18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Mackenzie

I n aid of finding my purpose in life again, I take a leap and call the number on the card Prez gave me just over three weeks ago. It rings a few times and I don’t know why, but I’m nervous.

“Hello, Maribel speaking.” The voice sounds like an older lady, though I could be completely wrong.

“Hey. I’m M—Scarlett Green. Griffin gave me your number a few weeks ago because you’re looking for some help with a new women’s home?” It feels weird as hell calling Prez by his actual name, but I’ve learned none of the people in town used his club title.

“Oh yes! I’m sorry to hear about what happened. Please, send my prayers to the family.”

“Thank you, Maribel. I’m sure they will appreciate it.”

“Do you have any time to come and see me today? I’m overseeing some construction in the building I want to use. You could meet me here.”

If I’m honest with myself, as much as it’s for a great cause, the thought of working in a women’s home does not fill me with joy, but I’m trying to be a better version of myself and maybe this is how I do it.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

Maribel goes on to give me the address and we arrange to meet in a couple of hours, so now all I need to do is find my man and let him know I have a job interview. Pretty much.

The outside garages are where I find him, polishing Philia while Bandit and Ninja sleep in his hoodie on the ground beside a toolbox. I see Bear through the window, surrounded by paperwork, and I just know he’s likely the reason our tiny pets are asleep right now. I have no doubt he’s spent most of the morning feeding them and making little obstacle courses in his office.

“Hey, handsome.” I slide my palms across the logo on the back of Aleko’s cut, then around to his chest, pressing myself against him. The tattoos he has all over his neck are accentuated by the white T-shirt he’s wearing, and his skin glistens from hard work…I’m a very lucky girl.

“Mmm, you smell fucking divine.” Dropping the cloth in his hand, he turns, grips my chin, and kisses me so hard my toes curl.

“Yes, girl! Get it!” Flower’s enthusiasm makes my cheeks flush, but I keep on kissing Aleko because no amount of embarrassment would ever stop me.

Eventually, he pulls away and rests his forehead against mine for a second. “To what do I owe the pleasure? Not that you need a reason, but I thought you were hanging with your mom this morning.”

“I called that Maribel lady about the women’s home work and she wants me to go see her today.”

“You decided to go for it?” He grins, but it still doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Yeah, I’ll see what it’s about, at least. You wanna come with me?” I know something’s going down in the early hours of the morning, but as far as I’m aware, he has a free afternoon.

He hesitates, then quickly picks up his cloth and holds it in the air. “Gotta finish up here, then Bear needs me for some boring paperwork.” Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes for a second and kneads my sides. “I’ll get Kincaid and—”

“Ooh, ooh! We’ll go! Tab and I are bored as fuck hanging around this place. You can show us where to get the best coffee.”

Shaking his head, Aleko huffs a laugh. “Sure. Why the fuck not? You good with that, Cherry?” He holds my chin in place so our eyes align.

“Yup.” I know how difficult it is for him when I’m not surrounded by his brothers here at the compound, and the threat against them is still out there, but he’s trying his hardest not to smother me and I’m compromising by letting him know every detail.

After spending too long deciding what to wear, I end up with a pair of dark denim jeans and a teal-green off-the-shoulder sweater. I slide on the Doc Martens Aleko bought for me months ago and head out to the waiting truck. Kincaid, Flower, and the big guy who I think is called Tab are already in the vehicle and the back door is open for me.

“So, where we heading?” Kincaid is at the wheel, likely because she knows the town better than the Reapers do.

“There’s a diner near Rocks Off, just down the road from Mirabel’s place. I don’t have to meet her for another hour so we could have coffee there first.”

“We should totally go to Rocks Off when it’s open. We got to see that place when we arrived. For a few months, I dated a dancer and loved watching her on stage. My friend, River, has a club in New York that has male dancers too. Seriously, it’s a feast for the eyes. Like getting the best of both worlds, you know?” Flower practically vibrates in her seat with excitement.

I don’t get it, really, but she speaks with such enthusiasm that I nod and smile to her beside me.

I’m going through the motions with this whole thing, but it feels so cliché to be the biker’s old lady that goes to help those in need. I feel like that’s me being ungrateful for the opportunity I’ve been given though, and I’m not about being that kind of person.

It doesn’t take long before Kincaid parks the truck in front of the diner and we all climb out. Well, Flower jumps out. I think I’ve only been here once, when I was on my way home from a race night and wanted a decent cup of coffee before serving the Rebels until they passed out.

We find a booth and order a round of coffee. Flower and Tab also order a shit ton of food between the two of them, declaring they’ll share so they get to try more things on the menu.

“Holy shit, it is you!”

Fuck, I didn’t put my wig on today, I completely forgot all about the damn thing.

Two familiar faces look over from the booth beside us before they scramble from their seats and aim for our table. Flower, Tab, and Kincaid all move quicker than I can blink, standing in a V and blocking the table from the new guys.

New guys to them, anyway. To me, they’re Cameron and Booker. Two of the Toxic Rebels who were actually nice to me. Don’t get me wrong, they never actually stood up for me, but they were also never ones to dole out my punishments. They even helped me clean up the trailer park after a heavy night occasionally.

I’m positive they’re more frightened of Flower, who is snarling like a wild animal at the front of the protective formation, and they both hold up their hands in surrender.

“Woah, we’re not here to cause trouble.”

Flower snaps her teeth at them, and I can’t hold back my chuckle when Cameron and Booker jump backward with wild, scared eyes.

“It’s fine. They’re fine. They’re actually not totally bad guys.” I feel the need to stand up because we’re starting to cause a scene. We really could do without that because being recognized once is already too much.

With a heavy sigh, Kincaid is first to sit down beside me. “Take a seat.” Her voice is calm, like the kind that comes just before the storm. Tab sits down opposite me, and Flower dramatically gestures for Cameron and Booker to sit beside him. They slide along the seat with stiff smiles and Flower pops herself neatly on the end.

“It’s a Reapers sandwich.” Flower laughs far too hard, but it’s contagious because me and Tab are chuckling too. Kincaid, not so much. She’s staring Cameron and Booker down as though she controls their every move with the power of her eyes.

God knows what the waitress must think as she delivers the food ordered, but she politely smiles despite the silence of our table.

“How are you still alive? Is Jake still alive too?” Cameron is first to speak when the waitress is finished, keeping his voice low.

Flower growls again, smirking as she pokes something into Cameron’s side before taking a huge bite from her burger.

“Let’s just say things happened. But no. Jake’s not alive.” I shrug, hoping to hell these guys are still the good guys to whatever degree and won’t rat me out.

“Your guys fucked pretty much everyone else up. The charter’s disbanded. Well, with only us and Chewy left, we kinda had to. Chewy went over to Detroit, got a cousin up there, but we haven’t decided yet.” Giving no fucks that Cameron has something sticking into his side, maybe, I can’t exactly see, but Flower’s fist is still there, unmoving, Booker basically gives me the run down of what they’ve been up to the last few months.

It’s almost December and they’re figuring they ride as nomads until the race season starts up again in February. Then they’ll pick a charter, I suppose.

“It’s a damn shame we won’t be racing here again, we were so close to that top spot for once with you riding as Cain.”

I smile at the memory, because that was a damn good feeling. One of the best. Racing has always given me a thrill that only Aleko can satiate these days.

“Wait, you were Cain? Totally thought you were a dude.” Tab laughs, but he’s nodding his head and smirking with approval.

“Anyway, we gotta run.” Cameron looks nervously across at Flower beside him. “Promise we won’t say anything.” He holds his hands up again, trying to show he’s sincere.

“I’ll cut your balls off and make you eat each other’s if we suspect anything. ‘Kay?” Flower tilts her head to the side and grins with more menace than I ever thought was possible. Then she casually sucks her fingers clean from all the food.

“Yeah. We got it.” Cameron answers for both of them, nodding more ferociously than Booker as Flower jumps up to sit on the table, allowing them to slide past her. She watches each one with that same grin on her face, completely the opposite to Kincaid, who is scowling, her eyes narrowed with a death warning.

“Nice friends, Kenzie.” Booker’s brave, but he still hightails it out of the diner with Cameron after his comment.

“So, you still racing?” Flower sits back on the bench seat as if nothing happened, sipping at her coffee.

“Nah. Got shot in the thigh, the race chief died, and it’s off season right now.” I neglect to tell them about being pregnant and the miscarriage that followed, because that’s nobody’s business but mine and Aleko’s.

“Fuck, dude. It’s all against you. You should do your own race club, then you can race all year round.” Flower wags her brows. “I’d join, there’s nowhere to do that shit in New York. Although, riding along the Hudson at night is like a fucking dream when the roads are clear.”

I laugh, because what else am I supposed to do? That’s a really great idea, but I have no clue how I’d even approach that kind of thing. It’s like some strange pipe dream that just appears out of nowhere, though. I should talk this out with Aleko at some point, see what he thinks…

The chattering between Flower and Tab stops, and the whole freaking diner goes silent, and for a brief moment I think maybe I’ve been mumbling or thinking out loud, but nope. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Aleko. My dark knight in a hoodie and a leather cut.

He stands proud, in the center of Bear, Sledge, Crow, and Diablo.

They sure are a sight to see, hands clasped in front of them and smirks on their faces.

“Time to go! This is so fucking exciting. Shit like this hasn’t happened for like, a year back home.” Flower claps her hands together and slides from the booth, Tab close behind her. Kincaid actually winks at me before she gets up and follows them outside.

Aleko holds his hand out for me and I blindly take it.

“What the fuck is going on?” I may have blindly taken his hand, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have questions. Still, I can’t help the smile tugging at my lips.

“Follow me.” He leads me outside, and once we’re all standing by their bikes parked further down the road—which explains why I didn’t hear them—he grips my hips and faces me. “I can’t spend another minute without you as my wife. Life’s too fucking short to wait for that shit. So we’re getting married, Cherry baby.”

That grin of his, combined with that single raised brow and the fact he’s so eager to marry me all make my heart swell so much I could swoon like a 1920s movie star. My whole body hurts with how much I fucking love this man. But there’s a problem. And I hate that I made it a problem.

“I can’t ever really be your wife as Scarlett Green. She only exists on paper, her name would be—”

“Fuck that shit. Prez did something for you a few days before…well, he was gonna surprise us but never got round to it.” His respect for his old president is something that will never die, it’s clear every time he speaks about him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Come with me.” With a smile sure to make the Cheshire Cat envious, Aleko slides the spare helmet on his motorcycle seat over my head before pulling on his own. He straddles his bike and tilts his head for me to join him. It’s not painful anymore and I’m sure I’ll be able to ride on my own again soon.

We pull up at the sheriff’s office, the brothers in tow, but the truck with Kincaid, Tab, and Flower is long gone. The vibrations from the engine beneath me stops, and the ones surrounding us go quiet too, but Aleko is the only one to get off, holding out his hand for me.

“What are w—” Aleko shushes me, putting a finger over my lips, and I widen my eyes in mock-horror.

This is exactly where I shouldn’t be, but I suppose it’s not the worst idea. If I want to live a normal life, a good life, I should own up to my shit. My heart’s beating for an entirely different reason now, because I know there are going to be consequences. I still have no idea why Aleko is the one to bring me here, what his plan is with this, and it seems he’s intent on not telling me until we’re inside.

Oh, God. What if I’ve got it all wrong up to now and Aleko really does want to punish me for what I’ve done? My stomach sinks and I’m trying to stay calm, but there’s a slight tremble in my knees.

“Deputy Shipman, have you got something to tell us?” Without a care in the world, Aleko walks us into the building and straight into the deputy sheriff’s office.

“You could’ve made an appointment, Mr. Kastellanos.”

“Ooh, you last-named me. Celia, I thought we were friends?” Aleko holds a hand to his heart and winces in fake outrage.

Shaking her head, she opens one of her desk drawers, rifling through it before pulling some papers out. She’s yet to comment on the fact that I’m alive, because I know she knows me, but she hasn’t batted an eyelash.

“Here it is. Mackenzie Wilson, any and all paperwork connected to your death is right here, in my hands. I knew something wasn’t right when you and your brother went missing from the morgue.” She huffs a laugh. “Y’all can’t do shit in this town without me. I don’t even know why you try. Anyway, I got around to speaking with Griffin about it when I got word of a Scarlett Green in town. He explained the whole situation and said you’d be mighty happy if I made your death disappear. So I am.” When she says Prez’s name, a sadness washes over her eyes, but it’s gone as soon as it appears and she hands the papers in her hands to me.

This all seems a little too easy.

“But why?” It’s the main question I have, so it seems like the logical one to ask first.

“Like I said, he explained the situation, and that the Toxic Rebels won’t ever be coming back to this state. I may uphold the law, Miss Wilson, but I won’t tolerate rapists either.” The way she speaks, with a slight crack of anger in the word rapist, is as if it’s something she has personal experience with, which makes this whole thing a lot more believable. Though still surreal as fuck.

“So I’m not legally dead?” I just need to be sure that I’m taking this all in correctly.

“That’s right, Miss Wilson. You are very much still alive.”