Batta: Blackwings MC - Devil Springs - Book Four

by Brooks, Teagan

  I cautiously peered inside like I was looking into a portal to Hell. “What’s in there?”

  “That’s my room. You can use my shower.” When I hesitated, he added, “Shit or get off the pot, woman.”

  “If you even think about fucking with me, I will repay the favor in ways you can’t even imagine,” I warned.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly exhaled. “I’m tired. Go shower so I can go to sleep.”

  I started to ask how he was going to babysit us while he was sleeping, but thought better of it and kept my mouth shut. I don’t know what I was expecting his bathroom to be like, but it certainly wasn’t the meticulously clean room I walked into.

  I turned the faucet on and then started to casually snoop while the water was heating up. Peeking into the cabinet beneath the sink, I almost fell on my ass when my eyes landed on a box of adult diapers. I couldn’t resist. Pulling one from the box, I went back to the hall and held it up in front of Batta’s face. “Are you the baby or the daddy?”

  He snatched it from my hand and rose to his feet. “I can assure you, sugar tits, I’m the one that does the spanking. Now, mind your fucking business and get in the shower before I take back my kind offer.”

  I grinned and turned to go back to the bathroom. “Whatever you say, Baby Batta,” I called over my shoulder just before I closed and locked the door. He growled in frustration but made no attempt to open the door.

  I took my time in the shower letting the hot water wash away my shitty day and ease my sore muscles. By the time the water ran cold, I was ready to crawl into the nearest bed and fall asleep.

  When I entered the room, my biker babysitter was sitting on the end of his bed seemingly waiting for me. “Thanks for letting me use your shower,” I said and headed for the door.

  He snagged the waistband of my yoga pants. “Not so fast. You’re sleeping in here.”

  “Not happening. I need to be with my sister.”

  “Your sister is fine. She’s asleep and her door is locked. I trust she’s not going anywhere. You, on the other hand, will probably try to sneak out the first chance you get, and I need to sleep. So, unless you want me to restrain you while I sleep, you’ll climb your ass in my bed and lay down.”

  * * *

  I rushed down the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks. My sister and her husband were lying motionless on the floor as a pool of blood formed around them. Sheldon’s injury was obvious, but I couldn’t immediately see where Josie was hurt.

  “Nooooooo!” I screamed. “No! Oh, please, no! Josie! I need help! Fuck! Somebody help me!” I wailed while I frantically tried to search my sister’s body for a wound.

  Large hands landed on my shoulders and tried to pull me away. “Let me help her,” Dave said softly. “Go upstairs, Tatum. You don’t need to see this.”

  “I’m not leaving her,” I cried.

  “That girl up there needs a woman to help her. Go!”

  I twisted and shoved him away as hard as I could. “I’m not leaving her,” I cried and didn’t bother to wipe away the tears clouding my vision.

  “I’m not leaving her! I’m not leaving her! I’m not leaving her!”

  I startled awake when someone shouted, “Tatum!” My eyes popped open, and I tried to sit up, but my wrists were held tightly in someone’s grasp. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. “You were having a nightmare, and beating the shit out of me,” he said and slowly released his grip.

  I rubbed a hand over my face and quickly took in my surroundings. “Fucking hell. I was hoping the part about me being in your bed was part of the nightmare.”

  He sighed in exasperation. “It wasn’t. Now be quiet and go back to sleep.”

  As much as I wanted to argue with him, I was exhausted, warm, and comfortable. There was no way I was getting out of his bed just to prove a point. Instead, I settled for rolling over on my side.

  His big arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against his chest. In some sort of practiced man maneuver, he turned me back to face him and wrapped his other arm around me. “Just go to sleep. I promise I won’t tell anyone Queen Badass likes to snuggle.”

  I did like to snuggle, and much to my chagrin, I was thoroughly enjoying snuggling his warm, muscular chest. Before long, my eyes closed and I may or may not have mumbled, “You smell good,” before I fell asleep.

  * * *

  The next time I woke, I was on the sofa in the room with Josie. “What the?” I muttered to myself. Had it all been a dream?

  “Batta brought you in here a few hours ago,” she snickered. “He didn’t know I was awake, but I saw him gently place you on the sofa and cover you with a blanket. He even smoothed your hair away from your face.”

  I held my hand out. “Stop talking.”

  “You know, you could try being nice to him,” she suggested.

  “I was nice to him. He’s the one who started this.”

  “Was he? Are you sure about that?”

  “I’m pretty sure. It doesn’t really matter, anyway.”

  “If it doesn’t matter, try being nice. Momma always said you could catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

  “I’m not trying to catch him, Josie.”

  She sighed. “You know what I mean. Being friendly might make our stay here a little more pleasant.” She paused and cocked her head to the side. “Unless you’re enjoying this weird, angry sexual tension the two of you have going on.”

  I scoffed. “Well played, Josie.”

  Fucking great. One more thing to add to the list of shit I did not want to do. Being nice to the asshole biker was up near the top with driving a minivan.

  11

  I sat at a table in the corner of the common room and watched as Tatum and Josie quietly ate breakfast. They didn’t look anything alike. Tatum was average height with an athletic build. She had dark, brown hair and amber eyes —similar to the color of whiskey or warm honey. Josie was the polar opposite with light blonde hair, pale skin, and light-colored eyes. She was also several inches shorter than Tatum and was potentially underweight. Maybe they had different fathers, or perhaps different mothers. Maybe they were adopted.

  I shook my head and laughed to myself. What in the hell was I doing? It didn’t matter what they looked like or what their blood relation was. My only concern was to make sure they stayed at the clubhouse and stayed out of trouble. I didn’t need any of their personal details to do that.

  Tatum walked over to my table and shoved her hands into her pockets. “So, what’s there to do around this place? I’m not used to having a lot of idle time.”

  “You can throw darts or play pool. I’m sure there’re some DVDs around here somewhere. One of the Old Ladies probably has some books around here, too. That’s about it,” I said and watched her face crumble.

  “It’s going to be a hell of a long day,” she sighed and walked back over to Josie. “We’ll be in our cell, I mean bedroom.”

  It wasn’t like it was going to be a walk in the park for me either. They couldn’t leave the clubhouse, which meant I couldn’t leave. It sucked, but it was what it was.

  “Mind if I join you?” Leigh asked as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

  “What if I’d said I did mind?”

  “It would’ve been the wrong answer,” she replied and took a sip of her coffee. Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands in front of her and met my eyes. “Talk to me, Trey.”

  I foolishly attempted to act like I didn’t know what she meant. “Talk to you about what?”

  She arched one eyebrow and stared at me with the “Mom face.” I only lasted a minute, maybe two, under her scrutiny before I caved.

  “I don’t know what my problem is,” I admitted quietly.

  She reached across the table and placed her hand over mine. “Come with me.”

  “I can’t leave the clubhouse, because I have to keep an eye on Tatum and Josie.”

  She picked up her phone and started typing
what I assumed was a text message to someone. After a few exchanges, she said, “Copper’s going to have Coal and Grant watch over the girls until we get back.”

  Reluctantly, I got to my feet. I had a feeling I knew where we were going.

  When we arrived at the cemetery, I assumed Leigh would go talk to her late husband, Jonas, while I went to visit my mother. We’d been to the cemetery together several times over the years, and that’s how we’d always done it. However, Leigh walked over to the bench near Mom’s grave and took a seat. She looked at me expectantly and patted the bench.

  When I sat down beside her, she reached over and took my hand in hers. “Your mother was one of my best friends. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her. Years ago, maybe when you were five or so, she made me promise to be a mother to you if anything ever happened to her. Hell, me, Goldie, and your mom all promised to be there for each other’s kids. Now, I’ve always loved you like you were my own son, you know that, but I’ve never felt the need to step in like a mother would, until now. Whatever it is, tell me, and I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

  I pulled my hand from hers and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. Exhaling slowly, I tried to put my feelings into words. “The day I was shot, and Bronze was stabbed, I was at the gym throwing punches at a bag because Kennedy had ended our relationship earlier that day. I’m not upset about that. We’d been friends masquerading as a couple for months. But, I wasn’t happy about having to find someone new and start over from scratch. That takes time, and it’s even harder for a man like me. I thought I would’ve been married with a couple of kids by now. I was so caught up having a pity party for myself that I didn’t realize someone was in the gym until it was too late.”

  Leigh turned to me and pulled me in for a fierce hug. “Oh, Trey, you feel guilty,” she said as realization dawned. “You have nothing to feel guilty about. I hate to say it, but you getting shot is what saved the both of you. Tatum heard the gunshots and came running.”

  “I’ve never been so scared, Leigh. The last thing I remember seeing was Bronze gasping for breath as he choked on the blood coming out of his mouth. And all I could think was, ‘We’re too young to die. I want more from this life.’”

  “You didn’t die. You both survived, and you both have a chance to fulfill your dreams.”

  “I can’t move forward with anything until I know who was responsible for trying to kill us and why. And now we have two women who are involved in a world of shit we have to help protect. We have no idea what kind of danger they could be bringing to our door.” I swallowed thickly and whispered, “It’s just like what happened with Mom.”

  Leigh sat back and gave me a stern look. “It’s not the same,” she stated and paused for a moment. “Did it occur to you that maybe your path crossed with theirs for a reason?”

  “What reason would that be?”

  Leigh grinned knowingly. “Tatum is your game changer.”

  I shook my head. “No way. She dislikes me just as much, if not more, than I dislike her.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, that’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.” She paused and continued to laugh. “Tell me something, Trey. Do you find her attractive?”

  “You’ve seen her. What man wouldn’t find her attractive?”

  “I’m sure a lot of men would be drawn to her physical beauty, but Tatum is a strong, independent woman. She can take care of herself and doesn’t need a man to protect her. A lot of men can’t handle that. You, on the other hand, were raised around strong women. And, to be perfectly honest, I think Tatum is just the kind of woman you need.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Of course,” she replied immediately.

  “You been drinking this morning?”

  She laughed and playfully slapped my chest. “Oh, stop. I just want you to be happy. And, grandbabies. I want some damn grandbabies.”

  “You’ll have to talk to Judge and River about that,” I told her.

  “Oh, I have, but I want grandbabies from you, Copper, and Bronze, too. Consider this my formal request.”

  I laughed. “Noted.”

  “Good. Now go visit with your mother so we can get back to the clubhouse, and you can make nice with Tatum and Josie.”

  I didn’t want to “make nice” with Tatum. The more I thought about it, the less appealing it was. The woman was under my skin in a way no one had ever been. She was hot as hell, and she’d even made me laugh a time or two, but she was dangerous in a way that wasn’t welcome. One way or another, she had to go.

  12

  We’d been holed up in our little room for several hours after breakfast when I’d had enough. I pulled out my phone and called Luke. “Listen, man, if you want us to stay here with the bikers, we’re going to need some stuff from the house.”

  “Like what?” he asked, sounding annoyed with my very simple request.

  “Like clothes, shoes, my laptop, tampons, my glitter nail polish, my bikini wax kit, my—”

  “Stop talking.”

  “Oh, and Mr. Piggles!” I exclaimed.

  “Who is Mr. Piggles?”

  “He’s the stuffed pig I’ve slept with since Santa gave him to me for my very first Christmas. I barely slept a wink last night without the familiar comfort of him in my arms,” I exaggerated. I did have a stuffed pig that traveled with me everywhere I went, but I’d stopped sleeping with him years ago.

  “Damn it, Tatum,” he cursed, but I remained silent and waited for him to cave. It didn’t take long. “Fine, make a list of the shit you need, and I’ll get someone to go over and get your stuff.”

  “Oh, thank you, my dear friend. You’re the best,” I chirped.

  “Fuck off, brat.”

  “Speaking of fucking off, Josie, add vibrator and extra batteries to the list.”

  “Fucking hell,” Luke grumbled and disconnected the call.

  “Why do you irritate him like that?” Josie giggled.

  “Why not? I have to have some form of entertainment while we’re stuck here. Otherwise, I’ll get myself into trouble.” I had always been good at adapting to different situations and finding ways to make the best of it. If making people uncomfortable was a part of it, that was their problem, not mine.

  After making a list of the things we needed, and several items we didn’t need, Josie went to take a shower while I tried to find something on television to watch. I’d just selected a movie called Teeth about a teenage girl with vaginal dentata when a blood-curdling scream came from the bathroom. I burst through the door with my gun drawn to find Josie standing on top of the toilet frantically pointing at the bathtub.

  I turned with my gun aimed and ready to take out the threat, but nothing was there. “What the hell, Josie? I thought someone was trying to kill you,” I fumed as I holstered my gun.

  “D-d-down th-there,” she pointed shakily.

  I looked down to see a snake chilling in the bathtub. Sighing, I reached down to pick it up. “It’s okay. This is a harmless ball python. I’m guessing it probably belongs to one of the bikers.”

  “It does,” Batta said from behind me. I’d caught a glimpse of him coming into the room when Josie screamed, but hadn’t acknowledged him. “They both have a history of being escape artists.”

  “There’s another one?” Josie almost shrieked.

  “Yes, there’s two. Slither and Squeeze belong to Copper and Bronze.”

  “Where is the other one?” Josie whispered.

  Batta shrugged. “Not sure. They have a couple of favorite hiding places around here.”

  “I’m going to lock the door and stay in here until the other one is found,” Josie declared.

  “I’ll help them look for it and let you know when it’s safe to come out,” I assured her.

  I heard the lock click when Josie closed the door, but I didn’t hear the water start. She was probably too freaked out to even consider getting in the shower.

 
; “You’re not scared of snakes?” Batta asked, sounding surprised.

  “Why would I be scared of something that can’t hurt me? This one is harmless, and I stay away from the ones that aren’t,” I explained.

  “You’re probably the first woman in years who’s not been afraid of Slither and Squeeze. Most have the reaction Josie did.”

  “I thought you would’ve already figured out that I’m not like most women. Now, let’s go find this one’s friend so my sister can come out of the bathroom. Where should we look?”

  Batta grimaced. “Honestly, they usually don’t stray too far from each other when they get out. Slither’s probably in here somewhere—under the bed, under the couch, under the covers.”

  “I don’t care where we find it; we’re telling Josie it was somewhere not in here,” I whisper-yelled.

  “Understood.”

  “What in the hell are you watching?”

  I looked up to see the main character in stirrups at the gynecologist’s office. “It’s called Teeth. That girl has a man-eating vagina.” On the screen, the doctor screamed and held up his arm, which was nothing but a bloody stump. “See. She bit him.”

  The look of horror on his face was hysterical. “Who in the hell came up with something like that?”

  I doubled over laughing. “It’s based on an old wives’ Tale women used to tell to discourage their sons, or husbands, from having sex with unknown women. It was also used to discourage rape.”

  “You mind pausing that while we find the snake?”

  “That’s what she said.” After laughing my ass off and pausing the movie, I draped Squeeze around my neck and proceeded to systematically search the room with Batta. It took us almost twenty minutes, but we finally found Slither curled up behind the DVDs on a shelf below the television. I didn’t announce my discovery because I didn’t want Josie to hear it, so I quietly scooped the snake into my hands. Immediately, he started to wind himself around my arm. Turning, I held my arm out and whispered. “Found him.”