Chapter 12: Edge
12
EDGE
A s soon as I got off the phone with Evie, I called Byte and asked him to save the surveillance footage from the incident at Irene's diner.
"Oh, man," he laughed. "This is great. You can tell the dude has no idea he's about to get his ass kicked. I'll send it to you."
I watched the video, but I didn't find it as funny as he did. Something about it bothered me. I wasn't sure if it was what happened between the unknown man and Walter, or if it was the fact that it happened when Evie was there, but whatever it was, I decidedly didn't like it.
Even though she wouldn't say it, I knew the incident bothered Evie, and rightfully so. Given her past experiences with her father and brother, it was understandable for her to be upset when an angry man showed up at her workplace. I waited for her to ask me to come over and found myself disappointed when she didn't. Still, I sensed she needed me and wanted to be there to comfort her, even if she didn't ask. I wanted her to feel safe.
After giving it some thought, I called Byte for the second time that evening. "What time are we leaving?" he asked after accepting my call.
I laughed, not at all surprised that he knew why I was calling. "I'd like to be there when they open," I said.
"That's what I thought you'd say. Is this an open invitation?"
"Yeah. Whoever wants to join us is welcome to." I wasn't sure how Evie would react if half the club showed up for breakfast at the diner, but I hoped she'd appreciate the show of support. If for some reason the guy returned to the diner, he'd have more than Walter and Buck to contend with.
"What are you doing here?" Evie asked when I walked into the diner the next morning.
"We came to have breakfast," I said and stepped to the side so the rest of my brothers could enter. Phoenix, Badger, Carbon, Shaker, Ranger, Diesel, Flint, Dice, and Ink joined Byte and me for our early morning excursion.
She smiled shyly and placed a kiss on my cheek. "I think I know why you're here," she whispered.
"We all need to eat breakfast," I replied innocently.
"Mmm-hmm." Turning her attention to the group, she motioned toward two large tables. "Right this way."
When she started to push one table toward the other, everyone chimed in to stop her, including me. At the various sounds of protest, she lifted her hands and stepped back.
"We got this," I told her and kissed her cheek.
"I can move a table."
"I know you can, but as long as one of us is around, you don't have to."
"Thank you," she smiled. "Is everyone having coffee?"
Everyone nodded, except for Phoenix and Badger. Phoenix gestured to the two of them. "We'll have water."
"For fuck's sake, you can have coffee," Badger grumbled.
"My wife asked me to be supportive. This is me doing that," he said.
"I have an ulcer," Badger explained. "Patch gave me a list of things I shouldn't have, and coffee is one of them."
Evie smiled. "Got it. Nine coffees and two waters coming up."
We took our time eating breakfast, hanging around a lot longer than we normally would. We wanted to be there long enough for people to notice our presence, even if it was just our bikes in the parking lot as they passed by. After a few hours, the troublemaker hadn't reappeared, and it seemed to be business as usual.
"We're going to head out," I told Evie. "I'll see you tonight."
"I should be there around five. I'll let you know when I'm leaving."
"Can't wait," I said and pulled her to me for a quick kiss.
Evie arrived at my house at a quarter after five. She was wearing a pair of jeans that perfectly molded to her ass and a shirt that clung to her body in a way that made me want to ask her to change.
"You look great," I said.
She tugged at the hem of her shirt. "Thanks. I wasn't sure what to wear."
"It really doesn't matter," I said, repeating the same thing I told her when she originally asked what she should wear. "No one is going to judge you."
She gave me a skeptical look.
"Well, if you're dressed like a club whore, then yeah, the women are probably going to judge you. But you're not, so it's not an issue."
She laughed lightly. "Thanks for your honesty."
"If you want me to be completely honest, I wouldn't mind you dressing like that, but we'd be staying home instead of going to the party."
"I'll keep that in mind," she winked. "Are you ready to go?"
"Ready if you are," I said.
"Do the Blackwings have a lot of club whores?" she asked once we were on our way.
I wanted to laugh, but I knew she didn't realize how off base her question was. "No. Not in the way you're thinking. There are girls that hang around and come to parties to hook up with a brother, but we don't keep women around specifically for that purpose like some clubs do. Most of the brothers are married with families, so our parties and gatherings are tame in the MC world."
"That might not be a selling point for some, but it is for me. I prefer tame to wild and crazy."
"Me, too."
When we arrived at the clubhouse, the party was already in full swing. Evie turned to me with a look of concern on her face. "Did I cause you to be late?"
I shook my head. "There wasn't a specific start time, but it looks like they got started a little earlier than usual."
"Edge!" Dash called from across the room. "Over here!"
I chuckled. "I guess Ember wants to talk to you."
"What? Why?" Evie asked in surprise.
I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Relax. She likes you. She probably just wants to make sure you feel comfortable."
We joined them at their table, where Ember had a seat for Evie right beside her. "Told you," I whispered before she sat down.
"It's so good to see you again," Ember said cheerfully, and hugged Evie.
"She's a friendly drunk, and she's already had a few drinks," Dash explained.
"I'm friendly all the time," Ember said and turned her attention back to Evie. "How are things? Is the car doing okay?"
"Yes, it's perfect. And thank you again," Evie said sincerely.
"Would you like a drink?" I asked.
"Just a Coke for now," she said. "I should probably eat something before I have anything stronger."
Ember reached back and rapidly patted Dash's arm. "Babe, Evie needs food."
Dash chuckled and looked at his wife. "I think Evie's man can handle that."
Ember nodded once. "Right. Edge, Evie needs food."
"Are you trying to get my woman drunk?" I asked.
Ember grinned. "Maybe."
"Do you want a burger or hot dog?" I asked Evie.
"A burger sounds good, but I can get it," she said.
"I got it. I'll be right back," I told her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
When I returned with our food, Reese was at the table, and the three women were engaged in a conversation about Evie's hair. "You okay?" I asked quietly.
Evie laughed. "Yeah, they're trying to convince me to let Reese do my hair."
"No," Reese said and pointed to Ember. "Drunky's trying to convince her. I just got here."
Ember dramatically placed her hand over her heart. "I'm allowed to be drunk. My baby boy received his prospect patch today. I'm officially old."
"Talk to me when your grandchild joins the club," Phoenix said from behind her, causing everyone to laugh.
"You don't look old enough to have grown kids," Evie said.
Ember smiled and put her arm around Evie's shoulders. "I knew I liked you."
"So, your son joined the club?" Evie asked.
"Yes. Our son and Carbon and Harper's son joined today. Well, they're prospects, but that's really just a formality," Ember said and went on to explain the process of joining the club to Evie.
"How long do you think she'll last?" I asked Dash.
He chuckled. "I'd say about two hours. Less if she doesn't eat."
Harper walked over to the table with her arms wide open. "I can't believe our babies are prospects!" She wrapped Ember in a hug while they both pretended to cry. At least, I thought they were pretending.
"Is that real?" I asked Dash.
"I honestly don't know."
"It's real emotion being disguised as humor," Carbon said.
"You sound like your wife."
"I've picked up a thing or two over the years."
"At least you have some left. He was my last one," Ember cried.
"Fucking hell," Dash grumbled. "She's been dropping hints about wanting to have more kids all week."
"Get your hands off me, you stupid bitch!" a female screamed, drawing everyone's attention.
I turned to see Raven dragging a girl by her hair down the hallway toward the front door, and Blaze was right behind them.
"You can go fuck someone else's brother with your disease-infested coochie," Raven spat.
"Raven," Dash called.
She didn't miss a step at the sound of her dad's voice. "I warned her, Dad. I told her not to come here, and she did anyway."
Before Dash could respond, Flint appeared with a look of concern on his face. "Raven, stop! I think she drugged him."
The common room erupted in a flurry of activity at his words. Patch and Gabby sprinted down the hall toward Falcon's room with Dash and Ember on their heels.
Phoenix calmly walked toward the girl standing frozen in Raven's grip. "What did you do to my grandson?"
I could hardly believe what I was seeing when the girl hocked a loogie from her soul and spit it at Phoenix.
A sickening crunch filled the air as Blaze's fist made contact with the girl's face. She covered her face and fell to her knees with Raven still firmly gripping her hair.
Phoenix wiped the spit from his face and looked at his daughter and granddaughter. "Keep her where she is until the cops get here. If she spits again, cover her mouth with tape."
"You can't do this!" the girl screamed. "Let me go!"
He glanced at Carbon. "Gag her."
Carbon grinned like a maniac and walked toward the girl with a bandana in his hand. "Don't even think about spitting on me. I'll slip and fall and break every bone in your body when I land on you."
The girl's mouth dropped open, and he had her gagged in seconds. Then he zip tied her hands behind her back so Raven could release her. "Go check on your brother. I've got her."
Raven hocked her own loogie and spit it on the girl. "My papa has manners, but I don't give a fuck."
I looked over to see Evie watching the scene with wide eyes. Since the situation was under control, I made my way over to her. "You okay over here?" I asked quietly.
To my surprise, she waved me away. "Don't worry about me. Do what you need to do."
"There's nothing for me to do right now," I said and dropped into the seat beside her.
"I can't believe she spit on Phoenix," Harper said.
"Me either," I agreed.
"I can't believe he didn't react," Evie said.
"That's what she wanted," I said. "And he knew it."
"Why would she want that?" Evie asked.
"To take the focus off her. If he hit her, that's all anybody would remember. Not what she did."
"Cops and EMS are at the gate," Dice announced.
"Where's the bathroom?" Evie asked.
"Right over there," I said and pointed to a door near the corner of the room.
Harper gently smacked my arm. "Take her to yours. That one is gross."
"You're right," I said and got to my feet. "Follow me."
When I led Evie to my room and pointed to the bathroom door, she turned to me with the corner of her bottom lip tucked between her teeth. "So, I don't actually need to use the restroom. I thought it might be a good idea if I was out of sight while the police are here."
"Oh," I said as realization dawned. "We can stay in here until they leave."
"I'll be fine," she said and made a shooing motion with her hands. "Go find out what's going on so you can fill me in later."
"You sure?"
"Yes. Go on."
"I'll be back soon," I said and closed the door behind me.
When I returned to the common room, two police officers were talking to Phoenix beside the girl who was still bound and gagged on the floor. I resumed my seat at the table with Harper and Reese. "Did I miss anything?"
"Not yet," Harper said and tossed a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth.
"Popcorn? Really?" I laughed.
Harper pointed an accusatory finger at Reese. "She did it."
Reese shrugged. "It's going to be a good show. You want some?"
"Why the hell not?" I chuckled and helped myself to their very inappropriate snack.
A few minutes later, two paramedics came through the common room pushing a stretcher with a semi-conscious Falcon. Ember was walking beside them, holding Falcon's hand while Dash, Raven, Patch, and Gabby were right behind them.
"We'll meet you there," Dash said to Ember.
"Dad?" Ember asked without taking her eyes off Falcon.
"I got this," Phoenix assured her. "I'll be there as soon as we're finished here. Your mom went to get her purse. She's riding with Flint."
Once they were gone, we watched as the stupid girl continued to make poor decisions. First, she refused to tell them what she gave Falcon and continued to deny having given him anything, even after drugs were found in her purse. Then she accused Raven and Blaze of kidnapping her, saying she had been brought to the clubhouse against her will. As if that wasn't enough, she said Phoenix was the one who hit her and broke her nose.
Phoenix genuinely laughed at the accusation. "Look at the size of my hand. If I was the one who hit you, I would've done a lot more damage than a busted nose." He held his hands out for the cops to see. "Does it look like I recently hit anybody?"
"Did someone hit her?" the officer asked.
Blaze stepped forward. "I did. I was standing beside my dad when she lunged forward like she was going to attack us, so I stopped her."
The officer nodded. "All right, let's get her down to the station. Phoenix, we'll be in touch."
With that, they escorted the girl out of the clubhouse while she continued to yell threats and obscenities.
"She's not a smart one, is she?" Harper observed.
"Hey, where's Evie?" Reese asked.
"She's in my room. She wanted to take a quick nap while all this was happening," I said. "I'll go check on her."
To my surprise, Evie actually was asleep on my bed. "Evie," I said quietly and placed my hand on her shoulder to gently shake her.
She slowly opened her eyes and glanced around the room. "Oh, crap. I didn't mean to fall asleep. What happened out there?"
"They took Falcon to the hospital, and the girl was arrested. The cops just left with her."
"Is Falcon going to be okay?" she asked.
"I'm sure he will be. They found whatever she gave him in her purse. Hopefully, they'll be able to reverse it or manage the effects of it until it's out of his system."
"I assume that means the party is over."
"Yes, and no. Most of the people will hang around for a while, but it'll be much more low key than it was before. Ember and Dash went to the hospital, but Harper and Reese are still here. Do you want to go back out to the common room, or would you rather call it a night?"
She glanced at the time. "We can go back out there. Let me use the restroom and run a brush over my hair first."
The rest of the evening was spent shooting the shit with the rest of the club while we waited for an update on Falcon. At one point, Ranger came over and tried to get Evie to play a game of pool with him before Keegan intervened.
A few hours later, Badger turned off the music and announced that Falcon was going to be fine.
"It sucks that their party was ruined," Evie said.
"It does," I agreed. "But I bet they'll reschedule it."
"They already have," Harper said. "It's tomorrow night."
Evie frowned. "I won't be able to come. I'm working the dinner shift tomorrow."
"I thought you told Marcy you weren't going to cover for her."
"That was for tonight. She asked for tomorrow night off last week," she explained.
We hung around for a little longer while Evie helped clean up, despite Harper's protests.
"Well, that was an interesting evening," Evie said when we were on the way back to my house.
"I still can't believe that girl spit on Phoenix. Who in the hell spits on the president of a motorcycle club?"
Evie crossed her arms over her chest and seemed to shiver. "That would've ended very differently if she'd done that with the Mad Dogs."
"I told you we were different."
"Yes, you did, and your club continues to prove it."