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Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Vault

PRIDE FILLS ME when I hear that Annabell, my sweet Angel, stuck up for herself and didn't let the Phantom girls get to her. I always knew there was a fire buried down deep in her, but she never had a reason to use that shit. Not when everyone was quick to jump in and save her. Myself included. Annabell's grown a backbone and I can't wait to see that side of my girl. Valor gives me the details of what he heard as Chrome and him stood in the doorway of the kitchen. Anger fills me with the thought that these skanks talked to Bell the way they did. As if they have the right to question anything another female in this clubhouse does. Annabell's so fucking sweet that she told me she didn't want them punished because they were trying to assert their dominance in the way we always expect them to. It's when they're lazy skanks and take things too far that we have a major problem and will do anything to get rid of them. We'll have to see how this situation plays out.

"You ready to head to the garage?" Chrome asks, pushing his plate and cup away from him as he remains in his seat across from me.

"Yeah. I'm sure Bell is waitin' in her car already. She always wants to be early as fuck and I'm sure that hasn't changed over the years," I say, Valor and I laughing at the ways she used to ensure she'd be early for anything she had to go to.

There was one time Annabell was planning on helping the ol' ladies prepare for a cookout. Apparently they all agreed to meet at like ten in the morning to start preparing everything. Annabell has always been an early riser and showed up in the kitchen of the clubhouse at six in the morning. She had over half the food done before the rest of the ol' ladies showed up to get started. None of them could believe everything she'd gotten done already and laughed when she shrugged her shoulders and said she wanted to make sure they had enough time to get everything done. So, she did it and that left less for the ol' ladies to do. Instead, they made even more desserts and shit that we typically didn't get. We all thanked Annabell that day for the amazing food that was prepared after Shy spoke up and told us all what she did.

Chrome and I leave the kitchen and run into the girls as they sit in the common room, staring in the kitchen at everyone eating. I'm not gonna remain quiet about this shit. I can't because it's Annabell and she doesn't deserve their disrespect.

"So, you wanna sit on your asses and expect a club princess to do your fuckin' job and then eat the food that she made?" I bark out at the girls who turn their full attention on me. None of them say a word in response which is answer enough for me. "I'm gonna make this shit crystal clear. You will go out of your way to help Annabell with anythin' she's doin' around this place. When she's in her office, you'll make sure she has somethin' to eat and drink at all times. You will get off your asses to cook, clean, and do anythin' else asked of you every fuckin' day. The only reason you three aren't gettin' booted out on your asses is because of her. She asked me not to do anythin'. I will always do anythin' she wants. Get the fuck in the kitchen and clean it up. You're lucky it was Annabell cookin' and no one else because she knows how to clean as she goes. You've got hardly anythin' to do in there. When I get the fuck back here, I want to see this clubhouse the cleanest it's ever fuckin' been. If not, you're all fuckin gone."

They all scramble off their asses and leave the common room immediately. None of them say a word in response as I listen to them starting to clean the kitchen. The only words spoken are as they ask the remaining men if they're done with their plates and can take them to the sink. I can't help but smirk at Chrome because he knows how I feel about these girls. For the first time in my life, I can't stand Phantom girls. However, there's a reason they've all sought out sanctuary in the clubhouse and we're not just gonna boot them out for no good reason.

"You're a fuckin' asshole," Chrome says, laughing as we exit the clubhouse and find Annabell sitting in her car with the radio blaring loud as fuck. "This is your girl's fuckin' car? I think I'm in love."

"I guess it is. I'm not sure when she got this," I answer him, looking at the black Dodge Charger sitting in the parking lot of the clubhouse.

Chrome and I make our way around the car and take in all the details as I notice Annabell shaking her head at us. Yeah, we're being typical guys right now because there's no way in hell Slim and the guys left this shit stock. I'm sure there's a ton of upgrades and shit for her so that she's always safe. The first thing I'm pretty sure they did was install bullet proof glass. All the ol' ladies' vehicles have that shit. The paint job is custom and I know that for a fact because I can see the detail on the hood and down the sides of the car. Each side has the Phantom Bastards colors on the doors with smoke pouring out behind it. The hood of the car has a giant skull with roses and vines surrounding it. Out of the top of the skull are two large as fuck sunflowers. Annabell's favorite flower is the sunflower and the two represent her parents. I know this because there's a tattoo on her upper arm that matches her car and she told me that's something she wanted to get. Everything is made to blend into her car so it's not right in your face and made so it's not visible to the naked eye in a very understated manner.

Annabell rolls her windows down and rolls her eyes as Chrome and I lean down.

"When did you get this?" I ask her as a smile lights up her face.

"Slim helped me pick it out when I graduated college. He knows this is what I've always wanted. Then, Playboy and Killer did the paint job to give me something special instead of the typical black and chrome. The wheels and everything are completely blacked out, it's got all the safety upgrades before you ask, and I learned to do the maintenance on it with Slim, Playboy, and Killer's help," she says, a smile on her face as she looks over her car.

The interior is black on black and her dash has a picture of Hunter. Pain fills me because she should have a picture of me up there, not him. But, I don't say anything because there's nothing to say. Not yet. There's a screen that shows her backup camera and I know she's got her phone hooked up so she can listen to her music and not deal with the commercials and shit like a normal radio station. Annabell is all about music and loves to listen to it as loud as she can get it to go. I'm surprised she hasn't started to lose her hearing already with how loud it always is. Slim used to bitch at us every day with how loud his house was with her shitty music. His words, not mine.

"Nice. You gonna let me drive it?" Chrome questions her as I smack the back of his head.

"Nope," she answers, popping the p in that way she does sometimes. "This is my baby and no one drives her but me. Not even my dad or brother have been behind the wheel."

"No kiddin'?" I question her, sure that both men would've been in that driver's seat at least once.

"No kidding. They're still pissed I won't let them drive it. I paid for it with my own money and they'll respect my wishes. I don't ever see anyone else driving this car for any reason," Bell states, locking eyes with me because she knows I'm gonna wanna drive this car.

"Alright, we get it," I tell her, trying to lighten the mood as I take in her serious look and want to kiss her full lips as she stands her ground. "I'm gonna ride behind you. Chrome will be in front. Stay between us at all times. If Chrome goes through a light, you make sure you get through that shit too. The garage isn't far from here so our trip will be quick."

"Okay. It's not my first time doing this shit, Vault. You know that better than anyone," she reminds me as I stand from her car and make my way to my bike.

Chrome and I straddle our bikes and start the engine while Annabell rolls up her window to keep the air conditioning inside and waits for Chrome to pull out. We get to the gate and George opens it up for us to ride through. Annabell keeps the perfect distance between her car and my best friend's bike as we leave the compound and make our way through town toward Hound's. There's a short stretch with no other traffic on the road as usual this early in the morning. Chrome is riding a little faster than normal as Annabell and I follow behind him. As we get to the end of the forest that lines the right side of the road, I hear a noise I can't quite make out before my bike goes out of control. I'm fishtailing and there's no way I can regain it before it tips over and I start sliding with it. A sharp pain grazes my upper arm and I know I've been shot.

The brakes of Annabell's car scream as she brings it to an immediate stop. I can't even yell at her to stay in the car as Chrome races past her and moves to my side.

"What the fuck happened, Vault?" he questions me as I continue to try and catch my breath while dealing with the pain filling me.

"Vault, are you okay?" Annabell asks, her voice barely above a whisper as tears fill her eyes.

"Fuck!" is the only word I can manage to get out as Chrome stands and lifts my bike off my leg.

I look down and take in the mangled mess of my clothing and know I'm gonna have road rash like a motherfucker. While I didn't slide that far, it was more than enough to do damage to my body. My arm is on fire and I know I've got marks there. I watch as Annabell rushes to her car a few feet from me and opens the trunk. She pulls out a blanket and moves to the passenger side of the car. Chrome gets me off the ground and practically carries me to the car. He helps me get in the passenger seat when Bell moves out of the way.

"I'm callin' Doc. Where do you want him to meet us?" Chrome questions me as he removes his phone from his pocket.

"Garage. Don't want Annabell and you there alone," I tell him, my voice filled with the pain in my body right now.

"We can open the fuckin' garage, Vault. I'll have Valor, Red, and Crab come over so we're not alone. You need to get the fuck looked at and taken care of before you fuck yourself over. Don't be a fuckin' martyr right now," my best friend yells at me, his voice letting me know how serious he is.

With a nod of my head, I watch him close the door and make the necessary calls. Annabell gets in the driver's seat and starts her car once again. She doesn't move until Chrome is back on his bike and ready to head back to the clubhouse. I know the rest of the guys who won't be at the garage will be here searching for any sign of the fucker who just tried to take me the fuck out. This wasn't some random attack and I know it's related to the drugs being distributed in town. We're the only ones looking into these twatwaffles and I'm suddenly hit while on my way to work. We haven't even made aggressive moves toward them yet. This is gonna be a bloody fucking battle.

Annabell didn't say anything to me on the way back to the clubhouse. She drove fast as hell behind Chrome and kept her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Not that she truly knows what she's looking for. Bell doesn't know Pine View yet so if something were to be wrong, she wouldn't understand until it was too late. The entire drive, she watches me out of the corner of her eye as if I'm going to stop breathing on her or something. Every emotion filling her is clear to see in her body language and I know this is killing her. We haven't had a chance to talk or sort our mess out and this shit happens today. It's not a good start to her staying in Pine View and helping us out at all.

When we pull up to the clubhouse, Valor, Red, Crab, and Doc are all waiting for me. Valor rips open my door the second Annabell stops the car and checks me over before helping me out. Fear fills his eyes as he wraps his arm around my body and I put mine over his shoulder.

"I'm okay, Zach. I promise," I tell him in a whisper as he leads me through the clubhouse to our medical room.

"You're not okay, Alex. But you will be. Today, you do everythin' Doc tells you to fuckin' do and don't worry about Pretty Girl. I've got her with the rest of the guys goin' with us. I'll show her around the garage and get her set up in the front office. It's not like she doesn't know what the fuck she's doin'. You worry about you and let us worry about work and her," my brother says, his voice rough as he chokes back his emotions.

"I'll always worry about her, Zach. I can't help it. Protect her and make sure she doesn't worry about me," I tell him before he lays me down on the gurney and leaves me with Doc.

Doc gets to work cutting off my jeans and having me help him remove my cut so he doesn't have to destroy that with his scissors. Rage fills me as he removes the rest of my clothing so he can check out exactly what damage was done to my body. I feel every move he makes and the burning sensations filling me as he touches various parts of my leg and arm. What really fucking kills me is when he has to put my shoulder back into place. I didn't even realize it was dislocated.

When Doc is done doing his exam and tending to my wounds, he helps me put on a pair of sweatpants and leaves my shirt off because he knows it's gonna hurt to put one on after just putting my shoulder back into place. That doesn't mean I'm gonna go shirtless for the next few weeks, but today I'm not gonna worry about wearing one.

"You're gonna be in a sling until I tell you otherwise," Doc tells me, his voice letting me know how serious he is. "No workin' and you're not to ride, Vault. I'm dead serious. I know your bike is fucked from the accident so that shouldn't be a problem. I've cleaned and put an antibiotic ointment on the road rash on your leg and arm. You're damn lucky it's not worse. I've seen a lot worse over the years. Keep it dry, clean, and don't fuck around with this shit. It should heal in the next two weeks if you do what I say.The bullet wound is nothing more than a graze. It's clean and bandaged. You'll have a scar from it, but it doesn't need stitches. Keep it dry and clean as you know."

Doc is an older man who's been a doctor in Pine View since the day he graduated from medical school. His dream was always to have his own practice and not cave in to the demands of his family. Both of his parents are doctors and work in emergency medicine. That's what they wanted him to do. Doc chose to follow his own path and was disowned by his family because of that decision. He's happy as fuck, met the love of his life here in Pine View, and they have a great family. We met him after moving down here and he volunteered his services to the club because he understands that sometimes things can't be reported in order for us to properly do what we have to do to clean up this city. Everything we have in our medical room is because of this man and we owe him for the excellent care he gives us.

"I promise I'll listen. I'm not tryin' to fuck myself over and be kept off my bike for longer than necessary. I don't want pain meds, you know this," I tell him, thinking back to when I lost my dad and lost control when I started drinking.

"I know. I haven't given you anything other than a shot of antibiotics. I want you to keep your leg and arm bandaged for the first few days. I'll be back after that to make sure no infection has set in and that it looks good. At that point, you should be able to lose the bandages as long as you keep it clean and dry," he states, writing out a script for more antibiotics as a precautionary measure. "You're gonna be sore as hell for a while. Take the over the counter pain relievers and rest. I don't want you up and moving around for now."

"Can I sit in the common room? Or church?" I ask him, knowing I'll have to call church when the guys get back from work this afternoon. Especially since not everyone knows what happened to me yet.

"You can. That's it. Don't move around when you don't have to. I'm gonna give this to Martin so he can run and grab it for you. Take one tonight and then two a day for the next ten days," he informs me, grabbing his keys and bag before helping me from the gurney and walking me into the common room.

I see the girls cleaning up and making sure everything fucking shines as I'm lowered to the couch with a pillow propped up behind me and another one under my leg. The girls keep looking over at me as Doc walks over to Martin and has a quiet conversation with him. Martin nods and leaves from behind the bar where he was stocking everything and making sure the glasses are clean for those of the men who don't drink beer every day.

Closing my eyes, I let sleep pull me under. The last few nights I haven't slept very good. First it was because I knew Annabell was on her way here and then it was realizing that she was in the room next to me. Even though I'm worried as fuck about her being away from the clubhouse where I can keep her safe, I know my brother and Chrome will protect her with their lives. Plus, I can't exactly stop sleep from claiming me. Not after the adrenaline rush from the accident and then the pain from Doc putting me back together again. I'm just glad it wasn't worse than it is.

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