CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Maisy

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Maisy

It was my day off from work, and I was not in the mood to sit around my apartment.

Honestly, I was irritated and thinking too much. It was the main reason I didn't want to be home.

Hot Mess scowled at me as my chaotic energy buzzed and bounced around the apartment. She was sensitive to that kind of thing, and like my friend , Maddie, she was grumpy ninety-nine percent of the time.

Ugh. Friends.

Yeah right.

What a damn joke.

I couldn't be friends with Mad Bell. Not after what we'd shared. Not knowing that he wanted me like I wanted him. It was stupid to think that was the best solution.

But what other options were there? Be the other woman while he sorted out his life? Neither of us needed that. The pressure alone would kill the sparks we had between us. Dead. Relationship and hotness over before either of us got our fill of it.

Okay, I definitely needed to get out of the house before I cracked open a beer and ended up taking a ride down the slide of self-pity only to make a big splash in the pool of misery.

I tossed some fishy treats out for Hot Mess, apologized for making her grumpier, and headed out the door.

Since it was Thursday night and I was hungry, the decision was an easy one. I was going downtown. I wasn't a huge fan of parking in the downtown area, but Stella was at the food truck stop tonight and it had been a couple of weeks since I went down to see her. I was also craving some of her food. There were a handful of great vegan restaurants in the city and a few more that served vegetarian food that had special grills so it didn't come out tasting like bacon, but nothing beat Stella's cooking. Not for me anyway. There was something comforting about it, like home. Probably because I'd grown up eating whatever she made. My dad wasn't big on supporting my support for my BFF, and he never even cared to try when it came to feeding me. He'd always do his best to shove ribs and steaks and bacon down my throat. He had the "eat it or go without" attitude that was honestly shitty. I understood that it was complicated and a pain in the ass, but I was a kid. I thought my best friend— my only friend— was going to die and I wanted to do everything to support her, to make her a little less scared. If they'd suggested she drink clam juice and eat grass every day, I would have done that alongside her, too. I just wished my dad would have had a little more compassion and at least tried.

I didn't have daddy issues. I really didn't. I just… hated the man most of the time.

But I didn't want to think about him tonight, or the fact that I was probably never going to talk to him again.

For ten at night on a Thursday, downtown was hopping. I found a parking space a few blocks away from the truck stop. I didn't know if it had an official name, but that was what I called the area where about five food trucks got permitted to park for the night. You know, serve the drunks throughout the night. Hey, it was a good place to start. Besides, food always tastes better when you're drunk, and since Stella made bomb food, it had to be out of this world to any intoxicated person who tried it, right?

It was a cute little area by the Cape Fear River. String light strung from trees and lampposts. A covered area off to the left held a handful of tables, and there were more benches scattered around the trucks. The one bad thing was the river stunk tonight, but I wouldn't let it bother me.

"Holy shit!" I called out when I saw a handful of leather vests donning a patch I knew quite well. One of them was rocking a Prospect patch and I couldn't mistake his tall frame and shaggy hair even in the dim lighting.

The prospect whirled around and his face looked guilty the moment he laid eyes on me. I wasn't sure why, though.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I said fuck it and went in for a hug. He was good people. I hugged good people in outside-of-work situations.

The prospect wrapped his arms around me, patting me on the back once before releasing me. I felt like one of the boys and it nearly made me laugh.

It was then that I noticed the other club members taking up a couple of tables that happened to be filled with Stella's boxes.

I eyed the prospect with amusement playing on my lips.

"Um, uh," he stammered. I waited him out, trying not to make him nervous, though I was sure no matter what he would be. "I follow Stella, I mean, the truck on social media. I saw it was down here and when they made me DD for the night, I figured I'd bring her some business."

"It's only ten, is the night over already?" I asked laughing.

"Nope. Not even close. This is… intermission?" He shrugged, and I laughed again.

"How are they digging it?" I asked as I moved to stand so we were both watching half-drunk overgrown boys make a mess of themselves. It was great. Felt like home, oddly. The kind of home that snuck up on you. The kind you didn't even realize felt like home until… well, until it hit you like this.

Fuck.

What the hell did that mean?

"I'd say they have no idea that what they are eating is one hundred percent animal-free," he said with a huge, almost smug, smile. I fucking loved it.

"Maisy Daisy!" Twigs called out.

Oh yeah, he was pretty drunk.

"Hey, Twigs," I said with a nod. "I see you've been hanging out with Maddie too much."

Mad Bell was the only one who called me Daisy, and it was just to get back at me. Even when he first started doing it I knew he knew my name. Truth was, I didn't hate it. It had been a while since he'd called me that, and I think I missed it.

"I can't help but like the guy," Twigs said with a friendly smile.

I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back my own smile. Something inside of me pinched. Maybe in a good way. Like I was glad that Mad Bell had people who cared about him, even if he saw them as annoying little brothers.

"Come join us!" Twigs yelled.

My mouth opened to politely decline, but Boom and Tinker were waving me over, leaving me feeling like I had no other choice.

"Let me grab some food." That seemed to appease them.

"They aren't drunk enough to forget you're here," the prospect warned me before he went to the table and took a seat.

I shook it off and walked up to Stella's truck, doing my best to ignore her raised brow because she'd clearly witnessed the whole thing.

"Having a good night?" I asked in hopes of distracting her. She was probably thinking things that weren't true. Like how close to the club I really was. Honestly, this was a big surprise. I didn't know they were down here and I hadn't expected them to invite me in as one of their own.

"Actually, yeah. I mean, they have been the bulk of my business so far, but they ordered two of everything. Or rather… crap, I don't know his name. The tall one." I didn't miss the way her cheeks went pink. "The one I met at the Chili for Charity. You know?"

"The prospect," I offered up with a shrug. I really wished the kid would give his name up already.

"Yeah, him." She paused, her gaze cut over to said Prospect. I wasn't sure what to do with the mushy look she had going on in her eyes. No. Nope. I should definitely not get involved in that. "Anyway, he ordered all the food for them. I don't think they know they're eating vegan food. It's kind of fun to watch."

I laughed at her slight mischievous look. Stella was anything but evil or vindictive, but it was cute to see her try.

"Can I get some kale nachos?" I asked as I shook my head at her.

"Coming right up!"

Yes, so cheese was the one thing I couldn't give up, and that kept me from crossing over that line to being vegan. Okay, cheese and caramel, if I was being honest. Vegan cheese just wasn't the same. That said, the cashew queso Stella made was almost as good as cow's milk queso. Almost. It was good enough that I'd crave it from time to time. She'd started playing with it about three years ago. I'd always been her guinea pig. I'd seen it go from "this tastes like nuts" to "holy fuck, I want more," and yes, those were actual quotes from me.

"Go sit with your friends," she said with a smirk over her shoulder. "I'll bring it out when it's done."

"Hey, Maisy," Boom said quietly as I sat next to him and across from Twigs.

"Hey, Boom," I shot back.

I really liked Boom. He was one of the sweet ones, though it was probably best if I kept that as a thought. There was something about Boom that screamed safe. I couldn't say why. Then again, if I really thought about it, there was something about the whole club that screamed safe. Like, in the way they'd never hurt me and they'd have my back if I ever needed it.

Hmmm.

What did that mean?

I wondered if there was a part of my rebellious spirit that latched onto the club. A way to defy my family. A way to break out of what I'd grown up with. That thought made me feel a little icky. I didn't want to use the club like that.

How did I know when I'd crossed a fucked up line?

A metal screech and loud commotion pulled me from my thoughts before I could figure out if this was a toxic relationship or not.

"Oh, look! She's at cock-sucking height for you, Prospect," I heard Twigs say.

I blinked to see Stella out of the food truck and the prospect holding onto her elbows like he was steadying her. Her face was red. His face was red. And no one moved.

I mean, Twigs wasn't wrong.

Stella out of her truck came up to where I imagined the prospect's nipples would be. Stella had to be a foot shorter than the prospect, maybe more.

As much as I wanted to laugh, I could see how embarrassed the two of them were.

"Twigs," I said sharply.

He blinked at me for a moment, confused as to why I'd barked at him.

But before I could say anything else, the prospect had Stella steady on her feet and was stepping up to the clueless man.

"We're not at the compound. She is not a club girl." The prospect's voice was low. I could see he was trying to be as respectful as he could given the situation. It was clear he wasn't going to stand for that shit. I bit my lip nervously. I been around the club enough to know this could be the end of his so-called tryout. "Apologize to Stella, now, Twigs."

To his credit, when the realization that he'd fucked up set in, Twigs did look regretful.

"You right," Twigs said to the prospect before turning his eyes in Stella's direction and putting his hand over his heart. "I'm sorry, Miss Stella. I wasn't thinkin'."

"It's fine," Stella mumbled, eyes down.

"Gimme nachos!" I yelled a little too loudly as a way of moving us out of this awkward moment, as well as get my food. Hey, I was hungry. I might have made grabby hands too.

The world made noise again as Stella rushed to set the brown box down in front of me before scurrying back into her truck.

The prospect, now looking less tense, took a seat beside me. I didn't hesitate to slide my nachos over so he could get a few. He smiled at me as he picked up one and shoved it into his mouth.

"It's killing him," the prospect said.

"Huh?" I said, confusion pinching my brows.

"Mad Bell. Not being able to be with you. He's hurting too."

"Yeah, well, we're working on the friends thing."

Twigs snorted. I hadn't realized we'd been speaking loud enough for him to hear.

"That man don't want to be your friend," Twigs said with a surprisingly focused look in my direction considering how drunk he seemed a minute ago. "I'd never seen someone get rid of the garbage in their life faster than he sent that cunt packing."

I raised a warning brow at Twigs.

He waved a hand in the air before explaining, "I don't use that word lightly. Right now, I mean it. Ain't another word that works. That woman…" He shook his head as if to say he didn't have the words. "She's a grade-A cunt for all that shit she did to him and for the shit she just tried to pull. Didn't work out for her, though."

Twigs shot me a smug look as if he'd been the one to clean up the mess. I tried to hide my smile. I chose to let him justify the use of such a nasty word.

I didn't even know half the story and I felt the same.

"She's gone?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yep," Twigs said with a satisfied and slightly scary smile on his face.

I looked at the prospect for confirmation.

"It's true." I let out a whoosh of air at the prospect's words. I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath. "Yesterday, I, uh, made sure she was gone and not coming back."

My expression fell. There was something cryptic in his words. Something that held an eerie edge to it. I ducked my head closer to his and whispered, "You didn't, like, kill her did you?"

"I can say for certain that I've never killed anyone." I cocked my head to the side so I could study the prospect's expression. Again, there was something in the way he said it. "Never laid a hand on a woman either, C-word or not."

I snorted and shook my head.

He was telling the truth. I couldn't say how I knew for sure, but I trusted my gut. Also, his face was so innocent it was hard to believe there was a psycho killer behind those sweet eyes.

Yeah, okay. Maybe he wasn't as innocent as I let him be in my head. He was working his ass off to be a part of a motorcycle club, after all.

I wondered if rugged innocence was a thing. It sounded like it could be a thing in Boom's romance world. I made a note to ask him about it later.

"So… what does that mean?" I asked, hoping they could just lay it all out for me. I had to know if there was any chance of her coming back. I needed to know if he was still married, and if he was, how long until he wasn't.

"That she's not in his life anymore," Twigs answered. "That's all we can tell you since it ain't our shit to be sellin'."

I blinked at him as I tried to figure out what he was going on about.

"You guys do nothing but gossip," I said.

Plugs smirked and Twigs nodded.

"You right. So, me, Plugs, and the baby prospect here pulled out like half his shit and set it in the front yard. He told us to light it on fire, but I figured he was joking. I sent out a mass text and some of the brothers came and grabbed shit. That was a really nice couch, too. Just sayin'. Even his bed, sheets and all, went in the yard."

I looked up at the prospect, who nodded like Twigs was telling the truth.

"He said he was tossing anything she touched," Twigs went on, proudly spilling all the sordid details. "What that means for you? Well, I'd say maybe the two of you can finally smack heads together and fuck on the regular now. Lord knows Mad Bell needs a good regular puss—"

Boom's hand covered Twigs' mouth before he could finish that statement.

All I could do was laugh as I reminded myself that it was just the way Twigs was.

"Just sayin' he needs a good woman in his life," Twigs said with a shrug once his mouth was freed. "And I like you for him. He needs a woman who will keep him on his toes. He'd do anything to not lose you."

I smiled but tried to hide it by shoveling a handful of nachos into my mouth.

Things were looking up.

Or so I was hoping. There was a little tickle of doubt lingering because Mad Bell hadn't reached out to me. Maybe he thought it was too soon. Or maybe he was second-guessing relationships after all this mess and didn't know how to tell me.

I told myself to chill. Not everything had to happen right away. I could be patient.

I would just wait for Mad Bell to throw me some kind of sign.

Maybe like a giant green light.