Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
FREAK
When we enter the kitchen, the first person I see is, of course, Trixie. She’s chopping some vegetables while Heaven and Sweetie are sitting on their asses talking and laughing.
“What the fuck?” I exclaim, approaching Trixie and gently encouraging her to a seat.
I turn my ire on the two club girls. “Trixie’s got broken ribs.
She should be taking things easy. You,” I point at them, “take over whatever she’s doing.
And while you’re at it, throw some bacon and shit on for Ace and me. ”
Spurred on by the expression on my face, Heaven and Sweetie jump to their feet. Sweetie goes to the fridge to act on my last demand, but Heaven pauses beside Trixie.
“Babe, I didn’t know you were hurt. Why the fuck didn’t you say?”
Trixie just shrugs her off. “I’m okay. I wasn’t straining myself, and I suspect my ribs are just bruised.”
I’d bet good money that fucking husband of hers made her do all the domestic chores after he’d beaten her, never mind how much she was hurting. Well, as a thank you for saving my son, I’m going to ensure everyone treats her like crystal glass while she’s got any lingering injury.
“You make sure she stays off her feet.” I share a glance with Heaven, who I actually believe would have helped out if she’d known the state Trixie was in.
“So, what are we making, Trix? I’ll do it all. You just have to tell me.”
Trixie shoots me a glance that suggests giving directions is going to be far harder than doing everything herself.
Her expression makes me chuckle. It’s not often a club girl isn’t wary of me.
After I’ve had to suffer her glare for a good few seconds, she answers Heaven.
“Lasagne. And you can finish chopping the vegetables to begin with.”
Ace says in a loud stage whisper, “Lasagne has vegetables?”
Trixie gives out a peal of laughter. “Sure does. We make sure you men get your veggies.”
I frown. That’s a surprise to me too.
Sweetie manages not to burn the bacon too much, and soon Ace and I are digging into our sandwiches. I’ve just about finished when a high-pitched voice reaches my ears.
“Ace!”
It’s Trip, Short’s son, and the man himself and his old lady are right behind him.
Immediately jumping off his chair, Ace goes to greet him. “Hey, little man. You want to play some Call of Duty?”
When Trip nods eagerly, both boys disappear into the clubroom.
“Call of Duty?” I raise a brow toward Short. “Isn’t that a bit too old for him?”
Short slumps into the chair beside me. “Fuck if I care, Brother. I’m just glad at how far he’s coming along.”
He’s got a point. Not too long ago, Trip couldn’t even speak, let alone handle a controller and play a game. I turn my attention to Bronwyn, ignoring the daggers Trixie’s eyes are shooting at me.
“Trixie’s got broken ribs, Bron. Could you check her out?”
I only wait until Bronwyn nods and gives Trixie a concerned look, before hightailing it out of the kitchen, before I feel the full force of Trixie’s death stare. Short follows.
“Bullseye’s called church. I presume it’s about last night,” Short says, assuming I’m heading that way.
Guiltily, I realise Prez had probably wanted to have a quiet word with me, before we all get together.
But Ace had come first. That conversation we’d had was a long time coming and probably overdue.
And then, of course, we’d had to meet the demands of our stomachs.
As I make my way alongside Short to the meeting room, I realise I have an apology to make.
My opportunity comes sooner rather than later, as Prez steps out of his office as I pass, and with a gesture, invites me in. Preempting his admonishment, I get the first word in. “I’m sorry, Prez…”
“Nah, Freak. I should have realised you needed time with your son. How’s Ace holding up?”
Scratching my head, I respond, “Remarkably well. But that’s what worries me. He’s been around the club all his life, but we’ve shielded him from violence. What Candyman did last night must have opened his eyes. Yet he hasn’t mentioned Toni’s abuse, or Trixie’s.”
Prez’s eyes sharpen. “Trixie? She alright?”
“She’s pretending to be, but Candyman got her in the ribs, broke or badly bruised at least one of them.” I huff a mirthless laugh. “She’s acting like nothing happened.”
He shakes his head. “Woman’s obviously got a lot of practice in that. You saw the scars on her body left by her bastard husband?”
I had that one night when I had her in my bed. As have probably all of my brothers. Doesn’t detract from her attractiveness or her ability to perform in the sack. I frown. “She’s immune to a man doing a number on her.”
He slams his hand on the desk. “Fuckin’ hate that, Brother. And she did you a solid yesterday, we’d never have found Ace without her. Or not for some time.”
“Tell me about it. The thought’s the making of nightmares.” I huff a strangled laugh. “You know, I couldn’t find Ace last night, went looking for him everywhere, then followed a hunch. You know where he was?”
Prez chuckles. “I heard the rumours. Seems like you and Ace were found in Trixie’s bed.”
I can smile about it, now that it’s not Rattler making innuendos. “He went running to her. She was ignoring her own hurts and comforted my boy.”
“I’m not surprised,” he tells me. “Trixie’s got a way with kids. And she cares a lot for Ace. Always has.”
Yeah. And I was blind not to see it. Looking back, she’d always been watching out for him.
Bullseye raps his fingers on his desk. “Freak, look, church is going to have to discuss Toni. You brought her back here.”
“I’m regretting that now,” I admit. “Should have left the MDMC to finish her.”
He studies me for a moment, then gives a sharp nod. “It is what it is. Now, let’s get to church.”
The room is already full as I enter.
I’ve just about got my ass on my seat as Bullseye bangs the gavel and announces, “Church is in session. Now shut the fuck up.” After letting a wide grin split his face, he slams his palms down on the table. “Revenge served cold, Brothers. Even better than when it’s served hot.”
There’s hollering, foot stamping, and hand slapping from all around.
It had been seven months ago or thereabouts since the MDMC had attacked our club.
Well, not the actual members, but an army of wannabe recruits that they’d assembled.
They’d burned down the original bunkhouse and killed Heathen, our prospect.
Of course, we’d wanted to hit them hard immediately, but Bullseye cautioned us to wait.
The top priority was rebuilding so our brothers had a place to lay their heads.
Now, apparently, we’ve gotten our vengeance.
“I’d love to have seen their fuckin’ faces.” Rattler smirks.
I’m lost. “You were a bit short on the details, Prez. Wanna fill me in now?”
His grin broadens. “We caused some damage and took some out…”
“They were so drunk it was like bowling at a full frame of Skittles,” Words gleefully remarks.
“And they went down just as hard.” Winchester exchanges fist bumps with him.
They quiet down at Prez’s glare. “Didn’t know or care who we were shooting, but I do have my doubts it was their officers. If it’s anything like when they attacked us, they probably sent out their cannon fodder. Still, we took a fair few of them out.”
“Bigfoot and his crew helped. The MDMC didn’t know where the shots were coming from. They were just firing back blindly.” Stalker chuckles.
Widening my eyes, I shake my head. “And you all came back without a scratch on you?”
Saint starts laughing so hard his shoulders vibrate. “Except for Smooth, the New Mexico road captain got a through and through to his shoulder.” He jerks his head toward Saint, who’s still chortling.
There are four of us who just look each other. It’s Tempest who asks, “Heard the headlines last night. What did you do to him?”
Saint continues, speaking through his own chuckles. “Yeah, sucked to be him, didn’t it? When the only available medic was the man whose wedding he ruined.”
“Let’s just say, I wasn’t too gentle. I got us payback.” He looks down the table, meeting Short’s eyes, and both men salute each other.
“He had it coming to him,” Piston observes. “But I hope you didn’t fuck him up. New Mexico have been good friends to us.”
“Nah, bro. Mainly I fucked with his head. Just let him believe for a moment, instead of stitching him up, I was going to put another bullet in him.”
And Saint can be particularly scary. He can easily rival my best enforcer face. He allows the laughter to continue for a moment, then he smirks as he raises his brow toward Bullseye. “You saving the best for last?”
“He fuckin’ is,” Rattler shouts out, then proceeds to steal Prez’s thunder. “We lobbed a couple of grenades straight into their bikes.”
As the room erupts in loud guffaws and belly splitting laughter, Prez doesn’t even seem to mind it wasn’t him delivering the punchline. My mouth drops open then I’m joining in. Oh yeah. Revenge has definitely been served. Payback is sweet. It was the same thing that they’d done to us.
After waiting for the various reactions to die down, Prez bangs the gavel again. He waits to speak until he’s got our attention. “Our mission was successful as you all know. We rescued Ace and Trixie.” He again has to wait for the stomping to die down.
“Nobody fucks with the Kings.” Tempest’s observation is followed by riotous applause and table thumping.
Prez starts banging the gavel and then repeats his action until silence falls. “Freak’s brought us back a problem.” He casts a chastening look my way.
“Yeah, why didn’t you just leave the bitch there?” Woody queries. “Or has she made her excuses and wrapped you around her finger again?”
I level my eyes at him in a glare that hopefully conveys, no fucking way.
“Never liked the bitch,” Paint puts in. “Something about her rubbed me the wrong way.”
“Surely there’s only one way to be rubbed? Up and down, down and up.” Rattler punctuates his words with a crude gesture.
“Shut the fuck up, Rat,” Tempest roars.
But as the other observations come in, I frown. Was it really only me who liked her? Or are their comments coloured by the benefit of hindsight. Whatever, it had been me who’d been taken in by her. As Ace had said, I’d been led by my dick.
Clearing my throat loudly, I tell them, “I admit it, Toni took me in. But after the stunt she pulled?” My hand slashes through the air.
“Nah, I could never take her back again. She lied, she manipulated, and all to separate me from Ace. She was stupid enough to believe Candyman was her brother and delivered him to the MDMC gift wrapped with a fuckin’ bow.
Even without that, I could never forgive her for wanting to take Ace away.
Her reasoning that I was a bad father, simply for being in an MC was crap, and doesn’t hold water. ”
“That kid couldn’t have a better dad,” Piston butts in. That his sentiment is shared is shown by brothers slapping their fists on the table in support.
“And the idiot bitch thought giving him a home in the MDMC was better?” Stalker observes.
Though I’m not condoning her reasoning, I tell them, “Candyman persuaded her they were choirboys.”
There are the predictable snorts of derision.
Prez gets to the heart of the matter. “What do you want to do with her, Freak?”
Now isn’t that the six-million-dollar question? I knew it was coming, but I’m still not prepared.
When my lips stay clamped shut, Saint takes it upon himself to lay out some home truths. “If we let her free, she’s a loose cannon. She might go back to the MDMC—”
I interrupt him. “Not likely. She knows Candyman isn’t her brother, and anyway, even if he was, he’s no longer breathing. Him hurting her got her a quick education about what that club is like. But,” I sigh, “she’s fuckin’ desperate. She wanted to get back with me…”
“What the fuck?” Tempest snarls.
“After kidnapping Ace? No fuckin’ way,” Paint growls.
I hold up my hands. “Obviously I turned her down.” I pause to receive the relieved chin lifts that come my way. “But she saw me kill two men. While she’s not currently holding that against me, if she’s cut loose that could change. I fuckin’ never want her near Ace again.”
“What if she promises to get lost and never return? We could threaten her with the wrath of the Kings. Explain there’s nowhere she could go and be safe from us, we’ve got chapters all over.” Words’ measured suggestion would be possible if Toni was anything other than who she is.
I sigh deeply. “Toni is all about family, and I don’t think she’d stop trying to get Ace, he’s her only living blood relative. And she’s seen and heard too much about us. She could dob us in to the Feds.”
Bullseye sighs as he accepts the inevitable. “So she’ll find herself experiencing the facilities that Words offers.” As Words runs the town’s funeral home, his words don’t need further explanation.
The table is silent. If we were pronouncing the death sentence on a man who’d wronged us, there would be cheering and celebration. But none of us like the thought of killing a woman. Even Bronwyn’s despicable mom had been left to walk even though she was the epitome of evil.
Toni had wronged me deeply. And she could prove a danger to the club.
Closing my eyes briefly, I shake my head.
I can’t see any other alternative. I’m worried about Ace’s reaction, but maybe he doesn’t need to know, he can simply be told she’s left.
Slowly I raise my chin, and stare straight at Prez.
“If it has to be done, I don’t want any fuss about it, no torture, no pain.
Just a bullet to the back of her head when she’s least expecting it. ”
Prez catches my eye. “It’s either that, or you keep her close, Freak. There’s no other way we can trust her. The ball’s in your court.”