Monk (Royal Bastards MC: Sacramento Book 3)

by Winter Travers

  Barracuda had texted an hour ago checking in on us. I had told him Mitzy and I were working things out, when in reality, I wasn’t sure what the hell was going to happen with her. I truly understood Mitzy, but her insistence that she always knew what was best was going to get her in trouble.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mitzy standing at the screen door. “Enjoying the night.”

  “I thought you had left,” she said softly.

  I shook my head. “Nah, I did take a walk and looked around your buildings, but I never left on my bike.”

  She pushed open the screen door and stepped out on the porch. “Creeping around?” she sassed.

  I chuckled and shook my head. “Just trying to think.”

  “This the only place you can think?” She sat down on the other side of the deck on the chaise.

  I shrugged. “I guess it was the only place I wanted to think.”

  Mitzy sighed. “I don’t know what we’re doing here, Monk. I want to hate you and never see you again, but you’ve all I’ve been able to think about since I woke up in the hospital bed with you next to me.”

  I pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “I feel the same way, Birdie, but I’m starting to wonder if maybe you and I are too alike.” I blew a plume of smoke up into the night sky and looked at the stars overhead.

  “Is that what you really think?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “That we’re alike? Yes. Do I think it’s a reason why we won’t work? Maybe if we let it get in the way.”

  “In the way of what?”

  I chuckled. “In the way of loving each other, Birdie. I don’t know exactly what you went through, Mitzy, but I know it’s changed you. Hell, you’re still dealing with the aftermath.” I glanced over at her. “You’re gonna deal with it for the rest of your life.”

  Mitzy sighed and sat back on the chaise. “He took everything away from me, Monk. He took away my right to think, choose, and even feel. By the time he beat me to within an inch of my life, I didn’t want to live anymore. I didn’t want to be in this world if Allan was going to be in it.”

  “But you left,” I whispered.

  Mitzy closed her eyes. “I did, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I was so ashamed to have to tell someone how much control I let Allan have over my life. How weak and pathetic I was.”

  “You weren’t either of those things, Mitzy. I’m not going to listen to you take the blame for that piece of shit’s actions.” I tried to quell the rage coursing through me at the thought that Mitzy was so ashamed of the way Allan treated her that she wanted to die.

  She laughed flatly. “I know that now, Monk, but back then, I didn’t. Hell, some days, I forget that Allan being a piece of shit isn’t a reflection on me. I wanted so bad to believe he was a good man, and he just needed a good woman to show him that. It took me two years to realize I was still a good woman, and he was and will always be a bad man.”

  “Why did you let him go, Mitzy? Why did you insist Barracuda spare his life?”

  Mitzy scrubbed her hand down her face. “Because there was a tiny part of me that still thought there was some good left in Allan.”

  “Well, the past three weeks can attest to the fact that he’s still a fucking cockroach.” Two attempts to kill Mitzy proved that.

  “I don’t want to run in guns blazing with you, Monk. I understand the man is dangerous.” She motioned to her broken arm. “He did this to me. Three years after, I thought I was free of him.”

  “I know, Mitzy, that’s why I’m going to make damn sure you are free of him now. Allan isn’t going to be able to live free and make your life a living hell one more day.”

  “I agree with you,” she whispered.

  “Then why in the hell are you so hellbent on confronting him. For all the shit that man did to you, you want to stand in front of him again?” I demanded. “I don’t want you to give him the power to know you still think about him.”

  “He doesn’t have power over me anymore, Monk. Not in the way that you think. I do think about him every day, but that’s only because I never want to forget where I was and how far I’ve come.” Mitzy sighed and laid her head back. “That man destroyed me, and I’m still sitting here, living the most amazing life I could never have imagined back then.”

  “My injured Birdie who will always be strong enough to fly,” I mused. “I just wish you would let me fly next to you.”

  “And I wish you would, Monk. I want you next to me, not in front of me.” Mitzy turned her head toward me and opened her eyes. “But when you firmly tell me what I can’t do, you’re caging me.” Mitzy stood and made her way over to me. She held out her hand to me, and I threaded my fingers through hers.

  “I’m sorry, Mitzy. I can’t stand to see you get hurt again.” I had watched her battered and bruised enough to last me a lifetime these past weeks. I pulled her hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it. “I will die before he ever lays another finger on you.”

  “Help me out here, Monk,” Mitzy whispered. She put her hand on my shoulder, and I spread my legs. She moved between them and hitched her leg up. I grabbed her bottom and lifted her ‘til she was straddling my waist. “Things are so much easier with two arms,” she mused.

  “This thing will be off before you know it, Mitz.”

  She sighed and trailed her fingers over my cheek. “I’m sorry about earlier. I know you’re just trying to keep me safe and not control me. I guess I forgot in the heat of the moment.”

  “That’s your sass, Birdie. Your mouth is writing checks your ass can’t cash.” I wrapped my arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her lips.

  “Maybe you’re gonna have to try to fuck it out of me, Monk.”

  “You know,” I laughed. “I said that to you as a sort of a punishment, but you’re too much into it that the threat is gone.”

  Mitzy ran her fingers through my hair. “Maybe you should try it, and I’ll let you know how much I like it.”

  “Oh, Mitzy. There is one thing I know for certain,” I mused.

  “And what is that?” she asked.

  “Life sure is going to be interesting now that you’re in it.”

  She kissed me gently. “And you damn sure like it, don’t you?”

  “Wouldn’t trade one second of it, Birdie. Not one second of it.”

  *

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Face to face…

  Monk

  I casually walked through the kicked-in front door and looked around.

  “About time you fucking got here,” Jinx called. “We were starting to get bored.”

  I chuckled and stepped over a chunk of the broken door. “Mitzy’s broken arm slows her down these days. Plus, it took me five minutes to wrestle the car keys out of her hand. She’s chomping at the bit to drive, and the doctor said not until she gets the cast off.”

  “The rental get dropped off today?” Jinx asked.

  I nodded and looked around the house. “Yeah. She’s gonna need a car, but for now, the rental will do.” Mitzy’s balance was a bit off with her arm being in a cast, and I didn’t want to risk something happening to her on the back of my bike.

  “It’s not like she broke her dominant hand,” Barracuda laughed. He was sitting on the couch with his feet kicked up on the coffee table. “Let her drive and see what happens.”

  “If you think she should drive, I’ll let you be the first one to go for a ride with her.” I bent over and grabbed a fractured 2x4 off the floor. “Did you guys use dynamite to bust down the door?”

  Playboy swung a bat around onto his shoulder. “Maybe.”

  A strangled scream sounded from further inside the house. “He have any clue you guys were coming?” I asked.

  Barracuda shook his head. “Dipshit never saw us coming. He was fucking mounting Rain on the kitchen table when Six-Gun blew off the door. He couldn’t even get his pants on before Playboy knocked his knees out
from under him and his face slammed into the table.”

  “Let’s get this show on the road. Mitzy gave me five minutes before she comes waltzing in here,” I laughed.

  “You two seemed to work out your shit, huh?” Barracuda stood and motioned to the hallway. “Head that way.”

  I moved down the hallway with Barracuda behind me. “It’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than Mitzy’s mouth to run me off,” I mused. “Hell, her mouth was the first thing I liked about her.”

  I passed through the kitchen and then came to an open door. I stepped into the room and saw Rebel, Jet, and Mace standing over Rain and Allan. They were both on their knees with their arms tied behind their backs.

  I crouched in front of Rain and smiled. “We decided to take you up on that offer to stop by.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” Rain spat. “I didn’t do anything,” she repeated.

  I glanced up at Rebel, and he shook his head. “Rancid pussy, brother.”

  That was the damn truth.

  I straightened and folded my arms over my chest. Allan looked up at me with his bloody and beaten face.

  “Hello, fucker. You the one who’s been trying to kill Mitzy?” I asked.

  Allan hocked a wad of spit on my boot and gave me a bloody smile. “Fuck yes. That bitch deserves nothing but to die.”

  Well, it was a hell of a lot easier to get a confession out of him than I thought it would be. That just showed how fucked in the head Allan was. Even when he was on his knees and minutes away from dying, he believed Mitzy deserved to be dead.

  “Do we really have to wait to kill him?” Jet asked. “We’re just delaying the inevitable.”

  I didn’t want to let this asshole have another second to breathe, but I knew if Mitzy didn’t get to say her piece with him, she would never forgive me. I was trying to give her what she wanted in the safest way possible. “He’s got about five more minutes. Maybe six depending on what Mitzy has to say.” I hadn’t asked her what she wanted to say to him, but I figured it was along the lines of “Fuck you.”

  Rebel kicked Rain’s bare foot. “What the hell are we going to do with her?” he asked.

  I tipped my head to the side, and Barracuda moved next to me. I wasn’t prez anymore, but I was calling the shots today.

  These two pieces of shit had tried to kill Mitzy, and now they were going to answer for it.

  I nodded to Allan. “He’s mine. You guys can fight over what you’re gonna do to her.” As far as I cared, we could drop Rain into a shallow grave and bury her alive.

  “Any sign of Tank?” Barracuda asked.

  Rebel shook his head. “Nada.”

  Where in the fuck was Tank? It was like he had taken notes when Barracuda disappeared and did the same. There was no trace of where he was or could be.

  “I told you I don’t know where Tank is,” Rain wailed. “I swear he just came to my house to get his things, and then he left.”

  “How long have you been fucking this piece of shit?” Barracuda asked her.

  “Only for six months,” she wailed.

  “Oh man,” Rebel groaned. “I was fucking you when you were climbing into this slimeball’s bed? This shit just keeps getting worse and worse.” Rebel really had learned a lesson about where to stick his dick. Rancid pussy really did sour things for a man.

  “You better get your shit tested ASAP,” Jet laughed. “Twice.”

  “Were you the one who drugged Mitzy?” I asked Rain.

  She nodded meekly. “I didn’t know what the pills were. Allan just told me to make sure Mitzy took them. I didn’t know they would almost kill her.”

  That was a load of bullshit.

  “Did you think they were fucking vitamins or something?” Mace scoffed.

  “I didn’t know,” Rain shouted. “I didn’t know he was just using me to get to Mitzy. None of this is my fault.”

  “You just said you drugged Mitzy, you dumb bitch. You had a fucking choice, and you chose wrong,” Rebel growled.

  “Knock, knock.”

  Barracuda slowly turned his head to look at me. “Did your ol’ lady just yell ‘knock knock?’”

  I shrugged. “She told me she was going to come in at five minutes. Time must be up.”

  “We’re in the bedroom,” Mace called.

  Jet slapped him on the shoulder. “As if she knows where that is.” Jet shook his head and stomped out of the bedroom.

  I crouched in front of Allan and smirked. “Got a little surprise for you, Allan.”

  “Fuck you,” Allan growled.

  This guy really was a piece of shit.

  Footsteps sounded behind me, and I stood to turn to Mitzy. I blocked her view of Allan until she was ready to see him. “You were very punctual, Birdie.”

  Mitzy shrugged. “I set a timer. I guess you could say I’ve been waiting a long time for this day.”

  Of course, she had set a timer.

  “You don’t have to do this, Mitzy,” I reminded her.

  She smiled sadly. “You know I do, Monk.” She stepped forward and motioned for me to move to the side.

  I took a deep breath and stepped to the right.

  Mitzy’s breath caught at the sight of Allan. I moved to her side and threaded my fingers through hers.

  “You okay?” I whispered.

  She nodded. “I’m fine,” she stated strongly. She let go of my hand and stepped toward Allan. She stopped right in front of him looked down her nose at him. “Hello, Allan.”

  “Bitch,” he spat. “You should be fucking dead right now.”

  Mitzy crouched down in front of him and sighed. “You tried, didn’t you, Allan? You just couldn’t get the job done.”

  Allan lunged at Mitzy, but Jet caught his arm and hauled him onto his ass. “Sit your ass down, motherfucker. The lady is trying to talk to you.”

  Allan grunted. “Fuck all of you.”

  I wasn’t sure any of this was going to give Mitzy the closure she was looking for.

  Mitzy didn’t waver. She had things to say, and she was going to say them, no matter what.

  “You didn’t break me, Allan,” she spoke softly. “For a little bit, I thought you did, but all you did was show me the person I was meant to be. Sure, it was pretty fucking dark when I was with you, but I could always see the light waiting for me.” She laughed flatly. “Took me two years to get to that light, but when I got there, I was free. Without you being the biggest piece of shit to me, I never would have found myself and the Royal Bastards. As crazy as it sounds, you gave me the best part of my life when you thought you were taking it away from me.”

  Mitzy glanced back at me and smiled.

  “Fly, Mitzy,” I whispered. Every moment had led up to this one. Mitzy was finally going to be free.

  She turned back to Allan. “You don’t have a hold over me anymore. You don’t get to haunt my dreams and take space in my life anymore. You don’t get anything of that, Allan. I was never yours to have.” She stood smiled. “You never had me, Allan.” She gave him one more second of her time and lifted her middle finger in his face. “Fuck you.” She turned on her heel and marched out of the room.

  “Bitch!” Allan screamed.

  Mace planted a foot in his back and pushed him to the floor. “Would you shut the fuck up?” he growled.

  “Can we get on with killing him?” Jet asked. “If you don’t do it soon, Monk, I’m afraid my finger might start itching on the trigger, and this asshole's face might be on the other end of my gun.”

  I pulled out my gun and moved over Allan. I wasn’t going to wait anymore. Mitzy had said her piece, and now it was time for Allan to get what he deserved. I grabbed his hair and yanked his head back. I pressed the barrel of the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. His brains spattered all over Rain, and she screeched wildly.

  “That should have happened years ago,” Barracuda grunted.

  I dropped Allan’s head, and I put my gun in my waistband. I wasn’t lucky enough to be the on
e who Mitzy ran to for help before, but I was going to be there for her now. Barracuda had been her rock when she needed it, and I would forever be in debt to him for that. He had that time with her then, but for the rest of her life, I was going to be her rock.

  I was going to be the one to give her safety to fly.

  Allan was dead, and now Mitzy was free.

  Finally.

  *

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Blood and ice cream…

  Mitzy

  “Can we stop for ice cream?”

  I glanced over at Mitzy. She hadn’t spoken a word since I got back into the car. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking or feeling. “Hungry?”

  Mitzy glanced over at me. “I could go for ice cream.” She bit her bottom lip. “And a cheeseburger with onion rings.”

  I reached over and laid my hand on her thigh. “Mitzy,” I called.

  “Monk.”

  “Birdie, I think we need to talk about what just happened before we stop for ice cream.”

  Mitzy sighed and looked out the window. “I don’t have anything to say, Monk. I let that all go. Years ago, I let it go. Today was just me being able to tell Allan ‘fuck you.’”

  I chuckled. “That was pretty kickass when you flipped him off.”

  She looked over at me. “Would you expect anything less from a Badass Sister?” she laughed. “I told Memphis a month back that all she needed to do was raise her middle finger in the world and tell the world ‘fuck you.’ If I wouldn’t have done that today, I would have regretted it. Those two words were the only ones Allan deserved.”

  “You did good.”

  Mitzy sighed. “So, am I going to get to fire Rain, or are you guys going to take care of that?”

  I chuckled and shrugged. “Not sure. We left that up to Rebel.”

  Mitzy laid her head back. “This is all Allan’s fault. He manipulated her.”

  He had, but at the end of the day, Rain had made her choice. She chose that piece of shit, and that said a hell of a lot about her, too. “I don’t know what is going to happen to her, Mitzy, but I don’t want you to worry about her. She’s not worth a second of your time.”