Patching Over (Royal Bastards MC: Flagstaff, AZ)

Chapter 1

Big Timber

“Are you sure about this?” Declan asks Joey, his eyes steadily searching her face as she considers her answer.

“They need to pay for what they’ve done. Dad,” her voice catches on the word, not over the fact that she’s sealing her mother’s fate. “He didn’t get to be my dad, not like he wanted to be. Jayne took me from him, then she … Actually, she and Percy took him from all of us.”

Axel reaches over and pulls Joey from where she’s seated, easily lifting her into his arms before turning to carry her from the room.

“What would you have done if she said no?” Diesel asks Declan.

“The same thing we’re going to do, regardless.”

The answer doesn’t surprise me in the least. This has gone on far too long as it is. I suppose that this way, Joey can feel like she was involved in avenging her dad.

“And Ransom?” I ask, knowing that Joey’s brother is the more impulsive of the pair.

“Tin’s going to keep him occupied,” Declan responds, looking annoyed at the question.

“Timber’s right to ask,” Wolfman says with a shrug. “Ransom’s going to be pissed at being edged out.”

Looking around the room, I wonder what I’m missing. There’s something else in play here, but I’m not sure if it will affect the mission at hand.

Declan mutters under his breath before speaking up. “We don’t know for certain if they’re going to agree. I gave them until the first night of the patch over party to give me an answer.”

“Can you rewind a bit?” I push him.

“Tin doesn’t want to run the Grave Knights, Ransom isn’t ready yet, and Red said, ‘Fuck no’.”

“Ransom wouldn’t be the youngest guy to run an MC,” I add with a shrug, not really knowing the guy but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt based on his sister.

“His world has changed a bit since meeting Joey,” Diesel says. “Turns out he has a trust fund and he wants to see the world a bit.”

“Tin and I discussed bringing them into our club. Loosely, that is,” Declan says, shrugging his shoulders. “They’ll stay where they are, run their shit through us, pay dues, all that. Then, down the road a bit, they’ll decide if they want to split back off or stay with us. There’s only ten of them, so it’s not like it affects us much anyway.”

I nod, knowing he didn’t have to explain anything to me in the first place and now isn’t the time for the questions firing off in my mind.

“Alright, now if question time is over …” Declan grunts, before swinging his gaze over to Diesel.

“Good,” Diesel replies before outlining the plan. “The Brookhavens’ fly private, so we’ll have to be flexible with the timing, but once they take off we’ll have a better idea of where best to pick them up. Once we have them, we’ll cancel their motel room, and …”

Wolfman lets out a snort. “It’s not a motel, you cretin. The spa and resort they booked comes with a butler and is probably a few grand a night.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to,” Diesel says, flipping him off. “It’ll be easier to pick them off on their way there than on the return. That way, people won’t be looking for them for a week.”

“And their driver?” I ask, wondering about collateral damage.

“They travel with him regularly. He’s in some of the footage online.” Diesel’s words seal the man’s fate.

My nostrils flare in disgust and I nod, signaling that I have no issue with killing the driver.

“Alright, Wolfman and Timber, you two handle the additional details. Coordinate with Diesel about your timeline and anything you’ll need.”

Knowing Declan, the abrupt end of his sentence is our queue to leave, so we do without hesitation.

“Which one do you want?” Wolfman asks me as we’re heading down to his office. “I'm happy to take Jayne.”

“I imagine Jayne would be more willing to talk than Percy—what are your thoughts?” I ask him. Not that I have any qualms about torturing and killing a woman like her, but we won't have a lot of time nor anyone to watch our backs.

“What do you think about the driver?” he asks, the small grin on his face telling me he’s considering options to get Jayne talking.

“I say we knock him out and work on him later,” I answer with a shrug. “If we don’t need him to verify some information, you can just have fun with him.”

“Too bad we can’t bring Percy and Jayne back here and really go to town on them.” Wolfman sounds wistful as he rifles through his cabinets, selecting various tools. “Let’s take my truck then. We can stow the bodies in the drawers under the truck bed and dispose of the parts on the way home.”

“I’m going to run by Talia’s firehouse to let her know I’ll be gone a few days, then pack a bag,” I let him know. I’ll also have to stop by my studio since there are things I won’t ever stash at Talia’s house. “I’ll swing by your place in a couple of hours.”

“She’s back at work already?” Wolfman asks. The concerned look on his face is massively at odds with the serrated blade he’s holding.

“Not active duty, but yes, she insisted so they put her on a desk,” I say and the look that passes between us tells him how she feels about restricted duty.

*

I felt like a bit of a coward telling Talia about the trip in the temporary office she’s saddled with. We both knew no details would be exchanged at the firehouse, but it’s not like I could tell her much about club business anyway.

“No,” she resolutely answers my request, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Baby, please? Just let your mom spoil you for a few days, a week tops,” I plead with her, knowing that she’ll be safer staying at her parents’ house while I’m gone.

“I’m fine, Tarak. I don’t need the three of them fussing over me,” she insists. I all but throw in the towel when she narrows her eyes, that’s her tell for ‘hell no’.

Gripping the frame of the chair in front of me, I squeeze it helplessly as I try to figure out how I can get her to accept some help. After a tense moment or two, her eyes soften as she steps toward me.

“I love you,” she whispers when I fold her into my embrace; deeply inhaling her scent, wanting to take that piece of her with me for the days ahead.

“I love you more than you’ll ever know,” I tell her, before slamming my lips down on hers.

After that, I go into autopilot mode. It’s not so much that I’m going to be revisiting a part of myself that I had put long behind me. It’s how much I’m looking forward to it.

I’m upstairs grabbing my toothbrush and clean underwear when I hear the front door open. Checking my piece, I make sure there’s a round chambered and head downstairs as quietly as I’m able to. Slowly peering into the living room, I focus my hearing since I don’t see anyone.

Just then, there’s a low grunt in the den, telling me which direction I need to head. With my gun pointed toward the ceiling, I don’t see anyone in the room, so I cross to the bathroom and peer in past the semi-opened door.

“Fuck!” the man on the toilet lets out more of a yelp than a scream, just before I hear a plop in the bowl he’s sitting on and a look of horror crosses over his features.

“Goddamn,” I growl, taking a step backward as the smell hits me. “Shit.”

He slams the door as I head out to the kitchen, tucking my gun into my waistband, leaning against the counter as I wait to officially meet Talia’s older brother.

Once he finishes taking a dump , I think, chuckling a little. I don’t think I’ve ever physically scared the shit out of someone before.

Luckily, Talia’s brothers are nearly carbon copies of each other, so there was no mistaking that I was face-to-face with Rick for the first time.

“Hey,” Rick says, raising a hand in greeting as he walks into the kitchen. “Road food didn’t hit me right and I’m not used to anyone else being around here.”

“I hear ya,” I grunt in response, giving him a nod. “Name’s Tarak.”

“Yeah, the family chat has been buzzing about you. I don’t have your number, or I would have let you know I was coming to town. I kind of wanted to surprise the family,” he tells me, barely able to meet my eyes.

“I’m actually heading out for a few days, maybe a week,” I reply. “Talia should be home in a few hours.”

“How’s she doing?”

“Better than you’d expect considering your cousin’s husband is still in the hospital. It was too fucking close,” I answer him honestly. Surprised at how comfortable I feel with him and pleased to have someone to vent to about what happened. “I’m glad you’ll be around to keep an eye on things.”

“You expecting more trouble?” he asks, finally making full eye contact with me.

“We’re hoping it doesn’t come to that, but I’m not taking any chances with Talia’s life. I’ve spoken to your dad, and a buddy of mine will be watching out for her until I get back,” I let him know, neglecting to mention the cameras that have been added to the utility poles on either end of the street and in the alley.

Diesel does not mess around.

“I’ve got a gun locked up in my truck. I’ll keep it close.” His reply surprises me, probably because he fits an image in my mind of a laid-back surfer type, rather than a locked-and-loaded type.

I give him a nod, really not sure what else to say to him. My head is already prepping for the job ahead of me, but I’m happy that someone will be here with my stubborn-ass woman while I’m gone.