Page 56 of Diesel
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Diesel
The ride was long, but at least it gave me a chance to clear my head. I didn’t regret claiming Ellie. Not one damn bit. It warmed me inside to know that she was going to be there waiting for me to get back. It made me smile to have her to come home to.
I’d made the decision to tell her everything when I got back. I was going to tell her about my ugly past. I just hoped it wouldn’t push her away. I had an ache deep inside my chest at the thought of life without Ellie. Without them both. But in order to move forward, I knew I had to relive the past.
The eight of us rode through the afternoon and into the dark. Cal came on this run and took point. Axe behind him, followed by Loch. Seven and a prospect in the van next. Brand and me, with Crow bringing up the rear.
The closer we got to the city, the more anxious I felt. There was no telling how this meet was going to go. Savage was an evil son of a bitch, and shady as fuck. I had a feeling he wouldn’t attack outright. No, he would pull some shit like he did with Stone. Catch us alone or off guard.
Thinking of Stone sent doubts through my mind. It reminded me of Mel and the kids. She no longer had the love of her life by her side. The kids no longer had their father. The club was in the middle of some bad shit. There was no denying that all of this would end in a war. Sure, it hadn’t always been that way, and I hoped it wouldn’t always be that way. But the fact of the matter was that it was a very heavy and dangerous time for the club and anyone around it. What if something happened to me? Ellie would be left alone. My child would be left fatherless. That thought was like a slap to the face. I had never had to think of things like that before. True, I had never had someone I wanted to be by my side before. So, I never had to think of leaving anyone behind. There were my brothers, but somehow that was just different. In a way, we were all prepared deep down inside that at any moment one of us could be gone. That being said, it still didn’t hurt any less when it did happen.
The city sign came into view and I knew it wouldn’t be long before we were face-to-face with Savage. We pulled up to a small bar, deep in the sketchy part of town, that his club owned. He was waiting there for us already, beer in hand, sitting in a booth in the back. I took mental stock of everyone in the bar. Twelve others wearing the fucking Devil’s Kings cuts. There was a tall woman behind the bar who looked like she could easily pass for a club girl. As soon as she saw us, she headed for the back hallway. And that was it. The place was all ours. If something did go down, I wouldn’t have to worry about any innocents getting caught in the crossfire.
“Cal,” Savage said calmly. Too calmly.
Axe took his place by the door, his back to the wall so he could see everything. His arms folded across his chest, fingers tucked into the edge of his cut only inches from his side piece. Crow went to the bar, sitting comfortably, but I knew enough to see through his relaxed façade. Seven stood beside him.
Cal stalked over to the booth and took a seat across from Savage. Loch stood beside the booth, legs planted wide, arms hanging rigid at his sides. Brand and I took our places between the booth and the door. The prospect was on watch outside. The air was thick with tension. All of us coolly on edge, ready to draw at any second.
“I’d like you to meet my new Secretary, Vice,” Savage tilted his head to the side as a tan, built guy walked over.
He stopped and took his stance beside the booth. His brown eyes showed no emotion, and his posture was tight and straight. I wondered if he was ex-military. There was something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on and his expression gave nothing away.
“Seems my old one isn’t around to do his job anymore. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” Savage smirked.
Cal remained stoic as ever. None of us flinched or gave anything away. We’d played this game before, we were damn good at it.
“You got somethin’ to say, then fuckin’ say it. I ain’t got time to play this pussy game,” Cal barked, unamused.
Savage let out a laugh. Behind the relaxed manner of it was an evil, sadistic undertone. I wasn’t fooled for a damn second.
“It doesn’t matter. If he was stupid enough to let himself get caught then I don’t need him here,” Savage said leaning his arm on the table. “I got no room for weak men. I ought to thank whoever for taking him out. Did my dirty work for me.” This guy was fucking crazy.
“Why are we here?” Cal tried to steer the conversation in the right direction.
The meeting went on with me half-listening. I was too busy trying to figure out this new guy and making sure no one was making a move. It seemed that Savage had let the Switchblade thing go and moved on to business. For now, anyway. He wanted us to do two more runs in the next three weeks. We weren’t thrilled about it, but it was better not to tip the pot at this point. At least he didn’t mention anything further on the drugs.
Thirty minutes later we were headed to our motel. We would pick up the load in the morning and head out after that. I was counting down the seconds until I could see Ellie again.
The rest of the night was uneventful. We sent the prospect out to get food. Brand was rooming with me and we ate in silence, the crappy TV filling in the void. At some point, he got up and went to take a shower and I sent Ellie a good night text. I was still wound too tight to call her, but I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her. It was late and at the lack of response from her, I guessed she was asleep. I sat there way too long staring at my phone waiting.
“You good?” Brand asked as he came out of the bathroom.
I snapped my head up. Guessed I was lost deep in my head. I couldn’t believe I didn’t even hear him come out.
“Yeah,” I answered with a heavy breath. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get anything back from Ellie. Or maybe I was just going crazy. I was having all these feelings I wasn’t used to. I hadn’t had anything like this in a long time. And this time, I wished more than anything that they would stay.
“You serious about this Ellie thing?” He asked, flopping down on his bed.
I studied him for a beat. Ever since the Reagan thing, he wasn’t as happy-go-lucky as he used to be. Sure, he spent a lot of time trying to hide it, but I could see it was hard for him being back and being around Reagan and Loch.
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes as my head fell back against the headboard. “No doubt she’s my forever.”
“How—” he paused for a long moment. “How do you know she’s it? Is it because she’s having your baby? And how come it took you so long to claim her? You practically ignored her the whole time she’s been there. How do you know that she’s ‘the one’?”
“To be honest, brother,” I started. I wasn’t one for talking, let alone having a fucking heart-to-heart. But Brand was a good guy, and my brother, if I could somehow bestow some damn wisdom on him and help him out, then I was going to. It didn’t slip by me that I’d left Ellie watching a damn chick flick and now I was fucking living one. “I think I knew it the moment I saw her. In some ways, I don’t think our meeting was an accident. Call it fuckin’ fate or what-the-fuck-ever, but the second I looked into her green eyes, I was stunned. The world just fell away and nothing mattered but her. The baby, sure that’s what brought her back to me. But… I think it’s just the way it’s supposed to be. I think if she hadn’t gotten pregnant and her life went on as it was planned, I would have spent a lifetime chasing after a woman I couldn’t let go of.”
