Treats Aren't Always Sweet (5 page)

It was nightfall before Treat made it back to
the clubhouse. She’d rode until her temper cooled, which had taken
a lot longer than she’d thought. Renegade had just followed her
quietly, thank goodness. She was dirty, hungry, and exhausted—yet
still pissed. “Going to shower,” she muttered to Renegade before
waving absently at him.

She went to the main clubhouse, her bungalow
wasn’t ready yet, or at least she hadn’t moved her stuff yet. She
kicked the front door shut a little harder than she’d intended and
it slammed in a loud ‘bang’.

Stone and War turned and looked at her as she
walked through the great room and walked down the hall to where the
bedrooms were located. They knew which one she was in, and they
also knew she wouldn’t like any company right now.

“Man, seriously, we need to figure something
out,” War growled.

Stone nodded. “She isn’t going to talk to us
yet.”

“Dammit, we didn’t make any promises. Yeah,
what we did was shitty, and I wish it hadn’t gone down like that
but
fuck
. She is gonna need to get her head on straight,”
War said.

Bic walked up to where they were sitting and
she laughed loudly when she heard what War said. “Honest to God,
you two are idiots. You think just ‘cause you didn’t make promises
to that woman that her seeing you fuck her best friend is something
she is gonna get over. Right, dream on, big guys. No matter if she
is in the lifestyle or not, she is still a woman, and everyone
knows you fuck someone’s best friend, even if they turn out to be a
psychopath and needs to be put down, you are never gonna get back
in there. Never.”

Stone looked down at his beer while War
frowned at the hallway. “Yeah, well we will see about that.”

Bic laughed louder and held up her hand.
“Taking bets here.”

The room laughed and everyone waved money
calling out how they wanted to bet. War growled through the whole
thing as more than a thousand dollars was gathered on a bet whether
they would get back into Treat’s good graces or not. Shit, most
betted against him.

“Assholes,” War muttered and stood. Stone
followed and they walked back to where their bikes were parked.
They needed to figure something out and soon. Her being here for
the last few weeks was driving them crazy. They both wanted back in
there, and not because they wanted pussy, because they both
realized what they fucking had, and now she was gone. Dammit to
hell, they were dumbasses.

“What are we gonna do?” Stone said as he
straddled his bike.

“Shit, who the fuck knows,” War said.

They started their bikes and the two rode off
the compound. Neither of them saw Treat looking out the window at
them sadly. She turned back into her room and pulled out clean
jeans. She needed a shower, then a drink; those were the only
things on her list right now. With her sister guarded and taken
care, at least for the night, she needed to forget. She also needed
to talk to her girls, ‘cause dammit, she was confused.

Lane threw a bottle of beer against the wall
in Jilly’s parents’ house. He may be friends with Chet, but the
fucker didn’t get into his business, he should know better.
Shirley, his simpering wife, just stood there like a fucking bump
on a log.

“Why the fuck did you leave her there?” he
roared. “They got my son, they got a guard on her, they are fuckin’
looking for me. I can do what the hell I want in my own home,
dammit. They can’t take my son from me.”

Chet nodded to him and said, “That is what I
said, but apparently my long lost daughter has made some new
friends. You know that biker club who bought that land to the
north, that’s them.”

Lane turned and glared snapping, “I don’t
give a flying fuck who the hell is helping her, they have no right,
she is mine. I can do what I want. How the fuck did that bitch of a
daughter even know a damn thing about Jilly, she doesn’t have a
phone or a way to contact her. Fars as I know, they haven’t spoken
in years.”

“I don’t know,” Chet frowned. They turned to
look at Shirley who was shaking her head.

“I don’t know,” Shirley whispered and Lane
stalked to her, grabbed her around the throat, and lifted her off
the ground.

“Woman, you need to fucking find out what the
hell is going on. Tomorrow you are going to go to the hospital, and
you are going to check Jilly out of there, then bring her back home
where she belongs,” he yelled and Chet stepped forward a little but
then backed off when Lane looked at him with a deadly glare. “You
too, serious as fuck if she is not cooking my dinner tomorrow night
there is gonna be hell to pay.”

“I get you, Lane,” Chet muttered as the man
let go of his wife and he let out a breath of relief.

“Good, now go cook me some dinner, bitch,
since my whore is gone,” he snarled and threw Shirley into the
kitchen.

“Yeah,” Chet bellowed. “Get me a beer
too.”

“Now, tell me about these bikers. No way in
hell they are going to get into my business and come out unscathed,
the fucking assholes,” Lane said and sat down on the couch like he
owned the place.

Treat was hungover when she said goodbye to
Shady yet again. She and the Lady Riders had talked into the night
about the situation. They had made some decisions and today they
were going to the Warriors meeting to present their case on how
they wanted to deal with this matter and what they wanted to do.
They needed the guys as backup, that was not in debate, but they
also needed them to support this whole thing, because they were
going to get their hands dirty, and not only that. Helping women
disappear from a bad situation could sometimes get dicey.

“If you need anything, you call,” Shady said
to Treat and she nodded. “With anything, you hear.”

Treat smiled, Shady knew what happened with
Stone and War, hell, everyone knew what happened with them, it was
common knowledge, not that she had created a big scene or anything
like that. She hadn’t, Treat made sure of it. Basically, because
she kept her dignity in tack by not throwing the temper tantrum she
wanted to. It wouldn’t have done any good, and she would have
looked like a clingy dipshit. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt
though.

“I will be okay.” Treat laughed. “It’s over
and done with, moving on.”

Shady laughed. “Yeah, you and I know that
is
a lie, but hey, make them beg for it before you take them
back.”

Treat frowned at her friend, she thought they
were on the same page as each other. Last night when they all
talked, Shady had told her to find someone new. Now she was saying
this. “What are you talking about?”

Shady laughed. “Babe, I know you. I know
everything about you, and you, my dear, are a chick who doesn’t
give shit away free. You gave them your time, they fucked you over
with Trick, but more they fucked you over because you wasted your
time on waiting for them. We all knew it and saw it. Now, I know
you also are a lot like me. My guys, total dumb shits, but they
also know I gave Slider a second chance when he pulled some stupid
shit. But he knows it is only one chance. No shit, you gotta make
them come to heel and then beg for your attention or they will
always think you are club pussy they can screw with. Not that I
think these guys think of you like that, I mean you need to
remember you are not the same girl looking for scraps of attention
from your bitch of a mother, and prick of a father. You are better
than that, and you deserve those men to crawl back with their dicks
between their legs. Last night you needed to hear it was okay to
move on, if I saw you making a move to anyone I would never have
said this. But you didn’t, instead you kept your eye on the door
and until they walked through it, you were tense. Then you watched
who they were hanging with, if it would have been a chick I would
have told you to move on. But it wasn’t, it was only with the guys,
never looked at another chick, only you when you weren’t looking at
them. Now, high school bullshit aside, they need a little push to
let them know they can approach, I will give it to them, but you
need to be able to receive, and by that I mean you need to make
sure you set your boundaries and bring them to heel. These are
bikers, they are rough and tough, but they love fierce, and they
will protect you with their lives. You and I know when I say bring
them to heel for a biker that means you follow and put the seat
down on the toilet when they are done in the bathroom, if you want
anything other than that, go find a wimp on the corner to fuck. But
you let them in, give them the chance to prove to you they fucked
up and they know it, then they will make you their world. And,
Treat, that right there is what you deserve, do not settle for
anything less, and do not let them think they have the upper hand.
You are a Lady Rider, we are bad bitches who can take care of
ourselves at anytime we want, and we also know when to let our men
take care of something. Now, I am going to give them that push, but
tell me right now if you need me to not do that.”

Treat looked at her friend, she had said a
lot of the truth, and basically, she knew it all was something she
needed to hear. Dammit, she knew the guys fucked up, but she wasn’t
sure she could forgive them, what did that say about her? Well, it
said she wasn’t a doormat, for one, because she wasn’t. But did she
want to let them try to make it up to her? Did she want to put
herself through that right now? The answer was fuck no, she knew
that, but she also knew it was because of the timing and everything
else. Because if she hadn’t still felt something for those idiots
she would have left with the club.

“If they fuck up again?” Treat asked.

“We kill them and bury their bodies in the
mine so no one will ever know, and then I promise to buy you like
ten cats and set you up in a house on the compound to live your
lonely sad life as the compound cat lady,” Shady drawled.

“Well, just so we are clear on my
expectations in life.” Treat grinned.

Shady hugged her and whispered into her ear,
“If you need me, you call me.”

Treat nodded and then let her friend go so
she could call the hospital and check on her sister first, and then
get some damn coffee so she could get a caffeine high, ‘cause this
could be a long fucking day.

“You with me?” Shady said quietly as she
threw her leg over her bike. Her two men had come this morning
after taking care something last night.

“Yeah,” Stone said firmly.

“Good,” she said and then looked to the
clubhouse. “Make sure you tell her when you get in there that
Slider and Cajun left her and the others a little present in their
new bungalow.”

Treat, Bob, and Nike had been going to share,
but that had changed in the last few hours. Jilly and her son were
going to need protecting, so Nike and Bob were going to stay in one
house, while Treat and Jilly would stay in the other. Stone and War
were in charge of their safety, which meant they would be bunking
there as well.

Slider grinned and laughed. “Yeah, talked
with Freebyrd already, he knows what the deal is, just make sure
she knows this was a contact we hunted down for her last night. You
don’t burn him, because if you do, we will have a hard time
replacing him.”

War nodded, “Got it.”

Shady smiled at the guys, it wasn’t a nice
smile like ‘have a great day’ or ‘see yeah later’,
no, it was a
creepy scary smile
, Treat thought as she stepped out into the
sun, she also wondered briefly what they were talking about, but
then she laughed quietly. Yeah, Shady was protecting her, she knew
that smile, it was the ‘gonna kill you dead if you hurt my girl’
smile. Treat had seen it often enough to know what it meant, and
she wanted to giggle when she saw War and Stone shift uncomfortably
and step back from her bike after she muttered something. She waved
at her friends and then turned and walked back into the clubhouse.
She knew what Shady was doing, that did
not
mean she was
going to make herself a target, just in case they didn’t want the
in with her.

She walked to Bic who as getting stuff
together for the meeting. “You need help?”

“No, I think I got everything. Not sure how
the guys are gonna handle this. Free didn’t say a thing about it
last night. He is waiting to get into the meeting before he says
what he wants to say. Never been in a meeting before, have no idea
what the fuck they do in there. For all I know they could be
drinking and fucking sheep,” Bic drawled.

“Yeah, before all this, we weren’t even
allowed in the common room if there was a meeting. It was nuts they
didn’t want us anywhere near them. Didn’t bother me much, until
they made a decision about my life without me present. Took me a
long time to get used to that,” Treat said slowly and looked to the
door when the guys walked in. Shit.