Revenge (7 page)

“Lacey, she had it bad when they all hit. They raped
her and left her for dead. She was young and had to deal with it.”

“They raped and killed my sister. I saw what they did
to my sister, mother, and father. I don’t know what she’s dealing with. I was
shot in the gut and almost died. I didn’t get out of shit just because of my
father,” he said. Butch didn’t know why he was explaining himself, only that he
needed for them to know he didn’t get out of anything. Gonzalez had ruined his
life as much as everyone else’s. The only difference was the fact he got sent
far away from the rest of the survivors. He didn’t know why, but he had.
Growing up away from them, he’d found his way to The Skulls.

“Sorry to hear that,” Dalton said. “She’ll come
around. Lacey, she doesn’t always like what needs to happen to fix shit. We’re
going to get our revenge if she likes it or not.”

“Have you got anything to tell us?” Danny asked,
changing the subject.

He hated this. Giving them information behind The
Skulls’ back was an act of betrayal. Chaos Bleeds and his own crew wanted to
take Gonzalez out. “Are you sure you don’t want to come to The Skulls? They’ll
work with you. We all want this fucker dead. You wouldn’t be alone in all of
this.”

“No, this is between the Savage Brothers and Gonzalez.
You can help us or get out of the way. We don’t really care. We’re going to
kill Gonzalez either way.”

Butch dropped his hands.
“Fine.
Gonzalez is currently in Piston County organizing girls to transport. I don’t
know the date or when. He’s not leaving any time soon.”

“Will he turn up for your wedding?” Danny asked.

Tensing, Butch looked at the two men facing him. They
were hurting inside. He saw it easily, and he recognized the pain. They hadn’t
recovered from what happened all those years ago. They weren’t going to let it
go no matter what.

“I don’t know.”

Were they going to cause problems for them? Butch
didn’t know. He didn’t know anything right now about these men.

“Let us know when Gonzalez is in town. We want to take
him out, and you owe us. Your father would agree that it’s down to us to take out
the bastard,” Danny said.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. The Skulls are a
fantastic club, and
Tiny’s
a brilliant president—”

Butch was cut off by Dalton’s laugh.

“You’re insane if you think we’re going to trust
another club. The only thing we want from you is Gonzalez. You give us him, and
we’re all even.” Dalton turned to the other man. “I’m going to go and check on Lacey.
Get this fucker out of here.”

When it was only him and Danny, Butch let out a
breath. “I guess they blame me for something.”

“No, they don’t. We’re used to not relying on anyone
but ourselves.” Danny led the way down the long corridor toward the front door.
Putting his hood up, Butch exited the door. “Let us know when Gonzalez comes
back to Fort Wills. We want our shot at him.”

Butch nodded his head. The door closed in his face.

Staring up and down the street Butch checked to make
sure no one followed him and walked back toward the clubhouse.

You’re going to get yourself killed.

Right at that moment the only people he cared about were
Cheryl and Matthew. Providing they were taken care of, and he had Alex’s
assurance that they would be, he really didn’t care about what happened to him.

He threw the hooded jacket in the trash before
entering the front of the compound. Passing Lash and Nash, he accepted their
congratulations on joining the fold.

“Where you
goin
’?”
Lash asked,
slurring his words. “It’s a party, and we saw you slip outside.”

“I’ve got my woman to get to.” The men had been
partying with the Chaos Bleeds crew. Butch hadn’t been the center of attention
the moment the guys started betting on who could shoot better at pool. Once
they all went inside to play with each other, knowing he was crap at pool, he
saw an opening to slip out of the party to visit the Savage Brothers. After
seeing them, he didn’t feel he could be part of any celebrations. He was
betraying them, and it was killing him inside.

Taking the digs the men threw his way, Butch laughed
it off, charging into the clubhouse. He didn’t see Cheryl waiting around for
him. Passing the men and women, Butch made his way toward the staircase.

He didn’t stop until he got to his door. Without
knocking, he opened it and found Cheryl sitting up in bed munching on some
chips, watching the television.

“Hey, baby,” she said, smiling.

Without another word, he climbed to the bed, took hold
of her face and slammed his lips down on hers. She tasted of salt and vinegar
from the chips she was eating. He didn’t care. Sliding his tongue along her
lips then inside her mouth, he consumed her, trying to get rid of the erratic
thoughts he was having.

“What’s going on?” she asked when he pulled away.

“I need to talk to you.”

“You’re sweating. Where have you been?” She placed a
hand on his head, frowning as she stepped out of the blanket. “What’s going
on?”

“I’ve fucked up and done something terrible.”

“What could you have done?”

Licking his suddenly dry lips he stared into her eyes
and told her the truth. He told her about his chance meeting with Danny from
the Savage Brothers along with the plan Alex had. “Alex wants me to pretend to
hate the club, Cheryl. All Gonzalez needs to believe is that I’ve been
blackmailed into coming back. He doesn’t know that I wanted to come back. We’re
using his assumptions against him. I’m going to get information from Gonzalez
so that we can take out others around him, reducing the threat to The Skulls
and Chaos Bleeds.”

“Butch, is this why you’ve been quiet?”

“That’s not all, baby.” He stroked her cheek, wishing
he wasn’t about to tell her the truth of the Savage Brothers. “My old club is
back, Cheryl. There were survivors, young survivors. They’re back and want
revenge on Gonzalez. They want me to feed them information.”

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” she
asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t—I don’t know what to do.”

“You’ve got to tell Alex the truth.”

“If I do that after this time I don’t know what Alex
and the
club are
going to think. Fuck, they need me,
Cheryl.” He ran fingers through his hair, trying to think of a way out of the
mess he created.

“They’re not your club, Butch. It’s not your problem.”

“I’ve got no choice.”

“This is going to put you in danger?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t do this. You need to tell Tiny. I can’t
lose you, Butch. I love you so damn much.”

Taking hold of her hand, he shook his head. “Shut up
for a moment.” He kissed her lips to try to soothe any hurt his words might
have caused.

“This is bad, Butch.
Really bad.
You can’t do this to Tiny or The Skulls. They’re your family.”

“The Savage Brothers were once my family. I was born
to them.”

“And as far as you were aware, they all died. Your
loyalty is to Tiny and the club, not them. They’re going to get you killed,”
she said.

“They wouldn’t do that.”

Cheryl chuckled. The sound was verging on the
hysterical side. “Are you crazy? Can you even hear yourself?”

“Babe, I know what you’re thinking, but they’re not
like that. I promise. They deserve to get their revenge as much as Devil and
Tiny.”

She pulled away from him. “They don’t know you, Butch,
and truthfully, you don’t really know them. It has been over twenty years. Time
has gone by, and it changes everyone. Look at it from their point of view.
You’re not a Savage Brother anymore. You were taken from that life and have
been living with The Skulls. You’re nothing but collateral damage to them.
They’re using you.”

He frowned. Butch knew she had a point.

Wouldn’t he use anyone at his disposal to help The
Skulls?

“You’ve got to stop thinking like a loyal subject
ready to take your life at a moment’s notice. You’re better than that. Talk to
Tiny and Alex. Let them know what’s going on.”

Taking hold of her hands, he smiled. “I will.”

Cheryl let out a sigh. “You won’t. I can hear it in
your voice.” She pulled away from him, withdrawing her hands and leaving the
bed.

Matthew had his own room next to theirs. Alex was also
on this floor. Cheryl went to the window looking outside. It was dark, and he
watched her wrap her arms around her stomach.

“I can’t tell the other two, Cheryl.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve been accepted back into the club. The fact I
even had a meeting and left it this long to tell them will show my loyalty is
divided. I can’t just go and tell them the truth.”

“So you’re going to lie about it. Pretend something’s
not happening?” She turned to look at him.

“So long as I’ve got The Skulls’ best interests at
heart, they don’t need to know.”

“They’re your family. What you’re doing is wrong, and
it’s going to get everyone killed.”

Standing up, he walked toward her. She placed her
hands on the back of her neck, blowing out a breath. He saw the tears in her
eyes as she tried to stay strong.

“I can’t risk anything happening to you,” she said. “I
love you.”

Reaching out, he cupped her cheek. He caressed the
delicate flesh, moving down to cup her neck. She dropped her hands to her
sides, smiling. “I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can do this. You’re stronger than you
realize.” He kissed the top of her head, closing his eyes as he did.

Don’t make her do this. Don’t make her lie on your behalf.

“I’ll tell you the truth of whatever is happening or
going down. I won’t leave you in the dark.”

“You’re going to carry on doing this?” she asked.

The tears shining in her eyes had started to fall.
Watching the water streak across her cheeks cut him to the core. He hated the
fact he was the cause of her tears.

“All three of the clubs have one goal in mind, kill
Gonzalez. The Savage Brothers want him dead as much as we do.” He wiped the
tears off her cheeks. “They’re going to help us even if they don’t know it.
Gonzalez is strong, but he makes mistakes. He’s getting greedy, and we’re all
going to get out of this alive. The men who are working for him are going to
start to disappear. We’re going to win this.”

She laughed. “You’re crazy, Butch.”

“Will you stay by my side while I make this right?” he
asked.

Cheryl gazed at his chest. “I don’t know what to do.”

“It’s simple, trust me, Cheryl. I won’t put you or Matthew
in danger. We’re in this for the long haul, but I need your word that you won’t
do anything stupid.”

He kept her eyes on him.

“I won’t do anything or say anything. I promise. You
can trust me to keep my nose out of it.”

Wrapping his arms around her, Butch pulled her close.
He hoped to God that he could keep her safe.

Chapter Three

Eva tucked some hair behind her ear as she glanced
around the large pantry for supplies to make breakfast. In the far corner stood
a large freezer and beside it a large fridge that was bare of supplies. Looking
down at her chart she started to make notes of food needed to keep the club
sustained.

“How are you doing?” Lexie asked, leaning against the
wall.

Staring over her shoulder Eva smiled at the other
woman. It made a change to see her without a kid hanging off her. Ever since
Devil had claimed Lexie, the other woman was always carrying or holding a child
to her person. Eva was starting to believe Lexie couldn’t survive without a
young kid hanging around.

“Fine.
It’s amazing what two clubs can consume. Some of The Skulls have left
to go and deal with their families, but most of us are here and their kids.”
She shrugged. “I’m just making a list to start gathering supplies. I thought we
could start by visiting all the houses of the club members and grab food from
their stores before we head to the shop. No point letting food go to waste
while they’re all staying here.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

“How are you holding up?” Eva asked.

“I’m doing fine. Judi’s going a little crazy. She
loves her privacy and Piston County. This is a whole new experience for her,
but she’ll deal with it.”

Eva chuckled. “At least she’s not got any kids to add
into the mix of crazy. It’s amazing how much kids can affect a lock in.”

“Do you want some help?” Lexie stepped into the large
storage room. “I’ve not got any kids on me, and I can help where you need me.”

“Sure. It makes sense us doing it.
Us
being the two MC leaders’ old ladies and all.”
Eva handed the chart to
Lexie. “I’ll tell you what we got and need, and you can write it down.”