Page 62 of Gunner
Dinner was spent in front of the TV watching the newest superhero movie Jacob had wanted to see. His little eyes lit with excitement as he watched them destroy cities but save the world, and I never wanted the little boy to lose his zest for life. I wanted to keep the ugliness of the world as far away from him as possible but knew that wasn’t realistic. Agony and pain are a part of life that we all must experience at one point or another.
When the movie was over, we all helped clean the kitchen, and as I looked around at the little family we had created, I thanked whatever forces were in the universe that we had each other. I just prayed that what Skid and I were going to do next wouldn’t jeopardize my family.
I spent the rest of the week working on the construction of a new house, and with each swing of the hammer, I imagined I was driving it into Skeeter’s forehead. It didn’t matter what his role in her attack was, he was still alive when Smokey promised he was dead. Claw noticed my overt anger but never questioned me. Most of the guys in the club have anger issues, and we all realized it was best not to poke a sleeping bear.
Thursday afternoon, I took Claw to the side after everyone had taken off for the day. “I’m not going to be in until Monday. I wanted to give you a heads up.”
“What’s going on, Gunner? You’ve been in a mood all week, and I’m worried about you.”
I pulled my hand through my growing beard and exhaled deeply. “I’m fine, just dealing with some personal stuff.”
“Is everything okay with Sadie and Jacob? How are they dealing after losing Scribe?”
I shrugged. “They’re surviving and adapting to their new normal.”
He clapped me on the back as we walked to our bikes parked out front of the luxury home. “If there’s anything I can do, let me know. Scribe was one of the good ones. Losing him was tough on everyone.”
His gaze met mine, and I could see cold fire burning in his ice-blue eyes. There was something he wanted to say but refrained, and I was curious about what he was privy to. Claw was the club’s enforcer and was serious about protection for the club, and by extension, our families. He patched in a year before the former President, Torch, took his last ride and became an enforcer around the time I started prospecting.
We all had secrets, but judging from the scars littering his body, his might be harder to hear than others. He never hid his healed wounds, but he never spoke about how he got them. Some of them were covered with ink, though they were still somewhat visible in the sunlight. His life prior to the MC was shrouded in secrets, and I wondered if we would ever know them all. Not that any one of us would push him to talk.
“Did you spend a lot of time with him?” I casually asked.
“He was my sponsor while I prospected.” With those words, he nodded his chin to me, and I returned the greeting before he climbed on his bike and drove away, leaving me alone in the unfinished driveway of the house.
I climbed onto my bike and slipped my helmet on before pulling out of the yard. Passing the bakery, I saw Sadie through the window and pulled my bike up to the curb. She lifted her gaze through the window to me and walked outside with a muffin in one hand and a smile on her face.
She leaned over and kissed me before handing me the muffin, and as I look a bite, she asked, “Did you have a good day?”
I nodded, inhaling the rest of the muffin before I answered, “We’re a few days away from turning the job over to the sheetrockers.”
“Are you headed home or to the clubhouse?”
“I’m going to stop by the cabin before going home.”
She nodded and smiled. “I’ll be finished before six. Dalton said he would get Jacob from school. Can you make sure he finishes his homework before I get home?”
“Take your time. I’ll have dinner waiting when you get there.”
She brought her hand to my cheek and caressed against my beard before she spoke. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Luck has nothing to do with it, darlin’. It’s pure animal magnetism,” I replied and winked at her before pulling her to me and slamming my lips to hers.
A horn sounded, breaking the kiss, and I whispered, “Hurry home, baby.”
She bit her lip and stepped back from the curb as I cranked my bike. As I pulled away from the bakery, I watched in the mirror to make sure she was inside before I turned the corner and headed to the clubhouse.
It had been a few weeks since I spent any real time there, and it was past time to make an appearance. If Smokey called a meeting, I showed up. If there was a cookout, I decided at that moment if we would go and didn’t make promises to the club. My decision to stay with this chapter, or any chapter, wavered from day to day and I needed some perspective before making a final decision.
As I pulled to the gate, I noticed they had changed out the rolling chain link fence with a privacy fence that covered the entrance. A prospect, whose name I didn’t know, opened the gate with a push of a button from the small building at the entrance. I pulled in, parked my bike near the front of the clubhouse, and set my kickstand. A few of the brothers raised their hand or lifted their chin as I walked into the brick warehouse-turned-clubhouse.
There were a few old ladies playing pool on the far side of the room, and I saw Piper enter the kitchen. Not wanting to get into a conversation with anyone, I ordered a Coke from the prospect manning the bar and found a seat near the corner. For an hour, I watched who came and went while I formulated a plan.
Doing recon on my own club made me sick to my stomach, but I would burn this chapter to the ground if it meant protecting Sadie.
