Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
ZERO
She said it so casually, like being surrounded by strange men trying to get her to pull over wasn’t scary for her.
But I saw past the calm. She’d had tension around her eyes last night when she arrived that I thought was because of Isla.
And even now, she kept glancing back at the table Isla and Jasper were sitting at, like she was worried about being away from them.
Taking her hand, I kissed the back of it, tipping my head toward the table.
“Go sit. I’ll get breakfast. Want another coffee? ”
Her smile was appreciative and she nodded gratefully. “Yes, please.”
After she went back to the table to sit with Isla and Jasper, I pulled out my phone, dialing Prez’s number and putting it to my ear. There were still two people ahead of me in line and the phone call would be quick.
“Yeah?” Prez answered, sounding distracted.
“Hey, Prez. Got a problem.”
He cursed quietly under his breath. “Another one? What happened?”
“Pretty sure Battle’s crew tried to run my girl off the road last night. We need a meeting.”
“Fuck. Yeah, we do. You aren’t the only one who called me this morning. Will Jasper let you come or do you need to call in?”
Jasper still hadn’t accepted the idea of getting near the crew, but this was important. Maybe with Simone joining us, he’d feel more comfortable.
“I’m coming in. And hey, while I was getting Isla checked out last night, I met one of the new guys at the precinct. Seemed at least willing to talk. He asked me to give you his number so he could get a better understanding of what’s been going on.”
Prez hummed thoughtfully. “Send it to me. If we can get more officers on our side, I’m not going to say no. Let’s say lunch time for the meeting. The guys without kids won’t appreciate me waking them up this early.”
I snorted. “Heard, Prez. We’ll be there.”
I hung up just as I stepped up to the counter, tucking my phone away as the bored teen asked me my order.
I got a variety, since I didn’t actually know what Simone or Jasper would like, and two coffees for me and Simone.
While I waited, I noticed the cop car pull up to the drive-thru window.
Officer Hernandez looked tired, which, if she’d been on the night shift last night made sense, but she gave me a polite wave before accepting the enormous coffee the window attendant offered her.
The woman liked her coffee, that much was obvious.
“Order for… Zero?” The kid handing out the coffees looked confused by the name on the order form until I stopped in front of her. Her face lit up in understanding when she saw my cut. “Ohhh… like one of those biker names? I get it now.”
I smirked, winking at her as I took the coffees and the box of donuts waiting for me.
It hadn’t been my intention to make her blush, but it made me chuckle seeing her reaction.
Jasper must’ve noticed because he frowned at me when I sat back down, looking between me and the coffee girl behind the counter.
“What’d you say to her?”
“Nothing,” I answered honestly. “Chicks dig bikers. It’s a universal truth.”
Simone rolled her eyes so hard, it looked painful. “Don’t call them chicks. And usually it's less about the biker aesthetic and more about personality. Women like confidence as long as it doesn’t stray into cocky territory.”
Jasper’s brows furrowed and he shot me a questioning look. He didn’t get it.
“Which looks cooler? Someone who walks into a room strutting around like a turkey, or someone who comes in sure of themselves without drawing too much attention to it?” I asked.
He looked thoughtful, nodding slowly. “I guess the second one. But how do you look sure of yourself?”
“You have to be sure of yourself,” I shrugged. “You don’t act confident, you just are. If you’re acting, you probably look like the turkey.”
Jasper snorted, but Simone seemed to disagree, shaking her head.
“You don’t wake up one day suddenly knowing exactly who you are and what you’re about.
That takes time. Most people build up their confidence by doing small things that make them feel capable.
Eventually, they won’t just feel capable.
They’ll know they are.” She gave me a pointed look.
“And sometimes, you fake it until you make it because there will be certain situations where you’ll feel out of your depth but need to stand strong anyway.
The point isn’t to pretend, it’s projecting the version of yourself you’re trying to grow into. ”
It hit me like a ton of bricks. She was right.
I wasn’t confident when the kids showed up.
Hell, I still felt like I was barely treading water half the time.
But I faked confidence because the kids needed to know they could rely on me, even when I felt clueless on how to proceed.
I shot her a grateful look. I wouldn’t have known how to explain that to Jasper at all without her here.
She smiled back, then gave her attention to Jasper again. “The difference is if the ‘confidence’ you’re projecting is making people uncomfortable, then it’s not confidence. It’s showing off, and no one truly wants to be friends with a show off.”
Jasper seemed to follow along easily enough, nodding slowly. “So… act confident, but not too much?”
“Exactly. And watch your peers. You’ll be able to pick out who’s faking and who’s actually confident if you pay attention.”
I snorted. “True. Watch my crew too. Even adults sometimes don’t know the difference.
” Which reminded me… “Speaking of which, we need to head to the clubhouse after this. I called my prez after what you told me. Things are getting worse. We need a club meeting to figure out what to do about it. Do you mind tagging along? He might have some questions for you.”
Simone seemed agreeable enough, nodding, but Jasper didn’t look like he was going to agree. It was Simone who changed his mind, nudging him with her elbow. “Remember what I told you? About our friends being reflections of ourselves?”
His expression clouded and while he didn’t look happy, he eventually gave in. “Fine. But I’m watching Isla. She’s still sick. She doesn’t need to be around a bunch of rowdy bikers.”
“That’s fine,” I agreed. “I’ll let the guys know to leave her be so she can rest. She can have a nap in my old room after lunch.
Doc said she needs her meds twice a day, and we gave her some this morning, so we don’t need to worry about the next dose until dinner time.
And she’s not due for more pain meds until after lunch. ”
I added that last part because that morning, Jasper had nearly started shouting at me when I suggested giving Isla her medicine before we left.
We’d all slept in thanks to the late night in the ER, so I figured it’d been long enough, but I’d had to call Mel for approval to give it to her before exactly eight hours apart for Jasper to calm down.
With a grumpy sigh, Jasper shoved the last of his donut in his mouth, scowling at the table. Honestly, it was an improvement from before since he wasn’t glaring at me specifically or putting up a fight. I’d take it.
We arrived at the clubhouse a little before lunch, but it looked like we were one of the last to arrive.
The parking lot was crowded, and one of the prospects was at the gate, only opening it once he recognized me to let me inside.
Good. I liked the added security. I gave the prospect a two finger salute as I passed, pulling into a parking spot next to Butch’s truck.
It still dug a little that I had to drive a car and not my bike, but it was the first time I was back at the clubhouse since the kids showed up.
I gave myself a little leniency in my feelings since it was the first time.
There were a few guys out front talking near the bikes.
Butch was squatting in front of one of them, so I assumed someone needed maintenance and didn’t interrupt, waving as I walked past and led Jasper and Simone inside.
Isla was on my hip, head on a swivel as she looked around curiously.
I gave her a little bounce, pointing out some of the things in the clubhouse meant just for babies like her.
“Stairs are blocked, so no funny business, little miss. This place is Isla-proofed.”
She gave me a drooly smile in response. She’d warmed up to me and the tantrums were easing little by little. It felt good, like I was finally seeing some visual progress.
“Yo! Zero! Long time, man!” Rooster called out. He was on the floor on his belly, letting the smaller kids climb on him like it was nothing. Dude loved being an uncle.
I lifted my chin in greeting, but didn’t enter the chaos.
I knew how uncomfortable Jasper was, so I moved toward where Brewer was leaning against the wall, talking to Killer.
It was quieter over there, and I figured it’d be easier on Jasper.
Brewer gave me a chin lift of his own, clapping me on the back when I got close enough.
“Hey. How’s it going?”
“We’re finding our stride. Let me introduce you.
” I sidestepped, waving the duo behind me closer.
Not that I had to do much on Jasper’s end.
He was hovering at my elbow, looking ready to snatch his sister away on a second’s notice.
Figuring it’d make him feel a little better, I handed Isla over, noting the way Jasper’s shoulders came down a little once she was in his arms. “This is Simone, my girlfriend, Jasper, and the little one is Isla.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brewer greeted. “I’m Brewer. That’s Killer.” He tipped his head toward Killer.
When Jasper made a choked sound, Brewer chuckled. “Relax, kid. It’s the most ironic name of the bunch. Killer’s a nice guy with serious resting bitch face.”
“My name is Killian,” Killer added. “They thought they were being funny with the road name.”
Simone offered her hand, shaking first Killer’s, then Brewer’s. “Nice to meet you both. Jasper would prefer it if you didn’t curse around his sister, though.”
Leave it to Simone to put the guys in their place on first meeting while sticking up for Jasper at the same time. Brewer didn’t take offense, wincing when he realized what he’d said. He gave his attention to Jasper.
“Sorry, kid. We’re all trying to do better. If Gracie hears us cursing, she charges us money and we’re all going to end up going broke.”
“Did someone curse?” a sweet voice asked behind us and I turned to see Gracie staring up at us, her infamous swear jar tucked under one arm and her big eyes looking up at us suspiciously. I raised my hands in surrender immediately.
“Wasn’t me.”
She turned her narrow eyed look onto the other two. Neither seemed willing to rat Brewer out to the little tyrant. Shocking the hell out of me, she pointed two fingers at her eyes, then pointed those same two fingers at the three of us before skipping away.
“That little girl is going to be able to pay for college on that swear jar alone,” Brewer murmured under his breath.
I nodded solemnly in agreement. I’d gotten a lot more practice holding back the cursing since Jasper and Isla showed up, but I’d already lost a decent amount of cash to Gracie over the years.
It seemed like the older she got, the better she was at sneaking up on us and catching us off guard.
I swore Butch brought her to certain events just because he enjoyed watching his little girl put us all in our place. Saved him the job of doing it instead.