Page 6
Razor
“I F YOUR LEG wasn’t already broken, I’d break it,” Hatch growled as he helped me into Maisie’s Mercedes. “What the hell were you thinkin’?”
“I was thinkin’ I needed to find out what freaked my woman.”
“Hold that thought,” he said, and closed me in before returning the wheelchair, then climbing into the driver’s seat. “She’s your woman now?”
“Yeah.”
“Is she aware of this new development?”
“I’ve made my intentions clear,” I said.
“She doesn’t even fuckin’ know you! ”
“She’s gonna get to know me.”
“Is she aware that she’s gonna get to know you or is this all in your head?” Hatch demanded.
“Have you ever known me to take no for an answer?”
“Have I ever known you to be a stubborn, pig-headed mule’s ass, then, yeah.”
“Which is it, Hatch?” I cocked my head. “Am I part mule or part pig? Am I like one of those mythical Greek creatures?”
“You’re gonna be an extinct creature if you don’t pull whatever animal’s head you have out of whatever animal’s ass you have,” he snapped. “You have way more important things to focus on right now than your dick. Which is about the only thing on your body that wasn’t broken.”
“You been takin’ glances while helping me shower, brother?”
“If I was lookin’, it was only to figure out what that tiny growth between your legs was. I’d recommend you get a doctor to do some research on the micro peen, but I’m afraid you’d just fall in love with that medical professional as well.”
I gave him a demented laugh as we headed toward his home.
“You cannot leave the fuckin’ house, Razor. Don’t make me put a recruit on you. Jesus, it’s bad enough I have to be in this tiny, fuckin’ car, and then dressed like a suburban dad... fuck!”
“You are a suburban dad,” I pointed out.
He reached over and flicked my ear.
“Ow! ”
“Serves you right, dickhead.”
“I had to make sure she was okay,” I grumbled.
“Is she?”
“At the risk of sharin’ her story out of school, that animal did somethin’ to her, and I want him dealt with.”
Hatch sighed. “Who?”
“The guy from the Supreme Riders.”
“Fuck, he’s in a club?”
“Yeah.”
“You wanna fuck with some other club’s woman? Even more reason not to get involved. We’re already at war with the Spiders.”
“She’s not his woman,” I snapped. “She was at a college party with her friend, and this fucker drugged and raped her.”
“Jesus,” he hissed.
“I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
“You can tell me anything, brother, you know that.”
“Yeah, but it’s her story,” I said.
“Between us.”
I nodded. “Appreciate it.”
“Seriously, though, no more runnin’ off half-cocked. You need to go somewhere, tell me. I’ll take you if it’s an emergency.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Where do you stand with Waverly?”
“We’re gonna get to know each other,” I said.
“Is she onboard with this?”
“Yeah. She’s onboard with all of it.”
“Okay, so I’m gonna keep Brian on her, then. ”
I scowled. “Yeah. Until I can take over.”
“You understand that’s gonna be a while, right?”
“Yeah, Hatch, but thanks for continuing to beat a dead horse on the subject.”
“Or maybe beating a dead mule?”
“Yeah, that too, asshole.”
He grinned. “No problem.”
We pulled up to Hatch and Maisie’s home and Hatch hit the garage door opener, sliding her car into her spot. The interior door opened, and Maisie crossed her arms, glaring at me as she waited for us to climb out.
“Well, you done pissed off my woman,” Hatch ground out. “Good job.”
I sighed. “I’ll fix it.”
“You better. She’s been worried sick all day.” He climbed out of the car, then helped me out, and virtually carried me inside.
Maisie followed close behind and then hovered once I was settled in the chair in front of the television.
“I’m really sorry for worrying you,” I said.
She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again.
“Will you forgive me?”
She took a deep breath, and I frowned.
“Maisie?”
“Give me a minute,” she snapped. “I’m trying to decide if I’m going to forgive you or put laxatives in your beer.”
“If he shits himself, you’ll be the one cleanin’ him up, Sunshine,” Hatch pointed out .
She let out a frustrated squeal and stormed out of the room.
“Give her a few minutes, she’ll calm down,” Hatch said. “You need anything?”
Before I could respond, Maisie returned and jabbed her finger toward me. “If you ever do anything like that again, I will break your other leg. Do you understand?”
“Yeah, sweetheart, I understand. I’m sorry I worried you.”
She settled her hands on her hips. “God, I’m so mad I could slap you upside the head. You’re lucky your face is pretty.”
“Hey now,” Hatch growled.
I laughed. “I won’t do it again, Maisie. Promise.”
“You better not.” She let out a huff. “How’s Waverly?”
“She’s good. Everything’s good.”
Maisie nodded. “You didn’t scare her away, right?”
“No, she’s great.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, but Hatch wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze. “I can attest that Waverly’s good, Razor’s good, they’re both good, Sunshine.”
“Okay, okay.” She leaned into him, and all seemed to come right in her world. “Is anyone hungry?”
“I could eat,” Hatch said.
“Me too,” I concurred.
Once Maisie seemed happy in her little world, she went about getting ready to feed it, and while she did that, Hatch grabbed us each a beer.
* * *
Waverly
Two nights later, I climbed into bed, my mind still spinning after getting off the phone with the Denver District Attorney. He’d called me with the news that ‘Cupid’ had a trial date, and that Fisk had been mutilated. Of course, I’d rather ungraciously informed him the information was too little too late. I mean, Fisk had been emasculated weeks ago, and Cupid’s arrest happened years ago. What happened to a speedy trial? In my opinion, this bastard should have been on the phone with me a hell of a lot sooner than two days ago.
In the end, his apologies fell on deaf ears because I was just over all of it, but I gave him a hollow thank you and ended the call. Now, I was sitting in bed, rehashing the conversation and wishing I wasn’t alone.
It didn’t matter that Cupid was in jail. I still didn’t feel safe.
I’m not sure how long I stared at my phone charging on my nightstand, but after the third time the wind slammed a tree branch into the side of my house, I grabbed it and made the dumbest call ever.
“Hello?”
“Um, Gio? Hi. It’s Waverly.”
“Hey. You okay?”
I sighed. “Honestly? Not really.”
“What’s goin’ on? ”
“I just feel a little unsettled. It’s dumb. I should feel great after this guy got arrested, but I don’t.”
“Okay, what changed?”
I filled him in on my conversation with the DA, and Gio let out a quiet hum.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“The guy sounds like a typical overworked, underpaid government employee,” he said.
I sighed. “Well, there is that.”
“It’s good he’s got you on his radar now, though, right?” he said. “He’ll make sure to keep you updated if shit goes down.”
I nodded.
“You’re still tweaked though, huh?”
“Yes,” I rasped. “I wish every biker in every one of these gangs could be eliminated.”
“Not every biker’s like them,” Gio said.
“Please don’t start spouting that crap,” I breathed out. “My best friend fell in love with some biker in Colorado, and I nearly cut ties with her. I’m just hoping she’ll dump him eventually, because I’ll never, ever meet him or have anything to do with him and his stupid Howlers.” I huffed. “What a dumb name for a club. Primal Howlers. God! So original.”
Gio started to cough, and I frowned. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. Water down the wrong pipe,” he said.
“Oh, okay.”
“You want me to come over?”
I let out a snort. “Even if you could walk, I’d say no.”
He chuckled. “Liar.”
“Well, I’d want to say no.”
“Lying again, beautiful.”
“Okay, I should want to say no.”
“Why?”
“I’m not going down that rabbit hole again.” I smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. Maisie made me take some pain meds, so it’s helping with the pain.”
“Good. You’re in the clinic on Monday, right?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “Long time to wait to see you. You wanna come here tomorrow for dinner?”
“Um, I don’t know if that would be a good idea.”
“Can’t get to know each other if we don’t see each other.”
“Are Connor and Maisie okay with me coming over?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you ask them?”
He chuckled again. “I don’t need to ask them. They’re good.”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“Six?”
“Gio, I want you to ask them and then I will let you know,” I stressed.
“Hold on.” I heard him swear, then the phone went silent for a few seconds.
I thought he might have hung up on me, but I glanced at the screen, and we were still connected, so I deduced he must have muted me.
“I’m back,” he said. “Maisie said you’re welcome for dinner.”
“You didn’t wake her to ask her that, did you?”
“No. She and, ah, Connor are night owls.”
I bit my lip. “Okay, that sounds really nice. I’m not off until five, though, so is six-thirty okay?”
“Yeah, that’ll be fine.”
“What am I going to do with you?” I wondered out loud.
“You’re gonna get to know me and have a blast doin’ it,” he retorted.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m always right.”
I laughed. “Oh, really?”
“Absolutely. The sooner you figure that out, the happier you’ll be.”
“Good to know.”
“You feelin’ better?”
I grinned. “I am, actually.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“Is it okay that I called?” I asked.
“Yeah, of course. If you need to call me back, you call me back, okay?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t play hard to get now, beautiful. Just call me if you’re feelin’ scared.”
“I’m not playing hard to get, Gio. I am hard to get.”
He chuckled. “Okay, that’s fair. As you should be. But, still. Call me if you’re feelin’ off. Got it?”
“Okay, I’ll call you if I’m feeling off.”
“Good. I’m gonna let you go.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Anytime. ”
We rang off and I slid under the blankets feeling a hell of a lot more settled than I had in weeks.
* * *
Razor
After disconnecting with Waverly, I called Brian. He was young, barely eighteen, and our newest prospect. He was a good kid, and Hatch had taken him on the second he graduated high school.
“Hey, Razor.”
“Hey, brother, everything good over there?” I asked.
Brian was the recruit we had keeping an eye on Waverly, and he was currently parked outside her building, making sure she was safe.
“Yeah, man, she just shut off all her lights, and no one has come in or out. All quiet.”
“Great. Thanks. I think Hatch has someone relieving you in an hour.”
“Yeah, he told me.”
“Okay, let us know if you see anything concerning,” I said.
“Will do.”
After hanging up with him, I couldn’t fight the muscle relaxers and pain killers anymore and let sleep take me.
* * *
Razor
“Fuck,” Hatch hissed. “Her best friend’s a Howler old lady?”
We were currently sitting in the great room, beers in hand, while Maisie prepped dinner.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m not sure if she’s an old lady but it sounded like more than just shackin’ up. Waverly didn’t give me any names, so I have no fuckin’ idea which one of them she’s with, or what her friend’s name is, but yeah, Waverly’s fuckin’ tweaked about the whole thing. Maybe Sundance would know more.”
Hatch frowned. “Not sure we wanna get a club president too involved in your love life.”
“Okay, but maybe he knows more about this Cupid asshole. You could ask him. You know, president to president.”
“To what end, Razor? The cops have this guy in custody. What exactly do you expect him to do?”
“Just ’cause he’s locked up now doesn’t mean he’s gonna stay that way. You know how easy it is for lawyers to get these guys back on the streets.”
“Let’s suppose this guy makes bail. What are you gonna do? Pop him on the jailhouse steps? Are you forgetting you can’t fuckin’ walk, nor can you maneuver an airport in order to get on a plane to Colorado? Not to mention the fact you’ll need to go on the run from the law. Which is what you’d end up having to do. ’Cause the club ain’t backin’ you in an unsanctioned hit.”
I threw my good arm in the air. “So what the fuck am I supposed to do? Trust the system? Trust that these animals aren’t gonna find Waverly and fuck with her again?”
“She’s not your responsibility, brother. I think you’re fucked up from what the Spiders did to you and that your attraction to her is somehow mixed up in all of that trauma.”
“This isn’t some kind of fucked up trauma bond, Hatch,” I growled. “I think I’m falling in love with her, man. I want to make sure nothing bad ever happens to her again.”
Hatch dragged his hands down his face. “You can’t do that. None of us can fully protect the ones we love. It’s a hard fuckin’ fact of life that every man has to face, once he finds someone he cares about more than himself.”
“I’ll cool my jets if you make me a promise.”
“What?”
“Should Cupid hit the streets, we have eyes on him at all times. And if he steps within a fifty-mile radius of Waverly, we take him out.”
Hatch sighed. “I can’t promise you that, but the Dogs will keep Waverly safe until we know Cupid’s put away for a long time. Good enough?”
I nodded. “Good enough.”
“But you gotta promise me you’re gonna downshift before your burn out.”
“I’m workin’ on it.”
“Good.” He rose to his feet. “Now, I need to help my woman with dinner, but first I need to cover my bike because apparently, we have to erase all evidence of club life.”