Chapter 19 #2
“I have no clue how long I’ll be in church, so if you have any issues, call Dice or Hoops. Both of them have covered this place before.”
“No problem. Thanks for giving me a shot.”
I slap him on the shoulder. “That’s what an MC is all about, having a brother’s back.”
He swallows and nods. He’s not been one to open up much about his past, and fuck knows I’m not one to push, not with my fucked-up history. But it’s not difficult to see that there is something weighing on this guy’s shoulders.
I leave him to it, knowing he can handle it, and head out to my bike before riding to the clubhouse.
Hoops waves me through the gate when I get there.
When I pull into the warehouse, it’s pretty full of bikes already, so I must be one of the last ones to get here.
I walk up to the saloon and push the doors open, the sound of laughter and music hitting me the second I step inside.
“Hey, Midas, I’ve missed you.” I frown when one of the club bunnies walks up to me and runs her red-tipped nails down my arm.
“I know you?” A snort sounds from behind me, but I ignore it as I search my memory for this woman but come up blank.
“It’s me. Tina.”
I stare at her blankly. Yeah, I’ve still got nothing. I shake my head and move to step around her when her grip tightens.
“How about I remind you exactly who I am and how good I made you feel.”
“You were so good, I remember nothing. Can’t say you’re really selling it to me.” I untangle my arm from her grip as she pouts.
“I’ll do you so good you’ll forget all about that little slut Legs—”
She doesn’t get to say anything else before I have her pinned to the bar with my hand around her throat. The room goes deadly silent for a beat before I hear footsteps stomping my way. I lean over her and snarl in her ear.
“You keep Legs’s name out of your fucking mouth.
She’s ten times the fucking woman you’ll ever be.
You wanna know why? I remember every single time I’ve sunk my dick inside her.
I remember how she feels, how she tastes, how she whimpers my name when she comes.
The difference between you is so fucking obvious even an idiot can see it.
I can’t conjure up a single fucking memory of you, but she haunts me.
I’ve tried to forget her, believe me, but it’s impossible.
You don’t forget a woman like Legs. You might want to remember that the next time you run your mouth because it’s really fucking hard to trash talk someone with no tongue. ”
“Midas, let her go!” Havoc snaps at me. I hesitate for a minute, part of me wanting to snap her neck for the disrespect she just showed my woman.
“Midas,” G growls out a warning.
I release her and take a step back. “Stay the fuck away from me,” I warn her. She runs off with tears in her eyes. I turn to face Havoc and G, who stand there with arms crossed over their chests. “You look like you’re about to steal my lunch money.”
G’s lips twitch before he looks away.
“I always thought it would be Toot or Probe that would make me go gray,” Havoc complains.
“Hey, I resent that!” Toot calls out.
“I didn’t hurt her, Havoc. I just made her listen to me.”
“You’re skating a very fine line,” he warns me.
“And when I cross it, you can spank me. I’ll even bend over for you.”
Havoc sighs but says nothing as G eyes me with curiosity. I know he wants to say something about Legs, but before he can, Havoc puts his fingers between his teeth and whistles.
“Alright fuckers, church.”
I salute him before turning and following everyone else in. I take my seat and wait for G and Havoc to take theirs before I realize that Kruger is missing.
“Alright, as some of you might have noticed, Kruger isn’t here. He’s on Lil duty today.”
“That an all-day thing now?” Probe asks.
“That’s why we’re here. As you all know, Kruger, or a prospect, has been riding with her to and from the shelter. What we haven’t made common knowledge yet is that Ambros found a tracking device on her car.” I nod at Havoc’s words, suspecting as much.
“What the fuck?” Mac curses. “We know who put it there?”
“Not a damn clue, and believe me, I’ve been looking.” G sighs.
“If you can’t find it, there’s nothing there to find. Not everything can be traced back, you know that,” I tell him when he runs a frustrated hand through his hair.
“I know. It still pisses me off, though.”
Havoc leans forward. “With visible protection, Lil hasn’t had any other issues lately. Until yesterday when she found a note on her windshield.”
“What’d it say?” Capone questions.
“Lose the dog or we’ll blow up the pound. Gotta assume Kruger is the dog in this scenario as he’s the one with her the most.”
“Shit. You think that’s something said to spook her, or should we be on alert?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chances. Does anyone know what Powers’s former employment was for Uncle Sam?”
I frown at the change of subject and shake my head along with the others.
“He was part of the bomb disposal unit. Him and his K9 partner.”
“Damn, that’s a handy motherfucker to have around,” Crane mutters.
“Even more than you realize, Crane. His K9 partner was retired after he got caught in an explosion. How he kept him, I don’t know because usually that shit doesn’t happen.
But I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As Powers has collected Lil a few times, he knows there is a credible threat to her safety.
He was with her yesterday when the note was found, and it was his idea for his dog to come sniff around and see if he finds anything.
As a prospect, he wouldn’t normally be privy to any of this shit, but it’s his dog, and the man is far from stupid.
I’m putting it to the vote—first that we have the dog in here to sniff shit out and second that we bring Powers in on this. ”
“I say bring them all in. We’ve lucked out with this bunch of prospects. All of them will easily get patched in, and if they are on Lil’s watch half the time, they should be clued into the threat.”
G looks at me before looking up at Havoc. They seem to be having a silent conversation before Havoc sighs and looks to the rest of the guys.
“Alright, all those in favor of cluing the prospects in?”
Everyone raises their hands. If this had been eighteen months ago, it would be a different story. But these guys all see the potential I see, even if we do give them all crap.
“Motion passed. All in favor of bringing in the K9 to do a sweep?”
Again, everyone agrees.
“Looks like we have a plan then—”
A knock at the door cuts Havoc off. I frown. Motherfuckers know better than to disturb us while we’re in church. It’s why we have our phones off. Before Havoc can say anything, they knock again. G gets up and stomps over to the door, yanking it open.
“I know the rules,” Dice starts before G can lay into him. “But Hannibal says it’s an emergency and to, I quote, answer your motherfucking phone.”
G looks to Havoc, who nods to Dice for him to leave. He pulls out his cell as G closes the door and frowns at it.
“Nine missed calls. This better be good,” he mutters as he dials Hannibal. We all watch on curiously, some with amusement, some with wariness—like me and G—because I know Hannibal wouldn’t break up church for shits and giggles.
“What the fuck, Hannibal? We’re in chur—” He shuts up with a snap of his mouth, his eyes going wide. He’s quiet while Hannibal talks, his face paling a little.
“Fuck. Is she okay? The kids?” I lean forward, knowing something bad has happened.
Havoc hangs his head and nods along. “Yeah, I’ll fill the brothers in and call you back afterward. Thanks for the heads up. Call if you need anything.”
He hangs up and looks across the room at nothing as he swallows. “In the early hours of this morning, Driller and another brother broke into Hannibal’s place while he was meeting the Death Serpents.”
“Oh, shit.” I hear someone curse, but I keep my eyes on Havoc.
“Lola hid the kids and took out the other brother before Driller beat her black and fucking blue. She’s in the hospital right now. The kids are fine, before you ask.”
“I’m guessing Driller’s dead. No fucking way Hannibal would let him take another breath of the same air Lola’s breathing.”
“I didn’t get to ask because I could hear his daughter calling him in the background. But I suspect if he’s not dead already, he would be by the time I got down there.”
“You could order him to hold back. He hurt Tink, and you served time for him. You have as much right to finish him off as Hannibal does,” Circus tells him, but Havoc shakes his head.
“What happened to me was on me. I should roll with the punches. I hate that he got his hands on Nevaeh, but we all know what he did to her barely scratches the surface of what he did to Lola. He deserves the kill. Lola needs it to be him. He’s the only person she trusts.”
We all let that sink in. It’s fucked-up, but a lot of damage has been done over the years. You can’t burn a bridge and then expect to cross back over it. You gotta take the time to build a new one.
“It’s fucked that it went down the way it did, Pres, but Driller’s dead or as good as. Your old lady can breathe easy again,” Probe points out. I watch as Havoc’s shoulders drop.
“I know, and fuck me, I’m relieved. But yet again, it was Lola who paid the price.”
“Somehow, I think with his death being the outcome, this might just be a price she was willing to pay,” I add.
He looks at me thoughtfully before nodding. “I hope you’re right, Midas. For Lola’s sake.”