Chapter 24 – Beast
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
BEAST
I stand there, staring down at Bobby. I’m not intimidated by what he has to say. Belle is mine and nothing he can say or do will change that.
“There’s no need to be so defensive, Beast,” Bobby says, waving his hand at me. “You’re stood like you’re ready for battle.”
“No offence Bobby, but if you’re about to demand I stop seeing Belle, I’m going to tell you that ain’t going to happen. Not now, not fucking ever,” I growl.
Bobby laughs. “I ain’t stupid, boy. Now, before we talk properly.” He pauses, placing his index finger over his lips, shushing me. He then points to the door. I frown and walk to the door and open it. Belle stumbles in, falling against my chest.
“Oh,” she stutters. “Err.” I smile wide.
“You eavesdropping, beautiful?” I ask her.
“Some things never change. She used to do it when she was little, outside my office.” Bobby laughs.
“You knew about that?” she asks.
“Sweetheart, I’m your father, of course I knew,” Bobby says, shaking his head. “But now, I need you to let me and Beast here talk man to man. It’s important,” Bobby tells her.
She nods. “Sorry Dad,” she apologises.
She steps back and shuts the door, closing it behind her. After a moment, I reopen it and make sure she’s gone. “We good?” I ask Bobby as I turn to face him, crossing my arms over my chest.
He smirks. “No need to approach me so defensively. I’m not about to give you shit.”
I don’t uncross my arms. I just raise my brow, waiting. “I ain’t stupid, Bobby. I’m fucking your daughter. If I was in your position, I would be threatening my ass,” I state.
“Firstly, you say that you’re fucking my daughter again, I will slit your damn throat. I know you are serious about her, and I know she is serious about you. That is why I am being nice. Do not mistake me being in this hospital bed as a weakness. It doesn’t mean that you can take the fucking piss. I still have the power to destroy you,” Bobby threatens.
“I mean no disrespect, Bobby. I am merely stating the fucking obvious. Your daughter is mine. I don’t plan on ever letting her go, and I will fight anyone that will get in our way. You included,” I counter. “I’m not stupid. I know what you plan on doing, and I’m telling you right fucking now, you can fake your own death, you can leave the country and never return, but Belle stays with me,” I warn.
He smiles. “You know, I saw it when you came to the prison to see me that day. I saw the way she looked at you. I saw that when she ran off upset, you were the only one to go after her. I don’t want her to come with me. I want you to take care of her for me. I want you to promise me that no matter what, you lay down your fucking life for her. She is the only thing in my entire world that I give a shit about.”
I nod. “That is a request that you didn’t need to voice. I would wrestle the devil himself for her. I would sell him my fucking soul if it kept her safe, because my life wouldn’t be worth living if she wasn’t in it.”
Bobby nods. “That is all I have ever wanted for her.”
“Anything else you wanted to discuss, or is that it for the father talk?” I ask.
“There is one more thing, a big thing.” He pauses. “When I have faked my death, you know that will leave a space in this world, in my business. There will be a few wars, a few fights for that top spot, but if there is no top spot to be taken, there will be no fights,” he states, his eyes assessing me.
“What are you saying Bobby?” I ask.
“I am saying that with me gone, it will automatically fall to the next in line, which would be Belle, but she doesn’t want that, and I don’t want that for her, but then there’s you. My son-in-law,” he says, raising his brow.
“We ain’t married,” I point out.
“I know, but from what I can gather, I will soon have grandchildren. You know this world. You live in a similar world, and I know you are smart,” he adds.
I shake my head. “I can’t leave my club,” I say, declining his offer.
“I know that to leave the club, you either have to die or be voted out. I have spoken to Ghost, and he has assured me that if you were to make the decision to take over from me, that the club would all agree and vote you out, if that was your wish,” he informs me. The offer is tempting; endless money, running everything myself, having men answer to me, and I would still have a close relationship with the club. “Think about it. I’m not planning on my fake death for a day or so,” he adds, sensing my thoughts.
I nod. “I will. Is that all?” I ask. Bobby nods, and I turn and leave, going in search of Belle. I head straight outside, needing a quiet space to think and process what Bobby has just offered me. I keep walking to the edge of the land, walking along the fields, weighing up the pros and cons of his offer. The sound of a twig snapping to the right of me has me snapping out of my thoughts.
I stop and turn, looking through the trees, my eyes squinting, searching. I crouch down slowly when I catch something moving to the right. Keeping my eyes trained on that area, I pull my small hunting knife from my boot. Standing slowly, I aim my blade, bracing myself, ready for someone or something to attack. Something red suddenly moves, darting to the left. I make chase, running after it. As I get closer, I focus in on a guy in a red hoodie.
Picking up my speed, I run after him. He jumps over fallen trees and ducks under low hanging branches. The only sounds to be heard are his and my panting, and the crunching of sticks and leaves under foot. He turns around to see where I am, which is his mistake. He trips over a log, falling to the floor, and I quickly jump and land on top of him. He tries to wrestle me.
“Who the fuck are you?” I bark.
He doesn’t answer. I swing my fist back and slam it hard across his cheek. His head whips to the side, but he seems unphased as he uses all of his strength to throw me off him. I tumble to the side, and he scrambles to his feet and kicks me in the side before he reaches behind him and pulls out a handgun, taking aim.
I freeze, clenching the handle of my blade in my right hand as I stare up at him. He smiles. “Charlie said to watch, not kill, but one less of you isn’t going to do any harm,” he pants.
I kick my leg out, sweeping him off his feet. He lands on the ground with a thud, firing off his gun, the sound echoing around us. I move quickly, getting to my feet, kicking the gun out of reach. His eyes go wide, and I smile as I reach down and grab him by his hoodie, dragging him up to his feet, slamming him against one of the large trees. I pause as I press my blade against his throat.
“You are going to have to do better than that if you want me dead,” I growl. I glide my blade across his neck, slowly applying just enough pressure to cut through his throat. He gasps as blood pours from his neck. Smiling, I stare into his eyes. “Feel as it becomes harder and harder to breathe as you suffocate on your own blood,” I sneer. “Don’t worry, I haven’t cut too deep. Just enough that it will kill you, but just a little slower. I could put pressure on your neck right now, stop the bleeding and save your life, but for me to do that, you’re going to have to give me some pretty important information.”
He coughs and splutters, causing his blood to splatter across my face. “He’s coming, he wants him, give him Bobby,” he wheezes and gasps.
“When?” I ask.
“Tomorrow,” he rasps.
I nod. “Thank you. By the way, I lied. I can’t save you. But I can make it quicker,” I state as I slam my blade into the side of his head. His eyes go wide as I stare at him, watching his soul leave his now limp body. I release my hold on him and let his lifeless body slump to the floor. I place my hands on my hips and sigh, looking up to the sky. “Shit,” I pant. I take a step back, pressing my boot on his head and yank my blade from his head, wiping the blood on my already crimson stained white T-shirt. I put my blade away and bend down, grabbing his arm. I press my shoulder against his middle and lift him over my shoulder into a fireman’s lift. His limp body hangs over my shoulder like roadkill. “Fuck, you’re a heavy motherfucker,” I grunt as I make my way back to the house.
I can see Ghost and Hawk stood on the porch talking as I approach. They soon spot me. I stop in front of the steps and chuck the dead guy’s body on the bottom of the steps. Ghost and Hawk exchange a confused look.
“What the fuck happened?” Ghost asks.
I pant, trying to catch my breath. I hold up my finger, telling them to hold a minute. “Fuck, you try carrying a dead body from the other side of those fields. Fuck,” I pant. The door swings open, and Dixie, Star, and Rage come out, followed by Belle and Josie.
“Oh my god! Beast, are you okay?” Belle says, running down the steps. She casually skips over the dead guy like he’s nothing. She isn’t phased by the blood as she checks me over. “Oh my god, you’ve been shot,” she gasps.
“What?” I ask, looking down at where she’s holding my arm. It’s then that I see where the bullet has grazed my upper arm.
“Oh yeah, it’s just a graze, darlin’. No big deal.” I shrug.
“He’s fresh,” Rage comments.
“Yeah, I know Rage, I just killed him,” I answer.
“Jesus Christ. Women, go inside right fucking now,” Ghost growls.
Belle looks at me concerned. “Go. I will be there in a minute,” I tell her. She nods and follows the others.
“And send out the rest of the club!” Ghost barks.
“What were you doing at the other side of the fucking fields anyway?” Hawk asks.
“Bobby has offered me the business,” I state. Hawk raises his brow, and Rage’s gaze snaps to mine.
“You can’t. You’re a Black Hearts MC,” Rage states.
“Whatever you decide, you will have all our backing,” Ghost interrupts.
I nod as the rest of the club comes out. “What the fuck?” Spider asks. Walking down the steps, he kicks the dead guy’s leg.
“Yeah, he’s dead,” I confirm sarcastically.
Spider chucks me his cigarettes and lighter. “Ha-ha. Funny fucker, ain’t you?”
I smirk and take out a cigarette and light it, taking a long inhale. “Damn, I needed that,” I sigh.
“Right, enough with the fucking mothers’ meeting. You better tell us exactly what the fuck has happened,” Ghost demands.
I tell them everything and what the guy said. “So, whatever we had planned for Bobby, we had better do it now. It may stop them, if they find out he’s dead already,” I suggest.
Rage nods. “It’s easier now that we have a fresh body,” he says as he inspects the dead guy’s hand.
“What are we going to blow him up in?” Spider asks.
Hawk smiles. “What’s better than the ambulance he left the hospital in?” he asks, nodding in the direction of the slightly hidden ambulance.
“That’s all good, but it’s got to look believable to Charlie and his men. He ain’t going to believe we suddenly decided to kill him,” Cash points out.
Spider smiles. “That’s easy. We mess with the engine, a slow petrol leak, the brakes dodgy wiring. By the time the thing goes up in flames, and the police release their report on it, Bobby will be long fucking gone. They ain’t going to give a shit. Then they can do what they wanted and take over.”
“Not if Beast accepts Bobby’s offer to take over from him,” Hawk points out.
They all look at me, and I sigh and shake my head. “I ain’t going nowhere. You are my brothers,” I state.
“You sure? The idea of being your own boss not tempting you?” Ghost presses.
I smile and shake my head. “Fuck, now I see how much we all fucking stress you out. I don’t want to age this beautiful face,” I mock.
They all laugh. “Right. Rage, get the axe and make yourself useful,” Ghost says, pointing to the body. Rage nods and grabs the arm of the dead guy and goes to drag him up the steps to the house. “Not inside the fucking house. Use the shed,” Ghost says, pointing to it.
Rage nods and drags the dead guy across the gravel to the shed. “You see that smile on his face? It’s like he thought it was Christmas.” Ghost laughs.
“Man, I love that crazy fucker,” Hawk sighs.
“Right, Spider and Hawk, go rig the ambulance and see what’s on there that would cause a natural explosion and make it so that there is a crash. Cash and Scar, go and check the perimeter. Make sure there ain’t no more of the fuckers hiding in the bush. Everyone else, keep the fucking women out of our way. Beast, you’re with me. We need to tell Bobby,” Ghost says, barking his orders.