“Celine…” I mutter, looking to my brother.
Reed doesn’t nod, comment or move. He’s as stoic as a statue.
“Who’s Celine?” Elena asks, looking to me and then to Reed.
Oh, shit. I don’t know if he ever told Elena about her. Michelle’s eyes catch my own and I can see how close she is to crying, she’s a strong woman but we’re talking about something that crippled the club. She wasn’t even close to Celine, but when a woman is targeted like that, it makes everyone terrified, especially considering she was Max’s girlfriend at that time and Reed’s ol’lady was killed.
“I’m waiting to hear back on where he is,” Reed tells me. “I don’t have anything definitive yet, so we won’t make a move until I do.”
I nod.
At this point, Elena is fuming. “I asked you a question, you don’t just get to ignore me!” She snarls at her husband, hand on her stomach. She’s wearing this dark purple shirt and I can see her stomach protruding a bit. She holds her hand to her stomach, almost like she’s cradling it.
“I don’t talk about her,” he tells Elena, the tone of his voice sending a small warning to stop asking him, but knowing Elena, she won’t. She’ll only push him harder.
“Obviously not, since I’ve never heard you say her name, once. So, who the fuck is the bitch?”
I see the way Reed’s face turns when Elena refers to Celine as a bitch.
I don’t think he’d hurt his wife, but I’m not taking any chances. I position myself between him and her, talking before he starts going off. “Celine was Reed’s old girlfriend, Dwayne murdered her in cold blood and then ran off like the coward he is. It’s been years, Elena.”
Her face drops in shock as she stares at me, and then looks to her husband.
I can see the sadness written all over her, she’s sad for him but I think she may be disappointed as well, disappointed that he didn’t open up to her, but that would have never happened. Reed hasn’t even said her name since she was killed.
I think it’s been far too difficult for him to think about her, and he changed so much after her death, and then Elena came into his life and when I came back home…it was like he never went down that dark path. Elena had brought back the life within him. She’s the reason he came back from that dark place, and I don’t think Reed ever wanted her to know about it.
Elena pushes past Reed and I, exiting the clubhouse.
He sighs, running his hand through his hair and goes after her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be going wedding dress shopping today?” I ask Michelle.
“Yup, we’re supposed to.”
I chuckle, knowing that we’ll have a delay, but trust me those ladies are still going. It’s for Bells, and she’s like our own prized little pony. Whatever she wants, she’ll get, regardless if her sister may murder her husband or not.
Chapter 9
She smiled at the ocean because the waves told her story.
R. M. Drake
Michelle
Two hours later than we were scheduled and we finally make it to the boutique. It’s beautiful, gold, champagne and rose colors fill the space. Every piece of furniture is decked out in white, with rose gold accents. This looks just like the kind of place Bellamy should be purchasing her princess dress in. It’s not my style, but it suits her.
I walk around, running my fingertips against the beautiful dresses, something that I’ll probably never end up wearing myself. I doubt that I’ll ever be the one walking down the aisle into my happily ever after.
“See something you like?”
Kyle’s voice startles me, causing me to jump.
He’s quick to rest his hands on my hips and steady me so I’m no longer a wobbly mess, or the equivalent of a newborn foal.
“Nope, not a thing,” I mutter, glancing around the entire shop. This place is definitely not my style. If I ever did get married, it wouldn’t be in a nice dress. It’d be in daisy dukes and a ripped tee shirt that showed off my tits really nice. I’m not the fancy schmancy kind of girl but I’d have to be semi fancy since Bellamy wanted us all in lacy dresses for her wedding. She didn’t care what color, but I flat out told her lace wasn’t really my style and it never would be. She just nodded and told me to wear whatever I feel comfortable in, and I had to laugh at that. I’m most comfortable in hardly any clothes, and there she was telling me to get something comfortable. If I had to wear a dress, it would definitely be my style.
“There’s gotta be something in here that you like…” Kyle mumbles, surveying the store.
“It’s all lace and fluffy stuff. You and I both know that’s never really been my taste.”
“Nope, never has been. You’re more of a rocker chick with a hippy style.”
“Sure am!” I nod, smirking at him before taking our conversation a bit more serious. “What are you going to do?”
“About?”
“Rafael. I’m not blind, none of us are. We can hear all of your whispers and it doesn’t help that none of you are being honest with us. Today was the only time we got confirmation that we should be worried about him, and I think that we need to be prepared….especially since Dwayne is back in town and we know what he does to women who are affiliated with any of you…” I look away, knowing that I don’t need to say anything else. I’m terrified, and it’s obvious. I have every right to be, I mean….look at Celine. She’s dead and walked around like she was untouchable cause she was dating Reed. I won’t make the same mistake.
“I won’t let Rafael touch a hair on your pretty little head.”
“You should know better than to make promises like that. I’m not naïve Kyle, and you shouldn’t be either. Anything is possible, and it’s just the price we pay.”
“No matter how much I try, you’ll never let me ease your worries.”
“Because you can’t, it’s not a matter of trying. It’s just that you can’t, no one can,” I whisper, looking up into his eyes. This is probably one of the most truth filled moments that I’ve ever had with Kyle. It shows that I’m trusting, but not too trusting because any moment I give my trust, it’s somehow broken. So, it’s better to not rely on anyone, especially when they never have a problem walking all over me anyways.
I’m pulled over by Elena and Dais’ to sit on the couch and watch as Bellamy tries on dress after dress. Maria is sitting on the floor like an excited kid sister and for the first time in a few days, I’m really smiling. Some crappy things may have happened over the last week, but I think maybe things are finally starting to look up, and if they aren’t, at least they’re looking up in this moment. At least, we can have this small distraction before reality sets back in.
“We need to get a move on it,” Kyle tells us, face drawn full of worry.
“Why? What’s the matter?” Bellamy asks.
All I can think of is how something is going down with Rafael, or maybe even Dwayne since he’s decided to show back up at the worst possible timing ever. My heart races in my chest, waiting to hear whatever it is that Kyle has to say. With each moment that passes, I realize that I’ve forgotten to breathe. Dammit, I’m so anxious right now.
“Butch got some baker lady at the clubhouse and says you need to decide which cake cause he can’t choose,” Kyle tells Bellamy.
All of us women break out into laughter, who would’ve thought that Butch of all people would ask a baker to come to the club to try to help with the cake situation. This is priceless.
Chapter 10
A moment of patience in a moment of anger saves you a hundred moments of regret.
HPLYTHINKZ.COM
Kyle
All of this wedding shit is doing a good job at distracting most of us, but I’m not like anyone else and neither is Reed. Every time he gives me a sideways glance, I know he’s worried about our now two threats, and one more that hits much closer to home. As much as I understand where Reed is coming from, Rafael is the bigger threat. Dwayne is just a piece of shit scumbag who gets lucky on occasi
on. Only, his luck has run out. Especially, since the bastard decided to show back up in Tennessee.
Everyone besides me, Bellamy and Reed are out prepping for the wedding. Bellamy even asked if Pain could run a few errands for her and while Reed isn’t a big fan of trusting him for obvious reasons from the past, he let Pain go off and do a few things for her to help out. You’d think that Reed would eventually forgive him, but I don’t know if that will ever be possible. If Daisy could forgive me for what I did, Reed should be able to let the past be with Pain, but I doubt that any of us will ever see that day.
I’m sitting on the couch by Reed’s desk in his office when he pulls out a box, sitting it on top, eyes scanning over it like the box somehow holds the weight of the world. That’s my que to go over and open it, so I do, carefully taking the cardboard from the top. I almost expect it to be our father’s ashes, forgetting until now that we haven’t had a memorial service for him. All of the drama and wedding details have overshadowed our father’s death. While he needs to be put to rest in the proper way, even being the piece of shit that he was, I’d rather be celebrating the living versus the dead.
I peel back the layers of tissue paper until I see something that shocks me more than I care to admit. “Wow…”
“Yeah,” Reed mutters lowly, looking up at me from his seat. “I feel like an idiot now for even doing this, considering all that’s happened.”
“We don’t know everything,” I gently remind him, knowing it won’t do any good.
“I know enough. I know that Slasher came back in here with that mafia traitor bitch, who also happens to be Dmitri’s sister and that he killed our Dad. That’s what I know, and fuck me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t look too good for them now, does it? They all look like a bunch of traitors.”
“Or you look like the asshole who didn’t give them the benefit of the doubt.”
“Why should we go searching for answers when the truth is spelled right out in front of us?”
“The truth is never as it appears to be, Reed. You and I should understand that more than anyone. You’re simply just making assumptions given what you know, and you don’t have the full story, so do us both a favor and stop trying to put the puzzle pieces together when you don’t even know what the full picture looked like to begin with.”
Reed clenches his jaw, balling his fists out in front of him. “The only thing I need to know is that every single one of them are traitors, and there is no way Slasher will ever wear this cut.”
I look back down to the cut that clearly reads his road name with our Skulls Renegade emblem. Reed was going to offer him a spot here. I know it had been talked about for a while, and while Slasher loved to say he was a Nomad, he most certainly wasn’t. He was always here more than any other club, and we needed to make it official. Add in what he went through with Bellamy, and he’s been family for quite a while. He sacrificed so much for her.
Bellamy waltzes on in through Reed’s open office door, Ryder on her hip. Any time Bellamy could, she was watching Ryder for Dais’ and Seamus. The girl loved kids a lot, and if she wasn’t so focused on her career I’m sure she’d be popping them out any day now.
“What’s that?” She asks, approaching the desk. When her eyes land on the cut, her hand shoots out to touch it but instead she grabs it, and holds it close against her. I know how Slasher not being here impacts the rest of us, but for Bellamy and Butch it has to be the hardest. The three of them are so close, they’d gone through hell together. “You were gonna do it?” Tears form in her eyes as she asks the question, looking to Reed. He nods once at her, before his spiteful nature gets the best of him.
“Was. Now you’re gonna throw it in the fire and burn it. We don’t give cuts to traitors.”
Bellamy’s neck whips up in his direction so fast, I swear if Ryder wasn’t in her hands she would have her hands on his neck or a pen in his eye.
“Slashie is no traitor, and you’d best remember that.” Bellamy hisses, glare fully focused on him. “How dare you even say such a thing? Do you not remember what he did, the sacrifices he made for all of us, for me? He went through hell. He…oh my god, Reed. He put himself in the line of fire so I wouldn’t be there. Slashie saved my damn life. His face was torn apart, in front of my very eyes. I had to watch that. I had to see everything unfold, to witness his unbearable pain and the strength that he never let falter. A traitor would not have done that, a traitor would have handed me over on a silver platter. No way would a traitor protect me. The only thing he did was fall in love, and that is no crime. Especially since you were the asshole who made him choose between her or us. You forced his hand, only you don’t want to admit it. Instead, you want to act like he’d been plotting to take the club down!” She shakes her head, turning around, holding both Ryder and the cut to her.
“How would you even know that?” Reed asks her, focusing solely on Bellamy.
She whips around to face him, staring him dead in the eyes, she lets out a small giggle. “What, you don’t think I stopped talking to him, do you?”
Chapter 11
Things have a way of working out. Be patient.
ExtraMadness.com
Kyle
“Butch needs to rein her in.” Reed seethes the second Bellamy is out of sight. I’ll admit, I’m a little surprised that she’s still in communication with Slash. It’s not far fetched, but given what happened…well, Bellamy shocked the living shit outta me with that.
“This isn’t the 1600’s. Bellamy is gonna do whatever she wants to, just as Elena does.” They are related after all, meaning that both of those girls are bullheaded and stubborn as fuck.
“You don’t think she’d invite him to their wedding, do you?” Reed asks me, and I don’t know what to say. This is Bellamy we’re talking about, and Slash is very important to her.
“Of course she would.”
“Hmm…” Reed rubs his hand along his chiseled jaw, contemplating like he always does.
“If you’re thinking about turning Bellamy’s wedding into a blood bath, you’d better cut that shit out now. We have enough to deal with Dwayne and Rafael. Your issues with Slash can wait.”
“Can they? It seems like all my problems can just wait,” he grumbles out, standing up from his seat. “I am tired of all this bullshit. It needs to end, and now. All of it, just needs to fucking end. There’s so much changing, and I’ll be damned if we’re having threats thrown at us when my kid is born. I’ll be fucking damned, Kyle.”
I give Reed a stern look, knowing that I shouldn’t have to say what I’m about to, “You know as well as I do that there will always be threats. No matter what we do, we can’t escape it. The only thing that we can do is keep them all safe. That’s on us, so stop worryin’ about what you can’t control and start focusing on what you can. Like Dwayne, we need to get rid of his ass before he stirs up even more trouble for us. He always had a knack for doing it. Question is, when you wanna strike?”
“It’ll have to be after the wedding. If we do anything before and get held up, Elena will kill me.”
I chuckle, he’s right, she’d hang him out to dry – literally.
“For the record, since you two are too dumb to check for eavesdroppers. Slash is invited to my wedding and so is Katya too. He’s walking me down the aisle, and I swear to goodness, if you two muster up anything to ruin my big day, I will ruin you.”
“You invite anyone else I’m not too keen on right now?” Reed asks her.
I turn back to look in her direction and see her smirk. Sure, I’ve seen Bellamy smirk before, but not like a devious little diva, not like the way she is right now.
“Only Ksenia, Dmitri and Jenna. Like I said Reed, you’d better not ruin my day. Have all the drama you want up until then and after, but my wedding is not going to be your way to knock out two birds with one stone. They’re my family too, all of them are as much as you are, so please, do not make me have to choose like you forced on Slash. Just don’t.” Bellamy walks
away.
This time, I can hear her boots headed down the hall and the front door slam with a thud. “You’re going to be having the best time at her wedding,” I sarcastically remark.
“Dmitri killed our father.”
Oh, here we go again. “Just stop with it. I don’t know what you want me to say, that Dad was this angelic piece of shit who did no wrong? No. I can’t say it, because it’s not true. You never wanted to believe one of the rumors that came out of anyone’s mouth, but they were true, Reed. Dad loved underage girls. He was a predator, a fucking molesting piece of shit. If you want to act like it never happened, then fine, but don’t expect me to do the same. We’re all better off with him being dead.”
“How can you say that?”
“Cause I’m a realist. All he ever was is a risk. Those girls never deserved what happened to them, and I just hope Dmitri made him suffer.”
Reed simply stares at me. I’m assuming that he’s wondering how I could say such terrible things. It’s not hard though, it shouldn’t be for him either. “How many were there?”
“Three that I know of. I heard about more, but I know of three. Who do you think was cleaning up his messes?”
“Tell me you didn’t kill them.”
“Of course, I didn’t kill them. What the fuck is wrong with you!?” I snap, rolling my eyes. “What I did was make sure they had money to go to whatever college they damn well pleased, money to buy their first car. I didn’t want those girls to fight for anything, especially when they suffered enough at his hands.”
Reed gives me a somber look. “How much did you give them?”
“I still give them five thousand a month. I’m not paying them off, Reed. It’s my way for apologizing. You know, even when I got in deep shit with the loan sharks, I still made sure those girls were getting their money. If I couldn’t make sure they were cared for, how was I supposed to sleep at night?”
“I had no idea…”
“No, not one person did, or does until right now. I know you didn’t want him to die, but he needed to. For everyone’s sake, he needed to be in the ground. You know as well as I do that Dmitri probably figured out what Dad liked and that’s why it happened. He wouldn’t have killed him if there wasn’t a reason, and if he shows up to the wedding I think you should ask him. Give him the benefit of the doubt and just ask to have a conversation with him. It won’t hurt anything, just have the damn conversation. I’m not saying it’ll solve all our problems, but it may just explain a couple things.”
Reclaimed (Skulls Renegade MC Book 6) Page 4