Chapter Twelve
Gunner ran a hand down his face as he stared at Goldman. It was rather cliché, but he had the man and his security team tied to chairs in one of his abandoned warehouses. He had intended to use the warehouse for something more than torturing people, but right now, he didn’t see any other use.
“Bennie woke up this morning,” Gunner said. “You see I’m a patient man. I figured that I’d wait, and I’d see who hurt my son. Who hit him over the head with a metal pole so fucking badly that they had to drain fluid because of the swelling. Who kicked him while he was down and broke his back.”
“Gunner, I—”
“He’s eighteen years old. My son.” He stopped talking and looked at Goldman. “You told me you handled it.”
“I did.”
“Your son acted with his friends.”
“I swear to you, Gunner. I’m many things, I grant you. I’m not a fucking saint, but I do have my word, and I don’t go back on it. That I fucking swear.”
He turned to look at John. His friend stood with his arms folded, looking entirely bored with the situation. His club had wanted him to take John with him. They had seen a side to him when he took out those four traitors, and for the past week, he’d been by his side while he got the proof of what Finn Goldman and his friends had done. He’d also been hunting for Kent. His contacts let him know that the cartels were now hunting him as well.
Kent had made these deals without giving the cartels all the facts. Gunner had already done his meeting with the cartels being sure that his contact, Carlos, had been there. He’d made them aware of the situation within the club.
They had apologized, and then asked if he wanted to extend the friendship. He told them straight the club wasn’t looking to expand like that. They had what they wanted and would continue with the runs that were needed, but none of them wanted any jail time, and working with the cartels, that was exactly what would happen.
They would be the ones that were thrown to the fucking wolves.
He was there for his club, no one else. He made sure they were the ones that got the good deals. The club was his life.
“What do you think?”
“Probably telling the truth. Doesn’t bode well though, does it?”
“What?”
“He can’t even keep his fucking teenage son in line. What good is he to us?” John was fast earning his patch. In the past week, he’d seen the cold-blooded killer come out to play, the man who’d served alongside him in the military, and it was a sight to behold.
“We want Finn,” Gunner said.
“He’s a boy.”
“He’s a boy that decided to go against advice and nearly killed my boy. I’m not joking around anymore, Goldman. I want your son, and you’re going to get him for me.”
He pulled out Goldman’s cell phone and placed it against his ear. He’d already clicked “call” for Finn’s number.
Gunner told him the location where he needed to be, and Goldman spoke to Finn. While the call was being made, John held the gun to his head, to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid.
When that was done, he ended the call.
Dropping the cell phone onto the table, Gunner stepped away from the men and sat down, watching him. His men already had the orders to collect Finn and to bring him to the warehouse.
“How is your boy?” Goldman asked.
Staring at the man before him, Gunner saw that underneath all the wealth and asshole, there was a kind man there. He should have known it. The man had a mistress who he kept away from most of the town so that she didn’t get hurt.
“He’s … surviving. You know how it is.”
Goldman nodded. “Finn’s a spoiled fucking asshole.”
“You clean up all of his messes?”
“I clean up as much as I can.” Goldman sighed. “I figured parenting would be easy, you know? I remember what I wanted from my parents growing up, so I gave it to Finn.”
“What was that?” John asked.
“Everything. That was all I wanted. I wanted everything that I could get my hands on. He’s not had to work for anything.” Goldman shook his head.
“You know, most men would be pissing themselves,” John said, smirking. “I’m impressed that you’re talking.”
“Believe it or not, I’m actually quite comfortable. Hearing what happened with Bennie, I knew you were coming.”
It had been easy to take him. Gunner’s need for blood was still so fucking strong. Running a hand down his face, he waited. His thoughts returned to Scarlett. This morning she had woken up between the two of them, only she’d gone from smiling to looking really green as she rushed to the toilet. He’d held her hair back as John had been smiling like a fucking asshole.
She’d thrown everything up, and he’d made her go back to bed, hoping she was just sick.
Before he entered this warehouse though, his prayers hadn’t been answered as she sent them both a text saying she felt a million times better and was going to work. Billy was escorting her today.
If she was pregnant, that meant John’s plan worked, but it also meant that … they had lied and manipulated her, and that didn’t sit well with him, not right now.
Glancing at his watch, he was starting to grow bored. He stood up as the door to the warehouse opened.
“Get your fucking filthy hands off me, you piece of shit,” Finn said, fighting against the hold that was on him.
Gunner stared at the little punk, and he wasn’t impressed by what he saw. In fact, he only saw rage as he looked at him.
Finn looked around the warehouse, and the cocky look disappeared. This bastard had hurt his son. This piece of shit had taken his little boy, and now he had to wait to see if he could walk. The doctors didn’t want to rush him as with head wounds, they were quite dangerous, and they wanted him to rest a couple of days before they start testing him.
“You’ve got a choice, Goldman,” Gunner said.
He didn’t see a boy when he looked at Finn. He saw an asshole and the enemy.
“What?”
“You or your kid,” Gunner said, not breaking eye contact with Finn.
“What? Fuck, your boy had it coming,” Finn said. “He messed up my face.”
Gunner stepped right up to the kid. “I’m right here. Let’s see what a wiseass you are when you face with someone watching you.”
Finn stared at him, but Gunner saw the vulnerability there in his eyes.
“You’re not so tough right now without your little clique hanging around.”
“Whatever. I can take on an old man.”
“Get rid of him,” Goldman said. “He’s … toxic. My wife is afraid of him, and my staff is too. He’s got to go. There’s nothing good about him. I don’t want nor do I need him.”
“Dad, what the fuck?”
“I warned you, Finn. You were determined to do your own thing, and now you’re going to see that there are consequences. There always are some people you can’t throw money at. You’ve got to give them something more, and I’m not dying for you.” Goldman looked at him. “You’ll make it look like an accident?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Then I say this concludes our business.”
Gunner’s men grabbed Finn and pushed him down into a chair, keeping him there. Moving toward Goldman’s side, he released the restraints and stepped back. He then released the security guards’ restraints and Goldman held his hand up. “No. You don’t help him. I heard what happened to your boy, and to know it was my son was a shame to me. He shamed my family by going back on our word.” Goldman held out his hand. “I’m sorry.”
Shaking his hand, Gunner nodded at him, and they walked away.
Either way, if it got out what Finn did, this would backfire on Goldman as well, especially if he’d been the one protecting him.
Stepping up to John, he stared at his friend. “You can leave.”
“I don’t need to leave,” John said. “This asshole hurt you. He hurt your son, and Bennie’s going to be in that hospital for a long time. The cruelty he shows, and lack of remorse, I don’t care that he’s eighteen years old, Gunner. Eye for an eye. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
Gunner wasn’t a cruel man. He grabbed his gun and stood in front of Finn. “You’re all fucking cowards. The lot of you. None of you can even begin to imagine the shit that I’ve done.”
He was tired of listening to the same old crap. Raising his gun, he pointed and shot Finn between the eyes. Just another body in the endless pile that was gathering.
****
“I don’t want to sleep right now,” Bennie said. “I just want to go home.”
Scarlett pulled back the curtain and let in some light. The doctors had told her that Bennie had been in a bad mood lately, and she didn’t blame him. Being locked in a shitty room all day with only the sounds of the machines for company would drive her crazy.
“I’m not asking you to go to sleep.” She went to the bag that she’d brought with her. “I want some company.” She placed the books she’d gotten from his room on the table. “I imagine it’s boring as hell here.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve never been good with hospitals.”
Bennie chuckled. “Say that to the kid that can’t move.”
She stared at him. “We’re going to make you better.”
“I’ve heard what’s been said. I’ve got a broken back.”
“With bed rest, you’ll be good as new.”
“There’s a risk I may never recover. My legs could be useless.” Bennie shook his head. “I was heading to class.”
She moved up to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a strong boy, and you know what? If you can’t walk then I’ll be here to help you no matter what. We’re friends, right? You can help me cook in the kitchen.” She took his arms. “There are a lot of people in this world who are in the same situation as you, and they don’t let it beat them. Don’t let it beat you.”
Bennie nodded.
“You know what, you need to take a trip out.”
“I’m bed-bound, remember.”
“So? I’ve seen nurses rolling these beds around, and I think it would do you good to get out, to see something else besides this dreadful room.” She made her way toward the nurse and talked to her about it. Even though they did advise against it, seeing as Scarlett was willing to stay with him, they allowed it because he was on bed rest, and patients who couldn’t get outside, they did allow them to take some time.
They removed several of the wires he was hooked up to, and with the help of the nurse, they made their way downstairs to the seating area. It was cold out, but with all of his blankets, he was warm. She put on a jacket, hat, gloves, and scarf in an attempt to ward off the cold.
Once outside, the nurse’s pager went off, and she told them they’d be fine.
“See, the good outdoors,” she said, rubbing her hands together and glancing down at Bennie. There were tears in his eyes, but he pushed them back.
“What’s Carlos doing?”
“He’s at the club. We’re not allowing him to go to school just yet. Gunner wanted to deal with the people who did this.”
Bennie nodded. “You know what he means by that, don’t you?”
“I’m a girl, Bennie, not stupid.”
“It doesn’t bother you?”
She looked at him, wishing she could see his laughter or his smile. She got nothing. He looked so incredibly sad. “It does, but then I look at you, and you must have been terrified.”
Bennie shrugged. “I didn’t feel it. They got me from behind. Bashed my head in, and I came to in the hospital. I got lucky.”
“That’s not lucky. You shouldn’t have gone through that.” She took his hand and held him tightly.
“You’re a good person, Scarlett.”
She smiled.
“My mom, she’s never cared about us. She only ever cared about what we could get for her. You know with Dad having to pay her money and stuff. She’s not even come to visit me.” She held his hand just a little tighter. “That’s okay. She didn’t want us anyway. All the time that we were with us, she’d tell us repeatedly how much she hated us, how we ruined her life. Like it was our fault that she kept sleeping with other men.”
“Bennie, it’s not your fault.”
“I know it’s not. Is it wrong that I wished you were my mom?”
Tears filled her eyes, and she smiled at him. “That has to be one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me.”
He chuckled. “Well, it’s the truth. Thank you so much for sitting with me today. I appreciate it.”
“Anytime.”
They sat out there for another ten minutes, but she cut their trip short as she didn’t want him getting ill. She wanted him to see the world once again, and not some room.
Once they were back in his room, he fell asleep and Scarlett got to working. She put some pictures up in his room. Some had been taken recently of all of them together, and others that were much older.
“He asleep?” Gunner asked, coming into the room.
“Yeah, I got the nurse to let me take him out. I hope that’s okay. He was really down, and I didn’t want it to affect him. He needs to have all of his strength for the challenges ahead of him, you know?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Gunner walked up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her head. “Thank you for all of this.”
“Anytime. He’s going to be here for a while, and I didn’t want him to feel lonely, or forget that he’s missed.”
“There’s going to be a guard on his door at all times,” Gunner said.
“No word on Kent?” she asked.
She didn’t know the complete details of what happened, but John had told her if she saw Kent, to get away from him as quickly as possible and call him or Gunner.
“Nope, nothing. He’s gone to ground. It won’t take long. My life has a time limit.”
She held onto the bear that she found in Bennie’s room. Wringing the bear, she quickly placed it on the bed next to him.
“I won that for him at the first fair that he went to. He was three years old. He was a big boy, even then,” Gunner said, reaching for it.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she said.
Looking up at her, he frowned. “I won’t let anything happen.”
“You said your life had a time limit?”
“The deal Kent made, he may not know it doesn’t exist anymore, and it put a limit on life.” He shrugged. “One way or another, I’ll get what I want. How would you feel if John became my VP?”
“That’s between you and John. I’d still be here.” She sat down in the spare chair, looking at Bennie and then at Gunner. They were similar in looks, and you could certainly see the resemblance to the father in the son. “What does John think of it?”
“I’ve not asked him. There’s an opening, and there’s no one else that I’d trust other than him.”
She smiled. “That’s because he’s awesome.”
They both chuckled.
“You’re feeling better?”
Scarlett nodded. “Yeah, it was really weird. I don’t know what came over me this morning. One moment I was sick, and I rested, had some juice, and the next I felt fine. Really weird.” She shrugged. “Probably one of those quick illnesses, I don’t know. Where is John?”
“He had to go to the office to take care of some business. Don’t worry, I’ve got one of my boys there with him.”
“We both know that he can take care of himself, and he doesn’t need a caretaker.”
Bennie moaned, and his head shifted. She watched him open his eyes and stare at his dad.
“You’re here,” he said.
“I’m here, son.” Gunner stood and moved toward his bed. She sat back and watched, staying silent. “You’re never going to get hurt again, son.”
“What?”
“I took care of it. You, Carlos, you’ll all be safe. I’ll be dealing with the others as well. The ones that were with him.”
“Dad,” Bennie said. “I could have taken care of it.”
Gunner looked at him. “If you think for a second I’d let you take care of anyone in your condition you’ve got another think coming. I should have dealt with this the last time. I didn’t. This shit is on me. Now, I want you to relax, I want you to get better, to get strong, and then we’re going to get you to walk again, and you’re going to be fine, you hear me?”
Bennie nodded.
She watched as Gunner pressed his head to Bennie’s. “I love you, son, never ever doubt that.”
Tears filled her eyes. She’d felt that love herself, and if she had any doubts about Gunner’s feelings for her, they left her at what she’d just witnessed.
****
Later that night John stood in Gunner’s bedroom. He’d dealt with the cleanup of Finn’s body, and then gone into work to handle some of his clients and make sure he didn’t get behind there. He loved being an accountant. There was something satisfying and constant in his work, and he didn’t want to lose anyone.
He didn’t need the money and already had a great deal put away in savings, but he liked to work.
“You want me to do what?” John asked.
“The VP patch,” Gunner said, holding it up. “It’s yours. The club wants you in, John. You don’t have to prospect either. You can come straight in as VP. You’ve proven yourself tenfold. They trust you, respect you, and know you’ll do right by the club. There’s no one else I want, John. I kept Kent close because I thought it would be the right thing, and look how that turned out. There’s no one else, just you.”
“You keep on saying that.” He took the VP patch from Gunner and stared at it. He ran his thumb across the print and sighed. “I don’t know.”
“You can do this. If you lose clients, so fucking what. You’ll have a piece of the club pie. I swear Scarlett will be set for life, and she’d have the protection of the club.”
“It’s not about the money.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t deal with the runs, and the shit I don’t want, Gunner. I know you’ve got your fingers in a lot of shit, but that’s not mine.” John placed the badge on the bed and shook his head. “The only reason I never joined this club was because I didn’t want to have prolonged time away from my girl. I can’t do this. I can’t do what you’re going to want me to do.”
“That’s it? The drugs and guns, that’s your limit.”
“I will do everything to protect my family, Gunner, and you’re part of that. I don’t need a patch to help me make a decision. I’ve got nothing against you or the club, but I’m not going to be your VP.”
Gunner sighed. “You know, I didn’t think you’d take this patch but I thought it would be worth a try.”
“I’m not going to tell you how to run your club, Gunner. You’ve been doing a good job of it.”
Gunner snorted. “Yeah, that good of a job that I’ve got a price on my head and a traitor out there.”
“We’ll find Kent.” John had no doubt that they would. They had men everywhere looking for him, and not just club men either.
He watched as Gunner sat down on the edge of the bed, and for the first time in their life, he actually looked tired.
“Scarlett threw up today,” Gunner said.
“I know.”
“No, she threw up and then was better.”
John was aware of what had happened today, but like a lot of stuff, he’d not had time to process everything, so he’d not given it a lot of thought.
“I went to the pharmacy at the hospital,” Gunner said. “I have a pregnancy test for her to try.”
“Gunner—”
“She has to know. We can’t hide it from her anymore.”
John paced the length of the room. This was one of the reasons why he hadn’t given it much thought and had refused to think about it.
Scarlett being pregnant gave them all a time limit.
He had to tell her the truth.
“She may not be upset with us,” Gunner said. “She’s been having sex without a condom and not said anything. Maybe she hoped that I’d get her pregnant.”
The sound of a laugh drew John’s attention, and there his wife stood. Tears were in her eyes, and she glared at them both.
“What?” she asked. Her gaze kept going from him to Gunner, then back to him. “I’m sure I just misheard that. What the hell are you two talking about?”
John made to step toward her, but she stepped back, holding up her hand.
“I don’t want you to touch me right now. I don’t want anyone to touch me.” Her hand stayed in the air.
“How much did you hear?” Gunner asked.
“You have a pregnancy test for me and that you have to tell me something. Tell me what exactly?”
John stared at her, feeling his heart breaking. He couldn’t stand to see her cry, and yet those tears were real, and he was the one to put them there. “Baby, I can’t get you pregnant.”
“I know that. I was with you when we got the results. You didn’t want to talk about adoption or IVF. You just wanted to pretend that nothing happened.”
“I didn’t. I didn’t want you to go through that.”
“Why?”
“Time. I didn’t want you to have to wait and risk us being rejected, and then with IVF, the procedure can be painful for some women.”
The first of her tears started to drop as she looked at him.
“So, what did you decide?” she asked.
“Gunner has two sons. He’s fertile, and I knew the way he looked at you. He loved you. He probably didn’t realize that he loved you, but I knew he wanted you, and I wanted you to have his baby, and so I asked him. I asked him to put a baby inside you.”
She didn’t wipe her tears away as she looked at him. “So you just took that decision completely out of my hands. You didn’t think to consult me on how I feel or felt.”
“Come on, Scarlett. He was inside you and coming inside you. You must have known what was happening. You’re not stupid.”
“No, I’m not stupid, but I thought he had a vasectomy, John. I thought he couldn’t have kids. I thought this entire thing was you guys wanted to be together because you’ve been denying yourself for years. I had no idea that he could still have children. Carlos is sixteen, and I remembered you guys talking about it and that he had an appointment. He went out of town.”
“I went out of town, but I didn’t go for the procedure. I didn’t want to. I simply divorced Cherry, and never slept with her. I’ve bagged my dick up every single time since,” Gunner said.
She pressed her hand to her stomach.
“There’s a chance you’re pregnant, Scarlett, with my baby,” Gunner said. “Your sickness this morning and your speedy recovery. I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to know.”
She sniffled.
“Where’s your test?”
John made to step toward her, but she shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to touch me.”
“You wanted a baby, Scarlett.”
“Yeah, I did, and I wanted it to be a choice we made. You went behind my back. You manipulated everything to suit your own needs. That’s not what our marriage is supposed to be about, John. Wow, and I felt so guilty for bringing you two together when you both loved each other.”
Her lip quivered, and he felt like the world’s biggest asshole.
Gunner stepped forward, holding out the box. “There’s two inside. In case you need to take the two.”
She took the box without touching either of them. John watched as she stepped toward the bathroom and wouldn’t let either of them near her.
Gunner looked fucking sick, and John didn’t feel much better right now. His heart was breaking, but he knew this would happen.
The time kept on ticking, and he and Gunner just stood outside the bathroom, waiting.
Yes, he thought she’d be upset, but he’d intended to tell her face to face, neither of them hiding.
He ran a hand through his hair, his mouth dry.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she opened the door. Her face was pale.
“Both of them say I’m pregnant.” She wiped away her tears. “I want to go home.”
“Scarlett,” he said, hoping to get her to see reason.
“No, I want to go home, and right now I don’t want to look at you.” She glared at him. “We’re married, John. We came together and promised to love each other, and to be honest about everything. This … it wasn’t … it hurts right now, and I need to go because I don’t want to say something that I’d regret.”
“You’re going to have to take someone from the club,” Gunner said.
“That’s fine.”
John watched as Gunner followed Scarlett out of his home. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach. He’d never felt anything as fucking painful as right now knowing his wife couldn’t stand to be near him. He loved her more than anything in this world, and he’d hurt her as well.
Minutes passed before his friend returned.
“Billy and Ford are staying with her,” Gunner said. “I’ve told them to protect her with their lives if they have to.”
“I fucked up big time,” John said, looking up. “She’s one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I screwed it up.”
“Then we win her back. That’s my baby she’s going to have, John. I don’t want to miss a moment of that time with her. I’ll help you win her back.”
John had to have hope. The thought of not being with her killed a part of him inside.