“And what have you done since then?” I snapped at him.
“It wasn’t my fucking idea!” Rodeo snapped back and we grunted at each other.
I heard Girth walking up to us, I was sure that he and Oz had both heard us arguing.
“I see them coming. We should take up our positions,” Girth said, in his usual formal commanding tone.
Rodeo and I threw each other warning looks before we walked up to the edge, to remain as close to the ship as possible. Girth and Oz remained at the back of the docks, making sure we weren’t interrupted.
“Here we go,” I heard Rodeo mumble beside me as he watched the ship pulling in towards us.
* * *
We worked in the dark, with the help of torchlights, helping the crew unload the shipment. These were heavy crates filled with weapons and ammunition, the likes of which we had never used or even seen before.
We hadn’t heard from Girth or Oz yet, which was definitely a good sign; meaning that nothing had gone wrong yet.
Once all the shipment had been neatly assembled on the side of the docks, we shook hands with the crew who stealthily got back on board and started to make there way back to where they had come from. No questions were asked on either side. That was the safest option for all parties involved.
Rodeo and I exchanged looks as we watched the ship depart from the docks again. Things had gone smoothly and even in the dark; I could see the relief on his face.
“Time to carry this off into the truck,” Rodeo said and I nodded.
“I’m going to go get Girth and the kid to help us, or else we’re going to be stuck here till daylight trying to carry all this,” I told him.
I left Rodeo to watch the shipment and I walked towards where I knew Girth and Oz were standing guard. They heard me coming and both of them whipped around to me, with their guns pointed out.
“Good reflexes,” I told Oz with a grin and Girth grunted in agreement.
“We have the shipment, it all went smoothly. All quiet on your side?” I asked them and Girth nodded.
“Not a single movement,” Oz said and from his flushed face, I could see that he was pumped up. He’d been hoping for some action.
“Come with me, you boys have to help us transport the shipment into the truck,” I said, turning from them again and if I hadn’t moved, the bullet that whizzed past me, would have got the side of my cheek.
“Down!” Girth growled. The three of us ducked and I had my gun out in my hand before the next bullet sliced past us.
“We’re under fire!” Oz shouted.
“Stay fucking down!” Girth barked at us, while he crouched and moved forward; trying to go closer to the source of the shots. Girth started shooting, and we could hear his bullets bouncing off crates and walls and planks.
“Oz! Fuck!” I cursed, when I saw Oz following Girth in the dark. The more Girth fired, the more shots were being fired at us.
I’d promised Alexis that I would keep her brother safe, and now he was walking straight into a shootout.
I cursed some more under my breath before I followed them, hoping that Rodeo would have heard the shots too and he’d turn up here, giving us some much needed backup.
Girth and Oz were ahead of me, crouching and running ahead in the dark, shooting in the direction they thought the shots were coming from. None of us had located the source yet. It was obvious that the men shooting at us were on foot too and the closer we drew to them, the farther they backed from us.
“Oz, stay fucking down!” I shouted, but he wasn’t obeying my orders, he was following Girth but the difference between them was that Girth had several years of experience in shootouts and this was Oz’ first one.
Another bullet whizzed past me, narrowly missing my earlobe and I fired back with rage. I knew it was the Dark Legion, I could feel it in my bones. They’d got wind about this shipment and now they were here to fuck it up.
Oz and Girth kept running ahead of me, firing shots in the dark. We had no idea if we’d got anyone yet or not.
“Oz, stand down! Stand fucking down!” I raged at him. He was too close to getting himself fucking killed. Oz heard me this time, and he stopped in his tracks and turned to look in my direction. From the corner of my eye, I caught the movement.
I saw the silhouette of a man in the dark, several feet away from Oz, half hidden by a tower of fish crates. It was a split-second. I saw him aim his gun at Oz and I pulled the trigger. The bullet entered his left thigh and passed through and the fucker fell to the ground.
Oz looked more surprised rather than relieved. Girth growled, alerted by what had happened. He charged at the man who was now trying to drag himself away, still clutching his open wound.
“Dark Legion!” Girth shouted as he stood over him, with his gun pointed at the man’s head. Oz and I ran towards them. Behind us, I could hear Rodeo’s hurried footsteps.
“Let him go,” I said to Girth as I joined him. Girth was right, I recognized his patch.
“Get the fuck outta here, you filthy scum,” Girth growled at the guy, who started dragging himself away again.
“Why did you let him go?” Oz turned to me, his gun still dangling from his hand.
“Because I’m not ready to start a war yet,” I said, thumping Oz’ shoulder.
“What the fuck happened here?” Rodeo had run up to us, out of breath. He was looking at us, at the trail of blood on the ground in front of us. The Dark Legion fucker had disappeared into the dark by now, probably joined his group of pussy buddies who didn’t have it in them to keep up the fight they’d started.
“Nothing. Just some minor distraction. We should get back to the shipment,” I said, walking past Rodeo. I could hear him cursing under his breath but Girth and Oz joined me on either side now.
I could sense Oz looking at me. We both knew that I’d saved his life tonight.
“Abe, thanks man,” I heard him say. I looked at him and nodded.
“It was my pleasure,” I replied.
22
Abe
Church was called early in the morning, so we could report with news. According to our brothers who were posted at the warehouse, there hadn’t been any trouble since we’d dropped off the shipment to them.
Oz looked tired as he stood behind me, we hadn’t slept all night. Girth and Rodeo were on either side while the rest of the MC were scattered around the bar. Lewis was at his usual spot, on a bar stool in front of the counter, shaking his head.
“There was trouble, of course there was,” he said.
“But we handled it and nobody got hurt,” I retorted and Lewis clucked his tongue.
“And what about the kid? How did he hold up?” Lewis asked and he was looking at Girth for his honest opinion.
“The kid did well, he is a better shot than we thought he would be. His reflexes are good and he didn’t hesitate,” Girth replied and Lewis nodded his head.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that we won’t have to kick him out just yet,” Lewis said and I could sense Oz holding his head up proudly behind me. It was all he aspired to be.
“We should speak to the Garcia Brothers and let them know that everything has gone smoothly,” I said and Lewis looked at me sharply.
“Except that it didn’t,” he retorted and I clenched my jaws.
“We were expecting some retaliation from the other MCs and our expectations were met, but we handled it too,” I stated, standing my ground, watching Lewis as he shook his head.
“Yes, you should speak to our contact in the Garcia group and let them know that we won’t be taking on this deal,” Lewis said and he tapped the counter for a drink.
“That won’t be the best step right now, we’ve got our hands dirty already and we have proven that we can handle the brunt,” I said.
“Yeah, that’s because the whole fucking Dark Legion wasn’t up our asses this time. The next time, they’re not going to be so lenient about how many men they send to disrupt our business,” Lewis shout
ed, to shut me up and I had to clench my fists to stop myself from picking a fight.
“We can handle it,” it was Rodeo who spoke up and Lewis was just as shocked to hear his voice, as I was.
“Look how the tables have turned,” Lewis remarked and Rodeo took a step forward towards the older man.
“I was there, Lewis, I’m confident that we can handle it. Last night was a minor hiccup. If Abe is able to recruit more guys like this kid here, we’ll be up and ready for business in no time,” Rodeo defended our cause and I watched him, confused. I didn’t expect him to be on my side. Lewis glared at Rodeo and then at me.
“Whatever you’ve snuck into his drink, is working,” he told me.
“Rodeo is right. By the time of the next shipment, Oz will be better trained and hopefully, I’ll be able to recruit some more new prospects to our team,” I countered and Lewis shook his head.
“We are taking risks with these new prospects, getting them involved in our shit. Like this kid here, he has no experience, he doesn’t know us…how do you expect him to have our fucking back? One of you is going to get yourselves killed and I just can’t fucking afford that!” Lewis was barking and he jumped off the stool, with a tall glass of beer in his hand and he walked towards us.
“It was a good run. You’ve proven yourself, son, and now it’s time to just fucking let it go,” he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Ever since Fred died, you guys have all been acting up,” he mumbled under his breath and turned away from us.
“Call the Garcia brothers and tell them the deal is off!” he said, as he walked towards the office at the back of the bar. “I can’t afford to lose any more of my men!” he added.
Lewis banged the door of his office shut behind him, and the rest of us relaxed.
“The deal is off? What now?” Oz was jumpy with the questions.
“What happened to you, brother?” I asked Rodeo, who was rubbing his hand over his face.
“You were right, we need to grow. I’m tired of this bullshit sitting around, collecting protection money from grocery shops and waiting for the Dark Legion to take shots at us,” Rodeo said.
Girth grunted in response.
“So what will we do? Lewis said that the deal is off?” Oz barraged us with questions again and we looked at his shiny excitable face. “Does that mean that I have to go too? I thought I did well last night?” he continued and I reached for his shoulder and squeezed.
“What you are going to do is go home to your sister and let us deal with this. Go on, go!” I barked at him. Oz looked dejected as he turned from us, but he obeyed my order this time and we watched him dragging his feet out of the bar.
“It’s like having an excitable squirrel around all the time,” Rodeo said and Girth grinned.
“Yeah, a very excited squirrel,” I said.
“Has his sister forgiven you for getting him involved in this shit?” Rodeo asked and I jerked my head to look at him. I hadn’t told any of my brothers or even Lila, about what was going on between Alexis and me, or who she was.
“Don’t look so surprised, man. I’m your best fucking friend. I figured it out,” Rodeo said and thumped my back. Girth was grinning too and I clenched my jaws. I hadn’t thought about Alexis for most of the night and now he’d reminded me.
“Yeah, she’s forgiven me. Let’s go call the Garcias,” I said and the three of us walked out of the bar together.
23
Alexis
I woke up feeling dazed. The past few nights had been a struggle for me, I just couldn’t go to sleep. I’d kept waking up every few hours and imagining Abe sleeping beside me, his warm muscular body shielding me, making everything all right. But I always woke up alone and filled with that sinking feeling again.
Now, when I looked at the clock in my room, I saw that it was nine already. I jumped out of bed, thinking I was late for work and then I remembered that my shift didn’t begin till after lunch.
Dragging my feet on the floor, I walked over to Oz’ room and knocked on his door.
“Oz? What do you want for breakfast?” I called out, and when there was no response, I opened the door to find his room empty. I sighed as I stared at his messy empty bed. I’d just have to get used to it now, I’d openly accepted his new lifestyle—which meant that he would often not come home for the night and I would just have to deal with it.
I went to the kitchen to make myself coffee. I felt exhausted from the lack of sleep and from thinking about Abe constantly. I had been trying so hard to believe that he had done me a favor. That was what it should have felt like. Ending things between us was the wise thing to do, it meant that I wouldn’t have to sit around waiting for him to break my heart at some later date. It was done now, we weren’t going to see each other anymore; and I could start moving on.
But moving on from Abe was probably the hardest thing I’d done, even though we weren’t actually in a relationship. I didn’t even really know him, I had no idea what kind of food he liked or what his childhood was like or how many siblings he had. All I knew was how I felt when I was around him, and how safe that feeling was.
For the first time, I felt like I was with a man who wouldn’t treat me like I was worthless. When Abe looked at me, he really did look at me and not through me.
And now, he’d ended it before I had a chance to and it was probably all my fault. I was the one who had asked him all those questions about Vanity and I’d spooked him, making him think that I was looking for more from this relationship.
I felt like a ghost walking around the apartment in my pajamas and an old t-shirt. I made coffee but I hadn’t drunk it yet and I wasn’t hungry; I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d eaten.
When the doorbell rang, in my delusional mind; I thought that it was Abe and I rushed to the door.
It was Vanity, and one look at her and I wanted the ground to swallow me up. It was early in the morning and she was in a slinky pink dress with spaghetti sleeves; which looked more like lingerie than something I would wear outdoors.
She stormed into the apartment before I had a chance to react to her presence.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, leaving the door open because I expected her to leave immediately.
Vanity looked about with her nose scrunched up, before she assessed what I was wearing and gave a snort.
“You look like you’re ready to go out,” she said, with a chuckle in her voice.
“I just woke up,” I said and she widened her eyes.
“If that is what you sleep in, you’re not going to hold on to him very long. The man has high standards,” she said, cocking a perfectly shaped eyebrow.
“Who are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb, Alexis. We both know who I’m talking about. Abe, the man who is supposed to be waking up in my bed. Is he here?” she screeched and went running across the living room to Oz’ open door. She peeped in there while I chased after her down the hall. She rammed open my bedroom door and checked there too.
I grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out, while she struggled against me.
“Get the fuck out of my house! Get out!” I screamed, and she managed to pull her hand out of mine.
“Where is he?” she screeched.
“I don’t know where he is! He isn’t here. Shouldn’t you be keeping an eye on him?”
Vanity walked slowly back to the living room and I followed her. She suddenly looked distressed and I almost felt sorry for her. Her thick pink-lipsticked lips were quivering. She looked on the verge of smudging her mascara.
“I thought he’d be shacking up with you here, now that he’s broken it off with me,” she said and I crinkled my brows as I stared at her. Abe had ended things with her too? He seemed to be on a heartbreak rampage. But why? He was free to sleep with whoever he wanted, now that we were not going to see each other again.
“Well, he’s not here,” I said and placed a hand on my hip.
Vanity roamed her eyes
over me again, assessing me.
“It’s weird that he wants you. Why?” she asked, and her expression turned into like she had tasted something sour.
I felt thoroughly scrutinized and my cheeks turned pink and I could feel the back of my neck growing hot.
“If it makes you feel any better, he doesn’t want me either. We’ve ended things too,” I said and Vanity’s eyes grew wide. She was just as shocked to hear it as I was to hear about them.
She sat down with a thump on the couch, tucking in some stray golden curls behind her ears.
“What the actual fuck?” she said, in a daze. I licked my lips and sighed.
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t going to work. So you’re free to go after him, do whatever you want, just get out of my apartment,” I said. I hadn’t forgiven her for trying to scratch my eyes out the other day.
Vanity gulped and then shook her head.
“You’ve done something to him. You’ve broken him. He’s not himself anymore. Why won’t he want me if he’s not with you?” she continued, in that same ghostly voice.
I could feel my eyes watering up again. The last thing I wanted was to explore Abe’s intentions. He was a complicated man, someone I hadn’t figured out yet and he’d broken my heart without even realizing it. I didn’t want to sit here, discussing him with a stripper who he was also sleeping with.
Vanity looked at me, with a confused expression on her face.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I didn’t do anything. I told you, it wasn’t going to work between us. What do you care anyway? It’s over, go to him if you want. Just leave me alone!” I barked at her, hugging myself with both arms because I suddenly felt very alone and heartbroken all over again.
“I can’t. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t want me either,” she said.
Marked Skulls MC Series: Books 1-5 Page 40