Page 45 of Crow
It had been a week since Ray had led the Freeways in an attack against Crow and the rest of the Rebels. I had been staying in Crow’s house ever since, just like he promised I could. It was nice being here, with him. Domestic. But today, the house was filled with the other Rebels. With the Ironhead Tavern burned to ashes, Tank and Evelyn had been staying in the motel down the road, and Crow had volunteered his place for the club meeting. I had helped him clean up around the place the last couple days, trying to make a good impression on the rest of the Rebels. He had told me that Evelyn, Samantha, and Rose were going to be there too, if I wanted to come down and get to know the other women. When I bit my lip, hesitating, he smiled, kissed me on the forehead, and said that it was fine if I stayed in the bedroom instead.
I had been debating with myself about going down since everyone had arrived an hour ago. I knew, Iknewthat Crow wouldn’t let anyone hurt me, that they probably didn’t want to hurt me in the first place, but I was still afraid. I couldn’t help but feel like they saw me as an enemy, someone not to be trusted because I had been with the Freeways. It made me feel judged when I was around them, which made me nervous and afraid, and I hated that I was afraid. I lifted my chin, deciding to suck it up. I had never let fear rule me before, I wasn’t about to start now.
The Blazing Rebels were crowded into the sitting room and spilling into the kitchen, seeming larger than life in the small space, all dressed up in their leather cuts and club colors. They looked at ease despite the bruises and bandages they were all covered in, squabbling good-naturedly with drinks in hand. Archer was sitting in the ratty armchair, bandaged leg stretched out in front of him and one arm around Rose’s waist where she was perched on the chair’s arm. She was talking to Samantha, who sat on the floor at her feet with someone’s arm around her shoulders. I assumed this was Wrench, the boyfriend.
I wavered in the doorway, confidence leaking out of me in the face of so many bikers. I was about to turn around and head back up the stairs when Evelyn caught sight of me on her way out of the kitchen. Her face lit up with a smile, and she switched courses to come and pull me into a hug.
“Jade!” she said, beaming as she pulled away. She placed her hands on either side of my face, turning me this way and that. I sent Crow a wild look, but he just hid a grin by taking a swig of his beer. “You look much better, honey,” Evelyn was saying approvingly. “I’m glad to see Crow takes care of you better than he takes care of himself.”
“Evelyn!” Crow protested, and she waved her hand at him, hushing him without looking at him. He sank sulkily back into his seat on the couch, and Evelyn continued to look at me expectantly.
“Thank you, Evelyn,” I said finally, awkwardly rubbing at the back of my neck. The velvety soft buzz of short hair against my fingers still came as a bit of a shock. I worried I was being rude, but it seemed to be enough for Evelyn; she beamed at me, took me by the hand, and started towing me across the room to where the other girls were. Wrench looked up as we approached.
“Hey, Evelyn!” he called. “Get me a beer, while you’re up.”
“Get it yourself, you cheeky bastard,” she shot back, not breaking stride. Samantha perked up.
“Oh, one for me too please,” she said, pressing a kiss to Wrench’s cheek. His shoulders slumped in defeat as he heaved himself up from the floor. Archer tried to stand too and was halfway through saying Evelyn could take his seat when she pushed him in the chest. He fell back into the armchair with a huff.
“You will stay put,” she said firmly, patting the edge of the coffee table. “Come sit here, Jade, with the other girls.”
I sat down automatically, bewildered by the interaction. It was worlds apart from how the Freeways had been, and I was amazed at how equal everyone seemed to be here. Even Tank, the club’s president, seemed at ease with the others offering suggestions. Evelyn nodded, satisfied, and went back to settle against Tank’s side.
“Your hair is so cute,” Samantha said, bringing my attention away from the boys’ conversation and on to her. “I can’t believe how well it turned out. Have you tried many styles with it?”
“I love it, I still can’t thank you enough,” I told her. “To be honest though, I’ve kind of been letting it do its own thing. I’m not sure how to style short hair, and I’m still getting used to it. Sometimes when I’m not thinking I still try and tie it up!”
Samantha and Rose laughed.
“That’s how it always is when you go through a big change. Don’t worry, we can teach you how to style it,” Rose promised, leaning forward to place her hand on my knee.
“Oh, and help you buy cute hair accessories!” Samantha beamed. “Like a bandana in the Rebel’s colors!”
I was surprised at how easily I fell into conversation with them. As the boys talked around us, I listened as Samantha gushed over a bunny that she had treated at work the day before, and Rose shuddered over having to tell everyone they didn’t know when the wedding would be rescheduled for. They effortlessly included me, as though I had always been a part of their group, and it made me miss Jess so much my chest hurt. She hadn’t talked to me since the big fight, even going so far as to change her shifts at Tease so we no longer worked the same hours. Cameron said that apparently Breaker had been one of the casualties and that Jess blamed me. Some of the other strippers, the ones who were fucking Freeways or using them as their drug connection, were also pissed, but they didn’t bother me. I just wanted to somehow make it right with Jess.
“Aw, c’mon, it's not that bad!” Archer cried, pulling me out of the spiral I had fallen into. I startled, thinking he was talking to me and wondering if I had been speaking out loud without noticing, then realized he was still talking to the other Rebels. Wrench cuffed him around the head as he walked past to settle back on the floor next to Samantha. Archer scowled at him, then leaned into Rose’s side. “Rose thinks my ideas for the new Tavern are good, don’t you, baby?” he asked.
“No,” she said flatly, without looking at him. Around me, everyone burst into laughter as Archer dramatically pressed his hand over his heart.
“Rose, baby, how could you? That hurt more than the bullet did!”
“Oh, hush,” Rose dismissed, but she did reach out to gently run her fingers through his hair.
“Speaking of legs,” Samantha piped up. “How’s Ripper doing?”
The room sobered slightly. Rose leaned forward, looking intently at Tank, who was the last one to visit Ripper in hospital.
“Yeah,” she said. “I owe him a thank you, at the very least. Hell, he might even be entitled to our first-born child for what he did for me and Archer.”
“Now, hang on there,” Archer sputtered, but no one was listening. We were all staring at Tank, tension lying thick in the air. He rubbed at his jaw and sighed.
“He’s still sleeping,” he admitted. “But the docs say he’s gonna be fine. A few skin grafts, and a lot of PT, and we’ll never know his legs got fucked.”
Everyone was silent for a moment, and then Evelyn cleared her throat and turned to Crow.
“Where’s your common decency, boy?” she scolded him, while he just blinked at her in bewilderment. “You should be ashamed. Poor Jade’s been down here for a long while now, and you haven’t even said hello to her!”
“Oh, fuck off, woman,” he grumbled good-naturedly, a smile playing around his mouth. He looked at me and held out his hand in invitation. I shot an apologetic look at the girls but didn’t hesitate to leave them and allow Crow to pull me into his lap. The Rebels whooped like high schoolers at a party, and Crow flipped them off without looking. I wriggled in his lap so I could lean toward the coffee table, trying to get a better look at the plans scribbled on the scraps of paper strewn across its surface without anyone noticing my snooping.
