.
The world seemed to stop as I stared down at them. I backtracked. Had it—yeah. Yeah. Okay. It had been that long.
Condoms—?
Not even once. I hadn’t considered it. I hadn’t cared.
But Ember was pregnant now and there was—oh God. There was going to be a baby. And I definitely fucking cared then.
I understood now where her fear came from.
I sucked in a breath. This was a lot to process.
“Wheeler …?”
I was jerked from my thoughts. I stared down at Ember. She seemed worried, and I realized that I needed to say something.
“You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah … I am.”
“We’re going to have a baby.”
“Yeah.”
The verbal clarification locked it in for me, and I wrapped my arms around Ember. I think I shocked her. She stiffened, as though the action was the opposite of what she was expecting.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I told her. “I’m gonna get this shit sorted out with the club; we’re going to get things sorted out with you; and in nine months we’re going to be parents. We’re going to make it work.”
She started to shake. Had I said the wrong thing? Was my support of this not what she wanted? I tried to pull away to get a better look at her face to see if I could figure out what was wrong with her, but she clung to me.
“T-thank you, Wheeler.”
“W-why are you thanking me?” I was perplexed.
Between her unexpected sobs, she started to laugh.
“I don’t even know!” She laughed a little more. “I was so scared. I thought. I don’t know. I thought you would be angry, or hate me, or tell me that I was crazy and that it wasn’t yours or something. I didn’t—”
“Hey. Hey.” I pulled back and held her face in my hands. “We’ve been in this together since day one,” I told her. “Remember? I saw you dancing and it was just fate. I don’t have a problem with a baby. It’s. Wow.” I shook my head. “I’m still a little dumbstruck, and I don’t know a damn thing about being a father, but I’ll be a father. I’ll take care of it. And you.”
I leaned down and kissed her deep. A baby. She was going to have my baby.
Fuck.
I nuzzled my nose to hers and pressed my forehead against hers.
“There’s a lot I could say right now. At some point, we need to celebrate. For real.” I kissed her again. “But we’re rolling out tomorrow and I need to help prepare. With this, though …” I bit my lip. I needed to think, quick. “Ember. I want you to stay somewhere else while we’re still trying to figure everything out, okay?”
Her eyes went wide.
“Somewhere else? Where? Wheeler—”
“I would have suggested it anyway, but with the baby now … Please. I don’t want you or the baby hurt in case things come far this way.”
I could tell that she wanted to protest. I knew in general that she wouldn’t want to have stayed here, like a damsel, even if this new development hadn’t sprung up. She would want to come with me or something. I couldn’t have that.
In the end, she knew that she couldn’t come with me, either.
“My mom,” she said. “I can stay with her.” I nodded.
“Good. We’ll head out today so I have a decent amount of time to be back tomorrow, okay? Go ahead and start packing.”
Ember was packed in an hour. We said our goodbyes to the boys and to Boss, letting him know that I would be back in time to roll out tomorrow. It would be a lot of riding, but I could handle it. I didn’t mention anything about the baby, just that I wanted to make sure that Ember was safely away from everything that was going on. Boss accepted this with an understanding that was more than appreciated, and I rode off with Ember at my back.
She gave me the directions to her mother’s. it was an hour or so away—outside of San Diego, not too far away from where I would be headed tomorrow, but I was satisfied in knowing that it would at least be far enough away to keep her out of trouble.
At least, that was the hope.
The neighborhood that her directions led me to was … poor, to say the least. There were more trailers than actual homes, and the homes were destitute at best. This was where Ember had grown up. It was strange to think, but everyone came from somewhere.
She clung to me as my speed slowed. We were getting closer to her home.
I was going to meet her mother.
I supposed that if I was going to have a lot of big events happening in a short span of time, it might as well be now, and with Ember. I pulled up to Ember’s mother’s trailer and parked.
I looked back at her.
“You ready?”
Ember nodded. I could tell that she was nervous. About the baby? About her mother? About the situation in general? Perhaps all three, but I didn’t have the time to ask her if she would be all right before the trailer door opened.
Standing before us was a woman that had definitely been a looker in her heyday. Hard work, probably a lot of personal strife, had caused her to take on a weary, weatherworn look. But I could tell where Ember got her looks from—and that fiery red hair.
“Ember!” Her mother bounded down the rickety steps of her trailer. Ember had just enough time to get up and get off the bike before her mother embraced her. I smiled and watched as the woman clung to her daughter.
“I got your voicemail,” she said. “I’m so sorry that I wasn’t able to answer ,but I’m glad you made it safe.” Her mother threaded her fingers through the strands of hair on her daughter’s head.
“What’s this? You’ve dyed it?”
“It’s a wig, Mama,” Ember said. “Just so people don’t recognize me, you know.”
“Right.” Her mother nodded, seeming to be fine with this information. Then her eyes fell on me. Recognition dawned, and she leaned over to Ember.
“Is that the biker boy?” she dramatically whispered, and I knew she was teasing. Ember slapped her mother playfully on the shoulder.
“This is Wheeler, yeah, Mama. Wheeler, this … is my mother.”
I pushed the kickstand down and stood, extending my hand for her to shake. Instead of shaking my hand, Ember’s mother wrapped around me in a tight embrace.
“Thank you, for taking care of my daughter.”
“Oh … oh it’s nothing, really—”
The stare that she leveled up at me cut me off.
“It’s always something when someone else is willing to stick their neck out for your child. Don’t even diminish the power that comes from doing the right thing.”
I swallowed and nodded. I hadn’t expected the fervor, but she wasn’t trying to beat me with a hatchet for getting her daughter into trouble (more than one meaning at this point, now, but she didn’t know that) so I was going to take that in stride.
We stood outside for a little from there. Ember and her mother caught up, Ember telling her mother about the things that had happened, our adventures in San Diego. She left out the part about the baby, but I knew that that would eventually have to come up.
Just like eventually leaving would have to be a thing.
I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to leave Ember here while I rode off. It didn’t feel right, and probably less so now that I knew that she was pregnant. There was just too damn much going on. I would be glad when it—whatever it ended up being—was over. When the pleasantries were starting to run a little too long, I cut it unfortunately short.
I nudged Ember and looked at her mother.
“Ah, Mrs. Amor?”
She stopped mid-sentence.
“Hm? Yes?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” I said. “But I unfortunately have to go.”
“Oh … You can’t stay at all. Not even a night?”
How I fucking wished.
“Unfortunately not. I want to, I really do, but …”
“Duty calls?”
I laughed a little at the phrasing, but nodded.
“Yeah. Duty calls.”
“I’ll leave the two of you to it.”
I was surprised that her mother was fine with leaving us alone. Mothers were usually … overbearing, weren’t they? Far too much in their children’s business for their own good. But I didn’t complain. Ember’s mother retreated into the trailer, and I looked down to Ember. I took her face in my hands.
“I’ll be back,” I said. “I promise.” I kissed her lovingly, because dammit, I loved her.
I could tell her. Right here. Right now.
But I held my tongue.
I would tell her when I saw her again.
I lingered on her lips and kissed her as long as I could before I pulled away. I knew that if I kept it up, I would just want to stay there, and I couldn’t do that no matter how much I wanted to. It would only cause problems, and it sure as hell wouldn’t do me any good.
I pulled away. Those three words were on my tongue, but I sealed them with another kiss.
“I’ll be back,” I said. “Promise.”
I didn’t look at her when I got on my bike and rode off. I couldn’t. The only thing I could do was ride back into San Diego, put on a tough face, and prepare.
We were going to set things right in our club. We’d deal with the heat as it came.
And then?
I was coming back for Ember.