Page 27 of Motown
“Just one minute.”I race to the bedroom mirror and put on the necklace Mom and Dad gifted me.“Okay, ready.”
We pull up to the compound, where I notice plenty of bikes in the lot.The place is busy tonight.Motown is waiting at the front and comes to the car to meet us.He opens the door for me and drags me into his arms, planting a long, sweet kiss on my lips.
“Hi, babe.”His voice low and sexy.
“Hey, back,” I murmur.I want to stay in his arms like this forever, but Motown has other plans.We walk hand in hand into the clubhouse.As soon as we reach the main area, “Surprise, happy birthday!”resounds through the room filled with Redemption Riders, Satan’s Pride, with Etain, Sasha, and, of course, Ruth all in attendance.
I’m stunned and overwhelmed, which leads to tears of joy.
Chapter14
She’s My Everything
Motown
Acall from War changes the entire plan for the night.When my phone rang, I thought for sure a problem with Bronson and his crew was in play, only to find out it’s Tessa’s birthday and she wasn’t even planning on saying anything about it.
I get that things have been intense with everything going on, but Tessa deserves to be celebrated on her birthday.I can’t remember ever having a birthday cake before I joined the Riders.My mother gave me up for adoption, and I was bounced around for a while before I landed in a home where the foster parents were only barely keeping us fed and collecting the money for their own use.It was a shitty area, and gangs were everywhere.It seemed like the only way to survive was to join a gang or make yourself invisible so they didn’t find you.
I opted to stay hidden, but I’m a big guy, and it was only a matter of time before the gangs found me.I was soon to be sixteen, and my plan was to take off and find my own way.The only thing stopping me was Robbie.He was two years younger and a scrappy kid, but he made a lot of bad choices.He wanted to join the gang to protect himself from the bullies who towered over him.Once he was accepted as a Raptor, they’d stick up for him.
I told him it was a bad idea and even begged him to wait six more months so I could take him with me when I left.I wasn’t sure how we’d make out, but I figured I couldn’t do a shittier job than the lowlife foster parents who didn’t care if we ate or not, clothes that were only washed if we did them ourselves, and they had no interest in our education.I had enough saved up from odd jobs to get us two bus tickets, and that would tide us over for a couple of months.We’d get part-time jobs and go to school.It seemed like a solid plan to a sixteen-year-old desperate to run away.
Robbie was impatient and reckless.I knew he was up to no good when he got out of bed and slipped out the bedroom window.I should not have interfered, but I couldn’t let him go out there alone.I followed him that night.My suspicion was correct: he was meeting up with a couple of members of the Raptors gang.
I was close enough to hear, but well hidden behind garbage cans and under the blanket of darkness from the night sky.His initiation was to break into the local market and grab food.Gangs usually go for booze, drugs, or money.Right away, I knew something was up.
Robbie was small enough to fit through the basement window.I figured the alarm would go off and planned to get his ass out of there before the cops arrived.Robbie made it out with a bag filled with food and handed it over to the leader.The tallest kid, the leader, reached into the bag and gave Robbie some of the loot, and patted him on the back.Robbie took off back in the direction of our house.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to follow the Raptors.When they reached an abandoned building, they crawled through an opening in the fence and went inside.I kept my distance, but when I made it to the building, I peered through the window.Inside, there were over a dozen kids, all young and grabbing for the food like they hadn’t eaten in a week.
I started to understand why the Raptors were stealing.They were just trying to survive.That night, I wondered if maybe the Raptors weren’t as bad as I thought.After all, the leader was looking out for them.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t part of their “family,” and neither was Robbie.The next night, Robbie got caught when he tried a different store.When the cops came, the crew scattered, leaving Robbie to face the police alone.I came out of the shadows and took the fall for him.
I went to juvie, and Robbie and I were separated.The plan was to do the time and meet up with him when I got out.But he died before I was released.Being part of the Raptors created other problems.A rival gang attacked Robbie one night, and he never made it to a hospital.
Everything changed for me.My entire destiny shifted in a way that I could never have imagined.I wasn’t going to die on the streets.The only way to get where I wanted to go was to enlist.That way, I could serve my country and find my own path.
Up to that point, I’d be lucky if I got a chocolate bar for my birthday, but I would settle for a simple “Happy Birthday, kid.”Then I met Hawk and Drifter.They remembered me mentioning my birthday, and in the middle of a fucking rain forest, they managed to get a cake.It tasted like shit, but I ate it anyway because they showed me that night that I was part of the team.
Birthdays never meant a damn thing to me until that night.But I know now how it feels to be forgotten, and there’s not a chance in hell that I’d ever let Tessa feel that way.
Risk and War were great at keeping her busy for a couple of hours.I called Etain and Sasha into action.Both women jumped at the chance to surprise Tessa.I called Ruth to join us, because she’d kick my ass if I didn’t include her in the celebration, seeing as how much she cares for my woman.
Etain and Sasha took care of decorating the club.In a few short hours, they filled the place with balloons and flowers.All the Riders came to help out, moving tables and chairs, to make the place look perfect.Hawk went on the hunt for a birthday cake, and I went shopping for a present.
I wanted to buy something that Tessa would love and found myself in a jewelry store I’d heard about from Drifter.The owners are an older couple, and while the wife looks after the customers, her husband designs much of their inventory.They’re known to have one-of-a-kind pieces, and since Tessa is one of a kind, I found myself looking through the display cases.
Marjorie led me to the charm bracelets.She showed me white gold, rose gold, and traditional gold.Then we moved on to silver.My head was spinning with choices.Marjorie asked me to tell her a little about Tessa.When I was done, she asked me to wait a moment, then went to the back and returned with her husband.
Jack, her husband, was carrying a black velvet pad.He introduced himself and set it on the counter, then showed me the charm bracelet he’d finished just days ago, gleaming on the black velvet.It was an elegant white-gold chain link bracelet with pearls embedded throughout, and delicate charms hanging from it.A sunflower, a book, a star, a four-leaf clover, a dragonfly, and angel wings, hanging off the bracelet.
The minute I saw it, I knew it was meant for Tessa.I didn’t bother asking how much it was, but told them to wrap it up.While I paid Jack, Marjorie wrapped it up, complete with a ribbon and bow.I don’t know how the entire club managed to put together a party for someone special, but this is what family does.We come together to make it work.I knew the guys would kill themselves, but I never expected all this, including gifts of their own for Tessa.
Tessa is trembling in my arms when she sees how much trouble the club has gone through to make her birthday special.
“But… How?”She glances up at me.
