Page 18 of The MC's Surprise
He nodded, his hands shoved into his pockets as he walked away without another word.
Vegas, oblivious to how odd the guy was acting, spun and made grabby hands, waiting for me to hand him my keys. I was tired, so I handed them over, smiling when he opened my door for me and helped me climb into the front seat.
Once he was behind the wheel, I had to ask, “Who was that?”
“Mojave,” he answered distractedly as he adjusted the mirrors. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re right. He’s a little weird. But he’s got good reason. The guy is prior military. He came home seriously messed up from a deployment and was medically discharged. He’s a little standoffish, but he’s a good person. Paranoid, but loyal to the core. He won’t hurt you. None of my crew ever would.”
When he finally looked over at me, I could see the sincerity in his eyes. I hadn’t ever felt threatened, but I appreciated his reassurance. “I believe you. Everyone I met tonight seemed nice and they all doted on the kids. Even tantrums were handled with care. How did the town get it so wrong with you guys?”
The face he made was pure irritation. “You’ve got me on that one, sweetheart. I’ve got no clue. It’s been like that since the club was founded. There are clubs out there that aren’t like us, outlaw clubs that deal in drugs and shit like that, but we get lumped in with them without cause. It’s been a major problem for us, especially recently.”
“Why’s that?”
He didn’t look happy to talk about it, but he explained about the lawsuit they had going on with the local police department, as well as a few former officers who were fired for misconduct against their crew. It all sounded awful, and my heart ached thinking about Skylar and her kids when they targeted Butch. I met him tonight. He was a sweetheart, doting on Skylar like she was a queen. Whenever the kids came to him, he stopped his conversation to give them his full attention and treated their concerns like they were important. He was a good person and it was wrong on so many levels that they tried to put him behind bars for something he didn’t do.
“That’s so wrong,” I growled, fists clenched in my lap. “What the hell is their problem?”
Vegas shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road. “It’s not just them. The whole town can’t stand us. I think the most legit complaint they have is that we can be loud if we go through the town on club runs, but otherwise we haven’t done anything to deserve their treatment of us. Nothing we’ve done so far has made much impact on changing their opinions, though.”
“What have you done?” The only things I’d heard about them were negative, so I felt like maybe the message wasn’t getting out there like it should.
“Charity, mostly. We make a lot of donations.”
I wrinkled my nose. While good in theory, it probably wouldn’t help in the long run. They needed to be proactive aboutchanging the public opinion so people could see the work they were doing, not just hear about it through the grape vine.
Vegas snorted. “Tell me how you really feel.”
My cheeks burned and I twisted my mouth to hide my smile. “Sorry. Charity is great. I’m sure those involved really appreciate it.”
“You don’t like it, though. Got any other ideas?”
Tipping my head from side to side, I pressed my lips together as I thought it through. “I mean, if it were me, I’d want to change public opinion. Donating to charity is all well and good, but it's not something you can really show to the community outright. You need to do stuff in person.”
“Like what?” He looked curious, and not at all like I was overstepping, so I kept going.
“Like… Toy drives, adoption events at the animal shelter, maybe volunteering somewhere public like with the firefighters or something? And do you guys have social media? This might be a small town, but people still rely on the web for information. If they look you guys up and see you’re a good group, it’s going to make them question your involvement when rumors don’t match up.”
Technically, this was something I did before my company fell apart. I was good at event planning. I didn’t get overwhelmed with all the little details, and I could direct my teams like a four star general. This could work for the crew, if it was done right. And Vegas seemed to agree with me. He nodded along to my ideas, his lips pressed together thoughtfully.
“Are you busy tomorrow?” he asked abruptly.
“Uh, no?” I frowned. “Why?”
“I want the crew to hear your ideas. You should come to the clubhouse and explain it to Prez and the rest. If we get the crew on board, this could make a big difference.”
“I’m pretty sure you can explain it yourself,” I countered, flopping back in my seat. I’d been gesturing with my hands as I threw out ideas, unable to really sit still when I was on a roll with something.
“Nuh-uh. Its your idea, not mine. I won’t sell it as well as you just did. It’s gotta come from you.”
A part of me was pleased that he liked my ideas enough to pass them onto the crew, but it also felt like I was making waves when I shouldn’t. I had to get along with these people, especially after the baby came. I didn’t want to piss them off by overstepping. I grimaced.
“Won’t they be mad that I butted in when it wasn’t my business?”
“It became your business when you got pregnant with my kid,” he argued. “You’re part of the crew, even if we aren’t a couple. Besides, you’re just making a suggestion, not demanding action. No ones gonna get bent outta shape about that. Come on, help us out, Sierra. I’m tired of my club being treated like trash just because of a stupid misconception.”
He sounded so pitiful, even if he wasn’t looking directly at me. I had a lot on my plate already, and I knew if I started talking about this, I wouldn’t be able to step back and let them handle it. I’d want in on directing it. But maybe it’d be a good thing. Something to distract me from the reality of my situation. I could admit I missed it. Event planning was the one thing I felt truly good at before it all fell apart. It was something I knew I could do.
“Alright, fine. I’ll pitch my idea. But you owe me.”
