Page 37 of Gash (The Skulls #13)

Charlotte opened her eyes and became aware of Gash cuddled up against her. She didn’t freak out this time. They were both naked, and after the pleasure they had given each other well into the night, she didn’t feel it was right to freak out. She had been with him every step of the way.

Biting her lip, she stared at his face. He was a good looking man. Seven years ago, he’d been good looking, a little thinner than he was now, but not as butch. He also hadn’t had as many scars. There were cuts and scars over his body that she just knew were from his time in prison.

“You know, staring is rude,” he said.

“I didn’t even know you were awake.”

He opened his eyes, and her heart rate sped up. She couldn’t look away, nor did she want to. Gash was a handsome man. Her pussy grew slick recalling the way he held her down and brought her to orgasm. He was persistent in giving her pleasure, and she’d been too weak and too wanton to deny him.

“Do you like what you see?”

“Yes.”

Gash stroked his hand up to cup her breast, and he pinched the hard nipple. He turned her so that her back was pressed against his front. His cock lay between the cheeks of her ass, and he was already swollen stiff.

“Last night, baby, that was just the beginning,”

he said, snuggling in close.

“It’s after seven.”

“Just five more minutes.”

He groaned, and Charlotte didn’t want to pull away. She loved his arms around him and the way he held her. With him holding her, she felt like nothing could ever take that safety away.

He protected her.

After so many years of being alone, it was nice to have someone close, someone willing to fight for her. She’d never had that before.

Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t a bad silence. It was peaceful. She closed her eyes, and he sighed.

“This is what I imagined,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Waking up with my woman. Obviously, I always imagined that I’d be fucking my woman.”

She giggled, slapping his hand. “Don’t start.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind waiting. The anticipation is all part of it. Besides, you worked my dick many times last night. I doubt I’ve got any spunk left in me.”

“Do you have to be gross?”

“Not being gross, baby. It’s a club thing. I just say it like it is.”

She rolled her eyes. “Will you ever tell me about what happened there?”

she asked.

He tensed up. “Where?”

“Prison.”

She glanced behind her shoulder, and nodded. “You don’t have to tell me about it. I just want you to know that I’m here if you need it.”

Gash stayed quiet.

“The ward where I was had over twenty patients who were on suicide watch. I wasn’t allowed to leave my room for about two months, unless I was in a wheelchair. They would take me to the dining room to eat, and someone would feed me. I had my own personal nurse who did everything.”

He tightened his hold around her.

“Not being able to do anything made it worse. I told Doctor Williams that him keeping me locked up with nothing to do just made me dwell on everything.”

She smirked. “It was the first time that I fooled him. He released me for twenty-four hours.”

She lifted her hand, showing the second faint line across her wrist. The first one she had done in the main hospital after attacking Jeff. The second was after manipulating the doctor. Each line, each scar, each mark, it told a story of her fight to leave this world.

Now, she was in Gash’s arms, revealing parts of her life she had vowed to keep hidden.

“You don’t have to talk to me about prison. I know what it’s like to have everything taken away from you, and I just thought that you should know, I’m here.”

She licked her dry lips. “You know, in case you ever wanted to talk. I’m not saying that you should, but I’m here. I’m going to be quiet now.”

Silence fell in the room, and she closed her eyes, wondering why the fuck she even opened her mouth.

“For the most part, there wasn’t a problem while I was there. The club, Tiny, he made sure I had protection in there. There were times when protection wasn’t enough.”

“What happened?”

“Beatings and attacks.”

He gripped her hip, and moved her over, flipping her around. With him holding her hand, he placed it against his abdomen. “This is where I was pierced in the shower. It was quick, but I survived.”

“How? I thought weapons weren’t allowed.”

“It doesn’t mean that guards aren’t paid to look the other way, and for the most part, they are. Other clubs, men, they can get paid to take men out, and being with The Skulls, I made a lot of enemies.”

“Is that why you buffed up?”

She touched his arms, and her cheeks started to heat as she realized what she had said. “I mean, you’re bigger than last time. I’m not really making this any better, am I?”

“You’re sounding all right to me.”

He chuckled. “There’s not a lot to do other than work out, read, and play. We all had jobs to do, but for the most part I figured the only way to survive is to keep strong. Tiny, he was there for me, and made sure when certain men got out, the club took care of them.”

“They killed them?”

“To send a message. Fuck with a Skull on the inside, doesn’t guarantee you’re safe on the outside.”

“What about the guards?”

“Another message. It took time, but my last year before it was found out that I wasn’t the murderer, was the most peaceful of my life.”

“Do you wish you could go back?”

“Fuck no. It was the worst place of my life. It was the worst, yet peaceful years there. That’s all. I love being on my bike, being free to defend the club, and not having to worry about shit. I wouldn’t trade that for the world.”

There was a knock on the door.

“What is it?”

“I’ve got information for you,”

Whizz said.

In the next second the door opened, and Charlotte squealed, sinking more under the covers. She was naked.

“What the fuck, man?”

“If you weren’t covered, you’d have told me to fucking hold on and come to the door. You’re not, so tada.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed. “This is all the information you need. He has an apartment within the city. Jeff Wright was a dirty cop who also happened to be in league with Gonzalez and someone else. He’s got his fingers in a lot of dirty pies, and because he’s never been afraid to get dirty, a lot of people pay him a shit ton of cash to do it. There’s even proof that he visited some of those men that attacked you in prison. Whoever it was, they were gunning for you, Gash.”

Charlotte looked toward him to see that Gash didn’t seem in the least bothered by that. She didn’t understand it. Jeff wanted to hurt him, and someone was paying him to do it.

“What are you going to do?”

“Hunt him, kill him, and before that, find a way to get answers from him.”

Whizz handed the file to Gash. “I have everything there. Rebecca and Jeff remained together after they went off the grid. They had new identities and killed of their current ones. As far as the world knows, Jeff and Rebecca died in a car crash seven years ago. It’s funny, they died, and the next day, David and Tiffany appeared without much history around them. It was shoddy work. Enough to fool anyone who wasn’t particularly looking, but not enough for me.”

“How did you find that?”

Charlotte asked.

“I’m paid to look through the cracks, and this was one big crack in their story. It was too much of a coincidence that you said David looked like Jeff in the image I brought up, then for him to own the apartment that was registered to Jeff. I’d be careful though, Jeff didn’t have those funds to take you down, or to pay off the men. He’s working for someone, and because of it, he got a big old payoff. I’m guessing whoever Rebecca was fucking, they were doing exactly the same.”

“This is fucked up.”

“Be careful. I’ve given this information to Tiny and also to Gash.”

“Why?”

Charlotte asked.

“Tiny was the Prez of The Skulls for most of the last seven years. He handed over the reins a few months ago. When you go to kill a fucker from the past, it tends to bring some bad shit, believe me,”

Whizz said. “Are you making breakfast?”

Charlotte frowned. “Huh?”

“The food you cooked last night was amazing. I only get food like that when I visit the club or some of the old ladies when I see my brothers. When all of this is over, do you want a job? You can stay here. Have this room, and everything you want,”

Whizz said.

“What the fuck, Whizz? Stop trying to poach my damn woman,”

Gash said. “She’s going to be staying with me.”

Whizz chuckled, and Charlotte stared at him. The door closed, letting her know that Whizz had left the room.

“I’m staying with you?”

she asked.

“Yeah. Do you really think I’m going to let you go? I don’t have a place like this, but I’ve got a room at the club, and I’ve got the means to buy us a place.”

He cupped her cheek. “We were torn apart, and we didn’t get a chance to be together.”

“You want us to be together?”

she asked.

Her heart started to pound, and Gash captured her lips. “Yes. We were going to have a baby. I can’t change what happened to us, but I can change our future. You don’t need to be going home alone ever again.”

“You want me to be part of The Skulls.”

“The Skulls is a family. It’s not just some MC club that get together for sex and drugs. We’ve got a higher meaning, baby. We’re a family, and you’d be part of that family. Lash, Angel, Whizz, Lacey, Tiny, Eva, I could go on and on with all the guys. You’d be my old lady.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Just trust me, babe.”

****

Gash stared down at the details where Jeff and Rebecca could be found. Whizz’s warnings played through his mind.

“So, this is your car for the time being,”

Whizz said, handing him a set of keys. “Driving will be much better than a bike.”

Staring at the keys, he raised his brow at Whizz. “I didn’t think you agreed to me doing this,” he said.

“I didn’t agree to you going after Charlotte. I knew what she’d gone through. I saw the evidence that someone had tried to destroy. The good thing about everything going through the computer system, there’s always something left for me to find, and I can dig it up. Paperwork is a lot easier to get rid of. You just burn the shit.”

The mention of Charlotte’s forced abortion twisted his gut. He was going to hurt Jeff, and it wouldn’t matter what he did, Jeff would be getting off lightly.

“What is it?”

Whizz asked.

“Nothing. I’m just thinking about all the ways I’m going to hurt that fucker.”

Whizz looked back at the house where Sally and Lacey were hugging Charlotte goodbye.

“Do you really think she’s going to kill Rebecca?”

Whizz asked.

“I’m not going to let her. If I could, I’d leave her here, but she has a right to see this through.”

Gash watched as she tucked strands of hair behind her ear. She had left her hair down, and she looked so beautiful, innocent, even though she was anything but. Charlotte had been dragged into his world, and he was going to protect her. Lacey had lent her some jeans, which were a little loose. She also wore a white buttoned shirt. “I’m going to be the one to pull the trigger.”

“Look, Gash, someone was out to get you nine years ago. Finding Jeff was close to Gonzalez and even The Darkness, and the men who tried to kill you inside—be careful.”

“You don’t think it was Gonzalez fucking with us back then?”

Whizz shrugged. “My gut is telling me to watch my back. Watch your own. I’ve got a feeling this isn’t over, and it could get worse. That someone could still be out there hunting you.”

“Hunting?”

“No one goes out of their way to cause this much chaos and just disappears. Do you have any enemies?” he asked.

Gash shook his head. “Well, I do have a brother, but he’s probably dead.”

“Brother? I didn’t know you had a brother,”

Whizz said.

“A long time ago. He’s been out of my life a long time.”

“How long?”

“Fifteen years, maybe longer.”

He didn’t give Andrew a thought as his brother wasn’t worth his time.

“Wow, that’s a long time not to know anything about family.”

“He was an addict, and he couldn’t take care of himself. He’d sell out the club rather than be loyal to it.”

Andrew had disgusted him, and when Tiny made the decision that Andrew was never going to make it in the club, he and Andrew had fought.

Charlotte came to stand next to him. “Are you ready?”

“Yep, we’re driving, not riding,”

he said, showing the keys that Whizz had given him.

“Score.”

She hugged Whizz. “We’ll see you soon.”

Whizz pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “It’s programmed to have all The Skulls’ numbers. Call anyone on that, and we’ll come running.”

Gash shook his hand, and opened the door, waiting for Charlotte to get inside.

“Don’t do anything stupid,”

Whizz said. “If anything’s out of place, leave. Don’t get yourself killed because of possible bad information. I can only find out so much.”

“I will. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

They shook hands again, and Gash walked around to the driver’s side. He gave the gang a final wave, and started up the car.

“I packed us up some food so we don’t have to make a stop.”

“We’ll drive toward this hotel,”

Gash said, pulling out a slip of paper. “I’ve already called ahead, and booked us both a room. We’ll rest there, and then tomorrow morning, we’ll take care of business.”

“Do you have weapons?”

“Yes. This is Whizz’s car, and he keeps them locked up in an inbuilt safe so no damage will come to them.”

“Have I upset you?”

Charlotte asked.

Frowning, he turned to her. “What?”

“You seem a little distant, and I was wondering if the reality of what has happened has dawned on you.”

Gash shook his head. “No. I’m not upset about what I’m about to get you to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, killing someone, it takes its toll on a person.”

“Rebecca and Jeff, I don’t care what their names are now. They deserve to die. Do you think I’m a bad person because I don’t care?”

He glanced over at her, and saw that there was absolutely no expression on her face. She looked like they were talking about the weather rather than killing someone.

“How many people have you killed?”

she asked.

“I don’t keep count. With The Skulls, you learn to move on and forget about the shit that you do.”

“When I first met you, I knew you were dangerous. Once I saw your leather jacket, I researched The Skulls. The club has a mixed bag for a reputation. You’re dangerous and yet you fight to keep Fort Wills clean.”

“It’s our town. Tiny made sure all the bad shit stayed out.”

He’d been away when more trouble hit the club. The moment he got out, he’d promised Tiny he would wait to get his revenge until the club was in a better situation. “Does that bother you?” he asked.

“No.”

“Seriously?” he asked.

“There’s not a lot I can do about it. I take it you’ve never taken the life of an innocent before?”

Charlotte asked.

“I can’t guarantee anything.”

“I attacked several male and female nurses while I was away in hospital,”

she said. “I hated how they kept me safe. It sucked.”

Gash gripped the steering wheel. He didn’t like how easily it came to her to talk about the fact she tried to end her own life. “How long has it been since you tried to end it?”

He snapped the words out, and he looked toward her.

“It has been years, Gash. I’ve not tried for about two years. I decided to start living, not that you can call working and eating, really living.”

“Does your doctor still talk to you?”

“Sometimes. He’s always had a lot of patients.”

“Did he pay careful attention to you?”

“No. Not at all.”

She reached out and took his hand. “I’m not going to blow or do something crazy. I had the therapy, and even though at times it’s tough, I’m not going to do anything drastic. I’m good.”

He held her hand as they drove forward. The long road out of Fort Wills was somewhat abandoned. There were a few houses dotted across the land, and plenty of farmland.

Tapping the steering wheel, he started to whistle. Relaxed and happy, Gash held onto Charlotte like a lifeline.

Within seconds, memories of the past started to flash through his mind.

“What can I help you with?”

Rebecca asked.

“Well, baby, I’m here to see a slut about a guy,”

Gash said, taking a swig of his beer. This woman in front of him was just begging to be fucked. He saw the way she licked her bottom lip and the way she arched toward him. Her tits were practically exploding out of her shirt.

He shouldn’t trust her, and he didn’t, but he was on a mission to find his brother. Tiny had told him that he needed to locate Andrew. Gash hadn’t given the fucker much of a thought, but if the club needed to know where he was, then he’d find him.

Most of the time in the past Andrew had been easily located in dives, drugs holes, or sex clubs. He was an evil fucker. Even when they were kids, Gash had known the evil that was in his brother’s eyes.

Growing up in foster homes there had been rumors about Andrew. When they had found a place where a family wanted them both, Andrew had pretended to be the perfect son, but Gash had seen the way he commanded people. Women were scared of Andrew, and men flocked to him given how good he was at taking what he wanted.

Pulling out of the memory, Gash pulled up against the side of the road.

“What is it?”

“I was looking for my brother seven years ago,”

Gash said.

“Andrew?”

“Yes. Did I talk about him to you at all?”

“Not really. Whenever I asked you what you were searching for you always said a rumor.”

Gash tapped the steering wheel repeating the same word. “Rumor. Rumor. Rumor.”

“What’s going on?”

“Andrew fought for a place within The Skulls. When we were growing up, he always believed he could do something better. He made everyone believe he was perfect, but he wasn’t strong like the club needed. He couldn’t hold his own in a fight, nor could he understand the meaning of the word loyalty.”

Gash laughed. “There had been rumors seven years ago of a guy who was plotting to end The Skulls, because of it, Tiny sent me out looking for my brother in case he’d give up any kind of information.”

Grabbing his cell phone, he climbed out of the car. “I’ve got to call Tiny.”

“Okay.”

Standing up, he pressed Tiny’s number, and waited.

“Hello,”

a little girl said.

“Tabitha?”

“Yeah, you’re not Simon.”

Gash smiled. Tabitha and Simon, Devil’s son, shared some kind of connection that drove both Devil and Tiny crazy. They were always trying to find ways to talk to each other. When Simon visited, he saw both of them holding hands, talking. It was sweet.

“No, honey, I’m not Simon. Is Daddy there?”

“If I go search for him, he’ll know I took his phone. I’ll get in trouble.”

“Tell him he dropped it or left it in your room, or wherever you are. You shouldn’t be taking his phone.”

“He promised Simon would call him, and he’d give me the phone. Daddy lies sometimes. I know he doesn’t like Simon.”

Tabitha sighed.

“He worries about you. You’re what, five? You shouldn’t be worried about shit like that.”

“I’m nearly six, and you’re not allowed to swear.”

“Whatever, honey, you and I both know your dad says worse.”

Tabitha chuckled. “Okey-doke.”

He heard some noise in the background.

“Tab, I’ve told you not to take my phone,”

Tiny said.

“I didn’t. You dropped it.”

“Hello,”

Tiny said.

“She’s so adorable.”

“Yeah, adorable and sneaky.”

Tiny sighed. “What can I help you with?”

“Seven years ago. What were the true rumors going on at the club?”

Gash asked.

“Shit. This is a long time ago. I had intel back then that someone was giving information about The Skulls. Secret shit about our drug runs, and our dealings with Ned Walker. The only person that I knew who could have that kind of information was your brother. Andrew, he wasn’t exactly happy that he didn’t make the cut. He left, and at the time we didn’t have Whizz to keep an eye on him.”

“You think Andrew was the one selling those rumors.”

“I would, yeah, but then you got picked up for rape and murder, and after that shit, we were trying to keep you alive and safe, and shit returned to normal. There was nothing going on after you were sent down. We didn’t have the means of finding out who was selling shit either.”

“Yeah, and after I was sent down, the club had to deal with every kind of shit.”

“You don’t think that’s a coincidence?”

Tiny asked.

“No, not on your life. Something doesn’t add up. Tell Whizz to look for Andrew. You know all the details.”

Hanging up, he flicked his phone shut, and climbed into the car. “Did Jeff and Rebecca say anything to you?”

“Like what?”

“Anything at all. Simple shit.”

“She told me she was seeing some rich guy who wanted her to do things for her. Sleep with certain guys. I never took all that much notice of her, or what she had to say. Jeff, he told me not to take offense. He was just doing his job. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, but something doesn’t add up, and I don’t like it.”

“What do you mean?”

He didn’t know, and that was the problem. Gash only knew something was up.