Page 12 of Panther’s Magpie (Mountain River MC #1)
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
MAGGIE
“ H ey girl. I came to check on you. How are these guys treating you?” Rain asks as she walks through the front door of the clubhouse.
The guys went into the place they call church about fifteen minutes ago. I have to admit, I was getting bored waiting for them to come out. You know everyone always says they wish they could stay home and do nothing all day, but from my experience, it is boring as hell.
I need a purpose. I know this will all go away once we find Aspen, but until then, I need something to keep me going. Something to distract me.
“They treat me just fine. What are you doing here?” I ask.
She smiles. “That run the guys just did? It was for charity. I’m here to help plan the next one. A couple of the old ladies will be here soon.”
I frown. “Old ladies?”
“Yeah. You know, wives or girlfriends of the guys.”
“I haven’t seen any other females around but you since I got here.”
“Ah. Yeah, they don’t hang out here a lot. None of the younger guys have anything serious going on. These are some of the old-timers’ girls. They help with the charity stuff and basically stay out of all the trouble now that their old men are practically retired,” she tells me.
“Oh. So that’s why they are old ladies. Makes sense.” I hum.
She shakes her head. “No. Old lady is the term bikers give their significant others when they are serious about them. Age doesn’t factor in. Don’t you remember me mentioning this before?”
I shrug. “Vaguely, but I mean, let’s be honest, I didn’t think I’d be here long enough to remember it.”
She gives me a sad look. “Don’t give up hope. We will find her.”
I wish I was still as confident as she sounds. Instead, I’m worried that she will never show up or, worse, when she does, it will be her dead body.
The front door opens again, and Rain smiles.
“Look what the cat dragged in. Lisa, Kim, this is Maggie. Maggie, this is Lisa and Kim.”
The two ladies are not old by any means. I expected a seventy-year-old-looking woman. Instead, these women can’t be but in their fifties.
“Hi,” I whisper shyly.
“No need to be shy, sweetheart. Who are you here with?” the one she called Kim asks.
I frown looking at Rain.
“Technically? Panther. She’s his sister’s best friend,” Rain tells her.
Both ladies frown. “We were real sorry to hear she had come up missing. They will find her, I’m sure. If we can do anything, let us know,” Lisa tells me.
“Actually, she needs some girl time. How about she join us today?” Rain offers.
“Of course. The more brains, the better. What we do is so important for the community,” Kim tells me as she leads us to a nearby table.
We all take a seat as I ask, “What is it that you do exactly?”
She smiles. “There are a lot of things, but mainly we support the community any way that we can. The run we just did was for children’s cancer research at the local hospital.
The next one will be for something similar, but the reason we are here today is because the old warehouse downtown burned down and took two residential homes with it.
We are organizing a rebuilding crew to get the houses back up and running while also fundraising for their temporary shelter. ”
“Wow. That is amazing,” I tell them.
I didn’t realize they did such good things here. I guess when I’m only focused on the bad parts, I can’t see the good.
“They also escort people to court and sit in the courtrooms when they are a victim of abuse and are scared to testify against their abuser. Not just kids and women either. They have gone for men too who were being abused by their partners, be it male or female,” Rain adds.
My heart warms at the thought of that.
“That is truly such good work to do. Makes me proud to have gotten to know these men,” I tell them all.
They nod like they understand.
From the outside, the Mountain River MC looks like a bunch of rough bikers who would mug you for a dime. Inside, they are truly good people wanting to better the world. Sure, they do some unsavory things, but I don’t believe they do anything with the intent of harming another human being.
“The families are going to need clothes,” I start, pushing us toward the task.
“They are. I can get the ages and sizes for each of them. We can ask for donations,” Lisa adds.
“I have a trust fund I never use. I’d be happy to donate some for the cause, whether it be clothing, food, lodging, or materials,” I tell them.
They all look at me oddly.
Rain is the one that asks the question. “You have money?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. My parents gave me a large lump-sum trust fund when I turned eighteen, and they continue to put money in it each year to cover my expenses.”
“Wow. Why are you here then?” Rain says bluntly.
“Rain Mist Jones, you watch your mouth,” Kim chastises her.
“What? I’m just saying she could hire the best security. I didn’t mean anything by it.” She gives me a small smile.
“It’s okay. I guess I never really liked spending my money. I use it for school and to pay for the apartment and food, but I try not to spend too much of it. As for why I’m here, this is where Aspen wanted to go. I don’t want to leave without her.”
Rain gives me a sad look. “You don’t have to spend your money on this. We can raise the money.”
I shake my head. “I never felt like the money was mine. It always felt like hush money from my parents to keep me quiet and away from them. I don’t want to spend the money on myself, but I have no problem giving it to those who need it. If I can help, I want to.”
“All right then. We will keep that in our back pocket. For now, let’s go through our contacts.
Rain, you call Mr. Hansen about pouring the concrete.
Kim, you contact Mrs. Clancy down at the grocery store about donating food for right now.
Maggie can help me do research on lumber and how much we will need,” Lisa tells me.
“Shouldn’t we call someone about that too?” I ask.
She smiles sweetly at me. “Honey, the Mountain River MC owns the lumberyard. We will get it for free.”
My eyes widen.
Yeah, there is much more to this MC than I realized.
PANTHER
I didn’t want to leave Maggie by herself, but I still have to run this club. I feel like everything is slipping through my fingers. Ever since Aspen was taken, I’ve been off-kilter. I have always felt like I didn’t belong as president, but the feeling is more prevalent now.
How can I put the club first when my sister is in danger?
I hope I never have to choose between the two because I already know what I will choose. Aspen means the world to me. So does the club, but they can survive without me. Aspen can’t.
Or at least I didn’t think she could.
I think back to Maggie. Aspen has slowly been building herself safety nets in her life. It makes me realize that maybe she was traumatized more than she let on when she was a kid.
The perfect facade.
That’s what Aspen’s whole personality is.
Does anyone even truly know the real her?
“Hey, brother,” Eagle says as he takes his seat next to me. Talon and Meek slip in behind him.
My phone rings, drawing my attention away from the door.
Ava.
I wince at her name.
She has been calling me nonstop since she saw me and Maggie together at the run. She should have never been there, but it was a charity event. I couldn’t kick her out.
“Here, let me solve this for you.” Eagle swipes my phone before he answers it. “No one ordered any sexually transmitted diseases. You can fuck right off now, skank.”
He hangs up the phone, then does something before handing it back.
“Problem solved. The bitch is blocked.” He smiles at me.
“She will change her number. You know this,” I tell him.
He shrugs. “Meek can screen all your calls.”
“You are ridiculous,” I tell him.
“No, that soul-sucking leech is ridiculous. She will keep coming back as long as you give her a shred of attention. So stop giving it to her,” he warns me.
He’s right, of course, but it’s not like I invited her in. I always tell her to leave. I guess part of me respects the time we spent together and won’t be cruel to her just to be cruel. That’s the small opening she takes each and every fucking time.
Shaking my head of thoughts of her, I turn my phone off. Hawk is the last through the door, shutting it behind him.
“How did we do on the charity run?” I ask.
Talon smiles. “Three hundred forty-two thousand, boss. Best run yet.”
As treasurer, it’s his job to make sure our money is accounted for and going where it belongs.
“That’s amazing, man. Donate the whole bit. We can cover the overhead to run it,” I tell him.
He nods. “Already done. The hospital is grateful. It’s enough to purchase a new machine they need to continue to further their research. They are developing a new way to battle cancer that won’t be as harsh on the body as chemo. It’s really quite spectacular.”
“Then it is a good cause. Put them back into the rotation for next year. Hopefully we can help them along. What about the fire downtown?” I ask Hawk.
“Arson. Pretty sure it’s our new friends at Ragged Anarchy. A witness saw a cut, and it wasn’t ours. We have no beef with anyone else.”
“Why that warehouse, though? Sure, we own it, but we haven’t used it in decades,” Eagle chimes in.
“It’s not about us using it,” I tell him.
“It’s to send a message. They know about us and can find our shit and fuck it up.
I threw out a warning to them, and instead of heeding it, they are playing chicken.
That means we need to hit back. Meek, find me where it will hurt them most. I also want that bar gone. Make it happen.”
“On it, boss. I will have schematics sent over to everyone by this evening for plans to be made.”
“Good. What about the families that were displaced?” I ask.
“The girls are rallying now to get them resources. We will need a crew of men to swap out to help build the houses back,” Eagle tells me.
“Get the prospect on one of them. Swap out guys on patrol with the crew. We take care of our own,” I tell him.
He nods.
“Great. Everyone knows their jobs. Get to them.”
As we all leave, I’m shocked to find Maggie sitting with Lisa, Kim, and Rain, laughing as they use the telephone tree to gather resources.
When Maggie looks over at me and smiles, I think about how right she looks there with the other old ladies.
I really shouldn’t want the girl, but I do. More than I realized.
Walking over to the girls, I stop behind her chair, massaging her shoulders. “I hope you ladies are being productive,” I tease.
“You might rule this club, but you don’t rule me, son,” Lisa teases back.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Lisa. After all, who would bake me those amazing chocolate chip cookies if you decided you didn’t like me anymore?” I joke back.
She laughs. “I bet Maggie can make a mean chocolate chip cookie.”
I don’t miss the way Lisa winks at me.
“Actually, I’m not much of a baker. Never had anyone to teach me.”
My heart hurts for her as there is pain laced in her tone.
Lisa hears it too and doesn’t miss a beat. “Well then, I will have to teach you. Trust me, the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Especially this young man behind you. He will eat you out of house and home if you let him.”
I groan. “I was eighteen and had never had consistent meals. You can’t keep holding that over my head.”
Maggie looks up at me with a question in her eyes.
“When we joined, Lisa and Cloak took me into their home and let me live with them while I prospected. I stayed here a lot too, but Lisa thought the parties were a bit much for a boy of my age, so she made me and Eagle stay with her in the evenings while the guys partied.”
“Caught you sneaking out more than once to join them too.” She gives me a stern look.
“We wanted to be one of the brothers,” I tell her honestly.
“You always were. You just had some growing up to do. Now get on out of here. I still need this beauty for a bit. I’ll send her on to you when I’m done,” Lisa promises.
I don’t miss the insinuation. Lisa thinks we are a thing. That I like her.
Looking down, I find my hands caressing her hair.
Fuck, maybe the woman knows more than I do.