Page 17 of Maximus

“Why so covert?”

“First, King would kill us both if he suspected we were alone together, even if we were just talking. Second, I don’t think you want the entire club all up in your business. That can be our secret way of communicating.”

“Alright, Sunflower. I can do that.”

“Sunflower?”

“Yep, because you bring the sunlight to my dark soul. Have you ever seen a sunflower in a field? They are strong and tall and seek the sun no matter what. Every time I see you, you are always cheery. Even when you don’t want to be. It’s admirable after everything you’ve been through.”

Eleven

Maximus

That damn woman was amazing. There I was, about to eat a bullet, when she came in and saved me. Me, the strong and powerful Marine. She actually rescued my sorry ass. If she was afraid, I couldn’t tell. I already liked her a lot. I knew I wanted to fuck her, but after today, I wanted to claim her as my own. Dare I say the word, love?

Hell, yeah, I loved her. And the way she admitted that she cared about me too, sealed the deal. If I had it my way, she would be wearing ‘Property of Maximus’ on her back. First, I had to become a full fledge member of the Sinners. That would never happen if King found out I had feelings for Gia, my Sunflower.

I had given her my weapon to keep safe for me. It was really for her peace of mind. I had access to as many weapons as I needed. There certainly wasn’t a shortage around the clubhouse. After returning to my room and taking a much-needed shower, I put on new clothes and went back to work. All I could think about was the suggestion Sunflower made about me taking up baking to relieve stress.

Suddenly, I was on a mission. I spent all the down time I had researching recipes. I watched countless videos about baking and how to make my creations look appetizing. They say it’s all about presentation. That wasn’t my forte. I knew I could make it taste amazing, but look pretty? Nah, I had work to do.

I decided to start with something simple like chocolate dipped pretzels. To work on my skills, I decided I would make them with mini sunflowers on them. I chose that recipe because the instructions labeled it as easy to make. After reading through the steps, it seemed like something I could handle, so I saved the page in my favorites and started making a plan. The next time I had one of my episodes, I would make the treat for my girl. I was actually a little excited about the whole thing.Weird.

“Man, what are you looking at on your phone? You got some hottie sending you nudes?”

“Nudes? Nah, man, nothing like that.”

“Somehow, I don’t believe you. You’ve been over there smiling at your phone for about thirty minutes. Ain’t nothing that interesting unless it’s nudes. Let me see.”

Before I could stop him, Yardbird had snatched my phone from my hand and started swiping the screen. A look of confusion marred his face when he realized I had been telling the truth. There were no naked women on my phone. Just photos of food. Baked goods to be exact.

“What the fuck, man? You mean to tell me you’re grinning like that over some fancy ass pretzels with little flowers on them? Are you that hungry? I think I got some chips around here if you want them.”

His strong southern accent was prominent as he spoke to me. Shaking my head and chuckling, I snagged my phone from his hand and placed it in my pocket.

“No thanks. I’m not hungry.”

That confused him even more. He stared at me like I had lost my mind. I started laughing. I couldn’t help it. The face he was making was so stupid that I couldn’t control myself.

“That’s not normal. Why are you laughing? Usually, you have a scowl on your face. I mean, the last I saw of you, you looked like your best friend had died. Now you’re grinning and laughing like a damn fool. Are you on the meth? Shit’s just not adding up.”

“Fuck no! I don’t put that shit in my body. Don’t worry about it, man. I can’t explain it to you, so just leave it alone. Okay?”

“Un huh. I’ll let it go for now. But if you start dancing, I’m calling for backup.”

I laughed even harder as I cut a two-step just to fuck with him. Yardbird shook his head at me and continued to monitor the camera feed. It felt good to laugh again. After the trying day I had, it was needed. We spent the rest of our shift in silence. There was no tension, but I think Yardbird sensed I needed some time to think. That was the thing about him, he was good at tuning into other people’s emotional states.

The end of my shift came fast, and I was exhausted. It had been a couple of days since the sandman had visited me. After showering, I toweled off and fell into bed. Before I knew it, I was back in Kandahar fighting an enemy who was killing off my brothers one by one.

The sound of the IED soaring through the air heading directly at our vehicle jolted me awake. At least I didn’t have to relive the horrible aftermath, this time. Thank goodness for small favors. Snagging my phone from the bedside table, the screen said 3:44 AM. What the fuck? Was I ever going to get any sleep? Fuck it. I decided now would be a great time to practice my baking.

After throwing on some jeans and a white tee, I made my way down to the kitchen to see what ingredients they had for the recipe I was looking at earlier. I searched the web for a twenty-four-hour store close to the clubhouse and found one within walking distance.

The store was eerily quiet, even for this time of night. Alarmed, I was sure to keep my wits about me. Unable to find all the necessary ingredients I needed to make my Sunflower pretzels, I decided to make cookies instead. I gathered what I needed and quickly paid for them. I was spooked and wasn’t sure if it was residual trauma from my dream or if there was a real threat. Either way, I needed to high tail my ass back to the compound.

As soon as I stepped out onto the street, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I was about to fuck somebody up. I reached at my waist for my weapon, only to realize it was not there. Shit, I had given it to Sunflower for safe keeping. No matter, I still had my mini swords. I preferred them over a gun anytime.

I slung the backpack that I used to haul my groceries over my shoulders, leaving my hands free to fight. As soon as the man revealed himself, I was on him. It was the fucker from the department store that had been following Gia.

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