Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Midas
“Before we go, I’m planning on heading down to see Lola and Hannibal next week. I know a lot of you want to come with me and show some solidarity, but I still need people here.”
“I’ll stay. I don’t want to leave Lil for long, even though I don’t doubt the prospects can handle it,” Kruger volunteers.
“Alright, who else?”
“Me.” Probe sighs. “Hate to admit it, but I’m not up for riding that kinda distance yet.”
“You were shot. Give yourself a fucking break,” Crane snaps, making Probe roll his eyes.
“I’ll stay, too. Powers is doing well at Au, but I’m not sure he’s ready to be thrown in at the deep end just yet. Plus, I have the inspector coming out on Monday to assess the apartment upstairs.”
“Something wrong with it?” Havoc frowns at me.
“I hope not. That’s why I’ve got the guy coming out to look. I want to do some updates and maybe rent it out. I’m not sure yet. I crash there occasionally, otherwise it’s just sitting empty.”
“Makes sense,” G mutters.
Havoc looks around the room. “Blade and Inigo are due back tomorrow, and with the prospects, you should be able to hold down the fort.”
“Conan not coming back?” Capone asks.
“Not yet. Chemo is kicking his ass so he’ll be staying home with Sunshine and King for a while.”
“Any news on how his treatments are going?”
G looks at me and shakes his head. “They’re playing it pretty close to their chests. I don’t think it’s bad news so much as they don’t want to jinx shit, but you can never tell with cancer.”
“Anything we can do to help them?” Crane leans forward.
“Lil’s set up a food delivery service and a cleaning service to help them out, especially while Sunshine is pregnant. Amity and Nevaeh are planning on going over to visit. I’m sure they’ll dig in and see if they need anything else.”
“Treatment can’t be cheap, and with Sunshine having twins, that’s gonna be a chunk of change even with insurance. What about if we do a charity bike ride or something, see if we can raise some cash to help them?”
“That’s a good idea and something the old timers can help with. They’ve been antsy as fuck lately.” Havoc shakes his head and sighs.
“They like to cause trouble because they’re not the ones cleaning it up anymore, but they’ll get behind this for sure,” Circus adds.
“I bet Kings of Carnage would get involved too. Probably even the Chaos Demons, thanks to Inigo’s connection to them,” I point out.
“I swear that man’s connected to everyone. He’s nearly as bad as King.”
“Trust me, nobody is as connected as King.” Probe snorts.
“Alright, settle down fuckers, my old lady is waiting for me. We have a plan in place, try not to burn the fucking house down while we’re gone.”
“Yes, Dad,” Probe answers.
“Midas, you’re in charge. Kruger will act as your second.”
“Sounds good.” I nod.
“Works for me,” Kruger agrees.
“Church dismissed,” Havoc calls out. Everyone stands to leave, so I wait until most of the crowd passes before following them out.
I make my way over to the bar where Amity and Nevaeh are talking with Lil.
I sigh, knowing my reception will be a frosty one.
Even if I know I deserve it, that shit is getting old.
“Can I get a beer, Lil?”
“Sure thing, Midas.” She’s the only one who acts normally around me—well, unless I piss her off.
“Ladies,” I greet Amity and Nevaeh.
“Midas,” Amity mutters.
“Still hate me?”
“Depends. You still a dick?” Amity asks as G walks over.
“Babe.” He sighs.
“What? It’s a valid question.”
“Yeah, I’m still a dick, Amity. But then you know that, don’t you?” I take my drink from Lil and ignore Nevaeh’s frown as Havoc steps up behind her.
“Are you coming to see Hannibal with us?” she asks me. I’ll hand it to her—she might want to rip my balls off, but she’s trying to be civil. She’s a good queen.
“Nah, I’m gonna make sure things run smoothly here while you’re gone. Au’s busy, and Powers has gotta sleep sometime.”
“That’s true. I have to say I think our prospects are awesome. If you don’t patch them all in, I will make them work for me.”
“You’re an author, babe. What the fuck are they gonna do but run out and buy you notebooks you won’t even write in?” Havoc questions.
She turns on him. “Firstly, those are my emotional support notebooks.”
Amity laughs as I fight back a grin. “Second, I could always use a personal assistant. I bet Amity could, too.”
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea,” Amity mutters.
“Fuck that. Neither of you is poaching my prospects,” Havoc snaps at them, not realizing he played right into their hands judging from their matching grins.
“Okay, Havoc, we’ll be good. Your prospects are safe from our dastardly clutches,” Nevaeh promises him solemnly until she spots Ambros over his shoulder. “Hey, Ambros, I haven’t seen you all day. Where have you been hiding?”
He nods at her, but his shoulders are tense as he approaches. “My sister is in the hospital. She got an infection that’s being resistant to treatment.”
“Oh no. Shall I go visit her? Think she’s up for some company?”
He grins. “You mean, is she up for a visit from her favorite author? Of course, she is.”
“Good, because I have a gift basket for her with some new books and some swag.”
I watch him swallow, gratitude all over his face.
“I’m going to be holding down the fort while Havoc visits Hannibal’s chapter. If you need anything, come find me, alright? I know you have responsibilities as a prospect, but your sister is family too, so we’ll make it work,” I tell him quietly.
“Thanks, Midas,” He says before walking away.
“Dammit Midas, it was easier to hate you when you were being a dick.” Amity sighs.
“Sorry, I’ll return to my regularly scheduled programming immediately.”
“Oh, I have no doubt about that, you just can’t help yourself. I wonder if you have a medical condition. Maybe we could get you a pill or a vaccine or something.”
“Not sure they do an anti-asshole vaccine.” G chuckles.
“Well, they should.” She sighs before looking at me.
“Ugh, fine. I won’t hate you anymore, but I reserve the right to change my mind later.
I like Legs, and I miss her. I know she’s distancing herself from us all to keep the space between you and her.
I get it, I do, but it sucks, and it’s all your fault. ”
“I know,” I agree. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Her shoulders deflate. “I know, Midas. I just wish things were different.”
“Me too, Amity. Me too.”
After getting all the information from the inspector, I get to work updating the apartment.
I even close the shop for a couple of days and get Powers to help me out, making light work of things.
Between us, we replace the kitchen cupboards with white gloss ones and new stainless-steel appliances.
I make sure the stove and oven are top of the line and ensure the kitchen is filled with whatever shit a chef might cream their panties over.
The rest of the place just needed a lick of paint and a good clean.
I replaced the mattress and bedding and hung blinds to cover the windows.
I even found a large artistic impression of a dandelion, which I hung in the sitting area.
Once it was done, I filled a vase with dandelion seed heads. I think about writing her a letter, but that feels like I’m taking the coward’s way out. Whatever I have to say should be said face-to-face. I owe her that much.
Besides, I’m not the kind of guy to write about his feelings. I was raised to believe that showing any kind of emotion made me weak. Times may have changed, but those mental blocks built the foundation that made me who I am today—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I slip my boots on and tie them up before grabbing my cut with one hand and the vase with the other. I grab my keys and head down to my truck before driving over to the clubhouse. It’s so quiet with everyone gone, it feels like a ghost town. I’m not sure if I like it this quiet.
“It’s so fucking eerie right now.”
I curse and turn to glare at Probe, who snickers behind me. “I’m gonna put a bell on you.”
“I wasn’t even being quiet. You were just a million miles away.”
“Actually, I was trying to decide whether I like the quiet. It feels weird.”
“Tell me about it. How are the renovations going, anyway? Powers mentioned that you’d all finished the hard part. You guys sure as shit didn’t waste any time.”
“You know me. If I want something done, I don’t fuck around. I’d have got Circus and Capone in to do it but they’ve been swamped so I thought fuck it.”
He gives me a look, which I ignore as I push the saloon door open. I spot Ambros behind the bar, so I walk over to him. “How’s your sister doing?”
“A lot better. Doc says everything is going well, and she’ll be out by next week.”
“Good.”
“Thanks, Midas. I wasn’t sure how to make everything work with prospecting duties, the gym, and everything else.”
“I told you, this is what a brotherhood is all about. Besides, we all know you don’t need to work at the gym. I doubt you need to work at all. My guess is you’re doing it to bring in revenue for us, using your popularity to cash in. We appreciate it.”
He dips his head in a nod before someone calls my name. I turn and scan the room and find Lil sitting alone at one of the tables, nursing a mug of coffee.
I walk her way, leaving Probe at the bar. “Everything okay? Where’s Kruger?”
She sighs. “Getting laid, I guess. Between working his security jobs and watching me, the guy has become a monk.”
I eye her up and down, wondering if I’m not the only one who caught feelings for a club girl.
She shakes her head and sighs as if knowing what I’m thinking. “We’ve evolved into a brother-sister kind of relationship, which just makes him sticking his dick in me weird for both of us.”
I snort at that. “In my experience, most men aren’t that picky and will stick their dick in anything.”
“Wow, thanks for that.”