Forged: A Devil's Spawn MC Novel (11 page)

“Your fucking brother spent years systematically carving up my woman, old man. Years he spent traumatizing her right under your nose, and you never knew. You didn’t look hard enough at the change in your daughter to see she was struggling with something significant. Something fucking horrific. You didn’t think it was strange she was changing clothes more often, and your medical supplies were going missing at an alarming rate? You fucking left her to that motherfucker, and she had to cope with that shit alone. Not one person, your wife or you, noticed she was suffering, or the nightmares she was having were getting worse. None of you did a goddamn thing to help her, and now all you’ve got to say is, he worshiped her. Well, fuck you, asshole. Because as far as I’m concerned, you’re just as responsible for what happened to her as he is for having done it in the first place. Your one job on this Earth was to protect your daughters until they found men that’d take over the job for you, and you couldn’t even do that. You make me fucking sick, and I’m ashamed to have to call you my, brother, let alone my father in-law.”

Jesus fucking Christ, he’s right. Not one single thing he said can be denied. It was my job to protect them, and I failed. I absolutely did see my baby was struggling with something, and all signs pointed to it being something big, but with all the conflict with the club at the time I didn’t do a fucking thing about it. I left her to that horror. Me. No one else. Me.

Slumping into my chair, my legs not able to hold up my weight anymore, I bury my head in my hands and tug at my hair. Tear stream silently down my face, but I refuse to sob like a baby regardless of how much I want to. Tilly re-dresses herself, pushing Saint back down into the chair he vacated in order to take his wife’s back. Sitting on his lap to keep him from tearing me apart with his bare hands, I assume, she settles herself with ease. At this point I wouldn’t blame him if he did tear me apart, I’d deserve that and more. I’d welcome it.

Speechless, there are just no words for what I’ve just seen, nothing can describe what was done to her effectively without seeing it, and no apologies I can offer will do a damn thing to take away the pain she must have felt at her Dad not keeping her safe. I can’t do anything other than to sit here and think of all the ways I’m going to make that motherfucker pay for what he did to my baby girl. Painful, horrifying ways I’m going to tear him to shreds.

The one thing I do know with any kind of certainty is, I’m going to make it hurt. Make it long, draw it out, and if he’s lucky he’ll die fast. Because if he doesn’t, he’s going to become very well acquainted with the end of my blade repeatedly until he does, and it will be far from pretty. Shaking my head to clear the violent thoughts that have taken up residence inside, I ask hollowly,

“How long?”

“Four years,” she replies shortly offering no more information than that.

Four years. I left her to that for four years? Fucking hell.

“What do you need me to do? I’ll talk to Priest…”

“No, you fucking won’t. I’ll be reporting back to him in the morning and we’ll hammer out a plan to get our hands on him quietly. Under the radar and off the grid, that’s the only way this is going to work. Priest knows what he’s capable of, seeing as he came to me after Grimm called to tell him Demon fucked some chick up bad enough to land her in the hospital more than a week ago. She still hasn’t been released, so that should tell you all you need to know about how bad it was. The woman’s a mess. Not just her body, but mentally she’s going to have a hell of a long road to recovery, and that’s if she makes it that far down the road at all. There’s a good chance she won’t from what Grimm’s said. All you need to do if it comes to a vote, which I highly fucking doubt it will, is vote ‘nay’. The rest you’ll leave to us. Priest and I that is.” He states plainly.

At this point I can’t do anything but agree with him. I lost my right to have input on how he’s taken care of the second I let him touch my daughter, but that doesn’t mean that I have to hand him over if I get my hand on him first. Because I can assure you, if it comes to that, there’s no one that’ll be able to stop me meeting out justice as is his due.

Later that night lying in bed next to my sleeping wife, I stare blankly at the ceiling for hours. My mind is filled with nothing but thoughts of retribution. I know there will be no sleep, no rest, and no peace for me until I find the man who dared to harm my little girl. And all he can hope for is that when I find him, I show him more mercy than he showed Tilly.

“They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

Pity… I kinda like fire.”

-
                    
Rotten eCard

It is said knowledge is power, I’d prefer a rocket launcher myself when it came to having power at my back, but I’ll take what I can get at this point. Now that I know exactly what happened to my wife, there’s wasn’t a chance in hell I’m leaving her alone and unprotected for another minute. She argued, reasoned, tried to compromise with me, but seeing as my ass is sitting on our couch right now, I’m happy to report she lost every argument she attempted to start.

Sitting, sulking I might add, in the corner of our sectional, Tilly glares at me every few minutes and it takes everything in me not to laugh at what she considers to be a death glare. I’ve had worse from Dakota, for fucks sake.

“You gonna talk to me, or are you gonna try and set me on fire with your eyes all night?”

“There’s nothing to talk about. You know it all now, so what’s left to be said,” she spits out angrily. Fuck, I love this woman. Even in the midst of what for most women would’ve been grounds for an emotional meltdown, she can still sass me and look adorable doing it. It’s good to see this shit hasn’t taken her fire, because if it had it’d just be another reason to kill the bastard who hurt her.

“Fine. You don’t want to talk then I will. It’d be nice if you’d listen too, babe, because you’re going to want to hear what I’ve got to say.” I’m still deciding whether it’s a good idea to tell her about the Stacey situation or not. I’m hoping she takes it as the good news it is, and something she’s desperately in need of right now, but you never can tell with my wife.

With her eyes still spitting fire, Tilly turns positioning herself facing me instead of the TV. Even in sweats, a tank top, sans bra, her hair in a messy knot on the top of her head, and bare feet, Tilly still without a doubt is the most magnificent woman I’ve ever seen. She would look fantastic wearing anything, but this is my favorite look of hers. The one where she’s relaxed and comfortable just being herself. It’s not often I see her like this, which is why I’m still deciding whether to take the risk in upsetting her. It’s not like it’s urgent that she know, it’s been years already, and as far as she’s concerned nothing’s changed in all that time, hence the question of whether it’s the right time to upset the apple cart.

Making the decision that it’s more than likely she’ll appreciate knowing sooner rather than later, and from me than someone else, I take a deep breath and pray I’m doing the right thing.

“Priest and I talked about more than just Demon today, babe. Before he took me aside just me and him, I had a meet with him, Pipe, and Dagger.” Looking at me with a confused expression on her face, Tilly purses her lips but says nothing.

I can’t blame her for not understanding why I’m telling her this, I don’t share shit about the club often, so this is unusual to say the least. Most of what she knows is basic information about when and for how long I’m going on runs, or shit I think she needs to know. Nothing more. Nothing less.

She knows enough about how the club works to know not to pry, and even if she wanted to I don’t think she would. Having grown up being told very little by her Dad, she knows how it works, and it’s something I’m thankful for. I don’t think I could’ve handled a woman that nagged me constantly, wanting to know shit that’s none of her business, and didn’t affect her.

“Seems Stacey played us all, Tilly. You, me, Dagger, the club, even fucking Tucker. Tucker’s not mine, babe. He’s Dagger’s,” I say curtly.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, babe. Tucker isn’t mine, he’s Dagger’s. I didn’t even sleep with the bitch, let alone impregnate her.”

Sitting up straighter all of a sudden interested, Tilly leans forward a little exposing the globes of her perfect tits out the top of her shirt. What I wouldn’t give to bury my face there and spend some time with two of my other favorite girls. It won’t be happening now, but she can bet her sexy, little ass it will be soon.

“What are you saying, Tobias?”

Elbows to my knees, I rake my hands through my hair without taking my eyes off her.

“Priest got some information that led him to talk to Stacey. Who it came from isn’t important, but what does matter is that she sang like a fucking bird when he confronted her. Not that it was ever a question whether or not she’d come clean, because let’s face it, everyone talks when they’re faced with a man like him. She confirmed she drugged my beer, made it look like we’d slept together, and then when she turned up pregnant she pinned that shit on me. I’ve got no clue why other than she’d apparently had a thing for me for years. She and Dagger had been going at it for months, obviously one of those times he fucked up and didn’t wrap his shit, enter Tucker. What I don’t get is why everyone was so happy to accept the baby was mine? But that’s my question to have answered when the time’s right, all that matters now is that I didn’t sleep with her, and Tucker isn’t mine.”

“Why the hell would she say it was you though? I don’t understand what she thought she could get out of you that a single man with plenty of disposable cash, and a good job couldn’t give her,” she snaps. It’s a good fucking question, one I’ve only got a sub-par answer to.

Shrugging I reply,

“Priest puts it down to her having a thing for me. As far as he can figure, it was her only way of tying herself to me permanently, or that’s what she thought. I don’t know if there’s more to it than that, babe. Your guess would be as good as mine.”

Faster than I can stop her, Tilly’s got her car keys in her hand, her purse slung over her shoulder, and is out the door slamming shut behind her. It takes me a second to realize she’s actually gone before I haul ass, heading out after her. There’s only one place she’d be heading, and I can only hope I’m there in time for the show.

Pulling into the lot, gravel flying everywhere, I dismount my bike heading straight for the front doors. What I find when I get in there can only be best described as a scene from a bad soap opera. A violent one, but a soap opera nonetheless. Tilly has Stacey by the hair, her head tilted to the side slightly, and she’s screaming words at Stacey that I can’t make out from this far away. Not one of the assholes standing around watching are doing a fucking thing to help the woman that will no doubt be bald soon if the grip Tilly’s got on her hair is anything to go by. I wouldn’t either, but that’s neither here nor there. The assholes are laughing their asses off though, so I suppose I can be glad I’ve come in at the start rather than the end, I’d hate to have missed Tilly in all her glorious fury. This ought to be entertaining, I muse to myself.

“Are you fucking insane? You stupid bitch,” Tilly screeches, punctuating her words by a good, hard tug on Stacey’s hair.

“I’m not the one who’s insane you crazy bitch. What is your fucking problem? Just because you can’t keep your man satisfied at home doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me. If you’d have done your job properly he wouldn’t have been in my bed to begin with.”

Oh shit! Stacey knows she’s pushing my wife’s buttons, and doing a fucking good job of it based on Tilly’s narrowed eyes, lips that are pinched tightly together, and the anger emanating from every pore.

Tilly’s arm rears back as she lets go of Stacey’s hair only moments before her closed fist ploughs straight into the other woman’s nose with a sickening crack. Without a shadow of a doubt Stacey’s nose is broken. I’ve been the one doing the breaking before, and I know that sound almost as well as the sounds of my babies cries. Stacey’s wail has me torn. I don’t know whether to cheer or check if she’s alright. That was a damn good punch Tilly threw, and albeit I could care less about Stacey’s well-being, I know for a fact that would’ve hurt like hell.

Leaning down over Stacey’s body which is shaking with what I assume are sobs, Tilly speaks loud enough for everyone to hear. Effectively she makes a situation that was until now private, public knowledge, but after what she’s been put through I won’t argue her need to clear this shit up in front of everyone. They’re our family, and it was only a matter of time before they found out anyway.

“That’s how you’re going to play it is it? Denial doesn’t look good on you, Stacey. But I will say, it looks a damn sight better than the color whore you wear so well. Let me avail you of a few things I do know. You know, just in case you thought I was some insipid bitch that was going to ignore the shit you’ve pulled. I, unlike you, do not need to drug a man to make it look like he’s slept with me. I, unlike you, do not need to use a pregnancy to trap a man into having a relationship with me. And unlike you, I do not need to open my legs to half the population of Blackwater to make myself feel wanted.”

As Stacey tries to push up off the floor, but Tilly easily pushes her back down with a hand flat on her chest.

“We’re not done, not even close. You do not move until I let you,” she says on a near growl. “What you did doesn’t make me angry, I’m far passed angry. What you did disgusts me. Not only did you name a man the father of your child that has never touched you, you took the opportunity to
be
a father from another. No woman who’s a real woman does something like that regardless of how in love with the man she believes she is. Worse still, you dragged my babies into your mess. You put my family at risk, and you did it with absolutely no conscience as to the havoc you were creating. I only have one question for you, one I expect an honest answer to. Were you going to let this go as far as our divorce being finalized?”

Tilly is crouched down beside the prone woman staring at her intently, waiting to hear if she’s going to show even the smallest bit of remorse. Stacey, finally managing to rise from her back and up on to her ass, laser focuses her eyes on my wife with a bitter, resentful look of disdain marring her features. The only thing I can think is, she better not lay a hand on my woman. Because if she does, my promise never to touch a woman in anger or without her permission is about to go out the fucking window.

When Stacey does answer, she only gets one word out before she’s knocked back down, out for the count.

“Yes.”

Standing up, Tilly brushes her hands off on the legs of her sweats and makes her way over to the bar. Everyone in the clubhouse is still watching her every move as she approaches the prospect working the bar tonight asking,

“Can I have a bag of ice for my hand please?” Nodding at her rapidly he doesn’t say a word, but he is back with a bag full of ice and a small towel in less than a minute flat.

I know she noticed me come in so when she calls my name it doesn’t surprise me. What does shock the shit out of me is when she asks,

“Can you drive me to the hospital please? I think I broke my hand.”

That’s when the entire room breaks out in hysterical fits of laughter, which isn’t surprising. I’m actually proud of them being able to hold it in this long. Cradling her poor abused hand in mine, I kiss her temple pulling her tight into my side without dislodging her from her seat.

“Nice right hook, baby. Next time don’t tuck your thumb though. It won’t hurt as much if you don’t, and you probably would have come out of it with only a bruise for your trouble but no broken bones.”

Giggling into my chest, Tilly shifts so she’s now pressed the length of my side allowing me to take the first real, deep breath I’ve taken in years. Having her here in my arms, I can honestly say there’s nothing else, nothing more I want than this right here. A gorgeous, loving, smart, caring wife, three beautiful daughters, a home, my club, my brothers and my bike. My world is now complete in a way it hadn’t been before. All our secrets are out in the open. There’s no more hiding anything from each other. And hopefully after I get my woman’s hand seen to we’ll be able to put this divorce bullshit where it belongs. In the past.

One thing I’ve learned from being part of Devil’s Spawn though, is that life is never that easy.