Revenge (12 page)

“Did this cop have any family?”

“No, he wasn’t even a local to Fort Wills. He was
nothing but a mole put in to work for Gonzalez.”

“And
him
dying in his car
didn’t lead anyone to you?”

“No. Butch may hit out at us, but he’s doing it to
help us. I hate this as much as you do, but it’s going to work.”

“I like Cheryl. She’s good for Butch and a brilliant
mother to Matthew. There are two men in the club affected by her, Tiny. She may
not be anything to Alex, but she’s still the mother to his son. Two men who
could be affected by any decision you make. The women are my responsibility. I
can keep my shit together, but I need to know the whole truth of what’s going
on. Don’t keep little pieces away from me.”

“I won’t keep anything else away from you. I’m sorry.”

She pulled out of his arms, needing the space. “You’ve
got to share this stuff with me, Tiny. The club is part of you, and so it’s
part of me. Please, share this with me.”

“I will.”

“What else do I need to know?” she asked.

“Nothing.
I promise. I’m not keeping anything from you.”

Reaching out, she touched his cheek. “I know you’re
trying to protect me. I’m telling you to stop. You don’t need to protect me,
Tiny. I can take care of myself without your help.”

He took hold of her hand, drawing her knuckles to his
lips. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“You’ve got to be careful. Alex thinks your friendship
with Devil is going to cost you dearly. I’d watch your back around Alex until
this blows
over. He’s more concerned about his son than
anything else. I’d hate for anything to happen to you.”

“I will.”

Stepping closer, she placed a kiss to his lips.
“Tonight?”

“You’re back in my bed?”

“Yes, I’m back. Don’t give me a reason to leave it
again.” She licked his lips, and he opened up for her to deepen the kiss. His
hands moved around to her ass, drawing her close. The length of his cock
pressed against her stomach, making her moan. “I need you now,” he said.

“We don’t have time.” Pulling away, she smiled at him.

“You sure you don’t want me to take care of your
needs?” His gaze was on her breasts.

“All you think about is sex.”

“It’s not the only thing I think about, but when I’m
around you, it’s all I can think about.”

Laughing, she left the room, feeling happier than ever
before. She made her way out to the compound where the tables were set.

She spotted Devil and Lexie with their heads together
talking. The seriousness on Devil’s face alarmed Eva. When he glanced over at
her, she made sure to make herself busy. Checking the time she started to fire
up the coals for the barbeque. Within the next half an hour, Gash would be
arriving, and she didn’t want to have him waiting around for food.

“Hey,” Lexie said, approaching her.

“Hey. Is everything okay?” Eva asked.

Don’t give anything away.

“Club stuff.
Devil’s always worrying about something.”

Glancing up, she saw Devil talking on the phone. She
didn’t like the way the two clubs were going. Between Alex and Devil’s
suspicions they could tear apart the bond the Chaos Bleeds crew and The Skulls
had formed in the last few years. She liked the crew, but The Skulls would
always be her home.

“Are you sure everything is okay?” Eva asked.

“Yeah, Devil’s missing home. He wants Gonzalez taken care
of as much as you do.”

Something wasn’t right, but Eva didn’t have a clue
what to do about it. Her gut was telling her that Devil was going to cut away
from them and get this done on his own.

Running fingers through her hair, she went to talk
about her fears with Lexie. Before she got a single word out, the commotion of
the men returning cut off all conversation.

“We’re back, and we’ve brought
him
home,” Nash said, yelling for all to hear.

Pushing the troubled thoughts to the back of her mind,
she entered the clubhouse to greet their new arrival.

****

Tiny laughed as Gash lifted Tabitha up easily.
Considering the guy had been in jail for the last five years he was looking
good. It had been too long since he saw the other man. The anger wasn’t present
in his eyes as he swung Tabitha in the air. Miles was next in line. The
children were flocking toward him as if he was some kind of light and they were
moths.

“Fuck me, I turn my back a moment and you’re all
breeding like rabbits,” Gash said.

“This is my woman.” Tiny tugged Eva to his side.

“Finally, you decided to lay claim to her. I thought I
was going to die before you laid claim to this peach.” Gash pulled Eva into a
hug.
“Lovely to see you again,
darlin
’.”

Eva chuckled. “You’re a charmer like always.” She took
Tabitha out of his arms. Miles was next, and Tiny moved away while Lash
introduced Angel to Gash.

“Well, I never thought I’d see the day I’d have an
angel in my midst. Hey, baby, this bastard treating you well?”

“He’s treating me how he knows best.” Angel shook
Gash’s hand. Tiny tensed as Gash pulled her in for a hug and kissed her on the
lips. Lash tensed, but Angel pulled back, looking startled.

“Keep your hands and lips to yourself, Gash. I don’t
want to beat the shit out of you before you get settled back at home,” Lash
said, pulling his woman to his side.

“Sorry, I’ve got to get as much action in as
possible.”

Tiny stared at Angel. There was a time when she’d be
terrified of such attention whereas now she looked more taken aback than
scared. Her hands were steady as she tucked some of her blonde hair behind her
ear. He’d never seen her look so calm and relaxed.

What had happened to the scared woman who only felt
safe around Lash?

“What’re you thinking about?” Eva asked, pulling him
out of his thoughts.

“Nothing.”

“You can’t lie to me. You’re thinking something while
you’re staring at Angel.”

He kissed the top of her head. “You never miss a
thing. I was wondering when Angel changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“There was a time she’d be crying or shaking at Gash’s
attention. She’s taken it all in her stride and is even laughing about it. What
did I miss?”

Eva tapped his chest. “She’s been through a lot of
crap to get where she is. Be happy that she’s gotten this far without breaking
down again.”

A few years back Angel was attacked and she’d been
pregnant but had lost the baby, sending Angel into a mental breakdown. Since
then, Lash had been very protective of his woman, to the point of over-protective.

“It just opens up possibilities.” He reached into the
cooler and grabbed himself a beer. Opening a beer for Eva, he snagged another
for himself but didn’t let his woman go.

“Are we okay?” she asked.

Glancing down at her, he nodded. They were more than
okay. She had a right to be pissed. If Butch died because of this job then he’d
get Eva to talk with Cheryl. Alex had told him everything about what Butch had
to do to get on Gonzalez’s good side. What Tiny didn’t like was wondering what
was going to happen next. Gonzalez wasn’t the kind of man who just let things
slide for the hell of it. The bastard had a plan and
Tiny’s
along with Devil’s crews were the targets.

Sipping at his beer, he watched as Gash made the
rounds and shook hands with Devil. Gash had seen Devil a couple of times before
he went inside. It was good to have him back.

“We’re more than okay, baby. I don’t have a problem
with you in the slightest or anyone else for that matter. Alex telling you
simply cleared the air.”

“You sure?
You don’t look happy.”

He smiled even though he didn’t feel like it. “Just
wish we could have invited Gash home with a lot more loving than telling him to
stay as sober as possible for a club meeting later.”

“You’re going to bring him up to speed on his first
day back?”

“There’s no point in prolonging this giving him a
false sense that everything is going to be okay.” Tiny shrugged. “Like I said,
wish we were all under better circumstances.”

Pulling away from his wife, Tiny went to put the meat
on the barbeque. The women had gone to the fuss of preparing salads and little
fancy stuff that he’d never eat. He was a meat and potatoes man all the way.
Tiny refused to eat the salads. Even if it meant getting into Eva’s pants, he
still wouldn’t eat that shit.

Flipping burgers, he changed his beer for water. There
would be time for drinking later when all the serious crap was out of the way.
The only reason he was waiting was so Gash got a chance to meet all the family.

“I can’t believe how different this place is,” Gash
said, coming to lean against the wall near where Tiny was cooking.

“What do you mean?” Tiny didn’t take his gaze off the
meat.

“There are a couple of guys here I’ve never seen
before. One of them is fucking huge, but I’m told not to really talk to him,
Whizz, the dude that’s great with a computer. The other is Killer. That bastard
just looks scary. I’d have loved to see him on the inside with all those crazy
fucks. It would have made for some entertainment.” Gash stopped talking to swig
down his beer.

“I’m really sorry it has been some time since I
visited you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Everyone has women and family
to take care of. Did you see Lash? I thought he was going to kill me.” Gash
laughed. “It’s insane. I heard what happened to Nash with the drugs. I’m
pleased you put him through the wringer but didn’t get rid of him. He’s been to
see me a couple of times.”

Turning from the burgers Tiny looked at the man who’d
been put in jail for convictions that had nothing to do with him.

“I know you’re not going to like this, but you can’t
go out seeking revenge just yet.”

“You’re not the right person to be telling me what I
should or shouldn’t do,” Gash said. “You’ve taken your revenge out on everyone
who’s done you harm.”

“We’re going to have a meeting and bring you up to
speed. I’m telling you that you can get your revenge, but you’ve got to wait
for any retaliation.”

“Nash told me I could get Whizz to find out where the
bitch lives. I’m going to take her out, and then I’m going to kill any man who
worked toward putting me inside.”

“Whizz has an order not to help you until we deal with
Gonzalez. That’s a fucking order. I know you’re fucking hurting and want to
deal with this shit. The club comes first. We’ve got a full house, and
Patricia’s grave has already been desecrated. I’m asking you as a friend, but
I’m telling you as your president.” He pointed the fish slice at Gash, waiting
for him to respond.

For several seconds, Gash didn’t say a word.

“Fine.
I won’t do shit, but I swear, Tiny, when all this shit is over, I’m
going to take my revenge.”

“Killing her will put you back on the inside.”

“Not if they don’t find the body, and not having a
body is what I intend to do.” Gash moved away from the wall. “I’m going to talk
with someone else.”

Gash was gone leaving Tiny alone to finish up the
burgers.

“He pissed that he can’t go and take out the problem?”
Alex asked, joining him.

“You’re approaching me now when we’re surrounded by
kids and women?”

“I figured you’d attack me either way if you were pissed
enough.” Alex’s hands were thrust inside his jeans pocket. The casual look
didn’t suit Alex at all.

“I’m not pissed. Eva had a right to know what’s going
on. I’d already told her most of it, just not all of it.” He turned to see Eva
talking with Angel. The possibilities with Angel had opened up options in his
mind that he didn’t think were possible. He filed the information away for
later. “Do we know if he’s been asked to do more?”

“No, we don’t. He’s not been contacted yet, but I
imagine it will only be a matter of time. What I’m worried about is what Butch
will be asked to do. Gonzalez is going to play with him, and it’s going to get
dirty.”

“Whatever happens, his family will be well cared for.”
Tiny saw Cheryl standing with Matthew and Butch, who looked happy.

He saw the conflict within Butch. It wasn’t going to
be easy for Butch to do what he needed to do. Tiny only hoped it didn’t involve
any of the women.

For the next few hours he ate, drank, and spent a
great deal of time with his wife. By the afternoon the kids were starting to
get restless and tired. The barbeque had long finished, and Gash was starting
to look pissed. The alcohol was no longer flowing like Tiny had hoped for
Gash’s return.

Entering his office, he took a seat behind the desk
and stared at the blank computer screen in front of him. His men would start
entering along with some of the Chaos Bleeds crew, but that would be all.