Page 64 of Pooh

“No clue but it’s been quite a while now,” he replies.

“Pooh?”

I turn my head and see Bella standing a few feet away, looking nervous.

“What’s up, little doll?” I ask her.

“Are you mad at me?” she asks timidly. That, in itself, is out of character for her. She’s not timid anymore. She’s confident and happy and becoming a beautiful person inside and out.

“Come here, Bella.”

She walks to my side and I wrap my arm around her waist and hug her tight.

“Why would I ever be mad at you?” I ask confused as hell.

“Because of what happened with Craig. I shouldn’t have left him alone. It’s my fault.”

“Not your fault, honey. Little boys can get into all kinds of trouble even when you’re looking right at them. And Craig is a master at that kind of thing. I appreciate you spending so much time with him today. He needs to get away from New Horizons sometimes and get to play and be a kid and you gave him that. So, no, I’m not mad at you. Not sure I ever could be. But I do love the hell out of you.”

“Love you too, Pooh,” she replies with a grin.

“Care to explain why the little shithead kid is wearing one of my shirts?” Vex asks as he stops at our table.

“I’d rather not,” I grin up at him. He scowls. Bella giggles.

“Am I going to want to beat your ass?” Vex questions.

“Most likely, yes.”

Before Vex says another word, or punches me, Gunner shouts for everyone’s attention.

“Listen up. I just got a call from a detective at Denver P.D. As some of you know, Ava’s old neighbor Ralph, threw eggs at Ava’s SUV a couple of days ago when she stopped to visit her old female neighbor that lived next door to her. Ava and Ralph had words and Ava left. The detective called today because Ralph has made a complaint accusing the club of harassment. “

“He’s accusingusof harassinghim?” Reno asks.

“He’s the jackoff that threw eggs!” barks Petey.

“I know. The man’s a pain in the ass. But the cops have to follow up on the complaint and apparently Ralph did have a reason to complain this time.” Gunner stops talking, laughs for a moment, and then continues explaining.

“Ralph called the cops because when he woke up this morning, his windows and doors were all duct taped shut. Completely covered in duct tape. As in, a few dozen rolls of it. He couldn’t get out of any of the doors or windows.” Gunner resumes laughing and most of the club join in. “The moron called the fire department and the cops to get him out of his house.”

“He’s lucky that’s all that was done to him. He’s been asking for an ass beating for a long time,” states Axel.

“Yeah, he has!” adds Pigeon.

“I’m not asking if one of you did this. I don’t want to know. But the cops may contact some of you and I wanted to give you all a heads up. Personally, I like the idea of a beating for that man. But this shit is funny, too. I would’ve loved seeing the look on that nasty bastard’s face when he found out he was trapped like a rat,” Gunner says in between bouts of laughter.

I look to the side and see Ava laughing her ass off. Trudy and Bailey have joined in and I have to laugh myself at their enjoyment of Ralph’s predicament. It’s mild, his punishment, but it’s still comical. I look around the room and see a lot of smiles but no guilt. That’s not a surprise because not one damn one of us would feel guilty at fucking with Ralph.

“Ralph got caged! Muhhahhahhaa fucker!” shouts Mac.

That causes another round of laughter. I look around to find Craig and see him crashed, sound asleep, in Gee’s bed and cuddled with the pig. If only Pippa were here, this would be a perfect evening.

That thought no more than crosses my mind and Rex comes running into the room, eyes searching for someone. When they land on me, I know this is not going to be good. As I start to stand, Rex’s eyes swing to Trigger. Oh shit!

“There’s been a shooting at New Horizons. I just heard it on the scanner but no victim names were given. Just that a woman has been shot in the face. Several shots were fired and there are other injuries but I don’t know who or how bad. Cash was closest so I called him and he’s on his way there now.”

“At your back, brother,” Vex shouts as he, and several others, follow Trigger and me as we race outside to our bikes.

---