Page 19 of Bullet

“Is it serious? Can we help?” Ava asks.

“I’m afraid I can’t say too much. Without the parents’ permission, I don’t feel it would be ethical,” I tell her.

“I know Jessica Hamilton. She’s a great mom,” one of the women, Abby, says. She’s the librarian at the library across from the school and is married to Guard’s brother, Ghost. He’s another member of Satan’s Pride. I’ve heard wonderful things about her and the great programs she’s started to get kids interested in reading. “Maybe I’ll find a quiet time to chat with her and see if I can help.”

I sit, chat, and drink coffee with these wonderful women, and it quickly becomes apparent that no one would think they would be married to bikers. A dancer turned entrepreneur, a jewelry designer, a teacher, a nurse, a rock star, and so many more career women who each fell in love with a Pride man and are living happily ever after.

An hour turns into two before we break up the gathering and say our goodbyes. As we’re leaving Millie’s, promising to come back soon after Millie herself made a point of coming by and telling us to do so, I see a man standing next to my car. I stop in my tracks because I’ve always followed my instincts, and they’re screaming at me that I’m not safe. Ava sees my reaction to the man in the not-so-far-off distance, and asks, “Do you know him?”

“Nope.” The man must sense my staring at him and turns to face me. I’ve seen him before. The messy brown hair and dark, piercing eyes are aimed right at me. He’s not as tall as Bullet, but he’s bulky and a lot bigger than me. He’s the kind of man you don’t want to meet in a dark alley.

I remain frozen with Ava by my side. I hear her making a call. “Bullet, come to Millie’s.” Then she says, “Not sure, but it could be trouble.”

In that short span of time, the man across the parking lot apparently runs out of patience and begins stalking toward me. I look around, wondering if I’m safer going back into the coffee shop, but when I turn my head, I see that every single Pride lady is standing right behind me.

The last thing I want is for my new friends to get hurt, and by the murderous expression on the man’s face, it might be a good bet that could happen.

As he approaches, I recognize him. It’s Freddie’s, dang, I mean Sal’s son, Vance. I know this because, for one, he looks like his father, and two, he was there when I brought my car in for servicing and Sal introduced us. He seemed like a pretty nice guy and even kidded around with his dad. However, that man is gone, and Vance is approaching with a very different mindset.

He’s only a few feet away when he shouts, “You fucking bitch! He gave you your money back. That wasn’t enough for you, was it? You had to have him killed. You sicced your motorcycle gang boyfriend on him for a couple of lousy bucks!” He stops right in front of me, his face red from screaming, the veins in his neck purple.

“I didn’t!” I say. “I wouldn’t! I swear to you, it was a shock to all of us.” I soften my tone, hoping that this settles Vance down. “You’re right, your dad returned my money. There’s no reason for what happened to have happened. But Bullet wouldn’t⁠—”

“He fucking would! He’s part of a biker gang!” Vance snaps.

“I understand you being upset. I can’t imagine that pain you’re going through, but I promise you, we didn’t do this,” I state calmly. “Bullet was with me all night.”

“Of course you’d be his alibi.” Vance only seems to be getting more agitated. When he grabs me by the arm, Ava grabs my other hand, trying to wrench me free from his grasp. “Maybe I should take away something that your boyfriend cares about, since he took someone away from me.” His menacing voice sends a tremor down my spine.

My eyes are locked with Vance’s, but I can hear the Lady Pride shouting, “Let her go!” or “Help!” and of course, Vi is threatening Vance with bodily harm. “Let her go, or I’ll remove your balls from the rest of you, asshole!”

Suddenly, an army of roaring motorcycles floods the parking lot. Bullet jumps off his and rushes over to me. He wastes no time in attacking Vance, forcing him to let me go to defend himself. Ava and the others try to drag me away, but I’m more concerned with Bullet getting in more trouble.

Fists flying, both men roll on the ground, even though Guard is doing his best to pull Bullet off Vance. “Please, Bullet, no! Please, stop!” I plead. Once Guard manages to drag Bullet off Vance, I shake loose of Ava and run to him, wrapping my arms around his waist like a vise.

“He’s in pain,” I whisper, adding, “He just lost his dad. He doesn’t know what to do with the anger.”

“He doesn’t put his hands on you!” Bullet growls, cupping my face. “No one touches you. Ever.”

“Okay, honey,” I respond, thinking it wise to agree with him.

“I hope they fry you in the electric chair!” Vance shouts, making us both turn to look at him as he attempts to break free of Ghost and Crush.

“Not going to happen, because I didn’t touch your father. Last time I saw him was when you were there. We left, and that was it,” Bullet tells him.

“Dad got a call to come back to the shop that night. He said Satan’s Pride wanted to make a deal. Considering what happened that day, he figured he’d better hear you out. He never came home, and the next morning, I found him dead at his desk,” Vance says.

Guard steps forward, getting close to Vance. “Pride brothers don’t make deals with people who take advantage of our women. Your father wasn’t new to the game. He would have fucking known better than to show up alone. He went to the shop for another reason,” he says. “Think about it. Would you go into a gun fight without a gun?”

“Why would he go without backup?” Ghost asks. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Vance looks off into the distance as if he’s remembering something. “I told him I’d go with him. He said it wasn’t necessary and to take the night off.”

Guard prompts him a little more. “And? What are you thinking?”

“He mussed up my hair, like he used to when I was a kid. He just looked different. Not bad, just like he had a lot on his mind,” Vance recalls.

I can see he’s hurting. Whether or not Sal and Vance are good men doesn’t matter at this moment. He loved his father and is missing him terribly. I can’t imagine losing either of my parents, and as soon as I get home, I’m going to call them just to hear their voices. I can do that, but Vance can’t.