DAX
When we made it to Tilly’s house, I marched right up the steps and hit the doorbell a few more times than was necessary, but I was still processing the fact that everyone was ganging up on me.
Harper leaned against the porch railing, watching me with a self-satisfied look, as we waited for someone to answer the door.
“Who the fuck are you?” a voice snarled as the front door opened.
Standing in the doorway was a tall bald man, covered in Japanese traditional tattoos, and I mean covered.
Even his head sported a bright green dragon with bared teeth, which would make most people cringe at the sight.
I, on the other hand, was super impressed with the level of skill and craftsmanship of his artist.
“It’s fucking eight in the morning, where else would she be? How did you get here and how do you know my wife?”
His icy tone caused me to finally meet his gaze. “Ah, you must be, Gator.”
“Babe, what’s going on?” Tilly called, as she walked up behind her husband, wrapping her arms around his naked torso, and peeking over his shoulder. “Dax, they let you out of your cage?”
“You really think those assholes could keep a girl like me down for long?” I huffed. “Eagle might be a hard-ass, but it’s amazing what happens when he’s trying to get in your pants.”
“T, who is this chick?” Gator asked, not taking his eyes off me for a second, as if he expected me to do something crazy.
Tilly chuckled and slipped out in front of him.
“Gator, meet Dax, the soon-to-be old lady of the Phantom Saints leadership. Dax, this is my other husband, Gator. He was out of town the last time you came over.” Her gaze drifted over to Harper then back to me.
“You didn’t say anything about having a girlfriend too, you slut. ”
Harper walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Tootsie, are you keeping me a secret? I’m so hurt,” she said in a sickeningly sappy voice, before laughing.
“Oh, for Dax to be so lucky to land the likes of me. No, I’m her best friend and I’m looking for a place to hide out while a rival MC is coming after me to get to her. ”
Both Tilly and Gator looked shocked at Harper’s declaration. “Ah, why don’t you come in? This doesn’t sound like the type of thing to talk about on the porch,” Tilly suggested, shoving Gator into the house.
“Wait a minute, you’re Dax, Two Tricks’ enforcer?” Gator blurted, finally connecting the dots. “Don’t tell me those idiots convinced you to make a deal with them to get Tricks on board.”
Tilly sighed and waved her arms to herd us deeper into the house toward the kitchen. “This conversation’s going to need coffee. It’s way too goddamn early for this.”
“Yeah, sorry about the early drop in, the guys are fucked in the head and think being up with the sun is a good thing,” I muttered as I plopped down at the kitchen table.
Mutt, Tilly’s second husband, walked into the kitchen, toweling off his hair. “Teetee, did I hear the doo—”
He halted when he saw us sitting at the table and I gave him a little wave. “Morning.”
“So, you did survive your face off with Void. Gotta say I’m impressed.” Mutt grinned before walking up to Tilly and kissing her on the cheek. “You have a girls’ day planned or something?”
Tilly smiled and squished his face with her hands before planting a kiss on his lips. “This is why I love you, ya mangy Mutt. Dax was just about to tell us what prompted this visit and I’m gonna make more coffee, since I’m assuming, you ladies, would want some?”
“You are a fucking angel,” I said with a wink.
“I think caffeine is the only way I’m going to make it through this day,” Harper grumbled. “Seems that the tiny one has been holding out on me about the dark side of her life.”
“Yeah, I’m not sticking around for girl talk,” Gator stated, as he headed out of the kitchen.
“Wait, I’m gonna need to ask a favor and you all have to be on board with it,” I called, halting Gator in his tracks.
He peered at me over his shoulder, narrowing his gaze at me. “Why don’t I like the sound of that?”
“Full disclosure, The Mad Dogs and the De León Cartel are coming for me. They tried to kidnap Harper to use as leverage. Obviously, I got her out of that situation, but I need a safe place for her to stay until I can find something better suited,” I shared.
“Oh, and I might want to mention that I’m not just Tricks’ enforcer—”
“What does that mean?” Gator demanded, narrowing his eyes.
“Ah, well you see… I am Two Tricks.”
The three of them gawked at me, but so far, the information was going over better than expected.
“You gotta be shitting me.” Tilly laughed.
“Why the fuck am I not more surprised? Guess it only makes sense. There’s no way anyone else could get those five idiots wrapped around their finger.
” She paused and then her eyes widened. “Holy shit, do they know they kidnapped the one person they were trying to make a deal with?”
Now it was my turn to laugh, seeing her come full circle with what me being Two Tricks meant. “Apparently, we’re supposed to have a talk about it at some point today.”
“Which is how we ended up on your doorstep so early in the day. Dax’s level of emotional avoidance is top notch,” Harper added.
“You keep saying shit like that and I’ll leave you out in the wild for someone to come find you,” I threatened.
“Why us?” Mutt asked, leaning against the counter, frowning at me.
Great, now I’ve pissed off the cheerful one of the two of them. I hate having to play nicey-nice.
“We can make it work in the guys’ house, but that would put her right at ground zero for plans to attack both parties.
If something were to happen again, I want her to have as much plausible deniability as she can.
Tilly is a fellow badass bitch, who won’t be easy to mess with or fool, and you two are married to her.
Therefore, in my brain, it makes you good people.
And my guys also agreed she’d be safe here,” I answered.
“Your guys, hmm?” Harper whispered, jabbing me with her elbow. “Does everyone in a motorcycle gang have multiple partners?”
Tilly glanced at both her men before answering. “I wouldn’t say it’s typical, or even normal, but you don’t join an MC if you’re prone to following the rules. Gator and I didn’t plan on me falling in love with Mutt, or the two of them becoming as close as brothers, but it did and we’re happy.”
“God, seeing Dax with those men fawning all over her, and now you with your hunky duo, makes me think the rest of the world is missing out,” Harper said wistfully. “I get it though. If you don’t want to be saddled with me since we don’t know each other at all, I’ll manage at the house with them.”
“Let Mutt and I talk it over with Eagle and the others before we give you our answer. If I’m going to put my family in danger, I need to know the whole situation,” Gator announced, leaving the possibility open. “It’s just temporary, right?”
I nodded. “I’m going to reach out to my contacts to get her to one of my safe houses with some bodyguards. It would only be a few days, or less, depending on how fast I can get things moving.”
Gator grunted and exited the kitchen, followed by the sound of the front door.
“Twenty bucks he’s going to talk to them now,” Tilly challenged, wagging her brows at me.
“Pfft, it’s stupid to take a bet when I already know the answer to that is yes.” I snorted.
“Wise move.” Mutt chuckled. “I would avoid any bets with her in the future, she’s wicked crafty.”
“Babe, don’t you have work or something to get to?” Tilly asked, frowning at her husband.
He smiled up at her then stood. “Looks like that’s my signal to leave.” Giving us a salute and Tilly a quick kiss, he headed out.
“Now that we have the house to ourselves, what do you want to do?” Tilly asked, handing Harper and I mugs of coffee.
I tapped my fingers on the mug as I thought. “The guys want to have some big conversation about our feelings and where do we see this relationship going type thing. So, I’m game for anything that keeps me from dealing with that any time soon.”
“Any good beaches around here? I could go for some R ‘n R after what I’ve been through,” Harper suggested.
“Hmm, that could work.” Tilly grinned. “How do you feel about getting smuggled out of here?”
Leaning forward, I returned her grin with my own. “You’re talking my language. What do you have in mind?”
“So one of my jobs is to bring parts that need to be worked on by Sprocket and his team here. I head out every Wednesday, and typically while I’m out in LA, I do some shopping since out here in bumfuck we don’t have much variety.
So really, all you need to do is hide out in the bed of my truck until we get past all the surveillance and we’re home free. ”
“Yeah, but they know we’re here with you. Wouldn’t it be odd to have you just leave us?” Harper asked.
Tilly frowned and slumped forward on the table. “Well fuck.”
“Guys, we’re counting on the fact that they will even notice Tilly leaving. Diversion anyone?” I explained pulling my phone out and hit Brian’s number.
“Dax, what’s wrong?” Brian answered on the second ring.
Harper snorted at his alarm. “Nothing’s wrong except that I’m hiding out with some goddamn morning people.”
“They’re still alive?”
“For now. They keep giving me coffee and food,” I said, shaking my head at how well this man knew me.
“Look, I need you to do something for me. Tricks is calling a meeting for some major news and wants to share it personally and picked out this crazy location. I’m gonna give you the coordinates, and I need you to send someone to do a flyby to make sure the area is safe.
You know what, the location from what I heard is pretty extensive so send two guys up in helicopters to scout it out.
Keep this between us for now. Once we get the details settled, we’ll be announcing it to the Empire. ”
“Sure thing, boss. Is this about the De León Cartel?” Brian questioned.
“That’s part of it, but a lot more is going on than you know. I promise that all your questions will be answered when that meeting happens. Text me when the guys are in the air, so I know it’s getting done.”
“Will do,” Brian answered then hung up.
Tilly and Harper looked at me with shocked expressions as I texted Brian where to send the pilots. I wasn’t sure why that kept happening, it wasn’t like I was acting any different.
“You can get two helicopters in the air like that?” Harper asked, snapping her fingers.
“That’s what you call a diversion? Goddamn, woman, you’re going to create utter chaos when they fly over,” Tilly blurted.
I cocked my head to the side as I frowned at them. “It’s not that big of a deal, guys. I’ve come up with way more involved ideas. No one gets shot or stabbed in this situation, just a little flyby and chaos.”
“The fact that you can’t see the crazy you just said is kind of impressive. How have you been able to hide this from me all these years?” Harper demanded.
“If you think that’s crazy talk, then I need to get you away from here as fast as possible,” I said, sitting back in my chair and sipping on my coffee. “As for hiding it from you, well, I’ve become somewhat of a master after hiding it from the world for six years.”
Tilly let out a huff of laughter. “Tad bit on the dramatic side there, don’t you think, Daxie?”
“Still doesn’t make it untrue. I got the shit beat out of me many times until I learned to be this scary.
That didn’t happen overnight. I took lessons from anyone who would take pity on me, until I could beat them.
Then when I started to get more blood on my hands from friends and foes, people left me alone, knowing they’d lose a body part.
Some still saw the outward appearance of a tiny female though.
” I shrugged, as I remembered working through the pain of losing my brother by working my body to its limit.
“What happened to those guys?” Harper hedged; her eyes wide with rapt interest.
“Let’s say that a black ace of spades playing card shoved into their dead mouth made it known I wasn’t going to tolerate being fucked with anymore. That’s when I made myself the enforcer. Everyone was scared shitless of me and I could keep tabs on everything happening in my empire.”
Tilly let out a low, impressed whistle. “What do you think’s gonna happen when they find out you’ve been Tricks all along?”
“Is hoping for a fruit basket too much?” I smirked.
My phone chimed, letting me know that the choppers were in the air. “Well, if we’re gonna do this, then I think it’s best if we pack whatever we want to take with us. They’ll be over us in about a half hour.”
“Harper, I think you’d be able to fit into one of my suits. Dax on the other hand…” Tilly said, glancing down at my itty-bitties.
“Yeah, yeah, not all of us can be blessed with the need for boulder holders like the two of you,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest. “Just remember that I get to wear all the backless, strapless clothes you guys can’t,” I stated, sticking out my tongue.
“Thanks, Tilly, I’d be happy to wear whatever you’ve got to share.” Harper smiled, ignoring me entirely. “Should we make any food to take with us?”
“Why would we need to do that?” I questioned. “We’ll just get food at the beach, oh and something alcoholic! Did you know they make adult popsicles now?!”
“God, why does that sound amazing? Okay, Harper, come with me to pick out a suit, then we’ll pack the truck and be ready to roll out when the choppers get here,” Tilly exclaimed with an excited clap of her hands.
It didn’t take us too long to grab everything we needed, toss it in the back of the truck and snap the back bed cover over it so no one would notice.
Tilly even had a cooler for us to keep our popsicles frozen when we picked them up.
Just as we piled into the truck, I got a heads-up that the flyby would be happening any moment.
I made sure they were going to circle the area a few times, but not directly over the compound.
The wump, wump, wump, sound of the helicopter could be heard overhead, and Tilly started up the truck.
“Just drive like nothing is going on and once we’re out of the gate, pedal to the metal,” I instructed, as I hunkered down low in the back bench seat with Harper.
She rolled down the windows and turned up “Bohemian Rhapsody” as we made our way to the main drag of the compound.
Everyone from the clubhouse and the garage were rushing out into the center, guns at the ready, letting us take the roundabout way with them none the wiser.
When we reached the front gate, all it took was a shout and a wave from Tilly, and we were free and on our way to the beach.