Blood & Rust (Lock & Key #4)

by Cat Porter

  Jill shot me an I-told-you-so face.

  “Mother,” I said, “I bought these thick formal paper napkins. They look fine. Anyway, we won’t have to worry about washing out grease stains or ironing them later.”

  Rae shook her head. “Oh, Tania!”

  “What? I’m trying to play up the low-key, casual aspect of this dinner. You having Jill whip out the fine china, the good crystal, and the silver forks and knives kind of cuts into that idea. Ironed monogrammed linen napkins would only throw the whole thing over the edge. I’m telling you, they wouldn’t want to use them. Work with me here, Rae.”

  “Are you saying, these men would be threatened by a few squares of fabric?”

  “Hardly, but that’s not my point.”

  “Oh. You’re saying they don’t deserve the full extra effort, A-list guest treatment from us?”

  “No. No, of course not. That’s not what I meant.”

  Jill’s gaze ping-ponged between us.

  “Ah. Are you saying they wouldn’t be able to appreciate china, crystal, silver, and monogrammed linen napkins?”

  “No.”

  Rae’s left eyebrow arched very high. The final pronouncement was to be made. “This is a special occasion. Our house has not seen such an occasion in a very long time. And I would like to welcome our guests appropriately.”

  Jill and my mother stared at me.

  I took in a breath. “Fine.”

  Jill snorted, covering her mouth with a hand.

  My mother only slanted her head. “Fine?”

  “You’re right, Mother,” I replied.

  “I think someone could use a glass of wine,” Rae murmured. “And it isn’t me.”

  Jill bit her bottom lip and turned to the drawer of the sideboard where the linen napkins were and took them out.

  The front door opened, and my sister, her husband, Fred, and Nate and Carter burst into the house carrying shopping bags.

  “We’re here!” Carter shouted.

  “As if you couldn’t tell,” Penny said on a laugh.

  “Hey!” Fred wiped his shoes on the welcome mat.

  Becca came running and hopped up and down in between her cousins as they removed their jackets. Penny grabbed them as the boys tossed them off, and she handed them to Fred, who hung them on the coat tree by the door along with his own. Fred headed into the kitchen with the bags.

  Penny removed her coat, staring at us, her eyes narrowing. “Oh, oh, oh, what did I miss?”

  Jill shook with laughter.

  A half an hour later, Boner and Butler arrived in an Eagle Wings pickup truck, the rain falling heavily, driving away the dusk into a windswept stormy evening.

  Jill’s face broke into a huge grin as they stepped through the doorway, and before she could move, Becca came rushing through the front room, shouting “Grandma! Bo-Bo’s here!”

  Boner swept her up into his arms. “There you are, Becs!”

  They rubbed noses and laughed. She squeezed his cheek with her tiny hand and then the other, and he pretended to try to eat her hand.

  “You’re all wet!” Becca said.

  “And you’re all yummy!” Boner replied.

  Becca only laughed harder as she pulled on his hair.

  Jill took Butler’s and then Boner’s wet jackets and hung them on the coat tree by the door.

  I gave Butler a quick kiss on the lips. “Hi.”

  “Hey.” He grinned. “We brought dessert, as promised.” He held up a damp box from the Meager Grand Cafe. “A double chocolate cake.”

  “Yum. Penny insisted on making her plum tart too.”

  “My two favorite flavors—tart and chocolate.”

  My face heated, and I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Hey Butler, how’re you doing?” My brother-in-law came up behind me and clasped Butler’s hand in a hearty shake.

  “Hi Fred, good to see you.”

  “Hi Butler.” Penny’s eyes positively twinkled as she took in Butler.

  “Hello.” My mother’s voice came up behind me.

  “Mom, this is Butler.”

  Butler held out his hand, and my mother firmly took it in her own. “Pleasure to see you again, ma’am. It’s been since the christening, I think?” he said.

  “That’s right. And what a beautiful occasion that was.”

  “Good evening, Rae.” Boner planted a kiss on my mother's cheek.

  “Hello, honey.” She squeezed his arm.

  “This is for you, Mrs. Reigert.” Butler held up a small shopping bag from a store in Rapid.

  “How sweet of you.” Rae took the bag.

  “Oh my gosh, Someone’s In the Kitchen is my favorite store!” Penny exclaimed.

  “Never been,” I said.

  “You’re missing out,” Penny said. “They have a fantastic selection of kitchenware and all sorts of goodies. I have to stop myself from going in there and doing major damage whenever I’m in town. And don’t get me started on the Espresso Bar.”

  “It’s a great place, right?” said Butler shooting his sexy sweet grin at Penny.

  My mother opened the bag and took out a matching stainless steel salt shaker and pepper grinder.

  “They’re electric mills,” said Butler. “With a touch of a button, the mill does all the work for you. Very simple and efficient.”

  “They’re so attractive,” Penny murmured. “I love pink Himalayan rock salt. Oh, and all the peppercorns under the sun are in here. What pretty colors. You see that, Tania?’

  I held Butler’s clear gaze, my heart thumping in my chest. “I see.”

  “Thank you so much,” my mother said. She handed the bag with the mills to Penny, who rushed off with them to the dining room. “That was very thoughtful of you, Butler. There is nothing like freshly ground salt and peppercorns.”

  “I agree,” said Butler, his lips curling into a smile.

  “Well, the food’s ready, so let’s sit. I’m looking forward to this meal. My daughter followed your recipe to a T, by the way.”

  “Did she?” Butler winked at me.

  Everyone settled in at the table, Penny and I brought in the food, and we ate.

  “Tastes really good, Tania,” Butler said as he lifted his glass of iced tea in my direction. “Great job.”

  “Thank you.”

  My mother slid her fork next to her knife on her dish. “I do love all that lemon with the butter on a roasted bird. And it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Perfectly cooked, honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Really good,” Boner said as he cut a few potatoes into small pieces and put them in Becca’s Hello Kitty dish.

  Becca was propped up in a booster seat at the table in between him and Jill.

  “You like it, baby?” Jill asked her daughter as she wiped Becca’s mouth.

  “I like it!” Becca declared, her greasy hands raised in the air.

  “Aunt Tania’s a good cook,” said Nate, glancing up at me, a grin on his little face.

  “Thank you, sweetie,” I said.

  While the kids stretched out and played with their Legos in the living room, Jill and I cleared the dishes, and Penny rinsed them, placing them in the dishwasher. Jill brought out the cake and the tart with smaller plates and dessert forks. I poured the coffee from the coffee machine pitcher into my mother’s china coffee pot. Penny placed the cups and saucers on a tray along with the creamer and sugar bowl. I grabbed the tray. Penny held the coffee pot, Jill had extra napkins, and we headed for the dining room. Jill and Penny froze in front of me at the louvered door.

  “What the—”

  My mother’s voice rose from the dining room. “I know my girls. And they’re at an age where they’ve been bruised and disappointed and learned a number of harsh lessons in life. Now, they know the difference between a good piece of ass and a heart that burns for theirs.”

  I stilled. Jill turned to me, her eyes wide. Penny’s mouth gaped open.

  “My girls don’t
have stars in their eyes. Their eyes are lit from deep within. I see it. It’s a rare and special thing. I know. I had that thanks to my husband, and that’s what I see in them; it’s settled deep in their hearts. Even after all these years without my Joe, it’s still there. Penny, has that, and Jill has it now. I’ve always wanted that for Tania. It’s plain to me that you’ve brought that to her, and I’m very pleased. You are a special man, Butler, and I sincerely hope my daughter will hold on to that with you.”

  “We will, Rae,” came Butler’s low voice. “We will.”

  My heart skipped a beat and a rush of heat flared deep inside my chest.

  “It takes work to keep it alive,” Rae said.

  “That’s the best kind of work there is,” came Butler’s reply.

  Penny turned to me and a watery-eyed Jill and mouthed “Oh my God!”

  I motioned to them both to move out the kitchen door.

  “Coffee time!” Penny pushed the door open, and set the coffee pot on the table next to my tray.

  Jill sat down next to Boner, her hand brushing his hair back from his face. He whispered something to her, and they shared a quick kiss.

  My mother glanced up at me, her eyes clear, calm. “The boys and I were chatting.”

  “Oh? How’s that going?” I asked, pouring coffee, not daring to look at Butler lest I lost all muscle control and the hot coffee went flying over me and my mother.

  “Very nicely,” Rae replied as I placed the cup and saucer in front of her. I filled another cup and passed it to Butler.

  His pale eyes met mine, our fingers touching. He offered me the warmest, most relaxed smile I’d ever seen on him, and my heart melted.

  I busied myself with pouring out the coffee, as Penny cut pieces of cake and plum tart for everyone.

  “Who wants chocolate cake?” Penny asked, her voice raised.

  “Me! Me! I do!” shouted all three kids, bounding back toward the dining table.

  We ate dessert. My mother and Becca played with tiny Snow White figurines Becca had by her dish. Fred and Boner heatedly debated Trans Ams versus Camaros, while the boys played with their tablets. Penny and Jill discussed a necklace that Jill was making for her.

  Butler leaned back in his chair, that playful, relaxed smile growing on his lips.

  “You good?” I asked, a hand on his leg.

  He only wrapped an arm around my shoulders, kissed my temple, and drew me close.

  FINGER STOOD UP in our clubhouse lounge, all eyes on him.

  We’d just returned from a meeting with his suppliers in Idaho. Everything had gone according to plan, and we were all set to put in motion the second phase of our clubs working together.

  “I know it’s time for you men to vote on the new president of the One-Eyed Jacks, but before I leave you to your business, I’d like to say one thing.”

  He glanced at Kicker, and Kicker raised his chin at him.

  Finger crossed his arms against his chest. “For years, I’d considered a more long-term plan with the Jacks after the success of several small projects. Dig Quillen, your former VP, was convinced that our clubs working together would be a good thing, prosperous for all of us. But I needed convincing, and the timing never seemed right for any of us. Let’s face it, none of us ever trusted each other enough to even sit at a table together. Unfortunately, Dig isn’t here to finally see us working together, but here we are.”

  I pulled in a deep breath and focused my attention on my skull ring, the silver reflecting the light from the long window. The men murmured in agreement.

  “But here we are.”

  I glanced up at Finger, and he met my gaze. Yeah, we were here, but Jump wasn’t sitting in his chair at the head of the table. Would this deal have gone down this way if he were still here?

  I rubbed my fingers across my forehead, hoping the motion would maybe ease the ache sprinting across my head.

  Finger and I had both managed to stay alive so far.

  Boner stood in the doorway of our meeting room, his eyes on me. He was still here, too. A fucking survivor, if ever there was.

  Did we deserve to be here? To be the ones still living, still sitting at the Jacks’ table, still submitting our yays and nays? Who the fuck knew? I wasn’t going to waste time thrashing out that futile philosophy of destiny. I knew it wouldn’t make any difference.

  We were here right now, and it felt fucking good. For the first time in a long while, the sound of my own damaged heart beating didn’t annoy me. I was a part of a chain. A link. An important solid link, and I had played a part in keeping the chain strong, keeping it fortified.

  “I want to thank Butler here for all his hard work.” Finger’s rough deep voice brought me back to the room. “For his first steps with the Flames, for seeing past our mutual inflexibility and making this new path possible for all of us. It’s a brand-new day.”

  Hands were shaken, and Finger and his two men left the property.

  The door was closed behind them, and we voted. My brothers clapped. I clenched my jaw. A smile grew on Boner’s face from across the long, wide, wooden table that had seen decades of officers voted in and booted out. Decisions made and passed. Ambitions come to life.

  Kicker, Jump’s longtime VP, was voted in as president of the Jacks, and I was voted as vice president. Boner remained as Sergeant at Arms.

  Kicker folded his hands together at the head of the table. “We’ve made new inroads, new contacts, and created a solid firewall against fuckers like the Broken Blades and a number of other fuckers making noise at our gates. Finger’s going to take care of the Blades once and for all, and it won’t come a day too soon. Working with the Flames in Nebraska is proving to be a huge gig. New business with a club we can count on, all without having to give anything up. Doesn’t get any better.” He nodded his head at me. “Good to have you back, bro.” He slammed the club gavel against the block.

  Meeting Over.

  A new beginning.

  Everyone rose and drifted into the main room. Bottles clinked, laughing, music filled the lounge, but I stayed seated at the great table. I leaned back in my chair and took in the row of photos along the wall, many crooked, badly framed, a few cracked.

  Jump, Dig, Dready, and me hiking in Yellowstone. Young Wreck and Willy in their first years as members, holding up a trophy from some bike race down in Florida. Boner and Kicker as prospects, jumping off a ridge into the reservoir. Others were of men from the ’70s and ’80s, whom I’d never met, but knew their crazy stories. I heard their voices in my ears though, spewing foul curses, roaring with laughter. Men who had fucked up, men who had won big. I felt the shove of their bodies against mine, the thunder of their bikes before me on the road.

  My brothers.

  We who were all a part of this body. This heritage. A lineage. All of us together, as one, moving forward, always forward.

  Our metal bloodline.

  Truly fucking priceless.

  “DID THE PROSPECTS do exactly as you wanted?” Butler surveyed the new installation at the gallery.

  Gerhard and Astrid’s work would finally be revealed to the world tonight.

  I slid my arm through his. “Jimmy and Teach were terrific. They followed my directions to the letter and took good care of the fragile pieces. Most impressively, they didn’t freak out when I kept changing my mind about placement.”

  “Shit, that is impressive.”

  “Shut up.” I shoved at his side, and he laughed. “Are you keeping track for their Jacks report card?”

  “Something like that.” He shifted his weight. “This exhibit, which is way more than an ordinary exhibit, looks really good. Makes you want to linger over every weird little detail.”

  All the H-bomb paintings and the gelatin silver prints I’d bought were up on the walls, and with long hooks, I’d hung Gerhard’s glass Christmas tree ornaments on a vintage fifties dress form.

  “I’m so thrilled that it’s actually happening. Gerhard deserves to have his work s
een.”

  “And the world deserves to see it. This is a huge night for you, too, you know. Not just Gerhard and his babe-a-licious.”

  “You had a little something to do with this as well. I have something for you to commemorate that.” I handed him a small navy blue cardboard box. “It’s your piece of this to keep with you always.”

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it.”

  He opened it, and his lips parted at the sight of the silver pendant.

  He glanced at me. “The hummingbird skull.”

  “I had a copy made of the one you found in Gerhard’s house.”

  He removed it from the box, and it hung on its chain between us.

  “Those precious, fragile pieces of old bone and tiny skulls,” I said. “You noticed them, and you knew what they were. The jeweler loved the skull, by the way. He asked me if he could make more of them from the mold he cast. I think it’s macho enough for you to wear—if you want to, that is.”

  “Put it on me.”

  “You like it?”

  “Put it on me.” His voice came out hoarse, low.

  I bit down on my lower lip as I took the pendant from him, opened the clasp of the long silver chain, and fastened the necklace around his neck. I righted it over his chest and planted a little kiss on the silver skull, my fingertips stroking over his warm skin.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  “My pleasure. Really.”

  Butler wrapped an arm around my shoulders, his gaze settling on Astrid’s crown, a direct spotlight shining on it as it sat in the Plexiglas cube, next to the silver prints of her wearing it. “Love that crown.”

  “Me, too. It’ll be hard to see it go once this show is over. I still remember finding it. God, I thought I’d faint from the shock.”

  He planted a kiss on the side of my head. “You looked good in that crown.”

  I snaked an arm around his middle, and a little piece of me glowed deep inside. I loved his compliments. They surprised me, excited me. Would I ever get used to them? Never.

  “Oh, I did, huh?”

  “Fuck yeah.” The husky tone in his voice and the concentrated focus of those aqua-blue eyes made my pulse speed up. His face twitched, a smile curling the edges of his lips.