Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Francis

Sitting at the bar in the clubhouse, waiting for Church to start, I glance around at the main room. I notice how much our room has changed since Brick brought Emmie into his life and ours. It's still very masculine but the furniture is new and it's the fuckin' shit, awesome, being a super soft dark brown leather and comfortable as can be. A sectional and couch in the center with a couple of club chairs and rockers too. Back by the pool tables there are three high tables with stools. Also my ass is resting on a very comfortable barstool. Walls have been painted a very muted gray and Emmie even had one wall done a bit darker with the Grimm Wolves MC flag with logo on that wall framed.

There are prints, posters, and stuff on the walls and all of it related to motorcycles and brotherhood. What aren't hangin' up are naked women pictures, calendars, and bullshit like that.

Yeah, we still are a fuckin' motorcycle club but now family is welcome and comes here often. That kind of shit made it into the brothers' rooms. Even Church has been redone and it is pretty cool. Dark walls with our large engraved table center and leather roll chairs for comfort. Emmie has her shit going on for sure.

Grabbing my beer, I watch one of the prospects behind the bar serving the brothers. My mind immediately wanders to Bullet. The kid has had a rough go lately. Back at Bubba and Momma's recovering from his beatdown. His entire attitude has changed and not for the good. He has always been a pretty mellow and reserved kid. Always eager to learn. Now he is always angry, doesn't communicate at all, and mainly plays video games constantly. I get he is pissed about what occurred but, and that is a big but, it wasn't his fault. We didn't have a damn clue that the the Satan's Flaming Marauders MC would jump one of guys for a beatdown. Especially our youngest guy in the group of prospects. Bullet has so much to learn and he is such a good kid, nothin' could have prepared him for what happened.

"Stitch, what's on your mind to put that look on your face? You look pissed as hell, brother."

Looking over I see Beast taking a seat next to me. Immediately I can feel something is off with him. The tingles moving up my scalp, along with the dark aura around my brother, tell me more is goin' on than what meets the eyes. I also know that if I even mention or question him, Beast will fly off the handle and take off. So I'll let it go. For now.

"Hey, brother, just thinkin' about the club in general and worryin' about Bullet. The kid is in a bad way right now and trying to find the road back to normal or whatever that even fuckin' means. I'm hopin' he realizes he has all his brothers to take his back and not try to go do this alone. That never works and each of us has been down that road. Right, brother?"

Immediately Beast gives me the stink eye. What the fuck is that for? Furthermore what's up his ass? Before I can even attempt to get further into his thoughts, he blows up. I watch the color change in his face, his pupils dilate, and his voice becomes gravely, which is a perfect indication he is pissed way the fuck off. And I still don't have a clue why.

"Jesus Christ, always trying to get in our heads. Personally I hate when you do that, Stitch. Yeah, we get you are better than us, but I'm sick of trying to stay blank every time I'm in your presence. If I want you to know something, here's a new concept for ya...ask and I'll fucking tell ya. I'm not one of your projects to fix or repair. Give it a fuckin' rest already, Brother . "

As he continues to rant, I see the color around him turning from black to a murky grayish and that tells me he is trying to hide something. And it is extreme whatever it is. That's why he is putting up a huge farce, so I don't really see what is going on with him.

Suddenly I get a vivid snapshot of Cathy and Rider in a filthy room. Rider seems to be struggling with his breathing as Cathy is on a cell phone speaking quietly in the background. As I watch, it's like a film playing in my mind's eye, I see an older man with some buddies drinking around a table. In the distance through a window, I see an older woman vaguely who appears to be ill surrounded by clouds or fog. I immediately feel the start of a massive headache. Before I can even process what I've seen, Beast's bellowing surrounds me.

"Motherfucker, did you hear anything I said, Stitch? Leave me alone already with your shit. If I need your help, I'll let you know. Velvet, get me a bottle of Jack, will ya? Now, you useless piece of shit."

Velvet, one of our prospects, jumps at the growl but immediately turns and looks for the requested bottle. When he turns, I know what's coming and hope Beast can keep his shit together. It isn't the prospect's fault.

"Um, Beast, I gotta run downstairs and get another case of Jack. We are out up here. I'll be right back, brother. "

Velvet turns and heads to the end of the bar quickly. He has been at the end of Beast's tongue and wants nothing to do with it. Unfortunately, he isn't lucky enough to escape when I hear the growl from Beast.

Before he can let loose, I feel a presence and as I turn to him I see Fury with his hand on Beast's shoulder. Our VP seems to always be in the right place at the right time. He is one of the calmest brothers in this club. For him to lose his shit it has to be really bad. I see his hand flex on our brother's shoulder and he leans in to whisper in his ear. I get it. Fury is giving Beast a way out. Not letting everyone hear what he says to Beast saves face in front of the growing audience, who've heard him and his temper tantrum. Beast shakes his head but Fury immediately grabs both of his shoulders and gives him a slight shake.

Immediately, I see the change in his face when our VP again leans in and speaks quietly in his ear. Fury releases him and then turns to everyone else.

"Show is over, assholes. Let's get into Church. Brick is already waiting on us and ya know he doesn't like to wait."

I finish my beer, pushing the bottle to the edge. Without looking at Beast, I head to the back room with a feeling of gloom. Something is up and I'm sure the next couple of hours aren't goin' to be fun. With so much going on, our club has to stay on top of this shit. Otherwise, we'll have even more problems.

As I stretch in my chair, I realize I'd zoned out about twenty minutes ago. Brick and Fury are still goin' over club business but I seem to have lost interest. With the shit from the Satan's Flaming Marauders MC we are strapped . Brick doesn't want any of our women goin' anywhere alone. So the prospects have been instructed to stay on duty chauffeuring and just keeping the families covered. I'm sure they are gonna be thrilled. NOT.

Also the last couple of weeks with all the shit going down, we are behind in some of our regular day-to-day stuff. Like our security at the strip club we own. There have been issues at the club because our presence hasn't been there. We have one of the hangers-on managing the place. He called Brick last night, expressing concern as there have been some instances where some of the men in the strip club have gotten a bit handsie with the girls. And that never happens when the brothers are there on security detail. So now we all have to donate some time for the damn strip club. I'm not sure how Grace is gonna take this news. She wasn't thrilled when I told her about us owning and running a strip club .

It's not that she doesn't trust me, she totally does; it is just the principal in her mind. I tried to explain to her the women who work there do it by their own choice. Not to mention the money they make is sometimes three to four times more than a regular job. It isn't a seedy type of establishment either but wouldn't call it a fancy nightclub either. When we bought the place, our intention was to start getting into legit businesses and this was a way out of drugs and shit like that. And this strip club isn't a flesh pit. The girls don't give happy endings not even blowjobs. And if we find out they are doing that on the premises, they are immediately terminated. What they do on their time is their business. But that shit doesn't fly with the brothers or the club. My head is starting to split and right when I raise my hand to massage my neck, I hear foggily Brick call my name. What the fuck is he even asking me? I glance his way with a raised eyebrow. He sees that and from past experience realizes my brain is fried.

"Stitch, has Grace given you anything on how Bullet is doing since the OD? I've reached out to him, but he hasn't gotten back to me. Worried about the kid. He's had a rough row lately. Bubba said he is spending almost all day, when not sleeping, playing those stupid fuckin' video games. He's hooked on that shit for sure."

At this comment a bunch of brothers let out gruff and moans ‘cause they too spend way too much time playing the same games. My opinion, but apparently also Brick's.

"Brick, all she would tell me due to HIPPA is that we need to keep an eye on him. That drug he accidentally received from the pharmacy isn't the issue. It is the shit in the CBD oil that is highly addictive and even only one time can hook a person.

"Per the cops, they told Bubba and Momma Molly the shit in the CBD oil is called Bath Salts. And no, morons, not the shit you put in to take a bath. Bath salts are highly addictive and come in a crystalline powder form. The lab said that the marijuana oil was loaded with this goddamn shit. That's what fucked with Bullet that day. The mixture between the medical Desoxyn and the tainted CBD oil put him over the edge. He is lucky to still be breathing.

"Momma told Grace, just the other day, that his moods are all over the place and with the cast and fixator on his arm, he is a pissed-off motherfucking individual. And for her to say that to my woman, you know it has to be bad.

"We were thinking of maybe taking Bullet for a weekend when both Grace and I are gonna be home. Between Damien and us, maybe we can get him back on track. Maybe some of y'all can stop by and bring his spirits up. I know he feels like he let us down between him getting jumped and beat then the mysterious OD. We need to remember, unlike the other prospects, Bullet just I gonna be twenty in less than a year. He's still a fuckin' kid for Christ's sake. And new to the Grimm Wolves. All of this is a learning experience and unfortunately he is learning the hard-ass way."

Brick looks to Fury, who shakes his head and then glances around the table to each of us.

"Like that idea, Stitch, but hold off. Fury is gonna reach out to the kid later this week or next. He has an apartment over his garage that Abby has been working on. She brought it up to Fury and thought maybe Bullet would like some space to himself. Yeah, I get he can't be there alone right now, but maybe we can get one or two of the single prospects to move in. And before y'all start yammering when I say an apartment over the garage, it's not small. Not sure ya know but Fury has a six-car garage. So it is fuckin' huge. Between Fury and Abby, it's just about ready.

"We wanted to speak to the other prospects and when we had it in hand and the prospects move in first, maybe Bullet won't feel like he is being watched or babysat. Figured we can approach this as something like 'Hey, brother, some of the prospects are livin' together, you want in on it?' We want to give him back some of his power so he feels like he's able to make his own life decisions. It'll be totally up to him. Might get him over this bump in the fucking road. "

I'm still stuck on the comment that Fury has a six-car garage. What the fuck did our brother do to have such shit? I sit there realizing yet again, I don't know much about my VP. He is quiet as fuck and reserved. Also he doesn't bitch or share, like the other gossiping brother bitches in this club. Damn! Regardless, I think this is a great idea. I just hope it will give Bullet back a bit of what he lost. Like I have always thought, Fury is one of the calmest brothers, especially with young kids so his influence should help Bullet. Not to mention Abby is the shit, along with her twin boys, Talon and Rogue.

As Brick looks to each brother, we all agree that this idea is a great way to help out our little brother. After about another thirty minutes our prez gives a pound on the table and we are dismissed. What a fuckin' long-ass day.

Can't wait to get home and chill with my ol' lady and son.