24. Chapter 24
Leigh
The last few days were great. I talked Glenda into waiting to go “work” at the clubhouse until a new week started. We didn’t miss anything since Hammer put a hold on any parties.
Her appointment was today, but we made it through the weekend with no nightmares and no episodes.
I still wasn’t getting comfortable yet. Once she started one-on-one therapy, she may have some shit bubbling to the surface.
What little I knew about therapy was it often got worse before it got better.
Bama brought the fam by a few times, and we had a cookout Sunday with a few members and they brought some of the girls.
I was doing anything I could to make her see this was her home now. Even though I didn’t want her to be taking care of everything, she seemed happy in the kitchen cooking and baking. We had plans to go shopping for home shit this week so she could spruce up the place.
I also had work to do. Hammer had given me a pass all this time, but I was needed back at the shop, and he had plans for some recon. The rumors about the Scorpions needed to be addressed, so we had some scouting to do.
Glenda was stubborn. I’d not secured anyone I trusted enough to be at the house with her when I was out.
Having her at the clubhouse was the only option for now.
But Linny was there, along with all the other women, so she’d not be lonely.
But it was the only place I knew for sure she was safe in my absence.
That was the main reason I caved on her going back to help manage the clubhouse.
“I’m ready,” Glenda said as she entered the kitchen.
I handed her a coffee tumbler. “Want to get a biscuit on the way?”
“That sounds yummy. I shouldn’t have slept so late.”
I stepped in closer, brushing her cheek. “You seemed so peaceful.”
“Well, I’m setting an alarm going forward,” she said, playfully swatting at my chest. “But I did sleep great.”
Kissing her forehead, I told her, “Good. Let’s hit the road. C’mon, Bruce.”
After crating Bruce, we headed out. As promised, we stopped at a drive-thru and got some breakfast. She ate on the way but I waited.
The office park was next to the clinic, so I was familiar with the area. Still, when we arrived, I walked her inside.
It was only one story, mostly light brick and perfectly manicured bushes along the length of the building.
The double doors automatically opened and we were met with another set of automatic doors. There was a reception desk as we entered the quiet and cool area.
“Can I help you?” the older woman with short, white hair asked.
“Dr. Stanley’s office, please,” Glenda said quietly.
Looking behind me, I noticed there were no chairs.
“You’ll head down the hall,” the woman said, pointing. “Take the second hall on the right and sit tight.”
I followed Glenda, checking out every room and sign we passed. There was an alcove with two vending machines between the two hallways as well: one for drinks, one for snacks.
After turning down the hall, we were met with a small room with only four chairs and one small table in the corner with a fake plant atop it. A small side table held a one-cup coffee maker, a basket of coffee pods, paper cups, sugar, and individual half-n-halfs.
“No sign in sheet,” she said lightly, looking around. “Did you see a desk or anything?”
Shaking my head, I said, “No, just doors. I’ll wait with you.”
Before I could even sit, though, a woman said, “Glenda, hi.”
“Dr. Stanley, this is Leigh,” Glenda said, so I extended my hand, sizing up the woman. She was probably mid-thirties, give or take a few years, with dusty blonde hair, brown eyes, a casual demeanor with a gentle smile, but business casual attire.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “We can go ahead and get started. Joy of being the first appointment of the day.”
“I’ll be in the truck. Good to meet you, doc.” I locked eyes with Glenda and said, “Take care of her.”
Glenda’s dimples deepened and her cheeks went pink. As I reluctantly parted ways, I couldn’t help but grin at myself. The only time I’d seen her blush before was with me. I knew deep down she loved Reggie, but I didn’t think it was like what we had.
She hadn’t said it yet, that she loved me–but she was with me. I didn’t need her to say it, but I’d damn sure tell her all the time.
Before I even made it back to the truck, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
“Hey, doc,” I answered when I saw it was Sam.
“Hey, tests are clear. Still, wrap that thing up.”
“Thanks for the update. You hear from Manny?”
“Nope. Didn’t try him. The clinic’s been busy as shit and one of my NPs is out on maternity leave. Can’t be chasing people who I don’t pay or don’t pay me.”
Pulling my biscuit from the bag, I said, “I hear ya. I’ll message him.”
“Alright. How’s Glenda doing?”
Chewing and swallowing, I told him, “Good. Seeing Dr. Stanley now.”
“Good to hear. Let me know if you need anything, but I gotta go. I’m already running behind today.”
We ended the call, I texted Manny to see if he was awake, I finished my breakfast, then drank down the rest of the now lukewarm coffee.
Even though I hated to leave her, it would do me some good to get my hands dirty and see other walls for a while. I tried to argue with her about needing to do something to stay busy, but having been sitting around the house for a couple of weeks was making me antsy.
I also was looking forward to my ride with some brothers later.
Besides some wind therapy, I was looking forward to finding these assholes and getting rid of them.
The fucking Bloody Scorpions always had their hand in some bullshit.
Always trying to move in on established shit. Always causing problems.
We’d worked too hard to establish business in the area for these dumb fucks to move in.
Problem was, they weren’t a real club like us.
Finding them wasn’t always easy because they moved around a lot and had no real leadership.
Sure, they threw around titles sometimes, but they’re nothing more than a gang out to wreak havoc and steal, not an organized operation.
Until we got ears on the ground, we couldn’t be sure these idiots were even affiliated directly with the ones that had been working with Linny’s piggie ex.
That shit went down over in Pensacola. Hammer said this was north of us.
Not too far from where shit went down with Reggie, from my understanding.
But it wasn’t likely the same group was back so close.
After making a few calls, I noticed the time and headed back inside.
“How did it go?” I asked as she walked out of the room.
Her hand flew to her chest. “Goddammit, Leigh. You scared the shit out of me.”
My lips quirked as I stepped closer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She smiled, pulling the door behind her. “I didn’t mean like that. It’s a figure of speech. I’m okay.”
I kissed her forehead, then grabbed her hand, leading her outside. “Let’s go. Gotta get you to the clubhouse so I can head to the shop.”
We climbed in and hit the road. Once I drove for several minutes I finally said, “You never did say how it went.”
“You know, therapy is private.”
I glanced over and she was smirking.
“It was okay. Today was mostly small talk, getting to know me. She got some broad basics and I explained my episodes. Next week we will start to really dive in, I suppose.”
“And how are they? The episodes, I mean.”
She shrugged. “Few and far between, so far. But I hadn’t had any for months, so I guess more than normal.” She chuckled. “Normal for me. I guess flashbacks aren’t really normal.”
“Maybe. But I’d say less common. You’re not abnormal. Just going through some shit. I have vivid memories sometimes. Bad ones. They’re different than yours, but I think a lot of people occasionally relive shit, good or bad.”
She nodded. “True. But do they completely space out?”
“That I can’t say. I space out for a minute,” I said as I reached for her hand.
“Yeah. I just want to be able to drive, or hell, even take a ride.”
I pulled her hand to my lips. After pressing a gentle kiss there, I said, “There’s nothing more I want than to have you on my bike, Glenda. We’ll get there.”
She giggled. “There you go again. But I’d love that.”
We made it to the clubhouse with little more discussion and enjoyed the low hum of classic rock. We didn’t let go of each other’s hands until we arrived.
“I’ll walk you inside.”
She waited for me to get her door, then we headed in. “You know, you don’t have to escort me everywhere. Especially places I’m familiar with.”
“Sure I do,” I quipped, pulling open the front door. She rolled her eyes and I added, “I need to holler at Hammer anyway.”
We headed to the main bar area that was immediately to the left when you walked inside.
Several girls rushed over, squealing and jumping around.
“You just saw her,” Hammer said as he turned around.
Allie snapped back, “Shut the fuck up. We can still be excited. Damn.”
Hammer’s jaw worked and he climbed down from the stool at the bar, leaving a plate of half-eaten food. He walked over to Allie, so I stepped closer.
“Hammer, chill,” I said.
Allie grabbed my arm, trying to step back in front of me. “I don’t need your fucking help, Leigh. Fuck you, Ryan. I dare you to touch me.” She pointed over my shoulder when I blocked her.
Hammer pointed at me. “You need to do something with these women. And you,” he said, pointing at Glenda. “You and I need to chat.”
Glenda turned red. This time, I pushed Allie out of the way and stepped even closer.
Rogers was quickly at his side. “Hammer, we can do this later,” he said.
“Do what?” I looked over my shoulder and Allie was clutching Glenda close. Linny walked into the room, not looking as confident, but still went to her side. Pinkie left the bar and joined them. My brows pinched. “What the fuck is going on?”
“She destroyed our colors,” Hammer said, crossing his arms over his chest. “That’s a big fucking deal.”
Looking back briefly, Glenda’s face was beet red and her jaw clenched.
I rubbed at my chin. “Goddammit,” I said under my breath.
“I’m sorry, Hammer.” Glenda’s voice was unsteady. “I wasn’t trying to disrespect you. I was just destroying Reggie’s shit.”
Hammer started to open his mouth, but I butted in. “Give me a Goddamn minute. I’ll be right back.” I turned, then broke Glenda free from the human shield and walked her to the hall. “Tell me what happened. What did you destroy?”
Her bottom lip trembled as her eyes filled. “My cut.” Each cheek had a tear rolling down it, but she swiped them away and fought to hold back more. She hugged herself close.
I pulled her into my arms. “Fuck, Glenda.”
She murmured against my chest. “I know. But I couldn’t keep it. I damn sure couldn’t wear it anymore. I just wanted to get rid of everything that was his.”
“I get it. But that’s a serious fucking offense, baby.” I sighed. “But I’ll kill Hammer before he touches you.”
She trembled in my arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that until he said something. But as soon as he spoke, I knew. Is he gonna banish me?”
Squeezing her tighter, I said, “Let me talk to him. In private. Stay out of sight for a few, okay?”
She nodded, so I cupped her face and lifted it so I could see her hazel eyes. “I’ll work it out, alright?”
“Alright. I’ll go to the laundry.”
I kissed her deeply, trying to reassure her and set her at ease. After I watched her walk down the other hall, I went back into the bar and waved for Hammer to follow me down the back hall to the office.
Allie, Pinkie, and Linny made their way out the door, probably to find Glenda. If looks could kill, Hammer and Rogers would be dead after the looks they shot at them. I was glad she had them, too. She needed all the support she could get.
Once we made it to his office, Hammer slammed the door and didn’t sit. “She set the patch on fire, Leigh. Do you know what would happen if a brother did that shit?”
“She’s not a brother, though,” I told him. “And don’t act like you didn’t have a hand in all this shit. She wasn’t defiling the club, she was getting rid of his shit.”
“I can’t just let that go, Leigh. Don’t act like this isn’t a problem.”
“Who all even knows, besides the two of you?”
Rogers said, “That’s not important.”
“Yeah it is because if it's just you, we can squash this quietly.”
Hammer said, “Someone found it, what was left of it. And I ain’t saying who, because I won’t have you retaliate. She made a huge mistake, Leigh. If this was anyone else, you wouldn’t even blink at dealing with this. You’re letting her cloud your judgement.”
“Fuck you.” I stepped closer to him. “I’d take down a brother no problem for disrespecting our colors, but she’s a woman. You have some sick power trip. And you’re mistaken if you think you’re gonna touch her.”
“You’re already on thin ice–”
“He paid his debt, Hammer. And he’s right,” Rogers said. “She’s a bunny, a former Old Lady, but a bunny nonetheless. We’re not in the business of harming women, and we don’t need to start.”
Hammer’s chest expanded with a deep breath. “She can’t st–”
Rogers grabbed Hammer’s arm this time. “Before you finish that sentence, think about it. They all know what happened now. She stayed loyal to the club even when we didn’t earn it from her.
She fucked up. But there are other ways to settle this, and if you kick her out, you’ll lose all the good ones, including Allie. ”
Hammer jerked his arm away. “I’m sick of the circus we got going on right now. If we don’t have order, we’re no better than those Scorpions. And I’m sick of my authority being questioned.”
“How much?” I asked. “You wanna fine her? How much? Someone needs a flogging? I’ll take another. But we owe it to her to let her stay. You owe it to me, too.”
Hammer walked over and threw a punch, connecting to my cheek. I took it. But I corrected myself and stared at him, unsure if he would do it again.
“That’s for your bullshit,” Hammer said, pointing in my face. “I want two bands by the end of next week, and you get scout work this week… every night.”
“Yes, sir,” I gritted out.
“You’re fucking welcome!” he shouted.
“Thank you, Prez.”
“Now get to work. You’ve been away from the shop long enough. And don’t be late tonight.”
I nodded at Rogers before I left. He helped reign him in, so I owed him. Luckily, he decided against another flogging. I’d take it, but I wasn’t excited about it.
Hopefully I could find her to tell her bye before the bruise formed on my face. She already felt guilty about the flogging I took. I didn’t want her to worry about this, too.