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"The bar's good; no problems; we're busy every night." Axel turns to Ink, who grins; amusement flashes in his eyes. "Fire's Ink is fucking awesome; more clients have been coming in; Hawks is especially busy with the ladies."
Hawk gives him the middle finger while Ink laughs, and we look at them confused. Hawk points at Ink and says, "Don't you fucking dare." But Ink just grins and looks around the room.
"It seems Hawk has gotten himself a 17-year-old admirer who thinks she's old enough for him."
We all laugh while Hawk huffs, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's not fucking funny; she comes in every day trying to book a tattoo, knowing she's not old enough yet, wearing these skimpy fucking outfits and too much fucking make-up trying to be seductive, making my skin fucking crawl. She won't take 'no' as a fucking answer."
We all laugh harder while he scowls at us all. Axel shakes his head and bangs his gavel.
"Alright, fuckers, quieten down; I'd like to hit the road soon to return to my woman. Hawk, try and stay away from jailbait; will yah ban her from the shop if you have to? Dag, you were last doing the books for the club; how are we doing?"
Hawk growls while the rest of us laugh.
I shake my head and speak up: "The club is doing well, making a good profit, although Louisa dropped by yesterday." Axel sits up straight; rage enters his eyes, and I don't blame him. His woman, Annalise, whom his mother Cammy set him up with, suffers from anxiety, and not long ago, Louisa, who was another baker working for Annie, not only left the bakery in a mess, not doing her job properly but she also stole $400 out of the till. Only a few months after that, Annie was attacked by her ex-boyfriend David, who enjoyed being chopped up by Axel. Apparently, Buzz, our newly patched brother, nearly threw up, and it was a sight to see.
I put my hands up. "She came in looking for a waitressing job, but I told her we don't hire thieves. She tried saying Annie was lying, and she'll end up homeless without a job." Dead Shot growls, and I smirk, continuing, "She soon ran out the door with her tail between her legs, though when I told her Annie was your woman and we've seen the CCTV,"
The brothers grin while Axel nods. "Good, I don't need her stressing my woman out." He looks around the table. "Anything else?"
Stormy stands, and I tilt my head. "I wanted to ensure everyone would be here for Leslie's birthday tomorrow night."
I try. I really do try, but I can't help the eye roll. I managed to keep the snort in, so I should get points for that, right?
Axel looks around the room, and all the men grin and nod; they all love her. To them, I'm the ungrateful one, hating his innocent stepmom who took him in as a baby and raised him, all oblivious to what she put me through. It was, in fact, Jewels who brought me up.
Tank looks at me with concern, but I give him a subtle head shake. He doesn't know much, only what he saw of my room and how Ink had received more things compared to me, but he's guessed I wasn't treated right, which I've never confirmed nor denied. Still, I never go to family occasions or dinners after returning home to take on the VP patch, which Axel and Dead Shot begged me to do, increasing his suspicion. But since I'm 30 years old and a retired Navy Seal, they can't force me anymore, and if they tried, well, let's just say, I can fight back now.
Stormy lays one hand on me; father or not, he's a dead man. I didn't get the road name Dagger for shits and giggles.
Axel looks at Ink, who scoffs, rolling his eyes. "I'm her fucking son; of course, I'm going to be there; she'd have my balls otherwise."
Everyone chuckles except for me and Tank before Axel looks at me and raises a brow.
I give him a small smile and say, "Sorry, I can't make it; I have a meeting with my squadron.
That's all I say; it's all he needs for him to nod. He knows when they call, I answer; that was the deal for me retiring from a team that I'd been with for 8 years. Even if we only do a group call, they come before a woman who abused me growing up.
Axel doesn't know what happened over the years. He was never allowed to stay over, so he never saw my room or the lack of food I was fed, and he never saw the scars on my body; no one has, and I want to keep it that way.
Ink looks at me with furrowed brows but keeps his mouth shut. He never saw what happened growing up, either. He'd question why he had a bigger room and more things than me or why Stormy had hit me, and they'd always tell him I was a fuck up, that I'd punch his mom or ruin some of his shit. Growing up, I barely talked to him; I resented him, but as I got older, I realized it wasn't his fault; it was our fathers and his mothers. We've become closer since I returned from active duty.
I hear Stormy growl, but I ignore him, and Axel bangs the gavel down. "Alright, fuckers, if that's it, the meeting is done. Hawk, Gunner, let's get Buzz and the prospects and go; we're wasting daylight."
The men chuckle while they all head out of the chapel into the common room. I walk around the table, briefly standing near the photo of my momma and Jewels on the wall, and smile a little.
She was beautiful, with dark red hair and bright green eyes.
I wish I knew her. And I wish I had more of her features, not the bastards.
Sighing, I continue to leave the room when Stormy grips my arm, making me tense. I look at him and see the concern in his eyes as they flicker to the picture of momma.
He clears his throat. "Son, your mother, she misses you. It's one party; can't you tell your men this is the one call you can't make? You never celebrate birthdays or holidays; you haven't done so since you left, and even before that, you spent your evenings bolted in your room. Please, son, do this for your mom and me. She brought you up as her own." His eyes flicker to the picture again before he looks back at me and says, "It'll be the best birthday surprise."
I smirk an evil smirk.
I love how he calls me son now, like he didn't beat me growing up and didn't listen to my abuser.
