Page 114 of Patching Over

Without another word, he stomps out of the kitchen leaving me wishing I was anywhere but here.

“Hurry, Sleeper,” I whisper as I dry the pan I used to brown the meat, and put it away in the cupboard I found it in. “I can’t take much more.”

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Jingles

“Let me see if I can get Angel out here, Brother,” Brick says when I convey the condition that Moira is in. “Because we don’t know where these motherfuckers are, and the last thing any of us want is to have her in the hospital, and then have them find her because you know abuse this severe has to be reported to the authorities. The last thing we need is for them to be on our asses. It seems like something they’d do, y’know? Track them through the medical or legal system.”

“Yeah, Pres. We’re going to do what we can for all of the ones we found and recovered, we’re preparing to transport them to the clubhouse,” I reply.

While I talk to Brick, I watch how docile and attentive Kracken is with Moira. He’s keeping up a steady stream of chatter, too low for me to really hear him or make out his words, but despite that, she doesn’t utter a word. It’s as if the lights are on but nobody’s home. I hiss in a breath of sympathy when I watch him gently cleaning what appears to be a deep wound, that’s likely infected judging from the pus that’s steadily oozingfrom it, but she doesn’t even flinch or acknowledge anything he’s doing. I briefly wonder if my brother is interested in the brunette, then worry that if he is, he might be setting himself up for a world of hurt since it’s obvious she’s been horrifically used and abused by these bastards. If she’s experienced what I think she has, she’ll be a tough nut to crack.

We may be labeled as Royal Bastards, but we have standards and morals and wouldnevertreat a woman as terribly as Moira was, nor would we expect a woman we got involved with to be pure as the driven snow. So, if my brother decides that Moira is the one for him, I’ll do whatever I can to help him help her heal. It’s what family does for one another.

Stepping away, I say, “We may want to see if the guy from Cedar Creek, the one who can dream walk, can come too, Pres.”

“Why?” he asks.

“Because I just watched Kracken clean up a nasty, obviously infected, gash on Moira’s arm and she didn’t so much as physically flinch or verbally respond. She’s so far gone in her head, it’s going to take somethingextrato bring her back, Pres.”

“Gotcha. I’ll reach out to Dragon. I think what Wrecker does doesn’t require him to be physically here, but I’m not totally sure. However, from the little Dragon’s shared about himself, if Wrecker can’t get himself here, Dragon can. All he’s gotta do is see them to know their aura waves or some shit, maybe we can teleconference his ass. I’ve got Banshee, Hawg, Scythe, and Phantom on the way to y’all with several vehicles in tow. Hawg’s going to look around, see if there’s anything there he can grab like laptops or hard drives on desktops, while everyone else will help get the victims taken care of and ready to bring back here. Then Phantom will do his thing so it’s one less place for them to circle back to,” Brick advises.

“Appreciate it, Pres.”

“These fuckers are definitely heading for a reckoning. Maybe I need to reach out to Grim, see if any of his guys want in on this once we find these fuckers.” If anyone deserves to be reaped, it’s these asinine fuckers.

I chuckle as I think of how Grim’s Reapers are whenever they get the chance to ‘work’. “Thinking Rael will have no problem coming and playing with some souls, Pres.”

Brick’s sigh is long-suffering, and it makes me laugh harder. “I get why he and his ol’ lady feel so attached to Ryleigh, I really do, but his penchant for popping in whenever is a bit startling at times.”

“It’s because he loves shocking everyone with the makeup he wears that emphasizes the fact he’s different,” I reply, chuckling.

Having seen the Reapers when their other side shows up, I can honestly say their visages are the stuff nightmares are made of, but that being said, the people they’re there to deal with are the lowest of the low, and deserve to have the shit or life scared out of them. Rael chooses to be a bit more ‘in your face’ than some of the other brothers, but he and his wife love Ryleigh, so Brick puts up with his shenanigans whenever they get to Roanoke. Plus, they’ve stepped up several times and helped our chapter without question.

“This is true. Fine, I’ll give them a call as well,” Brick says, sighing. “Although, knowing him and his penchant to just ‘know’ when he’s needed, he’s probably already on his way. Just once, I’d like to head into the holiday season without shit hanging over our head, y’know?”

I roll my eyes thinking that’s something we can tackle another day, I remind him, “Well, it’s barely September, Pres, so I think we’ve got a few more months before it’s that time of year.”

“Ryleigh’s already planning out how she and Rory can decorate the clubhouse, Brother,” he says, chuckling. “She’spulled my dad into it this year as well, so I’m sure from Halloween until New Year’s, it’s going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, I can’t help but burst into laughter because I can already see how things are going to go down, especially with RiffRaff getting involved in the schematics and the women’s malarky. When he was president, he was hard as nails but fair, then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and stepped back, handing the gavel over to Brick. For years, he was around, then he had to go into an assisted living facility because he started wandering off. But when Brick realized he was failing, he brought him back ‘home’ to the clubhouse, where at least he was in a familiar space and was comfortable. When we had the incident at the clubhouse, and RiffRaff got hit, Angel, one of our brothers from Ankeny, healed him and managed to mend his mind as well. It was miraculous, and a few of us men might have had some dust in our eyes, but he’s cured, and seeing as RiffRaff was a father figure to a bunch of us guys, our family feels like it’s recouping from his once anticipated loss.

Now, he’s like he was when he was younger, only when Brick asked if he wanted the gavel back, he declined, saying he wanted to be a ‘regular ol’ member’ so that’s what he is, although he does help a lot with our two new prospects.

“Kind of can’t wait to see what they come up with, Pres,” I admit. “I know we’re a motorcycle club, but with you and Banshee now having ol’ ladies, plus Aubree, things are changing for our blended family, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.” I’m sure more ol’ ladies will be joining our ranks soon, expanding and enlightening our lives.

“She wants to make sure the baby has all the memories possible, even though I’ve tried to tell her that Aubree isn’t going to remember shit at her age,” he says, chuckling. “I’msure it wasn’t hard to get my father onboard, he dotes on his granddaughter.”

“Yeah, he does. I mean, I felt bad for Jadyn and Hadyn when he had them putting that huge ass swing set thing together. She’s not going to be using that for at least another year or so, at least.”

“He did buy the special baby swing,” Brick retorts. “And he ‘helps’ her down the slide whenever he takes her out there.”

I shrug even though he can’t see me. My childhood memories aren’t all that great, so I have nothing to compare it to, but if my president and his ol’ lady want to go overboard for their little girl, I’ll gladly help them accomplish it. “I’m glad she’s got a grandpa like your dad, Pres,” I quietly say.

“Plus, a clubhouse full of uncles to help spoil her,” he reminds me. “Listen, I know you’ve got shit to do there. Let me get these calls made, look for the brothers to be there soon.”

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