Chapter Five
Maisie
I LED KATIE to one of the bunk rooms and closed the door, Dani stepped in a few seconds later, and rather than asking anything, we just waited for Katie to work things out.
“Mother fucking, piece of shit, asshole, gorgeous, dickhead…” She threw her hands in the air, and I glanced at Dani with a raised eyebrow.
Dani sighed. “Katie—”
“Did you know?” she snapped.
“Did I know what?”
Katie let out a frustrated squeak. “That he was coming!”
Dani shook her head. “No idea. I don’t even think Booker knew.”
“Can someone fill me in, please?” I asked.
“It’s your story to tell, honey,” Dani said.
“He’s not worth it.”
“Shall I?” Dani offered.
“Knock yourself out.”
“Back when Maverick was first patched-in, Rooster—”
“As in cock!” Katie snarled.
“Anyway, Rooster—”
“As in cock face!”
“Um, so, the artist formally known as the barnyard fowl was on Tillie watch. Remember when Lily was pregnant with Charley? I think Tillie was in elementary school at the time and she gave him the slip.”
I gasped. “That was Rooster?”
“Yep, but it got Tillie grabbed by Brick, Reese’s lovely old man. He set a trap for Lily, which Maverick followed in order to protect Lily, of course, so both Mav and Tillie were kidnapped, and Maverick was beaten quite badly.”
“I remember,” I breathed out.
“Rooster ran away like the little chicken shit he is,” Katie snapped.
“It wasn’t quite that cut and dried,” Dani countered.
“Bullshit,” Katie hissed.
“Honey, it wasn’t. Ace was out for blood, and Rooster was melting down because he’d let Tillie get the better of him, you know how Tillie can be. Crow figured a change of scenery would be good, so he suggested Colorado. Sundance offered to take him on.”
Katie crossed her arms. “Ace said all was good.”
“All was good-ish,” Dani admitted.
Tears streamed down Katie’s face. “It was supposed to be temporary.”
Well, this explained why Katie had never settled down. Good lord, this complicated things.
“How did I miss all of this?” I breathed out.
“There was a lot going on and I wasn’t really in the mood to share,” Katie admitted.
“Still, though, I should have noticed, love. I’m so sorry.”
“No, I’m sorry. I should have told you,” Katie said. “I relied so heavily on Cricket to shoulder my grief, and she had her own stuff happening, you know? We just kind of fell into each other. I should have said something. Maybe if I’d said something, things might have been different.”
A knock at the door brought Razor, and Katie completely melted down as he wrapped his arms around her. “What the fuck happened, buddy?”
That’s when all hell broke loose.
“You need to get your hands off her, Razor,” Rooster growled.
Razor glanced his way and rolled his eyes as Katie gripped him harder. “Fuck off.”
“I swear to Christ, man, you don’t release her, we’re gonna have a problem.”
“Don’t you have a road to cross somewhere?” Katie snapped.
“Razor,” he warned again.
Katie pulled away from Razor and shoved Rooster. “Go away, Chick-fil-A.”
He grabbed her wrist, albeit gently, and gave her a chin lift. “Let’s talk.”
Katie tugged on his grip, but he held firm. “Let’s not.”
“Let her go,” Razor ordered.
“Stay out of this,” Rooster snapped back, continuing to stare at Katie.
“Let me go,” Katie demanded.
“Let her go, Rooster,” I ordered.
When he didn’t do that immediately, Razor slammed his fist into his jaw.
“Bloody hell. Hatch!” I yelled.
“When the first lady tells you to do something, you fuckin’ do it!” Razor snarled.
Rooster rubbed his jaw, pushing himself up from the floor as Katie burst into fresh tears and made her way over to me.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” Hatch demanded, rushing into the room, Booker and Flea following close behind.
I filled him in, and he speared Rooster with a glare. “You put your hands on Katie?”
“He didn’t hurt me,” Katie rushed to say.
“Don’t give a fuck, Kate,” Hatch growled. “We don’t abuse our women. And when my woman tells you to fuckin’ do something, you do it.” He turned to Katie. “You want him out, sweetheart? I’ll bounce him right the fuck now, just say the word.”
“Oh, god, don’t put that on me, Hatch.”
“If he didn’t hurt you, it’s your call,” Hatch said. “But again, we don’t put hands on our women, so I’m not puttin’ up with this shit. If you’re uncomfortable at all, he’s gone.”
“Can we just talk?” Rooster asked. “Five minutes.” His gaze swept the room. “Alone.”
“Your call,” Hatch said to Katie.
“Five minutes,” Katie bit out.
“I’ll be right outside,” Razor said, glaring at Rooster, and then we all filed out of the room.
Hatch was the last one out and closed the door behind him. He held his hand out to me and pulled me close. “You okay?”
I nodded. “I’m more worried about Katie.”
“Nice hit, brother,” Hatch said to Razor.
Razor chuckled. “Not puttin’ up with his shit.”
“I’m not sure hitting him was necessary,” I breathed out.
“Oh, hitting him was probably totally necessary,” Booker countered.
“She already said he didn’t hurt her,” Dani said.
“Baby, did he or did he not grab her arm?”
She sighed. “He did.”
“And did both Katie and Maisie ask him to release her?”
“They did.”
“And did he?” Booker challenged.
“No,” she grumbled.
“You all had a soft spot for Rooster, I get it, but the fact remains, whatever Katie decides to do stands,” Hatch said.
“Why did you have a soft spot for Rooster?” I asked.
“Let’s go start dinner, and I’ll fill you in,” Dani said.
* * *
Katie
“You look good, baby.”
“You look like an asshole,” I lied. “Razor did improve your face, though.”
In reality, the man who stood before me still held some of the boy I’d met in high school, but only just. He was a little taller, still lean, but so much more muscular, and he had a full beard, longish hair, and his eyes were just as blue as ever.
“I deserved that,” he conceded.
I crossed my arms and glared at him. “Say what you need to say, then I want you to go home.”
“This is home.”
“You have been gone for a long time, Beckham. You can’t say that anymore.”
“Anywhere you are is home, KitKat.”
I scoffed. “What a load of shit. You don’t even know me anymore.”
“That’s not true,” he countered. “I’ve kept tabs.”
I frowned. “What do you mean, you’ve ‘kept tabs’?”
“Baby, we had something special back then. Just because I left to get my head together didn’t mean I was gonna forget about that.”
“You disappeared, Kam.”
“Believe me, honey, you needed me gone.” His eyes softened as he stared at me. “And you needed me gone to achieve everything you’ve achieved. I’m so fuckin’ proud of you, I can’t even put it into words, but if I’d been here, I’d have fucked that up for you. Physician’s assistant, that’s huge.”
“Yeah, I know. It wasn’t easy.”
“I’m aware.”
“You wouldn’t know hard work beyond the effort it takes to shove a butt plug up your own ass.”
“Hey, we don’t judge around here.”
“You’re not from around here anymore, so you can feel free to go back to Colorado as soon as possible.”
He shook his head. “If I did that, I’d be disobeying two club presidents, and even I’m not that stupid.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that, let’s take a poll. Everyone, who thinks Rooster’s a dumbass and should get on his bike and ride.” I raised my hands in the air. “There, two against one.”
“Everyone who thinks Kate is even more beautiful now than she was the last time he saw her.” Rooster raised both of his hands, and I took the opportunity to punch him in the solar plexus, doubling him over with a grunt.
“Jesus,” he said, catching his breath. “I thought Hatch said we keep our hands to ourselves in this club.”
“No, he said we don’t abuse our women,” I corrected. “Although, that rule might apply here, considering you’re a colossal pussy who shrinks and runs away at the sign of danger.” I cocked my head. “A bit like a chicken.”
“First of all, I reject your characterization of pussies. That’s an insult to women and I’ve always found you to be fierce in times of battle, and second, I don’t care to hear your anti-poultry rhetoric.
My kind has a hard enough time staying out of the crosshairs of Colonel Sanders.
And third, I mean it, you really do look beautiful, Kate. ”
I forced myself not to fall into the trap of what he was saying.
Because the thing about Beckham ‘Rooster’ Cahill, was he was always good with his words.
He had a voice like butter, he never said anything he didn’t mean, and he didn’t lie.
That was the bitch about all of this. He’d told me he was leaving, he’d told me why, and he’d promised he’d come back.
He just hadn’t done any of it on my timetable.
“So, what’s the verdict, beautiful? Am I staying?”
“You still haven’t told me why you stayed away so long.”
“Yes I did.”
I threw my hands in the air. “No, you didn’t.”
“If I’d come back you—”
“Wouldn’t have achieved everything I achieved,” I cut him off. “That’s a copout and you know it.”
“It’s gonna take a lot longer than five minutes to fill you in on that part,” he admitted. “But I’m willing to give you everything if you’re willing to hear me out.”
I took a deep breath, trying to ward off another crying jag. “Why the hell did Sundance force you, of all people, to come?”
“Oh, he didn’t.” He gave me a cocky grin. “I volunteered.”
“Of course you did.”
“The bottom line is, Hatch needs me here more than Sundance needs me in Colorado right now.”
“That’s a low blow, Kam.” I scowled. “A dickish, low blow.”
“It’s the truth, honey. Not tryin’ to be a dick.”
“Would you stop with the honey, baby, beautiful shit?” I hissed. “And no fucking calling me KitKat.”
He raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare at me. “Old habits die hard, Kate.”
“You have been gone way too long to have any habits when it comes to me, Rooster.”
A bang on the door had me jumping slightly and I yelled out, “I’m still alive.”
Razor peeked his head in. “Your five minutes are up.”
“Fuck off,” Rooster growled.
“Not the way to go here,” I warned, then focused back on Razor. “I’ll be out in a bit, buddy. I’m okay.”
“You sure?” Razor asked.
“I’m sure.”
He closed the door again and Rooster cocked his head. “What the fuck’s up with that?”
“None of your business.”
“Bab—I mean, Kate, are you and Razor—”
I scoffed. “God, no. He’s got a woman who happens to be a really good friend of mine.” I groaned. “Which you don’t need to know because it’s none of your business.” I sighed. “Get that smug look off your face.”
“We should probably get out there or people are gonna think we’re having a different kind of reunion.”
“You would just love that, wouldn’t you?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Am I staying?”
“As long as I don’t see you, it’s fine. But you better apologize to Maisie.”
“I will. I’m also apologizing to you, beauti—ah, Katie.”
I cocked my head. “For which part?”
“Well, for not releasing your wrist when you asked me to. I just wanted to keep you from hitting me again, but I should have let you go the second you asked me to do so.”
“Technically, I shoved you,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but I know how much damage you can do, Katie, as evidenced by the fact I’m gonna have a bruise on my sternum, so cut me a break, huh?”
“What else?”
“The rest of the apology will happen when we have a chance to really talk.”
“That would require me seeing you,” I said.
He grinned. “It sure would.”
“You’re impossible.”
“I know. It’s one of your favorite things about me.”
Without a response, I yanked the door open and stormed out of the room.