by Evelyn Glass
“I want Butch.” She swallowed a knot of tears, unable to rip her gaze away from him.
“Baby girl—” Geo started.
“You sent him to look after me and he did.” She stopped walking, searing her father with a teary gaze. “And then I ran away from him.”
Geo’s weathered face shone with indecision. “Butch is on lockdown right now.”
“But he just saved me from being kidnapped.” She pointed behind her, where the entire thing had taken place, her mouth parting with disbelief. “How many times does he have to be a savior for you to trust him?”
“Gidget, someone ratted you out while you were away. Only Butch and I knew where you were, yet the Skulls still managed to track you down. He was the rat.”
“No, he wasn’t.” Her throat tightened, making her voice come out shrill. Her daddy was hard-headed often, and stubborn as all hell on a good day. But this was one thing he had dead wrong.
“How do you know?” Geo’s eyes danced with something that made her shrink, like she was a little girl again. “You trust him? Because when it’s your life at stake, I don’t fuck around. You’re my baby girl.”
“I know,” she insisted, “but it wasn’t him.” Her gaze wandered back to him as he and Zebra disappeared down the dimly lit side path. Butch was limping. Her heart twisted. “It was me.”
“Don’t play games with me, Gidge.”
She shook her head, dragging her gaze up to meet her father’s again. “I’m serious, daddy. It was my fault. They found out where I was because of my social media account.” She sniffed, smoothing back some of her hair. “It was me.”
Geo stared at her for a long time, barely blinking. When he finally spoke, his voice was low. “Are you sure about that?”
She nodded. “They told me. We could go back and look at my posts. I kept up my blogging and stuff while we were there, I didn’t want my followers to dwindle, I thought it would help me stay focused on my career. I thought I was careful but I must have forgotten to turn off the location and—”
Geo held up a hand. “Come on. Let’s go inside.” He slung his arms around her shoulders, keeping a tight grip on her as they walked into the clubhouse. She could tell he was stewing over the information, mulling it over before he made a decision.
“I want to see Butch.”
His jaw tightened. “You two get close while you were there?”
Tears pricked at her eyes. He didn’t even know how close. And maybe now wasn’t the time to spill it. Not when he was still steaming over Butch. “Well, we spent a month holed up. He’s basically my best friend now.”
Geo sent a stricken look down at her. “What are you trying to say, ‘best friend’?”
Tension ratcheted up in the air between them as he pushed into the clubhouse. The air was noisy with chatter, but most everyone was heading toward the back door. No doubt to go watch the circus show of the Skulls. She and Geo hurried after them, heading toward the back garage.
“You didn’t answer me.”
“I mean he’s—” she faltered, unsure how to play this. Shit, could he tell already? Maybe she’d been too blatant by asking for Butch. But he was all she craved. His touch. The smell of him. The reassurance and steadiness that seeped from him.
“Gidget, you need to tell me.” Geo slowed, squeezing her shoulder in his meaty paw. His daddy look came out, something she’d seen plenty frequently as a young girl. As always, it made her heart thump erratically as she considered her best response. “You know I have rules in this clubhouse.”
“Well we weren’t in the clubhouse, now, were we?” She couldn’t keep the words inside. Geo’s face darkened as they followed the stream of brothers out the back door. Night fell again, and his face was shrouded unevenly by the night air, making him look even angrier.
“You better not be saying what I think you’re saying.” His voice came out tight. “Butch knew the rules. You know the rules.”
“Daddy, I’m not sixteen anymore,” she said, her voice coming out pinched. “I’m a woman. I’m allowed to do what I want. Especially when you send me away from my home, and my job. I didn’t have any say in that, okay? It wasn’t fair.”
“We’re not talking about fair and unfair right now,” Geo said, slicing his hand through the air. His nostrils flared as he spoke. “We’re talking about following the goddamn rules. The rules that everyone has to follow in this house.”
“Fine. Then we followed them.” The words felt catty and simplistic, but she didn’t know how to handle the situation anymore. It had gotten away from her, an unwieldy beast that just wouldn’t cooperate.
Geo slowed, his gaze skating around the back patio. The voices of the other brothers were raucous as they gathered around the Skulls. Her dad grunted, then headed for Butch, who lingered near a storage closet entrance on the far side next to Zebra.
“Daddy,” she began, taking off after him. Anxiety knotted her stomach. Cackles and excited chatter rang through the air, distracting and overwhelming as she sought to guess what her dad’s plan might be. He crossed the cement patio in just a few long strides, and then grabbed Butch by the neckline of his black t-shirt. Butch grabbed at Geo’s hands, his dark eyes meeting her dad’s gaze, but didn’t fight back or even try to escape.
“Were you fucking around with my daughter in Shreveport?”
The question shot like a bullet through the air and most of the brothers quieted, as if sensing the gravitational shift of the evening. Eyes turned to assess the situation. Gidget tapped on her dad’s back.
“Daddy, put him down.”
“Let him answer my question.” Geo jostled Butch, who didn’t even flinch. “Did you fuck around with my daughter?”
Butch’s dark eyes darted her way before he answered in a steady voice, “I don’t fuck around.”
Gidget wasn’t sure if that was the best or worst answer he could have picked. Geo hauled back and punched Butch across the face, which prompted Gidget to scream.
“Daddy! Let him go!” She tried to insert herself between the two men but someone held her back, dragging her off to the side. It was Deke. No doubt trying to be of service to his club president.
“Butch knows there are rules around here,” Geo said, his voice wavering and low. “And there’s a special consequence for brothers who fuck around with my baby girl.”
Butch’s jaw tensed, his gaze flicking between Geo and Gidget. “I told you, Geo. I don’t fuck around.”
“I should toss you in with the Skulls,” Geo snarled.
“Daddy!” Gidget shrieked, struggling to free herself from Deke’s hold. “Just listen to me, would you?”
“There’s nothing I need to hear,” Geo said, never breaking his gaze with Butch. “I know enough.” He rammed his knee into Butch’s gut. A pained wheeze escaped Butch, a sound that cut to the core of Gidget’s heart. She screamed again, finally wrenching free from Deke’s grip.
“Stop it!” She ran over to them, attempting to shield Butch. “Daddy, let him go and stop this right now. He doesn’t deserve it.”
“This isn’t for you to decide,” her dad said, voice edged with tension. “These are club matters.”
“Gidget, don’t get in the middle of this,” Butch warned, emotion shining in his voice.
“Oh, so you’re gonna be a martyr now? You think you deserve this?” Gidget scoffed, pulling at her father’s arm. “Don’t hurt him!”
“Deke!” Geo barked. “Get her out of here.”
“No,” she shrieked. “This involves me. This is my life too.”
“Your life had very limited involvement with his,” her dad spat. “And it ends today.”
Desperation churned inside her, thick and pungent, clogging her nostrils. “It’s not going to end today. You don’t understand.” She kicked as Deke grabbed her by the waist. “I’m pregnant.”
As soon as the words fell from her lips the air grew cooler. The quiet conversations nearby that had sprang to life shriveled to nothingnes
s. The only thing Gidget could hear was her own ragged breaths as her father turned to face her.
“What?” Just one word and it dropped through the air like a hammer.
“I’m pregnant,” she repeated, suddenly breathless. Butch’s eyes had widened, his gaze fastened to her.
“Is it his?” Her dad’s voice grew softer.
Gidget gulped, nodding.
Geo’s nostrils flared as he stared at her a moment longer, unknown emotions storming his face. Then he reached into the back of his pants and took out his Glock. He pressed it to Butch’s temple.
“Daddy, no!” Her shriek tore through the air and she grabbed at his arm, struggling to insert herself between the two of them. “You can’t do this! Go after the men who threatened me, who threatened your grandchild!”
Something must have clicked inside his adrenaline-addled brain, because Geo dropped Butch, who stumbled backward against the closet door. Geo swung around, eyes fiery, and then clomped over to the corner where the Skulls sat propped against the garage, legs splayed out in front of them. He stood in front of them—hands bound by rope, gags in their mouths, faces bleeding from the bevvy of punches they’d received since visiting the clubhouse—and then sent a bullet between both sets of eyes.
Gidget winced at each firing, heart pounding as she tried to take it all in. The Skulls slumped over, blood making thick trickles down the ridges of their noses, onto their cuts, eventually bleeding out onto the cement. Some of the club brothers nodded in approval. Geo stumbled, staring at his handiwork, and then stomped away from the garage, heading inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Butch couldn’t rip his eyes off of Gidget, even while Geo murdered the two Skulls. The only thing running through his head was So that’s what it was. There was a strange relief, alongside a whole cocktail of different emotions. But relief won. Not fear, or anxiety, or anything else that he might have guessed. Just the sweeping sigh that his girl was okay.
When Gidget turned to him, her eyes were wide and brimming with uncertainty. He wanted to pull her into his arms, to smash her into his embrace and never let go, but Geo was still a problem. Might be a problem forever.
Butch might never be able to touch her again, much less continue the closeness they’d found in Shreveport.
“Is it true?” His voice stuck to his throat when he spoke.
She nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek. Behind them, brothers gathered around the Skulls, chatter resuming. Someone turned on music, but it all faded to a dull murmur as Gidget stepped closer.
“I didn’t want to tell you like this. I didn’t even know if I wanted to tell my dad yet.” She nibbled on her bottom lip, her hand drifting toward his. When her fingertips brushed against his palm, he stiffened. God, he wanted her so much. In ways that were still hard for him to admit.
“Do you want to…” Butch gulped. “You know.”
She nodded hastily, tears making her eyes shimmery. “I do. I want to keep it.” She paused, her fingertips trailing up his arm. “It’s our baby.”
Those words broke something off inside of him, allowed something to splinter that had long ago fractured at its base. Butch’s throat tightened and he grabbed her hand, stilled it as she made the trek up along his bicep.
“But Geo,” he said, afraid to say more and betray his emotions.
“He’ll get over it,” she whispered. “He has to.”
“You don’t know that,” Butch said.
“This is all new territory.” She laughed a little, wiping at a tear. “I don’t even know that you’ll stick around. Now that I told you.”
Butch couldn’t help himself; he squeezed her shoulder, trailing his palm over the curve of her neck. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You want a baby?” Gidget looked up at him, her quiet, shy voice nearly bringing him to his knees. He’d never considered being a father before. Never imagined sticking around long enough to find out if it had happened on accident. Never imagined being with someone he cared about, even.
“Only with you,” he finally was able to say, and it was the truth. It rang hard inside him, echoing so deeply that it made his chest hurt.
“This whole day has been fucked,” Gidget said, clasping his hand against her cheek. “I just want it to be over. What did they do to you?”
Butch took a labored draw of breath. “Not too much. Beat me up a few times for ratting, starved me in the closet, then almost shot me for knocking up the president’s daughter.”
Gidget grinned.
“Just a regular day,” Butch added, unable to look away from the mesmerizing blue of her eyes. This was something he wouldn’t get tired of looking at. Gidget was someone he wouldn’t get tired of ever.
“Daddy will come around,” she whispered, though it sounded like it was more to reassure her than himself. “But I think we’re lucky I’m pregnant. Otherwise you might have gotten beat again.”
“I guess I was just thinking ahead back in Shreveport.” His body ached and he longed to take a shower and collapse into bed with her tucked into his arms, like they’d done each night for the past month. "Can we go to bed now?”
Gidget glanced behind them, at the fray of brothers and hollering. Looking back up at Butch, she nodded. “Guess there’s nothing to hide now. Wanna sleep in my bed tonight?”
Butch grinned but squashed it quickly. “You’re trying to piss your dad off again?”
“At this point, he couldn’t be angrier. So I think we’re fine for now.” She slung an arm around his waist and together they began walking toward the clubhouse. He leaned on her when his ribs ached with each step, and she waited patiently as he paused to cough.
“I’ll get you all cleaned up,” she promised as she pushed the door open to the clubhouse.
“That’s what I should be saying to you,” he said.
“You’ve done enough today. Saved my ass for the second time in my life, and took way too many punches. So you shut up and let me take care of you.”
Butch couldn’t fight the grin. There was something sweet about her command. “Yes ma’am.”
“Besides, you need to get used to this. Now that this is out in the open, we’re dating, I’m carrying your child…you might decide to change your mind,” she said, a wry grin on her face as they walked toward the hallway.
“Do I have a grace period to decide?”
She sighed exaggeratedly. “That’s such a typical thing for a biker guy to say.”
“Hey,” he shot back. “I wasn’t a biker guy until I got out of jail.”
Her grin spread so wide that it nearly stretched ear to ear. “That’s right. You’re not a biker guy.” This seemed to please her as she pushed open her bedroom door. Butch took a glance up and down the hallway before going inside, just in case anyone spotted them together. It might take a while to get used to this thing between them being common knowledge. But the lid was blown off now. No more hiding behind the convenience of distance.
Besides, he couldn’t walk away from her. Even if he tried…he would only fail.
“You glad about that or something?” He groaned as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I always swore I’d never fall for a biker guy,” she said, kneeling down to help tug off his boots. “And to be honest, I was a little pissed that I thought I had.”
Butch smirked, moved by the way she popped his boots off and rolled his socks off. She was an angel. “But you still fell anyway.”
“How could I not?” Her hooded glance made his cock twitch, even with all the pain and confusion swirling in the clubhouse right now.
“I don’t deserve you,” he said plainly, forcing the words out through a tight throat. It weighed on him, constantly lurking in the back of his mind that she might realize it one day and run off. The stakes were higher, now that she carried his baby. This was territory he’d fought his entire life to avoid…and only now was seeing maybe there was a reason to wade into it.
“You do, though.�
� She unbuttoned his jeans and tugged them down over his knees, delicately extracting each leg. “That’s what you don’t get. You do. You deserve to be happy. And with someone who cares about you. To be a daddy someday.”
He avoided her gaze. “Sometimes I think I’m not cut out for it.” When she sent a worried glance his way, he added, “But with you, I’m willing to try.”
She leaned between his legs, nuzzling up against the rough of his cheek. “Well that’s enough then. That’s all I need.”
He grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger and they kissed so hard that his lips went numb. If he was going to try it with anyone, it was with a girl who’d been to hell and back with him. Who could spend a month in a tiny motel room with him and not grate on him and still even make it fun. A girl who knew enough about the dark side of life but still had the infectious zest that could inspire him, after all he’d seen and lived and lost.