Chapter Ten

 

Audrey

 

“You do know how to work a dishwasher, don’t you?” I ask Mindy, my wonderful roommate, when she comes into the kitchen and I’m cleaning her crusty macaroni pot from last night.

“I was gonna wash my shit if you had given me a chance,” she grumbles.

“Yeah, right,” I mutter. “And could you try not to slam doors when you come in after midnight?”

“You’re such a nag,” she huffs. “A slag nag.”

Rolling my eyes at her insults, I finish cleaning the dishes and then grab my purse, keys, and phone to head out to the store. I need a few groceries for the weekend and Stella needs more cat food. I swear she eats as much as a lion.

Although, she hasn’t been eating as much the last few weeks. I think she misses Maddox too, even though he was only in our lives for a short time before he disappeared.

And while I’m not completely sure, I think he was pissed the day he left. He didn’t even ask for my phone number. I had created this grand fantasy in my head, where he would confront my brother Warren and profess his feelings for me, then demand to know how to contact me. When that didn’t happen, I started imagining every time I heard footsteps in the hall, that it was Maddox, back with a cake and a bottle of wine. It never was, just our neighbors returning and the police coming through to get statements about the looters. I don’t really know why I’m surprised. Have any of the other guys I’ve slept with wanted to see me again? No. At least, not unless it was to fuck.

Speaking of which, my shitty day gets even better when I’m picking out fruit in the produce section and a man steps up next to me.

“Hello, stranger.”

Ugh, Professor Burrows. While he’s nice to look at—tall and lean but still muscular, with shaggy dark hair and facial hair to make him look more distinguished—he was a selfish lover. While I was hoping for a one-and-done to keep from failing his class, he would always hold the power to change my grade back if I failed to fuck him whenever he wanted for the rest of the semester. He always enjoyed himself, but it wasn’t much fun for me. Not like when I was with Maddox…

“Hi,” I reply, while adding a few more peaches to my plastic bag.

“I see you endured the summer.”

“I did,” I agree.

“Looking forward to starting your senior year?”

“I am,” I reply, eager to get my Marine Biology degree to escape the all-girl campus and work in one of the local aquariums.

He takes a step closer to me so that the front of his body is pressed against my side and one particular part of him is hard against my hip. “I’ve heard you’re taking Professor Talbot’s Organic Chemistry class. That’s a tough one, and you and I both know that science isn’t your strong suit.”

“I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I say, stepping away from him.

“Talbot’s a good friend. A real good friend,” he says again for emphasis. “In fact, we tell each other everything, you know, share notes on students.”

“Good for you,” I reply.

“He can’t wait to meet you.”

“Yeah, same here,” I mutter. “Anyway, I have to get going, but it was good seeing you,” I lie before I grab my buggy and hurry away to the checkout, even though I only have two of the ten things I needed on my grocery list. I’ll just go to another store to get the rest, one where I hopefully won’t run into any creepy professors who have seen me naked.

But once I’m in my car, I find myself driving back to my apartment. And once I’m there and hear Mindy’s radio blaring with her god-awful hick music, I start packing my suitcase without a second thought.

I need a break from this place. The city, the apartment, and all the people here before classes start.

I can head home with the excuse that I want to spend some time with my nephew before school starts on Monday, and maybe even run into Maddox. But I really do want to spend time with Ren. I was worried sick about him and I’m so glad that Warren got him back.

My brother is always telling me to come home more often, and while he isn’t fond of cats, once he sees Stella’s cute fluffy face, I’m sure he’ll love her and not mind her visiting too.

 

…

 

I slip my key into the lock on my brother’s garage door and ease inside, closing it softly behind me before I set Stella down on the cement with my suitcase.

Warren’s truck is here, so I know he’s inside the house somewhere.

What I’m hoping is that I’ll have a few minutes to look around before he realizes I’m here.

Going over to the black tarp draped over his bike, I quietly peel the plastic off until I can see every inch of the big, shiny black Harley. While I knew he had a bike because I had heard it on the street, and seen the tarp, I didn’t know it was this damn nice. I mean, my brother deserves to be able to buy nice things for himself, it’s just that I’ve felt guilty for the ten years I’ve had to depend on him. Especially the last three years of college when he’s had to waste a ton of money on my apartment and tuition. If he can still afford a bike like this, then I’m wondering if he’s earning more money at the auto shop than I thought.

Going around to the briefcase-looking satchel on the side of the bike, I pop it open and then reach inside to pull out a leather cut so similar to Maddox’s, I even hold it up to my nose to get a whiff of his scent. Why didn’t I ever notice this smell on my brother?

Unfolding the leather, I first find the “Sergeant-at-Arms” patch on the front before turning it around to examine the enormous white patches on the back. The bearded skull king is not anything I would expect my brother to wear.

“Come on, Stella. Let’s go have a talk with Uncle Warren.”

Still holding the leather cut, I step through the door that comes out in the kitchen and find the living room empty.

“Warren!” I start down the hallway. “Oh, brother where art thou?” I call out before I come to a stop in his bedroom doorway…and find him scurrying around the room with so much skin showing, I immediately turn my back. “Why are you naked at four o’clock in the afternoon?” I shout at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?” he grumbles.

“It was going to be a surprise!”

“Sorry,” he says.

At first, I’m assuming he’s talking to me, until I hear a woman say, “It’s okay. I’ve been wanting to meet Audrey, just with more clothes on.”

“Nova?” I ask aloud without turning around when I recognize the social worker’s voice. “You’re sleeping with Nova?”

“Ah, yeah. We’re seeing each other,” War says from behind me. “We’ve been seeing each other, for a few weeks now, actually.”

“Wow,” I mutter in surprise since my brother hasn’t talked to a woman, much less had one over, since the Marcie debacle.

“Could you give us a little privacy?” War asks when I refuse to budge from my spot in the doorway.

“I didn’t see anything,” I assure him. “And this can’t wait.” I hold up the leather cut by one finger and ask, “What is this?” 

“Ah, where did you get that from?” my brother asks before he snatches it away from me. “First, you bust in on me without calling and now you’ve been going through my shit? Have you lost your damn mind?”

“Have you been lying to me?” I ask when I turn around to face him, glad to see he’s dressed in jeans and a tee and that Nova is too. She’s beautiful and tall and skinny, so I want to hate her, but I can’t if she makes my brother happy.

“Did Maddox say something to you a few weeks ago?” Warren asks, making my eyes snap back to his narrowed golden ones.

“No, you don’t get to be angry at someone else for telling me what you should have told me!” I declare. “Jesus, he showed up wearing a damned vest just like this! You’re in a biker gang and you send a member to my house, not thinking that I might notice something odd?”

“It’s a motorcycle club,” he says before putting his arms through the cut. “And it’s none of your business. Maddox should’ve kept his mouth shut! Or at least changed his clothes!”

“He was only trying to convince me that he knew you. What was I supposed to do when a random guy shows up at my door to pick me up? And it turns out, he knew you better than I did!”

“War…” Nova starts when she comes up beside my brother. “She’s a grown woman. Don’t you think she deserves to know?”

“Fine,” Warren agrees. “Let’s go talk in the living room.”

“Okay,” I say, glad that he’s willing to talk instead of blowing me off. I guess I have Nova to thank for that.

“And this is your home. I’m not saying you have to call when you’re coming, but a heads-up would’ve been…what the fuck is that!” Warren yells when he stumbles into the hallway wall because Stella was rubbing on his leg.

“I got a kitten,” I explain, reaching down to grab her and pick her up in my arms. “Isn’t she cute? Her name is Stella.”

“What are you doing with a cat? You can’t have pets in your apartment!” Warren grumbles.

“Ah, well, I talked to Joe and he said he’s okay with Stella.” I leave off the bit about what I had to do to convince him. Besides, I liked it. We would probably still be going at it if he wasn’t allergic to cats. And if I hadn’t met Maddox…

“Really?” Warren asks in disbelief.

“Really. Call him and ask him if you don’t believe me,” I tell him. “I’m actually telling the truth, unlike you.” It’s a low blow but he deserves it. “Where’s Ren? Still at daycare while you get naked at four in the afternoon?”

“He loves his teachers and missed the kids,” Warren huffs. “He asked to go back until kindergarten starts, so that’s where he is for another half hour.”

“I’m not judging,” I tell him when I flop down on the sofa. “I just want answers. What’s with the MC?”

“Fine,” Warren mutters. “I moved here to join the Savage Kings. That’s where I’ve been working for the past six years.”

“You work in their garage?” I ask, and he trades a look with Nova who gives a supportive nod.

“Not exactly,” he replies. “I help oversee their businesses and watch out for the president. In exchange for being a member, I get a portion of the business profits.”

“The MC owns businesses?” I ask.

“Yes, several that are very lucrative.”

“And that’s how you afford…everything?”

“Yes.”

“Is it dangerous?” I inquire and again he trades a look with Nova who gives another nod of encouragement.

“Sometimes,” Warren finally answers through clenched teeth. “That’s why I have a million-dollar life insurance policy, in case something happens to me.”

“Happens to you?” I repeat with my jaw gaping. “Like what?”

“Sometimes the MC makes enemies…”

Enemies?

“Like you could get shot?” I ask, and then a memory from the year before hits me. “The pregnant woman?”

Warren nods his head solemnly. “That was the president’s wife.”

“And you…you look out for the president?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus, Warren!” I exclaim. “Why would you want to be a part of something that could get you killed?” 

“Because it’s more than that,” he answers. “I know it sounds bad and has the potential to be dangerous, but it’s also a brotherhood. The guys there are like my second family. I have their backs and they have mine, no matter what.” While he’s talking, he starts absently rubbing at his forearm, and after a moment, I notice the long, jagged scar his fingers are tracing.

“That wasn’t a work injury, was it?” I accuse, pointing at the mark on his arm. I remember seeing him while it was still red and inflamed, and him waving off my questions, claiming it was no big deal.

“It was sort of a work injury,” he hedges as he jerks his hand away from the scar.

“Warren!” Both Nova and I draw his name out in a warning tone.

“All right, all right. A guy was going to stab Torin, and I blocked the knife. Well, sort of blocked it, by getting stabbed in the arm. It really wasn’t a big deal, though,” he adds under his breath.

I shake my head as I let that information sink in. “And Maddox is about to become a member.”

“He is.” Then he asks, “Why?”

“Just wondering.”

“He was good to you that week, right?”

“Yes!” I exclaim, because he’s asked me half a dozen times already. “He was a perfect gentleman.” He always made sure I came first.

“Listen, Audrey, I didn’t tell you about the MC because I didn’t want you to think…less of me.”

“Less of you? Why would I think less of you?” I ask in confusion.

“Well, if I’m being honest with you and myself, not everything the club does is one hundred percent legal. And right now…well, it’s probably best that I’m telling you all of this now, because the federal government has us under their thumb.”

“Oh shit,” I mutter in concern. “Like, you could get arrested?”

He looks to Nova sadly before he says, “It’s a possibility. And if anything happens to me, I would hate to put the burden on you, but you’re Ren’s godmother.”

Understanding exactly what he means, I tell him, “Of course I would take care of Ren!”

“I know you would. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Is this, the MC, the reason Ren got taken away?” I ask.

“Yes.”

Looking to Nova, who I know was his social worker because she called and questioned me, I start to open my mouth and say something not nice, when Warren speaks up. “It wasn’t her fault! Nova was just doing her job and she helped me get Ren back.”

“If you say so,” I grumble, crossing my arms over my chest.

“That’s all behind us now,” Warren says when he takes Nova’s hand in his. “We just have to wait and see what happens with the feds and have plans in place for the worst-case scenario.”

“I don’t like that you kept all of this from me,” I tell him.

“I was just trying to keep you and Ren safe while doing the best I could to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads,” he says. “If I thought there was a better way, I wouldn’t have joined the MC. Now, though, I wouldn’t leave them if I could. They’re my brothers and I’m gonna stick by them through thick and thin.”

“Are you sure it’s the best place for a guy like Maddox?” I ask in concern.

“No,” Warren replies. “And that’s why we’ve waited so long before voting him in, hoping he would change his mind before he commits to this lifestyle. But it’s what he wants, so it looks like it’s going to finally happen.”

Being in town, knowing I’m so close to Maddox, makes me want to see him again, and maybe try to talk him out of joining the Savage Kings. If only I knew where to find him.

“Wait,” I say when a thought hits me. “Do the Savage Kings own the Savage Asylum bar?”

“Yeah, why?” War asks.

“No reason,” I tell him before I get to my feet. “Would you mind watching over Stella for a little while? I want to catch up with some friends from high school who are home for the summer break.”

“Sure,” Warren agrees. “Nova and I are having a movie night with Ren. You can join us when you get back.”

“Sounds good,” I tell him.