The Thunder Wolves MC - Stone (Book #7)

4

Walking out of the gates, not in shackles or handcuffs, was an amazing feeling. It was probably one of the best feelings there was, actually. Stepping out into the parking area, I looked around, not fully sure who was picking me up. I knew from talking with Bones a member from my new chapter would be here to pick me up. It didn’t take long to find who I was looking for. Standing not too far into the parking lot, leaning against a nice sleek black car, was a guy with bright red hair that covered his head and face. And even though he wasn’t driving a motorcycle and had a car with him, he was wearing his cut. There was no question he was there for me. I made it about halfway over to him when he looked up from his phone. A smile filled his face as he pushed off the car and tucked his phone away in his pocket. “You must be Stone?” I nodded, stopping a few feet away from him. “I’m Rooster.” Grabbing me, he gave me a quick bro hug before stepping back. “Good to finally meet ya.” I couldn’t help but smile. “You too. And thanks for taking me in.” Waving his hand, he dismissed my thanks. “It’s what we do. If we don’t take care of each other, who will? Anyway, if we get on the road now, we will have time to stop by and get you set up with a license if you're up for it.” Nodding, I moved around the car. “Absolutely.” Nodding, he climbed into the driver’s side. “Good, I asked a few of the guys to meet us there so you will have the car here and your bike to do the driving tests with and get you back on the road.” I nodded, “That would be great.” I hope they actually let me do it all today, but I didn’t say that aloud. 

It took us a good hour before he was pulling into a parking lot. Standing not far from where Rooster parked was more members. Some had their bikes there, and then there was a truck with my bike loaded onto a trailer behind it. Oh, how I missed her. She looked like Bones took good care of her while I was away. As we climbed out of the car, one of the guys walked over joining us. He was closer to my age. And to my surprise, his cut said he was the vice president. “Stone, this is Jax. If ever you can’t find me and need anything, he is always around.” I nodded at Rooster as I greeted Jax, who also pulled me into a quick bro hug. “Good to meet ya, Stone. I hope you don’t mind. I had Gears look over your bike real quick to make sure it was up to standards. Also, you will need these here to get your license and also plate your bike.” I took the papers he handed me, which consisted of a copy of my birth certificate, a lease agreement to verify my address, and a few other things I would be asked for inside. “Thanks” He nodded his head. “Not a problem.” So far, these guys were amazing. To be honest, I didn’t know how Jax had gotten some of these things, but I also probably didn’t want to know. I simply let it go and walked inside with Rooster and got things taken care of. At first, they were only going to let me do the testing for a car and make me come back for the motorcycle test, but Rooster talked them into letting me do it all today. Actually, I am sure he snuck them a little bit of cash, but there was no way of proving it, and I wasn’t going to complain. By the time we left, I was on my bike, and that was all I cared about. My cut was the only thing that was missing as I drove myself to the clubhouse with the guys. When I was locked up, Bones had taken it, and Rooster hadn’t brought it with him when he picked me up. 

Getting to the clubhouse, I was escorted in and introduced to several members. After a good twenty minutes, Jax came over to me, interrupting the small group of brothers I was talking with. “Time for formalities.” He smacked my shoulder a couple of times then motioned for me to follow him. As we made our way to the front of the room, everyone fell silent, and the guys all turned, so they were looking in the direction Jax was taking me. When we got to the front, Rooster joined us. “Alright, you all know how this s**t works. You all know a few months ago I brought it to vote to have Stone here join us upon his release from prison ....” The guys all made noise cutting Rooster off, to which he waved his hand, motioning for them all to shut up again. “We all know the vote was unanimous. We take care of our own. Now, normally we would return a member's original cut to him after a stint in prison. However, we had to make some updates to Stones here, so we will be giving him a new one instead.” With that, Jax held out a new cut for me. My old one hadn’t been anything fancy. It had been made of jean instead of the leather all of the guys here had. I also didn’t have many patches on it. But the one they were giving me was leather, and not only did it have my name patch already on it, but it sported a couple of other patches. One meaning I had been in prison and served my time. Another that showed I stood against abuse. It was one of the many things the club raised money for. To support those in need of getting out of abusive relationships and whatnot. 

Pulling my cut on set, the whole room into chaos. The guys were all whooping and hollering. To be honest, it was great. I loved it. Not only was I being accepted by all the members, but I felt whole again. I didn’t feel so naked now that I had my cut on. Both Rooster and Jax gave me yet another bro hug, welcoming me to their chapter of the Thunder Wolves. And with the formalities over, I was set free amongst the guys again. I spent a good amount of the night meeting as many of them as I could. There were a lot of them more than there had been in my last chapter. And just like with my last chapter, it didn’t take these guys long to notice I wasn’t interested in any of the club girls. It also didn’t take long for the girls to grow annoyed at the fact I simply didn’t pay them any attention. I was polite, of course, but they simply weren’t my type. Unlike my last chapter, though, none of the guys seemed to mind that I didn’t go for any of the girls. None of them even bothered saying anything about it. They simply didn’t give a s**t. It also wasn’t long before several of the members began the same game Brass, and the other guys liked to play. Several asked who my dad was and grew more obsessed with who I looked like when I told them I didn’t know. 

Around midnight or so, Rooster showed me up to the little apartment I was being given. Just as Bones said, it wasn’t anything spectacular. But let's face it, I have lived in worse places. And with it being just me, I didn’t need anything amazing. It was a roof over my head. They had furnished it for me and everything. Again, not with anything amazing, but there was a bed, dresser, small couch, small table with a couple of chairs, and then a few boxes of my s**t that Bones had stored for me. Inside the boxes were some clothes and a few other personal items he was able to pack away for me that had been in my old apartment. Overall it would do until I had money in the bank and was able to find a place of my own. Being left on my own and not really tired just yet, I decided to make a quick trip down to the convent store down the street. Using the little bit of cash I had still in my wallet from when I was locked up, I got a few snack items along with a pack of cigarettes. I know it was a bad habit to smoke, but it was a habit I picked up while in prison. Maybe now that I was out, I would quit. But that wouldn’t be tonight, and I had gone all day without a cigarette as it was and was craving one bad. When I left this morning, I left all the guys with what I had left. Pulling back into the parking lot, I parked my bike around the side of the autobody shop not too far from the outside stairs. Taking my time as I walked back up, I smoked a cigarette. When it was done, I headed back inside and put away my few possessions before finally settling down and getting some sleep. 

Waking up early, I headed out, making my way to meet with my parole officer for my first check-in. I had to basically go over the same things I did before my release. With the guys helping me get my license and having a job ready to go, things looked like it would be smooth sailing. My parole officer was not impressed with me having my cut on but didn’t say anything when I could prove I had my s**t together. I had one year to prove I could do this and not get sent back one year of simply staying out of the spotlight. And with being in a new town away from my mother and her boyfriend, I am sure I could do it. By the time I was done there, I was due to be back to the autobody shop and meet up with Jax. The plan for the day was for him to show me around the shop and what they would be expecting me to do. I would also be meeting a few other members that hadn’t been at the clubhouse the night before. Even with the formalities and introducing me to the guys, the club still had businesses to run. Two of which operated at night, which meant some of the guys had to work. 

Pulling into the parking lot, I pulled my bike back up to the side of the building, so it was out of the way. As I climbed off my bike, Jax walked over, greeting me. “All good?” I nodded, “yeah, the next check-in is next week unless he decides to stop by for an inspection.” Smiling, he nodded, “Good. Well, then let’s get you set up...For now, you will be taking over where I normally work. I am not much of a mechanic like some others, so I normally help with the small things. But stick with what you know. Gears is in the bay next to where you'll be and always willing to teach others if they want to learn more.” I nodded. That was probably a good thing. I worked out of my uncle's shop but only did oil changes and other easier things, along with working on the bikes that came in. Walking inside and over to an empty spot, I was happy to see it was set up for just what I knew how to do. In the next space, one of the guys I hadn’t met yet stood with his back to us as he used a lift to raise a truck he was working on. As we got closer, the guy turned around, nodding his greeting to Jax. Turning to me, it was hard not to notice him slightly jump and fear cross his eyes. It was there for only a second. Then it was gone. “Son of a b***h, you said he resembled Knuckles, not looked like an exact f*****g replica.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Why was everyone obsessed with who I looked like? To be honest, though I was slightly curious about who this Knuckles was, everyone seemed to agree that I looked like. I was also very curious as to why a fellow brother would be scared of another member. Jax shook his head. “You sure do know how to give a good first impression….Stone, this is Gears. I promise he isn’t always such a dunce.” I couldn’t help but laugh as Gears looked offended. 

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly after that. The two got me set up, and I was soon pushing through all the oil changes, tire rotations, and brake jobs that needed to be done. This helped free up the rest of the guys in the shop to focus on the more in-depth issues that needed to be taken care of. To some, it would seem boring, but for me, it was nice to be doing something I knew how to do. And do it at my own pace and not have guards walking around looking over my shoulder. By the end of the day, I was actually tired. It had been a long time since I worked a full day like that. It felt good. And best of all, working with fellow MC brothers made it even better. As we worked, we were able to joke around and have fun. It wasn’t like my time in prison or working for my uncle. Both places were set up, so you did the work in silence, and god forbid you talk with anyone else. By the end of the day, we had cleared the lot out, having fixed all the cars that had been brought in for the day. Gears assured me that it would be full again by morning, and we would have another full day of work. And man, was he not lying. Every day we cleared the lot, and every day it was full again by morning. By the end of the week, I had spent every day in the shop helping out. I was honestly looking forward to a day off. I didn’t know what I would do, but it didn’t really matter.