Comp's Chance

Now, I look up at the blue sky before smiling. Thank you, God, for ignoring the pity and enhancing the strength in me.

I back out of the Ink shop and speed off downtown, heading back toward the clubhouse. I need to hold my woman and my baby girl. I need them to know they both saved me. It doesn’t take too long before I get to the compound. I smile down at the new paint my bike recently got. We both got an upgrade of ink with the women in our lives.

On my bike now, on the opposite side of the skull, is a rose surrounded by glittering light. A few petals have fallen, but they represent Sunny and her struggles. Yes, she may have lost some of herself in the past, but she’s still beautiful and full of life.

I hop off the bike before heading to the clubhouse door. I don’t make it ten feet in the door before the smile drops from my face.

“Daddy, Daddy!” Paisley screams, running to me with tears leaking down her face. I want to take this moment and bottle it forever. I want to smile, laugh and maybe even fucking cry at the moment she called me daddy, but the tears streaming down her face have me dropping to my knees. She runs into my arms and buries her head in my neck, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Baby girl, what’s wrong? Tell me what happened?” I ask, trying to sound calm, but know she can hear the panic in my voice.

“Mommy’s gone. She left,” Paisley cries, and that’s the moment I feel my heart break.

Twenty-Four

SUNNY

Ilook at my baby one more time, playing with Rae and Rome, completely unaware of the total heartbreak I’m feeling at the moment. I’ve been planning this for three months now. I knew Jason was too powerful to take down, even for the Reckless Omens. I knew that I would have to be the one to take care of this. It all started with me, and I know it has to end with me. That’s why I’ve taken the last three months to plan. The only thing I was missing was an exit strategy from the club. I had no clue how I was going to get out of the compound with no one noticing.

My prayers were answered moments ago. I heard one of the prospects complaining about cleaning up a mess at the bar. It was about ten minutes ago, and I heard Swift tell them to leave in thirty and take the SUV parked at the end of the building. So, I have exactly twenty minutes to say my goodbyes, grab my shit, and get the hell out of dodge.

Paisley will stay here with the club and with Nix. I got all the paperwork settled and even filed her birth certificate again with his name on it. Don’t ask how I did all this without Nix knowing. That man is a God behind a computer, but I knew I had to do better. So, I found my way. That way being an old friend thatworks on the inside, filling it out, and updating it with no one being the wiser.

Now, he should have no issues when it comes time to put her in school, sports, or just to watch her grow. After today, I won’t be there to do that anymore. I look up as Halle comes into the playroom.

“Everything alright?” she asks, looking at me skeptically.

“Yeah, it’s perfect. I’m just tired,” I tell her, putting on my most convincing smile. She looks at me like she doesn’t believe me, but I turn back to Paisley.

“Baby girl, I’m going to take a nap. Come give me a hug,” I say, and Paisley gets up and walks right to me. I squeeze her close, not wanting to let go but knowing I need to, or not only will Halle know something is wrong, but so will Paisley.

I pull back, and she runs back to her friends. I turn and start walking back toward Nix’s room, but Halle halts me with a hand on my arm.

“You know, I think of you as one of my best friends. You can talk to me, tell me any kind of shit, especially the fucking dirty parts,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at me before she sobers. “I mean it, Sunny. You can tell me anything.”

I know I could. I could tell her, Piper, or Izzy my plan, and they would support me. But they would also worry, making them rat me out to the Brothers. For as much loyalty as they have to me, they have more to this club and their men. I can’t put them in a position to pick, and I wouldn’t want to.

“Thanks, babe. I promise I’ll come clean later,” I tell her before walking away. I will come clean, not to her or the club yet.

I reach Nix’s room, placing my hand on the doorknob. Quickly, I grab the go bag just to the side of the door and then step back out into the hallway, turning my head both ways to look down each side, making sure no one is around and following me. I slowly slink to the back of the hall, turning downanother hall, then one more before I reach a side exit. No one ever comes this way. The last hall has nothing but empty storage rooms and one guest bed no one sleeps in. I sneak outside, then peer around the building.

Looking at my watch, I realize I only have about eight minutes left, and who knows if they will leave early. I look at the door and don’t see anyone, so I look back at the only SUV sitting in the lot. That has to be it. I scurry around the side and quickly, but quietly, sneak into the back of the vehicle. Luckily, the seats will cover me, so the prospects won’t see me. I only have to wait about four minutes before I hear the front two doors open and slam shut.

“Fuck man, I can’t wait to be patched in. I’m tired of this bullshit grunt work,” one of the prospects complains. I roll my eyes but stay as silent and still as possible.

“It’s all part of it, man. You don’t think every man in that place did this same bullshit when they prospected?” another prospect, this one I recognize, replies. His name is Mason, and he’s great for the club. He had some shit go down when he was younger, but he’s tried to turn his life around and will be an amazing brother one day, at least, that’s what Comps says.

“What the fuck ever, man. They aren’t around. You don’t have to keep sucking dick; they can’t hear you,” the other one says, starting the SUV and pulling out. I brace myself as the bumpy gravel road tries to make me fly in the trunk. Luckily, the two up front aren’t paying any attention to me or the back.

“Shut the fuck up. You don’t know a thing about loyalty or hard work. I bet you wouldn’t open your damn mouth if the brothers were here,” Mason says, scoffing. They both grumble a bit more, but it’s mostly silence for the rest of the drive. We pull to a stop. Still no word from the prospects up front, but I hear their doors open and shut.

I wait a moment before peeking out my window and see we are at the bar. It’s closed this early, so there isn’t anyone in the parking lot. I wait until I see the prospects walking into the bar before quietly climbing into the backseat, opening the door, and jumping out.

There is a bus stop about three miles up the road, heading toward the next town. The great thing about escaping this way is that the bar sits at a four-way stop, each road taking you to a different town. Therefore, even when the men realize I’m not at the clubhouse anymore, they won’t know which town I went to. I pull out the black baseball hat I picked up from Grease’s toolbox in the garage and tug it on before pulling my hoody over my head.

It doesn’t take too long to get to the bus stop and once I make it there, I buy a one-way ticket back to my hometown. The bus ride is five hours, but I left just under thirty minutes after Nix went to meet with Cutter to get his tattoo. He told me the piece would take close to four hours to get done, and he would be back right after. I should be able to get there with a couple hours to spare before Nix and the club come after me. I know he will; he loves me… and I love him, but I need to take care of this.

This was my mess, and I need to fix it. The men of the Reckless Omens MC don’t have to tell me. I can see it in the stress on their faces. The situation with Jason is fucking with them, too. I heard there were some threats sent from some of Jason’s allies. Threats against Piper, Izzy, and Halle, who smiled and dared them to make a move. But it didn’t stop there. They threatened the children. Bronx, Jett, Rome, and Rae. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to one of them.