Chapter 23
T wo days had passed since I made Pepper leave, and I hadn’t been right since. For the first few hours, I was angry as hell. I wanted to find her and her father and cause them both harm. Once the anger subsided and I came to my senses, I began to miss her. Her presence could be felt throughout the house, even without her being there. I slept in her room because it still smelled like her. I had it bad. I wasn’t sure if I could come back from kicking her out the way I did. She looked scared of me, and that shit fucked with me.
We both had finally admitted our feelings for each other and had some of the best sex I’d had in my life. I made love for the first time, and I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen again. She probably wouldn’t want to talk to me. I was mad at myself for letting her father get in my head the way he did. All of this was a game to him, even stooping so low to use his own daughter. Harold didn’t give a damn about anyone but himself. One day, all of his shit would catch up to him, but I made up my mind not to kill him. I wasn’t sure how his and Pepper’s relationship would be from here on out, but I didn’t want to be the one to cause her pain. I cared about her too much.
I had to push all that mess to the back of my mind because my brother wanted to meet with me at the clubhouse. When Pepper left, I turned my phone off and didn’t want to be bothered by anyone. I did check in with my mom, but that was it. I hadn’t told her anything else about Pepper because I wasn’t sure what to tell her. I didn’t want her to know that Pepper was gone just yet, just in case she returned. The chances were slim to none, but I still held out a little hope. We at least needed to talk about what her father said. My gut told me it was all bullshit, but I still wanted to hear it from her mouth.
I left Pepper’s room, grabbed my shit from mine, then headed out.
As I rode to the clubhouse, I thought about what I needed to do to get Pepper to talk to me again. I wasn’t sure where she went, and I couldn’t call her because her phone was at my house. I could have gone to her house, but I wanted to give her time, and I needed time to sort through my thoughts.
When I got to the clubhouse, I parked my bike and headed inside. It was a random weekday afternoon, but there was still a good number of people inside. Most of the members had jobs but would come in during their lunch. We had a good cook in the back that made some good ass fried chicken.
“Hey, Blade.”
“Hey, Mouse. Is my brother in the back?”
“He is.”
I nodded and headed to the back offices my brother and I had. We hardly used them but kept them whenever we wanted privacy.
I spoke to a couple more people until I reached the hallway. There were two bathrooms on each side of the hall, plus the office Mouse used whenever she was in there. Since she was the secretary, she used her office the most.
“Yo,” I called out as I pushed my brother’s door open. It was cracked, so I knew he wasn’t in there doing anything I didn’t want to see.
“Yo.” He stood from his chair and walked toward me with his hand out.
Once we were close enough, we slapped fives, and Axe went to sit back in his chair, and I took one in front of his desk.
“What you wanted to talk about?”
He leaned against the back of his chair and stared at me. His eyes were as dark as mine, but that shit didn’t scare me.
“What’s going on with you? I haven’t heard from you in a couple of days, and when I called, you had your phone off. I know Pepper ain’t there anymore. What’s that about? Is this shit over with her dad?”
I ran a hand down my face. “Man, Harold called and put some bullshit in my head, and it made me question Pepper, and I basically kicked her out.” I also told him about how Pepper and I expressed our feelings and everything else we talked about.
When I was done, he didn’t say anything for a minute, but I knew he was trying to figure out what to say. Axe never was one to speak too soon.
“You let one phone call mess up all the progress you made the whole time she was there? If she wanted to do something to you, she would have, the same way you would have. We all know Harold is on some bullshit, so I don’t know why you let that shit get in your head. What are you going to do now? You ain’t never felt like this about no chick, so you need to at least talk to her and see where her head is at.”
“You’re right. I think I also need to pay Harold a visit. Not on no bullshit, just letting him know he needs to stay away from his daughter because if she gives me the chance, I want to make her the first lady of the Outlawz.”
“I’m not letting you go there by yourself.” He stood from his chair and grabbed his jacket. “Let’s go.”
We left his office and went outside to our bikes.
“I know where she’s at too.” He smirked.
I cut my eyes at him as I turned my bike on. I put my helmet on, but before I pulled it down, I turned to him.
“How you know?”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s see Harold’s bitch ass, then we’ll go.”
I wasn’t going to ask him any more questions. If he knew where Pepper was, then I would follow him. I would question him at another time. My focus was on getting Pepper back by my side.
We pulled out of the parking lot, then rode the twenty minutes to the other side of town where Harold’s clubhouse was.
“Fuck y’all doing here?” one of the guys asked when we entered the Wilson Parke Crusaders clubhouse.
There were more bitches and old heads hanging around than it was at our clubhouse. I didn’t like the vibe in here, but I didn’t plan on staying long.
“I came to see Harold.” My eyes darted around the room until they landed on Harold. He had a young chick sitting on his lap. The girl looked no older than Pepper, and she had some tiny ass shorts on and a shirt that showed her belly. Harold’s ass knew he was too old for her. Not my business though.
Harold whispered something to the girl, and she got up and walked to the bar where some other girls around her age were.
“You must have a death wish coming in here,” Harold said as he stood in front of me.
“Not at all. I actually came in peace.” I held up my hands in surrender. “This won’t take long.”
“Speak your piece.”
“For years, I dreamed about killing you for what you did to my twin, but that was until I fell in love with your daughter.” That was the first time I admitted it out loud.
“You think I give a fuck about her?” He laughed. “I don’t. She’s no use for me.”
I shook my head because he wasn’t shit to talk about his daughter like that. I hoped I was around when karma decided to pay him a visit.
“I knew you didn’t care when you didn’t bother to come for her when I had her. She knows it now, too, and even though she may not talk to you again, I think it would hurt her if I killed you.” I stepped closer to him. “Make no mistake about it, though. If you come near her again on some bullshit, I will slit your fucking throat. Do I make myself clear?”
He looked around the room and laughed again.
“Fuck you and her. Get the fuck out of here.”
He didn’t deserve a response, and I didn’t come here to fight with him. I said what I had to say, so I left. I didn’t see that little dude Pepper was messing with before, but I wasn’t worried about him. Once I got Pepper back, he would be a thing of the past.
“That nigga ain’t shit,” Axe said when we made it outside.
“He ain’t, and if I thought it wouldn’t affect Pepper, I would have killed him right then and there. I still might one day. For now, take me to Pepper.” I was done giving her space.
My brother nodded and got on his bike. We left, and I followed him out of the parking lot.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at a small house. I could tell a woman lived here by the décor on the front door and the stuff on the porch.
“Who house is this?” I asked as we dismounted our bikes.
“Cayenne. She told me Pepper had been staying here.”
I gave him a funny look, because as far as I knew, he and Cayenne didn’t talk like that.
“Don’t ask no questions. Just go get your girl.” He leaned against his bike and crossed his arms over his chest.
When he tilted his head toward the door, I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell.
My heart stammered in my chest when Pepper answered the door. It had only been two days since I saw her, but I missed her.
Pepper’s eyes darted around before they landed on me. “Dion. What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk. It could be here if your cousin doesn’t mind, or we can take a ride somewhere. It’s up to you, but I have some things I need to get off my chest.”
She stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
I looked back at Axe, and he nodded, so I went inside. I wasn’t sure if he would leave or not, but he was a grown man and capable of making his own decisions. I followed Pepper through the house, which smelled of cinnamon. She led me to a room upstairs and sat on the bed.
“What do we need to talk about?” She had her arms crossed over her breasts with a scowl on her face.
She still looked beautiful to me. Her hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head. The T-shirt she wore had her breasts sitting up. I had to shift a little because I felt my dick waking up.
I sat on the bed next to her. “First, let me apologize for how shit went down the other day. Your father called, and I let him get in my head. After I had time to calm down and think about it, I knew it was some bullshit. I wanted to come find you the same night, but I wanted to give you some space as well. I knew you would come back to your people, and I wanted to give you time with them. Trust me when I tell you, I wasn’t going to let you stay away for too long.” I grabbed her hands and held them. “I need you in my life, Pepper. You made me feel things that I thought I could never feel. I told you I only loved three people, but that was a lie. I love you too, Pepper.”
She slid her hands out of mine and stood. I watched her as she paced around the room.
“What about my father?”
“I squashed that shit with him. After a conversation with my mom and my brother and my feelings for you, I realized it wasn’t worth it.” I stood up and closed the distance between us. “I will say this. I told Harold that if he ever fucked with you, I would slit his throat, and I meant that shit, Pepper. If you allow me to, I want to be your protector against the world, and that includes your father. I don’t know what kind of relationship you two will have, but I won’t stop you from talking to him if that’s what you want to do.”
I couldn’t tell her the shit he said because it would crush her. I wanted her to decide whether she would continue talking to him or not.
“So what happens now?”
I grabbed her hands again and kissed the backs of them. “Whatever we want. I want you to become the first lady of the Outlawz.”
Her hand flew to her chest. “What? Are you for real?”
“Very. In fact.” I used my free hand to get something out of my pocket.
“What is this?” she asked when I opened the box.
“This is to show you how serious I am.”
I had a pin made for her a few weeks ago but never got around to giving it to her because I was too busy fighting my feelings. I knew at some point she would become a member, and that was all she ever wanted. I’d been carrying it because I wanted to make sure I had it whenever we talked again.
“It’s a BO pin, but it’s in pink.” She smiled.
“It is, because I know that’s your favorite color. I won’t make you wear blue.” I winked, and she giggled.
She pulled the pin out of the box and inspected it before another wide smile spread across her face.
I stood back and watched her as she walked over to a closet, pulled out her pink motorcycle jacket, then put the pin on it.
After she tossed the jacket on the bed, she came over and stood in front of me.
“All I ever wanted was to be a part of a motorcycle club, and you made that possible for me.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my lips. “I will be honored to be your first lady, Blade.” She smirked.
“It’s Dion to you.” I leaned down and kissed her lips. “We doing this shit for real?” I asked her to be sure.
“Yeah, we doing this shit.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around me.
“I left your room the same way you left, but I want you in my room now at all times.”
I wasn’t sure if I was moving too fast, but having her in the house with me for the last few weeks was enough time for me to decide that I wanted her there at all times.
“I can do that. Can we go there now?” she asked with a smirk. Her eyes were lust filled, and it made my dick hard.
“Shit, hell yeah.”
She giggled as she grabbed her jacket off the bed. The house was empty when we made it downstairs, and my brother was gone. Pepper and I got on our bikes and drove off to my house.
Pepper had me the happiest I’d been for most of my life, and she opened my heart up to love again. I didn’t know when, but she would be my wife one day.