Page 15 of Denial

Riding back to the clubhouse after grabbing a sub from one of the best sub shops in the city, I don’t hesitate to make my way inside the clubhouse. Sitting in the common room at a table is my dad, Devil, and Vault. They all look up at me when I enter so I make my way over to them and take the last seat before unwrapping my sub and digging in.

“Hungry, Son?” my dad asks me, laughter filling his voice as I take a few huge bites, barely chewing them before swallowing the food.

“I’m starvin’. Feels like I haven’t eaten in days,” I answer him with my own smile.

When Devil and I were growing up, we’d eat so much food and tell our mom and dad we were growing boys and hadn’t eaten in days despite our mom feeding us so much food it was enough to fill members of two different families. I blame working out, training, and playing football for the way we ate growing up. Now, I’m still a growing boy and need extra food in order to keep up with my growth spurts and ensure that I’m big and strong. Just like we told our parents when we were younger.

“Heard that fucker showed up at the parts store,” Vault says, watching as I swallow a huge bite of food and finally put my sub down on the paper it was wrapped in.

“I beat the fuck outta him and then Killer promised to gut him and kill him slowly filled with as much pain as possible. He was still layin’ in a puddle of his own blood when I left the shop. Hope was out to lunch with Gwen and Killer. Raptor assured me he’d get rid of him before she got back,” I answer Vault, wiping my hands on the napkin that came with the sub. “Need you to put me on her protection detail. I wanna be with her every fuckin’ day and no one else.”

“You sure that’s what you want?” Devil asks me, looking at Morgan across the common room as she enters and heads for the kitchen, still limping from the beating her ex gave her.

“I want that more than anything. If anyone is gonna protect Hope, it’s gonna be me,” I state, letting them know there’s no room for any of them to argue with me.

“What’s Morgan gonna say about that?” my dad questions me before Vault can say yes or no to my demand.

“It doesn’t matter what she says. We’re not together and never have been no matter what everyone in this clubhouse thinks. None of you saw her when Killer and I rescued her from the pile of rubble. You didn’t watch Doc stitch her back together after her ex beat the fuck outta her. She has no family, friends, or anyone she can turn to. I became that person for her and I’m not gonna apologize for it. She knows how I feel about Hope and told me that I need to explain everythin’ to her and make sure she knows that we’re not together. That’s why she’s been avoidin’ me and hasn’t been in the common room at all since Doc let her out of bed. She doesn’t want to get in the way of my happiness,” I inform the men sitting with me as Morgan walks back through the common room and heads for her room once more.

“Okay. You can watch over Hope. It will start tomorrow. I’ll pull her in the office with Killer when she gets back from work and tell her what’s gonna happen. We’ll make her see that this is in her best interest. I’m tellin’ you now that if you’re serious about her, it better remain that way,” Vault tells me, a smirk on his face as I start eating my sub once again.

As I continue to eat, Devil and Vault leave me alone with my dad. I know Devil will have his time to talk to him, but right now it appears to be my turn. I’m good with that. We both love spending time with our dad. He’s gonna grill me about Hope and Morgan, that’s about the only thing I know right now.

“You have that talk with Killer yet?” my dad questions me as I look up from the last few bites of my food.

“I did. The day that fucker attempted to drug her. Waited up all night and when she finally fell asleep he came down and we talked. Learned some interestin’ shit. Like how the two of you followed me one night when I went out and realized that my dates weren’t what they seemed to be,” I inform my dad as he starts smiling at the memory that’s playing out in his head.

“Yeah. We were worried you were gonna make us grandparents before you got outta high school. I wasn’t about to let that shit happen if it hadn’t already. Killer went with me because he needed to know what was goin’ on with the guy his daughter was fallin’ in love with,” my dad says, leaning back in his chair and looking at me as I finish the sub and crumple the wrapper up.

“Dad, no one but Killer, King, and Morgan know this. I’m still a virgin. I’m not ashamed of that shit or anythin’. I know there’s only one girl for me and she gets to have as many of my firsts as I can give her. Now, it’s a matter of gettin’ her to listen to me and realizin’ that she’s the one I want. Right now, she thinks she’s gonna be a homewrecker if I guard her from all the bullshit Becker is throwin’ her way. Right now, my only concern is her and I’m going to make sure that she realizes exactly what she means to me and how I’ve felt about her for as long as I can remember,” I state, leaning back and accepting the bottle of water Deegan hands me.

“I’m surprised you’ve talked to Killer if I’m bein’ honest. Didn’t think you’d ever get the balls to have that conversation with him,” my dad says, leaning forward and opening his beer.

“Yeah, I needed to have it out with him. He gave me his blessin’ to be with Hope. Now it’s just a matter of gettin’ her to talk to me and actually listen to what I have to say,” I tell him as my phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out to see Raptor’s name on the screen as Killer and Gwen enter the clubhouse.

“What’s up, Raptor? Did you get Becker the fuck outta there?” I ask him, a smile on my face with how forcefully he more than likely removed Becker from the parking lot.

“Jinx, not sure how to say this,” Raptor starts, his voice hesitant and filled with pain as I sit up straighter and wait for him to continue on with whatever he has to tell me. “Ambulance is here right now. Got back from lunch to find Hope on the floor behind the counter. She’s, um, she’s been shot, Jinx. I tried callin’ Killer and Gwen and neither one of them is answerin’ their phones.”

I can’t say anything in response. My phone drops from my hand and everything around me becomes faded and muffled. Killer and my dad are in my face and I can see their mouths moving, but I can’t understand what they’re trying to say to me. My dad picks up my phone and I watch as the color drains from his face and he looks from Killer to me and then over to Gwen. Before I can do anything, I’m dragged out of my seat and rushed from the clubhouse. Gwen and I are shoved into one of the SUVs with my dad and Killer in the front seat. Blindly, I reach out and hold Gwen’s hand as my dad races through town and heads for the hospital. What the fuck am I gonna do? Why wasn’t someone there with Hope knowing that Becker has been after her? The only thing I can think of is Hope and what we’re gonna hear when we get to the hospital.

Chapter Ten

Hope

AFTER GETTING BACK from lunch with my parents, the guys needed to go get their own lunch. Raptor assured me that he was just gonna go down the street and grab some takeout. Bronx and Court were gonna go get subs from their favorite sub shop across town. I assured them all that I’d be okay for the five or ten minutes it would take Raptor to head to grab his lunch before coming right back. No, I don’t want to be here alone after seeing Becker in the parking lot earlier. Knowing Jinx beat the fuck out of him today and that my dad promised to kill him if he came back is the only reason I put on a brave face and decided to remain here alone. I’m not even hiding out in my office the way I want to. If I let Becker keep me off the floor of the store, he wins. I’m not going to give him any more power over me than what I’ve already given him. He doesn’t deserve anything from me and I’m not going to cower like a bitch because that’s what he wants from me.

Watching the guys leave, I remain behind the counter with my eyes glued to the parking lot so I know if Becker shows up again. I’ll be the first one to see him pull in and stand against his car like he did this morning. My phone is in my hand in case I need it and the security alarm is set even if the door is still unlocked to allow customers to enter. I’ll get an alert on my phone and be able to shut the system off because the alarm will alert the cops if I don’t get to it in time. So, for now I’m trying to keep my head held high and my back straight in order to make everyone think that I’m okay being alone.

Inside I’m trembling and scared to death. My hands are shaking and they’re covered in sweat. I keep wiping them down on my jeans in an attempt to keep them dry. It’s not working. I’m hardly blinking as I keep my eyes locked on the parking lot. No cars are coming in and I’m kind of happy about that. The less people I have to take care of, the better I’ll be because it means I don’t have to keep on a brave face that’s fake as fuck. I hate doing that and try to always be genuine and as real as I can be. It’s how my dad raised me and I want to be that girl. Instead, I feel like a fucking idiot because there’s no way in hell that I’m as strong as he tried to make me when I was growing up. It seems as if the older I get, the weaker I become. My dad would be so disappointed to know who I’ve become.

My phone vibrates in my hand and I tilt it up to see what the notification says. It’s a message from King asking how I’m doing. I go to unlock my phone and reply when the door of the store opens. Startled, I look up and my heart stops beating in my chest as my stomach starts rolling.

A man wearing a ski mask enters the store and heads straight for me where I stand behind the counter. If I thought I was shaking and trembling before, it’s not compared to now. My head feels light and my knees feel as if they’re not going to hold my weight with every step the man takes closer to me. I try to unlock my phone without looking down, but it doesn’t give me the sign that it’s working. Putting in the password is doing absolutely nothing to help me. I can’t get my phone unlocked without taking my eyes off the man who is now in front of me. It takes seconds for him to pull a gun and point it directly at my head.

“Hope, they actually left you here alone. I didn’t think that was gonna happen,” the man states, his voice deep and gruff. “It’s really a pity that there aren’t more people here to take out. I do enjoy an afternoon of killing.”

I try to place the voice and have no clue who this person is. He obviously knows me based on him using my name. This guy is tall, standing over six feet tall. I can tell based on the way the mask lays that he’s got a beard. His eyes are a dull blue color lacking any kind of life. They’re dead and like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Instead of having any kind of muscle mass, this idiot is as skinny as a bean pole. He’s all legs and arms with nothing to keep him being blown away by a strong enough wind. Honestly, he kind of reminds me of Becker in a much sleezier way.

---