After spending close to three hours in the shop, I was tired, even though we had sat on and off. I knew Madisen had to be. I told them I wanted to eat lunch then we could head back. They protested but I told them I was feeling tired. They were quick to agree. Outside, I found Ajax waiting by his bike. He was scanning the parking lot. When he saw me, he hurried over.
“Jessica, are you done already?” I laughed.
“Already? I thought I’d find you guys in a coma out here. It’s been almost three hours. But yes, we’re done. Janice said she needs you and the guys to come in sometime in the next three weeks to get measured so she can order your clothes.”
“Am I going to be put in a monkey suit?”
“What if I said yes?”
“Then that’s what I would be wearing. I told you, Jess, I don’t care as long as you’re there.” I gave him a kiss.
“Well, you’re in luck. No monkey suits though they are suits. You’ll have to wait and see. Now, can we go get something to eat? I’m starved.” He chuckled as he led me to the SUV. Madisen was already inside. After they discussed something and got on their bikes, we took off. Ten minutes later, we pulled into what looked like a café of some kind.
Inside, we were seated in the back at their insistence. Our waitress seemed to be a little tongue tied when faced with all these men. The ones who were single took pleasure in teasing her. It was all in fun. They liked to see her blush.
When the food came, even though they joked and ate, I could tell they were still on alert. They were prepared for trouble. I knew each and every one of them carried a gun. They had permits for them. I’d just found out the ladies did too. I wanted to get mine. I had never handled a gun growing up, but I wanted to learn. You have to be able to take care of yourself. The closest thing I had to a weapon was a knife I carried in my purse. It was in the outside pocket and easy to reach in an emergency, though I knew it would do no good against a bullet.
The food turned out to be very good. We were stuffed and happy when we got done. We’d just paid the bill when Bull’s phone rang. He answered it. His body went rigid, and his face got tight. I knew something was wrong. I could see Jocelyn and Devyn looking scared. We all waited impatiently as he made one-word responses to whoever was on the phone. When he hung up, he faced all of us.
“We need to get back now. I don’t want any of you to freak out. Everyone is safe, but there was an incident at the compound. We need to go.” Jocelyn grabbed his arm.
“What kind of incident, Bull?” I could tell he didn’t want to say anything, but she held his stern gaze. He sighed.
“Someone threw an explosive over the fence. It didn’t hit the clubhouse or anything. Just shook the place and scared the hell out of them. I need to go see what the hell it was. Outlaw is going through the tapes now.” His words made an arrow of horror shoot through my body. I knew it had to be my pseudo family.
We hurried into the SUV and onto the bikes. Ajax kissed me and caressed my hair before he got on his bike. I couldn’t say anything. I was lost in my feelings of remorse. All the way back, all I could think of was how I’d brought danger to the Warriors. The thought of those babies being there made me sick. I choked down the vomit.
When we pulled into the compound, you could clearly see a big hole in the middle of the ground in front of the clubhouse. It was like a small crater. As soon as the vehicle stopped and Alex unlocked the doors, I was out and bent over. My lunch came spewing out. I hated to puke in front of people, but there was no way to make it to the bathroom. I’d barely held it in on the drive. Ajax crouched beside me. His hand was on the middle of my back. He tried to sooth me.
“Babe, I need you to calm down. Everything is okay. No one got hurt. You heard Bull. We’re going to figure out who did this.” I looked up at him.
“You know who did it. They did it. I can’t stay here, Ajax. I won’t be responsible for someone getting killed because of me. I need to go,” I rushed to tell him. I straightened and started toward the clubhouse. I could grab a few things and be out of here in ten minutes. I racked my brain to think of where I could go. I had barely taken five steps before I was swept up in his arms and he was striding off behind the clubhouse with me. When we were out of sight, he sat me down on a picnic table.
“You’re not going anywhere. Do you hear me? No way I’m letting you out of my sight. Yes, it was most likely them, but we don’t know for sure. We have enemies, Jessica. They aren’t an issue all the time, but we do get them. It could have been someone like that. But even if it wasn’t, you’re not setting foot outside of this place. If I have to tie you to the fucking bed, to keep you here, then I will,” he threatened. His threat made me smile.
“Fine. But I still say I should leave. You guys have to promise to be sure no one else gets hurt. This throwing explosives over the fence is bullshit.” He nodded.
“We will. Now, I figure we’re going to meet on this. I want you to go lie down and try to sleep. Even if you can’t, at least rest. And eat something. You just puked up your whole lunch.” I groaned.
“I need to go clean that up. Gross, I hate that everyone saw me do that.” He shook his head in amazement.
“I can’t believe you. It’s no big deal. We’ve all puked at one time or another in front of each other. And you won’t be cleaning anything up. That’s the prospects’ job.” He led me back to the front of the building. He was right, Alex was busy hosing off the parking area. He gave me a smile as I thanked him. We went inside to wait for the others. I knew they had gone to Bull’s house to wait for our return. It wasn’t long before they came with the babies. Jocelyn and Devyn ran to their kids. I couldn’t blame them.
Not long after we got inside, he had me eating a small snack and then in bed for a rest. The other ladies had gone to their houses with the kids after everyone found out what had happened. It was safer for them to be there since the houses sat back further on the property. No one could throw explosives that far. As I tried to sleep, I thought about what the guys must be saying right now. I wanted this to be over. Before I fell asleep, I slipped my knife out of my purse and into the pocket of my sweater. I don’t know why it made me feel safer, but it did. I drifted off with images of the crater out front in my head.