Lyla"Mommy are you cheating?" I look up to find the matching deep green eyes that reflect as my own.Adrianna stands there with her small fist balled on her hip that is jutted out just a tad bit. Her foot is tapping as her other hand extends with its palm out."Why would you think I'm cheatin' honey clam?""Because your voice goes like that when you lie, and you always make up those goofy nicknames when you're doing something bad." I roll my eyes at the fact that I just called out by my almost four-year-old."Adrianna, mommies aren't allowed to cheat. It's located in our DNA." I smirk when her little lips push out in annoyance.If I had a nickel for every time my daughter made this face I would be a millionaire. I don't know who taught it to her, but she gets away with mostly everything because of it."Then how come you have some of the good cards behind you?" I laugh then reach behind me and grab the small paper cards.Cheating in a game of a Candyland with my daughter is not
ShaneI stare out the small dirty window as the sun shines off that stupid windchime Candice put up outside. The gleam moves around the table we are all surrounding, and I watch with boredom as it makes its way over to where my hands rest on the hardwood."We need something, anything on him that will at least throw him off." I look up at Chance's determined eyes as he stands up from his seat for the millionth time.We have been here in church for over an hour, and so far, we have absolutely nothing accomplished. It's Austin, Chance and I, and every part of me wants to just go home, sit out on my back deck and drink a beer. Anything is better than being here listening to each other go back and forth on what we can and cannot do about Alberts and our current dilemma."We will get something on him, but it has to be enough. He's already making our lives a living hell and we haven't even got a full name on the asshole. We have to be smart Chance.""We are smart Austin, but right now we
LylaI adjust the pillow under Miss Rosenthal's head one last time, then quietly exit the dimly lit room. She is my last patient of the day and I for one, cannot wait until I can get out of here.Walking over to Ben, I hand him the chart from Miss Rosenthal's room and lean against the wall while he reads it over and signs off on her checklist."You look drained Ly. You doing okay?""Oh yeah, you know me. After being yelled at by Miss Rosenthal and being told that I am incompetent and brainless, I get to now go to her family that has already tried throwing a chair at me because apparently, no one had told them about her needing to stay the night here after her stroke.""Hang in there. I know it's a busy night for us, but if it weren't can you imagine all the boredom you would feel right now?" Ben chuckles and I swear he is about ten seconds away from me grabbing his fancy expensive pen and stabbing him in his jugular."Hardy har har, you're developing a personality in your old age
Shane"So, you think this was deliberate?" I ask Torque while his fingers move a million miles per hour."Yes absolutely. Whoever did this not only knew what they were doing, they didn't leave any kind of trail. Normally, if you are on any kind of technology, even one that disarms things, it will leave a trace. This one didn't."I rub my eyes with my thumbs frustrated that once again, we are on the receiving end of bullshit.Torque and I have been here at our nightclub Sin, for two hours trying to figure out the lapse in security we got. Last night someone had somehow cut the feed to our security cameras and although we have looked throughout the building, we can't find anything different. Toque assured us that they may have not been trying to steal something in the first place. Target practice is what he referred to it as. They may have been wanting to test our system to see if they could hack it. If they can hack this one, odds are they can hack the system at the clubhouse."Sha
LylaSobs attempt to wreck my body as the reality of what happened sets in. I close the front door and practically run to my bedroom, slamming the door closed and collapsing onto my bed.The day I have had, rivals even my worst of days when I first came out here to New York. I was pregnant, confused, lonely and ashamed. After I had given birth to Adrianna, everything hit me even worse. I didn't know how to take care of a newborn and knowing my mother was around but wanted nothing to do with me, put me in even more of a spiral. Still, I kept my head held high and made it through with humor and sacrifice. But Shane? He managed to bring me to my lowest point tonight without even trying.I thought Rory making an appearance at my work, rubbing in that he had a date set for our first custody hearing was bad. When Candice invited me to have a few drinks and hang out, I jumped at the opportunity. Lisa had taken Adrianna upstate with her until tomorrow, so I can have a night to myself. She
Shane"So, Shawna was right?" Bone shouts out from the back of the room."Not quite sure yet. Miles, you want to explain brother?" Austin addresses. We have been here in church for over an hour trying to figure out the new MC situation. On one hand Shawna may have heard Julian correctly right before he died when he spoke about another MC helping him, but we just aren't sure. No one here is calling her a liar, but it makes no sense that not one of us has ran into them yet. Also, doesn't make any sense as to why they would work with him."Ran into one of our old drug runners. He had called us down to talk and when Chance and I went down there, he was running his mouth about this new MC that he saw. Didn't really sound right to me.""What do you mean?" Max asks sitting up in his chair. He's always to the left of Austin, as I'm always to his right. As road captain of this MC it's my job to be a planner. I'm the one that checks everything over for safety and the riders when we go out
LylaThe black liquid quietly pours into the small white ceramic mug. I lift the mug up and walk over to the dining room table, placing it just before Chance."Thanks Lyla.""Sure thing."Walking over to the sofa, I begin picking up all the toys Adrianna had scattered in the living room when she was showing them to Chance."I can help with that. Kinda my fault she brought them all out here." I look up from grabbing the ones that fell and went under the couch and look at Chance whom has moved into the living room like a ninja."Yeah, it's not always the wisest decision to have a three-year-old show you her favorite toy. That's like an invitation to her entire room."Chance chuckles, joining me on the floor to help clean and I join him. It's comfortable being around him. He's always been the laid-back person with me, never judging, never giving me shit for being who I am. I can tell Chance carries around a lot of baggage and as soon as Lisa told me about him, I knew he was the kin
ShaneSomething pokes me in the face and I swat it away with my hands. I roll over and try to get more comfortable. I pull up the too small for my body blanket and try to sleep, but another poke wakes me up followed by the shrill sound of a giggle.I smile, knowing Adrianna is indeed up for the morning. I can see the gleam of the morning sun through the small slant in my eyes. Sleeping on the couch has given me the ability to be able to tell it's morning just by the way the house settles. Off in the distance coffee brews, Adrianna giggles and Lyla showers. It was what I always wanted to wake up to. What, for a moment anyways, I had but lost.Lyla saying what she did to me last night comes rushing through my mind and the words she said are at a constant repeat. I shouldn't have gotten angry last night, I knew for a fact that she was just trying to tell me that Adrianna comes first, as she should. Today needs to be a different day and as I lay here, I make a promise that I won't be a
GhostThe music pours out through the speakers as I lift the glass up to my mouth downing half the bourbon immediately enjoying the burn that follows up from my stomach to my throat. I signal the bartender for another as he zooms past me to help another patron. Seconds later, I down the second half and give the man a chin lift when he pours my second glass instantly.I've been here no longer than ten minutes, but I knew right away I would be drinking tonight.Christmas.Fuckin' Christmas.And here I was trying to escape it all.Candice and the other old ladies wanted to do something nice for the brothers, something nice for Bone. It's something I respected, but knew it wasn't something I could stand being around for too long. Christmas was about family. And I didn't have one outside the Nightmare Warriors."You look like you could use some alcohol." I look up and find a different bartender starring down a me from her spot behind the bar. Looking down I see my glass is once again
AbbyPlacing the last dish into the dishwasher, I shut it with my foot then run over to the laundry room to deposit the load of laundry I currently have in my hands. Throwing those in the machine and pressing the start button, I run over to the living room and clean up all the baby toys that are scattered around it.Cursing when I check the time noticing that Chance should be here any minute I grumble my father's name when I think of why I am cleaning last minute. I had spent the entire morning over at his house, because he said there were some things he wanted to talk to me about. Turns out, he just wanted to tell me that he wasn't sure about going to the Christmas party that we practically created for him. It took me almost three hours to talk him into going and another forty minutes yelling at him for being so stubborn."Damn stubborn biker." Another grumble comes out of me as I make a bee line towards the kitchen to put away another random dish left out on the sofa. Normally C
Lyla"But they're a bunch of bikers." Rolling my eyes, I pause as my hand grips the handle to the oven."Yes mom, and they've invited you to come to their Christmas party." Pulling open the oven door, I turn and grab the two sheets of cookies with both hands as I maneuver the phone between my shoulder and ear. "Mom, look I know this is a little different, but this was the first year the club had no drama and they wanted to celebrate as a family." I won't tell her some of that drama included myself, mom already has a hard enough time with the fact that Adrianna hangs around the clubhouse after what happened to her."I don't know, maybe just you and your family can go, and I'll stay with Lisa and her wife.""Mom, Lisa is going and she's bringing Lizzy." Shutting the oven door, I lean back against the counter placing one hand on my hip while the other now cradles the phone.I have been trying to get mom to accept the fact that she is apart of our family, but she still gives us the dist
ShawnaMy body moves through the rhythm of the song as Believer by Imagine Dragons booms loudly through the speakers aligning each wall. My head swings around as my body bends down to the level I need it to go, all while keeping my posture tight. I end it hard stomping on the ground, keeping my face down and hat titled to the side when the song ends on a hard beat.Smiling up at my class I relish in their applause as April, my assistant walks over to me with a towel and my water bottle.Taking them both with gratitude, I remove the hat, damping my face with the towel then swing it around my shoulder, just before draining half the bottle of cold water. Handing the hat over to April I look around and watch as everyone begins grouping together and working on the moves I've just shown them."That was great.""Thanks" I smile up at her, pleased with myself that I kept the routine exactly the way I had envisioned it. I had debated whether or not I was even going to make a routine to t
VOLUME FOUR: A WARRIOR'S CHRISTMASCandiceStepping onto my tip toes, I reach up higher, cursing when I feel my shirt pull free from my black slacks. Looking down I count the steps of the ladder, only to realize I'm on the last one.Damn my short legs.Eyeing the top cap, I wonder for a brief moment if I could balance on it, just long enough to hang up this last bundle of lights that I have bunched tightly in my hands."Come on Candy, it's just like another step." I whisper, attempting to motivate myself. Shutting my eyes and counting to three, I jump up placing one foot on the top then startle when I feel two hands wrap around my ass, pulling me down the ladder and onto the ground."Babe, what the hell are you doing?" Austin grunts and I smile up at him while balancing my hands on his chest. My heart is still pounding from my near death sudden decision so I catch my breath, counting once again before I could speak."Trying to hang up this last strand. I was able to do all the o
AbbyI clutch onto Chance's waistline as he speeds up, passing all the familiar surroundings. It's been over a year since we have been home, and it's been the most amazing year of my life.Chance and I have been traveling all over the country and have recently decided to make a permanent home back here in New York, surrounded by everyone we love. My web design business grew even larger when I was able to travel and meet new clients. I don't regret my decision to leave nursing and the money is just as great.I lay my head on his back once again, smiling with excitement as I see the same long street that leads up to the compound. Going nomad has been the best thing to ever happen to Chance. He is not only happier, but lighter. Darkness and guilt no longer lead him, he takes everyday as its own and always appreciates each day as it is. We've seen much, lived a lot and met a lot of new friends. Chance was even able to track down his parents after they moved to Florida to retire. The r
Chance"Know you're all pissed. Put the club in danger, but I had to keep the intel to myself." I stare down at the small seashell, twiddling it back and forth as I listen to Austin speak.It's been two days since everything went down at the clubhouse and everything feels completely different.Bone is no longer in the ICU. He's still bound to the hospital, but Abby and Julia have gone to see him each day to keep him calm and in the loop. Abby is going strong, I think being close to death has given her voice a push. She and Bone have a much better relationship now and he respects us being together.The FBI told us that we were in the clear, they found all the information to prove our innocence, including six cops coming forward with facts about what Alberts had either promised them, or threatened them with. We were simply in the way of the drug trade. We no longer deal, that much everyone knew, but he knew enough about the clubs that if he was able to get rid of Snake and the King
AbbyMy knees bounce, sobs wrecking my body. I rock back and forth, worry borrowing its way deep down inside my mind. The doctors words as they rushed my father into surgery repeat in my head over and over again."We think one of the bullets is lodged in his lungs."I woke on the way to the hospital, my head on Chance's lap as Shane drove us behind the ambulance. I was worried for my father, but my following questions were about everyone else. Chance explained that the FBI of all people helped us, and that the Alberts brothers were the only causalities. I was so worried about everyone, but it looks like Austin saw them coming from the back of the clubhouse on one of the monitors Torque had set up.They were desperate. That's the only way this all made sense. We were close to getting to them, and with Domingo after them as well, they took their last opportunity.I spot Chance walking towards me; his long strides quicken when he sees my state. I have not stopped to calm down since t
ChanceNine Years Ago"Need another?" I look up from my empty glass and nod at the bartender. The liquid pours into the tumbler and I quickly down it, signaling him for another. I could have made a dangerous mistake tonight. That's all I can think of as the next shot of bourbon fills the glass. I recall the night of mistakes I had as I down this one.The gun in my handWatching the minivan appear, lurking in the shadows directly across the streetWatching as Detective Alberts family got out of their car, happy and care free without worryI was going to do it. I was going to end the lives of every single one of them. Alberts was not there, but I didn't need him to be, I was going to seek the revenge I was due. An eye for an eye, family for family.But as I neared the house, gun ready in my hand while my face was covered by a scarf, I stopped.AvaShe was what crossed my mind the moment I crossed the threshold. She wouldn't want me to do this. I couldn't do this in honor of