Chapter 21

Silk

As soon as I could sit up comfortably, I started sketching. I knew Eagle had gone through his punishment, but no one would tell me anything. Like what condition he was in, or even where the fuck he was. My mind was whirling with the worst-case scenarios. Although, if he’d been killed surely they’d tell me that? And no way would Mac and Taz still be hanging around if that happened. I’d only been downstairs a couple of times. It still hurt if I moved too much and stairs were not my friend. But when I had gone down yesterday, Taz had been behind the bar and Mac on the front door.

Shaking my head, I focused back on my sketchbook. I’d nearly finished Eagle’s tattoo. I was beyond happy with how it looked. I hoped he liked it. I hoped I’d get a chance to at least show him the design. I’d be gutted if I couldn’t ink it on him myself, but I had no idea if the club would even allow him to be in the same room as me, let alone allow me to have my hands on him. A flash of heat went through me as I remembered him agreeing to let me pierce his nipple–so long as I did it naked.

With a growl at myself, I tossed my pad and pen aside. There was no point in pining for something that was never going to happen. I was finding it hard enough to even sleep without his hard, warm body wrapped around mine. Spending my waking hours dreaming of him was going to send me crazy.

I carefully slipped from the bed and put on my flats before I headed out. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I had to rest against the wall for a minute to catch my breath. It still hurt to take deep breaths. Stupid fucking ribs.

“Whoa, hon. What are you doing up and around on your own?”

I glared as Taz all but dragged me to a chair.

“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe the fact I’m a grown fucking woman has something to do with it.”

Bastard chuckled at me as he went and got me a bottle of water.

“Here, drink some of this, then I’ll help you down to the kitchen. I assume that’s where you were heading?”

The way he looked at me had me pausing. “Where is he?”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

I went to stand so I could get in his face, but he laid a hand on my shoulder, keeping me seated.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about! I know something happened, and I know I haven’t seen him in a fucking week. But no one will tell me anything! But you know, don’t you?”

He lifted his hand from my shoulder and tucked my hair behind my ear. “Club business, darlin’. You know I can’t tell you.”

“Give me something. Anything.”

My voice had gone whisper quiet and I winced at how desperate I sounded.

“You know how close we are to him. You know we’d never leave him unguarded.”

With that he turned and left. I sat there for a full minute, waiting for my brain to jump into fucking gear. Then, with a burst of light I understood. Eagle was here. At the clubhouse. Mac and Taz would never leave him, especially if he was injured. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like eating anymore. I recapped my bottle of water and made my way to the bottom of the stairs. Fuck, I just got down these bastards and now I was going to have to get back up them!

It probably took me ten minutes, and I had to stop several times, but I made it back up to the upper level. Which bedroom had Eagle used last time? The prospects didn’t get their own room until after they patched in, but generally speaking, they tended to use the same one each time they stayed here. I took another drink of water before I started down the hallway. The prospect rooms were all the way in the back and I was out of breath by the time I time I’d made it to them. I went down there, where Eagle had stayed before, and tried the handle. Unlocked, the door swung in silently and revealed Eagle’s battered body. With a quiet gasp, I stepped in and closed the door behind me.

“Oh, Eagle. What did they do to you?”

Fury at my uncle and the club rolled through me, making my body vibrate with rage. How dare they? His chest moved with his breathing but other than that, he was unnaturally still. I’d never seen him like this. Like a doll. A broken doll.

I crept closer, not wanting to wake him, but needing to be near him, I tried to not make a sound as I approached the bed. When I got to the side and sat on a chair that was there, his head rolled toward me. His eyes stayed shut as he slurred my name in his sleep.

“Shhh, babe. I’m here. Go back to sleep. You’ll feel better when you wake.”

I stroked his face until his breathing evened out again. Blinking away tears, I fled his room. Ignoring the pain of my ribs, I rushed back to my own room and got behind the solid door before I let the tears flow. I hated the Charons in that moment. I’d always loved this club, loved being a part of the Charon MC family. But now, I wished I’d never heard the name. If I wasn’t a Daughter of the Club, Eagle wouldn’t have been beaten for simply fucking caring about me.

Anger fueled my actions. I quickly wiped my face and went back out, easily making it down the stairs this time. The ache in my ribs was nothing compared to the righteous fury blazing in my veins. I went from room to room, looking for someone high enough up the food chain to vent my anger on. My uncle was the unfortunate one I found first.

“How fucking dare you!”

He’d been facing away from me in his office, working on something. But he rose and spun at my voice.

“What are you doing up?”

I stormed over to stand before him, wrapping an arm around my injured ribs as the pain got too much to ignore completely.

“What do you think? No one would tell me a thing, so I went to investigate myself.”

His face dropped. “You went looking for Eagle. I told you to stay out of it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Club business isn’t my business. Well, fuck that. If this is how the man I chose is going to be treated, I’m leaving the damn club. Because he cares about me, he gets beaten to within an inch of his life? How is that fair? It’s not. It’s fucked up beyond belief!”

I reached out and took my uncle’s right hand, examining his busted knuckles. “By the looks of it, you were the main one behind it all.” I shook my head as I dropped his hand. “My father left me more than enough cash to clear my debt to the club for Silky Ink. I’ll go get it for you, then I’m out of here. I’m done with this fucking club and its fucked-up politics.”

I turned to leave, limping now the adrenaline from my anger had worn off.

“Silk! Wait! You can’t just walk out of here like this. We’re your family. We did this for you.”

I turned to face him again. “For me? You think I’d want the man I love beaten up because he fucking cares about me? Because, even though you didn’t tell him shit, he still saved me? Twice.”

“You can’t love a man you don’t know, Silk. He needed to prove himself to the club, that he was worthy of you.”

“What? Because I can’t decide that for myself?” I shook my head again, suddenly feeling drained and tired. “I’ll take Mac with me, but he’s not wearing his fucking cut though. I’m serious. I’m done with this club. You’d better make sure he’s been told anything you know about what you’ve heard from the mob, because that’s why I was hurt. I might not know exactly what went on behind the scenes, but I’m fairly certain the club’s fucked-up need to keep club business from prospects meant Eagle was fighting fucking blind, trying to keep me safe.”

Uncle Clint opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. “I’m done with this shit.”

I left the room before he could say another word. I made it to the bar before I collapsed against the wall. Once more, Taz was there.

“Whoa, you really gotta stop pushing yourself so hard.”

“Take me up to my room?”

He eyed me, then glanced over my shoulder down the hall before he replied. “Sure, hon.”

He lifted me easily and carried me up the stairs.

“Want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m leaving.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Silk. Sabella is still gunning for you.”

Taz set me on the edge of my bed.

“I’m leaving here and the club. I told my uncle I’d take Mac with me, but he’s not to wear his colors. You need to stay here to take care of Eagle. This is total bullshit and I’m not going to fucking sit here and take it.”

Taz gave me a small smile. “You really do love him, huh?”

I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck, wincing as my ribs let me know they didn’t like the idea.

“You already know the answer to that. Can you grab my bag for me? The one I had at the cabin.”

He snatched it up and placed it next to me on the bed. I reached in and pulled out four rolls of cash, forty grand. I owed the club thirty-six thousand on Silky Ink, so this would more than cover it.

“Want to help a girl pack?”

“Sure, sweetheart.”

With Taz helping me, I had all my personal stuff packed, and was ready to go before long. I held my cut and the cash, and Taz took my two bags, now heavy with all my things.

“Lead the way.”

We’d been up here probably twenty minutes, so I knew my uncle would have called Scout in on me by now. But I wasn’t going to back down. I was out of this shit for good. Hopefully, Eagle would join me once he was well enough to.

Mac

What a complete clusterfuck. It had been a predictable one, but one nonetheless frustrating. How did Bulldog think Silk was going to handle having her man fucking beaten bloody for basically no other reason than caring about her?

At least she’d agreed to take me with her. The mob was still after her ass, so if she just walked out the door she’d be dead in under a day. So, that left me standing at the bar with Scout and Bulldog, finally being told everything they knew about the fuckers after her.

“You telling me it’s not only the mob after her but the Iron Hammers are on her case too? How did they know about the box?”

Scout gave me a fierce stare. “When was the last time you saw Runt?”

My body stiffened. “You shitting me? He went to them?”

“Turns out he was always one of theirs. Well, he wanted to be. Spying on us was his way of earning his colors down there. We locked those ledgers and other shit up fast, so he didn’t get copies of anything, but he’d heard what we found in that box and reported it back to them.”

I focused on what he wasn’t telling me. “And where is Runt now?”

“Roughing up Eagle was just the entree.”

Fuck. They’d beaten him, probably to death. It wasn’t a huge surprise. The Charons certainly weren’t one of the roughest MCs around, but they wouldn’t stand for being fucked over like that either.

“Speaking of Eagle. Where does he stand with you now?”

I didn’t include Taz and me in that question, but Scout knew we were a package deal.

“He handled his punishment as a Charon should. We’re good. As soon as he’s back on his feet, he’ll get his top rocker. Maybe after that he can get Silk to quit fucking around and come back home too.”

Okay, maybe he didn’t get that we would stick together.

“Taz and me? Where are we left in all this?”

“You keep Silk protected, you’ll get your patch soon enough. Same with Taz. Once Eagle’s back on his feet, we’ll cycle you and Taz on her, since I’m guessing Taz won’t leave the clubhouse while Eagle’s still out of it.”

“Of course.”

I was getting a little sick of having our top rockers held over our heads all the damn time, but considering we were still months off being here a full year, we couldn’t complain too much. In any case, Silk coming down the stairs looking pale, but determined, ended our conversation.

She went directly to Scout, ignoring her uncle, and shoved her cut and four rolls of cash against his chest, forcing him to take the load before it hit the floor.

“That more than clears the debt on Silky Ink. I’m out.”

“Don’t do this, Silk. We’re your family.”

“Family does not beat the shit out of each other.”

“This one does. Always has. You know that. Eagle made it through. As soon as he can stand for more than thirty fucking seconds, he’ll get his top rocker. You don’t need to leave.”

She shook her head. “Yeah, I do. I’m not going over it all again. Bulldog can fill you in. I’m leaving.”

She turned and walked toward the front door, leaving shocked silence in her wake. I’d never heard her call her uncle Bulldog before, at least not when the entire club wasn’t hanging around, and by the look of stunned pain on the man’s face, he hadn’t either.

“Fuck me. Mac, go with her. And put her ass in a cage. She can’t ride her fucking bike with busted ribs.”

I spun and strode after her, Taz on my heels with her bags.

“This is one fucked-up situation, mate.”

“Sure is. Sadly, it was one I saw coming. No way Silk was going to handle having Eagle worked over like that.”

“I’m with her on this one. It was more the club’s fault than Eagle’s. They withheld vital information from him. What the fuck did they expect to happen?”

“No fucking clue, brother. But I need to catch her before she finds her fucking bike.”

I could just see her riding off into the sunset like some fucking warrior princess. Then wrecking her bike because she’d jerk when her ribs jolted her with pain.

“Silk! We need to take a cage. You can’t ride your bike with busted ribs!”

Thankfully, she stopped and when I got to her I took her face in my palms. “Slow down a moment and think. You know Eagle is going to come for you the second he’s able to. Getting yourself killed won’t help anything. Let me drive you home, and when your ribs heal enough for you to ride, I’ll bring your bike to you. Okay?”

Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t let a single one fall.

“My entire family betrayed me. The first time I’ve cared about a man, and they have him beaten.”

“I don’t suppose you got a good look at your uncle and the others? Eagle got more than a few shots in. Hell, three of the ones who went after him are in worse condition than he is and he did that after they pinned his arms down. Your man’s a Marine, darlin’. He can hold his own. And he thought you were worth it. Don’t make it all for nothing.”

Her jaw tightened, but she didn’t speak, just turned and got in the nearest vehicle. Taz dumped her bags in the trunk before saying a quick goodbye to her.

“Good luck, mate.”

Yeah, I’m going to need it with the way Silk was acting. Who knew what shit she’d try to pull with this little rebellion of hers. I was fairly certain she’d want to come back to the club once she calmed down. But would she be able to push past her pride to do it?