Chapter Eleven
Whenever Tiny was away on a ride, Eva tended to spend most of her time at home taking care of the kids and keeping to herself. This time Baker was sticking around at Tiny’s orders while she tried to arrange the town hall for the wedding. Tiny and Alex’s instructions had been for her to organize the town hall making it easier to target Gonzalez and his men.
Putting the phone down, Eva put the price of the town hall down beside the quotes she was getting. It would be cheaper for her to organize the wedding at the clubhouse. Renting out the town hall was expensive. She knew many couples had gone to the town hall to be married. Were they overcharging her because of The Skulls?
“What’s the matter?” Baker asked, sitting in the chair with a sleeping Tabitha on his chest.
It was such a shame that Baker didn’t have a family of his own. He would have been an amazing father.
“I’m getting prices for this double wedding. Tiny wants it at the town hall and so do the couples.” She blew out a breath. “I think I’m being overcharged because of who I am.”
“Then go and visit them or get a quote from someone who has used the town hall before. Once you get the price, you can go back and start to haggle over the price.”
Miles was lying beside her sleeping deeply.
“Are you happy at The Skulls?” she asked, resting her chin on her hand.
“It’s interesting. I never expected to enjoy being around so many people. When Sammy died, I lost everything. I didn’t want to be around anyone. At the club, they don’t give you time to think about what you’ve lost. I need that right now in my life.”
Eva smiled. “I’m sorry you’ve lost so much, but I’m glad you’re finding a way to cope. It’s how it should be.”
The house phone rang interrupting their moment.
“I’ll be back.”
Answering the phone, she listened to Angel complain over the line. Lash had called and was begging her to stay with Eva so she wasn’t alone.
“I’m really sorry to do this, but I don’t want him worrying while he’s away. Will it be okay if I come and camp out with you?” Angel asked.
“Sure. Do you want me to send Baker to come and get you?”
“Nah, Ink’s here and he can drive me to you. He can then go and do something back at the club. I’ve already got the deal with Lash that he can go back to the clubhouse. Baker’s to stay with us though.”
Agreeing, Eva put the phone back and walked into the sitting room. Baker was staring up at the ceiling.
“Angel’s on her way over. She’s going to be staying with us until the guys get back.”
Baker nodded.
“I’m going to make you a drink. You’re really good with kids,” she said.
“Thank you.”
Leaving him alone, she walked into the kitchen and set about making a drink. Angel turned up carrying several bags for herself and Anthony. Leaving the kids with Baker, both women set up an extra bed in the kids’ bedroom then arranged for Angel to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms.
“I swear, I don’t think Lash trusts me on my own. I’ve never given him any cause to be worried.”
Eva chuckled. “He’s not worried about you, honey. He’s worried about the men out there who’d hurt you. If Lash thought there was anything wrong with you, then he wouldn’t have married you.”
Angel laughed. “I’ve gone a little crazy in my time.”
Shaking her head at the joke, Eva finished putting the blankets on the bed before making her way downstairs. With the kids and Baker, the two women played games in the sitting room. Hours passed as the kids were giggling from the antics of Baker. She really did like the new prospects. At around four, she got a call from Tiny, checking up on her and to make sure she was safe. She tried to soothe his concern, but there wasn’t much she could say.
Eva knew how much Tiny hated doing these kinds of runs.
“How is Baker doing?” Tiny asked.
“He’s a star, Tiny. I can’t complain. He’s brilliant with the kids, and he knows what he’s doing.”
“I don’t want you to leave the house without him with you.”
“Nothing is going to happen. He’ll take care of me. All you need to be concerned about is getting the job done.”
Tiny had told her what Butch found out from Gonzalez. She knew something was going to happen while the boys were away, she just didn’t know what.
“I wish I was home with you,” he said.
“I wish you were here as well. It won’t be long, and we’ll both be safe and so will the club. Come back to me in one piece.”
“I will. Love you, baby.”
“I love you, too.”
When she got off the phone with him, she walked into the kitchen to make dinner. The time passed easily with all of them enjoying their time.
By nightfall, Baker helped to bathe the kids. She left Angel to finish talking with Lash on her cell phone.
“Today has been the best day of my life,” Baker said. “Your kids are perfect.”
“Thank you.”
“Lash!” Angel’s scream filled the air.
Eva didn’t give Baker chance to rush after Angel. Gut instinct had her running downstairs, and she followed the noise of Angel screaming.
Rounding the corner and entering the kitchen, she saw a large man holding Angel against his body while she fought to get free. She stamped on his foot multiple times. Eva watched, amazed, as Angel flung her head back hitting him in the nose.
The man was dazed for several seconds. Angel made to get away. The guy grabbed her and slammed her against the counter hard. Angel disappeared from view as she collapsed in a heap on the floor.
When she saw the man go to kick Angel, Eva was pulled out of her trance. Charging at the man, Eva threw her weight at him.
He shoved her off him, slamming his fist into her face. Reeling back from the attack, Eva crashed against the cooker, knocking the pan onto the floor. He charged at her, but Baker knocked him back.
Getting to her feet, Eva watched as Baker unleashed his fists, slamming them into the guy’s face. Seeing her cell phone on the floor, Eva crawled over to it and picked it up.
“Hello,” Eva said, wincing at the pain.
She put her back against the cupboard and watched as Baker hit the man with one of her saucepans. Their attacker went down in a heap on the floor.
“Eva? What’s going on? Where’s Angel?” Lash asked, panicked.
Angel smiled at her, getting to her feet.
“We’re okay. Baker just saved us.” Baker stood at her feet and signaled for the phone. She handed it to him without a fight.
“Someone just came in through the back and attacked Angel. Before I got a chance he hurt Eva. Both women look okay, and I’ll keep an eye on him.” Baker was silent for several moments. “He’s alive but unconscious.” He nodded. “Okay, I’ll do that.”
He closed the phone and handed it to her. “Do you have anything for me to tie him up? Lash and Tiny want him alive to question.”
“I’ll get the rope Tiny keeps on hand just in case this happens.” Eva got to her feet, wincing. She was going to be bruised from where he threw her against the cooker. Walking out of the kitchen, she went into Tiny’s office. She typed the key into the safe and pulled out the rope.
Walking back into the kitchen she saw Baker lifting the man up and placing him on one of her sturdy wooden chairs.
Handing him the rope, she saw Angel was sitting at the counter, holding her stomach.
“Are you okay?” Eva asked.
“I put the safety gate in place for the kids. They’re watching a movie, but if you want to check on them you can.”
Eva nodded. She was going to make sure they were both okay before she went to the kids. Worrying the young ones was not a good idea for her.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Angel said.
Not believing her, she walked toward Angel and lifted her shirt up to see the bruises forming over her stomach.
“Really, Eva, I’m fine. It just hurts that’s all. He wasn’t the nicest of men. Being thrown against a counter takes some time to get accustomed to.” Angel tried to make a joke of it.
“I want you ladies out of the kitchen.”
“That bastard attacked us. Don’t you think we’ve got a right to know why?” Angel asked.
“Whatever you’ve got to say can be discussed with Tiny. I’m not about to have my ass handed to me within days of the job. I want you both out of here and away from this.”
Seeing Baker wasn’t going to budge, Eva helped Angel out of the room. Together they made their way upstairs to the bathroom.
Eva went to pop her head around the corner. “I wouldn’t do that if I was you,” Angel said.
“Why?”
“You’ve got a bruise all over your face. It’s not particularly pretty, and the kids are going to ask questions.”
“Okay, you talk to them, and I’ll go and get the bathroom ready for us.”
She passed the kids without looking in. Eva listened to Angel talking to all of them. Opening the bathroom door, Eva looked at her reflection and winced. Her jaw was starting to come out, and her face looked slightly swollen from the attack.
“See what I mean?” Angel asked.
“Yeah.”
Together, the two women started to go over their bruises and make sure there was nothing wrong with either of them.
“Tiny wants Lash to take over from The Skulls in a few years’ time,” Angel said.
“I know.”
“We’re not ready for that.”
“Then it’s a good job you’ve got a couple of years before you need to start worrying. Tiny won’t give the club over to you until he’s sure that you’re ready to take over.”
She lifted Angel’s shirt up and over her head. She wore a red lacy bra. The only person who’d buy Angel something so sexy was Lash. Eva couldn’t help but smile at the charming couple.
She saw the bruise on Angel’s arm and across her side from the fight.
“You’re going to be okay.”
“I hope the club will be okay. I think Gonzalez has finally started to attack.”
Eva couldn’t argue with her. She only hoped they all survived the end of it.
****
Tiny stormed into his house with Lash and several of his men behind him.
“Eva!” He yelled her name, needing to see that she was okay.
Baker rounded the corner. “She’s upstairs. I’ve not let either woman near this bastard. I got them out of the way for you.”
Going down the long corridor, he rounded the corner to see the man tied to one of Eva’s fancy chairs. The man was awake and showing no signs of remorse in his eyes.
Walking toward him, Tiny straddled the chair and raised his fist. Slamming his fist into one side of his face, he did the same with the other.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
The man didn’t say anything. His gaze was distant as Tiny lashed out again. He kept hitting out, but nothing came of it. The man wasn’t talking to him.
“You’ve got to let him go,” Devil said, pulling him off the bastard. “There’s no point in killing him until we know what he knows.”
Shoving Devil off him, Tiny turned and glared at him. “This is my fucking house and my town. You don’t get a say here, so back the fuck off.”
“Tiny?” Lash asked.
He turned to look at the other man. Lash looked like he was struggling to keep himself contained.
“What?”
“He’s the one who was here to help us. Don’t turn this around on Devil.”
“We’ve got to do this right, as otherwise we’re never going to know the truth. I want to fuck over Gonzalez as much as the next person. There’s ways of making a man talk. You’re going to kill him before he can say anything,” Devil said.
Tiny was past trying to find the truth. Gonzalez had sent this bastard to kill his woman. All he wanted was blood.
“I can get it out of him,” Whizz said, drawing their attention to him.
“What?” Tiny asked. He was so fucking angry.
“I can get what we need out of him.”
Whizz entered the kitchen and moved toward the man’s side. Tiny watched as Whizz searched the man’s pockets pulling out a kit.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t think to check him,” Baker said.
“Don’t worry about it. Go to our women and get the kids. I don’t want them to be here for this,” Tiny said.
Following Baker out of the kitchen, Tiny waited at the bottom of the stairs. Baker was carrying Tabitha while Eva carried Miles. One side of her face was bruised to fuck, and Angel looked worse for wear. Fuck, he shouldn’t have left them. He knew it was a bad idea, but he hadn’t listened.
“Baby,” Lash said.
Angel went into his arms. “I’m sorry for worrying you,” she said.
“You don’t have to be worried about anything.”
Pulling Eva away from the other two, Tiny reached out to touch her cheek.
“What happened?”
“I was with Baker getting the kids ready for bed when I heard Angel shout. I didn’t think, and I ran downstairs to help her. I’m sorry.”
He pressed a kiss to her good cheek. “You don’t need to be sorry. I’m going to find out who he’s working for and then I’m going to get rid of him.”
“Be careful,” she said.
“I’m always careful.”
Tiny walked her out toward the car. Giving Baker a nod, he watched them leave. Going back inside the house with Lash, he closed and locked the door. Nash and Zero went and checked to make sure all the windows were locked.
Entering the kitchen, he found Whizz had set up the counter with the guy’s instruments. This was not a side of Whizz he’d ever seen before. This was all new to him as well.
“Can I start?” Whizz asked.
“Yes.”
While he’d been talking with Eva, someone had arranged a plastic sheet underneath the man.
“Who do you work for?” Whizz asked, tearing off the tape covering the man’s mouth.
“Fuck you.”
Whizz used his fist, slamming his knuckles into the man’s face.
“Who do you work for?”
The same response came. Whizz used his fists over the guy’s body. When that didn’t work, Tiny watched as Whizz picked up the scalpel. The first slash went across the man’s face. Over and over, Whizz worked the man, piercing his body a bit at a time working him as a butcher worked a piece of dead meat. The only difference between the piece of meat and this man was the man was still alive.
The man screamed, and when Whizz started to pull fingernails, the man cracked. His name was Everett, and he’d been sent to Fort Wills by Gonzalez. He was ordered to attack Eva, kidnap her, and take her to a secure location.
The more Tiny heard, the angrier he became. Everett was supposed to take her, torture her, rape her, kill her, then deliver her back to Tiny at the clubhouse bit by bit.
When he could stand no more, Tiny went to kill the man. Lash got there first. With a twist of his hands, Everett’s neck was snapped.
The sound echoed through the room.
“Gonzalez has turned the tables on us,” Devil said.
“Yeah, he’s going for our women now.” Tiny stared at the man. The last time he killed one of Gonzalez’s men, Tate had ended up in the hospital. He hoped more than anything that it didn’t happen this time.
“What are we going to do?” Butch asked. “He’s going to be expecting Everett to call. What do we do when he doesn’t answer?”
Devil’s cell phone rang, interrupting the moment. “Shit, I’ve got to take this.”
Tiny stared at the body. He didn’t want to put the club women or his own woman at risk. This was going to get worse if Everett didn’t call back.
“I need to think,” Tiny said.
All he could see was Eva, raped, beaten, and being delivered to him bit by bit. He couldn’t let that happen. She was the love of his life, and it would drive him insane.
“I’ve got to go back to Piston County,” Devil said, appearing back in the kitchen.
“What?” Tiny asked, turning to glare at his friend. He wasn’t in the mood to be playing around. This shit had been bought to Fort Wills because of Devil. His wife had been in danger because of Devil and his crew.
“They’ve found Kayla. She’s been pinned to the gate of the clubhouse. I’ve got to go back and identify her body.”
Kayla Howard was Lexie’s sister and the real mother to Simon, Devil’s son.
“You can’t go back now. You’ve got to stay here so that we can deal with what’s just happened.” He pointed at a dead Everett.
“I know, and I’ve got shit to take care of.”
Grabbing the first thing nearest him, Tiny threw it across the room. The cup shot past Devil’s head and smashed into the wall.
“You brought this crap to me, and now you’re running off back to you town like a fucking coward.”
“Don’t you fucking say that shit,” Devil said, yelling. “I’ve come to your aid every fucking chance I’ve got. I’m not turning my back on you. I’m going to clean up a mess that has occurred. My woman’s sister is fucking dead. I told that bitch to stay gone and she’d live. She’s just turned up fucking dead, and I bet it has this bastard’s stamp on it.”
“You leave now and I swear we’re fucking finished,” Tiny said, losing control. He was done with Devil, his shit, and his crew.
Devil started to laugh. “You really think our friendship will be over? Are you even listening to yourself, or is this Alex speaking? The jumped up businessman who thinks he can run a club.”
“This is all me. You walk out of here, and I swear, that’s it. You can take your shit and get the fuck out of Fort Wills. You and Chaos Bleeds will not be welcome here ever again.”
Tiny wasn’t in the mood to be tested.
“Boss?” Zero asked.
“No, I don’t give a fuck what anyone says. You leave Fort Wills now and consider us through.”
Devil folded his arms. “What about our women? They get along, Tiny.”
“I don’t give a fuck what they do. We’re through, and Eva will do what I ask. She’s my woman, and I’m the one who she should agree to.”
“You’re fucking insane,” Devil said. “Gonzalez has you freaked out, and you’re acting like a pussy who hasn’t lost anything. You’re the one losing control here, Tiny. You’re too old to deal with the club.”
He charged at the other man, tackling Devil to the ground. They fought each other, their men staying out of the way as they started to land blows. Devil kicked him off, and together they got to their feet.
“You think I’ve lost control of my club?”
“Alex runs this fucking place, not you. You’ve got no chance of making the tough decisions. You’re too much of a pussy.” Devil slammed his fist against Tiny’s face. Blocking some of the blow, Tiny punched Devil in the stomach. Pushing him out of the kitchen, he charged him into the dining room. The table collapsed beneath their weight as they fought. In the back of his mind, Tiny thought about his woman. Eva was going to be so pissed at him.
“Tiny, you’ve got to stop this,” Lash said.
He wasn’t listening. This fucker was supposed to be his friend, and he’d brought death to his door and was now leaving him to clean up the mess.
After minutes passed, Lash and Pussy got between the two.
“I want you out of my fucking town. Take your whores and get out.”
Lash had to fight Pussy as he went to attack him. “Don’t you call my woman a fucking whore.”
“No, boys, round your shit up and grab your women. We’re out of this town.” Devil glared at him. He was sporting a black eye, and blood was dripping down his nose. “You’re going to regret this.” Devil pointed his finger at him. Tiny didn’t stop until Devil was out of sight.
“Go with him and make sure they don’t destroy the club.” Tiny pointed at Lash to get him out of the house.
While the rest of his men cleared away the body, Tiny sat in the sitting room, staring straight ahead of him. The hours passed, and silence soon descended in the house.
The front door opened, and Eva appeared in front of him. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt.
“What that fuck happened?” Eva asked. “Devil came and got his club and Lexie. Apparently you’ve kicked him out of the town and told him to take his whores with him.”
She knelt in front of him.
“He’s gone home to take care of his own shit. I don’t need him here, and he can go and fuck himself.”
“You’re not thinking clearly, Tiny. We need Devil and the crew. You’ve got to mend fences.”
“No, I don’t. I’m sick and tired of dealing with his shit. I took out the bastard who hurt us, and I almost got Tate killed. Devil went to pick a fight, and we’ve been attacked at every turn. Gonzalez was not my enemy until Devil brought them to our town. He stayed to deal with this shit until Gonzalez was in the ground. Devil’s decided to leave, and now I’m fucking done.”
He ran a hand down his face, feeling incredibly tired.
“You think picking a fight with Devil is going to solve your problems? You called their old ladies whores, Tiny. That’s wrong and fucking mean.”
“I’m not picking a fight with him. I’m cutting him off.”
“What?”
“Our problems began when we started to make deals with the Chaos Bleeds crew. In the future, we’re not going to be making deals with anyone else. We’re not part of the same club. We’re different.”
“That’s it? You’re cutting him off?”
“Yeah and in doing so we’re going to be stronger than ever before,” Tiny said.
“You’re wrong, Tiny. This is going to tear us apart.”
He reached out and stroked her cheek. The bruise annoyed him. She shouldn’t have been in any danger, and yet because of him, she’d gotten hurt. All of the women in his club had gotten hurt or killed. He wasn’t going to let that happen again.
“Devil and I, it’s over, Eva. Are you with me, or are you against me?” he asked, gripping her chin.
Tears were in her eyes as he delivered the ultimatum.
“You can’t be thinking straight,” she said.
“Make your decision or you can follow Devil back to Piston County, Eva. I mean it. I’m fucking done with him.” He regretted the words the moment he spoke them.
She took his hands within her own. “I love you, Tiny and I trust you. I’m not going anywhere.”
Eva placed her head in his lap. Closing his eyes, Tiny hoped he made the right choice. For his sake and for that of the club, he hoped he was right.