by Sam Crescent
Angel turned away from Lash. In all the years Whizz had known the couple, Lash had never said something like that in front of her before.
Whizz watched as Lash turned to Angel.
“What? I’m a little confused here,” he said.
“You can be so damn crude. There was no need to say something like that.” Angel’s face was scrunched up in disgust. “I don’t know who you’re turning into.” She shook her head. “There’s Lacey’s pancakes. You can fend for yourselves.”
She thrust a plate at Whizz, which he took, before fleeing the room.
“What the fuck did I do?” Lash asked.
The pancakes looked delicious. Seeing no pointing in helping Lash figure out his problem, Whizz took the pancakes upstairs to Lacey. Whizz had never seen Angel react like that before, least of all at Lash. She was sweetness, and she’d clearly seen a side to Lash she didn’t like.
****
Lacey listened to the rest of the clubhouse as it started to wake. She heard Murphy and Tate arguing about something across the hall. Murphy had finally got out of hospital even though he’d only suffered minimal damage from a gunshot to the shoulder. Their son Simon was repeating swear words as if they were a second nature to him. The tears had finally stopped, but Lacey couldn’t bring herself to get off the floor.
Keeping her face against the cold tile helped her to think.
“What are you going to do, Rose?”
She didn’t recognize the voice but knew it had to belong to Hardy. The information the Savage Brothers had gotten on The Skulls was accurate concerning all the people.
“I don’t want to talk about this. Please, leave it alone. There’s so much going on. We’ve not got time for this.”
Their voices faded. They were all talking loudly because of the hustle and bustle in the clubhouse. The silence in the room helped her to hear the rest of the club. This was something she’d never had with her own.
Wiping a hand down her face, she waited as silence took over. They were gone about their business. She couldn’t hear anything else that was going on downstairs.
Was this why Whizz liked being on this floor? He could hear everything?
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Lacey looked opposite her. The tiles were pristine, not a speck of dust in sight.
The sound of his bedroom door unlocking didn’t ease the tension that had built up inside her.
She stared at the doorway into the bathroom. Within seconds Whizz stood over her, staring at her.
“I brought you some food. Angel cooked it. She’s worried about you and asked how you were.”
Lacey didn’t even know the woman and yet Angel was concerned about her. It made no sense to her for another woman who was younger than she was to be worried.
“I’m not hungry.” Her stomach chose that moment to protest.
“You’re hungry.”
“I don’t want anything you’ve brought me.” You’re being petty, Lacey.
Whizz sighed. “I can’t trust any of the other women coming. Your threat this morning stops me. If something happens to Angel, Lash will kill you and castrate me.”
She looked up at him. “I wouldn’t hurt her.”
Lacey wouldn’t. She knew enough that Angel was the kind of woman you were friends with. Throughout the whole of her life, she hadn’t had a female friend. There was only ever Dalton.
“I don’t know that. You keep trying to hurt me, even if you don’t actually go through with it.”
“Angel’s innocent of everything. I wouldn’t harm her. It would be like hurting a puppy or kitten.” She wiped a hand down her face. Her head was aching from the tears.
“Why are you on the bathroom floor?”
“None of your business.”
He let out a breath. “You’re going to continue to be stubborn and a brat?”
She stared up at him, licking her suddenly dry lips. “I’m thirty years old, Whizz. The only friend I’ve ever had is dead.”
“Which one was your friend?” he asked, taking a seat on the toilet.
“You’re not going to mock me?”
“I’m asking you who was your friend? I’m interested to know about you.” His hands were gripped together in exactly the same way as Dalton’s had been while she’d been in the hospital.
Placing her hands on her chest, she stared up at Whizz. He looked sincere, and she didn’t want to fight him.
“Dalton. He was my best friend.”
“The big guy?”
“Yeah.” She started to smile. “He wasn’t always that big. I mean, he was tall, like really tall but never filled out. For a long time he looked like a good gust of wind would push him over.” She stopped talking as the pain hit her hard. “He’s dead.”
Whizz didn’t say anything. She saw his jaw tense at her words.
“He was the one who found me after it happened. After Gonzalez happened. I was a mess. He wouldn’t leave me behind. Dalton never left me behind even when I begged him to.”
“Was he in love with you?” Whizz asked.
She shook her head. “I think there was a time when he thought he was, but I never loved him like that. He was my brother and my best friend.”
Lacey knew Dalton had wanted more from her at one stage. She’d not long turned twenty-one, and his attention had become more intimate. He’d wanted to become hers, but she’d kept away from him. Lacey hadn’t wanted anything from him but friendship.
“He’s dead.”
“No one was left alive, Lacey.”
“It’s all my fault because I came back to you.”
“What?”
She stayed still as she stared at him. “I was selfish. I needed to see you one more time. If I’d not come to you, he’d still be alive.”
“No, he wouldn’t have been alive. The club was full of fucking idiots, Lacey. They were going to die if you came to me or not. It just so happened I got you out of there alive. Their deaths were not your fault.”
She didn’t believe him, but his words helped for some strange reason.
Rolling onto her front, she pressed her palm to the tile and started to get up. Whizz stood up with her. He was taller than she was, so she only came to his chest.
“I hate you,” she said.
“I know.”
She stared at his chest recalling the way he felt against her, not just that morning but the other times they’d been together. Not once had she thought about the club or Dalton. She’d been a woman.
“I need to get out of this room otherwise I’m going to lose my mind.”
“I can’t let you out. No one trusts you.”
“I’ve been locked up in this room. You need to take me to that house.” She stopped talking to grit her teeth. She looked away from him to glance past his shoulder. “I need to see what has happened to it. I need to have closure, Whizz. I need this to suddenly become real.”
“Why?”
“Because right now I keep expecting him to walk through that door and it’s never going to happen. He’s never going to come home.”
“Dalton?”
“Yes. He’s dead, and I need to know it’s over.” She fisted her hands at her sides. This was only going to upset her. There was no way anything good could come from her seeing the evidence of their death or the emptiness of what happened.
“There are no bodies, Lacey.”
She nodded. “Please, let me go and see. I’ll stay handcuffed to you if it’ll make you feel better. I need to see.”
Whizz stared at her for several seconds. Neither of them spoke or moved. Lacey didn’t know what else to say to make him see her point of view.
“I’ll go and talk to Tiny. Eat something or I swear I won’t take you anywhere.”
“I’ll eat,” she said.
He left, locking the door behind him. Whizz didn’t trust her, and she couldn’t blame him. She wouldn’t trust herself either. This club wasn’t just a place for men to get their rocks off.
The Skulls was a family to the core. Tiny united them all within Fort Wills. Would she ever become part of their dynamic? The whole setup seemed too good to be true.
Walking into the bedroom she saw the plate waiting for her.
She picked up the knife and fork. The pancakes were no longer warm. She didn’t mind. Lacey ate through the stack while watching the door.
Time passed. She didn’t know how much time had passed before Whizz opened the door.
“Tiny has agreed, but we’re taking Lash with us.”
“Why?”
“Tiny doesn’t trust you, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to me.” He carried a pile of clothing. “Angel gave me this.”
Finishing off the last pancake she took the clothes from Whizz, heading into the bedroom.
“Be warned, Lacey, you try anything and Lash has been ordered to kill.”
“That’s why Lash is coming? You couldn’t shoot me?”
“I’m not interested in killing you. I’ve never wanted to kill you. It’s why you’re alive today.”
She stared at the clothing in her hand then up at Whizz. “If it was left to the other men in the club, they’d have killed me?”
“You risked the club, Lacey. You’re a Savage Brother, and you should have died with the rest.”
Closing the door, Lacey knew it was because of Whizz that she was still living. Would the other brothers kill her?
Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she quickly stripped down. She needed to get out of the clubhouse and see the reality of her situation.
****
Angel tucked some hair behind her ear as she made her way toward the secluded warehouse where Gash had told her to meet him. She hated doing this behind Lash’s back, but this was the only way she could protect herself. He was going into town with Whizz and Lacey. She wished she could go with him, but he’d told her no. Lash didn’t want her anywhere near Lacey while she was so unpredictable.
Angel loved him with her whole heart, and the only reason she was doing this was for him. If she’d not married him, fallen for him, she wouldn’t need to worry about the future. She wanted more children and to be a real part of the club. There was no way she could do that while being at the mercy of every crazed enemy that rolled through town. She was tired of being afraid of the unknown.
Rubbing her hands together she stood waiting.
“You came?” Gash asked, rounding the corner. He was smoking as he moved toward her.
“I was serious about this. I want to be able to fight and look after myself. The only way I can do that is by getting someone to teach me. Prison wouldn’t have been a comfort.”
He tilted his head to the side, staring at her.
“What happened this morning bothered you. Raven is nothing but a whore to be used, and you couldn’t stand for the bitch to be put in her place.”
“Lash was being crude. He can’t step in for me.”
“Those bitches will walk all over you. You never hear them saying shit to Eva. Lash protects you because you’re too fucking sweet for your own good. What are you going to do when Lash finds out?”
“If Lash finds out what we’re doing, I’ll handle it. He shouldn’t be angry. I’m doing this for him.” She placed her hands on her hips, waiting for his comeback.
“Is that right?”
“Tiny wants him to step up as club president when the time comes. I’m going to need to fill Eva’s shoes. I can’t do that while being afraid. I’ve got a place to earn within the club.”
He took several steps toward her. She backed up, terrified.
Gash was taller than she was, stronger. He could hurt her, and no one would have a clue where she was.
Tears sprang to her eyes at the predicament she’d put herself in. Suddenly he stopped moving.
“Shit, you’re that scared?”
She shook her head, but she couldn’t stop the shaking. “I’m not scared.”
“You’re shaking, Angel. I’m not the enemy, but you’re scared.”
“Lash has told me you’re unpredictable and that a woman put you in prison for lies.”
“He tells you a fucking lot.”
Angel swallowed. This was a big mistake, and she said as much.
“Look, I’m not going to hurt you. You were not the bitch who cried rape and murder, okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I happen to like you.”
She looked up at him. “I won’t sleep with you.”
“Okay, it’s a pretty big leap from helping you to fight to sleeping with you.”
“When I asked for your help you thought I wanted to sleep with you. I don’t. I’ve seen the way you’ve gone through the sweet-butts, and I’ve heard the talk.”
He placed a hand over her mouth. “We’re totally getting off the wrong foot here. For once, Angel, I respect a woman. I’ve never respected a woman in my life. All of them have a purpose, whether it be as a hole or as a mother. I don’t give a shit about them. You, Angel, you’re the first woman I respect. I see that you love Lash. You’re only wanting this to help him.”
She nodded. “I don’t want to disappoint him, but I’m tired of being scared. He finds excuses all the time. I can’t protect Anthony when he’s not there. Lash, I love him and I know he loves me, and I know doing this will hurt him, but I also know I can’t do anything else. I can’t have Lash worrying about me all the time, which is exactly what he’ll do. I need him to be able to trust in me like Tiny does Eva.”
“I’m going to help. Come on.”
Angel followed Gash inside the warehouse. This was not about going behind Lash’s back even though she was having to. All she wanted to do was go and hide. Her love for Lash was absolute, and she wouldn’t go back on him. They were a couple and would fight the world together. She hoped when he found out the truth, he saw that she was doing this for him.
Chapter Two
Alex left the clubhouse and headed toward the house he’d bought outside of Fort Wills set back by a small forest. It looked like an old ranch house in the middle of nowhere, but he liked it.
Several months ago he’d hired a young black woman by the name of Sunshine. From the moment he saw her, he knew he couldn’t be alone with her. She set his fire burning, and they’d only spoken for two minutes. He’d hired her to take care of his home and to cook. If he was honest with himself he’d hired her so that he wouldn’t be lonely. His parents were dead, as was his sister. Besides Tiny and The Skulls, he was alone, completely alone. He had a son that hated him, and Cheryl despised him. There were so many mistakes he’d made in his life, and he was scared. He’d also hired Sunshine as a favor to her parents. There was another element to the deal, but he’d yet to take Sunshine as his own.
Running a hand down his face he parked up the car. His bike was in the garage at the compound. Devil was right about many things. Alex hadn’t been part of the club, not really. He knew how to ride a bike, but for so long he’d been hidden behind a desk not having the first clue what to do with the club. It was good Tiny had decided to hand the gavel over to Lash.
Lash was loyal to the club, through and through. Angel had it within her to be a good old lady as well providing she was prepared for the sacrifices ahead of her.
Climbing out of his car, his cell phone went off. Checking the caller he saw it was Tiny on the line.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Nash stopped by and said you left the clubhouse. Is everything okay?”
This was the first time he’d left the clubhouse in over six months. His room had been lived in more than this house he was staring at. With five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen diner, it was a dream home for a family, but for Alex, it was too big. This house reminded him of everything he didn’t have. He didn’t have a family, and all he did was invade Tiny’s. Eva and the kids had nothing to do with him, not really. They weren’t related in any way. Tate was his niece and Tiny his friend.
Stop with the moping. This is what you get for
the way you live.
He didn’t give women a chance or care what they wanted from him. All he ever cared about was work and getting shit done. His sister had warned him that he’d be alone. Alex hadn’t cared. There was no woman out there for him.
Flicking his keys in front of him he walked up to the front steps of his house.
“Mr. Allen?” Sunshine opened the door. She was wiping her hands on a towel as she looked at him.
For once he didn’t know what to say and simply stared at the beauty in front of him. She was a local in town. Her parents owned the local bakery that had been open the past ten years. Sunshine had been the first and only woman to apply for the position of a live-in housekeeper for him. She probably had it better than most people seeing as he never came home. Finding out that the bakery was in need of some money, he’d struck a deal with her parents. All he had to do was wait for Sunshine to come into his life. Since she’d taken on the role of his housekeeper, Alex hadn’t been able to come home. He didn’t want her hurt or put in any kind of danger.
“Hello, Sunshine. The name’s Alex. Please use it.” He brushed past her aware of the small connection they had between their bodies. For a split second he closed his eyes, relishing that small contact. The sweet-butts within the club used to be able to take care of his needs whereas now, they no longer did anything for him. He was tired of the constant need to connect with someone, the yearning that built in the pit of his stomach whenever he saw one of The Skulls couples.
The scent of her cooking met his nostrils, and his stomach growled. It was only lunch time, and yet she already was cooking.
He spun around to see her facing him. She held onto that towel with a death grip.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
Alex watched her gaze land on the floor between them. She was so skittish around him, always had been. Not that he could blame her. He was a monster to the core.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. I won’t hurt you. What’s going on?” he asked. He was confused by her obvious fear. Yes, during her interview she’d been skittish, but this was outright fear.
