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Teresa
After her first ride with the Red Butterfly, Teresa got deeply involved with the club’s activities. She had greatly enjoyed returning to the motorcycling life, and although she barely had time between her job at the kitchen, her school, and her job at the pub, she went to the club every weekend and took charge of organizing and arranging the humanitarian efforts for the club to get involved in.
It was a job she loved doing because it combined two of her passions: riding and charity. She had even got in touch with several other motorcycle clubs, so she was always up-to-date with the latest news and had arranged a joint rally more than once: several clubs had joined once to rally and raise funds for a state charity, and they had all enjoyed the event.
She was also enjoying her life with Vance. He had turned out to be an amazing husband: he supported her in every decision she made, was caring and understanding, cooked for her (his gnocchi was truly the best), and he was amazing in bed. Teresa still got chills whenever she thought about him in that way: he made every cell in her body tremble with desire.
Teresa shook her head to clear it. She was at the Red Butterfly’s headquarters and was reviewing the list of charitable events they had already done to come up with a new idea when the phone rang.
“Red Butterfly Motorcycle Club, this is Teresa Love. Whom am I speaking with?” she answered mechanically. It was a representative from another club, who had heard of the Red Butterfly’s rallies and wanted to collaborate. He had several ideas for charities, and after a while, they agreed on one and arranged a meeting in two weeks. They were making some small talk about other clubs when Teresa’s blood froze.
“And the Grim Rebels have disbanded, did you hear?” Christopher asked on the other end of the line. “The boss is dead, and they broke into a coup after his demise.”
Teresa froze. Her father was dead. The Grim Rebels was without a leader.
“W-well, that is unfortunate. Are you sure about this?” she asked.
“That’s the word on the street, at least. Our club never dealt with the Grim Rebels, you know. Can’t say it’s much of a shame, though. Shady business they got into.”
She knew. Not many clubs that dedicated their efforts to charity dealt with her father and the Grim Rebels. After saying goodbye to Christopher, she hung up and leaned back on the chair, rubbing her face. She did not know how to feel about her father’s death.
She had not thought about him in months, and she would be lying if she said she was sorry about it. Her father had been a terrible person all his life. He had not cared for anyone but himself and she had stopped caring about him a long time ago – why should she care now that he was dead?
But that knowledge stirred something inside of her, and she had to check whether that rumor was true before acting on it. She grabbed the phone and called every club she knew, and they all confirmed it: they had all heard through the grapevine that Jimmy Love had passed away and the Grim Rebels, unable to choose a leader, had disbanded.
So it was true: her father’s efforts had been futile in the end. She did not plan to go back there and take over the club at all. She had finally found a place where she was happy, with a person that loved her made her feel like she belonged. But there was something in the back of her mind that made her uneasy.
In the beginning, Vance had agreed to the whole charade of marrying her in the first place because he wanted to lead the Grim Rebels someday. He said he loved her, but was his love stronger than his desire for leadership? Would Vance leave her side if he ever found out that the Grim Rebels could be his if he just seized the opportunity?
Upset at these thoughts, Teresa left the club early and headed home. She did not want to tell him about any of this, but she knew he deserved to know and he would find out eventually, regardless. This would be a test of their relationship: if Vance stayed by her side, that meant everything had been true. But if he chose to pursue the Grim Rebels, she knew she would lose him, and that meant she was never his.
And yet, she thought while making dinner and waiting for him to come home, she was too afraid. She did not want their marriage to be over, and if he left, she was not sure she could ever get over it.
Vance came home an hour later and greeted her cheerfully.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, sensing her gloomy mood. Teresa shook her head in denial and tried to act as if nothing happened, but she did not fool Vance. “Tess, come on, you can tell me anything,” he insisted. “I know something’s wrong. What happened?”
Teresa looked him straight in the eyes and took a deep breath. She was about to take a leap of faith, and she just hoped Vance would be there to catch her.
“My father is dead. The Grim Rebels have broken into a coup – they don’t have a leader,” she told him quietly. Vance was taken aback.
What did this mean?