Fractured (Devil's SixGuns MC Book 2)

by Scarlett Holloway

  “I’m sure you and Mister Stud have bumped uglies a time or two.”

  “Oh dear God, Antonia.” Thorne laughed, trying not to turn red, but her cheeks felt warm, letting her know she was failing miserably at it. “I’m not pregnant. And did you know that Maggie had a daughter with Romeo?”

  Antonia blinked and looked away, lips pursing, then popping as he turned back to face Thorne. “I’m one of the few who did, yes. Rebel is a fiery thang, ain’t she?”

  Thorne’s lashes fluttered as she processed the fact that Antonia did know about her niece. “Why would she confide in you and not me or Amy?”

  Antonia leaned forward, his hand taking Thorne’s into his own. “Your parents were devout Catholics and thought the town would shun Maggie if they knew she was an unwed mother. They lived in the past, like they were in the fifties. Maggie wanted to tell Romeo and her family. Your parents told Stone and Gail because they wanted them to support the child in Romeo’s place. And they did. That little girl has never wanted for anything. She told me because I am Rebel’s godparent. I was supposed to get custody of Rebel at her death, but I refused and turned custody over to Romeo. That man needs stability in his life, and well, I’m too much of a whore right now to take care of a child. I admit that. Plus, it’s not fair to keep his child from him, nor from the only part of her mother that is left alive.”

  Thorne took in a deep breath, extracting her hand from under Antonia’s. “Is there anything sacred anymore with Maggie? Any more secrets I need to know about?”

  “Not that I know of, doll. If you’re going to be mad at anyone, it should be your parents. It was their wish to keep her hidden. They were ashamed of it, of the fact that Maggie got herself into that sort of situation. It was out of Maggie’s control.”

  Thorne slumped back into the booth, rubbing the heels of her palms into her eyes, praying the pressure would alleviate the headache she was getting. “This is some seriously whacked out Jerry Springer shit, Antonia.”

  Antonia snickered and took a drink of his coffee. “I was thinking more along the lines of Maury, unless you plan on going ghetto on someone.”

  “I already did that. Might have started a domino effect that has really pissed Romeo off.”

  He shook his head, “Mmm, girl. What did you do now?”

  “I kinda beat the shit out of the rival club’s president’s daughter, who is Dalton’s ex.”

  Antonia’s eyes grew wide, his mouth forming a large O as he stared at Thorne. “How bad?”

  Thorne ducked her face behind her napkin, then peeked over the edge of it. “Plastic surgery will be involved.”

  “Oh shit.” Antonia breathed out, leaning closer toward Thorne, his voice dropping to a whisper. “What’s going to happen?”

  Thorne leaned closer to match the whisper with her own. “Romeo’s afraid I started a war. But the bitch deserved it. She laughed at what they did to Maggie, bragged about it.”

  “You’re nicer than I am then. I’d have killed the bitch where she stood.”

  Thorne offered a sad smile with a small shake of her head. “I wanted to, Antonia. I really did. I wanted to grab Dalton’s gun and shoot her right between the eyes. But that’s not who I am. I save lives not take them.”

  “There’s a time and a place for everything, Thorne. That bitch will get hers. You just helped her along the way and gave her a taste of her own medicine. I hope for the club’s sake that they don’t retaliate.”

  “So do I.”

  “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”

  Thorne looked down at her hands, her body growing tight and warm at the thought of Dalton and the things he had done with her. She slowly nodded, finally admitting to herself that she was indeed falling for the man that showed her she could be loved.

  “Then keep him close. He must be a great guy to capture that ice-cold heart of yours. Oh!” Antonia snapped his fingers. “There is another secret I forgot to tell you.”

  Thorne groaned, her head falling back as her stomach sank at the idea of more bad news and secrets that had been kept from her. “What now?”

  Antonia leaned forward again, looking to the left then the right before he focused on her. His voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m really a man trapped in a woman’s body.”

  IT WAS CLUB FAMILY night at The Chipped Cup, and Apollo was dragging Thorne there whether she liked it or not.

  Her attitude had changed over the last couple of days, since she played plastic surgeon with Gabby’s face. Apollo seriously thought he was going to get his bottom rocker pulled from the brawl, but Wolf calmed Romeo down and explained the situation of what happened.

  Wolf and the boys wanted to surprise Apollo with a visit and saw Thorne speed off in a flurry. They rushed into the house and saw the damage done, knowing that the violation of Thorne’s sanctuary was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  Apollo rode bitch for a whole five miles behind Ghost to pick up his bike, and they ran the bikes like a bat out of Hell to get to Thorne before she did something she’d regret. They knew they were walking into TG territory, but since Thorne wasn’t an ol’ lady and didn’t have any sort of status, they hoped the TG would let the two women duke it out and be done with it.

  No one expected Gabby to go all Revenge of the Bitch on Thorne and spill the beans about her sister, acting like she got a thrill out of hurting someone innocent. Gabby got what she deserved, and Wolf admitted he thought he was going to have to take down Thorne as she eyed Apollo’s gun. But when she sliced and diced Gabby, everyone was in shock.

  Romeo took all of the information better than Apollo thought he would, glad he was still a fully patched member. All Romeo was worried about now was the TG striking back.

  Cut on, bike out in the driveway, Apollo was kicked back on his seat waiting for Thorne to come out of the house. His brows shot up as the door opened and she approached the bike. Skinny jeans, knee high boots, tank top, braided hair pulled back and in a bandana.

  Firing up the bike, he handed her his extra helmet and motioned her to climb on. Once he felt her weight settle on the back of his Street Glide, he headed for his mom’s diner.

  He almost lost control of the bike when he received a smack upside the head from Thorne, followed by her yelling, “Hold up! Why the hell are you wearing your cut? What if we get pulled over?”

  “What the hell?” He glared over his shoulder at her once he got the bike back under control. “I’m wearing it because I’m on my bike. Duh.”

  Once he pulled into the parking lot and stopped next to the other club bikes, he motioned for her to get off the bike, then walked it back into his spot before he turned off the engine. He set his helmet on the gas tank, placing hers on her seat.

  “You’re not allowed to wear it, Dalton. Are you trying to get into more trouble?”

  “I’m allowed to wear it.” Apollo tucked his glasses into the pocket of his cut.

  He watched realization dawn across Thorne’s face. His mouth twitched, trying to keep from smiling as the light clicked. He jumped back, avoiding the swat that was headed for his arm.

  “When did you get the bracelet off?”

  “A couple days ago.” He shrugged, dodging another swing of her hand, laughing the whole time.

  “You ass!” She darted after him, hopping onto his back as he headed for the diner.

  He wrapped his hands around her thighs and piggybacked her to the entrance. “Yes, yes. I am an ass.”

  Draping her arms about his shoulders, she grumbled into his ear. “And just when were you planning on telling me?”

  “When I could figure out a way to get you to let me stay.” Apollo hated to admit it, but he figured he may as well. Not like he had anything to lose.

  She wriggled down from his grasp, looking up at him as her arms crossed over her chest. Her nose crinkled up as her brows furrowed together, head cocked to the side as the ember gaze studied him. “You gave up your apartment, right?”

  “I
did. I was not expecting to be let go after six weeks. I didn’t see any reason to keep an apartment, paying out the ass when I’m not staying there.”

  “Understandable. Well, you have six weeks left of this fake probation. Pay rent, keep your room, and stay out of my gym.” Thorne winked as she turned, yanked open the door, and stepped inside.

  Apollo burst out laughing and followed her into the diner. His hand formed the perfect cup, landing square on one of her ass cheeks. Her cry of surprise and her hand flying to her butt was good enough for him.

  When they made their way to the back, Apollo couldn’t help but smile as they stepped into the cordoned off dining room. Axe was there with a date, Colt and Amy were sitting next to Romeo and Rebel. Rebel was currently talking animatedly to Dallas, who was clearly entranced by her words. Saber was deep in conversation with Talon, whose girlfriend was staring at her coffee cup, clearly bored out of her mind. Ghost was leaning back on two legs of his chair, toothpick dangling from the corner of his mouth as Hawkeye jabbered some nonsense to him. Zack was sitting at the end of the table, ready to jump at any patch holder’s word.

  Other patch holders, Zeus and his wife, Orion and one of the Painted Ladies, Dodger, Satan, Gambit, Woody, and Boxer were scattered around the room holding various conversations with other brothers.

  Apollo had no need to introduce any of the men to Thorne, as they all knew who she was, from either Maggie or himself. Zeus’ wife, Valeria, jumped up and walked over to the couple. Apollo was always fond of the petite woman. She was maybe five foot one on a good day, with flaming red hair and emerald green eyes and an attitude to go with it. Most of the PLs steered clear of her, as she had taken on two of them, at once, and came out the victor.

  “This must be Thorne!” Her brogue was thick as she smiled up at Thorne and Apollo, her hand grasping Thorne’s. “I’m Rowan, though they call me Valeria. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  “Valeria? As in the Amazon from Conan the Barbarian?” Thorne smiled as she looked between Apollo and Valeria.

  Apollo had to openly laugh as Valeria squealed in sheer delight, pulling Thorne to her and wrapping her up in a hug. “It’s about bloody fucking time someone is nerd enough to know the name!”

  He watched Valeria drag Thorne with her to introduce her to Bailey, Talon’s girlfriend, and Tigerlily, the PL that was with Orion. Apollo jumped slightly as a hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he turned his head just enough to see Saber watching his partner.

  “You got her on the bike?”

  Apollo nodded, hooking his thumbs into his jeans pockets. “I’m surprised I did.” He watched Thorne smiling and laughing as she spoke with the women. “She’s coming out of her shell.”

  “It’s good seeing her out like this. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen that smile on her face. Good job, bro.”

  Apollo nodded and gave a nudge to his brother with his elbow. “We need to find you a woman.”

  “Fuck that noise. I like my life how it is.” Saber snorted and shook his head.

  “Uhuh.” Apollo rolled his eyes, making his way to an empty set of seats at the table. Saber hadn’t been serious with anyone since his ex-wife, Sabrina, fucked him over and abandoned him and Dallas when the boy was a baby. “Where’s Wolf?”

  Romeo looked up from his beer and shrugged. “Said he had some business he had to attend to and couldn’t make it tonight.”

  Thorne moved back to Apollo’s side, sitting down next to him as he nodded. “Gotcha.”

  Ghost pulled the toothpick out of his mouth, pointing it directly at Thorne. “Remind me to never piss you off, little lady.”

  Thorne bunched her brows together. “Uhm, okay?”

  Apollo chuckled, laying his hand on her thigh, giving it a tiny squeeze.

  Ghost came down on all four legs of his chair, looked around the table, then back to her. “You kick some serious ass, doll. Gave no warning when you went to do it. That is rare and very disturbing. Kind of exciting at the same time.”

  Thorne rolled her eyes and yawned. “She asked for it. I gave it to her.”

  Colt whistled low and shook his head. “I would have loved to have seen it. I heard you were a force to be reckoned with.”

  Apollo could see Thorne’s discomfort at all of the praise and spoke up. “She was great, but we all need to be wary of what the TG might have in store for us. You know that Muerte isn’t going to lay down with this one.”

  Romeo nodded, motioning for Rebel and Dally to go with Stella. Once they were out of earshot, he looked back to the others. “They’re unnaturally quiet and that makes me nervous. I don’t want any of the women wearing their property patches. No cuts at all. No colors. I don’t want them targets if the TG decides to take this out on the women. If it gets bad enough, Valeria, Zeus?” He leaned forward to look at the husband and wife. “I need you to round up the women and kids and get them to the safe house.”

  “Will do, boss.” The bearded Zeus nodded, laying his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

  Apollo frowned, not wanting to worry about Thorne, but at this point, it included her. Muerte knew who she was and she would be the main target at this point in time. He would talk with Romeo about it later, have one of the guys tail her to make sure she was alright.

  Amy cleared her throat, brushing the auburn hair from her eyes. “Can we talk about something fun instead of morbid business?”

  Romeo nodded, rocking back in his chair, motioning to Amy. “By all means. Entertain us.”

  Amy grinned; her hand absently rubbed her stomach as she looked across the table to Thorne. “Don’t make any plans for next Saturday, Thorne.”

  Apollo grimaced, taking sudden interest in his glass of water. He knew Thorne well enough to know that she was going to be upset with Amy’s announcement.

  “I’m working, why?”

  Amy wiggled her brows and shook her head. “Nope, you have the day off. Saber made sure of it.”

  Apollo was just going to surprise her with it, so she didn’t have time to think about it and say no. They had come so far the past couple of days, and this little announcement could be a setback he didn’t want her having.

  “Huh?” Thorne looked confused to Saber, then back to Amy.

  “The club has been planning a benefit for you, for the past five months. We’ve got a poker run set up and BBQ plates up for sale, games for the kids, silent auctions and tons more. All of the money raised will go to you to help with whatever you need help with.”

  Apollo looked over to Thorne who was shaking her head; her hands gripped the arms of her chair so hard that her knuckles were white. “I don’t need anyone’s pity.”

  Romeo chuckled and pushed his beer to the side. “Pity? Is that what you think this is? It’s us, your family, taking care of you. That’s what family does, Thorne. We watch out for one another, no matter what. We’ve had some bumpy roads here as of late. I won’t deny that. But never doubt that there is one mother fucker sitting at this table, male or female, that would not put themselves on the line for you. I know you would do the same for any one of us.”

  Apollo looked back to Thorne, her eyes glittering with unshed tears as she nodded in response. Smiling at her, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re a part of us, whether you like it or not.”

  Thorne sniffled and absently wiped at her eyes.

  Amy leaned forward as best as she could and patted Thorne’s free hand. “We love you, Thorne. All of us.” She motioned around the room, then patted her belly. “And the twins, too.”

  THORNE’S HEAD WAS SPINNING. There was no other way to describe it. How Maggie kept all of the information about club etiquette straight was a fucking miracle.

  Valeria had taken her off to the side with Amy, Bailey, and Tigerlily to introduce her to what they aptly named danger zone. This was where the women would sit at a table together, a patch holder would be seated nearby, and they would have a bitch session, gossip about whatever they wanted to
, or like they were doing tonight with Thorne, introduce someone to the rules of being an ol’ lady. Anything said during this time remained at that table, behind the invisible red line they formed the minute it was declared what they were doing. God forbid any male cross that line, one of the women would yell out “Danger, danger, danger!” and the women would burst out laughing as the man walked off, not wanting to know what would happen if he stayed.

  The last male who tried to stay and talk with the women heard things no male should ever hear, and it was said that he had nightmares after it for two weeks.

  Thorne wasn’t sure why Tigerlily was included since she was a PL, but the women seemed to accept her in and allow her to be a part of their world.

  “It’s not as bad as they make it out to be, Thorne.” Amy rolled her eyes as she glanced at Talon a few seats down, then back to the women. “I’ve had to put a few of the PLs in their place with Colt, but it’s rare that they step out of bounds. Tiger can tell you that.”

  The brunette nodded, blowing a strand of her bangs out of her oddly colored brown eyes. “I’ve been a Painted Lady for a while now. I went to school with Romeo and Amy. My dad was a patch holder before he was killed in his bike wreck. Some of these girls can be royal bitches, but you can’t back down from them. They’ll test you and then eat you alive.”

  Thorne’s brows shot up as she studied the short-haired girl. “Why do you do it?”

  “I’m taken care of. It’s like a job, to be honest. I strip at Throttle, but when the guys call for party nights or club functions, I’m there. I don’t sleep around when I’m stripping. I make great money. But, I’m like…” Tigerlily scrunched up her nose as she paused in thought. “…that bartender you tell all your troubles to. Do I fuck the guys that want me? Sometimes. Sometimes I just hold them and let them vent. I have so-called regulars that do not want me to be with anyone else, just them. If they’re both here, they take turns.” Tigerlily laughed softly. “It sounds a lot worse than it is.”