by Sam Crescent
“I get you.”
Turning away, he made his way outside. Stink and Sandy were wrapped around each other, and he just didn’t want to see that shit.
It’s time to move on.
He was once married to the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, until Millie. Happily married, baking every single day, and now, he was running with The Skulls.
You were always more than a baker.
Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, he rode into town toward Millie’s toy shop. She ran the only toy shop in Fort Wills.
Baker loved being around her. She was so damn sweet, even more so than Angel. Millie was also oblivious to the dangers in the world. Once he was outside her shop, he climbed off his bike and made his way inside. He paused as he took in the sight of her. She was sitting on a stool behind the counter, a pencil running across her lip as she tried to do the crossword puzzle. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail.
Clearing his throat, he waited as she looked up. The moment she saw him, she smiled.
“Baker, I wasn’t expecting you.” She placed the puzzle down, and climbed off her chair, rounding the counter.
She wore a pair of pale blue jeans and a long shirt. None of her curves were on display even though he knew that she possessed them.
“I want you to come to the clubhouse,” he said.
“Why?” She frowned, and Lash’s words ran through his head. He had to have balls, and right now, he wanted Millie at the clubhouse.
“Look, you’re my woman, and I’m not going to pretend that you’re not.” He moved past her, grabbing her bag and keys, shutting down the computer as he talked. “The club is on lockdown, and I want you there.”
“Baker, you’re scaring me. I don’t understand.”
He stepped up close to her, placing her jacket over her shoulders. “You’re mine. You’ll always be mine, and I’m not going to pretend anymore.”
“We’ve had a couple of dates. I don’t understand.”
Grabbing her arms, he pulled her against him, slamming his lips against hers. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he moaned as her sweet scent surrounded him. He’d never known heaven like this, and he never wanted to know anything else.
Suddenly, Millie pushed him hard.
“No, you don’t just get to kiss me and think everything is going to be okay.”
“I claimed you as mine, and that puts you at risk.”
“I’m not going with you.”
Baker sighed, pulling out his cell phone. He dialed the club, and waited. Ink was the first brother to answer.
“I need a car.”
“You took your bike.”
“Yeah, Millie is being difficult.”
Millie rolled her eyes and moved back toward the counter. She grabbed her bag from him, and continued to glare.
“Damn, I’ll be there.”
Closing his cell phone, he stared at Millie. His cock was so damn hard. He didn’t know why, but he had always assumed that she’d be happy to be on his radar when in fact, she couldn’t stand to be near him.
She folded her arms and looked at everything but at him.
“You can’t seriously tell me that you didn’t know this was coming?” he asked.
“I thought you wanted to be my friend.”
“I took you on dates.”
“So? You talked about going out as friends. This, between us, it hasn’t been happening.” She shook her head. “This isn’t fair.”
“Everyone knows I want you but you,” he said.
“You’re still mourning the death of your wife and unborn child, Baker. You don’t want me. You see me as easy.”
“I don’t see me fucking you right now.”
She snorted. The sound was totally unladylike, and he’d never thought he’d hear her make the sound. “What is it? Chubby Millie wouldn’t be able to turn down a chance at a hot guy like you. You just assumed I wanted you.”
Baker growled. “Don’t say shit like that.”
“What? The truth? Come on, you had to admit you didn’t even for a second doubt that I would want you.”
He couldn’t deny it. Baker hadn’t once thought that she would turn him down.
“You don’t want me?”
“No. I don’t want a man that is so in love with his first wife that he gives up baking, and moves away to start a new life with a club. You’re not over her.”
It was strange. Baker expected pain at her words, but there was none. It had been several years since his wife had been killed in a hit-and-run. Staring at Millie, he forgot all about his wife, and more days would pass before he gave her a thought. He wouldn’t lie, he loved his wife, but he wanted to move on.
Before he could say anything more, the sound of a car horn honking stopped him. “That’s our ride.” Moving around the counter, he shoved his shoulder against her stomach, and hauled her up, slapping her ass.
“Put me down!”
He slapped her ass again, finally filled with euphoria. Millie may not be ready for him, but he was more than ready for her.
“If I ever hear you say shit about yourself again, I’ll spank your fucking ass.”
She slapped his ass, thumbing him. “Put me down.”
He grabbed her bag and left the shop. Ink was standing by the car with a door open. “I’ve already put the child locks on. You don’t need to worry about her escaping.”
Baker threw the keys at Ink. “Lock up the shop will you, and follow us back on the bike.”
“You’re an asshole, Baker. This is not fair.”
“I claimed you,” he said.
“But I don’t claim you. This has to be a two way street.”
“That’s all right. I’m more than happy taking my time to convince you that you belong to me.” Pushing her into the car, he slammed the door closed, and rushed around to the driver’s side, climbing in.
“I’m so mad at you right now.”
“You’ll be safe, and we’ll talk about other shit in time.”
He pulled away from the toy shop, and glanced into the back. Millie had put her seatbelt on, and was refusing to talk to him.
I can handle that, baby, but I’m not giving you up, not anymore.
Staring down at his wedding band, he did something he never thought he’d do. He removed the ring that bound him to another woman. It was time for him to move on.
****
Charlotte stood outside while the kids were on the playing area. They all looked happy. Tate was watching the kids with her as Lash had to take Angel to the hospital for a check up on the baby.
“Hey everyone,” Kelsey said, coming toward them. She held Markus’s hand and opened the gate, letting him go.
“Ah, finally, you join the real people.”
“You’re just freaked out that I work at a dentist.”
Charlotte couldn’t help but wince at the thought of going to the dentist. There was nothing thrilling about that at all. “You’re a dentist?”
“I’m a dental nurse.”
Scrunching up her face, Charlotte shook her head.
Kelsey laughed. “No one likes hearing about my work. You’re not the only one.”
“I work as a receptionist for a law firm, not exactly exciting,” Charlotte said. She would have to get in touch with them. Glancing back at the clubhouse, she couldn’t help but smile. There was no going back to that life with Gash. This was her life now, and she didn’t have a problem about that. It was time for her to move on.
Rubbing her gloved hands together, she turned to the kids, watching them play.
Daisy was on the swing with Tabitha on the other. Anthony stood behind both girls, pushing them.
The love of the club was so palpable that she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
“Here comes trouble,” Tate said.
Charlotte had already clocked her man dressed in a leather jacket. He wrapped his arms around her, tugging her close. “It’s cold.”
“I know, but I wanted to watc
h the kids.”
“Are you sad?”
“Why? Because of what we lost?” He nodded. “No. I’m not sad. I’m happy, really happy.”
“That could have been us, babe,” Gash said, pointing at Killer and Kelsey.
“It could have been, but there’s no stopping it from being us.” She placed his hands on her stomach. “When we’re ready, we can try again.”
“You can still have kids?”
“Yes. Nothing was ruined. When I got out of the hospital, I had all the checkups done to make sure I was fine. I am.”
“Soon,” he said, kissing her neck.
“Soon.” She closed her eyes, leaning against him, content. He was the love of her life, and even though they’d been apart for many years, she wasn’t going to stop loving him. He was her man, and she’d stick by him for the rest of her life.
“It’s about time we saw you happy,” Angel said.
Charlotte opened her eyes, and saw Angel waddling toward them, Lash by her side.
“Mom,” Anthony said, rushing toward her. The little boy paused in front of her and wrapped his arms around his mom.
“Honey, you’re going to have a baby sister,” Angel said, bending down, and picking him up.
“Nope, not happening.” Lash grabbed Anthony, holding his son. “You can hold our son as soon as you’re not pregnant anymore.”
Anthony burst out laughing.
Angel rolled her eyes. “Anyway, you look really happy,” she said, looking toward them.
Charlotte smiled.
“I am happy,” Gash said. “I have the woman I’ve always wanted.”
He always knew when to say the right thing.
For the rest of the afternoon she stayed in Gash’s arms as they supervised all of the kids. Several of the club brothers joined them, and she listened as they spoke to Gash before heading toward their bike.
Gash was humming in her ear, and she was getting more aroused with every passing second. His fingers stroked across her wrist, and the heat spilled from the lips of her pussy, coating her panties with her cream.
Licking her lips, she was about to suggest they go to his room when a car, followed by the sound of a bike entered the clubhouse.
“Baker, I swear, you’re going to be sorry.”
They both turned to watch Baker open a car door, and haul a woman out, and carry her into the clubhouse.
“Deal with it. This is how it’s going to go, Millie,” Baker said.
“Come on, let’s go on inside.”
Charlotte made sure that Kelsey and Eva had the kids before heading inside with Gash.
“You’re being a brute and a Neanderthal,” Millie said.
Baker had put Millie down, but he also had all the exits covered. Even Gash was standing in the doorway so she couldn’t escape.
“What is going on?” Angel asked, coming out of the kitchen, wiping her hands.
“I don’t like Baker,” Millie said. “He’s kidnapped me.”
Angel placed her hands on her hips and glared at Baker. “What are you doing?”
“She’s my woman. We’re on lockdown. There’s a threat, and I’m not going to let anything happen to her. She’s got to deal with it.”
“I do not. I don’t belong to you, and I’m never going to belong to you.” Millie crossed her arms, looking like a scolded child.
Charlotte’s heart went out to the woman. She looked so sweet, and a little put out by the whole experience.
“She doesn’t leave,” Baker said, and made to walk away.
“See, how can I belong to a guy who can’t even finish what he started? You kidnap me, and dump me on your friends.” Millie got to her feet, and pushed past him harder. “I’ll be happy to help you, Angel.”
“You’re not going to throw a tantrum?” Baker asked.
“Not at you. You want me to stay here, fine. I’ll stay with my friends, but don’t ever expect me to accept an invitation to a movie with you again.”
Gash chuckled. “Oh, it’s going to a tough couple of weeks.”
Lash was laughing as well when his cell phone started to ring. It was late evening, and Charlotte’s stomach started to growl. The scents coming out of the kitchen were making her mouth water.
The smile on Lash’s face dropped. “What the fuck?”
Gash tensed behind her, and the men lost all sense of humor. It was scary how quickly they all turned.
“Is he okay?” Lash asked. “Fuck, okay, I’ll talk to the brothers. Take care, brother.”
Lash hung up the phone.
“What is it?” Tiny and Alex asked at the same time.
“Master struck, and Spider’s in the hospital fighting for his life. Devil doesn’t know if he’s going to wake up.”
This was bad. Charlotte knew it was bad by the way the men sobered up.
“There’s more,” Lash said. “Master has also taken two girls. One of them is a dancer at the club, and the other is her sister who is ill. I didn’t get more out of Devil. He wanted to get back and check on his guy. I’m opening up our house. The women are coming to stay with us, and we’re going to do a meet up.”
“You sure we can handle that?” Nash said.
“I don’t give a fuck what we can and cannot handle. It’s what we’re going to do. It’s the right thing to do.”
Gash took hold of Charlotte, tugging her into his arms. The men started moving around, and she watched as the kids and women were called inside.
“Come on, I want to talk to Whizz before we’re all fighting for food.”
He kept hold of her hand as they made their way up the back of the clubhouse where all of the rooms were. Gash didn’t even knock. He just entered the room. Whizz was sitting at a computer, typing away.
“Why am I not surprised that you have no respect for personal space?” Whizz said.
“We’re all in lockdown.”
“I know, and even with all of you guys around, I’ve got two girls now that take Lacey’s attention from me, not that I’m jealous or anything.”
“Yeah, my heart is bleeding for you. What do you know?” Gash asked.
Charlotte walked into the room and leaned against the wall. The bed was rumpled, and she wasn’t exactly in the mood to sit on someone else’s bed, especially one that had seen a lot of action.
She stayed silent as Gash stood behind Whizz. The wall of screens was impressive but not nearly as much as the ones at his home.
“Any news?”
“Not the kind of shit you’re going to like.”
“Try me.”
“Okay, so Master appeared about twelve years ago, or at least the rumor mill, texts, emails, alerts that people had tried to hide, but the internet isn’t like your standard paperwork. There’s always a trail, a long, dirty trail.”
“Get to the point!”
Charlotte rubbed her hands together to try to warm herself up. Her gut was twisting as Whizz spoke. Master was sounding like a ghost that couldn’t be caught.
“Master doesn’t act like everyone expects him to. He’s cruel, and there are times he employs minions to do his dirty work, but that’s not always the case. What makes him different is the fact he likes to get his hands dirty. No one knows who he is as his name has never been mentioned before. They only know him as Master. He’s unpredictable.”
“And this son of a bitch has an issue with me?”
“Yes.”
Gash cursed and shook his head. “You’ve got no idea who he is?”
“No, none. I’ve got clues. He’s into everything when it comes to trafficking. There are no limits to what he’ll sell. For himself, he only takes women, and most of them end up dead, discovered months after they were taken with a brand on their thigh.”
“What the fuck is this man’s deal?”
“I don’t know, but I’m trying to access all the CCTV in the area that Devil texted me. I’m going to find this fucker if it kills me. Just make sure my girls are looked after,” Whizz said, cri
cking his neck and getting to typing again.
Chapter Fourteen
“We need to go shopping for supplies,” Steven said, coming out of the pantry.
Charlotte swallowed her porridge and watched as Lash cursed. Gash rubbed the back of her neck as the tension in the club mounted.
Ever since the news that one of Chaos Bleeds crew had been taken and injured it had set all of The Skulls on edge. The kids were behaving, which was a surprise as Charlotte had heard the women speaking of them being terrors.
“Fuck! We need food. Devil will be arriving in a couple of days. He’s packing his women up, but he doesn’t want to risk leaving Spider. We’re waiting for him to wake up, and so far, he hasn’t.”
“I can go,” Charlotte said, speaking up. She wanted to go to the store to pick up some clothes for herself, and some supplies. It had been well over a week since she’d gone to the store for herself, and it would also give her a chance to call her boss up, and let him know she wasn’t returning. In time she’d also need to empty out her apartment. Maybe she could pick up a paper so she could start looking for places for her and Gash to live.
“No,” Gash said.
“What?” She turned toward him.
“You’re not going.”
“I want to go. There’re some things I’d like to get.”
“I said no.”
She felt the eyes of the club focus on them. “You know, I’ve put up with a great deal of your shit since you came back into my life, and for the most part, I accepted it. I won’t be going alone, right?” She looked around the room.
“I need to go,” Sally said, speaking up.
“I’ll go,” Steven said.
“Me too.” This came from Ink, Adam, and Twisted.
“See, I’ll be more than safe.” She cupped his cheek. “Please, I want to go and get some things. Let me.”
Gash sighed, and after several seconds passed, he nodded. “Fine. I’ll come—”
“I need you here, Gash, to look over our other supplies,” Lash said.
She saw her man grit his teeth, clearly not happy with being told that he couldn’t do something. He really didn’t like being told no.
Charlotte laughed. “See, we’re both going to be busy, and we’ve both got stuff to do. I’m going to pick us up a newspaper as well. We can go apartment hunting. How does that sound?”
