Page 3

Whizz entered the kitchen to find Angel standing at the stove with Eva working around her. Six children sat at the large table throwing food at each other. He ducked as a maple syrup covered pancake was launched past his head.

“Tabitha, stop it,” Eva said, going red in the face.

Miles started laughing, as did Anthony. Simon, Tate’s son, was avidly watching the chaos unfolding.

“You said they’d eat the pancakes,” Angel said, looking guilty.

“I thought they would.”

“Simon!” Tabitha screamed the name.

“What’s going on?” Whizz said.

Michael, Alex’s son, was sitting in the corner eating his pancakes. The little guy looked so sad. Alex sat beside his son trying to talk to him. No one answered Whizz’s question. Seconds passed with the noise getting louder than ever. Whizz was just about to leave when Michael scraping back his chair brought the noise to a stop.

“I hate you!” he yelled at Alex before storming off. The rest of the kids finally decided to be quiet as Eva glared at all of them. Alex slumped down in his seat, looking defeated.

“What was that about?” Whizz asked, deciding to stay away from the kids and frazzled women.

“Not a lot.” Alex was staring at the door the boy had vacated.

“You’re telling me that attitude is because of nothing?” Whizz took a seat beside the other man. Alex had become a father unexpectedly a year ago. None of the club knew that he’d been with a woman until Cheryl started dating Butch. Alex hadn’t claimed her, but he’d become a father to Michael. In some strange way their dynamic worked. Whizz didn’t know how it was working with Butch in hospital recovering from his wounds.

“He wants to visit Butch. I don’t want him anywhere near Butch. Cheryl and I aren’t talking right now. She blames me for everything that went down.” He ran fingers through his hair. Alex suddenly looked old. The other man had a part within the club even though he’d been in Vegas for a great deal of time running a casino. Since finding out about his son, Alex had turned the casino over to a guy he trusted who ran the main bulk of their affairs. Alex did everything he could from Fort Wills.

“Why won’t you let him?” Whizz asked. Butch was still a stepfather to the kid and been in his life a little longer than Alex.

“Look, it was my idea him working for Gonzalez, okay? Tiny and I agreed it would help us. I didn’t tell him to start feeding information to the Savage Brothers. I thought they were fucking dead, wiped out by Gonzalez’s old man.” Alex leaned back in his chair, staring across the room at the other kids.

“I don’t want him around Butch. How can we fucking trust him?”

Before Whizz could respond Cheryl charged into the room. She didn’t stop until she was in front of Alex.

“How fucking dare you tell Michael he can’t see Butch?” She raised her hand and landed a slap across Alex’s face.

Whizz stood as Alex got to his feet. He’d never seen Alex lose it, but the way he was shooting fire at Cheryl, he looked ready to snap. The tension left from Gonzalez was still in the air.

“Alex, cool it. She’s Butch’s.” Whizz tried to warn the man.

“Butch nearly got us all fucking killed because he was too fucking stupid. He kept shit to himself when he should have told us. I don’t want my son mixed up with him.”

Cheryl stepped closer, glaring at Alex.

“Butch is more of a father to my son than you are. You’re just a fucking sperm donor. Butch did what he had to because you asked him. He got dragged into this shit because of the club. The only person to blame for all of this crap is you. Don’t you dare tell my son who he can visit or not.”

Alex grabbed her arm as she made to walk off.

“I’m not a sperm donor.”

“You’re sure as shit nothing else.” Cheryl shrugged his arm off.

Whizz was shocked yet impressed. Cheryl had always given off the impression of being a good little girl who wouldn’t cause any waves, yet she was proving there was a lot more to her than met the eye. The way she stood up to Alex was something to be admired.

“Fuck, I’m always getting it fucking wrong with her and with him.”

“Butch put his life on the line. I don’t agree with how he went about it with the Savage Brothers, but he did what he thought was best.” At the time Whizz had been so angry. In hindsight he’d seen it from Butch’s side. He’d only been trying to help The Skulls yet had felt his loyalty torn. The Savage Brothers were supposed to be dead, and all of a sudden Butch saw his past once again, living and breathing. Whizz couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on in Butch’s head. He knew he’d be fucked. Whizz didn’t have another club. The Lions were all gone, and before that, his family was dead. He didn’t have any enemies or a past. Every part of his past had come through the time he spent at the club. His only real enemy was a full-figured woman with blue hair and guilt. Lacey was his enemy. She was the woman he couldn’t hurt.

Alex shook his head.

“I’ve got to go.”

Eva started moving the kids out of the kitchen.

“Will you clean this up?”

Angel nodded, looking sheepish.

Whizz stayed sat as he watched Angel start to clean away the mess the kids had made.

“They never fail to surprise me,” she said, smiling as she cleaned up the mess.

“You’re the first woman I know who can smile over maple syrup.” Whizz ran fingers through his hair in an attempt to push the length off his face.

“I like cleaning and cooking.” She wrung out the cloth and turned to him.

“How is your, erm, your lady friend? Is she okay? Does she need more clothes?”

Whizz cursed.

“I need to get some food otherwise she’s going to start thinking I forgot about her.”

“I’ll make her something.” Angel finished clearing away the mess and started looking in the cupboards. Out of all of the women Angel was the sweetest.

“Lacey’s doing fine,” Whizz said.

She stopped, holding a box of baking powder in her grip. Angel turned toward him.

“Are you sure? She lost her whole club.”

Whizz frowned.

“How do you know what happened?”

“Lash, he told me what happened. He usually doesn’t like talking about the club. With everything that happened, he wanted to talk about it. I was there as well, at the hospital when Lacey first arrived.” She offered a smile.

Angel’s sweetness was refreshing. The years she’d been within the club married to Lash hadn’t really changed her. She was innocence through and through, yet she could stick up for herself. Whizz saw she was no longer skittish around the club. If anything, the club looked more her domain than ever before.

“It’s okay. I don’t mind Lash talking about what happened. It was fucking strange.” Whizz looked past her shoulder as she started working.

“She’s going to be fine. I’ve got to believe that even though she’s going through so much.”

“She lost her club. You’ve got to remember that.”

He’d never forget what she lost. He had been there and had helped her lose the club. Whizz had played his part in the scheme of things.

“How’s everyone doing?” Gash asked, entering the kitchen. On his arm was a little raven haired siren. She looked in her early twenties and had been at the club for the last couple of months. Whizz recalled her trying to get into his bed, but he really wasn’t interested. For the life of him he couldn’t remember her name.

“Good,” Angel said, keeping her back to them.

She started working up some pancakes for Lacey. Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup were Angel’s specialty. She really was a good cook, a fantastic cook. Whizz loved it when he found Angel in the kitchen. Whenever she was at the clubhouse everyone ate well.

Whizz nodded.

“Come on, Gash, I can make it worth your while.”

“I’m not interested, Raven,” Gash said. He took a seat at the table with the sweet-butt hanging on his arm.

“Will you put some pancakes on for me?”

Angel glanced behind her and nodded.

“Why are you paying her attention and not me?” Raven asked, pouting.

Whizz looked at Angel then at Gash. There was nothing going on there. He recalled what the other brothers said about Raven. She was known for being jealous. Steven, one of the brothers who’d gotten voted in some years back, wouldn’t have anything to do with her because of her jealous streak. Whizz recalled Steven telling him about it late one night.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Gash said, glaring at Raven.

“I really don’t understand what the fuck she’s got. She’s fat, and no one else sees that but me.”

Raven hadn’t seen Lash enter. Lash had obviously heard enough. Whizz watched as Lash grabbed the back of Raven’s neck and pulled her away from Gash.

“I don’t give a fuck what your mouth is doing when it’s serving other brothers, but you run your mouth against my wife then I’ve got a problem,” Lash said. He looked dangerous. Whizz only ever saw him like this when he was ready to hurt or kill. Raven had fucked up, and from the fear on her face, she knew it.

“Lash—”

Angel stepped closer, but Lash put his hand out, silencing her.

“I don’t care what’s going on, Angel. No one, and I mean fucking no one, mouths off to you or calls you shit like that. I will not stand for it. I don’t want to listen to it. Get the fuck out of my sight, Raven. I hear anything else from those fucking lips other than slurping noises, I’m going to fucking hurt you.”

Raven scrambled away as Angel turned toward Lash, looking shocked.

“Why did you say that?” Angel said.

“That was totally disgusting.”

“No one talks to you like that, baby. I won’t stand for it.” Lash reached out to touch her, but Angel jerked away.

“Baby, what are you doing?”

“I don’t want you to touch me.”

“Angel, I’ll always take care of you. You understand that.”

She shook her head.

“No, I can handle women like Raven. Tiny’s going to be giving you the club one day, and I’m going to need to handle myself. I can’t have you interfering like that. What you said was wrong, disgusting.”

Angel turned away from Lash. In all the years Whizz had known the couple, Lash had never said something like that in front of her before.

Whizz watched as Lash turned to Angel.

“What? I’m a little confused here,” he said.

“You can be so damn crude. There was no need to say something like that.” Angel’s face was scrunched up in disgust.

“I don’t know who you’re turning into.” She shook her head.

“There’s Lacey’s pancakes. You can fend for yourselves.”

She thrust a plate at Whizz, which he took, before fleeing the room.

“What the fuck did I do?” Lash asked.

The pancakes looked delicious. Seeing no pointing in helping Lash figure out his problem, Whizz took the pancakes upstairs to Lacey. Whizz had never seen Angel react like that before, least of all at Lash. She was sweetness, and she’d clearly seen a side to Lash she didn’t like.

****

Lacey listened to the rest of the clubhouse as it started to wake. She heard Murphy and Tate arguing about something across the hall. Murphy had finally got out of hospital even though he’d only suffered minimal damage from a gunshot to the shoulder. Their son Simon was repeating swear words as if they were a second nature to him. The tears had finally stopped, but Lacey couldn’t bring herself to get off the floor.

Keeping her face against the cold tile helped her to think.

“What are you going to do, Rose?”

She didn’t recognize the voice but knew it had to belong to Hardy. The information the Savage Brothers had gotten on The Skulls was accurate concerning all the people.

“I don’t want to talk about this. Please, leave it alone. There’s so much going on. We’ve not got time for this.”

Their voices faded. They were all talking loudly because of the hustle and bustle in the clubhouse. The silence in the room helped her to hear the rest of the club. This was something she’d never had with her own.

Wiping a hand down her face, she waited as silence took over. They were gone about their business. She couldn’t hear anything else that was going on downstairs.

Was this why Whizz liked being on this floor? He could hear everything?

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Lacey looked opposite her. The tiles were pristine, not a speck of dust in sight.

The sound of his bedroom door unlocking didn’t ease the tension that had built up inside her.

She stared at the doorway into the bathroom. Within seconds Whizz stood over her, staring at her.

“I brought you some food. Angel cooked it. She’s worried about you and asked how you were.”

Lacey didn’t even know the woman and yet Angel was concerned about her. It made no sense to her for another woman who was younger than she was to be worried.

“I’m not hungry.” Her stomach chose that moment to protest.

“You’re hungry.”

“I don’t want anything you’ve brought me.” You’re being petty, Lacey.

Whizz sighed.

“I can’t trust any of the other women coming. Your threat this morning stops me. If something happens to Angel, Lash will kill you and castrate me.”

She looked up at him.

“I wouldn’t hurt her.”

Lacey wouldn’t. She knew enough that Angel was the kind of woman you were friends with. Throughout the whole of her life, she hadn’t had a female friend. There was only ever Dalton.

“I don’t know that. You keep trying to hurt me, even if you don’t actually go through with it.”

“Angel’s innocent of everything. I wouldn’t harm her. It would be like hurting a puppy or kitten.” She wiped a hand down her face. Her head was aching from the tears.

“Why are you on the bathroom floor?”

“None of your business.”

He let out a breath.

“You’re going to continue to be stubborn and a brat?”

She stared up at him, licking her suddenly dry lips.

“I’m thirty years old, Whizz. The only friend I’ve ever had is dead.”

“Which one was your friend?” he asked, taking a seat on the toilet.

“You’re not going to mock me?”

“I’m asking you who was your friend? I’m interested to know about you.” His hands were gripped together in exactly the same way as Dalton’s had been while she’d been in the hospital.

Placing her hands on her chest, she stared up at Whizz. He looked sincere, and she didn’t want to fight him.

“Dalton. He was my best friend.”

“The big guy?”

“Yeah.” She started to smile.

“He wasn’t always that big. I mean, he was tall, like really tall but never filled out. For a long time he looked like a good gust of wind would push him over.” She stopped talking as the pain hit her hard.

“He’s dead.”

Whizz didn’t say anything. She saw his jaw tense at her words.

“He was the one who found me after it happened. After Gonzalez happened. I was a mess. He wouldn’t leave me behind. Dalton never left me behind even when I begged him to.”

“Was he in love with you?” Whizz asked.

She shook her head.

“I think there was a time when he thought he was, but I never loved him like that. He was my brother and my best friend.”

Lacey knew Dalton had wanted more from her at one stage. She’d not long turned twenty-one, and his attention had become more intimate. He’d wanted to become hers, but she’d kept away from him. Lacey hadn’t wanted anything from him but friendship.

“He’s dead.”

“No one was left alive, Lacey.”

“It’s all my fault because I came back to you.”

“What?”

She stayed still as she stared at him.

“I was selfish. I needed to see you one more time. If I’d not come to you, he’d still be alive.”

“No, he wouldn’t have been alive. The club was full of fucking idiots, Lacey. They were going to die if you came to me or not. It just so happened I got you out of there alive. Their deaths were not your fault.”

She didn’t believe him, but his words helped for some strange reason.

Rolling onto her front, she pressed her palm to the tile and started to get up. Whizz stood up with her. He was taller than she was, so she only came to his chest.

“I hate you,” she said.

“I know.”

She stared at his chest recalling the way he felt against her, not just that morning but the other times they’d been together. Not once had she thought about the club or Dalton. She’d been a woman.

“I need to get out of this room otherwise I’m going to lose my mind.”

“I can’t let you out. No one trusts you.”

“I’ve been locked up in this room. You need to take me to that house.” She stopped talking to grit her teeth. She looked away from him to glance past his shoulder.

“I need to see what has happened to it. I need to have closure, Whizz. I need this to suddenly become real.”

“Why?”

“Because right now I keep expecting him to walk through that door and it’s never going to happen. He’s never going to come home.”

“Dalton?”

“Yes. He’s dead, and I need to know it’s over.” She fisted her hands at her sides. This was only going to upset her. There was no way anything good could come from her seeing the evidence of their death or the emptiness of what happened.

“There are no bodies, Lacey.”

She nodded.

“Please, let me go and see. I’ll stay handcuffed to you if it’ll make you feel better. I need to see.”

Whizz stared at her for several seconds. Neither of them spoke or moved. Lacey didn’t know what else to say to make him see her point of view.

“I’ll go and talk to Tiny. Eat something or I swear I won’t take you anywhere.”

“I’ll eat,” she said.

He left, locking the door behind him. Whizz didn’t trust her, and she couldn’t blame him. She wouldn’t trust herself either. This club wasn’t just a place for men to get their rocks off.

The Skulls was a family to the core. Tiny united them all within Fort Wills. Would she ever become part of their dynamic? The whole setup seemed too good to be true.

Walking into the bedroom she saw the plate waiting for her.

She picked up the knife and fork. The pancakes were no longer warm. She didn’t mind. Lacey ate through the stack while watching the door.

Time passed. She didn’t know how much time had passed before Whizz opened the door.

“Tiny has agreed, but we’re taking Lash with us.”

“Why?”

“Tiny doesn’t trust you, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to me.” He carried a pile of clothing.

“Angel gave me this.”

Finishing off the last pancake she took the clothes from Whizz, heading into the bedroom.

“Be warned, Lacey, you try anything and Lash has been ordered to kill.”

“That’s why Lash is coming? You couldn’t shoot me?”

“I’m not interested in killing you. I’ve never wanted to kill you. It’s why you’re alive today.”

She stared at the clothing in her hand then up at Whizz.

“If it was left to the other men in the club, they’d have killed me?”

“You risked the club, Lacey. You’re a Savage Brother, and you should have died with the rest.”

Closing the door, Lacey knew it was because of Whizz that she was still living. Would the other brothers kill her?

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she quickly stripped down. She needed to get out of the clubhouse and see the reality of her situation.

****

Angel tucked some hair behind her ear as she made her way toward the secluded warehouse where Gash had told her to meet him. She hated doing this behind Lash’s back, but this was the only way she could protect herself. He was going into town with Whizz and Lacey. She wished she could go with him, but he’d told her no. Lash didn’t want her anywhere near Lacey while she was so unpredictable.

Angel loved him with her whole heart, and the only reason she was doing this was for him. If she’d not married him, fallen for him, she wouldn’t need to worry about the future. She wanted more children and to be a real part of the club. There was no way she could do that while being at the mercy of every crazed enemy that rolled through town. She was tired of being afraid of the unknown.

Rubbing her hands together she stood waiting.

“You came?” Gash asked, rounding the corner. He was smoking as he moved toward her.

“I was serious about this. I want to be able to fight and look after myself. The only way I can do that is by getting someone to teach me. Prison wouldn’t have been a comfort.”

He tilted his head to the side, staring at her.

“What happened this morning bothered you. Raven is nothing but a whore to be used, and you couldn’t stand for the bitch to be put in her place.”

“Lash was being crude. He can’t step in for me.”

“Those bitches will walk all over you. You never hear them saying shit to Eva. Lash protects you because you’re too fucking sweet for your own good. What are you going to do when Lash finds out?”

“If Lash finds out what we’re doing, I’ll handle it. He shouldn’t be angry. I’m doing this for him.” She placed her hands on her hips, waiting for his comeback.

“Is that right?”

“Tiny wants him to step up as club president when the time comes. I’m going to need to fill Eva’s shoes. I can’t do that while being afraid. I’ve got a place to earn within the club.”

He took several steps toward her. She backed up, terrified.

Gash was taller than she was, stronger. He could hurt her, and no one would have a clue where she was.

Tears sprang to her eyes at the predicament she’d put herself in. Suddenly he stopped moving.

“Shit, you’re that scared?”

She shook her head, but she couldn’t stop the shaking.

“I’m not scared.”

“You’re shaking, Angel. I’m not the enemy, but you’re scared.”

“Lash has told me you’re unpredictable and that a woman put you in prison for lies.”

“He tells you a fucking lot.”

Angel swallowed. This was a big mistake, and she said as much.

“Look, I’m not going to hurt you. You were not the bitch who cried rape and murder, okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I happen to like you.”

She looked up at him.

“I won’t sleep with you.”

“Okay, it’s a pretty big leap from helping you to fight to sleeping with you.”

“When I asked for your help you thought I wanted to sleep with you. I don’t. I’ve seen the way you’ve gone through the sweet-butts, and I’ve heard the talk.”

He placed a hand over her mouth.

“We’re totally getting off the wrong foot here. For once, Angel, I respect a woman. I’ve never respected a woman in my life. All of them have a purpose, whether it be as a hole or as a mother. I don’t give a shit about them. You, Angel, you’re the first woman I respect. I see that you love Lash. You’re only wanting this to help him.”

She nodded.

“I don’t want to disappoint him, but I’m tired of being scared. He finds excuses all the time. I can’t protect Anthony when he’s not there. Lash, I love him and I know he loves me, and I know doing this will hurt him, but I also know I can’t do anything else. I can’t have Lash worrying about me all the time, which is exactly what he’ll do. I need him to be able to trust in me like Tiny does Eva.”

“I’m going to help. Come on.”

Angel followed Gash inside the warehouse. This was not about going behind Lash’s back even though she was having to. All she wanted to do was go and hide. Her love for Lash was absolute, and she wouldn’t go back on him. They were a couple and would fight the world together. She hoped when he found out the truth, he saw that she was doing this for him.