Bullet: Devil's Rose MC #5

Chapter 10: Mason Ohara

"Uh, Poison?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you think I could talk to you alone for a minute?"

He leans down to Dakota's ear and whispers that we're going to step out of the bar for a moment, to which she glares at me and reluctantly lets him go. He clasps me on the back and allows me to lead us into a more private area outside.

"I'm sorry about my Old Lady. She's a little overprotective."

"It's okay, I understand."

Poison takes a long and slow sip of his Sprite, watching me suspiciously from over the top of the bottle as he does so.

"What's going on?"

"I've been looking for someone to speak to."

"Like a therapist?"

"Yes, a therapist."

A smile spreads across his face, his eyes soaking in my bright red and flushed expression.

"I'm so happy that you felt comfortable asking me. Are you looking for a man or woman?"

"I'm not opposed to either."

"Do you know who you might feel more comfortable with?"

"Well, I'm most comfortable with Piper, so maybe a woman."

I'm glad he ignores what I say about Piper.

"Okay, yeah. My therapist is a guy, but I know that he can give me some recommendations for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, completely. I'm seeing him tonight actually, so I'll ask."

"But I don't want to take time out of your session by having you ask. I don't want to burden you."

"I want to make one thing clear. Helping you out has never and never will be a burden. I love you, man. You're my brother. You are never a burden. And I have a session every week. It's not a big deal at all. My therapist might be proud of me."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, I'm glad you're finally reaching out for help."

"Me too. When I was stuck in bed for the past week, Piper told me to think about it. I finally feel ready to make a change."

Poison nods his head, wrapping me up in his arms. I push him away teasingly but can't hide the tears brimming in my eyes. He makes his way into the bar, leaving me outside in the Texas heat. 

He knows when I need a minute to myself. He's such an awesome person. Why was I ever rude to him? And how will I ever make it up to him? Will I ever make it up to him?

I'm unsure that's possible.

It's been about two weeks since I got shot. I healed pretty quickly, although I still get a painful twinge in my side when I move too fast. The wound has partially scarred over, which I don't think will be going away anytime soon, but I don't mind. 

Piper and I have been spending a lot of time together. 

She would sit in the room with me, sleeping next to me when she was too tired to get home (I did ask if she wanted a prospect to drive her but she refused), reading her favorite books out loud and blushing at the more romantic scenes, dancing around the room to whatever music was on to entertain me while I couldn't move, would yell at the tv that played reality shows, and more. 

Our conversations, when we aren't yelling at each other, are so easy.

She told me her best childhood stories, the sad ones too. She was constantly worrying about me the entire time. I mean, I thought that she would have a heart attack by the end of the week because she was so stressed. 

To me, it was ridiculous, but I also appreciated her care, so I didn't push her away. I just asked her to sit down and rest when I thought she needed it most. So, as I've been able to get back to my regular activities, I've made sure to be there for her in ways I wasn't before.

I've been paying for her food, driving her home, taking her clothing shopping (she desperately needed to), going grocery shopping, and about a couple hundred other things. Not that I mind at all. I get to spend time with her. 

It's more enjoyable than anything. I feel better when I'm around her. The feeling is irreplaceable. She did so much for me. I'm only doing the bare minimum for her. I bring her flowers three times a week to rotate them in her apartment.

Today, she had to go back to work at one of the restaurants downtown. It's not in the best neighborhood, but it's only about twenty minutes from the warehouse, so in case anything were to happen, I could get there pretty quick. 

I mean, it's not the best situation. If it were up to me, she would work in a shop on Main Street, and I would be able to stop in at any time. However, it's her life, and if she wants to work downtown, then I'm not going to stop her.

All I can do is support her and be there for her when she needs me. I stop by her work at least twice a week anyway. I make sure to check up on her during her break to make sure she feels safe or if I need to chase after some jackass who made her feel uncomfortable. 

Fuck, I can barely think about it. It's scary how I wouldn't fucking hesitate to hurt someone who tried or did hurt her.

Now that we've become closer - and I've become way more protective - I know that it's also time for me to make steps forward in what Piper calls my 'self-healing journey.' 

She doesn't know about my childhood, I'm not ready for her to know just like she's not ready for me to know what her medical trauma is, but she can tell that something happened to me to make me not trust people, to push people away, to feel unworthy. 

It's almost annoying how well she knows me without having to know what happened to me. I'm thankful for her but annoyed about how she pushes me and challenges me to be a better human being. I wouldn't change it though.

"Hey, you good out here?"

I swivel my body to find Piper standing there with a glass of white wine in her hand.

"I'm okay, angel-" I don't know where the nickname came from, it just seemed to fit "-thank you for checking in."

She takes a step closer to me, a light gust of wind blowing her citrus and pineapple scent in my direction. It works for her.

"Did you ask Poison what you needed to?"

"I did. He's helping me out."

"Good," she breaths out, laying a soothing hand on my arm.

"Can I help you?"

My fingers reach up to brush a strand of her black hair out of her face. I tuck it gently behind her ear as I take a step forward.

"No, I'm great. Having a good time with your friends."

"They're your friends too, you know."

Piper grins cheesily up at me, and my chest tightens in disbelief at her beauty. Fuck, how did I not see this shit before? I was blind. I'm stunned at my stupidity. 

After spending these last few days barely parting from one another, I have found so many wonderful things about Piper that I never would have discovered if we hadn't had the chance to spend all this time together. 

Now, I'm not saying that I would take another bullet just to spend more moments and days like that together without much interruption, but I can't say that I'm mad it happened.

Everything was going great. I hadn't even had to shoot ten minutes into the raid. Most of the Blue Moon Riders quickly understood that they didn't have much of a chance of getting out of the situation unharmed if they tried anything. 

With us already knowing the layout of the building, a scan of the rooms and hallways didn't take long at all. We found where the Blue Moon Riders were storing their weapons. We confiscated any drugs and most weapons. 

Law enforcement from the state had also shown up at that point and was also transferring the weapons and drugs into the care of federal military personnel that was also in attendance.

We thought we were in the clear.

We were not.