‘Get her up off the floor.’ Coby directed that at Kip. ‘Luca, Red – deal with this piece of shit.’ He gave Lennie’s body a swift kick in the ribs, not missing the fact Mia seemed to have had a go at him first. Even dead men bruised, to a point.
‘Jesus, Mia…’ Kip sighed, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet. ‘What the hell happened?’
‘I thought this scumbag bastard was supposed to be dead?’ Coby looked over at Charlie, who was leaning against the counter, his head in his hands.
‘So did I.’ Charlie pushed both hands through his hair, the sigh that followed long and heavy, nerves and confusion taking a firm hold now. He hadn’t had any control over this situation at all. Someone else had. And he didn’t know who, had no idea who was in this with Lennie, because someone was. He was almost certain of that. He just knew that Mia could have been killed. And that was something that scared him more than anything. ‘I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, Coby.’
‘You need to get back to the compound and speak to Bear. You need to find out what the hell is happening here, because if this has repercussions…’
‘I’ll talk to him, okay?’
Coby held Charlie’s gaze, making sure he got the message. ‘You do that.’ He turned his attention to Mia, who was still trying to pull herself together as disjointed pieces of the night moved in and out of place, confusing her more and more. ‘You okay, darlin’?’
She looked at him, slowly shaking her head.
‘Get her a drink,’ Coby instructed, to no one in particular.
Mia was vaguely aware of Luca and Red dragging Lennie’s body into the garage. She knew there was a door that led down to the basement from there, and she suspected that’s where they were taking him. To do what, she didn’t even want to think about.
‘We’ll sort this, kid.’ Coby’s voice was soft and kind, and she looked up as he handed her a tumbler of what she assumed was some of the bourbon Lennie had left on the counter. ‘The boys, they’ll clean all this up, don’t you worry about that.’
She took a sip of the bourbon, grateful for the alcohol hit. It was pulling her slowly back to reality, even if it was a reality that terrified her. What she’d just done terrified her; that she was capable of that. ‘What about Lennie?’ She took another sip of her drink. Another hit. Another step closer to feeling something other than numb.
‘That’s something else you don’t need to worry about. He’s gone, darlin’. For real this time.’
She looked from Coby to Charlie, her eyes lingering on a man she’d always looked upon as a second dad. Which was why the shock of finding out he was her real one had hit so hard.
‘Sweetheart, I am so sorry,’ Charlie whispered, and Mia could clearly see the pain etched on his face. The regret.
‘It was nobody’s fault,’ she said, her voice little more than a whisper itself. ‘He was out of control.’
‘I could have done so much more…’
‘All right,’ Coby sighed, looking around at the carnage that surrounded them. ‘Now’s neither the time nor the place to play the blame game. You okay to go back to the compound, Mia?’
She looked at Coby again, relieved to have someone there who could sort this. Because she didn’t know what the hell she was supposed to do now. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.’
‘Good. Okay. Kip, make a start in here, then go down and help the others. Make sure this is dealt with. Tonight. All right?’ He placed a hand on Kip’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ‘You know what to do.’
Kip nodded, reluctantly letting go of Mia, who stared blankly after him as he started opening cupboards, looking for cleaning equipment.
‘There’s… there’s bleach and disinfectant and… and cloths in… They’re all in that cupboard beside the fridge,’ she said, downing the last of the bourbon, even though she didn’t really want it, coughing slightly as it stung the back of her throat.
‘He’ll find them, kid. Come on. We’ll get you back to the compound.’ He held out his hand and Mia took it, the relief flooding through her as his fingers closed around hers. ‘It’s gonna be okay, darlin’,’ Coby said quietly, leaning into her as they headed out into the hall. ‘I promise.’
She looked at him, and she believed him. Every word he said, she believed him.
‘Mia?’
She swung around to look at Charlie.
‘I really am sorry. For everything.’
‘I’ve told you. There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s done now. It’s over.’
‘Not here, Charlie,’ Coby warned, pulling Mia towards the front door. ‘Let’s just get back to the compound, all right?’
Charlie nodded, looking back at Kip who was filling a bucket with hot water, the smell of bleach now filling the air, mingling with the odour of fresh blood, which made for a stomach-turning combination. But he’d seen worse. ‘Straight back to the compound when you’re all done, Kip.’
Kip turned to give his father a faint smile of acknowledgement.
‘We ready?’ Coby asked, giving Mia’s hand a small squeeze. ‘Okay. Let’s get her out of here.’
***
‘Where’s Coby?’ Shane asked Lexi, sitting down beside her as she handed Ozzie a piece of tomato.
‘He’s gone out.’
‘Where?’ Shane hadn’t meant that to come out quite as bluntly as it had done and he could’ve bitten off his own tongue for letting that tone take over. So the look on Lexi’s face didn’t come as a surprise.
‘If he didn’t tell you, Shane, then he probably thought you didn’t really need to know.’
‘I’m his V.P., Lexi. I thought he was supposed to tell me everything.’
Lexi turned her attention back to Ozzie, watching as he nibbled on the tomato, still trying to suss out whether or not he was a fan. ‘Then it mustn’t have been all that important.’
Shane felt an unwelcome frustration start to take hold. His carefully planned out night wasn’t going quite the way he’d envisaged, and that bothered him. Lennie still wasn’t picking up his phone, and now Coby had disappeared. It was all turning to shit right before his eyes. His perfect chance. His one opportunity. ‘Any idea when he’s coming back?’
Lexi looked up as the club’s pick-up truck pulled into the compound, Kel and Jesse shutting the tall metal gate behind it the second it was through. ‘There he is.’ She jerked her head in the direction of the truck as it parked up outside the garage. ‘But just give him a minute, Shane. Okay?’
Shane narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Jesus, she was beautiful. He’d never realized how beautiful, until it was too late. He’d realized a lot of things too late – like the way she’d made him feel alive after years of feeling nothing at all except anger and bitterness. The way she’d always let him talk, when nobody else would listen. She got him. She understood him. And he hadn’t fought hard enough to keep her. She’d told him she’d never really loved him, but he knew that could change. Nothing was impossible. ‘Do you know where he’s been?’
Lexi’s eyes were back on the truck as Charlie helped Mia down. She was wearing Charlie’s old leather jacket, but even from where she was sitting Lexi could see the blood on her jeans. The fear on her face.
Shane’s gaze followed Lexi’s, and he felt his blood run cold as he looked at Mia. ‘What the fuck’s happened?’ His voice was quiet, and tinged with just a hint of nervous apprehension.
‘I don’t know.’ Lexi held Ozzie close, gently rubbing his back as Charlie and Mia disappeared into the clubhouse. The fact Kip, Luca and Red hadn’t come back with them told her the worst had quite obviously happened; that a major clean-up was necessary. And she tried to batter down the sick feeling in her stomach.
‘Jesus, Lexi…’ Shane felt panic start to take a stronger grip now. He had to think fast, if he was still going to pull this off.
‘Coby?’ Lexi looked up as Coby approached, his face stoic. Almost expressionless. ‘Is she…?’
‘She’s gon
na be fine,’ Coby replied, leaning over to take Ozzie from her, kissing his baby son’s forehead before he hugged him tight. ‘We’re sorting it.’
‘Sorting what?’ Shane asked, more than a touch angry that he’d been left out of whatever shit had gone down. And he had a pretty good idea what that shit had been.
Coby looked straight at him, before his expression turned almost apologetic. ‘Look, brother, you weren’t around when it all kicked off, and we didn’t have time to… We needed to get out of here, fast. It was Lennie.’
The ice-cold blood in Shane’s veins ran even colder. ‘I thought he was dead.’
‘We all did,’ Coby sighed, rubbing Ozzie’s back as he lay against his shoulder. ‘But it looks like something’s been going on we weren’t aware of. You seen Bear?’
Shane knew exactly where Bear was, but he wasn’t going to give anything away. Not when he knew he needed him now. Bear had just become his back-up plan. So no way was he handing him over to Coby for some kind of lengthy interrogation. Bear was a man who knew too much, and right now, that knowledge was something Shane didn’t want him sharing. ‘Not recently, no. Want me to go see if I can find him?’
Coby nodded, giving his son another kiss. ‘You still want that word?’
Shane looked at his President. He seemed tired. Drained. Distracted. The perfect combination. All of a sudden things were starting to fall back into place. So Lennie had finally met his maker – so what? He’d had it coming. And it seemed fitting his old lady should have been the one to carry out his endgame. ‘It can wait, boss, if you’re too tired…’
‘Just come get me when you need me, Shane. I could do with the distraction.’
‘Okay. Right, well, I’ll go see if I can find our friendly Englishman.’
Shane headed off around the back of the clubhouse, where he knew Bear and the other Newcastle Lone Riders were having their own private party – smoking some weed, indulging in a line or two of coke. He’d told them where to find it, where the best “pharmacies” were, and he’d also told them where the best place to enjoy it was, away from the kids and the prying eyes. Discretion was everything.
‘You finished?’ he asked, finding the three of them huddled by the trash cans, the smell of cannabis hanging heavy in the air.
They all looked at him, but he didn’t have time for a long discussion. He needed to speak to Bear, alone. ‘What business of that is yours?’ Miller sneered, taking a draw on a fat-rolled joint.
‘I need to speak to the big man,’ Shane said, holding back the urge to take a swing at Miller. He’d never really taken to him when he’d been over in Newcastle. Call it a clash of personalities. And he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to Shane during this visit to Paradise. ‘On his own.’
‘We’re not done yet,’ Miller continued, handing the joint to Geordie.
Shane had had enough now. He didn’t have time for this shit. Leaning over he took the joint from Geordie’s hand and gave it to Bear, fixing the other two with a look that said he was in no mood for talking. ‘You’re on my turf now, understand? So if I tell you to get out of here, you get out of here. You got that?’
Geordie and Miller looked at each other, then back at Shane, both of them too stoned to argue. They just shrugged and walked away.
‘What the fuck’s going on?’ Bear took advantage of the joint in his hand, bringing it up to his mouth, but Shane quickly knocked it from his grasp, watching as it fell to the floor, straight into a puddle by Bear’s feet. ‘Jesus, Shane! We paid good money for that grass.’
‘Lennie’s dead.’
Bear frowned. ‘Yeah. I know he is. Well, I know he’s supposed to be…’
‘No. He really is dead this time.’
Bear’s frown deepened. ‘I don’t understand…’
‘He hasn’t been answering my calls all night, and now I know why. He was at Mia’s, obviously waiting for her to come home, no regard for the fact he was supposed to be here, helping me out…’ He stopped talking, realizing he was rambling; voicing his thoughts instead of sorting out what needed to be done now Lennie was gone. ‘For some reason Mia turned up early – at home. He must’ve been there. Waiting for her. And I don’t know exactly what happened, but she’s just turned up back at the compound with Coby and Charlie, covered in blood and looking like a woman who’s had one hell of a shock… Coby might not have said the words out loud, but, it looks like it was Mia who did for him.’
‘Shit!’ Bear exclaimed. And then a wave of panic shot across his face as he realized how all of this could implicate him. ‘Shit! They’re gonna want to talk to me, aren’t they? What the fuck do I tell them?’
‘We’ll work all that out later. But right now, you’re taking Lennie’s place.’
Bear’s frown returned. ‘Huh?’
‘In a few minutes I’ll be making sure Coby is safely inside the clubhouse, alone…’
‘No, Shane. No. I’m having no part in any of this. I know you want Coby dead… Jesus! You’re gonna do this tonight?’
‘Right now, brother. And this is what I need you to do. I need you to wait here, by that door over there, the back door into the clubhouse, until I come get you. There’s a bag, hidden behind that blue skip, and inside that bag is a Molotov cocktail. Just the one, so I need you to be real careful with it, do you hear me? I need you to take it out of the bag and put it in your pocket, then you wait until I come outside. And when I do, you’re gonna go into the clubhouse, and you’re gonna light that gasoline soaked rag and you’re gonna throw that bottle inside the meeting room before you attempt to make your own escape, back the way you came. So I sure hope you ain’t too stoned to run fast.’
Bear shook his head, backing away from Shane. ‘You’re frigging crazy, man. You’re off your fucking head. This is wrong, it’s unnecessary and… I’m not doing it, Shane. I’m not putting my own fucking life at risk because you’ve got some twisted idea about seeing Coby Walker dead…’
‘Oh, you’re doing it. ‘Cause I got serious shit on you, remember? One phone call and I’ve started a nice little war for you all to go back home to.’
‘Blackmail isn’t gonna work this time. So, yeah, I’m calling your bluff...’
Shane had the gun in his hand before Bear could even register what was going on. ‘You wanna mess with me? Game on, brother.’
‘You’re not gonna fire a shot, not with kids out there.’
‘I’m about to burn the President of this club to death while his son’s outside, sleeping in his beautiful momma’s arms.’
‘Jesus Christ…! You’re really doing this because you’ve got some insane obsession with Lexi?’
‘I’m tired of Coby taking everything I want. Everything I love. I did so much for him with little payback…’
‘He kept you safe when every brother here was gunning for you…’
‘Wrongly gunning for me, remember? It wasn’t me Lexi was really fucking behind Jesse’s back, was it? It was him. It was Coby Walker. I was nothing but a diversion, someone they used to deflect the blame, keep him safe…’
‘They didn’t force you to do what you did, Shane. They asked you, you accepted…’
‘I did it for Lexi.’
Bear slowly shook his head. ‘Jesus, Shane… Look, this is crazy, man. This isn’t gonna happen…’
‘Oh, it is. This is gonna happen. And I’ll tell you why it’s gonna happen, Bear. I know where your old lady lives. I know where your kids go to school. And just because I’m in a different country to them now doesn’t mean I don’t know people who could help me out that side of the pond. I made connections when I was over in England. Useful connections. Connections I knew I could turn to, should I ever need to.’
Bear’s eyes narrowed. ‘How long you been planning this shit?’
‘Well, it ain’t no spur of the moment thing, let’s put it that way.’
Bear took a step forward, a brave thing to do considering he had a gun pointed at him. ‘You touch my family, you sick
, twisted…’
‘I won’t have to, brother. As long as you do what I need you to do. Because I don’t want to hurt your kids. And I’d hate to see something bad happen to your wife.’
‘You fucking low-life bastard!’ Bear spat. ‘You worthless pile of shit.’
Shane laughed, tucking the gun back in his pocket. ‘I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?’
‘When this is over I am gonna hunt you down and make you pay for this.’
‘Pay for what, brother? Hey, I ain’t done nothing to you or yours.’
‘I’ll make sure everyone knows what an evil piece of crap you really are.’
‘And I can’t stop you doing that.’
‘You think Lexi’s gonna want to come anywhere near you when she finds out what you’ve done?’
Shane stepped forward, invading the bigger man’s space. ‘You try it. You even think about it, and that threat I just made regarding your family, that becomes real. So if I were you I’d do as you’re told, and if you manage to get out of there alive just be grateful for that. Because if you try and come for me, you won’t be the only one who pays for that mistake.’
Thirty
Mia had needed that shower. A chance to wash away everything that had happened, although, she knew she was never going to be able to forget what she’d done. She’d killed a man. Her own husband. And even though he’d deserved it, she still felt sick at the memory of his body crumbling to the floor; the sight of his head all messed-up as blood and brains had exploded out of him. It was going to take more than a change of clothes and a good wash to make her forget that.
Walking back outside, she grabbed a beer from the ice-filled barrel by the clubhouse door, taking a long, slow drink, closing her eyes as the cold liquid ran down her throat. About a dozen more of those and there was a chance she might actually get some sleep tonight.
‘Mia?’
She swung around to see Ben standing there; her handsome lawyer man… biker boy. Whichever of those he chose to be, she didn’t care any more. She just wanted him – someone who wasn’t going to control her or make her feel trapped. A man who just might love her the way she loved him.
Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) Page 23
