Chapter 6
Six
Joker
I walk into church and close the door, taking my seat. It’s not even lunchtime, and I can feel a fucking headache coming on.
“So I talked to Grandma Silvia this morning and told her what’s been going on, so Joker expect a visit sometime this week. Alright, Crow, why don’t you tell us what you’ve found?” Blade gets down to business.
I watch as Crow's hands fly on the keyboard, and we watch as images come up on the big screen.
“Alright, Leo Meeks is 35 and has a long-ass rap sheet. Some petty crimes, along with drug dealing. He started dating Bailey’s mom, Jenna, last year.
They live in the trailer park on the edge of town.
Jenna has a rap sheet as well: prostitution and drugs.
I didn’t find anything about who Bailey’s father is, as Jenna didn’t put him on the birth certificate.
Neither one of them has worked in a while, so I have no way of tracing them.
And since Jenna took off, I haven’t found out anything about where she went.
We might have to ask Bailey what number the trailer is since it’s not registered in Jenna or Leo’s name. ”
Jesus, the more I read of Leo’s rap sheet, the angrier I get and can’t wait to rid this earth of this piece of shit.
“Joker, do you wanna grab Bailey and maybe Madison so she’s more comfortable so we can ask her some questions?” Blade asks as he turns to me.
“Yeah, I'll go get them. I just want you guys to know that Madison found some bruises on Bailey last night along her arms. Just in case you see them, you need to keep your cool. She's still kind of scared. I’m going to take her to the medical bay when we are done because I have a feeling there is more.” They nod their heads, but I don’t miss the pissed-off looks on their faces.
I walk into the club's living room to see Bailey stuffing her face with cookies, which makes me smile. I head to the couch. “Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but I need to borrow Madison and Bailey for a moment.” Bailey looks scared as she places the cookie on the plate and wipes her face.
“Am I in trouble?” Bailey’s voice sounds small as she looks at us in fear, as if something is going to happen to her.
I walk towards her and kneel before her so I’m looking her in the eye.
“I promise you that you aren’t in trouble; we just need to ask you some questions.
I know that you don’t know us, but I swear you're safe with us, and everyone here is going to protect you, okay? Besides, we are BFFs, remember, Bailey Bee.” I see the fear drain from her eyes as she gives me a small smile.
It's a start, so I'll take it. I stand up and can hear sniffling behind me.
Turning my head, I see Hailey, Savannah, and Scarlett with tears in their eyes, making mine widen.
I rub the back of my neck, unsure what I should do as I watch Madison hand them a tissue. “Umm.”
Hailey wipes her eyes and smiles. “It’s okay, BFG, it's just the pregnancy hormones. We are fine.”
“Right, well on that note, we should go. Come on, Bailey.” I grab her hand and help her up, needing to get out of here and all the crying women. Madison follows behind me.
“Why were they crying?” Bailey asks, looking up at me. My eyes widen, and I look to Madison for help.
She just shakes her head, smiling. “Sometimes when women are pregnant, their bodies go through a lot, including their hormones changing, and sometimes we cry when we are sad.”
We reach the room, and I open the door, grateful they had taken down Leo’s picture. “And that is why you will never have a boyfriend. Besides, boys are gross, and we smell.”
Madison smacks my arm walking into the room. “You can’t tell her that, Joker.”
I give her an innocent look that I know she’s not buying. “What? It’s true! The guys agree with me about Bailey never dating, isn’t that right?” I look at them and see them smiling, nodding their heads.
“Oh, good grief, you guys are too much. Bailey, honey, come sit down.” Madison takes Bailey's hand and has her sit in my seat.
As soon as she sits down, all the guys can see the bruises on her arms but keep it together so as not to scare her. “Hi, Bailey. I’m Blade. We met the other night. We just have a few questions to ask you. Is that okay?”
She looks around at all the guys surrounding the table, and I know it must be scary for her to see such big guys, but each one of them has a smile on their faces, which eases her fear slightly. “Okay.”
“Good. Can you tell us your trailer number? Do you remember which one it is?”
“It’s um, number five. It has yellow paint on the outside with the bars on the windows. Momma got mad at me once for opening the window to get fresh air because it’s so hot in there, so she put them up, saying that bad girls don’t get things.”
I look up at the ceiling, pissed off. I'm ready to tear out of here and track down her so-called parents, and I don’t think I’m the only one. Madison grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze. I look at her to see tears swimming in her eyes.
“Thank you, Bailey, you've been such a big help.” Blade smiles at her, but I can see in his eyes that he’s ready to murder someone.
I turn her chair around and get down to her level. “Okay, Bailey Bee, we are going to head to the medical bay here so Madison and I can take a look at your bruises, okay? Just to make sure nothing is wrong.” All she does is nod her head, looking scared, and grabs my hand as I help her up.
“Joker,” Blade calls me before I leave the room. I turn my head to look at him. “We ride in an hour.” The smile he has is feral, mirroring my own. Let’s pray the stepfather is there so I can end this once and for all.
Madison
I walk out with Joker and Bailey, heading for the medical bay at the clubhouse, and I just hope we don’t find anything else wrong.
Right now she’s so quiet, when before with the girls she was in heaven looking at everything they bought for her.
We will still have to go to the mall, but for now she has everything she will need until then.
As I look around, I can see Joker has everything you could need in a medical bay, which makes me wonder how often they use this stuff in here. I walk towards the bed, and I can feel Bailey’s hand tremble in mine.
I give her an encouraging smile. “Can I help you up onto the bed, Bailey?”
She looks around the room in fear. “Okay.” Her voice is hardly a whisper, and I know she’s scared. I don’t think this poor girl has ever been seen by a doctor.
I pull out the stool on the bottom and help her up as Joker comes over with a few things on a tray. “Okay, Bailey Bee, I’m going to check your lungs and draw some blood, but first, can you tell me if you're hurting anywhere else?”
Bailey looks at both of us with tears in her eyes. “Um, my back hurts a little bit. Leo got mad at me when I asked for food.”
My head flies up to look at Joker, and he is livid. I don't think I’ve ever seen him look so mad. “I’m going to take a look, okay?” All she does is nod her head and look at the wall.
I walk around the bed and take a deep breath. Joker places a hand on my back as I slowly lift her shirt. I gasp seeing the bruises and what looks to be whip marks lining her back. How she’s not crying in pain right now is beyond me. There are old and fresh marks all over her.
“Oh my god, Joker.” Tears fall down my face at the horrors Bailey has faced.
He leans down and kisses the top of my head, whispering in my ear. “I know, angel, I promise you he is going to get his.”
I stand back up and wipe my tears because right now Bailey needs me to be strong. Later, when she’s asleep, I can fall apart. I pull myself together and walk to face her with a smile on my face. “So I’m just going to grab something, and I will be right back, okay? And then we can get started.”
“Am I in trouble?” Her lip trembles, and my heart shatters into a million pieces. All this poor girl has known is pain, but no more.
“Oh, honey, no, you're not in trouble. I’m just going to grab a laptop so you can watch a movie while Joker and I clean the marks on your back. Then we can go into the kitchen and make some lunch. How does that sound?”
“Can I have more of those cookies Hailey brought?” She gets a hopeful look on her face, making me smile.
“As long as you eat your lunch, of course you can.”
Joker comes around and gives her a mischievous smirk, lowering his voice. “Don’t worry, Bailey Bee, you can sneak all the cookies you want.”
I listen to her giggle and walk out the door, closing it softly behind me, and walk with purpose towards the living room. Everyone is sitting around talking, but as soon as they see my face, all talking stops.
“What’s wrong, Madison?” Blade asks as he gets up. Everyone else is on high alert.
I angrily wipe the tears that don’t want to stop falling.
“When we asked Bailey if she’s hurt anywhere else, she said her back, and when I lifted her shirt, she had old and fresh whip marks all over.
When you find Leo, I want you to inflict the worst kind of pain imaginable on him.
I want him to feel everything that Bailey has gone through.
” I’m not a violent person; I don’t seek revenge ever, but everyone has a breaking point, and this is mine.
When you hurt innocent children. This I won’t stand for.
He runs his hand through his hair in frustration. “Fuck. Does she need to go to the hospital?”
“No, between Joker and me, we have it covered. I only came out here to grab a laptop so she can watch a movie while we clean up her wounds. And while you guys are gone, we are going to be making lunch and hanging out here until you guys get back.” I look at the girls to see them with tears in their eyes. This is hitting all of us hard.
Hailey stands up and walks over to me. “You can use mine. I already have a few movies she can watch, and while you guys are cleaning up her back, I can sit with her if you'd like.”
I grab her hand and squeeze, thankful for their support.
“That would be great, thank you. And maybe if someone can swing by my bakery and pick up more of those cookies because Joker, being Joker, told her she can have as many as she wants.” I roll my eyes, everyone laughs, lightening up the mood for just a moment.
“Don’t worry, we will go and pick some up along with a few things for lunch.” Scarlett says while Savannah nods her head as Hailey and I walk down the hall.
We walk in to see Bailey laughing at whatever Joker was saying, making me smile. Hailey walks over with the laptop in her hand. “Hey Bailey, I brought my laptop and have some movies on there for you to watch.” We watch as Bailey gets an excited look on her face as Hailey sets up her laptop.
Joker and I work in silence, cleaning up Bailey’s back, cleaning the wounds and making sure there isn’t an infection.
Each wound I clean is like a knife right to my heart, and the sad part is she doesn’t even flinch or cry out.
We dress and wrap what we can and pull down her shirt.
While I was getting the laptop, Joker drew her blood, and we should have the results in a few days.
I walk towards the sink and clean my hands, which are trembling right now.
Joker shuts the water off and pulls me to his chest. “It’s not fair.”
“I know, angel. But she’s here now with us, and we are going to make sure she has everything that she needs, starting with therapy, which I think will do her some good.”
I pull back, and he wipes the tears. “I don’t even know what I’m doing. What if I screw up her life even more?”
“That’s impossible. You are the most kind-hearted person I know, and Bailey is lucky to have you in her life, going to bat for her.
Hell, I'm the lucky one as well. I know this isn’t ideal in how we are starting, but I’m here with you through all of this.
We are going to get through this together, okay? ”
This side of Joker that people rarely get to see is one of my favorites. I’m really finding it hard not to fall in love with him. “Together?”
“Together always.” He looks into my eyes and down to my lips, and I know this is the moment he’s going to kiss me.
He doesn’t waste a second as his lips touch mine in a feather-light kiss.
Everything I thought I knew has just flown out the window as he deepens the kiss, sending my heart soaring.
His lips are so warm and soft. His kiss is a promise.
Firm, unshakable, filled with things we can’t say out loud.
It’s at this moment I know without a doubt I have fallen hard and fast. He slows down the kiss until he pulls back, leaning his forehead against mine, breathing heavily.
My lips tingle as if he’s still kissing me.
“That just sealed your fate, angel. You're mine, and there is no going back.”
I smile as my face flushes. “I kind of like the sound of that.” His smile is beautiful, so full of life and happiness, and I know I just put that there.
A knock at the door interrupts our moment as Blade sticks his head in and walks over to us. “We are ready. It’s been confirmed he’s in the trailer now, licking his wounds.” His voice is lowered so Bailey doesn’t hear us.
“I’ve got to go, angel. But we will finish this conversation when I get back.” He places one last lingering kiss on my lips before walking away.
“Be safe. Oh, and Joker. Make it hurt.”
He walks backward out the door and winks at me. “You got it, Angel.”
I watch as he walks out the door with Blade, and I say a little prayer for them to come back safely. Now all we can do is wait and hope they catch him before he’s able to do anything else.