Chapter 37

Viper
I see Lug Nut and Tank with Merigold. It is good to see that my brothers have accepted her. I have noticed Tank and Lug Nut as well as Ace have become very close to her. When they are with her they are always hugging her. Or she has her head on their shoulder. Or making her laugh. Or they are playing with the twins.

Watching them now I can’t help but feel like something is off. I can’t put my finger on it. Hopefully they are talking her into taking a break and getting some rest. But I don’t think that is it. It doesn’t look like they are arguing so I will leave it be for now. I’m sure if it was something important Tank or Merigold would tell me. I can’t go over there right now since I’m in a business discussion with Casper. I will make a point to talk to Merigold before she leaves tonight. Something in my gut is telling me I need to and I can’t shake it.

Rowdy
I'm sitting at the bar with Axel when he taps me on the shoulder. I look where he is pointing. I see Merigold, Tank, and Lug Nut talking. Merigold looks upset. Tank looks pissed. Lug Nut looks worried and concerned. Something about it seems off. But what? It looks like Merigold shouts at Lug Nut judging by her body language. He ignores her and talks to Tank. Now Merigold is looking at Tank and it looks like she is on the verge of tears.
It even looks like she is pleading with him. But why, I wonder? What the hell is going on? Tank turns to Merigold and she sits down. She says something then hangs her head while Tank makes a phone call. Who is he calling? Everyone is here.
I have an uneasy feeling. Something is wrong. Now that I think about it something has been off all night with Merigold. She wouldn’t come near us. She wouldn't even look at us. She avoided everyone. And that wasn’t like her. She is always laughing or talking with someone at these parties.Now she wasn't acting like her usual lively self. When she would smile I could see it was forced. I saw her dance with Casper but it looked like she forced herself to do it.
Yeah call me a stalker but yes I watched our girl all night. I don't care. She is our girl and of course, we are going to watch out for her. I would have stood behind her all night if I could. To let these other assholes know she is taken. But we haven't talked to Viper yet so we are keeping our distance. And I hated every second over. I wanted to be like the other couples we have around here. I wanted to hold her on my lap by the fire pit. I want her to whisper in her ear the things I am going to do to her later. I want her to laugh with Axel. I want her to tell us about her week while relaxing with us. Now is not the right time but it will be soon.
I look back to Tank and Merigold. He is off the phone now and pointing at Lug Nut. Tank kneels in front of Merigold, says something, and kisses her on the forehead. She nods, stands, and hugs him. Tank holds her for a minute and sets her back down. Tank says something then comes towards us. Time to get some answers.
Tank stands at the end of the bar and says something to the prospect. Axel and I walk to Tank. " Brother," I say. Tank nods but won't turn and look us in the face. What the fuck? " What's up with Merigold?" Axel asks, getting straight to the point.
That gets his attention. He looks us in the face and glares. " None of you fucking business." Now I know for sure something isn't right. Axel growls " What do you mean it's none of our business. We are her brothers. Of course, she is our business." Tank huffs and turns his back to us again. But not before I heard him say " Brothers yea right. You are no brothers of Merigold’s. I’m wondering if you are really brothers of mine."
Axel looks at me and I shrug. This isn’t like Tank. He has never questioned us before. What the hell? Did we do something? I rack my brain trying to come up with what it might be but end up with nothing. And I still don’t have answers as to what is going on with Merigold. I know something is going on. Tank knows what it is but he isn't talking. Tank always talks to us. " What is going on, Tank? If something is going on with Merigold we deserve to know." I say.
He says something to the prospect and the prospect leaves. Yea, I know my gut was right if he is dismissing the guy in charge of the bar. Tank stands full height, crosses his arms, and glares at us. " You two need to stay the fuck away from Merigold. You don't deserve to know shit about her." " What the fuck Tank?" Axel asks. What the hell is his problem?
Tank gets up in our face " You don't think I didn't see the way she looked at you two. Or the way you look at her. I've had my suspicions for some time now that something might be going on between the three of you. The others might be blind as to what is going on but I'm not. And I had it confirmed tonight when I saw the look on her face when she walked in and saw you two with those two whores.Angel and Nessa in your laps rubbing all over you. I don’t really care what you do with them. But when it affects Merigold. I will stomp your ass."
FFFUUUCCKK. She saw that. Tank just stares at us. The look on our face must have been a give away. He smirks " Yea. That’s what I thought. Merigold saw it all. Every kiss, every dick grab. The look on her face was like someone had just stabbed her in the gut. Oh, she tried to cover it. But I saw it. I saw the look of a woman who just had her heart ripped out. She would only have that look if there was something between the three of you. Something I’m guessing she thought was more. But she didn’t know the truth. You two can’t do more. But she didn’t know the deal, did she? You two stung that sweet girl along. Fucking assholes. Get out of my sight. "
We have to talk to Merigold. " Tank it wasn't what it looked like," Axel argues. " I don't give a shit what it looked like. You stay away from her or I tell Viper how you used his sister, tossed her aside like trash, and crushed her. And if there is anything left when he gets done with you I'm next. "
" I'm sure Thor, Ace, and Brick will be after me. I don't care what you do with the skanks but you don't fuck with family like that. You make me sick. I will say this one last time. Stay away from her. Don't look at her. Don't think about her. Don't call her. Don't go by her house. Especially now." Tank finishes and walks away. I can't think. I can't breathe. I rush out the clubhouse door to get some air. Axel is right behind me but starts punching the wall " Fuck! fuck! Fuck!"
Merigold was never supposed to see us with those club bunnies. It's not what you think. Axel and I were sitting at the table waiting for our girl to get there. We were sitting having a beer and talking about what we were gonna do when we got back from our run. We were talking about how to talk to Viper and the brothers about Merigold. We talked about the old lady kutte we wanted to get her. We wanted it to be something special.
A week without our girl was going to be rough. We talked about all the ways we were going to make it up to her for us being gone. Hell, we talked about all the things we wanted to do with the twins. Trips to the park, zoo, lake. Having a jungle gym built in our backyard.
Talked about the things we wanted to teach them. Axel wants to teach them to fish. I want to teach them to work on bikes. How we want to be there to take them to their first day of school. We both want to teach them how to ride their bikes without training wheels. We talked about the future. Helping the boys with homework. Getting them ready for their first school dance. Learning to drive. First dates. Prom. We want to be there for all of that. Plus birthdays, Christmas, Easter and anything else they celebrate. We were so involved in our talk we didn't notice Angel and Nessa come up behind us until their hands were on our shoulders.