Chapter 12
Delaney
To my amusement when I came through the doors at school this morning, I found Micah hanging all over Jackie Simmons.
No doubt orchestrated for my benefit, I merely smiled when he pulled her close and whispered in her ear as I walked by.
His attempt to make me jealous shows me just how clueless Micah is, the poor bastard.
During lunch, I step outside for a little fresh air and find myself out back by the bench where it’s quiet this time of day.
The conversation with Mom still circles my brain but I don’t really know what to do with the information.
Visions of her in her sweater set and loafers, complete with pearls, do not jive with what I’ve seen of the MC.
Granted, I’ve never been invited to a party amongst the older crowd but I’m quite sure the women aren’t sipping wine while the men discuss their last round of golf.
Ha!
Although maybe the woman I know now is a glimpse into the past of its own, thoughts of which make me shudder.
Either way, it just goes to show how much someone can change, which leads me to Joey.
He’s also someone that I can’t see as MC. The man can barely make it from his lawn chair to the couch.
What happened to push these two so far from their youthful selves? Did they just “grow” up or am I missing something?
Is Joey hiding that gun because of the Aces? It makes me uneasy to know that it’s there even if he hid it away.
Rubbing my head, I concede, maybe it doesn’t matter. All this shit happened before I was born.
With a sigh, I check my watch before pushing to my feet. I have two more classes and then a shift later at the diner.
I’m dreading it but hopefully it will be busy, and I won’t be consumed by thoughts that get me no-fucking-where.
“Hey Delaney,” Josh says, breaking me from my thoughts.
Although he acted like a jerk the other night, he’s also the only one from our friend group who hasn’t either treated me like I’m diseased or gossiped about me behind my back.
At times like these when I’m so confused and alone, I appreciate it more than he knows. Besides, I was confused by Maddox’s behavior toward him too. It was a dick move.
“Hey,” I say, locking eyes with Micah over his shoulder before his gaze slides to Josh.
When his brows furrow, I silently sigh. I guess it’s going to take a while for Micah to move on.
Hopefully, Jackie can accelerate the process though because I don’t need to deal with Micah’s shit while I’m drowning under my own.
“I…uh, wanna say sorry,” he says, kicking at the grass beneath his feet.
“It’s, you know…okay,” I say, and he whips his head up with a grin.
“You missed an epic race at the track last night.”
Was Maddox there?
Ignoring the little zing racing up my spine, I focus on Josh. Speaking of the track reminds me of his affiliation with the Saints and I wonder…what does he know about the Aces?
“Josh,” I say, touching his arm. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, I’ll take you to the track,” he says, wagging his brows.
Laughing, I shake my head and say, “That wasn’t my question.”
“Okay.”
Searching for the best way to phrase what I want to know without saying too much, I finally say, “Well, you said you’re related to the Saints through your dad…”
When his eyes narrow, I fight back a shiver. Am I not supposed to talk about that here?
“Yeah,” he says. “Draven’s my cousin.”
“Do you know the Aces?”
“What? Del–”
“Suffocating?” Micah sneers, breaking into our conversation. “Or maybe you wanted Josh’s dick?”
Of course, here we go. Asshole.
Before I can comment, he pushes Josh. To which, Josh spins around and shoves him back, growling, “Dude, what’s your fucking problem?”
“My girlfriend. That’s my fucking problem.”
While they circle each other, Jackie comes up, flapping her arms.
Rolling my eyes to the sky, I mentally wince when Josh says, “What girlfriend? She dumped your ass.”
“Fuck you,” Micah shrieks and I back away.
If I intervene it will just make things worse. Still, I feel a pulse of guilt for getting Josh mixed up in my Micah drama.
Especially when Micah pushes him again and they end up rolling around on the ground.
Wince.
Later, I’m heading to the parking lot and freedom when I see Draven’s pink hair bobbing amongst the masses.
We’re not friends. Not by a long shot.
However, she’s gone out of her way to include me in her world and beyond that, she grew up MC. Maybe she can help figure out who my dad and mom used to be.
“Draven!” I call and her head shoots up before she glances over her shoulder and moves to the wall.
“What’s up?” she asks, tapping away at her phone.
“Do you know the Aces?” I blurt and she whips around, her eyes narrowing on my face.
Okay. Maybe I should have approached this topic a little more delicately.
“Why?” she asks.
Avoiding her gaze, I drop my head and say, “I’m sorry. Maybe–”
“What’s going on, Delaney?”
“Well,” I say, playing with a piece of thread on my jeans. “I overheard my stepdad talking about them and I was curious.”
An awkward silence falls between us, and I eye her sideways when she finally says, “Yeah, I know them.”
Waving her hand, she continues, “How about you tell me the real reason why you’re asking.”
Shit. Am I a horrible liar or something? I’m considering my options when she snorts and pushes away from the wall.
“Okay. Okay,” I blurt, touching her arm. “I think, maybe, my dad knows them.”
She eases back to the wall, eyeing me strangely while I practically squirm before she says, “If your dad knows them, then he’s one of them. The Aces don’t have friends.”
“He never leaves the trailer,” I mumble.
“Hopefully you’re wrong,” she says, and I nod dumbly as she walks away.
Are they that bad? Whatever, it’s Joey…how dangerous can he be, especially when he’s hiding his affiliation in a damn shoebox in the closet.
To my surprise, Draven texts me later about a party. After agreeing to meet up, I finish out my shift and fix my hair and makeup.
She rolls up ten minutes later and I slide into her ride.
With her customary grunt, she takes off with a peal of the tires. It’s quiet for the first few minutes, which is not unusual, so I’m not worried about it until she says, “You can’t tell anyone about this. No one.”
“Tell who what?” I ask with a trickle of unease.
She drives down several residential streets before pulling up to a small house in a neighborhood I’ve never been to before.
I don’t know what I was envisioning but it’s not this. Compared to the track, this feel’s almost…mundane.
“Draven…where are we?” I ask but she blows from the vehicle.
Staring at the facade, I contemplate her warning before following, only to slow when I spy the crowd.
These aren’t high school boys. Nope, these are men and they’re wearing vests like Maddox but the patch on their chest is different.
Squinting, I trace the series of aces with a skull and top hat and the words Smokin’ Aces emblazoned on a banner around the top.
Holy shit. Did she bring me to an Aces party? Why?
“Hey baby,” the man by the door says, breaking me from my thoughts.
He smiles lazily when Draven jumps into his arms, brushing her fingers through his scruffy blonde hair.
Okay, wow…she definitely knows the Aces.
Although, I know I’ve never met him because he’s not someone you miss in a crowd at over six feet tall with that lush blonde hair and striking blue eyes, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen him before.
“Who’s this?” another dude says, and Draven pulls away from sucking face with the blonde guy long enough to say, “Delaney.”
“Hey, Delaney,” the dude says, licking his lips.
His dark brows waggle over his eyes and I eye the ring in his nose before mumbling, “Hey.”
I feel all kinds of out of my league here and I can’t help but wonder if it’s even safe because no one is bothering to hide the pile of drugs in the corner, which yep is not run of the mill weed but a lot of the white powder type.
Peter would die if he knew I put myself in a situation like this. I shouldn’t be here.
I know I was asking about them but that doesn’t mean I wanted to meet them. I don’t know what I wanted but it’s not this.
“C’mon, let’s go out back,” the blonde dude says.
“Yo, Kidd,” my new admirer says. “You playing with fire, man.”
Kidd laughs and wraps his arm around Draven before leading the way out to the backyard.
Once outside, I shiver in the cool air as I cautiously sit in a chair. With Thanksgiving almost upon us, the temperature continues to drop, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it snowed again soon.
When a shadow forms over my shoulder, I muster a smile for the guy who ends up next to me.
“What’s up? I’m Mouse.” He smiles shyly, the tips of his ears red and I hide my amusement behind my hair.
While Draven and Kidd suck face, I chat with Mouse relieved that he’s not a bad guy.
He explains that he’s still a prospect but hoping to become a full-fledged brother soon. I learn that as a prospect, he has to prove his worth to his brothers in the Smokin’ Aces and although he doesn’t outright say it, I sense that Draven being here is bad news.
It makes me wonder about her motivation but worrying about her would be stupid. Draven does what she wants when she wants.
Eventually, Kidd breaks away from Draven’s lips and says, “So, you’re Delaney?”
Beside me, Mouse hunches over and I eye him cautiously before saying, “Yep.”
Did she tell him what I said? Fuck, if she did, I’m going to kick her ass…
“You go to Bay River with Dray?”
“Uh, yeah,” I say and his mouth curls into a smile.
“Went to Thomas.”
Thomas High School is across the tracks. If I had stayed with Joey early on, that’s where I would have gone.
“Bro,” one of the Aces says. “Your ol’ man is looking for you.”
Kidd tips his head back and sighs before pushing Draven from his lap. “Gotta go.”
She pouts her lush red lips, but Kidd is immune as he points to the side of the house and says, “Go that way.”
After Draven snarls a goodbye, we follow the path around the house before emerging on the street.
Once we’re buckled up, Draven peels away from the curb and I glance at her sideways, before saying, “What was that?”
“You wanted to know about them,” she says, shaking her head.
Rolling my eyes to the ceiling I say, “Yeah, about them…did you see all that shit they had piled up in there?”
“So?” she snorts.
Okay…
I don’t know what to say and after turning up the music, she speeds down the highway.
Halfway to the trailer she receives a call, and I listen to the one-sided conversation in which she snarls and swears while whoever seemingly returns the favor on the other end.
“Asshole,” she mutters, dropping her phone in the console. “I can’t take you all the way. My pops is all over my ass.”
“Okay.”
Although I’m curious, I don’t ask. Draven’s drama is none of my business and I should be worried about my own.
Once we’re back at the diner, she drops me off and I silently nod when she says, “Remember…tell no one.”
Does that include her brother and the Saints?