Page 49 of Bristol

“He ain’t got a choice,” Reaper growls.

“I don’t care to be involved. I want to be in the know, and I want to be updated. But, I’m done getting my hands dirty. I done got too fuckin’ old to be doing this shit.”

“Old fuck.” Reaper’s comment earns him a laugh, but Joey looks like he may swing on him just for principle. To my surprise, he doesn’t.

“I may be old but I’m your fucking P, remember that.”

Reaper’s cocky attitude has always gotten him into trouble, which is why the bastard is so good at what he does. He’s had to fight his way out of all the bullshit his mouth has gotten him into and because of that, he’s someone you don’t want to fuck with. Because if he can’t fight his way out, he can buy his way out. And I don’t know which one is worse.

The rumble of motorcycles outside concludes this meeting as members begin piling in getting ready for church. Bosch and Niles are first to show up, followed shortly by Big George and Mikey. Mo sent out a text he wouldn’t make it today and Slim is the last one to come dragging in before we get started.

Slim looks like dog shit and Big George doesn’t let it slide. “What happened to you?” he asks.

“Princess.”

Everyone’s head whips in his direction and we sit in silence waiting for an elaboration.

“She’s been blowing my fucking phone up, she’s been stalking the fuck out of me, showing up at my house and beating on the doors and the windows. She’s busted all the lights out of my truck and the bitch stole my fucking helmet and took every goddamn thing out of my saddle bags. I’m sure there’s more that I haven’t found yet, but that about sums up the last five hours of my life.”

“If you want, we can take care of that for you brother. We’ll just add her to the list,” Reaper says, offering Slim a smile.

He waves a hand. “Nah. She’s harmless, just annoying as fuck. Besides, she’s got the feds in her pocket. If she comes up missing, they’re coming straight for me, or worse, Bristol,” he says her name while looking at me.

“Bristol can handle herself. We could just let her get ahold of Princess again,” I offer.

“Princess is going to get hers. When she least expects it.”

“Alright. This meeting is now in session,” Joey begins.

We go over club dues, club funds, upcoming parties, and the add-on we are thinking about for the bunk house. It’s a fairly normal church without any mention of the biggest problem at hand that really isn’t a club problem, but more-so a personal one. For Reaper and me both. We almost make it through the entire church without it coming up. Almost.

“What about the fucking pedos?” Big George asks, pressing his glasses up on his face and looking between Reaper and I expectantly.

“What about them?” I ask.

“What are we doing to find these sick fucks?”

“It’s being handled. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know if and when we do find them.”

“You fucking better.”

I think about fucking with him, because it’s so easy to do. He gets worked up and overly passionate about shit without much prompting, but I think better of it. I’m not wasting the energy today.

I just nod and Joey starts talking about some of the other clubs that were here last night. Which reminds me I need to check in with Micah and see if anything else has come down the line to him and his guys.

“Alright, that concludes this meeting,” Joey proclaims, standing from his seat at the head of the table.

Everyone else stands and we exit the chapel. Most of the guys are heading to the bar to sit around and chit-chat before they go on a Sunday ride. Me? I’m heading to get my girl and take her home.

Chapter Fifteen

BRISTOL

The weekend was over so quickly and I felt like I slept most of Sunday away at the clubhouse then after we had gotten home, I slept even more. It’s been a week since my phone call with the insurance agent and no funds have been distributed. He called back and said that he had gotten some things wrong and that we would need to do a little more paperwork, and by a little more, he meant any at all. Evidently it was his first week on the job and he had heard about my family’s story and just wanted to get himself involved somehow, while ignoring all protocols in place at his job. The one he doesn’t have any more due to his lack of efficiency and ability to do said job correctly.

Our case was escalated to a manager, and I’ve been having dealings with her all week. She said we needed to get an attorney to take care of the paperwork. Sebastian set up a meeting with Reaper’s go-to attorney and we are on our way there now. My birth certificate came in earlier this week, I got my state identification card, and Sebastian has been trying to teach me how to drive the truck. I don’t love the massive hood, but I’m making do. I really want to get my license. I don’t know why this is so important to me. Maybe because I had only driven a handful of times as a teenager and then before I got my license, Patrick snagged me and stole that from me too.

It’s hard not to lose myself in focusing on all of the things that I’ve lost at the hands of someone else. At the hands of an absolute fucking monster. But I try so hard not to let myself get too deep into the thought process of everything he’s taken from me. Some days I lose the battle, but Sebastian has been so amazing in this process. I think he’s terrified to rattle my cage.

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