Chapter 14

Ailee

“ I have been dealing with bunny problems for the past couple of years. All of us old ladies have. Several are afraid of me after I put a few in their place.” And she tells me about the time when one had been grabbed by her hair causing Merigold to defend herself and laying the bunny flat on her ass. She was going to throat punch the girl before Viper stopped her. And about the time at Merigold’s wedding day where she had to throw a knife into a bunnies shoe to get her to back off her husband. The bunny thought just because Axel wasn’t legally married to Merigold she could still mess with him. I have to say I’m impressed by her actions. “ Each old lady has had to put a bunny in her place but we shouldn’t have to. They should already know it.” She is correct. They shouldn’t have to keep fighting with them. And it sounds like something that should have been dealt with a long time ago. “ When you put Ellie in her place so far she hasn’t stepped out of line. But I know it won’t last. Viper asked me to help him deal with the problem. I have a few ideas but I put some thought into what you said. I think I need an outsider's perspective. More importantly your perspective. I think I may be too close and you could give me some good ideas.”

I think about what she has said and it makes sense. I may see things that she doesn’t because she is so used to it. I could give some advice based on what little I have seen. She doesn’t have to take it would be her choice. But I don’t see what harm it would come of talking to her and it would give us a chance to know each other better. “ I was only there for a few hours so I can only help with what little I saw.” “ That’s a start at least. I’ll take whatever you can give me.” she smiles.
“ First the bunnies have been there for a fews years, aye? Before most of the old ladies came along?” I ask. Merigold nods. “ That’s your first problem. They are used to getting away with shite.” I wince and look at the boys. I shouldn’t be cussing in front of them. Merigold just laughs, “ It is ok to slip once in a while.” I nod and make a point to watch what I say. “ They have gotten too comfortable. They think they can’t be replaced. When really it is probably past time that they were.”
“ You are right about that.” Merigold says. “ They are there to umm.” I pause to think about how I want to phrase what I want to say.” Take care of the single men, correct? In exchange they get certain perks. Club protection, gifts and they are taken care of?” Merigold nods so I continue “ Take away their privileges. Make them earn them. Give them more responsibility. Cleaning is always a good one. They have a good life without having to really earn it. It is a sugar daddy situation. Eliminate it. Weed out your worst trouble makers; the others will fall in line. Let them know nothing will be given for free.”

“ One of you old ladies should govern them. They want something they need to go through you, not sweet talk the men. Make sure they know if they approach the married men for any reason besides an emergency they are out of the club. And no second chances. Make the rules set in stone. Rule breakers are gone.” By the time I finish talking I can’t keep my eyes open and I’m talking in no more than a whisper. I don’t want my time with Merigold to end. I don’t know when or if I’ll ever see her again since I won’t go near the club. But I don’t have a choice. My body needs rest. “ You have given me a lot to think about. Just rest for now. I’ll come back soon. I promise. Come on boys. We need to let Ailee rest.” The boys kiss my cheek and say bye. That’s the last thing I know of before I fall into an exhausted sleep.
Lug Nut
Merigold comes into the club with my two favorite speed demons. Something about the look on her face has me concerned but I don't know what it is. She spots me, Ace and Viper sitting at the bar. We are discussing how to deal with the prospects. Merigold pulls me into a quick hug then goes to Viper wrapping him in a bear hug that doesn’t look like she is going to break anytime soon. Viper looks worried “ Merigold? Talk to me about what's wrong.” “ Nothing is really wrong. I just needed to hug you.” She holds on for a minute before she pulls back. “ I just left Ailee. I went to visit her.” That has my attention as well as Ace’s. Since Ace fucked up I haven’t seen my woman in a week and couldn’t figure out how to see her, I never even got to introduce myself when she was here.
Ailee took one look at me with a couple of bunnies and shook her head in disgust. She wouldn’t look at me after that. Then the shit went down with Ellie and I never got my chance. I got to say watching her put Ellie in her place was hot as hell. I had to adjust my dick because the fucker wouldn’t go down even after Ailee told Ellie she would sow her holes shut.
Ace pulls me from my thoughts by asking “ Is Ailee ok?” That’s what I want to know. Not leaving Viper’s arm she glares daggers at Ace and shouts “ No! Ace she is not. Not that you care.” She turns to Viper and says “ She looks so bad, Viper.The chemo is taking a toll on her. She has no appetite and when she does eat it doesn’t stay down. She is so weak Callen has to carry her. She is ghostly white. She has visibly lost weight since we saw her last week. The meds they gave her for the nausea aren’t working because she keeps throwing them up. I was able to talk to her fifteen minutes before she was so exhausted she was falling asleep. And this happens twice a month after chemo. It doesn’t give her body a chance to recover before she is doing it all over again. From the looks of it the chemo may kill her before the cancer has a chance to.” She turns back to Ace “ So no Mr. Ripley. Ailee isn’t doing ok.” she sneers.

“ And you know what Ace.” Merigold hisses “ Despite all of that Ailee still greeted us with a smile and was happy to see us. Even told Callen to let us visit anytime we wanted.” Merigold turns back to Viper “ I talked to Callen before we left. I told him about the dispensary. He said he would discuss it with Ailee’s doctor. They are desperate to help her before things get so bad they have to put in a feeding tube. Please tell me there is something we can do that will help. Please Viper. We just found her.” Merigold is in tears now. Viper pulls her close, rubbing her back trying to calm her down. While glaring at Ace who looks he might collapse any second Viper says “ Yea little sis. We will do everything we can to help.”
Merigold takes a breath, pulls away from Viper and goes after Ace. I have seen Merigold fired up many times but this is something different. She is running on pure fear and heartbreak. She is pounding on Ace’s chest yelling at the top of her lungs “ You need to fix this.What kind of man are you? What kind of father? Ailee should be with us to help too. She is your daughter and you are letting her get away. Why are you letting her go? Do you have any idea what you are giving up? What you are missing out on? For some piece of trash. I’ll threaten every bunny within an inch of their life and make sure they do not touch you until Ailee is back. I’ll get rid of every single bunny in this club if that’s what it takes to get Ailee here. Throw them out on their skanky asses. I will personally turn Ellie over to Ailee and her men to deal with. Hell I’ll even help them torture her. I’ll beg every brother to vote you out if that is what it takes.” Merigold’s outburst has drawn a lot of attention.
Brothers, old ladies and bunnies. The bunnies look downright terrified. I’ll admit I’m a bit scared of her too right now. These aren't threats she is spilling, they are promises But no one steps in to stop her. Ace is standing there taking everything she has. And it looks like she is nowhere near done with him. She isn’t saying anything we haven’t all been thinking. “ Do you know what I would give for a chance to spend just an hour with my father? And you pathetic fucking piece of shit are wasting your chance. I’m embarrassed to call you uncle. You're not even a real man. You are supposed to have your brothers back but you can’t be trusted to have your own child’s back. I would trust my boys more to have the brothers back than you right now. They have more loyalty in their pinky than is in your whole body.” She pushes herself off of Ace and turns to the club.
Merigold’s eyes are red and puffy from crying. She is breathing heavy but I can tell from her stance she is about to unleash holy hell on this club. Viper doesn’t say a word, just stands beside her in silent support. You know what so am . I step beside her and put my hand on her shoulder. She looks at me and I just nod. Axel and Rowdy stand behind her. Merigold lets out an inhuman growl “ I want every bunny here now! No exceptions! I want every prospect that doesn’t have a death wish here now!”
It takes less than a minute for everyone together.The entire club. Even Anne is here and she doesn’t have to be. Merigold has gotten her breathing under control but hasn’t lost any of her fire. “ I am the Reckless Renegades Princess and I’m claiming my throne.My word is law now. Effective immediately there are going to be changes. If you don’t like them. You know where the door is. Thinking I’m joking I dare you to fuck with me and see what happens. Prospects, Viper, Goof and Lug Nut will be handling you. Bunnies.” Merigold laughs like a cartoon villain. It’s eerie. “ You are mine to deal with.”
I got to tell you at least they are smart and look afraid. “ Bunnies, your free ride is over. You want to be here, you are going to earn it. Until you earn it All men are off limits.” A bunch of moans and groans and are you kidding me with this. A bunny whispers “ She can’t do this to us.” It doesn’t go unnoticed to Merigold. She marches over to the bunny. Angle of course that girl never knows when to shut up. Merigold wraps her hand around Angel’s hair and drags her to the middle of the bar. She shoves Angle to the floor on her knees then yanks her head back grabbing her throat.