Mark Of A Scarred Warrior (Iron Dogz MC Book 5)

by René Van Dalen

  I gave him a quick glance and looked away at the fire snapping in his eyes.

  “She’s not my fucking wife.” He bit out through clenched teeth. “Or she won’t be very much longer. She’ll be signing the papers before they pull out of here tomorrow. Ice will see to it that she does.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” I picked up my cup and sipped, watching him through my lashes.

  “No, it’s me. I’m sorry I snapped at you.” He apologised but his eyes no longer sparkled, they were cold now. An icy pale green.

  Flippen hell. I should just have kept my big mouth shut.

  Standing at the counter in the kitchen I sipped my tea while looking out the window and giving him time to get over it. I surreptitiously watched when he walked out with Brutus on his heels. By the way he was looking around he was looking for something but he would have to ask me because I wasn’t a mind reader.

  “Where’s my bag, babe?” He called from the bedroom.

  “In the bottom of my cupboard.” I called back.

  I heard mumbles and shook my head at his typical male shit. Then I heard the shower turn on. He had had a shower with me this morning and now he was having one again, weird. Thinking about him in the shower had me all hot and bothered and that wasn’t good. Shrugging it off I instead thought about what to make for lunch. I knew there was going to be a big dinner at the clubhouse tonight for Hotdog and his guys because Aunt B had asked me to come in and help. But she called right before Scar got back to tell me I didn’t need to because she had it under control.

  Opening the freezer I stood in front of it and contemplated the contents.

  “What are you doing, babe?”

  I jumped. And now I’ve had four ‘babes’ and counting.

  “Flippen hell, I thought you were in the shower.” I gasped out with my hand over my racing heart.

  Scar laughed and shook his head. “I didn’t try to sneak up on you, you were so deep in thought you didn’t hear me. What are you doing standing in front of the open freezer?”

  “I’m trying to decide what to do for lunch. Aunt B said we’re invited to dinner at the clubhouse tonight but that’s a long way from now. We didn’t have breakfast and I know you have to be hungry.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t worry about shit like that, Chris. We can do toasted cheese sarmies or send a prospect out for takeaways.”

  Scrunching my nose I shook my head. “By the time he gets back with the food it will be cold and takeaway tastes horrible when it’s warmed it up. I can make us a brunch.”

  “Brunch?”

  “Yes, breakfast and lunch, brunch.”

  “Does that mean there will be bacon and sausages?”

  Nodding my head I closed the freezer door and opened the fridge and pulled out what I needed to make brunch.

  What I didn’t expect was the man to step up next to me and help me cook.

  We made brunch together and sat down at the dining room table that I haven’t used yet.

  I had just put our dirty plates in the basin and started to fill it with hot water when someone banged on the front door. Brutus had been asleep, lying half in and half out of the open back door when the knock came. He was instantly up and next to me with every single hair along his back raised while growling viciously.

  Dropping my wet hand to his harness I waited for Scar to open the front door.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was like ice and I grabbed hold of Brutus and moved closer.

  “We’ve come for a chat.” His brother said as he pushed the pregnant woman at Scar, and of course, he moved out of the way, letting the bitch into my house.

  My mouth almost fell open when his ass of a brother went back outside and walked in pulling two enormous bags behind him. What the flippen hell?

  I didn’t have to wait long to find out.

  “I don’t want a divorce. I’m back and I’m moving in here with you. Your little house is so cute. I want to be with you when our baby comes, Scar.” She simpered but the minute she saw me her face changed into the pissed off ugly face I’d seen at the clubhouse.

  Super bitch was alive and well and in my bloody house.

  “You brought a slut into our home?” She screeched and wobbled on her stilettos as if she was going to faint or something. When neither of the men moved to help her she sat her fat ass on my couch and pointed a finger at me.

  “You need to get your ass out of my house, you slut. Right now.” She didn’t wait for me to say anything and steamed right on. “I’ll forgive you this time, baby, because I know I deserve it. But we’re about to have our precious little baby and I can’t be subjected to your slut. I demand that you throw her out of our house, right now.”

  “Shut your fucking mouth, Gigi. We both know that kid isn’t mine. This is just another one of your plays to try and get money out of me and it’s not going to work.” Scar snarled.

  “I made a mistake with the dates.” She suddenly had tears in her eyes and sniffed. “It is yours, I swear it’s yours.”

  Dammit, I could see Scar was starting to cave and this shit wasn’t going to happen in my house. I wanted them all gone. I wanted the bad juju to get out before it infected everything around me.

  “The only slut in this room is you, bitch. And this cottage belongs to me, not to Scar. Everything in this house belongs to me. The only things in here he owns are his clothes and his bike. If you thought you were going to squat your fat ass in my house think again.”

  I was so pissed off I found it hard to focus but I pointed a finger then circled it around the room. “Why don’t you lift your fat ass off my couch, take your bags and your boy toy and get the hell out of my house.”

  To my consternation she burst into wild tears and threw herself down on the couch and all I could think about was all that flippen make-up staining the upholstery of my beautiful couch. But thankfully the toy boy jumped before her face touched the upholstery and pulled her into his arms while giving me a dark look.

  “What the fuck did you think was going to happen? Did you really think I would just believe whatever shit you sprouted?” Scar snarled at the sobbing woman and I must say I felt a teeny tiny bit sorry for her. Even though I thought she was lying through her too white teeth.

  “She isn’t fucking lying, Scar. This kid is yours not mine. We have the proof from her doctor in Durban. It confirms the date of conception and I definitely wasn’t fucking her at the time.”

  Scar gave an ugly laugh. “You might not have been fucking her but she was fucking the rest of fucking Durban at the time. I’m telling you again, that kid isn’t mine.”

  “But what if it is?” The toy boy asked with an evil little smile. “What if it is and you kick her to the curb with your kid in her belly?”

  “The two of you have always been very good liars. Like now. You’re here for some reason. I just need to figure it out. And when I do both of you will be sitting on the fucking curb!”

  Scar’s voice was loud, Gigi was crying, and his creepy brother was laughing like everything was a huge joke. And suddenly I had had enough of all of them.

  All. Of. Them.

  My poor boy was so worked up it took all my strength to hold him .

  Raising my voice I shouted to be heard over them all.

  “Get the fuck out of my house or I’m letting my dog go!”

  The silence was almost instantaneous.

  “Get. The. Hell. Out.” I bit out and Brutus’s growls punctuated every word I said.

  But, as if there wasn’t enough going on, Ice, Wolf and Dizzy came storming through the open front door and I felt my courage sink into my shoes. Shit, I couldn’t throw Ice out because he was the VP and essentially my boss.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” Ice’s voice was like his name, ice cold.

  I pointed at the three of them. “They need to take their arguments out of my house. Brutus is right on the edg
e and if she calls me a slut one more time I’m letting him go.”

  Ice gave a short nod. “Outside, all of you, right now.” He ordered.

  Scar gave me a look I didn’t understand and I didn’t flippen try to understand it. He knew Brutus walked a very fine line between almost normal and absolutely crazy. He should have taken this shit outside. And now I knew raised angry voices around me made Brutus lose his shit completely.

  All I wanted was the lot of them out of my house so my dog and I could calm down.

  When the front door closed behind them I gave a huge sigh of relief and sank down on the floor next to my boy. Slipping my arms around his neck I spoke to him softly, calming him down. His entire body was shaking and growls rumbled almost continuously in his chest. Holding and stroking him while speaking to him in a soft voice had the trembles decreasing and the growls became softer and softer until they completely disappeared.

  “Why don’t we go for a long relaxing walk, hmm?” I asked. His big head rubbing against me seemed to say ‘yes, let’s get out of here’.

  I didn’t even think about the people I could still hear arguing outside when I grabbed his lead from the hook behind the kitchen door and hooked it to his harness. I let him pull me out the open back door and he made straight for the faint path running between my cottage and Dizzy’s before heading off into the veld. His big body making a path through the waist high waving grass. I had to jog to keep up with him but I welcomed it because it helped to clear my head of the nastiness that had gone down in my house.

  I hoped by the time I came home they would be gone. All of them, even Scar.

  I don’t know how long we had been out running when we eventually headed home. I was sweaty but calm and ready to face whatever awaited me. Brutus’s tongue was lolling out and he was panting as I filled the big stainless steel bowl on the back patio with fresh water then went inside to get a bottle of water for myself. The pissed off man waiting for me brought me to an abrupt stop.

  Scar stood with his arms crossed over his chest glaring at me.

  “Where the fuck have you been? People have been worried about you.” He snarled through clenched teeth.

  What? Him and his damned family were the reason I had to take my dog for a long run.

  “All that arguing and shouting upset Brutus. I had to take him out to get rid of all that pent up aggression.” I snapped at him.

  Not that he took any notice of my pissed off words or face.

  “You should have told someone. You can’t just run off like that and not expect people to worry about you. Dizzy was about to lose his head until one of the patrols reported that they had spotted you. Don’t be so fucking thoughtless. He cares about you. Fuck, the poor sod even moved in right next door just to be close to you.” He bit out in a voice full of nasty innuendo.

  What? What the hell was he talking about? Dizzy?

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” I disagreed. “We are friends, that’s it.”

  But he didn’t pay any attention to me. Grabbing his bag from the top of the counter he stalked towards me. I hadn’t even noticed the bag until he picked it up. Roughly shoving me out of his way I had to grab hold of the back door to stay up right. He stormed out to his bike and strapped his bag down. Slinging a leg over he sat there then glared at me where I stood in the back door. There was no missing the disgusted look on his face.

  “A prospect will come by to fetch the cage. You’re a great fuck but I’m done with you. Try and be less of a thoughtless slut before the club decides we’ve had enough of your bullshit and kick you off the property.”

  My mouth fell open in shock but before I could let him have it he started his bike, rolled back, turned and revved furiously before he shot off.

  What the hell was that? And calling me a slut and threatening me?

  But in my gut I knew, I knew what it was all about. It was the asshole’s way to cut ties with me after he got what he wanted. And just maybe I got too close to the real man.

  Biting my lip to replace the hurt in my heart with a physical hurt I swallowed convulsively to clear the lump in my throat. Tears burned in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I had learned a hard lesson with Beast. Seems like it hadn’t been hard enough judging by how close Scar got. I knew better than to allow anyone close, to get as close as he did.

  I will never do it again. Never ever again.

  I was so flippen hurt and angry. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Going back inside my house, my refuge, I could still smell him. I needed that damned scent gone.

  Storming to the front door I ripped it open, then stormed back to the backdoor and called Brutus in. I closed and locked the gate but left the door open. A breeze moved through the house and I knew it would remove the last vestiges of his scent from my home. In my bathroom and bedroom I lit citrus scented candles to get rid me of his smell that lingered after his shower. Finally, I ripped the bedding from the bed, sprayed the mattress with a linen spray and remade the bed with clean bedding. Bundling the dirty linen into the hamper I felt a little better but not much.

  I was still wanting to cry when I grabbed a bottle of wine and a glass and walked out through my bedroom doors and sank onto the couch. Him calling me a slut when he was the one who had married to the biggest one on the planet was a joke. He was a damned bad joke. And she was pregnant with his kid, or what might be his kid. He was still married to her. It made what we had done adultery. The bastard had made me cross a line I swore I never would. In my stupidity I had had sex with a married man. In one night he had turned me into the name he, and everyone else at the club, called me. A slut.

  A club slut.

  Tears stood in my eyes as I took a large gulp of wine and cuddled into Brutus who had climbed onto the couch with me. At least I had one guy who loved me for me. From now on he would be the only male in my life.

  I stared at the far off mountains and drank my wine while I tried to put the last two days out of my mind.

  Scar was toxic. Very, very toxic.

  And I had better remember that the next time I saw him.

  He was a toxic bastard and not to be trusted.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Scar

  Seething with anger Scar rode faster than he should have but he had to get the shit out of his head. Not only Gigi and Pesto’s shit but Chris bugging out and not letting anyone know where she was going. She knew they had men on the property that they didn’t know or trust. She should have let someone know. Deep in his gut he knew he had overreacted, but it was too late now. It was done, they were done.

  And now he had to go and sit down with his slut of a wife and his brother to get the divorce papers signed. He had wanted to do it at Chris’s place but Ice had refused. He ordered them to be in the office in the next hour, or else.

  He definitely didn’t want to piss his VP off. Not yet anyway. Dropping his bag at the guard house at the front gate he rode into the compound and parked his bike.

  Feeling eyes on him as he strode towards the front doors he looked to the side and met the eyes of one of the patches from Durban. He stopped and stared at the fucker with narrowed eyes and right on time the piece of shit dropped his eyes. Asswipe.

  Walking into the common room his eyes went straight to the bar and for some reason he half expected Chris to be standing there. Fuck, of course she wouldn’t be here, she was at home. No, she was at her place. Not home.

  Nodding at the brothers hanging out he went directly to Hawk’s office. He didn’t expect to see Kid and Beast sitting on the couch. Or Ice in a chair next to Hawk and Hotdog in a chair next to him. Gigi and Pesto were in the chairs in front of the desk with an empty chair next to the slut. He did not want to sit anywhere near her and was going to sit on the couch when Hawk spoke.

  “Park your ass in the chair, Scar.” It wasn’t a request it was an order.

  Dragging the chair as far away from her as he could he sat down.

  “Firs
t things first.” Hawk said as he tapped on the papers in front of him. “These are confessions to the plans you two concocted to have Scar incarcerated and his assets stolen. The two of you will sign these so we can get that part done.” Hawk looked at Scar, gave him a chin lift before he turned his predators’ eyes on the bitch. Even from where he was sitting he could see the shudder going through her body.

  “After you sign these, you will sign the divorce papers you have so far refused to sign. Scar wants a divorce and you will give it to him.”

  His prez slanted a look his way before he looked back at the bitch and what he said next made Scar’s breath catch before he forced himself to breathe normally.

  “I have your doctor’s reports here, and our doctor confirmed that the baby is due in about fourteen days or so. You will move into a room at the clubhouse until it’s time to have the kid. A DNA test will immediately be performed after the birth.”

  “No, I want to stay with Scar at his house.” The bitch tried her manipulative tears on Hawk but he looked at her expressionlessly.

  “You will move into one of the rooms set aside for the club sluts until the child has been born. Afterwards you will leave and never return. If it turns out that the child is Scar’s he or she will stay here with him. If he’s not the father we will find him. You are banned from every single chapter of the Iron Dogz MC and all our businesses. You will disappear back into the hole you crawled out of. Understood?”

  The bitch had tears running down her cheeks and from long experience he knew they were real not fake. For some reason the bitch had thought she still had a chance to wriggle her way out of the cluster fuck she had created. He had no idea why she thought that and he didn’t care.

  “I understand.” She said softly. “I was just trying to get Scar to notice me, to pay attention to me like he does to the club. He never gave me what I needed. He wanted this baby. I never wanted to have kids, it was all him. He owes me for ruining my figure.” She was back in bitch mode, she just couldn’t stop it seemed, she always had to have the last word. And that last word always made her look like the innocent. But not this time.