Butch (15 page)

Nodding, he made to pass the other man. Butch didn’t
mind owing a favor to the club.
 

“Get your inked blacked out soon, or the boys will
take care of it. You’re not part of the
club,
you
don’t get the ink of respect either.” Tiny grabbed Eva’s wrist and pulled her
away from the club.

Whizz rounded the corner, looking confused. “Follow
me.”

Butch left the rest of the room. He was hurting.
Getting the ink removed was going to be the last part of his connection to
these guys. The Skulls had been in his blood for such a long time. They were
his family, or the closest he had to a family.

The room he entered was dark with six computers, three
laptops, and multiple tablet devices around the room.

“Fuck me, Whizz, you’re a geek,” Butch took a seat as
Whizz started clicking away at all the keyboards.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on our assets. Tiny
makes sure I work the markets as well. It gives me shit to do.” Whizz didn’t
take his eyes off the screen as he typed.

“How have you been?” Butch asked. A year ago Whizz had
been taken by a maniac who’d tortured and raped him. Whizz had never been the
same again since it happened. There was a time when Whizz was the carefree,
gentle one of the group. Faced with an enemy he was vicious, but to everyone
close, he was gentle.

“You don’t get the right to ask me that,” Whizz said.

“Hey, man, we’re still friends.” He made to touch
Whizz, but the other man jerked away.

“No, we’re not friends. Friends stay part of the club.
They don’t abandon their family for a woman.” Whizz finally turned to look at
him.

“I love Cheryl.”

Whizz laughed. “You don’t think Lash thinks the same
or Zero? What about Nash with his woman or Tiny? They’ve all lost something at
some time. You think you’ll be any different?”

“She’s got a kid.” His argument was lame.

“And so have the others. Fuck, her kid is a Skull. For
all of your arguing, you don’t know shit.”

Butch didn’t want to argue. “I’m sorry I brought it
up.”

“Don’t be. You’ve made your case perfectly plain.
You’re a cowardly fuck, and this club doesn’t have space for you. We’ve got
shit moving, and we need men, not people like you.”

The blow was meant to hurt, and it did the job. Within
moments, Butch felt like the worst kind of friend in the world, which he was.
He couldn’t escape what he’d done.
Join
back up, stop being an ass and do it.
Instead of listening to his thoughts,
he gritted his teeth and kept his mouth shut. There wasn’t a place for him in
the club, not with his behavior at the moment. Part of him wanted to get stuck
in and come back to the club. He knew deep in his heart he could do so much
more with his life with The Skulls. Then another part was afraid. No woman made
him feel like Cheryl. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin any chance of
being with her. He loved her, and he didn’t need the sex to prove his feelings.

They were good together. Choosing between the two was
the hardest decision he’d ever had to make.

She didn’t force you to make a choice.

No, none of the choices he made were because of
Cheryl. She didn’t force him to do anything other than be himself.

Chapter Eight

Frederick took a bite out of the strawberry, loving
the lush taste of the fruit. His man Ronald was waiting for further
instructions. Butch had hurt him but not injured him. He was pissed off, horny,
and in need of getting back. Before approaching Butch he’d ordered his men not
to shoot no matter what happened. They’d drawn their weapons, threatening, but
didn’t kill Butch.

“We’ve got friends all over the world
who’ll
help us out.”

“Yeah, boss. Do you want us to put a call through and
get Gash put back inside? He’s due out in a number of days.”

He shook his head. “Nah, Gash has been in prison so long
he doesn’t care if he comes out or not. If he’s out, he’ll go after the bitch
who
put him inside.” Picking up another berry, Frederick stared
over at Ashley. She was tied to a chair waiting punishment. There was blood
pooling from her wrists. Turning his head to the side, he nodded toward Homer
to tighten the restraints.

She cried out. Tears filled her eyes, but not once did
she shout for mercy. It was going to be hard for her to do that with her mouth
shut. Watching the woman get tortured was turning him on. His men were happy to
hurt women, providing he paid them enough.

“What are you thinking, boss?” Ronald asked, pulling
him away from the satisfaction of Ashley’s pain.

“I think it’s time to make life hard for The Skulls.
They’ve been living the good life. The cops stay off their backs, and they’re
free to do whatever the fuck they like.”

Ronald smiled. “You want me to call in a few favors?”

“Yeah, let’s see how their loyalty fares when they’ve
got so much more to lose.” Sipping down his brandy, Frederick found great
pleasure as Homer pulled Ashley’s hair, tearing it out of her scalp. “Then we’re
going to start hurting Devil and his crew. It’s time they learned not to fuck
with the boss.”

****

Cheryl finished the display of roses as Eva walked in.
She knew who the other woman was the moment she entered the shop. It was hard
to miss the voluptuous beauty. Eva always had a smile on her face, or at least
when Cheryl saw her, she did.

“Hey, honey, I thought I’d stop by and introduce
myself,” Eva said.

The shop was completely bare of other customers.
Matthew was spending the day with her mother while she worked.
“Erm, hi.”

Eva chuckled. “There’s no need to be scared. We know
all about what Butch is doing, and I’m here to show my support.”

“Butch left the club,” Cheryl said.

“Yeah, well, we all make mistakes. I’ve got Tate,
Sophia, Prue, and Sandy waiting for us at the spa. I was thinking we could go
and have some fun. You
know,
girl talk and shit.”

Licking her lips, Cheryl didn’t know what to say.
She’d never been the kind of person to make friends easily. Her mother once
told her she didn’t need others to fit in.

Pushing the thoughts away, she tucked some hair behind
her ear.

“I can’t. I’ve got to work.” She gestured around at
the empty shop.

“I can get that covered. I know the owner, and I’ve
already had a word. We can be gone in ten minutes.” Eva pulled out the keys to
the shop. “I wouldn’t pull you away. You’re also getting paid for being away.
Come on, I think it’ll be fun.
Just us girls, no men,
pampering each other with nothing to worry about.”

Eva waved the keys in front of her like a lifeline. A
day of simply being a woman was too hard to resist.

“Can I go and talk to Butch? I mean, yeah, I’d love to
go with you, but I’d like to see Butch first.”

“We’re not going to kill you or hurt you, but yeah. Go
and talk to him, and I’ll be the one to lock everything up.”

Wiping her hands down her thighs, she passed
Eva,
thankful the other woman didn’t mutter or laugh.

Entering the café she nodded toward the owner then
made her way in the back. Cheryl found Butch standing at a sink, washing plates
and cups. Seeing how large he was with all of his ink on display she knew this
was not the right place for him. He stood out like a sore thumb. There was no
happiness in the work he was doing. She didn’t want him doing stuff he hated.
The club made him a lot happier even if there were a lot more dangers around.

“Hey,” she said, letting him know he wasn’t alone.

He turned to face her.

“Baby, I wasn’t expecting to see you ‘til lunch.”

Wringing her hands together, she stepped up close.
“Eva stopped by.”

Butch tensed at the mention of the other woman’s name.
“Do I want to know why she stopped by?” he asked.

“She and all the girls are planning a pampering spa
day. If you don’t want me to go let me know and I’ll go and cancel.”

“You’re excited about going?” He folded his arms,
staring at her.

Cheryl smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never been to a
spa before or been pampered. It sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Men come in and give you a massage.” He reached out,
wrapping an arm around her waist, and tugged her close. She gasped, falling
against him.

“Really?
I’ll get my body rubbed and caressed by an experienced guy?” she asked,
teasing.

“Don’t test me, baby. I’ve got no problems with you
going, but I do have an issue with you getting mauled by any guy with a dick. You
need to know who you belong to.”

His concern thrilled her.

“If I promise not to get a massage by a strange man
will you make it up to me?”

“Baby, I’ll give you a massage of the erotic kind that
will have you begging for more and I’ll give them to you on a regular basis. I
won’t even ask for money for the service. I’ll do it for free.” His hand glided
down her back to grab her ass. Butch drew her up close against him.

She felt the hard ridge of his cock against her
stomach. He was long, thick, and he turned her on.

“Butch,” she said, moaning.

“Fuck, Cheryl. I can’t think when you make those sweet
sounds.”

Closing her eyes, she rested her head against his
chest, loving the feel of his arms being wrapped around her.

“I don’t want to move,” she said.

“Do we have a deal?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a deal.”

“Get your mom to take Matthew for the night.” Butch
pulled out his cell phone, handing it to her. “I want you to myself so I can
make you scream and beg for my cock.”

She glanced around the back room expecting to see
people watching her.

“No one would dare look your way. I wouldn’t embarrass
you.”

Typing in the number, she made the necessary
arrangements for her son to stay over with his grandma. When she was done, she
handed the phone back to him. “She’ll look after him.”

“She’s still not my biggest fan?”

Cheryl shrugged. “My mom doesn’t like me very much at
the moment. She thinks I should be with Alex seeing as he’s the father. I don’t
want to be involved with him. He gave up that right three years ago.”

He stroked her cheek. “Go and pamper yourself. Stay at
the spa and I’ll wait for you when I’m done.”

“If you don’t want me to go, I won’t.”

“I want you to go and have some fun.” He leaned down,
brushing his lips against hers. Her body heated up at the feel of him.

“I’ll see you soon.” Turning away from him, Cheryl
made her way toward the front of the café. Eva stood waiting for her.

“Is he okay with everything?” Eva asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been ordered to have fun.”

“Great. I’ve just got a call that Kelsey is joining us
as well.” Eva reached out, taking her hand. “I want you to relax. None of us
are going to be bitchy. Well, Tate will be a bitch, but it’s in her nature.
Prue will put her in her place. She’s my stepdaughter, so I can’t really do
anything nasty to her.”

“No problem.” They walked across the street and along
the path toward the corner spa. She’d passed it many times while running
errands, but she’d never gotten a chance to be inside one.

“So, you and Butch are a couple?” Eva asked.

“I think we’re a couple. I want us to be a couple, but
it’s complicated with Alex’s involvement.”

“All of us were shocked to hear about Alex and you.
How’s Matthew doing?”

Pulling her hand away from the other woman, Cheryl
smiled. “He’s doing okay. Does Alex want to be involved? I’ve not really spoken
to him. I don’t know if I want to.”

“He’s an asshole with the way he’s dealt with this
crap. He’ll pull through. Alex is many things but not a loser.”

“It was a mistake on my part at least. I couldn’t deal
with him. I mean, we were together, and then he was gone.”

“Like I said, this is the first time I know he’s been
a complete asshole, but I can’t stay mad at him. He’s part of the club, and I
know he’ll make up for what he’s done. You should give him a chance, not as a
boyfriend or anything, but as a father to Matthew. He’s great with kids.” Eva
opened the door to the spa, giving her some space to enter.

The main reception was quiet. A slender redhead was
working the front desk. She left Eva to book them in. Cheryl stayed silent
feeling out of place and lost. Her life hadn’t been adventurous in the last
three years. In fact, she’d not even had the time to take a long relaxing soak
in the bath.

“Come on, let’s go and have some fun. We’ve all got a
room, so be prepared for a lot of exposure. I wish you could meet Angel. She’s
the sweetest one in the group, never says a bad word to anyone, but she’s away
for a long time. She deserves it, too. We all adore her.”