Scout: Devil's Rose #11

Chapter 24: Major Owens

The day goes by without a hitch, Violet doing fine at work, and me plugging away on finding evidence for where Kai might be staying now. There's not much out there and not much to work off of, but I have to try.

On top of that, I do have work to do for the Devil's Rose MC. This Kai situation has taken up a lot of my life but not all of it. Alpha is still counting on me for work in other areas.

And I respect him enough not to ask him to just focus on Kai. He's been incredibly understanding of how much stepping back that I've done with every other thing on the list, but Violet isn't the only person that needs help.

When I'm done with work for the day, my brain needing a break from staring at a screen, I say goodbye to Piper who is the last person in the room and head to my motorcycle parked out back.

The sun is starting to go down, and I glance at my watch to see that it's already six while I should've probably been done at five to be with Violet and Gabby while they closed up Vellichor.

But when I get to Gabby's store, the two of them are outside chatting with to-go cups in their hands; Carbon stands behind Gabby, clearly watching out for the both of them along with Aurora and Sabrina who are sitting on the curb, bending over coloring books.

I swing my leg over the seat of my motorcycle and unbuckle my helmet as I make my way to the group. Carbon and Gabby wave at me, their daughters too distracted to care, Violet beaming up at me.

I lay an arm over the back of her chair, and naturally, lean down to kiss the top of her head. She wraps an arm around my waist as if we have been together for ages.

It feels different than when we were faking it, less tense, so I know that Violet's not faking it anymore.

She's so incredibly easy to read, and I'm grateful for that. We don't have to try hard with one another to 'get' each other. It just sort of happens. It happened from the start.

"How was your day, love?" I ask her gently, feeling her pinch at my shirt.

"Good, busy which was nice. Yours?"

"Mine was good too. Still wanting to head out tonight?"

"Yeah, for sure. It needs to happen," Violet asserts.

"I agree. I think there's a lot of useful information to learn."

"Really?" she tilts her head to the side.

"I'll catch you up later."

We turn to face Carbon and Gabby who are staring full force at the two of us.

"It's like you both have known each other for years. The way you guys just understand each other," Gabby comments, sort of astounded.

We glance at each other and then back to Carbon and Gabby.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that," Violet answers honestly, shrugging.

Gabby chuckles, shaking her head at us. Aurora and Sabrina start arguing over their coloring sheets, and when Carbon squats to their height to try and figure out what's going on, they both burst out into tears.

Without even so much as a look, Gabby and Carbon understand that it's time for them to go home for the night, get some dinner, and watch Disney. I have no idea what Gabby was talking about.

She and her husband clearly have a way of understanding each other, one that doesn't require speaking. I mean, yes, they have been together longer, but I even remember them being all over each other hours after they met.

Nothing against them at all because I would have been the same with Violet under different circumstances, but Gabby shouldn't be one to talk about Violet and me understanding one another quickly.

Violet and I watch as Carbon gets the girls into Gabby's car, her taking the driver's seat while he walks to his motorcycle to follow them home.

Once they've driven out of the parking lot, Violet and I make the decision to grab a pizza down the street before heading back to her place. Neither one of us are in the mood to cook, as if we ever are, and we both want to make this a cliché night of going out.

And what's more cliché than pre-drunk pizza. Probably getting pizza drunk, but I am more likely to get a sandwich drunk than pizza. I'm not sure why.

We eat two slices each on our way back to our vehicles, and Violet takes the three boxes, yes two because we have to bring some back for Harper and Clara, into her car.

Harper and Clara instantly dig into the pizza, half dressed (and I'm not joking, just straight underwear but to each their own, I don't have eyes for them) and already having had two glasses of red wine.

I let them three girls have their time while I get changed into the clothes that I want to wear for our night out which is another version of what I'm already wearing without my Devil's Rose MC cut.

Violet, Clara, and Harper storm into her room after about twenty minutes of gossiping in the kitchen to then continue to gossip in her bedroom while they go through Violet's closet to help her decide what to wear.

I feel like I'm witness to a key moment in girlhood. Like I'm witnessing a religious event.

I step out once again, letting them have their space knowing that I'm going to fully be all over Violet in the club later on, and go into the living room to eat more pizza, have a bottle of beer, and watch Bojack Horseman.

They get ready in about forty-five minutes, which is perfect timing since we don't want to get to the club too early. And even after the pizza, Clara and Violet are still hungry, so it turns out that we're going out to dinner anyway.

Harper and Clara get into Clara's car, Clara's boyfriend Spencer behind the wheel, since we're separating after dinner while Violet gets on the back of my motorcycle, wrapping her arms around my waist instantly.

The Bluetooth in our helmets connects, and Violet squeals in my ear, firmly announcing her presence. I squeeze her leg before placing my hand back on the handlebars to keep the bike stabilized when I first take off.

Violet, living in the somewhat outskirts of Grove Heights, isn't too far from the inner city but it's longer than the five minutes it takes me to get from my apartment to Devil's Rose headquarters in Westmoor.

I catch Violet up on the recent photos of Kai that were taken outside of Club Palace and what she needs to expect and do when we are looking for answers there tonight. She's my backup for the night.

I mean, yes, I can give anyone from Devil's Rose MC a call, and I do have a prospect planted in the club (bribery still works), but that doesn't change the fact that Violet is associated with me tonight.

If I do something risky, that means the consequences of that fall back to her.

I'm not going to try putting her in danger, I would never, but we're digging for information in a club that's known for keeping things under wraps. That's dangerous in and of itself.

We talk things out, making sure we know how to support each other in case something goes wrong or doesn't feel quite right, before turning our attention more to the road than anything else.

I know Violet is worried about what could happen, and I truly don't think anything will, but I wanted her to be prepared. The most dangerous thing I could do is let her walk into the club unprepared and ignorant.

It's better for her to know everything and be worried than to know nothing and get hurt because of that. And yes, I'm nervous about it too, but it's nothing that we can't handle. Nothing like the situations I've been in before.