“Don't have a clue what you're talking about,” he giggled drunkenly at her as he spoke.
She leaned closer to him and whispered, “Remember Brian Hall?”
His head snapped back.
“Waking up some, asshole?” she coldly asked the fucker.
His eyes locked onto her face.
“Ah, it appears you do. You murdered my husband and son, you bastard. My son was three years old. THREE YEARS OLD, YOU MOTHERFUCKER,” she screamed at him. “He was a baby, a sweet innocent child and you ordered someone to kill all of us. You’re shit out of luck that we didn’t all die that day because now you die and I'm going to watch the life leave your eyes. And remember this when you are gasping for air, I will fucking be laughing thinking about your pathetic ass twisting and turning as you burn in the fires of hell.”
She stepped back slightly, her body shaking in rage. I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around her and drew her in tight to me.
“Let me tell you what's about to happen to you, Mr. Anson Miller, Esquire. In a minute, the man that is helping you remain upright is going to let go of your ass. You're then going to drop and start choking, but when you reach for that slip knot to get out of your twisted little contraption, you're not going to find it. Wanna know why?” she asked him tauntingly.
His eyes had been checking out everything she was saying, and I could see that it was slowly starting to sink in that he was in trouble.
“Scared to ask? Well, I'll be nice and tell you why. That's not your rope and I promise you, it won't release. Let this all play through your head as you're desperately trying to get your feet under you and you're trying to pull that rope. No matter what you try, you're not gonna get out of this alive.
“All these men are here to make sure you can't get to your feet. And when the police find your nasty, bloated, naked body, oh, don't worry, we'll make sure to remove the cute little pjs you're wearing, because we do want to give whoever finds you their money's worth, they'll find you hanging from your little sexual mechanism. It will be talked about by all your family and friends about how you died of asphyxiation as you tried to whack off.”
Horror crossed Miller's face as what she was saying to him finally sank in.
“You can't do this, you can't,” he blubbered out.
“Oh yes I can, you bastard,” she spit out. “Time to meet your maker. Tell Lucifer I sent one of his bastard sons back home to him.”
With a smile promising retribution, she looked at Slaughter and said, “Drop the fucker.”
And Slaughter did. Miller's body dropped and he started choking. He tried to get his feet under him but between the alcohol and sleeping pill he must have taken; his coordination was off. As his face turned red and purple, he reached up trying to release the slip knot on the rope.
I grinned and informed him, “Remember what she said fucker, it's not there. Nothing you can do at all. But. Die. And we're all gonna watch and smile as the life leaves your fucking body, you pathetic excuse for a man.”
His mouth opened as he tried desperately to get air into his lungs, but the force of his weight wasn't letting much if any get through. The more he writhed about, the redder his face became. Gradually his body's movements slowed and stilled, then his body dropped, all his weight was being supported by his neck. We waited for an additional five minutes, each of us looking at the bastard who had taken the lives of at least two innocent people. We would never know how many more deaths he was responsible for. Finally, Blood reached over and felt Miller's carotid artery.
“He's gone.”
“It's over, babe. It's over,” I whispered into Ava's ear.
She turned her face into my chest and cried silently.
“Let's get shit done and get out of here. Remember to take what he's wearing off, make his bed back up, and don’t forget to remove our rope and put his rope on him,” I said to the guys.
They nodded at me and went to work. I led Ava out of the room and back through the house to the door we would leave from. Ava kept a death grip on me, and I was more than happy to keep her locked tight to my body.
We reversed our steps going out and once again everything went smoothly. Maybe a higher power was on our side. Our plans were to burn everything we wore, shoes, rain gear and all. So we'd set extra clothes outside the Clubhouse to change into once we got back. I knew this was probably unnecessary, but it was still going to be done.
Ava was silent and probably in shock. It had to be hitting her hard that after seven years the bastard finally got what he deserved. Was it enough? Fuck, no. I could have made it so much worse, but she didn't need to see something like that. What she'd seen was bad enough.
Watching someone die wasn't an easy thing to do. I'm sure she might end up with some nightmares, but I'd be there for her. I'd help her through them. I knew better than anyone that this would let her finally let Brian and Mason rest in peace, then she could find some peace of her own.
~***~
Chapter 22
Love is a force more formidable than any other. It is invisible - it cannot be seen or measured, yet it is powerful enough to transform you in a moment, and offer you more joy than any material possession could.
~Barbara De Angelis~
Mad Dog
August 30th, 1998
As I got out of bed, I glanced at Ava to see her sleeping peacefully. Quietly, I made my way to the closet, grabbed a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and my boots. Next, I opened a dresser drawer, pulled out a pair of boxers and socks then hesitated as I looked at the box sitting there, nodding to myself, I grabbed the box as well. Then I made my way into the bathroom.
After finishing my morning rituals and getting dressed, I took the ring out of the box, tied the little ribbon that came with it onto the ring then I put it into my front pocket before I walked quietly back into the room. I thought briefly about waking Ava, but I just didn't have the heart to do it. She needed all the rest she could get.
All was silent as I made my way to the kitchen. After the late night, then the guys partying, I knew it would be a long while until anyone was up. Fuck, I'd still like to be in bed, but usually by six o'clock every morning, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed.
Going to the coffee pot, I found that all I had to do was hit start and it was ready to go. Thank the Lord for Clair. She had made things run so much more smoothly in the kitchen area since she came to us. One of the best decisions we have made in a long time was letting her be a club girl.
Part of me was a little surprised that someone hadn't tried to claim her, because she was the whole fucking enchilada. My hope was that she would remain here a long time, whether she was eventually claimed or not. I strongly felt this club needed her, not just for her cooking skills, but for the wisdom and advice she imparted. She had become a mentor to the younger girls, and I believed she is the reason why the girls hadn't had that much drama.
I made my way to the pantry, went to grab my usual muffins and Danish, then paused. I rubbed my hand down my chest and felt the cut of my abs that were starting to ripple down my abdomen. Working out had really started paying off. I liked how I was looking now, and Ava fucking loved it. I'd noticed lately that she would lick her lips when I took off my shirt, and fuck if that didn't make my dick hard as a rock.
Watching her tongue stroke back and forth over her lips would set my mind to thinking about them wrapped around my cock and sucking me deep into her mouth. And. Fuck. Just like that and my dick was hard enough to drive a sixteen-penny nail through concrete. Why the fuck I kept torturing myself this way I hadn't a clue. It was all Ava's damn fault. I only had to think her name and the fucker down south would start getting all happy, and as he got happy my thoughts would then start careening off into the world where all I could think about was my cock being in some part of Ava's body.
I grimaced and adjusted myself, realized I was in the pantry, and grabbed a couple bananas and a couple muffins. I figured since they were blueberry, surely they would be good
for me, then made my way to the coffee pot where, thankfully, it was through dripping. I poured myself a cup and carried my loot to a table and sat down. As I was peeling a banana, Viper walked through the door. He sighed deeply when he saw there wasn't any breakfast ready, then he mimicked my steps even down to what he was eating. After pouring his coffee, he came and sat with me.
“How's Ava doing?”
“She slept good last night and was still hard at it this morning.”
He nodded. “Know you already know this, but just watch for nightmares. Jennie is still having them. She says it's not so much as seeing the shootings as it is the boys being beaten that keeps haunting her. But I've seen her jump a few times when there's a loud bang. She scared the fuck out of me one of those times.
“Cale saw a copperhead in the backyard close to the apple trees a few days ago. The kid goes get his pistol and shoots the snake. Jennie had just stepped outside and was about to go down the steps when he shot. It startled her so bad that she jumped and almost fell down the fucking stairs.”
He paused to take a drink of coffee, “And, of course, I'm the one who got into trouble, because I went off on Cale telling him he needed to inform his moms when he was going to be doing something like that, and to make sure no one was around because if Jennie had fallen it could have hurt her and the babies. That caused Jennie to get snarky with me over getting on to Cale when he was just trying to keep everyone safe. Fuck, Brother. I can honestly say nine more weeks can't get here soon enough.”
I shook my head. “Damn, forgot all about the hormones of pregnancy. Although I’m loving one aspect of it,” I uttered with a grin.
“Yeah, love that part myself,” he grinned back at me.
“Probably gonna be out of pocket a little while today. If I can get Ava to go, I'd like to go on a ride and to the cemetery.”
He nodded at me, “Take all the time you need, Dog. You two deserve some peace for a change.”
“Thanks, Brother.”
“So, tell me how it all went down,” he said.
And for the next couple of hours, he and I talked about what had gone on last night, things we were wanting to get done here at the Clubhouse, a couple projects we were thinking about and basically just shooting the breeze.
~*~
After Viper and I had talked a while, I went to the office to do a little work. I'd always thought Sarge didn't have a lot to do as President. But after the first month of being the Prez, I realized how untrue that was. It seemed like there was constantly something that needed to be taken care of. I looked at several emails and replied back to them, then looked at some bills, club and personal, paid what needed to be paid of mine, the rest went into a pile for Tater to take care of.
Around eleven I started smelling bacon and since my measly breakfast had worn off, I followed the smell to the kitchen and found Clair, Mel and Fawn cooking a big breakfast for the guys.
“Hey, Prez,” Clair spoke out. “Hungry?”
“Does a bear shit in the woods?” I responded.
She laughed, “Grab a plate and get what you want.”
As I walked around Mel, she reached up and rubbed my back like she had done hundreds of times before. I swore I felt the temperature drop fifty degrees in the room, and I looked up to see Ava glaring in our direction. Fuck. This was all I needed today. As I’m about to say something, Ava beats me to it.
“Mel, I know you don’t mean anything by running your hand up my man's back, but I'm a jealous bitch and I'm here to tell you that if you don't get your hand off him right now, I'll break every bone in it.” She smiled a scarily sweet smile at Mel, “Got me?”
Mel yanked her hand off my back so fast you'd have thought it was on fire.
“Sorry, Ava. I didn't mean anything by it honestly. It's just something I've done so often in the past that I didn't even realize I was doing it. I apologize, I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
Ava directed a genuine smile this time at Mel and said, “Thanks Mel, I appreciate it.”
Then she walked over to me, reached up and kissed my check, slapped me on the ass, grabbed her a plate and started making her breakfast. I felt a little dizzy, realized I had been holding my breath and tried as unobtrusively as possible to let it out and draw in fresh air. The situation that I thought was about to go to hell in a handbasket was handled without fighting, anger or bloodshed. I was proud of Ava for taking the approach she did. The message would make its way to all the girls and they would know that I felt the same because I hadn't said anything in Mel's defense.
After a peaceful breakfast, I murmured to Ava, “Take a ride with me? Want you on the back of my bike.”
She smiled at me. “Sure, I'd love too, I'm ready when you are.”
And with that, we made our way outside, onto the bike and were off. I took her over several of the twisting, winding, back roads that ran around Beaver Lake. We rode for a couple hours before I made my way back to Mt. Olive Cemetery. As we turned onto the road leading into it, Ava stiffened a little. I drove over to where I normally parked when I came to visit Beth and Angel.
After we dismounted, I said quietly, “Walk with me,” and held my hand out to her. She entwined her fingers through mine and I led her to where my childhood bride and daughter were buried. When we arrived, I pulled Ava in front of me and wrapped my arms around her. I leaned down, nuzzled my nose in her hair and kissed the top of her head.
Then I took a deep breath and spoke, “Hey pretty lady. Been awhile since I've come to see you. There's been a lot going on with the MC. Some of it has been things that were hard to swallow but we’re overcoming them. I know you can see I've brought someone with me this time. I'd like to introduce you to Ava. Last time we spoke, Beth, I told you that I hadn't ever found anyone else and that I didn't think I ever would. I thought I'd end up living the rest of my days alone.”
I drew a deep breath then continued, “Pretty lady, God brought someone into my life. I think you'd like her. She makes me smile, makes me laugh, makes me feel alive again. I honestly didn't think I would have this again, Beth. But I'm so fucking grateful that I do. I love her, Beth.
“She brightens my days and fills my nights full of lovin'. I know you'd be happy for me because you always told me if something ever happened to you, that you wanted me to love again. And I do, I love her so fucking much it scares me sometimes. She's wearing my colors and someday soon, I hope she'll be wearing my ring.”
As a few tears ran down my face, I paused a second to draw a breath, “Hey, baby girl. Daddy wanted to let you know he loves you. And, baby girl, you're gonna be a big sister. I need you to watch out for your sibling for me, okay? We don't know yet if it's a boy or girl, but I know you would have made the best big sister ever. Remember, baby girl, that no matter how many kids I have, that Daddy will never forget you and I'll always love you, Angel, forever.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in deep, trying to get some semblance of control again. It was always an emotional thing for me to visit with Beth and Angel.
As I was opening my eyes, Ava gasped out and exclaimed softly, “Oh, Dog, look.”
Perched on the headstone sat two female cardinal birds, both started singing to us.
“Fuck, babe. That's Beth and Angel letting us know that they're happy for us,” I said to her in a voice rough with emotion.
She nodded, then said in a soft voice, “I promise to take care of him and love him with everything I have in me.”
Both birds had quit singing when Ava started speaking and had tilted their heads sideways listening to her. It seemed like they could actually understand what she was saying to them. As soon as she was through, they started singing again. I felt a shiver run down my spine and glanced heavenwards and mouthed, “Thank you.”
“Dog,” Ava spoke in the same soft tone, trying not to scare the birds away. “Can we go to Brian and Mason's graves?”
“Are you sure, Ava? I only brought you here to introduce you to Beth
and Angel.”
She nodded and slowly stepped to my side, entwined our fingers together again and led me to her husband and son's graves. Once we arrived and to our amazement, both the female cardinals had followed us and were now perched on Mason's headstone. Ava turned and smiled a misty-eyed smile at me as she pointed toward them. Then she turned back around and faced her husband’s grave.
“Hey, Brian. I wanted to let you know we killed the bastard who took you and Mason away from me. He can no longer hurt anyone again. I'm sorry it took so long to do it, but I know you were probably screaming at me to stay away from here and to let it go. I know you wanted me to get on with my life and live it for you and Mason, but, Brian, I couldn't truly do that until vengeance was served.
Bri,” she said as she slid her arm around my waist, “I want you to meet the man who saved my life that day. This is Dog. He and his MC climbed down that mountain and got me out of the wreckage. If it hadn't been for them, I'm pretty sure I would be in Heaven with you both.”
She paused a moment and drew in a breath of air.
“Dog and I are a couple, Bri. He makes me happy. He loves me so much and I love him the same. It's a different love than ours was, Bri. It's hard to explain. We had a love that was a young love, where the world was all sunshine and roses.
“But when you were taken from me, that world ceased to exist anymore. The love I feel for Dog is a mature love. It's the type that knows there are bad things out there, and it's tough enough to weather any storm it encounters. I'm sure if we had been able to be together always, our love would have gotten to that stage.
“Bri, I honestly didn't think I would ever love anyone again. Until Dog, no one had even managed to make a dent into my thoughts. But he didn't just dent them, he blew into them like a raging wind and took them over. Even though I never gave up my thirst for justice, after meeting Dog, I realized that I had the chance to have a man in my life again. A chance to live and love again.
Mad Dog (Angel’s Rebellion MC: #2) (Angel's Rebellion MC) Page 32
