Chapter Six
The shrill of my ringing phone wakes me from the deep sleep.
Motherfucker.
I buried my head under my pillow to try to block it out. When it finally stops, I let out a sigh of relief, only for it to start ringing once again.
Jesus Christ, who’s trying to get a hold of me right now, and who in the hell turned on my ringer?
Grunting, I reach over and blindly find my phone on my nightstand. “Hello?” I grumble.
“Dude, why did it take you so long to answer your phone? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all morning,” Skyla asks.
Skyla is the closest thing I have to a friend, but we aren’t close. She doesn’t know anything about me besides the fact that I like to drink, smoke, and have a good time. We met at a party before my mom died and have partied together ever since.
“Because some of us are trying to get our fucking beauty sleep,” I snap.
Skyla laughs. “Girl, let’s be real you don’t need beauty sleep, now get your ass up. We’re having a pool party today.”
I can’t help but perk up at the word “party.” Where there’s a party, there’s alcohol and weed, two of my favorite ways to let go.
You promised Bullet you wouldn’t do this anymore, a little voice in the back of my mind reminds me.
I don’t want to disappoint him again. It seems to be all I ever do anymore. I want to be better.
“As fun as that sounds, I think I’m gonna have to pass.”
Skyla’s quiet for a moment. “What do you mean you’re gonna have to pass? Are you sick or something?”
“No, I just have something to do today. I’m sorry.”
“Is it not something you can put off? I mean, we both know how much you love parties…” She attempts to entice me.
“Unfortunately, no. Next time, though,” I tell her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks, almost sounding concerned.
Goddamn, why won’t she take no for an answer?
“I’m fine, I promise,” I lie.
I haven’t been fine in a long time. Not since my mom died.
“All right, well, if you change your mind, the party starts at noon. I’ll send you the information just in case.”
“All right, thanks for calling, and remember, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I tease.
Skyla laughs. “So that means my options are open.”
Hanging up the phone, I let it fall to the bed as I turn over and stare at my ceiling. Last night, things with Bullet got out of hand. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I never want to hurt him, but it seems like that’s all I do nowadays.
I should apologize.
I force myself to get out of bed and head toward the bathroom. After showering off my regret from yesterday and getting dressed, I head out to the living room looking for him. Only I freeze when I see a strange guy sitting in my living room.
“Who the fuck are you?” I snap.
The guy looks up at me, and his eyes widen. “Uh, I’m the prospect. I was sent here to look over you.”
Prospect? He sent a fucking prospect to look after me? He couldn’t even plan to be here himself?
Anger fills me.
“Where is Bullet?” I manage to say through gritted teeth.
“He had to go to the clubhouse. Something came up. Can I help you with anything?” He perks up, looking eager.
Help me? I laugh at the thought in my head.
I’m so far past needing help, it’s not even funny.
Once again, somebody has broken my trust. They promised to be there for me and they left.
After last night, I assumed he would be here this morning for us to continue that conversation.
For me to apologize to him and make a plan.
Anger rushes through my veins. You know what? If he can break his promise, I can break mine too.
A plan starts to form in the back of my mind, and I take a step back. “No, I’m good. I’m just gonna grab something to eat and then go back to my room.”
The prospect frowns. “Are you sure? I don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything. I can go hang out somewhere else until Bullet comes back.”
“No, you’re good. Make yourself at home. After all, a friend of the club is a friend of my family,” I say with a sugary sweet tone.
He smiles. “That is really kind of you. Thank you.”
I walk around him and head into the kitchen. As I look around, it hits me like a ton of bricks that for the first time in a long time the place is clean. There’s no trash on any table. There are no empty beer or liquor bottles littering the floor, nothing.
Did he really clean? Did he really go through all of our things?
My rage builds. How dare he? Who the hell does he think he is? What right does he think he has to go through our house and clean it?
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and look at the text on the screen.
Skyla: In case your plans fall through. *winky face*
A devious smile crosses my face.
You know what? If he can break his promises I can too.
Me: You know what, I’ll be there. Pick me up on the street behind my house. You know how my dad is.
Skyla: Yay! You know we’ll have so much fun. Text me when you’re ready and I’ll pick you up.
Me: Will do.
After eating a quick snack, I head back up to my room and get ready for the party.
I put on the smallest pink checkered bikini I own and a pair of black Daisy Dukes.
Then I put on a pair of high-top black Chuck Taylors.
Gathering my blonde hair, I put it into two space buns on the top of my head.
Since it’s a pool party, I go light on makeup, but I still rim my eyes with the black coal liner.
Stepping back, I checked myself out in the full-length mirror in the corner of my room.
Not bad. I look hot, if I may say so myself.
Quickly, I text Skyla that I’m ready, and then I gather everything I need.
Once I’m ready, I head toward the window.
I remove the little sensor that alerts anybody if the window is opened and set it to the side.
As quietly as possible, I open my window, and I slide out into the bushes that line the back of the house.
For a moment, I contemplate whether I should leave the window open or if I should shut it.
Fuck it. Why hide how I got out?
I dash across the yard to the grove of trees. Once safely hidden from view, I laugh. Fucking idiot. The prospect has no idea that I left.
I wonder how long it’ll take him to notice.
For a split second, I feel guilty and contemplate going back, but I push the thought away quickly. No, I’m an adult, I can go where I want to go and when I want to. No one’s going to stop me.
Especially not a man who doesn’t fuck me, feed me, or finance me.
As I make my way through the woods out to the side street, I push all thoughts of the club and Bullet out of my mind.
I walk into church and take my spot against the wall. Wrath, Colt, and Reaper are all having a quiet discussion. When they finish, they look over at me.
“Sorry about that,” Reaper says.
“It’s all good.”
“If you want, you can sit in Honk’s chair for the time being. Just know it’s not permanent,” Reaper tells me.
I eye the chair.
Should I?
Fuck it. Why not.
I move over to Honk’s chair and sit down.
“How did last night go?” Wrath asks.
“Could have gone better, but it is what it is. I got all the alcohol out of the house, but we should probably check again before Honk comes home.”
“Shit, I hadn’t even thought about doing that,” Reaper says.
“Have you heard anything about him yet?” I ask.
Reaper shakes his head. “No, not yet. They told us that it would be a while.”
Colt nods. “If I had to guess, he’s probably going through detox right about now.”
“Shit. We’re going to have to change some things around here once he comes back. The last thing we need is him falling off the wagon,” Wrath says.
“I can’t even think about that right now, honestly. We have enough shit to deal with as it is,” Reaper says, sounding exhausted.
We let the conversation drop as more brothers come into the chapel. Once everyone is seated, Reaper bangs the gavel.
“Thanks, everyone, for coming in on such short notice. We need to discuss William and everything Trigger found.” Reaper turns toward Trigger and nods.
Trigger adjusts his glasses and clears his throat. “As we all know, William is running for mayor, and we can’t let him win. To say things will be harder if he is in a position of power would be an understatement.”
“He’s had it out for us since Natalie showed up on our doorstep,” Kicks mutters.
“Watch it. William had beef with us long before my old lady showed up, and we all know it,” Reaper tells him.
Kicks bows his head in an apology.
“As I was saying, William needs to be stopped, no matter the price,” Trigger tells us.
“What’s this about him having a daughter?” Pinky asks.
“Ah, yes, her name is Adalyn, and she appears to be twenty years old,” Trigger says.
“So she’s a little older than Harlee?” I ask.
“Yes,” Trigger confirms.
Reaper shakes his head. “That still doesn’t make sense. We were prospecting at the time she would have been born, and I don’t remember it. He never said shit.”
“With an ego like his, he would have too,” Wrath says.
“Look, I don’t know if she’s biologically his, but I can tell you that he has been paying her mother for several years,” Trigger says.
“Maybe he’s been playing the long game all this time,” Midnight says.
“It’s a possibility. He does seem to always be two steps ahead of us.” Trigger says.
“Does she even look like him?” Colt asks.
“See for yourself.” Trigger swipes across his tablet, and an image shoots up on the wall at the end of the table. A picture of a sweet-looking girl pops up on the screen. Objectively she’s beautiful but not my type.
She has nothing on Harlee.
“I don’t see it. I mean, yeah, she has the same hair color and eye color, but that doesn’t mean shit,” Reaper says.
“I wonder what he has on her to get her to go along with this charade,” Wrath muses.
“We need to find out what she knows. If she knows anything at all,” I say out loud.
“So do we kidnap her?” Midnight asks
“We could have one of the girls befriend her. Get her drunk and see what she confesses,” Kicks says.
“No,” Wrath, Colt, Reaper, and Midnight say in unison.
Kicks holds up his hands in surrender. “It was only an idea.”
“What do we know about her?” Reaper asks
“I’m still working on my dossier here, but what I can tell you is that she likes books, movies, and beauty treatments. The girl could save herself a fortune if she learned to do her nails herself, if her bank statements are anything to go by,” Trigger murmurs.
“When will you know more?” Midnight asks.
“Soon,” Trigger tells him.
“Is there a possibility that her background was manufactured to look like she was his?” Colt asks.
Trigger shakes his head. “I honestly had the same thought, but the deeper I dig the further her background goes. There doesn’t seem to be any holes or anything. As far as I can tell, it’s legit.”
“So we’re stuck waiting?” Pinky asks.
“I’m sorry we can’t do anything until we know more,” Trigger says.
Reaper waves away his apology. “You’re working as fast as you can. We get that this shit takes time. Does anyone else have anything they want to mention while we’re all here?”
Everyone shakes their head no.
“Okay, everyone, get out of here. I’m sure we all have better shit we could be doing,” Reaper tells us.
A few of the older guys laugh as they stand and clear the room.
As I slide my chair back, my phone rings. I pull it out of my pocket and frown when I see the prospect’s name flash across the screen.
“Is everything okay?” Reaper asks.
“I don’t know, but I’m about to find out,” I say as I answer my phone “Yeah?”
“Ah, Bullet, I’m sorry to bother you, but, uh, we have a situation,” the prospect stammers.
Sighing, I tilt my head back and stare at the ceiling. “What did she do now?”
“She’s gone,” he mutters, making my blood freeze.
“What do you mean, she’s gone?” I ask slowly.
“She’s not here. She came down earlier and got some food and said she was going back up to her room. When I went to the bathroom, I decided to look in on her, and I found her bedroom window open. She’s nowhere to be found.”
“How long has she been gone?” I ask, trying to keep my temper in check.
“I’m not sure. What should I do?”
I sigh. “Don’t worry about it. Just come back to the clubhouse.”
“Are you sure? I’ll help find her.”
“I think you’ve helped enough. Just get back here.” Pulling the phone away from my ear, I hang up on him before he can say anything else.
“Harlee take off on him?” Wrath asks with amusement in his voice.
“Should have seen that coming.” Midnight chuckles.
“Fuck you guys,” I say as I stand, making them laugh harder.
“How are you going to find her?” Reaper asks.
“Trigger is going to send me her coordinates.” I look over at him. “Aren’t you?”
Trigger smirks as he looks down at his tablet. “I’m sending you the coordinates now. Have fun.”
Goddammit, Harlee. Couldn’t you have just listened for once in your damn life?