Shit’s gettin’ real.
Saddle up and hold on.
A week has passed in pretty much a blur. Bethany started a new job that I wasn’t happy about, but on the plus side, it’s close to the house. She only works during the day, too, so that’s an advantage.
I like what consists of family time that we get together even if I piss her off half of the time. She picks up Maverick from Princess and heads home, and then I show up sometime later. We’ve began our first routine it seems.
It’s crazy how much things change when you have a woman and a kid in your life. I no longer want to sit at the club, drinking and bullshitting with my brothers. I’d rather be home with them. Sure, I enjoy my time at the club, but I also enjoy my time with her and Maverick, too.
Before, if I wasn’t working out or fixing up a bike, I would go a little stir-crazy at home alone. I’ve always been sort of a loner, but after being around my brothers for so long, I’ve grown used to them and their company. Having B and Mav at the house has taken away the quiet. They’re always doing something, too, whether it’s watching TV, listening to music, or Maverick’s busy building some sort of fort in the living room.
Pulling my bike up beside her car, I park the freshly-painted beauty and make my way up the small walkway. That’s another thing she’s done; she’s planted flowers. Never gave two shits about that sort of thing before, but I like them, too.
The small touches make the place seem homier rather than just a crash pad. It’s got me thinking about painting the trim and front door as well. The chick is domesticating my ass just by bringing plants around. Ruger would love to find that out and give me some shit over it, I’d bet.
Heading up the walkway, I immediately catch sight that the main door isn’t shut all the way, which has me curious. I wonder if Maverick was screwing with it. B asked me to install a chain lock up high, and I haven’t done it yet.
Seeing the door cracked, though, I’ll make sure and get to it this weekend. The last thing I want is our kid outside when no one is watching him. He’s smart, but he’s no angel, I’ve come to discover.
Entering quietly, I hear her. It sounds almost like she’s pleading with someone not to hurt her son. Our son. I don’t have any clue what the fuck’s going down, so I draw my blade free from my pants. Flicking the large, heavy blade open, I creep stealthily through the entryway. They’re in the living room which throws me in the middle of the scene immediately.
Some fucker in an Iron Fists cut is in my living room, holding a gun at Bethany, who’s standing in front of my son protectively. He notices me immediately, switching tactics. He pulls her in front of his body and aims his weapon toward me.
“Get over to where I can see you, Oath Keeper,” he hisses, and his teeth are black, from a bad Meth habit if I had to guess.
Doing as he says, I hold my palms out to my sides. I keep a solid grip on my blade with my thumb, but act as if I don’t want any trouble. My gaze is surprised like he has one up on me.
I watch in utter amazement as Bethany holds her keys tightly in her palm, keeping it together. She must’ve been coming home from her new job when this asshole saw her and followed her and Maverick home. I have to give her major props for staying strong and protecting our child while I wasn’t here.
“Momma?” My son steps forward and Bethany sputters.
“No, no, no buddy.” She holds her free hand out in a stop motion. “You stay over there and hold onto that puppy for Mommy. I don’t want you coming over here or I could get hurt.”
“Ummm…hurt?” His little worried gaze takes in the scene before him as he holds the sleeping puppy.
“Yes, I don’t want any owies, so sit with the puppy; he needs you to cuddle him while he sleeps.”
He sighs and slowly sits with the dog, watching everything unfold. I don’t think he buys it completely, but he’s smart so he stays where he is.
“Who the fuck are you? Why are you in my house?” I grumble toward the man I’ll be killing shortly. He’ll be lucky if I don’t string him up and torture him for pulling this little stunt with my family.
“I’m Shadow. And your fucking club killed my older brother.”
“Who was your brother?”
At this rate, it could be anyone. We’ve had our fair share of killing shitbags throughout the club. I’m guessing it was an Iron Fist we torched, as his cut advertises he’s affiliated with the same club. None of it matters anyhow; I’m only concerned with keeping him talking.
“Ghost was my brother. Someone from your club killed him,” he repeats.
I know exactly who it was, too—Twist and Ares. I remember the exact day, as a matter of fact. They’d called us over for a beer to fill us in on what went down that afternoon. I was still a Nomad at the time.
“I’m coming to kill each one of you.” As soon as he finishes, he aims and fires his Glock at me, gripping the back of Bethany’s neck tightly with his free hand. Her cringe, has me wanting to extract what teeth he has one by one, so he can feel my wrath for laying his filthy hands on her.
The kick causes the shot to go wide and the bullet hits me in the shoulder. It stings, but that’s not what hurts. It’s the screams leaving my girl and my son that wind me. He just signed his death certificate. Bye-bye motherfucker.
Shaking it off, I spread my feet and grit through the burning sensation. I’ve been attacked by a motherfuckin’ lion; a bullet won’t drop me. Not today, at least. I have to protect my family, and I’ll do it with everything in me.
“Again, why are you doing this to me and my family?” I need to distract him enough to get his hand away from Bethany’s throat, so I can get to him without her getting hurt badly.
Thank God Maverick is a good kid and listens to his mom telling him to stay away from her. He clutches the puppy to his chest as tears roll down his cheeks, confused and scared by what’s happening in his own home. I want to kill this asshole for touching Bethany already, but the fact he’s making my kid cry, it makes me want to filet him—slowly. I swear if I don’t get to finish him outright, I’ll burn plastic until it melts into scalding hot liquid then I’ll coat his flesh in it and peel him like a goddamn orange. This motherfucker won’t know what pain is until I get a turn at him.
B’s eyes flick to Mav again, full of concern, I know she’s torn on what to do. He sits only a few feet away from the hell happening in our living room. Hell, I want to grab him and take him someplace safe, but I know I can save them both.
This dipshit, Shadow, didn’t come prepared. He was expecting to have access to Bethany without any interference and came alone. It was a dumb mistake on his part.
I told dollface before that you never mess with a man’s bike. The other two rules that go along with that are: You never fuck with a man’s club, and by all means, you never touch a man’s property, so you better be prepared if you do. What comes after screwing with those three things is retaliation, revenge, and murder. I cannot wait to get my hands on him, ‘cause I will end him.
She takes a deep breath, and I read her before it even happens. She releases the switchblade, nervously glancing at me, and I nod. Do it baby. I got you.
It feels as if it happens in slow motion. Her hand jerks upward, taking assface off guard as she drives the blade into his thigh with everything she’s got. He yells, releasing her in shock, and she dives for Maverick. I’ve never been so proud of her.
In the same breath, I jump for Shadow, bringing my own blade to his throat and ripping it across. Bethany holds our son and the puppy to her chest, covering Maverick’s eyes as she watches. Blood showers out from the wound, coating my clothes and the floor beneath my feet.
Flicking my head to the side, Bethany hops around the mess heading for the other room. She doesn’t need to see all of this; I wish she hadn’t witnessed any of it. Watching the man bleed out below me, I wait until I know he’s completely gone before I check on my family.
“You okay?” I mutter, pausing in the doorway.
“We will be.” She holds Maverick to her still, sitting on the edge of his bed as the puppy noses a few of my son’s toys lying around his room.
“You can come out now.”
“I can’t let him see that out there. And you need to change.”
Glancing down, I see I’m coated in blood spray. “I’ll be right back.”
I stuff the ruined clothes in a trash bag, put a fresh set on and scrub some of the blood from my hands and arms so I don’t freak them out. Then check on Shadow again; he’s still dead, so I make my way back to the bedroom.
“Better?”
“Yes, thanks and thank you for what you did in there.”
“Of course. I’ll always protect you in any way that I can. It didn’t freak you out though?”
“Well, yes it did, but you had to do it. That man was going to kill us, and you saved us.”
“It was you, Bethany. You did the right thing with that knife; I couldn’t have planned it better myself.”
“The scariest part of all,” she whispers, meeting my gaze, “is that I liked it. I enjoyed every second of watching you slice that guy’s throat.”
I flick my eyes to my son, and bring them back to hers. “It’s because you knew you were safe by me doing it, that’s all. Don’t worry about nothing, babe.”
She nods, taking a deep breath. “I need to pack.”
“What? Why?”
“Because, we can’t stay here with him laying out there in the living room. It’s bad enough that Maverick saw as much as he did. I can’t keep our son here with the house like this.”
“Oh, yeah, I get it. I have a room at the club we can stay at for a few nights until this is all cleaned up.”
“Okay, I can get us a couple days’ worth of clothes.”
“The carpet’s no good though. It’ll have to come out, most likely the whole room. How about wood floors? Unless you have something specific you’d like.”
“You are seriously talking to me about flooring right now?”
“I mean, it’ll have to go. It sucks. I liked that carpet too, but—”
“Oh my God! You’re going over flooring options with me right now!”
“Well, it’s your house, too; I want you to have what you like,” I reason, and she bursts into a fit of giggles. It’s a beautiful sound and makes me grin, even though I don’t know why she’s laughing right now.
“Jesus. Okay, Night. How about we go with a dark walnut color?”
“Walnut? Like a tree or nut you buy from the store?”
“Yes, if you go to a floor or hardware store they should have it, and it’ll look nice with the furniture.”
“Sounds good. You’ll need to drive to the clubhouse.”
“Without you?”
“I’ll be behind you in case anyone else is waiting or tries to follow.”
“Okay, just be careful, please. I don’t know how you can ride like that.” She gestures to my shoulder.
“You gettin’ soft on me, Daydream?”
“Maybe just a little,” she admits and my thumb grazes her cheek. She’s so goddamn stunning, even after all the bullshit she went through today. She shouldn’t have to deal with any club blowback, but she got caught up in it regardless.
“I need to text Vike, and then we need to head out,” I grumble, pulling my phone out. My adrenaline’s pumping too thick right now that the pain in my shoulder hasn’t hit me full force yet. I’m not looking forward to when it does, either.
Me: My crib was infested when I got here.
Viking: Bet. I’ll get my ol’ lady, you should come back.
Me: On our way.
Viking: Be safe
Taking a deep breath, I pull up Chaos next, texting everyone in code.
Me: I need your help with a remodel. Grab Spider and head to my place.
Chaos: Will do.
Me: I’ll meet you there shortly.
Chaos: No problem.
“Come on baby, grab Maverick. I’ll get the dog and your bags. Chaos and Spider are on their way.”
“Will they be okay with...” She points to the other room, and I chuckle. If she only knew just how okay any of the brothers would be, she may lose her shit.
“Yeah, they’ll be straight. They’ll help me clean up and put the new floor in.”
“Okay, make sure you order pizza or something for them.”
I chuckle again, shaking my head. There’s a dead body in the other room and she’s worried about feeding company. And it’s not normal company either; these are my brothers who are coming over to help me dispose of a body.
She’s definitely a keeper.
We load up, and in no time we’re on our way to the club. I can’t stop thinking that one of the best decisions I ever made was giving my woman a knife.