Make It Right (10 page)

There wasn't an ambush, but there was silence as they drove. Amelia didn't know what to say, so she just reached out and laid her hand on his leg. Finally Danny cleared his throat, tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “Earl's dead, Amelia.”

Amelia was sure that she hadn't heard him right. There was no way that Earl was dead. She'd just been with Jackie, and everything had been fine. “No.”

“He got shot on Maple.”

Maple was just a few blocks from the apartment that he shared with Jackie. He'd probably been heading home to her and their babies. Amelia leaned back against the seat. “Shit, does Jackie know?”

“She knows. Detective Harris came to inform her personally.”

“So, Earl's dead, and the bitch is back.” Amelia held back her tears. They weren't going to help anyone right now, and if she started to cry, it was quite possible that she would never stop. “What do we do now?”

“We're going to head to the bar. Royal is still talking to the police. Jackie's been taken to the hospital. She's likely in shock. Her mother has the kid. You were with her today?”

“Yeah. She was in a good mood. I offered them the house. She said they're outgrowing the apartment.”

“When did you decide to rent the house?” He questioned.

“When she mentioned that she loved it. I meant to tell you earlier but I came home and...” Amelia realized that she'd left out the offer. Maybe she should have even talked to Danny before she made it. After all, they were supposed to be in everything together, but she just kept leaving him out. Fuck. Panic squeezed her chest as she waited for his reaction.

“It's a good house. It'll be a good house for her and the kids.” Danny covered her hand with his and squeezed. “I'm sorry about our night in. I'll make it up to you. Maybe we can go to the casino one night, rent a hotel room and have sex all over it.”

Amelia knew that he was trying to distract her. He might have even been trying to distract himself. “I think that would be nice.”

“Might not be soon. We've got to deal with all of this.” His anger spilled over. He removed his hand from her leg and hit the dashboard several times. “Why the fuck does shit keep happening to us? Why?”

“I don't know, Danny. But we'll figure it out.” Amelia sighed. “You know what's bothering me? Who called the cops?”

“I... I really don't know.” Danny looked over at her. “What are you thinking?”

“I'm thinking it's strange that the cops showed up. Even if someone called about the shots, they usually have a three-hour response time. They're too short-staffed to investigate missing women and children, but they can show up within moments for a random gunshot?” Except the gunshot hadn't been so random. It had been murder. “I highly doubt that Royal stood around for hours just standing over the body.”

“No. He called Train when he found Earl, and then the cops were there seconds into the call. He told Train to lock everything down, probably because he thought the way you did.” Danny drummed his fingers against the steering wheel as they waited at a light.

It was only another couple blocks to the bar, and Amelia could only imagine the scene that they'd find there. The place would be packed with people bunking down just about anywhere, except of course in the basement where Nightshade met. The upstairs had long ago been renovated, with the second floor having four bedrooms created out of what had been a small apartment. They shared a bathroom. The attic was sort of a loft apartment and where Train had lived since the day that he'd taken his patch.

Amelia could only hope that they'd get one of the bedrooms. They'd stayed downstairs before, and it absolutely sucked. There was nothing but noise and chaos, combined with the tension and dread it was the recipe for a panic attack for her. The last time they'd stayed downstairs, she'd gotten so high that she simply passed out. She nearly asked Danny if he thought that they would, but it sounded so callous to her. What did it matter if she was uncomfortable when Jackie had just lost her husband and the father of her children?

“Hey.” Danny's hand clamped down hard on hers. Amelia whimpered; it was more in shock than pain. “You good?”

“No.” Amelia considered lying, but she didn't have the energy for it. “I'm not, but I'm okay. I can maintain.” She was relieved when the light changed and they moved forward.

“Alright,” he said evenly. Some of the pressure of his hand lessened. The jolt had shaken her out of the dark places her mind was starting to go. “If that changes, let me be the first to know.”

“Of course.” Amelia shifted her eyes from the road to him. “Are you good?”

“No, but I'll maintain.” He grinned as he spoke her words back to her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I need a favor.”

“We don't have time for me to give you a hand job, Danny. We're nearly there.” Amelia was only half joking; it was one of the only reasons he didn't pout all winter when he wasn't able to ride and had to confine himself. He didn't even crack a smile. “I'm not going to like this favor, am I?”

“No.” He replied without hesitation. “I need you to play nice with Missy. Work with her on keeping everything running smooth. Normally Jackie would do it, but something tells me that she won't be up for it.”

Amelia sighed. “Fine.” She didn't have time to sulk or she would have. There was a long list of tortures that she would endure in place of having to work with Missy on anything, but she couldn't refuse. Not now when they were locked down and shit was as serious as could be. “And you are going to owe me big time for this favor.”

“I've got every intention of paying you back. I was thinking the first chance we get to sneak away, we do. Go upstairs. Get naked and see how loud I can make you scream.”

<#<#<#

Hours passed, and Amelia always had something to do. The surprising upside to organizing and arranging was there was no time to think about all that they didn't know. It also kept her from having to have any significant contact with Missy, which was a definite plus. She'd play nice but only because Danny asked. She took her bag up to the second floor the first break that she had. They'd been assigned to the smallest bedroom, but as long as there was a bed and door they'd be just fine.

Amelia was looking forward to the quiet that she'd find in the room. She'd dump her stuff inside, make sure that the linens were clean and then just take a few minutes to sit and breathe. The nerves she'd fought off earlier were starting to come back in full force. She smiled at Claire, one of the pass-around women, as she passed her in the hall. “I'm just going to put my stuff away and take a minute, if anyone needs me.”

“Take your time. I'll make sure nothing goes to hell,” Claire replied. The woman had been around for years. When Amelia had first started coming around, they'd been friends a little. Claire had been fresh-faced and bright-eyed; some of that was gone now. The years were showing on her face and body. Amelia had never given much thought as to what happened to the pass-arounds when they were no longer desirable, but she didn't imagine they got a pension and a gold watch.

“Thanks, Claire.” Amelia continued down the narrow hallway. The scent of cleaning products and fabric refresher filled the air. She pushed open the door to the room, fully prepared to just throw herself on the bed face down and stay there for a while. “What are you doing in here?” She demanded as she saw Allison leaning over the bed.

“Making the bed.” Allison replied. “I'm almost done here.”

“No, you're done. You should go back downstairs. There's plenty that needs to be done down there.” For several satisfying seconds Amelia imagined plowing her fist directly into Allison's smirking face, over and over again until her hand hurt.

“I don't know what your problem with me is. You were gone. I was here.” Allison shrugged her shoulders. “What was he supposed to do? Take a vow of chastity?”

“I don't know what game you're playing, Allison. You fucked my Old Man one time, when he was out of his head high. So if you're trying to drive a wedge, you're out of luck.” Amelia had been skeptical when he'd first told her that he wasn't sleeping with Allison. She wasn't anymore. Danny knew how she felt about lies. He had worked too hard to regain her trust to lie over something she'd told him she'd forgive. “Whatever the reason, now is not the time for shit stirring.”

“Like he's going to admit it, Amelia. Look, I'm not stirring shit. I'm just trying to say that there's no reason we've got to be hostile with one another. I'm not going anywhere, and it looks like you're staying.” Allison shrugged her shoulders. “Seems to me like we could get along if we tried.”

“If I were being hostile with you, truly hostile, you'd be on the floor and bleeding.” Amelia had to resist the more basic urges that were running through her. All she wanted to do was beat Allison's head into the wall. Instead she just stepped forward. The blond backed up quick. She must have been smarter than she looked. “Stay out of my way. Stay away from my husband, or I will forget my fucking manners.”

“There's no need to threaten me.” Allison darted from the room as if the hounds of hell were on her heels. Amelia wasn't quite sure if she should laugh or cry; she had the urge to do both, but instead she shut the door the other woman had left open and dropped her bags to the floor.

She flung herself face forward on the bed, as had been her intention, and just tried to get her mind to clear for at least a few seconds. The unrelenting stream of thoughts would be bearable if it weren't for the crowd that she was stuck in. This moment was just a moment. Soon she'd have to go back down, sit among the masses and wait for some kind of word, even though she'd rather go to a full spa day with Missy.

The sound of an approaching bike caught Amelia's attention. She moved over to the narrow window, looked out and saw Royal riding towards the bar. Almost immediately she heard the roar of the other engines. Amelia let the curtain fall back into place and headed downstairs. Everyone had heard the sound of the bikes. People were crowded around the door; there was an air of impatience. It seemed that everyone was speaking all at once.

Amelia wanted to scream at them to shut up, but there was no need. The crowd went silent the moment that Royal pushed open the front door. He looked around the room. “I know that you're all scared and you all want to know what's happened. I'll tell you what I can.”

It was hard to focus on what Royal was saying when she saw Danny walk back in. Until that second she hadn't realized how scared that she'd been he wouldn't come back. The need to be close to him was stronger than her aversion to being surrounded by strangers, so she got as close to him as she could.

“We lost a Brother today. A good man. A father and a husband. He will be missed. He will be mourned. He will be avenged.” Royal's expression was deadly serious. “His family will be taken care of because that is our way. The news overwhelmed Jackie. She's been admitted to the hospital for observation, the maternity ward.”

“I can go and sit with her.” Claire's voice carried through the silent room.

“Thank you, Claire. I'm sure that she'll be glad to lay eyes on someone besides Train.” Royal smiled and several people in the crowd laughed. “Buster, take Rock with you and get her to the hospital. As for the rest of you, I think we can all agree that it's been a long day. Everyone settle down, get as comfortable as you can. We're going to make it through this.”

Royal continued to talk, but people were moving forward. Missy was pushing her way through the crowd, head held high to get to his side. Amelia felt Danny's arms around her before she could take a step. “You good?”

“No. Can we go upstairs?”

“Eager for what I promised you earlier, huh?” He squeezed her tight. “Are you sure that you don't want to get food first?” Amelia couldn't eat if she tried, so she shook her head. “Alright, come on.” No one stopped them as they headed upstairs, and before she knew it they were in the room and Danny was on her.

His kiss was almost brutal, full of everything that he was feeling. Amelia knew that this wasn't going to be the sweet nights they'd shared lately. Tonight it was going to be hot and hard, just like Danny's erection pressed against her stomach.

Amelia nipped down on his bottom lip as she slid a hand in between them. He inhaled sharply as her fingers trailed over his length. “You are wearing way too many clothes.” To help him out of them she moved her hands so she could work his belt. She got it unhooked and began to work on his zipper as he slid his cut off his shoulders.

Amelia stopped and waited for him to hang the cut on the hook on the door. No matter what the circumstances, he always treated the leather with care and respect. He'd treated her the same way. In fact, he still treated her that way, even when she made it hard for him—or, actually, especially when she made it hard for him. “I'm sorry.”

Danny turned from the door to face her. “What are you sorry for?”

“I know that I piss you off sometimes. Even when you're annoyed with me, you're still...” Amelia's voice shook.

“None of that.” He moved forward, and then he was on her again. “No getting weepy on me, not now.” His hands moved down to her ass and his grip was firm. “I've got plans for you.”

“So you've said, several times.” Amelia looped her arms around his neck.

“I'm tired of talking, feeling more like doing.” He growled and then he lifted her off of the ground. “Got a problem with that?”