Chapter 11 Bronx
ELEVEN
brONX
“This is Stone.”
“Stone. It’s Bronx.”
“Oh, hey,” he said. “I didn’t recognize the number.”
“Yeah I needed to get a new number.” I said.
“Who’s that?”
Hayley’s voice spoke softly in the background, and I grinned.
“Whoops,” I said, chuckling.
“What is it you want?” Stone asked.
“We need to call church. I’ve got something to bring up to the group.”
“Can it wait until the morning?”
“Some girl’s looking around for Hayley.”
He paused before I heard shuffling around. Hayley murmured her discontent in the background before a door opened and closed. I closed the small garage door and walked into my house, staring at all the half-finished renovations in my kitchen.
If I worked through the night, I could probably get it finished.
“What the fuck’s going on, Bronx?” Stone asked.
“I was riding around and came upon some girl being assaulted in an alleyway. Didn’t think much of it, got the dickhead arrested, we got some food. Yadda yadda. She said she was looking for her half fucking sister, Stone. Then, she just whipped out a picture of Hayley,” I said.
“Did you tell her Hayley’s name?”
“No. I said I didn’t recognize her but that a group of guys I knew might be able to help her. Might.”
“Did you say half-sister?” he whispered.
“Yeah. I did.”
“Shit,” he hissed.
“What’s going on?”
Stone grumbled. “Look, I’ll call church first thing in the morning. Be ready to get to the lodge around nine. Hayley’s having a nice evening, and I don’t wanna ruin it for her. We’ll talk and I’ll fill all of you guys in there all at once.”
“Is there something I should know now?”
He paused. “Hayley has reason to believe her mother isn’t dead.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. Of course. Of. Fucking. Course. I cleared my throat as Stone rummaged around on the phone call, and soon I felt my phone vibrate in my hand.
“Church text?” I asked.
“Yep. Just sent it out. Lodge. Nine in the morning sharp,” he said.
“I’ll be there.”
We hung up the phone, and I tossed it onto the kitchen table.
I slipped my leather jacket off and walked over to the plumbing I had to fix underneath the sink.
I wasn’t tired, and I knew I’d never get to sleep after the excitement of tonight.
So, I got to finishing up the renovations in the kitchen.
I finished the plumbing underneath the sink and got the dishwasher hooked up.
I laid down the rest of the stone tiles and then settled the marble countertops down onto the kitchen cabinets and the island.
I ran one last coat of paint over the light blue cabinets and exchanged the hardware for leather accents I’d found in some depot store across town.
Then, I ran a sealant over the stone and the grout so the damn kitchen floor wouldn’t have to be scrubbed on hands and knees every damn day.
The kitchen looked nice. The fridge and stove were very outdated, and the new stainless-steel dishwasher only accented that.
But with time, I could buy new ones. The white marble countertops went well with the pale blue cabinetry.
And the leather-accented handles on everything contrasted with the lightness of the room very well.
I looked at the clock and saw it was almost six in the morning.
The sun barely rose at the front of the house, which meant I could fix a few things in the bathroom before cleaning myself up.
So, I did.
I walked upstairs and discarded my sweaty, nasty clothes in the hamper.
Then, I got to work. I replaced the massive mirror that had been cracked a while ago.
I got up onto the dated bathroom counter and changed out the light fixtures.
I wanted the bulbs to be bare with chrome accents against the wall to project the light out.
And once I slipped down from the counter, I went ahead and resolved myself to getting ready for church.
After I fixed the plumbing underneath the bathroom sink too.
The renovations weren’t too bad. The major things in the bathroom would have to be last. Now that the last of the kitchen issues were complete, I could turn my sights and energy into finishing that second bedroom.
“Almost there,” I murmured.
I got out of the shower just as the sun poured heavily through the small bathroom window. I dried myself off and got into a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I pulled my boots on and walked downstairs, smiling at the stone steps.
They echoed the flooring of the kitchen perfectly, which contrasted and brought out the bright marble flooring that matched the marble of the kitchen countertops I’d just put in.
I liked doing that. Taking two materials and fusing them together by interchanging the rooms they were in and the foundations they accented.
“In another life,” I said, sighing.
Sure, I was good with numbers, but I loved working with my hands.
Taught myself everything I knew and put all my skills to work in this rundown place.
Which didn’t look so rundown anymore with every room I fixed.
I brewed myself a massive cup of coffee and went to sit out back.
I had another hour to burn before I needed to be at the lodge, so I sat on my back patio and gazed out over the ocean.
This was why I’d bought the place.
There was a quarter of an acre of land in front of me before the drop-off of the cliff.
And down below, a pristine untouched beach with the water lapping at its shoreline.
I looked out over the white-capped waves and sipped my coffee.
The sun rose behind me, in front of the house, and thrust upon the sky a beautiful illumination that colored the ocean.
Oranges and pinks. Blues and purples, all of it mirrored in the angry sea that forecasted yet another storm brewing off the coast.
Those were the best nights. Watching storms roll in from the ocean.
I drew in a deep breath and finished off my coffee.
I could enjoy the view again tonight after I got some more work done on the house.
If I kept up my momentum like this, I could have that second bedroom done before tomorrow night.
Which meant I could finally start making my bedroom and bathroom out to be what I wanted.
But I had to get through this church meeting first.
It didn’t take me long to get to the lodge.
I was actually the first one to arrive. I walked inside and saw Stone pacing back and forth, nervous and ready to get this over with.
I didn’t blame him. I knew he loved Hayley with a fury unlike anything this world had ever witnessed, and to know she had a completely unanswered portion of her life walking around in San Diego probably had him on edge all night.
Judging by the bags underneath he eyes, he didn’t get a lick of sleep.
One by one, the lodge door opened for the crew. First, Texas. Then, Notch. We all gathered in the living room and watched Stone sit down. Which meant shit was up. The man never sat down for any meeting unless he was so dog-tired, he couldn’t see straight.
The three of us looked around before taking seats in our leather recliners we’d placed in the living room for such affairs.
“What the absolute fuck is going on, Bronx?” Stone asked.
“Is there something we don’t know about?” Texas asked.
“Why do I get the feeling I’m already behind?” Notch asked.
I sighed. “It’s not much. Apparently, Hayley’s been questioning whether or not her mother’s really dead. And I ran into her half-sister last night.”
“Wait. That’s not much?” Texas asked.
“I mean, it’s easy to sum up,” I said.
“What the fuck?” Notch asked.
“Does Hayley know?” Texas asked.
“No. I haven’t told her anything yet,” Stone grumbled.
“And I don’t have any proof except for a picture this girl’s carrying around that Hayley is even related to her,” I said.
“Do they look alike?” Notch asked.
I sighed. “Honestly? They’ve got some serious similarities. Hair color. Stature. Face shape. Lips.”
“Shit you inherit,” Stone said, sighing.
“Exactly,” I said.
“Who the hell is this girl? What’s her name?” Stone asked.
“Freya. I didn’t get a last name,” I said.
“Do you have her number? How long is she in town? Are you going to see her again?”
“Whoa, whoa, Stone. Take a breath,” Texas said.
“Take a breath? Are you serious? Hayley’s been through enough shit, and now you want me to pump the brakes when I find out she’s got some half-sister runnin’ around fuckin’ San Diego!?”
“He’s got a point,” Notch said.
“What if this is another trap by Terry?” Stone asked.
“That’s a possibility. But I honestly don’t think that,” I said.
“Why? Because you want to bang her?” Stone hissed.
I furrowed my brow. “I’m not Notch, dude.”
“Hey. I resent that comment,” Notch said.
“No, you really don’t,” Texas said.
Notch shrugged, and Stone grumbled underneath his breath.
“I want to know everything about this woman. I want to know who she is, where she comes from, and what the fuck she’s after. She gets no information on Hayley until we have her entire life laid out for us.”
“I’ve got her number. It’s a start,” I said.
“First, we all need to agree to protect Hayley,” Stone said.
“Duh,” Texas said.
“Hell, yeah. Of course we will,” Notch said.
“There wasn’t even a question about that,” I said.
“Good. We need to proceed with caution, but quickly,” Stone said.
“We do have a place to start with validation, though,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Notch asked.
I looked around the group warily. “Her name is Freya, and she says she’s the daughter of the president of the Celtic Riders.”
Texas paused. “Wait a second. She’s claiming to be Asher’s daughter?”
“You know him?” Notch asked.
“Who the hell doesn’t?” Texas asked.
“I didn’t know exactly who their president was. I just knew they used to run in San Diego,” Stone said.
“Yeah, no. Asher runs that group now. Got them out of San Diego without a single arrest and cleaned them up. They’re somewhere in Arizona now, I think.
I mean, they fucking fell off the face of the map before resurfacing with their noses completely clean of the drugs they used to peddle,” Texas said.
“That’s some serious shit. Sounds like a bad dude with a good backbone,” Notch said.
“And Freya claims to be his daughter?” Stone asked.
“Yep. She even called my leather jacket a ‘cut’. Natural as hell and everything,” I said.
“Then, we start with verifying that story. Without alerting the Celtic Riders, of course,” Stone said.
“That even possible? They’re legendary,” I said.
“Just do it,” Stone growled.
“Do you think this means the Celtic Riders are coming back into town?” Notch asked.
I paused. “That’s actually a damn good question.”
“And one we can’t concern ourselves with. If they are, we’d best be on their good side. Bronx?” Stone asked.
“Yep?”
“You said you had her number?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Call her. You’re already in her good graces because you saved her.
Let’s keep it that way. Texas and Notch can work on confirming her story and getting background info on her.
As much of it as we can get. And I’ll keep all this out of Hayley’s ear until we figure out what it is we’re dealing with right now,” Stone said.
“On it,” Texas said.
“I can start placing some calls,” Notch said.
“Good. Bronx, time for you to go place one as well,” Stone said.
Then, he dismissed church.