by Nicole James
They parked at the curb near a garage door in the side of the building.
Knowing the place was locked up like a fortress, Red Dog pulled out his phone and called Crash. “You want to raise the garage door for us?”
“That depends. Did you bring donuts?”
“No, I didn’t bring fucking donuts, asshole. Let me in.”
“Nope. Not without donuts. The good kind.”
“Are you fucking serious right now?”
“Serious as a heart attack, bro.”
Dog pulled his phone away from his face and stared down at it. “He fucking hung up on me.”
“What’s the matter?”
“The motherfucker wants me to bring him donuts.”
That got a snicker from Wolf and a snort from Cole.
“I could go for a donut,” Green remarked, a glazed over look on his face. “The chocolate frosted kind with sprinkles.”
Their gazes all swung to him.
He refocused his eyes on them. “What? I like sprinkles. Sue me.”
Dog whipped out a twenty and shoved it at him. “Run down the street and get a fucking dozen, then get your ass back here pronto.”
“What? Me?”
“Just fucking do it.”
Ten minutes later, only when Dog assured Crash that he had chocolate frosted payment in hand, did the steel door slowly roll up deeming them entry into what the boys lovingly referred to as The Batcave.
Dog eyed the black ’68 Plymouth GTX parked in the ground-floor garage. Mary’s car, the one he’d bought her for her birthday a couple years back. With its 375 horse power big block, 440 cubic inch V-8 engine under the hood, it was a much sought after muscle car and seriously impressive out on the open road. Of course, what Mary loved about it was its sleek lines, shiny 14” rally wheels, and its pretty black paint job.
His son, on the other hand, loved all those things and seriously had his heart set on assuming the keys when he turned sixteen in about fourteen months.
Gazing in the backseat, Dog noticed it was packed full.
Fucking hell.
The men loaded onto the metal freight elevator. Cole slammed the gate shut and threw the lever that had the shaky contraption ascending slowly, the brick wall sliding past them visible through the iron bars. The old thing creaked and groaned as it slowly rose.
Red Dog glanced back to see Green had the donut box open and half of one already eaten, chocolate glaze all over his face. “Seriously?”
“What?” Green asked around a mouthful. “I was hungry.”
Cole barely threw the lever into the stop position before Dog was flinging the gate open with a bang and charging out. The others followed him, stepping into Crash’s loft.
Crash had remodeled the old building into an eclectic industrial loft. The walls were brick; the ceilings were a good thirty feet high with exposed iron beams and skylights staggered between them at intervals. The floor was a polished concrete.
There was a pool table to the left, a light hanging over it, beyond that was an open kitchen with a huge granite island. Funky industrial pendant lights hung over it. Across, off to the right was a large U-shaped sectional sofa, a coffee table and a couple of overstuffed chairs grouped around a thick brightly colored area rug that gave the place some color.
Dog moved past the pool table to the granite island where Crash stood sipping on a cup of coffee.
“Where is she?” Dog barked.
Crash eyed him calmly and then asked, “You bring donuts?”
Dog reached back, snatched the box out of Green’s hands and tossed it on the island with a bang.
Crash eyed it and grinned, taking another sip of coffee.
“You gonna tell me where my goddamn wife is?” Dog growled.
“You calm your ass down, I will.” Crash’s eyes slid to the side and Dog’s followed.
Billy, Dog’s son, sat on the sectional, his back slumped against the backrest, and Crash’s three year old daughter bouncing on his lap, her fists held in both his hands. He was laughing at her.
Dog’s eyes took in his son, realizing just how grown up he was getting. His lanky frame was already starting to show signs of his father’s long legs, tall height and broad shoulders. He’d inherited his mother’s dark silky hair that was beginning to grow past his collar. He wore it tucked behind his ears, and Dog knew it was because he wanted to grow it out. He also had his mother’s vivid green eyes.
He was fourteen now, that age when a boy started to become a man, an age when he needed his father more than ever. And Dog had no intention of letting him down. He would keep this family together no matter what the cost.
“You need to calm down before you talk to her. Take a breath. Your son is watching, bro.”
Dog ran a hand down his face and blew out a breath.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
Green picked up a glass pitcher from the island and sniffed it. “Mmm. Mimosas.” Then he moved to the cabinet to take down a glass.
“Help yourself, why don’t ya?” Crash offered sarcastically.
“Thanks, don’t mind if I do,” Green replied, already pouring one. He took a big chug from his glass and grinned. “Breakfast of champions.”
Crash shook his head at Green and looked back at Dog. He held up a set of car keys. “Your boy was smart. Wouldn’t let her drive. She wanted to go to Albuquerque. What the fuck’s in Albuquerque, Dog?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“Billy drove here instead. She was pissed, tried to get the keys from him. I took them and put a stop to that. She’s up on the roof. Shannon is talking to her.”
Dog took the keys. “Thanks.”
He moved to stand next to his son. As he crossed the space, he vowed silently to himself that he would keep this family together no matter what the cost. It was a promise he sealed with a hand to his son’s shoulder and a kiss to the top of his head. Yeah, he was a big bad biker, but he loved his son and wasn’t afraid to show it.
Billy looked up. “She’s pissed, Dad.”
Dog nodded. “I know.”
“You gonna fix it?”
“I’m gonna fix it.”
“Promise?”
“You got my word, Son.”
“I do not want to live with Grandma Wu. I mean, I love her and all, but…”
“I know, Son. That’s not gonna happen.”
“You sure? Cause it’s lookin’ that way.”
“How’d you end up here?” Dog asked, wanting to hear his son’s version.
“She left me over there last night so she could go out. She showed up early this morning and woke me up. Gram and Gramps weren’t even up yet. Dragged me outside, had the car already loaded with shit and everything.”
Dog frowned. “Where the hell was she going?”
Billy shook his head. “I could tell she’d been drinking, so I took the keys from her. She threatened to leave if I didn’t give them back. Said she’d just start walking. I didn’t know what to do, so I got behind the wheel. Told her I’d drive her wherever she wanted to go if she’d just get in the passenger seat and stop trying to grab the keys. She finally did, and we got up on the interstate.”
“You don’t even have your permit yet,” Dog reminded him of something he knew the boy didn’t need reminding of.
“I know how to drive, Dad.”
“And where the hell did she want to go?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure if she even knew. She told me to drive to Albuquerque.”
“Albuquerque? What the hell’s in Albuquerque?”
Billy shrugged again. “Hell…” he glanced at the Crash’s daughter. “I mean, heck if I know. I think it was the first thing that popped in her head. I drove her here instead. Boy, was she pissed about that.” He shook his head. “I figured Crash could help me settle her down until you showed back up. I didn’t know what else to do, Dad.”
“You did good, Son. You did the smart thing.” He patted his shoulder. “Did
she seem sad to you?”
Billy frowned. “No. Just pissed. Why?”
Dog shook his head. “Never mind, just trying to figure out what this is about.”
“You gonna fix this? ‘Cause now she’s pissed at both of us.”
“Don’t worry, Son. I got this.” They stared at each other. “You okay here for a minute?”
Billy, already wise beyond his years, lifted his chin toward the door to the rooftop, a slight grin pulling at his mouth. “Gonna take more than a minute, Dad, and we both know it.”
Dog swiveled his head, following the direction of his son’s gaze, and then he grinned back. “True.”
Billy’s eyes returned to the child bouncing on his belly.
“She likes you, huh?” Dog asked, squatting down and nodding toward Crash’s child.
Billy lifted her up in the air over his head, and she squealed. “She’s my best girl, aren’t you, punkin’?”
When he dropped her back down, she pleaded in her baby voice, “Do it again. Do it again.”
He tossed her up again to a fit of giggles.
Dog rubbed the top of his son’s head and rose to his feet, his knees cracking. “Be back in a second.”
“Yeah, sure. A second.” Neither of them believed that lie. They exchanged a smile, and Dog moved off toward the stairs that led to the roof.
CHAPTER SIX
As Red Dog walked out onto the rooftop that overlooked the city and the Bay Bridge in the distance, Mary twisted to look from her seat on one of a pair of Adirondack chairs.
“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
Dog strolled over to her. “How do you think?”
“My mother?”
He grinned down at her. “Told you before, she likes me better than you.”
“How could she know where I was? I didn’t even know I was coming here.” Her eyes narrowed. “Did our son call you?”
“Nope. Guess again.”
“Crash. He ratted me out?”
“You think he wouldn’t?”
She rolled her eyes and glared over at Shannon, who sat in the chair next to her, as if it were her fault.
“Babe, don’t be giving her the evil eye. None of this is her fault.”
“That’s right. It’s yours. Now, get out. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
Red Dog looked over at Shannon. “Can you give me a minute with my ol’ lady?”
She stood to leave. “Of course.”
Mary grabbed her arm. “Don’t you dare leave.”
Shannon looked between them, obviously wanting to protect her friend, the sisterhood and all that, but at the same time, hopefully having learned her lesson in the past about getting in Dog’s business. “I…”
She was saved from having to betray her friend when Crash appeared in the doorway. “Shannon.” He lifted his chin at her, an unspoken command to come to him.
She obeyed, thankful for the excuse to escape.
“Coward!” Mary yelled after her.
“Only coward I see is you.” Red Dog stared down at her. “I’m six hours down the road when you pull this stunt. You wait until I’m so far away I can’t do shit? Was that your plan? Well, how’d that work out for you?”
She sipped her drink, ignoring him. He took the glass from her hand and sniffed its contents. “Little early to tie one on, isn’t it?”
“You’re one to talk.”
He set the glass down and squatted before her, bringing his face level with hers. “Guess we got some shit to work out, huh?”
She folded her arms and looked away. Dog studied her stiff posture. This was so totally not her usual M.O. that it threw him. Mary was always up for a knockdown, drag-out fight. She never gave him the silent treatment. Never. Goddamn, he must have really fucked up this time. He’d never seen her this hurt before.
“Mary, talk to me.”
Still nothing.
Quietly he broached the subject, not really sure how to start. “You didn’t… it wasn’t another miscarriage was it?”
She looked off to the horizon.
“Baby?”
“No,” she whispered. “Not that.”
He blew out a relieved breath and studied her body language. She was telling him the truth. She was too pissed to be in that devastated dark place every previous miscarriage had taken her. No, this was something different. And judging by her mood, whatever had pissed her off was his fault.
“China Doll, you gotta tell me what the fuck I did.”
Her chin went up, and her jaw clenched, but still she said nothing.
“I love you. You know that, don’t you?”
No reaction. Nothing.
“I’ll be damned if I’ll let you break up this family. Especially when I don’t even know the reason. And if you think I’ll let you walk out on me, you’ve lost your mind.”
“I’m not the one breaking up our family, you big oaf. You are.”
He gritted his teeth. “I can’t fix it, if I don’t know what I did.”
Her eyes flashed to his. “You know what you did. Don’t play the innocent with me.”
His frustration got the best of him. “Fucking hell. Don’t start that ‘you know what you did’ bullshit. You women always think we men know when we’ve fucked up. We fuck up all the time, so no I don’t know what the hell I did. Just fucking tell me, woman!”
She whipped out her phone. He watched with suspicious eyes as she pulled something up and held it out to him.
Christ, he was afraid to look. At a glance, it appeared to be a photo. Fuck, whatever he’d done, she had photographic evidence. He took the phone from her, turned it around and studied the image.
He frowned, trying to place the photo. It was a shot of him, sure enough, bent down next to a car, changing a tire. Who the hell would take a picture of him changing a tire? And why would that piss her off? And then it hit him. Motherfucking Rosalie.
She was the club sweet-butt that Dog had cheated with. It had only lasted a couple of days before he’d ended it, and since then she’d been banned from the club.
“Babe, it’s not what you think.”
“Swipe to the next shot.”
He moved his thumb across pulling up the next shot, a selfie with Rosalie in the foreground making a kissy face to the camera, and him in the background changing her tire. The caption read, my man takes good care of me.
That little bitch, she’d texted this crap to his ol’ lady.
His eyes flashed up to Mary’s. “This is bullshit, Mary.”
Her brows shot up. “That’s not you?”
He blew out a breath, his eyes closing for a moment. “Yeah, it’s me, but I’m not her man. I’m not taking care of her. She’s fucking with you, baby. That’s all this is.”
“Oh, I think somebody’s fucking with somebody, all right.”
“So she feeds you a bunch of bullshit, and I don’t even get the benefit of the doubt, no chance to explain? You don’t come to me with this shit, you just up and leave me?”
“Yup.”
“Babe—”
“I’m done.”
Those were two words she’d never spoken to him. Not in fourteen years.
“Don’t say that, Mary.” He shook his head. “It’s not what you think. It’s not what she’s makin’ this out to be. I saw her broken down on the highway. She had her kid in the car. I put her spare on for her. End of story.”
“Right.”
“Baby, I swear to you, I’m done with her. She’s been banned. I made sure of it. She’s not allowed on club property anymore. You won’t ever see her again. Ask any of the boys, they’ll tell you. And I’ll make sure she never does something like this again.” He tossed her phone on the small side table. “I’ve been done with her for a long fucking time. And we already worked through that.” He touched his jaw. “I’ve got the dental work to prove it.”
She’d knocked his teeth out that time, and now he had five grand worth of dental implants in his
mouth. She’d nearly broken his jaw, and he’d been lucky he hadn’t had to eat through a straw for a month.
“Last time you thought I was fucking around on you, you met me at the door with a baseball bat. This time you just pack your shit and leave? That’s not the woman I know. The woman I know is a fighter. She doesn’t just roll over.”
“Maybe I’ve had enough.”
“Baby, I did not do what you think I did. I learned my lesson. I’m done with that shit, all of it. Been done with it for a long fucking time. I swear to you. I only want you.”
She said nothing.
“After all we’ve been through, you’re gonna sit there and tell me it’s the end?”
She seemed totally unmoved by his argument, and that scared the shit out of him. For the first time in his life he began to fear he might really lose her, for real this time.
He swallowed and ran a palm over his face, a cold sick feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Without her, he was nothing. She gave his life meaning. Yeah, he had the club, and he loved his brothers. But Mary was his center; she’s what grounded him like nothing else in his life, not the club, not his brothers, not even Billy. Of course he loved his son, always would, but it was Mary who was the center of his world. Without her, he’d be a fucking mess. It’d all go to shit, all of it.
And he couldn’t let that happen. So he’d better fucking tell her what she meant to him, and he’d better do it quick. He was a man, a biker, and therefore not good at this shit, but he knew he’d better man-up, swallow his pride and find the words. If it took baring his soul out here on this rooftop, then that’s what he’d do.
He rose to his feet, grasped her hands and pulled her up. Then he took her face in his hands, and brought his down to within an inch of hers.
“I love you, Mary. You are my world, my life. You’re everything to me. I swore to you I was done with that shit, and I am. The problems we had, we worked through them all. I haven’t been with anyone else, and I promise you, promise you I never will. Do you understand me?”
She stared up at him, her eyes glazing. He knew she wanted to believe the words, but the hurt she felt ran deep.
