Bed of Roses (17 page)

It took Tonto every ounce of willpower he had to keep his cool when Rose walked in the room. Her face was battered, her body hunched over and the look of terror haunted her eyes. When Twelve Gage had called, he hadn’t expected this. If she were truly only in the Diablos turf to get her rebellious sisters or not, he was pissed at how badly she was roughed up. It was an obvious message to the club and less about her either way. There would be more scalps to fall for this. Those muther fuckers were only adding torture before their deaths.

It wasn’t until she was in a small office and the door shut and locked behind her before they spoke.

“You have one chance to come clean. After that, I’ll hand you over to Raven. She may be your friend, but don’t think for a second she won’t kill you dead where you stand. She is the head ol’ lady for a reason. That bitch is more ruthless than most of our guys combined,” Sandman growled, sending goose bumps over her skin—and not the good kind. She looked between him and Tonto, anger building inside of her. For two men who now had their mark and fucking initials permanently tattooed on her tit, they were quick to pass judgment and think she had something to do with all of this, whatever it was. Instead of filling her in on details or explaining their reasons for thinking she had somehow betrayed the club, they demanded an explanation that she couldn’t give. What was she to say? Oh, I accidently saw the illegal guns you have and stumbled into the Diablos’ house party only to get my ass saved by Twelve Gage? Hell, even she didn’t believe it. Who knew what else had gone down, but something told her it was more than what she had seen. Her heart clenched at the memory of Nic’s lifeless body lying in the other room.

Sandman watched her closely, waiting for her to give something—anything—that would take the heat off her and give them the real rat behind the blood bath and lost merchandise. The man in him wanted to check her for injuries and find out what had gone down, but the Savage in him had to put that aside and deal with the issues that affected the club first. For the first time ever, he felt torn. Being a Savage had always came first nature. Nobody or thing came above the brotherhood. Until Rose. Now he saw what the vets had to deal with. Except, instead of Rose being one of them, she was standing at the barrel of a loaded gun facing serious accusations. If it were anyone else, pain would be involved in getting answers. They were taking it easy on her, but there was no way they could let her see that.

Her features floated from scared to anger and something he couldn’t read. Deep down, he hoped she was clean. As much as he knew the possibility was slim, the idea of losing her before he got a chance to show her who he really was when the leathers came off pinched inside. He hadn’t come close to allowing someone into his heart in a long time, and depending on how this went down, he might never again. Rose walked up to him and looked him straight in the eye, her voice low and full of rage. “I can see that no matter what I say, it won’t do any good. You both have condemned me without explaining what the fuck is going on, so I won’t waste my breath. This whole thing was a mistake. I’ll show myself out.”

“If you walk out that door, you seal your fate, Rose. Tell us what you have given the Diablos and we’ll let you leave alive.” Rose couldn’t believe her ears. They were threatening to kill her now? Now. When she needed them more than ever. When she needed them to pull her in their arms and hold her, showing her the love they had yet to give, they did the opposite. Fuck this. Fuck them. She turned and stomped out, slamming the door behind her. All eyes fell on her while she walked to the door, using all of her will to hold it together. She didn’t look back. If she did, chances were the tears that stung her eyes would gush out and only make things worse. The screams of pain that reverberated from the Diablos, made her jump and pray that fate wouldn’t hold the same for her. Once she cleared the door and set out on foot for the long walk home, Rose let all of the pain and despair of her lost love and the hurricane of emotions from the night unleash. Her cheeks ran with smeared makeup, unable to dry in the night air before more ran down. “I’m so stupid!” she raged. “As if they could be capable of love. This is my own damn fault! Look, mom, I’m just like you. Stupidly believing in a fairy tale. There is no happy ending…no light at the end of the tunnel. Fuck you Lucky Charms dude! Luck doesn’t exist either!” Her voice hushed into a whisper, “There is no true love, just a world of pain.” The open road offered no argument, bringing only a wave of more devastation to wreak through her body. She was alone, like she had always been.

The Pit grew smaller in the distance behind her and she slowed, stopping to take a moment she so desperately needed. Her world had fallen apart in the matter of one night. What was supposed to be the best night of her life, helping their financial situation and finally getting to be with the two men who held her heart, had turned into her worst nightmare. The farther she parted from what could have been a new future for her, the harder her heart broke.

The rumble of a motorcycle sounded in the distance, she contemplated running through the ditch and hiding in the woods but knew it was no use. If they were coming to finish her off, then so be it. The kids would go to a foster home, which sucked, but maybe they’d get a good family who could give them a chance in life. She slowed her steps, accepting her fate.

Brent slowed to a stop beside Rose, giving her a look of pity. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

She looked at him suspiciously, shaking her head. “No thanks,” she muttered and continued walking, holding herself together the best she could. After what she had just been through, she was surprised she was vertical. Her adrenaline had begun to fade, the pain wracking through her. Her ribs throbbed. Her head ached. But her emotions were unbearable. None compared to ache her heart was experiencing. He rolled the bike to a stop in front of her, blocking her path.

“Come on…you can’t walk. It’s like twelve miles from here.” He handed her a helmet, not giving her another option. She didn’t know if he would take her back to her death or if he would really take her home, but she found she didn’t care. She was tired, emotionally drained, and didn’t give a shit anymore. Death began to look better and better. She reached out and took the head gear and put it on, climbing on the back of his bike without a word. When he pulled away, she closed her eyes, not wanting to see. Rose allowed herself to close down, numbing herself to the outside world. She was on autopilot, her self-preservation taking over.

Chapter Eleven

Rose woke in her bed after noon. She looked around, somewhat surprised she was still alive. Her head throbbed, her side hurt, and just opening her eyes seemed to shoot pain straight to her brain. The annoying melody of
Scooby Doo
thumped through her walls and she sat up. Death would have been easier. She crawled out of bed, looking down at the leather outfit she still wore and grunted, stripping down. Once she had her normal sweats and faded t-shirt on, she stumbled to the bathroom to wash the war paint off her face before the kids saw. Unfortunately, part of it didn’t wash off. Bruises dotted her features in brighter shades than the mounds of makeup she had worn.

Her mother greeted her, smiling as if her being home and sober was normal. She had Matty sitting with a bowl of dry Cheerio’s in front of the television, and Isabella coloring at the table. Rose shook her head.
I’m dead. This has to be punishment purgatory for the sins I’ve committed. That’s all this is. It’s not real.

“Hey. You feeling okay?” her mother asked, showing more concern in the single question than she had most of Rose’s existence. As if the visible bruises weren’t a tip off that ‘feeling okay’ was probably not the best thing to ask her at the moment. She didn’t know what to say, but instead stood there in disbelief, half expecting demons to rise out of the floor and carry her off to hell. Lacey came stumbling in, glancing at her mother and then to Rose with the same look of disbelief she had.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Lacey lashed out. Despite the trouble she already faced, her snotty attitude and hate exploded. Rose got it. Hell, she felt the same way, but instead of being a victim and going butt wild, she had grown up and used their mother as an example of what not to be like.

Terry, their mother, looked taken aback. Rose wanted to laugh; despite how wrong it was for Lacey to be so disrespectful even though the kid was right. “I live here, remember?”

“Coulda fooled me. Rose pays the bills and raises us. You are only dead weight for her to carry.” Lacey walked away, leaving Rose somewhat proud. Underneath the girl’s erratic behavior and teenage bullshit, she did understand. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

“What was that about?” Terry asked.

Rose rolled her eyes, not bothering to humor the question, and plopped down on the sofa opposite of her. “So, get tossed out by another prospective husband and come back to play the mother of the year roll?” She kept her eyes glued to the television, too tired and emotionally numb to care.

“
NO
. Well, yeah, I guess but, this time things are gonna be different. I promise.” Her words held no meaning. Rose had heard it a million times before. When she didn’t answer, her mother continued, “So, why aren’t you at work? I have a few interviews lined up so things should be looking up for us soon.”

Something inside Rose snapped. “Really? You want to know why I’m not at work? See, I have been working three, count them three fucking jobs and juggling the kids just to keep a roof over their head while you are out snorting dope up your damn nose and sucking dick! Last night, your twins took yet another turn in your footsteps and wound up in the middle of a Diablos party. I’m sure you’ve heard of them, and given that you are still breathing, you haven’t been stupid enough to sleep your way into their organization yet. I had to leave a job that would have changed our luck from the tips I was getting mind you, to go hunt them down and drag them home before they were killed or worse. But that’s not all…in the process, I had the shit kicked out of me, a gun shoved down my throat, and marked as a muther fuckin’ nark to the only group of people in this world who were willing to help! Now we are fucked. I now have to start over and find another three jobs to slave at to put food on the table. So excuse me if I’m not giving you the heartfelt welcoming you think you deserve!” Before Terry could ask any questions, Rose got up and headed back to her room. “If you decide to take off again to go get your fix, come let me know so I can take care of Matty and Bella. Otherwise, leave me the fuck alone.” She slammed her door, thankful that she would still be able to hear if the babies cried, or were left abandoned to fend for themselves. Trusting them in Terry’s care was wrong to do. Faith of her mother’s maternal capabilities were nonexistent. Much to her surprise, she heard her looking after them, cooking the evening meal and even running the vacuum. She knew it was short lived and wouldn’t last, but took advantage of the break and remained snuggled under her blankets, escaping from life. She snuck out to grab a glass of water, finding little excuses to check on the kids periodically, surprised that her mother had lasted an entire day. No alcohol or drugs were littered anywhere, and the woman always had a hopeful look each time she emerged. Yet, each time she crawled out from under her rock, she avoided her.

*****

Rumble was called in session. Tonto and Sandman had taken the last few days to follow the bits of information the Diablos had given during their ‘interrogation’. The guys had revisited the Diablos clubhouse where Twelve Gage had followed Rose but the place had been abandoned. Nothing but trash remained, and the Diablos were long gone. Once again, the greasy little fuckers had slipped through their fingers.

After Rose had left, Zeus had found Rose’s purse in the office of the clubhouse. It had broke Tonto’s heart, but things weren’t looking good. The deeper he dug, the more hidden clues he had found that suggested they had been wrong for accusing her. Sandman and he had jumped the gun, focusing more on the possibility of betrayal from her, since that was what was common in their lives, than in the fact the woman who walked into their lives, making them feel for the time that they had an existing, working heart was incapable of anything against them. Now it was time for them all to debrief, and anxiety rose in his chest. He couldn’t help but miss her. There was no way he could be with her if she were feeding information to the Diablos, but he might be able to save her life. They all knew how rough she and her family had it. If it had been for money or the hopes of a way to survive, he could understand it. Accept it no, but understand, yeah.

Duke was the first to take the floor. He didn’t waste time, skipping the details and going straight to the point. He was fully aware of the accusations against Rose, and he liked the girl. More importantly, unlike the other members, he saw what hell the Prez and SGT of Arms had been in since it had all went down. He wanted to clear her name, and get them out of the asshole mood they had been in. “We snuck out to the location of one of the Diablos known hangouts. Krista was there, along with one of our Prospects who is so conveniently absent from this meeting.”

Sandman shot out of his chair. “What? Who!” he roared. He closed the distance between him and Duke in four long strides. Not taking the time to narrow down who was missing, there was a few because they were dealing with security issues while the meeting was taking place.

“Brent. That’s not all. He had the log book.” This got all of their attention. Tonto questioned him, and then allowed the others to speak their findings. When it got to Zeus, the room fell silent.

“I think I know how they are smuggling the drugs over the border, and getting our shipments out undetected. The bean burrito eating muther fucker said there is a tunnel system that runs under the border between Mexico and the United States. If we find it, chances are we find the bastard who runs the Diablos at the end of that tunnel.” Zeus leaned back in his chair.