Stryker’s Fight by Erin Osborne
Chapter Fifteen
Sally
THE LAST TWO days have been busier than normal. I’ve been working longer at the bakery to help Amelia more. She has been tired as hell, and I want to make sure she’s not overdoing things. Something is going on with my friend, but she won’t talk to me about it. So, I’ve done the next best thing and I will be providing as much support as I possibly can through other means. This includes taking on more duties at the bakery to help lighten her load and help her do some of the paperwork. Amelia has been showing me how to use the programs she has installed so I can do certain things.
Today, walking in the bakery after Gwen showed up at the apartment to get Natalia, Amelia stops me before I can get started doing anything. She looks at me mixed emotions in her eyes and I begin to worry about what she’s going to tell me.
“Hon, I’ve been thinking about some things. My son needs me at home more than I need to be here. I was thinking about some things. If you want, I’d like to make you manager. You’d get a raise, be able to hire staff, and you’d be in charge of the paperwork and ordering for the bakery. You can work around your schedule with doctor’s appointments and things. I’ll come back full time when you’re on maternity leave too,” Amelia offers me as she leans against the counter.
“Are you serious?”
“I’m more than serious. I want to step back and be there for my son. You’ve been picking up slack here the last few days and I know you’ll thrive in a management role. I’ll make sure you have the training you need on paperwork and ordering. I’m not just going to leave you to fend for yourself. I’ll still take care of the baking and making sure everything is stocked for the entire day. Plus, you know your way around the kitchen and can bake anything that needs to be done.”
“I’d love to. Thank you so much, Amelia.”
“You’re welcome. I wouldn’t offer this to anyone else.”
To start our day, we begin filling the display cases as the coffee brews for our morning rush. A lot of customers come in the shop to get their caffeine fix because ours is brewed fresh and not left to sit for hours on end like the gas stations in the area. With the way people buy cups of coffee with their pastries and other sweet treats, we don’t have time for coffee pots to sit for hours on end.
After all of the cases are filled, I count the register to make sure it’s right before we change the closed sign to open. On my way to unlock the door and change the sign, I grab the table cleaner and cloth so I can make sure the tables are cleaned even though we clean them every day when we close. That’s the thing about Amelia’s bakery; she doesn’t need to stay open for long hours because she sells out of everything just after the morning rush. That might be something I might want to change depending on how many people I hire.
“Amelia, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah.”
“With you stepping back and allowing me to hire more people, can we stay open longer on certain days of the week?”
“Of course you can. I’m leaving all of that up to you,” she answers with a smile on her face.
We work together through the morning rush filled with men on their way to various jobs through town, women looking to get out of the house after sending their kids to school, and other townspeople. Toward the end of the rush, the bell above the door rings causing me to look up from behind the register where I’m currently ringing out a customer. My eyes widen in excitement when I notice Shadow standing there looking around the interior.
“Shadow!” I call out, my voice high and bright.
“Sally bell,” he calls me the name a few of the guys back in Dander Falls do.
“Go see your friend. I can finish up here,” Amelia tells me, ushering me from behind the counter.
Rushing to Shadow’s side, I give him a hug. With his strong arms wrapped around me, I let his warmth and strength seep into my body. It’s not the same as Stryker’s hugs, but it will do on a day when I’ve had such good news mixed in with my confusion.
“Sit down,” I tell him, ushering him to a table for two off to the side.
Together we sit down at the table as Amelia walks over with a plate of pastries and cup of coffee for Shadow. She hands me a bottle of water as he looks on with confusion in his eyes. I love my coffee and will never turn down a cup. Right now, it’s the last thing I need to drink with the pregnancy. He doesn’t know about the baby though so he doesn’t understand why I’m not drinking coffee today.
“I’m pregnant,” I tell him after Amelia walks away.
“Does Stryker know?”
“Yeah. He went to my last appointment which was an ultrasound. We’re having a son. He wants Natalia and I to move back in his house and shit,” I tell Shadow as he looks over at me.
“What did you tell him?”
“The truth. I finally told him I let go of Killian, but I still can’t be with him. Not until I’m sure about being able to handle his position in the club. He explained a few things to me too. There’s a reason he hasn’t let anyone in until me and I know it’s time for me to make amends and realize Stryker’s been in his position for a long time now. He has done a good job to protect himself and the club. There’s always that chance though.”
“Yeah, there is. Is bein’ with Stryker and openin’ up to him worth that risk though? Can you see yourself with him long-term, buildin’ a family, and havin’ him help raise your son together? This time, you don’t have to raise a kid alone, you have a chance for Stryker to be by your side through every bad day and good day. The four of you can build a lifetime of memories together. Why do it alone Sally bell?”
“I don’t want to do it alone. I’m just not sure if I have what it takes to remain by his side when the tough shit goes down. There is always going to be tough things going on and days where he needs me to be stronger than I really am.”
“You’re right, there are always goin’ to be tough days. What you need to understand is it’s not just because of his role within the club. Every relationship has tough days and problems the couple needs to overcome. You might have let go of Killian, but you didn’t let go of his death. He died protectin’ the people he cared about. It would have happened regardless of the club. That’s who Killian was much like it is who Stryker is. And what do you mean you moved out of his house?”
“We got the apartment up above here. It’s nice. Do you want to see it?” I ask him as Amelia nods her head while walking by.
She’s going to let me show Shadow my apartment even though we’re still open. The customers are all taken care of at this point as I look around the bakery. Loaded up on coffee and sweets, everyone is sitting in their own world as they play on their phones, read, or simply watch the world go by through the windows. Shadow stands up and carries the plate and his cup to the counter for Amelia to bring them back to the kitchen. I place my arm through his as we go out the back of the bakery and I lead him up the stairs. Opening the door, I let him go inside first.
I show him around the place. He loves Natty’s new bedding. After looking around the apartment, he makes a comment about the security of the place. Or rather it’s lack of security. I know it’s not the best compared to the club and how they wire their homes and places of business up. It’s better than I’ve ever had though and with Rich here, I don’t need anything else.
“Where is Rich?” Shadow asks as we make our way back to the living room. “I have to get back on the road. I was just passin’ through and wanted to check on you after you came to Dander Falls.”
“He’s usually right outside the bakery,” I answer him, not sure where Rich would be. “If he leaves, the club makes sure to send someone else in his place. Plus, Rich always lets me know if he’s leaving and not going to be with me for whatever reason.”
Shadow and I head down the stairs after he makes sure I lock up my apartment. Rich isn’t out by the back door so he can watch over the apartment and bakery. As we head back inside, I look through the front windows to find him not there either. A tremor fills me at him missing. Amelia chooses that moment to walk up to us.
“Amelia, thank you for letting me show Shadow around. Shadow, this is my friend and boss Amelia,” I introduce the two of them.
“You’re welcome hon. It’s nice to meet you Shadow. Are you just passing through?”
“I am. I have to get back on the road so I can get home to my family. It’s nice to check up on Sally here every now and then. A phone call doesn’t always work with her,” he responds, laughter filling his voice. “Sally, I’m gonna call Slim and let him know Rich has disappeared. Someone should be here soon.”
“Okay. Give Renee, the kids, and everyone else my love. I miss everyone in Dander Falls so much.”
“We miss you too. Make sure you take care of yourself and the little ones,” he tells me, wrapping me up in another hug before walking through the front door and heading to his bike.
True to his word, Shadow is on his phone while mounting his bike and putting his helmet on. Amelia looks at me, her mouth practically hanging open as she looks from Shadow to me. I’m not sure what’s going through her mind right now, but I’m positive it’s not what the reality of the situation between Shadow and me is. He’s always been a good friend, more so since we both have been grieving the loss of Killian. The only thing I can say is he is a good looking man; most of the men in both clubs are extremely good looking and make women turn their heads for second and third glances at the drop of a hat.
“Why don’t you get out of here. I can finish cleaning up. You’re training starts tomorrow bright and early. It’s an order day so you’ll be jumping in feet first,” Amelia tells me with a smile on her face. “Get some rest and try to not think about your man being gone. I know it’s hard for you.”
“It is. But Stryker isn’t my man,” I tell her, my voice not as strong in my conviction of Stryker not being mine.
“You keep telling yourself that honey. That man is gone for you. The same you are for him. I see the way the two of you look at one another. Everyone does. I’m here if you ever want to talk. For now, go hang out upstairs and have your daughter come home to take your mind off shit.”
Nodding my head, I thank Amelia and do as she says. Grabbing my things from below the counter, I make my way out of the back door and straight up the stairs to my apartment. I pull my phone out of my pocket so I can let Gwen know I’m home from work. After she lets me know she’ll bring her over so she can go help Shy. Stripping out of my clothes, I toss them in the hamper just inside the bathroom door and take a quick shower before Natalia comes home. Rich still is nowhere in sight. I’ll ask Killer when he gets here.
Once I’m out of the shower, Gwen still isn’t here with Natty. Deciding to take out the trash while she’s still gone, I make my way down the stairs. I lift the lid of the dumpster in the back corner of the parking lot. Just after I toss the bag inside and move to step to the side so I can close the lid again, something hits me hard on the back of my head. I crumple to the ground, my vision blurry and fading out as I try to figure out what’s going on.
Rough, strong hands grab my arms and lift them over my head. I’m dragged across the cracked cement of the parking lot. Pain registers in my muddled mind as the breaks of the cement, loose stone, and other debris in the lot dig into my skin and tear at the shorts and tank top I’m wearing. I can’t get a good look at the person dragging me as everything begins to fade away the blackness consuming me and making the pull too much for me to battle. The darkness brings relief from the pain radiating throughout my body and the pounding in my head. My last thoughts are being happy Natalia isn’t here with me and she’s safe from someone taking her right along with me. Fear also fills me for my son and what can possibly happen to him based on who has me and where I’m being taken.
