Widow's Undoing

by L. Wilder

  “Awesome!”

  I tapped on the door, then eased it open. As I stepped inside, I was hit with the smell of burnt grease. Seemed the boys were right about their dinner. I didn’t want to startle her like the last time I’d come by, so I stood in the doorway as I shouted, “Frankie?”

  “Roman?” She popped her head out of the kitchen as she asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I needed to talk to you.” I could tell by the smoke billowing overhead it wasn’t a good time to talk. She was dealing with her own shit, and I wanted to do what I could to make things better for her—at least for a little while, so I smiled and said, “Looks like I probably should’ve called first.”

  “Maybe, but then, you would’ve missed out on my famous charcoal burgers.”

  “About that.” I walked over and slipped my arms around her waist. “The boys and I were thinking pizza might be good.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Um-hmm.” I lowered my mouth to her neck, kissing her softly. “My treat.”

  “Okay. You win.” Her body melted into mine as she whispered, “Pizza it is.”

  “Good.” I gave her a light smack on her ass, then pulled out my phone as I told her, “I’ll call it in, then we’ll dispose of those famous charcoal burgers of yours.”

  “They really aren’t that bad.”

  “Um-hmm.” I started dialing one of the local pizza places as I asked, “What do y’all like on your pizza?”

  “Anything is fine.”

  Hoping for a more definite answer, I asked, “Anchovies? Jalapenos?”

  “Umm, no. Definitely not.”

  “Then, what do you guys want?”

  “Pepperoni and sausage for the boys, and cheese for me.”

  “See. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

  I gave her a wink, then I dialed the number to the pizza place. After I put in our order, I helped Frankie clean up the mess in the kitchen. Just as we were finishing up, Sean came barreling into the kitchen and asked, “Are we gettin’ pizza?”

  “Yep,” Frankie answered. “Should be here any minute.”

  “Awesome!”

  Sean helped Frankie get out the paper plates and put them on the table, while I filled our glasses with ice. Frankie had a nice place with plenty of room for her and the boys. The kitchen was a bit smaller than mine, but equally as nice with bits of Frankie’s personality scattered throughout. There was an oversized sofa with two large recliners in the living room, and a TV mounted over the fireplace. It wasn’t overly extravagant, but it was comfortable and warm. Being there helped ease the knot that had been building in the pit of my stomach over Danny and Badger. I knew I needed to get back soon, but I needed this short reprieve in case all hell broke out.

  When the pizza came, I paid the delivery guy, then carried the boxes over to the table. The boys swooped in, and in a matter of minutes, their plates were piled high, and they were diving in. Frankie and I followed suit, and the room fell silent as we all started to eat. The silence didn’t last long. I was just starting my second slice when Sean asked, “You ever play video games?”

  “Never had much interest in them.”

  “Oh.” He thought for a moment, then asked, “What about sports?”

  “Played a little football in high school.”

  “That’s cool. What position did you play?”

  “Tight end.”

  “I could see that. Coach wants me to try out for the team next year to help me with my reflexes and speed, but I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do yet.” He took a bite of pizza, chomped down for a second, then with his mouth still full, he asked, “You got any brothers or sisters?”

  “Dang, dude,” Corry fussed. “What’s with the twenty questions?”

  “What?” Sean looked at Corry like he’d just punched him in the gut. “Widow doesn’t mind, do ya? I mean, if you do, I’ll stop.”

  “I don’t mind. I’ve got a younger brother. His name is Madden, and we got along about as well as you and your brother do.”

  I glanced over at Frankie and found her smiling like the Cheshire cat. She was clearly amused by my exchange with the boys, and to be honest, I was rather amused by it myself. It was the closest I’d ever come to a real family dinner. There was no fussing or screaming. There were no bruises or broken bones that we had to pretend weren’t there. It didn’t feel like I was sitting there waiting for a fucking bomb to drop. Instead, it was just easy. I could just sit there and enjoy the moment. That wasn’t something I was used to. It certainly wasn’t something I thought I’d ever actually enjoy, but I did. And that had me feeling guilty. I’d been hoping one of the brothers would call and say they’d found Danny and Badger laid up with a hell of a hangover, but that call never came—which had that knot in my stomach returning.

  We’d all just finished eating when Sean turned to Frankie and asked, “Are we still gonna watch the movie?”

  “I don’t know, Sean. It’s getting kind of late and....”

  “It’s not even seven yet,” he pouted. “Come on. You promised.”

  “You guys go ahead. I’ve gotta get back.”

  “You can’t stay a little longer?” Frankie asked, sounding disappointed.

  “Sorry, but I’ve already stayed longer than I should.” I looked over to Sean as I said, “I’ll stay for the next one.”

  “Okay. Bye Widow.”

  I gave them a quick wave as I said, “Bye boys. I’ll see ya soon.”

  When we started out of the kitchen, Frankie told Sean, “Go start the movie. I’ll be right back.”

  I followed Frankie through the kitchen and out the front door. As soon as we were outside, she looked up to me and said, “I hate you have to rush off.”

  “Yeah, me too. I’d stay if I could.”

  “Well, you saved the day with the pizza.”

  “I’m sure you would’ve managed without me.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t have to.”

  I slipped my arms around her waist, pulling her close. Her soft, delectable lips called out to me, begging to be devoured. Unable to resist the temptation any longer, I gently pressed my mouth against hers and instantly felt my world rock beneath me. Feeling the same hunger, a light moan vibrated through her chest as her arms wrapped around my neck, and her hands quickly began tangling in my hair as she pressed her breasts against my chest. My hands roamed down her back and over the curves of her ass as I thought about how unbelievably perfect she felt in my arms.

  Remembering we were out in her driveway where anyone could see, I pulled back, but the second I looked down at her lust-filled eyes, I couldn’t stop myself from leaning in for another. She opened her mouth with a low moan, and I delved deeper, savoring the soft caress of her lips and the quickening of her breath. This woman had no idea what she was doing to me. The feelings I had for her scared the hell out of me, but there was no fear great enough for me to walk away from her. As I released her mouth, I looked down at her and whispered, “You sure don’t make it easy to go.”

  “Good. That means I’m doing something right.” She giggled, then said, “I really am glad you came by. I’m pretty sure you made the boys’ night.”

  “Well, they certainly made mine.” I hated to end the night on a bad note, but I didn’t have a choice. I knew things were about to go south with the club. I could feel it in my fucking bones. I needed to let her know that she might not see me for a while. “You may not hear from me for a few days.”

  “Why? Is something wrong?”

  “Got some stuff going down at the club.”

  “But why would...”

  Before she could finish her thought, I insisted, “Just promise me you’ll be patient, Frankie.”

  “Only if you promise that I will hear from you at some point.”

  “Absolutely.”

  I leaned down and kissed her once more. The kiss was soft, gentle, and filled with a promise—a promise I intended to keep.

  The sun was just star
ting to set when I eased out of her driveway and started back to the clubhouse. The feeling of dread I’d felt earlier had returned, only this time it was all-consuming. I knew we were about to get hit with something bad. I just didn’t know how bad until I got back to the clubhouse. I’d gone to Viper’s office to check in with him and Menace, and as soon as I walked in and saw the look on their faces, I knew something was wrong. “Hawk just called. He and Rafe just found Danny and Badger’s bikes out on Cedar Grove Road.”

  “Their bikes? What about Danny or Badger?”

  “No sign of them.”

  “They just left their bikes abandoned on the side of the road?”

  “Yeah, not sure what the hell happened.” I’d really hoped that there was a good explanation for their disappearance, one where they weren’t in immediate danger, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Viper ran his hand over his thick beard as he ordered, “We need to get the trailer over there and help ‘em load them up.”

  “You got it.”

  Menace and I pulled his truck around back, and once we had the trailer hooked up, we all drove over to Cedar Grove. I knew the old back road well. It was the road that didn’t get much traffic, so we always took it whenever we wanted to make a quick run to the gas station for more beer or cigarettes. We hadn’t been driving long when we spotted Hawk and Rafe standing on the side of the road. Menace pulled over on the graveled edge of the road and parked. It was just starting to get dark, making it difficult to see, so we left the headlights on as we got out and followed Viper and Axel over to Hawk.

  Viper looked down at the overturned bikes as he asked, “Any idea what happened?”

  “Looks like someone ran them off the road.” Hawk pointed to several black skid marks that swerved towards the middle of the road. “Must’ve forced them off right about here.”

  “I’ll be damned.” Viper shook his head as he grumbled curses under his breath. “And there’s still no sign of either of them?”

  “There’s nothing, Prez. Someone had to have picked them up.”

  I stepped forward as I said, “This has to be about Grant. They must know we got him.”

  “It’s certainly looking that way.”

  “How do you wanna play this, Prez?” Hawk asked.

  “We’re going into lockdown. Get the bikes back to the clubhouse. I’ll talk to Shotgun and see what he’s been able to find out from Grant. Maybe he’ll have something we can use to get these motherfuckers.”

  It was hard for us to see our future brothers’ bikes abandoned and in shambles, but it was especially hard for Hawk. Danny was his ol’ lady’s brother, and the two had always been close. Hawk’s voice was strained as he said, “We gotta find ‘em, Prez. Delilah’s gonna lose her mind if something happens to Danny.”

  “We’ll find them, brother.” Viper placed his hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s tough, but you’re gonna have to keep this on the downlow. That isn’t going to be easy with us going into lockdown, but you’re gonna have to put her off—at least until we figure out what we’re dealing with.”

  “Understood.”

  I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do about Frankie and the boys. Going into lockdown was a move I should’ve anticipated, but I hadn’t. I wasn’t sure how I needed to play it. Frankie and I were just getting started. Bringing her and the boys in could bring us closer or it could completely rip us apart. It was something that weighed on me as we got the bikes on the trailer, and once we had them secured, we headed back. When we arrived at the clubhouse, we pulled around back to the garage. We were all completely silent, lost in our own heads, as we unloaded Danny and Badger’s bikes from the trailer. Hawk closed the garage door, securing them inside. No one said a word as we entered the clubhouse and headed to the conference room. Viper called the others in to let them know we were going into lockdown. As soon as he’d made the announcement, the others went to bring their families in while Hawk and I followed Viper down to the holding room where Shotgun was working over Grant. There were several holding rooms Shotgun used to extract information, each with its own two-way mirror for us to use whenever we needed to check-in with Shotgun.

  When I stepped up to the glass, a sense of satisfaction washed over me when I saw Grant. Shotgun had done a real number on the sonofabitch. He’d bound Grant’s hands over his head and stripped him of his shirt. Grant’s bloody, swollen face was hanging low with his chin down on his mutilated chest. The bright, fluorescent lights shone down on him, revealing the deep gashes and various stab wounds that covered his entire body. The guy was hanging by a thread, and Shotgun wasn’t close to being done with him. We all watched as Viper talked to Shotgun, informing him of the situation with Badger and Danny. Shotgun glared back at Grant with an enlivened thirst for revenge. Viper stepped over to Grant, fisting his hand in his hair, and jerked his head back as he growled, “You and your boys fucked with the wrong MC.”

  “He won’t stop.”

  “Who?”

  “Not my fight.”

  Viper tugged at his hair as he roared, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “I can’t,” Grant mumbled. “I can’t do it.”

  “You’re only making this shit harder on yourself.”

  Grant didn’t respond. His eyes dropped to the floor, and it looked like he was actually about to start fucking crying. I had no idea what the fuck was going on with this guy, but he was clearly not right in the head. Flustered, Viper released Grant and barked, “Have it your way.”

  “I can’t. I just can’t.”

  “You can, and you fucking will!” Viper roared, then stormed out of the room. He came over and stood next to me, panting as he tried to settle the rage that was burning deep inside him. It took him several moments, but he eventually announced, “Shotgun hasn’t gotten much out of him yet. Just that there are more of them than just the five that showed up at Stilettos that night.”

  The other brothers were listening as I asked, “Are they part of a gang or an MC?”

  “Not sure what they are. Just that they’re some kind of vigilante group who sets out to get folks who’ve wronged them in some way. He keeps going on and on about the main guy being fucked up in the head. Apparently, he’s done some pretty vile shit over the past couple of years.”

  “And now they’ve turned their attention to us.”

  “Certainly looking that way.” When he saw the expression on my face, he shook his head and said, “This shit isn’t on you, brother. These motherfuckers came into our house and pulled shit they had no business pulling. You did right doing what you did to that asshole. I’m thinking there’s a whole lot more to this shit than that anyway.”

  “He’s right,” Hawk chimed in. “Don’t care how fucking crazy you are. You don’t go starting a war with an MC like ours without good reason.”

  “Agreed. Now, we just gotta figure out what that reason is.” Viper turned his attention back to the two-way glass. “Hopefully, Shotgun will break this guy soon, and we can get some answers.”

  When the others started to disperse, I went over to Viper and said, “I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Yeah? Whatcha got on your mind?”

  “The lockdown. I’m not sure what to do about Frankie.”

  “She the girl you’ve been talking to?”

  “Yeah.” I had no idea how he knew about her. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Viper always knew everything that was going on with his brothers. I let out a deep breath as I shook my head with frustration. “I want to do whatever I can to make sure she and her boys are safe, but I’m not sure she’s ready for a full-on lockdown. It might scare her off.”

  Viper cocked his eyebrow. “It’s a tricky situation you got there, brother. You gotta know she’s gonna find out about the club life sooner or later.”

  “I’m aware, but it’s too soon for something like this. She’s got a past like mine. Too much too soon will have her running, and I can’t have that. Took me too long to
find her to lose her over something like this.”

  “We’ll put two prospects on ‘em. As long as it looks like they’re in the clear, we’ll leave them be, but if things get much hotter, you’re gonna need to bring them in.”

  “Understood.”

  As he turned to leave, he looked back to me and said, “Proud of you, brother. Good to see you’re finally taking a chance.”

  With that, he continued down the hall, leaving me alone there in the hallway. I turned back to the window and watched as Shotgun continued to torment Grant in ways I could’ve never imagined. Most of our brothers couldn’t stomach such a horrific scene. The torture and the screams got to be too much, but it didn’t bother me like it should. Instead, I was intrigued by it. I envied the fact that Shotgun could dig deep into his own personal darkness and use his demons for the good of the club. After standing there watching him for over an hour, I finally forced myself to leave the attraction of the two-way mirror and went to find the others.

  I knew how eager Hawk was to find Danny, so I wasn’t surprised to find him in the conference room with Menace. They were going over all the information Menace had uncovered, hoping they might be able to find something he’d missed. As I walked in, I heard Menace say, “I’m telling ya. Other than that credit card of Grant’s, there’s nothing to be found. It’s like these guys were wiped off the planet ten years ago.”

  “You sure the facial recognition software brought up the right names?”

  “Checked it three times. It’s spot on.” Menace reached for the photographs and arranged them on the table. “Tyler Evans. Mike Turner. Jeff Williams. Denis Ford. Dalton Grant. The photos line up with their driver’s licenses and old social media sites, but as of 2010, there’s not been a single thing on any of these guys.”

  “Probably a good reason for that.” They all turned to me as I said, “You heard Viper. These are a bunch of fucking vigilantes. They’ve taken every precaution not to be found.”

  Hawk turned to Menace as he said, “If that’s the case, then we got lucky when you were able to track down Grant.”

  “Only if Shotgun is able to find out what we need to know.”