Page 25 of Scythe (Devil Daddies MC #2)

W aking up with Winnie plastered over his body was the absolute best. His Little girl had crashed so hard by the time he’d let her sleep.

The aftereffects of her doctor’s appointment had lingered all evening.

Scythe had enjoyed alternating pleasure with bottles and snackies.

Caring for her soothed his soul as she claimed a spot in his heart.

He needed to do some work on the ride today.

He brushed Winnie’s hair from her face as he plotted.

Before he made any decisions, Scythe wanted to talk to Lucien.

The Devil Daddies’ leader hadn’t shared the purpose of the ride with him.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t be a long quest. He had one more thing he wanted to take care of that evening.

Something needed to be done about his Little girl’s boss. Scythe didn’t give a flying fuck if she was gaming the system and had become a principal with no credentials. What he did care about was her constant attempts to target Winnie. Those were going to stop.

“Daddy?”

“Good morning, Chipmunk. Did you sleep well?”

She dropped a kiss on his lips as she propped herself up on his chest to look down at him. “I always do when I’m with you, Daddy. You keep the bad stuff from me and Chippy. Well, you and my blankie. It’s magical too.”

“Of course it is. The Devil Daddies MC wouldn’t have non-magical blankets!” he said in mock disdain.

“No way!” she agreed before sighing deeply. “I need to spend a few hours with the relatives coming in today for the funeral. Most will gather at the house for a few hours to chat. I’m sorry I don’t get to hang out with you all day.”

“You let me know what time you need me, and I’ll be there,” Scythe assured her.

“I’d love that. Maybe you could join us for dinner out somewhere?” Winnie asked hesitantly. “They’ll return to their hotels early, so you’d only miss a couple of hours at Inferno.”

“That works perfectly. Text me the location, and I’ll meet you at the restaurant. Unless you’d rather I pick you up to drive you to dinner?”

Winnie shook her head. “No, I’ll drive away from the house. That way I can escape after dinner to come home.”

He liked how she differentiated from her mom’s house to this place as home. She might not have processed it yet, but he wasn’t letting her go. Ever.

“That’s an excellent plan, Chipmunk.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her head and drew her down for another kiss. This one was hot and passionate. He was totally in control, dominating Winnie completely. He loved how she submitted eagerly to him without reservation.

When he released her, they were both breathing hard. “Did you have a fun doctor day yesterday?” he asked, watching her expression closely. Her brightly flushed cheeks enchanted him.

“Yes. That medicine was….” Her voice trailed off as she searched for a word to describe it.

“Effective. Daddy will check on you today to see if you’re healing. I bet you’ll need some of the ointment Razor prescribed for you. I’ll go pick up your prescriptions today.”

“I can go get them. I have a copay.”

“Not happening, Little girl. Your Daddy will take care of you.”

She hesitated and opened her mouth as if she was going to argue. Scythe popped her on the butt. “Ouch! That hurt!”

“It was supposed to.”

“You can’t just spank me.”

“Are you using your safe word?” he asked.

“No.”

Scythe slapped her butt again. “Then I’ll swat your cute bottom any time you’ve earned it or I need you to alter what’s going on in your mind.”

“You don’t know what’s going on in my mind.”

“You have a very expressive face, Chipmunk. Right now, you’re wondering how long I’ve been able to figure out what you’re worrying about.”

“I… I am not!” she answered and then added, “Ouch!” when he swatted her.

“No lying, Winnie.”

Her mouth gaped open as she stared at him. “You see too much,” she finally whispered.

“Daddies do. I can also tell you’re hungry.”

Her stomach growled loudly in response. “How did you guess that?”

“I’ve learned I need to feed you when you get sassy. Let’s get up before this cute bottom is pink.”

She nodded eagerly as he squeezed her butt. “I have to potty, Daddy.”

“Go, Chipmunk. I’ll meet you in the bathroom to wash your face,” he said, raising his hands to release her.

An hour later, Winnie backed her car carefully out of the garage, and she was on her way to visit her family with a full tummy. Scythe turned from the window, missing her already. He grabbed his keys and headed for his bike. Lucien should be at Inferno.

As he drove in, Scythe noted the parking lot was filling up. He walked inside. No one monitored the door at this time, so he didn’t need to relieve anyone. A bartender waved at him, and Scythe headed behind the bar.

“Hey, I’m glad to see you,” Sherry greeted him. “Could you help me catch up with orders? I’d expect a lot of folks to be at church at this hour, but it must be empty. Everyone is here drinking mimosas.”

“Sinners love the fancy stuff,” Scythe said, grabbing the next order. Sure enough, three mimosas and a tequila sunrise. Shaking his head, he picked up the champagne bottle.

An hour later, the crowd had settled down a bit. A few Devil Daddies members had stopped to ask him about the ride tonight. Scythe had assured them he’d speak to Lucien as soon as possible. He signaled to Sherry that he was heading up to talk to the boss.

“Thank you, Scythe. We all decided we’re going to make you the Mimosa King,” Sherry shouted his way. The other bartenders bowed in his direction as if he were truly royalty.

Shaking his head, Scythe ducked out of the bar and headed for the stairs. “Ride prep,” he told Toxin, who was on guard duty.

“About time. Can we do some crunching tonight? I’m ready to rumble,” Toxin suggested as Scythe stepped onto the stairs.

“I’ll take that request under advisement.”

He knocked on the door to Lucien’s office a few minutes later. Hearing the biker call for him to enter, Scythe walked inside. “Hey, Lucien. About the ride tonight at midnight—do you have a target?”

“I do. A shipment is arriving at the airport. We need to intercept it.”

“That’s interesting. What time is it coming in?”

“Scheduled for two a.m.,” Lucien said with a smirk.

“You’re expecting it will get there a few hours early?” Scythe guessed.

“I also know it will be something other than the parts listed on the manifest,” Lucien said.

“Do we need firepower?”

“Yes, but we should surprise them. With luck, we’ll be in and out. No need for the flamethrower we currently have stored in the warehouse,” Lucien assured him.

“Damn. I really wanted to try that thing out.”

The corner of Lucien’s mouth turned up slightly. Scythe took advantage of the MC leader’s amusement.

“I’ve got a problem I may need the help of the Devil Daddies with as well. It involves my Little girl.” Scythe paused, monitoring Lucien’s expression.

“Go on.”

“Pirate discovered that the principal of Winnie’s school is a fraud.”

Lucien nodded. “The superintendent’s daughter who changed her name and doesn’t have a college degree?”

Scythe should have known that Lucien would be up on any investigation Pirate had undertaken. “Yes. That’s the problem. She’s targeting Winnie to fire her.”

“That can’t happen.” Lucien’s tone was definite. “She’s one of ours now. Appearing together at the superintendent’s home is a great show of force, but that won’t help Winnie.”

“That’s what I think too. I’m planning to take care of it alone after the ride. I may need some help sharing this information with the press if they don’t do the right thing.”

“I’ll be glad to make a phone call if that’s needed,” Lucien agreed. “You go organize the storage of random parts .”

“On it. And thanks,” Scythe said.

“We protect our own. Keep me updated.”

Scythe headed immediately for the warehouse.

If the heat got turned on for whatever was coming in on that plane, he needed to assess if the Devil Daddies’ warehouse was the safest place for it.

As he walked through the depth of the supplies, he quickly decided they didn’t need anyone with a search warrant entering the property.

By the time he’d decided where to stash the incoming material, it was time to head out to meet Winnie’s family for dinner. Scythe paused outside Inferno to send out a cryptic text to those joining the ride.

Midnight departure from the warehouse. Destination mini-wings. Boy scouts only.

The MC would go to the small regional airport prepared for everything. He entered Inferno, noting his MC brothers checking their phones as the message arrived. Nods of understanding came his direction as he headed for the door to leave.

Once on his bike, Scythe sent a message to Winnie that he was on his way.

He pulled into the pizza shop’s parking lot and nodded at a group walking in together. They quickly jumped on the sidewalk, obviously suspicious that he would drive over them. A negative view of bikers didn’t surprise him. He hoped these weren’t….

“Hi, Scythe!” Winnie darted to the rear of her car, waving furiously.

Almost simultaneously, the jaws of the group on the pavement dropped open. She hadn’t told them. Scythe grinned behind his tinted face guard on his helmet. This was going to be fun.

He stopped his bike next to Winnie and flipped up the visor on his helmet. Winnie rushed forward to hug him.

“I’m glad to see you,” she said. Her words and glassy eyes told him a lot. She’d had a tough afternoon grieving her mother.

He held her close for a few seconds before saying, “I’m here now, Chipmunk. Let me park my bike, and we’ll go in together.”

“I’d like that.”

Winnie stepped back as he positioned the bike in an empty spot close to her sedan. She scurried to his side as he took off his helmet. He wrapped an arm around her as he unbuckled it with one hand.

“You okay, Winnie? Did you have lunch?”

“It’s been a whirlwind at the house. Belinda hadn’t stocked the fridge for company.”

“That’s a no then. Come on. You need food,” he said, guiding her safely across the parking lot to the entrance where her relatives waited.

Scythe held the door. As her family members walked in, Winnie introduced them to Scythe. When he followed the group in, the hostess hurried to seat them. He could hear the whispers from a few of the relatives who guessed that the staff feared him.

At the table, everyone jockeyed for seats.

It appeared no one dared to sit next to him.

An older woman charged forward and claimed that seat.

Not sure how to react, Scythe held the chair for Winnie and then sat next to her.

He pulled her chair close so she could lean against him.

Scythe didn’t like the trembles coming from her.

“Scythe! Always good to see the Devils here,” the owner, Salvador, greeted him.

“Salvador, thank you for having space for us tonight,” Scythe said. “I’ve got someone special here who missed lunch. Could you bring something for her while the pizzas cook?”

“I’ll bring some rolls out to you immediately. It’s a pleasure to have you dine with us.”

He returned with several baskets of rolls as the waitress asked for their drink order. A minute later, Salvador returned to set a cup of pasta fagioli soup in front of Winnie. “Try this for me. I’m perfecting my recipe.”

She dipped the spoon into the beef and vegetable soup and devoured a big bite. Winnie wiggled happily in her chair. “This is amazing. I wouldn’t change it at all.”

“You keep eating. Maybe you’ll have some suggestions when you’re finished,” Salvador instructed. “Scythe, let me know if you need anything else.”

“You’re the best, Salvador. I owe you one.”

The restauranteur nodded solemnly. He understood Scythe didn’t promise anything lightly. A commitment from the Devil Daddies could come in handy.

When Scythe felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned. He met the gaze of an older woman he thought he remembered was an aunt.

“You take good care of Winnie,” she observed.

“Yes.”

“I might decide I like you. I’m Beatrice. Winnie’s mother is—was my sister.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Beatrice. I’m sorry about your sister. I didn’t get to know her, but she produced Winnie. That makes her incredible in my book.”

Winnie paused in eating her soup to nudge him. Scythe dropped a kiss on that naughty shoulder when she straightened. A second poke made him turn back to Beatrice.

“I like you, biker guy. What’s your name?”

“Scythe.”

“Where did that come from?” Beatrice asked.

“Aunt Bea! That’s really none of our business,” Winnie jumped in. Scythe could tell she was concerned what he would say.

“I grew up on a farm. Believe it or not, when it sold, one of the things I saved was an antique scythe my great-grandfather used to cut hay years ago when he started his farm,” Scythe explained.

“I like that. You remember your roots and your family,” Beatrice stated firmly and glared across the table. “Scythe is good people. Be nice.”

Instantly, the tone at the gathering changed.

The relatives went from whispering and avoiding eye contact to chattering easily with each other.

A cousin asked his opinion about a couple of bikes he was debating about buying.

Winnie’s hand wrapped around his thigh and squeezed.

He dropped his over hers and returned the gesture.

It appeared that whoever Beatrice liked, the family would accept.