“Oh,” Memphis squealed. “We could get shirts made.”
“Jesus Christ,” Monk groaned. “You guys are killing me.”
“Knock, knock,” someone called behind Monk. “I’ve got your dinner.”
“And on that note, you two are getting your asses out of here. Mitzy needs to eat, and then she needs to rest,” Monk ordered.
Raelyn rolled her eyes. She leaned down to hug me and whispered in my ear. “See, Monk and Mitzy makes sense.”
I wasn’t going to argue with her. After two brushes with death, I wasn’t going to run away from Monk just because I was afraid. “I suppose it has a certain ring to it,” I agreed begrudgingly.
“Out,” Monk called. “You can see her when she gets home tomorrow.”
Memphis patted my arm. “I hope you put this man in his place, Mitz. That ain’t no way to be talking to a Badass Sister,” she spoke loudly.
“Memphis,” Six-Gun called from the hallway. “Get your ass out here. You’re gonna piss off Monk, and then you’re gonna have to go in hiding again like you did last time when you tried to prank him.”
Memphis’s jaw dropped. “I did not go into hiding,” she insisted.
“Really? You told me you were going to call in sick to work for a couple of days, and if I went to the clubhouse, you weren’t going to come with me.”
“Judas?” Raelyn called. “Is that you?” Raelyn tsked. “Betraying your own ol’ lady by telling her secrets.”
“You told me the same thing, Raelyn,” Playboy hollered.
“Be quiet, Judas’ friend,” Raelyn hissed. “I can’t believe the broken loyalty in this room right now. Thankfully the Badass Sisters don’t have to deal with this type of hypocrisy.”
“I don’t think that word means what you want it to mean,” Monk drawled. “Why don’t you go get yourself a dictionary while Mitzy eats and rests?”
Raelyn glared at Monk and flipped off Playboy. “Just know my finger is meant for you, but I’m not quite ready to be that badass of a Badass Sister.”
“You’ll get there,” I called. “See, watch this.” I flipped off Monk and waved my middle finger around. “One day, this will be you.”
Memphis raised her middle finger in the air and pointed at Monk. “One day, this will be directed at you.”
Raelyn and Memphis strode out of my room but then popped their heads back in. “But just know, when we do flip you off, there will be love behind it,” Memphis promised.
Six-Gun grabbed her around the waist and hauled her out.
“Yeah, what she said,” Raelyn called. “Fuck you with love.”
“Fuck sake,” Playboy muttered. He spun Raelyn around, planted his shoulder in her stomach, and hoisted her over his shoulder. “Feel better, Mitzy,” he called.
Monk shut the door.
A knock sounded again, and he growled.
“What?” He barked.
A woman with a tray cowered behind Monk. “Uh, sorry, sir. I need to actually get in the room.”
I smothered a laugh and watched as Monk stepped to the side and apologized.
The woman set the tray on the table next to me and sprinted out of the room.
Monk shut the door behind her and sighed. “Fucking hell. Memphis and Raelyn are going to be the death of me.”
“Well, with Barracuda being back, maybe you won’t have to deal with them as much,” I suggested.
Monk moved to the table next to me and adjusted it ‘til it was overreaching over my bed. “I’m afraid Raelyn, Memphis, and I have a rapport that isn’t going to change even if I’m not acting as prez anymore.”
“Does that mean you secretly like growling at them all of the time?”
Monk shrugged and lifted the cover off my food. He cringed and pinched his nose. “Dear God. What in the hell did you order tonight?”
I looked down at the large, muddy brown piece of meat and smiled. “Liver and onions with a side of brussels sprouts and applesauce.”
His eyes darted to the other plate of food that was still covered. “I told you to order my food,” he gasped.
I shrugged and snatched a brussels sprout off my plate. “And I did.”
“If you ordered me that shit, Birdie, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to see if I can get a pizza or something delivered.” He slowly reached for the lid and raised it. A whoosh of air rushed out of his lips, and he smiled. “Thank fuck.”
I rolled my eyes and reached for my knife. “I know liver is only liked by people with taste, Monk. That’s why I ordered you the chicken fingers. You’re a man with simple tastes, while I’m a woman who has complex taste.”
“And who enjoys eating animal organs.” Monk grabbed his plate and set it on the counter behind him. “I don’t want your liver anywhere near my chicken.”
I scoffed and held out the knife to him. “You don’t have to eat it, but you’re going to have to cut it up for me. I’m an invalid while my arm is in this cast and sling.”
He grabbed the knife and scowled at my plate. “If this doesn’t prove that I like you, I don’t know what the hell does. I can put up with your sass and mouth, but cutting up liver is pushing the limits, Birdie.”
I laughed and watched with amusement at the many faces Monk made while cutting up my diner. He set down the knife and visibly shivered. “I’m as manly as the next guy, but fuck that.”
I stabbed a piece of liver and popped it into my mouth. “The only thing that would make this better would be a hot fudge sundae.”
Monk sat down in his chair and shook his head. “You are one strange woman, Mitzy. Tough as nails but eats liver and onions while daydreaming of hot fudge sundaes.”
I savored the chunk of meat in my mouth and smiled. “I have impeccable taste, Monk.” I swallowed and took a drink of my water. “I did choose you, after all.”
Monk winked and ripped open a pack of ketchup. “I guess I can’t argue with you on that one.” He tossed the packet in the garbage and licked his fingers. “Now eat your liver like a good girl, and I’ll see what I can do about getting you a hot fudge sundae.”
I stuck a huge piece in my mouth and pointed my fork at him. “For the record, I’m only eating this because I want and not because you told me to.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Monk laughed. “That’s what you always say.”
I finished half of my liver and started in on my brussels sprouts. “So, can we talk about how I ended up in that field on my side?”
Monk looked up from his food. “It’s getting handled, Mitz.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you really say that and think I was just going to be good with it?” Maybe this man didn’t know me as well as he said he did.
Monk shook his head. “No, but I figured with your arm being in that cast and your body banged up that I could get a head start, and you wouldn’t be able to keep up.”
“I’m out of here tomorrow, Monk. Unless you plan to figure out who tried to kill me for the second time tonight, I think you’re gonna have to include me in kicking someone’s ass.” He had another think coming if he thought I was just going to sit by idly.
He set his fork down and sighed. “Someone loosened the lug nuts on your right front tire. About five seconds before it fell off, Jinx knew what was about to happen, but he couldn’t make it stop.”
I had slept all day yesterday, and today, I had been in and out of the room getting casted and whatnot so I hadn’t had a chance to actually talk to Monk about what happened. “I saw him flashing his headlight at me, but I lost control before I could even think.”
Monk nodded. “Yeah, but you tried. I don’t think anyone could have handled that any better than you did. You scared the living shit out of Jinx. I’m pretty sure he’s never going to be able to drive past that field again.”
I had scared the hell out of me, too. I remembered everything, but now I wanted to know why. Why was someone trying to kill me?
“What happened at Rain’s when you went to look?” I asked.
&nb
sp; Monk held up a zero with his hands. “Nothing. There wasn’t even any furniture in the place, and no sign of Tank anywhere.”
“So, she doesn’t even live there anymore?” Rain had never mentioned she had moved, and she was always one to be telling everyone her business because she thought she was that important.
“Rebel kind of thought we were going to come up with nothing because the times he had trailed her, she had been going to a place over on Barter.”
“That’s the opposite side of town.”
Monk nodded. “It is. And as of right now, Rain is the only person he has seen come or go at the place.”
“Well, now we need to go check out her new place, right? Or are you thinking Tank has nothing to do with her?”
Monk shrugged. “I don’t have a fucking clue. All we’re doing now is searching places, so we can eliminate them as possibilities of where Tank could be.”
So next onto the house on Barter street. “Should we talk about how crazy it was that Barracuda showed up out of nowhere?” I laughed.
Monk chuckled. “I will tell you right now, that was a fucking scene out of a movie. As soon as he stepped off his bike, I knew it was him.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?”
Monk shook his head.
I couldn’t hold back my smile. “It means your average went up, and you’re a B+ prez now.”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Nah, I’m a B+ VP now. Barracuda can take back the brunt of the stress from the club now. My number one priority is finding out who’s trying to hurt you and taking them out once and for all.”
“Then your rating can go up to an A, right?”
“That mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble one day, Mitzy.”
I brushed my lips against his again. “Only with you. And I’m kind of hoping it’s soon because you said you were going to fuck it out of me, right?”
“You can bet your ass on it, Birdie. As soon as you’re better, that ass is mine.”
That was the kind of promise I liked.
*
Chapter Nineteen
And he’s back…
Monk
Barracuda sat at the head of the table, and I was back in my spot to his right.
No one spoke.
This was our first church since Mitzy’s accident and Barracuda appearing out of thin air. Things had been pretty fucking hectic, and we hadn’t been able to sit down as a full club until today. Well, a full club minus Tank. Fucking B+ average. Barracuda had come to the hospital to see Mitzy, but she had been sleeping when he visited. This was the first time I had seen him for more than a minute since he came back.
“You get Mitzy home okay?” Barracuda asked me.
I nodded. “She’s home and resting.” I had tasked one of Skinz’s security guys to stay at the house with Mitzy until I was done with church. “Feisty as ever.”
Silence again.
No one knew what to say.
For months, we had searched for Barracuda, and he just came back on his own. We all wanted an explanation of what the hell happened.
“The Bastards have been my home and family for the past fourteen years. I joined when I was in a bad place. I had lost everyone I cared about, and I didn’t have anything to live for.” Barracuda looked around the table. “Until I sat down at this table and found my new family.”
Playboy grunted.
Barracuda turned to him. “You got something to say.”
Playboy glanced at me. I knew what he wanted to say. We had all thought it, and now it was our chance to say it out loud.
“Family doesn’t just disappear without a word and then waltz back in as if nothing happened,” I drawled. “Family stays no matter what.”
Barracuda rested his palms on the table. “What happens when the demons of your past are stronger than family?” he growled. “What happens when your demons come back to rip apart the ones you love, one by one?”
A sense of sadness settled over the room.
“Fifteen years ago, I thought my life was exactly what I wanted, and in one swift second, everything was taken from me.” Barracuda closed his eyes. “People who were once close became enemies, and the one person I thought I would have for the rest of my life was gone forever.”
Charlene and Menace.
Barracuda opened his eyes. “I know you all know what I’m talking about.”
I tipped my head to the side. “We couldn’t find you anywhere, but somehow, you were keeping tabs on us?”
“I have loyalties that run deeper than you know. I was able to stay well below the radar while still knowing what was going on here.” Barracuda sat back in his chair. “Though, I have to say, you guys did some good digging to find Mick.”
“So that’s it?” I asked. “You leave, keep tabs on us the whole time, and now you’re back? Just like that?”
I had said time and time again that I didn’t want to be prez, but I also didn’t want to go back to being VP to only have Barracuda disappear whenever shit got too tough for him. Yes, Leona was gone, and it was because of shit in his past, but why couldn’t he have his club at his back while he tried to take out Menace.
“I had to figure shit out. There were fucking days where I didn’t want to live and days where I wanted to destroy everyone in the world.” Barracuda leaned toward me. “You know those feelings you had when you saw Mitzy stuck in that car? Possibly close to death? Your heart dropped from your chest and your stomach in your feet? The feeling of dread weighing down on you like a weighted blanket?”
I breathed deep and curled my lips. “Yeah.”
“Now multiply that by one hundred, and feel it.” Barracuda spat. “Not once, but twice. Charlene was taken from me by some jealous asshole because I stole his girl. Again, when a woman with a bright light shining from within her literally falls into your lap, and she’s gone in an instant, killed by the same man. Feel that, and then come talk to me. I left because I wanted to die, all while taking the whole world with me.”
“We would have helped you carry that burden,” I roared. “You put that shit on your family, and you let them help you. You let them help hold you up when you can’t stand anymore. You let them burn the whole fucking world down for you until your pain subsides just a little. We are your family, and you left us when you needed us the most.” I shot up and pounded my fist on the table. “We are family!” My chest heaved, and spit spewed from my lips. “Family does not run away when things are hard. When the past comes back to haunt you, you gather your brothers and face it together.”
Barracuda slowly stood. “This is why I knew I could leave and knew my family was going to be okay. You are the reason why I didn’t worry.” Barracuda sighed. “You are also the reason why I came back.” Barracuda raised his finger and pointed it at me. He turned slowly and pointed at each guy. “You all are the reason why I knew I could leave and come back. I shouldn’t have left, but I’m back now, and I’ll never make that mistake again. Grief clouded my faith in you all, and it almost took me out.”
“But it didn’t,” Rebel called. “We may not have been physically there with you, but we were with you. You didn’t punk out because you knew your family was here. Waiting.”
Jet laid his hand on the table. “I’m fucking pissed you left, brother, but at the end of the day, we just wanted you to come back. None of us know what you’re going through, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help you.”
Barracuda closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest. “I’m sorry I didn’t stay. I didn’t know what to do other than go.”
“But you’re back now,” I grunted. “You’re back now, and you’re here to fucking stay. We’re gonna take out Menace, and you’re gonna be the one to pull the trigger to put that piece of shit in the ground once and for all.” It was gonna take me a bit to get over the fact that Barracuda thought he had to leave, but at the end of the day, family is family no matter what.
No matter what.
Every hand rose, and a chorus of “ayes” went up.
I grabbed the gavel by the head and handed it back to Barracuda with the handle toward him. “This is yours if you want it, brother.”
Barracuda looked down at the gavel. He grasped the handle and took it from me. He slammed it down on the table. “Family forever,” he whispered.
Family forever.
*
Chapter Twenty
A little sore…
Mitzy
“How did you manage to bring a pizza home on your bike?”
Monk laughed. “Very carefully.”
I grabbed a slice and set it on my plate. “You never realize how much you use your left arm until you can’t use it.” I grabbed a packet of red pepper and tore the corner off with my teeth. “I almost had to have Sven come help me in the bathroom while you were gone.” I was fine getting my pants pulled down, but it was the pulling them back up that I was struggling with.
“And I would have kicked his ass if he had.”
I rolled my eyes. “Next time, I’ll just walk around with my pants at my knees ‘til you come home because you don’t want Sven to help.”
Monk pointed his finger at me. “Sven will never step foot in this house again. If I’m going to the clubhouse, your ass is coming with me.”
I shrugged. “Only until we find out who is trying to hurt me. After that, my ass is staying here, by myself, whenever I want to.”
“Is that so?” Monk laughed. He grabbed a slice of pizza and squirted ranch all over it.
“Do you know you eat like a five-year-old? Chicken nuggets smothered in ketchup and now drowning your pizza with ranch.” I shook pepper flakes on my slice. “Why don’t you try adding a little flavor without dousing it?”
Monk took a huge bite, and ranch dripped down his chin.
“So sexy,” I laughed. “Good thing you managed to nail me down before I saw that.”
Monk wiped his chin with a napkin and stood. He moved to the fridge and grabbed a beer. “You want one?” he asked.
Monk (Royal Bastards MC: Sacramento Book 3) Page 11
