Page 4

Alex left the clubhouse and headed toward the house he’d bought outside of Fort Wills set back by a small forest. It looked like an old ranch house in the middle of nowhere, but he liked it.

Several months ago he’d hired a young black woman by the name of Sunshine. From the moment he saw her, he knew he couldn’t be alone with her. She set his fire burning, and they’d only spoken for two minutes. He’d hired her to take care of his home and to cook. If he was honest with himself he’d hired her so that he wouldn’t be lonely. His parents were dead, as was his sister. Besides Tiny and The Skulls, he was alone, completely alone. He had a son that hated him, and Cheryl despised him. There were so many mistakes he’d made in his life, and he was scared. He’d also hired Sunshine as a favor to her parents. There was another element to the deal, but he’d yet to take Sunshine as his own.

Running a hand down his face he parked up the car. His bike was in the garage at the compound. Devil was right about many things. Alex hadn’t been part of the club, not really. He knew how to ride a bike, but for so long he’d been hidden behind a desk not having the first clue what to do with the club. It was good Tiny had decided to hand the gavel over to Lash.

Lash was loyal to the club, through and through. Angel had it within her to be a good old lady as well providing she was prepared for the sacrifices ahead of her.

Climbing out of his car, his cell phone went off. Checking the caller he saw it was Tiny on the line.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nash stopped by and said you left the clubhouse. Is everything okay?”

This was the first time he’d left the clubhouse in over six months. His room had been lived in more than this house he was staring at. With five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen diner, it was a dream home for a family, but for Alex, it was too big. This house reminded him of everything he didn’t have. He didn’t have a family, and all he did was invade Tiny’s. Eva and the kids had nothing to do with him, not really. They weren’t related in any way. Tate was his niece and Tiny his friend.

Stop with the moping. This is what you get for the way you live.

He didn’t give women a chance or care what they wanted from him. All he ever cared about was work and getting shit done. His sister had warned him that he’d be alone. Alex hadn’t cared. There was no woman out there for him.

Flicking his keys in front of him he walked up to the front steps of his house.

“Mr. Allen?” Sunshine opened the door. She was wiping her hands on a towel as she looked at him.

For once he didn’t know what to say and simply stared at the beauty in front of him. She was a local in town. Her parents owned the local bakery that had been open the past ten years. Sunshine had been the first and only woman to apply for the position of a live-in housekeeper for him. She probably had it better than most people seeing as he never came home. Finding out that the bakery was in need of some money, he’d struck a deal with her parents. All he had to do was wait for Sunshine to come into his life. Since she’d taken on the role of his housekeeper, Alex hadn’t been able to come home. He didn’t want her hurt or put in any kind of danger.

“Hello, Sunshine. The name’s Alex. Please use it.” He brushed past her aware of the small connection they had between their bodies. For a split second he closed his eyes, relishing that small contact. The sweet-butts within the club used to be able to take care of his needs whereas now, they no longer did anything for him. He was tired of the constant need to connect with someone, the yearning that built in the pit of his stomach whenever he saw one of The Skulls couples.

The scent of her cooking met his nostrils, and his stomach growled. It was only lunch time, and yet she already was cooking.

He spun around to see her facing him. She held onto that towel with a death grip.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

Alex watched her gaze land on the floor between them. She was so skittish around him, always had been. Not that he could blame her. He was a monster to the core.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry. I won’t hurt you. What’s going on?” he asked. He was confused by her obvious fear. Yes, during her interview she’d been skittish, but this was outright fear.

“I, erm, I heard what you did, I mean, I heard what went down at the town hall. There’re a lot of rumors about another MC club.”

“Chaos Bleeds?” Once Gonzalez had been killed Devil had taken his club and woman back to Piston County.

“No, the other club. The one that you took out.” She bit down on her full, dark lip. He wanted to do unspeakable things to this woman. The more she stood there, looking tempting as hell, the harder it was for him to resist.

“Don’t listen to gossip.” He left her standing behind the front door as he made his way up the stairs, which had a single long piece of carpet down the center. The house was pristine clean. The mere sight of the inside let him know Sunshine didn’t fuck about on his time. He wondered where she slept.

Alex closed off immediately the thought of her sleeping. It was easier for both of them if he stopped thinking about where she slept at night. The last thing he needed was for the temptation to get so strong he couldn’t back down.

****

Whizz waited in his room while Lacey got dressed. Lash appeared in the doorway looking bored.

“Is she coming or not?”

“I thought you’d be saying goodbye to your woman.” Whizz smirked thinking about Angel’s abrupt exit in the kitchen hours before.

“She’s mad at me. I’ve never spoken to another woman like that in front of her. Well, I can’t exactly call Raven a woman. She’s a whore through and through.” Lash leaned against the wall looking mightily pissed.

“Angel will forgive me, but she’s gone to the spa. I hate hearing bitches like Raven talk shit to her. She doesn’t deserve it.”

“Your woman’s sweet, Lash. She’s never going to change, and you’re going to have to realize it. I doubt I’ll ever see her kicking your ass, but one could hope for it.” No man in the club would ever think to take Lash on. He was too scary, too dangerous, and too willing to hurt anyone who stepped in his way. It would be fun to see Angel kicking his ass though. The very thought made Whizz smile.

“Angel knows I’ll never hurt her. I’d rather die than hurt her.” Lash pulled out his cell phone.

“Is this bitch coming?”

“Don’t,” Whizz said, warning him.

“You laying claim?”

“No.”

“You should. Boys are seriously pissed off that she’s still alive.”

The whole of the clubhouse was hurting because of the Savage Brothers.

“This wasn’t her fault. She came to help Butch.”

Lash shrugged.

“Look, we’re all hurting from the shit that went down. I know I’m not in the mood to deal with her, but I promised Tiny I’d help.”

“She’s not going to kill me.”

“We’re not going to take that chance because you don’t think it.” Lash pocketed his cell phone as Lacey walked out of the room.

“Hey,” she said. Her gaze moved from him to Lash.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” Lash left the room.

Offering his hand, Whizz was surprised when she took it.

“Are you going to kill me?” she asked.

“Do you really think I saved you just to kill you now?”

She shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

Tilting her head back with a finger underneath her chin, Whizz shook his head.

“I’m not going to kill you, and neither is Lash. He’s there because the club doesn’t trust you.” He kept back the part about most of the men wanting her dead. She didn’t need to know how hurt the club was, at least not yet.

Whizz understood why she was hurting. The Savage Brothers may have fucked them up, but they’d been her family for the longest time. Lacey wouldn’t forgive him easily.

Closing his bedroom door, he led her down toward the main part of the clubhouse. Lash was already exiting the building as they rounded the corner where most of the men and women were standing.

The entire room went silent. The sweet-butts, sensing the tension, stayed silent. Whizz held her hand a little tighter. He’d kill anyone who tried to hurt her. Murphy and Tate were standing together, smiling. When they turned to look at Lacey, their smiles became frowns. Tiny was crowding Eva where she leaned against the doorframe.

Whizz took in the room, the relaxed forms that suddenly tensed when they took notice of Lacey. This was what the club had been like before Gonzalez hit, before Alan hit. The family was back together. Sweet-butts, old ladies, brothers, bikers, friends, family. They were finally coming together, and for the first time since joining The Skulls, Whizz felt apart from it. He wasn’t the same man and hadn’t been because of Alan.

Lacey tightened her hand around his, and he couldn’t stop the sudden pain that hit his chest. This was his family, and yet it wasn’t.

Killer approached, his friend and brother from The Lions who always had his back. But Whizz didn’t know what to expect from Killer right now as he’d not taken the time to talk to his friend.

“Hey,” Killer said, offering Lacey his hand.

His friend stared at him while he made the greeting.

Lacey offered her hand. Compared to Killer, Lacey was so small.

Kelsey approached with their son, Markus, on her hip.

“It’s nice to finally meet you.”

When he got back he’ll make sure to speak with Killer. It had been too long since they last got together to catch up. So much had happened that needed to be changed.

“I’m Lacey.”

“Kelsey, and I’m Killer’s old lady.”

Whizz tuned out as Kelsey introduced her son to Lacey. He looked at Lacey as she took in the baby. The yearning was there. He recognized it and wished there was something he could do to help her.

“Come on, I’ve got shit to do,” Lash said.

“We’ve got to go.” Leading the way out of the clubhouse, Whizz was aware none of the other members came to say hi. If Angel had been present she’d have said her welcome.

“Wow, I thought they were going to kill me,” Lacey said, tucking some of her blue hair behind her ear.

“They want to.” Lash spoke before Whizz got a chance to say anything.

Shooting a glare at his friend, Whizz handed Lacey a helmet.

“They’re still dealing with everything that has happened. It’s the first time in a long time where they’ve been able to relax.”

She took the helmet of him.

“I spoilt it?”

“You didn’t so much as spoil it. You’re a reminder of everything they’ve lost.”

“What about Butch? Is he okay?” She touched his arm.

“He’s dealing.”

“What about the club? Is he still part of the club?”

Whizz shook his head.

“He’s club business, and you’re not part of the club.” In truth, he didn’t know what was going on with Butch. He climbed on the bike, waiting for her to put the helmet on. She did, then climbed on behind him. Her thighs straddled his back and legs. The heat of her distracted him.

“You’ve had a bitch on the back before, Whizz, focus,” Lash said, pulling out of the parking lot of the compound.

Lacey tensed behind him. Firing up the machine, he took off after Lash. This was not the time and place to start delving into those memories. The women on the back of his bike had been fun. Lacey didn’t represent fun to him. She represented living, a second chance, his only chance.

She wrapped her arms around him as he followed the path Lash had taken. He’d already visited the house after it all went down. The old place was burned to the ground. The bodies had been disposed of, and the entire house had security gates around it. In time the debris from the crumbling building would be removed and another place built. He didn’t know how Lacey was going to handle the destruction.

Lash was already climbing off his bike as they parked up. The sun was shining down on the street. He turned his engine off, waiting for her to climb off. Whizz felt her gripping the outside of his jacket in her fists.

Several seconds passed, and she climbed off, removing the helmet and handing it to him. She took off toward the gated area. He watched her avidly, waiting for her reaction to the chaos. There was nothing there. The bodies were gone, disposed of after the incident happened.

Seeing the house from Lacey’s point of view, he saw nothing but death and loss.

Whizz leaned on the seat of his bike as Lash came to stand beside him.

“Has Tiny told you what he wants from me?” Lash asked.

“About you taking over as president?”

“Yeah.”

“I know. Is that why you’re acting out?” Whizz didn’t remove his gaze from his woman. She looked so sad, and he hated the fact he was the cause.

“I’m not acting out.”

“The Lash I know wouldn’t have said that shit to a sweet-butt, especially not in front of his woman.”

“She was running her mouth off about my woman.”

Whizz shrugged.

“I’ve seen you warn other women but never be crude in front of Angel. You’ve been acting out trying to prove to Tiny you’re not the right choice to take over as president.”

“And you think I am?”

“I think you’re a better leader than you realize when you put your mind to it. Stop acting out and being an ass. Be a leader. Be what the club is going to need you to be.” Whizz watched as Lacey reached out to touch the gate.

“What about her?” Lash asked.

For once Whizz glanced at his friend. “What?”

“The club doesn’t like her being there. She should have died with all of them.”

Whizz stood tall, facing Lash. He didn’t care how violent Lash could get. Whizz wasn’t afraid of Lash or Killer, their enforcers.

“She’s mine.”

“She’s not a Skull and will never be a Skull.”

“If I claim her and she’s mine, that will make her a Skull. I’ve been through shit for this club. You want to start telling me what I can and can’t have?” Whizz wasn’t in the mood for the club to be down on what he wanted out of life. He’d done shit for The Skulls and showed his loyalty to all of them. There was no way he’d have anyone telling him who he wanted in his life. There was no way for him to claim her yet with all the shit up in the air. Both of them needed time.

“You’re going to claim her?”

“I don’t know, but you better get this through your thick fucking skull, if I do, no one will put a hand on her.” He backed away to step closer to Lacey. Her shoulders were shaking from her tears. This was her moment, and he hated witnessing her pain.

****

Lacey heard him arguing for her. Why couldn’t he be an asshole? Whizz was too nice, too considerate of her. She couldn’t just walk away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she said, whispering the words out to the air. She had to believe Dalton was in a better place. He deserved a hell of a lot more than her.

She gripped the gate hard, trying to hurt herself as the pain of what she saw was too much.

Whizz’s hands landed on her waist.

“I’m here.”

“You shouldn’t be fighting for me. I’m not part of the club. Lash is right. Everyone hates what I represent. You need to get rid of me.”

One of his hands left her waist to pull the hair off her neck.

“You need to stop talking about what you think needs to happen, baby. I’m not going to let you go, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

“This is wrong, Whizz.”

“No, it’s right.”

“I should be there.” She rested her head on the gate. The cold was refreshing against her forehead.

“I was supposed to die with them. I’m not supposed to be alive.”

Tears filled her eyes making her vision blurry. She didn’t brush the tears away letting them fall freely down her cheeks.

“You’re alive because you needed to see me.”

“It was wrong. There’s so many mistakes I made.”

He let her go to grip the gate outside of her hands. She stared at his darker hands with the scars from the nails being pushed through them by that monster who had taken him. Whizz had been through so much, and he deserved a woman who was delicate, who didn’t come with baggage. Not only did she come with personal baggage, she came from a club who only symbolized betrayal to his club.

“Did you want to die?”

“I wanted to leave with them. We were going to leave to find a place to settle down. There were so many plans. I hoped to see Dalton fall in love. For so long he’d been looking after me, taking care of me. I couldn’t love him the way he wanted.”

“He loved you?”

“Yes. I was a selfish bitch. He loved me, and I couldn’t bring myself to love him.” The tears were falling thick and fast.

“To me, he was my brother. Nothing else.”

“You need to stop worrying about what he thinks, Lacey. He’s gone, and he’s not coming back.”

A sob broke free at the harsh reality of his words.

“Please, don’t say that.”

Dalton’s gone. He’s never going to find love or know what love feels like. You’re selfish and should have died.

“You’ve asked me to show you this house. In a few months it’ll be cleared away, and either another house, a set of apartments, or a business will take its place.”

“All evidence they were here will be gone. No one knows about them.”

Dalton and the club had spent so long intent on taking their revenge, and it had led them on this path. The path to their deaths. She should have known they wouldn’t make it out alive. The rumors about The Skulls had told her they were not a club to mess with. She’d tried so hard to get Danny to see reason, but he wouldn’t listen, refused to.

“No, they’re not gone, Lacey. They’re inside you and part of you. They are gone, but you’re not dead. You’re living, breathing.”

“I don’t deserve to be.” It didn’t matter what Whizz said. She knew the truth of what happened. Dalton asked her to stop looking for Whizz. He’d warned her about what would happen when Whizz knew the truth. Instead of listening, she did what she wanted to do.

He covered her hands with his own.

“You’ve got me.”

Turning around, she stared up into his eyes.

“I’ve not got you, Whizz. I never had you. I didn’t try to find you that night at the coffee shop, but I knew who you were. I knew what Alan did to you, what you were fighting. You need to let me go.”

Whizz shook his head.

“I’m not letting you go.” He cupped her cheek, tilting her head back, and forcing her to look back at him.

Her mouth went dry from the possessive look staring right back at her.

“You’re not going anywhere. I believe you when you say you didn’t hunt for me, but you found me, Lacey. Not only did you find me once, you came to me several times. I’ve been inside you, and I’ll be inside you once again.”

She shook her head.

“You’re being insane.”

“No, you’re the one being insane. Those men, your brothers, they’re dead. They died because they didn’t have the fucking sense to come to us. The Skulls would have let them live, but they put us and the town at fucking risk. They were a bunch of idiots pretending to run a club.”

Lacey slapped him around the face.

“How dare you? You didn’t know what it was like being hunted by Gonzalez. We were all easy prey to him. He took our families from us and made sure we knew who was in control.”

“That was Gonzalez’s father,” Whizz said. He was glaring right back at her. He didn’t raise a hand to her even though she slapped him.

Lash stayed away, which surprised her. She figured he would have intervened by now.

“Gonzalez was there with his father. He made the order that took our families from us. Both of them were there when he gave the order to do what they wanted. When the first man stole my innocence, Gonzalez was organizing a dinner for when he got home. I wasn’t important enough to stick around. I lost my ability to bear children. We had the right to take Gonzalez out. Danny, the club, didn’t trust anyone to ask for help. From that moment Gonzalez tore our world out from under us, we were warned not to say anything. We were told to stay silent, to not talk about the past. We didn’t. All of us moved on together with one mission in mind, to kill the Gonzalez line.”

“Your biggest mistake was not listening to Butch,” Whizz said.

“You don’t get it.”

“I get it, but you’re too busy feeling guilty instead of listening to reason. I’m not going to keep trying to tell you differently. They’re gone. You’re alive, and I will not let anything happen to you.” He gripped her arm and started walking her toward the bike.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m done listening to you feeling sorry for yourself. We’re going back to the club.”

“I want to see Butch.”

“You don’t get to do that.” Whizz handed her the helmet.

“Put it on.”

“Why are you angry?” she asked.

“You’re determined to find excuses for them. They were untrained and could have killed everyone in that room. Fort Wills belongs to The Skulls. The moment the Savage Brothers hit out they were dead. You were all stupid to believe that you could get away with it.”

Lacey didn’t think about what she did. Raising her knee, she connected with his cock and balls. Without giving him time to react, she started running away, trying to get away from him.

“Fuck,” Whizz said.

She ran off but didn’t get far.

“I don’t fucking think so.” Lash grabbed her around the waist, dragging her back. She started to hit out at him.

“Let me go.” She wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

“You better deal with her.” Lash caught her hands together. She didn’t stand a chance against his strength.

A red-faced Whizz stared at her. He didn’t speak, simply put the helmet on her head and turned away. She watched him climb on the back of the bike.

Lash put her on the back.

“I suggest you hold onto him if you don’t want to hurt yourself falling off. I’m not in the fucking mood for you to start killing yourself. You want to die, ask one of us to do it.”

She shivered as a wave of fear washed through her. These men were not the kind to mess with. Wrapping her arms around Whizz’s waist, she held onto him. They went straight back to the clubhouse. The sun was still up. She saw Angel walking into the grounds as she removed her helmet. Gash was right behind her.

“Where have you been?” Lash asked, walking over to Angel.

“I went to the spa.” Angel pushed some hair off her shoulder, smiling up at Lash.

Lacey watched the change in Lash. He wrapped his arms around his woman with a smile on his lips.

“I bumped into her and decided to walk her home,” Gash said.

“Am I forgiven?” Lash asked.

She nodded.

“I can never be mad at you for long, even if she didn’t deserve your words.”

Lacey didn’t get to hear the rest of the conversation as Whizz dragged her back through the clubhouse. He led her upstairs. His grip was hard on her arm. She didn’t fight him as she was pulled into his room. He slammed the door, pressing her up against the door.

“What the fuck was that?” he asked, growling the words in her face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you know exactly what I’m fucking talking about. Don’t ever hit me in the balls again.” He glared at her, yet she wasn’t afraid.

“Don’t speak about my club like that.” She should hate him. He helped to take out her club, lured her back to the clubhouse so she would be far enough away from the danger.

“After all the lies I told you, why did you have to save me?”

“I wanted to fuck you.”

“So to get your loyalty I’ve just got to give you free access to my cunt?” she asked. She didn’t want to be hurt by his words, but she was.

“No, there’s a lot more, but you’re not ready to know the truth just yet.” His gaze dropped to her lips. Her gut tightened as his gaze darkened. She saw the change inside him.

“Whizz?”

“Shut up.” He closed the distance between them. His lips were so close that she felt the air of his breath over her face. Heat spilled from her pussy. She wanted him, and there was the problem. Lacey didn’t want to want him, but she did. He was an addiction she couldn’t stop.

“You’ve got to stop the guilt.” He slammed his lips down on hers cutting off any kind of protest. His tongue glided over her lips, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth. She moaned at the contact of his lips, opening her mouth for his invading tongue.

She met him halfway, sliding her tongue over his.

He sank his fingers into her hair, tugging on the length.

Within seconds Whizz pulled away, opened the door and closed it, leaving her alone and confused. She didn’t know what had just happened. Her lips were swollen, and she was turned on. If Whizz intended to torture her, he was going the right way about it. Sitting down on his bed, she rested her head in her hands.

She was losing her mind. On the one hand there was the guilt of causing Dalton’s death. She didn’t feel she had the right to be happy. On the other hand, she wanted to be with Whizz. From the moment they first met at the coffee shop she’d felt a connection to him. Lacey didn’t want to lose that. He was the first and only man she’d ever felt such a strong connection to. It went far beyond the damage and pain they’d both suffered.

Dalton’s face flashed through her mind. She was never going to get away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she said.