AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Does he have a reason not to trust you?” Again, there was no judgment in his voice. Just understanding. I couldn’t tell if that was fucking annoying or a relief. Maybe a bit of both.
“Yeah. I lied to his face to get him to fuck off. Sam saw right through me, though, and called me out while he was still standing there.”
He chuckled lightly. “She’ll do that. Sammy is a force to be reckoned with when she sees you as her friend. I wouldn’t take that lightly. She doesn’t trust easily, and that she cared enough to step in was a big deal for her.”
She probably didn’t think of me as a friend anymore. I was a huge asshole to her. It was probably how Reaper figured out I was lying. I never lash out like that with women. I’m the charmer of the crew. I could get the fucking queen to drop her panties if I wanted to. Telling Sam to fuck off and get to work was outside my norm by a lot, and I wasn’t blind to the fear that flashed across her face when I snapped at her. It gut punched me, but I’d been so desperate to get her to leave, I said the first thing that came to my mind.
“Whatever. How does this work? Because I’m not coming to the city every time I get the urge. That’ll draw too much attention to me.”
“Did that matter when you were looking to score?”
My lip lifted into a scowl. Asshole was too perceptive. “I don’t like you.”
He laughed, amusement lacing his voice. “I’m okay with that. I don’t need you to like me. I need you to trust me enough to call when you need help. And I need you to show up to meetings. I can get you information about one closer to you–”
“No!” Dammit, how many times did I have to go over this shit? “No. There’s too many guys in the crew at the joint near here. I’ll come to you.”
He paused for a second before replying. “Gotta say, I’m surprised that there are so many of you trying to get sober. Given your reputation, I’d kind of assume the opposite.”
Leaning my head back against the door jamb, I sighed. “Yeah, well, you can thank our prez for that. It’s his rule. No brother can touch the product. We all had to get straight when he took over.”
He hummed. “Don't suppose you could convince him to stop dealing to help with your sobriety?”
A smirk pulled at my lips. “I’m not looking to die today, man. His patience only stretches so far.”
His sigh was heavy, and I could hear the weariness in his tone. “Yeah, I figured it’d be too big a favor. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
It might not hurt him, but it’d definitely hurt me. Croy wasn’t Reaper. He lacked a certain level of patience when it came to his crew screwing around. That’s why he left the discipline shit to Reaper. It was hard to imagine someone more violent than Reaper, but Croy took the cake on that title.
“So now what?”
“That depends on you. How bad is it right now?”
Honestly, not as bad as I thought. Since there wasn’t anything left in my room, I didn’t feel the need to go looking for more. I saw all the places Sam hit. She didn't leave anything behind. And I wasn’t stupid enough to message D and ask for more. I wouldn’t get five minutes from here without Reaper swooping down and kicking my ass.
“I’m alright, I guess.”
“Did you want to talk some more, or are you feeling okay to go back to work? Or whatever it is that you do.”
I snorted, shaking my head. “That’s club business. But yeah, I’m alright. Probably. I gotta go check on Sam. I’m supposed to be watching her.”
“Okay, then here’s how it’s going to go. You’ve got my number, and you can use it whenever you need. Doesn’t matter the time of day. I’d rather miss a few hours of sleep than have one of my people relapse. You’ll come to meetings, speak your truth, listen to other people’s struggles, and figure out what works for you when it comes to getting sober. I suggest bringing your friend, or whoever you choose as your support system, for at least a few meetings. There’s family-centered meetings I can recommend, too. To help with the strain the family members feel and walk them through what you’re going through.”
Yeah, right. Brewer wasn’t going to go anywhere near that shit. They were my brothers, but not like that. This didn’t affect them like it might affect some people’s family members. The most affected person was Reaper, since he was trying to take the blame, and he wouldn’t go near some group therapy shit with a ten-foot pole.
“And Clink?”
“Yeah?”
“If I hear even a whisper of you hurting Sam as some kind of revenge, I don’t give a shit how many people are in that MC. I’ll come for you myself. She’s a good kid. She did what she did because she was being kind. Leave her the hell alone.”
My eyebrows went up, and I fought back a grin. The guy had balls of steel to threaten someone in a crew, but I got the picture.
“Don’t worry. I won’t touch your woman. I don’t hurt women in general. That’s messed up.”
He made an irritated noise. “There’s plenty about your crew that’s messed up. You might want to think about getting some new friends if you’re really committed to getting sober.”
My face fell. “You’re overstepping now. My crew is my family, and I’m doing this for them. Don’t judge them when you don’t even know them.”
