BREAKING THE RULES: Forsaken 99 MC

by Evelyn Glass

  "What, the sex?"

  She chuckled. "No. That's for you to decide, anyway. I meant the message that came through."

  "Ugh." I rolled my eyes and filled up the wine glass that had run empty.

  Joanne held her glass out as well even though it wasn't empty yet. "Haven't you ever had a message from a guy that wasn't on par with what you felt for him?"

  I thought back to my lame ass boyfriends. It had happened once or twice, I had to admit. I didn't feel like giving him some kind of grace, though. "He met me there instead of picking me up. What if he came from someone else's house? And that waitress hated me. Hated. And then that afterward? You have to admit it looks bad."

  Joanne nodded and looked into her wine glass. "It does...but it could also be a coincidence, you know? He could have had a meeting. And if he's anything as hot as you say he is, I would be glaring, too, if he was with someone else. And the text..."

  I shook my head. "I don't know. It feels like it's a lot of credit to a guy who really is a pain in the ass."

  Joanne laughed. I downed my wine, feeling like an idiot. The truth was that the alcohol was making me feel mellow and I was starting to think maybe I'd overreacted a little. Maybe Joanne was right, but that would mean that my reaction when I'd run out on him was completely unnecessary and that made me feel like I looked stupid.

  "I'm so jealous," Joanne said after a while.

  "Of what?"

  "Your life right now."

  I snorted. "Come on. You have the life everyone would give an arm to have. Chain stores and a house kitted with all the latest and that image."

  She shook her head. "It's a nice life but where's the adventure, the passion? You just had that in the best way, even if you disagree. And you can write it into your book, too."

  "My book?" My head felt nice and light, a bit fuzzy, a little like all the events of the evening were wrapped in cotton wool now and they didn't sting so much.

  "That's what you were doing this for, right? Research for you character." Joanne's eyes were laughing at me. That was what I'd told her, I remembered. I shrugged.

  "So I thought maybe it could be something. You know?"

  Joanne nodded and didn't tell me 'I told you so.' "Write what you need to write, but give the guy another shot, okay?" She glanced at her watch. "It's late. I need to get home. I'm going to suffer tomorrow with this wine and I have a meeting at eight."

  "On a weekend?"

  She got up and stretched. "Business never stops. Be a writer instead of going corporate. You'll retain your soul."

  I got up and hugged her. "Thanks for listening."

  "Oh, honey, if your stories sound like that? Any time." She smiled at me and left.

  When I closed the door behind her I turned and leaned my back against it. My vision swam just a little and my head spun from the wine. I'd had way too much to drink, and I was starting to think maybe I'd been a bit harsh about the whole thing, like Joanne had said. Still, I wasn't going to grovel. I wasn't the groveling type. Instead I sat down in front of my laptop and opened it, finding my manuscript in the Cloud where I'd saved it at the library and opened it up.

  I read the parts I'd rewritten. Not bad. I wanted to incorporate more of Logan into my book. I wanted his character to be bigger. I didn't think about the implication that my desire to do so meant I wanted it in real life. I was angry with him. He was a two-faced son of a bitch who had used me and abused me and I was lucky to have gotten out before he had the power to really hurt me.

  I told myself over and over again that I meant it, too.

  My fingers were slow on the keys because of the wine - I was slurring as I typed - but the story itself flowed well. Alcohol lowers inhibition, which, by definition, means the truth comes out. In the world of a writer that was a life without writer's block.

  I'd written about five pages when I stopped and leaned back. I had to look up what I'd written before the rewrites. The manuscript had been printed for the book club and I used it to compare the first draft to my changes.

  When I'd gone to the bedroom to find it and couldn't, I realized Logan still had it. I'd left it in the restaurant. The idea had been to take it after sex. Dammit. I would have to see him again to get it back, and I knew what was going to happen if I did - more attraction. Now that we'd slept together I wanted to know more of him. I wanted to give him more of me.

  Of course, that was the wine talking. The wine and Joanne's advice that I wasn't going to take. When I woke up in the morning, sober again, I would know what I really thought and felt and I wouldn't be easily influenced.

  I saved my work, switched off the laptop and climbed into bed. When I closed my eyes, my head spun and I tried visualize everything in the room in my mind's eye to stop the spinning.

  It didn't work but I didn't lie awake for long enough for it to annoy me.

  When I woke up, light fell through a crack in the curtain. The moment I opened my eyes it pierced into my temples. I sat up, clutching my head. I'd been an idiot for drinking that much. A whole bottle of wine equaled a whole bottle of headache. And I had work today. Wasn't that just fantastic.

  I looked at the clock on my nightstand and swore. I had to be at work in ten minutes. Shit.

  I got into the shower and tried to clean up as fast as I could. I was aware of the fact that anything Logan had left behind was running down the drain now. I got out of the shower, tried to comb my hair even though my hangover headache hurt like a bitch and pulled on jeans and a t-shirt with sneakers. No socks.

  I grabbed my phone. One new message. It was from Logan. He wanted me to meet him and there was an address, too. That wasn't happening, obviously. I wasn't going to go meet him after what he'd done.

  I ran out the apartment and caught a cab to the library. I was three minutes late - record time - but Alicia always came much, much later. What she didn't know wouldn't kill her.

  I unlocked the door, started the computer and collapsed on the desk, feeling like death warmed up.

  The day at the library was slow, which left way too much time for me to think. I tried to write but the screen light hurt my head even more. There were only two people checking in books and I wasn't in the mood to shelve the ones that had been returned the day before.

  I kept glancing at the clock. Logan asked me to meet him at four, which was when I was done with my shift. The time crept closer and closer still, and I was getting frustrated because I had to make a decision. Was I going to go? Or not?

  I had to get that manuscript back. I needed it. I didn't want it in the hands of someone I couldn't trust. I didn't want to see Logan. I wasn't sure what had happened between us anymore - the combination of advice from a friend, alcohol and the real event had blurred everything in my mind until I wasn't sure where I stood. Maybe seeing him would help me. Maybe it would set things straight for me and set my mind at ease so I didn't have to worry.

  Yes, that was it. I would see that he was still an asshole, which would prove my actions were right. And I would get my manuscript back. That was it; that was what I was going to do.

  Chapter 12

  Logan

  The Boys and Girls Club was in a quiet neighborhood. At least, it was quiet until the Fallen Thorns arrived with their growling motorcycles. The moment we pulled in, every bit of peace was lost. We loved spending time with the children and they were clearly happy to see us.

  There were kids of all ages and Lucy, the woman in charge, just shook her head and smiled when I walked up to her. She had curly brown hair that grayed at the roots and wrinkles that fanned out in spider webs around her eyes.

  "I had to answer questions about when you were arriving all morning. I tried to keep them busy with movies but nothing worked."

  "They're going to love today's lesson. One of our boys is sacrificing his bike so we can take it apart and learn all about maintenance."

  Lucy hugged me. "You're doing wonderful things for the children."

  We looked over at where the kids we
re saying hi to the few Thorns I'd brought with me. They ran around between the bikes, squealing and laughing. Hyper active through excitement.

  "Alright, boys and girls, let's settle down," I called and walked back to the group. "We're going to divide you into groups and the each of us is taking a group and we're going to do different things with the bikes."

  The kids cheered. The men were all smiling. It wasn't often that you saw badass bikers with their leathers and their studs light up like this, and these were all children. We'd been taking care of the kids for almost four years now and in the time we'd been doing it I'd noticed what a difference it had made. So few people understood the value of time to a child. I'd learned it the hard way.

  I didn't have parents. They'd died when I was very young and my brother Elijah had raised me. He'd had to work to make money for us to survive. He was never there to keep me out of trouble, and I repaid him by getting into every kind of trouble there was. When I looked back on my life there were things I would have done differently. I wanted these kids to understand that in life there were choices, no matter how hard your circumstances.

  And that you could have fun at the same time.

  We divided the kids up in groups of five and each of us took a group into our care, making five groups and twenty-five kids in total. I handed out the books I'd picked up from the library and opened the one I was going to go through today. I was going to try to explain how an engine worked and why it was so important to keep your bike relatively clean. There were boys and girls in my group but everyone was equally excited and interested.

  I checked my wristwatch. Half an hour to go before Selena arrived. I wasn't sure if she would come - she hadn't replied to my message and I was scared she would just stand me up. The truth was, though, I wanted her to see this. I wanted her to understand I wasn't just some asshole who took advantage of people wherever I could. I liked to think I was a nice guy.

  If someone had taken the time to do this with me things would have been different for me. Elijah wouldn't have had to sacrifice his teenage years to be a grownup and look after me, to be the adult and bail me out every time I caused shit so the state didn't take me away. I didn't understand the weight of it then. I did now, but it was way too late.

  "What's this?" the little girl Dana asked. I turned and looked. She was digging in my bag and pointed to Selena manuscript.

  "That's a story my friend wrote."

  Dana eyed the manuscript. "That's a long story."

  I nodded. "She's a good storyteller. Maybe just now you'll get to meet her, but I don't know if she's coming yet. She has work."

  "What does she do?" A boy with hair so light it looked silver asked. His name was Tony or Timmy or something.

  "She works at the library. She let us have these books so we can use them to learn."

  The kids suddenly all crowded around me asking me questions about 'my friend.' This was going to be interesting when Selena finally arrived. If she was going to.

  "I think it's time for some sandwiches," Lucy called and the kids all ran away.

  I let out a breath of relief. They were stunning children but they were a handful. And I only dealt with them once a week. I had a lot of respect for Lucy who held down the fort with only two assistants.

  "I'll bring you boys sandwiches, too," she said and smiled. She disappeared into the facility and a short while later appeared again with a plastic tub with sandwiches. We sat down and ate. Five big bikers, rough, tough and ready to give you a go for your money, eating sandwiches like school kids during break time.

  The sandwiches were good, though. Peanut butter and jelly, cheese and ham, cottage cheese and cucumber, the kind of sandwiches Elijah used to make for me, and I imagined my mom making for him when he was younger, too.

  God, I missed him. I had taken life with him for granted. I guess everyone does that - you don't know what you have until it's gone. I just hadn't thought I would lose Elijah so soon in the game. My dad had left the Fallen Thorns and the clubhouse to us. Elijah had taken over in a time when the gang wasn't on the straight and narrow and there were a lot of thing going on behind the scenes. Club violence was serious with rival gangs thinking nothing of jumping each other or having a shootout.

  Elijah was walking home from the club once, leaving the bike there so he would look decent when he picked me up from school. We usually walked home together.

  He hadn't come that day. I'd been waiting on the steps, waiting and waiting, until someone else had appeared around the corner. It had been Saul, the only guy I still knew from those days. His eyes had been red and when he'd wiped his face with his sleeve his hand had been trembling.

  "Where's Elijah?" I'd demanded but my legs had already gone numb. I knew the answer. Only later I learned it was because he'd been walking that he hadn't been able to get away from them, and as the leader of the Fallen Thorns they'd been too happy to get rid of him. They'd left him behind a dumpster for his friends to find and Saul was the one who had come across his body when he'd tracked his cellphone after he didn't answer.

  I'd lost a brother that day but Saul had lost his other half. Those two had been so tight it had been impossible to get them apart.

  Saul had taken me under his wing, made sure I didn't get into more trouble because of the anger that had boiled up since Elijah's death. Saul had taken the place of a brother, a parent, a best friend for me.

  I looked at Saul where he was leaning back on his elbow, chewing on a cucumber sandwich.

  "Don't they usually make these for funerals?"

  I chuckled.

  "Who's this friend of yours the kids were going on about?"

  I took a bite of my sandwich before I'd swallowed to buy myself time to think. When I'd chewed and swallowed, the boys were still looking at me, waiting for an answer, I had to say something.

  "She works at the library where I checked out the books."

  Saul whistled. "Logan got himself a librarian." The others hooted and catcalled, saying things like it sounded like a personal porno. That pissed me off.

  "It's not like that."

  They fell quiet, maybe hearing then tone in my voice. "She's different than the rest of them."

  Saul cleared his throat. "I'm assuming she's more than just a friend, then."

  I groaned. "I don't know. She's upset with me."

  "Why?"

  "May got involved."

  Saul whistled low. "You tell her what she's like?"

  I shook my head. "I didn't have a chance."

  A taxi pulled up and Selena got out of it.

  "Speak of the devil," I said and got up.

  The guys all turned around and looked. "Hot damn," Saul said under his breath.

  I walked away from them. Selena was guarded. She turned her cheek when I wanted to kiss her and made eye contact only for a moment.

  "Thank you for coming," I said.

  "So, the Boys and Girls Club, huh?"

  I nodded. "It's community service."

  She raised her eyebrow at me, looking at me for the first time. "For what crime?"

  I shrugged. "Robbery." Might as well be honest about it. She looked me up and down like she was seeing me in a different light. I didn't like it but I wasn't going to lie to her.

  "When?"

  Saul got up and came closer to us. "Five years ago."

  Selena frowned at him. "He's still doing community service for a crime he committed five years ago?"

  Saul looked at me and back at her with meaning in his eyes but I couldn't tell what he was trying to convey. "No, he did his time then. He stayed on for another four and a half years. We all did."

  Selena looked at me again and this time there was admiration in her eyes. "That's pretty impressive."

  I shrugged. "I love the kids. And I feel like this gives meaning to my life. We all have to do something that makes it worthwhile, right?"

  Selena nodded. I wanted to take her into my arms. I wanted to kiss her properly. I wanted to tell he
r I was sorry for what had happened last night with the message and I wanted to tell her that May was a psycho bitch who would do anything to ruin my life. I couldn't tell her, though. Not now, not with the boys around.

  The door flew about and all the children streamed out. Here we go.

  They crowded Selena. They kept on calling her “Logan's friend” and asked so many questions it was impossible to hear anything. Selena laughed and looked at me. "I'm assuming you told them I was coming."

  "It slipped out."

  Selena turned her attention back to the children and crouched down so that she hit them at eye level. "Did he tell you what I do?"