14. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Jokester – Two Months Later
I sigh as my phone rings for the fifth time since I sat down five minutes ago.
I’ve barely finished work after dodging several brothers wanting to see me, checking none were down for me to tattoo like they request several times a day. Now I’m meeting up with Adam, Essy’s dad, for a beer at the Black Angel’s bar and Grill while she’s on her way home after taking Aiden to Sea World for a brother/sister day, something she demanded and my phone hasn’t stopped going off.
Between school, the bakery, and spending most nights with me, Essy’s having Aiden withdrawals even though some nights when she’s with me, so is Aiden. Then there’s the growing friendship between Scar and her. On some of her free afternoons when Bella, her high school hire, takes over, not trusting Trina after the whole fiasco three months ago at the bakery, they have girl time in my apartment or at the park with the kids.
I’m pretty sure my girl has become Levi’s favorite person.
My phone stops ringing and starts right back up again, and I shake my head and quickly get it out before checking the screen.
Dad
“Of course,” I mutter, it’s his ninth call today.
It's been three months, and I’ve had no contact with him or the club. After Mama let slip that Bethany was going to calm down once I returned, something my dad and Butcher promised would happen, I told Hammer not to allow any club members in my room at the shop, including my mother. I know this must have upset her, but it’s not like I haven’t answered her texts.
The brothers haven’t stopped trying to get into my room at the shop or my apartment, but hopefully, soon, they’ll get the hint. I’m no longer a brother; I stopped being one five years ago.
The ringing stops and starts yet again, and I know I can’t ignore him because next, he’ll come looking for me, and I can’t have that, not right now, not when I’m trying to make sure my future father-in-law will be happy with me marrying his daughter; not that she’s ready for me to ask, though.
Groaning silently, I answer the phone and ask, “What’s the emergency, Dad?”
He growls, “The fact that you’ve banned brothers from even coming to see you at the shop, as well as your mother? The fact that you won’t answer anyone’s calls. The fact that you haven’t even come back to the clubhouse…. I’d say there’s a big fucking emergency!”
I huff and snap, “I’m not part of the fucking club anymore. You and Butcher are to blame for that, you even got it in Mama’s head that I’ll return and take Bethany back!”
He’s quiet for a moment and then states, “You’re the only one who can keep her under control. Butcher doesn’t want to send his daughter away, son, and I’ve tried telling you before there’s more to it.”
I scoff, “And I told you, she could have proof of someone being killed, I still wouldn’t go back there. I didn’t want her to begin with, and you and Butcher forced her on me, using my family as collateral something you are both trying to do yet a-fucking-gain. Guess what, Dad ? The day you two did that, was the day you lost my trust and my respect. Don’t bother calling me again.”
I hang up and drop my phone on the bar as a body sits beside me, and I tense because I know for a fact that it’s Adam. I look and lock eyes with my girl’s father who raises a brow, and I sigh.
Fucking great…. Thanks, Dad .
“Want to explain?” he says as Lucy places two beers down.
“Not really,” I mumble, then state, “My dad’s an ass, and the longer Essy goes without meeting him, the fucking better.”
He chuckles and nods, leaving it there thankfully as he takes a swig of his beer, then says, “Mer arrived home as I was leaving, poor Aiden was zonked.”
I grin and reply, “Doesn’t surprise me. I’d bet my truck and bike she bought some kind of animal matching t-shirts for them both,” before taking a drink. He chuckles, proving me right before another person sits down, but next to Adam, and I tense.
Fuck.
Bullet raises a brow at me as he looks at Adam, then back at me with confusion. I clear my throat as Adam looks towards him and eyes his cut.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Levi wants to know when you’re coming around for dinner,” Bullet says, ignoring Adam between us. I swallow as Adam looks at him and then at me.
“I only watched him last night, the boy missing me already?” I ask and quickly take a drink.
I swear he better not call me my old road name.
“Actually, he wants someone called Essy?” he asks in confusion, and Adam laughs while I just smile, unable to keep it in.
“Why doesn’t that surprise me the little traitor,” I mumble, making Adam laugh harder.
“You’ve been replaced,” he chuckles, and I hum, unable to wipe my smile off until Bullet asks, “Who is Essy?” and my smile disappears.
I swallow hard and look at my beer while Adam answers for me and states, “Essy is my daughter,” and I finish, “And my girl.” I am not able to look my friend in the eye, but I do side-eye him and wince. His mouth is parted, his eyes wide, but I try to ignore his shocked state and say, “I’m shocked she didn’t take Levi with her and Aiden.”
“She did,” Adam returns. I look at him with a raised brow, and he shrugs, “She dropped him off with his mom at the park on her way home. Apparently, he also has a matching sea lion t-shirt.”
“Wait, your new girl has met my wife and kids but not me?” Bullet accuses. I wince while Adam looks between us with a raised brow, and I sigh, knowing I won’t get away with not telling him some truths, especially considering Bullet is wearing his cut.
“Bullet here is my best friend, we grew up together within the Black Angels MC,” I admit, and Adam furrows his brows. I take a deep breath and continue, “I handed in my cut the day I met your daughter, so they won’t be involved with her or Aiden, I promise.”
Bullet looks away but I don’t miss the betrayal he portraying, and Adam questions, “Is that why she doesn’t know? Because you handed your cut in and don’t want her around the club?”
I nod and confirm, “Yeah, and she won’t know because I don’t want my old life touching my new one. Scarlett, I made an exception because of Levi and Hannah, but otherwise, no one else, which is also why Bullet didn’t know about her.”
He nods, looks at Bullet, and asks, “And how does that make you feel?” which makes me snort.
The man needs to find a woman. He psychoanalyzes fucking everything.
Bullet frowns and murmurs, “Shitty even if I understand. Are you some kind of therapist or something?”
I chuckle and answer, “He’s a family attorney and has been through a lot and decided trying to fix relationships was a good distraction.” I look at Adam, “I love my family, but some things can’t be changed, including forcing me to date the president's daughter for two years to keep her under control, threatening my cut, my place within the club, and my way of living.”
Adam shakes his head and takes a drink, scoffing, “And here I thought the club was supposed to be family-based,” making Bullet wince.
I shrug, “So did I until that moment, and what broke the camel's back was when they tried to force me to give an old lady's cut to her, making her mine in the eyes of the club. I couldn’t take it anymore. I handed in my cut and left, adamant to live my life my way.”
“Only to bump into my sweet, kind, and very sassy daughter,” Adam finishes. I grin wide while Bullet looks at me with a frown.
I get it. He’s never seen me act this way with a woman, but he should recognize what I’m feeling, considering he went through this with Scar.
Shaking my head, I say, “You forgot caring, loving and nephew affection stealing,” and he laughs, not surprised I’d add that because she is caring and loving, and she did take Levi’s attention but I’m fucking lucky to call her mine.
Shaking his head, Adam looks at Bullet and asks, "So what kinds of stuff did this man get up to growing up?" I wince. He continues, "I need to figure out who I'm letting into my daughter's life."
Bullet grins, and I groan, dropping my head making Adam laugh.
Here we go...
We spend an hour shooting the shit, Bullet telling Adam some of the stuff we got up to growing up, stuff I really don’t want my girl’s dad knowing. Like letting five pigs loose in school and then setting a small fire in the bathrooms only for it to spread and burn down a quarter of the gym before Adam taps the bar and says, “Right, I’m off home to my kids.” I nod, and he looks at me and says, “Whenever you are ready, you don’t need my blessing because you had it the moment you looked at my daughter like she was your world. I’ll tell her to call you later.”
I nod, gratitude filling me along with relief as to why I asked him for a drink. He pats my back, then shakes Bullet’s hand and says, “It was good to meet you. And as for the idiot beside me, if you keep showing him he’s your family, he’ll return to the club because family is family, but he needs to know you’ll stand by him, not force him into something,” before he leaves and I sigh, feeling my best friend’s eyes on me as I look down at my beer.
I do miss the club, but I love living for myself and falling in love with Essy without the club breathing down my neck.
“Slick and Acid are going to lose it when they realize you have a girl and didn’t tell them,” he says and I look his way. He shakes his head, running a frustrated hand through his dark brown hair, and snaps, “They’re already pissed that you won’t answer their calls or allow them in the shop, and now this.”
I admit, “I do miss them, but all they will try and do is convince me to return, not knowing the reason why I left to begin with. You know I can’t say shit without most likely starting a coup against your father,” I shake my head and look at my bottle, “Mama let slip that our fathers have promised the club that your sister will settle down because I’m apparently due to return to the club,” I look at my best friend, “They’re still trying to get me to figure their shit out, and I don’t want that pressure on my back anymore and don’t get me fucking started on the five times, fucking five a day Bethany shows up at the shop and causes arguments with Hammer just to try and get me out of my room.”
He shakes his head and mumbles, “She’s doing all the crap on purpose. She wants your VP patch, and that is the only way she gets what she wants – money and a little bit of power," he groans, “How in the fuck did I miss this growing up?”
“She’s been brought up entitled, Ace,” I mumble back, and he hums in agreement. Then he asks, “Do I at least get to meet this girl, and how long have you even been with her?”
I wince and look his way and not only admit, “I’ve been with her for three months,” shocking him, his eyes widening, but I also admit, “She doesn’t know my family is club.”
His nostrils flare, and he snaps, “You are club!”
I shake my head, “No, I’m not. I haven’t been club since I was sixteen, your father and mine killed that with the whole Bethany shit. They keep saying there’s shit I don’t understand, but I don’t care what she has on the club, they never should have forced me with her. I’m now living for me, and fuck, if Bethany finds out about my girl, she’ll cause havoc, Ace, and I can’t have that.”
He looks away angrily and growls, “So what, I’ll never get to meet my best friend’s girl who has met my wife and kids? Fuck, who has taken my oldest to Sea World?”
I sigh, “I don’t know, Ace. Scarlett came without her cut on and didn’t bring the club up. I know how much you hate not wearing that leather.”
“One point in time, you used to want nothing more than the leather,” he rasps, and I shrug and reply, “I did until it didn’t feel right on my back when I realized I meant fuck all to said club.”
Bullet is quiet for a moment, knowing there isn’t anything he can say in return. As much as I would love to stand by him, be his VP, and be part of the family, it isn’t going to happen.
“Uh, brother, does your girl have mousy brown hair?” Bullet asks out of nowhere.
I look at him and see his eyes focused on the door and I turn in my seat and look across the dark oak tables towards the door, and my heart leaps.
Fuck she just keeps getting more beautiful as each day passes, even with a sea lion shirt on.
Essy looks around the room before our eyes connect, and I grin. Her whole face lights up and Bullet mumbles, “Okay, I can see it.” I tense suddenly, remembering he’s here, and look at him quickly, my eyes going to his cut.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I move, ready to meet my girl half way across the room but just as I’m about to stand, he groans, “Fuck….” before taking it off without me having to ask, and warmth fills me at his gesture especially knowing he lives in that leather. Brent, a prospect, hides his cut underneath the counter, hearing most of our conversations tonight, and mutters, “The club isn’t right without you,” and I smirk.
“You’ll make a good brother,” I tell him, and his light blue eyes light up before he rushes away. I turn back just in time for my girl to stop beside me.
“Well, hello there, angel,” I say with a grin.
She shakes her head and replies, “Stranger,” making me chuckle. “Dad said you were here, so I hope this is okay?” she asks nervously, and I turn my whole body around on the stool, opening my legs and admit, “I wouldn’t want you anywhere else, baby. How was Sea World?”
She cutely scrunches her nose and admits, “It was fun until both Levi and Aiden used their cuteness against me.” I tilt my head and raise a brow. She admits reluctantly, “I caved and bought them both more toys than a child needs at the gift store, spending most of my paycheck on them,” I chuckle. She holds out a tub and continues, “I also gave in and boxed ten orange frosted chocolate cupcakes at Levi’s request because, again, the kid is too cute for his own good. I was wondering if you could give them to Scarlett for me. I didn’t have time to pick them up from the bakery before dropping Levi off.”
I grin, shaking my head at my amazing girl. “Those kids run circles around you, angel,” I say, and she shrugs while smiling, not denying it and not giving a flying fuck.
Fuck, she’ll make a good mom. Shit, where did that thought come from?
“Where are my cupcakes?” I ask, ignoring the pictures of her round with my child filling me because I want some time with her before we create cute kids. I eye the box she’s brought for Levi, and she grins, her whole face lighting up as she moves her other hand from behind her back, holding a smaller tub. I nod before grabbing the loops on her jeans and pulling her body into mine, making her gasp and then melt into me, her upper body leaning against mine.
I grab my box and put it on the bar, eyeing Brent, who is eyeing the box, and snap, “You touch them, I’ll cut your fingers off,” making Essy chuckle as Brent mumbles, “And that is why you’ll make a good VP,” but thankfully, not loud enough for my girl to hear, though Bullet does snort.
I side-eye him, making him grin before I take the other box from Essy, freeing her hands which go straight to my t-shirt and fists it as I hand the larger box to Bullet, who is looking at my girl with awe, seeing how many cupcakes she’s grabbed for him.
“Angel,” I mumble, locking eyes with her and state, “I would like you to meet my best friend and Levi and Hannah’s dad, Ace.”
Her eyes widen as she looks at Ace, then winces and admits, “If he’s bouncing off the walls after he wakes, then I’m so sorry, but he batted his eyelashes for the chocolate scoop of ice cream, and I just couldn’t seem to say no to him.”
Bullet chuckles, “That’s alright, it’s good to finally meet the girl who’s locked down this knucklehead.”
I look at my girl and see her cheeks redden. I grin before gently kissing her nose to get her attention. She melts into me, her eyes looking at me full of love, and the words I know want to come out of her mouth stay tightly inside.
Soon.
“Oh yeah, I definitely see the difference,” Bullet mumbles, but I ignore him and peck my girl’s lips once, twice, three times, then ask, “Are you staying with me tonight?”
She smiles and nods, and I kiss her again, making her hum while not caring that my best friend is watching in shock at my public display.
This girl is my everything, my family, and I’ll never lose her, fucking ever.