Chapter 2
Chapter Two
AXE
Present Day . . .
After Quinn’s funeral, I took a trip down to Alabama to visit with Simone. I’m not sure what I expected to find down there. Maybe a sense of something other than failure.
I met Simone a while back, up at the National charters clubhouse when she’d still been fucked up on that shit they’d put in her system.
Seeing her the way she was, I couldn’t help but want to help her.
She’d been out of her mind with hysteria and, worst of all, pregnant with one of her rapists’ baby when the club found her in that warehouse.
When she’d given birth, during one of the lucid moments of time, she’d given the baby to Tracker and his ol’ lady.
She didn’t want anything to do with it and no one could blame her.
I’d brought her to our clubhouse to help her, and she’d been doing good except for she’d have a setback when she heard the slobber-crawlers’ noises when they were being fucked.
We ended up putting her in a mental institution down in Alabama near the Toxic Warriors MC and they’ve been keeping an eye on her for us. Viking, the club’s President, let me crash at their clubhouse while I’d been down visiting with Simone.
Over the past few months, I’ve gone down to check on her more often. This last time, I’d been surprised to see her actually smiling. The doctors even allowed me to take her outside to have lunch in the fresh air rather than inside.
I left Simone with the promise to be back in a few weeks to visit. The entire ride back to the clubhouse, I thought about the possibility of her getting well enough to leave the facility for good.
I pull up to the clubhouse, park next to Malice’s motorcycle, put the kickstand down, and climb off. My thoughts switch from Simone to finding one of the slobber-crawlers and have them in my room for the rest of the day.
I grin at the thought of the name Willow had given the clubwhores. Making my way to the door, I open it and step inside. I find Hammer and Malice sitting at a table with Gunner. My chest tightens for my brother and I wish I could help him through this shit he’s going through.
Heading to the bar, I snag the beer a prospect holds out for me. Switching direction, I stride over to their table, taking a swig of the cold brew.
“How was your trip?” Malice asks when I take a seat next to him.
“Good. She’s doing really good there at that place. They let me take her out of the building for lunch and we spent some time outside,” I tell them, leaning back in the chair.
“Good to hear, brother,” Hammer says, nodding.
“Yeah, so what’s been happenin’ here?” I left two weeks ago for my trip, needing to enjoy the road for a bit. I took my time with my trip down, having gone down to Daytona and then rode up the gulf coast to ride up into Alabama.
The trip had been good wind therapy and I’d stayed a day or two along the way while gone. Fucked a couple random bitches along the way and had a damn good time doing it. With the way I’m protective of Simone, a few people have asked if I’m in a relationship with her.
The answer to that question is no. To me, she’s become family and I feel protective of her in a way I did with my sister. I couldn’t help save Tracy when she’d been hurt, but with Simone, I’m doing everything I can to keep her from hurting herself.
I figure until I find the right one for me the way my Prez and VP did, I’ll fuck who the hell I want. When the day comes and she walks into my life, I’ll be sure to stake my claim and hold on tight.
“The new manager started and she’s damn good at running the bar now that it’s open again,” Hammer announces, giving Gunner a sideways glance. I take my brother’s expression in to find him clenching his jaw.
We haven’t caught up with the fuckers who started the fire, but we’ll find them soon enough. Avery’s siblings are slippery weasels that need a bullet in their heads.
“So Kenny’s recommendation is working out okay?” I ask cautiously.
“Yeah, CJ’s a damn good bartender and handles the staff with a firm hand. She moved into Avery’s old place.” I nod, remembering him saying they were renting the house out to the new manager.
“That’s good, but the question is what skeletons does she have hiding in her closet,” I grumble.
I’m not trying to be negative about the woman, but we’ve had enough shit happen around here lately.
We don’t need more. Not when we’re in a calmly tense time right now as we wait for the next foot to fall after what happened with not only Quinn’s death but Malice’s father declaring war.
“Twister and Horse both vouch for her. According to them, they know she’s got something she keeps close to her chest, but it didn’t touch any of them.
They asked that we keep our eyes open but don’t expect her to open up or get close with anyone in the club,” Hammer mutters, lifting his head to look behind me and grins.
I don’t have to turn around to know who’s caught his eye. Ever since Avery entered our Prez’s life, he’s a hell of a lot happier than I’ve ever seen.
“I don’t like it,” Gunner grumbles.
“Do you see her when she’s at the house?” Malice asks.
“The woman doesn’t speak to anyone. Hell, she didn’t even ask for help in getting her shit in the house,” Gunner remarks with a shrug.
“Delilah tried to get her attention the other day, but other than a quick wave and smile, she walked straight into her place without a word.” I still find it strange Gunner’s a dad.
More than that, he’s Delilah’s dad and her mom, even being around the clubhouse, kept that from him.
“Guess she definitely likes to stay secluded,” Hammer mutters.
Maybe.
“Want me to check things out?” My curiosity is piqued now. If she’s hiding something, I can find out. It’s not like women aren’t drawn to me. I could easily have her talking while I have her body writhing beneath my own.
“Yeah, see what you can find out,” Hammer says with a curt nod.
Grinning, I figure I might as well get to it—no time like the present.
She’s an outsider working in our bar. Until I know more about her, I won’t rest easy. Trust only goes so far and this CJ chick hasn’t earned an inkling of ours.