Chapter Six
Marchella
Everyone was fed, cleaned, changed into gowns, and freshly bed checked. The only problem was the clock. It wasn’t even nine. I had a whole hour to go until my evening shift ended. I flipped through the pages of the appetite book for the second time, reassuring myself that all the dinner trays had been accounted for. It was perfectly recorded, the writing legible, my signature exactly where I’d left it on the last page.
“You going to tell me what happened to that hand?” My Aunt Carly asked, drawing my attention away from the pages of C.N.A. documentation. She was sitting cross-legged at the nurses’ station, her attention fixed on me.
I flubbed my lips and gave a slow shift of my head when my partner, Andrea, got back from her second smoke break of the hour.
“Let me see it.” Carly insisted, her foot shooting to the floor. She rolled her office chair toward me without lifting her ass from the seat.
“It’s fine, I had it cleaned.”
“At the urgent care?” she guessed.
“No, Blaze Aviston cleaned it for me,” I admitted, causing her and Andrea both to stare at me. Granted they had polar expressions on their faces.
“Aviston, huh?” My partner grinned. “That another one of Easy’s boys?”
“Whose son?” Carly snapped, turning her frozen grimace on the woman.
“E–Eric Aviston, I mean,” Andrea stammered.
Carly nodded, and slowly fixed her face. “For a minute there I thought you were referring to a local criminal by his street name. As if you, too, were some… questionable person. It’d be a shame for a resident or their family to come to such an unfortunate conclusion.”
“For sure.” Andrea agreed, with an exaggerated nod.
When Carly turned back to her chart with a judgmental shake of her head, Andrea’s eyes met mine and she mouthed ‘ Oh my God’ .
“Does it hurt?” Carly asked, not bothering to glance back at us again.
“Not like it did.” I tried to sound dismissive.
“Get out of here. Get some ibuprofen and keep the damn thing clean. Change the bandage and make sure there isn’t any grease around the wound.” She started out sounding compassionate, but by the time she was done, her tone had turned scornful again.
I didn’t give her a chance to take it back. I shot off of the wall I’d been leaning against and made my way to the time clock. It was still early. I might have time to grab a shower and make it in time to say farewell to Blaze.
I cursed myself for even thinking like that, and when I reached the home that I shared with my parents and sister, I actually considered staying in. It wasn’t often the Miller house was quiet and peaceful like this.
It wasn’t until I’d showered, changed the Band-Aid, and was standing there in my underwear with my hair in a wrapped-up towel that I decided I had too much energy to sit around all night. I slipped on some new shorts I’d bought on my last shopping trip with Izzy. They’d cost a fortune, for something that was so next to nothing and distressed. They fit perfectly, none of that snug stuff that left my belly bubbling at the waistline. I was what Izzy called, ‘Skinny thick’. My legs were pale, I’d spent all summer working on a check rather than my tan. I really wanted to enroll in nursing school in the coming Fall. Aunt Carly convinced me that with the constant lingo of drugs I grew up with, pharmacology would be a whiz. She had jokes for days where my dad was concerned.
I put my thoughts of her aside and wrapped myself in a lace bra that clasped in the front. I flipped through the shirts Izzy had bought me. They were all just a little too extra for the occasion. So, I flew through the house, taking advantage of the privacy. I found a Harley shirt that belonged to one of my brothers in the dryer.
“Perfect.” I grinned, grabbing the shears.
It served them right for leaving it. How old did brothers have to be before they started doing their own laundry anyhow? Did they think there was some kind of age requirement on buying a washer and dryer for their own homes? I wasn’t sure what the deal was.
Twenty minutes later, I was pulling up in front of Daisy and Montana’s house. Well, as close to it as one could get, all things considered. The entire street was flooded with bikes of every kind. Most of them were dark, a few at the back had Steel Disciple logos on the tanks, but I didn’t recognize many of them, until I got closer to the house where the actual club members had parked together.
Most of the backs were sporting patches or tramp stamps. Some of the bottom rockers were flashing Missouri chapters. It seemed Disciples from everywhere had come to see Monty and his ol’ lady off.
A wolf whistle sounded lewdly to my right and I saw someone approaching fast.
“Wrong one, brother.” Demon, my father’s road captain, corrected a brother with long, dark hair and shiny, brown eyes.
“Looks right to me,” the prospect sneered, reaching for my ass.
Demon landed an explosive shove to the man’s chest, sending him sprawling back a few paces.
“Does it? Looks like Makaveli’s oldest daughter to me, brother…” Demon raised his brows and his tone, throwing both arms out in a silent question.
“Oh, man. Ah, shit, girl. Hey— Hey I’m drunk, baby. Never mind me,” the man stammered, before hurrying off.
For a moment, all I could do was hold that grin on my face while the man took his leave.
“You alright, girl?” Demon asked.
It was what they all called me, except Easy. Girl .
“Fine. Truly.” I gave a stiff nod, “You do realize… I’m not a little girl, right? It’s okay if I let a guy play a round of grab ass with me. It’s actually my choice.”
Some women were flattered by their ignorance. I tolerated it most days, but sometimes it just rubbed me wrong. I wasn’t something for them to claim property rights over.
Demon’s eyes widened and he gave an awkward nod, “Y-yeah. Of course, Honey.”
“I’m not your fuckin’ honey.” I snapped.
He took a few steps back and spun on his heel, suddenly finding interest in the conversation going on with the group of men behind him.
“Assholes,” I huffed, storming through the entry crowd.
I walked along the edge of the masses, surveying the people and their chosen circles. My Aunt Trista was speaking animatedly with my stepmother. I groaned, spotting my brother, Mackie hanging out near the grill with a small flock of club ass. They were laughing, and one even deigned to reach for his cut in an effort to draw his wandering eye from the constant crowd watching. We were more alike than we liked to admit at times, even if I wished tonight was one of those nights he’d left early.
Donnie was sharing a joint with Demon’s son, Caleb Moore. He was new to the prospect patch, and so far, everyone liked him. He was always in the mood to party, and rarely caused any drama or friction the way my brother and some of the larger personalities did.
Easy and my father were entertaining a bunch of club members near the porch and people were dancing everywhere.
“Thought you had to work,” A gravelly tone quietly bid from the shadows of the garage as I was passing by.
I jerked away from the sound, but relaxed when Blaze stepped out with a dimpled grin.
“I was,” I admitted, my voice almost hushed.
He jerked his chin up, “Couldn’t pass up the chance to see me again, huh?”
I snorted, averting my gaze, only to hurriedly return it. I didn’t want him to think I was some flirty thing with no mind. Even if my thoughts seemed to scatter in his presence.
“Something like that,” The admission slipped out when I exhaled, and I had to swallow a groan.
Had I really said that?
His gaze lifted from me to the crowd, then his arm shot out and he snared me by the wrist, jerking me back into the shadows with him.
“What the fuck?” I slammed my hands into his chest, knocking him back against the siding of Easy’s garage. I was shocked, but that didn’t mean I was unwilling. I stepped into his space, planted my hand on his chest and slid it up to his throat. “Who the fuck do you think you are man handling?”
His eyes darkened. I was aware his hands had shot to my hips, but they hadn’t planted. He held them there ghosted, prepared to grab for leverage but suddenly finding it unnecessary when the garage had caught him instead.
His pupils were blown, his green eyes glossy. I could tell he was as stunned by my actions as I’d been by his, even if he had a wide smile.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” he returned, his breath washing over my lips. His hands claimed my ass in a decided grip and he shifted, putting me on the wall with a muffled thud. He leaned into that hold I had on his throat, hefted me off my feet, and smothered any protests I might have thought to form.
Not that any were resting on my lips. I greedily kissed him back, squeezing at his throat and sliding my hand over his stubbled jaw. He shifted abruptly, nipping, and kissing my neck. He licked over a particularly sensitive patch, and I couldn’t stop it.
“Yours,” The word came plucked from me on a moan.
He made a throaty sound like he’d tasted something delicious.
“You’re a disrespectful little mother fucker,” My brother’s familiar voice boomed behind us in the distance.
Blaze shifted, drawing his mouth away from mine, but I knew Mackie wasn’t addressing us, he was too far away. I tried to spin us again, and actually managed, he was so distracted. I snagged onto Blaze’s hair and drew his lips back into mine in another greedy kiss.
“That’s m– sister,” he loudly exploded against my mouth.
The man physically set me aside and charged through the crowd. I stumbled, completely unexpecting such a forceful reaction. I chased after him, unsure what the fuck was going on, but certain it was about to be ugly and completely about my damned brother.
By the time we reached them, Karlotti was being swarmed by Aunt Trista and Izzy. Meanwhile, Mackie was shoving May, driving at him with that unshakable rage he was so infamous for. The fucker usually couldn’t be deterred when he set his sights on a target.
“Mackie, stop.” I shouted over the music and the crowd, but I might as well have whispered. I had no fucking idea how they were roaring at each other so loudly.
“Mackie, you can kiss my whole ass, man. This shit ain’t got nothing to do with you.” May came back at him.
If he intended to shove my brother, he wasn’t going to find the chance. I’d seen Mackie fight too many times, just as I inwardly predicted, when May stepped close, Mackie swung.
He caught May in the side of the head, but it was too far back on his jaw to put him down.
“Goddamn it,” I started elbowing and pushing my way through, as various club ass excitedly tried to form a circle around them.
I heard a series of vicious-sounding blows, but I couldn’t see shit with all the girls in front of me.
“Move!” I roared, sure that May’s face was pulp by now.
I kicked someone in the back of the knee, and she folded just in time for me to see May mount my brother. Mackie’s face was bloodied, and May appeared to be getting the best of him. Blaze was standing beside them wide eyed and clearly troubled by the scene but unsure of what exactly to do.
“Bastard!” Donnie roared, when May got in a particularly ugly shot while completely immobilizing my brother with a knee on each shoulder. All he could do was eat May’s fist, over and over. It seemed like an eternity before Donnie got close. My heart was thundering in my chest. I knew better than to get between these fucks when they were like this. They’d swing on anyone who tried to separate them just as soon as they would each other. Donnie dove, and I exhaled in a rush.
“Get the fuck off each other!” Easy roared.
“I’ll be goddamned,” my father was bellowing beside him.
Steel Disciples had flung the women aside and were rounding on the men, but before Donnie landed at May’s rescue, Blaze caught him. Donnie was already in savage mode and blindly swinging. He was emotional. For every ounce of emotion Mackie lacked, Donnie had two. It had always been that way. He was great to have in your corner. Blaze flung him backwards, sending my brother to his feet again. Before he even caught his bearings, Blaze threw a haymaker that caught him square. Donnie crumbled, and Blaze in autopilot landed a second to his gut on the way down.
I didn’t hear the flick of Mackie’s knife, but the glint of the metal in the moonlight caught my eye. I squinted, finding it about the same time that May did. I sucked in a breath and May caught Mackie’s wrist. They grappled and I lurched, wanting to react, but not knowing how.
Two shots rang out and half the population hit the ground. More than a few screams erupted. It was so fucking chaotic; it took me a second to realize the entire block was being illuminated in red and blue lights.
“Drop it. Drop it now!” a voice that was used to being obeyed yelled from behind me.
“Everybody down!” a similar one sounded to my right as a pair of uniformed officers shot across the yard.
“Run,” my father growled at the boys.
It was like the voice of God had addressed them all. The crowd turned into a drunken, leather-clad, disturbed hornet’s nest. Fists flew from every direction, it seemed. I heard bottles breaking. More of those authoritative voices rang out. Some with orders to the crowd, others with calls for tasers.
My father didn’t fight them, nor did he take his own advice. He and Easy allowed themselves to be apprehended without issue.
“Stand down.” Easy calmly advised those around us.
“If you don’t have a warrant, you get the fuck out,” Trista heaved, shooting off the porch toward an officer who was currently tasing a woman in pale jeans. A dark stain was spreading down the front of her pants and she seemed stunned beyond comprehension, unable to follow his commands.
“Lady,” a cop warned, turning his taser on Trista.
I knew it was a taser, but seeing someone hold something shaped like a gun at someone I love broke something in me.
“Aunt Trista!” I snapped, bumping into him with my shoulder and sending him stumbling a pace or two. I snagged her in my arms and used every bit of my weight against hers in a battle toward the porch.
“I got her,” I told the cop who was on my heels now.
He tried to reach around me, but I danced aside, keeping his hands off my aunt.
“I said I fucking got her,” I whirled on him. “Do you want to escalate shit or do your fucking job?”
I was shaking with a sudden surge of emotion. Was this what Donnie felt like? I couldn’t help but wonder.
“Smart mouth gonna get you in trouble someday,” he scoffed, flicking his gaze up and down my bare legs. He snorted with disgust and stormed back toward the crowd.
My eyes locked with Easy’s just before they put him in the back of the car, and he winked at me.