Chapter 25 Mellie
MELLIE
“Are you okay?”
I gulp the remaining liquor in my glass and set it on the bar top in front of Junior.
As soon as Lyric and I got back to the clubhouse, he ordered a lockdown and called church.
I overheard him tell Zombie that the shooter fled in a matte black Chevy Camaro, and that triggered another memory to surface.
“Yeah,” I reply. “Can I get another?”
“Comin’ right up,” Junior promises.
I’ve been trying to make the puzzle pieces of the latest memory fit, but there’s still something missing.
“Hey, girl,” Savvy greets as she climbs onto the stool next to me.
“Hey.”
“Uh-oh, someone’s in a funk.”
“Probably because Lyric and I were shot at today,” I snap and immediately regret my harshness. “Sorry.”
She flaps her hand dismissively. “No worries. If ever there was a good reason for being in a funk, I suppose it’s getting shot at.”
“Here ya go,” Junior interrupts, setting a newly filled tumbler in front of me. “Savvy, you want a drink?”
“Sure, babes,” she replies with a wink. “Whiskey on the rocks.”
He disappears to make her drink, and I stare into my glass.
“Can I ask you something?” I say quietly.
“Of course.”
“Did I ever mention a matte black Camaro to you before my accident?”
Her face scrunches like she’s thinking hard, and then she shakes her head. “No, you didn’t. But Rowdy did.”
I spin on my stool to face her. “He did? What’d he say?”
“Nothing specific. We were…. Well, we were together one night, and he was drunk. He kept babbling about a matte black Camaro. It didn’t make sense at the time, and shit, it still doesn’t. Why?”
Rather than answer, I hop to my feet. “Thanks, Sav,” I call over my shoulder as I race to the spare room I’ve been staying in.
I really need to move back to my room with Lyric.
Closing the door behind me, I begin to pace. I thought that all of my memories had returned, but apparently, I was wrong because more are flooding in by the second.
“What’re you talking about?”
I hate bringing this to Rowdy, but I don’t want to alarm Lyric if there’s nothing to worry about. He’s got enough going on with the club without me adding to it.
“It’s probably nothing, but I think I was being followed earlier.”
“Elaborate,” he orders, easily slipping into club president mode even though he stepped down years ago.
The memory fades, and another surfaces.
“Again?”
“At this point, I’m more pissed off than scared,” I mutter, gauging Rowdy’s reaction. “The Shadow Sixes need to back off.”
“It’s time to loop Lyric in,” Rowdy says. “The gang’s beef isn’t with you, but they won’t hesitate to use you to get to the club.”
“I’ll tell him after the wedding. That’s only a few more days.”
My soon to be father-in-law glowers. “Pretty girl, these guys don’t give two shits about things like weddings. I lost my fucking leg because of them,” he snarls, letting his anger show. “There’s not a damn thing that will stop them if they want to hurt you.”
I sigh. “I know, but it’s just a few more days. I promise, as soon as the wedding is over, I’ll tell him.”
How could I have been so stupid? I know my intentions were good, and there’s no way I could’ve predicted getting amnesia, but that’s no excuse. I should’ve told Lyric the moment I suspected I was being followed.
I can’t go back and change things, and I’m not exactly sure how to fix them now. Okay, that’s a lie. I can fix them by coming clean to Lyric and trusting him and the club to keep me and everyone else safe.
Mind made up, I rush from the room and head across the clubhouse. Before I can reach the meeting room, one last memory fills my head, halting me in my tracks.
Taking the elevator to the first floor of the hotel, I smile to myself. I’ll be Mrs. Jenkins in a few short hours, and I can’t wait. Just as I reach the ground level, my cell pings, and I glance at the screen.
Peach: Big day today
I frown at the words and decide not to respond. The device pings again.
Peach: Hope everything goes off w/out a hitch
Dread fills my heart. I tell myself that she means well, but when I step outside and see the Camaro parked across the street, my blood runs cold. Sure, it could be a coincidence. Then again, I’m not a big believer in coincidences.
It’s time to tell Lyric. Screw waiting until after the ceremony. As soon as I get to the clubhouse, I’m going to fill him in on what’s been going on.
I open the back door of the Jeep and toss my suitcase onto the seat.
“Hey, pretty girl,” Rowdy greets.