"You have no idea."
"She also don't seem like the forgiving sort either."
"Nope," I agreed.
So then we drank. We drank until goddamn every part of me was numb except my fucking brain which just kept rolling over the events of the day over and over until I blessedly passed out on the foot of my bed.
I was pretty sure I only made it there because Cyrus half-carried me.
He was shaping up to be a good brother, all said and done.
"Up," a curt voice demanded a while later, kicking my boot hard enough to make my body jolt.
"Fuck off," I growled, my head slamming, every bit of me feeling dried out.
"Sorry to break it to you, but you're a goddamn grown man with responsibilities," Laz's voice said, sounding as casual as ever and when I craned my head to look over at him, he was relaxed, hands down at his sides, face almost expressionless. "You want to get shitfaced, that's your business. Lord knows I can't judge you for it, but you need to get your ass up and function."
"Thanks for the lecture, probie," I growled. "You can kindly fuck off now."
"See now," he said, clicking his tongue. "I would. Except Reign and the guys are half an hour out and I believe your ass was supposed to be in charge. Get up. Get some ibuprofen. Drink some water. And at least pretend you were keeping an eye on things all day like you were supposed to."
"Shit," I hissed, pushing up to a seated position and cradling my head in my hands for a long minute, still mostly-drunk.
"Half a bottle of Jack," Laz observed, kicking it with his boot. "You're going to be suffering for a while."
With that, he grabbed the bottle and headed out and I dragged myself into the bathroom, drinking handfuls of water and splashing it on my face. I reached into the cabinet and took four ibuprofen then went back into the other room to change, fairly sure I reeked of booze.
When I walked into the common room ten minutes later, feeling not quite so dead, but not anywhere near sober, I found Cyrus still holding his bottle of vodka and Reeve with four beers in front of them.
"You stopped drinking before I did," I said to Cyrus, brows drawn together.
"Figured it'd look a lot better if we were all trashed when they got back. Like we did some brotherly bonding or some shit," Cyrus said, saluting me with the bottle and taking a swig that he clearly didn't want.
"Renny, you look like shit," Maze said as she walked up, shaking her head at me.
"Thanks, Violet. Always the charmer."
Penny walked out after her, excitement like a live wire inside her, her body too small to be able to contain it all. She was practically bouncing.
"Who got the call?" I asked, not seeing Lo anywhere and my phone wasn't in my pocket.
"Well after your cell wouldn't stop ringing for ten minutes straight," Summer said, walking over to where it was sitting on the bar, "I answered it."
I didn't try to defend my actions and I knew I was bound to be dealing with some coldness among the women when they figured out what happened so I might as well get used to it.
"Everyone alright?"
"Yeah," she said, nodding, reaching up to put her long red hair into a ponytail. "Reign said it was bumps and bruises."
I didn't want to tell her that Reign's version of bumps and bruises likely meant Superglue stitches and broken ribs. She would see soon enough anyway.
"That'd be them," Cyrus observed as the sound of car doors met us.
It was all of two minutes before the front door burst open and brought our brothers back in.
"You said bumps and bruises!" Summer snapped as soon as Reign crossed the threshold, the entire front of his white tee dripped with dried blood, most of which was likely his if his black eye that hinted at a busted nose and the huge gash down his cheek was anything to go by.
"Babe," he said, giving her a very tired smile and holding his arms out.
And she fucking flew at him, big belly and all.
"That's sweet and all, but where the fuck is my woman?" Cash asked, walking in next, looking less blood-stained than his brother but walking slow and favoring his right side like he had bruised or busted some ribs.
I had no fucking idea where Lo was.
"She's on her way back," Maze supplied, giving me a knowing look. "She had to deal with something. Where is, oh," she breathed out when Repo walked in- all kinds of fucked up.
See, in the crazy anger department, Wolf took home first place. But Repo was a very close second when he was pissed. And if his bruised and bloodied face was anything to go by, he had gone in whatever he had gone into way too hot and bloodthirsty.
"You can shoot the top off a bottle of beer at like a thousand yards and you go in using your fists," Maze said, rolling her eyes at him for a second before smiling and stepping into his arms.
Penny moved in beside me, genuinely seeming like she might jump out of her skin with anticipation as we waited for the final member to walk back in.
Then he did.
But he wasn't alone.
No, he was pulling a man along with him. A man with his hands cuffed behind his back.
He was tall and strong with long dark hair that he had in a bun at the crown of his head and a full dark beard. His eyes were dark too- almost black. Everything about him elicited the immediate feeling of danger.
The man was dangerous.
It was also almost painfully clear he was not Italian.
If I had to put my money on anything, it would be Romanian.
"Reign..." Summer said, stiffening, pulling away from her husband. I could practically hear her brain screaming: there are kids here.
"This fuck is Edison. We found him chained up in Little Ricky's basement," Reign supplied, waving a careless hand toward the men.
"Smells like a gin joint in here," Repo observed suddenly. I stiffened, thinking it was chastisement, before he broke into a grin. "Forgot what that was like. It's like old times."
"Penny," Duke said suddenly and I realized the bouncy, happy Penny had deflated beside me.
Because if I thought Repo was a mess, Duke took the cake. One of his eyes were almost swollen shut; his lip was split; there was a long gash down the side of his neck, and his hands were so ripped open that the healing process was going to be long and painful because anytime he stretched his fingers, it was going to rip scabs open.
Her head turned, looking up at me a little hopelessly.
"Fell in love with a biker, blondie. Get used to blood," I told her, pushing her forward and she slowly closed the space between her as Edison moved out of the way, watching Penny with an interest that wasn't sexual in the least as she walked up to Duke, refusing to step into his arms.
"I don't want to hurt you," she insisted about half a second before Duke grabbed her and lifted her off her feet by her ass as his lips claimed hers.
"Since when do you guys take prisoners?" Lo asked, having come in from the garage unnoticed, her eyes looking over Edison.
"Long story, sweetheart," Cash said, giving her a small smile. "I can tell you all about it in bed," he told her, grabbing her and pulling her down the hall.
"Lame ass party with only three of you drinking," Reign declared, tucking his woman under his arm and walking toward us.
"Is is a victory one now?" Cyrus asked, looking almost green from the booze he had been downing for my benefit.
Reign looked over to me, nodding. "We can walk around again without having to worry," he said. "We gotta go wash up and see our kids. After that, we'll fill you in. Whoever is sober enough to be trusted around fire, make some food. It's going to be a late night," he added before moving off toward the hall.
"Yeah, I better clean up too," Duke said, putting Penny back on her feet as Repo and Maze disappeared. "You can keep an eye on him for a bit, right?" he asked as he reached into his pocket for a key and unlocked one of Edison's wrists, moving them forward and cuffing them in the front. "Give him something to drink too," he said as Edison walked over toward us.
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"Vodka, whiskey, gin, beer or tequila?" Cyrus asked as the silent, intimidating presence moved to stand beside where he was sitting.
"Vodka," he ground out, his voice so low and gravely it was almost hard to understand.
"Here you go, man," he said, handing him the bottle he had been holding. "Think I'm cured of vodka for the next year or five."
Edison closed both his hands around the bottle and brought it up, tipping his head back and chugging the contents.
"That's not juice, man," Cyrus half-laughed as he kept downing the clear liquid.
He didn't bring the bottle down until the crazy mother fucker drank almost all of what was left- which was two-thirds the bottle.
"Haven't had a drink in three months," he supplied in that same guttural growl of his.
"It'll do you no good if it all comes back up though," Cyrus said, shaking his head.
"Been drinking since I was thirteen. Save for that first time, I've never been sick. But thanks for the warning. Where the fuck am I right now?" he asked, looking around the room with its lack of windows or any real decoration.
"The Henchmen MC compound," I supplied, motioning toward my cut as I did so.
"Fucking Jersey?" he asked, grimacing.
"Where you from?" I asked.
"Everywhere," he hedged.
"Drop a pin," I suggested.
"Philly, when I am not on the road."
"What the fuck did you do to get yourself locked up in Little Ricky's basement for three months?"
"Got a real problem with pimps, especially the type who use fists on their women. He didn't like that I had a problem with pimps and therefore had a problem with me."
"That got you three months?" I asked, brows drawing together.
"My dislike of pimps might have led to one of them eating through a straw."
"Nice," Reeve said, almost too low to be heard.
"And you're still breathing?" I pressed.
"Little Ricky was a paranoid fuck. Figured some rogue asshole with an ax to grind must have belonged to some bigger organization bent on bringing his pathetic army of rapists and baby fuckers down."
"You seem to know a lot about his organization," I observed.
"I know a lot about a lot of organizations."
"Why's that?"
"Alright," Reign said as he walked back in, showered. "Reeve," he said, making the man in question straighten in his seat slightly. "You're reading my kid Hatchet?"
Reeve got a bit more guarded at that, but lifted his chin slightly. "I am."
"Thanks, man. Summer said he was struggling since I left. I appreciate you taking some time out for him. Secondly," he said, looking over toward me. "Where the fuck is Mina?"
"Oh, man," Cyrus said, jumping up and wavering on his feet for a second before Edison's cuffed hands grabbed his forearm to steady him. "Thanks, bud. You weren't here for this, but let's just say the Mina topic ain't a good one and we might be better off in the kitchen for a bit."
With that, Cyrus, Edison, and Reeve all shuffled off as Reign raised a brow at me. "What'd you do, Renny?"
"I got the girl," I hedged, my headache seeming to intensify at just the mention of her.
"Then you lost her. Fucking great. Did you at least compare notes before you scared her off or were you too busy doing other shit?"
"We're on the same page about Laz and Cyrus and are both clueless about Reeve."
"When did she leave?"
"Just late this morning."
"Lo know you hurt her girl?" he asked, smirking slightly.
"She's looking for pickling spices," I supplied. At his drawn-together brows, I laughed humorlessly. "To pickle my cock."
To that, he threw his head back and laughed. "Shoulda known when you were getting involved with Hailstorm."
"So why do we have Little Ricky's prisoner here... still in cuffs?"
Reign shrugged at first. "We got down to the basement, saw him, but didn't have time to ask him any goddamn thing so we just took him and ran. With the amount of shit that went down in that building, the cops were definitely on their way. We didn't want to risk it. On top of that, he saw us and could finger us. And we didn't know who he was so we couldn't just fucking kill him."
"Not worried he's going to flip shit?"
"You've seen the fuck," Reign said, chuckling. "I swear to fuck if I didn't know better, I'd think he was perpetually high. How he lost his shit and almost killed one of Little Ricky's guys is beyond me. I don't think I've met anyone that laid back."
"He claims to know a lot about a lot of organizations. When I said the name of our club, he already knew he was in Jersey. Even though his home space is apparently Philly."
"Good to know."
"What's the plan with him now? We got women and kids here," I reminded him. "And I don't think it'd be fair to lock him up with the rest of the puppies in case he's got rabies."
"Puppies?" he asked, smirking again.
"I dunno, man. I said it once and it stuck," I admitted, reaching up to rub at the bridge of my nose.
"So you thought that jumping into a bottle was maybe better than driving up to Hailstorm, huh?"
"I fucked up bad, man," I admitted. "Swear to fuck she might have put in an order to have me shot on sight."
"Well, I suggest your start racking that brain of yours to try to figure out how to get her to forgive you, because I'm thinking I want her opinion on Edison before we make any decisions on what to do with him. For now, I don't fucking know, we can lock him up in that glass room or some shit. There's no escaping from there."
"Hey, ah, Mr. Presidentè or whatever," Cyrus called from the doorway, getting our attention. "The new guy and Laz are, well, let's say they're having culinary differences."
"Jesus Christ," Reign said, shaking his head, running a hand across the back of his neck. "What the fuck is happening to my club?" he asked, walking toward the kitchen with me in toe just in time to see Edison shove his cuffed hands into Laz's shoulder.
"Keep your hands off me, frate," Laz shot back, shoving his own hand into Edison's shoulder.
"Frate?" Cyrus asked and I shook my head. I had no fucking idea.
Really, even cuffed, there was only one way that conversation was going to go. And we stood there and watched as the men hit the ground and fought for dominance.
"That's more like old times," Reign said, nodding.
"What's the..." Cash started, stopping short at the sight of Edison clasping his hands together and using them both to slam into Laz's jaw. "Huh, wouldn't have believed either of them were fighters if I didn't see it myself. What'd they get into it over?"
I looked at Cyrus who looked at all of us with a shit-eating grin and declared, "Basil."
To that, we all couldn't help it after so many tense months, we laughed.
"Oh for Christ's sake," Maze said walking in. "Lay them out on the table and measure them," she declared, moving to step over the grappling duo on her way to the fridge, making them both freeze.
Didn't matter how serious a fight was, when a woman as pregnant as Maze was stepping over you, you settled the fuck down.
"Are we having dinner or fucking what?" Reign asked then. "Leave the goddamn basil out if it is going to lead to a mother fucking brawl. Jesus Christ. I need my woman," he declared, waving a dismissive hand toward us and walking out.
"What, you beat prisoners now too?" Lo asked, shaking her head as Reeve reached down to help Edison back onto his feet.
"Reeve," Repo said, all business, reminding me of the days when he was in charge of all the probates even though he hadn't been much older than most of us. "Why don't you show Edison to one of the bathrooms so he can clean up. Here," he added, pulling a key out of his pocket. "He can uncuff to shower then cuff him back up after. Cyrus, why don't you see about helping Laz or just sitting at the table and nursing that hangover and minding your own fucking business while I fill-in everyone?"
With that, and not waiting for a response because
the way he said it left no room for argument, he turned and walked out into the common area, dropping down on the chair with a sigh, patting his leg until Maze sat down there.
"Alright," Lo said, sitting down and giving me a glare when I moved to sit near her, making me decide to stand instead. "So, is it over?"
"That's what took so long," Repo said, absentmindedly stroking a hand through Maze's purple hair. "We got to the place and realized it was a fuckuva lot bigger than we planned on and we were too out-numbered. We stopped to regroup and called Janie for some background on the guys, what Ricky's numbers were, that kind of thing."
"Had Repo pick off the night guards before we decided to go in," Cash added. "By the time we fought our way through the inside guys, Little Ricky was nowhere to be found. Pulled a fucking Lex Keith with a mother fucking panic room. Had to go back through all the guys who were still breathing until we found one who knew the code and then, ah, find a way to get that information out of him."
Didn't take an idiot to know that information was beaten out of him. And, judging by the look of his hands, it had likely been Duke who had done the extracting.
"And?" I prompted when no one continued.
"And Little Ricky was inside the room with one of his poor fucking women, beat to shit, clothes ripped, a real mess," Repo added, shaking his head. "Cash got her out of there and Reign made him pay for what he did to our brothers."
I knew Reign enough to know that behind the take-charge or alternately laid-back persona of our president, he was as dark as the rest, had more blood on his hands than most save for maybe Wolf.
Whatever fate Little Ricky met with was brutal and bloody and totally fucking justified if you asked any of us.
"That's about when we came across Edison," Cash added. "We were doing one last look around to make sure we didn't miss anyone or anything and behind some steel door, there he was, chained to a metal chair."
"What the hell possessed you to bring him back here? If he was a prisoner there, he wasn't likely to try to take you guys down for rescuing him," Lo said, ever the strategist.
"Reign kind of liked the fuck," Duke offered, walking back in, his hands and face all bandaged up and I knew it was Penny who had insisted on it. Duke likely would have poured alcohol over the whole of it and called it a day. But, no, he had a woman who loved him and wanted to take care of him.
Renny (The Henchmen MC #6) Page 19
