Black Heart And Red Redemption (Iron Dogz MC)

by René Van Dalen

“Why are we doing this, DC? Are you going to turn it into a studio or something?” Terror asked as he eyed the double garage I had appropriated, with Hawk’s okay. Only, he didn’t know I wanted it right now. He thought I had been talking about sometime in the future. And just maybe I had given him that impression. Oops. Sorry, not sorry.

  “Exactly. Get to work boys, Mama needs this place empty double quick. We don’t have a lot of time, so let’s go.” I gave him no answer at all. These men gossiped more than a bunch of women after a couple of bottles of wine. Not telling them shit.

  There were some mutters but they set to work and wonder of wonders hardly ever bitched as they carried shit over to the big garage. Beast’s stinky car had been moved but only after they had a quick game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who had to drive it. Will lost and has been sniffing his t-shirt almost constantly since.

  “Stop fucking sniffing yourself, just take the damn thing off.” Owen finally snapped.

  “I have no idea how anyone could fuck a bitch that smells of perfume so heavily it soaks into the upholstery of the fucking car.” Will groused as he ripped his shirt off and dropped it on the paving outside the garage.

  With them carting things into the other garage they had drawn quite a few of the patched brothers’ attention and the men now stood with arms crossed over their chests watching with frowny faces. It wasn’t long before one of them had gone and snitched to Hawk.

  “Little bird, what’s going on? I didn’t know you wanted the space right now, I thought we were talking about sometime in the future.” My man asked as he threw a heavy arm around my shoulders. Don’t be fooled, it wasn’t affection, no, not at all. It was a ploy to keep me in place.

  “Nope, I need it as soon as possible.”

  “Why?” He frowned as if confused.

  “I don’t want her to leave because she will never be safe in Cape Town, my Viking. No matter what Dom does that old bitch won’t stop until she’s dead. You know it and I know it, and so does Pixie. She’s the one who gave me the idea.” I spoke in a whisper against Hawk’s chest and felt his chest rise in a heavy sigh.

  “Fuck. You’re not wrong, baby, but next time clear stealing my prospects with me so I don’t have to deal with this shit behind us. Okay?”

  I grinned up at him, stood on my tip toes and kissed his jaw. “I can do that.”

  Hawk let me go and as I turned away he swatted my ass. Hard. It freaking stung!

  “Hey!”

  The bastard laughed as he walked away and so did the rest of the brothers before they drifted away to go do whatever they did every day.

  My surprise was going to be epic, the best ever.

  And the best thing about the surprise was that it would keep Tori safe inside the walls of the Iron Dogz compound while she did what she loved. Danced.

  Tori

  Since I got the specialists’ okay on Friday last week I had been doing physical therapy with DC every morning. My friend was a phenomenal woman. Before my appointment with the specialist she had gone for a short physical therapy course with a friend and even had videos we watched to ensure we did the exercises exactly right.

  This morning we had pushed a little harder and I was horrified at how out of shape I was after a few weeks of not being active. This freaking injury had set me back more than I cared to think about.

  My leg ached almost constantly but I had been through this before and knew it wouldn’t last for ever. I was getting stronger every day and with the new brace could even walk around my room without limping too obviously. I wanted that damn brace off as soon as possible and had to stop myself from overdoing it.

  Another thing I had started doing was basic ballet workouts that would not put too much strain on my healing leg. And my back was holding up remarkably well. I still felt a pinch now and again in my ribs and lower back, but it wasn’t too bad. I’ve had worse while I was a dancer. You learned early on to push through the pain.

  People didn’t seem to realise that dancers were injured all the time. Pulled muscles, torn ligaments, injuries to knees, ankles and hips and let’s not forget the back. Our backs took a lot of punishment. And sometimes you danced while injured and that’s when you learn how to push through the pain. To dance as if every step didn’t make your body ache.

  And yet, we loved it, every single facet of it.

  If it had been up to me I would have danced until the day my body parts gave out and I was forced to retire.

  Shaking my head to get rid of the gloomy thoughts I returned my attention to the game of Snakes and Ladders I was playing with Sam. Yes, we were so desperate Sam had sneaked downstairs and liberated the game from the cupboard where Aunt Beryl kept things to keep the kids amused when they visited.

  Dearest virgin queen, I wanted out of this damned room so very badly. But there had been no news from Dominick and every time I spoke to Pixie on the pre-paid Ziggy insisted I use she warned me to stay put. My house was being watched as were her shop and house. The bastards hadn’t forgotten about me, not yet anyway.

  I could only hope and pray Dominick ensured that no one touched his sister. Those bastards the step-ogre had sent after me had been horribly scary. It was a couple of days after the attack that I realised what those bastards had been saying while searching for me. And what it meant.

  They had been watching me, but I hadn’t really been on anyone’s radar until I stupidly went to ask Dominick for money. That meant they had seen me with Pixie. They had been watching Pixie and because they were horrid creepy bastards when they saw me they added me to their list. At least Pixie and the Road Warriors were aware of the fact that she was being watched. Knowing the Road Warriors had her back was a relief, not much, but enough to allow me to sleep at night.

  Sweet baby Jesus, I needed to think about something else. Anything else.

  “You know what would be fun?” I suddenly said as I moved my counter three spaces closer to the head of the big green snake.

  “What?” Sam asked as he shook the dice in his hand.

  “Every time a snake swallows one of us we have to take a shot.”

  Sam chuckled and shook his head. “Not happening. You’re still on meds plus Kid and DC will kill me if I gave you alcohol.”

  I winked, giving him an evil smile. “They don’t need to know.”

  “Oh believe me, they will know. They’ll take one look at our drunken asses and I will be toast.”

  “True, they do love me more than they love you.” I teased.

  “That’s just not fair. I’ve been here longer than you.” Sam mock griped, then winked.

  “You might have been here longer but I’m this tiny, very cute little package, they can’t help but love me.”

  Sam laughed. “They just don’t know how much of a pain in the ass you are. Wait until they find out, then they’ll love me more.”

  I shook my head with a wide smirk. “Not going to happen, prospect-boy. I’m the queen of cute and lovable, you don’t stand a chance against me.”

  Sam laughed as he lay back on the bed and stretched his arms above his head. A slice of his toned belly was exposed and I had to admit, the boy was ripped. The abs and v-line was right there in my face, and so very pretty. I missed looking at a male body. As I looked up I found his laughing eyes on me.

  “Made you look.” He teased.

  “You’re such an ass. Fine, I looked. Nothing wrong with looking.”

  “True, I like looking.” He kept on teasing.

  I was just about to smack his exposed belly when Kid walked in to the room. He took one look at us on the bed and wasn’t pleased. In fact he looked like the proverbial thunder cloud.

  “What the fuck, prospect?”

  I didn’t give Sam time to answer as he jumped off the bed guiltily.

  “We’re playing Snakes and Ladders because neither one of us wants to play one more game of poker or gin rummy or go fish or any other damned card game you can think of.” I pulled a face. “I’m so freaking bo
red cooped up in this room I don’t know what to do with myself. Can’t you sneak me out for a visit with River? Please?” I begged.

  Kid immediately calmed. “Not today, baby girl. We have church later so all the brothers are hanging out downstairs or in the garage. Maybe another day when it’s not so busy around here.”

  I frowned. “You guys go to church? Wow, didn’t expect that.”

  Both Kid and Sam laughed.

  “No, baby girl, we don’t. We call our weekly meeting church and the room we’re meeting in is our chapel. It’s where we discuss issues and make our decisions regarding club business.”

  “That’s so weird. Even though I’m friends with Rooster and the guys I don’t know much about how clubs operate. All this stuff is new to me.”

  Kid dragged a chair to the bed. “You can take a break, prospect. I’ll call you when I leave.” He dismissed Sam.

  As he walked to the door Sam threw me a quick wink and I grinned as he quickly closed the door behind him before Kid could say anything.

  A thought suddenly hit me. “Aren’t people curious about why Sam is gone most of the time? I know I would be if I saw him every day and suddenly he isn’t around.”

  “Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. We’ve got it covered.”

  I didn’t quite believe him and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Kid grinned, leant over and ruffled my hair. The big bastard ruffled my hair!

  “Hey, don’t ruffle my hair, I’m not five.”

  “You’re so fucking tiny you look like a ten year old.”

  “Bullshit! I do not look like a ten year old. I have tits.”

  Kid laughed as if I had just said the funniest thing ever. “Jesus, I wasn’t talking about your tits. I meant you’re as short as a ten year old.”

  “I’m not, dammit. I’m five foot and a bit. Do not forget that bit. That’s taller than any ten year old I know.” I wasn’t going to give in until he admitted I was taller than a ten year old.

  He gave in quicker than I thought he would.

  “Fine, fine, you’re taller than a ten year old, and by the way, I was teasing.”

  I huffed out a breath. “Sorry, it’s my pet peeve. I hate people always talking about how short I am. I worked really hard to make people see me and not my height. The first time I was paired with Ilya I was so nervous because all his previous dance partners had been taller than me. I was worried he would be pissed that I wasn’t as tall as them. But I needn’t have worried. He never said a word, just waited for me to walk up to him where he stood in the middle of the studio. His eyes never left me and when he took my hand I knew I was safe with him. That very first dance rehearsal was the start of our dance partnership. It was as if we had been born to dance together.” I clamped my mouth shut when the loss started to burn in the centre of my chest.

  “It sounds like he was a good man.” Kid said softly as he reached for my hand and held it in both of his.

  Shuffling around on the bed until I faced him I crossed my legs, which I could now do, and clasped my other hand over the top of his.

  “He was one of the best men I ever knew. I made some shitty choices in men before him but I think he changed my luck.” I smiled and squeezed his hands. “He wasn’t a goody two shoes, not at all. He was a volatile Russian and I’m not a walk-over either, we had some epic fights but we never let it fester. We fought, we made up, we moved on.” The tears were very close to spilling over as I told him about my best friend.

  Suddenly Kid pulled me off the bed and into his lap, pulling me against his chest and wrapping his arms around me. “I’m so sorry you lost him, baby girl, but somewhere out there is a man waiting just for you. A man who will love you as hard as you need to be loved. The bastard will first have to go through me though.”

  I shook my head as I laughed. So typical of biker dudes. I have seen this very reaction from Rooster when Pixie had a date. The poor guy had to run the gauntlet of Road Warriors to get to her. This is why at the age of thirty two, she has not been in a serious relationship yet. None of the men had been strong enough to withstand the shit the Road Warriors threw at them. But I knew one day her warrior would come for her, not a Road Warrior maybe, but he would still be a warrior. No one else would get her attention and hold it.

  And me? Who would draw my attention? I didn’t know and I didn’t want to know, I wasn’t ready yet. My head and my heart weren’t ready yet. My losses still too new.

  “Did you just come for a visit or do you have news about that horrible old bitch?” I changed the conversation.

  “We’ve got our ears out there listening and we know they are watching your house and Pixie’s house and shop. They haven’t made a move on her, but then it would be damned stupid for them to do so. Dominick Maingarde will skin them alive if they touched his sister.”

  I tapped on his chest and sat up. “I remembered something this morning. When I was hiding I heard them talking about me and they were saying horrible things but the one thing that stood out is that they had been watching me. Before going to Dominick for a donation I had not been anywhere near him. That means the only place they could have seen me is with Pixie. Those creeps have been watching her for a long time, Kid. You need to pass it on to Dominick and the Road Warriors. They need to know she’s been under surveillance by that old bitch, and that it has been going on for a while.”

  “I’ll pass it on, Tori, but I’m sure they know about it. The Road Warriors aren’t stupid and no one wants to mess with them, especially not now that Doc’s taken over. And Dominick Maingarde is a force to be reckoned with and he will take care of the situation. I will bet my last cent on it.”

  I nodded my head in agreement and then a thought surfaced. If the club was having church today that would mean they were all going to be here. Oh shit.

  I cleared my throat. “So, when you hold church, are you all required to attend? Is it like an order from Hawk?”

  He grinned. “Something like that. We all attend unless we have other shit Hawk has ordered us to do. Today, for the first time in weeks, everyone is here. Beast’s court case is over and thank fuck he won that one. Those poor little girls of his has gone through enough with their whore of a mother.”

  I frowned. “If she’s so bad why was he with her in the first place?”

  Kid snorted. “She was a club girl and she caught him with the oldest trap. Pregnancy. He wanted his kid, so he married her.”

  Narrowing my eyes at him I tilted my head to the side and stared up into his face. “Didn’t you say he had two kids? So maybe the first was a glipsie (accident) but don’t tell me the same thing with the second. He couldn’t be that stupid. He had to have known better.”

  Kid dropped his head and swore then looked up and gave me the evil eye. “What I’m about to tell you stays here, between you and me. You don’t say a fucking word to anyone.”

  I nodded without a word. As he spoke I could feel my eyes widening in shock.

  “A couple of years ago he had started divorce proceedings. One night at a club party he got fucked up drunk. She sneaked into his room and took advantage of him. Two weeks later she told him she was pregnant and he was the father. Despite her fighting him he divorced her. Doing that shit to a woman is called rape. Fuck, we all know it had been rape. Beast had always walked on the darker side of life, but that shit pushed him all the way over. He’s not an easy man to know and is fucking dangerous. If we ever let you out of here you have to stay far away from him. I don’t want to have to fight my brother for you.”

  Oh fuckity, fuckity, fuck, fuck , fuck.

  If I ever walked out of this room and went downstairs he was going to take one look at me and throw me out the door. He had threatened me when he dumped me. In my head I could still see those lifeless black eyes and hear his cold, emotionless voice as he had shattered my heart.

  “Bitch, listen and listen good, if you ever set foot on Iron Dogz MC property I will beat your fucking scrawny ass bloody then throw you out in the stree
t. I don’t want to ever see or hear from you again. I’ve had you, now I’m done.”

  I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. Me standing frozen outside the gates of my parents’ house, watching his bike disappearing down the road. I left South Africa soon after and never returned. And when I did return this shit happened to me. I should have stayed away.

  “Baby girl? What’s going on? You’ve gone as white as a fucking sheet. Are you hurting?” Kid’s worried voice shattered the memories and brought me back to the present.

  “I’m fine, Kid. Just crappy memories and don’t you worry. I won’t be going anywhere near anyone called Beast. He sounds scary.”

  And of course somewhere up there the fates were laughing their freaking asses off because they knew.

  Those bitches.

  They knew what was coming.

  If they had let me in on the damn secret I would have run, far, far away.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Beast

  Leaning back in his chair Beast watched as his brothers streamed into the chapel, taking their seats at the table and against the walls. Hawk had called for a full meeting now that the shit Beast had been buried under had been shovelled out the fucking door. His weekend had been the best he had had in a very long time. On Saturday he and Rider had gone to Builders Warehouse and had bought the shit to put up a play area for the kids in the back yard. They had worked on it the entire weekend and were damned proud of what they had achieved. So far each of the kids had their own swing, even the baby, and they had built a sandpit big enough for all the club kids to play in. Beast was going to send the prospects out to pick up the special sand they needed this morning but found that DC had them cleaning out the double garage for her. No problem, he would send them out once they were done cleaning.

  Which reminded him, he had to get rid of that piece of shit car. No one at the club wanted it and he really couldn’t blame them, the fucking thing stank. The best thing he could do was to trade it in on something else. Then the problem of getting rid of the stinking piece of shit would belong to the car dealership. That definitely sounded like a good plan. He would get on it as soon as church was done.