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“We got a lot of orders done today. Annabell worked her ass off cleanin’, dealin’ with customers, and puttin’ an old man in his place when he tried bitchin’ about his bill that was already paid. He apologized and walked out with his head hangin’. Never seen anythin’ like it. I don’t even know what you said, Annabell, but I can tell you were nice as fuck and still had the man feelin’ like shit,” Chrome says, laughter filling his voice as I look up at Valor who’s making his way over to us.
“Brother, are you sure you’re okay?” Valor asks, leaning over the couch and taking a good look at his brother from head to toe and back again.
“I promise I’m okay. A little banged up and I’ll be sore as fuck for a while. We all know tomorrow I’ll barely be able to get out of bed. So, I’m not gonna push it and that’s where I’ll stay. I’m gonna need to take my medicine later tonight and then I’ll need someone to clean and re-bandage my leg. It’s gotta happen a few times a day to make sure it stays clean. Ointment has to be put on it a few times every day to make sure no infection sets in,” Vault says, trying to reassure all of us surrounding him right now.
“I’ll take care of cleaning your leg and arm before putting the ointment back on and re-bandaging it for you,” I volunteer knowing I need to help him for my own sanity.
If I’m the one helping to take care of him, then I’ll know it’s done properly and hopefully nothing will go wrong. I don’t want to see him in any pain that’s not necessary and if that means I play his nurse then that’s what I’ll do. I can already see the jokes about a naughty nurse outfit filling his eyes as he looks at me and everyone else in the common room seem to vanish. Vault and I are the only two here and we’re locked in a world of our own. We stare at one another and it's as if no time at all has passed. I feel Vault rubbing his thumb on my hand and it sends tremors through me. Goosebumps cover my hand and lead up my arm from one simple gesture from him.
“Um, guys,” Valor calls, shattering the world around the two of us. “Do you want help to your room?”
“No. We need to have church,” Vault answers, turning his attention to the men surrounding us. They have some kind of silent communication that the guys from the MC have mastered. I hate it.
“I’m gonna get started on dinner. Anything in particular you want?” I ask, needing to have something to do while the guys meet in their room for all the secret club business.
“Anythin’ will be fine, Angel. You don’t have to cook for us. That’s not why you’re here,” Vault states as the three Phantom girls make their way into the common room.
“It’s okay. I need something to do. You know I’ve always enjoyed cooking and baking. You go do your man things and I’ll be in the kitchen. Valor, don’t let him do too much or I’ll hand you your ass,” I warn the men while glaring at each one of them.
With reluctance, I let go of Vault’s hand and make my way to the kitchen as the Phantom girls make their way in there behind me. They help me make baked chicken, mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, and homemade biscuits. The four of us work in silence and I’m not about to end that. I have nothing to say to these women as long as they pull their weight around the clubhouse. If not, then I’ll make sure they’re dealt with. Vault and the guys don’t need to deal with the bullshit they typically bring. And these three should know better considering I’m younger than they are. They’re not super old, but they aren’t young girls that normally come in the clubhouse to become club girls. For now, I just focus on what I’m trying to do as we cook, bake some brownies and cookies for after dinner, and then clean up the kitchen so it’s less work after dinner is eaten.
The guys have church while everything cooks and I hope Vault calls my dad to fill him in on what happened today. For some reason, deep in my gut, I know this isn’t as simple as Vault crashing his bike. He’s been riding for most of his life and there’s no way he’d go down the way he did without something happening to cause it. Considering I watched the entire thing take place from my rearview mirror, I know he did everything he could to save himself as my heart lodged in my throat and I almost lost control of my car because I was watching him go down. Worse minutes of my life and I hope to never experience anything like that ever again.
Chapter Seventeen
Vault
I FORGOT HOW truly boring it is not to do a fucking thing when you’re injured. Staying at the clubhouse all day long for the last two weeks has reminded me that I can’t stand sitting on the sidelines and do nothing. Every day I get up when everyone else does to have breakfast with them before they all head out to work for the day. Once the guys and Annabell leave, I hang out in the common room for a while watching TV before going in my office to work on paperwork that Annabell will put into the computer system once she gets back from Hound’s in the afternoon. I’m actually completely caught up on the paperwork and there’s nothing more for me to do during the day. So, I’ve just been wandering around the clubhouse in a daze and thinking about everything that’s happened over the years. I’m going out of my mind and want to head to the garage just to have something different to look at. But, I don’t know what the hell I’d do there because Annabell’s been working on the paperwork there and I’m not allowed to work on the vehicles yet. Fucking shit sucks!
The guys looked at my bike and found that the back tire was hit by a bullet. That’s the reason why I lost control to begin with. They all know I’ve got a graze wound on my arm, but Annabell doesn’t know. I’ve managed to keep that one bandaged and taken care of by Valor instead of her. The first time she went to change the bandage I acted as if it was sticking to the wound and she was almost in tears. So, I told her to leave it and Valor came in to clean my wound after she left to take care of everything else. He agrees with me not saying anything to Bell about it because she’d be even more upset than she already is. There’s so much damage to the bike and they’ve already started taking it apart so they know exactly what parts need to be ordered so we can fix it. By the time everything gets ordered and shipped here, I’ll hopefully be able to start working again.
Doc should be here today or tomorrow to check on my injuries and make sure nothing is going on that needs further medical attention. So far none of us have noticed any kind of infection and Annabell is very thorough when she takes care of me. She’s done it for most of the guys at one point or another over the years and definitely knows what she’s doing. Her touch is light and she hasn’t caused me a single ounce of pain when she’s taking care of everything. She makes sure her hands are clean and her work is efficient and quick so I’m not exposed for longer than necessary. Yeah, I have to take that leg out of my sweatpants and with how high the road rash goes, it’s too uncomfortable to wear underwear of any kind. So, I always make sure I’m ready before she enters my room and cover up with my sheet so she doesn’t see my cock. It doesn’t stop me from getting hard as fuck every time she’s near me, but that’s not something I can help because I want this woman more than I’ve ever wanted anyone else.
Valor, Crab, and Red have been going to Hound’s every day since I got taken out of work. They’re there to help keep an eye on Annabell so nothing happens to her while also giving Chrome a hand so we don’t get even further behind than what we currently are. Or were I guess I should say. The four of them have managed to get the backlog of vehicles taken care of and returned to their owners. Now they work on the vehicles brought in daily for appointments or that are towed to the garage. When they have nothing else to do, Valor and Chrome have been helping Annabell move some things in the waiting area where she works and put out more of the merchandise I had designed for the garage. Bell’s making sure it’s all on display and has sold more of it since whatever changes she’s made have been implemented. That makes me happy to hear because I want the name of the garage out there so it brings more work in for us.
Walking into the common room, I see the Phantom girls working to clean it up despite them doing it every day since Annabell got here. None of them have been sitting on their asses and doing nothing after I went off on them. They know I’m serious and won’t hesitate to kick them the fuck out. I don’t want to, but I won’t have them doing nothing and talking shit to my girl either. Annabell deserves to be treated with the same respect she shows everyone around her and I know she’s done nothing to the girls since the second she showed up here in Pine View. As usual, I ignore the girls even though they still try to get my attention because they don’t have anything I want.
Annabell and I still need to have a talk about everything that happened after my dad was killed. We both know it and are dancing around one another as if getting too close will create chaos or something will explode between us. Other than when she’s changing my bandages, Bell doesn’t get close to me. She comes in the clubhouse each day after working at the garage and heads straight into the office I gave her here. Annabell always locks herself away until someone gets her for dinner and she comes out long enough to grab a plate of food before heading right back in there so she can get more work done. When she exhausts herself, she leaves the office and heads straight for her room to go to bed. We’ll never be able to work through things and put the past behind us if we don’t have the conversation that’s long overdue.
“Vault, do you need me to grab you anythin’ before I head out to the gate?” George asks me, handing me over a bottle of water.
“No, I’m good. It’s gettin’ easier to walk around and be on my feet. Thank you, George,” I answer him, grabbing the remote for one of the TVs so I can find something to watch again today.
I’ve watched so many movies and caught up on TV shows I used to watch on a regular basis over the last two weeks. I’m honestly tired of trying to find something to watch because nothing ever changes and it’s all the same shit. One day bleeds into the next and I need to find a way to break the routine I’m finding myself in.
The guys haven’t been able to find anyone dealing the drugs in Pine View. It’s like they know we’re looking for them and have gone underground even though we know the drugs are still getting sold. Officer Monroe let me know about the latest person ending up in the hospital from an overdose yesterday. This person didn’t make it and she was a single mom of a baby. Now that baby is going to grow up in foster care and probably not get the treatment they need because they were born addicted to drugs thanks to this woman. I can’t stand that fucking shit and it pissed me off when Ted was telling me about her. He’ll keep an eye on the baby though. Ted is a good guy and always looks out for those who need him to. Even when he’s not at work, I’ve caught him out driving around and protecting his city. It’s one of the reasons we get along with him so well.
“Vault, this just got dropped off for you at the gate,” Martin says, walking in the clubhouse after George relieved him from the gate where he’s been all night.
He makes his way over to me and hands over one of those manilla envelopes with nothing more than my name on the front of it. Dread immediately fills my stomach and I know whatever’s inside is going to piss me off.
“Do you know who dropped it off?” I ask Martin, getting off the couch so I can open this in the privacy of my office.
“No. It was a girl in her early twenties. Looked like a junkie based on the track marks covering her arms. She walked up, got our attention and handed the envelope through the bars of the gate to me. Told me to make sure it got to you and only you,” he informs me as a huge yawn escapes him.
“Thank you, Martin. Go get some sleep and I’ll find out what this is about,” I tell him as he gives me a nod and makes his way to the hallway where his room is.
The Prospects and Phantom girls have rooms in the same hallway of the clubhouse. There’s more than enough rooms for them all to have their own and that won’t change for now. We plan on bringing in more girls when the boys from home patch in and move here. They won’t touch the three we have here now because they’re older and not their taste. Others have tried to gain entrance to the clubhouse, but we turn them away because they’re not necessary right now.
