Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (34 page)

Looking up at the face I
loved, I let the hurt flow through my veins. Even though they
should have been buried deep, the words Taylor flung at me last
summer came flooding back and every single insecurity came bubbling
to the surface. I could practically hear her sneering the words,
‘
Have you looked at yourself lately?
Honey, I can promise you, if you can’t keep your own husband in
your bed, you sure as hell won’t be able to get mine
there
.

I studied him for a few seconds.
Square jawbone that was filled with scruff and was ticking in
frustration, heart shaped lips twisted in concentration as he
watched me, perfect long, thin nose, and bright blue eyes that were
staring into mine, surrounded by a thick set of black
lashes

Yeah, she was right. This Greek God was too
beautiful to belong to me. Then, I chastised myself for being a
fool. Fuck her. He was mine. He was in my bed every single night,
while she had to lie about where she’d been. Sorry, sweetheart, he
doesn’t want to marry you, regardless of what the ring on your
finger told the world. He wants me. I have his grandfather’s ring
and most importantly, his heart.

If I had just let him
explain this whole situation last night, I wouldn’t be so confused
right now,
I realized angrily. Well, now
was really as good a time as any to get to the bottom of this shit
pile. 

I nodded and stood up. “Taylor, you really
didn’t get to say anything to Sammy earlier. Why don’t you come
with us?” Three sets of eyebrows rose, and I had to fight to keep
from laughing at the disgusted look on her face. I didn’t wait for
an answer. Instead, I patted Rob’s head and practically skipped
across the hall to the stairs, happy with my plan.

I heard them behind me, one set of footsteps
heavy and hurried, the other slow in her annoyingly stylish shoes.
Matty called to me, but I didn’t stop at the landing because I
didn’t want the kids to hear what was going on. This was a long
overdue conversation for just the three of us. 

Matty’s long legs caught up with
me before I reached the last step, but he waited until we reached
the bottom before he grabbed my arm and pushed me back me against
the wall. “Jesus, Joes!” He was slightly out of breath, but my
chest was heaving. I didn’t know if it was from the exercise or
because excitement at his closeness. “Would you wait a fuckin’
minute?”

Twisting a hand into my hair, he
pulled my head back, forcing me to look at him, and pushed his body
into mine preventing any sort of escape. “Talk to me,” he
growled. 

Taylor’s heels click-clacked on the steps as
she carefully made her way down to us. I ignored the sound,
focusing on the angry sky inside Matty’s eyes. A hundred thoughts
filtered through my mind as I tried to figure out what to say to
him. Nothing seemed good enough. Without thinking, my hand snuck
under his shirt and I dragged my nails up his
back. 

He groaned and leaned in, nipping
at the soft skin between my neck and shoulder before moving his
empty hand to my chin. He leaned back, just enough to meet my eyes
again, and then his lips were on mine. “This isn’t what you think,”
he managed as his teeth moved to my ear and sucked in my lobe. “You
don’t get to run away anymore!” Teeth sunk into my bottom lip
almost painfully before his mouth was crushing against mine,
punishing me. The hand in my hair tightened as he leaned back once
more, showing me storm clouds in his baby blues. “You are wearing
my ring. That means you are mine. It means I’m yours. You. Do. Not.
Run away!” 

I felt horrible as I realized that
the intense look in his eye was fear. His mind was working on
overdrive, and he was just as scared as I was. But, he’d totally
misunderstood. When I shook my head, his face fell. "I'm so sorry,
Joes. I didn't know she'd be here. Didn’t know you’d have to see
that. So fuckin' sorry!" And he captured my mouth
again. 

Taylor cleared her throat at least
twice before the sound sunk in, and I remembered that we weren’t
alone. Matty must have heard her the same time I did because he
moved away slightly, but kept his forehead pushed against mine. His
eyes promised me so many things I couldn’t begin to keep
up.

“
As charming as this little public
display of affection is, we really do have to get going.” And,
bitchy Taylor was back. I was surprised she was making an
appearance in front of Matty.

“
I’m not fuckin’ leaving and you
damned well know it!”

Taylor sighed, obviously annoyed, and tapped
her foot loudly. “And just how in the hell do you plan to get out
of this one?”

Matty shrugged. “I’m going to be honest. My
kid doesn’t want me to leave, and since I only get a few nights a
month with him, you are gonna stay here with us. If your dad asks,
I’m sure Jo has something you can wear. Then, Rob can drive you to
your boyfriend’s house.”

She inhaled sharply. “First of
all, if anything of Jo’s fit me, I’d kill myself. Second, I don’t
have a boyfriend! Is that jealousy talking, Matt?”

Matty stepped away from me and
turned on her. “Oh, get over yourself. The only reason you’re
minutely smaller than Jo is because she isn’t afraid to eat.” His
words and hateful tone shocked me. Something had happened between
these two and it wasn’t good. “Make no mistake, if you insult my
fiancé again, you will regret it.”

I was off the wall and between them in a
flash. Holding up my arms, I pushed Matty back from getting any
closer to her. “Hey!” I snapped. “Back off!” 

He backed up, but only marginally,
shooting daggers at the beauty behind me. “How stupid do you have
to be?” he snapped at her. “Sneaking out of the house? What’s gonna
happen when his goons follow you and realize you aren’t coming
here?” Taylor only raised her chin defiantly. “Holy fuck. You’ve
planned it all out, haven’t you? You’re meeting him at a hotel or
some shit so you can say you’re meeting me.” His tone was now one
of surprise. “Good Christ, Tay! Tell me you’re not fucking a
married man!”

She straightened her back. “As opposed to you,
the man that was fucking a married woman?”

Ouch. That hurt a little. “You’re
such a selfish miserable bitch,” Matty seethed back.

“
Oh, I’m selfish and miserable?
Funny how you’d see it that way considering you’re the only one in
this room that fits both descriptions!”

“
I see it the
way it is!” he snapped. “I bet you know who’s following you and
you’re the little boy crying wolf to get some attention.”

Feeling very much like the monkey in the
middle, I put my hands up and jumped up and down trying to get
their attention before she could reply. “Seriously?
Stop!”

Looking from one to the other, I realized I
had their attention. “Matty’s room. Now!” I said, pointing at the
closest door. 

Once we were all inside and the door was
closed, I motioned Taylor to the chair and pushed Matty onto the
bed. “What in the hell is going on?”

Taylor only gave me the evil eye, making Matty
glare at her in return. Finally she rolled her eyes and answered,
“Its club business.”

I laughed. Of course it was. Fucking, stupid,
pathetic club. 

“
Ohhh, kayy,” I
sighed, realizing I wasn’t going to get anywhere. “I’m gonna say
it’s safe to assume that neither of you are happy and that this
fake engagement has gone on long enough. Can you break it
off?”

Matty sighed. “I don’t know. Can we
Taylor?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. He’s getting
close. Especially after he met Jo.” She motioned at me with her
chin. “But, he’s still not there yet.”

I turned to Matty, hoping he’d
fill in the blanks. “Senator Butler and Jon Greenwood are old
friends. They grew up together.”

“
Are you kidding
me right now? This whole thing has been one more ploy to get the
lawyer you want?” All this drama for something so stupid? So very
anti-climactic. I was disgusted.

“
Not really.” Matty leaned
forward, grabbing my hand. “Taylor first had the idea to keep our
breakup a secret last fall, after she found out you and I were no
longer together.”

“
Please,” Taylor interrupted. “It
was a win-win for both of us. You got to have a popular senator
support you and the club. He’s a powerful ally to have. All you had
to do was pretend to date me. Every man in a hundred mile radius
wishes they’d been so lucky!”

Matty ignored her. “The Senator
knows everyone, and everyone owes him a favor. I won’t lie—it’s
nice to have that connection. Tank got out early thanks to him. A
few of our kids were spared the trauma of testifying because he
golfs with a few judges. Plus, we’ve gotten some huge
donations.”

“
And, been able
to give numerous families a new start. We were able to give new
identities and move some of our clients that were in serious
danger,” Taylor added.

“
Like the witness relocation
program?” I asked, confused.

“
Along the same
lines, but funded by the Bastards rather than the government,” she
clarified for me. “And, we’ve been able to clean up the Bastards’
image even more. Put Matty with a pretty little Daddy’s girl and
people start sucking up to the club, and everyone that owes my dad
something wants to help us out, just to get in his good graces. We
haven’t landed Jon yet. That’s my main concern right now.”

Now I was really confused. “Your main
concern?”

Taylor’s face was blank when she
looked at Matty. “This is my job, Jo. I run welfare for the club. I
make sure that kids and parents have what they need until the trial
is over, if there is a trial, and then I find them a new life.
Whether it’s here or in another part of the country, I find them a
home, a counselor, and a job, get them furniture and clothes, and
then check in on them every couple of months. And, I work with Rob
to make sure everyone is protected.”

“
What’s that have to do with
Jon?”

“
If the Bastards go to prison, my
families aren’t protected. If they go to prison, the image I’ve
worked so hard to perfect becomes tainted and we won’t have the
help we do now. I need the boys to stay out of prison. In order to
keep them outside of the locked gates, we need Jon. We need him to
feel camaraderie with the boys, a connection to the club. It’s
there, I can see it, but he needs that final push.”

 
She sighed at the look of
bewilderment on my face. I was impressed, but shocked that this
Taylor was so dedicated. “You don’t know me, Jo, you never did, so
don’t look so surprised. What I do for the club is important, and
I’m not going anywhere. So, as long as you’re around, you’re just
going to have to put up with me.” Standing up she smoothed down her
dress. 

 “
I think we’ve been gone
long enough, don’t you? Let’s go tell my dad that I’m staying here
with your delightful little group. Yay!” She gave me a fake excited
smile and then left the room. 

 “
She won’t be here long,
babe. I promise. I’ll have Rob take her to wherever she wants to go
as soon as the old man is gone.” 

I honestly didn’t care about that right now. I
swallowed, trying to wrap my mind around everything from the last
24 hours. “Why do you hate her? It seems like she did you and the
club a pretty big favor, and she’s helping as many people as she
can.”

He laughed as he stood and pulled
me into a hug. “I don’t hate her. I don’t ever want to be alone in
the same room as her because she’s a lying manipulative wench, but,
I don’t hate her.”

“
You were so cold and mean to
her!”

“
Just because I
don’t love her anymore doesn’t mean that I hate her. I didn’t treat
her any different than I treat anyone else in my life.” Grabbing my
hand, he pulled me out of our room and up the stairs. “I’m really
sorry, Joes. Forgive me?”

I nodded. I’d already forgotten
why I was mad. Now, all I could think about was how he’d never
treated me with as much indifference as he had Taylor. Not once,
not even before we’d gotten together or even when we’d broken up.
The thought made me speechless. He really had loved me from the
beginning. 

Chapter 31

Matty

What a fucking day. 

I opened the door to our bedroom
and looked in on Jo one more time. I’d just double-checked the
kids, covering Ben back up, tucking Lily’s much loved Pooh Bear in
next to her, and moving Sam so that his head was on his pillow
instead of his feet. Hearing Jo’s snores, I smiled at how normal
this felt—her in my bed and the kids here with us. I had the sudden
urge to yell, “Eleven O’clock and All is well!”

Chuckling to myself, I shut the
door and climbed the stairs. Grabbing a bottle of Jack’s Tennessee
Whiskey, my favorite after a hard day, and a couple of tumblers, I
joined Rocker on the deck. It was a warm spring night and the city
was alive beneath us. Everyone was out trying to beat the winter
blues. I didn’t even ask him if wanted a drink, just poured three
fingers and handed it to him.

We sat for a few minutes, enjoying the
burn.