Chapter 4
Pulling into the Devil’s Rose MC clubhouse, I take in the industrial looking main building. When Dayz first stumbled upon these guys, I did my research on them. I mean, I know Dayz can handle herself, but no big brother would ever let his sister hang with a biker club without doing their research. What I found was a group of men, some ex-military, some looking for a family of sorts, but all good men. Who sometimes do bad things. The perfect place for my sister.
Parking up, I wave out to the brothers busy working in one of the MC’s garages, unhooking a car from the back of a tow truck. Rose Grove is what you’d call small town Texas, or maybe big small town Texas. There’s a large enough population to have two high schools and enough business to keep the three garages and tow service the MC own booked up.
Stepping out of my SUV, I leave the keys inside because no one is stupid enough to steal a car from an MC compound. I look around and marvel at how it was only a handful of months ago that we were busy hunting underworld scumbags and my sister was torturing information out of them. It still blows my mind how someone so sweet can be so nonchalant about maiming people for justice. What was interesting was that Ana was also totally ok with it.
Shoving through the front door, I come to a stop when I see Jules parked up at the bar with Fox and Nitro. Raising my brow at him, I walk past, headed for Marx’s office. Since the proverbial shit hit the fan, Marx and I have cultivated a friendship. I like the man. He also knows what it’s like herding cats into a box, except our cats keep tipping the fucking thing over and shitting everywhere but in their litter tray.
Rapping twice on the door, I wait for the gruff “Enter” before stepping in. Marx’s eyes flick up and I see the big man visibly relax.
“Oh, thank fuck it’s you. Quick, shut the door before any of those assholes think to put more shit on my plate.” Kicking the door shut with my foot, I shake Marx’s hand before sinking into the leather chair.
“So, I hear congratulations are in order.” The big man’s beard twitches and his white teeth peek through.
“Ha, thanks. Who would have thought that was gonna happen?”
Marx huffs out a laugh. “Hate to break it to you man, but I think 90% of us thought it. Even Tuesday saw it, and she hadn’t even figured out Rhodie was into her. And that man was not subtle.” Shaking my head, I chuckle at that. God, watching my baby sister falling in love was an absolute trip.
“So, I’m guessing you’re not here for congrats.”
I shake my head at his shit-eating grin. “I’m sure you know about our tail? Wondering if you’ve heard anything. We aren’t heading for another clusterfuck, are we?”
A frown crosses Marx’s face before he picks up the bottle of whiskey on his desk, tipping it towards me. “Nah, I’m good, thanks, man.”
I’ve got shit to do, like stop off at the store to buy sweet treats for me and Ana to take on our camping trip. It’s been enlightening these past few days watching her lit up in a way that I’ve never seen her before. Even though camping is really not something I want to do, it’s something I will do every single fucking day if it brings her the amount of joy I saw in her last night. When I asked her if there was anything she needed me to pick up on my way home tonight she just told me to trust her and then patted my ass, making my cock spring to attention, before bustling off to finish baking the protein bars she was working on.
That’s another thing I’ve learned about her since we’ve been married. The girl can fucking cook! Holy shit! I’m not sure where she finds the time, because we’re both working, but every night I’ve come home to a delicious meal and my gorgeous little wife waiting for me. Fuck, I love calling her that. I’ve noticed she blushes every time I call her ‘Wife’, so I know she enjoys it. I also know she enjoys the little touches I give her. She’s an enigma, though. She has a backbone of steel and isn’t afraid to argue with me about things she cares about. She is in control but adaptable. She doesn’t sweat the small stuff like I do. But, she also always seems to have one foot out the door, and that’s something I plan on remedying this weekend. I don’t think she’s realized that for me, this is it. She’s mine.
I watch Marx pour his drink, take a sip, and then plonk it back down.
“I have no fucking clue who’s tailing you. Things have been eerily quiet around here since we shut down Kraykowski and his auction. Roman, for better or worse, has Kraykowski’s boss Kovalev by the short and curlys, so they haven’t caused a problem. Yet.”
I nod because I agree entirely with what he’s saying. We were all braced for the blow back, but somehow we tied things up so neatly that there hasn’t even been a whisper of trouble, which is worrying in itself.
“What I can tell you is that something may be coming our way. Savage has been having trouble in his town. With that being only two towns over and us as allies, we’re bound to feel the ripple effect. Ana heard anything?”
Running my hand over my face, I let out a sigh before answering, “She’s meeting with her friend Ivan, Roman’s brigadier today. If I hear anything that could affect us, I’ll let you know.” Marx lets out a grunt before pouring himself another drink. “I still think it has something to do with the Bratva, but until we can get more info, we’re just gonna have to watch our backs.”
“What? Your genius little sister not been able to come up with anything?” I grin at him, because we both know Dayz is like a dog with a bone where there’s a mystery to be solved.
“Oh no, she traced the plates to an out-of-state car rental place. The dude who rented the car used a fake ID. Tony Manero.”
Marx’s eyebrows furrow. “Why does that name sound familiar?”
“John Travolta’s character in Saturday Night Fever.”
He clicks his fingers and points at me. “Fuck yes! That’s it. Shit film.”
I wholeheartedly agree. Not only is it a shit film, but it collectively scarred me and my siblings one year when Jules and I came home for the holidays. Pops somehow had a copy of it and developed a fascination for the dance moves in that infernal movie. Me and my siblings had to not only watch Pop’s hip movements but also listen to him wax lyrical over how those said hip movements got him all the ladies. Rubbing my hand down my face, I try to dispel the images in my head.
“Shit Gus, clean plates and a fake ID are not a lot to go on.” Marx says, a frown creasing his dark brow.
“Nope. I’m sure it’ll all come to a head. I just hope it’s not this weekend. I have a romantic getaway planned with the wife.” I can feel the broad smile on my face and I don’t give a shit, although judging by Marx’s smirk, I know he’s going to be an asshole.
“I heard you were going camping? Last I remember, you weren’t that comfortable in the great outdoors.”
“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too. One day you’ll find a woman you’ll do stupid shit for, mark my words.”
Marx’s eyes widen and he shakes his head back and forth. “The last thing I need is a woman to try to keep under wraps with the assholes I’ve surrounded myself with.”
Laughing, I get up, ready to leave, but then freeze in my tracks with Marx’s next words.
“Yo, while you’re here, can you tell Pops to stop blowing shit up in our yard?”
Slowly turning to face Marx to see if he’s fucking with me, his dead serious look has me hustling out the door and through the clubhouse on a mission to find my wayward grandfather. I come to an abrupt stop when I see not only Pops, but all my siblings sprawled around the common room.
“What the fuck? If you’re all here, who the hell is in the office?” Everyone with the Tombs surname looks toward me and two of them talk over each other.
“Listen here, boy! I can be wherever the fuck I want to be,” Pops barks out at the same time Tav yells.
“I had to bring Pops in the van. He needed help to unload some of his tools for Rider. And Jules is organizing an orgy!”
“I could lie, but we all know that’s what I’m doing,” Jules says in a bored voice. I pinch the bridge of my nose because I know Dayz is going to tell the absolute truth when I ask,
“Dayz?”
“I came to have sex with Rhodie during my lunch break. I’m eating the sandwich he made me, then I’ll be heading back to the office.” I mean, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be. At least she’s planning on doing her job at some stage.
“Thank you, Dayz. The rest of you get back to the office sometime today, please? I’m on leave from now. I want to get home and help Ana pack for camping.”
“She’s done. I saw her earlier.” I turn slowly to look at Jules.
“Have you been at work at all today?”
He shrugs. “I’m good at multitasking.”
I bet you are; I think to myself. I could stand here and get on their cases, but I can’t be assed. I have a woman to get home to.
“Do you want us to shadow you on your trip?”
Earlier in the week, Dayz ran surveillance on both our and Ana’s offices and saw the same man in different cars watching us. If it was just the one time at the counselor’s office, I’d shrug it off, but we’ve seen him three times now and I’m not really keen on putting my wife in danger. If this was a client, I’d be all for organizing a shadow. But this is me and Ana and I don’t really want to have my siblings watching us.
“If you want, we can keep an eye out for badly named creeps watching you and our new sister-in-law?” Tav presses on, purposely avoiding He Who Shall Not Be Named. Pops wasn’t in the meeting where He was mentioned, and we don’t want to kick off a disco relapse. Looking at my family, there is only one answer.
“Fuck no! I don’t want any of you near me. No offense Dayz.”
“None taken Gus. I don’t want any of you near me when I’m with Rhodie, either.”
“What about your safety? Are you sure you don’t need eyes on?” Tav is like a dog with a bone sometimes, and I get it. As much as we like to mess with each other, we love and protect each other fiercely.
“Between me and Ana, I’m sure we’ll be fine. But just to be safe, do you want to make sure my tracker is all working and up to date?”
Our business is security of all kinds. The simple kind that homeowners and business owners may need, right up to government-level security. Dayz is a hacker that sometimes outsources to the FBI and we often get called in to help with delicate cases. Because this can occasionally be dangerous, we all agreed to have biometric trackers implanted. Any of us can see where each other is by checking our app. This came in handy when all the shit hit the fan with Devils Rose MC and the Russians. Pops decided he was sick of waiting for the bad guys to come to us, so he went and got himself kidnapped. Being able to track his health and whereabouts took the stress off all of us. Well, that and knowing for a fact that Pops is by far more dangerous than most criminals out there.
“Yup, you’re all good. Ana gave us the coordinates for your campsite. It’s only 2 hours from here, so any trouble we’re there.” Tav says, Jules and Dayz nodding their agreement.
“You have the MC too, Gus. The camp site sits in both DRMC and Death Riders territories. Shit hits the fan, sing out.” Marx states, clapping a meaty hand on my shoulder. I’m not a small man, but Jesus, Marx is huge. Nodding my thanks to him and his brothers, I blow out a breath and try one last time to organize the Tombs clusterfuck.
“Ok. Pops, stop blowing shit up. Tav, Jules, and Dayz get back to the office. I’ll see you all on Sunday.” I walk through the common room, stopping to slap both my brothers harder than I need to before wandering over and dropping a kiss on the top of Dayz’s head.
“Have a good time Gus and don’t die,” she says whilst patting me on the back
“Thanks Dayz. Will do.”
I wait for my big brother to leave the compound before I gently freak out
“We’re seriously not letting him go alone, are we?” Looking at my siblings dotted around the common room, they look surprisingly relaxed about this whole thing.
“He said he didn’t want us to keep an eye on him,” Dayz says, Rhodie at her back, rubbing her shoulders, because that sappy bastard can’t keep his hands off her.
“How often do we actually listen to what he says, though?”
A snort sounds to the left of me and I spin around to see Marx covering a smirk with his hand before clearing his throat. “Maybe if you guys listened to him more, I’d have less shit going down in my clubhouse.” He raises an eyebrow at me, but I wave that off. I have an older brother to worry about. Some nefarious people could be after him.
“So we aren’t going to do anything? Just let him out into the wilderness with only a tiny foreign woman to protect him from the elements and Tony Manero -”
“What the hell has John Travolta got to do with this?” Pops asks the room.
“- and we’re all gonna sit here and do nothing?”
Jules rolls his eyes whilst Dayz has a frown on her face, head tilted to the side like when you confuse a dog.
“You do know that he can take care of himself, right?” Jules says in his bored voice.
“Jules, you know as well as I do, Gus is a badass with a gun in the right environment. But in a campground with families nearby, he isn’t going to go all Rambo and have a shootout, is he? He’s far too responsible for that shit.”
“Tav’s right Jules. Gus won’t compromise innocent people around him, and his hand-to-hand combat is the weakest of the three of you,” my favorite sister in the entire world points out.
“Exactly! So, what’s the plan? When are we leaving?” I look around the room and note that none of my siblings are moving.
“Wanna take a breath, kid?” Marx raises an eyebrow at me. Before I can answer him, he carries on. “Tuesday came to me to organize a tail when she noticed the guy watching Gus and Ana. If any of you go after him, he’ll know. None of you fuckers can be quiet when it comes to butting into each other’s lives. I’ve got Wire and Remy on it.”
Huh? Wire and who? My eyebrows pull down while I try to remember which club girl that could be, but I’m drawing a blank.
“Remy? Who the hell is Remy?” I look around the room and my eyes land on a cute, librarian looking woman with glasses waving at me.
“Um, hi. I’m Remy” She has such a quiet voice I have to strain to hear her. I wave back because I don’t want to scare the poor woman who looks completely out of place in an MC clubhouse.
“Tav, Remy, Remy, Tav. Remy’s father is a Death Rider.” Marx grunts out like that answers everything.
“Remy is a junior hacker. She’s going to learn all the tricks of the trade from Wire and me,” Dayz helpfully explains.
I feel a confused squint coming on. “Like an exchange student?” I ask into the room. It’s a weird set up but I guess I can see how it could work.
“Pretty much,” she whispers into the room. Jeez, I have no idea how the hell this woman has come from an MC because she has to be one of the most timid people I’ve ever met. But, that’s not my concern at the moment.
“Um, ok. So you’re sending the two geeks - no offense-”
“None taken” Remy whispers while Wire calls me a ‘Fucker’.
“-To the wilderness to watch my brother? Are you feeling alright, Marx? In whose world does that make sense?”
“First off, Octavius, this is my MC and I can send, or not send, whoever the fuck I want. Second, Gus and Ana don’t know Remy, so it’ll be easier for her to get close to them without causing suspicion. Wire needs to get some sunlight and he has no trouble shooting anyone if need be. Is that ok with you?” He growls out at me, and I feel my asshole clench a little.
“Ah yup, sounds wonderful. Thanks for that, Marx. Much appreciated.”
I hear a snort and I look over to see Jules with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“We’ll have eyes on at all times and me and Remy will check in with Dayz every hour on the hour. She’ll forward the alerts to you guys. If anything looks off, you’ll have more than enough time to get there,” Wire says helpfully, lowering my blood pressure.
“I don’t know what the fuss is about. Trust me, that boy has my genes in there. He’ll not only be fine in the woods, he’ll thrive and take out anyone who needs to be taken out.” Pops says and I have no idea who the hell he thinks he’s talking about, but it’s most definitely not Gus. Gus is a thinker and a planner. Gus will not thrive in nature and he sure as hell ain’t taking anyone out. That’s what Dayz is for.
Which she proves when she says, “All he has to do is incapacitate the guy and transport him back here. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Yes, you will, baby,” Rhodie says before sucking her face off.
“Do you have to do that in front of us?” Jules growls out at the same time Pops pulls his spray bottle out from wherever the hell he hid it and squirts Rhodie, to the amusement of the MC brothers.
“Argh! Stop fucking doing that, old man!”
“Get off my grandbaby then, fucker!”
An ear-piercing whistle breaks through the ruckus and we turn to look at a growling Marx.
“That’s it! Tombs family, get back to the goddamn office and please, for the love of fucking God, take Pops with you!”
“Aw come on Skid Marx, you know I’m growing on you,” Pops says through a smirk before standing, clapping Rider on the back, and whispering that he’ll be back tomorrow so they can finish working on… whatever the hell secret project they have going.
“Ok, ok, we’re going. Dayz, need a ride?” I don’t care about Jules, he can get his bastard self back to the office.
“No, Rhodie is going to drop me off in a half hour or so,” I frown at her empty plate.
“But you’ve finished your sandwich?”
“Oh, that was for energy. We’re going to fuck again and then I’ll be back.”
All hell breaks loose with Pops’ spray bottle, Jules’ growling, and Rider’s high-pitched laughter. Wire and Remy are watching the chaos and from the corner of my eye, I see Marx back down the hallway and into his office, slamming the door shut.