Page 19 of Eagle

I was the goddamn VP of one of the largest MCs in the South. I wouldn’t hesitate to run into a gunfight, and didn’t blink at killing a man that I was ordered to without question. Yet, my own fucking ego prevented me from letting this angel of a woman inside and ended up driving her away.

Puffing my chest out with a deep breath, I decided then and there I’d get her back and stop fucking around. She’d be back tonight, and everything would be right again. How hard could it be to just man up and tell her how I’d been blind and stupid?

I walked back inside and thought it best not to antagonize Daisy, so I sped past her. Nothing I said right now to her would fix anything. And I couldn’t be mad at her. If anything, I appreciated that Lacy had someone who had her back. God knows she’d been through some shit and needed a solid friend. Especially when I hadn’t been there for her.

After a couple of smaller jobs, I cleaned up my booth and went to tell Falcon I was gone for the day. “Hey brother. I’m gonna go see my dad before I head to the clubhouse. But Jackal said something about going out tonight or tomorrow.”

He grunted and kept wiping his counter down. “Thanks for the heads up. No rest for the wicked, right?”

“Appears that way, man. Listen, I–”

“No need, brother. Just handle your business. Tell your dad I said what’s up.”

I popped my head in to let Scar know I was out, too. Blaze had already left for the day. They were members of DE, too, and had worked in the shop with us for a few years. Both did great work. Scar had a pretty boy face with short brown hair and eyes, but was covered in scars from past fights. They were all justusually hidden under his shirt. He was a crazy fucker and even after being shot and stabbed, would just keep fighting. I guess we all did, but he was intense when he was on a mission. Maybe it stood out since he was typically so easy going.

“I’ll see you later man. Hawk has me covering at the bar in a bit, but just until Red gets there,” Scar told me.

“Maybe I’ll run by. Gonna go see Dad and he could probably use a cold one.”

As I walked out, I didn’t stop for a response but said, “Have a good one, Daisy.”

Chapter 10

Eagle

After hopping on my Harley, I drove the short distance to my dad’s house. It wasn’t our original home. Mom still ended up with that one. When they split, Dad had to get a smaller place but insisted on having a house. Once I was a little older, I understood that sometimes he did side jobs for the MC and privacy was a necessity.

Dad was a mechanic and worked at the shop the club owned. That’s how he originally got in with them. I’d heard Raven tell him to prospect a bunch of times, but Dad always joked it off. While he was willing to run a few drugs and guns around, I don’t think he liked the idea of offing anyone. He was tough as nails, but a softy at heart.

I pulled into the small ranch-style home’s driveway and smiled. He’d just done yard work. The acre was perfectly landscaped and the grass was lush and green. He didn’t have many flowers but there were some bushes he kept trimmed neatly that had little pink and red flowers. There was also a rowof bushes in front of the house that never bloomed but seemed to stay green all year long. As a teen boy you didn’t care about flowers and bushes and ever since patching in, I’d stayed at the clubhouse, so I didn’t know much about yard stuff. But Dad was proud of his.

Before I made it off the bike, Dad had stepped outside onto the small, covered porch. “Everything okay, Eddie?” His brown hair was cropped short, and I had gotten most of my features from him–brown eyes, my height, wide shoulders, soft smile. He only had small traces of grey around his temples and didn’t look his forty-nine years at all.

“Hey, Dad,” I said as I walked toward the porch. “Just been a while. Thought I’d stop by and check in.”

He pulled me in for a hug but we kept it short. “I love you son, but fuck, it’s hot out here. Let’s go inside.”

I stepped into the small living room where I used to swipe his smokes from the side table after he’d gone to bed. The same basic old lamp with a white shade sat on that table next to his plush brown recliner. I took a seat on the buffalo plaid loveseat on the other wall and glanced over at the TV.

“Braves are looking good. You been following?” he asked as he plopped down in his chair.

I stretched my long legs out as I leaned in the corner of the loveseat. “Not much time for ball. If they make the playoffs we should get tickets.” Dad and I used to enjoy baseball together when he wasn’t working, though it was usually on TV. We’d gone to a few games in person, but he worked so much it was hard to make time. But he’d get home in time to watch a few innings. Over the years, the trips to see them had become fewer and farther between.

“So what’s on your mind, Eddie?” he asked, those rich browneyes peering into my soul.

Exhaling hard, I ran my hand through my hair then plopped it on the arm of the loveseat. “Simple answer: lady problems. But I have a plan.”

“Lady problems? Nothin’s ever simple about that, son. But I’m surprised. Never known you to care enough for there to be a problem with one. Well, except that one girl in middle school. What was her name? Stacy? Sally?”

Rolling my eyes I corrected him, “Sandy and it was high school. And there was no problem. We got along just fine.”

“Yeah ‘til you got caught with her friend.”

“It wasn’t her friend and we weren’t even together. She had no reason to be mad.”

Dad chuckled. “Semantics, son. Is that the kind of trouble you having now?”

Groaning at being asked for the second time that day, I answered, “No. After that ordeal, I made sure to always be crystal clear about any intentions and expectations. I was just a run of the mill asshole.”

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