His Vice

Ch 12

He got up that morning, it was still dark outside. He leaned over, bare feet hung over the bed. He glanced at her sleeping frame, letting out a sigh. God, all night, all he had wanted to do was grab her, hold her against him. he got up, rubbing his eyes, getting dressed, and brushing his hair in the bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror, more particularly, the dark circles under his eyes. When he pulled up to the Los Angeles chapter base, he got out of his car, pulling off the tie he had dressed in to not arouse suspicion with the middle-class neighbors, pulling off the white dress shirt he was wearing and pulling the black t-shirt over his head, running his hand through his combed hair.

"About time" Ace muttered, holding out a coffee for him. He growled, taking it, needing the caffeine. "So, I heard from some of my men you've been a bit of a psychopath since you showed up here"

"I want to know what my wife was doing in my absence, that's it"

"Why does it matter? it's the past. What do you intend to do? beat up every man she fucked while she was gone?"

"More like fucking execute them" he growled

Harmony opened her eyes, her ears bombarded by a pretty melody she had never heard before. She leaned up softly, glancing on the other side of the pillow barrier. It was empty, Maxwell had already left. She got up, wrapping a robe around her body. She walked down the stairs, towards the crib, surprised to find it empty. She walked down the hall, towards the living room, rubbing her eyes of sleep when she started to hear Maxxy's happy giggles. She smiled slightly, moving into the living room, finding Maxxy on the floor, staring up in awe at Bean, who was sitting across from him against the carpet, playing the flute of all things. It was a beautiful song, and Maxxy seemed to love it, clapping his hands together as if in applause for her playing. Continuing to do his adorable baby laugh. Bean looked up, seeming to notice Harmony and freezing.

"Mrs. Lucas" she squeezed. Harmony rolled her eyes at the name.

"Please, just Harmony"

"Ok Just Harmony" bean said happily, getting up from the floor "The baby started to make noise a little past dawn, so I thought I'd entertain him until you woke up"

"Well, that's very nice of you Bean, and Maxxy seemed to love it" Harmony walked across the carpet, picking up Maxxy from the carpet as he laughed, grabbing onto her hair and smiling. It melted her heart.

"Would you like some breakfast Bean?" she asked, heading towards the kitchen with the baby in her arms.

"I would love some! Oooh do you have pancakes?!" she asked happily.

"I'm sure there's batter somewhere if we look hard enough" Harmony placed Maxxy in his highchair, digging in the fridge for his morning mango puree.

"This is so exciting! I've never lived with anyone before!" the young girl said happily, getting up on a stool opposite of Harmony at the island counter.

"Don't you live in the chapter base?" Harmony asked, pulling open the cupboards and looking for pancake batter.

"I do, I guess I live with them, but I've always had my own apartment with everything I ever needed all to myself inside the base, so it wasn't often I left it" Bean claimed. Harmony nodded in understanding, assuming it was something similar to how Bunny lived, the one time she had been in any of the apartments in the New York chapter. She found the batter, pulling out a bowl, and starting to whisk it.

"I notice you wear that white flower a lot" she claimed, referring to the one clipped to the side of her head, "I thought Hell's Heaven members had to wear full black all the time"

"Oooh! that's because I'm not actually a member" Harmony looked up, kind of surprised by that. "Well, not technically. I haven't passed initiation" the young girl claimed, bouncing in her seat "All prospective members are supposed to wear a small piece of white in order to separate themselves from full-fledged members" Harmony wondered why she hadn't been forced to wear a piece of white, she wasn't a full member either. She supposed it was something she'd have to ask Max. "It doesn't surprise me that you don't know that, by Maxwell's rules at his chapter, all possible members aren't allowed to live on base before they pass initiation, at least that's what I heard" Harmony looked up at the young girl's big sparkling eyes and happy face.