by Khloe Wren
And fuck her again. I shook my head. I really needed to quit thinking about that woman’s pussy. It was dangerous and it could get both me and my cock in some deep trouble.
Taz
As I woke to the sound of my phone ringing and an empty bed, my mood went south because Flick hadn’t made it. Damn woman. After a glance at the screen, I answered the call.
“Yeah, Scout, what’s up?”
“Looks like you’re in for a busy day, brother.”
At Scout’s gruff voice, I forgot all about Flick and where she wasn’t.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Gus got rushed to hospital last night. One of the doctors down there is a friend of the club, and he’s just called me to give me the head’s up.”
That had me sitting up straighter. “What’s he in for? I thought we had more time than this?”
“It was a heart attack, could have been natural. Either way, I need you to get down here to the clubhouse asap. Doc told me his next of kin is a niece who lives up in Dallas. She’s already at the hospital. Now, what’s the bet, the last thing she’ll want to deal with is a gun range and shop for the next few weeks while he recovers? So, I’ve had the lawyers do up some forms for her to sign. We don’t want you to go pissing off the authorities, so you can run things for Gus until he’s back on his feet. You go in as though you’re just helping the man out, because that’s what friends do, right?”
“Ah, yeah. Sure. I’ll be over to the clubhouse in a bit. Just let me get cleaned up, since you want me out in public and all.”
I hung up and headed to the bathroom, all the while wondering how the fuck the Cowboys could have caused a man to have a fucking heart attack. Coincidences were rarely just that, and this was a fucking huge one.
Once dressed, I rode over to the clubhouse. Clearly, Scout didn’t want me to take my time as he basically handed me the folder with the documents in it and shoved me back out the door. Not that I minded, I wanted to go see Gus and if he was able to speak, I wanted to have a chat with him. I wasn’t overly looking forward to dealing with the niece. In all the chats I’d had with Old Gus, he’d never once mentioned any family. Mind you, neither had I, so I guess it’s not that surprising I didn’t know anything about his.
Imaginary smoke tickled my nose as I pulled up to the hospital. Happened every damn time I had to go into one. Memories of the ER in Melbourne where the doctors had had to sedate me, because when they’d announced that Grace was dead I’d completely lost my shit. I’d destroyed several machines by the time the nurses and docs had contained me that day.
Storing my helmet, I scrubbed a palm over the back of my neck. There were just fourteen days until the twentieth anniversary. Two short weeks until the nightmares and flashbacks would, hopefully, ease for another year. Fuck. I totally understood why Silk chose to disappear off the grid for a few weeks each year around 9/11. Since she’d been orphaned in the attacks, she didn’t want to see any media or sympathetic faces for that time, which I could respect. Because if I could, I’d do the same damn thing each April. Find some cabin in the woods, just like Silk’s, drink myself into a coma and not come out in public again until well past the anniversary. But my situation wasn’t the same as Silk’s. It wasn’t the public I needed to avoid to make it all go away, it was the shit inside my fucking head that did me in each year. And if I did manage to drink myself into a coma, what’s the bet I’d then be stuck in some kind of flashback hell I’d be too drunk to get out of?
With a growl and a shake of my head, I forced those thoughts aside, and strode into the hospital. With a strong leash on my emotions, I took a step toward the admissions desk, but stopped short. Who the fuck was I supposed to ask for? Gus, or his niece? Who I didn’t have a fucking name for. Scout had said Keys could have found the name, but it would take time and that was something he didn’t think they had. With a huff, I decided I’d just have to hope wearing my Charon MC colors got me past the red tape I shouldn’t be allowed to bypass.
With my most charming grin, I strolled up to the counter and waited until the pretty young nurse turned toward me.
“Hey, luv, a good friend of mine, Gus Shell, got brought in last night with a heart attack. I was wondering if you could tell me if he’s out of ICU yet?”
For a few seconds she just stood there in a daze. Maybe I shouldn’t have thickened my accent quite so much. Normally, the whole Aussie drawl thing worked like a charm, but sometimes people would pretend like they couldn’t understand what I was saying. I cleared my throat and tried not to laugh as she snapped out of her trance and typed into her computer.
“Ah, let’s see. Um, are you family? Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”
I gave her another big smile. “Name’s Taz. So, is he going to be okay?”
She shook her head, not missing the fact I’d not answered the family question.
“Sorry, I can’t tell you that if you’re not family.”
Clearly she wasn’t going to bend the rules for me easily.
“Listen, I’m not family by blood, but Gus and I are good mates. His niece is with him, right? I’ve got some paperwork that I need to pass on to her, for Gus’s business. Hate to see him lose everything while he’s in here.”
The woman’s gaze trailed over me again, catching on the patches on my cut.
“C’mon, luv. Give me five minutes to see how Gus is doing, get either him or his niece to sign this stuff. Then I’ll be out of your hair because I’ll need to go open his shop for him.”
A doctor came up behind the woman, looked me over briefly before turning toward the woman.
“What’s going on here?”
“Ah, this gentleman wants to have a quick visit with Mr. Shell, to speak with Ms. Vaughn...”
She blushed and cut herself off. Clearly she shouldn’t have said the niece’s name out loud in front of a stranger, and it was also obvious this doctor made the girl nervous. I put out my hand to the doctor, shaking his hand briefly.
“Hey there, doc, name’s Taz. I’m good mates with Old Gus, and I’ve arranged to have his shop and range looked after while he’s recovering. I just need a signature or two from him, or his niece, if he isn’t up to it. Also, wouldn’t mind laying eyes on the man, to see how he’s doing. If that’s okay, I won’t take long.”
I held up the folder of papers to prove my point. The doc focused on my cut with a frown for a few moments.
“Gus is a good man, and he doesn’t deserve to lose his livelihood while he’s receiving treatment. I’ll take you back to him and give you ten minutes, then you’re out. Don’t make me regret it.”
Relief had my shoulders relaxing. “Thanks, mate.”
With that, I followed the doc through a pair of doors. While trying to figure out why the name Vaughn seemed so familiar, I shot Scout a text as we walked, to let him know I’d gotten through and was on my way in to see Gus. We stopped outside a room with a large window, the blinds were half drawn so I couldn’t make out who was inside.
“Wait here, please.”
“Sure thing, doc.”
I moved to look around his body as he opened the door and stepped inside. Who I saw had me cursing under my breath.
“Oh fuckin’ hell, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
This shit just got a whole helluva lot more complicated.
CHAPTER 11
Flick
I winced as I glanced past the doctor through the doorway. Not that I doubted whose voice I’d heard.
“I don’t have to let him in, Felicity.”
I waved him off. “No, it’s no problem. I know Taz, um, quite well. I just wasn’t expecting him here, that’s all.”
With a nod the doctor left the room and Taz prowled in, closing the door behind him.
“What the ever loving fuck, Flick?”
Yeah, I felt like asking him the same thing.
“Hey, Taz. Um, how did you know I’d be here?”
His gaze flicked to the bed where my Un
cle Gus lay sleeping after his bypass surgery.
“I spent a lot of time out at the range with Gus. When I heard he’d been brought in last night I came to see how he was doing. Scout told me his niece was here, but he didn’t know her name. Won’t take him long to find out though, and when he sees it’s you, shit’s gonna hit the fan. The hospital has you as Felicity Vaughn, while your ID says you’re Felicity Abbott. Not good, babe. That shit’ll come bite you on the ass sooner rather than later.”
Blowing out a breath, I ran my fingers through my hair. I needed to call Greg, to somehow get them to change my name on the records here at the hospital. Fuck it all to hell. I hadn’t even known Gus was here in town!
“I know. I need to make some phone calls. I didn’t know he was here in Bridgewater, nor did I know he had me listed as his next of kin. None of this was something I could have planned for.”
“You need to stay here now? Or can you come back to my place with me? Be better to talk there. Safer.”
I glanced over at my sleeping uncle. “Yeah, I can go. I’ll tell them to call me on our way out. C’mon, it’s damage control time.”
After giving my uncle a kiss on the cheek and whispering to him that I’d be back, I turned and followed Taz out of the room. I found the nurse in charge and told her I needed to go deal with some stuff but would be back later. She promised to call me if anything changed, and then I found myself being guided from the hospital by Taz, out toward his bike.
“I’ll follow you in my car.” I could see in his face he was about to start arguing, so I held up my palm. “No. I need to be able to leave if something happens with my uncle.”
He frowned, then sighed. “Fine, but if you’re not right behind me the whole way, I will come after you. Understand?”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
I went to step away, but his hand snapped out and caught my wrist. He dragged me in against him before I could twist free. Then his lips were on mine, and I forgot all about trying to escape. By the time he ended the kiss, I was leaning against him and trying to chase his lips as he pulled back.
“Dammit, you make me lose my head, woman. We’ll work this shit out. Probably best if you quit the bar and pull out of this assignment while you can, though. Keys will find out your real name, and there’ll be hell to pay.”
Taking a step back, I straightened my shirt and pushed my hair back behind my ears. “Which is why I need to get to your place soon, so I can make some phone calls about altering my name in the hospital records.”
With a nod, Taz released me and I made a beeline for my car. The sooner I could ring Greg, hopefully, the sooner this could all be sorted out and I wouldn’t have to leave. So far Taz hadn’t mentioned anything about my real last name, so I was still hopeful he hadn’t worked out I had anything to do with my brother. Vaughn wasn’t that common of a name, but maybe Taz hadn’t known my brother’s real name, just his handle. Because as much as I wanted to quiz him about my brother, now wasn’t the time. Nope, what I needed to do now was deal with my name being changed, then figure out why the hell the club was so interested in my uncle. Because Taz had said Scout had told him about Uncle Gus being in hospital, which meant it was club business.
Bridgewater was small enough of a town it didn’t take long to get anywhere and within fifteen minutes I was pulling up behind Taz’s bike at his house. Pushing aside all my worries, I hopped out and silently followed the man inside. The moment the door was shut I had my phone out and was dialing my boss.
“Cave.”
“Vaughn here, boss. I have a situation.”
“Let me have it.”
“I’ve hit something unexpected. My uncle, who I didn’t realize lives in Bridgewater, had a heart attack last night and has me listed as his emergency contact. So, I’m currently listed at the hospital here as Vaughn, not Abbott. And my uncle has the interest of the Charons. Taz came to the hospital to check on him, not expecting to find me there. Is there any way to have my name changed in the system over there?”
“Dammit. I’ll get on it and have it changed. I didn’t know you had an uncle?”
“Long story, he’s technically a half-uncle. I won’t bore you with the family drama behind it.”
“So, I’m guessing you have no idea why the club is interested in him?”
“Not yet. I’ll report in when I do know.”
“Right. Well, go find that out and I’ll deal with fixing your cover before it blows wide open. Watch your back down there, Vaughn.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hanging up, I pocketed the phone and with a groan, scrubbed my face with my palms. What a fucking mess.
“Wanna bore me with the family drama behind you having a half-uncle?”
With a sigh, I turned to face Taz. Taking in his stance, I didn’t think no was really an option.
“Only if you’ll tell me what the club’s interest in him is, and only if we can do it with beer.” I frowned. “Just one, since I’ll probably need to be driving later. But a nice, cold beer would go down real well right about now.”
With a chuckle he gave me a nod. “Follow me, babe.”
I followed him through to his kitchen where he retrieved two bottles of beer from the fridge, before leading me over to a table.
“Ladies first. Then I’ll tell you why the Charons are interested in Old Gus.”
Taz popped the lids off the bottles and I took a long drink before I started to speak.
“My mother’s father cheated on his wife. The result of the affair was Gus. Grandpa Vaughn was a bastard. I never liked him, even as a child I avoided him. According to my mother, she’d had no clue she wasn’t an only child until Gus turned up on their doorstep one day. His mother had died in a car wreck and while going through her things, he found his father’s identity. Poor kid was sick with grief and simply looking for some family connection, and instead got a door slammed in his face. He’d just turned eighteen the month before, so at least he didn’t have to deal with foster care or anything like that. Anyhow, my Mom had been eavesdropping on the conversation and when she realized her dad was going to shut him out, she took off. Got a wad of cash from somewhere and was out the back door before anyone could stop her. She chased Gus down and gave him the money, told him she’d help him however she could. He thanked her and told her he’d write, then he was gone.”
Pausing to take another drink, I watched Taz’s reaction. His jaw had gone tight and his eyes glazed over with ice. Had that happened to him as a teen? When he’d been shipped to the US from Australia after losing his parents. Had he been shut out of his new family?
“It was a while before he wrote. He’d signed up for the Army, just in time to go to Vietnam. They corresponded while he served. Then after he got back, he disappeared for the most part. He’d turn up on our doorstep every now and then, but we never knew where to find him. I honestly had no idea he was here in Bridgewater, or what he was doing here. I’ve also got no clue as to why he’s listed me as his emergency contact.”
Taz
I’d never realized how much I had in common with Old Gus. I knew why he’d listed Flick. No doubt, on one of those random visits, Flick had sat down with him and gave him some fucking affection and care. Because I’d been in Gus’s position myself. But I hadn’t been eighteen and able to walk away. Nope, I’d been forced to push through that fucking slammed door.
I could vaguely hear Flick’s voice, but I wasn’t tracking her words, not now the memories were bubbling up. My chest tightened like it had on that day when child services had picked me up from the airport and taken me to my new home. Fuck, I’d been a scared, fucking thirteen year old kid, one that had just buried my mum and sister. The thought of sweet little Gracie dead and cold in the ground still made my eyes sting. It wasn’t fair. That Mum and Grace were dead while that fucking bastard was alive. He was still in jail doing hard time for setting that fucking fire after strangling my mother, but he was fucking above ground. And that shit wasn’t right.
>
“Children are to be seen, not heard. And I’d prefer it if I didn’t see you either.”
I shook my head, trying to dislodge the memory of the words my Aunt Pam had said so often. She’d first lost her parents to illness, then her baby brother, my father, died while off at war. By the time I was dumped on her doorstep, she’d had no love left to give. She’d been cut too deep to heal. As an adult I understood that, but as that thirteen-year-old boy who’d just lost everything, all I’d seen was a door slammed in my face. I’d needed some fucking compassion, some comfort, but all I’d gotten was cold hard reality. Aunt Pam had taken on the family ranch and worked hard to keep things running. From day one, I was put to work too. Only good thing I could remember about those years was working with those horses.
“Taz? Come back, babe.”
Another shake of my head and I found Flick standing in front of me, between my spread thighs. Her palms reached forward and cupped my face, the warmth of her skin seeping into all the cold dark places deep within me. I closed my eyes on a shudder and she moved even closer. I widened my legs as I wrapped my arms around her to bring her in flush against me. I needed more of her, needed her to thaw me out inside. I rested my head against her chest, and she leaned down to press a kiss to the top of my head.
Fuck, this was such bullshit. I wasn’t that lost kid, any more than Gus was that young man. I needed to grow a set and toughen the fuck up. I was a Marine, dammit. Not some pansy-ass, metro-sexual, bullshit man. With a growl I pushed to stand, breaking her hold on me. On a gasp she stumbled backward. Feeling like a bastard, I caught her before she could trip and hauled her back in close. Her sweet scent filled my head and I slammed my mouth down on hers, losing myself in the kiss. Yes, this is what I needed. To sate my body with hers. Then, maybe, I’d be able to think straight.
Reaching down, I attacked her pants, ripping them open before shoving them down her thighs. I didn’t take my lips off hers until I was forced to so I could get her shirt off over her head. Lifting her onto the table, I moved to tear off her shoes and jeans. Her knickers went the same way. Taking her mouth again, I reached to flick open the front clasp on her bra. I palmed her tits, squeezing them, before tugging on her tight little nipples. The scent of her arousal rose up between us, and with a growl, I pushed back from her and dropped to my knees so my face was at the perfect height to make a meal out of her.