Ice nodded. “I’ve been able to find his insurances and investments. He has two beneficiaries, a Sheryl Springfield and her three year old daughter Lori. The address listed for her on his insurance doesn’t exist. I googled it and it shows me an empty fucking piece of land in Joburg south. At this stage we have nothing, just the names and a number. I tried contacting her on the number he had listed but it’s no longer in service. Ziggy is going to dig into the name and see if he can get us something. He thinks that it could be someone he had a relationship with. He’s looking into it.”
Wolf didn’t know how he was going to tell Bullet the man who had ridden on his right was no longer with them. It was going to fucking gut his brother.
“Boss, we have to tell Bullet before the news runs through the club. He deserves to be told the news as soon as possible.” Wolf hoped like hell it didn’t fall on him.
“I’m his President, it’s my job.” Hawk picked up his phone, sent a text then carefully set it down as they waited.
The knock on the door came too fucking soon.
The look on Bullet’s face when he saw them changed from questioning to devastation in seconds.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?”
“Ja, brother, he is. He suffered another massive brain bleed and a seizure and this time they couldn’t save him.” Hawk explained quietly.
Bullet’s big frame collapsed on the couch and he sat with his hands covering his face for several minutes. His big shoulders shook as he mourned the loss of his best friend.
Wiping his eyes he looked up and sniffed. “What now, Boss? What happens now?”
“We don’t stop looking, Bullet. We find his family and once we do we will honour him the way it’s supposed to happen. Unfortunately we can’t stop the bitch from fighting us on the burial but we will make damn sure it will be through the club and with full honours. He died protecting an old lady of this club and we won’t ever forget his sacrifice.”
The big guy shook his head and ran his hands over his shaved head, his eyes burned with regret.
“Jesus, Prez, I wish I could have that day over again. I should have protected his side but I fell back to take care of the fucker behind us and that’s when the bastards in front of us shot at him and then side swiped him. Fuck, I can’t fucking sleep because when I close my eyes I can still see him flying through the fucking air and landing on his head and neck and rolling down that fucking embankment.” Bullet spoke softly but anger and sorrow laced his voice.
“Don’t talk shit, Bullet. None of it was your fault and it wasn’t our fault either. The ones to blame are the bastards who ordered the hit and I promise you we haven’t forgotten or given up. We will find them and we will have our vengeance.” Hawk promised through gritted teeth.
Bullet sighed but it wasn’t a sigh of relief. It was a sigh of sorrow. Wolf raised an eyebrow at his prez and tipped his head towards the door. At his president’s nod Wolf rose and walked over to Bullet.
“Brother, let’s go have a shot for our fallen brother and honour his sacrifice.” Wolf waited for Bullet to look up at him and when he did Wolf stepped back, waiting for his brother to gather himself before he stood up.
Together they walked out of the office and into the common room. The news had already spread and an ominous silence hung over the room.
Wolf was about to say something when Hawk’s voice rang out through the stillness. Their President had followed them out of his office to the common room.
“Today we lost our brother, Army. Let us celebrate his life and his sacrifice.”
Hawk took the shot a tearful Chris had poured for him he held it up. Everyone picked up their drinks and followed his lead.
“To Army, our brother. We are going to fucking miss you. Ride free my brother.”
With that they all slammed their shots and the drinking started. Wolf and Bullet sat at the bar and drank several shots one after the other while Chris watched Bullet worriedly. Somewhere in the middle of the drinking Wolf had changed to water but his brother kept on drinking.
In the early hours of the morning Wolf and Boots half carried Bullet to his room. Dropping him on his bed, Boots turned him on his side in case he started vomiting and put a bucket next to the bed while Wolf pulled off his boots. Covering him up they stood looking down at their brother then, leaving the bedside lamp on, they quietly left the room.
Chris was waiting for them outside his room. “I’ll check on him through the night just to be sure he’s okay.”
“You’re a good girl, Chris. Thank you.” Wolf patted her shoulder as he walked past.
All he wanted to do was get to bed and let this day be done.
Standing under a hot shower he allowed the emotions he had hidden since they received the news free. Tears burned his eyes but he swallowed them down. He wouldn’t let them free, that’s not what his brother needed. He needed them to find the ones who had done this. Plus he needed them to find his family.
Drying off Wolf threw the towel towards the basket in the corner of the bathroom and walked barefoot to his bed, lifted the duvet and slid into bed.
Lying on his back he stared up at the ceiling before he rolled, turned off the lamp and closed his eyes. He needed some sleep and to not think about the shit that happened today. Tomorrow, he would worry about it tomorrow.
But tomorrow was already here and it was going to be one hell of a day.
CHAPTER FOUR
Wolf
Staring into the mirror above the basin in his bathroom Wolf sighed. He woke with a fucking thumping headache and looking in the mirror he saw the evidence in his red and scratchy eyes. He’d had the grand total of four hours of sleep, and not good sleep either. His dreams had been fucked up. He had constantly relived the moment he had arrived at the site of the ambush and had seen the destruction. Bits and pieces of the bikes and the SUV were littered all over the road and down the steep embankment. The worst was seeing his fallen brothers. It was a sight he would never forget.
He had known right then that lives would be lost, and he had been right. They had lost Petey at the scene and were very lucky not to have lost more, but now, months later, they had lost Army. Two lives too many.
Two of their brothers whose lives had been lost because of the machinations of the bitch in Cape Town. She had to be stopped.
Getting ready for a day that was going to be long and fucking soul destroying didn’t take long. He showered, brushed teeth, combed his hair and beard and got dressed in the time it took his phone to play five songs. The mirror showed him he still looked fucking bad. He needed coffee and headache tablets, right the fuck now.
Drawing in a deep breath he straightened his shoulders, set his expression to cool indifference and walked out to start his day. Locking his door behind him he swiftly walked down the stairs to the kitchen where he could hear the murmur of voices. Spider, Bullet and Buzz gave him silent chin lifts as he walked in. Bullet looked bad as he silently sipped his coffee. The brother’s dark skin had a sort of grey undertone indicating that his hangover was giving him hell.
Dragging a chair out across the table from the other three Wolf sat down and gave a nod of thanks when Mellie set a mug of coffee down in front of him.
“Can you find me some headache tabs, please, Mellie?” He asked as he took his first sip of his coffee.
“Ja, I second that request, sweetheart.” Spider rubbed his temples as he smiled and winked at Mellie and the girl practically fucking glowed with happiness.
Wolf gave a silent snort. That shit right there was why he never called the bitches by anything but their names. No way was he going to give them any reason to believe he was interested in what they were fucking selling. Yes, he had fucked some of them but not regularly and never in his room. His encounters with the club whores were short and to the point. He had rules with them. He never kissed them, never ate them out, never did them face to face and after getting them and himself off he walked away. All of them knew not to try and hang
on him, sit on his lap or any of that stupid shit. They were a commodity he used when he had an itch to scratch, nothing more.
And he was very careful to lube and double bag it before he got his cock anywhere near club whore pussy. That’s why he didn’t mind going out as Sin’s wing man. The brother never fucked club whores, he always found some civilian pussy and there were always more than enough to go around. And if he was being really honest with himself, he preferred it that way as well.
It was a huge fucking turn off when you know your brothers’ cocks have been in the hole you’re about to fuck.
“What the fuck are you thinking about that put that look on your face?” Buzz looked at him with raised eyebrows. All the eyes were suddenly on him.
Glancing around Wolf saw that for the moment they were alone in this part of the kitchen. Aunt Beryl and the girls weren’t anywhere close so they wouldn’t overhear what he was about to say. “Club whores and why they are a fucking bad idea. Sin is right, civilian pussy is better and not as complicated.”
Spider leant forward ready to argue the point but Wolf didn’t give him a chance to get a word in. “Did you not see what happened just now? That bitch has fucking stars in her eyes when she looks at you. Be careful where you put your dick, brother. You do not want to end up tied to a woman you don’t care for just because you share a kid.”
Spider snorted. “I am very fucking careful, Wolf.”
Wolf laughed mirthlessly. “Ja, so are we all but condoms have been known to leak, even break.”
“I agree.” Buzz said then turned to Spider when he snorted. “You telling me that has never happened to you? A condom breaking and you freaking the fuck out?”
Spider shrugged. “Ja, of course it has, but I don’t freak out about it. I just load the bitch up and head to the nearest chemist and sort that shit out. I make sure she takes the medication and then no more worries.”
“Jesus, that shit is going to fucking bite you in the ass, Spider.” Wolf shook his head. “You are taking risks with your future my man.”
“You know what I think?” A voice suddenly sounded from the doorway which none of them had kept an eye on.
Chris stood in the doorway, her hands on her hips and a strange look on her face.
“No, babe, we don’t.” Spider smirked.
“I think Wolf is right to some extent. Some of the girls are definitely here on the hunt for a property patch, but not all of them. You need to be careful of the hangarounds, which goes without saying. Unfortunately Wolf and Sin are no safer from predatory women than the brothers who use the girls here at the clubhouse. Some of those civilian bitches are just as eager to claim a property patch. They are just a whole lot sneakier than the club girls.”
She suddenly grinned and tapped Wolf on his shoulder as she walked past.
“Take a page out of Wolf’s playbook, and double wrap it, no matter who it is.”
If his mouth could hang open wider Wolf was sure it would. “How the fuck do you know about that?”
Chris shrugged as she moved into the kitchen and pulled down a mug and started making herself some coffee.
“The girls talk. Everyone knows they’re not getting anything from you besides an orgasm. Your rules for pussy are well known and talked about all the time.”
“This I’ve got to hear.” Buzz grinned as he leant back to watch Chris. Even Bullet came out of his funk and paid attention to her.
“It’s actually very straight forward, no kissing, no blow jobs, no eating of pussy, no face to face, no cuddling when he’s done and he double wraps, no matter who you are.” She smiled. “It keeps everyone on the same page and safe.”
Both Spider and Buzz were now staring at him with shocked looks on their faces.
“What the fuck? No blow jobs? Are you fucking serious?” Spider looked like not getting a blow job was the end of the fucking world.
“Not going to put my bare cock in a mouth that you’ve had yours in, brother. No offence.” Wolf shrugged.
“You don’t eat pussy? Not ever?” Buzz stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Club whore and hangaround pussy, never. Civilian pussy, only if I’m really into her and will be seeing her again, otherwise why bother?”
“What the fuck are you bastards talking about? Or do I even want to know?” Hawk growled as he walked into the kitchen with DC right on his heels.
“He might not want to know, but I sure as hell do.” She grinned as she sat down next to Wolf and tapped the table. “Come on, give it to me. What are you doing to club pussy and civilian pussy?”
“Little bird.” Hawk growled but his old lady ignored him as she waved a hand at them to continue.
And of course Spider didn’t let the fact that their president wasn’t looking too happy with them faze him. He laid Wolf rules for fucking out for her. She nodded as she listened, a slight frown between her brows.
Turning fully to Wolf she grinned then patted him on his back. “Good for you. The day you find a woman and you bring her to the clubhouse she won’t be bombarded with visions of you eating club whore pussy. I like your rules. What with STD’s and AIDS being so prevalent. Don’t even want to think about how many cocks have been in and out of those pussies. I have a question though. I thought double wrapping causes friction that tears the condom. How do you do it so it doesn’t tear?”
Wolf shook his head and shot his eyes over to his prez where he was getting coffee for him and his old lady.
Silence hung heavy in the kitchen before Hawk burst out laughing, shaking his head at Wolf.
“Jesus brother, just answer her, she won’t give up until you do. And how did we not know you were a paranoid fucker about getting your cock wet?”
Fuck his life. Shaking his head he tried to explain.
“Researched it. Found a study done with prostitutes in the States using two condoms and they had a 0.2% condom failure rate. There’s no friction if you use extra lube. They call it double bagging. And that’s all I’m fucking saying about this shit. You’re my prez’s old lady for fuck’s sake.”
DC winked at him and gave her old man a sly smile. “I think I need to test this double bagging thing. For scientific purposes.”
Hawk grinned and shook his head at his woman as laughter rang throughout the kitchen, DC laughing the fucking hardest.
Wolf gave a silent sigh of relief when Aunt Beryl pushed a serving trolley over with steaming platters of bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs and started setting them down the centre of the table. Mellie and Grietjie came in behind her and set down plates with mounds of toast and bowls filled with a club favourite. Aunt Beryl’s tomato, onion, green pepper and mushroom sauce. It was thick and spicy and great over eggs, or any fucking thing.
“You boys eat up now. You’re going to need your strength today.” Aunt Beryl patted Hawk’s shoulder before she moved away. “I’ll get some fresh coffee made while you eat.”
Silence fell in the kitchen. Not just because they were eating. The day lay like a mountain in front of all of them. They had arrangements to make that everyone wished they didn’t have to. While they ate the kitchen filled up with more brothers coming in to eat but the atmosphere stayed subdued.
This fucking day was going to be hell.
After breakfast the officers and lieutenants were called into Hawk’s office, they stood against the walls outside his office waiting for their boss while he made sure his old lady was properly protected on her way to work.
When he walked down the passage and opened his door it was obvious to all of them their boss’s mood had changed. The laughter they had shared in the kitchen was gone.
“Sit your fucking asses down and let’s get to it.” He growled as he threw himself down in his chair and slammed his phone down on his desk. Waiting until Wolf locked the door he drew in a deep breath and shocked the shit out of them all.
“There’s something you need to know. Army was working with the taskforce with my permission. He got close to som
ething and was about to give the evidence to Van Blerk when the ambush happened. According to Van Blerk he had a safe location where he kept what he had found.”
Shock and rage battled for supremacy in his head. And he wasn’t the only one.
“What? He did what?” Ice snarled.
“It was a judgement call, Ice, and I stand by it.”
“It got him fucking dead!” Wolf roared as his brothers loudly agreed.
“Calm the fuck down!” Kid bellowed and silence fell over the office.
“Go ahead, Prez.” Kid stood with his arms crossed over his chest behind Hawk’s chair and gave them all cold eyes.
“I can’t give you more than that. All I can say is that Army came to me with the request and after some consideration I agreed. He insisted that no one be told. Even Van Blerks’ own men don’t know about this shit. It was just the three of us, until now.”
“Do you think whoever he was investigating was on to him, Prez?” Jagger asked quietly.
“I don’t know and neither does Van Blerk.” Hawk watched them all out of narrowed eyes. “What I do know is that we have shit to do. No more questions. Let’s get to business.”
He turned to Ziggy. “Brother, send out the notices to our chapters and allies informing them that we’ve lost a brother and that funeral arrangements will follow shortly. Let them know there will be an honour ride and that he will be buried with full club honours.”
Ziggy nodded as he typed on the tablet he had balanced on his knees.
“Ice, any news on the search for the beneficiary of our brother’s insurances and his autopsy?”
Ice shook his head. “Nothing yet on the beneficiary, boss, but I’ve called in a favour from Rick Townsend. Gave him the little we’ve got and he will call if he finds anything. Unless Van Blerk shuts it down.”
Hawk nodded slowly before he focused on Beast.
“Beast, give us your report on how it all went down. And, brother, don’t leave any fucking thing out, however small and insignificant it might seem.”
Vengeance Of A Black Knight (Iron Dogz MC, #4) Page 4
