Page 42 of Outlawed Treat
I’ll see ya soon!
I drop the paper quickly as if it burned me while gasping in a huge gulp of air.I’m trying so hard to force the panic attack away by using the techniques Caleb and I have worked on over the years.Right now, I’m counting various things around me.My focus is on that as the guys take turns reading the note left for me and I feel the tension at the table shoot higher and higher with each person reading the words.When it gets to Luca, I put my full attention on him.This is going to hurt him and I don’t want him to think of me in the ways the writer is trying to project.Darren is the only man I’ve ever been with.I will never be one of the Feral girls.Not because I see what they do as being wrong.It’s how they choose to live their lives.I just know it’s not for me.I’m not built for one night stands or having sex with someone I don’t care about.
Luca’s face pales with each word he reads.I watch as his pale skin turns a deep, dark shade of red from anger.A vein in his neck starts to pulse and stand out more than the others from the restraint he’s trying to maintain in the diner.He reminds me of Caleb when he learns of someone he loves being in danger.Luca is about to explode and I don’t believe anything in his path will survive.Honestly, I think anyone in his way will suffer and be destroyed.Tank and Playboy might need to take him to the ring and help him work out some of this aggression.
“Cali, we need to get you outta here,” Manic says in full Enforcer mode as I give him my attention.“You’re not safe and until further notice, I don’t think you should come into work.This person is deranged and makin’ wild assumptions about you and your life.There’s a blatant threat in the note, Cali.We can’t protect you if you’re here or anywhere other than on the compound.Reckless and Link will agree with this.”
“We’ll agree with what?”Caleb asks as my two best friends walk up to the table and they discover all the photos scattered around from all of us looking at them.
“Cali needs to remain on the compound until this situation is dealt with.Read this shit.It’s a clear threat to her and others.We can’t truly protect her when she’s here.Not because we’re not good enough to ensure she’s safe.There’s too many innocent lives at risk when she’s here workin’,” Manic states, his words washing over me as I let everyone know I need to get out of the booth and to Caleb.
Caleb, knowing what I need, lifts me over Chaos and Mad Dog.I’m in his arms and can already feel the panic attack going away.He murmurs words of reassurance in my ear no one else can hear as I cling to him like a monkey.Caleb’s arms are wrapped around me as a sense of home and safety cover us.The weight of the words I just read and seeing the pictures of my past and present fade to nothing as I simply feel the man who means the world to me under my body.Home.That’s where I am right now.Caleb is my person and I can’t do anything about it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Reckless
TODAY’S AN IMPORTANTday.Bryce’s school is having their Halloween party.He has a second costume for today my mom bought him.It’s scarier and none of us wanted Cali to see it with the way things have been going for her lately.The last thing I want to happen is for her to have another panic attack.They always take so much out of her and the effects last the rest of the day.Sometimes into the next day depending on when she had it.So, I’m taking Bryce to my house to get ready for school and then I’ll take him to school.When we pick him up, we’ll have different clothes for him to change into.Cali won’t see her son looking gruesome while I know my mom will take a ton of pictures for Kreed and me.We’ll keep them hidden from Cali so she won’t ever see them.
After picking Bryce up from Cali, we walk over to my house.It’s right next door to Kreed’s.It’s something we decided on when we were young.No matter where life took us, we would always live next door to one another.If we had joined the Phantom Bastards instead of starting the Feral Dragons, we wouldn’t have had houses on the compound because they’re all occupied.We found land just past the compound that’s large enough for us to build two houses on and still have plenty of room for anything we wanted to do.Since we moved to Glendale, we chose the first two lots to build our homes on in the compound.Everyone else surrounds us.There’s even a mini apartment building where our Prospects live.The Feral girls don’t get housing of their own.We have rooms for them in a separate hallway in the clubhouse.
“Unca Caleb, I’m so happy today.We’re watching movies all day in class,” Bryce informs me as we walk up my steps to find my dad and Tank waiting for us.
“That’s cool, Little Man.You’re having pizza for lunch, aren’t ya?”I ask him, knowing pizza is one of his favorite foods thanks to Kreed and me.
“Yeah.They’re ordering it in.I don’t like the school pizza,” he states, making my dad and Tank laugh.“Papa!Tank!”
Bryce loves all the guys in my family.He loves spending time with all of us and would spend hours in the garage working on bikes.My nephew will ask a million and one questions about what’s being done, what the part of the bike is, and everything else he can think of.By the time he’s a teenager, he’ll know as much about bikes as we do.This kid is a sponge and soaks up information no matter where it comes from.His grades in school are excellent and I have a feeling he’ll do whatever he wants when he gets older.College will be his playground if that’s the route he chooses to go.
“Let’s get you ready for school,” I tell him as we make our way inside to find my mom and Maddie sitting on my couch.“Hi Mom and Aunt Maddie.”
Bryce rushes over to my mom and aunt.He gives them both a hug and talks excitedly about his costume and what they’ll be doing in school.We all pay close attention to him because that’s what he deserves.All of us give him what Darren never could after less than a year of being a dad.I gather everything I’ll need to get him ready and sit down on the coffee table.Bryce heads to the bathroom to change into his costume while I get the make-up we’ll need ready.His entire face will be painted.I had to check with his teacher to make sure the costume would be school approved and it thankfully was.Bryce had his heart set on this horror character but didn’t pick it when we went shopping because of his mom.He’s learned over the years that Cali can’t stand anything scary.So, he makes his costume choices now with that in mind.This kid is definitely one of a kind and will always put others' thoughts and feelings first.He gets that from watching Kreed so closely over the years.I’m the same way, but I can be more selfish than them.
“How’s Cali doing today?”Maddie asks me, her voice low so Bryce doesn’t overhear her.
“She’s doin’ as good as she can.When the kids are awake, she puts on her fake smile and pretends as if everythin’ is okay.Bryce can see through her façade but acts like he doesn’t.Cali is stayin’ busy with the kids, cleanin’, and anythin’ else she can think of.The one thing she isn’t able to do right now is read.I watched her read the same page for an hour yesterday before puttin’ her book down.Kreed, Luca, and I are all tryin’ to be there for her, but she hasn’t opened up to us yet.This entire situation is really weighin’ on her and makin’ her go into her mind more than normal,” I answer her honestly because they’ll find out the truth sooner rather than later and there’s no point in downplaying the situation.
