31. Chapter 31
Glenda
“What a day,” Linny said as we made our way to the bar.
Bama had already brought Sofie to us to say hello.
We took a break earlier to hang with her after she got back from school.
She wanted to show off the pictures she made and tell us all about the playground drama without the men around.
She told us they were too nosy and that Bama would hold a grudge against the little boys. It was cute that she already knew that.
“Right. I’m ready to go home.”
Working around the clubhouse was not all that strenuous.
We only changed bed linens every few days.
We did handle the laundry for them, which was complicated.
We had to make sure we didn’t mix up anyone’s stuff so they all kept labeled laundry bags for us.
That’s part of why we stayed busy. Like a hotel, towels could of course be mixed up, along with the sheets and comforters.
There was never too much trash in the bedrooms, but we did dump those every few days.
Most of the trash was in the bar, or even the old buffet.
We also helped in the kitchen. Pretty much whatever needed to be done.
“Do you think you’ll be stuck here again?” she asked as we walked inside and headed to the bar. Most of the guys lingering around were at the tables, and Bama was sitting at a poker table playing some kind of card game with Sofie.
Pinkie passed me a beer as I sat down. “Hey, girl. You eating tonight?”
“Yeah. Leigh said he would be too. He should be here in a few.”
Pinkie gave Linny a beer, then went to the kitchen.
Linny took a swig, then asked, “I hope the weather sucks so you can go on home.”
“Same. But, oh well. It is what it is.” I took a pull then chuckled.
“What ya laughing at?” she asked.
I ran my finger over the top of the bottle. “Just weird. A few weeks ago I was living here, alone, avoiding Leigh at all costs. Now I can’t wait for him to come get me so we can go home. To his house, but together.”
“Girl, that is your house now.”
I took another sip, shrugging. “I guess so. It’s just crazy how things happen.
” I wanted to gush to her about how I was so fucking in love with him it was hurting, but I hadn’t even told him yet, so I decided to change the subject.
‘What about you? Y’all plan on just staying here or you gonna go back to yours and Bama’s house? ”
Linny ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh. “I mean. It’s not me that’s keeping us here. I’m still sad about Ollie but I figure we gotta go back. It’s our house.”
“So why camp out here every night? There was a time you didn’t want Sofie here at all.”
She nodded. “Well, it’s been pretty low key since… well…” She took a drink and looked over her shoulder at the table where Sofie and Bama were. “I mentioned to Bama that maybe it would be good for Sofie to go home, but he said not yet and left it at that. I can only assume one thing.”
We looked at each other and clinked out bottles, saying, “Club business,” in unison.
“What are you two laughing at?” Allie asked from behind us.
I patted the stool next to me. “Just how everything is club business.”
She scoffed, sitting but facing the room instead of the bar. “Ain’t that the truth. Stupid shit.” My eyes widened and she waved me off. “Well, it is. They use that shit as an excuse for everything.” She sniffed. “It’s like a fucking get-out-of-jail-free card, except it won’t work on real jail.”
Pinkie came out and asked, “You need a drink, Allie? Hungry?”
Allie spun around. “A beer would be great. I’m not hungry.”
Pinkie gave a tight-lipped grin but grabbed a beer, popped the top, then pushed it across the bar. “What are y’all ladies gabbing about?” Pinkie asked as she sipped her own beer. Perks of working a bar at a clubhouse. Everyone could drink.
“Boys,” Linny said. “Speaking of, I never see you with anyone.”
Pinkie grinned as she put the bottle to her lips. “I have my fun. Don’t you worry about me.”
Pinkie was cute, friendly, and kind. Plenty of the guys had their eye on her. She was pretty reserved though with her private life. Not that other ladies weren’t. A lot of the girls that hung around were here to get away from something.
“Don’t even look in my direction with that bullshit,” Allie said, taking a drink.
Linny laughed. “You’re not fooling anyone, ya know.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Allie turned back around, turning her bottle up.
We all giggled. The only way you could ignore the chemistry between her and Hammer would be if you didn’t have eyes. Even then, the tension was palpable so it would be obvious to a blind person. But they were so stubborn they wouldn’t admit it to each other.
I’d been around when they were being friendly but still pretending it was nothing more than that. Linny and her got close because it was Allie who originally helped get her away from that piece of shit, Marshall. Even after Linny came out here and she ended up with Bama, they stayed in touch.
Bama drilled them both, since that was his sister and his friend before they ever became club brothers. Something happened, but none of us knew what. And Allie’s been icy to him ever since.
Pinkie walked back to the kitchen then came back out with plates of food for me and Linny. “I’ll get Leigh’s when he’s here.”
Looking at my phone, I said, “Weird. He should be here by now.”
Linny was putting ketchup on her plate for her fries. “Did he run by the house?”
“Maybe.” I hit his name and picked up the phone, listening as it rang. When the message came on to leave a voicemail, I waited for the beep then said, “Hey, just checking to see if you’re on the way. See you soon.”
I laid the phone back on the bar and sipped my beer.
Linny grabbed a fry. “You gonna eat?” she asked before popping it in her mouth.
Looking down at the phone, I said, “I guess.” I sent a text to Leigh to say I was going to eat and put the phone back down.
I ate my hot wings and half of the fries, looking down at the phone the whole time. I’d used up a pile of napkins trying to keep my fingers clean to grab the phone between bites, but no call or message came.
“Something’s wrong.” I tried calling again, and Leigh still didn’t answer. He hadn’t been by the clubhouse yet, and the guys hadn’t left, so he wasn’t with them.
“Did he say he was on the way?” Allie asked.
Staring at my phone, I sighed. “He told me a while ago he was going by the clinic, then he’d be here. He always replies within minutes.” Putting the phone down, I looked at the mirror behind the bar and caught a glimpse of some of the bunnies walking around, flirting with the guys.
“Nope.” Allie said, slamming her beer down. “Not Leigh.”
Looking over at her, I asked, “What?”
She grabbed my wrist. “He’s not with a woman. Not Leigh.”
Linny wiped her hands. “She’s right. He wouldn’t.”
Glancing at the phone, willing it to light up, I said, “I thought that once about Reggie, too.”
Allie wiggled my arm. “That’s because you were young and dumb then. He was not secretive about that shit. Leigh has followed you around like a puppy all this time. You know me. I wouldn’t defend any of these idiots, even my brother, if he was doing stupid shit. Leigh’s not with a woman.”
“Then something’s wrong.” I hated this. Either way, something didn’t add up, and my gut was already knotting.
I would be heartbroken if he turned out to be like the rest. Hell, it would be worse.
Allie was right. Reggie didn’t try to hide it.
He passed it off as part of the life. If Leigh was sneaking around, that was worse. Deceitful.
The other option would be something bad happened to him. He always answered me. Sometimes it took a few minutes, but I’d eaten a whole meal, and I don’t eat fast. He was supposed to go to the clinic and then come here. Even if he stopped somewhere, he would’ve been here by now.
“Okay. Was he still at the shop when he told you he was going to the clinic or on the road?” Allie asked.
“On the road already. Around five.”
Linny pulled out her phone and sent a text. “I’m asking Sam if he’s there. Easy peasy.” She stopped typing, still holding her phone. “He gave me the number in case of emergency when you were recovering.”
Allie said, “Clearly the brains of this operation. See. We’ll sort this out.”
Linny’s soft smile melted away after her phone buzzed and she looked down.
“What? What did he say?” I asked, leaning to look at her phone.
She bit her lip. “He left over an hour ago.”
My heart sped up and sweat beaded over my lip. “I don’t feel so good.”
Pinkie grabbed a glass and filled it with ice, then shot water in and pushed it across.
Allie grabbed fresh napkins and dipped them into the drink then patted my face. “Better than spacing out. Give her a straw for that.”
Pinkie shook her head. “No, it’s best to sip.”
My hands shook so I was afraid to grab it. Allie picked it up and held it to my lips. The water cooled me down a little.
Bama walked up to Linny. “What’s up? Glenda, you okay?”
Linny turned. “Can you try to reach Leigh?”
Bama’s brows pinched but he pulled his phone out, dialing. He listened for a minute then ended the call without a message. He sent a text then grabbed my shoulder. “What’s up?”
Allie said, “He should have been here by now. He left the clinic over an hour ago. Did you eat? Maybe you could go look for him.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Y’all keep an eye on Sofie. I’ll run to the house. He probably just stopped to get his Harley.”
Nodding, I said, “That makes sense.”
Except it didn’t. I wanted that to make sense, but his house was on the way from the clinic, and not that far. Even if he let Bruce out and ate, he would be here already. Plus, he said he was eating here, even if he didn’t have to go out.
Bama patted my back. “I’ll double check. I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Thanks, Bama.”
The minutes that followed were tense. I peeled at the label on the beer bottle and managed to drink half the water. Even though I stopped sweating, my stomach was still in shambles and my heartbeat muffled the sounds around me.
We were waiting on news when several guys abruptly jumped from their chairs, finishing drinks before hustling out the door.
We all turned but I knew something was up.
I hopped down from my stool and ran to the door, grabbing Butterbean since he was the closest. He looked down at my grasp on his cut.
He had such a sweet face; even when he tried he didn’t look mad, but he also towered over me as he was probably at least six-five.
“I gotta go.” He tried to peel my hand away.
“Where? What’s going on?”
He pulled my fingers away and jogged off. I stepped into the hallway and Hammer was coming down the hall. He slowed a few steps when he saw me, then picked up the pace, trying to go past me.
“Hey, what’s happening?”
He kept going. “Not now, Glenda. Go back to the bar.”
Allie was next to me. “Did they say anything?”
“No. Goddammit.” I grabbed the sides of my head. I wanted to run after Hammer and interrogate him, but I was lucky to not have been beaten for destroying my cut, or kicked out. He may not be so nice if I fucked with him again.
“C’mon.” She grabbed my hand.
I followed behind, but asked, “What are we doing?”
She stopped at the front door, let my hand go, and cracked the door. The sound of the bikes roared. As the last of them started to pull away, she grabbed my hand and dragged me outside.
Linny and Pinkie were right behind us.
“Hey, what are y’all doing?” Pinkie shouted from the door.
Allie walked me to her SUV and opened the door. “We’re following those fuckers. Y’all go back inside.”
Without hesitation, I climbed in, but blew a kiss at Linny and Pinkie. Linny waved her arms wildly and ran to us. “Wait!”
Allie hopped in the driver’s seat; I buckled myself in, then rolled the window down. “We gotta go. You can’t leave Sofie.” Some of the other bunnies were peeking out the door and Pinkie tried to shoo them back inside.
“You left your phone on the bar. Don’t do anything stupid.” She handed me the phone then leaned in, kissing my cheek. “Both of you.”
Allie pulled a small baggie out of her pocket and grabbed a loose key from the cup holder. She took a bump, then wiped the key before dropping it and sucked her fingertip. It had been years since I did coke, but watching that made me gag.
“Y’all be safe, too,” Allie told her. “Looks like the officers are all gone, so you’re stuck with a bunch of dipshits. We gotta go if we’re gonna catch ‘em.”
Linny went back to the sidewalk in front of the hotel and she and Pinkie stood arm in arm as we pulled away.
My mind was racing and so was my heart. “What are we gonna do when we find them? What if they’re in some shit?”
“Flip that backseat up,” Allie said without taking her eyes off the road.
I unbuckled to reach back, but still had to move my seat a little before I could access the backseat. When I finally got it up, I cackled.
“Holy shit, Allie! Where did you get these?”
Hidden under the bench seat, in the back of her SUV, was an arsenal.
“Over the years, ya know. Some with Bama, some I procured myself when he was up the road. A girl can never be too careful.”
I grabbed a few pistols. “Hold these while I look for the clips.”
After she took them, I found some clips and put the seat back down, then got situated.
“You good to shoot?” she asked as she handed me two.
Nodding, I checked the clip already in one.
I may have been numb for a while, but I was still handy with a gun.
The military sucked, but it did teach me two things: hand to hand combat and excellent marksmanship.
And I’d be damned if I came this far and finally got a taste of happiness for it to be stripped away.
“You bet your ass I am.” I popped the clip back in, the adrenaline feeding newfound confidence within me. “Let’s go find my fucking man.”