Chapter Two
Running a hand over his face, Tiny stared around the warehouse room. The Chaos Bleeds crew was back at the clubhouse taking care of their women while The Skulls took a vote. They all wanted Butch back, but he had to go through the test they all had to prove themselves, a fight between Butch and all of The Skulls. He watched as Zero went for Butch, raising his fists as he tried to get a hit against the face or lower. Sitting on the chair, Tiny watched his men all waiting to take their turns. This was one of the elements of voting in the men. There was no point in having men who couldn’t protect you in a fight. If you couldn’t protect the club there was no point you being inside.
This was how Nash had gotten back into the club after his spiral into drink and drugs and also the same way some of the prospects had been voted in. Other members got in by proving their skill in a certain area.
“Are you okay?” Murphy asked, taking a seat beside him.
Lash was standing at the edge of the fighting with his cell phone in his hand. They’d been gone from the club an hour, and already the man was missing his woman. Lash hated being away from his woman, especially when they were in danger, which seemed to be all the time.
“I will be when we get this shit sorted out.”
“You can’t blame yourself for what happened. No one can expect Gonzalez to do what he did.” Murphy leaned on his knees looking out at the crowd. His knuckles were bloody from the hits he’d already given.
“How’s Tate and her pregnancy going?” Tiny asked. It had been a few days since he’d talked with his daughter. She was pregnant with her second child. He was going to be a granddad again. Tiny liked being a father more than he liked being a granddad. In the last few months he couldn’t help but feel old. Eva was worried about him straying when she got older. He was fucking worried she’d see past all the shit and leave him. Tiny wouldn’t dream of giving her a reason to cut and run. He was with her for the rest of his life.
“She’s doing okay. This kid is not settling well at the moment. Tate doesn’t think it has anything to do with the kid and more to do with what’s going on.” Murphy shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on. I just know that I’m taking care of my wife when I can. She’s hard-headed at times, but I’ll keep her safe.”
“I’ll talk to her. See if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Not a lot you can do. You can’t take Gonzalez away or the stress.” Murphy turned toward him. “I just want you to know that whatever you decide, I’m with you.”
“What do you mean?” Tiny asked, folding his arms over his chest.
“I mean, whatever you decide. You want to go to war and end this fucker, I’m with you.”
“What about Tate and the club?”
Murphy blew out a breath. “Not much of a club with Gonzalez in charge. I’d rather die freeing my woman and kids than die doing something stupid for a fucker I don’t respect. I respect you, Tiny. I was willing to die for you and the club. I’m not willing to die for Gonzalez or have my family bowing down to him.”
Nodding his head, Tiny shook the man’s hand. “I appreciate that.”
“Good.” Murphy stood and walked away.
“We all think the same,” Whizz said.
Jerking around, Tiny saw Whizz standing behind him. Considering the guy was tall with muscles larger than any action star, Tiny wondered how he could get around without anyone hearing.
“Fuck, Whizz, don’t walk up on people without letting them know you’re there.”
“Never got chance to do it with you. You’re distracted, boss, and that’s not good.” Unlike Murphy, Whizz didn’t even try to take a seat. “I’ve always been able to sneak up on people. You got to get your head in the game before something bad happens.”
“It doesn’t matter if I’ve got my head on the ball or not, shit happens regardless of it.”
Zero took his time out, and then Killer was on Butch. No one got a chance to take out Killer. He was hard as fuck.
“I know, boss. What Devil did was worth it. He’s not taken this shit without fighting back. I think it’s time we start fighting back,” Whizz said.
Looking back, Tiny was in time to see him walking away.
“He barely speaks anymore,” Lash said, taking a seat.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“I see the change inside him. He said hello to me and Angel, but he wouldn’t shake my hand. Angel didn’t give him a chance to push her away. She wrapped her arms around him, and Whizz had no choice but to accept the hug. Everyone has to accept Angel. She’s too fucking sweet to push away.” Lash chuckled. “Butch is holding his own.”
“So far I’ve had two men come and tell me that I should start a fight. Are you of the same mind?” Tiny asked.
“I’m not of a mind to start a war, but Gonzalez hasn’t given us a chance. We’ve got few choices. We can either start a war, or we can take what he’s dishing out. I don’t want to end up in prison. We’ve got a bunch of girls to transport, and if Devil’s telling the truth, I don’t want to take a bunch of underage girls to a place where they fuck for a living.” Lash shook his head. “It’s not fair to let that happen. We can’t let it happen, Tiny. I wouldn’t be able to look at Angel knowing what I’d done, and I love looking at my woman.”
“I know. There’s not much choice to do anything else at the moment. He’s got the upper hand.”
“No, he hasn’t. You’ve got the upper hand. There are men out there who hate Gonzalez. Get them to fight with us. We can take Gonzalez down. Put Whizz to work, and we’ve also got Michael, Kelsey’s ex. He’s working with the Feds. We can get them in on it, too. Before we know what’s happening, we’re ahead and Gonzalez is trying to catch up. Don’t start to make this guy more than he is. He’s one guy with a lot of fucking favors. Start to take those favors away from him and he’s left with nothing.”
Thinking about what Lash said, Tiny sat back in his seat. The idea of a war upset him. He was too old and too long in the tooth to look forward to a war. Growing up in Fort Wills with Snitch and the Darkness as leaders had taken any pleasure out of possibly going to war. He’d gone through years of fighting for his life and drawing Fort Wills out of the battle. The town relied on him to make everything right. Gonzalez would bring girls, drugs, guns, and other shit to his town. Fort Wills would cease to be the town he’d helped create. He thought of all the men, women, and children who lived in the town. They all counted on him. No, he couldn’t allow Gonzalez to ruin his perfectly ordered town.
“I’m not asking you to react but to think about what you’ve got to do.” Lash nodded at Butch. “You’ve got him. Use him as well. We’ve got ways of making this work for us.”
Tiny was tempted to bring Lash back in on the plan Alex had already set in motion. Instead he kept his lips sealed. The fewer people who knew the truth the better.
“I’ll think about it.”
The fight in the center of the room came to a stop as Killer landed one final blow. Butch went to the floor, coughing. He laughed and slowly got to his feet. “Is that all you’ve got?” Butch asked, wiping the blood from his face.
He was in worse shape than Nash had been.
“I think it’s time to take a vote,” Lash said. “He’s holding his own, and we don’t want him in the hospital because of internal bleeding. Butch has proven himself.”
Getting to his feet, Tiny stood beside a wary Butch. “It’s time for us to take a final vote. You got anything to say to help your cause?”
Butch nodded. “I know I fucked up. I left the club when I shouldn’t. I fucking regret it. I love Cheryl, and I swear she’s been trying to get me back to The Skulls for a long fucking time.” Butch swayed on his feet, and Tiny put a hand on the man’s shoulder to keep him on his feet. The men had got him good, making him pay for what he’d done a few months ago. “Thanks. I want to take this fucker out as your brother. I will have your back every step of the way, and I will lay my life down for all of you. The club is still inside me.”
“You going to leave again?” Zero asked.
“No, I’m not. I’m sticking around. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
“Are you done?” Tiny asked.
“Yeah, I’m done.”
“This vote has to be unanimous. I’m not in the mood to hear maybes or shit. All of those in favor of Butch becoming a Skull raise your hand.” Tiny kept his hand by his side and watched his men. He wasn’t going to influence their decision. One by one the men started to raise their hands in the air. Every decision had to be made by members of the club.
When everyone had taken their vote and he saw they were happy to bring Butch back into the fold, Tiny put his hand in the air.
“Congratulations, Butch, you’re part of the club again.” He slapped the man on the back, took the leather jacket from Alex, and handed it to Butch. “Wear it with pride.”
“I will.”
Alex nodded toward Tiny to follow him. Shaking Butch’s hand, and pulling him in for a man hug, Tiny congratulated him then took off after Alex.
Closing the door behind him, he faced his friend.
“What’s going on?”
“Butch told me he got into Gonzalez’s fold and gave his location tonight.”
Tiny started to doubt his plan. This was taking the devotion of the club too far. “Tell me it all.”
“Gonzalez doesn’t know tonight was a vote to bring Butch back in. He believes tonight is a celebration of Butch coming back. He also believes that Butch despises us. We’re in right now.”
“How does this help us?” Tiny asked. “I don’t see any use of putting Butch through this.”
“He believes Butch’s story and has accepted him as part of the team. Since Gonzalez lost Homer to Pussy, he’s been a man down. Butch is taking Homer’s place on the team, and we’ve got to feed him information. Not only that, Butch can get the names of the people who are on Gonzalez’s payroll. The moment we know those men, we start taking them out. This is a good thing.” Alex folded his arms.
Tiny caught sight of the name “Matthew” inked on Alex’s arm.
“You got your son inked on your skin?” Tiny asked.
“Yeah, I got a piece of him with me at all times. He’s my son, Tiny. I got this from you.”
Smirking, Tiny slapped his friend on the back. “There’s nothing better than having kids, is there?”
“I don’t know. I think about Matthew all the time. I worry about him. I’m just pleased Cheryl’s not being a bitch about it and lets me see him whenever I want.” Alex looked down at his ink and smiled. “I can’t complain.”
“How’s Butch taking everything?” Tiny asked.
“Better than expected really. He’s doing what he needs to do for us. What do you want me to feed him next?”
Sliding his finger over his lip Tiny wondered what he could say next.
“Nothing. Tell him nothing. We’re going to continue on as normal.”
“Tiny, we’ve got to do something. We can’t just miss this opportunity.”
“No, we don’t. Think about it from Gonzalez’s point of view. Butch starts feeding shit loads of information then we’re going to be in trouble. We’ve got the repairs of the club to fix. Life as we know it has to continue. Gonzalez is not in Fort Wills. Celebrations, marriages, and fun need to come as well as Gash’s release. All of this is going to happen. We start feeding too much information, Gonzalez will doubt everything. We can’t afford for him to doubt us. Get Butch to start picking information from Gonzalez. He’s part of the team, and we need to start picking them out.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Tiny. This is going to be dangerous for all of us.”
“Can you deny what I’m saying?” Tiny asked.
“No, I can’t.” Alex locked his fingers together behind his head. “Shit better get easier when Gonzalez is dead.”
“I hope so. I’m sick of all of this shit.” Tiny opened the door. “We better join the celebrations.”
Walking into the main gym he saw Butch taking a long drink, laughing and cheering with his brothers.
You’re going to get him killed.
Guilt swamped him, and he forced the pain aside. He was doing everything in his power to protect his woman and the club. Thinking about his woman brought the memory of the feel of her cunt wrapped around his cock. The very thought of touching another woman sickened him.
In the past he’d fucked around on Patricia. His first wife hadn’t satisfied all of his cravings whereas Eva kept him on his toes at all times. He never doubted himself with Eva whereas Patricia made him feel like a monster at times. Eva embraced every part of him. She stood by his side, and he knew he wasn’t ever going to stray from her side.
“Let’s take this back to the club,” Tiny said, heading toward the main door.
He heard Alex rounding up the men as he left the warehouse. Staring up at the night sky he wondered what he was going to do when Gash got home. The brother had been put away for rape and murder, and when he got out, Tiny knew he’d be gunning for the woman who’d succeeded in taking his freedom away from him.
Piling into the car he kept to himself as Lash drove them back to the clubhouse. By the time they got there, Tiny had a headache. The boys were all voicing their happiness at having Butch back into the fold. Smiling and cheering along with the rest of the club when he needed to he cut away from the crowd and walked upstairs, leaving the party to the others. He found his woman in bed with the light on. She wore his shirt and had a sexy pair of glasses pushed up her nose reading a book. Eva took his breath away. This was what he was fighting for.
“Hey, baby,” she said.
Tearing his clothes off, he climbed in beside her.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Butch got voted back into the club.”
“That’s great, right?” She put her book down and turned toward him. His cock thickened at the sight of her with those sexy as shit glasses.
“Yeah, it’s great. He got in with Gonzalez.”
She tensed at the news. “Are you sure?”
“I spoke with Alex. He’s waiting for more information to be fed. For now we’re going to wait on what Butch finds out.” He told her the truth about what Gonzalez expected tonight to be.
“I don’t know why you don’t tell Butch the truth. You’ve got him believing that only Alex knows about him being on Gonzalez’s team. Butch has got to feed information about us while also gaining information for us. He doesn’t even know that you know the truth, Tiny. He must be hurting inside thinking he’s ruining your trust. I know I would. Are you sure about this?”
Taking hold of her hand, he spread his fingers wide and locked their hand together. “Too many people know the same shit and we can get caught. I don’t need Butch thinking about me on the job or anyone else. The only person who needs to know the truth is Alex. We’ve got to do this. I’ve thought about this long and hard.”
“You probably shouldn’t have told me.”
“I trust you, Eva. You’re my woman, and I won’t keep anything from you, but you can’t tell Butch. Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
She tucked some hair behind her ear. The pillow behind them propped them up. “I trust you. I’m just scared of something bad happening. I’d hate for anything to happen to any of you. What are you going to tell Gash when he gets out?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to see how he is when I see him. Prison changes men. He didn’t deserve to be put away. I’m not going to draw him out if I don’t have to.”
“I really hope you know what you’re doing, Tiny. I’d hate for something to happen to you because you didn’t think all this through. If something happens to Butch or anyone else, you’re going to blame yourself, and that I can’t handle.” She leaned down to kiss his hands.
“Nothing is going to happen.” He wrapped his fingers in her hair, loving the silky feel of the strands. Tugging her head up, he took her lips, sliding his tongue inside her mouth. She moaned, opening her lips seconds later and giving him what he wanted.
“Fuck, baby, I love you.”
“Then don’t forget what you’re working toward. Gonzalez is dangerous. I need you to consider that when you’re dealing with him.”
“I will, baby. Now, shut up and give me those lips.”
She chuckled, going up his body and giving him everything he wanted. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her over his body to straddle his waist. Fuck, she was so perfect. He couldn’t believe she ever doubted his feelings.
If anything, Tiny was more afraid of her leaving him. Ned could give her and the twins everything, taking her away from him. Tiny didn’t really have a true hold on Eva, and that scared him more than anything.
****
Tucking his head away in his hoodie, Butch kept his head down trying not to be noticed. The last thing he needed was for anyone to notice him. Shit was going down, and he was stuck in the middle. He should tell Alex, but he couldn’t. Something held him back—the past or what, he didn’t know. He only knew that every chance he tried to tell Alex what was happening, he froze. Having both crews in one place was harder than he ever imagined. Not only having Devil and the others at the clubhouse but knowing Danny and the Savage Brothers were around somewhere put him on edge. Gonzalez was not in Fort Wills and was back in Piston County where he was continuing his campaign of crime. He was organizing another shipment of girls, but this had nothing to do with Devil or Tiny. The girls were to be put to Vegas to work on the strip. Gonzalez made sure he was on the call while he was organizing it. He was part of the crew even though he wasn’t in Piston County. At first, Gonzalez wanted him to go to Piston County, but Butch had to convince him that if he left Fort Wills, the club would know something was up. Gonzalez didn’t argue with him.
This visit in the night had nothing to do with Gonzalez or his business. This was about the secret that even Alex didn’t know about.
Knocking on the door Butch waited to be let inside. Danny opened the door, squinting into the dark.
“Come on in.”
Without saying a word, he went over the threshold, removing his hood.
“What’s with the jacket?” Danny asked, inhaling on his cigarette.
“I can’t have anyone noticing me. If someone starts to ask questions, I can’t explain shit.” He glanced around him seeing the rundown place the Savage Brothers were staying.
“I guess it’s time for you to come on through,” Danny said.
Following the other man Butch entered a large room. The scent of booze and smoke filled the air. He saw three people sitting around drinking and talking. When they looked toward him they stopped talking to glare.
Danny motioned around the room at the three men and reeled off their names, Ben, Rick, and John.
“Come on, Dalton and Lacey want to say hi.”
Moving toward the kitchen Butch saw a large man drying a dish and a small rounded woman standing at the counter washing them. “Guys, this is Butch,” Danny said, introducing them. “I don’t need to tell you which one is Dalton and which one is Lacey.”
Nodding, Butch looked at both of them. He didn’t remember either of them. Danny was different; he remembered Danny as his friend.
“How are you doing?” Butch asked.
“We’ll be better when we get to kill the bastard for hurting us,” Dalton said. Lacey just went pale and turned back to the dishes. She rarely spoke to him. Butch knew she’d been hurt hard by Gonzalez’s father over twenty years ago. He couldn’t blame her for not talking when it came to him.
“Gonzalez didn’t kill our men. It was his father,” Butch said.
He noticed Lacey was shaking as he spoke.
“I don’t give a fuck. It’s still a Gonzalez, and from what I hear, the son’s worse than the fucking father. We’re doing the world a fucking favor.” Dalton reached out to touch Lacey’s shoulder. “It’s okay, baby. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
“Why did you bring him here?” she asked. Her voice was small, delicate.
“I thought you wanted to see him.” Danny spoke up.
She shook her head. “I don’t need to see anyone. I don’t want to talk to him.” She pulled away. “I can’t do this. I’ve got to go.”
He watched her leave. Seconds later a door slammed upstairs.
“I’m sorry. I thought you said some of you wanted to see me,” Butch said, hating the reaction he was getting. There was a time when he was much a part of the Savage brothers as any of these people. Gonzalez had taken it all away years ago. He wasn’t a Savage Brother anymore. He was a Skull and would always be a Skull. Knowing he was betraying the club by being here without them knowing filled Butch with regret.
“They did want to see you. I guess they changed their minds.” Danny tugged him out of the room, but Dalton stopped them.
“Lacey, she had it bad when they all hit. They raped her and left her for dead. She was young and had to deal with it.”
“They raped and killed my sister. I saw what they did to my sister, mother, and father. I don’t know what she’s dealing with. I was shot in the gut and almost died. I didn’t get out of shit just because of my father,” he said. Butch didn’t know why he was explaining himself, only that he needed for them to know he didn’t get out of anything. Gonzalez had ruined his life as much as everyone else’s. The only difference was the fact he got sent far away from the rest of the survivors. He didn’t know why, but he had. Growing up away from them, he’d found his way to The Skulls.
“Sorry to hear that,” Dalton said. “She’ll come around. Lacey, she doesn’t always like what needs to happen to fix shit. We’re going to get our revenge if she likes it or not.”
“Have you got anything to tell us?” Danny asked, changing the subject.
He hated this. Giving them information behind The Skulls’ back was an act of betrayal. Chaos Bleeds and his own crew wanted to take Gonzalez out. “Are you sure you don’t want to come to The Skulls? They’ll work with you. We all want this fucker dead. You wouldn’t be alone in all of this.”
“No, this is between the Savage Brothers and Gonzalez. You can help us or get out of the way. We don’t really care. We’re going to kill Gonzalez either way.”
Butch dropped his hands. “Fine. Gonzalez is currently in Piston County organizing girls to transport. I don’t know the date or when. He’s not leaving any time soon.”
“Will he turn up for your wedding?” Danny asked.
Tensing, Butch looked at the two men facing him. They were hurting inside. He saw it easily, and he recognized the pain. They hadn’t recovered from what happened all those years ago. They weren’t going to let it go no matter what.
“I don’t know.”
Were they going to cause problems for them? Butch didn’t know. He didn’t know anything right now about these men.
“Let us know when Gonzalez is in town. We want to take him out, and you owe us. Your father would agree that it’s down to us to take out the bastard,” Danny said.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. The Skulls are a fantastic club, and Tiny’s a brilliant president—”
Butch was cut off by Dalton’s laugh.
“You’re insane if you think we’re going to trust another club. The only thing we want from you is Gonzalez. You give us him, and we’re all even.” Dalton turned to the other man. “I’m going to go and check on Lacey. Get this fucker out of here.”
When it was only him and Danny, Butch let out a breath. “I guess they blame me for something.”
“No, they don’t. We’re used to not relying on anyone but ourselves.” Danny led the way down the long corridor toward the front door. Putting his hood up, Butch exited the door. “Let us know when Gonzalez comes back to Fort Wills. We want our shot at him.”
Butch nodded his head. The door closed in his face.
Staring up and down the street Butch checked to make sure no one followed him and walked back toward the clubhouse.
You’re going to get yourself killed.
Right at that moment the only people he cared about were Cheryl and Matthew. Providing they were taken care of, and he had Alex’s assurance that they would be, he really didn’t care about what happened to him.
He threw the hooded jacket in the trash before entering the front of the compound. Passing Lash and Nash, he accepted their congratulations on joining the fold.
“Where you goin’?” Lash asked, slurring his words. “It’s a party, and we saw you slip outside.”
“I’ve got my woman to get to.” The men had been partying with the Chaos Bleeds crew. Butch hadn’t been the center of attention the moment the guys started betting on who could shoot better at pool. Once they all went inside to play with each other, knowing he was crap at pool, he saw an opening to slip out of the party to visit the Savage Brothers. After seeing them, he didn’t feel he could be part of any celebrations. He was betraying them, and it was killing him inside.
Taking the digs the men threw his way, Butch laughed it off, charging into the clubhouse. He didn’t see Cheryl waiting around for him. Passing the men and women, Butch made his way toward the staircase.
He didn’t stop until he got to his door. Without knocking, he opened it and found Cheryl sitting up in bed munching on some chips, watching the television.
“Hey, baby,” she said, smiling.
Without another word, he climbed to the bed, took hold of her face and slammed his lips down on hers. She tasted of salt and vinegar from the chips she was eating. He didn’t care. Sliding his tongue along her lips then inside her mouth, he consumed her, trying to get rid of the erratic thoughts he was having.
“What’s going on?” she asked when he pulled away.
“I need to talk to you.”
“You’re sweating. Where have you been?” She placed a hand on his head, frowning as she stepped out of the blanket. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve fucked up and done something terrible.”
“What could you have done?”
Licking his suddenly dry lips he stared into her eyes and told her the truth. He told her about his chance meeting with Danny from the Savage Brothers along with the plan Alex had. “Alex wants me to pretend to hate the club, Cheryl. All Gonzalez needs to believe is that I’ve been blackmailed into coming back. He doesn’t know that I wanted to come back. We’re using his assumptions against him. I’m going to get information from Gonzalez so that we can take out others around him, reducing the threat to The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds.”
“Butch, is this why you’ve been quiet?”
“That’s not all, baby.” He stroked her cheek, wishing he wasn’t about to tell her the truth of the Savage Brothers. “My old club is back, Cheryl. There were survivors, young survivors. They’re back and want revenge on Gonzalez. They want me to feed them information.”
“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t—I don’t know what to do.”
“You’ve got to tell Alex the truth.”
“If I do that after this time I don’t know what Alex and the club are going to think. Fuck, they need me, Cheryl.” He ran fingers through his hair, trying to think of a way out of the mess he created.
“They’re not your club, Butch. It’s not your problem.”
“I’ve got no choice.”
“This is going to put you in danger?”
“Yes.”
“You can’t do this. You need to tell Tiny. I can’t lose you, Butch. I love you so damn much.”
Taking hold of her hand, he shook his head. “Shut up for a moment.” He kissed her lips to try to soothe any hurt his words might have caused.
“This is bad, Butch. Really bad. You can’t do this to Tiny or The Skulls. They’re your family.”
“The Savage Brothers were once my family. I was born to them.”
“And as far as you were aware, they all died. Your loyalty is to Tiny and the club, not them. They’re going to get you killed,” she said.
“They wouldn’t do that.”
Cheryl chuckled. The sound was verging on the hysterical side. “Are you crazy? Can you even hear yourself?”
“Babe, I know what you’re thinking, but they’re not like that. I promise. They deserve to get their revenge as much as Devil and Tiny.”
She pulled away from him. “They don’t know you, Butch, and truthfully, you don’t really know them. It has been over twenty years. Time has gone by, and it changes everyone. Look at it from their point of view. You’re not a Savage Brother anymore. You were taken from that life and have been living with The Skulls. You’re nothing but collateral damage to them. They’re using you.”
He frowned. Butch knew she had a point.
Wouldn’t he use anyone at his disposal to help The Skulls?
“You’ve got to stop thinking like a loyal subject ready to take your life at a moment’s notice. You’re better than that. Talk to Tiny and Alex. Let them know what’s going on.”
Taking hold of her hands, he smiled. “I will.”
Cheryl let out a sigh. “You won’t. I can hear it in your voice.” She pulled away from him, withdrawing her hands and leaving the bed.
Matthew had his own room next to theirs. Alex was also on this floor. Cheryl went to the window looking outside. It was dark, and he watched her wrap her arms around her stomach.
“I can’t tell the other two, Cheryl.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve been accepted back into the club. The fact I even had a meeting and left it this long to tell them will show my loyalty is divided. I can’t just go and tell them the truth.”
“So you’re going to lie about it. Pretend something’s not happening?” She turned to look at him.
“So long as I’ve got The Skulls’ best interests at heart, they don’t need to know.”
“They’re your family. What you’re doing is wrong, and it’s going to get everyone killed.”
Standing up, he walked toward her. She placed her hands on the back of her neck, blowing out a breath. He saw the tears in her eyes as she tried to stay strong.
“I can’t risk anything happening to you,” she said. “I love you.”
Reaching out, he cupped her cheek. He caressed the delicate flesh, moving down to cup her neck. She dropped her hands to her sides, smiling. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can do this. You’re stronger than you realize.” He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes as he did.
Don’t make her do this. Don’t make her lie on your behalf.
“I’ll tell you the truth of whatever is happening or going down. I won’t leave you in the dark.”
“You’re going to carry on doing this?” she asked.
The tears shining in her eyes had started to fall. Watching the water streak across her cheeks cut him to the core. He hated the fact he was the cause of her tears.
“All three of the clubs have one goal in mind, kill Gonzalez. The Savage Brothers want him dead as much as we do.” He wiped the tears off her cheeks. “They’re going to help us even if they don’t know it. Gonzalez is strong, but he makes mistakes. He’s getting greedy, and we’re all going to get out of this alive. The men who are working for him are going to start to disappear. We’re going to win this.”
She laughed. “You’re crazy, Butch.”
“Will you stay by my side while I make this right?” he asked.
Cheryl gazed at his chest. “I don’t know what to do.”
“It’s simple, trust me, Cheryl. I won’t put you or Matthew in danger. We’re in this for the long haul, but I need your word that you won’t do anything stupid.”
He kept her eyes on him.
“I won’t do anything or say anything. I promise. You can trust me to keep my nose out of it.”
Wrapping his arms around her, Butch pulled her close. He hoped to God that he could keep her safe.