“Don’t keep me waiting,” she whines.
“Grab Sabrina and you two girls start the party without me, then I’ll meet you there.”
“But Pistol, you know how rough Sabrina gets,” Tammie complains. The bitch does, too. Fucking hell, she scares me when she gets that damn strap-on out.
“You’ll take it like the bad girl you are. Daddy will be there soon to give you the real thing. Now go get her.”
“Fine, but you better eat me out after all this.”
“Sure I will, baby,” I lie, walking away to Skull’s office. Once I get there, I close the door. It takes me a few minutes to send the picture from my phone to the printer, then I write a quick note and stuff it in an envelope with some money. That should do it. Too bad I can’t be around to watch the bitch cry. I can’t risk her seeing me, though.
I’ll just have to come back and celebrate my victory with Tammie and Sabrina. I grin. Someday soon, I’ll celebrate being the reason Skull is no longer breathing air, and then I’ll finally rule this club like I was meant to years ago… before he stepped in and fucked it all up.
Soon.
I stare at the receiver in my hand. The motherfucker hung up on me. He wouldn’t even really listen to me. Who the hell does that? Even with them thinking Beth was dead, shouldn’t he have at least heard me out? I rub the back of my neck as tension threatens to paralyze me.
I’m not sure what’s wrong with my sister or my niece. They tried to explain it to me, but it was all Greek. Something about the baby’s blood vessels and the umbilical cord… I don’t know. I couldn’t stop crying. I just know they took her straight back in for an emergency caesarian and wouldn’t let me anywhere near her. I tried to do the one thing I knew she wanted, but apparently Skull or whoever the hell I was talking to is a moron. How do I break it to my sister that even though she wanted her husband—the father of her child—to be here with her, that’s not going to happen?
I really should’ve went with plan A and cut off his balls.
“Miss Lawson?” A man in blue scrubs comes out of the main surgery doors using the name that my sister and I assumed last month when we made it to the states and started searching for Beth’s husband.
“Yes?” I ask, terrified to hear what he’s going to say.
“It was touch-and-go for a little while, but I’m happy to tell you that the mother and child are doing well. If Dr. Crowell hadn’t found you when he did, it could have been a whole different story. The baby will have to be monitored for a few extra days, but everything should be fine.”
“Oh, thank you, doctor,” I tell him, grasping his hand with tears running down my face. “Thank you so much. Can I see her? Can I see my sister?”
“The nurses are busy cleaning her up and making sure she’s okay. She’ll be in room 313 if you’d like to wait for her up there.”
I thank him, then he spends the next ten minutes telling me exactly how I will need to watch over my sister in the coming days. I assure him that I can, but inside, I’m in a panic. What if I screw up? What if I do something wrong? The last thing I want to do is hurt my sister. The mere thought makes me cringe. I do my best to shake it off and bring my attention back to the doctor.
“Thank you again, Doctor.”
“My pleasure,” he says. I watch him leave and think about everything that’s happened tonight. I’m worried how Beth will take it when I tell her that Skull wouldn’t even talk to her. It’s going to crush her—and that’s the last thing I want. I don’t want to hurt my sister, but I know the first thing she will ask me about when she comes to is Skull.
And what do I say?
* * *
I’m asking myself the same questions an hour later. That’s how long it takes for the nurses to bring Bethie. I was starting to panic, afraid something had happened while she was in recovery. Apparently, they’re just really packed solid and running behind.
“You look good, little mommy,” I whisper to her as they transfer her on the bed, pulling the covers up around her.
“That’s strange because I feel like hell,” she answers, her voice tired and a little shaky. She keeps her eyes on me the entire time the nurses move her around to get her settled. They finally leave us after giving her more medication and checking her IV.
“Did you get ahold of Skull?” she asks right away.
Didn’t I say that would be her first question? It makes me want to kill him all over again.
“Bethie… I tried. He didn’t believe me. He wouldn’t even listen…”
“We have to make him listen. He has to meet Gabby. When he sees her and knows I still love him, it will all be okay. With Redmond and our grandfather gone now, it’s just—”
“It’s just the family wanting us dead for killing grandfather,” I cut her off. “Don’t forget that, Bethie. We can’t let ourselves forget that.”
“So, we’re supposed to live the rest of our lives in hiding? We’re never supposed to have a life? What has all this been for, Katie? Why did we even hire that private detective to find Skull? Why did we go to so much trouble if I’m never supposed to have him? If we’re never going to be a family? He deserves to know Gabby. He deserves to know that I’m alive. I can’t just leave it alone, Katie… I can’t. Not now when my grandfather is gone.”
“You’re going to name her Gabby?” I ask suddenly. I change the subject because I can tell Bethie’s upset and that can’t be good for her.
“Gabriella,” she answers. “It was Skull’s mother’s name. He would want our child to carry her name.”
Something about the way she talks about him and their child makes my throat tighten up. I’ve never had that. Hell, I’ve never seen anyone have a relationship where it felt like they needed the other person to breathe. She makes it seem that way every time she talks of Skull. I have to do everything in my power to make sure she gets back to him…
“Excuse me,” comes a lady’s voice at the door. “There was a package delivered downstairs for a Beth Donahue? It was addressed to a Beth Donahue, patient in the maternity wing. You’re the only Beth we could find. It’s from an Andre Cruz?” She’s a doctor, or a resident… something. She has the coat on. As she walks towards me, I can see blonde hair pushed up under one of those surgical bonnets. Her nameplate reads: T. Torres. “Would that be you? He was a big guy wearing a leather vest.”
“I’m sorry, we don’t know any Andre—” I start to say.
“I do!” Bethie interrupts. “That’s Skull. Is he here? Can I see him, please?”
“I’m sorry honey, he left. He said you would want this.” The woman hands Beth the package. “I better get back to rounds. The admissions office was swamped and I told one of the nurses I’d check with you. I’m glad you and the baby are doing so well.”
When she leaves, I turn to look at my sister because I know this can’t be good.
“Donahue?” I prompt, knowing that dig can only mean one thing.
Bethie doesn’t respond; she’s too busy staring at the big manila envelope like it’s a snake. Her hand trembles as she reaches inside and pulls out three things. The first is a folded note. The second, a picture, then finally a large roll of money. I won’t know how much until I count, but from the hundreds and the size of the roll, I’m going to say it’s easily a hundred thousand. She reads the note, then lets out the saddest cry I’ve ever heard in my life. It sounds as if it was torn from her body. She drops the note as the sobs overtake her. I clumsily wrap one arm around her, then pull her close while using my other hand to grab the note and read it for myself.
Beth,
I’ve known for a while that you were alive. I had hoped you wouldn’t reach out to me. You were fun and I enjoyed what we had, but you’ve been gone a long time. I’ve moved on. I have a new woman now and she gives me just what I want: a warm pussy without so much fucking drama. She doesn’t have to be trained, either. She knows how to make a man happy.
Something permanent was never in my plans and your ass
cost me too much. I could hate you for not warning me about your family. I guess I owe you something. I’ve thrown some money in here for you to disappear. I never want to see you or your child again. As far as I know, the baby is probably Colin’s. I’m not about to let you blame me for it.
Stay away from me and my club. If I even hear you’ve been trying to talk to me again, I’ll make anything Colin would have done to you look like a cakewalk.
Skull
That’s when I see the picture. It’s of a man I can only assume is Skull. He’s kissing on some tramp’s neck, his hand on her naked breast, while she’s obviously taking a selfie of them.
I hold Bethie and let her cry. She trembles in my arms as her dreams come crashing down around her.
My hand trembles too… but mine is with anger.
Almost 2 years later
Meeting with Colin on Paradise Ridge
(mentioned in Craved—Sabre’s story)
“I don’t like this, boss.”
“That’s because it’s been damn good not having to deal with that fucker Colin,” says Skull.
“Well, yeah, that too. But fuck, man. It’s been quiet. What’s making him rear his head now?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be here. Jesus, I move two states away to get away from this asshole and the memories, and here I am again. This crap is never going to leave me alone.”
“We could just go, boss.”
“Fuck, no. I’m not running from these motherfuckers.”
“You ready, ese?” asks Diesel. The last couple of years have aged him, too. He’s harder than he used to be.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Skull growls, then walks towards the meeting room. Sabre and I fall in step behind him. Crusher, who is now part of Diesel’s crew, and another guy come up behind us.
“Jesus fuck, they let anyone in this damn place,” I say to Crusher.
“They needed someone to pretty up the place when your damn mug got close.”
“Fuck you,” I grumble, but the smile freezes on my face as Colin comes into view.
“I thought I told you motherfuckers I wanted nothing to do with you again,” Skull growls, not bothering to sit down. “I meant that shit. I especially meant it with your sorry ass, Colin, so you better have a really good fucking reason for calling this meeting.”
“Oh, come on now. You can’t be that bitter or you wouldn’t have agreed to this meeting,” says Colin.
“And just like that, we’re done. Contact me one more time and I’ll cut your fucking head off. I’ve got a bigger reach than you these days. Believe me when I tell you, I will not hesitate to destroy you.”
“I really don’t want to hear your idle threats, Skull. This is a business meeting, nothing more.”
“We don’t have business. The guys I do business with aren’t even in your hemisphere. I give them the word and you’re wiped off the map. Understand?”
“I have a proposition for you.”
“Not interested.”
“It’s something I think you would love to be part of.”
“Fucking hell. It’s like you don’t have enough brain power to comprehend what I’m saying to you. I want nothing to do with you. I know Matthew said that you had nothing to do with the bomb that killed my man’s family, but I don’t trust you, and you didn’t deny that shit when it first happened. I’d just as soon see your throat slit than talk to you. Now this meeting is done. I knew better than to even show up.”
“But you did. Show up, I mean.” I watch as my brother’s back stiffens. Skull is on a thin line and I know that Colin is pushing it.
“Because I had to wonder what you could possibly think I’d want to meet with you about.”
“My grandfather died. Well, he was murdered, really.”
“Did you do it?”
“No. That’s suicide in the family. There are a few men off-limits in power plays, and my grandfather, he is one. You cannot gain control and respect of the family by taking out the man who is responsible for everything.”
“You’re saying you fuckers have some morals, even if it is just twisted? Of course this doesn’t surprise me, considering you’re the same fuck who wanted to stick his dick into his own sister.”
“Stepsister,” Colin growls, finally showing signs of losing control, his pale skin going pink.
“Tomato, toe-mat-toe,” Skull says, then gives us boys the signal to mount up.
“You disappoint me, Skull. I thought you would at least be interested in knowing who killed my beloved grandfather.”
“I figure I already know.”
“Is that a fact?”
“Whoever you could manage to pay since your purse strings have been clipped. Torch,” he says, facing me, “let’s get going. The air here is starting to bother me.”
“Sure thing, boss.” I’m more than happy to get the fuck out of here myself.
“Colin, in case the message hasn’t gotten to you yet, if you step foot into the state of Kentucky, let alone my territory—and that means you and your flunkies, the Chrome Saints—I will call Romanov and he will end all of you. Tempt me to call, Colin. I’d almost plead with you to give me one fucking reason to make sure you stop polluting the air I breathe,” Skull warns Colin in a deadly voice.
We all make it to the door before Colin decides to drop the real reason the fucker is here.
“You’re rather boring with your threats, and so predictable. My brother Matthew said you wouldn’t care anymore. I thought he was wrong.”
“I didn’t even know your grandfather other than to know the asshole’s seed had to have poison in it to have the offspring it did. So no, Colin. I do not give a fuck that your grandfather bit the dust.”
“You might change your tune if you knew that he died at the hands of someone you know. Someone you know very well. Someone you might even want revenge on.”
Skull holds his head down and pinches the bridge of his nose. I can literally feel the tension that comes off of him.
“Say whatever the fucking hell you have to say Colin, because it’s obvious that’s all this meeting is about. So just spit it out so I can get the fuck out of here.”
“I thought you’d like to see your ex-girlfriend again after all these years,” Colin says.
I think every breath in my body freezes. What the fuck is going on? If it’s sending this amount of shock through me, what in the hell could it be doing to Skull? Nothing shows in his face except anger. You not only see it in his face, you can literally feel that fucking shit.
“What the fuck are you going on about?” Skull asks, his voice so low and deadly you have to strain to hear it.
That’s when Colin shoves a folder at him that had been lying on the table where he sits.
“I came here only to give you a gift,” he says. “Open it. You’ll see how giving I am.”
Skull opens the folder. I’m looking over his shoulder, and my stomach drops to my fucking feet when I see what’s inside. It’s a picture of Beth and another girl standing at a flower stand. She has a baby in a pink outfit on her hip—a baby with dark black hair with small curls. The baby is smiling while Beth kisses the side of the child’s face.
Fuck.
“Where did you get this?”
“My men took it. This was the last known sighting of Beth and her sister Katie.”
“Where? When? What are you trying to prove here?” Skull growls.
“Ironically enough, Tennessee. Just a month ago.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I’m telling you that the woman you’ve been grieving—the woman you thought you killed—has been alive all this time, and hiding.”
“You’re fucking lying!” Skull yells, his body jerking in fury.
“Am I? Then ask yourself, Skull, why does that child she’s holding look so much like you?”
“You’re fucking lying!” he screams again.
I see the pain my brother is going through, but all I can do is thin
k back to the phone call I got almost two years ago when I put a drunk and unconscious Skull to bed in his room. Fuck.
“After you work it out in your mind, Skull, you might ask yourself two important questions.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“First, ask yourself why she let you think she was dead this entire time.”
“You. Son. Of. A. Bitch.”
“Then ask yourself if you can find her before the Saints do, because if I find her first, she’s going to die.”
“You—”
“She’ll have to. The family wants the blood of her and her sister. I only came to warn you because I wanted to see that look on your face.”
“You son of—”
“That look right there, the one that says I just destroyed your world… all over again.”
With that, Colin leaves. We all stand there frozen, unsure of what to do or say. Skull screams, yanks the table up, and throws it across the room.
Fuck.
“You alright, boss?” I know he’s not, but don’t know for the life of me what else to say.
“No. And for the record, I wasn’t alright the other ninety-nine times you asked me.”
We’re walking from the garage back to the club. We spent the night in Tennessee, then drove straight here. Skull’s barely spoken two words to any of us. He bunked down in Sabre’s room last night, but Sabre just shrugged this morning when he came out. Well, no, that’s wrong. He shrugged, then put the locket that Skull usually wears around his neck in my hand. It’s still in my pocket, in fact. Since the day we discovered it in Pistol’s hands when Beth was kidnapped, Skull hasn’t taken it off. Not once. It’s been almost three years and still it’s remained around his neck. The sight of him not wearing it now should bring me joy because I’ve been hoping he would heal and move on for years. Now, it doesn’t. He isn’t healed. He removed it because he just learned his grief and mourning have been a lie. No one has mentioned it, but everyone’s thinking it. It’s not even a question anyone seems to be asking. We all believe that Beth is alive. Every last brother here is sure she is, and the kicker is, they don’t even know what I do.
Burned: Devil's Blaze MC Book 2 Page 2