Jeremy waited at the bar for Tallis to return, finding that going after her wouldn’t be worth it. He took a shot of whiskey went he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. “Moira” flashed across the screen. “Women are going to be the death of me,” he mumbled as he answered the call.

“Moira? Hey.”
“Hey, Tillman. I’m sorry to call you. Eight of your bikes just left my house. They were camped out for a while.”
Jeremy sighed, “Look, I’m sorry. I’m sure it was just business with your dad. I didn’t send anyone.” He felt bad for her. She must have thought he was a monster to think he’d try to hurt her out of the blue. “I’ll make sure they don’t come to your house again.” 
Moira’s voice began to shake as she let out a quiet, “Okay.” 
“Take care of yourself, Moira,” he said gently as he hung up the phone. 

As Jeremy finished the call, her heard Tallis and the rest of the crew come in the front. He stood up at the sound of Black yelling at her. Once they were done, Jeremy approached Tallis and said in his deep, gravelly voice, “We need to talk.” He pulled her away from the group of members over towards the bar. His facial expression looked like a mix between anger and confusion. “Moira called me. You went to her fucking [i]house[/i], Tallis?” He shook his head and poured another shot for himself in his glass. “I don’t want you involving her in club affairs. I put her through enough.” 

------------------------------------------------

Solomon laid in his bed, missing the warmth Kaci used to provide for him. He rolled over towards his nightstand and grabbed his phone. “K, I don’t think Tillman’s as mad as we think he is. I miss you. I need to see you soon.” He sighed and clicked send. He hated feeling this emotional over a woman. Why couldn’t he be like all the guys in the club? They just saw women as a warm body. He had yet to tell her, but he was in love with her. 

Although Solomon was used to loss, it never came easy to him. After his mother died when he was only 10, his step-father gained full custody of him. Ray, an alcoholic and gambler, used to beat Solomon at any chance he got to discipline him. Whether it was spilling his drink or flunking a test, he was subjected to violence and neglect, being locked in the basement days at a time with little food. At the age of 14, Solomon devised a plan to escape from his step-father. He crushed an Ambien and dropped the powder into Ray’s beer, and that night, he took his backpack and left the house. Ray never bothered to file a missing person’s report, which led to his arrest when the school reported his absence.

When the police activity surrounding Ray and the abuse died down, Solomon went to stay with a cousin who lived near the clubhouse. That’s when he first saw the club, and he immediately was enamored by the lifestyle he saw. He started out as a prospect, doing grunt work like serving drinks and fixing up bikes. Most people would see this as an insult, but Solomon couldn’t get enough. Most of the club members treated him like a little brother. He began to grow close to Taylor and Jeremy, as they were around his age, and they all eventually got patched in. 

Solomon always strived for the friendship that Taylor and Jeremy had, but he always fell short. He knew they had his back and loved his as one of their brothers, but he always had felt left out. After Taylor died and Jeremy began to lean on Solomon for support, it meant a lot to him. He’d take a bullet for him if it came to it. 
This made what had happened with Kaci that much worse. He felt so bad for the pain he caused him, but he [i]loved[/i] Kaci. Did that make it okay? Probably not. But he had to try to make things right between them.