Satan’s Devils MC -Colorado Box Set: Books 4-6

by Mellett, Manda

  “That’s a shame, but perhaps you can grow it again.”

  “Isn’t it time you cut your hair, Cas?” I’d prefer him clean-cut with a short back and sides.

  He gives me a look I don’t think a son should give his father. It’s certainly not one of respect. “My hair, my choice. I’ll do what I want, Dad.”

  “Cas,” I growl, warningly.

  “Dad?” he challenges back.

  “You’re doing well, the nurses say.” Vanna’s cheerful voice cuts through the growing animosity in the room. “The plan is you’re still coming home tomorrow.”

  I realise she’s always been there as a buffer between us, and this is the first time I’ve been alone with my kid. It hadn’t been a good experience. Kid seems to need a strong hand, Vanna’s clearly let him run wild. He’s got to learn how to respect his elders.

  What was I like at his age? Grateful for everything I got as I recall. Left to go hungry and neglected too often. I’d learned to be quiet and invisible in most of the foster homes I’d been in. Kept my head down for my own safety and never rocked the boat.

  It was how I’d coped when I went into the Marines, appreciating the structure and routine, and obeying orders without question. Perhaps it would do Cas good to join up when he’s eighteen?

  And be like me? Invalided out and no good to anyone at the age of twenty-four? Is that really what I want for him?

  I was unlucky.

  I was lucky not to end up dead.

  Maybe Vanna would have preferred that? After a period of mourning, she could have found someone else. That thought makes me growl. I might not be certain I want her, but I wouldn’t want her to be with anyone else.

  Vanna’s eyes snap to mine. “You okay, Liz? Your head hurting?”

  “When isn’t it?” I bite back, but without bitterness. It’s the cost of me living through what I had, and the doctors say the headaches should improve as the swelling goes down in my head.

  “You ever play Assassin’s Creed, Dad?”

  I take it as the olive branch it probably is. Cas trying to forge some connection with me. “That’s the new game, not long been out.”

  “Oh, yeah. I’ve got latest version. I bought it with my Christmas money. I love the free roaming.”

  Free roaming? What crap is this? Another sign the world has moved on, leaving me in its wake. Fucking hell, I can’t even connect with my son over a game, we don’t speak the same language.

  I glare at Vanna. “Isn’t that for over eighteen?”

  Cas rolls his eyes. “Everyone plays it, Dad.”

  “He’s right,” Vanna says, her eyes meeting mine.

  “He should be playing Super Mario.” The first game I can think of comes into my mind.

  Cas’s look of disdain makes me annoyed.

  “Cas, can you go get me a coffee?” Vanna reaches into her purse and extracts some bills from her wallet.

  “Sure. You want anything, Dad?”

  I want an obedient kid, and a mom who buys suitable games for him, but all I answer is, “No.”

  When he leaves the room, I turn on Vanna. “There’s a reason for age limits on those games. They’re too violent.”

  “I’d rather he was playing that then out on the streets,” she snaps back. “I manage the time he’s playing, try to make sure he gets his homework done. It’s a compromise bringing up a teenager, Liz. Look, I won’t say I’ve not made mistakes,” a look of pain comes over her face, “but I’ve tried to bring him up right.”

  I’ve hurt her by my accusations. When I reach out my hand, she takes it. “You’ll have me with you to share the load from now on, Evangeline. You won’t be alone any longer.”

  I’d hoped, expected, to see a look of relief, but instead, the lines on her forehead increase.

  Her expression pulls me up. She’s built a life revolving around her and the kid. I start worrying there’s no room for me in it. Maybe too much water has gone under the bridge? Maybe we’re too different to pick up where we left off?

  Her face softens at my frown. “Lizard, Cas could really do with a father in his life, but it’s been the two of us for so long, it’s not going to be easy. Don’t be too hard on him, he’ll just rebel. Get to know him before you start laying the law down, okay?”

  I appreciate what she’s saying, and it hits me that there’s stuff I’ve not been told. From what I’ve seen though, the kid needs to learn respect, and who better to show him how to behave than the man who gave him life?

  Cas comes back with Vanna’s coffee, but she barely has time to drink it before the physio appears to take me through my torture regime. Not wanting her to see what a failure of a husband she has now, I send both of them away so I can be put through hell in private.

  By the time he’s finished with me, I’m a wreck. Squeeze the ball with your hand, he said. Sounded quite simple, but the effort to get my muscles to send the right signals to my fingers made my arm and head hurt. As for walking on crutches, that wasn’t too bad, but I wasn’t going to be released until I proved I could manage stairs.

  I was determined to do it. Bad foot down, good foot up. Or, as he’d put it, down to hell and up to heaven so I wouldn’t forget. But that shit was hard. It wasn’t going to beat me, though, I want out of this place.

  There I was wondering whether Vanna as she is now is the woman I really want as my wife when it looks like I could be getting the better part of the bargain. What’s she getting? A thirty-eight-year-old man who can’t walk unaided.

  The last thing I want is a wife who has to be my nurse.

  The physio eventually takes pity on me. “Enough for today.”

  “Again,” I tell him, determined to make this work. What kind of husband and father would I be if I didn’t make strides in my recovery?

  At last, back in my room, I ask him to be honest. I swallow, hoping to hear the right answer.

  “Will I ever be able to use my hand and leg properly, eventually?”

  He pauses, checks my notes, then looks at me. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but it’s simply impossible to tell. You’ve still got swelling on the brain which is the reason you’re having difficulty with certain things. It could be worse, sometimes after the removal of a tumour, speech is affected, and it’s also fairly common for people to have to learn how to swallow again. It all depends on the area where the tumour was, and how the brain was affected when it was removed. As the swelling goes down, you’ll recover gradually. There’s already a lot of progress you’ve made. You might make a full recovery, or you could be left with some residual weakness on that side.”

  “You’re not much comfort.” I try to keep the whine out of my voice, but it’s hard.

  “You asked me for honesty. I can’t give guarantees either way. But staying positive, keeping up with your exercises will help.”

  “I need my records transferred so I can continue therapy.”

  He nods. “I understand your wife has been talking about how to continue your treatment.” He holds out his hand to me, I take it, trying to clasp my fingers around his. “This is our last session,” he says as he shakes it. “I’ll sign you off as fit to be discharged as far as your physical abilities go. Good luck, Mr James.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Vanna

  The next day I’m descending the staircase with my small suitcase in my hand, a sullen Cas following behind me, still muttering under his breath.

  “I don’t see why we have to leave.”

  Praying God grants me patience, I don’t bother explaining again. Liz is so adamant he wants nothing to do with the Satan’s Devils MC, there’s no way I can bring him here. Even though I’m turning down a job offer in order to take him back to the town where I’m very much unemployed. After I’ve spent what’s left of my last paycheck, I don’t even know how I’ll be able to make rent.

  I’ve been through many options in my head. I’ve even tried to look for a place here in Pueblo but there’s nothing available i
n my budget. No, the only answer is to do as Liz expects, and that’s for Cas and me to return to Denver and take him with us, and hope for the best.

  But Cas doesn’t want to leave. Part of it, I suspect, is that he’s scared of no longer being the man of the house. That worries me too. I’ve seen glimpses of conflict between my son and his father and know it’s not going to be easy to have Lizard transition back into our lives.

  I pause on the bottom step, as three people are blocking my way.

  “So, what are the main differences, Shayla?” Mace asks.

  The woman shrugs. “Tractors produce torque as their purpose is pulling. Cars, bikes and trucks carry shit. They’ve got suspension, tractors haven’t. Oh, and they’re not tuned for speed.”

  “You’re doing okay, though,” Pyro butts in. “Sure, suspension is something you’re overly familiar with, but we can work on that.”

  “So cars are built for comfort?” Mace chuckles.

  “Sort of,” Shayla replies.

  “Excuse us.” Deep in discussion, they haven’t noticed me or Cas. Now I’ve attracted attention, I notice Mace’s sharp eyes on my suitcase.

  “Thought you were collecting Lizard and bringing him back here?”

  Cas says in a low tone, “I fucking wish we were.”

  I silence him with one practiced mom look, then turn back to the man who’d asked. “I wish I could, Mace. But he’s not the man you knew, he’s the man he was before he joined the club. He gets agitated whenever I try to speak of you. He thinks he hates what you stand for.”

  “And what the fuck does he think we’re about?” Pyro snarls.

  “He thinks you’re a gang—into criminal stuff.”

  “You didn’t think of telling him the truth at all?” Mel’s husband snaps.

  “What do you think?” It’s my turn to spit the words out. I’ve tried and tried, being convinced it would be the best solution all around to stay at the club. But Liz was equally adamant he wasn’t going to consider it for a moment. Nothing I could say could defend them adequately, as I haven’t known them long, and Liz thought they’d hidden their bad side from me—because they wanted their foot soldier back.

  “Demon’s not going to like it,” Mace warns.

  “It’s for the best,” I tell him, going back over the similar arguments I’d had with Cas and had used to convince myself Lizard might be right. “His brain’s still healing. Maybe in time he’ll remember the club and want to come back. I wouldn’t get in his way or stop him—”

  “You sure about that?” Mace growls. “From where I’m standing, you’re probably glad to get your man to yourself, but don’t forget Vanna. He’s ours too. He’s our fuckin’ brother.”

  “I’ve told her that,” Cas barks out. “She won’t listen.”

  I throw up my hands. “It’s not me you have to convince, but him. Come on, Cas. Your dad will be waiting for us.”

  I walk off, expecting, hoping, my son will follow. To my relief, he does.

  It’s what I’ve always wanted isn’t it? For my husband to come home, and then all will be right with the world. So why, I think, as I get into my car, automatically checking Cas is fastening his seat belt, do I feel I’m leaving the best support I could have had behind? Help I might well come to need.

  You’re on your own, Vanna. Just as you always have been. Yeah. That sounds about right.

  When we get to the hospital, Cas is sullen and Liz impatient. Sorting his discharge papers out takes a while, particularly as he can’t hold a pen and has to sign left-handed. At last a wheelchair and volunteer appears, and with his crutches balanced over his legs, he’s wheeled through the hospital and outside.

  As soon as he’s able to, he stands, and after placing the crutches under his arms, balances on his own two feet.

  “Where are you parked?”

  “There.” I point out the modest model car which is all I can afford. It’s good enough, getting me from A to B.

  He looks at it and shakes his head. “Fuck, this must have been a new model when Cas was two, Vanna. You had it all that time?”

  “No, I had our old Honda, you remember that? Well, it died, and this was cheap. It runs okay, so it suits us.”

  “My friend’s dad’s car’s amazing. Does everything automatically,” Cas excitedly tells him, getting onto one of his favourite subjects. “Automatic wipers, lights which dip themselves. All-around parking sensors and blind spot warnings.”

  “Sounds like a load of useless crap to me,” Liz complains. “All a car needs is an engine, gearbox and steering. Long as it starts and stops that’s all that matters.”

  As I pull out of the parking lot and onto the main road, Cas sits back in his seat again, his arms folded. Guess all that sounds like science fiction to Liz, and Cas’s attempt at conversation had failed.

  “Can we have the radio on, Mom?”

  Well, listening to music would be better than trying to make small talk with a son in a bad mood and a husband who doesn’t seem much better. I’m just reaching for the knob when I hear a motorcycle engine. No, more than one. Then at least a dozen appear in the mirror. A couple overtake us, I wait for the rest to go past, but they don’t. They arrange themselves all around us, in front, to my rear, and one in the lane outside of me.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Liz sits forward, his head moving in all directions as he takes in the threat that surrounds us.

  Damn it. I indicate right, and one of the bikes blocks my turnoff lane. Glancing to my side, I see Beef, and he’s pointing ahead. It doesn’t take a genius to understand what they want of me.

  “That sign said Denver,” Liz says tersely. “Knock that asshole off his fuckin’ bike.”

  “Don’t you dare, Mom. That’s Judge!”

  “How the fuck do you know who they are?” Liz snarls over his shoulder at Cas, but just as quickly looks back to me. “Where’s your phone, Vanna? I’ll call the police.”

  Quickly I reach down, pick up my purse and throw it in the back seat. Cas picks it up and holds it tight in his hands.

  “No police.” The last thing I want to do is summon the law on our friends.

  “Vanna,” Liz growls. “Unless you mow those fuckers down, they’re going to direct us where they want us to go. That’s fuckin’ kidnapping.”

  “There’s another turnoff up here,” I tell him calmly.

  But no, the bikers are ahead of me, and again foil my attempt to get on the right road.

  “They’re not letting us go, Mom.” Cas’s voice sounds full of glee, and a glance in the rearview mirror shows him grinning.

  If I didn’t sense it would annoy my husband, I’d be grinning as well. But I keep my face impassive. “Guess we’re going to the compound.”

  “Cas. Give me your mom’s phone. Now, boy. Fuckin’ obey me.”

  But Cas doesn’t, and I give up trying to get back on the correct route. Well, we’re almost there now, let’s see how this is going to play out.

  I don’t know what Demon has in mind, or whether he’s prepared for just how angry the man at my side is going to be.

  The gates slide open. Surrounded by bikes, I drive through. Knowing what to do, I continue driving around the back, and park next to the club’s SUVs and trucks. When I turn off the engine, silence descends.

  “Don’t fuckin’ park, Vanna. Turn around and drive out. Ram the gates if they’ve closed them.”

  I sigh deeply. “Lizard. This is your home, your family. Give them a chance.”

  “They’re a criminal gang,” he hisses. “What’s this all about Vanna? You like the biker lifestyle? You been fuckin’ around on me?”

  Tears come into my eyes. This wasn’t where I planned to end up today, but in God’s honest truth, I don’t know the man sitting beside me.

  “I don’t care what relation you are to me,” comes an irate voice from the back seat, “but you don’t make my mom cry.”

  For an answer, Liz opens the door and gets out. His attempt to storm of
f fails when his right leg gives way, and he ends up sprawled on the ground.

  “Way to make an entrance, Brother,” Demon’s voice booms, then he reaches down to lend him a hand up.

  “Get off me. Give me my crutches,” Liz demands, his eyes spitting hatred at the man trying to help him to his feet.

  But in the end, he has to reluctantly accept assistance. When he’s upright, he balances on his wooden supports. “Told you before, I don’t know who the fuck you are, and I don’t want anything to do with you. Now if you’ll get out of our way, Vanna can take me and Cas to Denver.”

  Beef has come to my door and opened it. When I get out, he wipes a tear from my eye, and pulls me in for a brotherly hug. Until his arms surround me, I hadn’t realised how much I needed it.

  Whether Cas expected Liz to magically get his memory back as soon as we arrived in Liz’s old home, or whether his dad being this way had simply upset him, he gets out of the car, looking lost.

  “Come here, lil’ Bro.” Mace waves him over, and pulls him in, then lets him go with a back slap.

  Liz’s eyes go from me in Beef’s arms to Cas standing next to Mace, then his shoulders slump. “So that’s the way of it, is it? Well there’s no fuckin’ way I’m staying here. Vanna.” His focus comes back to me. “Too much has obviously happened. It was a fucking dream I could step back into your life.” He pauses, then looks at Demon. “Look, I’ve got no argument with you man, as long as you let me go. Just give me a phone and I’ll call Hatch. He’ll come and collect me.”

  His president doesn’t attempt to sugarcoat what I’ve kept from my man. “Hatch is dead, Liz. He died ten years back. His death is what brought you to us.”

  Lizard is stunned. Flummoxed, he doesn’t seem to know what to do with that piece of information. After his mouth opens and shuts a few times, he queries, “Dead? Hatch is gone? He can’t be.”

  “Come inside,” Demon suggests, his tone softened. “If you want to know how it happened, I’ll tell you about it. We came to the funeral with you.”