It’s still early, we don’t have to finalise the arrangements right now, but it doesn’t stop me smirking at her. “What is it about me being here as your protection that you don’t understand?” I point to the door. “Point of entry, darlin’. I’ll be out here as your first line of defence.”
She grimaces. “You really think there’s a chance he’ll come around?”
I shake my head in answer. “No, I don’t. But we can’t take the chance I’m wrong.”
“Want a beer?”
“Sure.” I take a seat on the couch, feeling that it dips one side more than the other, presumably the favourite seat in the house. It adds to the fact I’m facing an uncomfortable night for sure. My old bones are going to be complaining in the morning.
Carrying a bottle and a glass of white wine, Mary returns and takes the chair. She picks up the remote and points it toward the television.
“Er…?”
“Put anything on.” I’m easy. It will just be background noise while I listen to the thoughts in my head.
She clicks on Netflix and pulls up a series. Despite my intentions, it catches my interest, and I settle in to watch. Mary replenishes my beer halfway through the episode.
“Your prez and his old lady surprised me,” Mary says conversationally, when the action on the screen stalls. “Lost wasn’t what I expected as an MC prez.”
“Our last prez was more what you’d think of. Rough, ugly looking bastard with a snake tattoo winding around his neck. Lost came to the helm three years ago. He’s a good man and has got all our interests at heart. He’s got what it takes to command respect without demanding it, you know?”
“A natural leader?”
She’s summed it up well. “Yeah.”
“I always expected it to be young men who were in a MC. Youngsters tearing around on motorcycles and getting into trouble.”
“Us old-uns can do that well enough.” I chuckle.
“You’re not old, Grumbler.”
“Babe, I’m staring sixty in the face. I’m fifty-seven.”
“You don’t look it.” She sends me a glance that can only be described as appraising.
“You look pretty good for your years,” I say, holding my bottle toward her in salute. “I thought you were a decade or so younger when we first met.”
She smiles at the compliment. “I work hard at it,” she explains. “My anti-wrinkle cream works miracles.”
Perhaps I could do with some of that myself, though I suspect it’s too late. The wind and sun have weathered my skin beyond the point of any hope of return.
“Am I a bad mom?”
The question comes out of left field, and for a second, I’m stuck for an adequate response. “No, you’re not.”
“I worry Alicia hasn’t a dad—someone else who could be there to help direct her down the right path.”
“And you think she’d listen to him any more than she would to you?” I lean forward, putting my beer down on the coffee table. “Kids will be kids, Mary, and adults walk behind them to clear up the mess. This situation is looking dire right now, I know, but we’ll sort it. We’ll make sure there’ll be no repercussions. Sure, Alicia’s head is fucked up right now, but not many people are lucky enough to have a first time that means much. What about you, Mary? Were you a virgin when you married?
“I was twenty-seven, Grumbler. So hardly. How old were you when you lost yours?”
I grin widely, knowing I’m going to shock her, but I’m not going to lie. “I was twelve.”
“Twelve?” she squeaks.
“In my defence, the girl was sixteen and thought I was older. I was tall for my age.” Sometimes I wonder whether starting early has caused my lack of interest in recent years. Maybe I literally only had so many fucks to give.
Though, casting a sideways glance toward Mary, seeing her giggling like a young girl, makes my dick twitch for the second time today. No one has sparked my interest in ages. But she’s got baggage, she comes with a kid, and I’m not a family man. I tell my dick there’s no fucking chance and force it to behave once again.
I turn my attention back to safer things, the television. She’s got me hooked on this fucking series. When the episode finishes, we watch another, and then put one more on. By then, I see her eyes starting to droop, and I stifle a yawn.
“Go to bed, doll.”
Her hand covers her mouth, hiding hers which I guess also gapes open. “Why don’t you come with me? I’ve got a king-sized bed, and you won’t be comfortable out here.”
“I’ll manage,” I say, gruffly.
“No, you won’t. Come with me.” She stands and holds out her hand. “We’ll keep the door open so if anyone does come, you’ll hear as well from there as here.”
“Mary,” I tell her, a little harshly, “you can’t ask a strange man to share your bed.”
“Huh. You’re not a stranger. A stranger wouldn’t have helped Alicia the way you have. And what’s so darn dangerous about a bed? It’s not as if you’re going to jump my bones, you’ve already said you don’t fuck.”
Christ. What’s she doing to me? When I’d told her that, it had been the truth.
“I haven’t fucked because the girls in the club are too young and I’m not a perv. But you…” Narrowing my eyes, I lewdly view her from her head to her toes, “Your age doesn’t put you out of bounds.”
She puts her hands on her hips and subjects me to the same intense inspection. Unfortunately, my dick likes the scrutiny and my tight jeans do nothing to hide my bulge.
Then she looks up to the ceiling. Raising her fist she shakes it. “Why me, Lord? Why tonight when I’m really not in the mood? Now you choose to present me with a hot guy?”
She thinks I’m hot? I file that away but dismiss it. Of course she’s not up for anything of the sort right now. It hits me, she’s been through far too much in the past twelve hours. From my call to her to come to the compound, from having to deal with the knowledge of what happened to her girl and having to cope with the aftermath. She’s emotionally drained and being pawed at by me wouldn’t help her.
Turning and eyeing the couch one more time, I come to a decision. “I’ll come to bed, but I’ll sleep fully clothed above the covers. If you need me to hold you, babe, I will.”
It’s almost a shy look she now gives me. “Would you think any the worse of me if I said, I’d like that?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Grumbler
It’s true I’m more comfortable lying next to Mary than I would have been on the couch, but that hasn’t translated into making falling asleep any easier.
Once we’d come to bed, her in full pyjamas, lying under the covers, and me fully clothed—the only things I’d removed were my cut and boots—on top, despite our attire we both felt awkward. I’d felt unable to fold her into my arms, and she made no move to come to me.
I lay on my back with my hands behind my head, half of me wondering what I’m doing here and trying to avoid thinking about the woman tossing and turning by my side.
When I hear a sob escape, I can no longer ignore her.
“Hey.” Rolling over, I pull her against me, her back to my front. My thumb moves to her face and wipes away a tear rolling from her eye. “Hush, babe. It’s going to be okay.”
“I want to kill him,” she quietly wails. “I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone in my life, but him? I wish he were dead.”
She’ll be getting her wish if I have my way. “His days are numbered. Can’t have a fucker like that walking around a free man.”
“Do-do you think he’s done that before? Conned a young girl?”
I nod, though in the darkness she can’t see that. “I do. Maybe worse. I’m certain this wasn’t the first time he’d set someone up. Alicia didn’t suspect a thing. He’s had practice, I can almost guarantee it.”
“She wasn’t on the lookout for someone like him.”
“You’ve kept her
from the evil in the world, babe. That’s your job as a mom. Can’t see what more you could have done.”
“I hate him.”
“What’s done is done,” I tell her. “There’s no point revisiting what could have been done to prevent it. Now we deal with shit and get to the point where you and Alicia can move on.”
I find I’m stroking her face. She relaxes into my touch. “You’re wise, aren’t you?”
“Hate to say it, babe, but I’ve seen the ugliness that exists. Far too much of it. All you can do is learn from your mistakes and then make sure you don’t make them again.”
“I can’t believe you make mistakes.”
Oh I do, I reassure her in my head. Big ones. Perhaps the biggest of them all was trusting Snake. Maybe if I tell her some of what went down, it will take her mind off her daughter. “I mentioned our old prez. Well, he was called Snake because of his tattoo, but in the end, he was a real snake. When the previous prez, Bird died, Snake had been his number two, our VP. He moved to the head of the table, and none of us saw any reason not to vote him in. Actually, that’s not true. I think a lot of us were slightly uneasy, but what we didn’t do was canvass opinion. I didn’t care much for the man, but could I follow him? Did I respect him as a leader? Fuck yeah. So I kept my doubts to myself.”
“What happened?” Her shaking has stopped, and I hope her tears too.
“Snake seemed to settle into his role, and he made Lost his VP. Now Lost, as you observed, isn’t the kind of man you’d particularly associate with an MC. But he’d been with us over a decade and had proved he fit in. What he brought was business acumen, and Snake left the day-to-day running of the club to him.”
“What does an MC prez do?”
“Basically everything Lost was doing, making sure our businesses are prosperous and that we get paid, looking out for the members in the club, being aware of any threats coming our way and preparing us for them.”
“How long was Snake your prez?”
“Two years.” Two fucking years. “Turns out Snake wasn’t looking out for the club at all. He wanted to get us into shit the majority of us wanted to steer clear of. He convinced eight others to go along with him. The club had divided itself into two factions, none of the current members were aware of it.”
“What happened?”
“You haven’t met Alex, and I don’t think Dart as yet. Dart is Lost’s VP. Well, he originally was from Tucson. He came to San Diego following Alex, who he eventually made his. That’s their story to tell if they ever want to speak of it, but it was the catalyst, and everything came to a head. I hadn’t a clue, babe. That was my mistake. I couldn’t see what was happening under my fucking nose. I looked up to Snake, to Poke, the previous sergeant-at-arms. I never suspected they were going to betray the Satan’s Devils, but then it came out.”
“What did you do to the men who betrayed you?” She goes still. “Did you kill them?”
“Fuck no.” I can be honest here. Snake and Poke lost their lives at the hands of the mother chapter prez, Drummer. “We sent them out bad. Kicked them out of the club.”
“Men you once trusted.”
“Yeah. I should have dug deeper. Should have checked with Pennywise and Salem, Bones and Snips too. I should have talked to my best friend, Smoker, but I thought only I owned my doubts. I kept my mouth shut, and Snake took the chair. Fuckin’ stupid, eh? But the point is, I don’t dwell on it now. No fuckin’ point. But if I ever have more doubts, ever get a feeling in my gut, I act on it.”
“Your club must respect you if they made you sergeant-at-arms.”
“Respect? I suppose. I think I’m just good at telling people what to do.” I chuckle, mostly to myself.
“You like to take charge.”
Oh fuck, my dick has perked up again. See, in certain circumstances that’s exactly what I’d like to do. Give Mary a few orders to follow? Fuck yeah.
Luckily, she’s oblivious and yawns loudly.
“Go to sleep, babe. I’m here.”
It seems like forever, but before long, she does. Unlikely as it might seem, being in a strange bed and doing something for the first time in my life, holding a woman I haven’t fucked, I also drop off.
I’m startled awake by the vibration of my phone.
Seeing Mary’s still sleeping, I slide it out of my cut, accept the call, but don’t answer until I’ve pulled the bedroom door closed.
“What you got?”
“Utah came through for us.”
“Yeah?” I answer Lost. “They didn’t waste time.”
“We’ve got a location on Owen. You want to give him a Sunday morning wake-up call? Salem and I are getting ready to head out. Niran is already on his way to you.”
I grin into the phone. Lost knows I wouldn’t want to miss out on this. My palms are already itching in anticipation of being around the fucker’s neck and throttling the life out of him.
“Any news on the video?”
“They’re still digging. Snatcher complained they’ve all been up all night watching porn.” When I chuckle, he continues, “We’ll find out more when we speak to that asshole.”
And that is very true. By the time Salem and I have finished with him, he’ll go to the grave with none of his secrets intact.
“Where and when?”
He gives me an address out La Jolla way and tells me to leave when Niran arrives.
Which is exactly what I plan to do.
I hadn’t wanted to wake Mary, and looking at the time, see it’s only six am. But neither do I want her to wake and find a big Black motherfucker sitting in her living room. I decide I’ve got time to wake her with some coffee. I go put it on, finding the sugar and creamer too.
When my own is cooling on the side, I walk back into her room. I sit on her side of the bed, placing the cup on the bedside table.
One eye opens, then two. Then both snap to my face and her nose does this delightful little twitch.
“Is that coffee I smell?”
“Sure is, babe. An apology for you. It’s early as fuck, but I’ve got to head out. Niran’s coming to stay with you. Just wanted you to know so you didn’t get a shock and think I’ve changed colour overnight.”
She brushes my explanation of a replacement away. “You got a lead?”
When I nod, she starts pushing back the sheet. “I’m coming with you.”
I reach out my hand, holding her back. “Nah, babe. This isn’t for you. You’ve got Alicia here. Your job is being here for her.”
Her lips press together. She frowns, then twin spots of red appear on her cheeks, but I refuse to be moved. When our unspoken conversation ends with her realising I’m right, she takes a deep breath, and then says the words I didn’t expect to hear from her mouth.
“Make him hurt, Grumbler. Alicia’s going to live with the shame all her life. Ending him cleanly won’t do.”
I lean in, planting a kiss to her forehead. “Easy to make that promise to you. One thing though, don’t tell Alicia we’ve found him. I don’t think she’d approve.”
“I’m not stupid,” she huffs. “I wish I was coming with you.”
There’s a light tap on the front door. “Gotta run.” Before I can leave, she sits up and pulls my head to hers, and rubs her lips against mine. As we’ve no time, as a kiss, it will have to do.
As I stand, I press my finger to her mouth. “If I had my way, we’d continue this later. You think on if that’s what you want to do.”
I go out into the living room, pausing for a moment. Those few words had emerged without me thinking about them. If I do follow through, Mary wouldn’t be a one-night stand. Is it possible, when I’d written myself off as too old, that I might actually be setting myself up to have an old lady by my side, not only that, but a kid too?
Shaking my head in disbelief, I now hurry and pull open the door.
Niran hands me his bike key. “Take my ride.” He winks. “Though I know it’s a step down for you.”
; I shove him back. “Ha ha. By the way, she’s expecting you.” I start to take a step forward, then turn around. “And while she may not look it, she’s far too old for you.”
His shrewd look shows me I should have kept my mouth shut. “Don’t tell me Grumbler’s got himself a woman. Huh! Never thought I’d see the fuckin’ day. Your bike know you’re stepping out on her?”
Of course, what can I do but show him my finger on the way out.
Unimpeded by traffic this time of a day, I reach my destination in just under half an hour.
Stepping off Niran’s bike, a sportier model than mine, I slide the pack of cigarettes out of my cut and walk up to Lost and Salem. Cupping my hand around the flame, I touch the lighter to the tip, then put the Zippo away.
“Whatcha got?”
Lost jerks his head, indicating the direction behind him. “House is just on the next street. Thought you and I could head around the back while Salem rides straight up to the front door.”
“There’s a driveway? And rear access?”
Lost nods. “Salem’s been playing with one of the toys Dart snagged while we were in Utah.”
“The drone?”
Another rise and dip of his head. “Looks good, Brother. We,” he indicates Salem and himself, “reckon the asshole will make a run for it as soon as he hears the bike. If not then, when he opens the door and sees the Satan’s Devils’ cut. Can almost guarantee he’ll head for the hills and straight into our waiting arms.”
I grin, liking the sound of that. “What if he’s not alone?”
“Leave that to me,” Salem growls. “Utah says he’s not married, and no kids they can find. Anyone there is likely to be a girl or boyfriend, perhaps.”
“You armed?” I check.
Salem beats his chest. “Wearing Kevlar too.”
“Oh yeah.” Lost turns around and goes to something strapped onto his bike. “Didn’t forget you, Brother.”
Taking the offered body armour, I soon have it on under my cut. “We ready then?” I’m impatient to find Owen.
“One last thing.” Lost calls me back. “If there’s no one home, we’ll see if we can get in via the back door. Token’s on standby should he have a security system we need to crack, so keep your eyes open.”
Grumbler's Ride: Satan's Devils MC San Diego #2 Page 19