Someone passed something to Micro and he shook it out in front of him. The prospect cut. Rocket’s new look for the next two weeks. He grimaced as he took it and shrugged it on, but from there things turned friendlier. He accepted back slaps which nearly knocked him over, and bro hugs, and then beer. Wewere both holding beers, and chatting with his biker brothers, while Caroline snuggled with Nixie in her corner. They talked about the club being a family, and for the first time, I could feel it. I could sense it in the air, in the way they talked and laughed. In the little asides and snarky comments.
They ribbed each other mercilessly, but it all seemed to be done in a friendly way, and even Grease was bantering with Rocket in a friendly way. Maybe this would all work out after all. Maybe all could be forgiven, and Rocket could finally feel like he’d found his home. I wanted to be part of that. I wanted to be his home too.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Iswear I neverthought I’d be wearing a fucking prospect cut again, but in some ways it felt like a fresh start. Maybe that’s why they did it. Letting me just go back to being patched in as I was before was more of the old. This was the new.
They were going fairly easy on me too. My first day as a prospect was on demo day, and that was a day long ‘party’ of brothers from both chapters, and workers they’d hired in, coming and going as they worked on trashing the place.
I wasn’t actually getting to break the place down though. I was on the fucking gate with Henley. Prospecting with him was more pleasant than it would have been with a real prospect. We were both club guys. We’d both done our time before, so this was us just marking a little more time before we could go back to what we loved.
“Jesus, hang on. My phone’s ringing again.” Henley’s phone had buzzed a few times, and he’d been dismissing them with a grimace, but clearly something was wrong.
“Go, man. I’ve got this. Nobody’s coming and going anyway.” I stared longingly at the crew of my brothers, slamming away at brickwork with sledgehammers, and other equipment, as the site was demolished right in front of us.
In some ways it was sad seeing things smashed down, even though it’d never really felt like home, but in others, it was exciting. It was seeing the future starting to build around us, even though demolition was literally the opposite. You have to dispose of the old to make way for the new, right?
“FUCK!” I spun on my heels to see Henley gripping his phone, panic on his face, and his breathing more of a rasp.
“Shit, what is it? You okay?”
He lifted frantic eyes to mine, and shook his head. “She… it’s my best… she’s in trouble. She fucking needs me.” He cast his eyes around the mess of the camp, but I was already running for the group of Presidents and VPs standing and surveying the work happening all around them.
“Trouble, prospect?” Fuck, I hated that.
“Henley’s got a friend in need. Danger. I don’t fucking know. He needs to help her.”
Nobody even hesitated. I had four voices telling me to go with him and back him up, and that’s all I needed.
“Let V know if she shows.”
They waved me off and I ran back to find Henley pulling the gate open.
“I have to go, man. I have to help her.”
“I know. I’m coming with.” He hesitated for half a second, and then nodded, saluting to the bosses over my shoulder.
“Thanks. We’re heading to the train station.”
We headed off, with me still hating our fucking prospect cuts, but keeping my focus where it belonged, on helping out this lady friend of his. Whoever she was, she was really important to him, because he wouldn’t just plan to abandon club duties if she justhad a flat tyre or something. Hell, maybe he would. Maybe I would. It depends on so many things.
He was riding faster than I’d imagined he would on that beautiful ride of his. He had several and alternated which ones he came in on but this was a sweet semi-custom V-Rod, and I’d love to art it up for him.
The train station was up ahead, and I could see him trying to check his phone as he slowed, the stupid fucker. That’s a one way ticket to… well, a ticket, or worse.
He tucked it away again, and gestured to me to follow him away from the entrance, and down a side road. What the fuck.
We pulled up beside a woman who was huddled in the doorway of a closed business, a backpack hugged to her chest, and her head down. Henley was off his ride in seconds, gesturing at me to stay put, so I used that time to keep my eyes open on the area around us. Something about this was off. This wasn’t just a woman in need. This looked like a woman in hiding, or on the run. What the hell was he dragging me into?
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, as that backpack slid down onto the ground between them. Was she crying? I pushed up my visor, watching them closely to see if she was hurt or something.
He dug out his phone again, making a call, then tapping at the screen, all while I sat astride my ride, engine still running, trying to watch them, and our surroundings for trouble. At one point, a dark car appeared at the end of the road, and I watched as Henley shielded the woman behind him, and watched it grimly as it passed us. It didn’t stop though, so I had no idea what that was about. Finally, he approached me, motioning at her to stay put.
“I’ve got to get her somewhere safe. It’s all arranged. Can you wait with my ride? I don’t have a spare helmet, so I’ve called a cab, but I need to see her in safely. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“You don’t want me to get someone to pick it up and move it somewhere safe?”
He gave me an ‘are you kidding me’ kinda look, and I took it for what it was. Nobody rides that beauty but him. I couldn’t blame him.
