Butch (2 page)

“I don’t intend to.”

She turned to him, and he saw the seriousness on her
face. “No, what happened back in that room in your house you need to forget,
for your own safety.”

He frowned at her. “Someone killed my family.”

Becca
took his hands. “And that someone believes you’re dead. They believe a
lot of people are dead. I need you to not remember and to never go looking for
that person or thinking about your past.” She looked around the room then
flashed her inner arm at him. He saw the emblem of his dad’s MC. She was more
than his father’s whore or lover. His father had claimed her as an old lady.
Neal didn’t know how it was possible, but it apparently was. “The club is gone,
Neal. I know who you are, and I’m begging you to stay alive. I’m going to keep
an eye on you. I promised your father I would, but I need you to do this for
me.”

“I promise.”

She touched his cheek. “The moment you leave this
room, you forget everything, and there are documents in your bag as to who you
are. Use them and never forget the person you’re supposed to be.”

Neal nodded. “I don’t remember anything.”

Smiling, she stood up. “If you ever need me, let me
know. I’ll be around.”

“Wait, I don’t know how to get in touch with you,” he
said.

Becca
smiled at him, the same smile that must have won over his father. “But
I’ll know when you’re looking for me.” She gave him a wink and left the room.

****

At twenty years old, Neal stared around the club in
Fort Wills. The party was in full swing, and Tiny was motioning for him to come
closer.

“Well, if it’s not Butch,” one of the sweet-butts
said, purring.

“Butch?”
Tiny asked, smirking. Hardy and Mikey were chuckling at him. He didn’t
care. Neal had wanted to be part of The Skulls for a long time. No matter how
much he forgot his father’s lifestyle, being part of an MC was in his blood. He
was willing to do anything and everything to be patched in. Neal knew how the
world of the club worked. He’d get his tag, and then he’d be part of a
brotherhood once again.

“Yeah, he’s all big and butch. I like him.” The sweet-butt
was caressing his shoulders, chuckling.

“You know what, you’ve got your name already, mate,”
Tiny said, laughing.

“What?”

“Butch.
You answer to that or nothing else, you got me?” Tiny asked.

“Yeah, I got you.”

“Good. You can be a prospect. It’ll take years for you
to earn your cut, but you’ll get there. Follow the rules, don’t doubt shit I
say, and be loyal to the club. Respect the patch and you’ll be a member in no
time. Do you think you can do that?” Tiny asked.

“I can do that.”

“Good. Butch, the toilets need cleaning. Take Stink
with you. It will be entertaining for all of us.”

Turning away from the men, Neal fell away, along with
the mistakes of his past, and Butch was born. No one needed to know what
happened, and the name Gonzalez fell from his thoughts.

Chapter One

Butch wiped the sweat from his brow as he dumped the
latest bag of trash in with the rest around the back of the shop. Working at
the coffee shop was not easy, not by a long shot. It was honest work, and he
wasn’t afraid for Cheryl’s life. He’d gone from working in the front of the
coffee shop serving people, to being asked to work around the back doing dishes
so no one saw him. The owner told him he scared too many people with the
reputation of the club. Since quitting The Skulls a month ago he’d been working
odd jobs trying to find one that actually stuck. He refused to work as a
mechanic as that kept him in the MC life. The Skulls were the only mechanic
shop in town. Butch didn’t want to leave Fort Wills. Cheryl was here, and he
wasn’t ready to leave her or her son, Matthew. It was a nice name for a nice
kid. Matthew Barnes, father unknown, or at least he was to him. Cheryl knew who
the father was to her kid, but no one else did.

Staring up at the blazing sun, Butch couldn’t help but
think about the club. He wondered what they were doing. The last he heard Lash
was still away with Angel and their son. Sophia and Nash were spending time
with their daughter. Life was going on around him, and not once did he have a
clue as to the dangers lurking. Blaine was still keeping up with his woman and
child. Curse, from Chaos Bleeds, had brought in a new enemy or business
partner. Butch didn’t know the answer as he was no longer part of their world. There
was something about the name of the new possible enemy that made his gut
tighten.

You walked out. Now you stay out.

The Skulls were no longer part of his business. His
cell phone rang, and he saw it was Lash calling.

“Hey, man. It must be costing you some to be calling
me,” Butch said, leaning against the brick wall in the shade.

“Are you fucking shitting me, man? You quit the club
while I’m away. What kind of shit is that?” Lash started yelling over the line.
Closing his eyes, Butch listened to his friend’s tirade. He’d tried to leave
without any of the brothers finding out. Tiny had made sure everyone knew the
truth. It didn’t matter. Butch wasn’t going back no matter how much he missed
the club. Sweltering days like today were a nightmare. He missed the banter,
the drinking, the partying, and feeling like part of something. The MC life was
in his blood; it was his destiny.

“Where’s Angel?” Butch asked, cutting into all the
yelling and tried to change the subject.

“She’s at the beach with our son.
Don’t
fucking change the subject. Why the fuck are you leaving? Did you hand in your
cut?”

Letting out a sigh, Butch felt a pain bloom inside his
chest. He’d given up his cut, and he also had an appointment to have his ink
changed so he didn’t hold any symbol of his involvement with The Skulls. In a
few weeks’ time all of his involvement with the club would cease and his past would
be dumped like his childhood.

“Who told you I was out?” Butch asked.

“Nash let it slip ten fucking minutes ago. You’re out,
and you’ve got no plans of coming back.”

“It’s not the life I want anymore.”

“Bullshit. This is the only life you’ve ever wanted. I
remember when you were a prospect, Butch. You’re five years older than me. You
wanted in the life. It’s in your blood. You told me back then that you’d do
everything to get patched in, and you did. You cleaned more shit toilets and
whores off the floor than any other fucking brother. Every shitty assignment
Tiny gave us, you took. All of that hard work for nothing?”

“Not anymore. Time has changed, the fun has gone, and
I’ve got nothing but pain to look forward to.” Butch looked toward the door
knowing he needed to get back inside. He didn’t need the money, but he refused
to sit on his ass all day while Cheryl was out working. Butch was not the kind
of man to sit on his ass all day while the woman worked.

“What made you quit?” Lash asked.

“I found a woman. I’m not willing to risk her life
being part of a group who has enemies as magnets.” He started walking back to
the door as Lash cursed over the line. “She’s got a kid, and I can’t ask her to
be with me at the risk to her kid.”

“We can’t have your back if you’re not part of the
club.”

“I don’t need you to have my back. Unlike most of you
I don’t actually have a past with enemies.” He had a past filled with pain, but
no enemies. No one knew he was alive. He was dead to the whole world. The
Skulls didn’t need to know what his past was all about. Butch held the memories
close to his chest, where they’d stay.

“This is insane. I should come back and beat the crap
out of you.”

Butch laughed. “Angel wouldn’t be happy. She wouldn’t
say anything to you, but you’d only hurt her by cutting your vacation short.
Leave my decisions with me. I’m not going back to The Skulls. It’s over, and
you all should realize I’m happier for it.”

Hanging up the phone didn’t ease the tension inside
him. He missed the life already but he was determined to create a new life.
Butch knew from harsh experience what it was like to have his loved ones torn
away because of a bad decision. The Skulls were getting more dangerous, and
there was no hope for Cheryl if he continued with the same kind of crap. For
all of his good intentions, it didn’t stop him needing more, the curiosity to
know what’s going on with Tiny and his brothers. It had been a month, and
already he wanted to know what was going down so he could help his family. The
Skulls gave him back the family he’d lost so many years ago, yet he’d pulled
away from them for love.

Closing his eyes he recalled the screams of his sister
when he couldn’t save her. The curses his father yelled, threatening all the
men who were hurting them. All of his family was dead, and there would be no
chance of them coming back. Watching his sister get raped and killed was just
par for the course at the age of thirteen. Butch knew when he saw her brains
getting blown apart that his life was never going to be the same. There was
nothing he could have done, not even at thirteen. Going from one foster home to
another until he was out of the system at eighteen, he’d already been on the
path set for The Skulls.

Pushing his finger and thumb against his eyes, he fought
the pain the memories gave him. All the time he kept them locked in a box. Not
one of his brothers knew the truth about his past. Neal Coal was dead along
with his family, and all of them had died long ago, and he wasn’t ever going to
be returning to that life.
Becca
had told him to
forget, and he had to a point.

Unlike his brothers Butch’s enemies remained in the
past with no hope of ever returning. Over the years, even without his father or
the Savage Brothers, he’d trained to fight and learned to take a beating. To
earn money, he entered into illegal fights. He was a fierce fighter and made
sure he would come out the winner or die fucking trying. The only way for him
to live in this world was to leave his enemies six feet fucking under. He
couldn’t avenge what happened to him as a young boy, but he could make sure all
of his present enemies were dead. Entering the back of the coffee shop he set
back to work, cleaning dishes from the cakes they made in the shop. No one
approached him, which he liked. If anyone was to even say a word to him, he’d
go fucking crazy. They talked amongst themselves.

The moment the box opened in his mind and the old
memories started to work through, he lost it.
Becca
had told him to keep everything locked up inside. There was no need to go out
and seek the truth. He believed and trusted her.

“Butch.”

He turned at his name to see the manager,
Langnor
, staring at him.

“What’s up?”

“Tiny and Alex are out there to see you. They’ve asked
for a minute of your time.”

He cursed, staring up at the ceiling. The last thing
he needed with the memories slowly coming back was the two men looking over his
shoulder trying to bring him back into the fold. What made it worse was the
respect he had for Tiny and Alex. Both men were worth his loyalty to the club.
He’d never turn his back on them, not for anyone.

Think about Cheryl.

Cheryl Barnes and her sweet boy were the only good
things to happen to him since The Skulls. The danger the club faced was not
something he wanted to bring to her. Butch wanted a chance with her, a real
chance to have a family
of his own
.

Wiping his hands on the towel, he threw the towel on
the counter then headed into the main coffee room. Alex and Tiny were sitting in
the far corner in a private booth. Ignoring all the gawping and stares, he took
a seat opposite them. Both men were sitting on one side. Butch just knew a
confrontation was about to happen.

“You’re working in a coffee shop?” Tiny asked,
grimacing. “Your talent is fucking amazing at cars and in the club, and you’re
serving fucking coffee. This is sad. You didn’t go through all that shit to
become a fucking dishwasher.” Tiny shook his head, clearly angered by what was
going on.

Butch stared at his president without saying a word.
He would listen to whatever the men had to say before returning to work. This
was the life he wanted now. None of them knew the true danger that they faced.
Butch had lived through it once, and he wasn’t doing it again.

“He doesn’t care, Tiny. Leave him alone.” Alex leaned
forward. “We want you to come back.”

“No. I’m not coming back.”

“We need you. Devil’s got something going on, and
we’re all going to be in danger if we don’t band together.”

Holding his hand up, Butch shook his head. “I’m not
going to argue with you. I’m not coming back. I’m out. I’ve got an appointment
with a tattooist, and he’s going to black out my club markings. You’ve got all
my leather cuts. I’m done, and I’m out. I don’t need to know any more shit.”

“You’re being an asshole,” Tiny said.