For Her Honor (27 page)

Betsy stood motionless and silent for only a pause before looking at her husband.
“What do you have to say?”

Ed hadn’t moved from where he was leaning.
Tall, unaffected and arms folded, he calmly looked at his wife. “Do you want to know now or after your company leaves?”

The air was sucked out of Betsy’s lungs as she stood straight, smoothing her blouse and slacks before lifting her chin high towards her husband.
“See them out.” With that, she returned to her company.

Chapter Twenty Five

He was so fucking proud of her he wanted to bust.
But right now, he could see his ol’ lady shaking from the weight of what just happened, and he went over to her. “Kar? C’mon, sweetheart.”

She gently pushed him away.
“I need some privacy.”

She quickly walked across the kitchen and to the sliders which led to the back yard.
He needed to back off and give her some space, but was left here in an awkward position with her father.

“Want to grab two g
lasses there, Gabriel?”

The sound of his given name was starting to grate on him less and l
ess. He turned towards Ed who pointed to a cabinet above. He looked up then back at Ed, who reached under the island and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. “Rough day.”

Taz knew he was going to like Ed.
He did as told, and Ed poured himself three fingers before pouring Taz two. “You’re driving and I……have to live with this.” Both men raised their glasses, then brought them to their lips. Taz was surprised to see Ed down it in one gulp. He was surprised that bitch wife of his hadn’t caused a drinking problem. “Sorry about,” he motioned to the other room where Betsy had trudged off to, “this. I admit you’re not exactly the type of fellow I saw my little girl with. But when you blurted out that you loved her and were willing to marry her, you showed me what you were made of. Betsy’ll stew quietly then think on it. Can’t make any promises.”

Taz wasn’t expecting any.
“Will you be there? She needs you to. It’s important to her, which means it’s important to me.”

Ed winked and poured more brandy into his glass.
“With or without the missus, I’ll be there, Gabriel.” He sipped this time, looked thoughtful, then grinned. “When Karen left, I slipped a St. Christopher medal in her visor. To keep her safe in her travels. But St. Gabriel,” he took another sip of brandy, “he was God’s messenger. The protector of women and children. He was the fifth of five angels sent to keep watch over Paradise and the Cherubim.”

Taz remembered when Benedetto sputtered that Catholic nonsense after digging a bullet out of his shoulder.
Karen told him her dad was involved with his church and probably knew the resume of every saint. He barely resembled anything remotely holy, but maybe his ma had named him right. He’d been the man of the house and always looked out for her. Now he had a future wife and children he would protect with his life. Guess his ma named him right after all.

“Go.” Ed pointed to the sliders.
“Think she’s had enough time. Go to her. Take her home.” He slugged back the rest of his booze and gave Taz a hard look. “And be damn fucking good to her.”

Not much unnerved Taz, but a tanned, Catholic accountant just
had.

~~~***~~~

On the thirtieth of October, the club donned their annual costumes, mounted their bikes and took off, spreading candy and trinkets to children in the lower-income areas of Hancock County as well as hospitals. Vic had also instilled the tradition in the three other charters in the state as well as the new Ohio charter. Goodwill meant a good image, and it was important that the Skulls’ remained positive whenever possible. It was a prime opportunity for the charters to let loose and bond with the community. And seeing big tough bikers off their guard with children went over well with the ladies – and that equaled men getting laid. Win-win.

While Taz was off somewhere using his plastic pitchfor
k to fend off Tanner’s toy lightsaber, Karen was putting the finishing touches on her small, cliff-side wedding ceremony. She wasn’t one of those brides who needed to be surrounded by a posse, which was fine because she didn’t have one. Since that horrid showdown with her mother, she had spoken several times to her dad only about the details. Shelia was coming with him, but Sam was attending some legal summit in D.C. and couldn’t make it. Her mother, however, still hadn’t made a decision.

Karen was determined to let nothing ruin her day.
Their
day. After returning from Cincinnati, she’d immediately pushed what happened to the back of her mind and concentrated on their wedding. Halloween was on a Friday, so Taz got the go-ahead to use the clubhouse afterwards. They also enlisted Elle to get any permit clearance they needed for the ceremony location as well as pushing their marriage license through. She’d decided on a fall leaf arrangement instead of flowers and a chiffon dress with a lace bodice and a satin bow at the neck with the ends trailing over an open back. Because of the cool weather, she found a faux fur bolero to keep her warm. Both were in a pale blush. She was not wearing white. Who was she kidding?

Today she was at the card shop and, with Eva due in eleven days, she was helping
Jen and Marie hold down the fort. She had put in for a day off (unpaid – ouch) at the bank for tomorrow for any final preparations. She wasn’t doing the whole spa/hair/mani/pedi/massage insanity Shelia had done the morning of her wedding. Karen was doing everything herself, right down to a coat of blush polish on her nails and toes.

As soon as the card shop closed up, Karen stepped out onto the plaza sidewalk.
The sun had begun its descent, casting a golden glow in the middle of the parking lot. Taz was still out on their Halloween run, and the club was meeting up with the other three W.V. charters at a neutral spot (translation: strip club) for a bit of brotherhood bonding and to send Taz off into married life. He’d joked that he’d limit his debauchery to five lap dances, as the last fifteen years of his life had been a living, breathing bachelor party.

She looked across the lot at
Clarks Café. She’d come a long way in a few short months, since the biker she’d agreed to spend the rest of her life with had suggested the place after a chance meeting. Then Eva. Then Janice. Lives that had helped shape her, given her a chance and allowed her space to find her way. And along that way she’d found a home. Acceptance. Family. And a man who followed a code of loyalty and honor different from the world she’d known. A world she was no longer a part of.

Taking in the crisp evening air, she saw Janice waving her over as she walked down from the bakery.
The woman favored her 80’s throwback wardrobe like a comfy sweater and was the human definition of ‘I-don’t-give-a-shit’. It was that attitude which had carried the once unwed, pregnant teenager through a tough life. She had made it while successfully building a business and raising a child into a man any mother would be proud of

She met her halfway.
“Done for the day?”

“Yep.”
Janice’s hands still reached for the imaginary pack of cigarettes in her purse. “Cake’s all made and assembled. Just have to frost and decorate tomorrow. Gonna head home and do my workout video. At least this last minute wedding got my ass in gear. Don’t wanna be a fat mother-in-law. Or,” she gave Karen a sly look, “grandma. No rush, though.”

The woman
had really contained her excitement over her mission to settle down her son being accomplished. “I’m all set. What made me ever think I wanted to go through all the expensive trappings?”

“Your past, hon.
Set is aside. If it’s meant to be, your ma’ll come around.” Janice then took her hands and held them tight. “I don’t think I ever told you this, but…..I love you. I decided not to marry and have more kids, but…..always wanted a daughter, if only to unwind me from that little hellion I raised. God plunked you here in this town for a reason. Maybe he answered my prayers after all?”

Karen swallowed the lump in her throat.
She couldn’t even get so much as an ‘I miss you’ from her own mother, yet this woman she’d known since July admitted she was like a daughter to her. “You’re very special to me, Jan. I love you too.”

The two women stood there wiping their own tears when the door next to them opened.
“Nice evening, ladies.” Linda Moore drew a long cigarette from the pack and stuck it between her lips. “Big day tomorrow, I hear?”

Either this woman truly was a psychic or she had very thin walls next door.
“Yes it is.”

Janice beamed.
“I’m a very happy woman.”

Taking a drag, Linda blew the smoke up then wigged her eyebrows at Karen.
“I told you.”

She walked across the way, leaving Karen with her mouth dropped open.
Someone in this plaza is going to be a very happy woman.
“Holy shit.”

Janice shook her head.
“I don’t even want to know.”

~~~***~~~

It was as beautiful as the night he’d brought her up here. Taz stood with a minister by the crumbling rock wall overlooking the golden, setting sun on Halloween as he watched Karen be walked over to him on Ed Hanson’s arm. She was a vision in the palest pink (which she referred at ‘blush’), holding a cluster of fall leaves.

The entire club was present
, along with their significant others. Doug had brought Perri. Kelly was next to Tanner, keeping little Louis from squirming, and there was a tall, lovely blonde Aero had brought, who was this mysterious Laura. Vic stood up front, Elle by his side, who kept watch on Eva, who looked about to drop a child any moment. Taz had asked Ben to be by his side, while Karen’s sister Shelia agreed to stand up for her. The only shred of blood family she had had come through for her. Betsy Hanson was nowhere in sight.

Dressed in black pants, white turtleneck and his cut, Taz took Karen’s arm her father offered up, a knowing look passing between the two men.
The ceremony was simple and short with a repeat of the standard ‘I dos.’ When it came time for rings, there was no exchange. Later at the reception, the bride and groom would have each other’s names scripted in inked where their wedding bands would go.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss the bride.”

Taz did. Oh, how he did, tipping Karen a little backw
ards, towards the barren tree, towards the slowly dying wildflowers, which caught chill in the cold, towards the disappearing sun.

Towards the edge
, where she had taken him over.

He was married.
He was a fucking married man. He’d promised to love and cherish her. And honor. She was deserving of it.

~~~***~~~

Karen accepted a tight hug from her sister. “I’m so sorry, sis. I don’t know what to say.”

Pulling away, Karen regarded Shelia Watson
, in a sharp, Donna Karan gray tweed dress with black patent belt and matching shoes. Always stylish. Always put together. Betsy’s perfect eldest daughter. But she’d had her sister’s back and accompanied their dad here. Betsy must have been stewing at home all by herself. “Don’t be, Shelia. It isn’t your fault.” She picked up her sister’s hands and held them in her own. “Thank you. For being here. And thank Sam for everything he did. Tel him…,” she paused and grinned, “tell him it was the best suggestion he had.”

“We’ll be in touch.
We’ll talk. I promise. And,” Shelia emphasized, “I took down any photos I had of you and Preston on Facebook. I completely spaced on that.”

Karen never told her sister what
had happened, that that one innocent photo had led to her being snatched by a lunatic. She’d just sent her a text to check her social media and be sure there was no evidence still lingering. “It’s okay.”

“We’ve got a long ride back, so we’re gonna get going.”
Ed Hanson cut in and gave his daughter a hug. “I’ll give a ring when we get home.”

“Thank you
Dad.”

“You want some pastry to take back to that hubby of yours?”
Janice cut in on the threesome, having remembered Shelia. “And some cake. Please, it feeds a hundred people.”

“Oh, okay.”

Shelia took off with Janice to make a plate of sugary calories
, while Karen held onto her dad’s arm. Ed looked down at her. “Not the biker fest I thought it would be.”

Karen looked around.
It was pretty subdued, except for Doug who’d had one too many celebratory shots, as Taz had warned. Eva had sat most of the evening as her belly – and her husband – prevented her from exerting herself. Elle stood back, allowing Kelly, Perri and even Aero’s lady friend Laura, who pitched in, direct the day. The president’s wife seemed content not to pull rank, but rather let the younger women take charge. Outside, the prospects were in costume, passing out candy to anyone who came trick-or-treating to the clubhouse. And in the midst of the happy gathering, she spotted the silver-studded face of her husband. Her ring finger still stung a bit from where one of the club girls, who also did ink work, had tattooed
Taz
around the top of her ring finger with
Gabriel
inked on the back. The man he was on the outside and inside.

Shelia came back with a plate full of goodies as they all said goodbye one last time.
Taz made his way over and shook Ed’s hand then gave Shelia a nod. Karen wasn’t sure when she’d see them again, and the sadness she’d been fighting off for weeks finally kicked in.

“Hey?”

Normally charming and chatty, Taz’s face was of serious concern for her. For his wife. She was his wife. “Hmm?”

“Our turn to leave.”