by Sam Crescent
Daisy helped him to focus as well. They didn’t spend so much time together anymore. Sleepovers were no longer allowed as they had a curfew, and as his mother told him, he was getting older and becoming more aware.
He knew Daisy was a girl all along.
That would never change.
“I could dance all day here,” Daisy said, resting her head on his chest.
“Then we can do that. I can just tell Dad that we didn’t find anything.”
She sighed. “That is so tempting.”
He’d gladly dance with her, anything to keep her happy.
“But we’ve got to help,” Daisy said.
They came to a stop.
She went to her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Sir Anthony. That was a beautiful dance.”
He would take that kiss with him forever.
Chapter Five
Dane watched, not really knowing what to do. The club kept him at arm’s length back home. He was more than aware that he wasn’t trusted, and he accepted that. Who would want to trust a man who ran out on his family and kids?
His son struggled to understand him, and of course the club was … waiting. He knew they were all waiting for him to give up, throw in the towel, and leave.
They were in for a long wait.
He’d left last time for many reasons. Life with Lucy had become dull, and she was spitting out another kid, and with the club, and wanting Teri, he’d fucking failed. In running, he’d lost everything. The love of the club, two women, and his life was never the same. He wasn’t a good man. On the road he’d not remained faithful to anyone. He’d not even stayed with the club. For the most part he’d ridden without any patch, and just loved the freedom of not being with anyone or anything.
Not once in his life had he claimed not to be a selfish bastard. He was more than aware of the way he was in life, and nothing would change that. Not James, not his son, not even the club.
Running from who he was, was over.
He wasn’t a coward. Far from it.
His life hadn’t been easy.
He wasn’t the kind of guy that had the perfect parents growing up, or the easy life.
No one, not even Teri or Lucy, knew about his past, and certainly not the club. No one knew about his past, and as far as he was concerned, no one would.
“You look ugly, miserable, and alone.”
He turned to see a guy wearing the Chaos Bleeds patch. Dane didn’t recognize him, and he didn’t care to.
Ignoring him, Dane watched everyone.
The women seemed to have gotten over whatever barrier was between all the clubs. They were not arguing over turf, or how long their dicks were. Each woman clearly looked like they were enjoying the break away from their lives.
“Are you deaf or something?” the man asked.
“What?” Dane looked toward the man.
“Ah, finally eye contact. So, you’re the Dirty Fuckers’ weak link.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Dane asked.
“Dick, Chaos Bleeds. The best-looking one.”
Dane frowned, looking at the man. “What?”
“Wow, you boys really are slow, and here I was thinking you had it made with all that fucking and shit.”
He didn’t know what it was about this man, but Dane found he was getting more pissed off with every passing second.
“Fuck off.”
“Nope. I don’t fuck off for anyone. You looked all lonely here, and I figured I’d come and stroke the ego of a weakling.”
“You’re going to get my fist in your fucking face in a minute.” James had told him to keep his shit in check, but right now, this fucker was testing his restraint.
“All bark and no bite. That’s what I heard about you. Can’t keep it in your pants either. Lost everyone and everything. Even your own club won’t stick with you, huh?”
Dane clenched his hands into fists.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
“It’s fair really. You were never really all that much to begin with.”
“Do you want to fuck off?” Dane asked, his temper building.
“Or what? You gonna hit me? The big, bad man going to turn me over his knee and give me a spank? You don’t have the guts. You’re not fucking anything, Dane. Never have been. Never will be.”
Dane saw red. There was no other way to describe it. One moment he was in control, the next, he lost it. Turning on Dick, he slammed his fist against his face. Everything went blank inside his mind as Dick became the target of his aggression.
He pounded the fucker’s face three times before Dick started to hit back, and when he did, Dane felt every single strike.
Considering Dick was on the smaller side than Dane, he packed a punch, knocking him back. Diving forward, he grabbed Dick around the waist, flinging him across the table, which gave way under Dick’s weight. He didn’t stop grabbing Dick around the scruff of his neck, and he slammed his fist against his face.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Dick suddenly kicked him in the balls, pushing him away, and as he went to charge at him again, he was held back.
“Enough!” James yelled that one word and Dane realized he’d fucked up. “There are kids here right now. Kids, we’re trying to keep the fucking peace and you want to piss all over that with this bullshit.”
“He started it.” He couldn’t have felt any more like a child right now.
“Seriously? You’re going to do the blaming thing again? Tell me it’s everyone else’s fault but your own?”
Dane gritted his teeth.
“You represent the club today. You asked to come to help with the numbers, and against my better judgment, I let you. Get the fuck out.”
“James—”
“Do I look like I’ve got time for this bullshit from you right now? I don’t. I don’t even want to be dealing with it, and yet you’re making me. Get on your bike and go home. I don’t want you here.”
Dane wanted to argue, but he’d fucked up big time. No matter how much someone tried to wind him up, he shouldn’t have started that argument.
Glancing over at Dick, Dane saw the smile on his face. He was happy with what he’d achieved. He’d picked the easy target.
Without a backward glance, he left the garden and straddled his bike.
“Dane,” Kitty said.
He paused, glancing over at Kitty. To him, she would always be a young girl. She’d been part of the club for a long time, and he always had that feeling he needed to protect her.
“I screwed up, Kit.”
“James will get over it.”
“Right now, he’s having to get over a lot. See you back home.”
“Don’t run though.”
“Honey, I gave up running when I came back. I won’t run, but I don’t see me being part of the club for much longer.”
****
“What the fuck was that?” Devil asked, shoving Dick into a chair as far away from the crowd as could be.
Dick chuckled and licked his lips. “It was a lot of fun. What can I say? It’s not like I can help it.”
“What part of ‘best behavior’ didn’t you understand?” Devil glared down at the time bomb in his club.
“I was on my best behavior. I let him get a few hits in, didn’t I?”
“Damn it, Ted,” Martha said, coming over to them.
Maybe Dick’s wife could talk some sense into him.
“I’m fine, baby.”
“I know you’re fine. It takes more than a huge man beating the crap out of you to put you down.”
“See, I told you I was being a good little boy.”
Devil rolled his eyes, not in the mood for Dick’s bullshit.
“Babe, I told you not to call me Ted. It’s Dick.”
“I’ll call you whatever I feel like, and I should kick your ass. You got that guy thrown out. His club looked pissed.” Martha gripped Dick’s shoulder, and right no
w Devil wanted to pummel the fucker.
He wanted to send Dick home, but he hadn’t started the actual fight. Devil wasn’t stupid though. The only reason Dane reacted was because of something Dick said.
“I should kick your ass,” Martha said.
“Go and get me a soda, baby. There won’t be any ass-kicking now. I think he hurt me. I’m bruised. You’re going to have to take care of me.”
Martha sighed but walked off to go and get him what he needed.
“Want to tell me why you didn’t follow my instruction?” Devil asked.
“I don’t like Dane or any of the shit we heard about him. I had a run-in with him a couple years back. Short version, I was drunk in a bar, before rehab and being the good little soldier I’ve become. He wouldn’t stop, kept on coming, I got beaten up pretty bad, and promised myself if I ever found the little shit responsible, payback.” Dick winked at him, no longer looking hurt.
“This was all a pissing contest?”
“Nope. This was a little revenge. I can’t stand the prick. Have no reason to.”
Devil took a deep breath. “Fuck off before I make your wife a widow.”
Dick winked at him again. “You wouldn’t do that. You love me way too much.” He slapped Devil on the back and left.
“Do I even want to know what that was all about?” Lexie asked.
“You won’t like it either way.” He pulled his wife into his arms. “I want us to go back home.”
“If you want we can leave now. Forget all about whatever meeting Russ has planned. I’ve seen you talk to all the men besides him. Is that a purposeful thing?”
“Trying to understand why everyone is here?”
“That’s a pretty loaded question.”
“None of us have a clue why we’re all here.”
“Okay, and the point is?”
“Why are we fucking here? What do they want? We’ve never mingled before, and I don’t like being curious. The only common thread they all have is it’s linked back to what they Billionaires do.”
“The anti-trafficking?”
“Yes.”
“You want me to go and be pals with Anna?”
“What I want is to send you and the kids home.”
“Yeah, well, until you find Simon in that big ol’ house, we’re not going anywhere.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you see? Simon, Tabitha, Anthony, and Daisy are in that house. Now, they’re either checking it out, they’ve been sent there, or we’re going to be really young grandparents.”
“Babe, that’s not funny.”
“Granddad Devil. It has a really sexy ring to it,” Lexie said, wrapping her arms around his neck. “You’ll be the sexiest grandpa in the history of the world.”
His humor was fading fast.
“I’m too young to be a grandpa.”
“It’ll happen one day, but I doubt that will happen today.” Lexie pressed a kiss to his lips. “You’ve got to learn to trust our son.”
“I do trust him, but I also know what it was like to be a boy at that age.”
“Oh, yeah, you got a few stories you care to share, Grandpa?” Lexie asked.
“I love it when you go all jealous.” He cupped the back of her head and slammed his lips down on hers.
In the back of his mind, though, he was panicking.
He couldn’t be a grandpa.
There’s no way he was ready for his son to be fathering little brats, especially as he was a kid still.
“Relax, Devil. Besides, our son is in love, and he isn’t going to throw all that away. He’s probably thinking about it all the time, but he loves Tabitha, and that’s where he’s different from you.” Lexie kissed his lips. “Now, relax. Try and keep calm and keep Dick under control. I will do damage control.”
Lexie pulled out of his arms, and he didn’t want to let her go.
It pissed him off that they were here. They could have been anywhere else. He could have gotten one of the guys to take care of the kids so that he could have taken Lexie away for a few days. It had been too long since he had his woman all to himself, and he missed her.
“Good times?” Alex said, suddenly appearing out of the blue.
“I’ve had better.”
“Yeah, I get it. Every single guy here is tense as fuck. There’s no way in hell that anything is going to get done.”
“He should have organized a bikers’ rally. Not some fucking family picnic.” Devil glanced over the yard. Time was taking forever to pass, and already there had been one outburst.
Now all they needed was someone to kill each other and all-out war would break out. Good times.
****
“Dick is a fucking asshole,” Tabitha said, stepping away from the window. She folded her arms across her chest and stared over at her boyfriend.
That word still unnerved her. Boyfriend. It seemed so strange to consider Simon her boyfriend. She loved him more than anything, but they’d never once put a label on anything until recently.
To her, it went without saying that they were together and had been for a long time.
“He’s always doing shit like that,” Simon said. “I know Martha gets pissed at him all the time.”
“Why does Devil put up with it?” They moved out of the bedroom they’d been looking through, and she entered another room. She didn’t know what the hell they were searching for, but going from room to room was boring.
If her father found out that she’d been alone with Simon in a bedroom, there would be a thousand questions. There were times she missed being a little girl when no one constantly nagged about things like this. Simon was a sweet boy, and she wasn’t too young to not know what they were worried about. She was way too young to even be thinking about sex, and she didn’t.
She thought about her studies, getting her hair just right, and of course makeup. She liked putting it on and wiping it off. Then of course there was the change in schools, and the trouble that had brought with a new club presence there. Fort Wills didn’t have another MC, but a couple of towns over, one was there.
It hadn’t mattered for a long time, but she was now in school with them, and with it came problems. Miles was constantly in trouble, as was Anthony. It made for rather tense days at school.
She knew Daisy didn’t like it, nor did she.
In time they’d settle into a routine, but until then, it was just another list in a long line of problems.
“Dick’s a problem to everyone, but when it comes to club business, he’s always solid. He’s a good guy too, if he decides to show it.”
“Yeah, right.”
“Honestly, he’s all right. He’s a pretty good dad as well. I’ve heard him, and when he’s talking to Noah, he reveals things.”
“What kind of things?” Tabitha asked, spinning around a pole that was in one of the bedrooms, and bumping into Simon’s chest. She smiled up at him. “Come on, tell me.”
“He worries that he won’t be able to take care of him, that he wants to give him the world, but knows it’s a bullshit place to be. All that kind of stuff. You know? Dad stuff.”
“Yeah, I know.” She tucked some of her blonde hair behind her ear and smiled up at him. “He’s okay, I guess.”
“Dick is pretty great. He’s an awesome babysitter.”
She chuckled. “Do you still have a babysitter, Simon?”
“No.” He scoffed.
She licked her lips, staring up into his eyes. Simon’s brown eyes always struck her. They were so sharp as he saw everything. The smirk he often wore on his lips reminded her of all the times they teased and plotted over the years.
His hand went to her waist, and she tilted her head back. Her heart started to race as his face came a little closer, and she dropped her gaze to his lips. She wanted them on her so badly, and as she was about to close the distance, the sound of her cell phone ringing interrupted the moment.
She wanted to moan, to scream, but seeing it was Daisy, she kept
all of her anger to herself.
“What is it?” she asked.
“We found the office. It was locked, but it was also hidden. We’ve got a couple of laptops here. Anthony’s trying to crack them now.”
“We’ll be right there.” She closed her cell phone and smiled up at Simon. “Time to go.”
“One day I’m going to kiss you and we’re not going to have any interruptions.”
She stepped up close to him, putting a hand on his chest. “And what if I’m the one that kisses you?” She pressed her lips to his cheek. “Until then.”
She took his hand and pulled him out of the room.
They were rounding a corner when Simon grabbed her and pushed her up against the wall. His hand covered her mouth, and from the alcove where they were, no one could see them, but they heard.
“You think they’re going to go for it?” This was a very deep masculine voice. Not someone she knew.
“I don’t know. I have my doubts about Trojans, Dirty Fuckers, and Saints,” another said.
“Really, why?” Again, another voice.
“None of them have ever showed any inclination of changing. Who wants that kind of bullshit on your team? We want to help people, not put them in a worse situation. The women we have, they’ve come from hell. I think our best option is with The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds.”
They kept on talking as they moved past them without anyone noticing.
“So, we now know it’s your club and my dad’s,” Simon said.
“And they spoke about women.”
“That they did. Question is, how far are they willing to go?”
Tabitha sighed. Simon grabbed her hand, and they rushed down the stairs to the room that Daisy described. Once inside, she saw Anthony sitting at the computer, which confused her as Daisy was a nerd of the highest order. She spent a lot of time with Whizz, learning everything and had been doing so for some time now, and Tabitha knew for a fact, she could hack very well.
“Anthony, move your ass,” Tabitha said.
“What?”
“You know you’re not a computer buff.” She looked at Daisy. “What the hell?”
“I didn’t want to push him out of the way.” Daisy shrugged, but Anthony moved, allowing her to sit down.