3. Blueberry Muffins
Three
Blueberry Muffins
Bullet
Amelia wasn’t what I expected. I got a quick rundown from Izzy about her boss.
She’s the new school principal, and from what Izzy tells me, she’s fair, kind, and extremely intelligent.
She’s found more creative ways to allocate funds within the budget to accommodate growing class sizes while still funding the sports teams. Izzy has a lot of respect for her.
What she didn’t tell me was that Amelia Ralleigh is incredibly beautiful and, despite her position, a little shy.
From the way she takes care of her girls, you can see that her heart is huge.
Before I left, I took a look around the living room, with furniture pushed to one side to accommodate the bucket to catch the water leaking, and she has fluffy cat beds with more toys than I’ve ever seen for a pet.
Her kitchen is neat and clean, and it’s apparent that she likes order in her life.
But there was a look in her eyes that told me there’s a fire burning deep inside her, ready to come out. I’m not immune to the fact that Amelia is attracted to me. Her cheeks flushed pink, and even though she was doing her best to hide it, I felt the electricity sparking between us.
My phone rings as I sit in my car outside Amelia’s place. Guard’s name appears on the screen. I pick up immediately. You never know when the club might need me.
“Hey, Guard. Is everything all right?”
“Where are you?” He seems put out.
“Checking on a job for tomorrow. Amelia Ralleigh, a friend of Izzy’s.”
Guard sighs heavily on the other side of the line. “You went alone.”
“Yeah—”
“Yeah, nothing. You ignored my orders,” Guard barks.
“Crush has been working nonstop. He needed a night to unwind. The rest of the guys were having a good time. Since Izzy knows Amelia, I thought it would be rude to ignore her situation,” I explain.
“The rule is in place for a reason. We have enemies, Bullet. They got their hands on you once, and I’ll be damned if that happens again.
We go out in pairs, day or night, no matter the situation.
Do I need to remind you of how gutted Crush was when he saw you that night when you were beat to shit?
It wasn’t good, brother,” Guard reminds me.
It didn’t feel good either. Took me fucking months to get my strength and mobility back.
It was Saint’s constant care that got me back on my feet.
My brothers didn’t leave me alone for a minute.
And Crush was a complete mess. On the other hand, I need to feel normal.
I can’t be smothered all the time. The fear of what happened that night has made me sharper.
I tune in to my gut instinct more, and I don’t take unnecessary risks.
I checked the street and didn’t see any vehicles that didn’t belong there.
I looked through the window and saw Amelia in the chair, holding her kitties and watching the drips from the ceiling land in her bucket.
I made sure to check my surroundings before stepping out of my Bronco.
I could say all this to Guard, but it would mean diddly-squat, because when the president of Satan’s Pride gives an order, it’s not something you ignore. I fucked up.
I sigh. “I fucked up. Last thing I want is for anyone to worry. I’m on my way back. What can I do to make it up to you, Prez?”
“Get back safe and never do that shit again. Any one of us would have come with you,” he replies. “Crush is out cold in his room, but he’s going to tear you a new asshole in the morning. Be warned.”
He hangs up, and I head back to the club.
The rain has stopped and the streets are quiet, but that doesn’t mean danger doesn’t lurk in the darkness.
I found that out the hard way. I’m loyal to the Pride and have been from the minute they took Crush and me in.
When I was approached by a new club, I told them I wasn’t interested.
They tried to get me to turn on my Pride brothers, but that wasn’t going to happen.
At first, they tried to bribe me with gifts, which I didn’t accept.
The next approach was a bloody beating. The Deviant Soldiers were a new club coming into the territory and wanting to establish themselves on Satan’s Pride land.
Their leader, Jaws, is the one who called for me to be singled out and beaten, as a warning to the Pride.
I refused to turn on my club. I would have died first.
When Crush found me, I was out cold. He came looking for me because he knew I wouldn’t miss meeting up with him.
I was bloody and broken. How Crush was able to get me back to the clubhouse was beyond me.
All I can remember was the searing pain of every movement I made.
I vaguely remember Saint working on me, but I do remember clearly the anguish on Crush’s face when I opened my eyes for a few seconds.
It haunts me to this day. I know Crush blames himself for not being with me, but that’s just insane.
I thought I could handle myself and the situation. I didn’t want a war to break out between the Deviants and the Pride because the club has already been through so much. I really thought I’d made myself clear to Jaws, and he assured me he’d back off.
He lied, and if Crush hadn’t found me, I’d be dead. I didn’t die that night, but it changed the club, and Guard has put measures in place for all the brothers to stay safe.
I messed up, and Crush is going to be pissed. I’ll take his anger because I know, deep down, the man loves me like a brother, and what comes off as anger is really fear of losing a friend. Crush has already lost so much; I won’t be another person who disappears from his life.
I pull up to the club to see that the party has wound down. Noah is cleaning up, while the others are probably sleeping in their rooms. I give Noah a hand, collecting the empty beer bottles, straightening the furniture, and picking up garbage.
“You don’t have to help. I got this,” Noah says while piling the empty cases.
“I know. I want to.”
Noah smiles. “Thanks. I appreciate the help.”
“I’ve been a prospect. We have to do the shit jobs to get to be a member, but it’s worth every minute,” I tell him.
“I know. If it weren’t for the Pride, I’d be dead, and who the hell knows what would have happened to Charlotte,” he replies.
Noah’s introduction to the club wasn’t quite as smooth as mine. He was in a rival gang, and when the Pride caught Noah, it should have been the end for him. But when the truth came out, our club saw that this kid was a victim as well.
The Pride will never back down from a war. Noah and his sister were casualties of war, and it worked out that Noah found his place here.
Sleep doesn’t come easily, but eventually, I lay my head on my pillow. I know I’m going to hear it from Crush tomorrow, but I toss that aside because a beautiful strawberry blonde with pretty violet eyes comes to mind.
The next morning…
“Okay, you’re pissed. I get it. I apologize,” I say, exasperated.
There is nothing worse than the silent treatment, and Crush does that better than anyone.
I think he’s perfected it over the years because he knows how much it pisses me off.
“Are you going to ignore me all day? I’ve had an easier time getting a woman into bed,” I tease.
I see the side of his mouth crook upward. He turns to me. “Sorry means nothing when I’m looking at you all bloody and shit.” Fuck! I hate that for him. I hate that he was the one who found me. He lived through the same nightmare, only in a different way.
“Look, bro, I can’t take back last night, but I hear ya. We’ve got to move forward. It sucks that Guard’s ready to throttle me, but it’s even worse when you’re pissed at me.”
“Why did you go? It’s not like you could have done anything anyway.”
“It’s kind of hard to explain.”
“Try!” He glances at me, still keeping his hands on the steering wheel. We’re heading over to Amelia’s this morning, as promised.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s like when that beating happened to me, I felt like I let everyone down, including myself.
I saw what it did to you, and I hate myself for falling into their trap.
The club went to war for me. I hate that too.
They had to bloody their hands because I was an idiot and thought I could handle the situation myself.
My Pride brothers never left my side. Not through my recovery.
Not through my physio, not ever. Even when I was getting my strength back and at the gym, I knew Guard sent someone to keep an eye on me to make sure I was okay. ”
“That’s a problem?” Crush counters.
“That’s the best thing that came out of the whole tragedy.
But now, I feel like I’m being watched all the time because they don’t trust me on my own.
It’s like I’m the kid brother who gets beaten up in the schoolyard, and someone has to be with me all the time to make sure I don’t get in trouble again.
Last night, I was trying to prove to myself that I can be me again.
Before the Deviant Soldiers, I was one of the guys, and each one of us had our place.
Now, I’m feeling like I’m not doing my part, especially if I can’t check out a job on my own.
” Crush starts to speak, but I hold up my hand.
“Before you say anything, I checked out Amelia Ralleigh before leaving for her house. I checked with Izzy. I scouted the neighborhood and scoped out her place through the windows. I’m not trying to get beat to shit again, but I do want to be able to do stuff on my own and feel normal. ” I sigh, then add, “Your turn.”
Crush shakes his head. “I didn’t know you were thinking all that.
” He pulls the truck into Amelia’s driveway.
“It nearly killed me to see you in the alley, and God, there was so much blood. I was actually happy when you moaned in pain because that meant you were alive.” He pauses, then says, “You’re the only family I have.
Yeah, we have the Pride, but you and I share a past, and nothing will ever change that.
” He looks up to the ceiling of the truck, then to me.
“You’re right, though. You need to be at peace, so I’ll give you space. ”
“I still fucked up. I didn’t follow Guard’s rule, and I should have told you.” I hold out my hand. “Are we good?”
Crush takes it and slaps a hand on my shoulder for good measure. “Always, man.” Then his eyes move toward the house where Amelia is standing on her porch, watching us. “That’s Miss Ralleigh? Damn, she’s hot.”
A burning need to punch Crush in the mouth comes over me. I reel it in, but say, “Off. Limits.”
Crush looks at me and gives me a sly grin. “Someone likes the principal. I bet you want to be sent down to the principal’s office,” he jokes.
“Don’t make me throttle you.”
He gets out of the car and moves to the back of the truck to get down the ladder, while I head for the porch.
“Morning, Bullet. I saw the truck outside, and when you didn’t come to the door, I was wondering if you were waiting for me to come out,” Amelia says.
“Where are Puss and Boots this morning?”
She turns and points to the window, where the two cats have their noses against the pane, staring at us. “We girls rarely get visitors. I may have to put them in a room so that you and Crush can work in peace.” She chuckles.
Her laugh is soft and cute. Crush comes closer. “Hey,” Crush replies to her hello. “We’ll need to climb up on the roof and take a look around.”
“We’ll come down and give you an estimate then,” I add.
“Sure. I’m making some blueberry muffins. I’ll make a fresh pot of coffee,” Amelia says.
“You don’t have to feed us, ma’am,” Crush says politely.
Amelia’s face drops. “Oh, I’m sorry—”
“But I’ll take you up on that because they’re my favorite,” Crush quickly jumps in. “We’d better get started.”
“Get inside, Amelia. Go see your girls,” I say with a grin. Her cheeks turn pink, but she hustles back inside while Crush and I get to work.