Chapter 12
Smokehouse
L ifting my half of the steel beam, I walked along behind Ricochet as he headed to where we were stowing them.
I glared as Hellfire strolled by us, a beam balanced over his non-injured shoulder.
He was still favoring the shoulder he’d been shot in, but otherwise he was back up at full capacity.
The fucker was like a Mac truck and strong as King Kong.
“What’s your problem?” Ricochet asked over his shoulder.
I ignored his question and just focused on the task at hand. He let it drop while we hefted the beam over to the new pile we were making. I should have known better than to think he’d drop the subject when I didn’t respond.
“Take a break,” he told me.
“Don’t need one.”
He and Hell shared a look that put me on the defensive.
It wasn’t that long ago that Ricochet was the one in a vulnerable position, and though I was glad he was doing better every day, I didn’t like that because of my fuck up, I’d put myself in the same situation.
Well, not the same. My problems weren’t nearly as bad as his had been.
Not in reality. But in my own fucked up mind they were.
“This have something to do with your old lady?” Hell asked, taking a seat on a picnic table we’d built on the site.
It was mid-morning and I was already sweating my ass off. It wasn’t even officially summer time yet. “She’s not my old lady.”
“She’s having your kid,” Ricochet pointed out, sounding exactly like my sister.
“And living with you,” Hell tacked on.
“Seems to me like she has you all wrapped up in knots,” Toxic added helpfully, as he passed by to grab the cooler that held his lunch.
“No one asked you,” I told him. “Who let him on this crew?”
“He offered to help,” Ricochet said with a shrug. “I’m not willing to turn down a good worker.”
We all watched in amazement as Toxic cracked open a beer can. A peek into his cooler showed that most of the contents were more beer cans.
“Toxic,” Ricochet snapped.
The older man raised an eyebrow the same time he raised his can and took a long swallow. “What?”
“You can’t fucking drink on the job site, Bro.” Ricochet was looking at him like he couldn’t believe he had to explain this.
“No. It’s fine. It’s light beer.” As if that made a difference.
“How is that fine?” Hell asked, curiosity in his tone rather than the angry disbelief of Ricochet’s.
My lips twitched as I watched a game of tug-o-war break out between Ricochet and Toxic over the cooler.
“I function better this way.”
“Give me the cooler, or I swear to fucking hell I’ll kick your ass off my site,” Ricochet snarled.
Toxic’s jaw dropped. “You’d kick me out?” He shook his head and let go of the cooler. The two men glared at each other. “You fucking kids have no respect anymore.”
“Kids?” Hell asked in bemusement. “He realizes I’m thirty-eight…right?”
“Still a pup!” Toxic hollered over his shoulder as he walked away, continuing to drink his remaining beer.
“Pup?” Confusion filled Hellfire’s face. “He’s only forty-one. I’m…” He shook his head. “You know what? It’s not even worth asking about.”
Ricochet shook his head, but a smile crept over his face. “He’s going to give me an embolism.”
“That’s what you get for being in charge,” I told him with a smug grin covering my face. “You get to wrangle Toxic. Just be glad Butcher hasn’t shown up.”
“Butcher doesn’t have building experience,” Ricochet pointed out, ignoring the dig about being the boss.
“And Toxic does?” I asked with a laugh.
“Yeah, he does.”
“No shit?” I watched the older man saunter away. It was more likely he was off to find trouble rather than help, but who knew, maybe he was good at this.
“His family owned a ranch back in Wyoming when he was growing up. According to Lock, that man has more skills than most of us combined.”
“Like what?” Hell asked.
“How should I know? He never fucking talks about his family.” Ricochet paused, “Except a few months ago when he told me about coming back from deployment and his father helping him out. It was the first time I heard him talk about something other than the club, women, or booze.”
“Since we’re back to stubborn jackasses who don’t like to talk about shit,” Hellfire said, giving me a pointed look.
“Fuck off,” I muttered, leaning against the edge of the table. Folding my arms over my chest, I returned their grim looks.
“Is she feeling better?” Ricochet asked.
“Not really. Threw up twice before she dragged herself off to work. Wouldn’t listen to me about taking the day off.
” It didn’t matter that she’d stayed home the day before.
I didn’t like that she was pushing herself right now.
She should be home, resting. Not running around after a bunch of kids, or whatever it was she did all day.
“Jordan mentioned something about you making a Bookman’s run.” A sly smile crept over Ricochet’s face.
The back of my neck heated as my friends grinned at each other. I wasn’t about to tell Dani to keep stuff to herself. And I wanted her to be friends with the other women, but I also didn’t need all this shit from the guys. “I’m allowed to get some books.”
“Can you even read?” Hellfire asked with a chuckle.
“They were for Dani, dickhead.”
“That’s sweet,” Ricochet told me with such a neutral tone I couldn’t tell if he was giving me a hard time or not.
“Just trying to keep her in bed. She keeps throwing up every time she stands.” I shook my head. “Didn’t know it was possible to be so sick just from being pregnant.”
“Oh yeah,” Ricochet said with a grimace, “it can go on a while, too, according to Gwen.”
“Why the fuck do they call it morning sickness?” I asked. “Dani was hurling most of the night, too.”
Both men shrugged. Hell got up and pulled his own cooler out of the back of the truck. We followed suit and all sat down at the picnic table to eat our lunches.
I was only a few bites into my sandwich when a shadow fell over the table. Squinting upward, I saw Static standing there in a fancy suit. “The fuck you doing here?”
He scowled down at me. “Lock asked me to stop by. Told me you needed some help.”
I swallowed the bite of food I’d been chewing while I considered my options.
There was the legal way of doing things, or the fun way.
Considering we still knew nothing about what was going on with the mayor and the DA, and that we were near the center of their radar for the time being, it was clear which route Lock wanted me to take.
“How would I go about convincing a reluctant husband to sign divorce papers?” I asked after a few beats of silence.
Static’s brows shot up nearly to his hairline. “Assuming the wife wants the divorce?”
“Why else would I be asking?” I growled. “The fuck?”
“With you guys? It’s better to ask,” he told me with a shit-eating grin. “I should probably check the basement of the clubhouse before answering any questions.”
“We don’t have a basement,” Hell pointed out.
“A basement in Arizona?” Ricochet snorted. “Fucking impossible with all the caliche around here. You’d have more luck digging through steel than that shit.”
“I was being facetious, you jackasses,” Static said with a sigh.
“Yeah. She wants the divorce,” I conceded, my lips twitching at the exchange. I was going to tell him that none of our guys would do that, but then Butcher's face crossed my mind. Static might not be so far off.
“If he’s refusing, she can still take him to court and a judge can sign off on the divorce without him even present. No signature required.” Static sat down as Ricochet moved over on the bench. He watched me with shrewd eyes. “Who’s the woman?”
“His old lady,” Hellfire cut in before I could answer.
“How long will that take?” I asked Static, while giving Hell a dark look.
“Depends. If the husband contests it, it can take up to a year, or more.”
My jaw dropped and I just blinked at Static as he stared passively back at me. “A fucking year ? That’s not happening.”
“No shit,” Ricochet said. “That asshole could make trouble with your kid, too, if this isn’t taken care of soon.”
It was his turn to have me stare at him in confusion and disbelief. “What?”
“I mean, he could claim the kid is his and want a paternity test,” my friend said, shrugging. “Which means you’ll have no claim until after the birth and paternity is established.”
“There’s a kid involved?” Static asked, a frown marring his face.
“She’s pregnant with my baby,” I told him, though I’d rather not. At this point he was my legal counsel, so it wasn’t like I had a choice.
“That will complicate things,” Static agreed.
“Shit.” Sighing, I set my sandwich down. My gut was roiling too much thinking about all the ways that douchebag could make my and Dani’s lives miserable. “Looks like this is happening the fun way.”
“Smokehouse-”
“Can it, Static,” I told him. “I’m not waiting a year or more to get her away from him. Nor am I going to jeopardize my kid.”
“Is he hurting her?” he asked, his tone solemn.
None of us had forgotten the way that Gwen had looked once Trent had gotten a hold of her.
Or Jordan, for that matter, though Ricochet’s girl had given that piece of shit a run for his money.
I wasn’t about to give Eli the chance to turn violent against Dani.
“Not that I know of. Doesn’t mean I want him near her,” I answered after a brief pause.
“What’s the plan?” Ricochet asked.
“That’s my cue to leave,” Static told us, standing up. “I’d rather hear whatever you did after the fact, when I have to find someone to represent your asses in court.” With that he turned and left.
I watched as he climbed on his Harley. It was a sweet beast of a machine.
Static liked fancy things. Designer suits, Rolexes, foreign shoes, and that motorcycle of his was every biker’s wet dream.
If you could build a Harley from a Rolex, that was his ride.
Not that I’d give up my Stella for anything.
She’d been my first Harley and I’d ride her until she couldn’t go anymore.
She’d gotten so many new parts she was looking good even for a tired old girl.
“The plan?” Hellfire prompted.
“Not sure yet,” I said, still watching the road even after Static had left.
“Needs to be something that’s not going to shine the spotlight on us,” Ricochet cautioned. After all the shit that went down, I agreed fully with that. “Also needs to be something that won’t make that fucker dig in his heels. Or risk your custody rights.”
“You think he will?” Hell asked. He eyed my sandwich. “You eating that?”
I handed it over to him and shook my head.
Hell was like a black hole when it came to food.
Between his size and the fact that he never stood still for long, I swear he needed to consume three times his body weight to keep going.
His family’s business was completely reliant on him and his father.
His father took care of the plumbing side of things and years ago he’d handed over the septic side to Hellfire.
Him taking time off now was only happening because a couple of his uncles were in town for a visit and they’d agreed to take over for a while.
Otherwise, Hell would have ended up working for us in the early morning, then heading out to work his full-time job.
He was the kind of guy that would end up working between twelve and fourteen hour long days if that was what it took.
And he never bitched about it. He did whatever it took to make sure his family was taken care of. Both families.
“I know he will. He’s a complete cunt. I’ll think of some way to get him to sign.
A way that won’t hurt her or our kid.” I’d only seen Eli twice and both for short periods of time, but I already understood him.
I’d met plenty of men like him. He and Static shared a love for flashy shit, but when it came down to it the two men were complete opposites.
Static took time out of his day to come give me a hand, as much as he could.
He wasn’t even a part of our club, but he was friends with Lock and Rip.
He made sure we were taken care of. He was loyal.
Eli, on the other hand, only gave a shit about himself.
Everything that guy did was to prop himself up and build the empire he was working on.
Guaranteed. I didn’t know what he did, but I knew he took credit for shit that didn’t belong to him just to climb that ladder.
He did whatever was necessary to get what he wanted.
It had only taken one exchange between him and Dani to know he’d treated her like garbage.
She didn’t deserve that. She should have everything she wanted.
Every hope. Every dream. And I’d do my best to give them to her.
The only question left was whether I’d let her go in the end.
I should. She deserved better than me and her soon to be ex.
But one problem at a time, and Eli was the current situation that needed rectifying.