Chapter 6
Spike
Sorry Spike won’t be in today feeling ill. Please reschedule my appointments for later on in the week. Harlow x
I hadn’t heard from Harlow all weekend. She hadn’t returned my calls and I was hoping she just had a cold and wasn’t hiding from Diesel.
That’s fine. Do U need anything?
No! x
Harlow’s response surprised me. I had a busy day myself with customers and now had to rearrange her appointments. I planned on going around to see her after work. I was still reeling from my altercation with Diesel. I was so annoyed with him on Saturday that we came to blows. I know it was a misunderstanding and he hadn’t done anything with Amber but that crazy arse bitch could potentially ruin the best thing that has ever happened to him. Amber was told by Duke to never return to the club and has made it clear that if any Brother helps her, they will answer to him. Hopefully that will stop her from turning up again, if she knows what’s best for her.
I closed the shop at 5.00pm and went to the pharmacy to buy some cold and flu products for Harlow as I needed her back in the shop as soon as possible. I pulled up outside Harlow’s apartment and thought I saw the living room curtain twitch. Was I imagining it? I knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. After a couple of minutes I knocked again. “Harlow its Spike, answer the door.”
I went to the window and tried to look through but the curtains were pulled making it impossible to see anything. I knocked on the door again, “If you don’t open this fucking door, I’m gonna kick it in.” I heard the lock and then the white painted door opened slightly. Harlow poked her head through the small gap, “Spike, you didn’t have to come over. I told you I was fine.” The harshness of her voice fucking annoyed me. I’ve always been respectful to her. “I’ve brought you medicines to make you better, now let me in.” I held up the bag from the pharmacy to show her but I was getting angrier by the minute at her reluctance.
She reminded me so much of Helen. Stubborn, pig headed and strong, the list was endless. “I don’t want you catching it Spike.” She said trying to close the door but I stuck my foot in the gap, “Open the fucking door now, stop being so fucking stubborn and let me look after you.” I pushed the door open with force and was shocked by what I saw.
“What the fuck has happened to your face?” I dropped the medicines on the floor as I grabbed her arms to hold her still so that I could inspect her. She grimaced at my touch. Looking down at her arms, I could see bruising everywhere. I let go and started to run my fingers through my hair not knowing what to do. “Get on the sofa, I need to take a look at you.” As she walked over to the sofa she held her ribs and the pain on her face pulled on my heart strings. She was in a lot of pain and I was going to find out who did this to her and fucking kill them. I took my phone out of my pocket and called Doc. I shouted down the phone, “I need you at Harlow’s place now!” I doubted he knew where she lived but he would figure it out.
“Harlow, you need to tell me exactly what happened.” I sat on the coffee table directly in front of her. It was hard not to touch her as I didn’t know where she was hurting so I tried to keep my distance. “It’s nothing. I came off my bike on the way home on Saturday. I told you I had a cold because I didn’t want you to worry.” She wasn’t making eye contact and I could tell that she was lying but I didn’t want to push her. She started coughing and holding her side, her ribs were either bruised or broken.
I stormed into the kitchen to get her a drink. Taking a clean glass from the draining board, I filled it with cold water from the jug in the fridge. As I walked past the kitchen table I noticed her leather jacket hanging on the back of the chair. I picked it up and inspected it thoroughly. There were no marks or scrapes on the leather and this confirmed what I already thought.
I took the glass of water into the living room and placed it on the coffee table. Harlow was taking her asthma pump because she was struggling to breath. I had obviously upset her by asking too many questions but I needed to get to the truth. I knelt between her legs on the wooden floor, resting my hands lightly on her knees. “Harlow, you need to calm down babe. Slow breaths come on.” I lifted the water to her lips and she slowly took a sip but pulled away as it hurt her cut lip.
“I know you’re not telling me the truth. I’ve seen your leather and there aren’t any marks on it. I need to know who your protecting babe and why?” I sat back and waited for her to answer. Her eyes started to fill with tears. She was staring at the floor and still couldn’t make eye contact with me. “I’ve gotta ask you one more question, then I will give you some space. Was it Diesel who assaulted you?” She looked at me with horror on her face. “Why would you think it was Diesel who attacked me?” There was a knock on the door which made her jump, “It’s okay Harlow.” I reassured her patting her knee lightly as I got to my feet. I pulled out my gun, making my way around the sofa towards the door. Peering through the peep hole, I saw Doc and Duke.
I opened the door, allowing them enough space to enter the living room. Harlow’s apartment was a reasonable size but felt small with the four of us in the same room. Doc walked over to Harlow and I hung back with Duke trying to give them some space. Doc asked if they could go into her bedroom so that she could be examined properly. I was waiting for her response because I would then know if we were dealing with a sexual assault. She slowly got up from the sofa making her way into the bedroom, still holding her side from the pain. She looked over at me and gave a small smile.
“What are we dealing with Spike?” Duke asked sitting on the brown leather chair in the corner of the room. “Not sure man. She told me that she was ill and that’s why she couldn’t work today. I came here to give her some medicines to make her better.” Duke looked at me inquisitively. “Obviously I want her back at work quickly.” Duke raised his eyebrows so I continued quickly, “When she wouldn’t let me in, I kinda barged through the door and found her in that state.”
I took a long breath, “I asked her if it was Diesel.” I saw the shock on his face. “Did you really think that Diesel would smack the shit out of her? He’s fallen for her hard.” Duke was raising his voice and I simply took it. I knew I was acting like a cock. “What’s really going on Spike? Is this about Helen? You know you can’t save everyone.” I wanted to smack the shit out of him for mentioning Helen. This situation had nothing to do with her. I leapt off the sofa and stalked into the kitchen to find something to drink. I flung open several cupboard doors pushing the contents from one side to the other and found a metal container that caught my attention. I shouldn’t have but I opened it to find that it contained a gun. Why the fuck did she have a gun? Who was she afraid of? I put the lid on securely and continued to search for something alcoholic. In the back of the cupboard by the fridge I found a bottle of unopened Jack. I suppose her time spent with the Skulls had some influence on her taste in Whiskey. I knew Harlow wouldn’t mind so I pulled out two glasses and filled them. I knocked one back and filled it again, taking the two glasses into the living room. I gave a glass to Duke and we sat there in silence waiting for the verdict of her injuries.
“Should we call Diesel?” I looked at Duke waiting for his response. He swirled the brown liquid around in his glass before downing it in one. “He’ll be back in two hours. There’s no point in calling him if he’s on the road. He will only speed and end up killing himself.” We sat in silence, just waiting to hear some news.
Doc finally entered the room and sat down on the sofa next to me with a loud sigh. “What we looking at Doc?” I asked wanting to go into her bedroom and take good care of her. “She’s been viciously assaulted by more than one man.” I could feel myself filling with rage. I sat forward resting my chin on my hands, wanting to kill the bastards for hurting her.
“She hasn’t been sexually assaulted but she has heavy bruising and I think a couple of her ribs are broken from being kicked multiple times. She’s lucky she hasn’t suffered concussion from the bruising ar
ound her head.” We all sat there in silence not knowing what to say or do. “Can you give her any medication for the pain?” Duke spoke quietly trying to prevent Harlow from hearing what we were discussing. “I’ve given her some pain relief and a sleeping tablet to knock her out. It will take her anything from three to six weeks to recover properly.” Doc stood and collected his bag, “I’ll leave you with the medication but make sure she takes them regularly.” Doc looked at Duke, “I’ll be off then if that’s okay?” Duke stood with his hand held out, “Thanks for your help Doc.” They shook hands then he left the apartment closing the door quietly behind him.
“What happens now?” I asked looking over at Duke. “We wait. Wait until she can tell us exactly what happened.” I couldn’t just sit there waiting. I went into the kitchen to get the bottle of Jack and noticed her phone on the side. Picking it up, I took it into the living room along with the bottle. I poured two drinks and started to look through her phone. I noticed that she had a few unread texts from myself, Amy and Diesel and that another number had text her recently but wasn’t saved under a name. I read the messages which didn’t reveal much. Nothing bad, just a few messages about her being missed.
“What is it Spike, you have that look on your face.” Duke leaned forward resting his chin on his steepled fingers. “She has texts sent to her but addressing her as Princess. Diesel named her ‘Ink’ so it’s nothing to do with our MC. Maybe Diesel will know something when he arrives.” We sat there for what felt like ages. The silence was broken by Dukes phone. “Diesel…That’s great, thanks for your help with that, look where are you?…okay, make your way to Harlow’s…Just make your way here and I’ll explain when you arrive.” Duke turned his phone off and returned it to his pocket. “Diesel’s on his way. We’re gonna need another drink.”
Diesel
I drove like a fucking lunatic trying to get to Ink’s apartment. She’d been the only thing on my mind since Saturday, well tell a lie, she’d been the only thing on my mind since the day I met her at the shop. The girl meant everything to me and I wasn’t wasting any more time. The next time I saw her, I was going to tell her that she was mine.
I arrived at her apartment and went rushing in to find Duke and Spike sitting in the living room. “Where is she?” I said looking around the room franticly. “Sleeping. Look there’s no easy way of explaining this man, she’s been assaulted.” Duke stood as he told me holding my gaze. I stomped to her bedroom and found her asleep on the bed. She looked so peaceful, like she did the night I took her to Spirits Point. I sat next to her noticing the bruising and scratches on her beautiful face. I moved the cover slightly, trying to see if she had any other injuries. She had bruising on her arms like she had been grabbed with force. Even in her sleep she was holding her side and I wondered if there was any further damage. I covered her back over and kissed her softly on her head, leaving her peacefully.
“Does someone want to fucking tell me what’s been going on? I’ve only been out of town for a day!” I was shouting at the President of our club and I didn’t give a shit. “We probably know as much as you at the moment. Spike came round here a couple of hours ago because Harlow had called in sick.” Duke tried to explain but I was looking directly at Spike. “So you thought you would just pop round to see if she was okay? Trying to save the day again were you Spike.” I said with venom in my voice. “Easy VP, he was looking out for your girl and a good job too.” Duke stood between us trying to prevent another fist fight.
“Do you know who calls her Princess?” Spike asked not listening to my last spiteful comment. Princess! I tried to think of a time when she’d been called Princess. The altercation in the cafe sprang to mind. That rancid Patch called her Princess and so did Flex. “Skulls! The Skulls call her Princess. Must have been her dad that gave her the name, sort of see why.” Spike and Duke glanced at each other. “What aren’t you telling me?” I asked anxiously. Duke placed his hand on my shoulder, “She had texts on her phone addressing her as Princess. I think the Skulls paid her a visit.”
We needed to call church to discuss our next move. We decided to do this tomorrow morning so that I could stay the night here with Ink. Duke and Spike got ready to leave. “If you need anything, just give me a call.” Duke patted me on the back and they left closing the door quietly behind them. I stripped down to my boxers, folding my clothes neatly and hanging them over the back of the sofa. I took my knife and gun into the bedroom, once I had secured the apartment. Ink was in the same position as I’d left her earlier. I pulled back the duvet slowly and got into the cold bed behind her. I gently stroked her head, taking all of her hair away from her face. God this girl was beautiful.
I must have disturbed her because she rolled over slowly with a slight grimace on her face. Harlow opened her eyes and I saw something deep inside. I couldn’t make out if it was fear, anger or desire. “Diesel, why are you here?” She said in a whisper. “I’ve come to look after you babe and I’m never leaving your side again. You have to learn to trust me. I will never let anyone hurt you again.” She didn’t say a word, she just snuggled into me which made me feel whole. We laid there in comfortable silence when she looked at me and said “Thank you” before she fell back to sleep. I lay there listening to her heavy breathing and could feel the swell of my heart.
I woke early to find Ink wrapped around me, like she were holding on for dear life. I could get use to waking up to this every morning! I prised her off and got out of the bed as quietly as possible as I didn’t want to disturb her. I went into the kitchen, quietly making myself a cup of coffee. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I looked at the screen to see if I had any messages, nothing! I didn’t know how long I could wait until my rage would boil over. We needed to make some headway with the Skulls and fast. I dialled Amy’s number, “Can you get Chloe to cover you at the cafe today? I need you to look after Ink.” I could hear that I was on loud speaker. “One step ahead of you Ethan. Jimmy and I are on our way round to Harlow’s apartment now. Duke called me this morning.” I smiled from knowing the guys were looking out for Ink. She wasn’t my old lady yet but they were starting to see that I was serious about her. “Thanks Amy, I need to be at church as soon as possible.”
An hour later I was at church. Between Duke, Spike and myself we explained the situation regarding Ink to the Brothers and that we knew the Skulls had something to do with the attack. “We don’t want to go in all guns blazing but the Skulls have to pay for what they’ve done to Harlow. She seems to have a good relationship with Flex. He practically helped raise her when her mother died. I think we need to contact him and find out what he knows.” Duke looked around the room to see if there were any objections. “Diesel’s too close to the situation so I want Locke, Bear and Rex on it. Come to think of it, where is Locke?” The room went silent. “I couldn’t get hold of him again. I’ve left several messages.” CJ spoke with hesitation not wanting to get his mate in any more trouble. “For fuck’s sake, as if I haven’t got enough to deal with without one of you going AWOL!” Duke threw his glass across the room in rage. “Justice, you go with Rex and Bear. We need to know who is responsible and why? All in favour say ‘yeah’.” The gavel went down with all in favour of the plan.
Rex
Justice and Bear followed me to the Cross Keys cafe on the edge of town, where Diesel had told me he last saw Flex. There were several Harleys parked outside but that didn’t bother me or my Brothers. We went in to find four members of the Skulls sitting in a booth eating lunch. They clocked us as we entered and lifted their heads in acknowledgment. There was no animosity between the two clubs, they just believed and represented very different things to the Aces. We were on middle ground so I couldn’t see there being a problem with us all being under the same roof unless one of them stepped out of line. I noticed Flex with the group. I’d spoken to him before and he seemed reasonable. He’d been in the club for years and had probably seen the most changes out of any of them. I knew that he was close to Trigger
and Harlow so understood the importance of me catching up with him.
Flex was a smoker so when he’d finished his meal, I took myself outside in readiness for him. It didn’t take long for Flex to leave the cafe and spark up a fag. “Flex we haven’t got long, can I have a quick word?” I said eagerly looking around the car park. He inhaled his smoke and I could see that he was contemplating what I could possibly want. He blew out a puff of smoke in my direction, “And what do I owe this pleasure Rex?” I started to walk closer towards him, “That’s close enough, start talking before we’re spotted.” He said pulling on his fag again. “Harlow was attacked.” There the words were out. I saw the look of horror on his face as he threw the fag on the floor and came at me grabbing my cut. “Diesel said she’d be under your protection. She was always safe with us.” I could see his anger building. “What the fucks going on and why do you want to tell me this shit?” Flex was now speaking through gritted teeth and I could smell the tobacco on his breath. He was obviously trying to control his temper, so I quickly started to explain, trying to defuse the situation.
“We think the Skulls did it. Harlow was getting various texts that addressed her as Princess. She isn’t speaking but we need to find out who did it and fast. Diesel wants their heads.” I let him digest the information and he slowly let go of my cut. “Heads, as in plural. You think more than one person did this?” He was getting agitated, running his fingers through his long greying hair shaking his head.
“Her injuries revealed that there were at least two attackers. I take it from your reaction you know nothing about this?” He glared at me disgusted, like I had my cock hanging out. “Will you help us find out who did it?” He was silent, obviously torn between his loyalties for his club and Harlow. “Her dad asked me to look out for her, if anything happened to him. Of course I will help you but I need to be careful. You understand the repercussions.” He blew out a loud breath, “Leave it with me and I’ll contact Duke when I find out which fuckers hurt her.” I could see the love he had for Harlow as he almost looked pained. “Is she going to be okay?” He asked almost softly, tears springing in his eye. “Yeah, Doc said three to six weeks for her ribs to heal.”
Diesel (Aces MC Series Book 1) Page 5
