by Khloe Wren
Flick
This time when I woke it wasn’t just my head that fucking hurt. Fucking hell, everything hurt. Dammit. With a groan I rolled over onto my side, so I could bring my knees up. It helped the pain in my stomach slightly.
“Here, take these.”
I groaned and forced my eyes open to look at my brother.
“What are they?”
“Nothing illegal, just a couple Advils.”
I probably shouldn’t trust him, but I was in enough pain, I was willing to risk it. And it wasn’t like Advil was strong enough to knock me back out or anything. It would, however, hopefully take the edge off enough for me to think straight.
After a painful struggle to sit up, I took the bottle of water and pills from Andrew’s hand and swallowed them down. He moved to sit beside me on the mattress, moving carefully like I might spring up and slit his throat at any moment.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Yeah, well, after seeing you in action earlier, I think I’m entitled to be a little cautious.”
I shrugged one shoulder, then winced when pain flared in my ribs. “I’ve trained hard and have good instincts. Well, most of the time.” Those instincts had let me down big time this morning when I’d been grabbed at the hospital. I hoped Gus hadn’t hurt himself with worrying about me. What if he had another heart attack? Was that even possible after bypass surgery?
“Yeah, I didn’t realize you could fight like that. Not many people have ever taken down Tank. Taz know about your skills?”
That thought had me smiling. “Oh, yeah. He learned to not come up behind me pretty quickly. He snuck up and wrapped his arm around me. I was on edge at the time so I flipped him over onto his back before I realized it was him. Unfortunately for him, it was at the club bar. Not sure he’s ever gonna live that one down.”
“And yet he still claimed you. He really must be as crazy as they say.”
“Taz isn’t crazy. Who says that?”
“It’s the reason he got his name.”
“I thought it was because he’s Australian.”
Andrew shook his head. “That’s what most assume, but it’s because when he loses his shit, he goes crazy. Like that cartoon character, the Tasmanian Devil. Remember him?”
“Yeah, little guy that spun really fast and destroyed everything in his path.”
“That’s the one. That’s the reason your old man is called Taz.”
“And the reason you’re called Stone is...?”
He winced and took a deep breath in, before blowing it out slowly.
“The Middle East—it’s a different fucking world. Brutal, bloody. You can’t experience it and come back the same. At least, I couldn’t. The only way I could survive was to shut off my emotions completely. It’s why I couldn’t come home. I wasn’t the same man who left. I couldn’t face you, Mom and Dad with who’d I’d become and keep all that shit shut off. Then I stumbled on the Satan’s Cowboys and I found somewhere I fit. They call me Stone because they think I’m stone cold. Before you came crashing in here, the club believed I had no family. A man with no family can be dangerous, because we’ve got nothing left to lose. The club has used that, honed me into something useful.”
I’d done enough research into MCs to know what he meant. “You’re an enforcer?”
He chuckled, darkly. “Something like that.”
“While you seem to be in a mood to chat, what happened to get you kicked out of the USMC? I thought it was something to do with whatever happened that made you not come home. It’s why I started working for my employer.”
I was also curious as to how he knew about that, too.
“I’m not able to talk about it, sis. You know that.” He shook his head. “But I’m guessing you’ll hound Taz until he tells you. Kinda surprised you haven’t already.”
He gave me a questioning look, and I glanced around the room, looking for cameras.
“The room isn’t bugged, sis. Keep your voice low, no one that’s out in the hall will hear you, either.”
I didn’t like it, and I didn’t want to admit anything.
“I was told to wait with my questions until after my assignment is over. Taz doesn’t realize I’m your sister.”
“He will now. Viper will tell them as soon as he manages to make contact.”
I sighed. “I figured as much. Now quit stalling, and tell me what happened.”
“One night, a couple of my fellow teammates decided to go for a late night stroll. I’d heard them planning it earlier.” He paused and glanced at me. “You sure you want to know this?”
“Yeah, I do. I need to know why I lost my brother.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, and I wondered if I shouldn’t let it go. I’d found the man, did I really need the reasons anymore?
“Fine. These men, they were the kind that got off on hurting others. We’d passed an orphanage on our way to where we made camp that night and these guys planned on hiking back to it for some late night fun. After they left, I armed up and followed them. I got held up getting out of the camp.” He paused again, and my heart ached for my poor brother. “They paid for my delay. Those poor girls were just fucking kids. When Taz and his crew came in, I’d killed one and was about to take out a second. They had orders to bring us all in, which they did. And at the end of the day, I wasn’t acting on orders, so got thrown to the wolves. I should have reported to our CO what I’d heard them say earlier.
“I’d been the new guy on the team. I knew it would come down to my word against theirs, and they’d been in the USMC for years longer than me. I wasn’t so stupid I didn’t realize how that would have gone. So, I figured, I’d just go handle it. And because of that, I have to shut off all my emotions, my humanity, or I wake up at night screaming as I see all the bodies those bastards left in their wake.”
Tears were pouring down my cheeks. My poor brother. No wonder he’d run off. I reached for him, wanting to hug him. Comfort him. But he jerked back with a growl and stood from the bed.
“So, now you know. You can get back to your life and leave me the fuck alone.”
I slowly shook my head.
“I won’t abandon you. We’re family. Mom and Dad are going to be so excited we’ve found you.”
He spun on me glaring. “You can’t tell them. I can’t be your brother, their son. I can’t do it.”
“Why not? All we want to do is love you. You can’t accept your family’s love and care?”
He shook his head. “Not without waking beasts I’d prefer not poke. I like my life. I eat, sleep and breathe for the Satan’s Cowboys. They understand me, know why I need to keep to myself and not get too involved whenever they do anything with all the old ladies and kids of the club.”
Wiping my eyes, I huffed out a breath. “You know, you and Taz are a lot alike?”
“Yeah, well, I’m not happy you’ve hooked up with him, either. I’d prefer you off married to some accountant and popping out grandbabies to keep Mom and Dad happy.”
“That’ll never be me. I’m not built that way. I tried it, but I hated it. I need some action in my life. I didn’t expect to like the club life so much, but I do. I’m working in the Charon’s bar, and went to the clubhouse last night. I know what you mean about finding where you fit. I fit there. The other old ladies, they’re like me. They want more outta life than to be some Stepford wife.”
A roar filled the air, and it sounded like a whole heap of Harleys were coming toward us.
“Sounds like the cavalry’s coming for you, sis.”
I frowned at him as he didn’t make any move to leave. “Shouldn’t you be out there?”
“I’m locked in here with you for the moment. Can’t go anywhere.”
I winced. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go nuts out there. I don’t like being grabbed from behind, my reflexes take over.”
He laughed. “Now who’s a good match for Taz?”
Guess he had a point. I glanced down at mysel
f. “He’s not gonna be happy to see me like this.”
“If he knows you, he’ll be expecting you to look like you do. If you hadn’t attacked, all you’d have is that lump on your head from this morning.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Taking as deep a breath as my sore ribs allowed, I leaned back against the wall. All I could do was wait and see what was about to happen. I hated being forced into a corner. But it seemed to be happening a lot lately, so I probably should get used to it.
CHAPTER 17
Taz
The poor prospect manning the door to the Cowboy’s clubhouse just about passed out when we all came roaring into the yard. I didn’t blame the kid. Over a dozen bikes rocking up with no prior warning was enough to put fear into anyone with half a brain. As we lined up our rides, others came out onto the porch. Maverick slapped the prospect on the shoulder and said something that had the younger man relaxing his stance.
Scout came over to me. “No grandstanding, Taz. Understand me? Let me deal with this and get your girl out.”
“I’ll do my best, prez. But no guarantees on what I’ll do when I see her injured.”
He turned to Mac and Eagle. “You two are in charge of keeping him contained if he loses his shit. Understand me?”
“Yes, sir.”
With a shake of his head he turned and started toward the clubhouse. We all fell in behind him.
“Maverick, nice seeing you again. Wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Same here, Scout. Got Viper waiting on us in church, but we don’t want your crew causing trouble while we talk.”
“They’ll behave themselves, won’t you boys?”
Everyone grunted in agreement, except for me. I didn’t like make promises I couldn’t keep. Maverick didn’t miss my silence. “What about the girl’s old man there?”
“He’ll be with me, so not a problem.”
With a nod Maverick turned, and after opening the door, ushered us all in.
“Well, in you all come, then. No girls around, but the bar’s open.”
Ten minutes later I stood behind Scout, who was sitting opposite Viper at their meeting table. Thing was fucking huge, with their insignia carved out of the center of it.
“Prefer to keep this between you and me, Scout.”
“Well, give the man his old lady back, and it can be.”
Viper sat back with a huff before turning his full focus on me. I didn’t flinch, but it was a close call. Hard not to crack under a stare like Viper’s.
“You don’t get to tear through my men because she’s hurt. She attacked us.”
My hands curled into fists. “I saw the footage from the parking lot outside the hospital. She didn’t do one damn thing when one of your men knocked her out by slamming the butt of a gun down on her head.”
“Well, when she went on her little rampage earlier she broke his nose and knocked him out cold. I think justice was served on that one. The rest of her injuries were from my men defending themselves.”
“You’re not making me feel real good about her condition, Viper. What the fuck happened?”
As Scout spoke, Viper trained his gaze back on the Charon president.
“Stone took her out of the lockdown room, Animal was telling him to put her back. Tank came up behind her—” I groaned and rubbed a hand over my face. I knew what had happened. Fuck it all to hell. “Gather you’ve tried to do that at some point?”
Scout barked out a laugh. “Yeah, Taz grabbed her from behind at Styxx. Girl put him on his ass in front of half the club. Gonna be a while before he lives that one down.”
Viper chuckled. “I bet. Well, you can’t be surprised she got hurt when my men tried to stop her, then. She took out three of them before Animal stepped in.”
“What was Stone doing while all this went down?”
“Stone got his name because he’s stone fucking cold. It’s made him one of my best enforcers. Never before have I seen that man show any emotion, but when he first caught a glimpse of Felicity’s face, he showed plenty. Man’s deadly on a good day. With his calm shattered? I’m not risking that shit. I took his guns after he pulled one on Tank earlier. Animal held him back initially, then handed over his containment to two others when he stepped in to deal with her. I’ve got them both in the lockdown room now. Hoping he’ll cool the fuck down by the time we’re finished here.”
“If you’re not gonna let Taz go get her until we’re done, then he’s not going anywhere and we best get this shit done. Long ride home ahead of us.”
Viper’s gaze hardened, as though he didn’t like me being here. But like Scout said, I wasn’t going anywhere that wasn’t closer to Flick, so he could just fucking get over it.
“Fine. You know what we want, and you haven’t delivered.”
I opened my mouth but Scout held up his hand to stop me. I stood back and stayed silent, letting Scout handle things. For now. I respected the hell out of my president, but I wouldn’t let him sell out Flick.
“Gus don’t like MCs much. It’s been a slow process to get him to trust Taz. We were getting there, and had plans in place to speed things along once he had his heart attack. You jumping in and snatching his niece hasn’t helped. He’ll probably flat-out refuse to deal with any of us now.”
“I don’t know, you returning his niece to him should go a long way.”
“Maybe. For us. He’ll never consider doing business with the Cowboys, though. Why’d you want the shop, anyway? Maybe if we know why you want the damn place, we can sort something else out.”
Viper stayed silent for a minute.
“You’re halfway between us and the border. Perfect location. We keep losing shipments on route, we need to break up the runs.”
“You don’t have to use a gun shop for that. Hell, we can find a warehouse or something you can use.”
Viper shook his head. “Nope. That range is sitting on a bunker that no one knows about.”
I frowned. I’d never seen any signs of a bunker being out there.
“And how do you know about it, then?”
“Gus didn’t always own that land. We recently got some information from a previous owner. Enough information that we want control of that place.”
Scout shook his head. “You can’t have it. With Taz claiming Flick, Gus is family. We’ll still push for Taz taking ownership, and we’ll do what we can to help you out with the runs. But the title will not be in Cowboy’s hands. Not that you’d want it to be. What do you think will happen when the feds find out you’ve bought the place? They’ll be all over it, and you won’t be able to move anything through it. In fact, it’ll probably end with the feds shutting the whole place down.”
“Fuck. I hate the FBI. They’ve been sniffing closer lately. Dammit it. Okay, if Taz can get ownership of the place and you let us use that bunker as we want, I’ll accept that. But it needs to happen soon. We can’t keep losing shipments like we are.”
“We won’t move drugs. Weapons are fine, but no fucking drugs.”
“You don’t get to demand that. We need to move both through that place.”
Scout’s shouldered bunched up. I didn’t know why, but he was hardcore anti-drugs. I cleared my throat before leaning down to whisper in Scout’s ear. Viper letting me stay in the room didn’t mean I had permission to actually be a part of the conversation.
“Use the ledger.”
Scout nodded to me before turning his focus back to Viper.
“We got something else you might be interested in. You ever had anything to do with a man by the name of John Bennett?”
Viper clenched his jaw and a tick formed above his left eye.
“I’ll take that as a yes. John was Bulldog, my VP’s, brother. After he and his wife died in the 9/11 attacks, his daughter came to live with Bulldog and his old lady. Then, last year the L.A. mob came after her. Turned out John left some ledgers behind in a bag that missed the flight that he died on.”
“Are you shi
tting me? Airports don’t keep shit that long.”
Scout shrugged. “They don’t normally. But things were a mess after those planes took down the towers. Somehow, the cart of baggage that missed the flight got pushed aside and forgotten about. Someone did some cleaning up at LAX and found them. Contacted a reporter about it since the fifteenth anniversary was coming up. Long story, short—we got a ledger with your name on it.”
“Is that so? And what? You’ve just been sitting on it all this time? Is this why we’re having more issues with the feds lately?”
The tension in the room was off the fucking charts and I knew it wouldn’t take much to have things explode.
“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Viper. There were several of them and we stashed them all in our safe. Only reason we still have it is because with all the shit that’s gone down since then, we kinda forgot about them. So, if we hand it over, will you not bring drugs into my fucking town?”
Viper shook his head. “Need to keep running powder, Scout. No way around that. I can promise we won’t push it in your town. None of our drugs will hit your streets. But we need to use that bunker to store shipments. I’ll also put the word on my men that no one is to go after Felicity for what happened today.”
“And Gus?”
“He’s safe from us.”
Scout turned to me. “Go out and grab that ledger for me, let’s get this shit done. Then we’ll grab your girl and get back on the road.”
With a nod, I headed out to find Keys to grab it. I couldn’t wait to have Flick back in my arms. I was still unsure of what condition she was in. Although, at least with her being locked up with her brother, nothing more was being done to her.
Taz
Once Viper took possession of the ledger, he stood and led us out of the meeting room. I still had the digital copy we’d made back when we first found the books, so if any of the Cowboys went back on the agreement, the feds would be getting a present. But no one needed to know about that.
“Let’s go get your girl. I’ll warn you, Stone doesn’t want her going with you.”
“He can fucking get over it. She’s my old lady. He hasn’t even seen her in years, he has no claim on her.”