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

by René Van Dalen

  In his gut he knew what that tone in Hawk’s voice meant. The boy he had started to think of as his wasn’t his.

  Fuck.

  It fucking sucked so damned hard. And the poor kid, what was going to happen to him now? No way would his shit of a brother step up to take care of him. Plus he was on the run from the club right now and wouldn’t come out of hiding for a kid he didn’t want.

  Drawing in a deep breath Scar got out of bed, went into the bathroom and emptied his bladder, washed his hands and then stood there staring in the mirror. Meeting his own eyes he shook his head.

  “I was wrong to hope he was my son. With those two fuckheads as his parents what chance does the poor kid have? He needs someone who will love him and raise him to be a good man. What the fuck am I going to do?”

  The man looking back at him didn’t have any answers for him. Because he was fucking talking to himself.

  Closing his eyes he gritted his teeth and shoved everything out of his head. All of it.

  Opening his eyes he was once again centred. He showered, brushed his teeth and brushed his hair, tying it back because it had become damned long. And finally he was ready.

  Everyone was in the kitchen when he walked in and all eyes turned to him.

  “I got a call. The results are in. I’m on my way to see Prez.”

  Both Beast and Rider immediately stood but he waved them back down.

  “You don’t have to come with me.”

  “Don’t give a fuck. Still coming with you.” Beast said as he kissed his old lady and daughters and Rider did the same.

  “Don’t argue, Scar, we’re coming with you, no matter what you say.” Rider threw over his shoulder as he walked out to the garage.

  Shrugging Scar turned and followed him.

  All the officers and lieutenants were in Hawk’s office waiting for him when he walked in. One look at their faces and he knew Hawk hadn’t told them why they were here. They all looked confused.

  “Scar, brother, have a seat.” Hawk said and he took the seat his boss indicated, right in front of his desk.

  Opening a file in front of him he tapped on the printout.

  “I’m not going to drag this out. I’m sorry, brother, you’re not the father.”

  Scar blew out a heavy breath and nodded. “Do we know who is?”

  For some reason his boss looked furious as he glanced back down at the printout.

  “Is my brother the father? I know he’s been fucking the bitch.”

  His prez looked straight into his eyes as he spoke, watching him carefully.

  “Ziggy explained this shit to me, about familial markers and crap, and it’s absolutely fucking with my head, and no brother, he’s not the boy’s father.”

  Scar frowned as he looked Hawk and for a minute he didn’t understand what he was saying.

  Ice’s whispered ‘Jesus’ next to him and Wolf grabbing his forearm was all it took to clear the confusion.

  “Familial markers. That means we’re family but he’s not my son and he’s not my brother’s son that means…” Scar threw his head back and roared out his rage and disbelief.

  Wolf’s hand didn’t leave his forearm and it helped to bring him back, to calm him enough to continue the fucked up conversation.

  Drawing in a deep breath he looked back at Hawk and said in a cold dead voice. “He’s my brother, isn’t he?”

  His prez gave him a sympathetic look and nodded. “Ja, he is. We need to know what you want to do about this. And we need to know today. The boy can’t stay in the hospital another day without it raising questions about why he’s still there.”

  He couldn’t focus on his deadbeat father right now. The kid, his baby brother, needed him.

  “When he was born I was still married to his mother. Therefore according to the law he’s mine, isn’t he?”

  Ziggy was the one who answered. “He hasn’t been registered yet because we were waiting for the results. We can put your name on the certificate and no one will ever know he’s not yours. Unless you don’t want him, then we have to make some plans to find him a good home.”

  Scar nodded but he was rapidly planning what to do. “Right, his biological father is not going to want him. And even if he did there’s no fucking way I’d ever let him take him. He’s my blood and needs to be with people who care about him. I’ll raise him.”

  “Are you sure, brother?” Ice asked.

  “Hell, no, but what else can I do? I can’t let him disappear into the system and maybe end up with some fucked up people. He’s my blood, I can’t allow that to happen.”

  “We’ll take him.” Wolf said very, very quietly. Slowly turning in his chair Scar frowned at his friend.

  Wolf looked right at him as he explained and Scar didn’t miss the pain in his friend’s eyes.

  “Leo and I have been told we’ll most probably never be able to have children after what happened to her. We’ve discussed adopting a baby and we were going to start the process next week. We still will if you decide to raise him yourself.” Wolf said in that very quiet voice.

  Ice jumped right in. “I can do this for you, brothers. We register the baby under Scar’s name then we register a private adoption. I have some connections that will help make it happen quickly and smoothly. You give me the go ahead, Scar, and it gets done today. You have my word, brother.”

  Scar didn’t answer as he and Wolf stared at each other for a damned long time. And then he asked the only thing he needed to know.

  “Would it not make for an awkward situation when the boy gets older and starts asking questions about who his family is?”

  Wolf smiled. “No, not at all. We, all of us here, are his family. He will know that you are his brother and that Leo and I adopted him because we wanted him. And I can assure you, brother, my old lady wants him. She herself was adopted when she was a toddler. Since the moment we settled in the cottage she’s been researching adoption in South Africa so we can get started on a family.”

  Scar nodded as he tried to sort everything in his head. Should he let Wolf and Leo adopt his baby brother or should he raise him?

  On the one hand he felt relief that Wolf and Leo wanted to adopt the baby, but on the other he felt guilty because he should be raising him. The boy was his blood and his responsibility.

  “You don’t have to decide right this minute. Why don’t we go with registering his birth and bringing him home? Once we’ve got him here and safe then you can decide if you want to go with the adoption or if you want to raise him yourself.” Ice said in that very reasonable lawyers voice of his.

  Scar shook his head as he stared at Wolf with narrowed eyes. “No, I’m ready, I’ve made my decision.”

  He saw the tension around Wolf’s eyes until he reached out and took his hand.

  “As of this very minute he’s your son, my brother. All I need is to be in his life and be the best damned uncle a kid has ever had.”

  Wolf was up and out of his chair in a second, pulling him up and into a tight hug.

  “Thank you, my brother, you won’t ever regret this decision. You have my word. My old lady is going to love and spoil our boy so fucking much.” Wolf said with so much emotion in his voice that it brought a burning sensation to Scar’s eyes.

  “I know the two of you will give him the love and the life he needs. That’s why I want you to have him. He needs good parents and you will be exactly that, good parents.”

  Turning to Ice he cleared his throat. “Get the paperwork ready and let’s get this done. I don’t want to leave him at the hospital one more day. Even though we have a man on him I don’t trust that slut or my family.”

  “You’ve got it. It will be done this morning. I’ll make the arrangements to get him signed out of the hospital today. We’ll all go with you to bring him home.”

  Scar shook his head. “No, I want Leo and Wolf to fetch him. He’s their son, they should be the ones bringing him home.
”

  He heard the gasp of breath Wolf drew in at his words.

  Shortly after Scar had signed some shit he had to leave. The rage he had felt was starting to return and he had to get out. He had to get on the road where he would be able to breathe.

  So many things were running through his head. His ex not only fucked his brother, she fucked his father as well. That was so damned fucked up.

  Did his mother know? He didn’t think she did.

  His blood family was fucked up. So very fucked up.

  He needed space, a lot of space and riding the long road was the only place he would find that space. He needed to head out, soon.

  Decision made he felt easier, almost relieved.

  He would ride out once he was sure his baby bro was settled in with his new parents.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Hawk

  Slamming his office door closed behind him Hawk jerked his chair away from the desk and sat down heavily. He was so fucking pissed off he didn’t know what to fucking do with himself.

  What the fuck else was going to go wrong?

  First Pesto and the four other bastards escape while on their way back to Durban when their transport is attacked. The attackers left two brothers wounded and another in critical condition in hospital. He wouldn’t fucking rest until he had those bastards back in the dungeon hanging from their wrists.

  He should never have agreed to them being taken to Durban to be taken care of by the newly cleansed chapter. Now they had five fucking pissed off assholes running free and he somehow knew it was going to come back to bite them in the ass. Scar now had a target on his back and so would everyone associated with him. It meant that everyone who lived in the house with him or were close to him was a target.

  When Wolf and Leo adopted his baby brother they became his family and that made them a target. Fuck it still sounded fucking weird thinking that the boy they all thought was Scar’s was in actual fact his brother.

  And now he was legally Wolf and Leo’s son. What should have taken months had been accomplished in days thanks to a very helpful Child Welfare officer and Ice greasing some palms along the way.

  The boy had been safe from his fucked up biological parents and family until that bastard and his crew escaped. He too, would now have a target on his back.

  A target put there by his uncle and his mother. Fucking sickening.

  The club would keep the boy safe. He had sworn to Wolf that his boy would be safe on Iron Dogz property. The same when he left the property for his visits to his paediatrician and the clinic or when Leo took him to work with her.

  It felt as if problems continuously rolled across his desk.

  And now today’s bullshit.

  They had been careful, ensuring the fucker had nothing in his cell but his clothes. And then he goes and fucking hangs himself. Fuck.

  Fucking Flash.

  Sometime during the night the coward had hung himself from the bars in his cell with strips torn from his t-shirt and fucked up their plans to lure Jane in.

  Closing his eyes he rubbed his hands over his face.

  “Prez.”

  As he dropped his hands from his face he realised he had been so deep in thought he hadn’t heard the door opening.

  “Kid, brother, I’m sorry.” Hawk watched as his best friend sank into the chair opposite him.

  Kid shook his head. “He was a coward right to the end, Prez. And he was nothing to me but a sperm donor.”

  “What about your mum? Do you think she’ll want a funeral for him or something?”

  Kid again shook his head. “I’m not telling her and even if I did, she would leave the decision up to the club. I don’t think she has made a decision on her own in her life.”

  “I would like nothing more than to dump him in a hole and forget that he ever existed.” Hawk growled. “Unfortunately we can’t do that. We’re going to have to handle this very, very carefully.”

  “I’ve got a plan, Boss.” A small smile curved Kid’s lips slightly. “We take him down and string him back up in his garage. He’s had it soundproofed which means the doors seal tight. He leaves a suicide note admitting to killing Bounty and everything else he was responsible for. We leave him hanging to rot for as long as we can before he is found. He hasn’t been around the club since he retired so why would we go looking for him? His wife left him, his daughter is gone and his son can’t stand him. No one to miss him. He’s depressed and ends it.” And now Kid smiled full out. “And we go forward with the plan to entice Jane out of hiding. We don’t need the bastard alive to do that.”

  “What do you mean?” Hawk frowned because he couldn’t see how it would work.

  “She called my mother this morning. She’s making mistakes, Hawk. Calling our mother was a big one.”

  “How can we make use of this without letting your mother know what’s going on? Jane’s her daughter. No way is she going to let her daughter walk into a trap.” Hawk had no idea what was going through Kid’s head right now. His face was expressionless.

  “My mother loves pretending she’s blameless for all the shit that went down during our childhood but she was there, Hawk. Yes, I look after her now and I’ve forgiven her for some of the shit she allowed to happen.” Kid sat back with a frown before he shook his head. “She’ll just have to deal. She’s well aware of how dangerous Jane is to you, to me, and the rest of the club. It’s time my mother showed us where her allegiance lies. With us or with Jane.”

  Hawk was stunned silent for a few seconds.

  “Brother, this is heavy shit. Are you sure this is how you want this to go down? You could lose her if we proceed with this.”

  The muscles in Kid’s jaw clenched tight. “Then I fucking lose her. I’ve survived without her at my back for years. I can do it again.”

  “We’re not going to make any decisions until I’ve spoken to the officers and lieutenants. We need to be very careful how we go about this. First we have to get Flash into his garage without being seen. After that’s done we’ll tackle the Jane problem.”

  Kid gave a quick nod.

  “I agree. The only one who is aware of Flash taking the coward’s way out is Dollar. The poor bastard was on duty in the dungeon last night. He’s feeling responsible .He shouldn’t though, he was too far away from the cell to have heard anything.”

  Hawk had said the same thing when he had talked to Dollar.

  “I’ve already got him coming to see me in about an hour. I sent him to get a shower and something to eat before coming to see me. He’ll be with us when we handle this. He can drive the cage or something.”

  Hawk knew his junior patch was having problems dealing with what had happened. Thank fuck he had kept his head and didn’t try to cut the asshole down when he discovered him hanging in his cell.

  “Good idea. Dollar is a good man and I think he is going to go far in the club. He’s young but he thinks on his feet.” Kid stood. “I’m going to have a shower before we sit down and hash this one out, Boss. Text me the time and I’ll be here for the meet.”

  All Hawk could do was nod and bump his brother’s fist as he held it out to him over the desk. He was worried about Kid. His best friend was slipping further and further away behind the wall he had erected around himself. Fuck, how he wished he knew how to help him.

  Before he met with Dollar and his officers he needed to talk to his old lady. But she was at work and there really wasn’t time to go see her if he wanted this shit sorted quickly.

  Tapping his fingers on his desk he sat in his chair and considered his options. A phone call? No, he needed to see her eyes when he spoke to her. Wait until she came home? No, not acceptable either.

  Fuck. Dropping his head back he laughed without any humour. He was the fucking boss. Everyone can wait. He needed to talk to DC and he needed to do it before he sat down with his brothers. She always helped him to see shit so much more clearly. And she was ruthless. He n
eeded a ruthless mind on this one.

  Decision made he left his office and strode out into the common room. Sin and Spook were talking to the new bartender they had hired after Chris resigned but that shit could wait.

  “Sin, Spook, I’m riding out. Let’s go.”

  His men didn’t hesitate. They followed him out and Hawk had to smile when three more men waited on them outside. Sin had used the time to call in more backup.

  Hitting the road he finally breathed free after a morning spent in the dungeon and his office trying to puzzle shit out. The rumble and vibration of the machine between his legs and the road ahead of him calmed him as he headed into Jozi to Mainline Ink II and his old lady. The woman who totally owned him.

  She was waiting for him when he walked in and he followed her back to her office. He didn’t say anything until the door was closed and locked.

  “Flash committed suicide last night.”

  DC frowned, took his hand and drew him over to the couch pushing against his belly to urge him to sit down. The minute he sat she climbed into his lap, straddling him and clasping his face in her hands, her eyes locked on his.

  “Talk to me.”

  “The fucker used his t-shirt to hang himself from the bars in his cell. Now we have a problem. How to get him off Iron Dogz property and make it look like he did it somewhere else.”

  She nodded in encouragement for him to continue. So he laid Kid’s plan out for her. And of course his woman immediately got it.

  “If we do this very, very carefully it will work. We relocate the body to the new location where we leave him long enough to decompose. The pigs will look at the scene and write it off as a suicide. Which it is, just not where they think it took place. The asshole did this because he thought it would fuck with you. Sadly for him, he failed.”

  Stroking over his beard and pulling the end she grinned then gave him a quick hard kiss.

  “Kid is right. We can still lure Jane in by pretending to be Flash. We just need to find how they communicated. We need to search his house. Especially the garage. Why soundproof it? What was he doing in there that would require soundproofing? I think we’re going to discover a whole lot more about Flash Warne once we dig through his things.”