Chapter Twenty-Four
Voorhees
(Seven Months later)
Drac enters the room looking disheveled and distraught. It cost us a lot of money to fix the parts of the building that got damaged by the fire Poppy started, and the man hasn’t forgiven her for it.
“You look fucking exhausted, Brother.”
He slinks down into the chair next to me and sighs. “I am. I didn’t realize how hard having a newborn would be. Rich and Mindy are in for a very rude awakening once their bundles of joy are born.” Then he lets out a long sigh. “Is it bad that I regret going one percent now that I have a family?”
I shake my head. “What made you go that route, anyway?”
He shrugs. “Depression, vengeance, stupidity. Take your pick. There all a part of why I’m so goddamn stupid.”
Krampus picks that exact moment to saunter over. “Who’s stupid?”
“Me,” Drac answers, the weight of his actions taking a toll. “I’m regretting changing the club into what it is. Too many people have died, Krampus. People that should still be here.”
Krampus nods, slamming his butt into the seat across from us. “But these are the decisions that we made, Drac. We can’t go back on them now. Not after what happened with Moseley.”
He nods, closing his eyes before we see the pain in them. He knows most of this is his fault, and taking out Moseley when we were in Italy only has made things worse.
“Do you think the Misfits will retaliate?”
He nods. “They have nothing stopping them now. With Moseley and Rico gone, I bet they’ll come for us next. We basically took out their buffer and left ourselves wide open for attack.”
“But we had no other choice,” Krampus adds. “They took Mindy.”
A smile slightly toys with my lips as I watch my closest friend’s face light up the second he says her name.
I never expected for him to find his person, but things have drastically changed within the club, and slowly people have been falling victim to Cupid’s arrow left and right.
Not only did Drac finally marry Amber after years of them being apart, but now he’s a father too, making him softer than he should be.
He’s not the only one though. Phantom now has a girl who isn’t bat-shit crazy, unless you count the fact that she can talk to dead people.
He’s happily tied down to Autumn, who’s made her presence pretty prominent in the club.
But it’s Mindy that was the shocker. She came out of nowhere, stealing my man Rich’s heart so easily the second she settled into town and opened a bakery here.
Now the bastard can’t stop smiling. And it’s a little unnerving.
“Right, and we’d protect her again if we have to,” Drac announces.
“We’ll protect them all,” Krampus adds. “If the Raging Misfits come for us, we’ll be ready.”
Will we though?
It’s been entirely too quiet since Moseley’s death, and I have this sinking feeling that at any moment they’re going to come after us, hitting us when we least expect it.
“Look, we all know that Moseley’s death is going to turn into a catalyst of shit we’ll eventually need to deal with, but until we know what the Misfits are planning, we just need to keep moving forward, and start working towards something better for all of us.”
“Like what?” I question, hating how I’m the only guy here without a girl.
Not that there’s anyone else for me in this world but Poppy.
I haven’t slept with anyone but her since I got out.
And even after she stabbed me, doing so in a way that would keep me alive, I’ve stayed loyal, refusing to open my heart to anyone else.
Sure, the Annies have tried, but none of them have successfully wooed their way into my bed. I won’t let them.
Maybe that makes me a crazy person. I’m sitting here pining over a girl, that’s hated me her entire life, stabbed me with a knife, and tried to burn my clubhouse to the ground. But despite everything, I still want her.
That white knight syndrome just never stops.
“You look lost in thought, Voor,” Drac comments, his eyes slightly narrowing.
“Just thinking.”
“About Poppy?” Krampus questions.
My head bobs reluctantly. “I know it’s stupid, but I just can’t stop thinking about her. If it wasn’t for her, Amber and Gio might’ve…” my voice trails off.
Drac’s hands slowly start to clench, knuckles turning white.
Maybe it was her way of trying to apologize for setting the club on fire, but for whatever reason, Drac has Poppy to thank for bringing him and Amber back together.
The Raging Misfits had plans on kidnapping her and Giovanni, and then using them as bait, or selling them to the same trafficking ring that dick Moseley tried to sell Mindy to.
“I fucking hate that bitch,” Drac growls. “I know she saved Amber and Gio’s life. But that doesn’t change anything for me. I still fucking hate her.” He catches my gaze and doesn’t even apologize for his words.
He has every right to hate her.
I just never will.
“We going on the ride today?” I ask, needing the open Nevada roads and air to clear my thoughts.
Drac nods. “I think we all need it after everything that happened in Italy.”
Krampus agrees, “Yeah, it’s been hard to bounce back from it. Mindy’s been a wreck, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s just pregnancy hormones?”
Drac shrugs. “They pop up out of nowhere, Brother. One minute they’re fine. The next minute they’re crying. It’s crazy.”
Phantom and Gremlin appear from out of the backrooms to join us. The rest of the club is still sleeping, I guess.
“We talking about babies again?” Phantom questions, looking a little afraid.
“Yeah, sort of. Pregnancy hormones.”
Phantom chuckles. “I’m making sure that Autumn doesn’t drink the water here. I’m not ready for a kid right now.”
“None of us were ready for this, Phantom. They just sort of come without warning,” Krampus acknowledges. “Somehow I’m getting two.”
Drac laughs. “Join the club.”
“At least yours are five years apart! Mine are gonna be in diapers together. That’s more clothing… more diapers… more of everything. This clubhouse isn’t big enough for all of us.”
“You can have Amber’s old house if you want. There’s plenty of room.”
Krampus scrubs at his chin. “I’ll talk to Mindy about it. We’re okay right now staying at her shop, but yeah, once the babies are here, we may need it.”
Jealousy hits me out of nowhere.
This is what I want. A future. A family. The pregnant wife and kids. I couldn't care less about anything else. I just want to build something bigger than this clubhouse.
“I’m gonna go check out the bikes and get ready for the ride.”
“Voor, wait—”
Drac cuts Krampus off. “Let him go, Rich, he needs some space right now.”
And I do need space; my head is so jumbled up with everything that’s happened these past few months that I can barely breathe anymore. If my parole officer found out I was shit deep in gun slinging road wars, I’d be back in jail for good.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it out this time if I go back.
The sun greets me the second I’m outside, bathing my skin in a refreshing dry heat that I eagerly devour. I wouldn’t give up the Nevada sun for anything, except maybe Poppy.
“You okay, Bro?” Gremlin questions, suddenly appearing beside me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed some air.”
Gremlin grins. “They’re a bunch of saps in there, aren’t they? But not us. We’re the guys who get all the ladies and don’t settle down.”
Laughing, I can’t help but smile. Gremlin’s got no game, especially being a prospect. “When was the last time you got a girl, Gremlin?”
He shrugs. “I get girls. I just don’t bring them around here.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Gremlin’s chest puffs out with pride. “I’ll have you know, I’ve been in a seven-month steady situationship.”
“Situationship, huh?”
He nods. “Yeah, she’s amazing.”
“Does she know you’re in a relationship?”
For some reason he pauses, and I realize my joke may have hit something it shouldn’t have.
“I’m just joking with you, Grem. I’m sure she’s great.”
Unfazed, he leans against his bike, smiling too wide. “The best. I can’t take my goddamn eyes off of her.”
“Can’t wait to meet her then.”
I kick a few of our tires before checking under each one to make sure their Gremlin bell is still intact. The last thing we need is someone to get in an accident on those winding Nevada roads. I may not be very superstitious, but that’s one biker lore I live and breathe.
“What about you? Find your special girl yet, or are you still hung up on that one chick?”
I don’t answer him.
“I see. She must be someone pretty special if you’re willing to stay devoted to her. I mean, she did stab you in the gut.”
My eyes dart to him in annoyance. “She stabbed me somewhere I wouldn’t get too hurt.”
He holds up his hands in surrender. “If you say so. I mean, I don’t know if I could forgive a bitch if she stabbed me like that. But you’re a different man than me.”
“Gremlin, just go inside. You’re bothering me.”
“Fine. Fine. I’m just trying to help.”
“You’re just making shit worse.”
He kicks at a rock on the ground and sighs. “Well, for what it’s worth. I hope your girl redeems herself somehow.”
“Why?”
“Because I know how much you love her. Why? I have no clue. But you do love her.”
“Yeah, guess that makes me just a sappy as them.”
“No, it makes you crazy. They’re not dealing with knife-wielding psychopaths that commit arson and try to kill people.”
“Gremlin, fuck the hell off.”
“Okay, okay. I’m going.”
He disappears inside, but his words still linger. Why am I so hung up on someone that’s not even redeemable?
“He’s right, you know?” a soft voice whispers from over by the fence. “You are fucking crazy.”
My back instantly straightens when I hear her voice, head shooting up as I reach for my piece.
“Hey now, don’t shoot. I come in peace.”
“Yeah right.” I move closer to the fence, my hand never leaving the trigger of my gun. “What are you doing here, Poppy?”
“I came to warn you.”
“Warn me?”