II

Drake walked out of his office and was met by Bill, the MC's treasurer.

"Lucy told me what happened last night. Thanks for looking out for Samantha. She's a little fragile."

When Drake raised an eyebrow, Bill shrugged. "Lucy and Sam have been friends since kindergarten. When her husband died last year, I thought Lucy was gonna lose the best friend she ever had. Sam grieved so hard and so long that I thought it would carry her to the grave. I mean, you hear about people grieving themselves to death, but you pray you never see it."

"It was bad?" Drake asked, frowning.

"Yeah, real bad. She had stopped eating and sleeping. Lucy and I went by there about two weeks after we buried Mack. What we found scared my girl, and shook me up pretty badly. Sam was laying in bed, just staring at the ceiling. She smelled like she hadn't had a bath in a while and she looked like someone from a concentration camp. The smell alone is what alerted us. Thankfully, Lucy had a key to Sam's place. Had for years. She was so far gone, I was afraid that she wouldn't make it back to us." Bill replied with a grimace of deep grief on his face.

Drake thought back to the woman he had coffee with last night. She had seemed so alive, so vibrant. It was hard to reconcile the image that Bill portrayed with the image that Drake had in his head. "Obviously, something changed. What happened?" He asked, curious.

"Lucy had me call an ambulance. When we got to the hospital, they had restrained her and were running a feeding tube down her nose, and had started two IV's. I'm telling you man, that's not a sight I ever want to see again. My girl almost had to be sedated. Her concern for Sam was deep. She was screaming and crying. Begging Sam to fight for her life." Drake watched as Bill closed his eyes and shudder at the memory. "The doctor's were so concerned for Lucy that they sedated her right then."

"Appreciate the knowledge. I won't let on that I know. That way, she can tell me herself. If she wants to." Drake said.

Bill turned to leave when he stopped, turned and looked at his club president. "Don't hurt her, Drake. She's been through enough. She's not like the club girls. She can't be a quick roll and then you walk away. A man like you will break her. I can't watch her, or my wife go through that shit again. I love you more than a brother, but if you hurt her, I promise that I will make sure you pay."  Having said his piece, he turned and headed out the door of the club.

Drake stood there for a minute, taking in the love and loyalty that his friend had for this woman. Turning, he headed back in his office and frowned as he thought over what Bill had said. The loyalty that he and Lucy had to this woman went deeper than their loyalty to the club, and that was saying something. As he thought about the woman he had had coffee with last night, he ran down all of the information that he had on her, as of this moment. He started with vital statistics. Age, approximately 35. Height: 5'6. Brown hair, brown eyes. Clear skin that suggested good health. While she wasn't overweight, she wasn't skinny either. If he had to say, he would call her voluptuous. Not a word you heard much anymore because most women preferred curvy. But she had what his mom would have called a classic coke bottle figure. Thinking about her figure caused a stirring in his body. Realizing what was happening, he cursed quietly. Just then, Bailey, one of the club women entered his office. Before he could speak, she walked over to him, seated behind his desk, and straddled his lap.

"Hi Sexy. You haven't been to seen me in a day or two. I figured you would be getting lonely. So, being the good girlfriend I am, I came to take care of your needs." Raising up on her knees, she reached for his belt to unbuckle it.

With a growl, Drake grabbed her wrist, hard. "Bailey, I don't recall telling you that we are dating, nor do I remember hearing you knock on my office door. And you know the rules around here. You seem to think that because I have allowed you in my bed a few times that we are an item. As a matter of fact, it wasn't even that great. You were just a release.  Now, let me set you straight on a few things. Get your over-used ass off of my lap and get out of my office. Once you've done that, get your shit and get the hell off of club property. You have no respect for the rules, and you have no respect for boundaries. I've had several complaints against you from the married girls. They tell me that you try to screw their husbands. You know that's against the rules. Now, get out!" Drake practically shouted at her and then spun his chair around to get a file. He stood, causing the girl to tumble to the floor. When he turned back around, Bailey was still standing there with her mouth hanging open. "What part of get you shit and get out did you not understand? If you don't move your ass quickly, I'll have Vulcan throw you and your stuff out on the street."

Bailey opened her mouth and then closed it. With a humph, she stomped her foot and turned and let his office. As she was leaving, the brother mentioned came to his open office door. Standing there, he raised his fist and knocked. Drake waved him in and told him to shut the door as he came in.

"Do me a favor, call Axe and tell him to make sure that skank is off of our property with everything she owns. I want her gone with no excuses to come back here. She's caused enough problems with the brothers and their ladies. Shit like that can't go on. We run a clean club. I don't want someone coming in and trying to split up couples. Get the word out. If any other on the club 'bunnies' try the same thing, they will be tossed out and off of club property without a second thought. No if's ands or buts. I'm done playing the counselor because these women, and some of the guys, don't understand a marriage vow and no means no!"  

Vulcan nodded and pulled out his phone and sent a group message. While his VP did what he asked, Drake tried to review the file in front of him. All he kept seeing was the woman he had coffee with the night before. She had taken root in his psyche. That bothered him. He had only spent a small amount of time with her. Tossing his pen on his desk, he swiped one large hand over his face. This had never happened to him. Never in all of his life had he had a woman capture his attention the way Sam had. That's why he had never married. It hadn't seemed fair to marry a woman who didn't have his complete attention.

"Problems boss?" Vulcan was well aware of how his President had spent the previous evening. He heartily approved. It was time he met someone like Lucy's friend. He and his girl had met her. She was a nice lady. She would be good for his friend. Knowing her story, he also knew that Drake would be good to her.

"I don't know, man. I met this chick, woman, last night. I've never met anyone like her before. She's brutally honest. She also has already been married and has lost her husband to cancer. And it seems like she's a friend of Bill and Lucy." Looking up, Drake watched his VP smirk. "Shit! You know her too."

Vulcan nodded. "Yep. She was at the cookout that Bill and Lucy had at their new place this past year. You remember, you couldn't make it because you were escorted that mom and her little girl to a safe house. She's a nice lady, boss. I think you two would be good together. I thought so then, and I still think so. She'll be good for you. More importantly, I think you'll be good for her. There are deep waters there, boss." Vulcan said, laughing.

"Well shit. I guess I'll ask her out again. I need someone like that. Who knows. Maybe we'll hit it off." Drake mused. Already planning the evening in his head, he picked up his phone and send Bill a text, asking him for Sam's number.