Page 29 of Fanatic

I carried Danny upstairs and bathed him before putting him to bed. The candidates had put up all Danny’s furniture that we’d broken down to bring with us. I’d put away Danny’s clothing and other items while they fitted up the beds and carried in the chests of drawers and other things they’d brought. The bedrooms were finished, with even the curtains hung up.

Strangely, it didn’t bother me to witness my bedroom furniture here. With the different wall colour, wood flooring and new bedding, it didn’t look the same. And I was grateful for that.

I’d been needlessly dreading seeing it. Maybe that meant something, but I don’t know what. Picking up the baby monitor, I headed downstairs after I grabbed my tablet and pulled a bookup. Engrossed, I was sitting reading when pipes growled, and a light swung up the drive. I waited as Fanatic let himself in and acknowledged me sheepishly.

“Don’t bother explaining. Fanatic, I already understand, and now Pyro does, too. Pizza’s on the kitchen worktop. Warm it up in the microwave or eat it cold. You’re lucky there’s some cheese garlic bread left. Jeez, I hid a box from Harlequin, or he’d have eaten it. And as you’re up, I’ll have two slices of that, please, with another can of pop,” I said, holding my empty up.

Fanatic’s eyebrows rose before he chuckled, spun on his heel, and headed for the kitchen. We were okay, that’s all that mattered.

Fanatic

Damn, that’s it? I’d expected shouting, blaming, tears maybe a tantrum. After all, I’d left Willow in a house she was unfamiliar with and men she didn’t know. Yeah, Pyro was there, but even so. Instead, Willow said she understood and had bought me pizza. Starving, I shoved half the slices on a plate and let it nuke while I carried in Willow’s pop and cheese garlic bread.

Willow loved eating it cold, so I added an extra slice. She smiled as I handed her the plate and headed to fetch my own. It was a mish max of pizzas, but it was all good, so I didn’t care. There were enough leftovers to make two full ones, so I could only imagine how much she’d bought. Crazy woman.

I sat on the armchair opposite as Willow put her tablet down and gazed at me.

“Feel better?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I had a chat with Jinx. You’ve got two bad apples in that group,” Willow said.

Club law. Club business is club business. Willow was aware of that.

“Yeah. I’m watching, but I don’t think they’re going to improve,” I replied. Heck, I didn’t have to ask who Willow meant. I knew. It felt natural to discuss this with her. Dad often spoke to Mum even though he maintained what happened in Rage stayed within the club.

“No. Might have to cut two loose. But you know that. Usually, half of the candidates don’t work out.”

“We’re going to give them a chance, but Runner and Clark both have shit attitudes. But that could be said for Pyro, Bear, Chatter, and several others. Slaughter growls more than he talks,” I pointed out.

“True. I guess you want to know if I mentioned anything to Pyro?” Willow asked.

“Don’t need to ask. You’re you. Of course you did. The question is, babe, can Pyro sit down, or is Bunny gonna come kick my ass?”

“Nah. It’s all good.”

I took a bite of pizza and chuckled. No doubt Willow had given Pyro something to consider. That’s my girl.

Willow

I was antsy as I packed up Danny’s stuff and carried it out to the car. It was four o’clock, and I was due at Hellfire. Fanatic had gone early, and while he’d offered to come back, I’d said I would meet him there. Now, I was having second thoughts. It was over a year since I’d been in any clubhouse, and I was starting to feel sick.

Hellfire wasn’t Rage, I kept reminding myself. The feeling was not helped by what was laid carefully on the back of anarmchair, my cut proclaiming me to be Grey’s old lady. Ellen had taken my cut and stitched Grey’s remembrance patch on it before I had left.

It was an oval-shaped patch with the words ‘Brother’s forever’ at the top with a cross and a man kneeling in front of it with a bike behind him. Underneath it said, ‘Fallen but not forgotten’, and under that was Grey’s name and year of death. 2023. Not a year I’d ever forget.

On the back of my cut, under ‘Willow, Grey’s old lady’, was a second patch. This held a set of praying hands with a rosary clasped between them, the words, ‘He rides free’. At the end was a cross imposed over a motorbike.

I reached out and grabbed it. This might hurt, but I wouldn’t dishonour Grey’s memory by avoiding it. Stealing myself, I picked up Danny’s car seat and walked out. I locked him in the car and placed my cut on the passenger side.

Most MCs didn’t allow members to wear a cut in their cars. They felt it was disrespectful. Rage and Hellfire were mixed about it. They believed not wearing the cut at all times showed a lack of respect. If they didn’t have their cut on, they had jackets, hoodies, and tees with their patch. No matter what the weather or what they were doing, the patch was visible on their body. Even tattooed on their right arm.

I arrived at the compound and saw the guy in the box. It wasn’t a candidate I recognised, so this had to be either Farm-boy or Dollar. He glanced up and strolled out. The sneer on his face warned me, and I hit record on my phone.

“What ya want?”

“Hey, I’m Willow. I’m here for the get together,” I answered.

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