24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cecilia stirred the sloppy joe mixture for supper. Tonight was a party night, and she needed something to do to keep her mind occupied.
Although Torrent said club business was club business, he had shared with her that Jasmine was not in town and would not be able to bother them. Due to the nature of what they’d found out, Sally, Willow, Chey, and she were told about Linny’s possible father and about the extra cabins.
They were getting back to a regular schedule with just a few more men on security duty and more frequent patrols around the compound.
Calliope and Harley would be at supper and then would hang upstairs during the party. Cecilia appreciated that Harley was giving up time on a party night to watch Calliope.
“Looks like we’re ready. Everyone can serve themselves from here tonight. I don’t want a lot of mess to clean up,” Sally said.
Sally stepped out into the hallway. “Food’s ready!” she yelled.
Calliope and Harley went through the line, followed by Cecilia and Sally. The brothers weren’t late when Sally was cooking because she made incredible food. Cecilia had been surprised when Sally hadn’t used premixed cans of sloppy joe mix but had mixed it herself from scratch.
Cecilia sat down at the table with Calliope, Harley, and Sally, leaving room for Dragon and Torrent. Willow had mentioned she’d be at the clubhouse for supper, but Cecilia hadn’t seen her yet.
Monster had settled by her chair between her and Calliope.
Shadow’s painted toenails were clicking on the clubhouse floor as he looked for any dropped food.
She wondered if they’d end up having to put the Frenchie on a diet because he was a food hound.
The brothers thought he was cute, so he ended up with way more table food than he should.
Torrent sat down beside her, leaning close to brush a kiss against her cheek before he started eating. He’d taken to kissing her when he saw her again or when he left, and Cecilia loved that soft side of him coming through.
“Looks like we’ve got company,” Dragon announced, standing up.
“Prospect on the gate texted that two police cars are requesting entrance to speak with Cecilia. Gunner, you know what to do,” Dragon directed, walking around the table over to the bar and leaning against it.
Torrent stood up and placed himself a little in front of their table.
She and Sally were facing the door, which Cecilia appreciated because she was nervous enough without having her back to the door.
Torrent and Dragon had drilled her on how to respond to questions from the Chief because they knew that eventually, he’d visit them.
The door opened, and Useless—or Chief Eustace Fink—walked in with Abby in uniform behind him. Cecilia was surprised he didn’t bring more officers with him. He was walking into a one-percenter motorcycle club’s clubhouse where he was greatly outnumbered.
Dragon walked forward. “Chief, what brings you here tonight?” Dragon asked.
“I need to speak to Cecilia Wilson,” Useless demanded.
“Jones, Cecilia Jones,” Torrent corrected.
“What?” the Chief blurted.
“You used her maiden name. She’s married now, so it’s Cecilia Jones,” Torrent stated firmly.
Cecilia didn’t like the look in the chief’s eyes and worried what he had planned.
“It doesn’t matter what her name is, I need to talk to her about the disappearance of my brother, Horace Fink," he insisted.
Cecilia stood up and walked to Torrent, slipping under his arm and sliding her arm around his waist. She breathed deeply, remembering their coaching to stay calm.
“I’m Cecilia Jones, but I don’t understand why you need to talk with me about the disappearance of your brother,” Cecilia said, her voice soft and calm.
“Because you were the last to see him before he disappeared,” Useless snapped.
“I don’t understand. I haven’t seen your brother lately. The last time I can remember seeing him was at my parents’ funeral. You and he were both there. I appreciated you coming. It was such a hard day,” Cecilia recalled.
The Chief’s face reddened at her words, but she didn’t let it affect her—slow breathing, face calm while she stared at him.
“No, I know he was with you on Monday, September first,” the Chief countered, scowling at her.
“Why is that date familiar?” she asked Torrent.
“That’s when I came home from school and you were passed out, burning up. I called Torrent, and he came and got us. He nursed you until you were well, then I got the flu and you had to take care of me,” Calliope piped up from the table.
“Oh, that flu was horrible. I thought I’d missed it, but no, it was brutal.
The fever, the chills, and the throwing up when my temperature was high, ugh,” Cecilia added, looking up at Torrent with a smile.
“I guess if we can get through you nursing me through the flu, we can get through anything,” she mused.
Cecilia waited to see how the Chief would respond. She was positive he wasn’t sure what to do because they’d crafted a story that didn’t include his brother in any way.
“You were the last to see him. I know it,” Chief Fink said, raising his voice, his face flushing.
“I’m not sure how to help you, Chief. You say she was the last to see him, but she was ill and passed out when Calliope got home.
When did she supposedly see your brother?
” Dragon interrupted, casually lighting a cigarette and breathing in before blowing smoke out close to the Chief’s face.
Cecilia didn’t smile, though Dragon having a cigarette in the clubhouse, right in front of Sally’s face, was funny.
Sally had just lectured him about lung cancer when he’d walked in the door from the shop, smelling of cigarette smoke.
“You’re lying. He was with you when he called me!” the Chief roared, stepping closer to Cecilia.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you, but I don’t remember seeing your brother at all.
The last thing I remember clearly that day is dropping Calliope and Linny off at school and barely getting in the door of the house before running to the bathroom to throw up.
I don’t remember much else besides crawling to the bed and bringing a pillow and cover back into the bathroom to try to keep warm while I was sick,” Cecilia explained, hoping and praying she was pouring enough feeling into the words to make them believable.
“You’re lying,” he yelled, walking toward her.
Abby had kept quiet, keeping watch while the Chief ranted.
“Sir, I don’t think we’re getting anywhere,” Abby intervened, her voice imploring him to calm down.
“I’m taking her in. I have an arrest warrant,” he declared, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. “See?” he demanded.
Torrent reached for it and let her read it while he did. It had her maiden name. She wondered if that mattered, but what she really wondered was why he felt the need to arrest her.
“Got the wrong name on it,” Torrent grunted.
She could always count on her man of few words to protect her.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m taking her in,” he bellowed.
“Sorry, I’m late,” a handsome, older man with salt-and-pepper hair announced as he walked in, carrying a briefcase. He had on jeans, biker boots, and a white T-shirt with a black leather jacket.
“Who the fuck are you?” the Chief spat.
If his voice was any indication, their answers were not sitting well with him.
Cecilia listened as the man explained he was the club’s lawyer and would be representing Cecilia in any questioning.
She listened to the Chief and lawyer argue back and forth before the Chief gave up on taking her in.
When the lawyer started throwing around words like liability and harassment of individuals, the Chief had backed off.
The Chief and Abby left with the Chief grumbling as he walked out the door.
After that, the lawyer shook her hand, then Torrent’s and Dragon’s, instructing them to call him if they had any more trouble.
Sally tried to send him food, but he said he’d been on a date and needed to get back to the restaurant.
Cecilia couldn’t believe how the lawyer walking in had turned the tide on what was happening.
“You okay, darlin’?” Dragon asked.
She nodded. “Yes. I’m glad you had the lawyer come,” she said.
“We’ll always take care of you. Let’s party now that Useless, the waste of space, is not polluting our clubhouse with his presence!” Dragon yelled.
The Prospect behind the bar turned the music back on and she sat down to finish her food.
Sally patted her hand that was on the table. “It’s all good, sweetie. The club won’t let anything happen to you,” she reassured, nudging a plate of cookies over to Calliope.
Cecilia took a breath and realized her hunger was back.
The Chief had confronted them and she’d stood her ground.
She had been worried before that when faced with him, she wouldn’t be able to lie.
She had, and whether or not he believed them, the narrative they’d given him didn’t have any room for Horse’s Ass to be at her house.
To verify that she’d seen his brother that day, Useless would have to admit that he and his brother had talked after she’d been assaulted. He wouldn’t want to do that.
This wasn’t over by any means, but it was a step in the right direction.
They finished eating, with Willow finally joining them. She’d run behind because she’d been picking flowers to bring for their rooms.
Cecilia thought about the horrible loss that had brought her back to Demise to handle her parents’ estate and then enduring something no one should have to when Horse’s Ass had assaulted her.
But each step along the journey, no matter how traumatic, had brought her to Torrent and Hazard, Missouri—and to a man, a biker who might not be the most talkative but had shown her through his actions how much he adored her.
She glanced around the clubhouse and realized that this building, with these people, was home. The place where love grew and laughter echoed, and maybe a couple of illegal things happened, but she could live with that.
“Hey, Mav, I’m bored and could use a laugh or two. Do you want to take a large amount of Willow’s Wish and provide tonight’s entertainment?” Willow asked, giggling.
Maverick rolled his eyes. “Sometimes, I don’t like you very much. Mom, she’s teasing me,” Maverick whined while scowling at everyone laughing.
“Son,” Sally said, getting up and walking over to him, placing her hand on his cheek. “You’re so pretty,” she cooed.
Cecilia laughed and stared around the room at her family and her husband chuckling. The man who barely smirked was laughing hard enough he was slapping his thigh. She didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but for tonight, she was safe with her Grave Prowler family.