Everlyn #6
I knew for many, their moral compass would say that we were immoral bastards who had no redeeming qualities and that we should be locked away and the key thrown away.
I agreed we were outlaws, but we weren’t monsters.
We didn’t kill innocent people. We protected people rather than selling them into slavery.
Yeah, you could argue guns kill people, and since we supply them, we do, too.
But I see it as we supply guns so people can protect themselves.
The damn guns didn’t shoot themselves. So in reality, people killed people, not guns killed people.
The chop shop and forgery stuff were not victimless crimes, but they were less horrible than drugs or other things were.
As for body disposal, well, someone had to keep the world clean.
Before heading off to work at the funeral home, I grabbed a frozen breakfast burrito from the freezer to take with me.
I was hungry. It was nice to be literally less than a mile from work.
I could walk it if I wanted. Today, I rode my bike since I had plans later and I’d need it.
I was going to drop in on Everlyn at the worksite. She told me yesterday she’d be there.
On my way out of the inner compound, I passed Spoiler, leaving for the shooting range. I waved, and she waved back. She was the only one I saw until I got to Passages.
Of course, Myron was there along with the other employees. Slayer and Icelander were in the break room, getting coffee, when I came in to microwave my burrito.
“Hey, what is that?” Icelander asked.
“My breakfast burrito. Remember the ones I told you to get.” I reminded him as I popped it into the microwave.
“Damn, I forgot. And I bet I can’t buy it from you,” he grumbled.
“Not on your life. Why don’t you bring stuff like Slayer and I do?” I asked.
“Because he likes to mooch,” Slayer said, snickering.
“Hey, that unfairly resembles me. I feel persecuted,” Icelander sparred back, smirking.
“If you don’t want to be, go to the damn store,” Slayer elbowed him. They were only messing around.
“What’s on your schedule today?” Icelander asked.
“I’ll be here for a few hours, then I’ll be running out for a bit. I should be back before the end of the day, but call me if you need me.” I informed them.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Out,” was all I said.
“Ahh, so would ‘out’ happen to have anything to do with you going to see a certain engineer working in a cesspool?” Icelander asked.
“If it does, he’s not telling you. The next thing you know, you’ll be inviting yourself along,” Slayer scolded him.
“What would be wrong with that? I’d like to see what she’s doing. Besides, if she’s to become our sister, then we should get to know her better. When is she coming back to the compound?”
Leave it to Icelander to be the one to ask the tough questions. Or the ones you weren’t ready to answer yet. He stared expectantly at me.
“No one said anything about her becoming your sister,” I said, trying to distract him. However, I wasn’t sure why.
“You’re not fooling anyone. You have never brought a woman near the club for any reason. And anyone with a speck of brains can tell Everlyn isn’t someone you fool around with and then dump. If you plan on doing that, don’t. Give one of us a chance,” was his immediate answer.
Just like that, I was angry. I dropped my burrito on the counter and got in his face. Icelander didn’t appear intimidated even though his back was against the counter.
“You go near her, and I swear—” I growled, but Slayer cut me off.
“Zephyr, he’s messing with you to get a response, which he just did.
We like her. If you’re interested in her as more than a hole for your cock, then pursue her.
I don’t see you treating her like one of the hóror, but it’s worth saying.
I would love to have her be around. And to meet her friend, Allegra.
She sounds fun, too,” Slayer said, hooking her arm through mine, squeezing it.
Icelander returned my look calmly. Then, without missing a beat, the fucker picked up my burrito and took a big bite out of it. As I snatched it out of his hand, he laughed.
“I knew I’d get a bite. Well, I’d better get to work. See you later.” He slid out from between me and the counter and walked out of the break room whistling.
“He goes from hardly smiling or laughing to that. I swear, he has split personalities,” I grumbled.
“I think we all do in one form or another. Is there anything you need me to do while you’re out?” she asked.
“No, honey, not that I can think of, but if I do, I’ll let you know.”
I gave her a kiss on the forehead as she hugged me. Then we parted ways, with her going to do I don’t know what, and me to my office to deal with the pile of paperwork waiting for me.
?
Pulling in next to a truck parked at the worksite where Everlyn was, I silenced my bike.
I swung off and scanned for her. If she weren’t visible, then I’d text her to find out where she was.
I knew she was there. I had texted her before I left Passages to let her know I was coming over. She answered me and said she was here.
I was still trying to find her when I heard a male voice rise, swearing and shouting. Instantly, I went rigid. It was that blowhard from last time, Bishop Reeves. I zeroed in on the direction it was coming from. I took off at a run.
“You better listen to me, goddamn it! Enough with the delays and your doom talk. If you don’t fucking get this fixed and your asses out of here, you won’t like what I do, bitch,” he thundered.
I heard him say that as I came around a small trailer that was parked on the property as an office.
Reeves and Everlyn stood out front. He was towering over her, standing close, too close, with a furious expression on his face.
Everlyn stood there, staring up at him, calm and unafraid, which I think made him angrier.
Men were standing off at a distance, watching, but none of them was doing a thing.
I chose not to say a word. Instead, I came flying up to them.
When I got within reach, I latched onto his throat with one hand, and I shoved him backward.
His head bounced off the metal trailer a moment before his back did.
I tightened my grip until he began to sputter.
He couldn’t remove my hand because the pressure points I pressed on his neck kept him from lifting his arms.
“I warned you. I guess you don’t listen. You were in her face and yelling at her. You called her a bitch. I should tear out your motherfucking throat,” I snarled.
I didn’t yell it. There was no need to. His terror-filled eyes bounced from me to her and back.
“Zephyr, let him go. He’s not worth it,” Everlyn said. She moved closer to us.
“Like hell, he’s not. If it prevents him from swearing, yelling, and calling you names, it is. He can disappear, and the world wouldn’t miss his ass,” I snapped.
“Undoubtedly true, but you don’t need to go to jail for his stupidity. He’s upset because he feels the heat. His only recourse is to lash out,” she explained calmly.
“If he’s feeling heat, it’s only because he deserves it. Why is the heat worse?” I asked.
Reeves was still wheezing and gasping for air. His face was moving from red to purple. Soon, the blue tinge would appear. He tried to speak, but nothing came out because I had the palm of my hand compressing his throat.
“I don’t know. We hadn’t gotten that far. I was trying to get him to come inside the trailer so we could speak privately.”
“Don’t ever put yourself in an enclosed place without backup with him or anyone like him. However, since I’m here, let’s do it. Go ahead and grab the door, elskling,” I muttered.
After glancing around, Everlyn moved over and opened the door. I kept my grip on Reeves’s throat as I ordered coldly, “Walk.”
He stumbled a bit, but he did as ordered.
She brought up the rear and closed the door.
I maneuvered him to a small sofa inside.
One half of the trailer was set up like a tiny living room with a kitchenette in the middle.
The other half was an office, but it was all one open space.
I shoved him back so he fell onto the sofa.
I stood over him with my arms crossed. The expression on my face dared him to try to get up.
“Everlyn, why don’t you make yourself comfortable in the chair? I’ll stay standing. We’re working this shit out today,” I said kindly to her.
“Zephyr, I can do this,” she replied.
“I know, but this way will be quicker. Besides, there seems to be a misunderstanding here.”
“W-what mis-misunderstanding?” Reeves rasped. He was rubbing his neck as he glared at me. My fingerprints showed up white on his red neck.
“That you or anyone else has the fucking right to yell at her, call her names, or threaten her in word or deed. That isn’t allowed. Anyone choosing to do so will find themselves the enemy of not only me, but the entire Grave Prowlers MC. Make me mad enough and see what I do,” I threatened.
As I said the last part, I let my cut “accidentally” catch on my arm and pushed back. And in that moment, the butt of my gun showed before it fell back into place. I watched his Adam’s apple bob. Reeves’s gaze skipped from me to her and then back.