Page 36 of Tinsel & Chrome
MAMMOTH
Even though Wren straddled me for a brief moment, it made me hard instantly.
The warmth of her body, her lips so close to mine, was like a bolt of electricity, and I forgot what had just happened.
I don’t know what Wren experienced all those years while she was gone, and I had only just met her a few hours before, so I worried she’d think I was some kind of nutcase sleeping on the floor against the door.
But to my surprise, she touched me on the cheek, her hands soft.
Joy appeared in the doorway, her brown hair tousled as she rubbed one eye and yawned.
“I need to pee, Mommy.”
Wren took Joy by the hand and walked her down the hall to the restroom while I headed toward the central part of the clubhouse.
The party the night before lasted way into the morning, and the clubhouse was quiet by 2 am when I decided to sit with my back against the door outside of Wren and Joy’s room.
I must’ve fallen asleep for a brief moment and was lying on my side when Wren tripped over me.
It was irrational, but I felt the need to be close to Wren.
The meds my doctor prescribed to help with insomnia and PTSD didn’t help much, but I was just as surprised as Wren was when she fell on me while I was asleep.
There were empty beer bottles, cans, and red cups everywhere.
A pair of red panties and a bra hung on one of the blades of the ceiling fan above the pool tables.
The clubhouse smelled of weed, cigarettes, and burnt rubber, and no doubt the parking lot was littered with track marks from bike tires.
Luckily, I found some bottled water in the fridge and offered Wren one as she appeared from the hallway, Joy following behind, carrying Fluffy by the tail.
Wren twisted the cap off the bottle and handed it to Joy.
“Take little sips, honey.”
She looked around the clubhouse and folded her arms.
“Wow, looks like it was a wild party last night, huh?”
“This clubhouse is notorious for throwing some wild-ass parties. A few years back, we had a burnout pit right where those pool tables are now. The place stunk of burnt rubber, and everyone complained about it. So we put it up for a club vote and removed it.”
Wren’s laughter sounded like a bird twittering, and the way her pretty brown eyes lit up made me want to kiss her.
She was gorgeous, and I wanted her to be mine.
“You can stay at my house,”
I blurted out.
Wren stopped laughing and looked at me.
“I have a big house, plenty of room for you and Joy. Just think about it. There’s no rush.”
“Yes.”
“Okay then,”
I said and grinned.
“We can talk to Zero when he gets here.”
I grabbed a trash bag and started trying to put a dent into cleaning up the clubhouse when Zero appeared, walking through the double doors, and shook his head at the mess.
“Leave that shit to the prospects!”
“It’s no big deal, Prez,”
I said, dropping empty cans into the bag. When I was a kid, and because I served in the Marine Corps, I was a clean freak.
“Uncle Atlas!”
Joy squeaked, raising her little arms.
“Hi there, Joy.”
Prez grinned from ear to ear as he walked over to Joy and picked her up.
“Did you and your mom get some sleep?”
“Yeah, we did. I woke up and saw Mommy sitting on top of Cameron.”
“Wha?...”
Zero said, his eyes steering to me, his brow arched in confusion.
Shit!
I cleared my throat, trying not to laugh.
“It’s not what you think, brother.”
“The party and all the people made me anxious last night,”
Wren cut in with the lie.
“So I asked Mammoth if he’d be so kind as to keep watch over us outside the room so Joy and I could sleep. I accidentally tripped over him when I opened the door this morning. Luckily, he caught me, and I landed on top of him.”
I smiled and winked at her for covering my ass. I sure as hell didn’t want Prez angry at me for thinking I’d do something to make his sister uncomfortable.
********
Charlie was cooking breakfast, and Zero invited us over, so Wren and Joy rode with him back to his house and I followed in my truck.
We sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed Charlie’s sausage, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and hash browns. Joy scarfed down one pancake drenched in syrup.
We drank some coffee and made small talk as if things were okay, at least for Joy’s sake. The girl was so young, and her brain was like a sponge. Things were happening so fast, and we didn’t want to traumatize her.
Wren offered to help Charlie clean up the kitchen while Zero rode his bike, me following him back to the clubhouse in my truck. Bike Week was halfway over, and the clubhouse needed cleaning up. Tack, Charlie’s stepbrother, and our Sergeant of Arms called in the prospects so we could bust their balls to get the place cleaned up. We arrived first, and it was a good time for me and Prez to talk about Wren and Joy.
“It feels unreal, like a dream. My sister and her daughter are home,”
Zero said as we stood outside the clubhouse.
“Yeah, brother. Today is a good day, and more good days are coming. We just take it one step at a time.”
It was good to see Zero with this new look of calm in his eyes.
“Wren and Joy seem comfortable around you. They feel safe, and they need all the comfort they can get at this moment. The Merciless Few MC is my family, but you’re the only man I trust when it comes to my sister and niece. It may be better for them to stay with you for the time being. Wren can decide for herself what she wants when she’s ready.”
I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed.
“I’d be honored to watch over them and take care of them, brother.”
Zero grinned.
“I appreciate that, brother,”
he replied, pulling me in for a bro hug.
“She was kidnapped and sold to those Soulless Bastards.”
“Yeah, Sampson told me. Not only did they save Wren and Joy, but they also saved a lot of other women, too.”
“I knew it all along. Gunther sold my sister.”
“How can a man do something so fucked up like that?”
I asked rhetorically.
“Gunther Hughes is not a man. He’s a monster. We need to find out who we know that’s connected inside at Jessup Correctional.”
“I’m sure we know someone. I can dig up some intel.”
“Good, because I want Gunther Hughes dead and I want it done brutal and bloody.”
“Consider it done.”