Beef grabs two beers then points to a table.
“Steph’s it for you, isn’t she, man?”
“Fuckin’ right.” Beef picks up his bottle and drains half the contents in one go. “Never expected to find her, not how I did anyway.”
I spare a glance for Max, now stretched out on his side where we’d left him. Uncaring that people need to step around him if they want to play pool. He’ll be off duty until Steph needs him. “That was bad,” I tell Beef, remembering Max lying still and bleeding on the pavement. “I thought that dog was a goner for sure.”
“Me too, Ro. Me too.”
We’re quiet for a moment, thinking back. Then I’m driven to ask, “Did you know, Beef?”
“What?” His brow furrows.
“Did you feel something for Steph—Stevie as she was then—at that point?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, some part of me knew. But I didn’t want to get into another relationship, so I convinced myself I’d just be a friend. Had gotten out of the clutches of one needy bitch, didn’t want another to weigh me down.”
“Steph wouldn’t do that.”
“Didn’t know that then, did I? Tell you the truth, Brother. All I saw was a blind girl who’d always need a helping hand. Didn’t know how fuckin’ wrong I was.” His head tilts questioningly as he regards me. “Why the questions, Pyro? You getting fed up being a single man?”
“Whoa. What? No way. Why would I want to settle down, Beef? I’ve got everything I could want. Pussy in the clubhouse, and with this cut and this face?” Putting my elbow on the table, I cup my chin with my hand. “One look at me, and a glance at my cut, any bitch would drop her panties. I don’t need a bitch to be blind.” I only just manage to rear out of the way of his punch, but Beef is laughing as well.
Then he grows serious. “Used to be like you. Used to think I could get by on casual pussy. Then I saw my brothers settling down. There’s a lot to be said for a woman who’s yours and yours alone.”
“Used to laugh at you lot in Tucson, most brothers hooking up with their women. But now it seems it’s happening here too.” I grin at him. “Think Pal must have brought something with him.”
“Infected your water?” Beef laughs. “Well count me out, unless it’s in the air. I met Steph before I’d set foot in the clubhouse.” His head moves in a negative gesture. “From what I heard, Demon couldn’t resist when he found Violet again. Pal was always certain he’d end up with Jay. I reckon you’re safe if you’re getting worried about it. It’s only Skull’s relationship that happened out of the blue.”
“Yeah, and well, there’s a woman. I’m not surprised Skull couldn’t resist. You see the tits on her, man?”
Beef chuckles. “Can’t really miss them.”
“And she can cook too.”
Beef cocks his head. “That do it for you? Big tits and culinary skills?”
He’s joking, but I give an honest reply. “Don’t know what would catch my eye. Certainly not Mel, she’s Skull’s. Would never step on another man’s toes.”
He nods. None of us would. Apart from the normal rights and wrongs of it, the man would lose his patch and receive a beatdown too. Particularly in this club. Man doesn’t go near a woman who’s claimed. Hellfire’s father, Blackie, had put his hands on Hellfire’s woman and was dispatched to Satan for it.
“Hey, speak of the devil…” Beef nudges my arm.
I swing around to see which one he’s referring to, then offer a smile of welcome. “Hey, Mel. Don’t normally see you here during the week. You gonna cook for us? Skull with you?” It’s unusual, but not uncommon for her to be here on her own.
She walks toward us, and it’s then I notice the worried expression on her face. She nods toward the VP. “Beef, I was hoping to speak to you or to the prez.”
“Yeah? Well I’m here. What can I do for you, sweetheart?”
She flicks her eyes toward me, then back to the VP, then, adorably bites her lip.
“Want to speak in private?” Beef offers.
She shakes her head. “No, it’s okay. Look, I know about club business, alright? I know you won’t tell me what he’s doing, I just, I just want to know if Skull’s okay? He’s been gone since Sunday morning, and normally he’d contact me, but I haven’t heard anything from him. Can you just tell me if he’s alright, and when he’ll be back from whatever he’s doing?”
My brow creases as I look at Beef. I can almost see the wheels working in his head too. Fact is, I haven’t seen Skull around. Not that that’s unusual during the week, as nights he spends with Mel, and days he’s working with Cad and Pal. But then he does normally come into the clubhouse a time or two.
“You had an argument, Mel?”
Her eyes sharpen. “He’s here?”
“Answer the question, sweetheart.”
“No, Beef.” She looks suspicious. “Look, if he’s here, it looks like we’ve got some talking to do. I’ll go to his room.”
“Yeah,” Beef says, his gaze finding mine. “Go see if he’s there.”
We watch until she’s halfway up the stairs, then I say out of the side of my mouth. “She’s not going to find him, is she?”
“Nope.” Beef pulls out his phone. He taps on a number and holds the device up to his ear. After a moment he shakes his head. “No reply.” He then selects a different contact. “Pal, is Skull with you?” I watch his face. It darkens. “And you didn’t think that was odd? Yeah, okay. I got you.”
“Well?” I question when he ends the call.
“Hasn’t seen Skull all week. Apparently, that’s not unusual. If they hadn’t got a job on, he works at the shop, so Pal thought he was with you.”
“Nope,” I repeat the word Beef had used. “He’s not been at the shop. Think we might have problems?”
“If he doesn’t turn up at church tonight, yes.”
I press my lips together. “Not happy waiting to find out. Need to know what she knows. Might be nothing at all…”
“Or we might have a brother in the wind,” Beef finishes for me. “When I tried his number, I just got the message the call couldn’t be taken. No option to leave a voicemail.”
Melissa chooses that moment to walk back down the stairs, a dejected look on her face. “He’s not there,” she tells us, unnecessarily.
“Mel,” Beef says, patiently. “Tell us what happened, and where he said he was going.”
He’s said nothing at all, but far too much. Mel is not stupid. “You don’t know where he is, do you?” She looks completely aghast.
Beef’s calm, patient. “Not right now, no,” he admits. “Tell us what he said, and when he left.”
“It was Sunday morning. He said he had some shit to do, club business. Not to worry if he didn’t come back that night. But it’s Wednesday now. Since he made me his old lady, he’s never stayed away for the night, except… But, anyway. Is this how it’s supposed to work?” Her face tightens. “If you know anything Beef, please, tell me.”
The VP stays in inquisition mode instead. “Did you have an argument, Mel? A falling out?”
“No, not since… Well, after your patching in party, Beef, the week before last, he’d stayed out all night, but we made up. Things have been going great since then. But now I need him, I need to speak to him. I can’t contact him; I don’t know what to do.”
“Hey, hon. It will be alright. Perhaps your argument’s been playing on his mind and he’s taken off to clear his head. He’ll be back. Probably walk in the door any minute.” Over the top of her head, my eyes meet Beef’s. We both know I’m giving her assurances I can’t make.
“But it was sorted,” she whispers. “We’ve been getting on well. He kissed me when he left, told me he’d see me again soon.”
Beef seems to come to a decision. “Look, Mel. Either stay here or go home. Skull may walk in the door any moment. It’s church tonight. In the meantime, I’ll check with Prez and see what I can find out. It’s possible he sent him somewhere without telling me
.”
I hold back my snort. Yeah, like the Prez would go behind his VP’s back. But then, Beef is fairly new to the role, and maybe he hasn’t cottoned onto that yet. Or, more likely, Beef’s just giving Mel something to hang onto.
Mel looks from him to me, then back again. Then, for a second, finds the floor fascinating. Then she straightens her back. “Not much else I can do. I’ll hang about here while you speak to Demon, Beef. I’d like to hear as soon as possible if there is any news.”
“I may not be able to tell you, sweetheart, if it’s club business.”
Which means Beef’s buying us time.
“But at least you’ll be able to contact him, tell me he’s okay. He won’t answer when I try to call.”
If he’s not answering her calls, it suggests he’s taken off to clear his head after the argument she’d thought he’d recovered from. But that doesn’t sound like the Skull I know or fit with the way I’ve witnessed him treating his woman. My gut feel is that there’s something wrong.
“Hey, Steph,” Beef calls to his woman who’s emerged from the office she shares with Cad. She changes course heading for his voice. Beef takes a second to get the harness on Max, then places the handle in her hands. “Will you keep Mel company for a few? She’s lost track of her man.”
“Of course, I will.”
“You want to come?” Beef jerks his head toward Demon’s office door.
I might as well. I’ve got nothing better to do.
“I’d sure as fuck like to know what’s going on,” I agree, keeping my voice low so Melissa doesn’t hear.
Chapter Ten
Melissa
Max leads Steph into the kitchen, I follow along.
“You okay, Mel?”
I shake my head, then realise she can’t see me. “No, I’m not, Steph. I don’t know what to do.”
She places her hand on a chair, pulls it out, and sits down. “Want to tell me about it?”
I take a seat opposite her and pull my thoughts together. I thought I’d turn up, find out at least when he’d be back, then return home and get on with my day. Now it seems it’s not going to be that simple. “Skull and I have been getting on really well. We’re together most of the time if I’m not at work, or he’s not doing something for the club. It came as a bit of a surprise on Sunday morning when he said he had club business, and could be away for the night.”
“Okay. That’s something I could see Beef doing. Would hate him to be gone, but sometimes they go to other chapters to do stuff. That’s how Beef ended up here.”
Yes, I can see that. “But if Beef was gone, don’t you think he’d contact you? Or answer the phone if you called?”
She shrugs. “I suppose so. But if he is doing something where he doesn’t want to be distracted, maybe he can’t spare the time to talk to you.” She pauses and thinks. “Though that sounds pretty lame, doesn’t it? What did Beef say?”
“That’s the point. I need to contact Skull, so I came here to see if they had a way of getting a message through, or, at least, tell me when he’d be back. But,” my voice sinks lower, “Beef didn’t seem to know anything about it. He’s gone in to check with Demon in case he sent Skull off on some business that Beef doesn’t know about.”
She’s quiet. I try to read her face.
“I’m clutching at straws thinking that’s the answer, aren’t I?”
“Beef and his prez are pretty tight,” she agrees. “If you’d asked another member, maybe that could be the case, but Demon? Can’t think what he would want to keep from Beef.”
“Could, could he have had an accident?” I breathe out. I’d had no thought in my head other than anger at the club taking Skull away from me, I hadn’t dreamed for a moment that no one here knew he was missing. I hadn’t considered he went out on his bike and never came back.
But he’d told me he’d be gone a day or two.
Where else would he have gone, except on club business?
Why hasn’t he come home?
“Oh Steph, what’s happened to him?” My mind pictures him dead or dying by the side of the road. Tears prick at the corner of my eyes, and I wipe them away. Focus, Mel. I won’t help my man if I can’t stay strong, at least until I know whether I’m right to worry or not.
I realise the time. I’d only skipped out on my lunch break with every intention of going back, now it’s early afternoon. At least I have the presence of mind to text Beth and ask her to say I’m ill and to make my excuses. Returning to the office right now is not what I want to do.
I’ve just finished my reply reassuring my friend that everything’s fine, glad I texted and hadn’t placed a call, easier to prevent her guessing I’m lying, when I hear bikes in the distance. Maybe it’s Skull? I get to my feet to go check, when Pyro appears in the doorway.
“Could you come see Prez, Mel?”
I wave in the direction of the front of the club. “That could be him arriving back now.”
Pyro shakes his head sadly. “Prez is rallying the troops, Mel. That’s unlikely to be him. But I’ll make sure. Prospect?” He turns and yells the last word. When Beaver appears at a run, he addresses him, “Check whether Skull’s come back. If you see him at all, come to Prez’s office immediately, okay?” Then he turns back to me. “Come, Mel.”
The last time I’d been in Demon’s office was the first day I’d come to the club and Skull had introduced me. This time, I’m just as nervous, albeit for different reasons.
Demon looks up from his desk and doesn’t even bother with a smile. “Come in and sit, Melissa.”
I do so, noticing Beef is in the other chair. Pyro stays too, standing, leaning his back against the wall.
“First, I’m sorry, but Skull wasn’t doing anything for the club.”
I suppose if that’s so, it’s best I hear it straight away. But the alternative is that my man had lied to me. What a stupid woman I’d been. All he had to say was ‘club business’, and I’d known I couldn’t pry.
But is there a chance Demon’s got it wrong? “Could he have been doing something for you on his own? Found a new business lead to follow?”
“Possible,” Demon confirms, “but unlikely.” He leans forward, placing his elbows on the desk, and resting his chin on his clasped hands. His dark eyes focus on me. “Tell me everything, Melissa, what he said, the exact words he used, what happened between the two of you before he left, and the mood he was in. Anything and everything could be significant.”
I wring my hands together, biting my lip and wondering where to start.
Beef prompts me. “Start with the argument you had after my patching over party. What started that?”
I look to my side. I really don’t know what to say. “It’s private,” I settle for, at last.
Demon pinches the bridge of his nose. “We’ve got a brother missin’, Melissa. I understand you want to keep some shit between you and your old man, but anything that gives us a bearing on where he might have been headed, or why, could help us find him. What I want to assess is whether something between you upset him enough that he’s gone somewhere to cool his heels.”
“I can see your point, but when he left, he was upbeat. Kissed me as normal. Didn’t give me any clue that he was upset, or that he hadn’t come to terms with our situation.”
“Situation?” Demon’s quick to catch on. “What situation?”
“Do you want your man back, darlin’?” Pyro’s voice rumbles from behind me. “’Cause we can only help if we know what we’re dealing with.”
“No judgement,” says Beef. “If you stepped out on him, another man looked at you twice, then we won’t say a thing.”
“It’s nothing like that,” I gasp, indignantly, then realise the truth may be less embarrassing than any conclusion they might dream up themselves. “That night, after Beef’s party, he forgot to use a condom again.”
“Again?” Once more, it’s Pyro’s voice, and he doesn’t seem happy.
“It happened once be
fore. But we got away with it then.”
“This time?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know,” I say quietly. “But it was two weeks ago, and I want to take the test. I just wanted him with me when I did it.”
“What was his reaction?” Demon doesn’t look pleased.
I sigh deeply. “The first time, he tried to get me to take the morning-after pill. I can’t really explain why, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to leave it to fate, and I wasn’t unhappy either way. We had words, I told him I thought his reaction showed he wasn’t serious about our relationship and that pulled him up and made him think. We worked it out. He assured me he was all in with me, wanted a forever and eventually, he wanted kids. He’d just wanted to wait for a while until we started a family. Like I said, we got away with it that time.”
Beef sits forward, his hands clasped between his legs. “Let me get this straight. Skull knows nothing more than he’s fucked up again, and you may or may not be pregnant. Neither he nor you actually know.”
I nod. That’s right.
“Don’t see this has anything to do with Skull going, Prez,” Pyro states. “If he’d known, maybe, but he doesn’t. Surely he’d have hung around to find out?”
“It was worse this time though. His reaction, I mean.” I might as well tell them everything now. “He asked me again to take the morning-after pill and again said it wasn’t the right time. It sounded like it was even less so than the time before.”
Demon’s eyes sharpen. “He tell you why?”
“Club business,” I snarl the word. The excuse that works for these men every time. “He let me believe it was something to do with the club. That was all I could understand, that something external was putting pressure on him. I thought we were in a good place. He’d claimed me, we’re in a stable relationship. We both agreed we wanted kids. Okay, so maybe it’s still early for us, but at least on my part, I’m all in.”
Beef nods, I catch the movement out of the side of my eye. “I’d have said that too. He seems to care a lot for you, Mel.”
Devil's Dilemma: Satan's Devils MC Colorado Chapter #4 Page 8