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  "Gimme a moment, Prez." Harry coughed, "Ashley just washed the hardwood. Why don't you guys take off your shoes out there while I get some of those beers?"

  I wanted to fucking scream my head off. See what'd happen if Harry fucking Vale got caught on a lie. Wouldn't that just upset the big bear himself. But no, that wouldn't do a bit. I wanted to know what Grizzly had in store for me. If he was willing to talk to Harry off to the side from me then obviously they were in on something that I wasn't supposed to know.

  "Sure, Harry. Your house, your rules." Grizzly chuckled languidly.

  "Thank you, Sir'." Harry put on his best hunky-dory smile and closed the door.

  The room went quiet for only a moment.

  Finally, Harry reared his head back at me with an expression that made my stomach tighten.

  "Can you walk."

  I bit my bottom lip and nodded slowly.

  "Good." He gestured his head up to the stairs, "Get yourself in bed and keep that mouth shut."

  From there, I was left to pick myself up with the help of the table. The screaming pain roaring against my stomach was telling me to stop but Harry's threatening stare kept me moving. Once I was on my two feet, I held onto the limp form of my arm and started my way up to the stairs, climbing my way with Harry's stare uninterrupted. I dragged myself up to the bedroom door, took the door handle, and stood there opening the room before closing it behind me. With my back up against the wood, I found myself in the reflection of our dresser mirror and gasped.

  My face was almost unrecognizable with my skin already turning purple and my left eye swelling shut from where he hit me. I collected my face in horror and felt the tears stinging against my raw skin. He did this to me––drunk and angry––and now, he could carry on a friendly conversation with his friend’s downstairs? Just who the hell did I marry...?

  I stifled my soft cries when I heard their voices below me, laughing like drunk hyenas. My hand came up to my mouth to calm my body down and eventually, I could feel my breathing grow slower.

  "You sly dog..." I could recognize Grizzly’s voice. "How you ended up with the daughter of our rival MC is beyond me, honestly."

  "Last I saw, she had a good set of legs." Someone else's voice chided with the men and they laughed all over again. If my stomach wasn't already upset, I'd be repulsed to no end.

  Harry's voice finally spoke up, "Well, let's just say she was in my cards."

  "Oh, we know about those cards of yours, boy." Grizzly hummed. "Which is why we wanna borrow her as our ace."

  "Ace?" Harry inquires.

  "Leverage, Harry." Grizzly chuckled.

  "We want to use her to get to the Reaper sons of bitches." The other man responded.

  At that point, my eyes widened in shock. I spun my body to face the door, hand already at the knob but my head told me not to leave the room. Not yet. Still, I was gritting my teeth just at the nerve of them. Did they honestly think it was going to be that easy to get to my father? The Prez of the Reapers MC? They had another thing coming, my daddy wasn’t the type of man you could push around.

  The man that carved his life work and family line into this foundation of notorious bikers? Hell, they didn't know what they were getting into... If they honestly thought I'd sit around and let that happen, they could break every bone in my body trying to stop me from getting back home. That’s the one place I needed to be right now. Like primal instinct I knew I needed to leave this shithole and get back home to Montana as soon as I possibly could.

  "You honestly think it could work?" Harry sounded unsure.

  "What' you talking about, boy?" Grizzly was firm.

  "These people are loyal to Fist and all. I've seen them myself."

  "Doesn't mean shit." The other man spat.

  Grizzly added to that, "Fist is a father who would do anything to get his daughter back. We'll threaten him to step down if he ever wants to see sweet Ashley back in one piece––pictures, videos, maybe even send the old man some of her lush blonde hair in a box. Hell, maybe we’ll spice the pot a little bit and send him one of her fingers. We’ll arrange for a meet to offer little Ashley back over to Fist and that’s when we’ll strike. We’ll take him out right then and there."

  I scoffed under my breath.

  "Once he's down, we'll storm the place using Ashley as a shield. Or better yet, kill every single fucker one by one." A dirty cackle suggested.

  "Death to the Reapers." Grizzly added.

  "Could work then." Harry muttered to the men, "Let's do it."

  "There we go!" Grizzly’s voice booms in the living room followed with a hard laugh, "We’ll plan another night boys, let’s celebrate the soon to be demise of the Reapers”

  And drink they did. Glass clanked hard between the men as they spent themselves with bottles in hand. I heard their dirty laughs rolling underneath the floorboards. I was left to sit there for what felt like hours, but I listened. Boy, did I listen...

  The things they'd share between the three of them. Harry was working for Grizzly this entire time. Probably before we even got married. That wasn't the only thing that put my mind to unrest. The drugs Harry had been moving left and right within the Bear's MC. All those strip joints he visited to sell at while I was at home, waiting for him to join me for dinner during those lonely nights. God knows what he was doing during his "break" time. Certainly not texting me back while I was waiting on him.

  It took me a trip around the bedroom to look for my phone just so I could push my thoughts aside. Still, I couldn't find my cellphone, but I did find Harry's car keys to pocket. I couldn't find anything or anywhere to put my thoughts, so I returned to my spot on the floor with my back to the door and an arm up to my stomach. When my anger subsided, I was left to stroke my stomach with swelling fear. I didn't know if the baby… Were we going to be okay? I couldn't...I couldn't sit here any longer. I needed to get up on my feet and move.

  I took the door knob and steadied my back to the wooden frame, pulling myself up. With a deep inhale, I stopped myself from breathing whilst turning the knob slowly––centimeter by centimeter. The door was loose and barely made a sound as I pulled the door to me with my eyes reaching to the edge of the stairs.

  The house was quiet... Or at least quiet enough for me to make my next move. My legs started their trek to the stairs and once I was there, it took every grain of effort in my body not to make a peep from the old steps. Halfway down and the living room was already in view. Harry had passed out on the couch, one leg sprawled off the edge while his arm took the board. The color of his face was flushed from the alcohol which meant I was practically in the clear. Exactly where was Grizzly and the other guy though?

  My eyes went from the kitchen bar to the front door where the welcome mat lay. The only shoes I could recognize was Harry's brown cluttered boots. Had they gone?

  I didn't have much time to find out. I continued down the remaining steps and peered out the window to see if there were any cars in our driveway. None. Relief was splashed into my heart and I could breathe. I darted my way past to the living room that lead to the kitchen until I noticed the phone sitting at the end table by Harry's feet.

  Those numbers were staring back at me with the green monitor.

  Should I call my father?

  No. I learned my lesson. Get out while he's down and don't look back. I pulled my body away from the door and stepped into the open kitchen just in time to spot something familiar. Harry's phone was sitting at the counter top by the stove!

  I didn't know if it had been sitting there this entire time, but I cursed at not noticing it until now. Sure, I couldn't finish the dial of numbers for my father's cell––but I knew Harry's passcode and using his data would help me find my way back home.

  My hand snatched the phone and I was already on my way to the garage with a swelling confidence building in my chest. So close, I had to be careful. The garage was closed and if I opened it with the remote, there's that risk of waking him up... I'd have to
pull the door up myself.

  With a close of the kitchen door behind me, I continued to the wide door with the freedom to move quickly. I dropped to my knees before the latch and inched my fingers underneath the handle. My endurance strained itself trying to slide the weight of the door up with one hand, but I held my breath, trying not to make another sound while I was so close to freedom! It took some time trying to slide the damn thing up to the halfway point but once I was there, the rest seemed to lift on its own like a feather.

  I rolled it quietly on up to the garage ceiling and saw the dark night clearing of my neighborhood before my eyes. The cool air rolled up to my heated face and distressed my mind all at once. At that moment, I could've cried to have made it this far. After everything, never did I think I’d walk out on my husband. Until now, our spats had been purely emotional. He’d never laid a hand on me until tonight – and tonight was the last fucking time he’d lay a hand on me

  Harry wasn’t a model husband by any means. He knew exactly the right things to say that would break me down. He would apologize from the bottom of his heart and I could only sit there and believe him. Not anymore. This was the last damn time he'd ever do anything to hurt me.

  I picked my head up and walked away from the entrance to get into the car. When I slid that key in the ignition and turned it, I didn't care if Harry woke up from his drunken slumber. I didn't give a shit if he freezes to death in his sleep when the cold escaped the garage and filled up the rest of our house.

  My foot lifted off the brake and as the car followed on forward, I didn't stop. As soon as I was up to the lip of my driveway, I hit the gas and turned the wheel with the arm he didn't fuck up.

  Chapter 2

  Ashley

  The road ahead of me was a slow trek up to Montana. Everything passed my windows: every tree, every farm, every person that watched the car burn rubber the second the overhead stoplight flashed green.

  If I seemed like a reckless driver that was because my bad arm ended up dislocated, no thanks to Harry. Five or six cars had honked furiously behind me to change lanes or smash the gas pedal, but I didn't fucking care. I'll gladly drive the speed limit and if they didn't like it, they could change lanes and pass me. It didn't make a difference if they gave me looks or gave me the bird. With one hand on the steering wheel, I drove with a smile on my face and no regrets for the remaining five hours on the road. Hell, the journey felt like nothing after the three years of marriage I had left behind me.

  When I finally reached Montana, it felt like the landscape stretched wider before my tired eyes. We say that Montana stretches like a smile into the American soil. Texas was known for its muscle, New York for its skylight eyes, but Montana had a smile that could light up the town in stars.

  I used to walk the fields at night with those twinkling gems winking back down at me. Now, the morning sun was the only eye welcoming me back home from the restless night spent driving.

  Alongside the road, I saw that the fields were healthy and plentiful of crop: barley sprigs waiting to be brewed for Octoberfest, potatoes that were probably bigger than my fist, and the sugar beets.

  I wonder if Dad still carried jars of his special black cherry jam.

  My thoughts pondered over my Dad until I came to the road that would lead me back to my childhood home. Many things crossed my mind in this moment. Would he be happy to see me? Would he tell me to go back to Harry? I didn’t leave on the best terms, but I was determined to make up for every horrible thing I put my father through.

  I’ve been gone for almost four years. I’d just graduated and was so very naïve. I can only hope that Dad will understand that everyone makes mistakes, even his little girl.

  I kept driving until I pulled Harry's shitty Honda Accord up to the gates of the Reapers MC, waiting for a prospect to let me through. As I rolled down the window of the car, I pulled my hoodie up over my head to cover up the swollen side of my face, not wanting anyone to gossip about me, but also not wanting to get pity from anyone in the club. I winced as the fabric brushed against the side of my cheek but didn't say a word as I saw the man slowly approaching the driver's side of the car.

  By the look of him, he seemed new on the job. He was trash looking with his dirty-blonde hair that was obviously unkept. Across the cusp of his narrow jaw was roadkill for facial hair but I couldn’t recognize his face with those shades he had on. I knew exactly in this moment that he wasn’t someone I’d know.

  Where were the usual boys that came for their shift? Wasn't it usually Joey or Pete? At least those boys didn't have the audacity to keep a woman waiting.

  “You lost, lady?" The prospect asks as he reaches the car.

  His hands were gripping his belt with both hands like he owned the place and frankly that pissed me off.

  “I don't believe so." I said flatly, looking him dead in the eye. "I believe I happen to be in the right place, dipshit."

  That made his mouth purse. Obviously, he wasn't happy with my attitude.

  “Listen, bitch––"

  I cut him off right then and there. With a dislocated arm, a black eye, and a body full of hurt, I have had enough of this bullshit. Men were starting to forget who the hell they were dealing with and no one spoke to me that way and got away with it. Well, no one besides Harry but don't worry, he'll get what’s coming to him soon enough.

  “Listen here, Prospect.” I emphasized with venom on my tongue, “If you want to get voted into this club, you need to let me through this damn gate."

  That caught his attention up to the point that he slowly released the grip on his belt.

  "I’m Ashley. Ashley fucking Monroe." I spoon feed him the threat while he stood there, stupid, wide eyed and not understanding one lick of what I was telling him. "My daddy really won’t like hearing about the hard time you’ve been giving me. Either let me in or I’ll crush you like a fucking cockroach.”

  He reconsidered with a slow gulp lodged in his throat. I watched him open his phone and drill some number in before putting it up to his ear. When he got uncomfortable with my cold stare, he turned his back to me and started muttering into the receiver. While he took his sweet time talking, I repositioned myself into the car seat with the weight of my body's aching.

  My good hand finally left the steering wheel to touch the base of my stomach and I realized that from the tip of my finger to the wrist I was trembling. The entirety of my body was trembling at the memory of last night. It was marring the recollection of my memories and swelling like a sort of sickness that refused to go away the day after—like a hangover on the back burner.

  Damn it. How stupid did I have to be not to see his true character... Just what did I deserve to end up like this?

  My thoughts were interrupted with a low rumble of bikes coming from behind the Honda. My eyes slid to the right mirror and searched for faces amongst the crowd. As they stalled, there were two men getting off their bikes with a kick of the stand. I looked for anyone who could vouch for me, I even started looking for my father.

  “What’s goin’ on here?”

  I recognized that hard-spit, chuckle of a voice immediately. It couldn't have belonged to anyone else but my uncle Cracker.

  “This bitch is tryin’ a get in the club." The roach says, his confidence sparking back up, "Says she’s the Ashley Monroe.”

  He came up to the side of the driver’s window, lowering his face, and sure enough I could recognize him. He’s aged a bit over the past few years, but he almost looks exactly the same.

  “Didn’t I tell ya to stop smoking those cancer sticks before I left?” I muttered to him, offering him a small smile.

  "Well, I'll be…" He whispered to himself as he took in my face.

  A sly grin that could make a fox jealous crept underneath the crisp-hay mustache that rested on his upper lip. He carried the same blue eyes that I inherited from my father—the Monroe sapphires, so he claims.

  “Uncle Cracker, I swear..." I shook my head at the nerve of hi
s prospect, "I’m going to be a lot harder on this shit than daddy ever was.”

  He broke his expression into a low chuckle, “I bet you will be, darlin’. Now what the fuck happened here?”

  His hand went past the window to try to touch my face but I immediately turned away. Not in shame. No, fuck that. That side of my face felt so tender that even my cotton hoodie felt like sandpaper every time it touched the bruising.

  When I looked back to Uncle Cracker, his own face appeared soaked in melancholy. I could tell he was trying his best not to imagine the cause of my damage, but his expression pushed me close to tears. It was going to be hard enough trying to get out of this damn car, I’m not going to start crying now. Not when I have so much to do – so much to make up for.

  “I’ll tell you later." I promise, lowering my eyes to the door handle, "Can you just tell your lovely little boy who I am? I need to see my father.”

  Cracker nodded at me and turned on his shoulder to pinch at his lip before whistling a hard pitch. The prospect buzzed the gate open. I gave my uncle a nod of thanks before lifting my foot up to roll on through. As I drove, Cracker's smile in the reflection of my mirror was the biggest signal to tell me that things were going to be okay.

  I tried not to think about it while I parked at the main house. Along the pathway was a full park lot with a line of bikes winking with shine as they sunbathed. Some of the men were out on the porch with their whores wiggling in their laps, giggling about something stupid. Sad part is, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a couple or two fucking out here in the open. That was the life though. This is the grand ol’ Reapers compound.

  This is my birthright, and I’m finally home.

  Just seeing that the clubhouse was packed tonight gave me no doubt that they were having a party. Whether it was a barbecue or a football game, I didn’t care. As long as it wasn’t gambling because I couldn’t stand to walk in on another bar fight with the prospects claiming that they got cheated by the full patches.

  I unbuckled my seatbelt and automatically cringed at the pain ripping along my arms. I didn’t even realize how hard it was to move my shoulders as I had to move my arm to get the width of the band off me. As I turned the car off, I pulled out my keys to stuff them into the cushion of my bra before I opened the door. I swung it all the way open without much force, but I didn’t give a damn if the piece of crap fell off its hinges.