‘Did you love her?’ Lexi asked, her voice now calm and quiet.
Charlie looked at her, a brief smile flickering across his face. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I did. At least, I think I did. But I loved your mum too, Lexi. Things were just… They were complicated. I loved the club, yes, but I loved my family more. Freya and I going public – it would have destroyed both, and back then… I finally managed to persuade her that ending what we had, it really was for the best.’ He bowed his head again, sighing heavily, but he quickly composed himself. ‘Vic always thought the baby was his because Freya she – she never gave him any reason to think otherwise, but… in the end she couldn’t take the guilt.’ He looked up, but not at Lexi or Coby. Instead he looked out of the small window by the bed, memories he’d hoped would fade suddenly crashing to the fore. ‘She told Vic everything, just days after Mia was born.’
Lexi’s eyes widened as she watched her father talk, Coby’s hand slipping into hers, squeezing it tight.
‘And he killed her. A single gunshot to the head. Just like that. As though she were nothing to him any more. He shot her, then turned the gun on himself.’
‘Oh, Jesus,’ Lexi gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
‘He couldn’t live with the betrayal,’ Charlie went on, his eyes back down on the floor.
‘And what about your guilt?’ Lexi asked, her voice barely audible.
Charlie finally met her gaze. ‘I didn’t know she was gonna tell him. If I had… I didn’t know.’
‘Where was Mia when it happened?’ Lexi’s voice was still quiet, her hand gripping tightly on to Coby’s.
‘She was at the clubhouse. Freya had asked Angie to look after her, because she knew… she knew that when she told Vic the truth he was gonna kick off. She just had no idea how badly he was gonna take it.’
Lexi looked at Coby, shaking her head as he squeezed her hand again.
‘I had a duty to look after her,’ Charlie carried on, his eyes focused on the window again. ‘To make sure she was okay, and Elliot and Tracy… They were desperate to take her in. They couldn’t have kids of their own, so…’ He pushed a hand through his hair, still staring out of the window. ‘I’d known them forever, knew what good people they were; loyal to the club, and to each other…’
‘I take it Mia knows she’s adopted?’ Coby said.
Charlie nodded. ‘Yes, she does. She’s always known that.’
‘She thinks her birth parents – she thinks they were killed during a run-in with a rival MC,’ Lexi said quietly. ‘She has no idea their death was really murder-suicide.’
‘Lexi, sweetheart…’
‘No, Dad. That’s exactly what it was – a murder-suicide. Jesus, she was just days old! And you… you just let it all happen. Everything. You could have taken her in, brought her up as your own because that’s exactly what she is. She’s your fucking daughter, and you let someone else bring her up! And even when… even when they died… Jesus, Dad! Mia went through so much shit and you just stood by and… Why didn’t you do something?’
‘Lexi, darlin’…’
‘No, Coby. I need to know why he didn’t do something.’ She kept her eyes fixed on her father as she spoke. ‘I need to know why you couldn’t tell Mum, why you couldn’t face up to the fact Mia was yours. Don’t you think she deserved – deserves – to know that? To know who her real father is?’
‘I did my best to make sure she was okay, Lexi. I always made sure she was looked after, that she had everything she needed…’
‘But you kept her at arm’s length.’
‘Elliot and Tracy were far better parents to her than I could ever have been…’
‘You did fine with me and Kip.’ Lexi’s voice had developed a harshness to it now. A cold edge. ‘Are you saying that second best was okay for us?’
‘Jesus Christ, Lexi, grow up. Of course I’m not saying that. I just… None of us needed the upheaval the truth would have caused. You and Kip were happy, and so was Mia. You know how happy she was as a child, Lex. She loved Elliot and Tracy so much, and they adored her. They fucking worshipped that kid. She was their little miracle; the child they never thought they’d have.’
‘And that helped ease your guilt, did it?’
‘That’s not fair, sweetheart.’
Lexi said nothing for a few seconds, her eyes dropping to the floor. ‘But you loved her, right?’ She raised her gaze to meet her father’s. ‘You always loved her?’
‘Of course I did. Don’t ever think I don’t love that girl, because I did. I do. She’s my flesh and blood…’ He stopped talking, turning his head away from Lexi. ‘The truth couldn’t come out, Lexi. Not at the time.’
‘You put this club before your own daughter,’ Lexi whispered, pulling her hand away from Coby’s.
‘It would have wrecked so many lives, including Mia’s. All I wanted was for her to be safe and happy, and she was. I kept her close enough to know that.’
‘But she isn’t safe now, is she?’
‘Lexi…’ Coby sighed, trying to take her hand again but she pulled it away.
‘No, darlin’. She isn’t safe now. And maybe I should have done more, but… None of us had any idea Lennie Rose would…’
‘She needs to know. The truth. Everyone needs to know the truth.’
Charlie threw back his head, a long, heavy sigh escaping. ‘I know.’
‘So go tell her.’
‘Jesus, Lexi, this isn’t something you just blurt out.’
Lexi leaned back against the wall, her eyes fixed on her father. ‘So, I’ve still got to keep this to myself, huh?’
‘For now, yes. Baby, I will tell her. I promise. I will tell Kip, and your Mum, that’s why I’m over here. To try and put right all the shit I’ve messed up. But I need to work out how I’m gonna do that first, okay?’
‘You need to do it soon,’ she said, walking over to the door. ‘Before anything else kicks off between Ben and Kip. He’s got feelings for her, Dad, and they need to be quashed, before something really wrong happens.’
Coby threw Charlie a sympathetic look as he followed Lexi to the door. ‘She’s right, brother. That son of yours, he’s serious about that girl. And we all know that can’t happen.’
‘It’s time to face the truth, Dad.’ Lexi’s voice was softer now, kind, almost, and Charlie couldn’t help but give her a small smile.
‘Yeah. I know it is, baby. I know it is.’
Twenty-Three
‘It’s all in hand, Lennie. Not long to go now, I promise you.’
‘You better fucking mean that, brother, because I am done with this place. I just want my wife and I want out of here.’
‘Yeah, yeah, I get that, okay? I get it. But I told you. It’s all coming together.’
‘You got something concrete now? You actually got a plan?’
‘Hey, I never had anything else. I just had to work out the finer details. I always knew what had to be done. And what we’re gonna do is kill you.’
The silence didn’t surprise Shane. He’d expected it. ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’
‘At least, we’re gonna make it look like you’re dead.’
‘And you’re the expert on faking death, huh?’ Lennie deadpanned.
‘Yeah. I am. So trust me, okay? What I’ve got planned will end this lockdown, and we can finally get moving. I just got one more thing to do then we’re on, brother. I’ll call you later.’
Shane hung up and looked over towards the entrance to the compound, where Bear and Coby were manually hauling open the huge metal gates that were, at the minute, permanently closed to anyone except club members, their families, and those Coby and Charlie chose to let over the threshold. He watched as Kip, Luca and Cain rode into the yard, Bear and Coby immediately closing the gates behind them.
Pulling his cap down further over his eyes he leaned back against the wall and lit up a cigarette. He couldn’t hear what Coby or Bear were asking the others, but he could tell by their body language
and shakes of the head that nothing positive had come from that afternoon’s hunt for Lennie. Shane still couldn’t believe he’d managed to keep Lennie hidden from them for this long, but his managing to persuade Coby to let him check out the area around the MC’s cabin alone had helped. It meant he’d been able to cross that section of Paradise off their list as a potential hideout. Although, the risk that someone would double check, just to be safe, still was and always had been a possibility. The level of trust could wane quite easily at times like this. Which was why he knew he had to move things along now.
‘I’m taking it no one had much luck today, then? Trying to find Lennie, I mean,’ Shane said, throwing his half-smoked cigarette down on to the ground as Bear approached the clubhouse entrance.
The burly Englishman narrowed his eyes as he looked at Shane. ‘No. Still nothing. But if he’s out there, we’ll find him.’
‘Been well over a fortnight since he paid Mia that visit, though. He could be anywhere by now.’
‘If it’s Mia he wants – and that’s what he told her – he’ll still be here. He’s just keeping himself well hidden.’
Shane looked right into Bear’s eyes, waiting a beat or two before he spoke again. ‘What if I told you I know exactly where he is?’
Bear’s eyes narrowed even further as he moved closer to Shane. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘I know where he is.’
‘Then you better go tell someone, brother.’
‘No. No, I ain’t gonna do that.’
Bear reached out to grab Shane’s cut but he swiftly knocked the bigger man’s hand away. ‘If you’re pissing me about, Shane…’
‘I ain’t pissing no one about, Bear. I’m deadly serious.’
‘Then fucking tell me where that bastard is…’
‘Remember that night back in England?’
Bear frowned, his expression turning to one of confusion. ‘What night?’
‘Not long after me and Lexi were exiled from this town to yours… There was some kind of party, at a clubhouse belonging to an MC the Lone Riders are pretty tight with. A party where Lexi got wasted, danced on tables, gave every brother in there an eyeful of everything wet dreams are made of, man, she was in no mood to behave those first few weeks…’ His eyes locked with Bear’s, but the confusion was still evident on Bear’s face. ‘Okay. Let me jog that memory of yours a little more, huh? That same night there was a – a disagreement, shall we say – over some shit or other, I can’t even remember what now. Had other things on my mind and all. But I remember another, totally unconnected fight happening away from everything else. Outside, in the yard. I remember hearing shouting, ‘cause I was standing by the door. Guess I needed some fresh air after witnessing what our Queen of the compound can do after a few beers and a couple of lines.’
A glimmer of recognition started to appear on Bear’s face. A hint that he was starting to realize just what Shane was talking about.
‘Oh, you startin’ to remember now, brother? How a fight that started over nothing, at least, that’s what everyone believed… How that fight ended up with a man dying because you’d refused to listen to him. He was apologizing to you, am I right? He’d inadvertently approached a girl you’d had your eye on for months, so I was told. Even though you’d just got yourself hitched. And this girl, she knew that, which was why she didn’t want anything to do with you. That shoulda sent a message, don’t you think? That you were flogging a dead horse, but no, brother, you ain’t that intelligent.’
‘What the fuck are you…?’
‘She wanted him, didn’t she? Not you. She wanted him, and that poor guy didn’t even know… Oh, she had it bad for that brother. But your way of thinking was if you couldn’t have her, then nobody else was gonna. And one swift nick of an artery later and he was bleeding to death on the sidewalk. Suicide, they said. You knew he had problems that ran way deeper than anyone else was aware of, and you made it look like that unfortunate son-of-a-bitch had been too desperate to face up to them. And you did all of that for no reason other than the girl you wanted wanted him. You covered your tracks well, I’ll give you that, but that other MC – what would they do if they knew the truth, huh? If they knew you’d killed one of their men? What would happen then?’
‘You fucking bastard…’
‘Hey! Come on! All’s fair, brother. I got something on you, which means you kinda owe me now.’
‘I owe you nothing,’ Bear hissed, moving a step closer to Shane.
‘Oh, I think you do. Unless you want me to make one phone call that could start a whole new war back on your home turf. You think Charlie wants that? You think he needs more shit?’
‘I never did fucking trust you…’
Shane laughed, lighting up another cigarette and offering it to Bear, who immediately swiped it straight out of his hand. Shane looked down as it hit the ground, still smouldering. ‘Well, that wasn’t very friendly now, was it?’
‘What’s going on here, Shane?’
Shane looked back up at Bear. ‘You’re gonna do something for me.’
‘Am I?’
‘If you want to avoid a world of crap when you get back home, yes. You are. If you want to stay alive.’
Bear said nothing, his eyes fixed on Shane.
‘You’re gonna go back out there, right now, alone, on another sweep of this town. And then you’re gonna come back here, and you’re gonna tell Charlie and Coby that Lennie has been dealt with.’
‘Dealt with?’ Bear questioned, the frown reappearing.
‘You’re gonna tell them he’s dead.’
‘Jesus, Shane…’
‘One phone call, Bear. That’s all it’s gonna take for that world of crap to kick off.’
Bear sighed, pushing both hands back through his hair. ‘You want me to kill him?’
‘I want you to make it look like you’ve killed him. But I don’t want him dead. I’m doing him a favor, he’s repaying me by helping me out with something. So I need him alive. For the time being.’
‘And what about Mia, huh? You’re okay with the fact that by leaving him alive she’s still in danger?’
Shane shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets. ‘I ain’t happy about that, no. But sometimes shit has to happen in order for more to be got rid of.’
‘You’re just gonna let him take her?’
‘Like I said, I ain’t happy about that, but… Innocent pawns can get hurt, that’s the risk we take.’
‘I don’t understand any of this, Shane.’
‘You don’t need to understand it. You just need to do as I say. And know what the consequences will be if you don’t.’
Bear sighed again, one full of resignation. He was cornered. No way out, not as far as he could see. ‘They’re gonna want proof that he’s gone. They’re not just gonna take my word for it.’
‘There’ll be proof. But I need this lockdown lifted, and I need that to happen fast.’
‘And Lennie knows the score?’
‘He knows something’s about to happen.’ Shane pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Bear. ‘This is where he’s hiding. My uncle’s old hunting shack up in the hills. I’m gonna call him as soon as you’ve left, let him know what he needs to do.’
‘Why can’t you just come with me? Make sure it all goes to plan yourself? In fact, why can’t you just do all this? Why do you need me?’
‘Because I need everyone here to trust me, Bear; to keep on thinking I’m still that good, kind-natured southern boy who’d do anything for anyone. I can’t risk even one hint of doubt creeping in. And I especially need Coby to think I’m still the trusted V.P. he thinks I am.’
Bear’s frown deepened further. ‘What the hell is this about, Shane? Why are you faking Lennie’s death, putting Mia in danger…?’
‘I want Coby Walker dead.’
Bear stared at him, unable to stop a surprised laugh from escaping. ‘Why the fuck would you want Coby dead? After eve
rything he…?’
‘He has something I want, that’s why. And he needs to pay back that rather large debt he owes me.’
‘Hang on… You want Coby dead because of Lexi?’
‘It’s time you were somewhere else,’ Shane said, completely ignoring Bear. ‘And if I hear of you telling anyone about this – about where Lennie is, or anything I’ve just told you, you ain’t gonna want to know the shit that’ll kick off, believe me, brother.’
‘You’re fucking crazy. You’re insane. If this gets out…’
‘But it won’t, will it? Call my bluff by all means, but what happens if you do… I can’t promise that’ll be pretty.’
Bear slid the piece of paper Shane had given him into the top pocket of his cut. ‘Why can’t I just kill the bastard for real?’
‘I told you, I need him alive. At least until he’s fulfilled his side of the bargain.’
‘You’re fucking twisted, man.’
‘It’s the world we live in, brother. Call me as soon as you get there.’
Shane kept his eyes on Bear as he walked back towards his bike, waiting until he’d left the compound before letting out the longest sigh of relief. Could he trust Bear? He couldn’t really trust anyone right now, but he was the only one Shane had anything on – anything big enough to carry the kind of leverage he needed, anyway. So all he could do was sit tight, and hope this part of the plan came off. Because, if it didn’t, he had no second option.
Twenty-Four
‘You’re lying.’ Kip’s voice was, somehow, managing to stay calm, despite what Charlie had just told him. ‘You’re fucking lying.’
‘Jesus, Kip, why would I lie about something like this? She’s your sister, okay? Why the hell do you think people have been trying to keep you away from her? Stop you from doing something stupid? Something illegal.’
‘Yeah, ‘cause that kind of shit never goes on around here, does it?’
‘Watch your mouth, son.’
Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) Page 17