by Simone Elise
“Fucking women.” Chopper muttered before throwing back his bourbon. “I feel pussy whipped and she’s not even mine.” He glances at me “Fuck knows how you feel.”
In over my head might be the phase right now. I knew from last time chocolate and junk food were a big deal. So I made sure that was covered, and then turned Ivory’s favorite show on. Which turned out to be trashy television.
She says it makes her switch off not having to follow a serious storyline. I see it as it is… trashy television.
“What are they watching?” Chopper frowns, trying to understand it from here.
“Love island.”
“Sounds like crap.”
I nod my head.
Then I jump when Ivory yells at the television. Houston, we have a problem.
“I hate him.” Ivory shouts. “Who in their right mind would pick her over her, like seriously!”
“Her heels don’t match her outfit.” Elle snaps back.
Both glaring at the television now. Chopper and I share a look before they both start shouting at the television.
“I thought you had this covered Kace.” Chopper hisses under his breath at me, as we watch the girls turn on the television, which for all sakes was saving us from them. Chopper and I learn quickly that Ivory and Elle hormonal and together, turns out to be worse than them on their own.
As they begin to get abusive at the television. I begin to wonder if the television will survive the night, without something going through it.
If they were this worked up tonight, how the hell we were going to get through the funeral tomorrow?
59
Kace
“Fucking press.” Gabe muttered at the cemetery, and to be fair to him the place was filled with cameras. God forbid the family grieve privately.
Chopper is standing next to me, his eyes on Elle. He takes his job seriously. That or he just likes looking at her.
“The girls are taking it hard.” Links says and Chopper and I share a look. But don’t say anything.
“See the bikers are here.” Asher mutters, stepping to Links side. “God the girls are taking it hard.” He sees what we see, them both crying together, and the press were having a field day with, taking photo after photo.
I had seen the boys tear up in the service but they didn’t really cry. Ivory was a mess the whole way through it.
Gabe frowns “What date is it?”
“Twenty fifth.” Chopper and I say together. Because we aren’t going to forget which week hell week lands on nearly every month, any time soon.
Gabe smirks at me, leaning in. “Bet you are having a great fucking time right about now.”
I look him dead in the eyes. “It’s not normal for a brother to know his sister’s cycle.”
Gabe shrugs. “One starts to notice when spanners start to be thrown at you. God don’t miss that.” And now it’s confirmed. Ivory does get physical. I’d be in fear of my life, if I wasn’t a man. I roll my eyes at Gabe.
“Elle too.” Gabe is now grinning at Chopper. And then cracks up laughing, causing a few odd looks our way. Who laughs at the cemetery? Gabe. That’s who. Who is getting enjoyment out of Chopper’s and mines suffering.
Links and Asher look at Gabe, but he doesn’t say anything.
Finally the girls begin to walk towards us, and I immediately take my hands out of my pockets. Knowing I’ll be hugging her in a second. But I still feel out of place wearing a suit. I see her look around me and she pushes up her sunglasses, her eyes locked on somebody. I cast a look over my shoulder, seeing Taylor.
“You aren’t welcome here.” Ivory states very loudly, causing people to look. Her eyes on Taylor. “You’ve been, seen and can now leave. Don’t even think of coming to the wake.” She turns on him, and Elle is standing next to Chopper now as Ivory pushes past me to Taylor.
“Come on sweetheart nothing to be this worked up over.” He says to her, and she must she red because she shoves him backwards, and he actually slips back from her push
“I don’t want you here!”
“Ivory.” Links says and I see his point, cameras are slowly being pointed in this direction.
“You probably killed him!” Ivory shouts at him, and now there are cameras filming, so I step towards her.
“Ivory calm down baby.” And I grip her arm.
“Yeah listen to your big bad biker boyfriend Ivory.” Taylor mocks me and her, and now I’m pushing her away from him, stepping towards him.
“You’d do well to keep your mouth shut.” I look him in the eyes, he had to know I was ready to start a fight over what he had done to Ivory. I was brought up an outlaw, I was brought up to be a man and handle my shit. I didn’t leech off women, like him. If he thought I would take kindly to him ripping my girlfriend off, he was fucking wrong.
He leans in “Guessing ya heard the news biker.” And he smirks at the cameras knowing I can’t fucking touch him while they are on us. “That I fucked your woman so good, I got her pregnant. Twice.”
And I lean into him. Seeing as he was in my personal space. “And she aborted it twice. Sounds to me like a woman that would rather kill your baby then have it. Does it hurt knowing she’ll keep mine?” And I know my words will hurt him. Pulling back seeing his expression. Yeah. I hit a nerve. I smirk. “We’ll be seeing ya Taylor.” And I wrap an arm around Ivory. Who is frowning at me, I’m guessing wondering what I had just said to score Taylor to look like that.
And we walk away, leaving him standing there like the desperate man he is.
60
Kace
One Week Later
Blowing out a mouthful of smoke, my eyes are locked on her and I can’t stop thinking that is the worst idea that I have ever agreed to. Co driving with Gabe. God if we didn’t kill each other it would be a miracle. The only reason I was going along with it was because Ivory needed something to take her mind off the fact that Taylor had robbed her of all her assets. I was still getting that handled, but the more research done on it—turned out I couldn’t do shit.
Ivory is slaving over the car, getting it ready for this year’s qualifications.
Gabe and I still hadn’t settled on who was driving first, and that was a real concern.
Inhaling on my cigarette one last time before dropping it to the ground and walking towards Ivory.
“Babe, you’ve been working solid now for seven hours. You need a break.” I come to a stop next to her. “Come on darling, please.”
I know she is trying to distract herself, but working to the point that there will be nothing left of her—isn’t healthy. She needs food, sleep, and a break from this car.
She pulls her head away to glance at me. I see the determination in her eyes. She isn’t planning on leaving it any time soon.
I sigh. “Well at least let me help then?”
“The driver does not work on the car.”
“That’s not a rule.”
She pulls away from the car her hand going to her hip. “It’s my rule.” And that made the rule unbreakable. I sighed, taking the spanner from her hand.
“Come on darling, either let me help finishing installing the cubic or call it a night.” Part of me is hoping she does call it a night because it’s late after nine at night, and she got here at five this morning.
Her hard expression drops, and I see tiredness in her eyes.
Taking it as a sign, I wrap an arm around her. “Tomorrows another day darling.”
She slowly nods her head, but I see something in her eyes. Something I don’t like seeing in any woman’s eyes. Let alone my own woman. Fear.
She goes to step out of my arms and I pull her back in. “What’s wrong?” I ask the question and she shakes her head. “Ivory, you’ll tell me what’s wrong.” My words slowly twist into a growl. How the hell can I help her if she doesn’t tell me what’s going on?
“I just haven’t been sleeping.” She shares information with me but I know it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I link
my hands with hers. I don’t know what I had done in a past life to deserve Ivory. As far as I was concerned I would never let anything happen to her and in payment for the universe giving her to me—I would make sure she was always looked after and want for nothing. Right now I could see it in her eyes, there was something keeping her from sleeping and it was my job to make that problem disappear.
“You know he can’t hurt you Ivory?” I tilt my head slightly, speaking to her. She had to know, she was safe in our house, in this garage, anywhere she was—she was safe because I’d made fucking sure of it.
She smiles dimly. But doesn’t say anything instead she pecks my cheek, saying she is packing up but as she steps out of my arms. I know I have a problem on my hands. Ivory didn’t feel safe because of this wanker. Which meant it had to be dealt with.
Wasn’t a man to follow the rules. Never had been. Ivory was asleep upstairs when Gabe arrived at just after midnight.
“You said it was important?” Gabe looked at me sort of pissed off I had called him in the middle of the night.
Out of all Ivory’s brothers, I know Gabe would do anything to protect Ivory. Sure her other brothers loved her, but not to the extreme Gabe does.
“Yeah. I’ve got to go out. Need you to stay with her.” I tuck my extra gun in the back of my jeans. Double check my holsters are all filled. Gabe is frowning at me.
“You going somewhere, while armed like the terminator?” he asks.
“Just got a problem to deal with.” I pause beside him. “Don’t let anything happen to her.” Our eyes lock and he nods his head. What I didn’t know as I walked from that house, was there was a chance come morning I wouldn’t be back and there was a larger chance then I thought, that I wouldn’t see Ivory again.
61
Ivory
I bolt up awake in bed. Sweat coming from my forehead, as the fear from the nightmare continues to roll through my body. It was just a dream. Kace isn’t dead. Kace is right here. I turn to my side, only to frown. I glance at the bedside table, seeing the time. It’s four in the morning, where is he? I throw the blankets back, and my feet hit the floorboards.
“Kace?” I move towards the bathroom, and then hear a noise from down stairs. Immediately my skin is alive with fear, and I grip the gun under the bedside table. Kace wouldn’t leave me. Kace wouldn’t leave me in a house by myself. So where is he?
I grip the gun and walk down the stairs. Raising the gun when I hear movement in the kitchen. I see a shadow on the wall, cast from the moonlight, and my heart is pounding and pumping fear through my body.
“Kace?” I say his name, and the shadow pauses. And I know immediately. It isn’t Kace. But then I see another shadow being casted on the wall. And it’s the shadow of a gun. I swallow sharply.
“Come on baby girl put the gun down.”
I clench my eyes shut tight together and then open them.
“What are you doing in my house?” I keep the gun raised as Taylor steps out into the hallway.
“Your brother is passed out on the couch. Makes one wonder if your boyfriend is out fucking another woman?” Taylor lowers his gun, his lips twitch up and my body is screaming at me to shout. So I opened my mouth, and Taylor knows what I’m about to do. He’s quick. Quicker than me. I go to shout but his hand covers my mouth. “Come on baby girl, play nice now. Let’s not wake up your brother.”
His other hand wraps around the gun. Then I feel it. A gun in my back. “Want to go for a drive baby girl?” He whispers in my ear. “What’s that, you’d love to? Well let’s go then.”
I blink tears as his grip around my mouth is strangling me. I want to scream but that gun in my back stops me.
Before I know it the fresh air hits my body and he is walking me out to the car. It’s when he pops the boot I know I’m in serious trouble
“What’s that saying?” he says in my ear. “If I can’t have you, no one can.” And then immediate pain spreads through my body and I pass out from a blunt force blow to the back of my head.
62
Kace
“He won’t hurt her.”
I look at Gabe. “He knocked her over the head with a Glock and forced her in a boot of a car!” Who was he trying to kid? Himself or me? Taylor was dangerous and currently had my woman. My purpose. My reason for breathing. I exhaled sharply, running my hands over my head. I know what I’ve got to do. And I’m prepared to do worse to get her back.
“God Kace. The way you are acting. Someone would get the impression you love her.” Links eyes are on me as he insults me. Is he trying to test me?
“I do.” I straighten up, looking him in the eyes. “I do love Ivory and I sure as fuck won’t let last night be the last time I see her.” I vowed the moment that I knew she was taken that I would track this bastard down, and I would watch the life drain from his eyes. He had my purpose, my reason, and he thought he could take her from me? He was sadly fucking mistaken. In the end it would be his fatal mistake.
But really I had done my own fatal mistake. I admitted out loud—to Ivory’s brothers that I loved her. My fatal mistake was not telling her those words and I prayed to god that I get a second chance at telling her how I feel.
“The boys are combing the cities cameras trying to pick up on that black mustang.” Asher gets off the phone. “Who knew your biker friends would come in handy.”
“More manpower the better.” I mutter and glance at Gabe. Part of me is pissed he slept through it. But I know he is beating himself up, enough for the two of us. So I don’t rub salt in the wound. But it takes a fucking lot of willpower not to do it. Taking the higher ground was never an easy route.
“We need to think like Taylor.” Gabe mutters looking between us boys.
“He’s got the money. He’s got the control.” I say, “The only thing he wants is Ivory and that is a fucking problem.” I glance at Links. “Did he ever come across as one of those men, if he can’t have it no one care, type deal?” I’m trying to work out what I’m up against and if he is the type of man to kill her just so no one else can have her.
Link’s eyes tell me the answer and it scares the shit out of me. I swallow sharply. “We need to get ahold of him, I’ve got an idea.” And I really don’t like the idea, but it’s fucking better then the option of him killing Ivory then himself.
Links pulls his phone out. “Wanna share this great idea?”
“He needs to think there is no threat. He needs to think that Ivory has a shot of loving him again.” I take his phone.
“I’ve got a bad fucking feeling about this.” Gabe says and I nod my head. It wasn’t my best idea. But I’d do anything to keep Ivory breathing.
“Out of you three, which one would he answer a call from?” I question them, before using Links phone. I knew I had one shot at pulling this off.
“Asher.” Gabe and Links said together.
I then look at Asher. “Then you get the job of telling Taylor that I’m fucking another woman and that I’m using Ivory.” Asher smirks and I shake my head. “You have to be convincing and plant doubt in Ivory’s head.”
“What the fuck is this going to do?” Gabe snaps at me.
“It will buy us time.” And I knew it wasn’t ideal.
Asher pulls out his phone, but he pauses before calling. “You know this will break my sisters trust in you and once that is broken, there is no repairing the damage.”
“I’m sure she will understand when I explain why I did it.” I was hoping and praying it would be that easy.
Asher dials the number and steps to the side to tell Taylor the planted information.
“You know you just shot yourself in the foot?” Gabe snaps at me again. “I like my sister happy and she seemed happy with you but you are destroying that by planting doubt in her head.”
“Like I said. I love her. Which means I want her breathing. This gives me time to find her.”
“That’s if she wants you to find her after she hears that.” Links only states the tr
uth and I knew that Ivory not wanting me to come to her rescue was a real problem. But I’d rather her breathing and hating me, then not breathing at all.
63
Ivory
Coming to my head is aching, and as I sit up, I take in the plush size bed and the expensively furnished bedroom. Where the fuck am I?
It floods back a second after that thought. Taylor took me! I go to move to the end of the bed, and immediately I’m looking for an exit.
“You can calm down baby girl.”
And I freeze. My eyes going off the bedroom door, and onto Taylor sitting in an armchair, he leans forward a gun in his right hand.
“You can’t keep me here.” I say quickly, my words rushed.
“Not planning on it.” He butts out a cigar and locks eyes with me. “I just wanted to talk. Like I’ve been telling you since your dad died.”
“So you kidnapped me!”
“Come on Ivory. You weren’t going to give me the time of day with that biker around!”
“Again! You kidnapped me! My family will be worried sick!”
“By family you mean the biker.” He tilts his head watching my reaction. I don’t say anything. “I’ve already spoken with Asher, he knows you are safe.”
“I don’t think the words safe and kidnapped go together.” My hand goes to my pounding head.
“Sorry about the head wound. I needed you quiet so I could get this chance.” He gestured between us. And I just shake my head looking at him.