11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
SHERIDAN
I t had been a long ass week in the clubhouse with Butch and Maree back, and things starting to settle. Cooper had been introducing me to a lot more of what the charter was about and how they made their money. I didn’t exactly love the idea of having the girls around the criminal aspects, but I knew they’d never be in trouble here. Everyone would look out for them. We were all a family.
Maree was one of my favourite people in the world. She’d come along well after I had stopped coming by, but she was a firecracker and I absolutely adored her. She was currently sipping on a very traditional Irish coffee and regaling us with a story about her cousin down in Wales, which had been where she and Butch had been holidaying while everything had been going on.
My eyes moved up to the movement of the doors opening to the clubhouse and immediately my smile fell as I looked over at the newcomer. Orla spun around and I saw the anger pour into her features. Maree turned next, and then looked back over at me. She downed the rest of her coffee, heavy on the whiskey, and stood up.
“That’s the bitch?” Maree asked, looking over at the skinny woman who just walked in. I nodded, keeping my eyes down on the ground. I could barely look at the woman. Knowing why she’d done it only hurt me more.
Cooper had promised me that it meant nothing, she was a thing to play with while he’d been away, but he never actually cared about her. For some reason, that had made me feel worse.
Maree moved around the side of the bar and grabbed something from under the counter. I looked over as the girl, Mana, cowered in the doorway. Ever since they’d found out what she had done, they’d set about finding her. Now, Savage stood with her at the doorway, blocking her exit. I almost felt for the girl, or would have if my cheek didn’t hurt every time I tried to move it. The bruise was nasty, even Cooper had lost his shit when he saw me black and blue again. If it weren’t for Mana divulging our secrets and my location to my fucking ex-husband who had targeted the club, the very club she was part of, then this wouldn’t have happened.
I should be as mad as Cooper. He wasn’t here purely because we knew she would be coming here. He had never hit a woman before, but he told me he was going to look past that rule for her. I told him it was best he went back to the house and left it to me.
Mana looked at me, her lip quivering when she saw my face. “I’m so sorry.”
I wanted to say it was okay, that she didn’t know what she was doing, but I knew better. She’d done it because she wanted Cooper to herself. She’d done it to get me out of the way.
“Savage, it’s time you stepped aside,” Maree said to him. He looked over at me for confirmation before I nodded and he stepped back from the girl. She looked over at him, almost for help, but he looked away. She knew what was coming. So did I, but for the first time, I didn’t want to help her. Maree grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her back. She screamed as the pain ripped through her scalp and she fell back onto the ground, about the time Maree pulled back with the bat and bashed her in the side of her stomach. Manna let out a terrified scream, followed by a painful howl as she lurched over to cover her injured side. Maree whaled on her, using the bat over and over again until blood sprayed all around the room from her injuries.
Maree dropped the bat, now splattered with blood, and stood over the trembling and weakened body of the girl. A few months ago I would have felt bad, I would have run in to stop this from happening, but I understood the betrayal that she’d cast on the club with what she’d done. No one rats in the club. No one goes outside the club.
Mana broke the rules.
“Pl-please,” she begged Maree, holding her hands up.
Maree was ruthless, grabbing her by the hair and yanking her up to her feet again. She pushed her out the door and off the porch. A loud thud could be heard all the way into the bar where I stood. Curiosity got the best of me and I followed them outside. Maree had a blade in her hand. It was one of Savage’s, I recognised the design on the side. He stood to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked so intimidating when he did that, but I knew he was a softie at heart. He was to me and my girls anyway.
“You scrawny, no-good whore,” Maree said, her voice darkening with every word. She grabbed at Mana’s arm and pulled it up, causing Mana to scream out in pain as the shoulder was pulled from its socket. She clutched at it, trying to push it back in but Maree’s hold on her was too great. With a sadistic sense of glee, I watched as Maree cut into the tattoo that represented she was part of the club and cut around the skin, peeling it back from her arm. Mana let out a horrified scream as she watched her skin being peeled from her arm, unable to do a damn thing about it. When it was done, Maree let go of her arm and threw the piece of skin in the dirt. The logo of the Ghost Rebels lay there, looking up at me. Mana rolled around, clutching at her arm in agony as she sobbed for mercy.
“Mercy?” Maree turned back. “You ask for mercy after what you’ve done, you cunt?”
Maree threw Savage’s blade up in the air, caught it again and marched back to Mana, slamming the blade down into her chest. Mana’s sobs were cut off as her life drained from her. Maree made a move to come back inside, stomping on the skin laying in the dirt and grinding it in the dirt further. She grabbed my arm and looped hers through mine, leading me back inside.
“Savage, take out the trash, will you?” she called out over her shoulder.
Ruthless. Maree was ruthless.
And for the first time since I came here, I understood what it meant to be an old lady, and I was starting to learn just how ruthless I could be.
ACE
Maree, Orla and Sheridan were all sitting at the bar, laughing as if nothing had happened today. Savage had told me exactly what happened with Amanda and I was more than a little impressed that Sheridan had been okay with it, and more than a little turned on that she had laid her claim to me, even if Maree had done the dirty work.
“Where are the girls?” I asked Sheridan.
“They’re at the bonfire around the back,” she said. “We’ve just been waiting for you guys to get back before we head out there too.”
“Let me just close the front door,” I said, grabbing my keys. “No one should be coming, but you can never be careful.”
Sheridan moved off with Orla and Maree out the back door while I locked up. Kendrick was running up to the door when I was about to close it, half out of breath, half crazed.
“What is it?” I demanded to know.
“I just got word from Brogan,” he said, panting. “He made bail. He’s out.”
Fear flooded through my entire body at those words as realisation dawned on me. I moved out the back to find Sheridan and the girls. He would come here for them. I know it.
I looked around the club members, frantic, to find my family. “What is it?” Hawk came over to me, sensing my distress.
“Fucker made bail,” I ground out. “Where the fuck are the girls?”
Hawk and I made our way through the throng of members partying and having a good time, completely unaware of the danger that lurked.
“Surely the fuck wouldn’t come here,” Bear said after being brought into the fray. “We’ll kill him on sight.”
“Where are they?” I asked, looking around, almost blinded by the large fire in the pit.
“Ryleigh’s over there with Sheridan and Maree,” Hawk said, pointing.
“Where’s Shauna?” I heard Chains grumble from behind me. I turned to see his eyes darker than I’d seen them in a long while. “She was just fucking here.”
“Spread out,” I called to them. Everyone jumped to action, Kirby running over to let the girls know to look for Shauna and the reason. I saw the fear in Sheridan’s eyes.
Everyone began to look around the compound, our lands spread out into the woods so it was going to be really fucking easy for him to hide.
The fucker.
The sound of wheels screeching had us running out to shouting and panic. I ran down the side of the clubhouse to get to the front of the compound where I saw Neal in a car, behind the wheel as a guy tried to drag Shauna into the back seat. She was clawing at his face and scratching his eyes as she screamed.
Chains ran ahead, a large chain in his hands, as he whipped the chain around the guy’s throat and yanked. Immediately Shauna was let go just as the guy was pulled from the car by the chain, neck first.
Chains continued to pull, squeezing the life from the guy’s body, before he slumped to the ground. Upon seeing that, Neal took off, his tires burning rubber against the gravel of the drive. I watched as Chains grabbed Shauna and held her close, safely bringing her back to where we were. I’d seen him brutally attack before, but I’d never seen him do it without an order from me. I saw the way he had looked at Shauna, the way he had killed the guy without hesitation just for touching her.
If she wasn’t sixteen, I would be more than happy to give consent for them, knowing what he was willing to do in order to protect her, but I couldn’t do that. She was my daughter now. I had to make the tough decisions that would keep her alive, and safe.
Chains delivered Shauna to Sheridan who hugged her tightly as the boys descended on me.
“We need to figure out a way to fucking end this fucker,” Hawk swore. “This can’t go on.”
“He’s on bail so if we kill him, it’ll blow back on the club.”
“We need twenty four fucking seven surveillance on those girls until he goes to trial,” Bear declared.
“I’m all in,” Chains said.
The rest of the members all agreed.
“Go to your family,” Hawk urged. “We got this, prez.”
I nodded, moving over to the three of them who were still hugging, Sheridan’s tears rolling down her cheeks. I hated that I couldn’t fix this for her. My murderous rage was rising with each passing tear down her cheek.
“Let’s go home,” I told them.
“We’re safer here,” Sheridan admitted. “The girls can stay in our room, and we’ll stay up.”
I nodded, realising she was probably right. As much as I wanted to be home with all of them, the clubhouse was more protected and everyone was here. Neal wouldn’t be able to get through, especially now that I could hear Hawk calling a lockdown. Every member would be arriving soon and we’d hole up until the threat was over.
Would it ever be over? So long as Neal Foley lived, we were always going to be looking over our shoulder.
He needed to die.
I called Brogan once the girls were settled inside and laying down. He couldn’t keep the fucker out of jail given what he just tried, and we had CCTV footage.
“He fucking what?” Brogan yelled down the line. “That fucking judge is going to fucking hear it, Cooper. Okay, bring them down and make a statement. I’ll send a warrant out for his arrest again. He won’t be getting off this time.”
I hung up and made a beeline for Sheridan. “Shauna needs to make a statement at the police station. Hawk, me and you will take her down. Ryleigh can stay here with the boys.”
Shauna nodded in agreement, her eyes red and puffy from her tears. Hawk grabbed the truck and pulled it around for them to get in and we rode down to the police department together. We kept our eyes open for any sneak attacks from the bastard, but it didn’t look like he was going to be watching us that closely. His plan failed. He would try and flee.
If he knew what was good for him.
Hawk led Shauna inside with Sheridan while I stood with Brogan and relayed what had happened. He was furious, and for the first time, I respected the man who was trying to keep the streets clean of the filth that Neal let in.
“He won’t get out once we track him down,” Brogan said. “He’ll sit in a cell until his trial date. The only problem is, he has friends in high fucking places. He could get off with a simple five year sentence.”
“Let’s fucking hope that doesn’t happen,” I said. “He comes near my family, he’s toast.”
Brogan nodded. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear that. Go inside, Cooper, be with your family. This won’t take long.”