Sparrow was settling in nicely. She sent her resume to the CDC and was waiting to hear back. She and Shiv hit it off, but she was getting along with all the ladies. And Mama Hen seemed to take a liking to her, which was always a plus. She wasn’t the official First Lady anymore, but she would always be in our eyes. Plus, Hawk didn’t seem to have any prospects for that at the moment, not that the bunnies weren’t vying for his attention. He was lowkey with that shit. Even before he was our president, he was Raven’s boy, then an officer, then eventually the VP, so he had his pick of the women. But he was never caught with anyone at the clubhouse. He had them, but he was discreet.
I’d only messed with a few bunnies a long time ago. But the aftermath of that wasn’t worth it, so the only tail I’d had here and there were hookups from the bar, and never a regular. But those days were over now that Sparrow was back.
The first few days after we returned, Red covered for me at the bar, but he needed a break, so I finally went in last night. It was slow, so it made it that much more agonizing. Sparrow didn’t want to be stuck there all night, and I told her for now, ride shares were out of the question. I’d have to find a member to get her home, so she decided to stay in with the ladies.
Hawk didn’t immediately send us away when the others returned, but he called Church for this afternoon, so I had a feeling we’d be headed north. Sparrow and I went to the mall so she could get a few more outfits and personal items.
She packed light when we came, and all of her things were nearby but in one of our storage units. We would’ve gone shopping sooner, but we were busy making up for lost time. Plus, she had just enough to hold her over, but was starting to run low, so we couldn’t put it off anymore. We were still wandering the mall, popping in and out of stores, when her phone chimed.
Looking down, she smiled, then reached over to grab my arm, shaking me. “Oh my God! It’s their HR rep. They want to schedule an interview!”
“The CDC?”
She rolled her eyes, “No, The Big Chicken. Yes, the CDC. Oh my God.” She had been mentioning The Big Chicken since she discovered it was a whole thing here. Locals didn’t think of it as a landmark so much as a direction marker. Like, “If you go past the Big Chicken, you’ve gone too far.” When she realized it was just a fast food joint, she was baffled. “Oh my God, I have to tell Shiv. I need something amazing to wear.” She gripped my hand and dragged me down the corridor.
After spending another few hours at the mall, she’d chosen a few outfits plus a pantsuit and some nice shoes for her interview. I looked like a bag lady, but she was happy and excited about her interview. Shiv loved working at the CDC, even though it hadn’t been very long. And Sparrow was a smart cookie. She should be working somewhere like that, for sure. Although if she didn’t want to work, I’d take care of her. But all the talk of interviews and the CDC had me wondering.
“Sparrow, is there a reason you didn’t go to medical school?” I asked as we walked toward the parking lot.
She slowed. “Hmm. I don’t know. It was kind of the plan going in but the more I studied chemistry, I realized I may be able to make a bigger difference with those skills. At least in my wild dreams.”
“So, it wasn’t because you were… sad?”
She stopped, letting go of my arm, and her hands went to her hips. “You really do have quite the ego, don’t you?”
“Maybe. But that’s not what this is about. I know I fucked up, but I need to know what happened.”
She smirked, then threaded her arm back into mine, tugging me along with her. “You did fuck up. But I don’t think that’s why I didn’t want to go to medical school. I fell in love with chemistry. Biology’s fun, too. But when you mashed them together, it sort of tickled my brain. When it came time to think about applying to med school, I stumbled on some info about research and development. After chatting with some professors and PA, biochem sounded more fun. Plus, that meant wrapping up my senior year in college and finding work, not four more years of busting my ass.”
“So, you enjoy what you do?” I asked, still not certain if she was giving me the whole truth.
“You meandid? Yeah. It was great. I was in my own bubble most of the time. High pressured, for sure,” she said quickly. “But imagine if it had panned out. All those lives changed.”
She got quiet as we exited the mall. Walking through the parking lot in the heat, I tried to think of something profound to say, but all I came up with was, “You’ll change lives, Sparrow. If anyone can, it’s you.”
She smiled, taking some of the bags from me. “Thanks. Who knows. Maybe I’ll get a job at the CDC and help create some vaccine that can end a destructive virus. But no, you didn’t keep me from med school. I think things have a weird way of working themselves out. At least, I’d like to believe that.”
Her statement was full of hope. And it got me thinking. It was crazy to think a couple weeks ago, I was sleeping my days away, working the bar, and doing whatever Hawk told me. That was the extent of my life. Now, I was lying in bed all day with her, looking at real estate, and lugging around her stuff at the mall. I still had responsibilities to the club, and I’d always performed them willingly, but now the void the club had never been able to fill was finally gone. All because we had to do a favor for Petrov.
With that, though, came a new set of problems. We had no clue why those fuckers went to her place or why they took her badge. Her old boss said she appreciated the tip from her but nothing odd happened while she worked out her final days.
It could have been assholes being assholes, but with the year we’ve had, anything suspicious was treated as a threat. Plus, the Hellbound Heathens may not have been in Georgia right now, but they were around, and we had less info to go by than before. It was one thing when we thought they were tied to the sex trafficking ring and maybe even Raven’s death, but it seemed they’re available for hire for any shithead with a dirty job and money.
After securing all her bags, we made the forty-minute ride back to the clubhouse. It was hot out and the sun was shining. The evenings were cooling off but the days were still muggy and warm. Even so, it was a gorgeous day for a ride. Funny how being in a different headspace let you appreciate thesmall things like a nice ride on a sunny day with your woman.
My woman.
She always had my heart, but now I hadher. Until we found the asshole responsible for Raven’s death and could tie it to the trafficking ring, I wouldn’t be able to rest. Before I was doing it for my brothers– for my club– but now, making sure we destroyed their destiny had even more meaning.I had to keep Sparrow safe.
After arriving back at the clubhouse, Sparrow helped grab bags, even after I grumbled at her. Lacy must have seen us pull up because she came out as well and started poking around.
“Ohh, fashion show time,” Lacy said as she tugged at Sparrow. “We’ll bring her back in a while.”
Looking up, Daisy was standing outside the clubhouse door, and Shiv was walking toward Mama Hen’s house.
“Go on. I gotta head to Church,” I said, handing Lacy the bags I had.
Sparrow stretched to meet my lips as if this had been a routine for years. “Have fun. We’ll be back over in a while.”
