Page 8 of Doc

"You on your way?"

It was Sax, our VP. "Christ, Brother, my alarm just went off. I still got time."

He snickered. "You don't sound so good."

He'd been there to watch me drown myself in a bottle of tequila the night before. His laughter over my agonized groan caused me to snap, "Fuck you."

"You can't talk to the Vice President that way," he scoffed.

I placed my phone on speaker and set it down. "Just did," I grumbled, struggling to sit up. "Got a whopping motherfucker of a headache."

"Got any Pedialyte?" I could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Yeah, because I keep that shit in my cupboard for emergencies," I came back sarcastically.

"Well, you should. It helps with a lot of things. When the kids are sick..."

I buried my head in my hands and tuned him out while he talked about his girls, and the benefits of Pedialyte. The fact that I was a doctor, and should know better, didn't help my mood any. I hadn't had many hangovers in my lifetime because I was a responsible adult most of the time. A low chuckle rumbled up my throat at that thought.

"Did you just giggle?"

I growled. "Not in the mood, Brother. Why the fuck you calling me anyway?"

"Demon cancelled church." He couldn't have told me that when I got there? "Thought you could use the extra time."

Oh, well. Sax was being considerate. My morning was finally looking up. "Hallelujah, there is a God," I mumbled.

"But he still wants all of us there. Vegas Watchdogs will be arriving soon."

Demon had invited the other club over for the day. They were an MC out of Las Vegas, and we'd been friends with them for years. Had worked together on construction jobs and club shit that had required more manpower than we had. Hell, with LD and his brothers, and the Vegas Watchdogs being there, it was going to be a circus. Anything could happen, even among friends.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember." I gave my head a squeeze. "Let me swallow a bottle of Tylenol and pot of coffee and I'll be there."

Sax's snort told me he wasn't going to let my comment slide. "Want me to send a prospect over to drive your ass here?"

"Fuck you," I snarled, not putting much emotion into it. I hung up, satisfied that I’d gotten in the last word.

Christ. My brothers knew what I was fighting. You couldn’t belong to a close-knit brotherhood and not know what was going on. It didn't matter if you talked about your personal shit or not, they always figured it out and responded accordingly. Most kept their distance, watched, and waited. Others approached you to offer support, while some thought it was fucking funny and gave you shit about it. No matter what, though, they had your back when it meant the most.

Most brothers with old ladies recognized the signs no matter how hard I denied and ignored them. But it was that damn Lulu who was leading the pack. I loved the woman, but her persistence in throwing Harlow and me together was a train wreck waiting to happen. She thought she was being so surreptitious, but I knew what she was doing. As long as Harlow wore that fucking wedding ring, it wasn't going to happen.

Thanks to my parents’ example, I knew the damage that was caused when a marriage was broken up by a third party.

I ran my hand over the stubble on the lower half of my jaw and released a deep breath. A glance at the clock next to me revealed that it was almost nine. I forced myself to get to my feet and took a second to stretch, feeling the slight aches and stretch of muscles that came from spending the night in the same position for too long. That's what I got for dropping into bed hammered.

For a man in his forties, I considered myself to be in good shape, but I walked to my bathroom like an old man, slow and slightly uneven. A hot shower would make a world of difference, and since I slept naked, I jumped into the shower and turned on the water. Ten minutes later, I was standing at the sink and staring at myself in the mirror. Bloodshot eyes blinked back at me.

It was going to take more than coffee and Tylenol to smooth out the sharp edges of my drinking binge. I opened the medicine cabinet, reached for the Tylenol, took the remaining three tablets, and tossed the empty bottle into the trash. I cupped my hand beneath the faucet for a drink of water and then straightened. My long hair was clinging to the sides of my neck, half-covering the port-wine stain I had in the shape of Alaska on the side of my neck. Growing up, that huge birthmark had been a source of many childhood fights and it had taken me years to not let the stares bother me.

It didn't take me long to get ready and after chugging down two cups of strong, black coffee I was out the door. By the time I climbed on my bike I could already feel the Tylenol and coffee kicking in. I went full throttle to the clubhouse, relishing the long, isolated ride there. By the time I turned off onto the road leading to the clubhouse, I had only passed maybe five other vehicles. The desolate part of the desert was one of the reasons the club liked being in the area. Sneaking up on the Desert Rebels was almost impossible to do. But notimpossible. It had fucking happened a time or two.

The gate was open, but Creepers was manning it. Bikes and a few vehicles took up the grounds surrounding the clubhouse. Two huge smokers were already going, and when I shut my bike down, I could hear shouting and laughter coming from the playground area in the back. I headed in that direction, sure that’s where I would find most of my brothers who had families. These days, the children outnumbered the members of the club, or so it seemed.

My gaze landed on a group of Vegas Watchdogs and their old ladies. They'd commandeered a couple of the picnic tables that had been set up, and were already drinking and laughing it up. I acknowledged the few chin nods aimed in my direction as I made my way through the crowd to where I saw Demon, Cole, LD, and Sax conversing with Trip and his VP, Murphy. I could tell by the way they were closed in on each other as they talked and the serious expressions on their hard faces that they were discussing business.

I acknowledged my brothers before welcoming Trip and Murphy with chin nods. "Welcome, Brothers.” I looked at Demon, feeling my lips twitch with the need to grin at the Little Mermaid eyepatch he was wearing. “What’s up?”

His mouth tightened. “Looks like I’m gonna need to call church later today after all.”

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