***
I’m sitting at the table, in the chapel where we have all our meetings. I’ve been here all morning, waiting for everyone to drag their lazy asses in so I can tell them what went down between Dani and her mother last night. I haven’t even been to sleep. On top of that, all I can think about is Dani.
“Shadow, you’re in early,” Bull comments, sitting in his chair with a cup of coffee, the other guys following close behind.
“I have some important information,” I say, sitting up in my chair.
“I would hope so. You called me for a meeting at three in the morning, son,” Bull remarks, sipping on his coffee.
“You look like shit!” Hawk quips, his old wrinkly eyes staring right at me.
“Ya, I didn’t sleep much,” I say, frustrated. Who gives a fuck what I look like? I just said I have important news.
“All right, spill it,” Bull implores, lighting a cigarette.
“Last night, I went to pick Dani up, and her mother stopped by for a visit.” Everyone starts to talk amongst themselves.
“I fucking told you,” Locks says, pointing at me with a cigarette in his hand.
“Go on,” Bull urges, sitting up straighter in his chair.
“She wanted Dani to turn on us, come to her senses,” I explain.
“What’d she say?” Bobby interrupts. I look away from Bull to glare at Bobby. Fucker is still on my shit list.
“Dani told her no and when her mom wouldn’t let up, Dani tried to shoot her. Told her to go back to New York and if she came back, she would kill her.” I release the breath I was holding from the moment all the shit went down last night.
“Well, I’ll be,” Bull exclaims, rubbing the scruff on his cheeks.
“That don’t prove shit,” Locks says, slamming his fist on the table.
Bull rolls his eyes but before he can lay into Locks, a petite knock came at the doors.
“What!” Bull roars.
Babs steps in with an ear-to-ear grin.
“Hey, boys. I just wanted to remind you that the Fourth of July party is next weekend, so don’t forget.” She smiles one last smile and closes the door.
“Are you kidding me?” Locks says, gesturing toward the door. Women are not allowed to interrupt a meeting unless it’s important, but it’s no surprise Babs gets away with it. I wouldn’t be shocked if she was messing with Bull the way he sees her above all other females, but what do I know. I can’t assess my own relationship right now, let alone someone else’s.
Bull starts to laughs. “Damn women.” He turns back to the table. “Make sure Dani is at that party. She is cleared of any potential threats to the club, so let’s get her back in here and start making her feel like family,” he commands, putting his cigarette out.
“What the hell, Prez?” Locks questions, looking at Bull like he’s stupid. “You ain’t thinking clearly. That boy is in love with her. He’ll say anything!” Locks yells to everyone at the table, his hand pointing at me. His tone is pissing me off, and I grit my teeth.
“She didn’t do a goddamn thing wrong, Locks. We did, by not trusting her. You better get that foot outta your ass and start showing her some damn respect right fucking now!” Bull hollers, his voice rumbling through the room.
Locks gets up, slamming his chair against the wall. “Screw this shit,” he roars before leaving the room.
“I’ll go check on him,” Old Guy says, following him.
“I swear you got a bunch of pussies in this club. A bunch of women throwing temper tantrums,” Hawk gruffs, gaining a sigh from Bull.
Dani
I wake up grateful I have the day off; my feet hurt beyond belief. I slowly open the door to see if Shadow is asleep across the hall again but see an empty spot. In the inside I’m pouting, but in my mind I’m grateful. The less of Shadow the better until I can make my mind up about him. I make my way into the kitchen and come to a complete halt. Atop the counter sets a wooden wicker basket full of foot creams, ice packs, pain reliever and right in the midst, my iPod. I can’t help the smile, which creeps across my face at the gesture. I pick up the iPod and see a certain song paused, so I place the ear buds in my ears and hear “The Reason” by Hoobastank. I smile as I think of Shadow and me. God, how I miss him, and from this basket and this song, I think he misses me, too.
I spend most of my day sitting on the couch watching TV, using the care package Shadow left me to recuperate my feet. Not to mention, I’ve listened to the song Shadow left me on repeat nearly twenty times. Not eating much for breakfast or lunch, I decide to give the TV a rest and go make an actual meal.
I make my way to the kitchen as the door to the apartment opens and Shadow walks in. He’s carrying a pizza box in one arm and a two-liter of Pepsi tucked under the other.