Willow by Erin Osborne
Chapter Eleven
Zander ‘Breaker’ Williams
AFTER PACKING UP the things I have at the clubhouse and waiting for Crave to finish packing his things, the guys who have been out looking for these assholes returned to the clubhouse. They’re tired and frustrated as hell because no one is coming up with anything to find these men. However, another one of our Prospects was out searching after going to the liquor store and he was almost snatched up. They knocked him on his ass, hit him over the head, and he still managed to fight back so they didn’t take him. Unfortunately, he also wasn’t able to get a good look at any of the men to let us know who they are or if they were wearing a cut or anything.
That’s one of the many differences between Crave and I. He’s content to live in the clubhouse and not have a house of his own. I’ve got my own house away from the clubhouse. It’s on the outskirts of town and only Crave knows exactly where it is. I have a ton of land and my house sits on the middle of it so it’s not easily seen by anyone unless I personally take you there. Trees surround the property, and my house is a large log cabin with a pool and a ton of trails to ride four wheelers on or just hike. It’s my sanctuary and no one has been there other than Crave. Not a single fucking woman has been there. If I have my way, Trinity will be the one and only woman to ever step foot in the house and she won’t be leaving because she’ll be our ol’ lady.
“Crave, you finish doin’ what you gotta do. I’m headin’ out to see if I can search for these fuckers. The guys just came back. Another Prospect was almost taken. He managed to get away but didn’t get any information for us to go on,” I let my best friend know as he continues to pack up his room.
“Got it. I’ll have him help me move if he’s okay and you can meet us there later on. After movin’, I’ll go get Trin if she’s not done at work yet. Have you heard from Nash yet? Wasn’t he supposed to be here already?” Crave asks me, as I think back on the conversation with Blood I had about him.
“He should’ve been here already. I’ll give Blood a call and find out if he’s heard from him.”
Pulling out my phone, I call Blood to find out if he’s heard from Nash. The man should have been here by now and it’s weird none of us have heard from him. Yeah, I’ve been slightly preoccupied with Trinity and making sure she’s okay. Along with her grandma. Still, we would have been told when we went to the hospital to check on Scott if Nash had gotten here. I’ve only met the man once, very briefly, when we were at his clubhouse in the middle of a two-week long run. He seems like a good guy. I’m not going to make any judgements about him until he’s here and I’ve had a chance to get to know him fully.
“What’s up?” Blood answers his phone, his voice sounding tired through the phone.
“Have you heard from Nash?” I ask him, striding through the common room and out the main door.
“No, I haven’t. He’s not at the clubhouse?” Blood questions, sounding more alert now.
“No. The guys just got back. Another Prospect was almost taken. Nash isn’t here,” I inform him, not sure what we’re going to have to do about this situation now.
“Let the guys rest up for a little bit. Then I want them out searching for Nash and these fuckers. I’ll send a picture to everyone, so we all know who to look for. I have no doubt Nash was wearin’ his colors so it’s possible he’s been picked up. Scott just got out of surgery. He’s goin’ to make it, but the next two days are critical for him. Kid lost a lot of blood and has more injuries than we thought he did. Let the guys know. I don’t want anyone out ridin’ alone,” Blood tells me, his voice sounding tired again.
This entire situation has to be weighing heavily on him. He has a number of duties on a daily basis being the President of the club. He’s the one, at the end of the day, who makes all the final decisions and will not hesitate to make the hard calls to ensure we all make it through each day with our lives. Now, he’s got members and Prospects going missing. There’s nothing more we can do than what we’re already doing. Blood has sent guys out looking and we’re all trying to ride in groups so none of us get taken.
“I’ll let everyone here know to expect a message and not to go out alone.”
“How’s the Prospect?” Blood asks before I can hang up the phone.
“He’s okay. Got a bump on the head. I’m sure he’ll be sportin’ some bruises and shit. They got a jump on him. He’s movin’ slow. Should probably call Doc and get him here to check him out,” I tell our President.
“Get him there. I don’t want him to have injuries we don’t realize and have him need a hospital instead of just bein’ bruised. Call me if you hear anythin’ new. Plus, Trin isn’t fuckin’ happy right now. She burst out into tears when she was on the phone with Tonya. She’s not sure about havin’ Paislie in the house since she doesn’t know her. You guys are gonna have a fuckin’ fight on your hands. She doesn’t want help from anyone,” Blood gives me a heads up.
“Thank you. I’ll let the guys know and then I’m headin’ out for a while to search,” I tell him before hanging up.
Walking back in the clubhouse, I find all the guys who have been out searching along with the Prospect sitting around the common room. Actually the Prospect is behind the bar stocking the shelves and handing out beer to everyone. That’s not gonna happen until he gets checked out.
“Prospect, get out from behind there. Until the Doc comes to look you over, you’re not doin’ a fuckin’ thing. Want to make sure nothin’ is wrong we can’t see. Blood knows about what happened. Wants Doc to come out. Everyone else, Blood is sendin’ a message with Nash’s picture. He should’ve been here by now. I’m goin’ out to look. Blood doesn’t want any of us ridin’ alone,” I fill in everyone on the brief conversation I had with our President. “Scott is out of surgery too. The next two days will be critical, but they believe he’s goin’ to recover. He lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure when they’ll be leavin’ the hospital. Crave is here. Need to find someone to ride out with me.”
“I’ll go,” one of the Prospects says, walking in from outside.
“Let’s head out. The rest of you rest and wait for Blood’s text to come through.”
Leaving the clubhouse with the Prospect following me, I straddle my bike and hope I’m not making a mistake by taking this kid with me. He’s one of our newer Prospects and I’m not sure how he’s gonna do. I’ll put him through his paces a little tonight though. If he can’t keep up or I don’t feel as if he has my back, I’ll be sure to let Blood know.
After spending hours out searching last night with the Prospect, who kept up with me better than I thought he would, I managed to get a little bit of sleep. Now, Crave and I are about to move our shit in Trinity’s house and I’m not looking forward to the fallout from this move. She’s not going to be happy at all with us when she realizes what’s going on.
The SUV is loaded and ready to go as I leave my room in the clubhouse to find Crave. I’m not sure if he’s even awake yet. I’ve been up long enough to shower and take care of my morning routine before making sure I have everything packed I want to bring to her house with me. Clothes is all I’m bringing because the rest of my things are at my home. I don’t keep a lot here at the clubhouse. Crave has all of his belongings here and I have no clue what he plans on bringing with him. All I know is most of the shit in the SUV is his.
Walking out to the common room, Crave is sitting at a table with a plate of food and cup of coffee sitting in front of him. He looks up at me with questions in his eyes as I sit down and one of the sweetbutts brings me over my own plate and coffee. She tries to sway her hips more and look sexy, but fails miserably. Maybe it’s just because Trinity is on my mind and she’s the only woman I want. No one will measure up to her and I’m not about to fuck some woman who’s spread her legs for every man here when I can have Trin.
“What time did you get in?” Crave asks me.
“I don’t know. A few hours ago.”
“How did the Prospect do?”
“Better than I thought. He kept up and when we thought we found the fuckers, the kid gave chase. Prospect saw them before I did. We lost them, but he chased them for almost an hour before they managed to lose us. He’ll make a full patch for sure,” I answer him, digging into my food.
“So, new plan,” Crave begins and I’m not sure I’m going to like what he’s about to tell me. “Gonna pick up Trinity on our way over to her house. I don’t like the idea of just movin’ in while she’s not there. Either way she’s gonna bitch and put up a fight. I’d rather her get it out of her system before we get there. Gram doesn’t need to be hearin’ the shit.”
“Okay. You let Tonya know about this plan?”
“Yeah. Trin’s already been at the club for an hour. By the time we get done eatin’ and drive over there, she’ll be done. I hate her fuckin’ goin’ through with this shit, but can’t say anythin’ to her about it,” he responds, his voice low as more members begin filling the common room before they head out to work or to keep searching.
“I’m with ya. Let me eat and we can head out. Tonya say how she was this mornin’?”
“Upset. Wants to be home with her gram. I can’t say I blame her. I’ve got a lot of shit to sort through when it comes to her. Not sayin’ I want her in my bed again, but I’m not gonna stand in your way either. One second, I think I might be ready to go for somethin’ with her. To actually believe she’s carryin’ my baby. The next, I’m right back to not wantin’ to settle down and have kids. So, you be by her side, and I’ll spend my time between work and out searchin’,” Crave confides in me, his voice even lower than before.
“I get where you’re comin’ from. Trin’s not her though. You gotta let that shit go and see her for who she is. Not your past comin’ back to haunt you,” I tell him, pushing my plate aside before draining my coffee. “Let’s head out and get her.”
Crave and I make our way out to the SUV that’s parked just on the other side of where Tonya and the rest of the ol’ ladies park their vehicles. I let Crave drive today and climb in the passenger seat. Exhaustion fills me and I know as soon as I’m done unloading my things and helping Crave, I’ll be taking a nap. Maybe I can talk Trinity into laying down with me for a while. Probably not, but I won’t mind trying. I guess it all depends on how she takes the news she’ll have roommates for the time being. I’m not expecting it to go over good though.
I zone out and don’t start paying attention again until Crave pulls into the parking lot of Legacies. He shuts the engine off and looks over at me for a minute before we climb out. Fear and concern fill his gaze as he takes in my rumpled appearance. While I’ve showered and changed my clothes, I still feel extremely rumpled since I just grabbed a pair of clothes from the dresser in my room. I’m not even sure when the last time I wore these jeans is. They’re a little tight in the ass area and through my thighs. It must have been before I bulked up with having full access to a gym, I spend time in there whenever I can.
Together, we walk in to find the main floor empty except for Trinity, Heaven, and Ace. Ace is behind the bar stocking and getting ready to open. He looks like shit from being at the hospital most of the night last night. None of them left until they got to see Scott for themselves. Blood sent me a message when they left to see if we had spotted anything. It was just before we spent an hour chasing the fuckers.
Stopping at the end of the stage, Trinity looks at us with tired eyes. I can’t imagine she got a ton of sleep last night either. The worry she has for her grandma would overrule everything else. I bet she got up multiple times to check on her and make sure she wasn’t trying to go to the bathroom or anything else on her own in the middle of the night. Then, we made her come in to practice this morning with Heaven. We’re fucking dicks.
“What are you doin’ here?” she finally asks, keeping her eyes on me.
“We both work here,” Crave states, his voice harsh as he looks at her.
Trinity is wearing next to nothing and my mouth waters as I take in her still flat stomach, long legs, and the mess of her hair. Sweat coats her skin making it gleam under the bright lights of the stage. When her mouth turns down in a frown, I wonder how long it’s going to be before she puts Crave in his place. I want to see her stick up for herself and not let him talk to her the way he is. Yeah, she’s kind of told him off when she was in the hospital, but I see a fire buried deep inside her and I want it to make an appearance.
“Here to pick you up,” I tell her, still not letting her know we’re moving in.
“I have a ride home.”
“Yeah. It’s us. Get your shit and let’s get out of here. Breaker is exhausted and needs to sleep,” Crave states, turning his back and heading to the bar.
She stares at his retreating back for a moment before grabbing her sweats and tee-shirt. Putting them on over her shorts and bra, she says something quietly to Heaven before walking down the steps of the stage. Placing my hand on her lower back, I guide her toward the door. Crave follows us out and opens the passenger door for her to climb in. Holding her hand, she gets inside the SUV without another word until she notices the few boxes and duffle bags in the back seat where I’m climbing in.
“What’s all this?” she questions, arching an eyebrow while looking between the two of us.
“Some of our things. We’re gonna be stayin’ with you and your gram for a while. Somethin’ is goin’ on with the club, and we’re worried it’s goin’ to affect you. Not gonna have some group of psycho bitches take you and hurt you in an attempt to get at us,” I let her know.
“You’re not staying with us. My gram and I will be fine on our own just like we’ve always been. I’m not tied to your club so there’s no reason for you to be there. You can stay wherever you normally do,” she says, looking at me and ignoring Crave as he gets in the driver’s seat.
“Not gonna happen. You’ve more than likely been seen with us on more than one occasion now. Breaker and I have been to your fuckin’ house more than once too. Are you sayin’ the baby you’re carryin’ isn’t mine? Because that’s a pretty strong fuckin’ tie to the club if it’s true. This isn’t up for negotiation.”
“My child is just that; mine. You may be the damn sperm donor, but that’s all. I’m a temporary employee at Legacies and I don’t need your help. I don’t want it. My gram and I will be okay on our own.”
“You’re willin’ to risk her life because of your fool pride?” Crave questions her, leaving Legacies and heading for her house.
“You’re a fuckin’ jackass. You two can stay upstairs and don’t talk to me. Ever. I have a routine in place and neither one of you are going to mess it up. Is that understood?” she asks, looking at me and going back to ignoring Crave. “And you’ll clean up after yourselves. I’m not a damn maid and I have way too much work to do already.”
Trinity shifts in her seat to stare out the window. She isn’t going to listen to either one of us right now when her anger is so high. At least she’s not ripping our heads off. If Crave hadn’t played the grandma card, she’d have left us sitting out on our asses and not let us through the door. For now, I’ll give her this play. I’m not about to fucking let her ignore me or keep holding me at arm’s length. Trin will learn how stubborn I can be and what lengths I’m willing to go in order to get what I want.
