Skully
“Listen up, fellas!” King calls order around the room and everyone quiets down.
I sit in my dark corner, Dagger flanked on one side of me, Ripper on the other. Whenever I come out of my room, they’re always at my side. Just like it was when we used to ride. Raid and Hawk bringing up our rear, King leading us in the front. And Rubble and Razor riding wide to make sure our president was safe and protected, keeping an eye on our surroundings. Now, with Rubble gone and Razor MIA, I’m guessing it’s Bones and Rogue who’s got our president’s back. I wonder who rides between Dagger and Rip.
Goddamn, I miss my bike. Going on runs. Feeling the adrenaline. Mainly, I miss being a part of the brotherhood. Feeling like I’m important and needed. I was second to the Prez, and that came with a lot of responsibility. Now, no one expects shit from me.
“I just met with Prez and Ice from the Northeast,” King states, thankfully yanking me back from the deep end of my thoughts. “Their chapter needs our help. They’ve got shit going down and the stakes are high. Looks like one of their girls is in trouble. Her dad was trying to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. When Prez started digging, they uncovered a sinkhole of shit. This fucker has been running an entire underground sex-trafficking ring, and the key players are some pretty high-powered men. Given the political nature of those who are involved, they’re gonna need more help from unrecognizable faces. That’s where we come in.”
The entire room tenses. Every jaw locking up as low growls echo throughout the room. Sex traffickers, drug dealers—we got no tolerance for any of them. Dads wanting to sell their daughters’ virginities, hell fucking no. Those bastards will end up ten feet underground where they belong. And if one of those girls is an old lady, that fucker is going to pay ten times over.
“I’m gonna be riding out as soon as they know more, probably in a week or so. With Montoya still at large, I’m only planning to take half of our men. Ripper, Raid—you two will be staying behind with my little girl.” I feel Ripper tense at my side. Anytime anyone mentions Montoya, he goes rigid. The day they find that man is the day Montoya will wish he had never been born.
“Hawk, Dagger, and Cage will stay behind too. Bones, Rogue, Link, and Tack, you’ll be coming with me. The rest of you will decide amongst yourselves and your old ladies as to who’s going and who’s staying. Prospects will remain here, making sure the shop and everything else is running smoothly. Everyone good with that?”
It doesn’t go without my notice how he doesn’t mention my name. He doesn’t even look in my direction. That’s because I’m no longer a man. I no longer serve a purpose. Once upon a time,I was his VP. Now, it seems as though Link is his right-hand man. Sitting up there beside him in my old spot.
“Any other business we need to discuss?” King checks the room, his eyes not even scanning to this corner. “Good. By the way, I met with Razor.” Now,I’mthe one stiffening in my seat. “He’ll be coming home soon. And when he does, I want to give him a welcome back like he deserves.”
That’s when his eyes finally land on me, gauging my reaction. Not sure how I feel on the matter. Razor took off while I was still in the hospital and never said a word. And he never called. King said the guilt hit him hard and he needed some time to recover. But he wasn’t the only one suffering. We all fucking lost Rubble. We all are to blame for what happened that night.
“Oh, and he’s bringing his old lady with him, so we want make sure we give her a proper welcome to the family.”
And now the knot in my stomach is so fucking tight I can barely breathe. I shouldn’t be jealous of my brother. He deserves to be happy. He’s one of the best men I know. But blue eyes invade my thoughts, and I can’t quit the pain. I need a fucking drink.
“All right, meeting adjourned.”
The men all start to get up, but I wheel my ass past them, rushing to get out of this room. Everything is closing in. Next weekend, I’m not coming to church. There’s no fucking point. I roll myself out the door, deciding to make a stop at the bar to stock up since the girls have been ordered not to bring me booze. I turn to the right, quickly putting my brake on when I nearly run into someone.
My chair halts in place right as my heart halts inside my chest. Greenish-blue eyes. The same ones I was just thinking of are staring right at me.
“Skully.” Her faint whisper barely breaks past the pounding in my ears.
It’s Madison. My Madison. The girl I was going to marry. And God, is she even prettier than when I first laid eyes on her. Her long blond hair is even longer now, curled halfway down her back. She’s still trim and petite, rocking a body that was meant to raise a man’s dick. Mine’s been comatose since the night I got shot but one look at her and it’s suddenly come out of the numb state.
She’s wearing a pretty dress, showing off those toned legs. But the best part…is still her face. Pretty red lips, just like a ripe strawberry. That little beauty mark reminding me of a classic actress, and then there are those eyes. But they’re no longer filled with love. No longer burning with an ounce of lust for me. They’re burning sad with pity.
Tears are brimming like she’s about to cry, and that’s because she feels sorry for me. Because I’m pathetic. A cripple locked to this chair. She used to look at me with admiration, like I was the king of her world. Now, the sight of me makes her sad.
“Thought I told you never to come back.” My words drip with hatred because I can’t fucking stand her seeing me in this state. Weak. So fucking weak. And pathetic.
“Madsters!” Cage rushes over to her, picking her right up and swinging her around. “What the fuck you doin’ here, girl?”
I want to know the same thing.
“I ran into her in town.” Shayna steps up to her side, giving her a squeeze. “I begged her to drive me back early. The others are still out shopping.”
“Maddy Cakes!” Raid comes in next, taking his turn. Then Bones, and Link, and every fucking one of my brothers. The only one who doesn’t pick her up or make contact is Hawk, but that’s only because he doesn’t like to be touched.
As they all take their turns greeting her, proving their strength and dominance as they lift her in the air, making her giggle and smile, the hatred burns darker. The anger. Thejealousy. It festers to the point I can no longer breathe. I turn in my chair and roll my ass down the hall, locking myself in my room.
It was so fucking hard letting her go, and now I’m being sliced open again. My heart ripped right from my chest.
I pick up my pen, drawing the flames. Dark red flames, burning around a skull. A skull with blue eyes. And it all floods back. The first time I saw her. Her eyes so big and bright as she stared up at the Ferris wheel. She turned to that fucking tool she was with and asked him to take her up for a ride on it, and the stupid shit said no. When I saw the flicker of light dim in those eyes, I wanted to beat him upside the head. Then when he told her he wouldn’t kiss her if she ate cotton candy, I wanted to buy her five bags.
It was love at first sight, and when she cocked her chin, telling me good luck at winning the bear, her destiny was sealed.
I reach into my pocket and pull out a ten, happy I grabbed a few Benjamins on my way out of the clubhouse because I am not stopping until I get this girl her bear. And if I can’t win it, I’ll be buying it for her.
