Chapter Eight
Michael left the clubhouse alive, and that was more than he thought would ever be possible. He was just about to leave the main door, but stopped when he saw Kelsey standing there. She was smiling down at her son, who was walking beside her, and in her arms was another boy.
He stopped and looked at her. It had been a few years since he had last seen her. She still worked as a dental nurse but only part-time now because she had started a family.
When she looked up, the smile on her face slowly ebbed away.
“Hello, Kelsey,” he said.
“Michael? What are you doing here?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not here to cause trouble. I just came to do some business.”
“With The Skulls?”
“Yes, with them.” He reached out and stroked the kid’s cheek. “You’re happy.”
“Yes, I am. Wait, does Killer know you’re here?”
“He does.” He glanced back at the room. “Though he’s not too happy about this, and I can see you’re nervous.”
“I’m not nervous. It has just been a long time since I saw you, and a lot has changed.”
“You’re a married woman with a family,” he said.
“I am, yes. Very happy.”
He smiled, and he was so pleased to see that she’d found that happiness. “I’ve got to get going, Kelsey.” Without another glance at her, he climbed into his car, and headed toward the hotel room. Keeping in touch with The Skulls had been a hard decision for him to make. They had known of the mistakes he’d made, but with The Skulls coming away from their life of running drugs and guns, he’d wanted to reconnect. He believed they could be a lot of help, and after the last woman he failed to help, he’d been looking at alternative ways to help people live through hardships.
Pulling out his cell phone, he stared at the picture of a woman that he’d not been able to save. This was why he worked hard to catch the bastards that prey on the weak. He would make sure that nothing happened to innocent people again.
****
Later that day, Sally waited near the men’s changing room. When she saw Luke appearing, she gave him a wave and pointed for them to talk in a private spot.
“Tell me it worked.”
“It worked, and it did really well. I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Anything. What about, erm, a copy?” he said. “Do Whizz or Lash know that I’m speaking the truth?”
She nodded. “Yes, they totally do. Honestly, it’s fine. They know that you’re innocent, and they’ve even got sound where one of the women said that they would continue to make your life hell if you didn’t comply and all that. What I wanted to ask is if I could take a copy to show the son of one of the women.” She held her hands together, waiting for his response.
“Why would you want to do that?” Luke asked.
“Let’s just say the son is having a hard time, and they keep pressuring him. This could help him. You’d be helping someone else. I wanted to ask you because obviously, you’re in the footage, and I didn’t want you to think I was using you or anything.”
“That’s fine. I’m all for it. Do you need a ride or anything?”
She shook her head. “No, no, I’m good. Thank you so much for this, and I’m glad we were able to resolve your little problem.” Sally left him alone and pulled her cell phone out, texting Drew. There was already a copy of the footage in her bag, and even though she was nervous about giving him this, she had to do it. They were friends, or at least she still wanted to be his friend, which made her so selfish. This could be the last thing she did for him.
Once she finished with her shift, she made her way outside, and saw Drew with the car, waiting for her. She had already sent a text to Steven to say she’d be late and for him to not worry.
“Hey, stranger,” he said.
“Hey.” Now she was nervous, and even though she wanted to give him a hug, she didn’t. “Can we go somewhere for coffee?”
“Sure, no problem. I’m really pleased you texted me. I was starting to worry there for a little bit.”
“There’s something I want to tell you, and then you can decide what you want to do with it.” She sat behind the wheel and watched as he started up the engine. He wore his leather cut. He looked so happy. “Do you like being with The Skulls?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s awesome.”
“What are you going to do when college starts again?”
“I’ve been talking with Lash about that, and he’s all for me going to college. I’ll stay there through the semester, and when it’s over, I’ll come back. He warned me my patch will take longer to earn, but it’s not impossible.”
She nodded, and took a deep breath.
“I don’t want you to hate me, Sally.”
“I don’t hate you, Drew. I couldn’t hate you.”
Silence fell between them, and for the first time ever it was uncomfortable. She tucked some of her hair behind her ears, and breathed a sigh of relief when he parked the car. Climbing out, they entered the coffee shop together, and Drew urged her to take a seat while he ordered for the two of them. He knew what she liked, so that wasn’t a problem.
Taking a seat, she checked her phone to see a message from Steven.
Steven: What’s up? Do you need a ride?
Sally: Nah, I just need to handle something. It’s fine.
Nothing came through for several seconds, and then when it did, she saw his question.
Steven: You’re with Drew, aren’t you?
She didn’t need to justify her actions, so she didn’t text him back. Drew came back to the table, and placed a coffee in front of her. “Thank you.”
“No, it’s the least I can do. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for some time.”
“Look, Drew, this isn’t about you becoming more, or anything like that. I don’t … I don’t see you that way. I never have. What I wanted to give you is this.” She held up a copy of the footage. It was on a USB key. “This is what you can use to get your mother off your back, and in doing so, your father as well.”
Drew frowned, and looked at the key. “Why will that help?”
“It has some interesting information on it, and believe me, I don’t think your mother wants it getting out.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Do you want me to tell you what’s on it?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s kind of scary. I’m worried it’s a horror movie or something.”
“I guess it depends on your perspective of what you consider a horror movie is.”
Drew stared at her. “Go on then, tell me.”
“It’s your mother propositioning and threatening one of the personal trainers at the gym. She goes into a lot of detail, and I doubt she’d want that known, especially how vicious she can be.”
His eyes had gone wide. “You’re shitting me?”
“No, I’m not. I thought you could use it.” She drank her coffee.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I hope it does what you want it to do.” Now she felt nothing but sadness. There was this divide between them, and she hated that more than anything else. She took a deep breath. “I can’t believe this is real. The leather jacket and stuff.”
He glanced down at his jacket. “I miss you,” he said.
She shook her head. “Don’t.”
“Look, can’t we go back?”
“There’s no way for us to go back.” She looked at him, and the pain in her head began to get a little thicker. She released a puff of air, and then looked at him. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“And I don’t want to lose your friendship, Sally.”
She licked her lips. “I love Steven. I’ve always loved him, and nothing is going to change that.” She saw the pain in his eyes, and it made tears come to her own. “See, I can’t … I can’t do this to you, Drew. I would never dream of doing this to you.” She wiped away her tears. “I care about you. I do, and I’m not going to make you be around me because you need to find someone else.”
“You’re my best friend.”
“And you’re mine.” This was so hard for her. She reached out and touched his hand. “I’ve got to go.” With that, she stood, and made her way out of the coffee shop. She quickly flagged down a cab and made her way toward Steven’s home.
Once she was there, she went up to his apartment, and as she was placing the key in the lock, Steven opened the door.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
When he opened his arms, she walked right into them, holding him close. “I told him that there would never be anyone but you, Steven.”
“And now you’re crying.”
“I just hurt my best friend. I think I should be allowed to cry even just for a little bit.”
Steven pulled her into the apartment. He closed the door behind her, and then they were sat on the sofa. She didn’t let him go, snuggling up against him.
“I expected you to come and cause trouble.”
“I’m not a total ogre. I know you needed time.”
“I know. I didn’t want this to happen, Steven. I didn’t want to hurt him, and now that I have, I … how do I come back from this?” She looked up at him.
He wiped the tears away, and smiled at her. “You did the right thing.”
“You’re only saying that because you don’t like Drew.”
“No. I’m saying that because it’s the truth. You didn’t string him along, nor did you make him think there was a chance for the two of you. No one is ever going to like what you said. No one. You told him that he’s not the one, and he wanted to be. If it was the other way around, I know I’d be pretty fucking devastated.”
She pressed her palms to her eyes, and began crying again. Steven pulled her close to him, kissing the top of her head.
“You can cry it out.”
“I hate this feeling.”
“Do you love him?” Steven asked.
“Only as a friend. I care about him.”
“Do you love me?”
She looked up. He’d asked the question slowly. She licked her lips, and nodded. “Yes. I love you.”
He smiled. “I love you, too.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. It was soft, gentle, and oh, so sweet.
“You confuse me,” she said.
“It makes a change for a man to be confusing his woman.”
“Am I your woman?” she asked.
“You know it. I wouldn’t be here with just anyone.”
She smiled. “Do you think I’m a bad person?”
“No. You’ve not got a bad bone in your body.” He stroked her arm, and they sat back for the longest time.
Only when her stomach began to growl, did she realize that it was getting late.
“Time to order,” he said.
He moved forward, and picked up three menus. “Chinese, Italian, or Mexican?”
“I want something hot and spicy today.”
“That’s my girl. You and I think alike.”
She went to pull away, but Steven caught her arm, and she turned toward him. “You can talk to me about anything, Sally. I mean that.”
“I know.”
“It won’t be like this forever.”
“The secrecy?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’ll tell Whizz, and then everything will be better.”
She hoped so. The last thing she wanted to be was a secret. All of her life that was exactly what she’d been. Someone’s secret. Just once, she wanted someone to have her, and be proud to be with her. The biggest problem right now was she didn’t know if Whizz could accept her and Steven’s relationship. For a little bit longer, she just wanted to enjoy what they had without anyone judging them.
****
Three weeks later
Lash didn’t want them to decide about it straight away. After Michael gave them the option of the deal, Lash requested more time, and The Skulls had several weeks to think it over. During that time, Steven went to so many churches as they all fleshed out exactly what it would mean to be working with Michael again.
In the beginning Killer couldn’t stand the idea of working with Kelsey’s ex, and was a straightforward no. Over the past few weeks they had been debating it, and today was decision day.
Steven glanced back at the empty bed, and wished that Sally had joined him. He’d wanted her in his arms today, but Whizz had asked her to be home, and there wasn’t much he could do about that.
Leaving his apartment, he made his way toward the clubhouse. Several of the cars and bikes were already in the parking lot. He climbed off his bike and sat on the wall, staring at the clubhouse. It had been a tough few days, but now was the final vote.
Biting his lip, his thoughts drifted to Sally.
They’d had three blissful weeks of her sneaking away to be with him at night. He loved having her in his arms, and watching her fall asleep. Of course, he just loved being around her, and they talked about everything and nothing. She was … the most special person he’d ever had the pleasure to know, and he wanted her in his life for the rest of their time together.
Fighter came out of the club, and walked toward him. Neither of them said a word as Fighter took a seat beside him.
“How ya been?” Fighter asked.
“Good. You?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I’ve got some advice to ask you, and I don’t want you to take it personal or shit, but I need a straight answer.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“So, say you were supposed to pick up someone’s daughter, and when you got there, you find her taking a cab. You follow that cab to make sure she’s okay only to discover her meeting up with a club brother, and they share a passionate-as-fuck kiss before heading inside a building. Now, that wouldn’t usually bother me, only I know for a fact they’re sneaking around behind another brother’s back. Now tell me, brother, what would you do?”
Steven looked at Fighter, seeing the glare in his eyes. “You got a problem with me being with Sally?”
Fighter burst out laughing. “I’ve got no problem with you being with Sally. That woman has had it bad for you for a long time, and I’m happy to see her getting what she wants, and looking so damn happy about it. That’s not the problem. You’re sneaking around behind Whizz’s back. To me, that doesn’t bode well at all.”
“We’re not ready to say anything.”
“You’re using her like a club whor—”
Steven stood up and glared at him. “Don’t you fucking finish that. I’m not using her. Nothing has happened between us.”
“You’re telling me that all you’ve been doing is kissing her. Not what I saw, bro.”
“First of all, it’s none of your damn business, and second, I would never disrespect my woman. I love Sally. You hear me, I fucking love her. I love her company.”
Fighter glared at him. “We’re about to vote today on the future of the club. You’ve got to come clean to Whizz soon, or you’re going to be up fucking shit creek.”
With that, Fighter turned on his heel and walked away.
Fuck! Steven didn’t want to deal with this shit today because this was an important fucking decision. He’d agreed with Sally to keep this secret. All he wanted to do was drive to that fucker’s address, kill him, bury him six feet under, and be done with it.
He didn’t see a reason to linger outside anymore, so he headed into the main clubhouse. Several brothers were already sitting at the table, and Steven took his place. He rubbed at his eyes, feeling particularly tired. One day soon he’d tell Whizz, but today wasn’t that day. He’d asked Sally what she wanted to do, and she’d told him that she wasn’t ready.
Lash was already at the head of the table, and Steven saw the brother was deep in thought. This was a big fucking decision.
Gash entered, and the brother looked as tired as he felt. Over the next thirty minutes the brothers kept coming in. No one spoke a damn word.
What wasn’t normal was Whizz coming in last. “Sorry about that. Lacey and I have an appointment with an adoption agency.”
“How did it go?” Killer asked.
“We’ve been put forward for a little boy.” Whizz pulled out a picture, and placed it in the center of the table. “He’s been passed around three homes so far. No one has wanted him. Kid has asthma, which they’ve said can be expensive, and he suffers with panic attacks and night terrors. Lacey says he’s perfect.”
“Congratulations, brother,” Lash said. “I’m sure I’ll be babysitting along with the rest of the brothers.”
“I’d give Lacey whatever she wanted, you know. This is … one thing that I can’t give her. I can’t take away what those bastards did.”
They all knew what had happened to Lacey as a young girl. It had taken her ability to have children.
“I’m sorry, brother.”
Whizz held his hand up. “It’s fine.”
They all saw it wasn’t fine. Whizz was one of the hardest of all men, and he rarely showed any emotion about anything. This was a big deal for him, and it was where Whizz always felt like a failure.
“You’re a good dad,” Steven said. “You’re giving homes to kids who are not wanted. They don’t deserve to be thrown away like trash. Daisy, Sally, and from the look of this kid, that’s what’s happening. They’re not perfect, and you know what? They don’t need to be.”
Whizz nodded. “Thank you. I guess this is why I feel today is really important.”
“It is,” Lash said, looking at all of the brothers. “I know this is never where the club was supposed to go. Tiny made this club better. He wanted to protect his loved ones, the town, and to make sure bad shit doesn’t come here. For a long time, we’ve accomplished that, and we kept the law as far away as we could.”
“We can’t help it that the law likes to keep our faces on file. I think they do it to have them something to wank over,” Adam said.
Steven burst out laughing. “You think they’re getting their kicks looking at us.”
Adam placed a hand in front of his own face. “Who would turn this beauty down? I’m the shit!”
This had the whole club erupting in laughter.
“You’re right, we’re too damn pretty for them,” Killer said, laughing as well.
“I know that you’ve got problems with Michael, and they’re justified,” Lash said, looking at Killer.
“It doesn’t matter what I feel between me and Michael. There’s always going to be bad blood there, but I can handle this,” Killer said.
Lash nodded, sitting back. “I know we’ve all wanted to rush in and just vote this shit, and be done with it. I know all you’ve wanted to do is take that fucking sheriff down, but I spoke to Michael. This isn’t about us running in all guns blazing, and then coming out. I got him to put all of his cards on the table, and he says before they can go any further with the cop, he needs Sally to come clean about that witness statement. He needs cold, hard facts.”
Whizz instantly recoiled. “No, we cannot bring her into this.”
“We’re going to have to, brother,” Lash said.
“She didn’t want me digging into her past, Lash.”
“This is bigger than her, and I love her as well. She’s part of the club, and I will protect her with my life,” Lash said. “Michael has a plan, and it all depends on what we vote today.”
“This is a change of everything we’ve ever known,” Tiny said. “Ned says we’re being a bunch of pussies, and I told him to suck his own dick. I consider that bonding.”
A lot of brothers burst out laughing.
“Okay, let’s kick off and get this vote underway. The offer that Michael put on the table, wiping our slate clean, helping out with innocents, and only innocents, yea or nay.”
Around the table the club voted, and not a single person voted nay.
They were going to help, but for better or for worse, would remain to be seen.