Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
GRIMM
I pull into the club’s parking lot, finally back from spending nearly a month up in Indiana helping out Rampage.
Not that he needed help. Rampage is a born leader and is getting that club back in shape in ways I didn’t realize he had in him.
From the last time I was there to this time, I could see a huge difference.
But I couldn’t stay there any longer. Well, I could have if I really wanted to.
Viking all but ordered me back home. I didn’t mind coming home though, to be honest. While in Indiana, I did a lot of thinking.
A fucking lot of it. Trying to get my head straight.
The more I tried to push Apricot out of my head, the harder it was to think of anything else.
Rampage called me out on it during one of the first nights and told me I just needed to man the fuck up and claim her ass.
Since then, I’ve thought long and hard about it.
I can have her. Make her mine while keeping the past locked tight.
I shake my head, park my bike in the line of other bikes, and kick the stand down.
As I remove my helmet, I swing a leg over and climb off.
I hang the helmet from the handlebars and reach in one side of the saddlebags for my bag as I scan the rest of the lot to get a feel of who all is here.
Seeing the usual vehicles, I make my way into the clubhouse.
Viking didn’t tell me what the hell was going on when he called two days ago demanding I get my ass back to Alabama.
Just that I needed to do so, I figured it had to do something with Peyton’s now-dead sister.
That bitch caused a lot of bullshit headaches for us. We still don’t know who killed her ass.
It shocked the hell out of us all when Sutherland called to inform Viking and the rest of the club that Veronica’s body was at the morgue.
None of us gave a damn about her, Veronica was an enemy and wanted to cause nothing but trouble.
Fuck, the bitch sold her own damn sister to a sick fucker and then wanted to try again when she found that she wasn’t with the piece of shit.
The kicker of it all is what Sutherland reported to us.
She had a note in her hand saying, ‘The Devil’s a busy bishop in his own diocese. ’
Regardless, in my opinion, it’s a damn good thing she’s dead. The bitch deserves to rot in hell for the bullshit she’s done to those she should have cared about more.
Making it to the door, I yank it open and step inside.
I blink to allow my eyes to adjust to the change in lighting from the outside.
I glance around and jerk my chin up in acknowledgment to a few of my brothers as they look in my direction.
I spot Viking sitting with Ice, War, Pirate, Hydra, Sabotage, and Scorpion.
Get the hell over here.”
I frown as it’s not Viking who gives the command but Scorpion. What the fuck?
Brows furrowed, I make my way to their table. “What’s going on?”
“That’s my question for you,” Hydra remarks.
Confused even more, I glance at each of the men sitting around the table before settling on Hydra. "You want to explain what you mean by that?"
“You been gone for a month, boy,” Hydra notes.
“Yeah, you all know I was helping Rampage out.”
“More like running the fuck away,” Rock mutters.
“Can you all just get to the fuckin’ point?” I snap, not wanting to get into this.
“Since you were gone,” Viking grunts, getting my attention. He leans forward, bracing his elbows on the table in front of him with his fingers clasped together. “Something’s happened, and none of us are thrilled about it.”
“What?” I demand, my gut tightening at the thought of what it could be.
“Apricot is dating someone,” Scorpion announces, leveling a glare at me.
“Apricot is dating someone?” I repeat. My stomach feels as if the other man has landed a punch directly to it.
“Yeah,” Viking confirms. “But it’s not just anyone. She’s seeing Sutherland’s partner.”
“What the fuck?”
“You heard me,” Viking remarks, his eyes narrowing. “Now, what the hell are you gonna do about it?”
“You’re asking me?” I grind out, unsure of what he wants me to say, and at the same time, my mind is reeling with the news of Apricot dating.
Even more that it’s a cop. I’ve got nothing against law enforcement, especially Sutherland.
Maybe it’s the whole deal with Apricot being with someone altogether that’s setting me on edge.
I guess I never thought of the fact that I didn’t think through what would happen when she finally did start going out with someone.
Fucking hell.
I told her she wasn’t my type, and I hurt her to get her to move on, but damn, if this shit doesn’t burn something inside me like a hot poker to the gut.
“Boy, I know you,” Hydra remarks. “You been watching Apricot for a long fuckin’ time. We’ve all seen the dance between the two of you.”
“She doesn’t need a man like me,” I protest, dropping my head to glare at the floor and crossing my arms over my chest, it's something I used to do as a teen, and I never stopped doing it. Whenever something bothers me, I always cross my arms across my chest, almost in a protective manner.
“My opinion,” Scorpion says, his voice graded, “that’s exactly what she needs. Not someone we don’t know. No matter the fact, we know him.”
“Who is he?” I can’t stop myself from asking. He’s already said it was Sutherland’s partner but that doesn’t tell me who the fuckwad is.
“Tripp Sanchez,” Viking answers.
“Why’s that name sound familiar?” I frown, rolling the name over in my head several times trying to place it.
“Because he left town around the same time we got your ass away from the same fuckers who were trying to lure you both into their gang,” Rock informs, tapping his knuckles on the table.
“He was a good kid and had his folks where you didn’t.
They got him out of the area, and I guess he made something of himself. ”
I nod as it comes back to me. We didn’t call him Tripp or Sanchez.
The gang that was recruiting, or as Rock says luring us in, called Tripp, Mex, for his mixed heritage.
I remember that shit. They gave him a hard time making him work hard and sometimes beating him nearly as much as they did me, making me prove myself as they said.
Fuck.
And now Apricot is out on a date with him.
I can’t let that shit fly.
Not that I’ve got issues with the man. Hell, I ain’t see him in years, but Apricot, I’d decided while in Indiana that she’s mine, and I’m not about to lose her to anyone.
Finished with this conversation, I head to the stairs and take them two at a time heading for my room. After being on the road, I need a shower. I also gotta put a game plan together on what I’m gonna do with Apricot and this shit about her dating Tripp.
Regardless, I’ll be showing her she’s mine, one way or the other. I don’t give a damn if I have to interrupt her date with the man in order to do it.