Page 32 of Sweet Anarchy
"Hey," Blake interjects from the driver's seat. "Leave her music alone."
Rylee nods. "That's right. I have good taste. Unlike the rap stuff Asher listens to."
I chuckle, gazing over my shoulder at Asher. He looks like he's sucking on a lemon drop. He catches me looking and turns away, staring out the window.
"I like your music, pretty girl," I tell Rylee, catching her eyes.
She lights up, giving me a smile. "Thanks! I'll be sure to reward you later."
My lips twitch into a smile, knowing full well she's remembering our conversation before we left the house as well.
Blake reaches down, grabbing his cell before handing it to me. "Can you plug that into the car? I need to pull up Google Maps."
The two chapters decided to pick a neutral spot for our meeting. Both wanted to host, but neither wanted to go to the other's location. It's been a long time since we'd all been together, and despite the recent events, I know there's still going to be some hostility when we arrive.
I take the cell from Blake, plugging the cord in. I tap the screen on the car dash, putting the address into Google Maps. It's about half way between the two chapters, in the State Park. Apparently, Mack knows a quiet place we can all gather that will be free from the general public. We need the privacy, not only for protection for club business, but also to make sure if something were to go down like another attack, innocent bystanders aren't going to be in the firing line.
I look back at Rylee again, noticing she's rubbing her shoulder. She took the gauze off this morning because it was getting itchy. Her black painted fingernails touch her wound gently as she stares off into space.
"You okay?" I ask her.
She looks over at me, breaking out in a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her hand drops back to her lap, and I'm not sure if she even knew she was doing it. I wish I could read her mind, she keeps way too much to herself. It's not healthy. I've been trying to get her to open up more, to talk about her emotions, but she insists she's fine.
I know she's fine. But still… you don't go through the shit she went through and be completely okay. I can just imagine the whirlwind of shit going through her mind at the moment.
"We'll be there in about twenty minutes," Blake says, looking over at the screen. "The two of you just need to stick close to us."
"Why?" Rylee asks, and I can hear the concern in her voice.
Asher looks over too, his jaw tense as he clenches his teeth.
"There's just going to be a lot of people. And I'm not sure of the vibe. We're all old buddies so to speak, but it's still not the perfect environment."
"Will people fight?" Asher asks. "Because I'm not down with that."
I laugh. "No one will fight. It's just going to be a little intense. So, for the love of Peter Pan, do not hit anyone, Asher."
Asher grumbles, muttering something about not fighting anyone. It's bullshit and he knows it. He won't be afraid to throw a punch if push comes to shove. But it won't – I know it won't.
Blake's hands tighten on the steering wheel and I know he's nervous too, even if he doesn't want to admit it. It's going to be a rough mood – fuelled with animosity and grief.
Rylee reaches over and grabs Asher's hand. "It will be fine, Ash. Just stick close to me – I'll protect you."
His lips fight back a smile, and even without saying it out loud, I already know what's going through his head. Rylee can think about protecting us all she wants, but at the end of the day, we're the ones that would breathe fire and burn bridges to ashes if it meant protecting her.
As we start to head into dense woodlands, the car starts getting more and more quiet. There's bikers in front of us and some behind us, as we all travel the dirt path into the State Park.
At a divider, we swing left, following the trail of bikes and cars. It's pretty easy to know when we've reached the spot – the giant dirt lot at the end of the path is filled along the edges with vehicles and bikes of every different make. People are standing around, chatting and watching new arrivals closely, their eyes peering in suspicion.
Blake pulls into a spare space, killing the engine. "Okay, here we go."
We climb out of the car, the four of us staying close together as we manoeuvre around the various traffic of vehicles and people. It's hard to distinguish the two chapters with many bikers wearing their club colors and jackets. There's very minimal differences, other than the patches that name the different chapters.
I scan the crowd, searching for familiar faces as we walk towards the larger group of gathered souls.
"Fuck me sideways! Zayny!" a deep voice calls out. I glance over, grinning as a large man heads towards me.
"Frank!" I greet, giving him a quick bear hug.
