Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (37 page)

I agreed then cuddled into his
side and looked out onto the city skyline. It took me a few minutes
to realize the smile was still in place. I was so happy I couldn’t
wipe it from my face if I tried.

*****

The sun was streaming in the
windows, but I desperately wanted to ignore it. Matty rolled over
next to me, moving in closer so that we were arm to arm on our
backs. His hand moved, sliding under the covers until it found
mine. The romantic gesture made me happy, until I realized that he
wasn’t twining his fingers into mine, but instead, moving my hand
back towards him. His intentions were made clear when I found him
erect.

I yanked my hand away, laughing
quietly. “Our children are next door, Matthew!”

Tugging me back to his morning
wood, he chuckled back. “We can lock the door.” His voice was deep,
full of sleep, and sexy as sin. I groaned. I wanted him, but the
thought that our kids could hear us was just too much. Note to
self—when buying a house, make sure that the kids bedrooms are on
one side of the house and ours on the other.

Wait a minute. Buying a house? I
hadn’t thought about it before. I’d loved the fact that Will and I
shared our house so the kids had security and didn’t have to
shuffle around. But, that wasn’t fair to Matty or Sam. And Matty’s
house wasn’t really big enough for all of us. We’d have to buy a
new house. Wow.

“
Hey? Where’d you go?”

“Sorry, lost in
thought.” I leaned up, kissing my tattoo. At least, that’s how I
labeled the trinity around the Claddagh over his heart.

He pushed back my hair, keeping his hand on
the back of my head. “Fine. If you don’t want to fool around, give
me a back rub.” With that, he let go of my hand and turned onto his
side.

“A back rub? Oh, are you hurtin’
old man?” I joked, but started to massage the muscles
anyway.

His back was fantastically toned
and as much as a work of art as his front. Stretched high across
shoulder blades in large bold letters was the word “FAMILY.” Under
that, right smack dab in the middle, was a profile of a man that
resembled a roman gladiator, complete with a metal hat on his head.
He was wielding a shield that looked just like the back of the
Bastards’ jackets and holding up a sword as if ready to strike. I
now knew that was Itus, the Greek God of Protection, and the symbol
that the Bastards had adopted. Low on the right side, right above
his ass cheek, was a white wolf with striking blue eyes. Sitting
back on its haunches, head thrown back as if getting ready to howl
at the moon.

“
Ok, so I get the others, but why
a wolf?”

“It’s my sign,”
he murmured into the pillow. “Lower. Harder,” he demanded.

I moved my hand down a little and worked at
the knot I felt just under the skin. “You’re a Scorpio. How’d you
get a wolf from a scorpion?”

He chuckled. “Oh, yeah, right there. Celtic
sign, not zodiac.”

“
Oh. What’s it mean to be a
wolf?”

“Hound. It’s a hound. I’m fiercely
loyal and enjoy helping others.” He groaned as I finally got the
muscle to relax. “I’m handsome, and large, and tough, and built
like a horse, and…”

His obnoxious list was cut off as
I pounced onto him, moving my fingers to his sides and tickling. He
bucked, trying to throw me off, but I held on tight, my attack
merciless. I didn’t stop until we were both breathless from
laughter. Sliding off his side of the bed, I headed for the shower.
I had a ton of stuff to do before dropping the kids off, and I
should probably actually open my textbook before the test
today.

“Joes?” Matty’s
voice called just as I walked into the bathroom. I glanced back
over my shoulder, wondering what was wrong. “You make me happy. I
can’t wait to spend every morning like this. I fuckin’ love you.” I
winked and blew him a kiss before closing the door.

Chapter
33

Matty

When I walked into the clubhouse,
I headed straight for the back room. I didn’t know how long Jo’s
test would take, or if she had other things to do once she left the
campus, but I wanted to see if my kids were still here. They were.
Sam and Ben were acting like pirates with a few other young boys.
They’d turned the treehouse into a ship, had swords and bandanas,
and had even hung a Jolly Roger. A couple of the Brats were
pretending to be their prisoners and offered me knowing smiles when
they saw me leaning on the door.

Dean and Lily were sitting in
chairs in the corner and were either having a tea party or playing
dolls. I almost pulled out my phone so I could get evidence to show
Joes. It’s not every day that you see a tattooed biker playing with
a little girl, and I knew she’d never believe me. I didn’t want to
intrude on their moment, though. I knew Billy loved that little
girl, but she’d been glowing from all of Dean’s attention, and I
had to wonder if her dad ever spent this much time with
her.

Jessie wasn’t here. Maybe she
realized she wasn’t needed and had gone to work. Assuring myself
that everyone was not just ok, but also having fun, I pushed myself
off the doorframe and walked to the bar. Bear had a beer ready for
me.

“
Any luck?” Tank asked from the
other side of the great room.

Bear shook his head. “Nothin’.
Until Jo’s husband,” my growl stopped him and he smirked before
continuing, “Until Jo’s ex-husband answers his goddamned phone,
we’re flyin’ blind.”

I’d called Billy five times. Left five
messages. The fucker hadn’t called back.

“I’m ready to drive up there and
beat it outta him,” I admitted. “Anyone else back yet?”

“Tiny, King, and
Clutch are still out. Hawk and Rocker are back in the office.
Paine, Dirty Dan, and Preach came in earlier with nothin’, and I
think Rocker sent them back out. Neo’s with Princess, one of the
prospects is with L.K., and the other with Barbie.”

“
Preach? He’s supposed to be with
Taylor.”

Tank looked surprised. “I dunno, brothah. Prez
sent him out this morning.”

“Fuck!” I slammed my beer down and
hurried down the hall to Rob’s office. I didn’t knock, and I didn’t
care that I could be interrupting. “Why is Preach not with
Taylor?”

Rob looked up from the computer
screen. “Because she ditched him. She snuck out. That was after she
told me I could shove my guard up my ass.”

I sighed, sinking into the chair
next to Hawk. “Fuck!” Of all the dumb shit she’d done over the last
few months, this was the worst. She knew she was being followed,
and she knew how worried we were. That spoiled selfish
bitch.

I would have gone on ranting in my
head, complaining about the woman I’d once dated because it was
easier than focusing on the unknown threat, but suddenly all hell
broke loose. Screaming from the great room had me standing up,
pulling my gun and sprinting towards the commotion, Hawk and Rob
hot on my heels. Pushing through the women in my way, my blood ran
cold.

Neo had my sister in his arms,
carrying her to one of the couches. She was hurt, that much was
obvious. Her face had numerous cuts, there was blood smeared across
one cheek, and she was holding her right arm, which was draped
across her chest, with her left. I tucked my gun back into my jeans
and rushed to her side.

“Someone find Ratched!” Rocker
shouted above the noise.

I sank to my knees, trying to
assess the damage. “Cris, talk to me. What hurts?” I practically
whispered, fighting to keep my voice level. I’d been to almost
every one of her fights, and I’d seen her get her ass kicked. But
this couldn’t compare. I felt like I was looking at a client and
not my little sister.

“My arm.” She lifted her uninjured
hand and wiped at her cheek, only managing to smear blood
everywhere. “I think it’s dislocated.” Her voice was hoarse, and I
could tell she was fighting through the pain.

“
It’s ok. We’re gonna get you
fixed up.” Her face had been used as a punching bag, and there were
numerous spots that were already swelling and turning a horrible
shade of blue. I wanted to kiss her, to offer some sort of comfort,
but I didn’t know where to touch her without causing pain, so I
just patted her hand weakly instead. “Can you tell me what
happened?”

Before she could answer, Ratched
appeared at our side. “Let me clean her up, ok?” Her voice was soft
but full of authority. “Call Doc. Right now.” I nodded and stood,
trying to give her some room.

Ratched had been a trauma nurse in
Iraq before coming home and deciding to settle in the OB field. She
said that being King’s ol’ lady was more than enough excitement for
her, and she just wanted a normal job and to cuddle babies. She’d
gotten plenty of action over the years though, always stepping in
to sew one of us up and tend to us when we were hurt. She was kind
and gentle, and nothing like cold-hearted tyrant she was named for,
but it just fit her. If she was telling me to call in Doc, then it
was bad.

“I already
called him, he’s on the way,” Hawk told me as he led me to a table
where Neo, Rob, and Cris’s boyfriend, Caleb, stood.

“Princess was attacked.” Rocker
filled me in, ignoring the ‘Thank you, Captain Obvious’ glare I
sent his way. “She’d just finished a session and went out back to
take a call. She hadn’t said goodbye to Caleb, so he went looking
for her. She had two guys on her.”

Thankfully Caleb had left the door
open and the gym was empty so Neo heard him shout. The two men with
Cris were trying to force her into a van, but she wasn’t going
without a struggle. “They’d worked her over pretty good.” Neo
explained. “But, they obviously didn’t know who they were dealing
with because she took one down right as we got out
there.”

“
And the other?” Caleb paled at my
question.

“You told me to
carry, so I’ve been carrying.” Neo snapped. “He picked her up, and
I could see her arm was broken and she couldn’t fight anymore. I
couldn’t reach her and I wasn’t gonna let that fuckah get her in
the van, so I did what I had to do.”

Rocker left the table, most likely
to send someone to do cleanup, and Hawk grabbed his phone. Jesus!
Two dead bodies in the middle of the city, in broad fucking
daylight, in the back of a building owned by a Bastard, was bad
news.

Before I could ask any more questions, the
door opened and I turned hoping to see Doc. Instead, Jon Greenwood
walked in. I turned to Caleb. “Did you call him?”

I didn’t know if the blood he was
trying to scrub off his hands was his or if it belonged to Cris,
but Caleb was not a Bastard and was having a rough time handling
what had just happened. Seeing his boss only made it worse and a
look of panic crossed his face. “I didn’t. But, if he’s here, they
must have found the bodies.”

Fuck! I caught Jon’s eye as he surveyed the
chaos in the room and he sidestepped a few of the women, heading
straight for our table. He was a master at hiding his thoughts, but
the surprise at seeing Caleb next to me was as clear as day. He
wasn’t here because of Cris.

He didn’t bother with
pleasantries. “Matt, have you heard from Taylor today?” I shook my
head, trying to remember where my phone was. Pulling it out of the
pocket on my cut, I checked for missed calls. There weren’t any.
“When was the last time you talked to her?”

I didn’t like his tone and
narrowed my eyes. “Saturday night. What in the fuck is going on,
Greenwood?”

The lawyer matched my angry glare. “No one has
seen or heard from her since Sunday morning. Her father is very
worried.”

No. No fucking way. My mind was
moving on hyper-speed. “Tank?” I yelled to be heard over the
commotion. “Call Jessie, right now!” He didn’t hesitate, just
pulled out his cell and dialed.

I grabbed my phone and hit Becky’s number.
“What’s up buttercup?” She laughed as she answered.

“
Where are you right now?” I
demanded.

“
At home. Matt, what’s
wrong?”

“I need you to grab Grams and take
her to Katie, and I need you to do it right now.” A few years ago,
we’d developed a code so that I could tell her when things were bad
without a chance of someone overhearing us. Grams was the gun she
kept loaded.

“Katies’s or Fred and Darcey’s?”
she asked in a panic. Fred and Darcey were family friends that
would keep her safe and was usually where I sent her. But, Katie
was Rocker’s little sister who owned a veterinary practice with
Becky’s fiancé. Kate’s house was a fucking fortress. After she’d
had a nasty bout with an abusive boyfriend a few years ago, Rob had
made sure she could fend for herself and had a state of the art
panic room installed. It was the place we sent some kids that
needed extra protection before a trial.

“Katies’s. Then
I want you two to take Gram to the Vet’s.” It was important that
she knew she needed to get her fiancé out, too.

“I’m leaving right now,” she said,
and I heard a door close in the background.

“
Call me when you’re both there,
ok?”