by Amy Davies
“You look like the elephant man after all that crying.” I smile, but I know she can’t see me.
“Thanks, Z. For the record, I don’t think he will run me out of town. Avoid me, yeah. But he knows how much I love the cafe and how much Nancy wanted me to run it.”
“Okay, I will give you that, but if he gives you any shit, I will go Kung Fu Panda on his arse. Got it?” I nod.
“Ice cream. Chocolate. Nik Naks. Alcohol. All are needed tonight,” Zarah says, walking out of the room. “Come out when you’re ready.” I let out a big breath and take the face cloth off my face, dropping it on the floor next to the bed.
Climbing out of my bed, I pull my dress up and over my head, before dropping that to the floor as well. I take off my bra and walk over to my dresser and pull out some cool pyjamas. I pick my teal and leopard set. The cami is teal with a lace trim and the shorts are leopard print with a teal lace trim.
I pick up a hair-tie and put my hair up in a messy bun and walk out into the living room to see my sister already on the couch with the coffee table filled with all our favourite junk foods.
“Come on, Smallie. We need to pick some sexy thing to watch.” She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I smile at her.
“Okay, so who are we watching tonight? No SOA, please?” I joke, but my heart hurts. I can’t handle biker tonight, even though we love Charlie Hunnam.
“Okay, since no bikers but we love Charlie, how about some Pacific Rim?”
“Deal.” We settle in and watch the film, stuffing our faces with as much junk as we can without being sick. After Pacific Rim, we watch a The Shallows because I love sharks.
Thanks to Zarah, the films and the junk food—which believe me, helps—I forget about Ace and my heartbreak for a short time. But once I’m in bed again, the pain and hurt comes rushing back. I cry myself to sleep, thinking of how I’m going to live without Ace McGowan in my life.
Ace
Yesterday was the worst fucking day of my life. Clover coming into my office and causing shit was the final straw for her. I wanted to see how far she would take things, but that backfired when Ana walked in on us. She thought the worst of me. The hurt and pain in her eyes will haunt for the rest of the days we are apart.
Fighting with her in the courtyard was fucking brutal. I have never been so angry at a woman as I was with her yesterday, and I know some of that anger stemmed from Clover’s bullshit moves. I needed a reason to kick Clover out of the club. It’s in the bylaws of the club that a club girl needs to make a threat against a patched member or his old lady and thank fuck Clover did that yesterday.
She offered to take out Ana, make sure she never comes around the club again, and guess who she used? The fucking suits. I was smiling at her, thinking about the perfect words to tell her she was done with the club, when my woman opened the fucking door and took everything the wrong way.
Once Ana said her final words to me yesterday—I already regret it—my world crumbled. My chest caved, and my heart stopped.
I walked into the clubhouse like a fucking zombie, dead on my feet, until Clover stepped into the room, and some of my brothers followed me in. She was smiling, looking like a triumphant troll with her overly-done-up face and hair.
“I told you she can’t handle the club life. You’re better off without her,” she said to me in front of the boys. That’s when all I saw was red. I lunged for her, but Court and Batch got to me first, seeing the rage in my eyes.
“YOU FUCKING CUNT.” I had tried getting to her again, but my brothers weren’t letting me go. Suede and Lola had come running into the room and asked what was happening. How I managed to explain is beyond me, but I did. Lola walked over to Clover and floored the bitch with one punch.
Suede banned her from the club for life and ordered her out that minute. Lola had followed her to make sure she packed only her shit and left.
Once they were out of the room, the boys let me go, but the rage was still burning inside of me. I picked up the closest chair and slammed it against the table, watching as it shattered into pieces.
The raging animal in me broke, and nothing was safe from me. I smashed up a few chairs and tables, and I overturned the sofa. The boys let me rage, but then Suede put a stop to it, ordering Dyson to take me to my room to calm my arse down with a bottle of gin. I drank myself stupid to stop myself from going to Ana and begging her to talk to me.
Which brings us to now at eleven o’clock in the morning with me laying my head on the bar, a stampede in my skull.
“Hair of the dog, brother.” Bear hands be a bottle of beer.
“Fuck, I need sleep—maybe spew my guts up, then sleep. Fuck, don’t ever let me drink like that again,” I say to anyone who will listen. I hate—fucking hate—getting drunk. I hate not having control over my senses.
“Drink some water or Lucozade then and take some painkillers. That should help.” He chuckles. “Get one of the club girls to make you a fry-up, that will soak the alcohol.” My stomach rolls at the thought of food, but I know he’s right.
“Oh shit.” I bolt off the bar stool and run to the toilet, just making it in time. I spew the drink back up from last night, completely emptying my stomach. Oh God, fucking kill me now. I lean on the porcelain bowl and take a deep breath, but the stench of the acid and the gin make me retch again.
“You okay, man?” Dyson asks from behind me. I fall back against the wall, resting my head back, looking up at the tiled ceiling.
“I’m dying, brother.” The bastard chuckles. Yeah, I’ll remember that, fuckhead. He kicks my foot before speaking.
“Come on, we have church.”
“Fuck, can’t I die in peace?”
“You can’t die at all, man. Come on.” He holds his hand out to me, and I take it and let him drag me to my feet. “Let’s get this shit sorted.”
“She wants nothing to do with me.” I step up to the sink and splash some water over my face, before drinking some, swilling it around my mouth and spitting it out.
“Give her time. Let’s go before Prez sends out a search party for us.” I take a deep breath and follow behind him. The room is deathly quiet. The boys give me a sympathetic nod.
Suede bangs the gavel and it vibrates through my head. I wince and rest my elbows on the table and my head in my hands.
“Sorry, brother.” I nod but don’t look up. “The plan is set to go down tonight. Everything is in place, thanks to Ace and Click.”
“She isn’t coming, is she?” EC pipes up.
“Do you really think I would put her in danger, brother?” My head lifts at the tone in Suede’s voice.
“No, but I know how fucking stubborn she is.”
Suede speaks up. “Get her in here.”
“Wait. What?” EC is sputtering as the door opens and Click walks in, dressed like a man’s wet dream. Did I forget to mention that Click is a fucking stunner? Tall for her age. Her chocolate brown hair down her back, big green innocent eyes, and the perfect set of lips a man could wish for—well, except for me because my Ana is a fucking knock out.
Click may be a geek or a nerd, but she is beautiful. EC’s mouth drops open as she saunters into the room with her laptop open and resting on her arm.
Maze goes to stand to give her his seat, but EC growls, making Click roll her eyes.
“I’ll stand, but thanks, Maze.” Oh, the girl is trouble, but I know she wants EC just as much as he wants her. But the history there is fucked up.
“I’ve tracked where the dicks go most of the day. They seem to have a pattern, and thanks to EC planting the tracker, we can see where they go. They only go to these three locations.” EC puffs out his chest when she says he did a good job. Good little pretty boy.
“These are the times they’re there.” She hands me a sheet of paper with times and durations they are there for. I look over the numbers and see the pattern clear as day.
“I say we hit tonight at ten. They seem to be there for the longest time then, settling in
for the night.”
“Why the fuck are they staying there?” asks Batch.
“No clue, brother, but we strike tonight. Thanks, darlin’.” I look at Click, and she blushes a little and closes her laptop. She walks up to me with her laptop tucked under her arm and leans in to whisper in my ear. My eyes go straight to EC, who is slaughtering me in his head for having his woman this close to me.
“For what it’s worth, she’s looking like shit too—heartbroken. Fix it.”
I nod and watch as she leaves the room.
“What the fuck was that?” EC growls from across the table.
“None of your fucking business, brother.” I wink at him and he charges to his feet, making everyone laugh.
“Don’t push me when it comes to her, Ace. Just because you fucked up with Mouse, doesn’t mean you can make a move on the one woman I want.” That sets my anger boiling again. I slam my chair back and stand.
“Watch what the fuck you’re saying, boy.”
“Why? If you make move on Mae, then for-fucking-sure I’m going to make a move on Ana.” He smirks at me, thinking he has me. I lunge across the table and land a solid punch to his jaw. He tries to throw a punch back at me, but I’m quicker. I’m not the Sergeant-at-Arms for nothing.
“Enough,” Suede bellows. Dyson pulls me off EC and Batch pulls EC to his feet. “Grow the fuck up, will you. We got shit to get done.” I give EC the middle finger and take my seat while we go over the plans for tonight.
We’re all spread out around the warehouse. Suede wanted me to pull in my brother, Solar’s, MC, but I told him we could handle it on our own. Dyson and I are close to the front, waiting for the fucking suits to arrive. We need to get the girls out with minimal bloodshed to them, but I want these wankers dead and fucking buried.
It doesn’t take long before they arrive, walking around their car like they’re kings of the fucking world. We wait for the word from Suede to go all in.
“Go. Go. Go.” Suede voice comes through our earpieces. We jump to our feet and storm the place, not giving them time to react. Maze and EC’s jobs are to get the girls we know are being held in one of the small back rooms. My gun is drawn, and I take down the man who is sitting on a chair. He topples over, but I’m moving on before he even hits the floor.
Pain hits my bicep and I duck behind a wall. I look down and see blood seeping into my shirt, but it looks like a graze. I grit my teeth and move to the next room. The girls scream, and I can only hope it’s because of the gunfire.
“Fuck,” I hear being screamed. “I’m hit.” Maze.
“How bad?” I yell over the noise.
“My fucking shoulder.” I try to make my way to Maze when I come face to face with one of the suits. He has a girl in front on him, using her as a shield.
“You’re okay, sweetheart. We’ll get you out of this.”
“Clear,” I hear from somewhere. I smile at him, and he just smirks back at me. He doesn’t fear death, that is clear.
“Give up, pal. You ain’t getting out of here.”
“You think?”
“I do. Hand the girl over and we can talk this shit out.” He knows I’m lying, but I have to try.
“Not happening. I know how this shit works. You let me go and I won’t hurt her.”
“Now who’s lying, you son of a bitch. You killed Eliza. And for what?” I demand.
“You tainted what was mine. I need payback.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I haven’t touched anything of yours.”
“I believe you have. Multiple times. She tastes fucking good, doesn’t she.” He smirks at me like I should know who the fuck he’s talking about. “Does she still flush all the way up from her tits to her neck when she comes?”
My breath catches in my throat. Ana—he’s talking about Ana. How does he know her?
“I see the wheels turning, and you worked it out. Ana is my wife, you twat.”
Wife? No way, she would have told me. Fuck, no, she wouldn’t have. She hasn’t told me fuck all about her past. He takes the split-second advantage and fires at me, hitting me in the stomach. I fall back to the ground, hearing the girl’s screams.
I feel pressure on my body. I force my eyes open and see the girl putting pressure on my wound. The fucker shot me. Holy fuck.
“Help! In here. He’s been shot,” she screams, tears running down her face. I lay there, flashes of the club, my mum, and Ana flickering behind my closed eyes. I reach up and touch the girl’s hand on my lower body.
“Tell Ana I love her, and that I’m sorry.” I know she has no fucking clue who I’m talking about, but I needed to say it.
“Stay with us, brother. Fuck me, Ana will kick my arse if something happens to you.” My eyes flutter open and I see EC kneeling over me.
“Love her,” I whisper, before everything turns cold and black.
Ana
I toss and turn in bed, my stomach not settling at all today. I give up. I climb out of bed and go to the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea. Hopefully that will help—and maybe some toast.
The kettle is almost boiled when—
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Someone comes banging on my front door. I shriek, almost dropping the spoon in my hand. I place my other hand over my chest to calm my beating heart.
“What the hell?” Zarah says, coming down the stairs. I shake my head.
“Ana, open the door.” Maze’s voice comes through the door. My heart sinks, and Zarah is there by my side. I place my hands over my stomach.
“Ace,” I whisper. Zarah kisses the side of my head before walking over to open the door to Maze. I slowly move towards him, and I see his face. Oh no. My hand flies to my mouth as I shake my head.
“Ace has been hurt, babe. You need to come to the hospital.” I’m frozen to the spot.
“He is dead?”
“No. Hurt—badly,” Maze replies.
I feel arms wrap around me and pull me up the stairs.
“Come on, let’s get you dressed, and then we can go and see Ace, okay?” I stand there and watch as my sister pulls clothes out for me and puts them on the bed. I feel numb. I don’t even know if I’m crying.
Zarah appears in front of me. She grips my shoulders and tells me to get dressed. I listen and take off my pyjamas, before sliding on my jeans and a loose vest. I don’t bother with a bra. Flip flops get dropped at my feet, so I put them on, and then I’m being tugged back down the stairs to a waiting Maze, who tucks his phone away when he sees us.
“Come on, Mouse. Let’s take you to see your man.” I cringe at the words, because he isn’t my man anymore.
In a flash we’re at the hospital. The lift doors open, and I see all the brothers sitting in the chairs around the room. Suede is pacing. I see EC in the corner of the room, covered in blood. He looks at me, offers me a sad smile, before turning to look out the window next to him. The room is sullen. Everyone is feeling the pain of Ace being hurt.
“Ana.” I look at Suede. “He’s okay, and awake. Dyson is in with him. You can go in.” I shake my head, but he insists. “He wants to see you.”
He takes my hand and leads me to the room. My heart has now kicked into high gear and is trying its best to break through my chest. Suede pushes the door open to a private room.
I gasp when I see Ace sitting up in bed with a large dressing over his lower stomach. My hand covers my mouth, and both Ace and Dyson look in our direction.
“Baby.” Ace’s voice is hoarse. I can only assume from the tube they had down his throat when they operated. Maze explained to us in the car what had happened.
I walk over to the bed, tucking my hands in the back pockets of my jeans to stop myself from reaching out to him.
“Come here, babe. I need to feel you.” I shake my head. I understand he’s hurt, but the picture of them together still rules my thoughts.
“Ana, please, baby.” His voice cracks with emotion, and that alone breaks my restraint. I lean over him, w
rapping my arms around his neck, sobbing into his body.
“I’m okay, baby. I swear I am. I’m so fucking sorry for everything that’s happened. Please tell me you forgive me.” I nod against his neck. “Words, baby; I need words.”
“I forgive you,” I breath out between sobs. I lift my head and our eyes meet.
“Baby, I didn’t touch her. It was a set-up, and she failed. She’s gone—out of the club.” I nod.
“Okay,” I whisper. “I believe you.” He kisses my lips softly, like a butterfly’s touch.
“God, I missed you. I thought I would never see you again, and as much as that makes me sound like a pussy, I don’t fucking care.” I nod and smile at him. My first smile in days. His face gets serious, and he takes my cheeks in his hand.
“We need to talk. I know you hate talking about your past, but I’m sorry, baby, it’s come into our present.” I frown at him, not having a clue what he’s talking about.
“Gary Molloy,” is all he says. My heart stops and my body runs cold. I try to pull out of his arms, but his grip tightens. He winces as his muscles tighten around me.
“No.” I pull harder, and he lets me go. I can’t go far though, as Dyson and Suede are blocking the door.
“Baby girl, you’re going to have to explain. He’s caused the club some shit over the last few weeks.” I gasp, and it all comes flooding back to me. The news of the girls being attacked, the men in suits… Oh my God, Gary killed Eliza.
“Start at the beginning,” Ace says. I take a deep breath and go to stand by the window. I knew this day would come—when I would have to explain my past.
“I married Gary young. I was stupid and in love. Not long after we got married, I fell pregnant. But I lost...” A sob bubbles up from my throat before I can stop it. I’m lifted off my feet and placed on the bed next to Ace, who gingerly wraps one arm around me, taking my hand in the other.
“Carry on, baby. I’ve got you.”
