Thor (Thorny Devils MC Book 1)

by MLJ Quigg

  After letting him go, the guy smiled and thanked Monique, and then she gave him a hand up, laughing when their hands couldn’t grasp one another from the sweat on them. They both grabbed towels and started removing the sweat from themselves as they continued to talk, Monique commenting that he was getting so much better.

  We all clapped and wolf-whistled. When she turned around, I couldn’t keep my eyes off her—she was stunning. All around me, the guys were whispering about how gorgeous she was.

  She was wearing a pair of black athletic shorts, which looked like panties, and a little black tank top.

  I was checking her out properly when she started walking over to us, and we all know how that ended up.

  I was still staring and thinking about everything that had happened when she said, with much disgust, “Mike, I’m out of here.

  I’ll finish the paperwork. You can throw out the trash.” As she started to walk away, I grabbed her arm.

  “Don’t touch me,” she said, breaking my hold.

  “I’m sorry, Monique. How have you been?” I asked

  “How have I been? How have I been?” she replied, starting to get hysterical. “Fuck you, Derrick. After all these years, you have no right to ask me anything.” She sneered.

  “What the fuck, babe? It’s been what, fifteen years of not seeing each other? Come on, babe. It’s water under the bridge,” I said.

  “Water under the bridge, you say. You have no idea the hell my life has been like since you up and walked. I found out about your mum a month after she died. You didn’t even fucking tell me. You rang me once. One phone call saying you’ll call me back, and then nothing. No note. No text. Not even a fucking homing pigeon. Absolutely fucking nothing. No more phone calls. You disconnected your number. You just up and disappeared. We were supposed to be moving in together. I tried to find you everywhere. I thought you were dead.” She shook her head. Man, she was pissed.

  “You want to know what’s been happening the last fifteen years? Fine, I’ll tell you. Six weeks after you left, I found out I was pregnant with the triplets. I had to move back into Mum and Dad’s as I had problems with the pregnancy. The kids were born at twenty-nine weeks, Derrick. They could fit into the palm of my hand, that’s how tiny they were. The birth was a fucking nightmare in itself. I almost died of complications. They had to put me in an induced coma for three weeks, and my parents were told to prepare for my funeral. Can you imagine what they went through? I woke up, and the only person besides my parents that was there was Dave—and that was because it was his fucking job as my nurse.” She took a deep breath and continued.

  “I couldn’t work and fell badly into debt, so when I was twentytwo, I joined the military to pay off the debt. I saved every dollar I could and finally got out of debt.” She started pacing in front of us shaking her head.

  “At twenty-five, I ended up being posted full-time here in Sydney, so I moved here with the kids and Dave. Mum and Dad both decided to sell Dad’s gym, and they moved here with us. Dad opened his own security company, and I went halves with Dad to buy this warehouse we’re in right now. We had it renovated, and we started Henderson Security from the ground up. I could only help when I was on leave, which at the time wasn’t very often.” She smiled sadly probably thinking of her parents and continued pacing.

  “At twenty-eight, I got into Special Forces where I met Mike, which was fucking awesome. Then at thirty, we were on a mission, and I was captured by the enemy. I was drugged, raped, and repeatedly tortured for three months before Mike and the team behind me rescued me.” She gestured behind her.

  “I came home and had to go through extensive rehabilitation. They broke both of my legs, my left arm, my nose, cheek, and jaw. They sliced me up so badly I had to have several facial reconstructions and let me tell you, that fucking hurt so bad, but at least they kinda got my looks back from it. I had to cover the rest of the scars with tattoos. Some can’t be done as they were too severe.” She balled up her fists then let them relax and started shaking them out.

  “I finally got my life back in order, and then last year, Mum and Dad both passed away within three months of each other.” Oh, fuck, that is not good. They were fantastic people. I know how close they all were.

  “The only good thing you ever did for me was to give me those three beautiful, smart as fuck kids. So fuck you, arsehole, water under the bridge.” By now, she was screaming.

  Monique took a deep breath and seemed to centre herself, then turned to Mike.

  “I’m going to go scream and throw some fucking shit, then calm the fuck down, take a shower, and get ready for my appointment tonight. Give me half an hour, okay?” Mike nodded, and she walked off.

  I couldn’t say anything. I was completely frozen. I had no idea. As I started to tear up, I heard sniffles from all around me. We all got emotional when women were abused. We hate that shit, but this was personal—this directly affected me. The only one who knew my full story was Dozer, my best friend and VP. He put his hands on my shoulder and gave a squeeze. I looked at him, and he had tears in his eyes, too, as he gave me a sad smile.

  The silence was everywhere.

  “Holy Fuck. That poor girl,” I heard someone say. I didn’t know who said it.

  I was still frozen.

  I think I was in shock.

  I know I was in shock.

  She had been through hell. Fuck, I didn’t know what to think, and then one thing caught my attention...

  Holy shit, I have kids! I never thought I would, never wanted them. I had been with so many women, all club girls, and I always used condoms to stop the chance of kids. Hell, I’d even used them with Monique, and she was on the pill. Man, this was doing my head in.

  My chest ached. I wanted to meet them. I wanted to be in their lives.

  Monique was the only girl I’d ever loved. It wasn’t an easy decision to walk away, but I had my reasons. It broke my heart leaving her, but it had to be done. I thought she was happy. She had looked it. How could I have been so fucking wrong?

  We all heard an agonised scream, then loud crashing, and we winced at the sound.

  “I think you guys should go,” Mike said.

  “But—” I looked at Mike.

  “I was going to beat you to a pulp for what you did to that poor girl, but seeing the look on your face, I can see you still care. Give her time. She’s been through a hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and she’s hurting right now. I know my girl. She’ll be all right. Just give her this. Give me your number, and I’ll keep you updated on where she’s at,” Mike interrupted.

  “Why would you help?” I asked.

  “I was there when we got her out. She was a fucking mess, Derrick. They had her tied to a bed permanently because she killed a guy who came in. They pumped her with drugs to keep her docile. Throughout it all, she kept up hope and didn’t let them win. She’s only been with one man willingly, and that’s you. You’re the only man she’s ever loved. She always said that if she ever found you, she would never keep the kids from you. You’re their father,” he said sadly.

  I nodded my head. I gave him my phone number and asked him to give it to Monique so she could call me.

  We were just about to leave when the front door opened again, and the kids returned with Dave.

  The boys had dark blond hair, green eyes like me, and the same facial features. One had hair down past his shoulders like me, and the other had short hair, nearly shaved. They were big kids, tall— about five feet eight-ish and muscular. Holy fuck. They were me all over. The girl was the spitting image of her mum, looking exactly like the Monique I remembered. She was a tiny little thing with black spiral curls down to her shoulders, and she had the same blue eyes. Fuck, they could’ve almost passed as twins.

  I didn’t even look at them before. At the time, I was too focused on wanting to kill Monique.

  They walked up to Mike and hugged him.

  “Hey, Uncle Mike. Uncle Dave says if it’s all right with Mum,
we can stay at your place this weekend. Is that okay with you?” asked the boy with the long hair.

  “Sure, Jack. That’s fine with me if it’s okay with your mum. You’re all still grounded, so you won’t be watching TV or using the phone, though. Your mum would kill me if I let you,” Mike said.

  “We know. You are evenly matched, and we’ve seen her take you down as many times as we’ve seen you take her down,” commented the short-haired boy.

  When Dave arrived, Mike wrapped his arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the lips with a sad smile.

  The girl looked at all of us, and her gaze came back to me.

  “Hey, how’s it going?” she asked.

  “Hi. Good, thanks,” I replied.

  “So, a Prez, huh? Cool,” she said.

  “Um, yeah. Um,” I stammered.

  Chuckles were heard from everyone.

  “So, what would a motorcycle club be doing in a security company,” she pondered.

  “What do you think, Maddi? To hire them,” Jack said.

  “Oh, really? No shit, Sherlock,” she deadpanned back at Jack.

  “So, I’m guessing the tension before was for a reason.” She turned back to me.

  “Uh, yeah. Your mum’s a pistol, that’s for sure,” I said.

  “Makes sense,” she said still looking at me strangely.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well, not very many can get her hackles up. I’m guessing you came in all guns blazing, and she retaliated,” Maddi said.

  “Um, no. Your mum was the one who actually started it. She fucking kneed me in the balls, and then took out three of our guys single-handedly.” I growled.

  “Ooh, ouch. I’m guessing she was pissed at you for a reason then.”

  “I didn’t do anything. I was just standing there. There was no fucking reason to go off like that,” I said.

  The boys started to take notice as well, and they all looked at me with the same perplexed look.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Derrick, but people call me Thor,” I replied.

  “Well, that explains it, then,” she said.

  “What? I’m confused.”

  She looked at me with a look of such concentration I started to shuffle, and then she said, “I’m Madilyn. These are my brothers, Connor and Jackson. Nice to finally meet you, Dad,” she finally said.

  She sounded so grown up, so smart.

  “What makes you think that?” I was so stunned that I stumbled over my words

  “Our dad’s name is Derrick, and well, even though I look just like Mum, Conner and Jackson look nothing like me, but they’re your clones. Same eyes, same looks, and same hair colour,” she pointed out with a shrug.

  Before I could say anything, a reply came from my left.

  “Yeah, you’re right, baby girl,” Monique said.

  I looked over at Monique, and she looked like the girl I knew. Her hair was down and still damp from her shower, but you could see the curls went halfway down her back now. She kept flipping it back every time it came forward into her face. She wore a pair of black slacks, black stiletto heels, a dark red blouse, and was carrying a jacket over her arms. She had on very light make-up. Fuck, she looked gorgeous even though you could tell she’d been crying, her eyes still puffy and bloodshot.

  “Oh, honey, come here. Are you okay?” Dave, who was still in Mike’s arms, looked at Monique and gasped.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” she muttered.

  “Babe, I’ve known you for fifteen years, and I’ve never seen you cry. Even after all the shit you went through, not once did you cry.

  You got mad, but you never cried. Are you sure you’re okay?” Dave asked.

  “Not at the moment, but I will be. You know me. Nothing holds me down for long,” Monique whispered as she walked into his arms and hugged him tightly.

  The kids noticed and walked over to hug her, not saying a word.

  She took a deep breath, then pulled back and smiled at the kids.

  “Did you keep your promise?” she asked.

  “Yes, Mum, we did. Connor, Jackson, and I didn’t fight with anyone this week even though last week wasn’t our fault. They were bullies and tried to pick on someone smaller than them. I mean, come on, what did you expect us to do? There were seven against one. We couldn’t let them get away with it. We only wanted to help the kid. I didn’t throw the first punch, so I was only defending myself. It wasn’t my fault he thought because I was so much smaller than him they could take me on. I swear, I didn’t mean to try to break his arm. I thought about it, but I pulled back like you showed us, and he only got a sprained wrist, anyway. He shouldn’t have tried to hit a girl, and it was only one on one. Connor and Jackson had all the fun. They fought three guys each. He was a pussy, anyway. He went and cried to his mummy... It’ll teach him that no matter how big you are, you shouldn’t bully,” said Madilyn, my daughter, dryly.

  Then Connor continued. “And we didn’t try to correct the teachers even if they were wrong, and we can’t help it if they are dumber than we are, but we know it’s important to respect adults, so we will keep our thoughts, comments, and rolling of our eyes to ourselves.”

  Holy fuck, they’re my kids. Fuck, they’re smart-arses who are way too smart for their own good, and they are as bad as each other.

  Now it was Jackson’s turn to speak. “Stacy wants to go on a date this weekend, but I’m sick of her. All she does is nag, nag, nag all the bloody time. I said I’d ask but that we were grounded. She won’t shut up, though, Mum.”

  “Hell no. You’ve kept your promise and have been good this week, but you’re still grounded for the stunt you pulled last week. You put them in the hospital, and it was lucky we knew the police officers attending. So no TV or phones until the end of the month, which means it’s a no-go on that one. Good try, though, baby,” Monique said to him.

  “Not a baby, Mum. We’re fourteen next week,” Jackson replied.

  “You’ll always be my babies even when you are old and have kids of your own.” Monique chuckled at him.

  “Girls are all right, although they are high maintenance and never shut up. They can be pains in the arse except for Madilyn.

  She’s pretty cool,” Jackson muttered.

  “That’s because she’s the only girl who can fight us.” Conner chuckled.

  “Yep, and don’t you forget it, too.” Madilyn laughed at them.

  Monique

  I hugged the kids one more time, getting one in return from them.

  “Your dad and I need to talk and sort through some things, okay? Then I will bring him so you can have a proper talk. Can you be patient until then?”

  They all nodded and looked back at Derrick, giving him a smile, which he returned.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, calming myself, and then I looked at Mike.

  “All right, let’s take this to the large conference room. We’ll all fit in there. Kids, go to my office and get your homework done. You can train with the others when you’re finished. I’m not sure how long this is going to take.”

  “Sure, Mum,” they replied in unison.

  “All right, if you’ll just follow me, and we’ll find out if we can help,” I stated.

  “Monique, can we talk first, please?” Derrick asked.

  “Not at the moment, Derrick. Let’s get this over with, and then we’ll talk, okay? We have a lot to talk about, and I’d never keep you from getting to know the kids.”

  He looked gutted, but he nodded his head.

  “Dozer, Trigger, Bluey, Macca, Blade, and Hulk, you’re with me.

  The rest of you guys, stay here,” he said.

  When we were all in the room, I took a seat at the head of the table and grabbed the pen and paper in front of me. Mike sat to the right of me, and Derrick sat to the left while the rest took their places in the other chairs. Everyone then introduced themselves and their positions in the club.

  Dozer, th
e VP, looked like he would bulldoze over anyone, just as his name suggested. He was huge, and I meant huge in every way. He stood around six foot six, had jet black hair, which sat on his shoulders and had a slight wave to it. His brown eyes looked like milk chocolate. He was extremely attractive and reminded me of Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean.

  Trigger, the enforcer, had light blond hair on his nearly bald head, a square jaw, and was a nice-looking guy with light blue eyes that looked silver. He looked dangerous, though—it was the eyes, which seemed to see right into you—and was someone you didn’t want to mess with. He had more of a swimmer’s build, was well defined, and stood about six feet tall.

  Bluey was the road captain and looked young. He had baby features with blue eyes and shaggy red hair just long enough to cover his ears.

  Hulk, the sergeant-at-arms, was a huge motherfucker. He was massive, standing around six foot nine. He looked like the original actor in the TV series bearing his name. He had short brown hair and dark brown eyes, which nearly looked black. I could only guess where he got the name.

  Macca, the treasurer, was a chunky guy with hazel eyes and light brown hair worn up in a man bun, which suited him.

  Blade was the secretary. He had short, black hair and bright blue eyes the same shade as mine. He looked familiar, somehow, but I couldn’t place where.

  “Have we met before? You seem really familiar,” I asked him.

  “No. I don’t think so. I think I’d remember if I met you before,” Blade replied.

  Okay. That’s weird. Oh, well.

  When I looked around the table, it seemed like we were ready to go.

  “Okay, how can we help you guys?” I asked.

  “What we will discuss is all common knowledge and can be easily found out, but we can’t and won’t tell you club business, sorry. Our club is clean, no drugs, no guns, but it doesn’t mean we don’t get our hands dirty, and we all live by our own rules. We are having problems and need security on some of our businesses. The men we usually use are needed for club business,” Derrick said.

  “No, that’s fine. I can understand that. How many businesses are we talking here, and how many staff? What kind of manpower do you need,” I asked.