by Lila Rose
“Kitten.” Talon sighed. I lifted my head to see him take his woman in his arms.
“I’m fine. It’s just baby emotions.”
“Zara,” Low uttered.
“Never seen it before, but you’re right. The single brothers should get their fun, as well.” She looked to her man. “Lift the ban on the whores.”
“Kitten.” He smiled. “No fuckin’ way. I get where Low is coming from, and it’s great for her. But I don’t want whores at the compound when our kids come in.”
“I agree,” Low offered, and she turned to me. “No hookers when you know the kids will be here.”
“Same,” Zara piped up, and the girls shared a look and giggle.
“Isn’t this grand, bonding over sluts.” Julian clapped. They all laughed again.
Later that night, I made sure my woman felt how much I appreciated her.
I was the president of the club, but I had the best fuckin’ old lady at my side to run it with me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dodge
Sitting in the back office in the compound, I waited for the call to say the Venom prez, Switch, had arrived. The night before was crazy, but fuck, it was fun. Havin’ my brothers over from the Ballarat charter made it even better. If felt like I hadn’t seen them in years instead of a couple of months. It also made me want to get my woman down to Ballarat with the kids to show them around, knowing they’d never been.
My phone rang on the desk. Without looking, I picked up and placed it to my ear.” Yo?”
“Dodge,” a male voice replied.
“Who’s this?” I asked.
“Blackie.”
Strange. Why in the fuck was he ringing me? “What can I do for you, man?”
“Actually, it’s what I can do for you. I have some information.”
“You gonna say it or play with my cock like a tease for a while longer?”
He chuckled. “I’m not a cock man, so I reckon I’ll tell you. You got Switch coming to you soon. He’s gonna talk shit about the turf he wants off you, found out it’s all because of Baxter… Yeah, I know you now know. He’s been in Switchâs ear to cause shit with you Hawks. Switch, not having many brains, did what he was told. He was scared of Baxter, as well.”
Jesus. Fuckin’ Baxter.
“Something else.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s been an in-house vote. Switch is no longer prez. He doesn’t know it yet. It’s just gone down and, when he gets back, he’ll go down.”
Holy shit. “Hold off on that for now. We got something in play for Switch.”
“Will do. Least I can do for the shit he’s done to Hawks.”
“So, who’s in charge now?”
“You’re talking to him. Good news for you, we don’t want your turf. Bad news, we ain’t helping you with Baxter. He won’t come near us now because he knows I won’t let him talk me into anything, but I’m stayin’ right the fuck outta everything because I need to keep my family and the club safe.” He paused. “You get me?”
“Loud and clear,” I said before hanging up. At least it was fuckin’ good to know Hawks just lost all trouble from Venom. Still, I knew it wouldn’t cool some brothers’ jets. They’d always remember the shit Venom put us through.
Crap, I actually felt giddy with the information I just got. No matter what, Switch was fucked and Venom was no longer dickin’ with Hawks.
My phone buzzed on the desk. I looked to it. It was time. It didn’t take Billy and Pick long to get them into the room. I didn’t bother standing from behind my desk. Instead, when my eyes landed on the big motherfucker with a shaved head, beady eyes and a fat gut, I sent him a chin lift. He offered one back then sat in the chair opposite me. Two others of his people, a young-looking guy and a dude in his late thirties, came in and stood behind him. We waited until the door was closed and Pick and Billy were standing behind me.
“Dodge, good to finally meet you. Heard many things about you.” Switch smirked.
Playing dumb, I said, “I have to say, Switch, I’ve heard nothing about you. What I do know is that you’ve been fucking with Hawks for too long. What’s your plan?”
“Straight to the point, I like it.” He sat forward, his arms resting on his knees. “I want the north and south side.”
“Why?”
“Our business would benefit from it.”
I raised a brow at him. “Your business of pussy and drugs?”
“Yes.”
“Then no.” I smiled. “Actually, it was always going to be a no. It’s our turf. We would never give it up, and we’d never let you fuckers deal your shit on our turf.”
Switch rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. Good old Hawks taking the clean road in life.”
“We get dirty when we need to be, but that’s often only in blood. We keep our territory clean of pussy, guns and drugs. Take a leaf outta our book, Switch. Get on the clean side of life and make your money the right way.”
He scoffed and leaned back before saying, “Where’s the fun in that?”
“It’s safer,” I offered.
“Safer?” He snorted. “We keep going the way we are, we’ll soon have you pussies backing down.”
Smiling, I shook my head and shared a glance with Pick and Billy. Leaning my elbows on the desk, I said, “You do understand that I’ve taken over as president now, don’t you?” I waited for his nod. The men at his back looked on warily. “My brothers at my back are Pick and Billy the Kid. I’ve formed a new crew. Pick’s my second, Billy is sergeant in arms and Dallas is the enforcer. Do you know of our background?”
“Iâ”
“No, I don’t think you do. You should have done your research when things changed over, Switch.” I stood, my gun drawn. Pick and Billy followed with theirs. “We don’t like games. We don’t like anyone to fuck with Hawks. We deal with the cunts if they choose to play games and, by dealin’, it means we ain’t fuckin’ afraid to shoot you in the goddamn head right now. My brothers at my back, and me, have so much blood on our hands. We’ve killed more than any of your pansy-arse Venom men have, and it’s all to protect our goddamn clean, safe club from people like you.”
“You want war?” Switch yelled, standing himself.
I chuckled, enjoyin’ myself way too much. “There will be no war, Switch. Right now, I have Dallas sitting outside your house, watching and waiting for my call before he goes in and tells your old lady exactly what you’ve been up to. If I know a scorned woman, she’d have your arse in jail before you’ve said anything. Sleeping with teenagers, Switch. I should shoot you for even thinkin’ it. You sick fuck,” I snarled. “There will be no war. You and your brothers will back the fuck off or I will not only invade your house, but your compound and business, and Iâll shoot any fucker I see.”
“Fuck!” he yelled. “Fuck!”
“Back the fuck away when you know you can’t win.”
“Fine,” he barked. “Fuckin’ fine.” That was when I saw the kid behind him smile, just before the door was swung open and Nary stood there. Her eyes widened. Thank fuck, we’d just lowered our guns.
“Nary?” I asked.
“Oh, um…” She gasped when her eyes landed on the Venom kid behind Switch. “You, you’re…no,” she mumbled before running from the room.
The kid went to go after her, but I stepped in his way. “She’s Hawks. Keep your fuckin’ hands and eyes off.”
“You don’t understandâ”
“Jerimiah,” Switch growled, and the kid stiffened. The vicious glare he sent Switch was filled with so much hatred. “We leave,” Switch ordered. With a flick of his wrist, he walked towards the door. I moved outta the way to let them pass.
Shutting the door, I turned to Pick and Billy. “What was up with that Jerimiah kid and Nary?”
“Don’t know, but I’ll get our woman onto it,” Pick said.
“We need to find Nary, see why she walked in here in the first place.”
“I�
�ll do it,” Billy offered. No woman interrupted a brothersâ sit-down, and it was strange as fuck Nary did it. She’d know the rule from Stoke. Christ, she’d have to be punished for it, depending on her answer for why she’d barged in.
“That went well,” Pick said as he sat in the seat Switch had been in.
I told him about the call from Blackie then added, “It was just a bit of fun. I wanted to see the fucker squirm. He’d been a pain in the arse too long for me to not do anything to him.”
“Dallas in with his wife now?”
I smirked. “Sure is. The fucker will no doubt be going to jail with all the evidence we got from followin’ him.”
“Now we just got Baxter to deal with.”
“He’s a slippery fuck. But we’ll find him and take him outta play.”
“Got a call just before Switch turned up,” Pick started. “Parker’s outta Venom now. Seemed Blackie also informed him of the changes.”
“Right. Do you trust Parker as much as Lan?” I asked.
Pick shrugged. “Not sure, brother.”
The door opened and Billy came back in with hard eyes and a clenched jaw. “Vicious, the little shit, for some reason told Nary to come into the office. That you wanted to ask her something.”
“What the fuck? Where is he?” I growled.
“Comin’. I texted him to meet us in here.” No sooner had he said it, the door opened and a scowling Vicious walked in, shutting the door behind him.
“She had to know,” he stated, leaning against the door and folding his arms over his chest.
“Know what, brother? And it’d better be fuckin’ brilliant for sending a woman into a sit-down. We had our fuckin’ guns drawn, you dickhead. What would that have done to Nary if she’d seen it after all the shit she’s gone through with that goddamn scar?”
“Fuck,” he snarled.
“Yeah, fuck. What in the hell were you thinking?” Pick demanded.
“The prick that came in with Switch.”
“The younger one?” Billy asked.
“Yeah. He’s Switch’s son.” His upper lip rose, his body tense. “He and Nary have been gettin’ to know one another. Don’t know how they met. Don’t know if it was set up. But I’ve been keepin’ an eye on them, and I knew she didn’t know he was Venom scum,” he bit out.
Jesus. The jealous fuck could have done more damage than what had happened.
Running a hand over my face, I asked him, “Did you, at any fuckin’ time, think of just tellin’ Nary who that guy belonged to?” He said nothing, which told me everything. “No, because you and your weird-arse crush want nothing to do with her, yet here you are wanting to warn her she was in bed with a member of an opposing club.” I ground my teeth together. “Goddamn it, Vicious. Get your head outta your arse and either fuckin’ claim her or leave her the fuck alone!” I stood. “Nothin’ you do is helpin’ her in any way. Christ, sending her into a room when you knew dangerous shit could have gone down was fucked-up. Are you trying to hurt her more than what you already are?”
“I’m notâ”
“Don’t,” Billy growled.
“Man the fuck up, brother. You are hurting her,” Pick said. “Get your shit together and go after the one woman who obviously consumes your mind.”
“I can’t!” he yelled.
“Why the fuck not?” I bellowed back.
His eyes dropped to the floor, but he didn’t say anything.
Sighing, I said, “No club whores for a month. No pussy. You’re on bar duty for that month, also. And you’ll clean the bloody toilets in the garage.”
His clenched jaw told me how pissed he was. Still, he said nothing. Vicious nodded and walked outta the room.
“Fuck me drunk,” I groaned and sat back down. “What is up with that guy?”
“I reckon it stems from his dad or some shit. What Vicious did was fucked-up. He deserved more than what you gave him, Prez,” Billy said.
Nodding, I told them, “Agreed, but I think he’s putting himself through his own hell enough by denying what he wants more than his next breath.” Taking a deep breath, I said, “Change of subject here, but you guys notice the difference with Handle?”
Handle, before he backed his brother wrongly against us, had been one who’d smile and laugh. Now he was…dead, on the inside and out.
“The brothers are steering clear of him. They haven’t welcomed him back as yet, which is understandable,” Pick said, knowing exactly how it was since he’d done the shittiest thing to our prez in Ballarat and his woman. Still, we all got over it once he proved himself he was Hawks through and through.
“Yeah, it is, but still. Fuck, that guy is like a robot these days.”
“He lost his woman to Baxter because of his blood brother. That’d fuck any guy up. He’s looking for revenge, though, and if he’s anything like us, he’d be hunting it down in his own time.”
“Have Beast and Muff watch him,” I ordered.
“Done,” Pick said with a chin lift.
My phone buzzed. Looking down at it, a message from a private number popped up. I opened the message then froze from the words I read: Do you know where your woman and kids are?
The door was flung open and in it stood a heavy-breathing Muff. When I noticed his wild eyes, I stood, as did my brothers. “What?” I barked.
“Low, the shop, robbery,” he said between pants.
“Fuck, what?” I roared.
“Dive…rang. He took Low to the supermarket to see Lucia after getting the kids.” He breathed. “He waited in the car. She walked into a robbery taking place.”
“Where are they now?” Panic seized my heart. It ran cold like the blood drumming hard in my veins. There was no way some cockhead motherfucker was gonna ruin what I had. No goddamn way.
“Fuck, brother. They’re still in there.”
Fuck. No.
Fuck!
I rounded the desk and barked at Pick, “Call Lan. We need a cover because I’m goin’ in there to get my woman and kids, and no one’s gonna fuckin’ stop me.” I showed them my phone.
“Motherfucker,” Billy snarled.
His guess was like mine. Baxter had finally made a move.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Willow
It had been a blissful month with Trey and the kids. We’d had our hiccups, but nothing that couldn’t be smoothed over.
Last night had been amazing. I lovedâlike a huge girl crushâthe muffkateers from Ballart. It was awesome to have spent time with them. Ivyâa giggle escaped meâdefinitely made her club name proud with the name Chatter. Damn, that woman loved to talk. Anything could come from her, both appropriate and inappropriate things. Still, her man Killer was hooked into her 100 percent.
Clary was a sweet, sassy and gorgeous woman. I couldn’t believe she’d been blind. Blue, her man, found it hard, like mine, to leave her side. He was very protective. Heck, they all were. All Hawks men showed their love openlyâwhich was amazing to see. They cherished their women and would do anything for them. I pinched myself knowing I was a part of that crew. I was a muffkateer, and I couldn’t be prouder.
Hell Mouth had declared Lucia was also an honouree muffkateer, even if she didn’t have a bad-arse biker at her side. Lucia was a bad-arse woman enough to be a part of the crew. Griz looked on at his woman, Deanna, also known as Hell Mouth, with amusement and annoyance at times through the night. I could tell he found her taxing. Still, every time she got close, he would tag her in some way and show he’d claimed her just as she was.
Malinda was Nary’s mum. She was the coolest mum I had ever met, and I ended up asking her if I could ring her for advice as Tex and Rommy grew. I wanted to do my best with those children. She’d said yes, on one condition. She asked me, me, to watch out for Nary while she lived and went to uni in Melbourne. Stoke, who stood beside her, grunted and mentioned he’d prefer to move them all to Melbourne so he could keep an eye on his girl, which Malinda squashed quickly. S
he told me later that the reason was because, like all Hawks men, they were possessive. So much so she knew Nary wouldn’t be able to experience life without Stoke breathing down her neck.
Yes, the men of Hawks were very possessive. I knew it already from my own Hawks man. As Zara had explained, it could drive us crazy, but we knew they only had our heart in hand when it came to their women.
The best part of the night had been after the party, when Trey took me home and showed me how much he appreciated me. I didn’t think threatening some hookers would turn him on, but it had, and I’d enjoyed the reward I got for it.
Trey had organised, with Dive, for me to pick up the kids from their schools the next day. I knew he had a lot on, especially the meeting with the Venom prez, plus I enjoyed picking up the kids anyway. Usually, we’d go get some ice cream or go shopping, even when Dive and Tex hated it. Rommy, however, loved it. I also took them, with whoever was our guard for the day, to the basketball court because I knew Tex loved to play. That day, though, I decided I wanted to cook something special, so I asked Dive to drive us to the supermarket. I couldn’t go to any other market than the one where Lucia worked. It also gave me the chance to have a gab with her.
Dive stopped right out the front sliding doors. The area wasn’t busy, as usual. I hopped out of the car with the kids following. They knew if they helped me shop, they’d get a treat at the end.
However, if I had known what lay ahead, I would have left them in the car.
But I didn’t.
I walked, with the kids, straight into a trap.
As we stepped in and saw Lucia’s tear-stained face, I knew something was wrong. The doors swished closed behind us and then I heard them being locked. Grabbing a hand of each child, I turned and pulled them behind me.
Two men, with ski masks covering their faces, stood at the doors with guns raised and pointed right at me.
“Girl,” Lucia cried softly, her anguish showing on her face.
“Kids, go stand with Lucia,” I ordered and started shoving them over to my girl, who I knew would keep them safe if anything happened to me.
“No!” one barked, the one with blue eyes. The other, I noticed, had brown. “They stay with you.”
