"I need to get up into the loft space, where's the hatch."
I looked at her puzzled, "Why do you need to get into the loft? Do you think he's up there?" I asked panicked but quietly as I didn't want the children to hear from their bedroom.
"No it's nothing like that but I'm just following orders." She looked sincere as she held up the phone indicating the text.
I walked to my bedroom and pointed at the loft hatch. Ramsey stealthily got a chair from under the desk and removed his blade from its holster. He positioned it under the loft hatch and took a small Maglite from his cut. Taking a deep breath he lifted the loft hatch and used the light from the torch to look in all directions to make sure all was clear. He returned his blade to its holster and reached in with one hand patting the area close to the hatch.
I drew my brows together not understanding what the hell was going on but his face lit up when he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small red container and held it tightly as he closed the hatch and jumped from the chair. Ramsey placed the tin on my bed and opened the lid to reveal a small hand gun enclosed inside.
"What the fuck!" I said aloud.
My words caused Amy to snigger, "It's for protection until the guys arrive."
I looked between Amy and Ramsey, and noticed how he handled it with ease making sure that it was loaded.
"How the fuck did it get there? It's not mine!" I stated trying to keep it together but slowly felt like my whole world was toppling around me.
"Louise it's for protection. Spike knew that the kids would never go into the loft and it was best you knew nothing about it unless you needed to." Amy said in a matter of fact tone and I was surprised by how she was keeping it all together under the circumstances but then I suppose she had been involved in this life long enough to understand the protocol.
There was a series of loud bangs on the front door. We glanced at each other and Ramsey cocked the gun, "Stay here!" He whispered holding the gun in front of him as he silently made his way towards the front door.
Another series of loud bangs came from the door and I grabbed Amy's hand for reassurance. I could see Ramsey visibly relax as he peeped through the spy hole before unbolting the door and letting the guys in.
Diesel, Woods and another man that I hadn't met before made their way into my tiny apartment.
Diesel stalked over to Amy and hugged her, "Are you okay?" she nodded and gestured towards me. "I need you to sit down and explain to us exactly what happened. I may also need to ask you some questions regarding your husband."
I glanced at Amy and the closed bedroom door belonging to the children. "Do you want me to stay or sit with them?" Amy asked reaching out to gently touch my arm.
"Please could you sit with them, I don't want them to be scared." Amy smiled and walked towards their bedroom door, knocking lightly before she entered.
Looking back towards Diesel I could see that he had lots of questions he wanted to ask but was trying to be diplomatic, a quality that Spike had said he was lacking.
I paced into the living room and sat on the armchair grateful of the space. I took a deep breath, "What do you need to know?"
"What happened when you came home?" I gestured to the two cards that were still on the floor and he quickly picked them up and read them, passing them to the other guys once he was finished. He looked back towards me, "So he hasn't made any direct contact with you?" I shook my head.
"Liam hasn't been home for the past seven days which would mean that he has probably been trailing you himself, hence knowing about this place as you've only been here since Monday. I'm surprised we haven't seen him. Does he have any military background?" He asked looking at me thoughtfully.
I was surprised how much he knew as I hadn't ever given anyone my surname or previous address but they obviously had their ways of finding information. I shook my head to his earlier question, Liam didn't have any military experience, the only thing he was good at was knocking his wife about and making his family miserable.
"Does he have any family or friends around here?"
"No, that's one of the reasons I came here as there are no connections to Essex."
"And what about vehicles, does he have a car or a motorcycle?" The thought of Liam on a motorcycle made me snigger, earning me an unreadable glance from Diesel. Liam despised the very people that had taken his family under their wings and shown me more love than he ever had in the eight years we were together.
"He has a five series BMW." I gave him the registration and he raised his eyebrow slightly.
"A little different to the car you were driving!"
Diesel was right Liam lived a very good life. Money was tight especially with him losing his well paid job at the bank. We were in debt but he wanted everyone to think he was the perfect husband that provided for his family. Over the years my dishevelled appearance brought him attention from women which he enjoyed and I received snarky comments in the playground questioning why a man like Liam would possibly stay with someone who looked such a mess which did little to my confidence. Little did they know that food was sparse and I would go hungry in order to make sure my children were fed.
I'd become obsessed with my weight when we first started dating because of his constant jibes about me filling my face or questioning if I really needed all the food that I had on my plate. I did need to lose a few pounds but after a year of being together I had lost well over a stone and the weight had continued to drop off ever since. My clothes become uncomfortable to wear and hung off me like a bag of rags.
I knew that Liam had done this on purpose as his constant taunting about being unattractive and having no prospects wore me down and took away the last of my self-esteem. This is why Spike meant so much to me. He had seen me at my lowest and he wasn't afraid of following his gut instinct of getting to know the person inside the empty shell.
"The story of my life!" I stated as I leaned back into the chair, "What happens now?"
"Well he must be staying somewhere so Woods and Justice are gonna drive around the local hotels, B&B's and camp sites looking out for his car." He held up the piece of paper and handed it to Woods. "By what you've said he hasn't got a lot of money so I doubt he would've hired a car and now I even doubt that the man who approached you is a private investigator which opens a whole new can of worms." Diesel nodded at the two men, indicating for them to go and do their job and I smiled as Justice caught my eye to let him know I was grateful. He didn't say anything but simply nodded his head before he left the room.
"I'm gonna stay the night if that's okay with you? I'll sleep on the couch until morning then I'll swap over with someone else until Spike arrives tomorrow evening."
"I couldn't possibly ask you to do that Diesel, what about Ink?"
"She's gonna stay at Amy's and they'll have a prospect with them. Look, a while back Spike did the same for me so I'm returning the favour, the only thing I ask is that you don't tell Spike. He will only come back, acting all cave man and we have too much going on at the moment."
I nodded my head understanding what he was asking although I knew that Spike would be pissed off with me when he returned.
I turned to the sound of the children's bedroom door opening and saw Amy poke her head out, "The children want to know if they can come and see you?" Amy asked.
I nodded my head and Amy pushed the door slightly so that the children could make their way into the living room and gingerly sat on my lap allowing me to cuddle them.
"If you're okay Louise I'm gonna make a move, I've got a lot to sort out for the party tomorrow."
"That's fine Amy, I'll be okay Diesel's going to stay."
Amy said her goodbyes and thanked Diesel for coming over, and left closing the door behind her.
"Can I get you a drink?"
"Louise, don't worry about me. Go about your normal routine and try to forget that I'm here." He pulled out his phone and started to text someone.
I smiled and took the children
into the bathroom to get them cleaned up. It was too late now to give them a bath but I gave them a wash down instead making sure that they had also brushed their teeth trying to keep the situation as calm as possible and follow the same routines.
After putting the children to bed, I walked into the living room and saw that there were two cups of piping hot tea on the table in the middle of the room.
"I couldn't find coffee or sugar so I assumed that's how you took it." He said pointing to the mug closest to me on the table.
I picked up the mug grateful for the hot drink, "Thank you." I took a sip and relaxed into the arm chair letting out a long sigh.
Diesel leaned forward to put his phone on the table before picking up his mug, "How are things going with Spike?"
I looked at him surprised that he would ask such a thing, "Fine, why has he said otherwise to you?" I asked panicked that Diesel may have some inside information.
"No, on the contrary. I've seen the way you look at each other, how he is with the kids and how you interacted at the club house today but you've gotta see it from my point of view. You're gonna be vulnerable Louise, that's the nature of the beast considering your circumstances but I don't want you settling for Spike just because he can offer you security. He's had too much shit in his life to be fucked about and I just wanna make sure you're in it for the long haul."
Whoa! Where the hell did that come from? I understood his motives, he was only looking out for his cousin and I could see how he may have come to that conclusion but even so, did he need to be so direct?
"Spike has also become fond of the children, we all have but because of his fucked up childhood I know it will break his heart if you walk away. I'm not putting a guilt trip on you Louise, what I want you to do is think about this long and hard. If there's a slight possibility of you not wanting to start a relationship with him, I want you to walk away before he gets in too deep."
I didn't know what to say to him, he didn't beat around the bush and gave it to me straight. I was taken aback by his comments and he must have seen the shock on my face but he continued.
"If you want to get away from here, this is the perfect time to do so whilst he's away. I'll get my car, we can load up the kids and I will take you anywhere you want to go."
Diesel reached into his pocket and pulled out a large envelope, placing it onto the table in front of me. "There's five grand there, you can take that and start a new life for you and the kids. Once you're settled, I'll give you another five grand to keep you going." He sat back on the sofa making himself comfortable.
I was gobsmacked and had to take a minute to digest what he'd just said. I stood and furiously paced around the living room trying to keep the noise down as I didn't want to wake the children.
"How fucking dare you come into my home and talk to me like this." I don't know where my courage had come from but I was sick of people especially men telling me what I should do and how I should feel.
"I don't care who you think you are but you don't scare me. I've endured things in my short lifetime that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy and there's nothing that you can say or do to hurt me even more."
I stopped pacing and stood with my hands on my hips directly in front of him, "Not that it's any of your business but my feelings for Spike run deep, he means the world to me and I am grateful that he took pity on me that day at the cafe because it gave me the opportunity to spend time with him and find out just what a wonderful person he is." I reached for the envelope on the table and threw it at him, "Now you can take your money and piss off out of my home. I'd rather take my chances with Liam than sit here and look at your face again." By the time I had finished my rant, I was shaking and braced myself in case things turned nasty.
He stood and placed the money into his pocket as he looked at me with an unreadable expression. I was still breathing heavily but I stared at him as he made his way to the front door. He turned towards me and smiled, "Thank you." He said quietly before leaving the apartment.
Thank you! What was he possibly thankful for after I just told him to piss off?
Chapter 17
Duke
"Right let's hurry up and get seated, we've got a lot to go through this afternoon." I rolled my eyes as they casually strolled in making sure their phones were turned off and handed them to Ramsey who stood at the door with the box to put them in to.
Stoney was the last to arrive and closed the double doors behind him as he looked around the room for a chair.
"Obviously today is a special day. Skinner is going to be President of the Kent charter but we're not bothered about him as he'll have a fucking huge party with his new family next weekend." Skinner stood and bowed. I'd known Skinner for years and had met with him last night regarding his new role. He was loyal to the club and I knew that the Kent charter would be in good hands. He was aware of the direction that the club was heading in and he was in agreement that it was the best thing for the club to have longevity.
"Everyone in this room has been in Tyler's situation and we promise to make it a very special day and evening." I gave him a wink knowing that we had the strippers coming over from the Bird Cage and Liquid later on this evening. Liquid was the strip club the guys ran at the Norfolk charter and they were coming down for this evening's festivities.
"So first things first, it is customary for the new patched member to receive his road name. Now, when we decided that Tyler should be patched we racked our brains for a suitable name and Hound happily shared some childhood memories. We voted last night and your new road name is...'Whippet!'"
The guys clapped and cheered as Tyler stood and gave a bow.
"Now you can obviously shorten this to 'Whip' but when your pulling the ladies, make sure you tell them your name is in reference, to the fact that you can run fast rather than your antics in the bedroom, you don't want to scare them off!"
I held up his new cut and Whip slowly walked around the table to the continued whoops and cheers from the group.
"Before I give this to you, I just want to say a few words. Tyler has only been with us a few years as a prospect but during that time he has shown us how dedicated he is to the club and in my opinion he has been the best Prospect we've had in the club for a very long time." Tyler stood humbled by my words and I stretched out my arm to hold him around the back of his neck. "I hold him in high regard and to be honest I see a little of myself in him, although I can assure you Hound that I've never been anywhere near Maggie!" The group broke out into fits of laughter.
I patted Tyler on the back and held open his new leather cut to help him put it on.
"Speech!" The group shouted as they drummed their fists on the table.
Tyler stood in front of his brothers and I could see that he looked emotional. As I glanced around the group I saw an array of emotions from the brothers who were probably thinking about the time that they each were patched into the club.
Tyler cleared his throat and pushed back his shoulders, "I just want to start by saying thank you. All I have ever wanted to do is to become a patched member of this club. I've seen the highs and the lows over the years because of my dad's involvement but this only made me want to be a part of the club even more. But most importantly and I'm sorry dad, Duke has been my inspiration to work hard, knuckle down and prove myself. I hope I've done you proud and don't want to ever let you down."
Fucking hell, I nearly welled up at his words. This kid had shown so much potential over the years and that's why I wanted him to go to Kent, not to get rid of him but for Whip to become his own person. I gave him a manly hug, patting him on the back and as he walked off I quickly grabbed his arm.
"It isn't over yet Whip," he looked at me confused. "As we are all aware, Skinner is the new President of the Kent charter but he will obviously need some assistance down there. I want you to go with him and be that support. I'm not saying that you'll be VP, only Skinner can decide in time who he wants by his side but I want you to go down there and
show us what you're made of."
This time Whip welled up and brought me into a not so manly hug so that he could show me his gratitude. The rest of the guys stood to show their acceptance of Whip to the group and as I pulled away he wiped his tears. I quickly brought him in closer so I could kiss his forehead.
"Now go and sit down before you ruin my street cred." I said quietly in his ear as he gave me a small smile.
"Now we have something as equally big to discuss. Because we're losing Skinner and Whip for the foreseeable future and Bear for at least two months, we are gonna be short on numbers. I spoke to Flick at the Norfolk charter and he said that he can spare Recon and Lyric for a couple of months. Now I know this is a big deal, inviting brothers from another charter here but I can personally vouch for Recon, he has been a friend for years and I would happily have him by my side. For those of you that have been with the club for over five years, you will know him as he was one of us before leaving for Norfolk and he would be a good addition to strengthen the group." I looked around the table to see the guys nodding in agreement and felt relieved.
"Now, we all know that Lyric has had beef with CJ before and Woods may be upset that he'll lose his crown of being the best looking brother," the group laughed as Woods stuck up his middle finger. "But all jokes aside this vote has to be unanimous." I glanced at CJ as he rubbed the back of his neck staring at me clearly pissed off.
"All in favour of Recon joining say yeah," I looked around the room nodding my head as everyone was in favour of him joining. "Excellent, now all in favour of Lyric joining say yeah," again I looked around the room as one by one the guys said yeah until I came to CJ.
Lyric was a smart arse, a cocky little bastard but loyal to the core and hadn't caused the club any bother in the time that he'd been with us. The problem I had, was trying to convince CJ as they both had history. I remember the last fight they had which was brutal and they both ended up being hospitalised. It resulted in me losing a shit load of money as it was a draw because they'd both beaten the shit out of each other and couldn't continue.
Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) Page 19
