CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Diesel
The ride was long, but at least it gave me a chance to clear my head. I didn’t regret claiming Ellie. Not one damn bit. It warmed me inside to know that she was going to be there waiting for me to get back. It made me smile to have her to come home to.
I’d made the decision to tell her everything when I got back. I was going to tell her about my ugly past. I just hoped it wouldn’t push her away. I had an ache deep inside my chest at the thought of life without Ellie. Without them both. But in order to move forward, I knew I had to relive the past.
The eight of us rode through the afternoon and into the dark. Cal came on this run and took point. Axe behind him, followed by Loch. Seven and a prospect in the van next. Brand and me, with Crow bringing up the rear.
The closer we got to the city, the more anxious I felt. There was no telling how this meet was going to go. Savage was an evil son of a bitch, and shady as fuck. I had a feeling he wouldn’t attack outright. No, he would pull some shit like he did with Stone. Catch us alone or off guard.
Thinking of Stone sent doubts through my mind. It reminded me of Mel and the kids. She no longer had the love of her life by her side. The kids no longer had their father. The club was in the middle of some bad shit. There was no denying that all of this would end in a war. Sure, it hadn’t always been that way, and I hoped it wouldn’t always be that way. But the fact of the matter was that it was a very heavy and dangerous time for the club and anyone around it. What if something happened to me? Ellie would be left alone. My child would be left fatherless. That thought was like a slap to the face. I had never had to think of things like that before. True, I had never had someone I wanted to be by my side before. So, I never had to think of leaving anyone behind. There were my brothers, but somehow that was just different. In a way, we were all prepared deep down inside that at any moment one of us could be gone. That being said, it still didn’t hurt any less when it did happen.
The city sign came into view and I knew it wouldn’t be long before we were face-to-face with Savage. We pulled up to a small bar, deep in the sketchy part of town, that his club owned. He was waiting there for us already, beer in hand, sitting in a booth in the back. I took mental stock of everyone in the bar. Twelve others wearing the fucking Devil’s Kings cuts. There was a tall woman behind the bar who looked like she could easily pass for a club girl. As soon as she saw us, she headed for the back hallway. And that was it. The place was all ours. If something did go down, I wouldn’t have to worry about any innocents getting caught in the crossfire.
“Cal,” Savage said calmly. Too calmly.
Axe took his place by the door, his back to the wall so he could see everything. His arms folded across his chest, fingers tucked into the edge of his cut only inches from his side piece. Crow went to the bar, sitting comfortably, but I knew enough to see through his relaxed façade. Seven stood beside him.
Cal stalked over to the booth and took a seat across from Savage. Loch stood beside the booth, legs planted wide, arms hanging rigid at his sides. Brand and I took our places between the booth and the door. The prospect was on watch outside. The air was thick with tension. All of us coolly on edge, ready to draw at any second.
“I’d like you to meet my new Secretary, Vice,” Savage tilted his head to the side as a tan, built guy walked over.
He stopped and took his stance beside the booth. His brown eyes showed no emotion, and his posture was tight and straight. I wondered if he was ex-military. There was something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on and his expression gave nothing away.
“Seems my old one isn’t around to do his job anymore. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” Savage smirked.
Cal remained stoic as ever. None of us flinched or gave anything away. We’d played this game before, we were damn good at it.
“You got somethin’ to say, then fuckin’ say it. I ain’t got time to play this pussy game,” Cal barked, unamused.
Savage let out a laugh. Behind the relaxed manner of it was an evil, sadistic undertone. I wasn’t fooled for a damn second.
“It doesn’t matter. If he was stupid enough to let himself get caught then I don’t need him here,” Savage said leaning his arm on the table. “I got no room for weak men. I ought to thank whoever for taking him out. Did my dirty work for me.” This guy was fucking crazy.
“Why are we here?” Cal tried to steer the conversation in the right direction.
The meeting went on with me half-listening. I was too busy trying to figure out this new guy and making sure no one was making a move. It seemed that Savage had let the Switchblade thing go and moved on to business. For now, anyway. He wanted us to do two more runs in the next three weeks. We weren’t thrilled about it, but it was better not to tip the pot at this point. At least he didn’t mention anything further on the drugs.
Thirty minutes later we were headed to our motel. We would pick up the load in the morning and head out after that. I was counting down the seconds until I could see Ellie again.
The rest of the night was uneventful. We sent the prospect out to get food. Brand was rooming with me and we ate in silence, the crappy TV filling in the void. At some point, he got up and went to take a shower and I sent Ellie a good night text. I was still wound too tight to call her, but I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her. It was late and at the lack of response from her, I guessed she was asleep. I sat there way too long staring at my phone waiting.
“You good?” Brand asked as he came out of the bathroom.
I snapped my head up. Guessed I was lost deep in my head. I couldn’t believe I didn’t even hear him come out.
“Yeah,” I answered with a heavy breath. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get anything back from Ellie. Or maybe I was just going crazy. I was having all these feelings I wasn’t used to. I hadn’t had anything like this in a long time. And this time, I wished more than anything that they would stay.
“You serious about this Ellie thing?” He asked, flopping down on his bed.
I studied him for a beat. Ever since the Reagan thing, he wasn’t as happy-go-lucky as he used to be. Sure, he spent a lot of time trying to hide it, but I could see it was hard for him being back and being around Reagan and Loch.
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes as my head fell back against the headboard. “No doubt she’s my forever.”
“How—” he paused for a long moment. “How do you know she’s it? Is it because she’s having your baby? And how come it took you so long to claim her? You practically ignored her the whole time she’s been there. How do you know that she’s ‘the one’?”
“To be honest, brother,” I started. I wasn’t one for talking, let alone having a fucking heart-to-heart. But Brand was a good guy, and my brother, if I could somehow bestow some damn wisdom on him and help him out, then I was going to. It didn’t slip by me that I’d left Ellie watching a damn chick flick and now I was fucking living one. “I think I knew it the moment I saw her. In some ways, I don’t think our meeting was an accident. Call it fuckin’ fate or what-the-fuck-ever, but the second I looked into her green eyes, I was stunned. The world just fell away and nothing mattered but her. The baby, sure that’s what brought her back to me. But… I think it’s just the way it’s supposed to be. I think if she hadn’t gotten pregnant and her life went on as it was planned, I would have spent a lifetime chasing after a woman I couldn’t let go of.”
The room grew silent and I knew he was taking in every word I’d said. Reagan wasn’t his. He knew it, but he still couldn’t help his feelings. It would just take time to heal those wounds enough for him to find the one that would be by his side for eternity.
“I think I just miss her,” he said talking about Reagan. “She was kinda my best friend. She went through so much and I saw it all. I saw her fall apart and I saw her crawl until she could stand on her own again. Reagan is just… I’ve never met anyone like her. I miss her friendship, and I hate that things are strained now. And I would never do anything to make Loch feel uncomfortable, so I stay away.”
I cracked my eye open to look at him, his head was down and he was picking at a frayed spot on his jeans. I felt bad for him, but it was his mess that he had to figure out.
“You should talk to him,” I said as I rolled over to go to sleep.
“Yeah,” he replied in a tone that said he wasn’t going to. And I got it. He didn’t want to make things any more awkward than they already were.
The pick-up and drop off went smoothly. It was no surprise that Savage wasn’t anywhere to be seen. It seemed that Vice had taken the lead on this one and he was there watching our every move as we loaded up the van.
We pulled into the South Carolina chapter to pass off the load. Everyone there was agitated from being on lockdown as well. I was sure none of the clubs were happy at this point. I wondered when it would end. Sure it was a lot safer being behind our fences and concrete buildings, but it was weighing on our sanity.
We stayed the night there, finding random spots on empty couches and even the floor to sleep. The next morning Cal held a meeting with the chapter’s prez and VP. I imagined it was mostly to touch base and catch up. I had no doubt that Cal wanted to get their thoughts on things in private. I was sure when we got back home he would call church and put everything on the table.
Brand seemed at home there. The way he talked and joke with everyone was proof of that. I could tell that he had formed a bond with Ky and Brick in the few months that he had stayed there. Maybe it was good that he came along on this run. The heavy weight that had been pressing down on him seemed to have lifted while we were there. I wondered why he made the choice to come back home, but then again, he still had things he had to sort through. And he seemed like a smart enough kid to get that you can’t just run away from your problems.
Not soon enough, we were headed back to the compound with an empty van. The cool air whipped around me and I couldn’t wait to get back and wrap myself around Ellie. I had called her a few times the three days I’d been gone, but I never had longer than five minutes to talk. Even though it was short, it was still nice to hear her voice. Every time she answered her tone was light and full of hope. That was the way she should always be. I was going to make it my life’s mission to make and keep her happy.
As we pulled up to the gate I knew something was wrong. The gate was open at an angle that suggested that something had busted through it. I pulled my bike over and stopped with a jerk. I flew off my bike, searching for whoever was supposed to be on watch. Lake was laying in the dirt a few feet from the gate. His body was face down and contorted in an uncomfortable position. I checked the surroundings, noticing several SUVs that were not the clubs, then I made my way over to him. I knew enough that I shouldn’t move him. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw he was breathing. Checking his pulse, I found it strong. I didn’t see any blood and hoped that was a good sign. But if he had been hit with something big enough to fuck up the gate, there could be internal injuries.
I had to get inside. I had to get to Ellie and my baby. Fuck! This is not how this is supposed to go. They had to be okay. I couldn’t go through it again. I was thrown into the past before I could even stop it.
“There’s been an accident, Caleb,” the man’s voice says over the phone. I recognize the name he gave, but can’t place his face at the moment. Panic starts to set in. Is it my parents? They are away for their anniversary. Florida, I think, this year. “Caleb, it’s Rachel. She’s being taken to St. John’s hospital. Her car ran off the road at Reeve’s curve.”
My ears start to pound as the world goes dim. He keeps talking, but I don’t hear any of it. I manage to mumble ‘thanks’ and hang up quickly. She is going to be fine. They both are. I keep telling myself that over and over again as I hop in my car and get to the hospital as fast as possible. My world is cracking and the worst part is, I have no control over it.
I shook myself out of my thoughts as I ran faster to the front door. The compound was designed without windows. It was for safety. But now I couldn’t see in and I was at a disadvantage. Loch gripped my shoulder, letting me know he was behind me. I pulled my side piece out, ready for anything. Loch, Crow, Cal, and Brand were all there with me ready to go, too. I stopped at the door and listened. After not hearing anything, I cracked the door open. The place was dead quiet and fear rolled through me. I slipped in and looked around. The bar and lounge were empty.
I moved in further, hugging the wall. I heard laughing in the kitchen and it made my blood run cold. It was Tammy’s laugh. A crazy cackle that made it feel like I was in a damn horror movie.
“I know you’re there, love,” She yelled. I was made. We all were. No sneaking around. I stood tall, gun cocked and ready to go, as I rounded the corner to the kitchen. Tammy held Reagan with a gun pressed into her head. They were surrounded by a bunch of wannabe thugs holding guns and looking smug. “All of your guns on the table, now,” Tammy barked.
Before I could move, I was being pushed from behind. I cocked my head to the side to see more damn thugs. I recognized their tattoos. A lowlife gang on the outskirts of the city that were small-time drug dealers. They were a joke and were barely on our radar.
Slowly moving forward, I set my gun on the table that held what looked like the rest of my brothers’ weapons. That was when I saw the rest of the club members. They were all duct taped and seated around the edge of the room, two thugs aiming guns at them randomly.
I looked around, but couldn’t find Ellie. Where the hell was she?
“All of them, I know you have more than one on you,” Tammy said pushing the gun harder into Reagan’s temple.
Loch roared and started to lunge, only to be stopped by a gun in his face. This was not good. And I wondered how the fuck I was going to get us out of it.