Page 23 of April’s Fool

“Worse than I originally thought,” I answer, giving them a rundown without telling them the full story. I won’t betray her confidence by telling them something she’s kept to herself for so long. By the time I’m done, the relaxed expressions they all had when I first came down are gone, and rage replaces them. I meet Cannon’s gaze and tell him, “I’m going to bury these fuckers for what they’ve done to her.”

“You won’t be alone in this.” He nods. “I don’t have a sister. I never thought of a woman as one, but it didn’t take more than an hour of her being here for me to know she’s something special. She’s got the club’s protection. It doesn’t matter whether another club asked us to look after her; she’s got it, regardless.”

“Agreed,” Hornet grunts, tapping his knuckles on the table in front of him. “We need to know all the players we’re dealing with.”

“I’ll take a closer look at the pictures you sent me,” Rimfire remarks. “Now that I have a name to go by, it’ll go faster.”

“Appreciate it,” I say, letting out a heavy breath. “She’s been suffering long enough. Told her that when she goes back to school, she won’t be going alone.”

“You and Hazard should go,” Cannon suggests.

“What about next week’s run?” Hazard asks. “We’ve got the coffins to transport.”

“Trench and Wrench can handle it without you. I’ll send Centerfire and Siege with them, just in case.”

Siege is a member like me, patched a year before me after he’d gotten out of the Army. Centerfire, Rimfire’s twin brother, not identical, followed his brother to the club after being medically discharged from the Marines.

So many of my brothers have served in one form or another within the military. It’s why I know they’ve got my back and understand me. Because I get them as well. If I need to talk, they’re there for me.

I was supposed to be going on this week’s run, but with this bullshit, there was no way I was going to leave April alone until I knew without a doubt she’d be safe.

“Thanks, Prez,” I grumble, pinching the bridge of my nose as I lean back in the chair.

“Head back to your woman, brother,” Hornet suggests. “We’ll sit with her throughout the weekend and help her with her paper. Then, after that, y’all can head back to the school. Let whoever is watching her see you this time around.”

“That’s the plan. I want them to know she’s not alone and see what they try next.” I’m not sure it’ll stop them, but it will get them to do something. I just don’t know what yet.

I smack the table and get up, head for the stairs, taking them two at a time, itching to get back to her. I don’t remember ever itching to be near a woman as I do with her. Even throughout the week we were apart, all I wanted was to be near her.

Chapter 13

APRIL

Three days back at school with Fool shadowing me, and I’m about to snap at him. Well, not exactly at him, but at the girls who stare or try to talk to him, as if I weren’t even there. It’s amusing how he responds, giving them blank looks and telling them to go away. You’d think the girls would give it up, but they haven’t. They want his attention, and I can’t blame them. He’s hot. Not just hot, more like he’s gruff and edgy, with that bad-boy persona.

Over the weekend, the guys did indeed help me with my paper. Rimfire even said he’d write it for me if I wanted him to, but I told him I could do it myself. He seemed a little disappointed by my refusal. The insight they’d been able to give me about running a business was clear and precise. I don’t think even my professor could teach me what they did.

Not only does the club run a mortuary business where they also create custom coffins, but they also have a bar called ‘Prowlers’ and a garage that builds custom vehicles. Cars, bikes, trucks. You name it, they do it. You wouldn’t think they have a multi-million-dollar enterprise, however, that’s exactly what their club has built over the decades since it started.

The way they explained things seemed so simple and easy, but I knew it was nothing of the sort. Cannon told me how his grandfather and the rest of the founding members started with just the club’s mortuary business, and when they split, they expanded it and started other chapters of the Grave Prowlers. By sharing all of this, Cannon made me feel accepted, because I know from being around the guys in the Devils Riot MC that not everyone is privy to that kind of information.

Because of them, I’d been able to write my paper with ease and get it knocked out. Ten pages seemed to fly by, and when I added my references, I simply listed them. I thought it through well, so if my professor has an issue with it, then oh well, and he can take a hike.

Packing up my things from my last class of the day, I’m ready to get out of here and head back to my apartment. Usually, Kayla, Mercy, and I have a dinner date on FaceTime, but Kayla messaged earlier that she would have to bail tonight. She didn’t give a reason other than that something came up.

I understand things happen, and I truly get it. I know better than anyone that things come up or that you just need a reason to take a moment. Not that I know whether that’s the case, but she’s never bailed before, so it makes me wonder what’s up.

“I never took you for a biker slut. Maybe I should have treated you like one. If I had, who knows, you might have been more willing to play the game.”

I startle at Samuel’s voice, but I do my best to ignore him.

“No wonder she wouldn’t spread for us. She’s already spreading her legs for a group of bikers,” another of his friends snickers.

In the past few days, they haven’t bothered me with Fool being so close, but it seems they’ve found a way to do it. Or I’ve given them the opportunity by taking my time gathering my stuff.

Ignoring their words, I stand from my seat and head for the exit. The sooner I get to Fool, the safer I’ll be and the safer I’ll feel.

“You know, April, those types of guys will use you up, get their fill, and toss you to the side soon enough,” Samuel calls after me. “I just want you to play with me. I wouldn’t toss you out like they would if you went along with it.”