by Colbie Kay
"Yeah, I never claimed to be a nice guy. I did put hands on your momma one time and that's when I found out what she did. I'm not proud of it. I was young, I could of handled it better, but at the time I felt like she had ruined my life. Once you came along, you were my life, other than the club. I took one look at you and fell in love, thought I could be happy for you. Marie made it hard though, always fightin' with me. I cheated because I never loved her. There was only one woman I would’ve settled for."
Jacey sympathizes. “It doesn't surprise me she did that. She's always looking out for herself, she doesn't care about anybody else."
"What are you talkin' about?” Snake asks angrily. "Did you have a good life?"
I can tell she doesn't wanna tell him the next part, so I squeeze her hand, encouraging her. “She married a man I hate. I never had friends, and my whole life, she’s pushed me to become a doctor. She would slap me around and yell all the time, and she made me forget you, told me all these bad things about you. She said you never wanted me."
Anger flashes in his eyes, then his face drops in regret. "Fuck, I'm sorry. If I knew it would've been like that, I would have taken you back. I didn't know where she took you, but I would've found out. Why don't you like the guy she married?"
She looks at me and I give her a nod. "As I got older, he started looking at me differently, not in a way that a father should look at his daughter. When I was sixteen, on the night of my graduation, he tried to rape me, but I fought back and got away. The next day, I came back to Kansas." I look over to Snake. All the color has drained from his face, and his knuckles are white from gripping the chair so tight.
"Get on the phone, Bear. Call Hanger, tell him to get here now and to bring his Ol' Lady." He orders, taking control just like he would at his club. He's not fucking around.
"Zoey’s getting close to havin' the baby,” I tell him, and with a cold stare, he replies that he doesn't give a fuck, ordering me again to get Hanger on the phone. I do as he asks, and when I hang up, I turn to him, saying, “He said they'll be here in twenty." Snake gives me a nod.
"Can I hold my grandbaby?" he turns to his daughter and asks.
She goes and retrieves Kellen, handing him over to his granddad.
"I guess you're more like me after all, Jacey. You’ve got a good man there, I approve,” he tells her, smiling.
“Yeah, it took us awhile to get here, but we made it."
He takes her hand, pulling her in, hugging her with one arm while holding Kellen in the other. I get my phone out and take a picture. When Hanger and Crazy Girl get here, Snake puts Kellen down and we all go to the dining room, us guys taking seats around the table, while the girls sit on our laps.
Hanger asks, "What the fuck’s goin' on? Snake, why’re you here?"
Crazy Girl has a confused look on her face, but she keeps quiet, looking around the table. I ask Jacey if she wants to clue them in.
She agrees, "Yeah okay. So, Snake is my father."
"What!?" they both exclaim at the same time, looking at each other, then back to us.
"He's my father. My mom took me away from him when I was six years old. She raised me to believe that bikers were trash, that’s why it was so hard for me to give you guys in the club a chance and why I did everything I did to Bear."
Crazy Girl smiles and Hanger says, "That makes sense, sounds like your mom's a cunt. We're good now, all the guys are really. My brother here loves you, so treat him well and we'll treat you the same. You’re his Ol' Lady now, which makes you family."
"I never had family before, I was always on my own,” she says as she hanging her head.
"Not anymore, you’re not. You never really were, since my Ol' Lady thinks of you as family. You always had her back, you were just too lost inside yourself. Hope all that's changed now though."
She looks up at him and I can see the tears trying to break free. "Yeah, it has. Thanks Hanger."
Snakes pipes up. "Alright you girls, go in the other room. We’ve got business to discuss."
When they get up and go to the living room, Hanger asks about what's going on. Snake fills him in. "So I let her go because I thought her momma would give her a better life, but I guess I was wrong. She tells me that son of a bitch Marie married tried to rape her, so we’re goin' to California and gonna handle this fucker."
I respond. “Yeah, I'm good with that, would have already if it wasn't for her tellin’ me not to."
“I can't leave Crazy Girl,” Hanger interjects.
"You’re not gonna leave her because she's comin' to keep Jacey company." Snake informs him.
"Okay, let me go get our shit. What about her mom? What's she gonna think about this?"
"Her momma was a whore for my club. She knows the rules."
"Alright I'll be back." Hanger gets up and heads to the living room. He gets Crazy Girl and says goodbye to Jacey, then they leave. Jacey comes up to me and questions me about what's going on.
"We're goin' to California.”
"What? Why?"
"Your dad wants to go handle that fucker."
"Bear, we can't do that!”
"We aren't doin' shit. You girls will be at the hotel."
"Bear!”
"Trust me, Lil Mama. Remember, I told you we take care of our own.”
"Yeah, okay." I lean down, giving her a kiss. I ditched the cigarettes after we brought Kellen home, but right now, I could really use a smoke.
When everyone’s here and ready to go, we hit the road. Hanger and I both have to take cages, but we let Snake lead the way on his bike. Letting Lil Mama control the music, she flips restlessly through the stations, finally stopping on A Sky Full of Stars by Cold Play. While we're listening, she decides to start up a conversation.
"So you never did tell me how you learned to dance."
I look over to her then back to the road. “When I was eighteen, I started prospecting for the club. I wanted to get patched in, so when there was an undercover job to do at a male strip club, I took it." She bursts out laughing.
"You had to be a male stripper?"
"Hey now, I like the term ‘male entertainer’," I tell her in amusement. "Anyway, I had no idea what I was doin', and the guys that worked there knew I was young and inexperienced, so they taught me everything I needed to know. I guess it just stuck with me."
"What did you go by? Bear the Sexy Grinder?" She busts up laughing again.
"No smartass. If someone said that, you wouldn't think sexy, you’d think of some fat, hairy bastard,” I laugh out. “Bear isn't a sexy name, let's face it, so I was known as X. I became the most wanted man there. I had all the fast cash and even faster women.”
"X is a pretty hot name. Hmm. So with that, the man-whore was born."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I was livin’ it up, that's for sure."
“What did you do with all the money?"
"I used a lot of it to buy back the cabin, and some went to my truck. The rest I put up, along with money I make from the club, the garage, and other things."
"So what happened with the strip club?"
"I can't give you all the details, because it's club business and all. What I can tell you is that I ended up getting my patch because of my time there, and I became the Enforcer of the Satan's Sinners. When it was all done, we took down the owners, seeing as how they were tryin’ to pull one over on us and the Cobras, and ended up making an ally with their club.”
"You've known my dad that long?"
"Yeah, it's been awhile, I guess around twelve years or so. He's always been a good guy, that's why I called him. After meeting your mom, I didn't think she was tellin’ you the truth."
"Thank you for that. I was pissed at first, but now I'm so glad you did it."
I kiss her palm. "I know. You get your dad back now."
We stop in Arizona at a hotel to get some rest. The next morning, we’re all back up and ready to hit the road. We finally hit California, and when we’re in town, we fin
d a nice hotel, and get the girls checked in and settled.
"Jacey, I need the address,” I tell her.
"Bear, I don't want to do this." She’s back to being nervous, playing with her fingers, can't sit her ass still.
"Lil Mama, you’re not doin' anything. You’re stayin' here with Crazy Girl."
"Fine, but I don't want you guys to do this."
"I think it’s a little late for that. If it was my daughter, I would do the same. This would have been done already, but I told you I wouldn't do it. Just let your dad handle it, then we’ll be on our way back home." She writes down the address, shoving it at me. "Hey, what’re you worried about anyway?"
"I just got you and my dad back and Zoey's about to have a baby. I just don't want any of you guys getting in trouble."
Softening my tone, I try to reassure her. "Lil Mama, we’ve been doin' this for a long time, nothin’s gonna happen to us. Got me?"
"I got you. I trust you."
"Good, because I'll always do what it takes to keep you safe."
"I love you Bear."
"I love you too, Lil Mama. I'll be back in a little bit." I pick Kellen up and walk both of them over to Crazy Girl's room. Hanger brought Demon with them so somebody would be there watching over 'em while we’re gone.
Snake, Hanger, and myself climb in Hanger's cage and head out. We pull up to a fucking mansion. "Fuck me, it looks like she had a good life,” Snake says, staring up at this huge fucking house.
Hanger replies, “It might look like that from the outside Snake, but behind closed doors is a different story most of the time. Don’t go second guessing yourself as to why we’re here.”
I chime in. "She had far from a good life. Let's do this shit."
We all climb out and head up to the door. Snake rings the bell and some rich jackass answers. "You married to Marie?" Snake asks, anger rolling off of him.
"Yes, how can I help you?" We push our way through when we hear a Marie ask who it is.
"Well, if it's not the cunt herself,” I say as she comes around the corner.
"Bear, what are you..."She stops herself when she sees Snake, eyes wide, mouth open.
"I told you I’d make you pay one day. Didn't think it’d be twenty years, granted,” Snake states.
"What's going on here?" the douchebag asks.
"You two go sit the fuck down."
"If you want money..." he starts to say, fear written all over his face, but we all laugh.
"Money? We have plenty of money. so shut the fuck up and go sit down,” Snake orders. They head into the front room and we follow. Once they’re sitting, we stand in a line in front of them.
"What's going on Snake, why are you here?" Marie asks. She’s trying to look calm, but you can see plenty of fear in her eyes.
"We’re here because you took my baby girl away from me. I thought you’d give her a better life, but it turns out I was wrong."
"I did give her a better life, she became a doctor."
"Not by choice,” I say.
Snake points to her husband. "Did you know he tried to rape Jacey? I'm here because I'm her fuckin' father and you let someone touch her, you fuckin' whore. You were a shit mother from the start, I shoulda known you wouldn't be good to her. Christ, Marie, you’re her goddamn mother, you shoulda fuckin’ acted like it!”
"What?” She shakes her head. "No, he wouldn't have done that." She looks over to him. "Richard, tell them you didn't do it. Tell them she's just being the spoiled little bitch she has always been."
He hangs his head in shame. “I'm sorry Marie. I was mad that night, I got drunk and I wasn't thinking clearly. It was a mistake.”
I walk up, bending down in front of her, bringing us face to face. "That’ll be the last time you disrespect my woman. After this, you don't contact her at all. If I find out you did, I'll be back for you." I stand back up, stepping away from her.
"You can't do that! I'm her mother.”
"You!” I point at her. “You should've fuckin’ acted like it then, but instead you ruined her goddamn life."
“You know the rules of the club,” Snake reminds her and she nods, but has nothing to say. I can smell the fear coming off of 'em.
"Where's the basement?" Snake asks, grabbing Richard up from the couch. "Hanger you stay here and watch her."
She gives us the directions before we walk out of the room, and we haul his ass to the basement, turning the light on before we start our descent. Snake pushes him to go down first, while I follow.
Once Richard touches the bottom step, Snake shoves him down and he tries to scramble away, but he's not going anywhere. I grab him by his shirt, pushing him into the wall, and holding his arms up, I let Snake get a few good hits into his body and face.
Snake tells him, "You tried to rape my daughter, you filthy piece of shit! I should kill you, motherfucker."
Richard coughs from the blows connecting to his body. Still holding him up, I get my hits in, trying really hard to keep control of my anger. I really wanna kill this fucker. There’s blood everywhere by the time we get done. We did a number on him: his eyes are swelling shut, lips split, blood covering his face, and he's barely conscious. I get in his face, telling him that neither he nor Marie is to contact my Lil Mama, and if they do, I'll come back and finish what we started down here. Richard nods in agreement. He better hope he does, otherwise there'll be a bigger mess to clean up next time.
We carry him back up the stairs, throwing him down on the couch next to his wife. Marie looks over to him, covering her mouth with her hand, tears forming in her eyes. Do I feel sorry for her? Absolutely not.
“You keep your fuckin' mouths shut, unless you want us to come back. You never saw us, we were never here. And next time, we won't be so nice."
Snake chimes in.
"Wish I could say it was nice seein' you again, but you’re just as much of a cunt now as you were back then. Have a fuckin' lovely day. Oh, and where's a bathroom? I gotta get this cocksucker's blood off me."
She gives us directions to a bathroom and we both clean up the best we can before heading back to the hotel.
I go get Lil Mama and my son from Hanger's room, walking them back over to ours. As soon as the door’s shut and locked, she turns on me.
"What happened?"
"We beat him pretty good and I told both of them not to contact you again."
"Are you guys gonna get in trouble for this?”
"No, they won't say anythin'. If they did, we’d be back and they definitely don't want that,” I tell her.
“Lay down and take a nap, I'm gonna shower, then go over and talk to Hanger."
She gives me a nod as I walk into the bathroom. When I get done, they're both asleep so I give them both a kiss on the head, then shut the door behind me. I walk over to the next room over and knock. Hanger opens up, letting me inside.
"Hey brother, what's going on?" he asks, curious as to why I'm back over here.
"We need to take a different route home. I gotta make a stop."
"Sure thing, we'll just follow you."
The next morning, we all get up and head out.
Jacey
On our way back home, I turn up the music, playing Elle Goulding's Love Me Like You Do.
“This song reminds me of you.” I say, looking over at him.
"Does it?"
Bear’s gripping that steering wheel awfully hard. I can see sweat building on his forehead. Is he nervous? What the fuck would he have to be nervous about?
"Bear, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing, why?"
"You look like you’re really nervous, and you're about to detach the steering wheel from the car."
We hit Nevada and soon, we’re on the Las Vegas strip. This isn’t the way we came.
“Why are we in Vegas? We didn't come this way."
"Jacey, are you all in with me?"
"What do you mean ‘all in’?"
“Just what it sounds like. I finally got yo
u, and I'm not letting you go, ever. I've been waitin' my whole life for you. I just never knew it. After my parents, I never wanted love, a relationship, or the responsibility of one, until you. I have everything I could ever want with you, Jacey. Marry me.”
"You’re fucking crazy."
"Maybe. You love me?"
"Yes, you know I do."
"Then let's do this. What do we need to wait for?" he asks, looking out of the corner of his eye at me.
"You have your best friend and your dad here, and we've got our boy. It's perfect, unless you want a big wedding."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, let's do it. You're right, I have everybody here I would want, so let's do it."
He stops at a jewelry store and when we get out, Zoey has her window down.
"Jacey, what's going on? Why are we here?"
"I'm getting married."
"What? Don't fuck with me! What's really going on?"
I laugh at her.
“I’m serious, we're getting married!”
I see her eyes widen, mouth agape. "Oh my God! We have to get you a dress!”
She's practically jumping in her seat. Hanger smiles and tells her to calm down.
"They’re getting married! I'm so excited!” she squeals, clapping her hands. We all laugh.
“Zoey, listen to Hanger. Calm down! You could throw yourself into labor,” I tell her, and we definitely don't need that.
"So true," she says, nodding. "Okay, go get the rings then we'll get dresses."
We go into the store and I pick out a white gold band with white and black onyx diamonds for Bear, and he picks out the most beautiful two rings for me. The first would’ve been my engagement ring if he hadn't decided to do this shit on a whim. It’s a square cut onyx diamond with white ones surrounding it and trailing down the sides. He also picked out a wedding band that alternates between onyx and white diamonds, and both are set in white gold bands. Once the argument is over about who will pay, of course he wins, we walk out of the store with our rings. We find a dress shop next, and I pick out a simple white dress, while Zoey searches for one in a maternity size.
"You know you guys are strange, right?" she asks.
