Severed Angel (6 page)

Eve

Teresa is driving me mad. We're still on lockdown, meaning we've been cooped up in the compound for the best part of a week now. It's getting beyond crazy here. I know how she feels, I'm feeling trapped as much as she is. Although right now, I'm not sure I can handle stepping foot outside of the clubhouse, never mind the front gates.

The guys won't tell us anything about what's going on. They just mutter "club business" whenever we ask and hurry off. Even Prez has remained tight lipped with Teresa. Whatever it is that's going on, it's serious. Since Lola's body was found the guys all seem on high alert. They investigate anything out of place and watch wherever the women go. It's a far cry from the first few days I was here. Everyone seemed laid back, but not any longer. I feel on edge, as if Satan will creep up on me at any minute.

I'm sitting on my bed, technically it's Angel's bed, but I'm not even thinking about that right now. Teresa approaches, grabbing my hand. "Come on, we're getting out of here. I can't stand this." She drags me down the hall to the living area, and I mean she really does drag me, because I don't want to go. I can't stand the thought of stepping outside of this place.

"Prez." She shouts. "Where the fuck are you Prez?" She's making a scene, everyone's looking at her. She's the president
’s old lady, she should be setting an example and staying calm, but she doesn't really give a shit right now. I try and sneak off, but she grabs my wrist tightly and won't let go.

Elvis walks into the room, drawn by the noise his daughter is creating. "He's out on club business."

"I'm fucking sick of hearing the words club business come out of everyone's mouth." Teresa sulks.

"Me and Eve are off into town. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you what's happening.".

"Darlin, Prez would have my arse if I let you two girls out that front door, never mind the fucking gate." Teresa will not be calmed. She continues ranting for several more minutes, until she sees Angel enter the room. He then becomes the centre of her frustration, she starts in on him with more of the same. Elvis is the one to break first. He never could refuse Teresa anything and it explains why she can be such a bitch sometimes. I love her, don't get me wrong she's my best friend, but this is a girl who's been used to getting her own way for as long as I can remember.

"Fine, but we go with you." Elvis turns to Ange
l“
That okay with you?"

Angel looks anything but happy at the
prospect of babysitting us. He rubs his face roughly, sighing loudly. "Grab a couple of prospects. Teresa rides with you. Eve can ride with me." He commands, the look he gives me daring me to argue. I've hardly spoken to him and now I'm expected to ride on the back of his bike.

Teresa squeals in excitement. "Come on Eve, I've got a jacket you can borrow."

Already wearing my jeans and favorite black boots, I let her dress me in one of her many leather jackets.

Did I forget to mention I've never been on the back of a bike before
?

This was going to be interesting.

***

We head outside the clubhouse and I start to feel sick. I haven't been out here since Lola was dumped and I want to run back inside. Teresa notices I've stopped and loops her arm through mine. We follow Elvis and Angel, accompanied by the two
prospects. I take deep calming breaths as we approach a large wooden building. It looks a little like a large shed. There's a row of bikes already waiting outside, a prospect standing the last bike beside the rest. I know absolutely nothing about bikes, all I can tell is there's a shit load of Harleys and some custom choppers. I'm in love with some of the paint jobs on them. Shiny reds, glossy blacks and lots of chrome shine in the midday sun. Someone obviously takes great care of these bikes. Elvis thanks the prospect for gathering the bikes out front for us and the prospect leaves. I see Teresa jump on the back of her dad’s bike with next to no effort at all. How the fuck am I supposed to do that?

Angel grabs my arm, drawing me towards one of the black Harleys. I may know nothing about bikes, but I
must admit, this is one sexy looking piece of machinery. He sits astride the bike, before looking over at me impatiently, cocking up one of those sexy eyebrows, yeah even his eyebrows are sexy.

"What the fuck are you waiting on?" He glowers at me. I look at the bike trying to think of a way to get on without making a fool of myself. "Get on Eve, we haven't got all fucking day."

I'm still puzzling about how I'm supposed to do just that when Angel reaches over and grabs me. He almost throws me over the rear seat. Shit! I start to over balance and grab hold of him tightly. I'm surprised that when I grab onto him he curses. I wiggle about to make myself a little more comfortable. I sit back on the seat, putting my feet where I'm told and grab onto the back of his cut. Angel mutters something under his breath that I can't hear over his engine but I do manage to catch "fucking women,"

He reaches back, pulling my arms to rest tightly around his front. I can feel his delicious hard stomach. Shit, this is too close for me. I'm struggling to resist this guy as it is, and being wrapped this
tightly around him isn't helping. I'm suddenly hot and bothered. My pussy is so wet, I can feel my knickers are soaked through.

Fuck I didn't expect to feel like this on the back of his bike.

***

Gabe

Why the fuck did I agree to this stupid trip with the girls. Fucking Elvis. Prez will throw a shit fit when he finds out.

I'm so sick of Teresa's fucking whining, it seemed the easiest way to shut her up. All week sh
e’
s done nothing but fucking moan to anyone wh
o’
ll listen.

We finally pull up to the store Teresa demanded we go to. I let them know they get half an hour, that's all. Anything they can't do in that time I'll get a fucking
prospect to sort out later.

Teresa smirks at me. "There's no way I'm letting a
prospect buy my girly shit Angel. I'll be as long as it takes." She storms off into the store, dragging Eve behind her.

Fuck, my cock's still hard from having Eve on the back of my bike. She gripped a little too tightly, but that meant I got to get a real good feel of her squashed against my back. Having her that close really fucking turned me on. More than I'd like to admit. I've got half an hour to calm this raging hard on down before I have to go through it all over again. No doubt, as soon as she's back behind me, I will be hard as steel again. That woman is getting under my skin a little too much lately.

I turn to the prospects. "Watch those two like fucking hawks. You hear me." They nod, following the girls into the store without a word. They know if any harm comes to them under their watch there will be hell to pay.

Elvis and I lean against the bikes, chatting about nothing. Neither of us wanting to talk about the shit situation we're in. There's been too much talk of that lately.

"You do realize Prez is going to have our balls for this." I look at Elvis.

He smirks. "Yep. But I'd rather Prez has my balls than listen to that girl bitch all fucking day." He laughs loudly. I like Elvis, he's one of the longest serving members, if you don't count the time he spent in England with his wife before she died.

The girls finally emerge from the store, arms full of packages and giggling over something. I hear the loud roar of a truck. Looking up I see a black pickup heading towards us at full speed. The back window is down and I notice the glint of a gun barrel visible in the shadows.

"Shit!" I yell "Get down now.".

It all moves so fast I don't really see what happens. One minute the girls are standing in the doorway, the next I'm pulling Eve under me as I hit the ground. I shield her body from anything that could harm her. I look up and see Elvis doing the same with Teresa. Shots continue to sound out.

"
Prospects." I shout. They manage to shoot at the truck, but not hit anyone inside.

The truck never stops, spinning its wheels and skidding loudly, it turns at the stoplight. I don't hear
shots anymore so I look up and see it's gone. I turn my gaze to Eve below me, her face white. She looks terrified. I do a quick check of her and see she's fine. That's when the screaming starts. A loud, ear piercing scream. I look over and see it's Teresa who's screaming. Her face is red, tears streaming down her face. She's holding Elvis by the shoulders, shaking him violently, but he's not responding. I jump up, pulling Eve with me. I hold her arm as I make my way to Elvis. Teresa shakes him once more and his head rolls back. I freeze. There’s a bullet hole right between his eyes.

No! He can't be.

I hear Eve gasp beside me and then her screams join Teresa's.

Gabe

I walk into Church and take my seat beside Prez. Taking a quick look around I see the defeated faces around the table.

Fuck! Satan has done a number on our club. None of the brothers have taken Elvis's death well, it's hit us all hard.

Prez calls the meeting to order by banging his gavel. "This shit stops now! Word on the street is Elvis was taken out by a fucking bounty hunter trying to get Eve. This is on Carnal's head and I want Satan to fucking suffer. My old lady won't stop fucking crying and I need to let her know shit's been handled." There are nods and shouts of agreement around the table. "Talk to me, where we at?"

Dragon looks to me, seeking permission to speak. "I talked to the cop I know. He's had a word with his boss and they're ready at their end. We just need to get the drugs planted and call it in."

Disney voices what we're all thinking. "Why the fuck are we playing games?" He looks around at us all. "Why aren't we riding over there and taking every mother fucking Carnal member out right now?"

Prez looks at him coolly. "Because then the fucker wouldn't suffer. Being behind bars will kill that bastard and if that doesn't, there are enough Carnal enemies behind bars to do it for us." He pauses. "There's too many eyes on us right now, if we take the fuckers out we're the first place the cops will come. They know what we're up to now anyway. If he's taken down for drugs no one will bat an eye. So that's how it's
gonna be, anyone got anything to say?" He looks to Disney who shakes his head. "Good."

Prez is right, as much as we'd all like to take that bastard apart limb by limb, we've got to be smart. I hate that he gets away with a prison cell when Elvis was fucking murdered. Satan may not have been the one to pull the trigger, but he ordered the hit. When he gets sent down I know there will be a long fucking line to finish him and I can't fucking wait.

We spend the next few hours hashing out the plan. We decide that Dragon, Disney and I are the distractions while a couple of the other guys need to get inside the Carnal compound to plant the drugs. It's risky as fuck but this shouldn't come back on us. If we do it right.

Prez looks round the room. "Tomorrow's the funeral, we give Elvis the respect and send off he deserves. Any
questions?" There's silence around the table. A few nervous faces, some determined, but no one disagrees.

***

Eve

Teresa hasn't spoken to me since the death of her father. I know she blames me. Fuck, I blame me. It's my fault that Elvis is dead right now. The guilt has almost destroyed me, I'm barely holding on. It may not have been my choice to have left the compound, but there's only me to blame. It should be me they're burying tomorrow. Not Elvis. God I hate to think of him just lying there, thinking about his face not breaking into that huge grin whenever he would see me. I can't stand to not see his face again. I want to have him hold me like he did the first time I woke up in this place. He may not have been my biological
dad, but he was in my heart. It doesn't matter how much I'm grieving though, because it's all my fault. The looks I'm getting around here give me that message loud and clear. I know it and so does everyone else. Elvis is dead because of me.

Cautiously I make my way to Elvis and Sue's room. Teresa has ignored me, but I'm hoping Sue will give me a moment. I haven't seen her much either, so I want to check on her more than anything. Tapping hesitantly on the door I listen for any movement. I can hear sobbing on the other side and my guilt doubles from hearing her pain. I hear a shuffling noise and then the door opens. I hardly recognize Sue. Her face is drawn with grief. Huge black circles shadow her eyes and her cheeks are raw from crying. In her hands she is clutching a cut. I recognize it as the one Elvis was wearing when he was shot. God that was awful. One minute Teresa and I were laughing about nothing important, then all hell broke loose.

Sue doesn't acknowledge me, just leaves the door ajar and shuffles back to the bed. I hesitate before entering the room as I wonder what I can possibly say to this broken woman. A fucking apology isn't going to help. It won't bring Elvis back. I move forward anyway, I have to say the words that I need to say.

Dropping to my knees in front of her I reach for her hands. "Sue, I'm so sorry." My voice sounds thick with emotion as I struggle to get the words out.

She looks at me and what I see has me loosening my grip on her hands. Her face, that once looked at me with such kindness, is now twisted with hatred and she begins screaming at me. "Why did you have to come here?" She pushes me away then falls back to the bed, defeated. "If you hadn't come he'd still be here. He would still be alive." Giving me one last hateful look she throws the cut at me. "Get out! I can't stand to see you right now."

Holding the bloody cut in my hands, tears fall down my face. I walk slowly out of Sue's room and she bangs the door shut behind me. I sob as I clutch Elvis's cut to my chest. Elvis is dead because of me and the grief overwhelms me. I don't care where I am or who sees me, I collapse on the floor, letting grief consume me.

***

Gabe

I fucking hate funerals. I'm not an emotional man but funerals are hard, especially when the person who died is as important to me as Elvis was. Today is going to be difficult on all of us. Elvis was an integral part of the club. Everyone liked him. He was larger than life and this club won't be the same without him.

I knock once on Prez' door. "It's time Prez."

The door slowly opens revealing a silent Teresa. She's wearing a black dress with her hair pulled to the back of her head. Her face is white, too white. I hardly recognize her. There's none of her spark left. Standing in front of me is the shell of the woman I know. The death of her dad is proving tough on her. I pull her into my arms. She's stiff and stays silent, rejecting my comfort.

Prez comes out dressed in black jeans, a black button down and his cut. The outfit matching mine. He reaches for Teresa's hand and she takes it. She's moving in slow motion and Prez leads her out. If he hadn't I don't think she would have been capable.

We head out front of the clubhouse, the hearse parked by the entrance. A couple of cars for the women in the middle of a crowd of bikes. Elvis knew a lot of bikers and had stayed with other charters when he travelled around. Those bikers that knew him so well have come to support us today. All of the bikes are lined up at the rear of the cars with Dragons, mine and Prez’s bikes at the front of them all in true biker tradition.

Prez helps Teresa into the first car with Sue. I don't see Eve in there. Looks like they're still not speaking to her, which is pretty sad. From what I've seen Eve is hurting just as much. Putting Eve out of my mind I follow Prez to our bikes. We're still on edge with Satan trying to get hold of Eve, but he would be fucking stupid to try anything today with this many bikers around.

Fuck, I wish this day was over with already.

***

Eve

I stand at the back of the crowded church, unsure of my place in the proceedings. I hate funerals. I'm
lucky to have only had to endure a few in my life. None of them as close to me as Elvis or hurt this bad. Teresa and Sue still can't bear the sight of me so I came here in a car with some of the other old ladies. They couldn't stand the sight of me either. I sat in silence on the way with my head down, tears dripping down my face.

The minister is talking, but I haven't a clue what he's saying. The coffin is positioned in the middle of the aisle, to the side there's a photo of Elvis. His head thrown back in laughter which brings a small smile through my tears. That's how I want to remember him. Full of laughter and love. Instead all I see is the gaping bullet wound in his head. His eyes lifeless and Teresa's screams accompanying the memory.

Sue and Teresa are in the first pew. Angel and Prez to either side of them. Sue's quietly sobbing while Teresa keeps muttering no. Repeating it over and over. She twists the handkerchief in her hand the whole time. I have a feeling that if she stops she will crumble. I wish I was sitting with her, so we could share our pain but I don't deserve her forgiveness. I stay here, out of sight.

Music starts to flow through the church, my heart breaking even more when I hear the song.
The Wonder of You
, Elvis's song, the one he serenaded us all with at any opportunity. Even some of the tough looking bikers look red eyed hearing this.

The service passes by in a teary blur. I only
realize it's over when people start heading out of the door. Diane moves over to me. Her own face tear strewn.

She reaches out for my arm. "Come on sweetie, let's get you out of here." At first I think she's showing me sympathy. Then I
realize she's just trying to get me out of the away before Sue and Teresa see me. I let her lead me outside.

The graveside service is
somber. Teresa collapses as the coffin is lowered into the ground, howling with grief. "Don't leave me Daddy.", Prez tries to lift her to her feet, but she won't move. "You promised me, you fucking promised me you wouldn't leave me Daddy."

Her pain makes my tears flow faster. The guys each say their farewell to Elvis before heading back to their bikes. Teresa hasn't moved. Prez reaches down and lifts her into his arms with such tenderness, carrying
her back to the car. My tears haven't stopped at all since I woke this morning.

When they have gone I'm left standing at the graveside, alone. I walk closer, grabbing a fistful of dirt and throw it on the coffin. "I'm so sorry Elvis. I wish it was me lying there instead of you. You didn't deserve this. I love you."

Completely broken I head back to the last of the waiting cars.