Chapter 12 – Beast
CHAPTER TWELVE
BEAST
Raging, that is exactly how I am feeling right now. I was pissed at myself for the way I handled the situation with her telling me she was a virgin, then I was pissed at her for walking out, and now I’m fucking furious at whoever tried to run her fucking over.
I light my cigarette and take a deep inhale. I lean my head back and try to calm the anger building within me. “You look like you’re about to murder someone,” Cash says, coming to stand next to me.
I grunt. “That’s because I am,” I answer.
He laughs. “Yeah, I would too. You manage to piss her off already?” he asks, laughing.
“Yeah,” I sigh.
“Man, they don’t make shit easy, but fuck me brother, it’s worth all the blue balls and headaches.” He laughs.
“I will take your word for that.” I shrug.
“Hey, Ghost is calling church. He wants you all in there,” Star says, walking up to us.
Cash nods and steps away.
“I will be in when I finish this,” I say, holding up my cigarette.
Star stands in front of me, her arms crossed, an unhappy expression on her face.
I roll my eyes. “Come on then, give it to me.” I sigh.
“What is wrong with you?” she snaps. “She tells you something personal, she’s embarrassed about it, and you say you need to figure this out?” she snaps.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, it just came out.”
“Oh, it just came out,” she mocks in a deep voice. “I’m a big biker, duh, I don’t think before I speak because I’m a selfish asshole,” she continues, still using a deep voice.
“Jesus Christ Star, just back the fuck off,” I snap.
She holds her hands up. “Just saying, you’re a fucking moron. Get your shit together, or she will be gone,” Star warns as she turns and starts walking away.
“Where is she going?” I ask after her.
“I’m guessing when this is all over, back home, and back to her own life. Why would she stay here when there isn’t anything keeping her here?” She shrugs and walks back inside.
I stamp out my cigarette and head to church. I walk in and everyone is sat waiting.
“About fucking time,” Ghost snaps.
“Sorry,” I apologise.
“Okay, so we all agree that whoever this was that tried to run Belle over, wasn’t actually going to run her over. It was a message. A warning,” Ghost states. We all nod, knowing that if they had wanted to hit her, they could have. I know how narrow that dirt track is.
“Charlie?” I ask.
Ghost nods. “I reckon so.”
“So, what do we do now? We can’t go on lockdown again. This is Bobby’s war, not ours,” Spider sighs.
“But Bobby is our alliance. We are his soldiers right now in the war. So, we are as much of a target as he is,” Ghost warns. “They want her, more than us. If we get in their way, they won’t hesitate to take us out,” he adds.
“So, I will take her to mine,” I suggest.
Ghost raises a brow at me. “You think that’s a good idea right now? Because she got in this mess because you had a lover’s fucking tiff and she stormed off. You can’t do that if she’s staying with you.”
“I will tie her to the fucking bed if I have to,” I snap. The thought of her tied to my bed has me adjusting my jeans. “It will be fine, Pres. Bobby trusts me,” I say in a more calmer tone.
“I didn’t know you had a house,” Spider states.
“Of course I have a fucking house. Don’t we all have our own fucking houses?” I ask, looking around the table.
All the brothers nod, except Spider. “Jesus Christ brother, what have you been doing with all your money?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Got it saved.”
“You got it saved?” Ghost presses.
Spider shrugs. “Yeah, figured I would buy somewhere when I had to grow up and do adult shit.”
“You’re fucking 40 next year!” Ghost coughs out a laugh.
“Age is just a number,” Spider states, smiling. “I may be 40, but I feel like I’m in my twenties.”
“That’s because you keep fucking girls in their twenties.” Hawk laughs, and the rest of us join in.
“Right, all of you fuck off,” Ghost states before he bangs the gavel down.
We all get up. “Just remember to keep your eyes open. Anything out of the ordinary, we lock it the fuck down!” Ghost yells after the brothers. “Beast, a fucking word,” he calls after me before I leave.
I turn back around. “What is it?” I ask.
He shoves his hands in his pockets. “I meant what I said. She can’t storm off like that again. If something happens and she ends up dead, then we are all fucking dead. Bobby may be a club ally and friend, but if something happens to his daughter, then we are fucked,” Ghost warns.
I cross my heart. “Pres, she is precious cargo. I get it. Believe me, I don’t want any harm coming to her either,” I state.
He eyes me and shakes his head, smiling. “You are fucked, brother. You are well and truly fucked.”
The entire drive over, she sat in silence in the passenger seat, her arms crossed, her body turned away from me, looking out the window. I didn’t even bother trying to start a conversation. There was no point, because she wasn’t about to cave in any time soon.
I turn down my drive, and I notice how she looks all around. “Where are we going?” she asks.
“This is my drive,” I answer.
“But there isn’t anything other than farmland,” she points out.
I smile. “I know. I own it.”
I look across at her, and her mouth practically drops to the floor of the car. I pull up to my house, a large farmhouse, with a wrap-around porch.
She stares out the window, stunned. “This is your home?” she asks.
I jump out of the truck. “Come on darlin’, there is supposed to be a storm coming in,” I say, slamming the door behind me.
I grab her bags out of the back of the truck, and she jumps out and follows me up the steps, her eyes looking everywhere, taking everything in. I open the front door and hold it open for her.
“Holy fuck,” she blurts out as she steps into the large open plan living space that curls around to the kitchen at the back.
I shut the door behind her. “I will put your stuff in the bedroom. Go help yourself to a drink. I got Queenie to stock up the fridge and cupboards when I found out we were coming here,” I tell her as I walk upstairs and place her bag in my bedroom.
I walk back downstairs and find her stood at the large stone-topped kitchen island. “Okay, how?” she asks.
I open the fridge and pull out a beer. “How what?” I ask.
She pulls a face. “This?” she asks, gesturing to the house.
“I saved some money, made some investments, played the market a little, and I got lucky. Then this place came on the market. It was run down, so I got it at a great price, did it up, and that’s it.” I shrug.
“But the farmland surrounding it has crops,” she points out.
“Oh, I know. My neighbour is a farmer. I let him use my land, and he pays me a percentage of what he makes from it until he has enough to buy it from me permanently, but there is still half an acre of back yard,” I say as I open the sliding glass doors.
“It’s stunning,” she compliments, surprised.
“Thanks,” I answer before I walk back to the fridge to see what food Queenie brought in. “You fancy steaks for dinner?” I ask over my shoulder.
She doesn’t answer. Instead, she asks the question that is always on anyone’s mind when they see this place. “You have all this, this amazing house, with a large yard, and um...”
She pauses. “4 bedrooms,” I correct her.
“4 bedrooms. It’s clean and peaceful, and yet you chose to sleep at the club. Why?” she asks in disbelief.
I close the fridge and step into her personal space. “Because darlin’, I made this place to be a home, to be shared, and I never found anyone I wanted to share it with. Until now,” I state. Taking advantage of her shocked state, I place a kiss to the top of her head before I walk into the living area, a great big smile on my face.