Fire Meets Fire: Wretched Soulz MC

Chapter 18

At first, I didn’t hear Helo’s suggestion. I was too torn up asking myself what were those words that had just come out of my mouth? Had I really said I trusted a woman I’d only just met more than the brothers I’d ridden with for years? In hindsight, it was a terrible thing to say, and I’m not sure when, or even if, my brothers will ever forgive me.

But as Helo starts to explain her plan, her words begin to filter in. I feel Claw’s hold on me relax as he, and everyone else, become impressed with not only what she’s saying, but her confident delivery. She’s obviously got some bold ideas which, while I’d admire them coming from anyone else, I’m scared to death of her putting herself in danger. What she’s proposing is risky with several huge fucking holes which we’d need to smooth out. But as she continues speaking, my brothers are entranced, and start making themselves comfortable—some sitting on the couch, some on the table that groans under their combined weight, and the others propping themselves against walls or sitting cross-legged on the floor. All seem completely engrossed as they listen to the woman speaking. Even Slugger is hearing her out without making a comment.

It”s not often someone of the female sex can enthrall the members of an all-male MC. I can sense the mood in the house is one of respect, and I can’t help but feel pride in her, though her words fill me with dread. Helo’s not asking for help. She’s determined to carry out the key role herself, standing right there on the firing line for, I admit, the not inconsiderable benefit of being able to go on with her life. She’d obviously given some thought to this. While she hadn’t been able to face her enemies head-on alone, with the Wretched Soulz behind her, she could take them on. The only part where my brothers were dubious was when she explained that she couldn’t afford to engage our services for payment. But it was Beard who pointed out, if all went well, we’d be richer by two million dollars.

Only Legit points out they could fill their coffers easier by simply turning her in, but he was only voicing the obvious. At least the dismissive waves and a couple of voiced protestations show me, even if he had been serious, he wouldn’t have gotten much support.

My pride, a moment ago vested in Helo, now switches to my brothers. We’re in an MC, we live life on the edge, and if there’s a chance to stick our finger up to the man, we’ll take it. Handing her over would be too simple, too much like a citizen turning a criminal into the law. By doing this Helo’s way, we get action and fulfilment as well as the reward.

Helo’s stopped talking, and is now taking questions, and it seems whatever they throw at her, she’s got answers. Eventually Claw gets caught up in the discussion and he’s not even pretending to hold me anymore.

“How do you know this will work?” I move forward as soon as his arms drop away. “Helo, there’s a shit load of things that could go wrong.”

She turns thoughtful eyes on me. “What’s the alternative? If I leave here today, I’m worse off than I’ve ever been. Up to now I thought perhaps I had one, maybe a couple of people trying to find me, now I know it’s the whole membership of the Dominators. Their wide reach means they’re bound, sooner or later, to catch up with me. This is the only way I’ll ever be free from my past.”

“I like the idea of sticking it to the Doms,” Bull states with a large grin. “They’ll be pissed as hell at losing those dollars.”

“Especially when it’s in our coffers instead.” Beard chortles.

Helo’s in her element, and I can easily see how she got to the rank that she had. Though she’s decisive, she listens to everyone’s suggestions, pulling some into the plan that’s taking shape while dismissing many of the others, but in a way that doesn’t cause offence. She even appears to give consideration to some of the inane ones which would have had me slapping the person offering it around the head. Gradually she’s pulling them all onto her side, and I can see looks of admiration on more than one face.

The prospects arrive carrying crates of beer and boxes of pizza and everyone perks up, stands or pushes away from their perches and for a moment, no one is looking my way. No one appears to be bothered when I approach Helo. Having previously escaped the zip ties, I take hold of her elbow and lead her away to the kitchen. As I do, I notice I’ve caught Slugger’s attention. He’s got his eye on me, but he doesn’t make a move our way. He knows I’m not going to try to make a break for it out the back door, there are too many brothers with guns, and obviously, I’m weaponless.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I give her a little shake.

“Getting us both on the right side of your club,” she hisses in return.

“I’m sorry.” I’ve been thinking about it. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t gotten Legend to look into you?—”

“Now stop right there.” When a woman stares at you with her hands on her hips, and especially when she’s also an ace pilot, you’d be crazy not to take it as a sign that you better shut up. “You might have given whoever’s looking for me a head start, but without your club, I wouldn’t know who I was up against. Hell, Chaz. The fucking Dominators? Sure, I underestimated an MC when I stole those parts, but it’s not a mistake I’ll make again. Look at the way your club managed to find us? If the Dominators are half as resourceful, I wouldn’t have lasted long. You’ve given me a way to end this. And…” she pauses, bites her lip, looks down, then, after a moment, looks back up, pointing her finger at my chest so I can make no mistake, “You. You’ve given me a reason to want to.”

Me? Again, I’m stunned. And again, I stay quiet, not wanting the wrong assumption to come out of my mouth.

As I hoped, she fills the silence. “I never wanted another man’s hands on me. I never wanted to get close to anyone. But I allowed you to hold me.” Her eyes fill with emotion. “You know how damaged I am?” She’s told me, so I simply blink slowly to show I understand. “I thought they were going to kill you.”

“They still might.”

“Which would be a waste of a very good man.” I open my mouth to tell her I’m far from being an angel, but she goes and steals my breath. “For a moment, I thought I’d lost my chance. I don’t want to waste what we might have, Chaz.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “With you I feel like I want to try.”

“A relationship?” I almost hesitate to ask.

She bites her lip. “If I can and if you want to.”

I’m stunned, acknowledging what she’s gifted me. No guarantees, no quick fixes. But I’ll be fucked if I don’t want to take that chance. A vision of her as my old lady flits through my mind, then reality sinks back in. There are more obstacles than her mental and physical injuries. “Then why put your fuckin’ life on the line?” I growl, not understanding. “Wretched Soulz are always ready to take the Dominators on. You don’t need to play a part in this.” I’m thinking fast. “If I made you my ol’ lady, that brings you under the club’s protection.” If I remain a member, that is. I ignore that small complication. At least now we know where to start to track down her enemy. The Dominators have to know who they’re working for. “Let us fight your battle, let me protect you?—”

“I don’t need a man to protect me. I can do that well enough myself.” She brushes a hand over her short hair and looks frustrated. “And I can’t live always looking over my shoulder. Chaz, someone thinks I’ve betrayed them somehow, and I’ve got to put that right. Even if the Soulz got rid of the Dominator threat, someone else may come along.”

“We’ll get to the man at the top.”

“That’s my plan. Weren’t you listening?” She seems frustrated, but tries to console me. “I never leave the fighting to anyone else, Chaz. I’ve got to play my part. And, once we’re over this hurdle, I can concentrate on a future. With you, perhaps?” There’s a little plea of hope in her last three words.

And those hit me right in the feels. I’ll give her a future if that’s what she wants. Fuck, if she asked, I’d try to give her the stars. Even if my club never forgives me, if I manage to stay alive, I’d be happy to start anew with someone like Helo by my side. It’s what comes in between that and now that scares the shit out of me.

Slugger pokes his head around the doorway, rapping the doorframe as if his appearance hasn’t been enough to get our attention. “Church,” he rasps. “Now.” As I start turning to Helo, he snorts. “She’s included.”

“Well fuck me.” She grins as he walks away. “You religious?”

“Hell no,” I respond. “He means he wants a meeting.”

Her resulting chuckle suggests she was just yanking my chain and realised that anyway. Still, we walk out together. The rest of the club have already taken their spaces in a makeshift oval with Slugger seated at the head. There’s a seat on the couch next to Skunk, but Helo ignores it, making me suspect she’s already clocked his issues. Poor guy, there’s no deodorant made to counteract his body odour. Fuck knows we’ve all tried giving him different brands. He doesn’t give a shit, making out it’s his pheromones. Personally, I think he’d do well to become more familiar with the shower.

Clasping Helo’s hand, I lean against the wall, pulling her in beside me. My body is tense, suspecting I won’t like their discussion at all. She squeezes my fingers, emphatically knowing I need the support.

Slugger’s an ass, everyone knows it, but somehow he made it to the topmost position in the club. It’s only times like this when he puts his serious cap on that the reason he made it to that spot shows. Gone is the asshole personality, and in comes the professional, willing to make the hard choices.

Banging the heel of his knife on the table, Slugger gets everyone’s attention. He glances around, then catches my eye and holds it. “First order of business. What’s to be done with Chaz? Brothers? You want him in, out bad, or six feet underground?”

I swallow hard, feeling my Adam’s apple bob. While I knew it was coming, I didn’t expect Slugger to table it so fast. I’d hoped we’d get Helo’s business sorted before my fate was decided.

“For running out on the club? Taking our payday away?” Pothead raises a joint to his lips and takes a deep puff. Blue intoxicating smoke wafts out, making Legit, who’s seated beside him, waft it away with his hand.

“Strong shit that,” he chides him.

Pothead looks uncontrite. “Good fuckin’ shit,” he answers him. “Want to try?”

It seems Legit does and Slugger raps his knife on the wood again. Once he’s got his attention, he points to the joint-smoking man. “Betrayal of loyalty to the Soulz, yeah. That’s what we’re talking about. Most serious fuckin’ crime.”

I keep my mouth shut, having nothing with which to defend myself. If things were the other way round and I was in the top seat questioning the behaviour of a brother who’d made the choice I had, I’d have gone for the toughest penalty.

StoryTeller sits forward. “There once was a man who couldn’t understand how a brother would want an ol’ lady in his life.” There’s a slight quirk to his lips reminding me of the times I’ve yanked his chain about his relationship with Sheri. “Then, one stormy night—well, it was probably clear and dry, but hell, my way makes a better story—” He breaks off to allow people to laugh. “A damsel in distress entered his life and it was like a bullet shot straight to his jaded heart.”

Helo jerks beside me, but I place my hand on her arm. It’s best not to interrupt StoryTeller when he’s in the middle of a story, and I want to hear how this plays out. It at least sounds like he’s on my side.

StoryTeller resumes, “The fearless, ferocious leader was cut off at the knees when the damsel cast her magic spell over him. From that moment on she weaved her magic, and he was gone, becoming a slave to her beauty, and unable to think of anything else. All previous loyalties fled as she’d stolen his soul and his heart.”

“What the fuck?”

“Shush,” I chide Helo.

Iron rubs a hand over his bald head as he sits forward. “So you’re saying Prez is bewitched and not in control of his actions? Maybe what he needs is an exorcism.”

“So now it looks like we’ve four options,” Weasel says seriously, while Slugger lets out a weary sigh.

Giving one of his customary sniffs, Skunk wipes his nose with the back of his hand, then states, “Can’t fault a man for falling in love.”

“Nah. Just like I’m in love with the idea of a new bike,” Fire retorts.

Helo pushes away from my side, goes to the table and plants her hands there palms down. “And you’ll get your new fucking bike. Instead of moaning like old ladies and discussing Chaz, why don’t we get on with planning how we’re going to accomplish that?”

“Lady’s got a point.” Bull nods appreciatingly.

“So you’re going to let Chaz’s behaviour stand?” Slugger asks.

“Yeah.” StoryTeller looks me straight in the eye. “Can’t fault a man in love.”

I’m not in love.Am I? Oh fuck it, he’s right. Else why would I want her as my old lady, or explain my desire to keep her breathing. Maybe StoryTeller’s right and she’s cast a spell on me.

Helo stays in position, but slowly casts her eyes around. “What would have happened had he not taken me away? Would any of you assholes have given me up?”

Claw shrugs. “Thought about it.”

“We don’t know you, lady,” Legit says. “We don’t know if you might deserve what you’ve got coming to you.”

Helo shakes her head and gives an incredulous huff. “No, you don’t know me. But it seems Chaz knows you. If he hadn’t taken me away, someone could have acted impetuously and betrayed where I was without giving us a chance to look through the options.”

“Still don’t know you,” the redheaded Fire insists.

“But your prez does.” She fixes him with a stare that I’m sure has made many a man crap his pants. “Seems trust and loyalty work both ways. Chaz knows my story, and has decided the rights and wrongs of it for himself. Seems like you, his brothers, ought to give him some credit for that.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Slugger kicks back his chair and turns to me with a glare. “Come sit the fuck down, Brother.”

“What?” Skunk’s eyes open wide. “We’re not going to kick him out?”

Walking over to take the offered seat next to Slugger, I take the opportunity to slap Skunk around the head. “Not getting rid of me that fuckin’ easily.” I say the words, but inside, I’m full of relief that I’ve still got my place.

Helo pushes away from the table and starts to return to her previous place against the wall. As I sit my ass down, it’s to Iron’s roar of, “What the hell?” and I helplessly watch him leap from his chair, but he’s too late to catch her before she hits the ground.

It’s pandemonium for a few seconds. I’m on my feet again, then drop to my knees, pulling her into my arms, checking whether she might have any injuries. From what I can see, she’s sound. Skunk vacates the couch, allowing me to lay her down, and Slugger stands, shaking his head in bewilderment.

“She just went out like a fuckin’ light,” Slugger observes. He pinches the brow of his nose, then asks, “What was the fucking trigger?”

That’s something I’d like to know, but unless it was the release of tension when my club didn’t show me the door, I’ll be fucked if I know. All I can tell him is, “PTSD. She can have these attacks out of the blue which bring her down.”

“Poof!” Legend demonstrates with his hand crashing to the floor, having seen it happen before. “She goes out like a fuckin’ light.”

Slugger sighs, his eyes fixed on the woman in my arms. As I check her out, willing her to start stirring, each time I’ve seen this I worry that she won’t come around. Just when I’m relieved to see her eyelids fluttering, he speaks. “Well, that’s that then. Any idea of her taking point in a plan to give herself up voluntarily is bust.” He even looks sad about it.

I understand what he’s saying, how dangerous it could be if she just collapsed, but… hang on one damn minute. He’s not thinking about going back to plan A and turning her in for the money without giving her a chance, is he? Once I’ve thought it, that takes foremost theory in my mind and suddenly I’m laying Queenie down, then standing, growling and throwing myself at him.

“You’re not fuckin’ betraying her!”

I’ve arms around me holding me back before my fist can make contact, and a gun pointed in my face being held firmly in Slugger’s hand.

He thrusts it forward, barrel to my forehead and uses it to push me back. I, myself, am still unarmed, else I wouldn’t be letting him get away with it.

“You and I. Outside. Now.”

As I start backing up, a voice calls out, “You need me, Slugger?”

Damn StoryTeller. Is it now I’m going to find out I can’t trust the man? I remember he acted as escort and enforcer to Slugger many times when he was a nomad. Is his loyalty to the Alpha and not myself?

“I can handle him,” Slugger replies, brave man that he is with a weapon held securely. My fists might be good, but they can’t do fuck all against a bullet.

As I walk backward, I find someone has helpfully opened the door, and, unlike StoryTeller, who offered to stand up for Slugger, my enforcer remains in the room with the rest of my so-called brothers.

What if this is my execution?

“Put that fuckin’ gun down and face me like a man,” I snarl as soon as we’ve privacy with the door closed behind us.

“I’d take you on—and win—anytime, Chaz,” he sneers back. “But beating you with my fists ain’t gonna solve anything.”

“You can’t have her.” I wave my hand toward the cabin behind me. “They’re good men in there. Once they understand what you’re planning on doing?—”

His face glows so red it looks like it’s going to catch fire. “And what exactly the fuck am I planning?”

I wave my hands. “You’re going to take an innocent woman and?—”

“Innocent?” he interrupts me again. “No one’s fuckin’ innocent from the moment they’ve escaped the womb.” Before I can counter that, he continues, “I’ve had it up to here,” he indicates his neck, “with you, Chaz. You’re so wrapped up in that bitch you can’t see straight?—”

It’s my turn for an interruption. “I’m not wrapped up in her.” I say the words even though I know Helo’s got to me, so deep, any thought of harm coming to her hurts my soul. “I can’t have you give up a woman who should be revered and respected for what she’s done and what she’s lost for the sake of money to buy a few new Harleys.”

A sly grin comes to his face. “Who said anything about Harleys? Might fancy myself an Indian?—”

Ignoring the gun, I launch at him. He fires a shot that luckily goes over my head but the loud gunfire has the result of at least stopping me. Won’t be much use to Helo dead.

Now, again, he’s got the weapon pointed clearly at me. Gone is the joker. Gone is the man intent on messing with my mind. Instead, in front of me, is the man who clawed his way up to be the Wretched Soulz head.

“Now you’re going to fuckin’ listen to me.” He beckons with his hand not holding the gun and indicates a low wall. “Shut the fuck up and go sit over there.”

I don’t immediately obey, which gets the gun cocked more firmly my way. Unsure if he’d really shoot me, I do read that Slugger’s losing what little patience he has.

Still trying to retain, or regain, the upper hand, I take the indicated seat, then demand, “Okay. I’m listening. What have you got to say?”

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot.”

As a starting point, it’s direct, and I can’t argue he’s wrong. I’ve never acted so much out of character. But I’m not about to show I agree with him, so I just let my eyes rest quizzically on his.

“How long you been prez of your charter?” After asking the question, he shakes his head. “Nah, don’t answer that. Obviously too long and not fuckin’ long enough.”

This time the rise of my brow shows my confusion.

Suddenly his fist bangs down on the picnic table so hard it makes the thing bounce. He’s certainly got my intention when he states, “You’re a fuckin’ moron. You misread your men. You misread me. At no fuckin’ point were we going to turn that woman in.”