Chapter Thirty Six

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         A week had gone by since Oak left and she was gearing up for another weekend at the bar. It had almost broke her heart watching him leave with Coal and Tanker, wondering when she would see them next.  Oak had brought Coal to Wyatt in California and even though she knew he would be well taken care of, she was still a mess and missed her little furball. Left alone now, Melody tried to stay focused on the work at the bar and enjoying her new friendship with Nora.

              Nora had grown up her whole life in Libby and at twenty years old, was living on her own and going to the local community college after her mom moved away with a new boyfriend. She had never known her dad but had found a family with the Red Devil's. She spoke highly of Mick; he had stepped in as a father figure and had known her mom for many years. She had recently quit the supermarket to work fulltime with the bar after encouragement from Melody and she appeared much happier.

         Groaning, she laid in her bed and stared at the ceiling feeling like a prisoner and attempting to keep her emotions stable. All she wanted to do was scream out at how unfair life was. Using her breathing techniques, she continued to stare up at the ceiling and tried to keep her resolve going. A woman's scream of pleasure had her stuffing her pillow over her face as she tried to block out the antics next door. Why had she been placed next to Kaden's room?

              He was taking delight in her misery, teasing her any chance he got after she had moved in. He was most likely encouraging the woman's vocals next door knowing it would bother her. Melody saw the differences between him and his cousin, grateful that Kaden at least wasn't trying to get in her pants. He had apologized for Chuck's behavior, almost embarrassed by it and had reassured her not to expect that kind of treatment from the rest of the club.

      Flinging the pillow off her face, she pushed out of bed and got dressed for work. Tossing on black jeans and a red button down, she threw her hair up in a ponytail and got to work on applying her makeup. A screech and laughter could be heard next door, Melody rolling her eyes as she applied her mascara. At least someone was getting laid.

         Her late night facetime meetups with Oak were wearing thin and she craved his touch, even though it had only been a week. Melody blushed as she remembered their last night together, enjoying a late night snack on the kitchen table that had involved honey. She loved how Oak made her feel so alive and unafraid to explore their sexual desires. He was helping her heal in more ways than one and she was afraid of what may happen in the weeks to come.

          Would their time apart make him realize all this wasn't worth it? Could she deal with living this way for months or years? What if their plan failed and she...stop! Melody shook her head and looked at her face in the mirror. No more what ifs, she needed to stop worrying and just hope life wouldn't be a bitch.

          Walking out of her room, she passed Kaden's and other closed doors before finding her way to the main room. Overstuffed, leather couches that had seen better days were vacant as most of the club was still asleep in their rooms or out on a run. Others would be found later at the bar and tonight would begin their weekend partying back here at the clubhouse. It made her glad to be closing down the bar and hoped to avoid most of it when she got back in. Heading out of the clubhouse, she made the ten minute walk to the bar and was happy to see Nora's old Civic already there.

         Walking inside, Melody scooted onto a stool next to Nora at the bar as she finished rolling silverware.

               "Hey Nora. How's it going?" Drumming her fingers on the bar top, she looked around at the spotless interior. Since the changes were made, business had doubled and it appeared the employees were taking care of it.

          "It's going. How 'bout you?" Nora placed the pile of silverware in the basket and moved it to one of the serving stations. Sitting back down next to Melody, she folded her arms on the bar top and laid her head down while looking over at her.

         "Same, just glad to be here instead of stuck at the clubhouse." Melody waved at one of the prospects walking in, Brian she believed who helped bartend before looking back over at Nora.

       "Oak and the Warrior's not around or visiting?" Melody knew who Nora was really asking about but kept her mouth shut and just frowned.

          "No, on a long run to California so not sure when they plan on coming back up here." Nora nodded and sighed as she raised her head.

             "Ginger, is it true? That your ex is a cop?" Nora knew about her stalker situation but Melody was dying to share with someone about her real problem. The Cartel. How she hadn't slept for the past few days and when she did, it was filled with nightmares blending from her past to present. It was seriously messing with her head and she fought with her anxiety every day. Instead, she let lies fly freely from her mouth and hoped nobody got hurt.

          "Yeah, he was an asshole. Don't worry about him, he's only after me." Melody reassured Nora with a smile before the door behind them flew open.

             "Hello ladies, how are things today?" Chuck walked in with his signature unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth. Melody internally cursed before keeping her face plastered with a smile as she turned to face him. He may have been sporting two black eyes from Oak but that didn't stop his perusal of her from head to toe with a smirk.

            "Chuck. I see you saw Oak before he left" Melody sweetly reminded him as she smirked back. She crossed her arms and remained sitting on the stool. Even though Oak had obviously warned him, she also knew Chuck had the right to come and go as he pleased. His smirk faded, anger igniting in his dark glare but that didn't phase her. She had faced plenty of demons in her life and she wasn't starting now by backing down.

"You know-", Chuck pointed a finger but was cut off by Brian.
      "Hey Chuck, Kaden just called. He said to meet him at the clubhouse ASAP." Brian stood behind the far end of the bar, wiping glassware.
      Chuck looked at the prospect before looking at Melody, anger still evident as he fisted his hands. The timing was too perfect to not realize Kaden was watching them on the security cameras placed throughout the bar. Another upgrade she had advised to help protect their business and its patrons.
         Chuck spun around without a word before Melody heard his Harley start up and take off. 
      "That guy is such an asshole." Nora loudly huffed but Melody couldn't agree more. Ever since the Cartel had found her, she had been carrying her .357 in her back holster and was prepared to use it on any asshole that made it necessary.
      "Forget about him. Let's get this party started." Melody called out as a few more prospects and servers made their way in. Nora jumped up and made a beeline for the back to finish up the opening chores.  Melody made her way to the office to complete payroll, another upgrade she had encouraged to help with the legal side of the business. The Red Devil's ran drugs up to Canada so they needed the legitimate business for a good cover. Now that it was starting to make more money than before, it would cool down the local cops from wondering where all their money was coming from. 

          The day flew and before she knew it, most of the Red Devil's had made their way into the bar. Melody watched from the cameras in the office, narrowing her eyes as Chuck leaned against the bar. A knock at the door had her double checking the cameras to see if Chuck had moved, relief coursing through her as she saw him still on camera.

          "Come in." Kaden stepped through the doorway, his blonde curls pulled back in a low ponytail. He looked over at the screens, his teasing smile making her roll her eyes as she waited for it.

           "Mooning over lover boy in here?" Kaden drawled as he made his way to the chair across from her, flopping down onto it. His eyes found Chuck on the screen before turning back around and frowning at her. 

        "I hope you're still not worried about him?" He jerked his thumb at the screen and leaned forward in the chair.  

        "Nope, just making sure everything is running smoothly. Why is he even up here anyway, doesn't he have duties back in Colorado to deal with?" Melody knew she sounded worried but she wasn't going to admit it. Kaden may seem like he had her back but she knew better than to trust anyone and could see him flipping to his cousin's side just because he was family. 

          "There's a run tomorrow and he's helping out since your club's not around." Melody liked the sound of that, hearing them called her club. It was by no means her club, but she knew there were a select few she could count on. The warm fuzzy feeling was certainly more to do with the VP of said club than anything else. 

        "Don't worry about him, Ginger...Mick also warned him to knock it off. He won't be bothering you." Melody knew Kaden meant to reassure her but she knew the look in Chuck's eyes. He wasn't going to let it go and her guard would always be up around him.

    "Okay then, enough said. I just wanted to make sure you didn't need anything before I head out. Also, wanted to say sorry if I woke you up this morning." He waggled his eyebrows and stood up, Melody crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. 

      "No need to apologize, I'm sure your guest didn't realize how loud she was being." Melody threw the sarcasm on heavy as Kaden laughed at the doorway. 

           "I'll try to keep it down tonight. Just check in with Mick or me when you get back from the bar later, okay?" Kaden was taking the business of watching out for her welfare seriously despite all his foolish shenanigans. 

       Nodding, Melody watched him close the door before she slumped back into her chair. There was only a couple more hours before the bar shut down for the evening and she was looking forward to finding some solitude. Knowing the party would be raging back at the clubhouse had her contemplating just staying on the couch in the office. Kaden would be too drunk later to notice her lack of checking in and it solved her problem of finding some solitude. 

       She could always call over to Mick and let him know her plan. While she would be unguarded, she highly doubted the Cartel would know to look for her at the bar in the middle of the night. Feeling satisfied with her new plan, she happily stepped back onto the floor and helped close the bar down before saying goodnight to the last customer. 

        "You going back to the clubhouse to party?" Nora walked up and threw her side apron onto a barstool before climbing onto the one next to it. Blowing stray strands of dark blonde hair from her face, she twirled the stool towards Melody. Her large, blue eyes bore less makeup than when she had started her night and had her looking more youthful. 

          "No, I need to finish up payroll and then I'll sneak in when the party's died down, not really my thing. You going?" Melody figured Nora would be; she enjoyed the parties and her youthful energy reminded Melody of their almost ten year age difference. Nora shrugged her shoulders but the small smile on her face told a different story. 

       "Probably. Maybe, I'll see you later." Nora waved off, leaving Melody alone at the bar. Happily taking in the clean surroundings, she felt great at the positive change to this place that everyone seemed to be enjoying. 

         "Hmm, I didn't think you were allowed to be left alone?" Chuck's dark chuckle had the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Spinning to face him on the stool, Melody kept her smile of bravado firmly on her face as she made a show of stretching before feeling down her back to her gun.

            "Not alone." Melody pointed to the camera behind her over the bar. Chuck visibly stiffened before moving to sit next to her on the stool. Groaning internally, Melody waited to see what he wanted. 

          "You're right. I'm sure someone's keeping an eye on you. Which reminds me...we seem to have a mutual connection." Melody hated riddles and just raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. 

         "Does a Mr. Garcia ring a bell?" Melody couldn't stop the expression of fear and surprise on her face, hating Chuck's knowing look. How had he figured it out?

    "Well, seems Mr. Garcia is looking for you by name and even has a picture of you. Do you know how much he is offering for you to be found?" Chuck leaned on his forearms, looking sideways at her and not bothering to get her confirmation.

         "One hundred thousand, nothing to him but very enticing to anyone not used to that kind of money." Chuck cracked his knuckles. Melody's mouth was dry and her heart was racing, her life slowly going up in smoke right before her eyes. 

          "What do you want, Chuck?" She knew he was angling for something otherwise she would already have been found or delivered to the Cartel. 

          "You already know what I want." When the connection was made in her head, Melody refrained from hitting him. No way was she bartering her body for her life. All she had to do was give this information to Oak and Chuck would be a dead man. He may be running his daddy's club, but that didn't mean he still got free reign to do what he wanted. 

          "Fuck you, Chuck. I'd rather be in bed with the Cartel." Melody was fuming but happy to see his soured expression. 

          "So be it." He gave her a hard look before disappearing from the bar. The distinct rumble of his bike starting allowed her to release her pent up breath of relief, but fear was still gripping her chest. 

       What the fuck did she do now?

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