Chapter Six
“I ’ll fucking kill him ,” Simon said, pacing up and down her old bedroom.
“You won’t,” Tabitha said.
“He had his hand wrapped around your throat and threatened you right in front of me.” Simon shook his head. “That kind of shit doesn’t happen. How dare he say the shit that he did!”
Tabitha thought it was sweet, how angry her man was at what Anthony had done, but the truth was, he didn’t need to be. Anthony was hurting. She saw it in his eyes. Daisy was everything to him, and had been since they were kids. Yes, it had been scary as he held her, because she did have a sneaking suspicion he had been tempted. Only, he hadn’t done it.
He wasn’t wrong, though. She was no longer a Skull. She never stopped being Tiny’s daughter, but that was beside the point. She was part of Chaos Bleeds. She wore their patch, married his son, had Simon’s children, and was loyal to that club. She had sworn to Devil she would serve only the Chaos Bleeds.
Also, she knew if it had been her in a hospital bed, Daisy would have gotten there within twenty-four hours.
Tabitha had waited in the hope of her waking up. She had children to take care of, and her life was now in Piston County. And guilt crashed right into her.
Daisy didn’t put the club first.
They were best friends.
She felt so ashamed that she had waited for good news, rather than just go straight to the hospital. Anthony was right. It was even more embarrassing watching as Lacey slid the wedding band onto Daisy’s finger, and Tabitha hadn’t even known her best friend was married. Not once had Daisy told her she had gotten married.
Lacey had looked to her with questions in her eyes, and it was in that moment she realized her best friend had been trying to protect her all these years. There was going to be stuff she didn’t know about Daisy. She’d been so caught up in her own life she hadn’t asked Daisy about hers.
“You got what you always wanted, Daisy. I’m happy for you. It wasn’t supposed to be this way for me and I know you all get tired of hearing about it. I don’t want to be that person anymore. Just leave me the fuck alone. Go back to your perfect life, and let me go.”
She had thrown that accusation at Daisy.
No wonder her friend had kept her in the dark. It was where she deserved to be.
****
“A nthony is still out there,” Lacey said, putting her hand on Whizz’s shoulder.
She couldn’t help but look at the glint of the wedding band she slid onto Daisy’s finger. Her little girl was growing up way too fast, and she didn’t know how to slow it down. Since when was her daughter married and trying to take out MC clubs?
Lacey hadn’t said anything to anyone, but she was a little hurt that her daughter hadn’t come to her.
“I know,” Whizz said.
“Are you still angry?”
“Aren’t you?”
She sighed. “I am and I’m not. I know, I’m a complicated kind of girl.” She tried to crack a joke, but Whizz was not playing along. Their little girl was in a coma.
“We both know when it comes to Anthony, he would do anything for her. He would fight for her. We both know this.”
“They acted foolishly and we know who was the culprit in this.”
“Keeping them apart is not the answer. You and I both know this as well.” Lacey stepped in front of him and crouched down. She put her hands on his thighs and looked at him. “When Daisy wakes up, you and I know she’s going to want him. They have this connection, Whizz. There’s no keeping them apart, and Anthony is married to her.”
Whizz sighed, reached out, and cupped her face. “There’s a chance, babe, our girl is not going to wake up. The doctors have said there was a lot of blood loss, and a lot of damage. She was stabbed multiple times.”
Lacey tried to keep it together but her face scrunched up. “We all make bad choices, Whizz, especially when we’re young. Didn’t you make mistakes, and if it had been me, wouldn’t you want to be with me? If it was me in that hospital bed and we’d made the wrong choice, wouldn’t you want someone to understand?”
****
A Distant Memory
“It’s getting cold,” Daisy said.
Anthony sat up and removed his leather cut, wrapping it around his girl.
Daisy laughed. “I didn’t mean right now, I meant it is getting cold. Can’t you feel it?”
They had snuck off and gone to their small patch of field. He leaned up against one of the many trees, and the sun was starting to set. He knew what she meant. Summer was fading and it wouldn’t be long before winter was upon them.
He ran his fingers through her hair. “You love the winter.”
“I know, but don’t you love the summer?”
“Nah, I don’t care what season it is, as long as I get to spend it with you.”
Daisy laughed. “You can’t keep saying these romantic things.” She shot him a glare, and he chuckled.
“Why not?”
“Because I have no one to tell that you said them, and besides ... no one would believe me.” She shook her head. “You’re Mister Silent Type.” She shrugged. “People wonder if you can even talk.”
“I talk to those who matter.”
“That sounds rude.”
“I am always talking to you, baby, that means you matter.”
She sighed. “There you go, saying the nicest things.” She closed her eyes for a second and felt Anthony wrap his arms around her. Leaning back, she sunk against him. “Is it wrong that I am so looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year?”
“No, I know it’s one of your favorite times of the year.” He pressed a kiss to her neck. “It has always been your favorite time.”
“And yet, it is always so dark and I can’t stand that. I always find it strange.”
“I don’t.” He kissed her head. “What should we go as this year, for Halloween?”
Over the years, they had somehow managed to make their costumes for couples. There was one year he was Frankenstein and she was his bride, which she loved. Doctor and nurse.
“I don’t know, what would you like to go as this year?” Daisy asked.
“How about ... a married couple?”
“That’s not very spooky.”
“We could wear a ball and chain together.”
Daisy laughed. “Is that what you think of marriage?” She pulled out of his arms and moved to straddle his waist.
Anthony banded an arm around her, pulling her close. She put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, and then she leaned in close and kissed him.
“No,” Anthony said.
He pulled her down hard, and she felt the hard ridge of his cock. “No?”
“I don’t see marriage as a ball and chain.”
“How do you see it?”
“Declaring to the world that you are mine,” Anthony said.
“You think you’re going to marry me?” she asked.
“Babe, you and me, don’t you know by now we’re a guarantee? From the moment we met, our lives were never the same. You’re mine as much as I am yours. You’re going to be my wife, my old lady, my everything. I want you to be the mother of my children. My soul mate.”
Daisy smiled. “And see, I’ve got no one to tell this to, and like I said, no one would believe me.”
Anthony tutted. “Let’s be real. You don’t tell anyone because you’re afraid someone might try to take it from you.” He pushed some of her hair off her shoulder.
Daisy looked at him, a little taken aback. How did he know that?
“I know you, baby,” he said. “I know how your mind thinks, and I know what sorry shit your folks put in your head, and how they made you feel.”
She knew he was right. The more people that knew, the more they tried to either stop you, get in the way, or make it fail. She didn’t want it to fail.
“Is it wrong?” she asked. “That I like keeping you to myself?”
“No,” Anthony said. “I like that no one is trying to mess with who we are, and let’s face it, everyone is so wrapped up in their own world, they’re not even looking at us. We can do whatever we want, so that means one day soon, Daisy, I am going to marry you.”
****
P resent Day
Anthony twirled the ring around his finger and couldn’t stop thinking about Daisy. He checked the time and saw it wouldn’t be long before Whizz and Lacey left. It would also mean that tomorrow morning his dad would probably arrive and take him back home to feed him, shower him, and clothe him.
Running fingers through his hair, he hated this gap. Daisy was in there, all alone, and he couldn’t hear if Lacey or Whizz were even talking to her. She needed people to talk to her, to bring her back. She was not going to leave him.
The door to Daisy’s room opened and he stood, only it was Whizz that had stepped out. He didn’t slide down or crouch, he stayed standing, and looked at Whizz. The other man looked at him.
Anthony knew Whizz had been through a lot to get where he was today. He was once part of a different MC, but that was a long time ago. His loyalty was to the Skulls. Whizz had been taken, tortured, and nearly killed. The young Whizz, who had been stick-thin, without so much as an ounce of muscle to him, was long gone.
The moment the club got Whizz back, and he was able, the man trained. He’d built the muscle and was now an indestructible force. Sometimes, Anthony wondered if he would rival Killer, as that man was a beast and had no qualms using full-grown men as toys.
It was not his place to say anything. What could he say to make this better?
He had fucked up, big time. Daisy was in a coma because he miscalculated. And that was more than he could bear.
“I once told you that your only job was to keep her safe,” Whizz said.
There were no words.
“You failed,” Whizz said.
Anthony took it. He did fail.
“You got married without my permission. Is there anything else I don’t know about?” Whizz asked.
Anthony would keep their secrets and take them to his grave. One day, Daisy was going to wake up.
“No,” Anthony said.
“Why did you get married without telling anyone in the club?” Whizz asked.
“We were in Vegas, and we’d made a promise to one another.”
“And what, you just thought you would copy Simon and Tabitha and their secret marriage?” Whizz asked.
“No. Daisy and I didn’t copy anyone. We knew what we wanted and the club ... they’ve been a little preoccupied to give a shit about what we wanted,” Anthony said. He didn’t care if his honesty hurt anyone. It was the way it was. People could deal with it or fuck off.
Whizz nodded. “You’re right.”
This made Anthony frown. He hadn’t expected him to agree, and for a second, he didn’t know if he was trying to trick him.
The older man sat down in the chair beside him. “Daisy has always been able to take care of herself,” Whizz said.
Anthony looked at him, and then glanced around the hospital. He expected Whizz to kill him, hurt him, not to agree with him.
“Ever since she was a kid, it was like she always had something to prove and no matter what me and Lacey did or said, Daisy could handle it.” Whizz sighed. “Just like with her dad.” He shook his head. “I knew he was coming around, and I waited for her to reach out and ask for help, but before she could, that son of a bitch killed himself. I was going to take care of it, because I knew she was not going to ask me for help, was she?”
Lash knew the truth, but Whizz did not. He was not about to tell Whizz what happened that day. How Daisy once again took care of everything herself. It seemed that was all she did. Anthony tried to make sure she always had someone.
“Michael got into her head, told her shit that wasn’t true.”
Michael was Alex and Cheryl’s son. It was kind of confusing. Cheryl was now with Butch, who happened to run the Vegas chapter of the Skulls, and Alex was married to Sunshine, and they were happily married, living in Fort Wills. But Michael had a chip on his shoulder. He’d been a piece of work, and he’d said some nasty shit to Daisy that had clearly gotten into her head.
Anthony hated him, and if they ever crossed paths again, it would not be pretty. There would come a time he’d make Michael pay, and the only thing saving him right now was that he was still a Skull. If Michael at any point decided to leave or cause trouble, he’d deal with it.
Whizz rubbed his hands together. “I get why you did it,” Whizz said. “I know it was you that organized everything. You rounded everyone up, and it was payback time. We should have done that.”
This surprised him. He wasn’t expecting Whizz to take any of the blame. At that moment, Anthony didn’t even know if he should breathe in the wrong direction.
“I never meant for Daisy to get hurt,” Anthony said.
“I know.” Whizz’s jaw clenched. “I know you love my daughter. I know you will do anything for her. I’m not going to kill you. At least not yet. If she dies, all bets are off.”
Anthony thought about what he discussed with his father. The future of the club, what it would mean, and just everything in general. Lash didn’t want him to give up quite so easily, but if someone wasn’t willing to put him out of his misery, that is exactly what he would be—miserable. He couldn’t think of life without Daisy, it was unimaginable, and he refused to even consider it.
“Thank you,” Anthony said.
Whizz jerked up and looked at him.
He wasn’t rude, never had been, but now that he thought about it, he never put himself in a position where he had to randomly thank anyone. No one ever helped him.
Whizz nodded. “Go, be with her. I know Daisy would want you there.”
The truth was, no one realized what he and Daisy meant to each another. They played their roles well. The whole club had been so consumed with Tabitha, it had been easy to overlook them.
Anthony got to his feet and stepped inside Daisy’s room. Lacey was there beside her bed, and on the opposite was a chair close to her.
He took his place and held onto her hand, leaning down to kiss her knuckles. “I’m here, Daisy. I’m here, and I’m not going away.”
****
“W hat the hell happened ?” Tabitha asked.
Miles turned to look at his twin sister. He’d gone back to his small apartment he rented. Life at home had been easy for him, and for the longest time, he really didn’t give a shit about hanging out with his parents.
Eva and Tiny had been rock-solid parents. Sure, like all parents, they had their moments of being a pain in the ass, but after he turned eighteen and started to prospect for the club, that had changed. Each year he got older, life seemed to get a little easier. There were rules, and to a certain extent curfews, but it didn’t take away from any freedoms he had.
Then, one day, he didn’t know why, he just suddenly felt like he had to be his own boss, spread his wings, do that kind of shit. So, he did.
It wasn’t easy. His parents didn’t give him any kind of trouble, they were supportive, but that didn’t mean it didn’t suck for him. He had to get used to no one being home when he got there. The lights being out, the fridge empty, paying his own freaking bills. There was growing up, and then there was growing up.
For him, there had been a lot of steep learning curves. Sometimes, he had thought about just going back home. It sure would have been a lot easier. Only, he stuck it out, became his own man. He learned to deal with the loneliness, stock his own fridge, and make his own way. It also helped prospecting at the club. He put in the hours needed. All his life, all he ever wanted was his patch. Well, his patch and ... Constance. One, he knew he had a chance at, the other not so much. Constance was way out of his league, and had been when they were kids as well.
“What the fuck do you want?” Miles asked. He wasn’t interested in his sister’s judgy attitude.
She had surprised him, in all honesty. It had taken her two days to get here. Everyone knew if it had been Daisy, there would have been no waiting. For Daisy, there never was. She was there whenever Tabitha needed her. No questions asked. No judgments.
Tabitha frowned. “Daisy’s in the hospital—”
“Nice of you to notice.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’ve got a family back in Piston County. I’ve got responsibilities.”
“Yeah, we know. That is the life you picked, Tabs, but you know what, I don’t think it would matter if the weight of the world was pressing down on Daisy, she would have been there. She’d try to hold up the world and everything else around you, because that is what she does.”
Tabitha sighed and then laughed. “Oh, I get it, I’m not as good a friend as Daisy, am I? Is that it? Because I decided to leave the club and follow my heart, that makes me less than her?”
Miles looked at his sister and smiled. “You know, there was a time you weren’t such a selfish little bitch, but it would seem becoming part of Chaos has changed you in more ways that you realize.”
He took a step back and made his way into the kitchen. There had not been any issue with Tabitha joining Chaos Bleeds. Everyone knew that was going to happen in the end. No one needed a fucking crystal ball to make that kind of shit up.
Tabitha and Simon had been set for life, since they were kids. It wasn’t their parents’ doing. That was just fucking life, and it had pushed them both together.
He put the kettle on the stove and turned on the gas. “You want a drink?” he asked.
“Yes,” Tabitha said.
Miles was shocked that she had come without her little sidekick, Simon.
All their lives, Tabitha and Daisy had been together. They’d been best friends, bound together at the hip from the time they were little, and people used to bully Daisy for how dirty she looked. Her parents didn’t take care of her and would often forget about her. It was only a matter of time before she was drawn into the circle of the Skulls. From that moment there would be no going back. Daisy was going to be a Skull. She was loyal to the club and everyone in it.
Miles knew he could depend on her. She had their backs. Sure, there were moments she could be a bitch, but that was when life got in the way, or more importantly, Daisy’s real parents. The moment her father killed himself, everything changed. Daisy stopped being a bitch and went back to being her usual, adoring, lovely, sweetheart self.
He loved Daisy, not as a girlfriend, but as a sister, a friend, a partner of the club. Even if she thought something was a bad idea, like attacking the Monster Dogs MC clubhouse, she’d tell them she had a bad feeling, but she didn’t back down.
Miles had come to see in the past few years that Daisy had put her mark on the whole club, and the saddest thing of all was, he knew why. She was always trying to establish her place. Daisy wanted people to need and want her. Her insecurity ran so deep.
It didn’t matter if she was with Anthony or not. He knew deep down, because Daisy had told him, that she wanted people to say her name, but to do so with love and respect. It had been so sad. Even after all this time, she didn’t think she had a place among them, and he couldn’t accept that.
“You really think I’m a bad friend?” Tabitha asked.
Miles saw his words had hurt his sister. They hadn’t intended to hurt, but it was the truth.
“Are you a bad friend?”
Tabitha pressed her lips together and then stepped away.
“I know I could have done better.”
He refused to say anything else. This was all on his sister. They both knew her new life drew her away from the Skulls, and she wasn’t a Skull anymore.
Miles finished making himself a coffee and then handed her a mug of tea as well. He wasn’t much of a tea drinker, but he kept it just in case. It seemed the responsible and most adult thing to do.
“Are you okay?” Tabitha asked.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I wondered when you were going to ask me that.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just, I can’t believe Daisy’s in the hospital and she’s in a freaking coma. I mean, something must have gone wrong.”
“It did,” Miles said. “They knew we were coming, which says someone found out.” He gritted his teeth.
“And Anthony was in charge. He wouldn’t have allowed anyone to know the finer details until absolutely necessary.”
Miles ran a hand down his face. “We all know he’s constantly working and figuring shit out, and that hasn’t changed, but it went wrong. Daisy got stabbed by Daniella.”
“Who saved her?” Tabitha asked.
“I don’t know. It all got a little fuzzy. We had each other’s backs, and then, the next thing I knew, we were heading to the hospital.”
“Did you get them all?” Tabitha asked. “All the Monster Dogs?”
“I don’t know. We got a lot.” Miles took a deep breath and then laughed. “You know, it is the strangest thing.”
“What is?”
“I’ve gone to the quad, and I’ve done all the fighting. I’ve listened to the stories, and I knew this was what I wanted to be,” Miles said. “But ... this was the first time I killed someone.”
He looked toward his sister. They were twins, born less than a minute apart. They didn’t look alike at all, but this was his flesh and blood.
“How are you?” Tabitha asked.
“I don’t know.” He seemed to be saying that a lot. “I’m numb right now. Lash took the patch. He took all of our patches.” He rubbed the back of his head and then took a sip of his drink. “Daisy can’t die. If she does, Anthony is going to destroy this place and anyone who gets in his way.” Miles shook his head. “I watched him and he didn’t care. It was like he had killed before.”
Tabitha didn’t say anything.
“I don’t think I should be surprised, though. When it comes to Daisy, Anthony can’t see straight. Same with Daisy. The two of them were a team.”
“They were?”
“Yeah. It’s so weird, but it’s like they knew each other so well. How they moved, until that last part.” Miles shrugged. “I guess with everything going down, they’ve had a lot of time to get to know each other.”