What could I do but wrap my arms around that precious little baby and hug her to me. Beast leant over and kissed her little head, then kissed Jossy’s, and then he kissed me. Soft and sweet, with closed lips and burning eyes that stared into mine.
I knew I was caught. Well and truly caught.
Beast
Jesus. His girls. His precious little babies just gave him his dream. He saw it in Tori’s eyes when it happened. Saw the moment she fell in love with his babies and accepted her new future.
It took one conversation with his old lady for his babies to know that Tori was a good woman. After living with their whore of a mother and the club whores she surrounded herself with they were far more experienced than he had ever wanted them to be in differentiating between good and bad. After he was given full custody of his girls he swore an oath that from that moment on there would only be good in their lives. The shit their fucking uterus donor had subjected them to would never touch them ever again.
Hell, he knew from bitter experience that life was unpredictable and threw you curve balls when you least expected it. But he would do whatever he had to, to give his girls a good life surrounded by good people who loved them.
While he had been caught up in his thoughts his three girls had started a soft conversation. It still blew his fucking mind that Ellie was talking, not well, but she was fucking talking.
“I like your dresses, they’re so pretty.” His woman said softly. And then he found out who had bought them those dresses.
“Aunty Genna bought them for us. She says girls have to have party dresses. She’s got lots and lots. She showed us.” Jossy said. “Do you have lots of party dresses?”
Tori nodded. “I do. I think Aunty Genna and I have the same ideas. I love party dresses and shoes. I really love shoes. I’ve got lots of them.”
Jossy frowned. “We don’t have lots of shoes.” She looked up at Beast with a little frown. “Daddy, we need more shoes.”
Beast grinned and shook his head. “Nope, sweetheart, you don’t. Your feet are growing so fast you’ll grow out of them before you’ve had a chance to wear them all. We’ll just buy you shoes when you need them, okay?”
His girl thought about it for a few seconds then nodded. “Okay, Daddy.”
She looked up at his woman and smiled. “Ellie wants to spin. Can we spin?”
Tori smiled and nodded. “Sure, we can spin but first we must take off our shoes.” She patted the floor. “This floor is very special, we only walk on it in our dance shoes or with bare feet. We’ll buy you some dance shoes for next time. Today we’ll just dance with bare feet.”
She picked up his baby’s foot and undid her sandals and put them to the side.
“Daddy! Do my shoes! Quick!” Jossy lay on her back and waved her legs in the air. Beast grabbed her feet and pulled her sandals off and she was up and hopping around in excitement waiting for Ellie and Tori.
Lifting Ellie from her lap Tori set her on her feet next to her and stood up. Both his girls looked down at her feet.
“Those shoes look funny.” Jossy said as she bent to have a better look.
“They are funny looking.” Tori agreed as she led the girls on to the floor. She looked over at him and then grinned as she looked past him at someone behind him. “Come on, DC, get those shoes off and come dance with us.” She called out.
Behind Beast DC started swearing softly. “I should have freaking sneaked out when I saw where this shit was heading. I don’t do this shit.” She grumbled but she took her shoes off and joined his girls.
“Baby, choose some music for us, please.”
The way she said it, so naturally, as if she had never stopped, as if there weren’t ten empty years of not hearing that endearment from her lips, almost brought him to his knees.
He selected a song for his girls and watched as they twirled around the floor with Tori and DC. They were laughing, happy and carefree, the way they should have always been. It was an ache in his heart that his Ladybug wasn’t the woman who had birthed his girls. It would always hurt but she would be their mother in everything but biology, and in this case biology would mean fuck all.
Beast was having a great time watching his girls when Wolf tapped him on his shoulder.
“Brother, we need to get going. Sin got the truck and the brothers are ready to ride. What are the plans for the girls? Are we taking them to Bulldog’s place?”
Fuck. With everything happening he hadn’t made arrangements with Genna or Aunt Suzy.
“Hang on a minute, Wolf. I fucking forgot to call Aunt Suzy this morning with all the shit going down.”
Beast stepped outside the studio and called. He didn’t even have to ask.
“Where are my sweetie pies? When are you bringing them over?”
“Sorry I’m only calling now, Aunt Suzy. I brought the girls to introduce them to Tori, they are all dancing around the studio at the moment. I’ll drop them off in the next twenty minutes or so. I’m moving my shit from the unit to the house today so it will take a few hours before we’re done. Is that okay?”
Aunt Suzy clicked her tongue at him. “Of course it’s okay. Tell the girls we’re baking cookies today and putting icing on them too. They will like that.”
“Thanks, Aunt Suzy. See you soon.”
Now to get the girls out of the studio and into his bakkie. Not going to be easy.
And he had been right. It took a hell of a lot of persuasion to get the girls to leave. Only Tori promising to dance with them again convinced them to leave.
He kissed his woman long and deep and held her against his body before he left. He wanted her taste and body to be imprinted on him for the rest of the day.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Beast
He was fucking tired but it was a good kind of tired. His shit was in his house and between his brothers and Penny everything was now in place.
Penny had been a lifesaver. With what they had she was turning the pussy house into a home. The house was fucking huge but his oversized furniture looked right in the lounge and they had moved Penny and Riders’ couches into the TV room along with two of the chairs Penny had decided to keep until they could replace them. She had what she called ‘throws’ draped over them. Why, he didn’t fucking know.
When they had pulled up outside the house after collecting his shit they had come to a shocked stop.
Penny had emptied the house.
Everything was out on the front lawn. Carpets, Beds, lounge furniture, dining room furniture, even the loungers from the back deck. And there were packed boxes out there as well. Looking at that shit Beast knew the house was going to be empty for a while but when his old lady moved in they would go shopping for what was needed. He had the money to spend on making their house a home.
What Beast hadn’t expected was three of the club girls working right beside Penny scrubbing the house down. Grietjie and Lori worked in the kitchen while Melly was helping Penny to scrub the lounges and the entrance hall. The house smelt fresh and clean and even though Beast knew Hawk had the place cleaned out before Rider and his woman moved in he liked that Penny had decided to clean it out again.
“Thanks for all of this, girl.” He gave Penny a hug that made her blush.
“I’ve always wanted to scrub it down and with nothing in the way it was so much easier. I hope you don’t mind that I had thrown the carpets out.” She gave a little shudder. “All I could see in my mind were those sluts rolling all over them and being nasty.”
Fuck he had never even thought about that. Jesus, no wonder Penny had kept the girls out of the lounges, she hadn’t wanted their bare feet on those carpets.
“Fuck, I never even thought about that. Thank you for keeping my babies away from that nasty shit.”
She smiled sweetly and shrugged. “I’m just happy we have such a pretty home. I like living with you and the girls. It makes me feel safe to have Rider and you here.”
Nodding he followed as she beckoned h
im inside and upstairs. The incredibly shy girl he had first met was blossoming in front of his eyes.
“We emptied and cleaned your rooms first. Grietjie and Lori scrubbed the room and the bathroom and it’s ready to move your things in. I didn’t want to separate your girls so we cleaned the room across from yours and it’s ready for their beds and furniture.” She held up a hand as he started to speak. “I know you’re worried about the dreams and stuff so Genna went and bought a baby monitor and night lights for them. River and I would like to decorate their room for them if you would be okay with it. I’ve been talking to your girls and have a really good idea about what they would like.”
Beast sighed. “I’m not sure if they’re ready for this, Penny. Fuck, they still have those nightmares, not all the time, but they still have them.”
“That’s why we got the baby monitor and the night lights, Beast. Try it for one night and see how it goes. They are going to be so excited about a new room and all the new stuff I think they’ll sleep without dreaming about the bad things.”
“What new stuff? Their stuff from my place isn’t new.” He frowned in confusion.
Penny laughed and shook her head. “You should know the Walker women by now. They freaking shopped online like there’s no tomorrow and stuff has been arriving here for the last few days. I have been keeping it in one of the empty rooms downstairs.”
Jesus. And suddenly it clicked. Those damned women had been asking his girls about what they liked ever since they arrived. They had planned to do this shit from the start.
Bloody hell it was good to be a part of this family. Without thinking about it Beast grabbed Penny and gave her a big hug and she squeaked with shock.
“Thanks, girl. Thank you for being so good to my girls and allowing us to move in here with you and Rider and your baby girl.”
Suddenly Penny hugged him back and whispered. “And thank you for being a big brother to my man. He respects you so much and is thrilled to be part of your family.”
“When are you going to allow him to make you a part of our family, sweetheart?” Beast asked softly and she answered as softly.
“As soon as he asks me again. I love him and I love this family he’s found.”
“Good, that’s very good.” He would be giving his brother a heads up later.
The next two hours was taken up with moving shit around and setting up his girls’ rooms and his own. He left the rest to Penny, she had it all in hand anyway. Unpacking boxes with the club girls, making beds and shit.
He had to leave because he still had a job waiting for him at the clubhouse. For the bitch’s sake he hoped she had used the time to consider her fucking options. Talk or get hurt.
Twenty minutes later Beast rode into the compound with Sin and Wolf. They walked their bikes back into their designated spaces and parked. Beast was wearing his usual beanie and bandanna but both Sin and Wolf were wearing helmets as they had been on public roads during the day.
They avoided the front entrance because music was thumping and they didn’t want unnecessary attention to fall on the three of them and went around the side of the clubhouse to the back. The kitchen was empty and they quickly moved out and down the passage to the hidden door that would take them down into the basement dungeon where the bitch was waiting.
Beast keyed in his code and the door swung open silently. They quietly walked down the stairs and Will stood waiting as they walked in. He wordlessly pointed down the left hand passage and Beast nodded and proceeded towards the cell that held their prisoner.
He stopped in front of the floor to ceiling bars and stared at the bitch sitting on the cold floor with her head on her knees. At least she was wearing fucking panties now.
“You ready to tell me what I want to know?” His voice was harsh and cold and her head snapped up, eyes fearful as she nodded.
“That’s good because you do not want me to come in there with you.”
She nodded violently. “I’m sorry, Beast, so very sorry. I had been drinking and I was just pissy because I have some personal shit I have been dealing with and I took it out on your old lady. It’s no excuse, I know, but I am sorry, so very sorry. I should never, ever have said what I did. Please don’t kill me, please. I have people at home who need me. Please, Beast.”
Beast shook his head. “Not going to fucking kill you, bitch. I just need to know who the fuck you’ve been talking to about club shit. And don’t fucking try denying it. We have someone who says he heard you gossiping about club shit. You know the rules. No fucking talking about shit that happens on Iron Dogz property.”
The bitch frowned and then her eyes went wide. “Oh fuck.” She whispered. “I didn’t think, oh Jesus. I didn’t think.” She jumped up and started pacing. “When she first called me to come out for a drink I said no. But she kept calling and when my personal shit became so damned heavy I gave in and had a couple of drinks with her.”
She looked at Beast then Sin and Wolf. “I had a couple of drinks with her, maybe twice and I now realise she had been pumping me for information all the time. Thank fuck I knew nothing because for some damned reason I told her everything I knew.” By now she had her hands in her hair and was pulling at it in what looked like anger at herself. She looked like she had forgotten about them standing outside the cell watching her rant. “I’ve been with the club for years. For heaven’s sake, I’ve been dancing in your clubs since I was eighteen years old, first at Moonlight and now at Iron Kisses. I should have known better. Over the years I’ve been approached by plenty of assholes fishing for information about the club, pigs and our enemies both, and I have never said a fucking word. I don’t get it, I just don’t get it. Why did I talk to her? Why?”
At last she wound down and Beast stepped closer to the bars. “Who did you talk to, Brandi?”
She rubbed a hand over her forehead as if she had a headache. “Laney. It was Laney Wills.”
Glancing at his brothers he raised his eyebrows and Wolf immediately walked back down the passage. He would be calling their Prez from the central room to give him the news.
“Is she still calling you?” Sin wanted to know.
Brandi nodded. “She called me yesterday, actually. Said she missed the club and just wanted to talk to a friendly face. Apparently they’re not doing so well with the ED’s.”
“Did you agree to another meet?”
“No, I said I was busy with my family and work and had to be at the club later for dinner. We didn’t set up another drinks date or anything. I was calling my mother when I walked out the club and Owen took my phone.” She looked Beast right in the eyes. “She’s going to be so worried and my boy is only three, Beast. Please let me call them and tell them I’m okay, please.”
“Jesus, Brandi. Since when do you have a kid? It’s not in your file.” Hawk suddenly said from behind them, and Wolf watching from the shadows.
“Because I was hiding him from the club.” She whispered. A very bad feeling curled through Beast’s gut.
“What the fuck? Is his father one of the brothers? Is that why you’re hiding him from us?”
She swallowed and looked away and slowly shook her head from side to side.
“You’re not getting out of here until you fucking tell me what I want to know.” Hawk threatened.
Again she shook her head but it only lasted until Hawk inclined his head towards Beast and he stretched his arm out towards the keypad.
“Okay, okay. About four years ago I did something stupid. I took a gig off the books to do a bachelors party. The groom-to-be thought the fact I was stripping for them meant that I would agree to other shit. He raped me while his friends watched and egged him on. He kept me for hours and raped me again before they let me go. I went to the clinic the next morning, took the freaking pills but his damned swimmers didn’t die like they should have. And I now have a three year old boy that’s my entire world.”
Hawk frowned in confusion. “Then why the fuck would you jeopardise it al
l by talking to Laney and talking shit to Beast’s old lady? I just don’t get it Brandi.”
Tears started running down her cheeks. “Because the raping bastard is back and he’s trying to take my boy. His wife can’t have kids and now they want mine. And I’m a fucking stripper and a club whore and he’s threatening to take me to court if I don’t give him my boy. Oh God, what am I going to do? He’s going to take my sweet little baby and I won’t be able to stop him.”
They looked at each other and Beast sighed then nodded. He would talk to his woman, but he knew without even talking to her that she would immediately feel sorry for the damned bitch.
“Why the fuck didn’t you come and see me when he first appeared? We could have been on top of this from the start.”
“Because it was my fault, I should never have taken an off the books job. We all know not to do it. But they offered so much money and my sister was short on her University fees, so I did it to help her out.”
The more she explained the clearer it became that this wasn’t as clear cut as they had at first thought. Brandi had always been loyal to the club but between the rapist and Laney they had worked her perfectly. The fucker was going to regret ever touching Iron Dogz MC property. Beast looked at Sin and they both grinned. They knew what would be coming next.
And Hawk didn’t disappoint.
“I need a name.”
And neither did Brandi.
“Kobus Pretorius.”
To say they were shocked was not even close.
“Are you fucking with me? He’s a fucking household name and a local hero. What the fuck, Brandi?”
“I told you he was going to take my baby and now you know he can. He’s a famous rugby player and I’m a stripper and a club slut.”
Sin laughed, and shook his head. “No, you’re wrong. He used to be a famous rugby player. He’s not anymore. Him and that socialite bitch of his love the limelight too much to go to court. They’re hoping you’re going to cave to the pressure and give them what they want. But we’re not going to do that.”
Looking at their Prez Sin smiled but it wasn’t a nice smile. “I have a plan, just give me a minute to put it all together, Prez. She might be fucked up but she’s part of our club and we do not let bastards like him walk all over what belongs to us. She’s ours which means her boy is ours.”
Black Heart And Red Redemption (Iron Dogz MC) Page 21
