“Fuckin’ end his miserable life,” Thunder snarls.
“Think that’s what we’d all like, Brother. But first we’ve got to find the motherfucker. Cad, over to you.”
Cad looks serious as all eyes turn his way. “We know he was in Vegas on Saturday, that’s when the pictures were taken. I’ve spoken to Beth, Mel’s friend. She was helpful and tried to remember everything she could. The photos were taken in a back street off the strip. Mel’s friend was staying at one of the cheaper hotels and was going back to it at the time.”
“You think he lives there?”
“If he was acting like a tourist on the strip, I’d say no. Can’t tell either way, but Beth said he looked like he knew the area from what she could tell—she, herself, was using an app on her phone to find her hotel.”
“He’s still not using his bank account?”
Cad shakes his head at Ink’s question, and resumes, “No, but it could be he’s living off this woman he was with, or he’s got cash. I’ve been in touch with Mouse, who’s called on Cara’s help.”
My eyes crease, and so do those of a lot of people.
Cad sees and explains. “Long story how they first met, but the long and short of it is, if Mouse needs to get into databases he can’t, Cara helps out.”
Beef’s nodding. “She helped find info on Steph when we needed her to.”
“She’s a sheikh’s wife and some sort of royalty where she lives, so doesn’t often get involved for political reasons. But she sometimes will. Mel’s story tugged at her heart, so she’s willing to do what she can.”
“What’s she found out?” Mace prompts, like me more interested in the information than where it came from.
“It’s more what she hasn’t,” Cad resumes. “First, no Kris Cox owns or rents property in Vegas. He has no vehicle registered to him in Nevada.”
“So, he’s a tourist.” I grimace. Fuck knows where his home base could be. And already, by now, the trail might have gone dry.
“Maybe. Her searches on hotels and rental properties haven’t pulled up anything as yet. She checked the airlines, and no one of that name has flown in or out of Vegas.”
This Cara can certainly get into a database or two. I’m impressed, though disappointed. “He could have driven in from anywhere.”
“He could,” Cad agrees.
“If a man doesn’t want to be found, he could be using an assumed name,” Paladin suggests.
“What I was coming to,” says Cad. “Only lead we got is that he was seen in Vegas.”
Prez takes over. “This doesn’t sound like it will be easy. We could accept he’s alive, pass his details to other chapters and friendly clubs, but for now, leave him in the wind. Or we take proactive steps to find him.”
“Find him.” Hellfire slams his hand on the table. “Man has to get what’s coming to him for walking out on the club. Big disrespect right there.”
“He’d have gotten a beatdown if he turned in his patch,” Bomber observes mildly. “Skull knows what that entails, he’d been through it before. Can’t blame a man for not wanting to go through that pain again.”
“Because of that,” Demon is shaking his head, “if he’d been upfront, come to us and said he’d wanted to leave, we’d have gone easy on him, and possibly not beaten on him at all. Nah, I read it as he didn’t give a damn about the club, nor the woman he left, and just walked away.”
“Doesn’t make sense.” Lizard looks confused. “We weren’t into anything shady, neither Pal nor Pyro were working him too hard. He didn’t give any indication that he was bored, or the life wasn’t for him. What if he came off his bike, hit his head too hard, and forgot who he was?”
“Bit of a stretch there, Brother. But you know, that makes about as much sense as anything else.” Prez raises his hand to stop anyone else butting in. “But it seems we’re not going to rest easy until we find him and get answers.” He nods at me. “Cleanest way for Mel too. She doesn’t need to have a cloud full of paternity issues hanging over her head.” As I raise my chin back, he continues, “Here’s what I propose we do. I’ll get onto Red and send him the photos Mel’s friend took. Get him to get his boys to keep an eye open, maybe do a few sweeps in the area where he was seen.”
Murmurs of agreement go around the table. I’m nodding too. Red is the president of the Las Vegas chapter of the Satan’s Devils MC. We’ve got brothers in the locality, so why the fuck not use them?
“I want to go,” Judge growls. “Got scores to settle with that man.” When eyes go to the bottom of the table, Wills looks eager as well.
“We,” Wills points to Judge and himself, “we prospected alongside Skull. That man was so eager to get his patch, can’t understand how he could just walk away. Can’t believe he thought so little of the club he tried so hard to get into.”
“I want to ask him to his fuckin’ face,” Judge agrees.
“With my fuckin’ fist,” Wills suggests.
Prez nods. “Makes sense some of us go there. Anyone else want a trip to Vegas?”
“Expenses paid?” Lizard raises his hand.
“You’ll stay at the clubhouse if Red’s agreeable. And no, Liz, you’re not getting extra to lose at the slots.”
“Shucks,” says Lizard with a shrug. “Just thought Skull might be playing the tables.”
“I’ll go,” says Sparky, our road captain. “These fuckers will need someone to show them the way.” Someone throws a piece of wadded up paper at him.
Prez looks around. “Liz, need you here to keep the tattoo parlour going. Rusty, same with you and the bowling alley. Pyro?”
“The shop would do fine without me, but I need to be here for Mel.” I’d rather be seeking out Skull to kill him, but don’t want to leave her alone.
Prez resumes, “Judge, Wills and Sparky. You can ride down there tomorrow. Assuming Red’s cool with the idea.”
Wills starts rubbing his hands together and banging one fist into the other palm.
“Whoever,” Demon begins with a glare, “finds him, assuming we’re successful, whether it’s Red’s men or you, you’re to take him back to the clubhouse. I personally want words with that motherfucker and want him able to form words when I do, you hear me?”
“Can’t we get any shots in?” Sparky moans.
“Just be careful,” Prez warns. “Leave him able to speak.”
“Man was hurt once because of a mistake, Prez,” Beef comments. “I can’t see there’s any acceptable excuse he could offer, but I do agree you need to speak to him first. Before anyone lets their fists fly.”
Hellfire coughs then raises his eyebrows, I return my attention to the head of the table. Demon’s looking at Beef, considering his words, then nods. “Okay, slight change of plans. Get hold of him but it’s hands off until I get there. Then,” an evil grin covers his face, “we’ll make him hurt so he’ll think last time was a picnic.”
There are thumps on the table with fists and stomps of feet after that pronouncement.
Mel’s awake when I return. She’s sitting up, talking to Vi. I’m pleased to see there’s a plate of half-eaten food beside her. At least it appears she’s had some sustenance.
“Am I interrupting?”
Mel shakes her head. “No, I’m just going around in circles. I think we’ve covered all the ground at least three times.”
“How are you feeling?” Stepping into the room I take in the sight of Mel’s sore looking red and puffy eyes, suggesting she’s been crying again. If it was down to me, I’d spend my life making sure she never had cause to shed tears.
“I’ll be off now. It’s nearly Theo’s bedtime and I need to take him home,” Vi explains. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“Thanks Vi.” Mel manages a half-smile for her friend.
She waits until Vi’s closed the door behind her, then turns to me. As she takes a shuddering breath, I notice she’s smiling no more. “Pyro, can we talk?”
“Of course.” As I take Vi’s place
sitting beside her, I note she hasn’t answered my question, but I can work the answer out for myself. She’s hurting.
“I want to go to Vegas.” Her jaw is set.
That wasn’t what I’d expected. “Mel, what’s Vi been saying?”
Her hands wave dismissively. “Not on Vi. In fact, she tried to dissuade me. But I think it’s the best idea. If I can find him, I can confront him.”
I rub my hands down my face. “Darlin’, there must be a couple of million people living in and around Vegas, and fuck knows how many tourists at any one time. How the fuck do you think you can find him?”
“Beth managed to,” she challenges.
“Coincidence Mel. Even she probably wouldn’t be able to come across him again.” I decide to let her in on some club business. “You know there’s a Satan’s Devils’ Vegas Chapter, don’t you? Well, Demon’s going to ask the Vegas prez to get his boys keeping an eye out for Skull. They’re locals, they’re more likely to know where to start looking. Sparky, Judge and Wills are going to go down there as well. If, and it’s a big if, if he’s still there and wasn’t just visiting, they have more chance of finding him.”
“When they do,” she ignores the if, “I need to speak to him.”
I’d been working out ways of her not having to face him. “You don’t have to.”
“This is something I’ll have to do, if only to get the paperwork filled out.”
“We can do that through lawyers…”
Her eyebrow rises defiantly. “A lawyer wouldn’t spit in his face.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Melissa
How can love turn to hatred in a blink of an eye?
When Skull disappeared, he’d broken my heart. When I thought he was dead, I felt like a part of myself had died along with him. I knew I’d always love the father of my child, who, I’d convinced myself would have returned if he’d been able to.
When I found out he was alive, I should have been happy. I wasn’t. What he’d caused both myself and my unborn child to suffer, hadn’t been deserved. He didn’t leave in ignorance of how I felt about him, he must have known how much him disappearing would hurt.
Had I really loved him at all? Instead, had I been flattered by the attentions of a younger man? Allowed myself to be taken in by lies and deceit? The man I thought I knew would never have just left me like that. Maybe I’d been in love with the persona he’d portrayed and never knew the real man at all.
I’d felt no relief knowing he was alive.
Even if I allowed Skull to play any part in his life, there was always the possibility he’d turn his back on on my baby too. My baby deserves a dad he can depend on, a reliable man. A man who steps up when he has no need to. A man who provides a shoulder to lean on when it’s required. A man who’s good company, a man who shares in both the pain and pleasure. A man who cries when he sees his son for the first time on an ultrasound screen.
My son deserves a man like Pyro to be his dad.
Pyro’s fingers are drawing circles on my arm, an action meant to be comforting. His closeness makes me blurt out, “I wish you were this baby’s father.”
He stills.
God, I shouldn’t have spoken my thoughts aloud. I wonder how on earth I can take those words back.
“I do too. Kid deserves a man who doesn’t stray. You’re right, we need to deal with Skull. Get him out of the picture for good. You want to take your own swing at him, reckon you’re entitled. Happy to play the role of the kid’s dad, darlin’. Think that’s what I’m already doing.”
I notice he’s avoiding the implications of what I’d said. While he may be a dad for the baby, he’s not saying anything about being a husband for me. We don’t have that kind of relationship. Dads live separate to kids all the time. I can’t ruin what we’ve got by wanting more.
Pyro sighs deeply. “If you really want to go to Vegas, I’ll come with you, okay?”
“Am I awful to say I was hoping you would?”
“Nah, Mel. You and me. We’re a team.”
I think of the practicalities. I need to take time off from my job. Well, I’ve got some vacation and sick days built up. That will have to do. Thinking about the steps that I’ll need to be taking reminds me of something else.
“Ro,” I start, hesitantly, “I don’t want to be alone tonight. Can I stay here?”
“Sure,” he agrees fast. “In here, or Skull’s room? I’m happy to use Skull’s. I’ll understand why you don’t want to.”
“No, I meant here with you.”
He draws in his breath. Then turns on his side to face me, his hand coming up and resting on my face. “Mel, sweetheart. I fuckin’ love being your friend. I fuckin’ love looking out for you and the kid. I don’t’ want anything to fuck that up.”
Neither do I. I don’t want to say anything that would mean I lose his friendship and support. With this man at my side I can take on the world, without him, I don’t know what I’d do. Friends. That’s all he wants. It will have to be enough.
I backtrack. “I didn’t mean it how it sounded.”
“I know you didn’t, darlin’.” His eyes stare into mine. “I’m trying so fuckin’ hard. But it’s not easy being around you. You, me, sleeping together in the same bed? Not fair on me, and not on you.”
“Why’s it not fair on me, Ro?” I’m confused. “Or for you?”
“Because I could fuck everything up.” He rears up, leaving me feeling bereft. He stands and paces. “Friends. I want us to be friends, Mel.”
I, too, pull myself up so I’m kneeling. “We are friends,” I cry out.
“But I want fuckin’ more,” he suddenly roars. Then comes back over, his palms landing on the bed either side of me. “I’ll say this once, then never refer to it again. I fuckin’ want you. I want the whole package, sweetheart. I want to have this baby with you, to have you as my wife and the kid as my son. I want everything.”
My eyes go wide.
He gives an abrupt nod, stands and takes the few strides that take him to the door. He pauses only to say, “If you need me, I’ll be in Skull’s room.”
“Wait!”
His back turned in my direction, his hand waves by his side. “Nah, Mel. I don’t need platitudes. Shouldn’t have laid that on you. It’s not your problem, okay? It’s mine. I just need you to decide whether you still want me in your life when you know how I really feel about you.”
“You feel about me the same way I feel about you, Pyro.”
As he goes completely still, I move off the bed and slowly cross the room, each pace even like a hunter stalking prey, as if a sudden move may cause him to flee. “I haven’t wanted to let you know because I didn’t want to scare you away. If friendship was all you could offer, I was going to accept that. But I want you. All of you.”
He still doesn’t turn. “You’ve had a shock today, Mel. A shock no woman should have. If you’d been faced with his corpse, it could have had no greater effect on you. You’re probably not thinking straight, and I’m not going to take advantage of that.”
“I’ve been feeling this way for a while now. It didn’t seem right, so I tried to fight it. I should have been grieving for what I’d lost, not wanting someone else. My feelings for you gradually changed until every time you left, I wanted you to kiss me properly, not just that peck to my forehead. I chickened out, but so often I wanted to raise my lips to yours.”
I’ve reached him now. Putting my hands around his waist, I lean my head against his cut. “Yes, I’m emotional right now. I can’t think straight about anything. But this isn’t an impulsive reaction tonight. If,” I swallow hard, “if you meant what you said, I can conquer anything with you beside me.”
He takes a deep breath then shudders. “I want to feel your lips too. Mel, you can stay here tonight. I’ll hold you in my arms, though,” he gives a snort, “if we’re that close I won’t be able to hide the effect you have on me. I’m just warning you. No, let me finish. I’ll hold you, but nothi
ng more. Don’t want to leap into something you might regret. Moving from being friends to being in a relationship will take some adjustment. Something that could be good is worth waiting and working for. We’ll take this slow while we’ve got this shit storm to work through.”
He makes sense. Getting physical with another man while Skull’s reared his head is perhaps not the best thing to do. Though I feel no sense of loyalty toward the man who left me thinking he was dead, there hasn’t been any sort of closure. Just a gradual acceptance that he was never coming back, and now I don’t want him to.
But I’ve a niggling worry. “What if we can’t sort things out? What if we can’t find him?”
Now he turns, taking me in his arms, holding me close to him like he has so many times before. “Let’s take this one step at a time. We don’t find Skull? We decide what we’ll do then. Don’t think any of us have really got our heads around the fact he’s not dead.” He places his fingers under my chin. “Give me those lips now, darlin’.”
I need no further encouragement.
As our mouths move together I get the impression that the adjustment from friends to lovers isn’t going to be hard at all, once we’ve got everything straight in our heads. There are a few seconds of awkwardness, when he moves one way, me the other, then our bodies work out what to do, and we start learning a dance which I hope will become familiar over time. His taste is perfect, his movements sure and certain, until all too soon he groans into my mouth and pulls away.
The reason is clear as he grits his teeth and reaches down to adjust himself in his jeans. “That’s why we’ve not kissed before woman.” He grins self-deprecatingly. “Knew you’d make me as hard as fuckin’ steel.”
“There is one way to take our minds off everything,” I offer, biting my lip suggestively.
“Nope. Told you how this is going to play out.” His head tilts to the side. “Don’t doubt how much I’d like to fuck, to make love to you. But the timing has got to be right. Don’t want you having any doubts. Don’t want any guilty thoughts in your head when you meet face-to-face with Skull. Want you to meet him with your conscience clear.”
Satan’s Devils MC -Colorado Box Set: Books 4-6 Page 19
