First thing the next morning was not early enough. Less than an hour after they awoke, most members passed out at the clubhouse, they were getting ready to head out. Shockingly, that was just when Bastian turned up. He arrived much differently than Leary had, in such a fashion that Chucky assumed it was Galindo when he pulled up to the gate.
"I'm looking for Bishop Losa," Bastian said with a charming smile as Chucky poked his head out.
"You are not the man from last night." Chucky noted aloud, awkward as usual but with his guard lowered simply by the charisma oozing from Bastian.
Again, in less than twelve hours, Bishop was greeted with unpleasant news.
"Someone's at the gate," Chucky announced.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bishop growled, slamming down his helmet and charging toward the fence. When he swung open the small entrance he stopped, having expected Leary, but recovered quickly.
"Bishop Losa?" Bastian asked, moving forward with his right hand extended. "I'm Bastian Botha."
"What do you want?" Bishop barked, not shaking the man's hand.
Bastian took a step back, dropping his hand at his side, and nodded. "To apologize," he said simply. "My associate made a fool out of himself, and me, and I wanted to clear the air and offer an apology."
"He's your guy?" Bishop asked with obvious distaste.
Smiling, Bastian let out a chuckle. "We're from opposite worlds, as you can see," he gestured to his expensive and impeccably tailored suit, "But Tim is an old friend who does do some work for me from time to time."
As they spoke the Mayans slowly, and silently, gathered behind Bishop but Bastian could barely see anything. He knew they were there though, he had been watching the club, studying them, and noted their loyalty to each other and their president.
"We're not interested in doing business with you or your friend," Bishop said firmly.
"I didn't even get to my pitch," Bastian spoke calmly, keeping a friendly air to the conversation.
"We're not looking for work," Bishop told him.
"Busy with the Santo Padre Regional high school's recycle drive?" He asked jokingly.
"We work with a lot of people in the community," Bishop said. "High school, elementary school, old folks' home" he elaborated.
"You or someone in your name?" Bastian asked knowingly.
"Is this going somewhere?" Bishop glared at Bastian, "If not, we got shit to do."
"Quite a party last night," Bastian smirked peering in over Bishop's head. "I'm sure you're all feeling the sting."
"We're just fine," Bishop said with exasperation as he stepped back into the yard.
"Maybe we can talk later when you're feeling less aggressive," Bastian suggested. "I really think you'd be interested in what I have to offer."
Not waiting for a response, Bastian opened the back door of the SUV and seconds later he was gone. His driver sped out leaving a cloud of dirt in his wake.
"Bastian Botha," Bishop barked. "I want to know everything," he ordered as they charged back toward the clubhouse.
"Hey," Zara grabbed EZ's arm, "I know him, Bastian Botha. Kinda."
"Shit," EZ hissed, about to tell the others. "I'll let em' know."
"I already know," Bishop said, suddenly behind EZ, facing Zara. "Angel said you mentioned the name," he explained, gesturing to Angel behind him.
Zara nodded, apprehensive and suddenly shy when she looked into Bishop's intensely focused eyes. "He's come by the school. Buying a school police team and donating a shit ton of money."
"Always poking around," Angel added. "Made a big fucking show at the last PTA meeting. Didn't he undercut Galindo with some city deal too?"
He asked and Zara nodded. "Too involved too fast. I fucking hated this asshole before he ever showed up here."
Bishop looked at Angel for a second and nodded before turning back to Zara. "You tell him anything about us?"
Shaking her head, Zara couldn't help but feel defensive. "Never. I don't talk about the club with anyone, I rarely ever mention Angel by name."
"You should keep it that way," Bishop told her. "See what you can find out though, he's cocky, he'll like to talk himself up."
"Oh, like, get information on him for you guys?" Zara asked, clearly hesitant. "I don't know, I mean, this is," she was interrupted by an incorrect assumption.
"Dangerous?" Tranq asked.
"No," she said with a bit of confusion, "It's my job. I can't do anything that's going to hurt the school or my paycheck." She paused and looked at Angel. "Wait, do you think it might be physically dangerous?"
Angel opened his mouth to speak but Bishop answered with a bit more speed. "I doubt it but you two should talk it over. Don't want you doing anything if you both don't agree." Bishop turned to look at Angel. "I mean it." Normally he wouldn't have but after the past year, he couldn't push Zara.
"We'll talk," Angel said with a nod, his eyes darting between Bishop and Zara. "Now?"
"Now," Bishop said sharply.
Angel nodded and grabbed Zara's hand, pulling her out to his bike. They remained quiet as he placed his helmet on her head, clipping it carefully, and climbed on to find somewhere they could talk. They only drove a few blocks and parked by a small community garden kept by the apartment building to the left.
"I saw this on the news," Zara remarked. "Wasn't it a small lot or something?"
Angel nodded. "Some kid got jumped so they made a big deal about cleaning it up." He led her in and sat on the tiny bench. There was a small gold plaque was screwed to the wood with the name of the community group that organized the project inscribed in cursive.
"I like what we've built," Zara started. "Our boring domestic life is nice, I love it and I love you. This could get really messy," there was a pause, "But," she added before he could speak. "Isn't this what I'm supposed to do? As your girlfriend? Your Old Lady or whatever?"
Inhaling sharply, Angel then let out a heavy sigh and a short chuckle. "Shit, Z, I don't fucking know."
"Lots of help, Reyes, thanks," Zara rolled her eyes.
Angel shrugged and pulled a face, one Zara struggled to decipher. "You got a few options," he said. "Do it. Don't. Stop working with him through school, cause when he finds out about us he's gonna push you."
"Those aren't great,"
"Lot of our choices ain't great," he reminded her. "It's an MC."
"Sometimes I forget," she shrugged. "Ever since things settled down it's been like you have some normal 9 to 5 job. I'm so scared the pendulum is going to swing back into extreme violence and pain. I can't do that again, Angel."
"Mi Amor," he whispered, cupping her face, "I won't let that happen. Me, E, Coco," he spoke to her earnestly, "No Mayan is gonna let you get hurt."
Zara nodded, fluttering her eyelashes dramatically. "Okay," she laughed, "I'll see what I can charm out of him."
—
Three Days Later*
"Zara!" EZ hollered, pounding on her front door in the middle of the night two days before Christmas. It took a second but when Zara finally woke up, realizing it wasn't some horrible dream brought on my memories from all the trauma. It was real and EZ sounded panicked.
"What?" She pulled him into the house, her robe wrapped tightly around her waist. "What happened?"
"We got rolled," he said, for lack of a better word. "Angel and some of the other guys are at the hospital."
"Is it bad?" She asked, a chill running down her spine.
EZ shook his head. "I don't know. It didn't look good but, I don't know." As she headed back up to get dressed, EZ called out to her. "You need to keep your ringer on, Zara. I've been callin' you."
Zara nodded, the weight of Angel's remarks from their previous talk suddenly felt doubled. "Yeah. Sorry. I'll, uh, I'll be right down."
Only putting on a bra and sneakers, Zara hurried back down and followed EZ to the hospital in her car. He walked her in, arm around her not only as a comfort but as if he was attempting to protect her from the situation. The first face she saw was Nestor's.
"Why is he here?" She mumbled quietly.
"Work," EZ whispered. "They gotta know who."
Zara nodded, realizing how obvious it was, and as he glanced over gave her ex a sheepish wave. To her surprise, he came over toward her and EZ.
"Hi," she said politely.
Nestor smiled sadly and pulled her away from EZ into a hug. "You okay?"
"No," she admitted. "Do you know anything?"
"No, Bishop and another member are talking to the doctors and local cops," Nestor explained.
"Come on," EZ said with an odd mix of distaste and possessiveness. He wanted to protect her but couldn't hide his hatred. "There's Bish," he said to pull her away.
From the double doors, Bishop limped out into the waiting room, reluctantly using crutches, his face in a dark scowl.
"Is he okay?" She asked him urgently.
"He's alive," Bishop said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. "They're checking out his head."
"His head? Is he conscious?"
"Not when I last saw him," Bishop said sadly.
EZ held Zara closer, this time to comfort himself, and shook his head. "What the hell happened out there, Pres?"
"I don't fucking know," he grumbled quietly. "We didn't even see it."
"See what?"
"An accident, some car spun out, hit the barrier and it went up. Rogan said it was a nasty pileup."
"Angel," Zara whispered with concern. "Is everyone else okay?"
Bishop paused, taking a deep breath, and shook his head. "Everyone's banged up," he explained. "Coco busted a few ribs, Angel took one to the head, Gilly's torn up, road rash, Taza and Riz are getting stitched up."
"And you," she gestured to the crutches.
"Dislocated knee," he said dismissively.
Zara could see knicks and cuts along his face but she didn't say anything. "Can I see him?"
"They'll let us know," Bishop told her. "I'm sorry, querida."
"Please, don't apologize," she huffed. "You can't protect them from car accidents," she said.
"Reyes?" A nurse called out from the double doors Bishop had just come through.
Zara looked at EZ who nodded. "Let's go."
The nurse smiled as EZ and Zara approached her. "Family?"
"Yeah," EZ nodded. "We're his family."
"Come with," she said, turning on her heel and scurrying down the hall. "He's still out of it, Mr. Reyes suffered a severe grade 3 concussion and a laceration to the side of his head but he is very lucky," she explained. "Honestly, the helmet didn't stay on but it saved his life."
Zara whimpered and covered her face before she began to cry. "Thank you," she whinnied.
"Of course," the nurse pointed to the door. "The doctor will be in during rounds in the morning."
"Thank you," EZ said, remaining stoic before guiding Zara into the room.
Angel was in the bed, covers up to his chest, with a large bandage around his head. It was comically large and had it not be stained with blood and Angel's skin looking so pale she and EZ would have laughed.
"Hey Angel," she sighed, running her fingers gently along his jaw to his chin. "
"Zara," he practically slurred, his eyes closed, "It's all good. I'm good."
"Yeah," she laughed a little. "You're good, baby. EZ's here. Can you look at us?"
His eyes fluttered open for a second before shutting again. "I'm tired."
"You should sleep, Angel," EZ told him. "That no sleeping with a concussion thing is a myth. You gotta heal."
"I'm good," he said again. "They said it was a car accident? I don't remember it but I'm glad you weren't there," Angel told his little brother. "Don't tell, Pop."
"I won't," EZ promised easily.
Zara nodded, "I won't say anything either."
"Go home," he grumbled to them. "I'm fine. You don't gotta sit here all fucking night."
"Go," EZ told her. "I gotta stay with the club anyway."
Adamant, Zara shook her head. "I can't. I can't leave him."
"He needs to sleep it off," EZ told her. "Come back when he's more with it."
She opened her mouth to protest but Angel wasn't having it from across the room. "Go, Z. Get some sleep."
"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "I'll be back first thing." Zara kissed Angel gingerly and left the room, against her better judgment, walking into Bishop in the hallway.
"Hey," he greeted her. "You going home?"
"Yeah, I wanna get some sleep, Angel needs to too, so," she shrugged.
Bishop nodded, "Club needs a favor."
The words were daunting but the favor was benign. Beside her was Coco, ribs wrapped, and in the rear view mirror she saw Gilly, Creeper and Riz squished together in the backseat.
"Alright boys, seatbelts on. It's time to get your asses home."
—
"Sorry, Mom, something came up and I'm not going to be able to meet you and Dad," Zara explained into her mother's voicemail. "I'll call you this afternoon, we'll reschedule and I'll explain everything."
Zara was relieved she didn't have to go through Holly's third degree but she felt incredibly guilty. The whole trip was derailed and Christmas was essentially cancelled.
"Angel?" Zara spoke softly as she slowly opened the door and peeked into his room.
"Z," Angel said with surprising clarity. He grimaced as he sat up but there was still a smile on his face. "How's my girl?"
"Me? How are you?" She leaned over and kissed him. "Your color looks better. You were so pale last night."
"The nurse said you were here," he told her, taking her hand in his as she sat. "Last night is all kind of a blur," Angel admitted.
"I'm sure it is," she agreed. "How are you feeling?"
"Shitty," he hissed. "My head is throbbing, feels like my goddamn brain is gonna explode outta my skull."
Zara frowned. "Concussions can be nasty."
"I've had concussions, this shit is the fucking worst," Angel complained. "Throwing up, can't remember shit, my goddamn ears won't stop ringing."
"I'm sorry," she intertwined her fingers with his. "You don't remember what happened?"
Angel attempted to shake his head but stopped, groaned, and laid back down. "No. Bish said it was an accident but they're investigating. Two people died," he told her.
She cringed, "Jesus"
"We're fucked," he went on. "Lost the truck, the product, and all of our bikes need work. I'm scared to check mine out, she was so beautiful."
"The truck and the product are the least of anyone's worries, Galindo can deal with that shit. He's got more than enough money and drugs," Zara huffed. "I'm worried about you guys."
"I know," he smiled sweetly at her. "You're not worried about my bike?"
Raising her eyebrows, Zara shook her head. "Bikes can be repaired."
"I'll be fine," he said firmly.
"Oh no, you're not doing that macho bullshit, you're going to rest and fucking heal, fully, before you go running around with the club like that again."
Angel's eyes grew wide, surprised by her fierce response to what he felt was an innocuous reply. "You wanna play nurse?" He asked to lighten the mood.
"I'll play Nurse Ratched," she glared at him. "I'm serious, Angel. If you guys try to jump back right back into work you'll all be laid up longer."
"I know," he grumbled. "I'll take it easy. Ah shit," he snapped. "Is it Christmas?"
"Tomorrow," Zara smiled sadly. "I don't think they'll be letting you out though."
Angel nodded. "I kind of want to stay," he admitted in a whisper. "I feel like shit, can't keep anything down, it's better here. I don't want you to have to fucking clean up after me and walk to me take a piss."
"Angel," she whimpered. "I want to take care of you, I'm your girlfriend, we live together. It's a part of this commitment." Zara looked at him for a second. "Isn't it? Are we not at the whole changing your diapers when you're 90 years old?"
"You think we're gonna be together when I'm 90?"
Drawing her head back she shrugged, becoming defensive and self conscious. "I mean, I wanna be."
"Alright," Angel cringed as he pushed himself to sit up further, turning toward her. He had been waiting, he wanted everything to be perfect, but after almost losing his head how much more perfect could it be?
"Alright?" She asked with annoyance.
"Look, I wanted to wait but," he inhaled, preparing to continue, but didn't get to finish his thought.
"Angel," Bishop said in a cheerful tone as he burst into the room. "You look good, brother," he was all smiles as he greeted Angel and Zara each with a one armed hug.
"I'm feeling good," he lied. "What's up?"
"Rogan got word from the Troopers," Bishop said, sitting down to give his leg a break. "The car that spun out had a faulty battery from some sketchy chop shop. Hit the barrier and fucking exploded. That was the sound we heard," he shook his head.
"I don't remember it at all," Angel admitted. "Just remember the beginning of the run then waking up here."
"Not missing much," Bishop explained. "Loud and hot," he told him. "I didn't know what the fuck was going on."
"How bad is the hit?" Angel asked, nodding at Zara as she stepped out of the room. He knew she was upset but Angel was grateful for the visit. Now he had a chance to think something up for a proposal she'd love.
"Galindo is pissed," Bishop scoffed. "That was a big load he lost but he knows it wasn't on us."
"Fuck Galindo," Angel spat. "How's my bike?"
"Coco's already working on it," Bishop told him. "You and Gilly are grounded for a while it looks like."
Angel sunk down in the bed. "Fuck," he hissed. "My baby."
"We'll get her up and running," Bishop assured him.
As Angel and Bishop talked bikes and car wrecks, Zara paced the hallway knowing she was taking his vague words wrong but unable to keep her stomach from churning.
"Zara?" Nestor called out to her from the other end of the hall. When she turned he could see she was reluctant to speak to him again.
"Hey," she said, waving sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"
"Loose ends," he said vaguely. "How's Angel?"
"Fuzzy," she said with a chuckle, "But he'll be okay. Thankfully."
He smiled and nodded. "I'm glad," he said genuinely.
"So this was really an accident?"
"Looks like it," he said confidently. "Miguel is gonna help with some of the costs," he told her quietly. "Don't tell them yet, he's going to want to uh, you know tell them himself."
Zara nodded. "Make a show of it, you mean."
Nestor didn't say anything about that even though it was true. "You look good, Z."
"Thanks," she blushed a little. "You do too."
"I look the same," he laughed. "If you need anything while he's healing let me know."
"I'm good, the club will be around to help," she told him. "I appreciate it though."
Nestor nodded, "I'll see you."
"Honestly, I hope not," she joked. "Usually we run into each other after shit like this."
"True," he laughed. "Bye," he said with a shrug. "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas," she said softly before turning back to see Bishop leaving Angel's room. "Oh, hey, you heading out?"
"Yeah," he said, trying to hide his limp. "Need something?"
"Nah," she said dismissively. "How bad is his bike? Like, really bad?"
Bishop pulled out his phone and showed her a picture of what was left of Angel's Harley.
"Oh my god," she said as she began to cry. "I didn't know it was that bad. The nurse says he was lucky but," she inhaled sharply, "Christ."
"Seeing that shit in daylight shook us up too," Bishop told her. "We all took damage but this is nasty."
"What's the financial damage?" She asked, terrified of the hit they'd take.
"That's what insurance is for," he chuckled. "Work is going to drop off though, be ready for that. No run money for a few weeks."
"Good thing he cut his expenses in half then," Zara tried to make light of the situation. "I should get back in there."
"We'll be around," Bishop told her.
Zara nodded and headed back to find Angel on his phone looking annoyed as he texted. "Screens all blurry."
"I think your vision is blurry, babe," she said sadly. "Now, what were you saying?" Zara needed some conclusion before her anxiety really spiked.
Angel shook his head. "I was just trying to tell you how much I love you. I want you to change my diapers when I'm 90."
Zara sighed. "That's a really gross way of saying you're in this for the long haul."
"You mentioned diapers first," he said with a smirk. "I'm sorry our second Christmas is fucked."
"This one isn't your fault," she giggled. "Maybe next year will have something more traditional."
"Maybe," he hoped. "You tell Bob and Holly?"
"Yeah, she was beside herself," Zara rolled her eyes. "I swear she's in love with you but she'd never act on it, ya know cause I'm her only daughter."
"Ladies love me," Angel wriggled his eyebrows. "You should still do the whole dinner thing for them."
"No I'm not spending another Christmas without you," Zara said staunchly. "I can cook or bring take out, it's your choice since you're stuck in here."
"Chinese," he said. "I want Chinese."
"Chinese it is," Zara said. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Zara grumbled and grabbed her purse from the bedside table. "Lunch date with my parents. Sorry."
"Go. Have fun. Don't worry about my stuck in here with an aching fucking head and shit."
Zara pulled a face as she leaned over to kiss him. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said quietly. "Tell Bishop if you need anything."
"Yep, I got the memo," Zara winked at him. See ya soon."
—
Fave comment please! I'm starting to update weekly going in order of most feedback to least. So this week is Mea Culpa, And Back Again, Rewind then The Long Game. I did some polls on my Instagram about which to do first etc so if you wanna vote or check out my story posts I'm over there @PBB_Writer. There's also a link in my Wattpad bio!
Xoxoxoxox
