Chapter One
Aubrey
“Hey, Aubrey. What are you doing later?”
I looked up from reviewing my patient files to see Doc leaning against my office door frame, his arms crossed over the leather cut of his doctor’s coat.
“I plan to head down to the lake for a bit before I head home,” I told him, leaning back in my chair.
“Hm, what would you say about attending the open bar tonight? If by any means you want to leave, then you can.”
I sighed, eyeing my co-worker and boss, who had become a good friend of mine since I started working here a few months after I retired.
“Can I rain check on that?” I sheepishly said, taking my hair out of its messy bun.
“Sure, the open bar at the MC Compound is open two times a week when Prez chooses the folks and other MCs to come and hang out,” Doc says, smirking and waving his farewell.
I shook my head, knowing he would drag me there one day. When that day comes, I will be prepared to deal with a few unruly bikers and their customs.
I finished what I was doing and started to close up my office, heading to the lake to relax and fish since that had always calmed me down when I was left alone.
My parents kicked me out when I was sixteen and bought me the shitty trailer I lived in, and when I left for the Marines, my parents took the trailer and rented it out for the last eight years of serving my country.
Now, I have a small cottage home near the lake I have loved for years and when I used to go fishing with my late uncle, who was killed in action within the police force back in Dallas.
After telling Doc I was going for the night, I left the clinic and headed towards my small, beat-up four-door car.
I got in and started it up, placing my things on the seat next to me. I quickly headed home to get my stuff so I could sit and fish for the evening, watching the sun go down and enjoying a few beers.
I finally got home, parked my car, and noticed my father’s car was there. I began to get worried and annoyed to know he was at my house without my permission, and what worried me was how he knew where I had moved since I came home from overseas.
I parked my car and pulled out my phone, calling the only person I could trust since I had moved back home after living in the Middle East for eight years.
‘Aubrey?’
‘Hey, Doc. Are you still at the clinic?’
‘No, I just arrived home. What’s wrong?’
‘Remember I told you about my fucked-up family? Well, my father has found out where I live, and I wondered if I could crash at your place?’
“Shit, are you serious? Let me talk to Prez, and I will come and get you soon; stay tight, Angel.’
I sighed, banging my head on my headrest, trusting Doc to come back since I would be dealing with my bloody father, who, for some reason, found where I lived.
I grabbed my things, left my car, and locked it up behind me when I saw my father get out wearing his rancher outfit and cowboy hat, trying to look intimidating towards me.
I, for one, don’t fear him anymore; I know genuine fear and faced death in the face working as a field medic for the United States Naval Marine Core for eight long years.
“Father, what do you want?” I coldly said, unlocking and opening my door for him to enter before closing it behind me.
I motioned for my silent father to take a seat while I put everything away in my kitchen and started to make more coffee, realizing I needed a good cup to deal with my father.
“Aubrey, what happened eight years ago?”
I turned around, staring my deadbeat father in the eyes, not giving away how much pain he and the rest of my family had caused me over the last eleven years.
“What happened eight years ago is I left to join the marine core and lived in the Middle East for eight years with my unit during warfare, trying to save as many lives as I could on and off the war front,” I spat out, glaring at my so-called father, who looked at me with unknown emotions in his blue eyes that I share with him.
I left when I heard a heavy pound on my door, and I smirked, knowing exactly who that was. Seeing he told me he would be here in a few.
I opened my door to see that Doc was there, and a few others were sitting and leaning over their motorcycle handlebars.
“Hey, Doc, you got here at a good time. I was just about to clock my so-called father out cold,” I said, sighing and feeling my anger rise from dealing with my past that I don’t want to get into ever again.
I watched Doc chuckle and shake his head, amused. He knew that I would, seeing how it was not the first time I had to subdue someone who was going against medical treatment.
My body stiffened when I felt my father behind my back, and I quickly grabbed his arm that was on my shoulder and flipped him on his front, bending his arm at an odd angle and putting my foot harshly between his shoulder blades, ignoring the sharp scream that came out his mouth.
“Lieutenant Hampton!” I blinked my eyes to clear the fog that came over me when I heard Doc’s loud voice yell towards me.
I looked down at my scared and whimpering father, and I quickly let go and took a heavy step back away from what had just happened.
I promptly took off inside to gather my wits and calm down my mind from the screams and bloodshed I had endured.
