The man that stood in the kitchen that I hadn’t seen in over five years had aged. Grey had taken over most of his brown hair. His face was ruddy and his eyes were sunken with circles around them. Evidently being on the run had taken its toll. His body looked in no better shape, he lost the muscles he once had in abundance, his clothes hung on the smaller frame.
At one time I might have cowed in front of him but now, not so much. I’d grown up, came into my own and left everything to do with him behind me.
“Got nothing to say, little girl?” When he opened his mouth to talk, his teeth showed the years of drinking and of tweaking.
“Yeah, I got shit to say. You made the wrong move today. You always boasted how smart you are. That no one could get anything over on you. Your ass was stupid then and what little you might have had, by the looks of you, you drank that away,” I said it before that my mouth was going to get me in a shit ton of trouble as he moved toward me and slapped me across my face. The shit stung but I wouldn’t let him have even that on me.
“You watch your goddamn mouth. You look like that cunt of a mother when I met her. And you aren’t no better either. I’ve seen you, you fucking the biker from Black Hawk. You think he’s going to make you his ol’ lady because you spread your legs. Your mother tried for years to get that fucker to make her his, and all he did was keep knocking her up. Took the one kid from her so she ran so he couldn’t get you. He knew she was pregnant, he just didn’t want you. Hell, no one did.
“Now get your scrawny ass into the living room. Wild Bill always did like you and since I couldn’t get to the princess and that little heathen, you are the next best thing. Killing you will be just as good as them. Black Hawk will mourn and so will Haven, leaving both of the clubs weak. But what I’m counting on is they’ll blame each other and while they are fighting, the few men still loyal to me will set about taking Haven. That damn club was meant to be mine.”
Jacks grabbed my arm and when he shoved me in the chair, his hand moved over my breast and he squeezed. “Gonna have a little fun with you before I kill you.” He stepped back and I kicked my leg out, catching his knee and causing it to buckle under him. He stood and backhanded my other cheek with such force my head jerked to the side.
“Quit fucking around, Jacks, and look for shit we can pawn. Going to need some cash when it’s time to move on Haven.”
“Haven is going to take you down and I can only imagine what Shock and Freak will think up for you.”
“Shut the fuck up. You don’t know dick. Those fuckers couldn’t find me in almost six years,” he sneered.
“Wrong there too, asswipe. They will come for you. The only reason they didn’t find you before, is because they didn’t lift the right rock.” They had to be getting out of Church. Crusher would go to the cookout and Sami would tell him where I was. Or even Sue would. I just had to buy some time.
“Go in the kitchen and see if you can find a towel and some tape. Her ass needs gagged.” He walked over and stood in front of me and Jacks headed toward the kitchen. He took the back of his hand and ran it down my cheek. “You look like her, I think I might join Jacks in the fun, see if you fuck like her. I’ll give the cunt that, she was game for anything. Promise her a tweak and I could line guys up, charge them twenty dollars, and Clarice would fuck and suck. Made good money on her in her younger days. Hell, maybe I should just take you and put you to work making me some money. What ya think?” I would not let this asshole get to me.
“I think you are a sick fucker who has penis envy. Don’t forget I’ve seen your dick, it’s small.” Just as he reared back to slap me again, crashes echoed through the house. I heard Jacks’s screams of pain as Stone grabbed my arm and yanked me up in front of him as Speed walked in the now busted front door.
“Hey, little sis. Heard you needed some help.” Speed smiled and winked at me, then frowned as he moved closer. “You hit her, motherfucker? I’ll be sure to tell Wild Bill that info, see what his boys can do for you. You might be going back alone if your buddy bleeds out. Well, I guess either way really, just depends if he is breathing when they load him up.” Coast came into view and moved to stand beside Speed, blood splattered over the front of his shirt.
“One down. Goddamn that son-of-a-bitch is good,” Coast said as he looked around, I presumed taking in the situation. And what the fuck was up with being so nonchalant while I got a fucking gun jammed in my back and Stone’s nasty arm around my neck half choking me.
“Don’t move any closer you pricks or I will killer her.” I swear bikers are all freakin’ nuts as Speed moved over to the chair and plopped down like he was there for a damn visit.
“Why don’t we have a little chat before we kill you?” What the hell? A chat? And where is Crusher?
“What, you want to chat, how about how I killed your dumbass daddy, boy? Or do you want to know how easy your mother died?” The blue in Speed’s eyes darkened as he stood at the mention of Cutter.
“Got your attention now, don’t I? Clarice was easy. Little extra in her needle and she didn’t even last long enough to enjoy the high. Now Cutter, well, I hadn’t planned to kill him. I was just going to share the information Clarice had told me about Carly being Cutter’s kid, for a price that is. Kept that information when she told me. I’d already raised the brat as mine. Then the whore gets mad one night when I won’t give her a hit. Throws a hissy fit and blurts out she was going to leave me, take her daughter to her real father, that he would give her money and she would buy her own shit.” Speed said nothing but Coast moved closer while Stone was busy spewing his shit.
“So you killed Clarice, that supposed to scare us? Or do you think that shit is going to upset me. I didn’t know the bitch.” Speed’s eyes never left Stone, he just kept getting him to talk. I noticed that Stone moved us every time Speed or Coast shifted.
“Now Cutter, I needed money, Cutter had it. Creeper snuck on the property at Black Hawk and left the note for Cutter. We knew he would head to town, if for nothing else, just to see what I was up to. Waited for the bastard on the road, he came around the corner, and we were sitting, lined across the road and he lost control. He hit pretty hard but it didn’t kill him. I did lean down and tell him about Carly. I would have let him live but he spat in my face, so it was easy just to grab his neck and with a twist, it was done.” God I lived with this man, called him dad, and he spoke of killing like you would talk about what was for dinner.
Stone shifted to get us out of both men’s reach again. Coast took a big step to the side, putting him in arm’s reach of us. Stone moved the gun from my back to point it at Coast, Speed tore me out of Stone’s grip and dropped us to the ground and I heard glass break, then Stone screamed and fell to the ground, blood pouring from the hole in his shoulder.
“You okay?” Speed asked as he pulled us to our feet. I looked over at Stone as Coast was securing him. The room filled with men in seconds after Stone’s scream, but none of them was Crusher. I didn’t know how to feel: disappointed, hurt, I couldn’t pick one.
“I’m fine, they just slapped me a couple time because I was giving them shit,” I said as arms wrapped around me from behind.
“No, not you, baby.” I turned at the voice and found myself in Crusher’s arms.
“It was you, you shot Stone through the window. Speed and Coast aren’t crazy, they were just corralling him so he would move where you could see him.”
“Now, baby, I wouldn’t go that far.” He kissed the top of my head, then looked at me. “What are you doing here anyway? You should have been at Black Hawk. You shouldn’t even be driving.” Good Lord, how my life had changed. I patted his chest and that’s when I saw it.
“You have a president patch pinned on you.”
“Baby, they usually give you a patch when you become the president,” Crusher said and moved us out of the way as they brought a gagged Jacks out of the kitchen to sit him beside Stone.
“Did the dads really step down, Crusher? Sami said you guys were supposed to take over but no one thought they would actually do it.” Crusher started toward the front door, he moved us outside while Speed and Coast were talking into phones and Devil was patching Jacks and Stone to keep them from bleeding on everything.
“The dads turned it all over, that’s why we were still there when the call came in from Sue. She had to come back to her house because she forgot something for the cookout and saw the men come in. That’s where I was at, Carly, at Sue’s house watching through the scope on my rifle, waiting to get my shots off. Wild Bill’s guys are on their way to pick these two up. And I am taking you home.” He led me to my truck. “You okay to drive, baby?” I kissed his lips.
“The others will wait for Haven and fix the doors while they are waiting. Let’s get you home. We have a cookout to go to but I want to love on my woman because I had the shit scared out of me today.” He leaned down and rested his forehead to mine.
“He killed my mother and my father, Crusher. He cheated me out of a dad. They both did.”
“I’m sorry, baby. You didn’t deserve any of that shit. If I could change any of it for you I would.”
“I know you would, Crusher. I’m sorry you had to stop your celebration for this shit. Not every day you get a club turned over to you.” And I was sorry, for him, for the others too. Instead of saving me once again, they should be celebrating with their brothers.
“I love you, baby.”
“Thanks for coming for me today. I love you so much, Crusher.”
“Baby, no matter what. I will always come for you. Let’s go home, Carly. I’ll be right behind you.” Crusher stepped back and opened the truck door for me. I went to get in and paused, looking over my shoulder at him.
“Crusher, I’m not calling you Prez.” He helped me up into the seat, chuckling.
“Wouldn’t expect it from you, baby.” Crusher leaned in and kissed me. My life might not have always been roses but I wouldn’t have changed a thing because it was what brought Crusher to me. And even kissing me in a truck, parked on the side of the road—he felt like home and for the first time, I couldn’t wait to see what the future held for me—for us.