Page 13 of Patching Over

The club was never suspected of the double murder that rocked our community despite the fact Bonzai was well-known as a club member, and the brothers before me weren’t exactly quiet with the need for vengeance once the party or parties who caused the fatal accident were identified. Yeah, the cops came out to the clubhouse, but it was to let us know that apparently, the individuals who had been found to be responsible for running Bonzai off the road, killing him and his ol’ lady, had been killed in an apparent murder-suicide. Their other known associates, who were complicit as soon as they found out what the bastards did and didn’t turn them over to the club, also met with mysterious, fatal endings. Those are some bodies that’ll never be found, that’s for sure.

That’s another reason for me not to have an ol’ lady as innocent as Rayleigh appears to be. I’ve got blood staining my hands. Maybe not from that particular event in the club’s history, but I’ve done what I needed to in order to protect my brothers, my club, and my family. I’d do it again, too, and likely will. I just don’t know whether she can handle this lifestyle. It’s not for the faint of heart.

I glance over at Ban as I often do during Church to see if he has anything he wants to add. When he nods, I give him a chin lift to let him know he’s on deck.

“Brothers, you know the Ankeny chapter is splitting up with some of their brothers going to Dallas to set up another chapter there in the next few months. Since Rooster has a few things to finalize from his last trip to Dallas, I’m riding with him, and we’ll be staying with the brothers out there. No idea how long it’s going to take, but since they’re some of the brothers who wanted in on helping our Pres’s ol’ lady, we won’t leave until at least one of the situations is resolved here at home.”

“Hey, Pres, does our mystery lady have a name?” Brew asks.

Well, hell, I guess I never shared that with them. “Rayleigh Matthews,” I reply. I watch as he jots something on his tablet he uses for meeting notes, nodding to himself as if he’s finished putting a missing piece of the puzzle together.

“Okay, I need to reach out to the Ankeny and Tonopah Valley brothers since several specifically asked to help put the fuckers to ground when we found out who they were. Brothers, get that intel tonight if at all possible so I can make those calls tomorrow. Brew, when Ban heads out, you’re on deck as my second,” I advise. “Anything else?”

When I see nothing but shaking heads, I slam the gavel down again, yelling, “Church dismissed! Go get what you’ve gotta do done and be back in the morning bright and early.”

“What’s bright and early?” Arrow inquires. He’s our Road Captain and a damn good one at that, even though he’s getting up there in age. I think he’s currently our oldest active member.

I decide to take pity on them, even though I want to barge through the doors, get into Jet then hunt Enoch down right now, and say, “Let’s make it nine, y’all. Don’t be late or you’ll be on shitter duty for the next month.”

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Rayleigh

After Brick leaves, I curl into his pillow and let the tears I was holding flow while I quietly sob so no one hears me. Sharing most of what I’ve endured wasn’t easy; it brought a lot of emotions and dragged a lot of memories up that I’ve tried so hard to forget. Now, they’re on the tip of my mind and all of my inner demons are surfing the waves rolling inside of me. The fact of it all is my parents obviously hated me, otherwise why would they treat me so poorly?

Sometimes, I think it would’ve been better if they had just given me up for adoption when they had me. At least then, I would’ve maybe had a chance at a decent life. The promise Brick has made of helping me pick up the pieces and start one anew has me crying harder, only this time, they’re happy tears.

I may not know my exact birthday, and I’ve never celebrated any holiday, including Christmas, but I already know some of the things I’m going to do when I start working for the club. I’m going to decorate my personal living space according to the season, even if all I can afford are things from the dollar store.If they have one in town, that is. I don’t know anything about the area, but it wouldn’t matter if I did because I wasn’t allowed out and about unless it was to go to school. Even then, that only lasted for a few years until they took me out of school, because once that happened, I was confined to the house.

“You’re to be seen and not heard, Rayleigh, how many times have I told you this?”My mother’s voice screams inside my head as I wince over the remembered beating from daring to ask if I could have some butter for my bread.

“That was then, and this is now,” I remind myself. I have so much to learn about everything which has me feeling overwhelmed. I know how to keep wherever I live clean thanks to being responsible for that particular chore at home. Cooking is also something I can do, but I want to try new recipes and see what I prefer to eat. But handling money, being around others, furthering my education; those are some of the things I’m clueless about which soon has me crying even harder.

Finally, worn out from crying, I get up from the bed then head into the bathroom to try and get rid of the evidence left behind on my tear-stained cheeks and reddened eyes. Scouring through his cabinets, I find eye drops that I use to lessen the redness and then I scrub my face with soap and water. Once I’m satisfied I’ve done the best I can, I head back to his bed then slide between the sheet and comforter. My full belly, plus the long overdue crying session, has my eyes sliding shut as one last thing floats through my head.

I’m safe.

Low voices laughing wakes me from my sleep. Turning my head, I see the television is on and Brick is sprawled out on hiscouch. “You’re awake,” he says, his eyes roaming over me. “You definitely look more rested than you did earlier.”

“I feel better but think it has more to do with the fact I ate than my nap,” I reply.

His grin has my stomach doing that fluttery thing again. “Do you like pizza?” he asks.

“I’ve only ever had what they served at school during lunch, but I liked it.” I might have only been in school a few short years, but free lunches allowed me to get pizza every Friday. It was one of the highlights of my brief years in school, to be honest. Outside of that, I never left the house.

“Honey, that’s more like cardboard with tomato sauce on it, not pizza. I’ll get some ordered. I know you should probably still eat kind of light, but you tolerated the soup and bread just fine.”

“I think whatever your brother did helped,” I admit.

“You’ll have some clothes coming tomorrow as well. I ordered some things online. Whatever doesn’t fit or work, we’ll send back or donate, okay?”

“You didn’t need to go through all that trouble, Brick.”

“No trouble, Sprite.” I hear a noise then see him look at his phone. “If I show you a picture, would you be able to tell me if it’s Enoch?” he inquires.

Despite the fact I start shaking from the mere mention ofhisname, I nod in the affirmative. “Absolutely.”

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