At least they’re keeping him amused. I’m grateful to my family. “Yeah? Who with?”
“Billy.”
I’m on my feet, my chair’s fallen over backwards. Long-ago memories of Billy putting me on an untamed horse flooding back into my head. “Drew,” I growl quickly. “Do not, I repeat, do not get on any horse Billy gives you. Drew? Drew? For fuck’s sake. Drew!”
The signal’s gone. My warning unheard. The boy I’m responsible for is heading off with a man who thinks learning to ride means seeing how long you can stay on. Visions of Drew in the hospital with broken bones flash in front of my eyes. “Damn it!” I yell, throwing my phone at the door.
The door which is opening. Prez’s reactions are fast and he catches the phone with a two-handed catch.
“Whoa there, Brother. What the fuck is up?”
My breath is coming in spurts. “I’ve got to go, Prez.” I’ve got to get to Drew. Give him a few words of advice he obviously needs. That’s if I find him in one piece.
“Sit the fuck down, Mouse.”
Drummer’s roar has me planting my ass back in the chair. He stands, his arms folded, his steely eyes on mine. “I’ve given you more than enough leeway. Now you’re gonna tell me what the fuck’s going on.”
I stay silent. How can I explain I’m riled up because of a woman I hardly know, and her brother who I feel it’s my responsibility to protect?
“Well?” he snarls.
“Nothing to do with the club, Prez.”
“That so? That’s what you might think. But you’re not here for your brothers, even when you’re on the compound.” I start to protest; he stops me with a raised hand. “Oh, you do everything we fuckin’ ask for, can’t fault you on that. But you’re distracted, your mind’s someplace else.”
He’s right. I gaze down at my hands solidly planted on the desk. “Need to take off again, Prez.”
“Sort of gathered that.” Now Drummer kicks out a chair and sits down. His hardened gaze burns into me until I look up and meet his eyes. “Brother. What you do,” he waves his hands at the monitors, “couldn’t ask you to do more. We need something? You pull out all the stops to find it for us. We need you to fight beside your brothers? You do it. You give your fuckin’ all to this club.”
Embarrassed, I resume looking at my hands again.
“You got a problem?” he continues. “Don’t like being shut out. Ain’t nothing you can’t bring to the table. You’ve given a lot. Time you spend in here? You work as hard, if not harder than any of the other assholes hanging around. You need something? We’ll be right behind you.”
“Prez,” I start, wondering why there’s a pricking at the back of my eyes. “It’s not that I want to keep you out, it’s more that I don’t know what the fuck needs doing.”
He raises his chin. “When you figure it out, come to me, okay? Every man who sits around that table will be there at your back.” Shaking his head, he sighs. “Club’s more than one person, Mouse. Ever thought we could help figure out what needs to be done? Don’t shut us out, Brother.”
Gradually I begin to nod. Perhaps it will soon be time to come clean. “Let me go now, do what I need to, okay? I’ll be at the end of the phone.” Or when I can pick up messages at least. “When I return, when I know more. Then we’ll sit down.”
He purses his lips, his brow furrows, then he shakes his head. “One last time, Mouse. Then you will tell me what’s got you twisted in knots. This time I know it’s got fuck all to do with you needing to go off on a vision quest or such.”
“One last time,” I agree.
He stands, leaning on the back of the chair to push it tidily back against the desk, then turns and opens the door. Before he leaves, he mumbles something under his breath. Something I manage to make out. “There’s a fuckin’ woman at the bottom of this, sure as fuck of that.”
I stare hard at his back. Not saying a word. But he’s got it in one. I wonder how he’ll react when he finds out he’s speaking about the woman I claimed as my fiancée.
I take a moment to finish my joint while thinking over what Drummer said. Some of my research showed me my brothers could prove useful. But I’d have to ask them to do something way outside of their comfort zone. It’s something to think on, though. For when I return.
Closing down the systems I don’t need to keep running, I switch off the monitors, then walk out through the clubhouse. Apart from Diva, one of the sweet butts cleaning down the bar, the room is empty. No chance for goodbyes.No questions to answer.How I like it.
I can’t take a club truck without knowing how long I’ll be gone. So I stuff what I can into my saddle bags, then get on my bike. With one last lingering look over my shoulder, I start the long ride back to the Rez.
Chapter 16
Mouse
I’m anxious to get back to the place I used to call home. Anxious to see Drew, a need to talk to someone about Mariana, someone who shares my fears and knows what I’m going through. It’s not fair to place all that on a fifteen-year-old’s shoulders, but the thought of just being with her kin, sharing his burden, shines like a beacon to me.
