“Yeah. It’s just a lot easier said than done.”
“It always is, brother.”
Chapter 12
Confident women don’t hate.
-ExtraMadness.com
Michelle
I’ve spent half the day running around town grabbing things that Bellamy may potentially need for her wedding day, which is approaching quicker by every passing second. I just came back from the club after going to the grocery store and then headed straight to Bubba’s. But I wasn’t there for groceries. Nope. I was there for a much more pressing matter.
Alcohol.
I purchased a vast collection of wine coolers, wine, beers, and liquors. Not really sure who was attending the guest list, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. There would definitely be a fair share of bikers, but as far as Bellamy’s industry people, I’m not really sure who would be in attendance. I’d just have to wait to find out.
“You know, I never really expected that of you.” I hear Dais say to me.
I furrow my brows together and face her, seeing her standing across from the other end of the bar. She’s seated on a barstool, and I grab her a coke per usual. “And what would that be exactly?”
“Um, gee. I dunno. Maybe how you’re dating my ex.”
Oh, wow. This was going to happen. I raise my eyebrows and shake my head back and forth, leaning my arms on the bar. “I think you’re forgetting that Kyle was my ex before he even dated you, Dais. If you’re going to pull this woman hating sloppy second’s bullshit then you’d best remember you got mine, not the other way around.”
Dais’ mouth drops open as she glares. “You totally broke girl code. You were supposed to come to me first before you even started dating him. It’s the right thing to do, Meech. We’re friends, or at least I thought we were!”
While I understand what she’s saying, I cannot help but want to laugh in her face. We’re friends, so I should have come to her, even though she’s moved on and is happy? Alrighty then. “I’m about to shake the tree a bit, girl. You are with Seamus and have a beautiful baby boy. It’s obvious that you’ve moved on so no, you don’t get to sit there and tell me that I broke girl code, that I’m your friend and should have come to you first. You aren’t still single, or anything close to it. You’ve long since moved on and have told Kyle many times that it will never work between you two and that you’ll never give him another chance—”
“That’s not what I’m sayin’!” She disrupts me.
I shoot a hate filled glared at her. There’s nothing more that bothers me except when people interrupt me when I’m speaking. “You will shut your mouth and wait until I’m finished!” I inform her sternly, I wait for a moment and then continue. “Like I said, you’ve made it obvious to everyone that you’re happy with Seamus and you will never give Kyle the time of day ever again because of his previous mistakes. Now, this is where I’m confused. You brought up the fact we’re friends, well, wouldn’t a friend be happy that their friends have found happiness? In fact, wouldn’t a friend ask if I was dating him instead of assuming that I was because I kissed him? Yep. That’s something a friend would have done, she would have talked to me about it instead of trying to attack me at my place of work.”
Dais’ does her usual thing and just stares. The woman can’t admit she’s wrong even if a gun was on her temple. She’d die before she admitted any fault. “Are you going to date him?”
“I don’t know. I might. I might not.” I haven’t decided yet. Kyle’s making it obvious that he wants to see me in a romantic sense yet again, and I do think he’s right. In the past, we were different people and we’ve both done so much growing up over the years. I’ve had a shit hand dealt to me when it came to love, and maybe part of me does want to explore things with him. Maybe this time it might even work out, and I think that’s worth the gamble. No, it is worth the risk to see where things could end up.
The thing about Kyle is that I don’t have to hide who I am. He knows the ins and outs of me, the ugly and the beautiful parts. He knows my strength and my weaknesses and about all of the damaged things in my torturous past. Most of all, he knows my fears, and after our discussion the other night, I’d say that he took me pretty freaking serious.
He knows what I don’t want – to be left behind yet again.
I know Kyle though, and as much as he tries, he always manages to do something to fuck whatever is going good in his life up. But I think it’s worth the risk, so I’m going to do it.
I’m going to see wherever this crazy road takes me, and if I end up at the bottom of a bottle of Tito’s vodka, so be it.
Chapter 13
For once, I want somebody else to take care of me. Instead of me having to take care of everybody else.
Ccz.
Michelle
Dais’ insisted at staying at the bar for the next hour, and all she did was ask me question after question. You know, at least in a good interrogation they bring you coffee. It might be shitty, but at least they bring it. It’s frowned on me to be drinking while working, so obviously I can’t partake in the Tito’s right this second.
I’ve been keeping myself busy, making sure the bottles were restocked, the bar was wiped down and running back and forth in the kitchen. Not only was I playing bartender tonight, but waitress as well. A woman of many talents I am. Maria was supposed to have her ass here thirty minutes ago to help with the late night rush we’ve been getting the last couple weeks, but is she here? Nope. I’m gonna have her head the next time I see her.
Bubba’s has been packed ever since the cartel shoot out, you think that we’d lose business but that didn’t happen. Instead, it’s been the exact opposite, every night we’re slammed unless it’s the dead of winter and there’s a couple feet of snow on the ground. Even then, we still have enough people in here to keep us busy.
A lot of the Russian girls have been taking the opportunity to learn how we run the bar, most of them want to make a life for themselves here and while they stick to themselves for the most part, they are slowly starting to open up bit by bit. Yana, Zika and Polina are the most promising. I’m sure after a couple years these girls will be running Bubba’s. Maria is very good friends with Yana and Zika, while I tend to like Polina a bit more than the rest. She’s quiet, but when she chooses to be outspoken you will hear her roar. She’s like a lioness, beautiful but yet she will tear you to pieces. No lie, I love a good strong woman and Polina is definitely the strongest.
With Ksenia gone, many of them have returned back into their shells. Not all of them are speaking English as of yet, but I can imagine that the sudden change has made them a bit leery of us. Maria does her best, and Jenna was with them all the rest of the time. Now…things are different and we’re all just trying to understand what is the right way to move forward. Polina had told me that the girls were wondering if they were going to be kicked out, and I laughed. Reed would never kick them to the curb, not after everything we’ve all done to make sure they were safe in the first place.
“Princess, can you fetch me a scotch?”
“Woof,” I respond, rolling my eyes at Kyle. He smirks at me and I chuckle, turning around to grab a glass and give him a hefty serving. I miss this, the playful banter that we’ve always had. It’s nice to know that it’s still here.
“I wanted to ask you somethin’ too, while you’re here.” He muses, staring me straight in the eyes.
I put down a napkin and sit his drink on top of it. “While I’m here? I hardly ever leave this place.”
“You work here maybe four nights a week, babe. Let’s not play it up.”
“Work is work. Don’t be shaming me on only working four nights a week. It’s a nuthouse in this joint and you know it. Anyway, get to your point.”
“I think you should be my date to the wedding.”
“You do?” I raise my eyebrows, cross my arms and stare him down. “What’s to say I even want to go with you?”
“Well, for starter
s. You’re trying to hold back that smirk. You know, the one that always has told me when I’m right. You want me to prince charming the shit outta you, girl.”
“You don’t even know how to prince charming!” I laugh in response
“Sure I do. You just have to let me show you, so how about you give me the opportunity on our date?”
“I didn’t agree to it.”
“I didn’t hear ya say no either.”
Dammit. He’s got me.
“We’ll head over to the lake house after your shift tonight,” he adds.
“We might be here for a bit then, Maria hasn’t showed up yet, and I’m not going to have Polina run the whole bar by herself. She’d be eager to do it, but she isn’t ready.”
“All of you have trained her, and she’s been here for quite a while. So, what gives you the right to say if she’s ready or not. I think that’s her decision to make, not yours. If she doesn’t think she can’t handle it then she won’t agree to it now, will she?”
“I liked it better when you kept your opinions to yourself and didn’t talk.”
“That’s never happened.”
“Hmm. I wonder who I’m thinking about then?” I put my index finger to my chin and tap away.
Kyle scoffs at me. “Call Polina and tell her to get her ass over here. I’m taking you up to the lake house tonight and we can relax a little bit before shitsville happens tomorrow.”
Weddings are always a little crazy, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.
“Bellamy invited Dmitri, Jenna, Ksenia, Slasher and his girlfriend.” He nods.
My lips form into an O, but no words come out. For once, I am rendered completely speechless. Yup, tomorrow is going to be a shit show and that’s a serious understatement of what’s to come. “Is Reed going to use Bellamy’s wedding as a way to get back at Dmitri and Slash?” I ask, cause let’s be honest, he’s not going to have this opportunity again for a long time. It wouldn’t surprise me if Reed did try to make a move. He’s always been a fearless Prez, but he’s also compassionate so I can’t say as what’s going to happen. I am nervous for Bellamy though, very nervous. Her big day being ruined by political bullshit….she might even murder someone.
I pull my cell from the back pocket of my jeans and text Polina, telling her that I need her over at Bubba’s to close it down for the night. A couple minutes later, I have a response saying that she’s on the way, and she even makes sure to add that she’ll be fine and she’s grateful for the opportunity. Running a bar may be grunt work for some people, but she’s tickled to death and I can see that she holds pride in her work.
“I should be good to leave in about twenty minutes. We just need to go to the club real quick so I can pack a bag.”
“No, we don’t, Princess. ‘Cause your Prince Charming already got Elena to get you a bag ready. It’s strapped onto my bike now.”
“Wow. Prince Charming moment number one. Ooh, how I’ve swooned!” I place the back of my hand to my forehead and lean my head back a tiny bit, imitating a woman back from the seventeen hundreds.
When I glance back at Kyle he’s flipping me the bird, making me giggle. “C’mon, Meech. Polina’s here and she doesn’t need your help.”
I look over to the other side of the bar back and see her there, in her Bubba’s apron waiting on customers. I know she’ll be fine, but I just really want to help her. Taking one last glance around the bar, I spot someone I never expected to see.
He’s been gone long enough, so why the hell did he show up now?
Chapter 14
Stop asking me to trust you when I’m still coughing up water from the last time you let me drown.
HPLYRIKZ.com
Michelle
This has got to be the worlds most fucked up joke ever. I close my eyes, blink a few times, and hope that he’ll dissipate before my eyes. Kind of like how you do when you see the boogeyman, or a monster. You close your eyes really tight, breathe, and pray to whatever entity is up in the big ol’ sky that the thing scaring you just goes away.
I open my eyes, and stare right back at him.
Nope, he’s still here.
I’m not afraid of him. I’m just afraid of all the memories that will suddenly come rushing to the surface with his presence. He’s been gone for years, and he’s just so good at leaving things behind. Why is he here now? Of all the times for him to randomly show up. Why is it right now?
He hasn’t changed too much over the years, which is a tad shocking. You think that the drugs, booze, jail time, or STD ridden women he’s fucked would have gotten to him. If not all of them combined, something would’ve altered his physical appearance, but no. He looks the same he did as the day he left. Or more specifically, the day he left me behind.
His black hair that covers his face and goes down into his long beard has faded to gray, and the tattoos that riddle his arms and hands have worn from over the years. He still wears his rings on every finger and suddenly I’m being thrown back in my mind, remembering the stories he used to tell me of the skulls he wore every day. There are ten of them, and each have a name. Each have a purpose and a meaning, and I was never to judge them for their names or stories. I was to simply be a good girl, and never touch his rings. He said rings, but what he really meant was him. How a father could tell his own daughter that she was never allowed to hug him, or hold his hand was beyond me. Even now, it doesn’t make any sense. I just think he blames me for my mother leaving me there. He never wanted a family, and the one time he didn’t wrap it up resulted in a baby being dropped off at the club – more specifically, the baby he never wanted.
Me.
My daddy issues are deep, but that happens when your father chooses to leave you with the club you grew up in versus raising you. When he chooses the open road over being there for you. When he chooses to abandon you in the moments where you needed him the most. I can say one thing, he’s always known how to make an entrance, and he sure as hell knows how to leave too.
“When did he get to town?” I break my gaze away from my father who sits at a table with a couple of older bikers and look to Kyle, praying to God he has the answer I seek.
He furrows his brows together and looks confused, so I fill him in. “Wrath is here.”
“Your Dad is here?”
“Dad is a nice word for him, one that he doesn’t deserve,” I mutter, unable to move from behind the bar. I’m too shocked to. It would have been nice to get some sort of warning to his arrival, but that’s never how he really rolled. He’d rather just crash in and shock the living hell out of me.
“Is that Crimson and Hound with him?” Kyle laughs, all I can do is shoot a glare in his direction. I look over and after focusing on them for a second I can agree that it’s Crimson and Hound. God, I haven’t seen those two since I was a kid.
“Why is he here, Kyle?” He has to know. He’s the VP. There isn’t anything that Kyle doesn’t know. He’s the holy mecca of information, and if he isn’t, he sure as hell better be soon.
“How am I supposed to know? Reed was talkin’ about throwing together a memorial service for Dad, but as far as I know nothing was ever planned….unless…”
“Unless?” I urge him.
“Unless Reed told them about Dwayne being back in town. I could see him doin’ that and not tellin’ me. He wants to get Dwayne real bad, but is smart enough to not do a damn thing until after the wedding. I know for a fact that we’re not gonna leave any of you alone, especially after what happened to Celine last time. Reed must be calling in favors, and it just so happens that these men were friends with our Dad.”
“This is just about Dwayne?”
“Look, I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to Reed about this cause I didn’t know about it. It’s just a guess, and it’s the best one I got right now. All of this shit can wait til later. Now do you wanna go over and give your Daddy a big ol’ hug, or hop on the back of my bike and get lost?”
“Fuck you.” Boy, do I wanna smack
him silly for that one.
“That’s what I thought, Princess.” Kyle purses his lips together and blows me a kiss.
Asshole.
Chapter 15
Magic is when you live your life the way you didn’t picture it and leave nothing behind.
R.M. Drake
Kyle
If I had sat there and coddled Michelle about her father being in town, one thing would have happened. She would have made a pity party for herself and wallowed in the pain of his presence. While she’s one of the strongest women I know, she also has a heart, and a pretty big one at that. So, I joked around with her so she’d be pissed instead of upset. It’s okay, though. I’ve always been the bad guy. It’s not gonna be a shock to anyone and it won’t change. I’m just glad that she’s focused on being pissed at me opposed to Wrath being back in town.
Michelle’s arms are wrapped firmly around me as we make our venture to the lake house. It’s not too cold, but the wind has picked up the last few miles. Michelle has been shaking against me the last twenty minutes and I’m increasing our speed just so that we get there sooner rather than later. Thankfully, we’ll be there in just a couple minutes. It can’t pass quick enough, though.
I ride up the hills until I finally see our lane, making a right hand turn we come on the gravel that leads us down to the acres upon acres we own. Out of nowhere, thunder crashes overhead and now we’re in a torrential downpour. Michelle screams in surprise and I do my best to get us to one of the cabins. I can’t remember which ones are occupied anymore. Reed had some of the Russian girls come up here a while ago because we didn’t have enough room for them at Bubba’s. I know the main house should be clear, and there are a few cabins around it that shouldn’t have anyone in them. I head towards the main house, turn off the bike and dismount, giving Michelle a hand before we both head inside.
Reclaimed (Skulls Renegade MC Book 6) Page 5
