The next few days were uneventful but enjoyable. The guys have all been really great and supportive, and it seemed even Izzy was getting used to the club. Angel and I had spent a fair bit of time together whenever he wasn't working, but nothing more had happened between us. Though I wanted to rip his clothes off every time I looked at him, in a way I was glad we were taking it slow. My potential brother was due to arrive at any day now and I was getting more anxious by the second.
It was a quiet morning for me. Izzy was away from the clubhouse when I woke up, leaving me with a text saying she was having breakfast with Gilly. I smiled when I read it – Gilly was a nice guy from what I'd seen, and he sure seemed sweet on her. I knew that Angel and Coco were out this morning, and they'd taken EZ with them, so my plan was to help Chucky out.
I walked out of my dorm and into the clubhouse, spotting Bishop and Hank eating breakfast. They smiled at me when they saw me, Bishop waving his hand gesturing for me to come over.
"Morning sweetheart, how're you doing?" He asked, as I took a plate and sat next to them.
"I'm good, thanks," I smiled, "I'm not disturbing, am I?" I pulled apart a muffin and shoved a piece in my mouth.
"Nah, you're not. We are just talking about work," Bishop replied, sharing a look with Hank. I nodded, knowing not to ask any questions.
"Speaking of work… I was wondering if I could maybe help Chucky out in the office today?" I asked, and Bishop looked at me surprised. "I just feel really bad that you've basically been dumped with me and Izzy. So, I was thinking maybe we could help out a bit?" Bishop smiled softly at my mumbling.
"You don't need to do that, sweetheart," he explained, "we are happy to have you here. But… if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'm sure chucky wouldn't mind the help."
"Or the company," Hank added, making us all laugh. I nodded, pleased they'd agreed.
"Ok great," I grinned, "Well I'll leave you gentlemen to it and head on over to the office. Have a nice day!" I stood up and walked over to the door.
"You too, sweetheart!" Bishop called to me, and just before the door closed, I heard him say to Hank "I like her." It made me smile all the way to the office, where Chucky spent the next hour showing me the ropes and chattering away. He was easy company and was growing on me quickly.
It was mid-morning when a young girl pulled into the lot, looking around anxiously. She didn't seem to find what she was looking for as, a second later, she came hurrying into the office.
"Can I help you?" I asked, smiling at her. She only looked about 16, with long dark hair and heavy eyeliner.
"Um, I'm looking for Coco," she muttered, still looking around. "we're family," she clarified, when she noticed me and Chucky exchange a glance. I nodded, a little relieved to hear the familiar sound of the guys pulling into the lot.
"I'll go get him," Chucky smiled at the girl and hurried out of the office.
"You're not from around here," the girl suddenly said, looking me up and down.
"What gave me away?" I laughed. "I'm here looking for family too, I guess. My name's Hope."
"Letty," she exchanged, drumming her fingers on the countertop in impatience. It was clear that she was agitated by something. I didn't say anything else and, a second later, Coco, Angel and EZ came into the office. Angel winked at me when he spotted me sitting at the desk, giving me the usual butterflies as I blushed.
"Hey, you ok?" Coco spoke to Letty. She smirked but it lacked sarcasm.
"Not really," she responded, tugging at her sleeve. The office was silent for a second, until Angel piped up.
"What's going on, brother? Who are you?" He asked, looking between Coco and Letty.
"This is Letty. She's my kid," Coco answered. The shocked glances between EZ and Angel told me I wasn't the only one who didn't know Coco had a teenage daughter. Angel didn't get a chance to respond before Chucky came back into the office.
"Bishop and Hank are looking for you," He told Coco, and he looked torn.
"Gimme a minute," he told Letty, who rolled her eyes, clearly still upset. Angel and EZ follow Coco out of the office, leaving me with Letty.
"You want anything to drink?" I asked her quietly, and she shook her head. We sat in awkward silence for a couple of minutes until EZ came back into the room by himself.
"Coco had some club business. He'll be back in a few hours. You can wait here," He directed at Letty, and I looked at him in disbelief. How could Coco have just left? Couldn't he see his daughter needed him?
"I can't wait," She said, looking pissed. "He just left?"
"He had no choice," EZ tried to explain.
"Bullshit," she declared, stalking out of the office.
"Hey, where you going?" He asked, trying to stop her but she shook out of his grasp.
"She seems troubled," Chucky told EZ, making me snort.
"Where's Angel?" I asked EZ as he was about to step out after Letty.
"Club business," he snapped, and I raised my eyebrows at his tone. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Coco needs me to watch her."
"I'll talk to her," I told him, walking around the desk. Whatever fucked up situation Coco had going on, he was Angel's brother, and I wanted to help.
I knew EZ was following behind me as I went out into the lot, to find Letty standing by her car.
"Tell us what's wrong, Hun," I asked her. "Maybe we can help." She regarded me for a second before removing her top, revealing dark purple bruises over my collarbone and stomach.
"Oh my god," I stared at the sight of them, automatically taking a step towards her. I could feel EZ stiffen in anger at what he saw.
"Who did this to you?" He growled, and she hesitated a minute before popping the trunk of her car, revealing a dead guy with a screwdriver sticking out of his neck. For a minute I thought I was going to puke, until EZ immediately slammed the lid back down.
"FUCK!" he exclaimed. "Who the fuck is that?"
"Albert," she answered.
"Doesn't really paint the whole picture for me," EZ snapped back, trying to get more information. She shrugged.
"He seemed nice. We went out for a few days. Last night we partied, and he fell asleep. I was just taking 10 bucks to get something to eat," she explained, suddenly shyer.
"He thought you were rolling him," EZ summarised, and she nodded, looking at the floor.
"So, what do we do?" I asked, and EZ looked at me like I was crazy.
"WE don't do anything. You need to stay here with Letty, and I'll clean this shit up," he dictated, and Letty and I both looked at him, pissed. We didn't have the chance to argue with him when Chucky came running down the lot.
"Some guy is on the phone, said he needs to talk to a member of the MC," he said quickly.
"Shit," EZ muttered. "Ok. Stay here, I'll be back in a second," EZ told us and went into the office with Chucky.
"Where did it happen sweetheart?" I asked her and she seemed surprised I asked.
"What?" She responded, confused.
"We need to fix the crime scene. Get rid of any trace of you," I told her, heading towards the car.
"In his truck. Rest stop off of 98," she answered, shivering at the memory. "You're going to help me?"
"Yes," I responded, determined. She was family to the MC and, after the way they'd taken me in, she was family to me too. "EZ will help too. Get in the car and put your shirt back on. We'll sort this out."
She hopped in the passenger seat as EZ came jogging back out the office.
"Everything cool?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yeah. Listen, I need you to stay here with her. I told Coco I'd watch her but… I need to sort this out," he told me quietly.
"Not gonna happen," I told him bluntly. "Coco told you to keep an eye on her…. And I'm not turning my back on her when she needs help. Besides, Angel and Bishop will be pissed if I'm here without a patch and you know that. We're coming with you." He glared at me.
"Why do you wanna get in on this? You could go to prison for this shit," he snapped at me. I shrugged.
"She's family to Coco. So, she's now family to us. Let's go," I told him impatiently, climbing into the back seat of the car. I heard him swearing before getting in the driver's seat.
"Whose car is this?" EZ asked Letty, as we pulled out of the lot.
"Celia's," she answered. "My grandmothers." He nodded.
"So, if his truck is still at the Truckstop, maybe we could put him back," I said, thinking quickly. "Make it look like someone else tried to jack him."
"That makes sense," she nodded.
"We need to get rid of any trace of you," He added, and she nodded again.
"You're really smart," she told him, smiling and he smirked back.
"And yet I'm here," he quipped, shaking his head as he looked between the two of us.
We arrived at the truck stop, and all got out of the car.
"It's the big silver one," she pointed across the lot. "Keys are inside."
"Ok," he nodded. "Both of you wait here. I mean it." We both nodded and watched as he walked towards the truck.
"He can fuck me if he wants," Letty stated out of the blue, and I could tell by the slight slow in EZ's step that he heard her.
"Listen to me," I told her firmly, putting my arm around her. "He's helping you because he's a friend of your dad's. We all are. You don't need to … pay him for helping you. He doesn't want anything from you." She was stiff for a minute before she relaxed against me.
"Shit, it's weird to hear him called that," she answered, and I looked at her confused. "Coco. He's only been my dad for a week. I've never had this… I'm tired of having no one."
"You're not alone," I told her, pulling her in for a hug. "We're family, we've got you." I knew as I held her in my arms and I thought back to Angel's words earlier in the week, that I'd made my choice. Regardless of what happened with my brother… the MC had become my family.
"That doesn't look good," Letty suddenly said, and I looked up to see two guys approaching EZ.
"Oh shit," I said, letting her go. "We've got to help him!" I rushed over to the truck without a second thought, as one of the guys grabbed EZ with a crowbar, trying to choke him. Something inside me clicked, and I jumped on the guy's back, trying to get him off EZ. He grunted and EZ, not realising I was there, forced the guy back into the side of the truck, where I smashed my head on the metal door. Everything was spinning as I slumped to the ground, but I was with it enough to see EZ only have a second to realise what has happened before the second guy was on him. They threw a couple of punches at each other before suddenly the guy made a choking noise and fell to the ground, a screwdriver sticking out of the back of his shoulder blade. I looked up to see Letty standing there and couldn't help but smile.
"What the fuck is it with you and screwdrivers?" EZ panted, before realising I was still on the floor. He kneeled next to me as I tried to sit up.
"Shit, are you ok?" He said, and I could see he felt awful.
"I'm fine," I told him, putting my hand up to my head. It was throbbing like a bitch. "It was my fault."
"What the fuck were you both thinking?" He hissed, helping me to stand.
"We were thinking you were in trouble," I bit back, opening the truck door without thinking and sitting in the seat.
"We should've let them beat the shit outta you," Letty added, and he sighed.
"I know you were both just trying to help me," he muttered and smiled at us softly. "Got some right little fighters here. But we need to get out of here, now." The three of us quickly made our way back to Celia's car and drove out the lot. A second later, EZ's phone rang.
"I'm still with Coco's kid. It's not good. Hope is here too. Yeah, I know man, but she's stubborn. Where's Coco?" EZ spoke down the phone before sighing. "Meet me at the pit."
When we got to the pit, Angel was already waiting for us. I didn't realise how anxious I was feeling until I saw him, and my anxiety just fell away. He immediately came to the back door and pulled me out of the car.
"You ok?" He asked, looking me up and down for damage.
"I'm fine," I told him, reaching out for him without thinking. He pulled me into his arms automatically, and a wave of safety washed over me.
"She hit her head," EZ told him. "We got jumped man. It was a shit show."
"Fuck," Angel spoke, putting his hand round the back of my neck and gently holding me to his chest.
"It's honestly fine," I told him, pulling away after a moment.
"No, it's not," he told me. "What the fuck were you thinking?"
"I was thinking Coco's daughter was in trouble," I growled back at him, and I could see his eyes soften slightly. I knew he was just worried that I'd got hurt.
"Her prints are in that truck?" Angel asked, pointing at Letty as EZ explained what happened.
"Mine too, now. And Hope's," he said as an afterthought, and I remembered in shock that I'd sat in the truck.
"Fuck," I whispered.
"We gotta get rid of him and that truck," Angel said resolutely and EZ nodded.
"el túnel de la muerte?" EZ asked, though I had no idea what he said.
"Yup," Angel agreed. "Park the car at the warehouse for now. Wait until dark to make this shit go away. She ok?" He asked, looking at Letty once again. It made me smile that he was so concerned about her.
"I think so. You mind taking her? I need a break," he answered. Angel looked torn for a minute and I knew he wanted to get me back to the lot and safety.
"Take her, Angel. I'll be fine with EZ," I told him, kissing his cheek. "I'll ride with him to the warehouse and you can drop Letty off at the yard, then come back and get us."
"La mantendré a salvo," EZ said to Angel and, after a sigh, he nodded. He pulled me close to him and kissed me deeply.
"Stay close to EZ," he told me, "and no more fights." I winked at him and he grinned shaking his head.
We walked over to Letty, who was smoking a cigarette, and explained that Angel was taking her back to the compound. She nodded, and got on the back of his bike, whilst I sat in the car with EZ.
We were driving for about 5 minutes, when we heard sirens and noticed the police following us.
"Shit," EZ swore, and my heart started thumping as I remembered the corpse still chilling in the trunk.
"What do we do?" I asked quickly, then dove at my phone as it started ringing.
"Angel?" I asked, hearing the panic in my voice, as I put the phone on speaker so EZ could here.
"Are you seeing this shit?" EZ asked Angel.
"She stole the fucking car from Grandma. PD's looking for a felon," Angel yelled down the phone and I froze, looking at EZ in fear.
"Of course, she did," he said bitterly, "FUCK!"
"You need to get her out of there, brother," Angel spoke authoritatively, and I knew he meant me.
"I know," EZ muttered and hung up.
"EZ, what do we do?" I asked, trying to stay calm.
"Put your hood up," he told me, pulling his own hoody up. "You just need to hold on and trust me." I locked eyes with him for a moment before nodding.
"Let's do this," I stated, yanking my hood up, as he slammed his foot on the gas. I slid down low into my seat as the car chase began, trusting EZ to keep us safe. I was shocked to find I wasn't frightened of being caught, I just wanted to make sure that we saved Letty from this blowing back on her.
Another police car pulled in front of us suddenly and EZ yanked the steering wheel to the side, fishtailing the car. My head once again smashed against the window of the car as we swerved, making everything go blank for a second. When I became aware of what was going on, we were flying through rows of fields, with cops on both sides. As we came to the end, EZ took a sharp right, sending the cops behind us crashing into a water pipe sticking out of the ground. He continued driving but took us off the road, driving into the middle of a field of tall reeds. As we both scrambled out of the car, I spotted a large hose pipe on the ground, and dashed for it. EZ followed my thinking, wrestling to turn the water on once I'd placed the pipe in the car, flooding it with water. The whole area of plants were being watered, and we got soaked whilst we hid, waiting for the cops to stop looking for us.
"You ok?" EZ asked quietly, as he looked at me for the first time.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. My vision was blurring in and out and I felt incredibly sick.
"You need to stay with me," EZ said, with urgency in his voice. I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist as he pulled me down further into the overgrowth, where we wouldn't be seen. After 5 minutes or so, the sirens moved away, and we couldn't hear them anymore.
"Can you walk?" EZ asked and, after a few seconds of struggling, I managed to stand.
"We're about 4 miles away from the clubhouse and my phone is fucked," he told me, "You sure you can make it?"
"As long as Letty is safe, everything is fine," I told him quietly as we slowly started to walk.
"We've flushed the car. Should get rid of our prints. I'll come back tonight and get rid of it," he told me, and I nodded. The last thing I heard before I hit the ground was EZ calling my name.
**** **** **** MAYANS MC **** **** ****
I woke up in my dorm room, my head feeling like I'd been run over by a semi.
"You had me fucking worried," Izzy burst out, from the end of the bed. I could see she had been crying.
"I'm ok," I told her, smiling. "What happened?"
"You were out driving with EZ when he had to swerve out of the way of a drunk driver, and you hit your head on the window of the car. Don't you remember?" she asked, and I struggled not to laugh. I didn't remember that version of events at any rate. "This place is dangerous Hope. We should go home." I shook my head at her.
"Can you get Angel?" I asked, and she bit her lip, nodding. I knew I had upset her, but I didn't want to deal with her talking like that right now.
"I'll go and find him," She told me. "I think he's talking with the guys." She left the room, and it didn't take long before Angel came in.
"How you feeling, hermosa?" He asked, walking up to the bed and kneeling down next to me.
"I'm ok, is EZ ok? What happened?" I asked him and he ran his fingers through my hair.
"EZ said you passed out right after you got rid of the cops. He carried you to a phone booth and Chucky picked you up in the truck. You don't remember?" He asked and I shook my head, making it swim again.
"I remember hiding with EZ. I hit my head when the cops were chasing us. Then it's all blank," I told him. I could see the anger in his eyes. "It's not EZ's fault. He got us out of there. He saved me." He nodded, looking at me gently.
"Sounds like you've got a concussion. You need to take it easy," he told me, putting his arm around me as I tried to sit up. The room was slightly blurry, but I didn't feel like I was going to puke anymore.
"I will. Izzy told me what she thinks happened," I couldn't help but giggle slightly, Angel looking sheepish.
"Yeah, we're just…" he was a little lost for words.
"Just not sure what you can trust her with yet," I finished his sentence for him, and he nodded. "I get that. Is Letty ok?" I asked and he nodded.
"She's downstairs waiting for you to wake up. She seemed pretty worried. We all were," he responded, and I smiled at him.
"I'm ok, really. In fact, I want to get up," I told him, reaching for the covers but he stopped me.
"Nah-ah, not gonna happen. You need rest," he answered bluntly, and I pouted. His brown eyes were filled with worry and I hated seeing the pain there. I put my hands on his face and pulled him towards me, kissing him deeply.
"I'm ok," I told him, when we finally separated. "I'm made of strong stuff."
"That you are," he laughed, giving in and moving his hands away from the bed so I could stand up. As soon as I was out of bed, he immediately pulled me into his arms.
"Don't do that shit again," he told me, and for the first time, I saw genuinely fear in his eyes. Fear of losing me. I nodded.
"I won't. But she's family, I couldn't sit and do nothing," I explained, and he smiled.
"Where have you been all my life?" He asked and I laughed.
"Across the pond," I poked him in the chest. "Now let me check on Letty."
He laced his fingers with mine as we left the dorm and walked out the clubhouse, into the yard. I spotted EZ leaning against a car in the lot, talking to Coco. I walked over to them, hugging EZ as I approached.
"Thank you," I told him, and he hugged me back.
"Nah, thank you," he told me. "Quick thinking with the pump." I smiled.
"How you feeling?" he asked me, looking at my head.
"I'm fine guys, stop worrying," I laughed, and he grinned.
"How you feeling, boy scout?" Coco asked, taking a long drag of his cigarette.
"Little wet, little tired. Sorry about how all this went down," he answered Coco, rubbing his neck with a towel.
"It's ok, man. The shit that you did for me, my family – I wouldn't expect that from anyone, the table or otherwise. Thank you EZ," Coco spoke, and EZ smiled.
"Yeah, no worries," he responded and then Coco looked at me.
"You too, chica loca," he nodded at me. "I know what you did for my kid, just jumping in and helping. You coulda got in serious trouble for that. Thank you." I smiled and threw my arms around him in a hug.
"You're welcome, Coco. She's family and I'm just… returning the favour," I explained, and he smiled, before subtly pushing me back towards Angel, who put his arms around me. I kissed his neck softly, letting him know he had nothing to worry about.
"Can I ask you something, Coco?" I spoke quietly, and he nodded, still smoking. "Why'd she just find out that you're her dad?"
"I never knew you had another kid," Angel spoke up, his chin resting on the top of my head.
"I dunno. Shame I guess, pride," he answered, looking up at me before staring out at the lot as he continued, "You see, my family tree, it's like his invasive blood-sucking weed, that drains the life out of every fucking thing it touches. Gotta keep it away from the things I love." We sat in silence for a minute.
"You know…" I spoke after a moment, "She was really tough today. I'm guessing she gets that from you. You should be proud of her." Coco didn't answer, but I saw a slight glimmer in his eye, and I knew he heard me.
"She's inside," EZ told him, tilting his head to the door of the office. With a nod, Coco turned and walked inside, leaving me with EZ and Angel.
"Come on, let's get a drink," Angel said to EZ, taking his arms from around my waist, but slipping his hand into mine.
"Yeah, ok," EZ replied, pushing away from the car.
"You guys go ahead," I said, pulling my hand away from Angel. "I'm gonna pop to the little girl's room." Angel immediately looked concerned.
"Are you ok? You feeling alright?" He asked and I nodded, smiling.
"I'm fine, I just need a minute," I told him. "Go." I nodded them both towards the club house.
As I entered the office, I passed Coco and Letty, who were just heading out. I smiled at Letty, surprised that she smiled back.
"Thanks," she said, nodding at me. I put my arms around her and hugged her. I was surprised again when she hugged me back.
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Anytime," I told her, before nodding at Coco and walking into the bathroom.
I was just splashing water over my face a few minutes later, when I heard Bishop and Hank talking to Coco in the office.
"Hey chucky, do you know who Coco had in the car?" Hank asked. "Yeah, he just pulled out. He had a girl with him." Something about their tone made me curious, so I pressed my head against the door listening.
"You alright man?" I heard Bishop ask Chucky.
"I'm alright, man. It's just… family is very important, Obispo. I'm just trying to make a connection here and be part of it."
"ok," Bishop responded, and I could hear the frustration in his voice.
"and I can only do that by honouring the trust that others put in me," Chucky continued.
"Coco trusting you with something?" Hank asked. I didn't hear Chucky respond.
"The girl…was it the same girl that you saw him with at the diner? You get her name?" Bishop continued to interrogate Chucky, and something told me there was more to the questions than mere curiosity. They thought Coco was up to something they didn't know about. "Was it Adelita?"
"I don't know," Chucky responded, and even he sounded nervous.
"Lying to us would be very bad, Chucky," I heard Hank say.
"I can't hold lies. There's not enough room," Chucky responded, and I couldn't help but smile. Chucky is great.
"All I know is… this girl… she's very important to Coco," I heard him say and after a few seconds of silence, I heard them all leave the office.
I stayed in the bathroom, panicking. It was clear they didn't know about Letty yet, but why did they think Coco was up to something? And who the hell was Adelita?
I needed to talk to Angel.