Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
P irate had never clocked out so fast in his entire employment. Generally, he clocked out but still hung around to ensure all the students left safely or to watch whatever extracurricular activities his club nephews or niece were up to. But this time, he needed to get to the clubhouse as soon as he could.
During Saturday’s Church meeting, it had been casually mentioned that Steel, Lucky, and Bulldog would be interviewing a potential prospect on Monday. After meeting Fletcher the day before, Pirate now knew who that prospect was—and he was not happy about it. He’d wanted to discuss the matter with Steel after Sophia left, but then the two of them had ended up staying in his apartment late and talking to Steel had slipped his mind.
Since Enola, Sophia’s dog, was in the apartment that morning when he fed the dogs, Pirate knew Sophia was there too, but he hadn’t seen her. From the voices coming from Jumper’s bedroom, Sophia and Jasmine were in there. Jumper’s grumpy mood also confirmed it. The two brothers had walked the four dogs but there’d still been no sign of Sophia by the time Pirate had to leave for work.
Disappointment and a weird agitation had been plaguing him all day. It was like an itch on his back he couldn’t scratch.
He sent a message to Steel, Lucky, and Bulldog saying that he needed to speak with them prior to their meeting with the wannabe prospect. He had no doubt that Steel would see through Fletcher’s pompous pretense but Pirate still had to ensure that Fletcher did not get the vote. Unfortunately, there was nothing in their bylaws that prohibited assholes from prospecting. The stipulation was they needed to have served in one of the branches of the armed forces and have been honorably discharged.
Even with those two conditions met, a prospect still needed the officers to vote in his or her favor. Bear, as the Road Captain, was the tie breaker of the MC. Since there were seven officers, he only voted when there was a tie. However, in the case of voting someone in as a prospect and then voting a prospect to become a patched member, Bear got a vote like everyone else because it wasn’t a majority wins situation. Every officer needed to vote ‘yes’ to let someone prospect and then every patched member needed to vote ‘yes’ to let that prospect earn his or her rockers.
In the MC’s history, there’d only been one instance where a prospect did not get all the votes. It was before Pirate’s time but he’d heard the stories. For the first two years of the MC’s existence, the prospecting timeframe had been six months rather than the year it was now. They’d been trying to build membership and hadn’t wanted the club to wait a full year to get patched members other than the officers. Supposedly, during that six month time frame, the prospect had been a complete asshole, did not do what was asked of him, and spent his time at the bar fucking anyone he could.
It was no surprise he didn’t get the votes and had actually threatened to sue the MC for not allowing him to be patched over.
Pirate was heading to his hog in the staff parking lot when he heard “Uncle Pirate!” from behind him.
He turned to see Scotty and Harper walking out of the building. Harper, being around eight months pregnant, was waddling more than walking—not that Pirate would ever say that to her. This was her last week of work before going on maternity leave.
Knowing his priority was to Harper and Scotty rather than making his meeting with Steel, Pirate hurried to meet them halfway. He immediately took Harper’s arm and let her lean on him. She smiled up at him, but it didn’t meet her eyes. She was breathing heavily and had a scrunched look on her face like she was trying to hold back pain.
“Are you okay?” Pirate knew nothing about babies or labor or pregnancy but he knew that she shouldn’t be in pain.
“They’re Braxton Hicks contractions,” Harper explained through gritted teeth. She put most of her weight on him. “I’ve been getting them on and off all day.”
“Please tell me you were not going to try to drive like this,” Pirate gently reprimanded.
Harper shook her head, strands of her raven hair falling loose from the tight bun she had it in. “I was hoping you could take Scotty home. I can head out once it passes.”
“Sure and get home just in time to see Lucky flay me alive for leaving you here while you’re suffering from…whatever you just said you were suffering from.”
She chuckled. “Braxton Hicks contractions.”
“Tom a to, tom o to,” Pirate scoffed. “Why didn’t you call me? Or Lucky? Hell, Angel just picked up the other kids. Why didn’t you tell her?”
“It’s fine,” she hissed. They were making very slow progress to her cage. Scotty was walking slowly on Harper’s other side. Though he had her arm too, Pirate knew Harper was not leaning any of her weight on him. “I just…” She winced. “I just need to get through it. It was the same with Conner. It’s just my body getting ready to go into labor next month.”
They finally made it to her cage. Pirate got her passenger door open and guided her to sit. She had trouble lifting her legs into the footwell. Pirate lifted her legs in before instructing Scotty to get into the back seat and buckled up.
Pirate rushed around to the driver’s side. After adjusting the seat to fit his longer legs, he repositioned the mirrors. Turning to Harper, he held his hand out for her keys. She frowned at him as if she thought he was being ridiculous about insisting on driving her home.
“I value my life too much to let you drive,” he deadpanned as he turned the ignition. Harper’s mouth at least quirked in an attempt at a smile. Before he backed out of the parking spot, he turned to Harper. “Are you sure you want to go home?” he asked cryptically.
The glance behind her at Scotty told him she understood his real question as to whether she needed to go to the hospital or home.
Her hesitation was answer enough.
As he pulled out of the employee parking lot behind the school, Pirate pulled out his phone and called Lucky.
“Hey,” Lucky’s deep voice answered the call. “We’re at the clubhouse waiting for you.”
“Well, that’s sweet of you, but both of us are going to miss the meeting.”
Concern filled his voice, Lucky asked, “Why’s that?”
“I’ve got Harper and Scotty in her cage, but we’re headed to get her checked out.” Pirate tried to sound calm to keep Scotty from picking up on the fact that he was scared shitless. Pirate had no idea what to do if Harper suddenly went into labor. “She’s been having those fake contractions all day. I just met them at the back door. Silly woman was going to drive herself home.”
Harper threw a glare in his direction as he practically threw her under the bus to her extremely overprotective husband. But then another contraction must have hit because she suddenly gasped out and grabbed the side of her large belly.
“I’m on my way!” From the noise in the background, Pirate imagined Lucky was running towards the clubhouse doors.
“Tell him not to rush,” Harper gritted out. “I’m fine.”
Keeping an eye on the road, Pirate looked over at her. Then he turned to Lucky on the phone. “Don’t break any speed limits but get there.”
“Is she in labor?” Lucky demanded. His voice changed, becoming more muffled, which told Pirate the call had switched to the Bluetooth in his helmet.
Lowering his voice, because he was very aware of Scotty in the backseat, he asked, “How the hell am I supposed to know?”
“Did her water break?”
Pirate looked over at Harper. He saw the briefcase she carried with her and her purse, but no water bottle. “I have no idea.”
Lucky growled, “Ask her, dumbass.”
Pirate turned to Harper. “Did your water break?”
Harper shook her head. She was now clutching her belly with two hands.
“Shit,” Pirate breathed out. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like Scotty had heard him because the teen didn’t say anything about Pirate owing money to Aunt Angel’s swear jar. “She says no, but you might want to break those speed limits after all,” he told Lucky. “I need to call Carlos so neither of us get arrested for reckless driving.”
Hanging up with Lucky before the man could argue, Pirate dialed Carlos.
“Hey, Pirate, what’s up?”
An unexpected surge of anger rose up from Pirate’s gut at Carlos’s voice. What the fuck was that? “There’s a possibility Harper’s in labor,” he rushed out, hoping if any anger slipped through it would be mistaken as anxiety for the situation. “I’m driving her to the hospital. Lucky’s on his way. Tell your deputies not to pull us over.”
“Fuck,” he heard Carlos curse. “I’ll radio over. I’m on my way.” His girlfriend, Zoe, who was also one of Jasmine’s bridesmaids, had recently announced her pregnancy. In six months, this panic would be his.
Harper wasn’t his woman or having his baby and Pirate felt like he was going to throw up. How the fuck did parents survive this? Why would they want to? And more than once? This was fucking terrifying and he’d served overseas in a war zone.
Mount Grove was a small town but it was large in land. They only had one main drag, one high school, and one hospital. Unfortunately, the high school and the hospital were on the opposite sides of town. Even speeding, it was going to take a good twenty minutes to reach their destination.
Pirate hung up the phone without saying anything else. He wasn’t sure he could . Why the fuck was he suddenly pissed off at Carlos? It made no sense. Like he’d told Sophia the night before, he had no right to be.
Scotty leaned forward, but still had his seat belt on. “Mommy, are you okay?”
Harper tried to turn to look at her son. She ended up wincing, hissing, and then grunting before sitting forward again. “I’m fine, baby.”
Fuck, she did not sound fine.
“Then why is Uncle Pirate bringing us to the hospital?” Scotty asked, and Pirate cursed himself for letting the H-word slip in front of Scotty. He’d been so careful and then he’d blurted out their destination to Carlos. “I thought we were going home.”
Harper started to do that huffing breath he’d seen women on TV do when they’re trying to breathe through a contraction. Well, shit.
Pirate swerved around another vehicle and pressed harder on the gas pedal. “Scotty, you know how women can create a baby in their belly?” He saw the teen nod in the mirror. “We just want to make sure your mommy and your baby sister are okay.”
Scotty’s face scrunched up in thought. “Doctors like Aunt Tessa are going to help you, Mommy?”
Harper nodded, struggling to breathe. Her face was extremely red. “Yes, baby. Just like Aunt Tessa.”
Scotty nodded once. “Good. Then let’s go to the hospital.”
The news spread like wildfire that Pirate had taken Harper to the hospital. Not only had Lucky rolled in on his hog, but Bulldog, Steel, and Keys were right behind him. Shortly after Harper and Lucky had been taken up to Labor and Delivery, others started to pour into the waiting room. Tessa and Jenna remained behind with the younger club kids while Angel and Cage brought Bree, Ollie, and Aaron to the hospital in their accessible cage. Some members remained behind to guard the property with the prospects. Jumper and Jasmine came, after stopping by the school to pick up Pirate’s hog. Jasmine drove it with Jumper dual riding next to her. Sissy and Scissors were on their way, having been in Pittsburgh when they’d received the call about Harper.
Then Sophia came bursting through the doors. Their eyes met from across the room. Pirate was sitting with Scotty, who was playing on Pirate’s phone as a way to distract the teen. Rather than acknowledge Pirate, though, Sophia just turned her head and walked towards where Jasmine and Jumper were standing.
Pirate’s eyes narrowed. What was that about? Not even a wave or a smile or anything. He did not like it. When they’d parted ways the night before, things had been good between them. They’d spent the afternoon in bed talking and had even ordered a pizza. Pirate couldn’t remember the last time he’d sat with a woman he’d just had sex with and chatted with her.
Probably because he’d never done such a thing before.
He wondered what she and Jazz had been talking about that morning. He assumed Sophia was following through with her plan to tell Jasmine about how he and Sophia were fake dating in front of her mom at the wedding. Sophia had been sure Jazz would support the lie to get her mom off her back and to keep Fletcher from attending her wedding. What if Sophia had been wrong? What if Jazz had been upset or didn’t support the two of them dating? Was that why Sophia had just given him the cold shoulder?
What business was it of Jazz’s anyway? She might be his soon-to-be sister-in-law, but she wasn’t his mother. She did not have any say in who he dated. Fake dated, he corrected himself. What did it matter if Jasmine gave her permission or not?
But she and Sophia were best friends. Sophia wouldn’t do anything to upset Jasmine. It was why they were keeping their accidental marriage a secret from her.
Unless it was something else. What if Sophia was the one who didn’t want to be seen with him. Was she embarrassed by him? By his leg? Pirate didn’t think so. Not with how readily she always jumped on the back of his bike on club runs. But no one thought anything of that. They didn’t know that Sophia and he were sleeping together. They might just think he was a sucker for letting her ride with him. After all, that was supposed to mean something. Pirate certainly wouldn’t like it if she’d gotten on anyone else’s bike. Or if she hopped from bike to bike. The implications of that were…not nice.
Pirate was starting to spiral down a rabbit hole of insecurities, which was not like him, when a nurse came into the waiting room. She asked for Bear and then brought him back with her. A few minutes later, Ronald and Cindy Hannigan came in through the electric double doors. Paige, who had been sitting with Demo, walked up to them, embracing. The club might not be a fan of the former sheriff, but he was still Harper’s father and her child’s grandfather.
Time dragged. Conversations were staggered. The worry and tension in the room were palpable. No one was sure if no news was good news or not. When Steel’s phone rang, more than one person jumped. The MC’s President walked out through the double doors to take the call. Someone offered to go get coffee, but only a few people accepted.
When Steel came back into the waiting room, he motioned for Bulldog and then searched the room until he found Pirate. He crooked his finger. Surprised, Pirate told Scotty he’d be right back. There were enough adults around to watch the teen and Pirate’s phone should keep him out of trouble. As Pirate passed Jumper, Jasmine, and Sophia, Sophia turned her head and wouldn’t look at him.
Pirate scowled but couldn’t ignore his President to deal with his woman. Shit, not his woman. Sophia was not his woman. She was just… Well, Pirate didn’t really know. Technically they were married, but they were about to get a divorce in less than six weeks. They weren’t friends with benefits, because they weren’t friends. They weren’t dating either and she wasn’t his ol’ lady. Sophia would castrate him if he called her his concubine. Though the look on her face would be priceless, it was not worth the damage done to his family jewels.
Following Bulldog and Steel outside, Pirate tried to push Sophia from his mind. But she stayed, front and center. Fuck, how had that woman buried herself so thoroughly into his brain was beyond him?
Steel led them down the sidewalk away from the main doors. He turned to Bulldog. “That was Viktor. He’s manning the gate. Apparently, we forgot to call the prospect interviewee to inform him of the family emergency and reschedule.”
Bulldog ran his hand down his long beard. “That was my bad. I completely forgot. I’ll call him to reschedule.”
“Well, that’s where the crux of the issue comes in. Viktor told him we were at the hospital dealing with an emergency.”
Bulldog’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me, the guy’s on his way here.”
Steel nodded. “According to Viktor, he tried to tell him that one of us would call to reschedule but the guy just told Viktor not to bother and he’d come see us now. Then he drove off.”
Pirate snorted. He barely knew Fletcher and yet knew this sounded exactly like something he would do.
Steel turned to Pirate. “What is it that you wanted to talk to us about prior to our meeting?”
He understood now why Steel had called him outside. Pirate wasn’t an officer. With Lucky out of commission, if Steel was going by hierarchy then Jumper was next under Bulldog as the club’s Secretary. But Steel hadn’t needed another officer. He needed the knowledge Pirate had on the man on his way over to the hospital, not caring in the slightest that this was a family matter or how inappropriate it was to come here.
“Pretty sure nothing you haven’t already deduced from the conversation he just had with Viktor. I met him yesterday at Sophia’s mom’s house. Apparently, his family and Sophia’s are close, the two grew up together. His name is Fletcher Montague. Complete douche.”
“Does he have history with Sophia?” Bulldog asked.
Pirate shifted back slightly. “They were friends as kids. Him, Sophia, Jazz, and Carlos, but he had a falling out with the other two around middle school.”
Bulldog’s face scrunched as if he was trying to remember. “I vaguely remember a little scrawny kid hanging out with the three of them but not his name or what happened to him.”
“Sophia said he got popular and basically ditched them. Then in high school, Sophia and he dated for a time but he cheated on her.” Pirate figured that was close enough to the truth. What else happened was no one’s business but Sophia’s.
“What do you know about his military history?” Steel asked.
Pirate shook his head. “Just that he served. Sophia hinted that his dad pulled strings to keep him stateside and behind a desk.”
“Based on your meeting with him yesterday, would you vote him into the club?”
Pirate was about to answer Steel’s question, but the roar of an expensive engine caught his notice. The three men turned to face the parking lot. The clubhouse was over twenty-five minutes away from the hospital. The guy must have broken as many laws as Lucky had to get here so quickly.
Pirate crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll let you meet him,” he told his President, “and then you can figure out for yourself what my vote would be.”
The sleek Tomahawk took the corner into the hospital’s parking lot so fast that the rider’s knee just barely missed scraping the ground. The white and red track riding suit from the day before had been replaced with an all-black one. As the bike weaved its way unnecessarily through the cages parked throughout the parking lot, he started to pick up speed. Like a stuntman for a Hollywood movie, the rider jumped his bike over the median before the main drag that led to the hospital’s entrance. Just when it looked like he was going to crash into the sidewalk where Steel, Bulldog, and Pirate stood, the driver slid to the side, braking so hard that his tires smoked.
The bike skidded to a halt at the edge of the sidewalk, leaving black track marks on the asphalt.
Steel, Bulldog, and Pirate waited in silence as the rider turned off the engine and hopped—literally, hopped like a fucking bunny—off his seat. Removing his helmet with a swift pull, Fletcher Montague smiled broadly at his audience as if waiting for an applause or words of praise. He put his helmet on his seat since the bike had no saddlebags.
Then he walked towards them, leaving his bike parked in the No Parking fire lane.
“You Steel?” Fletcher called out.
Steel and Bulldog were wearing their cuts. Pirate wasn’t because he hadn’t had a chance to get it from his hog before Scotty and Harper had come to his attention. It was still in his saddlebag. He was also dressed in khakis and a green polo with the high school’s logo on the left breast. There was nothing about him at the present that identified him as Via Daemonia , but that didn’t make him any less of a patched member.
Steel said nothing, allowing Fletcher to close the distance between them. When Fletcher held out his hand to Steel, Steel made no move to grab it. His face was an emotionless mask, which Fletcher seemed to be slowly realizing.
Still holding out his hand in offering, Fletcher said with a little shake in his voice, “I’m Fletcher Montague, but you can call me ‘Romeo’.” A smile that could only be called flirty appeared on his lips. “Everyone in my old unit did. I have an irresistible charm with the ladies. No woman can say ‘no’ to me.”
The idiot actually winked at Steel. Fucking winked!
Steel remained where he was, still as a statue with his arms crossed over his muscular chest. The only part of him that moved was his salt and pepper hair in the afternoon breeze.
Fletcher slowly lowered his hand, the smile he’d worn falling. “Um, we had a meeting scheduled. I’m your new prospect. The guy at your gate wouldn’t let me in no matter how many times I told him I was there to see you . Once I figured out you were at the hospital, I figured I’d come here to join you guys.”
Bulldog let out a snort. Pirate was actually fighting back a chuckle as Steel’s unwavering silence was starting to make Fletcher squirm. Had it occurred to the moron at all that it was not okay to just show up at the hospital uninvited? And that ridiculous entrance? Who was he trying to impress—Evel Knievel?
“So I, uh, I thought I’d see if there’s anything I can do to help. The guy at your gate wouldn’t tell me why you’re here, but my dad’s a huge donor of this hospital. I’m sure I can get you guys better care or answers.”
Still, Steel just stood there. Pirate actually wished he had a camera so he could show the others how Steel made Fletcher squirm without saying a damn word. Priceless.
“I’ll, um, I’ll go see what I can find out.” He pointed towards the entrance behind the club members and to the left.
Fletcher made to walk around Steel, but Steel stepped in front of him. Fletcher jumped. A look of excitement crossed his face, as if he thought he finally had Steel’s attention. It was a total mindfuck to know that this guy was the same age, or thereabouts, as Pirate, Sophia, Jasmine, and Carlos. Despite his military service, he was acting like he was in his late teens/early twenties, still spoiled with his daddy’s money. Sophia had a very similar background to this guy and she was nothing like him. Pirate wondered briefly if her older brothers were.
“You’re parked in a fire lane.”
Fletcher blinked at Steel’s words. “What?”
“You’re parked in a fire lane,” Steel repeated. “Move your goddamn bike before I call Captain Hunter to bring a firetruck here to run it over.”
“Oh.” The single word was small but filled with uncertainty.
The shock on Fletcher’s face had Pirate nearly doubled over trying to contain himself. Bulldog actually elbowed him in reprimand, but he could see the amusement on his SAA’s face too. It was just covered better because of his full beard.
“It’s… It’s okay,” Fletcher tried to reassure Steel. “Like I said, my dad’s a big donor here. I’m sure no one will mind.”
Steel took a single step closer to him so they were nose-to-nose. Or they would have been if Fletcher was taller. At six-two, Steel had to tip his head down, literally standing over the other man. There was no comparison in muscle either. Fletcher was a twig next to Steel’s twenty-year Marine bulk.
“Move. Your. Goddamn. Bike.”
Fletcher swallowed. “Yes. Yes, sir. I’ll… I’ll go move it. Sorry. I… Sorry.” Then he rushed back to his Tomahawk.
Steel turned back to Bulldog and Pirate as Fletcher sped away, still unnecessarily fast. Looking between his two members, Steel grumbled, “Let it out.”
Bulldog and Pirate burst into laughter, leaning on each other to stay upright. Steel watched them with a scowl on his face.
Pirate had to wipe tears from his eyes. He tried to speak, but his sides cramped from laughing so hard that the words came out in gasps. “Does…that…answer your…question?”
Steel grumbled something unintelligible.
Bulldog tried to straighten, the taller man still had his elbow on Pirate’s shoulder. “What the fuck was that? Who the fuck does this kid think he is?”
“‘My daddy donates here’,” Pirate mocked, trying to match Fletcher’s voice.
“Like to see what Cage thinks of his daddy’s donations,” Bulldog replied with a wide grin. Fletcher’s dad might donate money, but Cage had donated a kidney to Bree, who, at the time, had been a stranger to both him and the club.
Pirate saw Fletcher walking back towards them. “Please tell me you’re going to send him packing after making him park his bike like that.”
The glint in Steel’s eyes was pure evil. “I have a better idea.”
As Fletcher approached them again, Pirate noticed he was less confident. He was probably so used to throwing his daddy’s name around to get his way, he had no idea how to stand on his own two feet.
“I, uh, I parked my bike,” he informed Steel as if Steel didn’t already know that fact. “Do you want me to go see what I can find out?”
“No,” Steel said shortly. “I want you to head back to the clubhouse. I’ll call Viktor to let you in. There, you’ll find a patched member named Papaw. Tell him you’re his bitch. Use those exact words. You do everything, and I mean everything , Papaw tells you to until I get back. If you don’t, you’re out. If you do, and by some miracle of God you impress him, then we’ll see.”
“I… But I…” Fletcher pointed in the direction of the hospital. “I just…”
“Not very good at following orders, are you, Romeo ?” Steel threw the ridiculous moniker back in Fletcher’s face. It was also likely to remind Fletcher of his service.
“I… I…” Fletcher looked like he wanted to cry. “Can’t I stay here and help you?”
Steel raised an eyebrow. “And what the fuck do you think you can do for me that isn’t already being done? What makes you think I have less pull in my town than your precious daddy does?”
Fletcher swallowed audibly, like he hadn’t realized that he might have insulted Steel by name-dropping his dad. He hadn’t—but Fletcher didn’t need to know that. “I’ll… I’ll just head to the clubhouse then.”
“You do that,” Steel snapped. Then he turned his back on Fletcher and headed towards the entrance of the hospital.
Bulldog and Pirate remained to ensure Fletcher left. As soon as Steel’s back was to him, Fletcher turned a fierce glare on Pirate. “You did this. You told him not to let me in. But he saw right through you. I’m going to get in whether you like it or not, cripple. That’s right. I looked you up. I know all about you and your leg.”
Pirate raised an eyebrow. “You say that as if it was a secret?” He turned to Bulldog. “Did you know I was missing my leg?”
“Holy shit, really?” Bulldog’s dry voice was laced with sarcasm. “Maybe we should call you Pirate ,” he added pointedly towards Fletcher.
Fletcher’s cheeks pinkened.
“Run along, little boy,” Bulldog said, waving his hand at Fletcher. “Papaw’s waiting for you. And don’t let the name or his age fool you. You’ll be bleeding and crying by the time he’s through with you—and that’s before Steel gets his hands on you.”
Fletcher opened his mouth, no doubt to say something nasty as if they were in fucking high school, when his eyes landed on Bulldog’s cut. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he saw Bulldog’s title.
Then he turned and ran towards his bike with his tail between his legs.
Bulldog and Pirate were about to start laughing again when Abby came running outside. “Harper’s going back for an emergency C-section!”
All humor forgotten, Bulldog and Pirate went running back into the hospital.