Granted, he was much younger than the rest of us, and he had a mop of shaggy ginger hair and freckles on his cheeks and neck—but they were only looking at him superficially. I, on the other hand, was aware of what this kid was capable of.
I made the introductions, and Lewis shook his hand, eyeing him up and down. Oz smiled widely and didn’t know what to do with his hands as he stood behind me, fidgeting.
Rodeo began to give Lewis the details of our meeting with Paz Garcia. Lewis watched us with narrowed eyes, nodding his head as he listened.
“They want a trial run in a week’s time?” he asked, when Rodeo was finally done talking.
“Yeah, we don’t have the means to handle it. Tell Abe that!” Rodeo retorted and Lewis looked at me for my input.
“I’m working on it. Right now, we have Oz. This would be the perfect opportunity for us to put him to the test,” I said and Lewis turned his eyes on the kid again.
“And if he fails, which I have a feeling he will, what do we do then? Besides, what is one kid going to add to this mission?” Rodeo thundered and I glared at him, hoping he would just back the fuck down.
“One extra guy is better than nothing. In a few weeks, I’ll be able to recruit more,” I replied and Lewis shook his head.
“Rodeo is right about this. Now, instead of the three of you looking after the shipment and the distribution of these weapons, it’s going to be four of you. How much of a difference is that going to make?” Lewis asked.
“If I can just get a gun, I swear I can add a lot. I’m confident of it,” Oz spoke up and I whipped my head around to look at him with warning.
“First rule here, kid, is that you don’t speak till you’re spoken to!” Rodeo barked at him and Lewis waved a hand in the air.
“It’s fine, Rodeo, back off,” Lewis said and he turned from us and walked off behind the bar to pour himself a drink.
Lewis focused on Oz now.
“You have experience shooting a gun?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir!” Oz replied.
“Be honest here, kid. Have you ever shot a gun before?” Lewis growled and I saw Oz gulp as he looked straight at Lewis, holding his gaze.
“Yes, at a few beer cans,” Oz replied and laughter rang out in the bar. I sighed deeply. This introduction wasn’t going as well as I’d planned.
“So you’ve never actually shot a man before? An actual living thing?” Lewis asked him, grinning.
“And Abe wants this guy to be our backup on our biggest mission yet. Everyone is losing their fucking minds!” Rodeo growled from behind the counter as he cracked open a can of beer for himself.
Lewis chuckled and then looked at me.
“You know he’s green, right Abe?” he asked and I nodded my head.
“I guess we have no choice but to use him for this, since you’ve already shaken hands with that Garcia guy,” Lewis said and I could see Rodeo shaking his head from the corner of my eye.
“He only gets one chance, remember that,” Lewis said and looked at Oz again. “If he doesn’t perform, he’s out, you get me?” he added and I nodded my head.
“Get him outta here,” Lewis grunted and I grabbed Oz’ elbow and started leading him out of the bar.
“That went well right?” he asked as we walked out of the bar and into daylight.
“It went as well as it could go,” I said, releasing him.
“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” he said and I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. I was finding it hard to look this kid in the eye, knowing that I’d fucked his sister over my bike the previous night.
“Look, I need to train you before we go in. You need to be able to use a gun. You can’t go into this thing without a weapon this time,” I said and Oz was nodding his head wildly. He had been waiting to hear these words for a long time.
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it, man,” he said and I ran a hand through my hair. Alexis was going to lose it if she found out that I was formally putting a gun in her brother’s hand now, but I had no choice. I believed in this kid and I knew he could be a potential goldmine for the MC. All he needed, was this one chance to prove himself and I would have to help him get there.
“Meet me at Lewis’ garage in two hours. We’re going to start practicing some shots at the back,” I said. Oz smiled and nodded and I watched him run to his truck and get in.
I started smoking a cigarette as I watched him drive away. I had a lot running on this kid now, my own dignity and reliability in the MC was riding on him. I needed Oz to come through and prove himself, and now there was another problem digging away at my brain—I didn’t want to see Alexis cry again. I didn’t want her to worry about her brother, which I knew she would.
Why did I even care about what she thought? When did I start giving a shit?
Chapter 15
Alexis
I was in the sauces aisle, picking out new stock from boxes and arranging them on the shelves. It wasn’t the most exciting work, but it was exactly what I needed—something mechanical and routine, something I could do without having to think too much. I needed my brain to go numb, I needed the distraction from Abe and Oz.
My brother had finally done what I’d been wanting him to do for years. He had gotten out of bed early in the morning, even before I had a chance to leave my bedroom. I heard the front door shut when I stepped out, and I found a half eaten cheese sandwich on the kitchen table.
I should have been happy knowing that maybe Oz was finally beginning to develop good habits, but I couldn’t get rid of that itching feeling that he had only gotten up that early because he had to meet Abe. Abe was making him do it.
I’d been thinking about Abe all night, he was stuck in my head and no matter how hard I tried; I couldn’t get him out of there. I hadn’t said a word to him after we had sex and he said nothing either. It was like we had both mutually felt it, this weird spark. Like it could possibly be more than just sex; that it was more than just each other’s bodies that we needed.
For my part, I knew what it was that was drawing me to him. I felt safe around him, no matter how strongly I believed that his life was dangerous—I knew that if he was there, nothing was going to happen to me. He also knew how to make me feel noticed, like I was more than just a redheaded girl working in a supermarket. He looked at me like I might have something more to offer the world and it was an addictive feeling. I couldn’t wait for the next time that he would look at me.
But Abe was not that kind of guy. Even if he felt that spark and connection between us last night; he was not the sort of man who was looking for anything other than sex. He wasn’t like Joshua.
What he really wanted, was Oz, and I happened to be a side distraction, a play-thing in his hands.
I shook my head. The point of taking on this task of arranging the bottles of sauces on these shelves was so that I could stop thinking about everything, especially Abe.
I turned away from the shelf and bent down to pick out two more bottles from the box, and I saw three pairs of boots in front of me. I looked up slowly to find three men crowded around the box, glaring down at me.
At first I thought that these guys were from Abe’s MC. They had the same look; leather jackets, tattoos, muscular, shaved heads. But there was definitely something different about them. Abe and his friends had seemed to be less threatening, the more I stared at these men in silence, the more afraid I was of them.
“Alexis,” one of them said, and his voice was a threat. I gulped as I straightened up, looking up and down both sides of the aisle, hoping that someone would appear but nobody did. This was the quietest time of the day at the store. Probably the reason why these men had chosen to come and talk to me now.
“Yes?” I said meekly and clasped my hands together.
One of the men, who had a silver tooth which he revealed when he spoke, took a step towards me.
“We’re here about your brother,” he growled and I stepped away from him. I couldn’t understand what was going on, w
hy our lives had changed so suddenly. What had Oz got himself tangled up in?
“He’s not here”
“We know!” one of them said.
“We can see that!” another added and I gulped again.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, feeling my hands beginning to quiver. Running away from these men wasn’t an option. They were much bigger, stronger and more in number than me.
“Do you know who we are?” one of them asked, the one with the silver tooth.
“You’re from an MC, I can see that,” I said and lifted my head up to glare at them in turn. If I couldn’t run away, my only option now was to try and appear to be brave. I didn’t want them to think that they could scare me so easily, even though I was afraid. Much more afraid than I had ever been around Abe.
“We’re from the Dark Legion, and you have been talking to the Marked Skulls,” he replied and his voice seemed to be echoing.
“I don’t know anything about what’s going on between you,” I snapped and I turned to the side, trying to casually walk off but the man grabbed my elbow, pulling me back to where I was standing. I gasped and yanked my arm away from him.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch me!” I snarled.
“We’ll be doing much more than that if you don’t listen to what we have to say,” he roared and I glared at him with my shoulders heaving.
“Word on the street is that the Marked Skulls are trying to recruit your brother, grow their empire,” he said and added a chuckle at the end of that. His pals chuckled too and it made me sick to hear them laughing.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snapped and he brought his face close to me. I could see his silver tooth sparkling in his mouth.
“Are you embarrassed of being fucked by that blond bastard? You looked like you were having fun, but then, I never really know with women,” he said and dragged his face away again. His friends chuckled some more.
I could feel my cheeks turning pink. I didn’t think anybody saw us having sex on Abe’s bike last night, but clearly someone had and word had gone around. I kept looking at them, I didn’t want to look away because that would be a sign of weakness.
The men stopped chuckling and the one with the silver tooth lifted up his right hand, the back of which was covered thickly in tattoos. He cracked his knuckles and glared at me.
“You need to know one thing, Alexis. If your brother joins the Marked Skulls, they are all going to die,” he said and spat on the floor. My nostrils were flared, I could feel myself writhing with rage. How dare he threaten Oz! He was threatening Abe! If I could, I would have punched him, kicked him in the balls where it really hurt…but that would have been foolish of me.
“Keep your brother away from your lover boy, other than that, we don’t give a shit who you fuck,” he growled and with that, the three of them turned away from me and walked down the aisle like a pack of predators. One of them picked up a packet of something from the shelf at the end and tore it open and began to eat.
I hoped it was all caught on CCTV, that someone would be able to do something about it…but who was I kidding? Nobody, not even the beat cops were going to mess with these guys. Technically, they hadn’t done anything. They’d spoken to me and then shoplifted, nobody was going to mess with their MC on account of that.
With my hands shaking, I struggled to pull my cell phone out of the pocket of my jeans. I tried calling Oz, once, twice and three times and each time the call just rang through to the end. Either Oz was avoiding me or he couldn’t hear his phone.
My hands were still shaking and I clasped my mouth so that I wouldn’t scream. Oz needed to know. Abe needed to know too.
I felt helpless as I stood there, trying to think of something that I could do. These men had just waltzed into my place of work and threatened me and Oz and the entire Marked Skulls MC. I wasn’t afraid anymore, I was stark raging mad.
I had no other option but to go looking for Abe again. Somehow, I was beginning to believe that he would know what to do.
I ran down the aisle, looking around to make sure that the men had left the store. Then I ran up to Lucy, my manager, and begged her to give me the rest of the day off. Family emergency, I told her, and it wasn’t a lie. It was time that I took matters into my own hands. If Oz wasn’t going to stay out of trouble; then the least I could do was make sure that he was safe and knew what was coming.
Chapter 16
Alexis
I found out where Abe lived, which wasn’t hard to do since everyone in the neighborhood knew exactly where the Marked Skulls members lived. It wasn’t an apartment, like I expected, but a house with a garden in the front which was clearly not being looked after.
I parked my car outside and ran up the porch and knocked heavily on his door. It was the middle of the day, his bike was parked outside, I knew for a fact that he was inside.
When nobody answered the door, I knocked again and now finally; several minutes later; I heard the shuffling of feet inside. The door swung open and instead of Abe, it was Vanity who was standing in front of me.
She looked me up and down as she pushed open the screen door. We hadn’t ever spoken, even though we both recognized each other from around the neighborhood.
“What do you want?” she asked, chewing bubblegum noisily in her mouth. I clenched my fists on my sides, trying to keep my anger and jealousy at bay. Vanity looked as stunning as always, with long mermaid-like blond hair spread over her shoulders, a gorgeous hourglass shaped body with a protruding bouncy ass.
She was wearing the shortest pair of denim shorts I had ever seen on a woman and a small crop-top that revealed her whole midriff. Around her neck were thick gold-plated necklaces, to match the gold hoop earrings she was wearing.
“I need to speak to Abe, I know he’s in,” I said to her, and she cocked up one eyebrow in her forehead, still blocking my path into his house. She placed one hand on her hip and stuck her breasts out towards me, like she was trying to demonstrate just how much more desirable she was than me.
“He’s taking a shower, and no, you can’t talk to him right now, we’re busy,” she said, batting her eyelids lazily.
“I’m pretty sure he’s going to want to hear what I have to say,” I retorted and Vanity stepped up to me threateningly, pointing her long finger at me. Her nails were all freshly manicured to a bright red.
“I’ve been noticing you around him lately. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you but he keeps running off to talk with you privately. Whatever’s happening, you should know that he’s in love with me!” Vanity hissed at my face, and some of her spittle landed on my nose.
I blinked and wiped my face with the back of my hand.
“I have nothing to do with what’s happening between the two of you. I just need to talk to him about something important,” I said and tried to push past her so I could get into the house.
“Where do you think you’re going? I didn’t fucking invite you in,” she screeched, and pulled me back by my arm.
I pushed her shoulders with both hands and she stumbled back. When she’d gathered herself, she glared at me with quivering lips.
“Bitch!” she screeched and fell on me.
Vanity had a strong grip on me and I tried to push her away but she kept trying to hit me and scratch my face. We both heard the screen door banging open and we looked up, while we were just inches away from tumbling down the porch steps.
He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of jeans that hung loosely from his hips. I could see that Abe had just stepped out of the shower, his skin was damp and his blue eyes were shining. I gulped as Vanity released her grip on me.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Abe asked, placing his hands on his hips as he stood at the door, dragging his gaze from me to Vanity and then back at me again.
“This woman has gone completely nuts, she just turned up here and tried to get into the house. I told her we are busy,” Vanity said and smoothed
the front of her shorts.
I could feel the fumes emanating from my ears. I felt like I was about to burst as I glared at both of them. Vanity looked perfectly comfortable in this house, and now she went and stood beside Abe. It was hard to deny that the two of them made a great looking couple!
Abe’s shoulders heaved as he watched me. He looked so crazy hot as he stood there, with every muscle on his torso, every tattoo visible in the sunshine.
“You tried to get into my house?” Abe asked and my throat felt dry all of a sudden.
“I need to talk to you. She said you were in the shower, so I decided to go in and wait,” I said, my voice sizzling. He was watching me again, with that grilling deep gaze as I wrapped my arms over my breasts.
“And the two of you started punching each other naturally?” Abe asked and a grin formed on his face.
“She fucking started it! I told her she couldn’t go in!” Vanity screeched beside him, and he looked at her once and I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
“Look, I had something important to say but I guess it’ll have to wait. Sorry for ruining your afternoon,” I said and I made to turn and walk away but Abe looked at Vanity again.
“You’ve gotta go,” he said to her.
Vanity’s mouth dropped open and she stared at him with bubbling rage.
“Excuse me? I’ve been waiting for your call all day and now that you’re finally back, you want me to leave?” she screeched and Abe took a step towards me instead.
“We can talk inside,” he said to me and I looked at Vanity and couldn’t stifle my smile in time.
“I’m fucking talking to you, Abe! How dare you kick me out?” she continued to screech and Abe touched my back lightly, leading me into the house past her. Her voice hurt my ears.
“I’m not going anywhere! I demand to know what the fuck she’s doing here!” Vanity kept screeching and Abe turned to her at the door, just moments before banging it shut behind us.
“I don’t need to give you an explanation. I’m asking you to leave, nicely right now, but I’m not going to be very nice for much longer,” he said, in a calm voice.
Abe (Marked Skulls MC Book 3) Page 8