Harley"Is he okay?" I ask as I bust through the doors of the clubhouse. The call I received was one of the scariest of my life. Not knowing how bad he was hurt and, at the same time, knowing there was nothing I could do for him."He's okay," Gramps says as he catches me before I go further into the clubhouse. "Physically and emotionally, he's hurting. He had a fistfight with his dad. No matter how much they don't like each other, that's still a big mindfuck. I, of all people, know that. He's going to need you to be there for him right now, but not ask him a bunch of questions. Can you do that push pop? Can you be what he needs and not demand answers he can't give?"As much as I want to be annoyed at him for asking this of me, I know he's doing it for my own good. "I can, but I need to see him first."He holds me tighter. "Make sure you can, because you don't get to do this twice. He needs you. This isn't about you, it's about him."I want to argue that anything involving him is abou
Bishop"I wish you'd talk to me," Harley whispers as she lays next to me. She came back an hour ago and didn't speak as she changed for bed. She'd kept looking at me like she expected me to make this all better, but I just couldn't force myself to say things I don't mean right now. "You're purposely shutting me out and I don't like it. I haven't given you a reason to do it. More than anything, we need each other right now.""You don't know what I need," I whisper back at her, but it's not understanding. It's got a hard edge to it. One I promised I'd never use with her. Immediately, I'm pissed at myself, but I can't seem to stop it. "You have the type of dad who cares for you. Who didn't choose to use you as a pawn. Haven't you ever wondered why my name is Bishop? In chess, a Bishop captures opposing pieces. That's what he always wanted me to do. Be the person who would capture the people he wanted to take down. Ever wonder why I was trying to be perfect all the time? No one expects th
Harley"How is he?""Not talking about anything." I rub my ever-growing belly as I pour my worries out to my dad. "He's giving me this shit about not knowing who he is. When he does.""How do you know he does? Are you in his head? Are you asking him about how he's dealing? Don't assume he has it all figured out, Harley, just because you do. It took me a long time to realize I wasn't the same as the person who spawned me. It was hard. It was work on myself and that's the hardest work to do. I couldn't change who I was just because I had a different last name or because someone wanted me to. It had to come from in here." He points to his chest. "It wasn't easy and it's not going to be for him either. You've got to be patient with him, which I know is hard for you. You're a talker. You want everyone to be as open as you are even though they can't be. Believe it or not, there are people who were raised to be seen and not heard.""Well, that shit's stupid." I glare at him."To you it is, b
Drew"Get your ass up.""Fuck you." Bishop's tone is one of defeat."Look, I'm gonna pretend like you didn't just say that to me and forgive you because you're in a bad place right now, but you ever say those words to me again and we'll have issues. I know what you're going through.""You don't know shit about what I'm going through," he snarls as I stand in front of him."Liam isn't my biological father.""What?" He questions, his eyebrows drawing together. "You share the same last name.""We do, but he didn't come into my life until I was a teenager. As far as I was concerned, I was the man of the house. When Liam showed up, I could finally be the kid I wanted to be. But it took me a while to get there.""Why?" He asks, before sitting up and leaning against the headboard. I have a seat on the couch across from where he is. "Because I'd been the man of the house for so long and I'd never been able to trust anyone other than my mom. I was afraid." I shrug. "Afraid that I was going to
BishopFor the first time in my life, I'm empowered to do what I need. Caelin and I are doing reconnaissance on Erickson's Concrete, trying to get a good idea of who all is coming and going today. We're in a parking lot across the street, hidden by an industrial building. The dark tint of the truck we're in helping as well."They aren't paying any attention," Caelin says as he takes a drink of his water. "Like they don't expect you to tell anyone about what happened.""Wouldn't doubt it." I reach over and grab a cigarette out of the pack on the dash. "Dad probably thinks I'm still scared of him and I'm not anymore.""How do you feel about him?"I sigh. "I don't know. A part of me knows I should feel some kinda way because he is my dad. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have life but, at the same time, he fucked me up. I'm gonna hate him forever for that.""You should. Boundaries are important. You don't have to love someone just because society says it's what you're supposed to do. We
HarleyThis time, I smile as I clean up the cuts on Bishop's face. I've never been more proud of the man who sits on the chair in front of me. Standing up to his greatest fear and not backing down when things got tough. "I love you.""I love you, too."It comes out all gruff because he can barely move his lips. Leaning forward, I gently kiss his lips. "I'm glad it didn't fuck up this pretty face.""You're the only one who thinks my face is pretty."I giggle. "That's a lie. You know there are women who come into the shop wanting to talk to you and they do their best to get your attention. It happened last week.""I don't remember that.""Of course you don't. You only have eyes for me." I give him a smart-ass answer. "I do." He smirks."I'm proud of you," I whisper. "You confronted your fears.""Even the ones I didn't know I had," he admits, leaning a little further into my touch."Oh? I'm all ears if you'd like to talk about it?"He sighs. "Normally I'd say no, but I want to be more o
BishopThe blonde woman walking up the stairs to the office causes me to do a double-take. I haven't seen her in years. My heart pounds in my chest as I watch her knock on the door and then take a step in. My boots are planted on the concrete of the bay and I try to make my feet move forward. They're rooted. Unable to move. "Who is that?" Caelin asks as he comes to stand next to me. "My mom," I whisper, still not sure I can believe the scene taking place in front of me. She's never been here, not tried to see me once since I left. "What the fuck is she doing here?""It might be a good thing for you to ask her. Maybe don't make assumptions.""I'm not making assumptions," I argue."You are. I've spent a lot of time with you in the past few months. I can read you now. You're pretty close to being my best friend, Erickson, and I've not seen you back away from anything. Why don't you go in there and see what she wants?"It would be so easy for me to ignore it, to pretend like she isn't
Harley"Eight more weeks and it's looking like he might come early. You're carrying low. He's a good weight, though, so as long as we can keep him in four to six more, you're good," Doctor Simmons says as she checks me. "Have you been having any pain or anything?" "No." I shake my head then think better about it. "Actually, yeah I did. Bishop and I were..." I stop, not sure how to proceed without being crass. "Being intimate and I felt some pressure." "Was there bleeding afterward?" "No, it just got uncomfortable very quick. To the point where I had to ask Bishop to stop. I've never done that before, not since we had sex for the first time." My face flames as I tell this woman more than I ever expected to. "It's okay," she explains. "You're going to be feeling more pressure the closer you get to him coming. Like I said, you're already carrying low. The lower he gets, the worse it's going to be for you. Your hips are widening and preparing for you to give birth,