by K E Osborn
“Mylee, hey girl! You coming to play with me?”
I let out a half-snort, half-laugh sort of thing. “Not sure about play, but I’ll sit with you and chat? How about that?”
She chuckles, slapping the bar signaling to Cindi to pour us some drinks. “Whatcha drinking?”
“I’m not a drinker these days, so I might have a soda or juice or anything really?”
Neala snorts again with a shrug. “Suit yourself, I’ll have a double,” she calls as Cindi rolls her eyes pouring Neala a double whiskey. All thoughts of Trax seem to vanish as I look her over noticing she might have actually been here drinking for a while, but it’s practically the middle of the day. Something about her is off. Maybe she needs me more than I need her right now.
So I take a breath turning to look at her. “Lala, what’s happening with you?”
She screws up her face as she lets out a loud huff, throwing her arm onto the bar followed by her forehead dramatically dropping onto her arm. I look around the clubroom wondering what I should do, but no one else is really paying attention, so I simply rub her back as Cindi hands me a glass of orange juice. I raise my chin in thanks as Cindi walks off leaving me with Lala.
“It’s such a mess,” her muffled voice murmurs from under her fanned-out hair surrounding her face. I try to hold back my laugh as I look at her. She really does look a right mess. She’s certainly taking my mind off my own personal dramas.
“Oh, Lala, talk to me. What’s going on?”
She bursts up, sitting up so dramatically she sways on the seat as she steadies herself. Not from being drunk just from the quickness of the movement. “So, listen… he said he doesn’t want to play games anymore.”
“Well, games are never good—”
“But I haven’t been playing games with him, Mylee. He knows where I stand, but he’s the one making all these damned rules all the time. The club comes first. Your brothers will kill me if something happened with us. Blah fucking blah, I’m a pussy, chicken shit, little man… asshole,” she murmurs the last word. I raise my brow as I scratch my forehead wondering how I can help her as I have no idea what the hell she’s even talking about.
“So who are you talking about here?” I ask wanting to make sure I’m on the same page as her.
“Tremor, of course. God, keep up, Mylee. I think having the pres and vice pres as your brothers can really be a buzzkill, you know? I mean, sure people think it makes you the princess of the club, but when it comes to getting laid, all bets are off!”
Pulling my lips in to try to hide my smile, I glance around the room making sure no one can hear her. If Torque or Trax heard her speaking like this, she’d be in deep shit. But I have to admit, it’s pretty amusing. Whatever Tremor’s doing to her, he needs to fix his shit because it’s obviously hurting her. Sounds to me like he’s keeping her on the back burner. Sounds familiar if you ask me.
Sighing, I reach out grabbing her hands looking into her eyes. She looks back at me as I try to calm her down. “Lala, these men… these bikers… fuck! They have a mind of their own. Especially when it comes to the club. You have to know it will always come first. You should know that after growing up here, right?”
She slumps her body, her eyes drooping. Her head bows looking deflated. “I do know. But brothers can be happy. I’ve seen it. Men have old ladies all the time. Why does me being a biker princess have to change anything?”
I sigh. “It just does. You’re royalty to these guys, Lala, just like I am to the Knights. We’re daughters of honored members. That means something to these guys, and when brothers start showing an interest in us, it starts a whole new world of drama. You have to think about Tremor in this, Lala. He obviously cares about you, or he never would have acted in the first place. He’s got to be so torn… the woman he adores or the club he lives for. This is just as tough for him, too. Don’t forget that.”
She sniffs as Ace strolls past casually making Neala’s expression change as she sits taller. “Ace!” she suddenly calls out making him stop to turn and look at us.
A curious smirk lights his face as he steps up, his broad shoulders filling up the space as he raises his brow in curiosity.
“So, ah… you were out with Tremor on a ride today, right?” Lala asks.
“Yeees?” he drawls like he’s sussing her out.
“So, umm… how did he seem to you? Was he sad, or mopey, or did he seem like he needed cheering up?”
Ace chuckles glancing at me. I jolt my head with wide eyes trying to gesture for him to give her something to work with. Some little hint to make her feel better. He seems to click, standing taller as his face falls. “Actually, now that you mention it, I think he could use a pep talk. He seemed off. He kept talking about you all day, wouldn’t shut up about you basically. Was kind of annoying.”
Neala’s eyes light up as she glances at me like this is the best news in the world.
I beam at her and lean forward. “See, there you go.”
She gnaws on her bottom lip like she’s debating what the hell to do.
“Why don’t you two just figure it all out? Go. I can keep Mylee company,” Ace adds, and I raise my brow in surprise.
Lala looks to me like she’s worried about leaving me, but she’s also one foot out the door as it were. I came in here looking to talk to her about my problems with her brother, but hers far outweigh mine. Seeing her eyes light up at the thought of talking to Tremor right now is all the convincing I need. “Hey, go. You need to talk to Tremor way more than I need you right now. Plus, I can hang out with Ace and his man bun.”
Ace and Neala both burst out laughing.
Lala stands from her seat leaning over giving me a tight hug. “Thank you for listening and dealing with me. I know when you came in, something was happening with you… I kind of stole the limelight. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk about you.” She grimaces, but I wave my hand through the air. “Stop! You made me forget all about it. Go talk through your problems with that prospect of yours.”
She bounces on her toes, spinning, and she rushes off. I turn back to Ace who’s watching my every move. He spins to face me then leans in bumping his shoulder into mine playfully. “So, coming back to our club must’ve been hard.”
I snort as we both look out into the near-empty clubroom. “Yeah, it is. Trax’s so complicated I don’t even know where to begin, but you, you’re their tech guy, right?”
Tilting his head, a slight smile touches his lips. “Tech guy, nerd, it’s all relative.”
“Well, I have a soft spot for nerds… just saying.”
He chuckles with a shrug. “I’m glad. But I’m not your typical nerd. I’m more a badass hacker who can kick ass and spin tires like no other.”
I can’t hold in my laughter as I look at him. He’s really quite the looker with his chiseled jaw, a five o’clock shadow, his medium build, and you can tell he works out from the definition in his biceps. Then his hair. I’m not usually a fan of long hair on men, but Ace’s brown with flecks of gold hair is actually almost pretty. It’s certainly not tatty or unkempt. For a man bun, it’s just the right size too as it’s pulled up high on his head. I can only imagine women would love to run their fingers through his silky locks when it’s down. He is, by all accounts, a really good-looking man, and in another life maybe I would have found myself fawning over him. But my heart firmly belongs to another, and as much as I would love to think about moving on with someone else, Trax is never far from my mind.
Shaking my head, I roll my eyes. “Yeah, you’re all brute and brawn with a head of hair like that.”
He shakes his head from side to side like some scene from Baywatch making me burst out laughing. “Don’t bag the bangs,” he mocks continuing his hair flick even though his hair is tied up. He looks so effeminate right now I can hardly contain myself with fits of laughter as his pearly whites shine through a gorgeous smile. I can’t help a wide smile crossing my face in return. “It’s good to see you s
miling. It lights up your entire face. Don’t let Trax dampen your time here,” he mentions out of the blue. I stop my fits of giggles, look at him while clearing my throat as I sit up straight all humor leaving me.
“He’s having a tough time with me being here, I think.” I take the conversation back to seriousness.
Ace grunts while rolling his eyes. “Trax is a big boy, he will deal. You need to make sure you’re protected while you’re here. That’s the main issue, Mylee. With Trax having a crisis of conscience right now, you need all of us to step up to protect you, too.”
I tilt my head. “What do you mean?”
“Trax is so focused on trying to be your friend, he’s fighting hard to stay away from you. He’s going to be concentrating on that rather than on keeping you safe. It’s not his fault, he’s got blinders on right now. But it’s okay, that’s why I’m here.”
I raise my brow with a sigh. “Okay, I see your point. Trax is distracted. We have no idea if Everett is going to make a move on me, so where does it leave the situation?”
That beaming smile’s back on his face. “With me.”
I raise my brow, the idea only just now clicking in my brain. “You could do some digging for me? ‘Cause you’re the nerd guy, right?”
He laughs. “Yeah, exactly. So who is this Everett guy you want me to look into? Trax and Crest told me some basics but didn’t really give me anything to go on. They were in a rush.”
I tense. “Everett Scott and his father, Malcolm.”
Ace looks at me sternly. “Malcolm Scott as in Senator Malcolm Scott?”
“Yeah, as in the Governor of Michigan. The guy who’s aiming for the White House.”
Ace’s body tenses, his hand rubbing the back of his neck to ease the tautness in his muscles as he lets out a heavy exhale. “Um… okay. Yeah, right. I’m not sure what you want me to find, but I can look.”
I figure if Ace is going to put his time and effort into this, he needs to know what he’s dealing with. He needs to know what kind of people he’s looking into. So I steady myself, my palms coating in a fine mist of sweat as I rest my arms on the bar, taking a deep breath looking off into space. “I met Everett in the psych ward when I was admitted after my diagnosis.”
Ace swivels on his stool to face me. Resting his elbow on the bar, he props himself up to listen.
“He was so full of life when I met him. I was in such a depressive state, I guess I was looking for someone to make me feel… something. I’d just left Trax, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. My life was spinning completely out of control. I didn’t know what the hell was going on half the time. I was in such a deep, depressive episode, I couldn’t think logically, and Everett was just… there. He was the only shining light in the dark.
“Not romantically, he was never anything like that, but he was a friend. Someone to help me smile. He kept saying I reminded him of someone, and that the reminder made him happy. So, I thought we were good for each other, you know what I mean?”
Ace grimaces as I turn to look at him, he’s taking all this in, then I stare to the back of the bar gazing at nothing in particular, feeling almost numb as I continue, “Everett and I got along so well until another girl was admitted to the hospital. I started to talk to her, you know, just being friendly and all. But Everett didn’t like it. He only wanted us to be friends only. That’s when things started to get weird. He would corner me in the halls talking about government conspiracies. How they were trying to stop us from being together. How the government was all in on it and behind it from day one. I had no idea what he was talking about, so of course, I started to steer clear of him which only made him worse.”
Ace rolls his shoulders with a heavy grunt. “Sounds like the guy’s got any number of screws loose.”
My head bobs rapidly. “You don’t even know the half of it. It got so bad one day, he came into my room, tried to tell me we had to attempt an escape from the prison we were in. By prison, he meant life. He brought in a knife he somehow found and wanted us to slash our wrists because we were meant to be together. It was all so confusing. I don’t know why he’d singled me out, out of everyone in the hospital. He just took to me, and he’s been obsessed with me ever since.”
Ace shakes his head. “So what changed? You were diagnosed two years ago. You’ve been out of the hospital for how long and living fine? Why’s he coming after you now?”
I exhale. “I was released from the hospital when my meds kicked in. Luckily, he was pulled out before me. Unfortunately, in the hospital we exchanged phone numbers, so he kept in contact once I got out, but he was being kept under strict control with medication. But for the last… maybe six months, he must have gone off his meds because he’s been getting worse and worse, his threats becoming weird again, until Dad took action to get me out of Grand Rapids and away from him. He’s so unstable, so unpredictable. With Malcolm not really putting a leash on his son right now, we have no idea what Everett’s going to do. If anything. He might be harmless, but he also might not. He showed me in my room at the hospital with that knife and wanting us to kill ourselves just how untrustworthy he really is.”
Ace purses his lips. “I’m guessing that fucker, Malcolm, is trying to keep everything under wraps. Nothing like having a chaotic son as leverage for your opposition.”
“Exactly, Malcolm wants it to be like Everett never existed. So he’s trying to keep everything to do with him under lock and key. If we can dig up any information on either of them, to keep them both out of our lives, that might be the key?”
Ace lifts his brow in agreement. “Yeah, hopefully I can find something on one of them, so it’ll keep them both out of your life. I started digging once your father told us a little about this in church, but now I know more.” He dips his head. “I’ll find something for you, Mylee. Leave it with me.”
Looking to him, my eyes well… with happiness? I’m not sure. “That would be amazing. I’m so grateful. If you could help me bring down the Scotts and stop them from harassing me, I could have Everett out of my life once and for all. That would be utterly amazing. I wouldn’t know how to repay you, though.”
He waves his hand through the air, shaking his head. “Just being your friend is payment enough, Mylee.”
I lean forward taking Ace into a tight embrace. He feels warm as he hugs me back. It’s nice to feel a sense of comfort in my new home. I might actually be okay here after all with Lala and Ace.
Everything might actually be okay.
TRAX
A shudder ripples through me as I watch Mylee lean in hugging Ace. Her arms wrap around him as his arms encase her body. Tension builds up making me want to hurtle something across the room. Or, at the very least, punch the motherfucking wall. But watching Ace and Mylee with each other has made something in me click, it’s made me realize I’m jealous, and I don’t fucking like that shit one little bit.
Though it was good to see her smiling before their talk got serious, it’s taking everything in me right now not to march over and smash the ever-loving shit out of Ace for talking to my woman.
But she isn’t my woman.
She can’t be.
Movement grabs my attention, and I turn to see Torque step to my side raising his brow.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he asks curtly.
I tilt my head toward Ace and Mylee making Torque groan.
“If seeing her with other men is gonna be an issue, I suggest you don’t creep around watching her. This is a club full of men, so she’s gonna be talking to…” he shrugs his shoulders with a smirk, “… fuckin’ men.”
I groan shoving him as I turn to walk outside with him hot on my tail. “I know that, cockhead. Doesn’t mean I have to like watching it, though.”
Torque slaps my back. “I get it. You have to let her go and jump back on the horse yourself. Go spend the night with a club girl getting lost in some damn pussy.” He tilts his head. “Or just swallow your fuckin’ shit and be with her. Don’t
do this half in, half out shit.”
Shaking my head, I exhale. “No, we’ve decided to be friends. It’s better this way.”
Torque snorts. “For who? Certainly not for you… you damn idiot. You proved that last night.”
I groan as a car pulls up in the compound. Those of us who are outside turn to see the passenger door open and Ruby sliding out. All of us erupt in a round of applause while Mom gets out of the driver’s side. We all crowd around Ruby to welcome her home. She looks pale but happy to see us as we all swarm around her. Her lips are parted, her teeth beaming bright white at the sight of all the fuss. Her face is glowing, showing her tanned skin for the beauty she is. But with that look on her face, she appears more beautiful. Even if not at full energy.
“Now c’mon boys, you didn’t miss me that much, did you?” she calls out making me laugh.
Chains grabs her around the waist, picking her up causing her to giggle.
“You have to know we all love you, Ruby,” Sensei calls out.
Freckles waves her hands in the air. “All right, enough. Let the poor girlie breathe, lads. She’s just come home from being drugged by the Yakuza. Let her have some downtime, will ya?” Mom calls out in her Irish accent while pushing past all the burly bikers as we all make our way inside the clubhouse. “Chains, take her to her room, then leave. Don’t ya dare try to get any. She’s out of bounds tonight, ya hear me?” Mom demands.
We all chuckle. I don’t think anyone had intentions of seeking solace in Ruby tonight, but it’s good Mom made it clear.
“Thanks for everything, Freckles,” Ruby calls out as she’s whisked away while we all walk inside the clubhouse. My smile falls when I see Ace and Mylee still sitting together at the end of the bar. My eyebrows pull together tightly wondering if she’s affected by me walking in here like I am just by seeing her. She glances up casually but quickly looks away again. I can’t handle the damn strain. Walking to the opposite end of the bar, which is far enough away from them, I give it a tap needing a goddamn beer. As I sit down, I’m flanked either side as the seat next to me is quickly taken by Mom which effectively blocks my view of Mylee and Ace. She turns to look at me, raising her brow. The seat on the other side is taken by Torque while Cindi places beers in front of Torque and me, then walks off, leaving me with what looks like a family intervention. Well, that’s certainly what it feels like.
