Chapter Thirteen. #2
I was helping Penny prepare a shopping list for the following week’s menu when a red-headed woman bounced in. She was gorgeous, but her vibe was off.
“Bitch!” she yelled at Penny and came racing over.
“Whore,” Penny shouted, and stood up. Panic raced through me. I was in no condition to stop a fight. Penny met the stranger and hugged her tightly.
“Damn, Artemis, you look great,” Penny said.
“Yeah, hate to say it, retirement suits you.” Artemis peered around Penny and grinned at me. I felt like a mouse under a cat’s paw. “I’m Artemis.”
“Myka.”
“Well now, ain’t that a pretty name? Penny, grab the liquor. Myka and I will get acquainted.
Why did that sound like a threat?
“Can you believe I’m gonna be a grandma and I ain’t even forty yet? Ace keeps teasing Drake about how he’s only forty-three, and will be the cool grandpa as Drake’s a miserable old bastard.”
Ace. Artemis. “Oh shit. Your Falcon’s mom,” I breathed.
Artemis grinned, and now I knew what being a shark’s prey was like.
“Damn right I am. Girl, you and I are going to get to know each other. Settle in, kid, and start talking,” Artemis ordered.
I glanced hopefully at the door, praying Falcon would come through it, and Artemis laughed. “Forget it. Ace, Axel and his siblings have Falcon locked down. You’re all mine.”
I glanced at Penny in panic, and the door opened, and Falcon stormed in. “Nice try, Mom! Leave my woman alone.”
Artemis sulked. “I can’t believe you escaped them.” Then she brightened. “Your woman. Nice.” She turned a gimlet eye on me. “Start talking!”
Holy crap. Falcon’s mother was a lunatic, and his father indulged her.
They were certainly both insane. Falcon had his father’s attitude but his mother’s stubbornness.
It was a dance between them; Artemis pushed, Falcon misdirected.
Ace sat there and smirked as he watched them.
During this, a huge guy walked through the door.
His eyes searched the clubhouse and lit on me.
“Yo!” he boomed and, using crutches, crossed the room at speed.
“Hi,” I replied weakly, completely overwhelmed now.
“Penny, push her; we’re going for a chat,” he demanded.
“Axel!” Ace warned. Ah, this was the man Falcon called a legend and treated as a grandfather.
“Shut the fuck up,” Axel stated.
Ace rolled his eyes. “No damn respect,” he complained.
In my opinion, Rage MC was made up of lunatics. Penny grabbed my chair and wheeled me away while Artemis caused a commotion and Ace and Falcon handled her.
“So, girl, you’ve had it rough.”
“Wow, straight for the jugular then,” I replied, on edge and unsure of myself.
“Myka, I’m seventy-five years old, paralysed in one leg and ain’t got much longer. I ain’t gonna waste what’s left I have fannying around.”
“Fair enough.”
“Now tell me everything so I can wind Artemis the hell up,” Axel boomed, and I grinned. As frightening as his size and loudness made him, I liked Axel. That must mean I was crazy too.
Axel listened and asked questions. His eyes held a touching, genuine sadness.
“Ain’t no woman who should suffer that shit. And your daddy? He needs an ass-kicking. Does he visit you often?”
“No. Dad rarely comes around unless he wants money. Dawson never used to give him any, and Dad would take it out on me. Apparently, that’s what the men in my life do.”
“Falcon told you his story?” Axel asked.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Ace and Artemis found one another again after Artemis suffered horribly. She came through it, but was changed. I see glimpses of Artemis in you. The strength, the determination to protect her kids, and the ability to strive for better. None of us would call you weak. And if anyone judged you, tell them to take a hike. You did what you needed to survive, and guess what, you did.”
“Jayes is so quiet. He’s coming out of his shell more, but he’s still very reserved. Dawson may have damaged him permanently,” I admitted.
“No. With this bunch of lunatics, he’ll be fine. Jayes will bloom with Falcon, sweet girl. He might always be a bit more responsible than kids his age, but he’ll settle down soon enough.”
“You speak from experience?” I asked.
“Definitely. Seen it all too often, and in some of my family members too,” Axel said. His eyes turned sad, and then he forced a smile.
“Never stop fighting. Don’t listen to assholes who wanna drag you down because you’re better than them. Be yourself and be strong. Trust yourself; if you can do that, then everything else will fall into place.”
I nodded. Axel made sense.
“My grandson deserves the best. That’s you. Give him a chance.”
“He wants to date me.”
“That’s an issue?”
“I’m damaged.”
Axel laughed. “Myka, we all are! Ain’t nobody perfect living around here.”
I smiled.
“Finished?” Artemis demanded, sitting next to us. She smirked, but there was a rabid curiosity in her eyes. Resigned, I leaned back in the wheelchair and sighed.
“Go on, fire away.”
Artemis grinned and began asking questions.
Falcon
I ducked under Nashoba’s beach ball shot, and it sailed over my head.
Mom had bullied Dad and me into watching the children in the pool.
Jayes was already in there splashing around.
He swam over to me, uncertain of the strangers who’d intruded.
Dad’s eyes fastened on Jayes, and greed appeared in them. Damn, Dad wanted to be a grandfather.
“Hey,” Dad called, wading through the water. Jayes nearly climbed me, and I held a hand out to Dad.
“Jayes, this is my dad,” I introduced.
“He is?” Jayes’ eyes went wide.
“Call me Grandpa,” Dad said, and I shook my head. That was too soon for Jayes.
Dad hesitated, and Jayes attacked. “Why?”
“Because…” Dad froze, unready for Jayes’s blunt question.
“Because he’s ancient,” I interjected, and Dad nodded. “I can see that.”
A chuckle escaped me as Dad seemed utterly insulted.
“I ain’t that old,” he complained.
“To Jayes you are.” I grinned.
“Disrespectful shit,” Dad snapped, and caught a ball flying at his head.
“Who are they?” Jayes pointed to the others.
“Those are my brothers and sisters.” I introduced them and asked if he wanted to play.
“No, I want to do laps,” Jayes replied, and Dad’s eyes widened.
“Watch this,” I murmured.
Jayes pushed off the side and started swimming. Dad studied Jayes as he swam a couple of lengths. “Jayes has good form.”
“He couldn’t swim a week ago.”
“Get the fuck out,” Dad exclaimed.
“Yup. Not a single stroke. He’s learned all this in less than seven days.”
Dad watched through narrowed eyes. “He ain’t got your DNA, but he’s your kid. What are the odds you’d find a prodigy?”
“Low. But look at him go. I’m letting him get comfortable with the front crawl before introducing new strokes. Jayes’s form is almost perfect.”
“You got him a coach?” Dad asked.
“Yeah. I reached out to John, and he’s agreed to come and visit.
The physio has permitted me to start laps gently.
John and Simon were coming to see me about starting my training.
” John was my swimming coach, and Simon my personal trainer for general fitness.
For Ju-Jitsu, I trained with Uncle Akemi; there was no one better, and Nova and Steel were my practice partners.
“Another Blackelk who’s going to take gold,” Dad said proudly.
I nodded, knowing how he felt. Jayes would become a household name in ten years or so. And I’d be proud to call him son.