She’s shivering, so I wrap my arm around her, and lead her straight into the clubhouse as fast as I can. Which is slower than normal.
“My legs have seized up. And my ass is numb,” she hisses. “I can’t feel my fingers or my nose.”
I slide down her bandana, her nose is such a delightful red, I can’t resist leaning forward and kissing it. Then quickly I take her hands and start rubbing them vigorously.
“You’re as cold as me,” she complains, pulling away, and briskly brushing one palm against her other.
“Bethany!” Patsy’s voice sounds shrill and more than half-disbelieving as she comes running over. “Oh, Bethany. Are you okay?” Her arms go around Beth’s waist, and Beth bends to cuddle her mother. For a moment there’s silence, then Patsy pulls away. “You’re a block of ice,” she says, her accusing eyes coming my way.
I’m unrepentant. I’ve had my old lady up behind me. Wasn’t going to let her come back with anyone else.
“Mom, I’m fine. I survived Phil and the ride.” Her eyes, I notice, are shining with excitement. “Yes, I’m cold.” She nudges me so hard I stumble. “But it was great.”
“What did Phil do? Did he hurt you?” Patsy’s concerned questions come fast.
I lean in anxious to know myself but have only time to hear Beth answer that she really is okay, when my name is called.
“Ink!” Demon’s loud shout interrupts us. “Church, now.” I notice Pyro and Lizard are already heading that way.
Damn. Can’t get out of church and I think Demon might notice if I took her in and sat through the meeting with her on my lap. Think my cock would too. I’m reluctant, but I’ve no choice about it. Fucking vowed not to spend one moment without her and breaking it already.
“Babe…”
She catches my eye. “We’ll talk later. You go do your stuff. I’ll stay with Mom.”
“Don’t go anywhere,” I warn, but it comes out almost pleadingly.
“I won’t.”
I curl my hand around her neck. “I shouldn’t be long. Get warmed up and visit with your mother. Oh, and when Karl gets here with those women, can you watch them for a bit?”
“I’ll speak to Vi or Jeannie. Whoever’s here.”
“You’ll stay? I want, need to talk to you.”
“I know.” She bites her lips again. Christ, I’ve never wanted to get out of a meeting as much as I want to do now. “I promise I’ll stay. And I’ll make sure the women are made to feel comfortable.” Her face falls, and her voice drops to a whisper. “If you hadn’t have come…” As her voice trails away, I guess she knows what was ahead for the women would also have been her fate.
Patsy doesn’t seem able to take her eyes off her daughter. I don’t think she knows tears are flowing freely down her face. “Bethany, I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you, as well as Connor. I couldn’t take that.” I realise how much effort it had taken for Patsy to keep herself together. It’s now she seems about to break, now knowing her daughter has come back to her.
Beth understands her mother’s concern. “Mom. I’m fine. I’m safe. I’m…” her voice breaks off as she looks at me, and there’s a hundred questions in her expression, mirrored in mine I suspect. “I’m home,” she finally finishes.
Yes, she is, and here is where she’s going to stay. Even if she and I currently have a different understanding of where her home is.
I catch her eye, and before walking away, say once again, “We’ll talk later.”
I take my seat in church, a whole different feeling than when I was last here. Last time I was battling with elation at my freedom and bone-chilling horror my old lady had disappeared. Today? Well, Beth’s back. I frown. I’ve just got to convince her that this is where she’s staying. Patsy will have to get used to living alone.
“Ro?”
Demon’s banged the gavel and looking to Pyro for an update.
“Worked like a fuckin’ charm.” The man in question grins.
“Back up.” I raise my hand. “What happened here? Any problems?”
Prez nods at me and raises his chin to the others also looking his way. “So, Pyro came to me and the VP late last night with an updated plan. We adjusted the details as we went along. Didn’t let anyone know in case anything was given away.”
“And?” Hell prompts, looking as confused as me.
“You know Mel bakes?” Pyro says, rather unnecessarily. We all do. The shit she keeps the clubhouse stocked with is good stuff. Even if it tends to add inches to our waistlines.
“What’s that got to fuckin’ do with it?” growls Bomber.
“Brown flour,” Pyro says. “I remember she was experimenting with it.”
For a moment I’m lost, then my lips start to curve as I realise where he might be going with this.
“Yeah, well, it took all night, that stuff’s fucking hard to handle, but I managed to get it into the bricks so they looked identical to the Mexican Horse, Phil was expecting. Of course, I also had to add in a detonator and explosive, but it was easy enough to adjust the weight for that.”
“Saw the results,” I tell them, miming pointing a gun and pulling a trigger.
Rusty slams his hand down on the table. “So that’s why you capitulated and just handed that shit over. Thought you’d gone out of your fuckin’ head.”
“You knew I was going to blow it up,” Pyro reminds him.
“Yeah, but a brick or so to keep him happy. Not the whole fuckin’ lot. Thought it was needed to keep Connor out of jail.”
“It is. And can be,” Demon explains. “Pyro blew up eight kilos of fuckin’ baking flour.”
It’s probably a release of tension, but we’re all cracking up. Suddenly I let out a loud barking laugh. “Firefighters were trying to clean up the shit, was worried it was some sort of chemical. Can’t wait to see their faces when they find out what it really is.”
“You ran a risk.” I frown. “What if Phil had been suspicious and tested it?”
“Yeah, well, we brought one brick down and had it ready in case he wanted to open it. Luckily, he didn’t.”
“The good news,” Beef says, “is that there aren’t eight kilos of Mexican Horse literally blowing around Pueblo. When the cops find out Phil Foster was in that car, I doubt they’ll come looking for us. There could be any number of people looking to take him out, and cops will probably be pleased someone’s put him away for good.”
“Yeah,” Prez takes over, “there’s nothing to link him to us.”
I’m still chuckling to myself, wondering what the cops will make of a highway closed because of Mel’s baking flour. Then I frown. “Really wanted to make him hurt, Prez. He was going to sell Beth.”
Prez has sympathy in his eyes. “I knew we had to protect the club. Fastest way of doing that was to take him out clean.”
“Dead is dead, Brother,” the VP says. I suppose he’s right. Now Beth won’t need to keep looking over her shoulder.
“Ink. What’s your update?”
“Got the propane tank in one hit, Prez. Must have been full, it exploded, set the house on fire.”
“You risked burning your old lady?” Judge’s eyes are wide.
“What the fuck do you take me for? Pal’s drone worked like a charm. Showed us exactly where she was, in the opposite side of the house.”
“Casualties?”
“We made sure of it. All the men Phil had left are dead.” My face hardens. “We found something else there. Phil was keeping women in his basement. A teenage girl, who the prospect dropped back at her home in Denver, and two women with nowhere to go. I, er, well, Karl’s on his way back with them now.”
“The girl. She know who we are?”
I shake my head. “No. We weren’t wearing our cuts and didn’t offer any information.”
“So we’ve got strangers coming to the compound?”
“Sorry, Prez. Couldn’t think what else to do with them.”
“Nah, you did okay. We’ll sort it out.�
�� Just one more problem dumped in his lap to solve, but like everything, Prez just takes it in his stride.
“There’s a women’s refuge in town,” Cad puts in. “I agreed with Ink. We couldn’t do anything else. Oh, and there were some of Phil’s staff, illegal immigrants I suspect.”
“Yeah, your Spanish came in useful, Pal.” Credit where credit’s due. He’s done well today with that and the drone.
Pal just shrugs.
Demon drums his fingers on the table. “The only loose end, as I see it, is Connor. When is this Agent Caruso back in town?”
“Saturday. Connor’s getting twitchy staying in his room, but we can’t let him loose while Beth and Patsy are here. I’m presuming Ink will want Beth to stay around. I was thinking he could go to the cabin?” Beef raises a brow at me.
I give him a what do you fuckin’ think? look back. Then ask, “He still dead, now that Phil’s gone?”
Beef thinks for a moment, and exchanges gestures and facial expressions with Demon, then speaks his mind. “I think so. Phil’s gone, as you said, but Alder’s still around.”
Christ. I’d forgotten about him. “You think he’ll come sniffing around?”
“Hopefully not. But it’s best if Connor stays underground.” Prez looks at Beef. “I understand why you said the cabin, but Connor probably still needs care. Beth and Patsy have had enough to go through, why not tell them the truth? Let him have some time with his mom and sister, before he has to disappear.”
“You trust them to keep their mouths shut?” Hell doesn’t look so sure himself.
“Beth will,” I tell them. “And I think Patsy would too. Wouldn’t you rather know your son was alive, even if you had no contact?”
“Went through this with Steph,” Beef puts in. “Her family missed her like hell, but they stayed clear knowing it was her life at risk. It was hard for her, but she made it work, as we all know. I’ve spent time with Connor. Once he knew what Phil was into, he wanted out, just couldn’t get out of his clutches. A fresh start is what he needs. If we can trust Patsy and Beth, I think they’ll see this is the best opportunity he could be given.”
“You wanted them to arrange a funeral and be able to act genuine in case Phil turned up to watch. Phil’s gone now.” I’d been filled in on the details last night.
“Funeral still needs to go ahead. Want Connor’s body burned and destroyed. That will get Alder off his back too if the official records have everything straight.” Demon pinches the bridge of his nose. “Okay. We’ll resurrect him from the dead, for now. As long as they understand it’s not safe for him to remain local, and as far as anyone else knows, Connor is dead and gone.”
I just hope Beth and her mom won’t die of shock when they see a ghost alive and breathing.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Beth
By the time Ink emerges from church, I’ve just about thawed out from the cold journey home. I might have given him shit about it, but I wouldn’t have preferred travelling any other way. I’m not going to give up the chance to have my arms around the man who I want.
Ink’s giving me signals I can’t quite compute. Having accepted whatever he might have started feeling for me had been killed stone dead when he’d gotten arrested that night, I can’t understand why he’s so concerned and friendly now. I wasn’t surprised once I got over my shock at seeing him out of jail, that it had been him to come rescue me. I’d known he was an honourable man, whatever his feelings toward me were.
But to want me behind him on his bike? That’s surely not the sign of someone wanting to part ways.
Then there’s the not so small question of how he’s free, and whether he’s going to stay that way. Perhaps he’s just out on bail.
Neither Mom nor the other women could satisfy my curiosity in that regard. Mom had been too distraught over Phil kidnapping me to take notice of what was going on around her, and Vi told me that there’s been a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and club business going on. From what she’d picked up though, she thought he was home to stay. I hope she’s right. I found out, also under the heading of club business, that the women and sweet butts had spent most of the morning at Mo’s house and had only returned an hour or so ago.
It makes me wonder how they can live this way, being kept in the dark and never knowing anything. I don’t think I could do it.
I’ll probably not have a chance. Ink was just pleased to see me safe. He’d left me with those awful words hanging in the air, we’ll talk later. Every woman and every man alive knows that normally preludes something they don’t want to hear said.
He’d given me a message he didn’t want to see me again. Though he had given a quick explanation it was to keep the police away from me, surely he could have softened it? Explained it was only for now, or as long as he was sent away? The words that had been given to me sounded so final. Now seeing him has resurrected my hopes. I don’t know what he’s going to say. The waiting is driving me crazy.
“Beth, Patsy? Could you come speak to Prez?”
I glance up to see Ink standing outside his prez’s office, a serious look on his face. Mom and I exchange glances, both wondering what it is that Demon will have to say.
“Karl’s not back with the women yet,” I tell Ink as I walk past.
Surprisingly his mouth quirks and his eyes sparkle. “He’ll probably still be held up behind that accident.”
Yes, that will be it. But what is it about an obviously fatal crash that’s amusing? Or is Ink just laughing as Karl’s stuck waiting in what Ink calls a cage. I narrow my eyes as I pass him, failing to understand the joke.
The small office just about accommodates me, Mom, and Beef seated on chairs in front of the desk with Demon sitting behind it. Ink remains standing, leaning up against the door.
“Patsy, Beth,” Demon starts by acknowledging us. “You’ve heard the term, club business?”
I snort. “Yeah.”
“There’s good reason behind it,” Beef tries to explain. “What you don’t know can’t hurt you. It’s not that we don’t trust our women, but we keep some shit quiet, so it can’t inadvertently be given away, or we have to ask people to play dumb or even lie if someone asks questions.”
Demon takes over, “There are times when we need to share info that we’d otherwise not. This is one of those times. But I need both of you to give me your word you won’t talk about the first thing until it’s common knowledge.”
He’s got me intrigued. It’s Mom who voices her reservations, “I’ll reserve judgement until I hear what you’re going to tell me.”
“Fair,” says Demon. “The first thing is to put your minds at rest. I’m not telling you how, who, or why, but I’ve received information that Phil Foster is dead. That news is not to leave this room.”
I sit forward. Phil might have been my father, but that was only because of his sperm. He killed my brother or condoned his death and was going to consign me to a living hell because he preferred money to his kids. It’s the best news I could have heard. “You’re certain? Who? When? He left this morning… he said he had a meeting with you.”
“Beth,” Ink’s voice chides from behind me. “Prez has just told you there are some things he can’t share. We’re only telling you now so you can relax. And act fuckin’ surprised when you hear officially.”
I glance at Mom, wondering how she’s taking it, she was once married to the man after all. “Phil was behind Connor’s death,” she spits out. “He got what he deserved, I’m glad he’s gone.”
“About that.” Demon looks awkward. Then he sits forward. “We’re now entering the territory of shit that can never be spoken about. I won’t ask for your word, because it will all become clear and you’ll know why.” He’s about as serious as I’ve ever seen him, an MC prez for sure, as he starts talking again, “Your son, as you know, got involved with his father. Phil got him into some shady shit.”
“We know that. Running drugs for him…”
Demon shakes his
head. “You’re wrong.”
Mom’s mouth snaps shut, mine opens and my eyes roll. “Ten kilos of heroin left in our house is a fair indication.”
“Connor stole those to get them away from Phil.”
I shake my head, disbelieving what he’s saying. “But why? Was he going to sell them himself?”
“No,” Beef says. “Look. We need to backtrack a little. Connor got himself arrested while working on Phil’s protection racket. He was offered a chance to stay out of jail, he took it. He’s been working with the feds. Connor had the opportunity to spirit the heroin away and took it. Only problem was, his contact was taking three weeks off. Hence he had to store them somewhere until he returned.”
“He had no other contact?”
“No. Or none that he trusted.”
Something starts to make sense. “So that’s why he was beaten. Because he’d stolen from Phil and Alder.”
“Yes. As you know, when Connor called you Beth, he was telling the truth. He was being hurt and feared for his life.”
“You also know,” Beef again takes over from Demon, “we managed to track down where that call had come from and that we’d gone to see if we could find him. At the time, Ink was sitting in jail, and we were desperate to find anything that could help get him out. Well we did. We found Connor.”
I notice Beef’s voice has deepened, and his delivery slowed, as if what he’s saying carries merit. I close my eyes, not wanting to hear any more details about how they found Connor dead, Mace had told me enough of the suffering my baby brother had gone through. Mom reaches out and clasps my hand, and I don’t know whether it’s for my benefit or hers.
“We found Connor. Well, at first we didn’t know it was a man, it was a bloody heap of rags, skin and bone.”
Mom gasps and covers her face with her hand.
Beef relentlessly continues, “Until it groaned.”
“He was alive?” Mom asks, her voice breaking.
“We brought him back. Arranged for a doctor who’s friendly to the club to treat him. He produced a death certificate in his name.”
Satan’s Devils MC -Colorado Box Set: Books 4-6 Page 75
