Chapter 10
Istand at the kitchen island, drinking my coffee and staring at the motherfucker sleeping on the couch. Right now, he thinks he’s won; he thinks he’s been smart. The cunt has no idea what's coming.
“Oh, my God, Vike!” A squeal comes from the hall, and Alicia looks pleased to see me as she races as fast as she can to get to me.
The commotion wakes up Greaser, and he looks hella surprised to see me.
“You came home!” She flings her arms around my neck and squeezes me so tight I almost run outta air.
“I do recall making you a promise. I ain’t goin’ nowhere, darlin’.” I make sure I stare right past her and into Greaser’s eyes when I remind her. He’s wide fuckin’ awake now and is far too stunned to be pissed off…for now.
“Let me make us breakfast.” Alicia releases me and bustles into the kitchen.
“No need, I stopped at the diner and picked up those pastries you like. Sorry, Grease, I didn’t realize you’d be here.
” I smile at him sarcastically while Alicia dives into the bag on the table and takes out her breakfast. I’ve decided that Dev is right and I ain’t gonna run from my feelings no more.
I’m gonna fight for her. I won’t manipulate her the way he does; I’m gonna let Alicia see what kind of man he is for herself.
“You want a coffee, Greaser?” she offers, still looking so pleased to have me home.
I hated how we left things last night. Alicia needs to know that I didn’t sleep with Trinity the other day, and she needs to know why I never would.
I’m just gonna have to get over that kiss that happened in the yard and show my club brothers who this girl really belongs to.
“Nah, I'd better get back to putting that crib together.” He stands up and stretches, trying to make himself look tall.
“No need, I already got it finished,” I inform him. “I’ve been here since six am; I’m surprised you didn’t hear me come in. I could have been anyone,” I point out, taking a pastry from the bag myself.
He snarls at me as he moves toward the kitchen, and when he places his arms around Alicia’s shoulders and drags her closer so he can kiss her, I almost shatter the mug in my hand, but I manage not to show either of them how much I want to murder him.
“Me and Alicia figured some shit out last night, didn’t we, baby?” he tells me while she blushes and stares down at the floor, same way she always does when this bastard speaks for her.
“Cool. Me and Alicia need to figure some shit out ourselves.” I remind her that we have unfinished business. I gotta admit, I was relieved as hell when I came home and found him sleeping on the couch, instead of in her room. A kiss I can get over, him having her body...I don’t think I could.
“We do need to talk.” She smiles up at me timidly, shrugging herself free from Greaser’s hold.
“Well, unfortunately, your little talk will have to wait. I promised Mom we’d be at her place in time for lunch.”
“We’re visiting your mother?” Alicia almost chokes on her pastry.
“Sweetheart, this baby brain is really getting to ya, ain’t it? We arranged it yesterday.”
“A lot’s happened since yesterday,” she reminds him, looking wary. I wanna tell her not to fuckin’ go; she clearly don’t wanna, but I also have to give this man enough rope to hang himself.
“It sure has, including you making me the luckiest man on the planet.” He kisses her again, right in front of me, marking his territory, and how I hold back from fuckin’ swinging at him is a miracle.
“Sorry, Vike, maybe you can have your chitty-chat when we get back?” Greaser smiles at me when he’s finished, then heads down the corridor toward the nursery, no doubt to find fault in the crib I finished building.
“We do need to have th—”
“Don’t go.” I grab Alicia’s arm desperately once we’re alone, my whole plan to keep it cool, obliterated.
“I have to go, I promised,” she whispers.
“You don’t have to do a thing; we need to talk about what's happening here.”
“Greaser’s mother is….she’s fragile. We’ll talk when I get back, I promise.” She offers me an unconvincing smile.
“Be careful, Alicia. I don’t trust him,” I warn her, hating the idea of the two of them being alone together. I don’t know what happened between them last night, or what she’s committed to, but something’s shifted; the two of them seem way more familiar than just friends.
“Greaser would never hurt me.” She looks almost offended, sliding her arm from my hand and moving to her room to get ready.
“He better fuckin’ not. Or it’ll be the last thing he ever does,” I speak under my breath.
“What’s the deal with the kid?” I ask Wrath when I arrive at the club and see that the little boy, who was here yesterday, is still attached to Peyton’s side.
I need a distraction from the fact Greaser’s got Alicia all to himself again.
I wanted to talk to her before she left, but he keeps putting up obstacles.
I have to get better at knocking ’em down.
“He’s a runaway; Raze found him sleeping up in the lifeguard tower.”
“Shouldn’t someone have called child services by now?” I question, poor kid’s skinny and pale. Someone’s cut his hair since I saw him yesterday, but he still looks like he’s been through a lot.
“Peyton won’t allow it; she figures he’s been treated badly where he came from, and she won’t risk him going back there,” Eden explains, looking over at the table where he’s coloring in and sighing pitifully.
“Well, she can’t just keep him.” I can’t see this ending well; missing kids come with a lotta heat. Heat that the club don’t need.
“Try telling that to her.” Raze comes from behind me, slamming a wad of cash on the bar in front of me.
“Cash from the job we did for Antonio,” he informs me, sounding pissed and fuckin’ tired.
“Fucker finally paid up?” I was starting to wonder if he ever would; we did that job for him weeks ago. “I’ll make sure the boys get their share, and put whatever's left inside the safe,” I assure him, fixing Wrath with what he’s owed before tucking the money in the inside pocket of my cut.
“Appreciated.” Raze nods before heading over to join Peyton. The little boy looks up at him and smiles, and me and Wrath share the same worried look.
“They can’t get attached to that kid.” I shake my head, then wink a thank you to Polly when she places a coffee in front of me.
“Looks like it’s already happened, but that's a problem for another day. Did you fix things up with Alicia?” Wrath asks, and both he and his wife await my answer.
“Is there anyone around here who doesn’t know about that?” I feel like such a fuckin’ idiot. I should have had this conversation with her months ago.
“We all saw the way you rode off when she gave Greaser that welcome home.” He shrugs, taking a seat on one of the stools and tapping his lap for Eden to sit on there.
“So, did you?” she asks, not letting me get away with answering.
“Jesus Christ.” I shake my head and walk away. It’s bad enough thinking of the two of them playing happy families together at his mom’s place; I don’t need to be reminded of how I let that asshole steal my girl right from under me.
“Vike.” Millie comes straight for me when she sees me heading out.
“Listen, Mill, if you're gonna ask about Alicia, the–”
“Actually, me and the girls were planning on throwing her a baby shower sometime in the next couple of weeks. I was wondering if maybe she’d like her mom to come; she never really talks about her folks, and I wouldn’t know how to contact them without asking her, and ruining the surprise.”
“She ain’t close to ’em,” I tell her, not prepared to get into why. Saul told me the reason why he and Alicia had left their hometown. I have no idea if she knows that he trusted me with their secret, but she can rest assured that it will die with me.
“I wouldn’t want her mom to think we left her out.”
“Millie, the woman didn’t even come to her own son's funeral. I doubt she’s gonna be worried about a baby shower.
” I give it to her straight, and although she looks a little shocked by how blunt I am, she seems to accept my answer and moves on.
I head over to the table where Saint, Dev, and Ruckus are so I can give them each their cut from the job, and when Dev looks up at me like he’s gonna ask the same fuckin’ question as everyone else, I quickly shake my head.
“Outside,” I tell him, leading him out to the yard so we can get this over with
“Where’s ya girl, Vike?” he asks.
“She ain’t my girl…yet.” I smile at him, and he almost knocks me sideways when he slams his huge palm into my shoulder.
“Now that's the fuckin’ spirit. Did the two of you get to talk?”
“No, she’s currently on her way to visit Greaser’s mom with him.” The smile quickly drops from his face.
“I’m taking your advice, Dev, I’m playing that fucker at his own game,” I explain. “Alicia has a good heart, and Greaser exploits that. I need her to see for herself what kinda person he is. I have to give him the opportunity to fuck things up for himself.”
“Sounds like the shittiest plan I ever heard.” Dev shakes his head, looking unimpressed.
“Trust me, I know Alicia; she’s smart. But right now she’s scared, and she’s vulnerable.
I can’t tell her what to think; that makes me no better than him.
I know it would have been him who orchestrated that whole Trinity situation.
Up till then, Alicia and I had been making progress; he could sense it, and he had to do something desperate.
I’m already in his head. Now I just need to let him show his true colours. I need to give him the rope.”
“It’s risky, Vike.” Dev still looks unsure
“She promised we can talk when she gets back. I’m gonna be honest with her, tell her how I feel. That way, she can make a decision.”
“And what if she chooses him?” he asks, clearly not convinced by my plan.
“Then I’ll keep that fuckin’ rope for myself.”