Mark Of A Scarred Warrior (Iron Dogz MC Book 5)

by René Van Dalen

  Moving away from her he went and sat down at the bar and smiled when she set his favourite beer down in front of him.

  “Thanks, sweetheart.” He said softly, and again wanted to kick his own fucking ass when Dizzy sniggered.

  “How the hell did you get that dog to not bite your face off?” Sin asked as he settled himself into the chair next to him.

  Scar shook his head and shrugged. “No idea. I went over to apologise to Chris and he took a liking to me I suppose.”

  “You apologised? Is that what all that cheek kissing stuff was all about?” Dizzy asked with a raised eyebrow.

  All he could do was shrug because he didn’t know why the fuck he had done it.

  Before he had apologised to Chris he had been coming into the clubhouse every night. For some reason it had felt as if he needed to be there. And today he would definitely be at the clubhouse when the Durban Chapter arrived. He didn’t know if the men coming with Hotdog were trustworthy or not. No way was he going to leave Chris alone at the bar even though she had Brutus guarding her ass. He had a bad feeling about this damned visit.

  But as fate would have it he wasn’t at the bar when they arrived. He was at the back checking that the prospects had the braai ready for the party. When he walked back into the kitchen Aunt B grabbed his arm before he could go into the common room.

  “You’re going to have to keep a hold on your temper tonight, my boy. Hotdog brought trouble to your door.” With that she let him go and gave him a gentle push towards the common room.

  He heard her before he saw her. The bitch he was busy divorcing. She was loud because she wanted everyone in a fucking ten mile radius to hear and notice her. Unfortunately for her, she was no longer at the Durban clubhouse where she could do as she pleased. She was in the mother chapter’s house. His house.

  She was spouting some bullshit about wanting to be with her old man when their child was born. Absolute fucking bullshit. There wasn’t a chance in hell that the kid was his. He hadn’t touched her in almost a year.

  Stalking into the common room he saw Hotdog, three of his officers and fucking Pesto and Gigi standing at the bar. Hotdog looked pissed while Pesto was talking to Chris, sliding his eyes over her body as if she was a club slut. She had backed away from the bar counter, Brutus was right in front of her and she had a tight hold on his harness. A warning growl was rumbling deep in his chest and his lips were pulled back in a vicious snarl.

  Scar didn’t hesitate.

  Striding behind the bar he put his arm around her waist, and his hand on Brutus’s head, calming him instantly. Drawing her tight into his side he kissed the side of her head.

  “Liah, baby, are you okay?” He asked loud enough that his words carried through the sudden silence. He gave her a little squeeze to reassure her as she looked up at him with wide eyes before she nodded.

  “I’m fine.” She tipped her head towards the bitch. “But she’s been going on and on about being your old lady and wanting to know which room was yours. The more I told her you don’t have a room here the more she insisted that you did.” Chris shrugged then sank into his side and he tightened his arm around her.

  Scar looked at the two assholes. Their expressions were partly pissed off and partly confused.

  “What the fuck are you two doing here?” He bit out, but before he could get an answer Hawk strode into the room with DC at his side.

  “Hotdog, brother, you’re early.” Hawk said with a smile that did not reach those predatory eyes of his. His old lady didn’t say one word, she stood by his side, arms crossed with her eyes locked on Gigi and Pesto.

  “We made better time than expected, brother. Sorry about the uninvited guests. They insisted they had unfinished business with Scar. I thought it best to bring them along and get this shit over and done with.” Hotdog’s smile didn’t reach his eyes either. The man was definitely not a happy camper.

  “If someone can bring themselves to show some manners, I need to lie down. Take me to my old man’s room. I’m pregnant and need my rest after spending hours sitting in a car.” Gigi said in a high whiney voice just as Hawk opened his mouth to speak.

  There was a soft gasp of shock from Chris. Fucking hell. This was not done, not ever, and certainly not in the clubhouse of the mother chapter, home of the National President of the Iron Dogz MC.

  Hawk slowly turned and pinned her with his eyes. “Shut the fuck up, bitch.” He hissed. “You will keep your fucking mouth shut until you are given permission to speak. Nod your fucking head that you get me.”

  Gigi’s heavily made up eyes went huge with anger and a good dose of fear. She gave a few quick nods.

  Hawk turned to look at Scar behind the bar with his arm around Chris.

  “You know anything about this, brother?”

  Shaking his head and not hiding the disgust on his face he laid it out for his president and everyone listening.

  “No Boss, I’ve got no idea why the fuck they’re here. And just to clue everyone in, the kid she’s carrying isn’t mine. She’s not my fucking old lady. She doesn’t wear my ink or my patch. Soon she will be my ex-wife and just another civilian.” Scar bent down and pressed a quick kiss on Chris’s shocked mouth. “As everyone here knows, Liah is my woman, not that slut.”

  Next to him he heard her muttered ‘oh shit’ and had to grin as he once again dipped his head and whispered in her ear.

  “Put your arm around me, Liah. Don’t leave your old man hanging, baby.”

  And she did as he asked, putting her arm around him and burrowing into his side. Glancing at where the slut and Pesto stood glaring at them he narrowed his eyes and gave them a silent warning. If they thought they had him beaten with their plans to have him locked up and steal his money they were in for a huge surprise.

  “Honey we’re home!”

  The shout had them all looking towards the still wide open clubhouse doors.

  A widely grinning Wolf and Leo stood framed against the sunshine and the atmosphere went from tense and angry to laughter and happiness in a second.

  His newly claimed woman started hopping up and down next to him and he had to let her go as she struggled against his hold. She flew around the bar and straight at Leo. His Liah was tall and had to bend down to hug Wolf’s old lady and then the two were swaying from side to side and laughing before they let go.

  “I’m so happy to see you, but I’m still pissed at you for sneaking off. We’ll talk about that later. Welcome home.” Liah said with a wide grin. Fuck, he no longer thought of her as Chris, to him she was Liah. It suited her so much better.

  “And I’m happy to see your face too and I’m sorry for the sneaking away shit.” Leo said with an equally wide grin.

  Beside her Wolf was surrounded by brothers who were slapping his back as they welcomed him home.

  DC was the next in line to hug Leo. She stepped back with a grin. “Welcome to the madhouse. You’ve stepped right into some very interesting shit going down.”

  Scar lost what they were saying because right then Brutus growled viciously and lunged towards the open side of the bar. Thank fuck he’d had his hand on his head and was just in time to grab onto his harness and stop him from attacking the two assholes who had thought to sneak up on him.

  While he had been focused on Wolf and Leo the fucking bitch and Pesto had tried to get to him behind the bar.

  “It attacked me! Kill it! Kill it right now! It tried to kill my baby!” Gigi shrieked. “I want it dead, right now! Shoot it, shoot it!”

  Eyes as wide as saucers Liah came racing back, shoved past those in her way and fell to her knees beside Brutus, flinging her arms around his neck.

  “Stay the hell away from my dog.” She snapped. “He can smell the evil bitch on you.”

  “Fuck, it seems we came home just in time for some fireworks.” Wolf said as he took his woman’s hand and brought her over to the bar.

  Hawk immediately joined them, i
gnoring Hotdog and his men to welcome Wolf and his woman home.

  “Fucking glad to have you home, brother. You should have given us a head’s up.”

  Wolf laughed. “Nah, the surprise was a much better idea, Prez. Looks like you’ve got some shit going down here right now.”

  “You have no fucking idea.” Hawk muttered before he stepped away, turning to Hotdog.

  “Hotdog, let’s get you and your men settled and then we are going to have some words in my office.” He looked towards the passage and called out. “Aunt B, send some girls to show our visitors to their rooms, please!”

  There was a flurry of movement as the visitors, including Gigi and Pesto, were escorted to the prepared rooms at the back of the clubhouse. Hotdog was the only one escorted to an upstairs room. It was clear he was the only one Hawk trusted.

  DC hopped onto a chair at the bar and pointed a finger at the two of us then waggled it from side to side.

  “Since when?”

  Scar didn’t give Liah a chance to answer. “Liah and I have been a certainty since the very first time I laid eyes on her. It just took me some time to make my move.”

  “Liah?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and Scar felt his girl going solid next to him.

  “No way am I going to call my woman by a man’s name. She’s Liah to me.” He left it up to his very new woman whether she wanted to tell them where the name came from or not.

  She surprised him. “My name is actually Amaliah. Scar shortened it to Liah.”

  “Then why the fuck have we been calling you Chris when you have such a fucking beautiful name?” Dizzy demanded.

  “Because at university I used my second name, Christina. My friends shortened it to Chris and I got used to the name.” She shrugged.

  “You okay if we call your woman by her new name, brother?” Hawk asked with a small smile curving his lips.

  Scar narrowed his eyes and bit his bottom lip as if he was giving it some thought then looked at his girl and raised his eyebrows in question.

  “I don’t mind if…” She started to say softly.

  But DC shook her head and interrupted. “I think we let him call her Liah and we’ll carry on calling her Chris.”

  “No, no, wait, I have it.” Leo slapped a palm down on the bar. “Amy, we can call you Amy. What do you think? Do you like it?”

  His Liah wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “No, not Amy. I’m definitely not an Amy. I think calling me Chris is just fine.”

  “Cool.” DC said. “Chris, I’m going to buy Brutus the biggest freaking steak I can find. He was going to eat the poison princess. Scar spoiled our fun by grabbing him before he could take a bite.” She turned to Scar with an evil grin. “Bad, Scar, very bad.”

  Lifting herself up to stand on her tippy toes on the footrest that curved along the bottom of the bar she peeked over the bar at where Brutus was lying in his bed but still watching.

  “Tomorrow I’m bringing you a big steak, Brutus. Next time please bite her on her fat ass. Her freaking voice grates on my eardrums. And one other thing, please don’t hate on Devil and Angel, I want you to be friends.”

  The big dog tilted his head as he listened intently then what looked like a big smile split his face before it changed into a massive yawn showing off his huge teeth before he laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

  “Oh my God, I love your dog.” Leo bubbled enthusiastically. “When did you get him?”

  “Jagger gave him to me when I moved into the cottage. But please, do not approach him if I’m not with you, he hates humans and will attack. He’s been put through hell in the dog fighting rings. Scar and I are the only ones who can touch him.”

  “Cool. I’ll respect his space bubble.” Leo grinned. “But he’s going to love me, I can tell. Wait, back up there, you moved out of the clubhouse?”

  “Yes I did.” His girl said with a big smile.

  Everyone suddenly started calling for beer and Scar gave Liah a last squeeze before moving out from behind the bar, leaving her to do her job. Joining his brothers clustered around Wolf he grinned when his brother looked down at his legs and smiled.

  “Fucking glad to see you walking without having to use a damned stick brother.” Wolf pulled him in for a hug and slapped his back. “And coming home to find you have claimed Chris? Blew my fucking mind.”

  Scar smiled, nodded but kept his voice low. “We’ll chat tomorrow, brother. Lots of shit going down around here right now.”

  “I hear you. Beast kept me up to date to some extent but I haven’t been in contact for the last few days. We can sit down and have a chat over a coffee tomorrow morning.”

  “I’ll be there, brother.” He was looking forward to catching up with one of the men who had been instrumental in making him feel at home when he transferred to Johannesburg.

  But first he had to convince Liah to let him move in with her.

  It would be for her safety and to keep the fucking leeches off his back.

  He didn’t doubt for one minute that both Pesto and Gigi, and whoever had come with them, were going to fuck with her any chance they got, and living alone, no, just no.

  Even with Brutus there to protect her he wasn’t going to take any chances.

  His brother was a sly scumbag and in his own mind he was irresistible to women. He would definitely try to get to Liah. Not going to fucking happen. Between the two of them he and Brutus would keep her safe.

  It would only be for the weekend anyway. Nothing long term. She was a friend doing him a favour and he had to protect her that was all.

  It had nothing to do with those brown eyes. Nothing at all.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Chris

  How the hell had it happened? How had I gone from a happily single girl to being Scar’s woman? And why the hell did I just go along with it?

  Okay, I know why.

  One look at that skanky pregnant bitch was enough to make my toes curl. She was nasty, seriously nasty. I had no idea how a man like Scar could have married her. Everything about her screamed club slut even though she was heavily pregnant. And to be clear, I had nothing against the club girls, some of them were my friends. I myself had been a club girl. But there was a distinct difference between a club girl and a club slut.

  And Scar’s wife was definitely a slut.

  Her hair, her clothes, her make-up, her attitude, all of it very clearly pointed to what she was.

  It made me really curious to ask the question burning in my head.

  How? How in the hell had she snagged a man like Scar?

  After the shit in the common room Scar had left for about two hours before coming back. I was working the bar with Devon and Damon, and Brutus wasn’t happy. Not at all. I had to reassure him over and over that they were friends and okay.

  Thank heavens the boys were used to big dogs and had taken it all in their stride. They understood it would take time for him to settle after the shit from earlier. While Scar had been out Dizzy, Crash and Wrench had made themselves at home in my section of the bar and we chatted in between me working the bar. I knew they were there to keep me safe from further shit.

  As the party heated up there had been sly looks from a few of the guys from Durban, but they disappeared when Scar walked in and came directly to me. He avoided the couches were his wife and his brother sat with two creepy guys who had arrived with them.

  “You good, baby?” He asked as he reached across the bar, snagged my neck and pulled me across and planted a kiss on my shocked mouth.

  Holy shit. His tongue slipped over my lips and I gasped in reaction and I felt his lips smile against mine. Pulling back slightly he licked his lips and winked.

  “Hmm, your lips taste like honey.”

  “It’s my lip gloss, its honey flavoured.” I flippen whispered.

  “I like it.” He whispered back before letting go.

  I was flustered and had to take a few deep bre
aths before the flutters in my tummy settled. He sat down and leant his muscled forearms on the bar, leaning slightly forward.

  “When are you taking a break? We have a few things to talk about.”

  I looked at Devon and then Damon. “I can take one now. I have to take Brutus for a walk anyway.”

  He immediately stood and came to the end of the bar while I got Brutus ready. I snapped the lead onto his harness, keeping it short to have more control while we were surrounded by people. I felt eyes on us when he took my hand but ignored it. We walked out of the common room, through the kitchen and out the back door. He held my hand until we were on the lawn near the gazebo before he let go. I leant down and unclipped Brutus, allowing him his freedom out here where there weren’t any people.

  Turning me towards him Scar took both my hands in his.

  “Thank you for covering my ass today, Liah. You didn’t have to do it.”

  I grinned. “You looked like you were about to explode so I thought it best to go along with your story.”

  Grinning he shook his head but almost instantly became serious again.

  “You do realise it means I will have to move in with you until they leave, right?”

  I had thought about it and it really wasn’t such a big deal. I had a sleeper couch in the loft where he could sleep.

  “Yes, I know and it’s fine. I have a sleeper couch in the loft you can use and I’ll make some space for your clothes in my cupboard just in case someone comes snooping around.”

  “You’ve been thinking about this, I see.” He grinned.

  “I have.”

  He was no longer grinning and shook his head. “You can bet your ass they are going to snoop. Thank fuck Jagger insisted on an alarm system. It has to be armed at all times.” He stopped me with a raised hand when I started to protest. “All the time, Liah. These people are dangerous, believe me.”

  Frowning heavily he looked away from me then looked back. “You have to be careful around them, all of them. Don’t trust them, especially not Pesto. He’s a slippery little fuck.”

  “I’m not going to be stupid, I promise. I’ll have Brutus with me all the time and I promise I won’t walk him further than the end of the road. No rambling around the veld until they’re gone.” I kissed my finger and lifted it up to the heavens. “I promise, Josh.”