“Can’t believe she did that to you buddy, and she staged that whole thing? Fuck, man.” The guy to his right says.
“Women will do anything these days to make us guys look vile.” The one on his left says.
Now he hasn’t said her name yet, or the girls’ but fuck if I don’t have a nasty gut feeling.
“What are you doing here?” The sounds of Aggie’s petrified voice causes me to spot her standing in the walkway, staring in the direction of the bar.
The man in the middle stands up and I walk closer to Aggie, showin’ her I’m here for her. From what I know, she doesn’t have a great opinion of her father. He too goes into the walkway and I take a step forward. “Keep your distance, buddy.”
“You know this guy?” Val asks me.
“Yeah, Val. This is the shitbag who put his hands on my woman.” I hiss, glarin’ in his direction. I wanna grab my gun and end this right now, but his daughter is right here. I can’t fuckin’ do that. She’d never be able to push it outta her mind.
“Who might you be?” He asks, starin’ me down like we’ve been lifelong enemies.
Aggie takes a couple steps forward, maybe only three feet away from her father now. “Why did you come here? Why did you come here after what you did . . .”
“And what is it you think I did?”
“I don’t think anything. I saw what you did. I was watching through the window in the kitchen. I saw the way you hit Mum, how you made her bleed and gave her the scar on her face. Why would you do that?!” Aggie screams, heading for her father. She starts to push him but he grabs her by the throat and wraps his hand around it.
I draw my gun and pull back the safety, “Let her go, now!” I roar, not in the mood to play games. We’re not gonna do this. We came here for the girls to have fun while we dealt with some club business.
Footsteps come up from behind me and Zane quickly appears in my view, his own gun drawn. “Daddy?” Davina’s voice appears out of nowhere. “What’re you doing to Aggie?”
I can’t see Aggie’s face, but she quickly kicks him. It’s enough to cause him to drop to the ground and hold his knee. Aggie runs right into my arms and I holster my gun, makin’ sure the safety is back on before doin’ so. She burrows her head into my chest and I quickly feel my shirt bein’ soaked. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold her tight. Even Davina comes up and hugs her. “It’s alright, girls. You’re both okay.” I tell them.
Davina even burrows herself into my chest like her sister has. “I suggest you get out of here before my good friend blows your brains to bits.” Val states, pullin’ out the shotgun she keeps under the bar. “Actually, I might be the one who does it. I am feelin’ a bit trigger happy today, pal.”
“Get out and don’t ever come back here,” I snarl in their father’s direction.
I want nothin’ more than to pull out my gun and end this all right now, but neither of these girls need to see me go that cold. Unbeknownst to Natalie, Aggie’s already seen the showdown between her parents. She saw far more than she should’ve and I can’t imagine how that’s scarred this little girl’s mind.
“You the man keepin’ my wife’s bed warm?” Their father asks.
I glare at him, wantin’ to say so much, but I don’t say a word. I don’t say a fuckin’ word ‘cause I know I’ll tell Zane to get the girls outta here before I end this motherfucker’s life.
“You’re never going to be their father,” he snickers.
“Jordyn, Nova. Take the girls outside.” Zane orders.
From the corner of my eyes I see them. Nova takes Davina and Jordyn comes up to my side when Aggie turns around, her face streaming with tears while also red with fury. “He’ll be a better dad then you ever were, you sick piece of shite. We don’t want you here!” Aggie runs out the back door where Nova just took her sister, and Jordyn follows closely behind.
“Well, it seems their mother’s rubbin’ off on her. I’ll have to rectify that.” Their dad snickers, lickin’ his bottom lip.
Zane digs into his pocket and hands me the keys to the van. “I’ll get a ride to her place. You get the girls outta here.”
“No, I can deal with this too.” I declare.
Zane looks me in the eyes and shakes his head, “No, you can’t be part of this . . . ‘cause if they ask you one day if you were I’m not gonna have you lyin’ to them. Now, get out of here.”
I do as my Prez says, takin’ the keys in my hand and I go outside to the van. The four girls get inside and I decide I’m gonna take the four of them straight to Natalie’s. Jesus. I can’t believe that just fucking happened. The selfish part of me wants to stay and make this guy suffer, but I’m also grateful to Zane for protectin’ the kids. They’d never be able to trust me ever again if they found out I killed their father.
Though, I’m pissed Zane will be the one with blood on his hands.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Before I met you, I didn’t know what it was like to be able to look at someone and smile at them for no reason.
~ The Love Bits
Natalie
Ashley, who I discovered is Blackjack’s wife, is the one who ended up paying me when I finished cooking. Zane and the boys were still out with the girls, so I packed up some of my stuff and took Sorcha out to the car. It’s crazy how the entire day flew by, but man, it was some intense work.
I don’t know why I was giving myself such a hard time in the beginning. The thought of working around Grim gave me a bit of anxiety, but now I realize that was so stupid of me to feel like that. I have a safe place to work, with good people, where I can bring the girls and not have to worry about them being too loud or causing a ruckus. It works out perfectly, even better than perfect if that’s possible.
The people at the club have some fresh meals pre-portioned for them in the fridge, and I put the rest in the freezer. Ashley asked about the rundown for how they should heat them up and whatnot before I left, but I simply showed her the note I left on the fridge. For each dish there’s a set of instructions on how to reheat them so nothing gets under, or overcooked.
Sorcha wanted some ice cream, and since I had a few bucks in the car we stopped at a small shop in town and picked up a cone for her before we went back to my little red trailer. Upon arriving, I noticed the van that left earlier is there. Finding it a bit odd Zane would be with Grim and the girls hanging out at my house, I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt and get Sorcha sorted as well.
Once I’m at the door I see the four girls and Grim, but no Zane. The girls are watching some sort of cartoon on the TV and Grim is in the kitchen, drinking a cup of hot coffee. “Where’s Zane?”
“He had some business to take care of. Said he’d get Jordyn and Nova when he was done.” He doesn’t go into details, though I can tell based on the way he’s standing and the tone of his voice something isn’t okay.
“Baby, go on over to your sisters.”
“Okay!” Sorcha says. She starts to run over and then comes to a halt before rushing over to Grim and wraps her arms around his legs. “I missed you!”
Again, she dashes off and as she’s going to sit beside Davina, I spot a light smile coming from him. “Everything alright?” I question, keeping my voice low so the girls won’t hear me. If one thing’s for certain, I’m beginning to realize that being part of the club is even more dangerous than I thought.
He nods, “Yeah, it’ll be fine.”
A heaviness settles in the pit of my stomach, almost like my gut is telling me that it won’t be. “You said you wouldn’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lyin’, I told you it’ll be fine, and it will.” He hisses. For the first time since we met, he’s just lost his temper.
I furrow my brows, getting closer to him. “Do you want to tell me what that was about?” Now I’m pissed too.
He sighs, “Your ex tracked you down. Aggie saw him and confronted him ‘bout some shit, ‘bout what he did to you. He grabbed her, and she got loose but . . . Natalie, if
it weren’t for the girls bein’ there I would’ve killed him. Do you understand that? I would’ve fuckin’ killed him for what he did.”
I don’t think I’ve even processed anything after he’s said David tracked me down. The heaviness in my gut now swarms through my chest and up my throat. I came here because I was certain he wouldn’t follow me, so why has he?
“He wanted to take the girls from the sounds of it and hurt you for faking what you did.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what I overheard him sayin’ to his buddies, that you faked the attack. But Java . . . Aggie heard it too. She confronted him.”
“She didn’t have to do that.” I mutter, running my hand across my lips in concern. Thank God she’s alright.
“She saw it, Nat. She saw what he did to you. That’s why she hates that fucker so much, ‘cause she got an eyeful of what he did.”
“There’s no way. She was watching her sisters, keeping them away from the door.” I explain, remembering exactly what I told her to do.
“She might’ve kept them away, sweetheart . . . but there’s no way she was lyin’ about that. I saw the look on her face, how angry she was.”
“Christ. I had no idea.” I murmur, turning my head to look at my darling Aggie who’s sitting on the floor with her friends. “Where is he now?” Immediately I’m concerned for other reasons. Is he going to hurt us? Is he going to try and take the girls away from me? Hell, is he going to try and kill me? So many thoughts are running through my mind right now.
“Not sure,” Grim says, looking to the ground.
This seems a little hard to believe. “I know you didn’t just let him go. You’re . . . you’re protective of us, Grim, and I see that.”
“Damn straight, but I’m not lyin’ to you. I don’t know where he is, but I’m certain he won’t be botherin’ you anymore.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Zane told me to leave and bring the girls here. He didn’t want it to be on me. He didn’t want me to lie to you, so I’m assumin’ that naturally he’s dealin’ with him. He left a nasty mark on Aggie’s neck . . . and Zane doesn’t tolerate child abuse, Java. But don’t worry ‘bout any of that. Just breathe easier, ‘cause he won’t be fuckin’ with you or the girls at all. I’m certain of it.”
I don’t know how to react. On one hand I should be upset Zane went to physical violence, or god knows what else to deal with David . . . though selfishly, I’m happy. I’m so happy to know he won’t be in our lives anymore and that I won’t ever have to glance over my shoulders and be wondering if he was going to come after us.
“Is he going to kill him?” I whisper.
Grim shrugs, “I doubt it.” His tone is so serious, but a part of me deep inside knows Grim wouldn’t tell me even if Zane would. He’d do whatever it takes to protect this family, and I’m so happy for that. Closing in on the distance between us, I wrap my arms around his torso and hold onto him. Shortly, his own arms are around my back, holding me against him. He rubs his hand over the back of my head. “Java, you won’t ever have to worry ‘bout a thing. You hear? I’m always gonna protect you. All of you.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Darling, some people have a twisted sense of beauty
~ Morticia Addams
Grim
It’s two weeks later and we’re finally on the paved roads that’re home to the notorious Stonewall University. We took Axel’s decked out truck all this way, leavin’ a few days after we wanted to because Zane requested, we stick around for a minute. With the way shit went south with the General, he didn’t feel right letting us leave. Not when we still don’t know who his boss is. We still don’t, but it’s only a matter of time until we do.
We stopped and got gas at a station on the campus, leavin’ the truck there while we walk around. It’s just startin’ to get dark so we grabbed dinner at the Italian restaurant on campus. The food was some of the best food I’ve ever eaten in my life. I wonder how many grandmothers they have cookin’ up a storm in that place. We took the opportunity to ask some questions about Halloween a few weeks back.
Ruby was able to give me the name of the party she went to, considerin’ it was a sorority’s party she was leaving. Though, Zorro was the one askin’ the pressin’ questions, like if there are any troublemakers around and all that. I was hopin’ to get here with a little time to get a scope on the place before we put a target on our backs. Zorro didn’t get the memo. He just wants to fuck up the pieces of shit who came after Rub’, and I can’t blame him for it. Axel and I may look like we have our cool, but we’re fuming.
So far, everyone has been tightlipped. I don’t know why. However, it’s evident something is going on in this place. The campus isn’t insanely packed because we’re nearing Thanksgiving and I’m sure loads of kids have already gone back home to their families. It’s exactly the reason the three of us wanted to leave two weeks ago, so we’d be able to figure out who actually did this.
Rub’ and I had a discussion before we left about this Scorpio Society that she’s part of. It doesn’t make loads of sense to me, but at the same time it does. They’re a cult of sorts who want to have power, and the only way to have power is to ensure your people are some of the best of the best. Rub’ has been a dual major for marketing and business administration. She started selling CBD gummies online and a drop shipping campaign before she even finished her first year of college. I was super proud of her for getting a leg up under her business. Only now did she tell me the society helped fund her startup, and the advertising going behind it. She’s in bed with them and can’t get out. I asked her what the goal was for them, and she told me about the power and whatnot . . . but she ended up givin’ me more information I wasn’t expecting.
They want to get her company so high up there that the public can start taking stock in it, and since they own a share of the company . . . that’ll only help fill their pockets even more.
Axel decided after dinner to head over to the gas station and see what sort of information he could discover. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. They knew a girl was attacked on campus, but after that they wouldn’t say jack shit. He said the girl behind the counter seemed nervous, constantly lookin’ around the store like a demon was gonna come out of the walls.
If you ask me, there’s somethin’ fishy goin’ on in this place and I don’t like the way that makes me feel. Fuck, if it’s makin’ me feel this way I can’t even imagine the way Ruby feels.
Zorro, Axel, and I split up one last time before we decided to meet back at the truck. Axel and I went to two fraternities, while we sent Zorro to the sorority close by. He’s the pretty boy, so we’ll let the girls talk their ears off to him.
Again, nothing. Only awkward silence and glances between others.
They’re hiding somethin’ here, and I don’t like it.
We’re finally back at the truck, all of us more pissed than I can even express. “Those pieces of shit are hiding something, brothers.” Zorro snarls, clenching his jaw as he peers through the windows.
“I don’t disagree,” Axel says.
I haven’t told these two about the society because Rub’ asked me not to. If either of them knew, they wouldn’t give anything up. They’d wanna stay here until every last person is dead or find a way to get her out. Unlike these two, I know that when you’re stuck in something— you’re stuck. There is no getting out.
While my annoyance and disappointment festers in my mind, I have an idea. It’s a bad one. One that I won’t be tellin’ anyone about except the man in question.
Dex is startin’ school here in the fall. He could do some recon and see what he can figure out. Especially since his uncle is the dean and whatever. If anything, people will automatically view him as an insider. They won’t keep up this tightlipped shit like they are with Zorro, Axel, and I.
This is the best plan I have, and I’ll be havin’ a private discussion with Dex when no one is listenin’.
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Dex will be the best chance we have at findin’ who did this. Hell, he might be the only shot we have.
“This might sound a bit fucked up, but I’m glad we all came out here together.” Axel mutters, pullin’ me from my thoughts.
“Reminds me of the old days,” Zorro adds.
I nod, agreein’ with the both of ‘em. “Sometimes I wish it was. Not with Shiloh, but back and simple. ‘Cause it used to be so simple. Didn’t it?”
“Hell yeah. The three of us always had each others’ backs.” Zorro comments.
Axel clears his throat, glancin’ between the two of us. “Why can’t it go back that way? We’re all done with Shiloh. Grim, fuck, man . . . you’re movin’ on with Natalie. I don’t see why we gotta hold onto the past. Shiloh sure as fuck isn’t. Hell, she eye fucks Hammer from across the room.” Axel grumbles.
“It’s fuckin’ annoying as hell.” Zorro snarls. “She didn’t even have a conversation with us, sayin’ she didn’t wanna be a clubwhore anymore.”
“Don’t even get me started on that shit. At least it’s done and over with now.” I tell them, both grumbling in agreement.
“Can we agree to leave the past in the past? I’m tired of fuckin’ with you.” Zorro asks.
“You didn’t have to fuck with me in the first place!”
“It was too hard to resist.” Zorro chuckles, getting a snicker from Axel too.
“My man. It’s so easy with him. Am I right?” Axel asks.
Zorro doesn’t respond, but his laughter fills the cab of the truck. Once the laughter fades, I look to both of the men here with me. “How do you two wanna handle this? We stickin’ around for a few days to find them?”
“No one will say shit to us.” Axel states, and he isn’t wrong.
“We’re not from here and they know it. They’re fuckin’ pussies ‘cause I saw the way they were looking over their shoulders.”
Mayhem: A Reapers MC Boxset Page 55