6. Chapter 6
Leigh
Having her in my house was harder than I thought.
I wouldn’t let her be anywhere else right now, but I was clearly a masochist. Watching her from the sidelines for the last year and a half was hard.
Having her in my arms over and over with no chance of her embracing me back was a new kind of fresh hell.
Still, my dumbass wouldn't have it any other way. Part of me hated she couldn’t even look me in the eye, but the other part of me was glad. If I did catch a glimpse of those gorgeous hazel eyes staring up at me, I wasn’t sure I could keep it together.
I remembered them staring at me vividly. The warmth of her skin on mine. Her sweet cunt wrapped around my cock. Her nails digging into my sides. I knew that night I loved her. Which made it all so much more fucked up.
But Reggie wasn’t just my club brother. We’d been friends for life. What he did was no different than most of the brothers. We’d been around plenty of clubs, even before prospecting for RBMC, and it was just the way things were.
And I knew him well. Even though it was fucked to me how he did her, Reggie thought he loved Glenda. He’d been sucked into the lifestyle hard and fast. Hell, I was too. That was how I ended up with her in my bed. But something clicked for me that night. Something I could never undo.
But having a turn with your boy’s woman at his request was one thing. Deciding you wanted her all to yourself was a no-go. Whether he was shitty to her or not, he’d already claimed her as his. And that was that.
So when he asked me, man to man, to watch out for her when he wasn’t around, I agreed. The night he died, that was his last wish. His last thought. His last words. “Take care of Glenda.”
I promised myself long before that I’d always watch out for her. But when he asked me that again that fateful night, it only reinforced the fact: I had to protect her, no matter what.
But when she learned Reggie died, she snapped. She blamed me. Well, she blamed everyone that was there. But she blamed me more than anyone. She didn’t understand.
I didn’t get a chance to correct her then. Once I tried to talk to her, she’d decided she hated me. Hammer and Rogers both told me to give her some space, so I did.
The next few months were rough on her. And the darker things got for her, the more her hatred for me grew.
No matter what I did or said I couldn’t get her to sit still long enough to listen to me.
I finally gave up after Sam said she was processing a lot of shit.
Losing Reggie rehashed her old wounds from the military and she was in a bad spiral.
But I watched her back. Bama mentioned they’d been fucking around but said something to me because he was worried about her.
I asked him then and there if he had feelings for her, and he said he didn’t.
She needed to blow off steam, so he let her.
At first I thought he was full of shit. She’s fucking gorgeous and wild but still sweet to the core…
well, to everyone else. After a chat, brother to brother, he realized she was more than just Reggie’s girl to me.
But everyone knew she was holding a grudge on me about what happened.
So I told him to carry on if he wanted. He started reporting back, leaving off the private details, and I appreciated the updates.
She was disconnected. Never wanted to chat, never wanted to cuddle or beg to go for a ride on his bike. She would occasionally let a few sad moments slip so he always kept me looped in. He told me when she stopped group therapy.
She could go to private therapy through the VA but didn’t trust those docs to not report what she said.
So instead, at Sam’s urging, she went to a local group therapy at a center he runs.
But after a while, she refused to go back.
Bama said he tried to encourage her to go and offered to take her, but she blew it off as unnecessary and would change the subject or distract him from the conversation.
On the surface, she seemed fine. She practically ran the clubhouse. Everyone liked her. But she wasn’t okay. Bama did his best to help her out, but he said it was obvious neither of them had the chemistry to be a real couple, and as much as he tried to help her, she wouldn’t accept it.
He was torn up when he met Linny. He fell hard for her and couldn’t keep entertaining Glenda.
He said Glenda took it well, but that left her completely alone again.
I didn’t like that Bama had been fucking her, but it was the only comfort I knew she had.
So, once he cut things off with her, I started keeping a closer watch.
But she was sure to push me away anytime she noticed.
When we rode to Bama’s looking for them, I lost it.
That’s when everyone else knew. Bama kept my secrets, but when I found her bloody and lifeless on the ground and thought she was gone, I couldn’t hold it in.
When she started convulsing in my arms, it shocked me.
So much that tears actually stung my eyes.
I was the cleaner. I’d done my fair share of shit and didn’t think twice about getting rid of evidence, bodies or otherwise, but thinking for those few seconds she was dead broke me.
When I realized she wasn’t, too many emotions flooded me and they had nowhere to go but out of my eyeballs.
So even though she was cold as ice to me, there was no fucking way I was letting her out of my sight.
But Goddamn if it wasn’t hard having her here.
And having her in my arms in a shower, well, needless to say, once I got her out, I had to go for a walk with Bruce.
I wasn’t sure when Bama was coming back and didn’t need to be rubbing one out in the bathroom with extra bodies walking around my fucking house.
After a long walk around my property and Bruce thoroughly marking his spot, I headed back in to check on them.
The rest of the day had been pretty low key. She napped off and on, Bama brought Sofie after school, and Sam swung by later in the day.
He was impressed she’d eaten a few times and showered, but wanted her to walk more.
“The faster you’re up and moving, the faster you’ll heal. You have help. Take advantage,” Sam told her.
“Okay. Linny helped with the exercises. I’m just really tired. I can’t sleep on this hospital bed,” Glenda replied.
I waited for Sam to finish checking her over and followed him outside to his truck.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. She’s making progress. Just gotta get her moving a bit more,” he said as he opened the door and climbed in, leaving it open.
“Is there a reason she still has to be in that bed?” I asked.
He scratched his short scruff. “Well, the firm mattress helps when you have a lot of physical issues. She took a good beating.”
I didn’t need reminding. “But would it hurt for her to sleep in a normal bed? Shouldn’t she get some sleep?”
Sam sighed. “If she thinks she’d be more comfortable in a bed, she can try it. But her heart still needs to be elevated for now since she’s not moving around much. Be sure she moves her legs, too.”
“Got it, doc. Thanks for your help.”
“I’ll be by again tomorrow and if things are still going well, I’ll skip a few days. I like sleep, too.” He shut his door, cranked it up, then I stepped back as he put it in gear to turn and drive down the long dirt driveway.
I walked back up to the house and shook my head. Bruce had completely abandoned me for the women.
Bama was on the sofa watching TV so I plopped down in my recliner. “How’s the clubhouse?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Been kinda quiet. Hammer put a pause on the parties for now. Him and Allie are at each other’s throats. Some of the girls are tense.”
“And the brothers?”
“We’ve all been looking over our shoulders. We took out a lot of Scorpions in Jacksonville. Plus, a cop. Trying to lay low until the dust settles.”
The fuckers that attacked Glenda had killed Ollie and taken Linny.
They’d been working with her baby’s daddy, a piece of shit pig from Georgia.
We’d set it up to look like a deal gone bad, but we didn’t know for sure if he could be tied back to Linny, or us.
She and Sofie had come to us as Brooklyn and Sadie.
With the help of Roger’s cousin, Crown, up in one of our Canadian chapters, they both were wiped from existence and given new identities.
But since a cop was involved, we couldn’t be too careful.
“No word on anything else?” I asked.
“No. Had a meet up last night with one of those new buyers but it went fine. Hammer’s not looking for new business for now.”
“We’re straight.” The club was doing well with our guns and we’d set up a few legit businesses as well. I normally worked at the mechanic shop but they were giving me some time off to deal with Glenda.
“Yep. So just coasting for now.” Bama pulled out his phone. “It’s getting late. Gotta get Sofie back so we can get her ready for school tomorrow.”
Standing, I followed him down the hall.
“Hey girls. Let’s get ready to hit the road,” Bama said as he walked inside.
Sofie moaned and Bruce groaned along with her. “Do we have to go?”
Linny chuckled. “Yes. We need to feed you and you need a bath. I swear they let them roll in the dirt at school.”
“Sweet girl, you can come see me again soon, but Miss Glenda is tired,” she told her.
She looked tired too, her normally round cheeks sullen.
They all said their goodbyes and the food delivery came as I was walking them out. It got darker earlier now and the air was cool. I wished Bruce would leave the room without coaxing him, but he was glued at her side.
Heading back inside, I went straight to the room and Glenda was watching some cooking show while Bruce stared up at the screen like he was, too.
I moved the tray and pulled stuff from the bags. “Tonight’s menu. We got egg drop soup or wonton soup, lo mein if you can handle it, or more chicken nuggets and fries. Pick your poison.”
She reached for the nuggets, and took a bite. Then another. After she got one down, I went to grab the lo mein, but she popped my hand.
When I glanced over, she was grinning. “I want some of that.”
I pushed it toward her. “You can have it. Can I have the soup?”
She nodded then went back to staring at the TV and eating her nuggets. I moved her water closer then grabbed a spoon from the bag before grabbing one of the soup containers and plopping down in the chair.
We ate quietly for a few minutes, then I finally said, “If you want, you can sleep in my bed.”
She coughed so I stood up and put the soup down. “Glenda, shit. Are you choking?” I went to climb behind her but she batted me away.
“I’m fine. But you’re crazy if you think I’m sleeping with you.”
I grabbed the soup and sat back down. “I didn’t say that, did I? I said you could.”
“Oh. Where will you sleep?”
Digging a wonton from the broth, I said, “Living room, I guess. But I’ll warn you. Bruce likes to sleep in the bed, too.”
She giggled and looked down at Bruce, whose tail started beating the floor at the mention of his name. “Sounds like good company to me.” She took a long sip of water. “Did Sam say it was okay?”
Nodding, I told her, “Yeah. Just gotta keep your head elevated so your heart is up higher. But I got a ton of pillows. When you’re ready, I’ll help you get in there.”
“Okay.”
We ate our food quietly and watched as some red-haired woman made fancy nachos.
“Those look good,” I said.
“I don’t know if I can get chips down right now. But these nuggets were delicious.”
I sipped the last of my broth then stood up. “I’m glad. Maybe when you can eat them, I’ll fix you the fancy nachos.”
Her brows went up. “You cook?”
“I live alone. If I don’t cook I starve.”
She looked down at the remnants of her fries, the egg drop soup, and the lo mein.
“Special circumstances. I don’t order in every day. And you didn’t touch the noodles.”
“Chinese is always better the second day, anyway.” Her dimples popped, but she fought a grin.
“That it is. Let me put this stuff away, then I’ll come back and help you out of here.”
I put the leftovers away and came back to Glenda, dropping the rest of the fries for Bruce.
Once he took care of them, I moved the tray out of the way, then helped her from the bed. She made it to the bathroom a little faster than earlier, but still slow. When she was done, I helped her down the hall.
“You’re moving fast,” I told her.
“Oh yeah. Ricky Bobby over here.”
Huffing, I led her to my room and stopped to flip the light on. She paused, looked around, then kept walking toward the bed.
It wasn’t high off the ground, but she was petite and still moving gingerly, so I pulled the covers back, then helped her up. Her hands gripped my shoulders as I lifted her and I couldn’t help but smell her hair. It was fruity and light.
Once she was settled, I moved the pillow around to prop her head up. “How’s that?”
“This is much better.” She shifted a little and put her head back.
I turned the TV on then handed her the remote. “Be right back.”
I went to grab her water and her phone, then went back and put them on the nightstand. “Here’s your stuff. Need anything?”
“No. I think I’m about to pass out.”
“Alright.”
I was heading out, but she said, “Leigh.”
Hearing her say my name sent a quiver up my spine. “Yeah?”
“Don’t you need a pillow or a blanket or something?”
“Oh, yeah I suppose.” I walked back to the bed and grabbed a pillow from the other side. “Got some blankets in there. Holler if you need anything.”
I was almost back to the door when she said, “I–you…” When I looked back, she was actually looking at me. “Thanks.”
My heart raced but tipped my head. “Yeah, well. I’ll just be in there. Good night, Glenda.”
Walking away from that woman in my bed was like pulling my feet from drying cement. But all she did was say thanks. Still, it was better than the norm. Getting situated in my recliner, I already knew sleep was going to be a joke.