True Me (Fallen Brethren MC #6)

Chapter Three

Cash

S ITTING IN CHURCH, nerves fill me. This is the last place I want to be. Rebel isn’t handling her grandma’s decline good at all and it kills us to see her shatter into a million pieces the way she has been in private. She tries so hard to act strong and not let anyone see her get upset or be any less than the badass she is. Watching her break in Eagle’s arms a few hours ago and then hold me tighter than I’ve ever been held in my life as she continued to cry while her grandma slept shifted everything I thought I knew about myself. For the first time I didn’t give a fuck about going to the clubhouse or if I had to go to work. The only thing I wanted to do was be there for my girl and hold her for as long as she let me. Now, we’re all at the clubhouse because we have church and Rebel has to work the bar. When the nurse walked in the house, I got a horrible feeling from her.

The nurse was more interested in getting the attention of Eagle and me than she was in taking care of Grandma. Eagle could sense the same thing as he looked at me over the top of Rebel’s head. So, we both know there’s something off about her. I want to go back to the house and see what’s really going on when Rebel isn’t home to witness what the nurse is actually doing in her absence. Eagle sits next to me and I can feel the tension in his body as Reaper walks in and takes his seat. I wait as he slams the gavel on the table in front of him before he’s even completely settled in his seat.

“Church in session!” Reaper calls out, his voice echoing off the walls of our meeting room. “It has been brought to my attention that one of our own has been sufferin’ in private and is havin’ a hard time right now. Rebel is losin’ her grandma and we all know how amazin’ that woman is. How important she is to Rebel and everyone sitting in this clubhouse. Rebel has been one of us since Pound brought her in for safety when he found her ex beatin’ the shit out of her. Now, she needs us to step up and be there for her but she won’t ask for help. Especially financially when she’s talkin’ about workin’ two more jobs in order to pay for the nursin’ that comes in. As it was brought to my attention that means less time with her grandma and even more money she’ll need to spend in order to pay for the extra nursin’. What are we gonna do about this?”

“How bad are things?” Hawk asks, sitting up straighter in his chair and looking directly at Eagle and me.

“She broke down when we got to her house earlier today. I even canceled my appointments for the day so he could be with her and me. You know she doesn’t break down in front of anyone and today she didn’t hold back. That’s also why she was havin’ a hard time at the bar last night. I’m not sure how she’s doin’ tonight since we had to come in here. I’ve got Kal with her in case she needs help,” I answer as Eagle rests his hand on the table in front of him as he clenches and unclenches his fist. This entire situation with him is weighing heavy on his shoulders the same as it is for me.

“How was Grandma when you two were there?” Crow questions us, his voice soft and gentle as he looks between the two of us.

“Not good. She didn’t wake up the entire time we were there. Grandma used to be so full of life and had this large personality. Now she looks so frail and her breathing is more of a wheeze than anythin’ else. Grandma couldn’t even really sleep with the amount of pain she was in. Her whimpers were hard to hear,” I inform all the guys sitting around us and look at Hawk and Crow because they’ve always tried to be there for Rebel more than anyone else.

“Fuck,” Reaper whispers even though it sounds as if he’s yelled at the top of his lungs with the weight settling on all of us.

“There’s somethin’ else,” Eagle speaks up as I nod my head knowing what he’s about to say. “Don’t like the vibe I’m gettin’ from the nurse Rebel hired to take care of Grandma. This is the first time we’ve been there when she showed up and she’s a fuckin’ bitch. Spent more time watchin’ Cash and me than doin’ her fuckin’ job. Rebel was so upset she didn’t even notice. We all know nothin’ escapes her notice when it comes to Grandma or anyone else she cares about. Not sure why I don’t like this bitch, but there’s somethin’ definitely off with her.”

“What do you wanna do about it?” Reaper asks, his voice getting hard and cold when he thinks of someone hurting Grandma along with the rest of the guys around the table.

“I’m gonna head there when the meetin’ is over. I won’t tell anyone what I’m doin’ and see what’s goin’ on when Rebel isn’t there to pay attention to this bitch. Dependin’ on what I find out, I’ll call Eagle and we’ll go from there. I really hope I’m wrong about this girl, but I have a feelin’ we’re not,” I answer him looking around to see if anyone else has any kind of ideas. “Hawk, do we know why Rebel isn’t usin’ her trust fund to help fund the nursin’ for her grandma? Can she not access it or somethin’?”

“She has full access to it. I have a feelin’ she doesn’t want to touch the money for this because it’s from her parents and she doesn’t want to use their money to pay for this. That’s the only thing I can think of. Rebel knows we all know about her trust fund because we did the background check on her when she took over the bar. Now it’s up to her to put her trust in us and talk about things that are hard as fuck for her. What if we do a charity run for her? All the money and everythin’ can be given to her to help fund her grandma’s care,” Hawk answers, his voice full of questions as he looks around the table at each of us.

“We can make that work. We’ll have the ol’ ladies help us plan the run but no one will know where the money’s goin’. Eagle and Cash can give her the funds once everythin’ has been added up and finalized in private. The last thing we need to do is make a big spectacle of it. Rebel won’t like that at all,” Reaper says, his voice thoughtful as he looks at Eagle and me only. “Cash, head out and get to the house to check on Grandma. The ol’ ladies are here in the clubhouse and aren’t leavin’ Rebel’s side right now. They know somethin’ is up but not what’s goin’ on yet,” Reaper says as he lifts the gavel in his hand once again. “Hawk, I got a feelin’ somethin’ more is about to start happenin’ in regards to Rebel. I want you to dig into the ex and find out what he’s been up to.”

“How deep do you want me to dig?” Hawk questions, his voice hard and cold as he looks at our President with a determined look in his eyes he only gets when something is truly important to him. Rebel is one of those things that would be more than important to him. Especially since Eagle is his brother and I’m his best friend. Hawk has always had a soft spot for Rebel more than the other guys sitting around us.

“Deep. Get any and all information you can find on this fucker. Cash, call me when you find out what’s goin’ on at Rebel’s. I want to be kept up to date on everythin’ concernin’ Rebel,” Reaper states before slamming the gavel on the table as we all stand from our seats and leave our meeting room.

“I’m gonna stay here with Rebel. I’ll sit right at the bar with her and make sure she’s okay. Call me when you find out what’s goin’ on,” Eagle says as we grab our phones and stuff from one of the Prospects before heading through the common room. I watch my friend take a seat at the bar and smile at Rebel as she hands over a beer for him to open while I make my escape as she gets busy serving all the guys from church.

Walking to my bike, I straddle the machine I’ve had since I was sixteen years old and start the engine. It roars to life and echoes off the wall of the clubhouse before I take off slowly as one of the Prospects opens the gate for me. I roar down the road toward Rebel’s house and try to take in the wind rushing against me as vehicles pass me going about their lives. Instead of the freedom I typically feel on my bike, there’s a heavy weight sitting on my shoulders as I park my bike down the road from Rebel’s house so I can sneak up on the nurse and truly find out what the fuck she’s doing. Why Eagle and I are getting this horrible feeling about her not treating Grandma right.

After shutting down my bike, I get off and quickly make my way toward the house. Instead of walking up on the porch and entering the house as I normally would, I make my way to the windows I know will allow me to look in the living room where Grandma has been moved. The windows are low enough for me to see in without any problems. My fists clench at my side as I watch the nurse hurt Grandma. She’s pinching her and laughing while holding a needle right in Grandma’s face. Rushing from where I was standing at the window, I jump onto the porch and burst through the door, opening it so hard it slams off the wall behind it.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doin’?” I roar at the nurse as she jumps and turns to face me, all signs of laughter she was just doing gone.

“W-W-What a-a-are you doing here?” she questions me, the needle dropping from her hand and falling to the floor at her feet. “No one’s supposed to be here tonight. Rebel’s at work.”

“You think that makes it okay for you to hurt her grandma? The one person in this world she loves more than anyone else in the world. How many other patients have you done this shit to and gotten away with it? Eagle and I knew somethin’ was wrong with you when you wanted to spend more time payin’ attention to the two of us instead of your patient and findin’ out what happened when Rebel was with her durin’ the day,” I growl out, stepping so close to the bitch she has no choice but to move away from Grandma so she can’t hurt her anymore.

“You have no proof that I’ve done anything wrong here. No one ever does,” the bitch says, her voice full of confidence she didn’t have a second ago.

“Are you sure about that?” I ask her, pulling out my phone from my pocket as I watch her start to back away like she’s going to get away from me. “The club has personally installed the security system in this house and we see everythin’. Rebel will be able to pull up your shit on her phone the second I call her.”

“No! There’s no need to bring Rebel into this,” the skank says, stepping up in front of me and trying to run her fingers down my chest in a seductive manner.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me,” I roar, stepping back away from her touch. “Rebel is mine and I would never cheat on her with a piece of shit like you. You’re gonna sit down in that fuckin’ chair and don’t move a fuckin’ muscle or I’ll tie your ass up. Not in a way you’ll enjoy either.”

Pressing the call button on the phone, I wait for Eagle to answer his phone. It only rings once before his voice fills the room we’re in as I turn my attention to Grandma in the bed and my vision turns red as I take in the bruises covering her paper thin skin. Bruises that weren’t here earlier when we left. I’m not sure if this is the first time this bitch has hurt Grandma, but I’ll be having Hawk go back through the footage to find out exactly what’s been goin on in this house.

“What’s goin’ on?” Eagle asks, his voice hard and cold as I look at the bitch in front of me where she cowers in a chair.

“She’s fuckin’ hurtin’ her. Grandma is covered in bruises that weren’t here earlier. Not sure what she had in the needle she was holdin’ but it’s now on the floor and I’ve got her sittin’ in the chair. She wants to leave the house, but I’m not gonna let her. Get Rebel and get the fuck here right now,” I inform him, my voice hard and cold as I look at her with narrowed eyes and tension filling my body.

“On our way,” Eagle growls out, as I hear a commotion on his end of the line before it cuts out completely.

“You really don’t have to do this. Rebel doesn’t have to know a single thing about what’s happened here. If the old bitch wasn’t whining and crying, I wouldn’t have touched her,” the girl says, as if that will make her situation any better. It won’t.

“She’s at the end of her fuckin’ life. As a nurse, your job is to take care of her and make her as comfortable as possible. Right now, you’re doin’ the exact fuckin’ opposite of that shit. You’re hurtin’ her and makin’ her feel worse than she was before. That’s not fuckin’ right. I hope to hell Rebel beats the absolute fuck outta you and makes you pay for hurtin’ her grandma. A woman we all love and has treated us as her own for as long as we’ve known her,” I growl out my voice low and deadly as I hear Eagle’s bike roar up to the house and know our girl is here.

The nurse shrieks and jumps out of the chair, frantically looking around the room for an escape as I hear two sets of footsteps rush up the porch and enter the house. Rebel’s crying as she rushes into the living room and straight up to her grandma’s side. She takes in every inch of her that’s not covered by the blankets before turning her attention to the nurse who’s been here the few hours Rebel was at the clubhouse working to earn money to pay for everything on her own. She hasn’t touched a dime of her grandma’s money for anything in this house. That’s something I’ve just learned.

“What the fuck is your problem? Why would you hurt her?” Rebel shouts, her face red with the anger coursing through her right now.

“She’s an old hag who does nothing but whine and cry out. Who the fuck would want to be around that while you’re off partying with bikers. You’re a fucking slut and this bitch in the bed is going to get what’s coming to her,” the nurse says, her voice full of sass she has no right to be displaying right now.

“You fucking skank!” Rebel yells out and lunges for the girl who stands there as if we’re about to stop this fight from happening.

Rebel deserves to beat the hell out of her. Eagle walks over and takes a look down at Grandma while pulling out his phone. My entire focus is on Rebel beating the hell out of the girl as he talks to someone. Rebel has the nurse on the floor, blood falling from her busted nose as she writhes around on the floor and tries to buck Rebel off of her. Our girl isn’t going anywhere.

“Someone get this psycho bitch off of me!” the nurse shrieks out, pain lacing her voice as I look at Rebel and watch her continue beating the hell out of the nurse.

“No one’s gonna help your ass. This is less than you deserve and I hope she beats you so bad no one will recognize you tomorrow,” I grind out through clenched teeth as I watch my girl continue to fight like the badass she is.

Rebel has taken self-defense lessons with various guys at the clubhouse. She wanted to be able to beat the hell out of anyone who thought they could take advantage of her like her piece of shit ex did. Now, she’s showing off those moves in front of Eagle and me as we let her work out every ounce of pain and rage going through her in this moment.

“Reaper said to call the agency this bitch works for. They need to know who the fuck they hired and she doesn’t deserve to work with people who can’t defend themselves,” Eagle tells me, his voice hard and cold as he walks up behind Rebel and pulls her off of the girl.

I look back over and find our girl crying while beating the nurse. When Eagle lifts her into his arms, she doesn’t attempt to fight and get back to the girl. Instead, she sobs into his chest and wraps her body around his as tight as she can. He holds her close and makes his way back over to me. I stand behind them and hold her with one arm so she feels us both next to her as we give her our strength and support when she needs it the most.

“We got you,” I whisper as I pull out my phone and call the agency number Hawk just sent me. “I’m gonna call her employer and find out what’s gonna happen next. Rebel, Doll, you have some choices to make. Eagle and I aren’t goin’ anywhere.”

Rebel’s body shakes as sobs continue to fill her body while Eagle holds her close and I have to rip myself from her. Being away from Rebel when she needs me most kills me. As I talk to the agency and fill them in on what this bitch did. Understandably, her boss is pissed as hell. She’s very compassionate and wants to do anything in her power to make this situation better and right. Instead, all she does is make it worse for her. I let her know Rebel isn’t in the condition to make any rational decisions right now and hang up as several motorcycles pull up and it’s not long before the house is full of the men and women from the Fallen Brethren MC. They’re showing up in full to lend Rebel their support and strength so she knows we’re all here for her no matter what’s going on.

Rebel doesn’t look at anyone as the women surround the nurse while the men surround Grandma’s bed. Reaper calls Doc to get him here with his daughter. No, neither one of them will look at the pathetic excuse for a nurse. They’ll be here for Grandma so we know if she needs to be taken to the hospital for a thorough check-up to ensure she’s truly safe. I barely hear Alex and the rest of the ol’ ladies questioning the nurse about what’s in the syringe. We need that information so we know if this psycho bitch has been poisoning Grandma or what she’s been doing while Rebel has been busting her ass. Answers the women will get one way or another.