4. Mia
My alarm blared to life earlier than I wanted it to. The sun blazed through the flimsy curtains, and I rubbed the crust from my eyes, feeling the grittiness of my fatigue. It was 9 a.m. here, though I was still running on UK time which meant that my body was currently awake at 4 a.m. Ugh. I needed a strong coffee with a heavy dose of sugar to get through my day.
After catching an Uber from the hospital, it had dropped me at the closest motel with an available room. The driver had been merciful and let me check for vacancies before leaving me at the door.
The bed was lumpy and the pillows were flat but the sheets were clean, it’s all my mind could comprehend last night when all I was capable of was stripping down to my underwear, leaving my clothes in a puddle on the floor and dropping face first onto the bed. I hadn’t even stopped to clean my teeth, that’s how absolutely destroyed I was.
Now, the furry gross taste in my mouth had me regretting my choice of choosing sleep over hygiene.
Throwing back the covers, I dug around in my suitcase until I grabbed my wash bag, equipped with toothbrush, toothpaste and, yessss, a travel sized mouthwash!
My hair was a rat’s nest of epic proportions, the long strands twisted into tangles that my fingers couldn’t dig through. Just for this morning, I threw the mass into a messy bun at the top of my head and forgot about it, before jumping in the shower to scrub off a day’s worth of travel and to actually feel like a human being again. I don’t know how anyone could function on so little sleep, even with my demanding job, I needed at least eight hours minimum or I couldn’t survive.
Finally, feeling refreshed, with clean underwear especially, I sank to the edge of the bed and just allowed myself to breathe. The motel room faced a parking lot and across the road, an old-fashioned diner like you saw in movies already had a steady stream of customers.
That would be my first stop once I’d been through the hospital documents that horrid nurse gave me. Pulling out the scraps of papers I’d shoved in last night, I smoothed out the curled corners, trying my best to make some sense of the bills, instructions and other shit.
As I shuffled the small pile, the business card that Rex gave me slid out, landing on the bedspread right by my hand. Gripping the little white card, I flipped it over, seeing the black printed writing on the front.
But what shocked me even more was what was written on it. I suspected the name of a business, or even an insurance broker… not a funeral home.
Kings Funerals scrawled across the card in swirly letters with a number underneath, that’s it. Just a name and a number.
Dammit.
I thought it might be something useful, but unless Millie had plans on dying, what use did I have for a bloody funeral home.
Tossing the stuff back into my handbag, I shoved my feet into my slip-ons, grabbed the room key and walked out, slamming the door closed for good measure.
“Can’t believe he gave me a number for a funeral home!” I mumbled, stomping down the stairs. The receptionist waved as I walked past hastily for the front door. In the mood I was in, she was lucky she got a closed lipped smile, the poor woman probably thought us English people were so rude, but I was just not up for being polite right now. I was running on hardly any sleep and zero coffee.
Blinking into the morning sunshine, I gazed around at the quaint little street that housed the motel and diner. A string of small shops ran down one side of the street, in the other direction, miles of open road and a view to die for. Trees bordered either side of the asphalt, tall and lush, they stood as if they were guarding the township, watching over the inhabitants.
A laundromat, pizza place and cinema were all I could see with my hand shielding my eyes; more shops stretched further than I could see, and since I would be here for at least two weeks, I figured the best thing to do was to venture out into this crazy little town that boasted ‘the best pizza’, once I’d seen Millie of course.
The minute I saw her and ripped her a new one for worrying us all, I would take an afternoon to myself and just unwind from the stress of the past couple of days and wander about doing some sightseeing. It wasn’t every day I got to visit small town America and relax.
Rumbles of engines filled the quiet morning sky, vibrations growled under my feet as a formation of bikes pulled into the diner’s lot, lining up as if they practiced every day. Squinting under the glare of the sun, I watched familiar leathers waltz into the place that I was about to step into. The same men who had been in the hospital last night, now took up tables in one corner.
I guess I wasn’t getting away from them that easy. The place seemed tiny after all. I should have expected to see them eventually, but not so soon, and not when I was still pissed about the card.
Hell, they probably wouldn’t even remember me as I looked way worse last night than I did now.
A bell jingled overhead, signaling my entry to everyone inside, though I was thankful that most seemed to look up, realize I was a nobody and completely ignore my presence by turning back to their breakfasts. A few, I noticed, did a double take at a complete stranger encroaching on their territory.
But my relief was short lived when a large arm reached up, waving fanatically from the biker corner. “Yoo hoo, sugar, over here!”
Heat burned my cheeks as every single face turned toward me. “Oh God, kill me now.” My whispered plea went unheard as Sly kept waving, a stupid grin split across his face.
The men, a couple recognizable from my stint in the hospital last night, most complete strangers, watched with eagle eyes as I debated making a run for it. The door was just at my back, freedom from the embarrassment of being on display called to me.
“You should just go over, hun. Sly is a crazy sumbitch, but he’s harmless and he clearly took a liking to ya.” The pretty redhead dressed in business attire reached up to offer me a pat on the shoulder, her friendly demeanor a complete contrast to the sharp cut of her suit and fuck-me heels. But even those four-inchers only brought her curls to my chin.
I towered over the small woman, and she didn’t even seem fazed as she strutted toward the group in question, sitting extremely up close and personal to a large bald-headed man that everyone seemed to hang on every word of his.
As Sly’s hand flagged, dropping to his lap, another familiar face stared back at me—those shocking blue eyes held mine before trailing over my jeans and hoodie; his gaze burned a hole through my clothes. I was sure his heated stare could see through my layers to the plain cotton knickers I’d donned this morning—but at least they were clean!
My sight narrowed on the blue-eyed hulk, the funeral home’s number burning a hole in my bag as a reminder of his ‘help’.
Following the redhead, but with far less strut in my step, I walked over to the group of men, intent on giving him my two-piece. But with each step, that bravery dissipated, and nerves coiled in my gut as every single pair of eyes watched.
“Good morning, princess.” My mouth dried as I finally saw Rex in all his sun-lit glory. The artificial lights of the hospital did nothing for the specimen in front of me. But here, the morning sun shining through the wall of windows and lighting up his face, he was like a Greek hero from those stories of old. Hercules and Achilles all rolled into one giant glorious statue. His azure gaze was unblinking, and the dark patterns of his tattoos finally had shapes to them that I could make out. His hair was shaved on the back and sides, a long upper-cut of dark brown strands tied on top of his head. His man-bun outshined my messy one piled on my own head and I felt more like a frump than a 32-year-old woman who was a regular Pilates goer.
The scrape of wood on tile assaulted my ears as Rex’s foot kicked out, pushing a chair toward me. “Take a seat.”
Sly patted the cushion. “Come on, sugar. We’re starved and want to order, you’re holding the waitress up.” He gestured behind me to the old woman wearing a green apron the same color as the sign above the door.
“Oh, sorry,” I muttered to her, sitting down to give her space to move to my side, her wrinkled lips stretched in a warm smile as she waited for the men to tell her their order.
Calls from each man with their order didn’t faze her at all, didn’t matter how quick they told her, she wrote everything down with a nod and a smile, which spoke of her experience dealing with big groups. The amount they ordered was enough to feed a small army, and my eyebrows locked into my hairline as the food requests kept coming.
“What about you, princess?” Rex asked. “What you eating? Mary makes mean pancakes.”
My eyes cut towards Rex, “It’s Mia…not princess. And just coffee for me, thanks.” I smiled at the waitress, expecting her to move on.
Her barely there eyebrows, plucked to within an inch of her life, lowered over the pad. “Ya sure? You look like you could do with a good feedin’.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult, but her eyes shone with concern so that initial pang of irritation at her comment softly withered. “Um,” as I considered whether I wanted to tie myself to this table with a meal, my stomach answered for me. The traitorous organ letting out a rumble loud enough to startle a laugh from the woman. “Guess I’ll take the pancakes,” I mumbled around my embarrassment.
“So, you off to see your sister this morning?” Rex questioned, leaning back against the cushioned booth. My chair sat kitty corner to him and the rest of the table and I felt like a spectacle tagged on the end, especially with the woman and baldy staring at me.
“Yes.” My watch read 09:20, I had 40 minutes until visiting hours started and I intended on being there as soon as those doors opened. I had no intention of hanging around longer than to refuel.
The friendly woman chimed in, “Rex mentioned you had a time of it with Missy last night, sorry about that.” Her comment sounded genuine. “I hope you don’t hold it against us, we’re not all assholes.” Her green eyes glittered with mirth. “Except Rex, he’s an asshole all the time.” The men around us laughed with her, the big bald man smiling down gently at her as she cracked jokes at Rex’s expense.
“I’m not arguing with her,” Rex agreed, while returning her smile. “People are just pricks.”
I snorted in return, in total agreement whilst cutting my eyes at the man of the hour. His smile broadened, a small chip in his front tooth adding an extra layer of ruggedness.
“You agree, princess?” Rex smirked, his blue eyes twinkling as if he could read my thoughts that were currently in accord with the redhead.
“I think if you give a woman a business card with a funeral home number on it when her sister is seriously injured in the hospital, then you’d definitely be classed as an arsehole.” Mary placed steaming pots of coffee in front of us, the heat a hazy mist between us, but I saw the shock on his face. His bright blue eyes widened, his gaze shooting around the table at the men who chuckled at the surprise written all over his face.
“Oh honey, don’t mind him, he had good intentions,” Redhead started, pouring out two cups of steaming black goodness, adding heaps of sugar to her man’s full cup. “He probably gave it to you and totally expected you to understand the context behind it. Everyone around here would know, but we forget that you’re not from around here.”
“Hell, sugar, you aren’t even from the same country. You wouldn’t get it,” Sly chimed in.
A large cup was slid in front of me, filled to the brim, the dark liquid burning, mimicking my embarrassment. Shamed-faced, I looked at Rex, his tattooed hand still on my cup in an act of thoughtfulness. Had I got it wrong?
“Princess, we run a funeral home; there’s two things in this world that are absolute, and that’s death and taxes. So, we sell insurance because every motherfucker is gonna die at some point, could be tomorrow, could be in 50 years—but death is certain.” He placed the milk jug down gently in front of me. “That means any insurance problems you have, Jenna here will know it.” He gestured to the friendly redhead. Jenna winked, before lifting her mug to her lips, steam curling around her pretty face.
“Shit, I thought?—”
“It’s my fault, I should have explained, and considered that your sister was in hospital that you may take it badly.” Cutlery was passed around, Rex placing a knife and fork on a napkin beside my hand. “And don’t worry about thinking I’m an asshole, because I am.”
Stunned into silence, I watched as the men and lone woman tucked into their breakfast that was slowly being brought out, the clink of cutlery the only sound around the table for a short time while they ate. A stack of pancakes appeared before me, and my eyes widened at the portion size. At least six golden rounds sat on top of each other drizzled with a sticky honey that dripped off the sides and pooled on the plate. “Jesus,” I muttered to myself, picking up my fork and wondering where the hell to start.
Conversation picked up around me, a mundane chatter of what their day consisted of. I listened with one ear while trying to make a dent in my meal, the soft fluffy pancakes breaking apart easily on my fork. The sweet treat practically melted on my tongue, and I moaned out loud, Rex’s low chatter swiftly coming to a halt as he glared at me over his own fork.
What?
Ignoring him, I stuffed more into my mouth, washing it down with the hot coffee. The bitter drink filled to the brim with milk and sugar in harmony with the sweet food. Although it was absolutely delicious, I could feel myself getting full, though I’d barely got through half of it. Releasing my fork, I leaned back, rubbing my stomach. “Oh my God, that was so good,” I said to no one, not expecting anyone to reply.
“Told ya, Mary makes mean pancakes. Though she might be offended that you haven’t finished.”
Rex slid my plate toward him, shoving his empty one to the side. I cringed a little inside when he picked up my fork and started eating. Didn’t he know that I”d just used that? He shoveled the food away, polishing off my leftovers. The man was a bottomless pit, he’d had his own full plate mere minutes ago and was still going.
The rest of the men had similar full plates, now mopping up the dregs with slices of bread. I couldn”t imagine being able to put that much food away, especially in one sitting.
“You should see them at dinner time, they’re like a horde of demons converging on a virgin sacrifice.” Jenna laughed, her head thrown back. “You’d think they were starved. It’s ridiculous.”
“Hey, we’re growing boys,” an unfamiliar voice piped up. A grinning man, lean and stunning, leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table amongst the detritus of their meal. His short Mohawk gave him an aura of mischief, but his dark eyes sparked with secrets that I never wanted to know.
“You’re not growing, VP, you”ve been the same size since I met you,” Rex replied.
“There are other parts of me that grow,” he winked, “and obviously you’re overcompensating for something with those giant ass arms of yours.”
Rex growled at the man, “Everything’s big on me, wanna see?”
“I don’t need you to prove your dick size to me, I’ve seen little Rex in the changing rooms, remember?” His emphasis on ‘little’ had Rex frowning, the other men laughed at their back and forth, and I couldn’t help joining in with the laughter. Their banter was eerily similar to Millie and me when we met for our weekly dinners.
Or, used to meet. We’d barely spoken in the months that she’d upped and left for America to move in with the boyfriend that she’d known for five minutes. We’d tried to persuade her not to go, but that had pushed the stubborn brat into wanting to leave more.
“I’m sure Mia doesn’t want to listen to your dick-measuring contest.” The deep growl of the bald man penetrated my inner musings, his black eyes twinkling at the men around the table.
Murmurs of ‘sorry Prez’ and ‘sorry Mia’ hit me, and though they apologized, it still sounded like they were joking, humor laced their words and smiles dotted the faces of those around me.
I knew they were in a gang—a club—their leather vests were testament to that. I’d noticed them last night, and this morning the black material gleamed with evidence of their lives. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what ‘VP’ meant, and the fact they just called the big bald man ‘Prez’ highlighted a whole other aspect to their relationship. They treated his words with reverence and respect, listening and hanging on to everything he said.
The marks on their arms were identical. Brands of barbed wire ringed their upper left bicep. Some—like Rex—had tattoos framing the raised skin, emphasizing the symbol. Some arms were clean of ink, showing off the brand with nothing to distract from it.
Their cuts framed their shoulders, showing the outside world who they were and where they belonged. They wore them with pride and, looking around the diner, they were given a wide berth too.
I couldn’t keep up with all the names and faces, though every vest held a name and position. Rex’s read Sergeant at Arms. Sly’s read ‘Tech Officer’.
I had absolutely no idea what a tech officer would do, and the trickster didn’t seem like the person to take anything seriously. I’d met him twice now, and everything that came out of his mouth was a joke of some kind—that or he was hitting on me.
The clock kept ticking, and my watch now read 9:45. I’d spent long enough being entertained by these guys, I had to get myself moving.
Digging my purse out, I pulled out a $20 bill, and placed it on the table. As I slid it under the receipt, hisses of outrage accompanied by glowering men had me leaning back in my chair, scared I’d insulted them in some way.
The prez glared at the money as if it was about to jump up and bite him in the face, and I watched confused, as Rex picked up the money and waved it in front of me.
“Rex, sort your woman out,” the prez declared.
“I’m not his woman.” Rex’s eyebrows lowered over his bright blue eyes, now darkened with his annoyance.
“You don”t pay!” He practically slapped the cash down in front of me, leaning back to cross his thick arms over his chest. Slurps of coffee filled the silence, and I looked over to Jenna to see her trying her best to hide her smile behind her cup.
“They’re cavemen, darlin’, they won’t ever let you pay for anything, it’s an affront to their manliness.”
Her man grunted beside her, and I rolled my eyes at the insulted expressions around me. Anyone would think I’d just insulted their mama. Gingerly, I picked up the money and stuck it back in my purse, as soon as it was tucked away, their glowers cleared. Smiles replaced glares. My eyebrows shot into my hairline at the mercurial men.
“I know, right.” Jenna laughed. “You should see them fighting to open my door, they’re so old-fashioned. Not that I’m complaining, I haven’t had to buy myself food since I met them.”
“How long ago was that?” I enquired.
“Ohh,” she tapped a manicured finger against her glossy lips playfully, “how long has it been, baby?” She turned toward the man whose arm draped possessively around her shoulders.
“Twenty-one years,” he responded jovially, pulling her tightly into his side. “I would’ve got less time for murder.”
She slapped him lightly, her eyes bright with laughter and love as she looked up at the big man. Twenty-one years?! She didn’t look much older than me. She must have seen my mouth hang agape as Jenna’s light laugh had her eyes crinkling at the corners. “You know redheads don’t go gray.” She fluffed her bright curls, the ringlets falling around her face to make her look even younger.
Gathering my things, I stood, slinging my bag over my shoulder. “Well, thank you for breakfast. It’s been… entertaining.” I smiled down at the horde of leather-clad men. I never thought in a million years that my trip out to see my sister would have me eating breakfast my first morning here with a biker gang.
Rex wiped his mouth, chucking the used tissue onto a plate. “Give Jenna your stuff and I’ll drive you.” He stood and climbed out of the booth, dropping a roll of cash on the table, then nodded at the men gathered.
“What stuff?” He loomed over me, I still got a kick out of having a man be able to look down on me. Butterflies swirled in my stomach as he was close enough to see the shadow of stubble across his jaw.
“The shit Missy gave you last night, the papers, give them to Jenna and she’ll deal with it.”
Crossing my arms, I glared up at the domineering man. “I’m not going to give confidential information to a woman I don’t know.”
He copied my stance, crossing his own arms and leering down at me. “I told you, princess, she sells?—“
My hand came up, pausing him in his quest that I’m sure he thought was helpful. “Look, I know you think you’re trying to help in all of your manly glory, but I’m more than capable of sorting this out.” He reared back, his cheeks flushing pink as I continued, “I’ve dealt with worse situations in my life. Sorting out my sisters insurance in a foreign country isn’t even on the top ten of bullshit I’ve had to fix.”
His jaw clenched, and with a nod, he sat back down, effectively ignoring me. I’d hurt his pride, I could see it in the way he held himself tightly, his knuckles white around the half full coffee cup that looked like it would break around his grip at any moment.
Inwardly, I sighed. I had no time to deal with male egos when I was about to deal with my sister’s attitude. I had no idea what mood she’d be in, so adding Rex’s sulk into the mix wasn’t something I needed.
Tucking my chair in, I waved awkwardly at the rest of the group, feeling so many eyes on me always made me feel uncomfortable, like I was supposed to do or say something. But trust Sly to break through that awkwardness. “Sugar, hey. Before you go, can you call me an asshole?” I scratched at my ear, unsure if I’d heard him correctly. “Dall me an asshole… please.”
His hands were held palm to palm as if in prayer, he wanted me to insult him? “Uh, you’re an arsehole?”
His hands clapped just once, his head falling back to hit the cushioned booth. “Oh my God, I love your accent. Say asshole again, arse… hole,” he tried the pronunciation, but he sounded robotic.
Groans of annoyance came from the men, and they shook their heads at Sly’s terrible British accent. “For fuck’s sake, must you always embarrass me?” Rex muttered, before I shook my own head and turned away, heading for the door. I had mere minutes left before visiting hours, and I was not leaving until I’d not only seen my sister but fixed this crap with the health insurance.
Their banter followed my ears out, and my lips tipped up at the corners listening to their voices fade the further I got. I’d barely known them 24 hours and already they were worming their way into my life.
I wasn’t sure that was a good thing.