CHAPTER 10

Taz

After sending a quick message off to Mac and Eagle, I left the bar and headed home. If I stayed, I knew I’d be dragging Flick back to the office every chance I got and then Nitro might really fire her, or kick me out on my ass. It was better for all if I just left now. Plus, it gave me a chance to chat with my brothers.

The ride home helped clear my head from Flick, because damn that woman was like some kind of super-addictive drug that knocked down my brain function to only cover the bare basics. By the time I parked my bike in the garage and headed into the house, Eagle and Mac were waiting on my back deck for me. I grabbed a few bottles of beer on my way out there to join them.

“Your women coming over too?”

They both shook their heads. “Pregnancy makes for early nights. Apparently growing a tiny human sucks the life out of the mother.”

With that comment, Mac swallowed half his bottle in one go.

Eagle chuckled. “It gets better, slightly. But yeah, this late is well past bed time for my girl too. We’re free to talk about whatever you want, brother.”

While the first part of that comment was directed to Mac, Eagle had held my gaze for the last part. Following Mac’s lead, I downed half my beer in one go.

“We all knew we couldn’t get away with just ignoring them, right?”

Mac cursed low before speaking. “Spill it, brother. What are we looking at?”

“Flick’s one of them. Says they know you two are lost to them, but apparently they still have hope for me. They sent her in to be my partner. And being my girlfriend is the way they recommended she go, so she set up a couple of meetings where the club would see us together to give it some weight.”

“So she played you.”

“Yeah, Eagle. She fucking played me like a damn fiddle.”

I scrubbed my palm over my head, then with a sigh, drained the rest of my beer.

“What do they want from you? Do they still want info on the Charons?”

Before I answered Mac, I went and grabbed us another round of beers from the kitchen fridge. I honestly had no fucking clue what to do with this situation. Because every time I got near Flick, I lost my fucking head. After handing the cold bottles around, I sat back down.

“Keep in mind she told me this shit this morning. Before we had church.” I paused again to take a mouthful of beer. “Seems the feds have worked out that all three of us have settled in here and won’t rat on our club, but they also know that the Satan’s Cowboys have taken an interest in the Charons lately, and the Feds want the Cowboys.”

Eagle blew out a breath. “Fuck, man.”

Mac’s gaze narrowed. “What did she threaten if you refuse?”

“We’ll all get arrested, our covers will be blown, and the club will be told we were here to report on them. Basically, reading between the lines, they’ll lie through their teeth to someone who’ll get word to Scout or Bulldog that we ratted on the Charons, and all three of us will end up in the ground.”

Mac’s fingers went white with how hard he gripped the bottle in his hand. “This is all total bullshit. So much for the FBI being the fucking good guys. They’d throw us under the bus like that?”

Eagle shifted in his seat. “Honestly? After that shit they pulled with the mob? Then again with Zara? I’m sadly not surprised they would. Just because we’re Marines who risked our asses to keep America safe, doesn’t give us any kind of special treatment from the Bureau.”

I scoffed as I remembered something else Flick had told me. “Flick said our old handler was dirty, that he was the leak. And that he’s been missing since all that shit went down with the Iron Hammers. Seems the bloke’s been missing for three months now.”

Mac laughed and took another drink. “Yeah, and the feds had just the one leak. Load of bullshit. But seriously, what the fuck are we gonna do here?”

I shrugged. “Not much to decide, really. We need to keep our ears to the ground and if we hear something we can pass on that won’t come back and bite us in the ass, I’ll pass it on. But if this gun shit goes through, I’m gonna be in the fucking firing line. No pun intended. If I buy out Gus, and we start handling guns for the Cowboys through the back of the shop, it’s my neck on the fucking block if the feds bust it wide open.” I took another swig of my beer. “Oh, and I’ve told Flick she needs to move in with me if she’s serious about this partner thing.”

That final statement was greeted with silence. I glanced at my two best friends and they were both staring at me with their mouths wide open.

“What the fuck, you two?”

Eagle winced, then ran a hand through his long black hair that declared his Native American heritage loud and clear. “We all know she doesn’t have to move in to make this shit work. You forget how long we’ve known you, brother. You don’t do live-in lovers, and I can’t see you taking one on willingly just because Uncle Sam suggested it. What’s really going on between the two of you?”

When I stayed silent because I couldn’t fucking work out how to answer, the pair of them started chuckling, so I growled at the bastards.

“Quit fucking laughing. It’s all your bloody fault, anyway.”

I continued to sip my beer as my two mates laughed their asses off at me. Just as I was contemplating turning the hose on them, Mac settled down enough to speak again.

“Wait. So it’s our fault you want to settle down? Like it’s contagious or some shit? And you just grabbed the first available female once the feeling hit? Because, if that were the case, you’d have shacked up with one of the club whores already. You’ve got all of them addicted to your cock at this point. Crook your finger and you’d have them falling over themselves to be your old lady.”

Eagle slapped his thigh. “I know what it is! He’s into her because she put him on his ass. You’re such a masochist. It got you all up in knots when you finally met a woman who didn’t trip over your shit to suck your dick, but instead–literally–put you on your ass.”

That set them both off again and I sighed. What was the saying? Something about with friends like this, who needs enemies?

“Fuck off, the pair of ya.”

With that I stood and went to the hose hanging neatly near the tap at the edge of my porch. Turning it on, I sprayed my supposed buddies.

“Pick on me in my own fucking house, while drinking my beer, will ya?”

Now I was the one laughing as I watched the pair of them jump up and run for their own homes, screeching like a pair of bloody galahs. Storing the hose, I headed for the door. A check of my watch told me it was still hours from Flick finishing her shift at the bar. Once I had the empties in the bin and the back door locked up, I decided to head to bed. I’d gotten very little sleep the past two nights and with all the alarms I had rigged up around my house, I’d get woken the moment Flick came anywhere near me. That, and if she did turn up, I was going to need some energy to deal with her.

And fuck her again. I shook my head. I really needed to quit thinking about that woman’s pussy. It was dangerous and it could get both me and my cock in some deep trouble.

Taz

As I woke to the sound of my phone ringing and an empty bed, my mood went south because Flick hadn’t made it. Damn woman. After a glance at the screen, I answered the call.

“Yeah, Scout, what’s up?”

“Looks like you’re in for a busy day, brother.”

At Scout’s gruff voice, I forgot all about Flick and where she wasn’t.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Gus got rushed to hospital last night. One of the doctors down there is a friend of the club, and he’s just called me to give me the head’s up.”

That had me sitting up straighter. “What’s he in for? I thought we had more time than this?”

“It was a heart attack, could have been natural. Either way, I need you to get down here to the clubhouse asap. Doc told me his next of kin is a niece who lives up in Dallas. She’s already at the hospital. Now, what’s the bet, the last thing she’ll want to deal with is a gun range and shop for the next few weeks while he recovers? So, I’ve had the lawyers do up some forms for her to sign. We don’t want you to go pissing off the authorities, so you can run things for Gus until he’s back on his feet. You go in as though you’re just helping the man out, because that’s what friends do, right?”

“Ah, yeah. Sure. I’ll be over to the clubhouse in a bit. Just let me get cleaned up, since you want me out in public and all.”

I hung up and headed to the bathroom, all the while wondering how the fuck the Cowboys could have caused a man to have a fucking heart attack. Coincidences were rarely just that, and this was a fucking huge one.

Once dressed, I rode over to the clubhouse. Clearly, Scout didn’t want me to take my time as he basically handed me the folder with the documents in it and shoved me back out the door. Not that I minded, I wanted to go see Gus and if he was able to speak, I wanted to have a chat with him. I wasn’t overly looking forward to dealing with the niece. In all the chats I’d had with Old Gus, he’d never once mentioned any family. Mind you, neither had I, so I guess it’s not that surprising I didn’t know anything about his.

Imaginary smoke tickled my nose as I pulled up to the hospital. Happened every damn time I had to go into one. Memories of the ER in Melbourne where the doctors had had to sedate me, because when they’d announced that Grace was dead I’d completely lost my shit. I’d destroyed several machines by the time the nurses and docs had contained me that day.

Storing my helmet, I scrubbed a palm over the back of my neck. There were just fourteen days until the twentieth anniversary. Two short weeks until the nightmares and flashbacks would, hopefully, ease for another year. Fuck. I totally understood why Silk chose to disappear off the grid for a few weeks each year around 9/11. Since she’d been orphaned in the attacks, she didn’t want to see any media or sympathetic faces for that time, which I could respect. Because if I could, I’d do the same damn thing each April. Find some cabin in the woods, just like Silk’s, drink myself into a coma and not come out in public again until well past the anniversary. But my situation wasn’t the same as Silk’s. It wasn’t the public I needed to avoid to make it all go away, it was the shit inside my fucking head that did me in each year. And if I did manage to drink myself into a coma, what’s the bet I’d then be stuck in some kind of flashback hell I’d be too drunk to get out of?

With a growl and a shake of my head, I forced those thoughts aside, and strode into the hospital. With a strong leash on my emotions, I took a step toward the admissions desk, but stopped short. Who the fuck was I supposed to ask for? Gus, or his niece? Who I didn’t have a fucking name for. Scout had said Keys could have found the name, but it would take time and that was something he didn’t think they had. With a huff, I decided I’d just have to hope wearing my Charon MC colors got me past the red tape I shouldn’t be allowed to bypass.

With my most charming grin, I strolled up to the counter and waited until the pretty young nurse turned toward me.

“Hey, luv, a good friend of mine, Gus Shell, got brought in last night with a heart attack. I was wondering if you could tell me if he’s out of ICU yet?”

For a few seconds she just stood there in a daze. Maybe I shouldn’t have thickened my accent quite so much. Normally, the whole Aussie drawl thing worked like a charm, but sometimes people would pretend like they couldn’t understand what I was saying. I cleared my throat and tried not to laugh as she snapped out of her trance and typed into her computer.

“Ah, let’s see. Um, are you family? Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

I gave her another big smile. “Name’s Taz. So, is he going to be okay?”

She shook her head, not missing the fact I’d not answered the family question.

“Sorry, I can’t tell you that if you’re not family.”

Clearly she wasn’t going to bend the rules for me easily.

“Listen, I’m not family by blood, but Gus and I are good mates. His niece is with him, right? I’ve got some paperwork that I need to pass on to her, for Gus’s business. Hate to see him lose everything while he’s in here.”

The woman’s gaze trailed over me again, catching on the patches on my cut.

“C’mon, luv. Give me five minutes to see how Gus is doing, get either him or his niece to sign this stuff. Then I’ll be out of your hair because I’ll need to go open his shop for him.”

A doctor came up behind the woman, looked me over briefly before turning toward the woman.

“What’s going on here?”

“Ah, this gentleman wants to have a quick visit with Mr. Shell, to speak with Ms. Vaughn...”

She blushed and cut herself off. Clearly she shouldn’t have said the niece’s name out loud in front of a stranger, and it was also obvious this doctor made the girl nervous. I put out my hand to the doctor, shaking his hand briefly.

“Hey there, doc, name’s Taz. I’m good mates with Old Gus, and I’ve arranged to have his shop and range looked after while he’s recovering. I just need a signature or two from him, or his niece, if he isn’t up to it. Also, wouldn’t mind laying eyes on the man, to see how he’s doing. If that’s okay, I won’t take long.”

I held up the folder of papers to prove my point. The doc focused on my cut with a frown for a few moments.

“Gus is a good man, and he doesn’t deserve to lose his livelihood while he’s receiving treatment. I’ll take you back to him and give you ten minutes, then you’re out. Don’t make me regret it.”

Relief had my shoulders relaxing. “Thanks, mate.”

With that, I followed the doc through a pair of doors. While trying to figure out why the name Vaughn seemed so familiar, I shot Scout a text as we walked, to let him know I’d gotten through and was on my way in to see Gus. We stopped outside a room with a large window, the blinds were half drawn so I couldn’t make out who was inside.

“Wait here, please.”

“Sure thing, doc.”

I moved to look around his body as he opened the door and stepped inside. Who I saw had me cursing under my breath.

“Oh fuckin’ hell, you’ve got to be kidding me.”

This shit just got a whole helluva lot more complicated.