Butch (10 page)

“Right,” Butch said, squeezing her hand. She took the
reassurance and smiled.

Cheryl nodded, watching her son run off to play with
the others. Some of them were his age. It was the first time she’d seen him
playing and having fun. She was always busy with work.

“He’ll be fine. They’ll take care of them.”

“I know.” She kept her gaze on her son as Butch talked
with his friends. This was the first time she watched her son walk off with
kids his own age. It was a whole new experience for her.

“I can’t believe you’ve given up the life.”

“Devil, drop it,” Butch said.

Jerking her attention away from her son, she knew he
needed to start talking with his friends. “I’m going to get us a drink. Do you
want one?” she asked.

“Sure, baby.” He kissed her lips, and she moved away.
They were all watching them. She felt like some bug underneath a microscope.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, she ruffled
Matthew’s head as she passed.

“I’ve got an eye on them,” Eva said.

“Okay. Do you want me to get you anything?”

Eva shook her head. “I’ve got everything I need.”

She didn’t argue and made her way over to the drink
stand. Without looking where she was going, she watched the rides and people
passing her. Cheryl crashed into a hard muscular chest.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, looking up the line of his
body.

It had been three years since she’d seen him last, but
there he stood, holding her arm.

“Hey, Cheryl,” he said.

Words failed her as she stared at him. He looked older
than the last time she saw him, damaged even.

“Alex?” she asked. Glancing behind her shoulder she
saw Butch was staring at them.

“One and the
same.”
He wasn’t wearing a business suit like he had when
she saw him in the church three years ago.

“You’re a Skull?” She had to be dreaming. There was no
way she’d slept with a Skull and given birth to his child.

“We need to fucking talk.”

He tugged on her arm pulling her away from prying
eyes. She started to grow scared and fought him. “Let go of me. You lost your
chance to talk to me when you left. It has been three years, Alex!””

Slapping him in the chest, the pain was unbearable.
She was finally moving on, and the man who’d taken her virginity turned up
years later.

“Stop making a fucking scene.”

“Get your hands off my woman, Alex. What the fuck are
you doing?” Butch asked, pushing Alex away.

Cheryl was too scared to say anything or do anything.
The other bikers were circling them. Some of the women were looking at her
curiously. She was finally moving on, and she was falling for Butch. This
couldn’t be happening. It was too much.

“I’ve got to talk to her, Butch. You can back away,”
Alex said.

What was happening? The world was spinning.

“I’m not coming back to the club so you can leave
Cheryl the fuck alone. You got shit to say, you say it to me.” Butch turned to
Tiny. “This is your way of getting me back? Hurting my woman?”

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on,” Tiny said.

“I’ve got every right to talk to her,” Alex said.

“No, you haven’t. She’s mine. Back the fuck off,”
Butch said, growling the words and taking a step closer.

“I’m about to talk to the mother of my fucking child,
Butch. This is nothing to do with you.”

The silence was deafening. Tears filled her eyes
making him blurry. This couldn’t be happening. The cruelty of it was unfair.

“What?” Butch asked.

“I’m Matthew’s father. It’s time I stepped up.”

She screamed as Butch did no more than slam his fist
in Alex’s face. For Cheryl, the world went dark.

****

Pacing the clubhouse main room, Butch glared at Alex
as he waited to hear about what was happening to his woman. His anger was
absolute. He was waiting for the chance to lash out and end this fucker.

“You slept with a woman younger than me,” Tate said,
scrunching up her nose.

“Don’t start, Tate. She was of age. I wasn’t breaking
any fucking laws,” Alex said, holding a cloth to his nose. Sandy was with his
woman. He wouldn’t allow her to attend to Alex until he knew Cheryl was okay.
Matthew was playing out in the courtyard with the other kids. Sophia was
keeping an eye on them as Eva tried to get Tiny to calm down.

“Did you know who I was seeing?” Butch asked.

“No, not until last night, and then when I saw you
both together this morning, I knew.” Alex voice came out garbled. “Fuck, you
broke my nose.”

“That’s not the only thing I’m going to be doing to
you, fucker.” Butch paced the room waiting for the all clear.

“You fucked a woman, got her pregnant, and left her?”
Tiny asked.

“I didn’t know she was pregnant. I fucked her, and the
condom broke. I didn’t give it much thought. The last few years have been
hectic.” Alex shrugged.

“You avoided going into town to meet her. All the time
you’re here, you avoid going elsewhere.” Alex’s refusal to go into town made
sense to Butch. “You knew there was a fucking chance, you piece of shit.” He
lunged, ready to end the fucker once again. Butch couldn’t believe there was a
time when he’d liked Alex. All of that liking was out of the window with this
latest revelation.

Killer and Tiny held him back. “You’re not going to
hit a club member.”

“I’m not a fucking member. I’ll fucking kill him,”
Butch said, snarling.

“There’s more to this than meets the fucking eye,”
Tiny said. “Back the fuck off before I do something I regret.”

Glaring at Alex, Butch relaxed and stormed away to
slam his fist against the nearest wall. He needed to hit something, and if he
couldn’t take his anger out on Alex, then he was going to enjoy hitting
something else.

Sandy walked downstairs with Stink following close
behind her. “She’s fine. Her head hurts from hitting the floor. You were too
busy beating the shit out of each other to catch her.”

She walked over to Alex, tugged the cloth off his face
and pressed the top of his nose. Alex screamed in pain. “Your nose is broken.
Go to the hospital and have it set.”

“Sandy!” Tiny said, warning.

“I don’t give a shit what you say, Tiny. This fucker
is a piece of work. I’m not helping him. He’ll live, but I’m not wasting my day
helping to fix his nose. He deserves the pain coming his way.” Sandy packed
away her stuff, throwing the rubber gloves in the trash. “You know where to
find me.”

Stink held his hands up. “I’ll try and stop her.”

“Do that.”

“Why are they pissed at me?” Alex asked, cursing.

“You fucked a woman and left her with your kid.” Tate
got up and slapped him around the face. Alex howled in pain. “Uncle or not, you
deserve that.”

Tate headed upstairs without another word.

The men were all looking at each other.

“What does this mean for Butch?” Killer asked.

“What? What’s going on?” Steven asked.

“Cheryl is a civilian, but she gave birth to a
brother’s son. Matthew is part of the club whether you like it or not.
Technically, Cheryl is Alex’s old lady,” Killer said.

Butch shook his head.
“Hell, no.
That’s not fucking happening. He gave up all right to her when he walked away.”

“I didn’t know she was fucking pregnant,” Alex said,
yelling. He was trying to mop up the blood from his nose.

“That’s no fucking excuse,” Tiny said. “You find out
your condom’s split, you stick with the woman until you know for fucking
certain she’s not.”

The tension in the room was mounting. Nothing was
going to be resolved, and Butch needed to see his woman.

“She will not accept him,” Butch said. “He gave up all
right to her when he didn’t come back to check on her.”

“No, I won’t.” He turned to see Cheryl stood in the
doorway. Her hands were clasped in front of her. She looked pale and terrified.

Her gaze went from Alex to him.

Butch knew she didn’t have a clue as to who Alex was.
This was all new to her. “I didn’t know who he was.”

“I know, baby.”

He stepped closer to her, but she shook her head. “No,
I can’t be here right now. This is not right. I need to go home and be with my
son.”

“You can’t leave,” Tiny said.

“I’ve got to. I want to take my son and go home.” Her
gaze returned to his. “I’m sorry. I was really looking forward to spending
today with you.”

Butch grabbed her hand before she passed him. “Don’t
go.”

She cupped his cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

Gritting his teeth he watched her go.

“I’ll drive her home,” Steven said.

“What about me? I need a ride to the fucking
hospital,” Alex said, grunting.

Steven looked at Alex. “Find someone else to give you
a ride.”

He watched Steven leave the compound taking the woman
he loved with him.

“Matthew is your kid,” Butch said.

“Yeah, he’s my kid. I don’t even need to ask for a
paternity test. I know he’s mine. She was a virgin,” Alex said.

Closing his eyes, Butch tried to force the anger down.

“Fuck, boss, the drama here is better than any fucking
television
show
,” Pussy said. “Where’s the popcorn?”

Glancing toward Devil and Pussy, he watched the
president slap Pussy’s head. “Shut the fuck up.”

“Are you going to lay claim to her?” Butch asked,
turning to look at Alex.

Cheryl was the mother of his son. The rules Tiny
started meant it was up to Alex as to whether Butch got a chance with her. He’d
kill the bastard before he let Alex touch her.

You could just take her and leave town.

No, he couldn’t do that. He wouldn’t be leaving town
with the fear of them following him. Cheryl deserved more than that. “You know
they’ve been struggling financially. That dress she wore was one I bought for
her. While you’ve been away fucking everything in your life, she’s been working
her ass off to support herself and your son!”

“Alex, you got to make a decision,” Tiny said. “We
don’t have time for this shit. I got to get shit lined up for Gash getting out.”

“Gash?”
Butch asked. “He’s getting out?” Gash had been one of the members to
vote him in years ago.

“Yeah, new evidence has come in, and he’s getting out
within a matter of weeks,” Tiny said. Gash had been sent to prison five years
ago for life. The cops plastered rape and murder to Gash’s name. Like an ass,
Gash listened to their lawyer who advised to plead guilty. The club knew it was
all lies. Once Gash went down, the lawyer went missing. He was rotting
somewhere six feet under, and his woman was living off the life insurance the
asshole took out.

“I didn’t know he was getting out.”

“You would if you were still part of the club. I can’t
have two of my men wanting to kill each other over a piece of pussy. Cheryl is
not part of the club. Deal with this shit, and deal with it now,” Tiny said.

Staring at Alex, Butch was ready to pounce. One word
out of that fucker’s mouth and he was going to kill him.

“You can’t be serious in giving him a choice?” Prue
asked, speaking up.

He turned to the other woman, loving the glare on her
face.

Zero tried to silence her, but she pushed him away.

“There’s no way you’re letting the man who fucked a
woman, knowing the condom broke, take a claim of a woman. It’s not right. In
fact, it’s fucking insulting. Butch has more connection to her and that little
boy. Alex forfeited his right to know them. Tiny shouldn’t be giving him a
chance, and the only reason he is, is because of his friendship with him.”

“Prue, enough.”
Zero covered her mouth with his hand, which was the only way to silence
her.

Tiny hung his head. “I don’t know what to fucking
think. This is why we don’t poach other men’s women.”

“Well, I don’t think Butch poached. Alex didn’t make a
claim and kept his identity secret. Bitch looked shocked to have seen him,”
Pussy said, speaking in between eating chips.

“This is not our club, Pussy. Shut the fuck up,” Devil
said. His arm was wrapped around Lexie, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry
about this, babe. If I knew we’d be dealing with their shit.”

“Don’t worry about it. I feel sorry for the woman,”
Lexie said.

“In what way?”
Tiny asked, looking curious.

Lexie gave them all an “are you dumb?” look.
“Seriously?
She slept with a guy and never saw him again.
Then she meets a guy she likes only to bump into the other guy, who happens to
be the father of her child. I feel for her. It sucks.”