“I’m not going with you.” Alder takes a step back, bringing him closer to the trap door.
“I think you are,” Grumbler growls menacingly from behind him. “You can walk or I’ll fuckin’ carry you.”
With his gammy leg I think it will need more than just him, Alder’s not a small man. But it seems having Salem’s hands on him were enough, as he arranges his features into a defeated scowl, and starts to move toward the doorway.
I follow, working out the logistics of transport in my head, thanking fuck we brought the trucks. I’ll be going with Alder as I’m not taking my eyes off him, not when I’m this close to removing the threat to my old lady once and for all. It’s not that I don’t trust my men, I want to take full responsibility.
“I’ll go get the truck,” Curtis offers. I thank him with a raise of my chin, and he pushes past.
More leisurely, to give Curtis a few moments head start, we step out of the restaurant and emerge under a sky that’s lightening, weak sunlight already filtering through from under a wispy cloud. It’s another gorgeous San Diego morning. I scan left and right, but it’s still early, and the area is deserted. In the distance there are sounds of the city awakening, and already the noise of engines from the planes flying overhead.
The truck comes into sight. I watch Alder’s face; he isn’t giving much away. His look is more calculating than defeated.
I can’t fucking wait to start getting answers from him, with Salem’s help. The most burning one, of course, is why he’s been so intent on finding my old lady.
I’m still staring at him when a perfect round hole appears in his forehead, and he drops to the ground.
Pennywise launches forward, immediately feeling for a pulse.
“He’s fuckin’ dead.”
“What the fuck?” Dart leaps forward as Curtis gets out of the truck leaving the engine running. Both join the rest of us standing bemused around the dead body at our feet.
One second, two… Then I start moving. “Get Enrico in the truck.”
“What do you want to do with him?” Salem asks.
“Put him in the restaurant then close it up.” Just one more dead body that I suspect will be found soon. But we’re all wearing gloves and hopefully have left no evidence to connect them to us.
As my instructions are followed, I notice Token staring at his phone. When he shows me the screen there’s an alert that’s come up. It simply says:
Pennywise is good. I’m better.
“Get back to the fuckin’ compound.” I don’t have a word to describe how furious I am. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this angry in my life.
As I sit in the front seat, and Dart gets in the driver’s side as Curtis is watching Enrico in the back, I’m fuming. Alder’s dead. Quick and clean. He never knew what was happening, never had a chance to suffer my retribution. My hands clench and unclench. I needed this. Needed to kill him myself.
Now he can’t give me answers.
Now he can’t pay for his crimes.
“Church, now,” I roar as I enter the clubhouse.
It’s an instruction I barely need give as it seems everyone is as angry and discombobulated as I am.
Even as riled as I am, I pause to place my hand briefly on Smoker’s chair before going to my seat. He’s dead, and the motherfucker who took Alder down stopped me getting my revenge. We might have got the man who pulled the trigger, but not the one who gave the command.
“What the fuck was that, Token?”
He doesn’t pretend not to know what I’m talking about. “Fuck knows, Prez.” He slams his hand down. “Asshole has tech skills beyond anything I’ve seen.”
“He’s got sniper skills too,” Pennywise growls. “That’s what he meant. Fuck knows where he took that shot from.”
“He was there, waiting,” Token agrees. “He knew our every move and was watching and waiting.”
I try to calm myself down. “He wanted to take Alder out himself. Why? Didn’t he trust us?”
“He can’t have believed we’d work with Alder, could he?”
I glance at my VP. “I’ve no fuckin’ idea. Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Does it matter?” Niran asks, his tone measured and reasonable. “The man is dead.”
What matters is that I didn’t get the satisfaction of killing him. Or finding the answer to the mystery he took to his grave.
I bow my head and rub my eyes. Fuck, it’s late, or early, whichever way you want to look at it. Maybe Niran is right and I should just let this go. Looking up again, I note the tired looks on the faces around. Not a few are trying to hide their yawns.
“Alder’s gone. It’s over. Let’s go and get some rest.”
“What do you want to do about Enrico?”
“I doubt if he’s got anything useful to tell us, but tomorrow we’ll ask.” I raise my hardened eyes. “He condoned and facilitated that business for years. Can’t say he deserves any less than being dispatched to Satan.”
From the hollers of agreement around me, I almost feel sorry for the restaurant owner/criminal we’ve currently got in the brig. Brothers were denied taking their revenge out on Alder, so Enrico will suffer instead.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Patsy
“Lost?” I sit upright, glancing at the clock by the side of the bed, noticing it’s morning.
I’d tried to wait up for Lost, but he’d been out so late eventually I’d come to bed. I hadn’t expected to fall asleep, but it seems like I had.
As Lost removes his cut and then tiredly takes off his t-shirt, boots and jeans, I run my eyes over his body checking for any injury. There are none visible, even though he wears a pained look on his face.
“What happened, Lost?” I’m not certain he’s going to talk to me.
Still, without saying a word, he gets into bed, pulling my body against him. It’s only when my head is in its normal place, resting on his chest, he begins speaking, and my pillow vibrates.
“Alder’s dead.”
I gasp. “You killed him?”
He might have chuckled, but there’s derision in it instead of mirth. “Nah, babe. Not me. Not my men.”
“But he’s no longer able to bother me?” As the words sink in, it feels like an enormous weight has been lifted and I hardly dare believe what it means. “I’m free? Dan’s free? Dan can go back to being Connor again? Oh my God, Lost. This is amazing news.”
“Yeah, I suppose it is.”
“You’re not happy?” I ask, incredulously.
“He died before I could question him,” he replies grumpily. “Now we’ll never know why he was after you.”
“I don’t care. He’s gone. That’s all that matters to me.” He’s no longer a threat to me or my family. The implications start to sink in. “I can see Beth. Oh, Lost, do you see what this means? I can be there when my grandchild is born.” Impulsively I pull myself up and leaning over, kiss him. “This is the best news you could have given to me.”
He gives me a small smile. “I don’t like loose ends.”
A thought occurs to me. “Is everyone okay? No one hurt?”
“Everyone’s fine, babe. It’s just been a long night.”
He needs his sleep. I snuggle back into position again, but I can feel his heart racing, beating as fast as my own. On my part it’s because this man has righted my world. He’s done exactly what he said he would do, he’s taken on my enemy and kept me safe while he did. Do I feel sorry a man has been killed? A few months ago, I never thought I could be bloodthirsty, but Alder’s no normal man. It’s only by chance that the Devils found my son and rescued him, otherwise he’d be dead. I could never forgive him for that.
“Patsy.” Suddenly Lost moves, and I’m on my back with him looming over me. “I can’t sleep,” he tells me.
“I may have a remedy to help,” I brazenly reply.
“Fuck woman, have you any idea how much you mean to me? And you’re all mine now.”
His mouth
lowers, he takes my lips. Our tongues meet and dance, then he pulls away. Lifting the t-shirt of his that I wore to bed, he pulls it right off, feasting his eyes on my breasts, lavishing attention on my nipples, before telling me, “Gonna eat you out now.”
Yes please.
Already familiar with my body he doesn’t need long before I’m twisting the sheets in my hands and crying out his name. Then, pausing only to don a condom, and apply lube, he’s inside me.
Both of us sigh.
He proceeds to do what he does so well, that bucking, twisting action with his hips. It’s not just his physical prowess, but when he meets my eyes, holding my gaze, signalling all the emotion he feels for me, mine signalling all of mine back, that makes our lovemaking something that could not be bettered.
We come, together. Then clutch at each other, holding each other close. Slowly our heart rates return to normal, then our breathing slows. Held tight in each other’s arms, we fall asleep together.
It’s an anti-climax in many ways, I think to myself, some hours later. Almost as if the last couple of days hadn’t happened. Lost has disappeared to talk to Token in his office, Dan’s gone with Salem to the hangar they’re converting into a custom bike workshop. Other brothers are hanging around, playing pool or just talking and drinking.
The atmosphere has changed, instead of quiet and secrecy, the men are speaking loudly again, mainly about bikes.
In one corner Pennywise is getting a tattoo on his arm.
The door opens, and a child’s cry has me turning around. Alex is walking in, preceded by a young boy I haven’t yet met, though who I’ve heard about, and a fussy baby in her arms. I hurry across to meet her.
“Can I take her?”
“Please do,” Alex laughs. “She’s teething. Poor kid has had it rough, temperature and a rash. That’s why I’ve not been around for a couple of days. Hey, Tyler. Say hello to Patsy.”
Tyler comes over with a swagger that reminds me of Dart. He stops in front of me and looks me up and down. “Pleased to meetcha,” he says at last.
“He’s nine, going on an old man.” Alex’s eyes are full of laughter, but also pride as she looks at her son.
“Can I go find Eva?” Tyler asks.
“Um, I think she’s busy right now,” I tell them, having seen her go off with Dusty awhile back.
“Hey, Ty. Come here a moment,” Blaze calls out, winking at Alex.
When the kid turns and strides across the room, I see the back of the cut he’s wearing. I adore it. It reads ‘Junior Prospect’, just as I’d been told.
“Dart tells me your problems are over,” Alex begins, waiting for my nod. “And that you’re sticking around. It will be so good to have another old lady here.” She views the room, then turns back and winks. “Who do you think we need to work on to increase our numbers? It would be good to have a few more old ladies.”
I do the same as her and examine the people in the room, realising in the short time I’ve been here, these men have become friends. But would any of them be in the market for an old lady? The idea makes me snort. “Do you think anyone would take any of this lot on?”
She giggles. “Let me just go drop this off, and then I’ll come back and relieve you of Isla.” She waves the bag at me as if to show me what ‘this’ is.
“I’m fine holding onto her. You take your time.” I lower my face and breathe in that unique baby scent, realising that in a few months I’ll be able to meet my grandbaby, and no one could stop me now. I could ring Beth. I freeze. It had become so ingrained in me that I couldn’t, for some insane reason, the thought of contacting her hadn’t entered my head. I decide I’ll do that as soon as I’ve handed back Isla.
The television above the bar is on, but no one’s paying much attention to it, and I doubt anyone knows even what program is playing, until Pennywise’s shout.
Blaze turns the tattoo gun off, and now we can hear what the newscaster is telling us.
“The DEA have today found a tunnel entrance in a restaurant in San Diego. Initial reports show it goes to Tijuana in Mexico. It appears to have been the site of a mass killing earlier today which the DEA are initially putting down as fighting between rival gang members. The tunnel was discovered as a result of an anonymous tip-off. No drugs were found on the premises, but it’s likely that drugs were smuggled in this way.”
“You practicing to be a grandparent, babe?” Lost puts his arms around me and smiles down at the baby in my arms who’s sucking her thumb.
“Did you see that?” I nod toward the television.
“They’re always finding tunnels or stopping smugglers,” he replies, seeming to be unconcerned.
“Yes, but…”
He cuts off what I was going to say by kissing me. When someone wolf whistles he shows them the finger.
“Fuck, it’s like watching your parents,” Deuce complains.
“Then look away,” Lost replies unrepentantly, and kisses me again.
“Get a room.” That’s Blaze. “I can’t concentrate.” He pretends to cover his eyes.
I glare at Kink as he starts to open his mouth. “You can’t say anything,” I call over to him. “Not when you drag naked women around in here.”
Grumbler comes over and slaps Lost’s back. “She’ll do,” he says, with a wide grin on his face. “She’ll fuckin’ do.”
“She will that.” Lost cups his hands around my face, then touches his forehead to mine.
When he pulls back, there’s an intense look in his eyes. Then he takes a deep breath and reaches for a bag he must have carried out and placed on the table behind him. The bag I saw Alex carrying in earlier. He opens it and takes something out.
It’s a leather cut. On the front it has a patch which says ‘First Old Lady’, and on the reverse, ‘Property of Lost’.
It’s a moment with all the seriousness of a wedding ceremony but with none of the normal trappings. The television has been switched off and he’s distracted me sufficiently I’ve forgotten what I’d been watching. The room has gone completely silent, so much so you could hear a pin drop. In the periphery of my vision I see Salem and Dan have returned, even the club girls have put in an appearance. But everyone seems to be holding their breath.
“You gonna stay in San Diego, Patsy?”
Lost takes in air and holds it.
I realise I could go back home. But Colorado isn’t home anymore. My daughter lives there, but I can visit her any time I want. Home is here. With Lost.
“Yes.”
He lets his breath out.
With shaking hands I reach out and Lost reverently holds the cut so I can put my arms through it, then holds onto it until it rests on my shoulders. I know I’ll have to thank Alex as it fits perfectly.
“I take you as my ol’ lady,” Lost says, quietly.
“I take you as my old man,” I respond.
“I pronounce you Prez and First Old Lady,” Dart calls out.
“I’ll drink to that,” Dusty quips and raises his bottle.
Lost grimaces for a second, and I wonder what’s wrong until he says loudly, “Drink to us, but raise your glasses to Smoker. He should have been here to celebrate with us.”
“He is still fuckin’ here,” Brakes protests. “It will be years before the odour of nicotine fades.”
I might not laugh like some of the others, but even I have to smile at the truth in Brake’s words. I tell my old man earnestly, “He’d be happy for us, Lost. You know that.” And I’m already planning a send-off for him that no one will forget in a long time.
“I know,” he replies softly.
“Hey, who got those patches done? ‘Cause they’re wrong.”
“What the fuck?” Dart steps up to Bones, his posture threatening. “My ol’ lady doesn’t make mistakes. You need fuckin’ glasses?”
Bones looks over at me and winks. “She got it the wrong way around. It should read ‘Lost Property’, not ‘Property of Lost.’”
He cracks up, an
d a number of others chortle with him. I grin myself. Then going on tiptoe kiss my man’s cheek. “He’s right. I was lost, and you found me.”
“Wrong way around, babe,” Lost replies. “I was lost until you found me. Being lost became my way of life. Don’t feel lost anymore.”
The clubroom door opens again. As everyone’s here, we all turn automatically. I freeze to the spot, disbelieving, then my feet are moving, running across the room as two people appear.
I stop right in front of them, hardly daring to credit the evidence of my own eyes. “Bethany?” I start, hesitantly.
Her eyes are wide. “Mom?” Her hands reach out and turn me, reading the back of my cut. “You? Lost? Mom!” she squeals as she turns me back. “Mom? I said you might find yourself a man, but I didn’t expect… First old lady?” she recites the words on the front. Then her hands go to her hips. “Uh-huh. I find myself a biker. You had to go one better. You’ve snagged yourself a prez.”
She can’t keep the act up. Only a second passes before her arms come around me. As always I marvel I only just come up to her shoulders, and in our normal fashion, or ever since she was a teenager and put on her growth spurt, I let myself be hugged.
“Guess that answers that question, darlin’,” Ink drawls. “Patsy’s not coming back to Colorado.”
Ah. It hits me then that she might have expected me to. “Bethany, I’m sorry. I, well, decisions were made when it seemed I’d never be able to come back. I…”
“Don’t be silly, Mom. You’ve got a new life, and I’ve got Ink.” She links her arms through that of her man. “Everything will work out. We no longer need to ring or visit in secret. We’re only a few hours flight away, and you can come stay when the baby is born.”
“Try and keep me away. But, how did you know? How did you know it was safe to come?” I realised I’d been so pleased and so shocked, I hadn’t questioned her appearance.
“Lost rang Demon early this morning,” Ink explains. “We wanted to get the first flight we could manage to get seats on. Beth couldn’t wait to see you.”
Whereas I’m a bad mom. My first thought hadn’t been to contact my daughter. I hadn’t even called.
Being Lost: Satan's Devils MC San Diego #1 Page 38