When Dove Cries (12 page)

The Devil walked to the end of the porch and stood in the shadows. A second later, the flare of a match highlighted his face as he lit a cigarette. The thing was like a fucking beacon in the night. Draven carefully took aim, using the cigarette as the target circle, and fired. The rapport of the gun reverberated around him, making his ears ring, but he didn’t wait for the aftermath of his actions, knowing that in seconds, the whole fucking crew of the Demon Devils would be out hunting his ass.

But an eye for an eye and all that shit.

He put the truck in gear and drove off, knowing they’d hear his truck, but by the time they would scramble for their bikes, he’d have disappeared. Route Eighteen was going to be swarmed, so he floored the truck, going hellbent for leather until he found what he was looking for. He pulled down a slight embankment into a grove of trees and turned off the engine. The stillness in the night hung heavy through darkness as he waited and watched and, moments later, the first run of bikes blazed by. He was far enough away that in a few hours, he could make it safely back. Until then, he’d just enjoy the fireworks he’d started.

Chapter Thirteen

The next day, Dove walked downstairs early, but no one was awake. There were men sprawled on the couches and the floors, and there was even a man sleeping on the pool table, so she stayed as quiet as possible. She made her way into the kitchen and took stock of the room. It was dirty, there was an obvious mouse taking advantage of the neglect, and the refrigerator was in desperate need of a cleaning, inside and out.

She looked around until she found some yellow latex gloves, spray cleaner and a sponge, then she got to work cleaning. Lovey found her there an hour later.

“Holy crap,” Lovey said, looking around wide-eyed. “I didn’t realize we had a stove in here.”

“Well, there’s also a mouse. We’ll need a trap.”

“Since Nimrod’s coming home today, we need groceries anyway for the party. I’ll make sure to pick one up.”

“We’re having a party?” Dove asked, surprised.

“Yeah. Haven’t had one a while, so it’s going to be a blast.”

Dove bit her lip. “Sandwiches would be good. I take it you have plenty of booze?”

“Oh, yeah. That’s the one thing we don’t skimp on around here.”

“Okay. Then sandwiches, maybe some balloons. And cleaning, we’re definitely going to have to clean that club room…”

* * * *

When Draven came down sometime later, he found Dove busy cleaning and she’d gotten the other sweet butts to help. A few of the men had rearranged the furniture so the floors could be swept and mopped. And much to his surprise, some of the old ladies were in the kitchen cooking. He couldn’t remember the last time the kitchen had been utilized. Mainly, they went out or brought fast food in. Even Cade was behind the bar polishing the wooden countertop. Balloons floated in the corner and everything had a festive feel about the place.

“This place has never looked so good,” he said, smiling wide. “You’re not overdoing it, are you, Dove?”

She shook her head. She was wiping down the couches, and he had to grimace. Lord only knew what was buried in those couch cushions.

“Make sure you wear gloves and take a decontamination shower after that,” he warned her. “It’s got to be radioactive.”

“Yes,” she said dryly, pushing a piece of stray hair behind her ear. “It probably has more DNA samples on it than the local sperm bank.”

Everybody began laughing.

Even he had to grin. “What can I do to help?”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you so happy?”

“Huh? Can’t a man be happy?”

“Yes. But you’re positively glowing.”

He shrugged, but even her narrowed eyes couldn’t wipe the big goofy smile off his face. Last night had made him feel really great.

“Well,” she said, shrugging. “I ordered a couple of platters of sandwiches from the deli. Those need to be picked up. Do you know when Nimrod is being discharged?”

Draven pulled out his phone. “Let me call North.”

He walked toward the back rooms to hear better and placed the call.

“Hey,” North greeted. “Anything wrong?”

“Wait till you see this place. It’s sparkling clean.”

“What?”

“I guess Dove took it upon herself to motivate everyone into cleaning it up. She wanted me to ask you when Nimrod will be discharged.”

“We’re on our way over to the hospital now. I’ll text you.”

“Okay.”

He hung up and walked back to where he saw Dove talking with Cade to tell her. Jealousy tore through him. Damn it, the man was seriously pissing him off. How was he supposed to handle this? Because it was clear she wanted him right back. He supposed the
right
thing to do was let her go. But even though Cade had called him noble, he didn’t feel like being the gallant suitor and stepping aside.

If Cade Vanaker wanted a fight on his hands, well then, he was just the man to give him one.

* * * *

North, Givon and Allis had brought Nimrod, and everyone shouted surprise as the man walked through the door. His arm was in a sling and he had a slight look of pain on his face, but Dove figured a few beers would take care of that. She looked around the room, making sure everything was where she wanted it to be because this had to be perfect. Nimrod had gotten shot because of her, so she owed him.

North jumped up on the bar and clapped his hands, getting everyone’s attention.

“I have to give a big thanks to Dove who managed to kick your asses into gear to make this place look fantastic,” he said, grinning at her.

Dove blushed.

“There’s plenty of food and booze, and just before we commence with the celebrating, Draven has a special present for Nimrod.”

Draven walked forward with his hand behind his back. When he finally stood in front of Nimrod, he brought his arm around. He held a cut, a brand new leather vest that had Nimrod’s name sewn on the upper right-hand side.

“Is this…? Am I—? Are you shitting me?” Nimrod asked as he reverently took the vest.

Everyone began clapping.

“Congrats, man,” Draven said loudly to be heard over the cheers. “Since you seem willing to save our women all the time, we decided to patch you in. Now you gotta make an appointment at the shop to get your tat. Either me or Branch.”

“This is the best day of my life,” Nimrod said, obviously trying very hard not to cry.

“Come on, off with the prospect and on with the brother,” North replied as he hopped off the bar. Dove quickly wiped his boot prints off it. “You’re now a full member, one of the pack, and our motto is ‘We take care of our own’. You wear the red stripe at all times with pride. The Red Wolf is our spirit, our symbol, and these men are your brothers.”

“I will,” Nimrod whispered reverently, as if he was saying his marriage vows.

Draven helped unhook the sling so Nimrod could swap the vests out. All the Wolves came forward to greet their new brother. Tears gathered in Dove’s eyes, and she discreetly wiped them away. This was beautiful to her, being part of this community that loved each other unconditionally.

“This is fantastic,” Lovey gushed. She nudged Dove with her shoulder. “You did a great job.”

Dove couldn’t contain the big grin covering her face. She looked around and saw the Red Wolves laughing, drinking, and fooling around with the sweet butts, and knew this had been something desperately needed. Nimrod was the center of attention, and he seemed to love it. He was drinking from a beer in the hand that wasn’t in a sling and had a full one waiting in his immobile one.

Draven was talking with North and Cade was playing pool. Every once in a while she felt their gazes on her and knew they had to be looking her way, but she was so confused about them that she didn’t know how to handle it. She mainly kept her eyes focused anywhere but on them, which was harder to do than she figured because her glances kept straying to them against her better judgment.

“You keep staring at them,” Lovey murmured near her ear.

“That’s because I can’t get them out of my mind,” Dove told her. “Everything was easier when sex wasn’t an issue.”

“How is that surprising?”

“No, you don’t understand,” Dove said. “John is my angel and Cade is my savior. I vowed to spend the rest of my life with them. But they don’t even like each other, and I won’t play favorites between them.”

“But men want physicality. It’s their nature. I mean, they’re bikers. Bikers aren’t that different from rock stars with the whole sex, drugs and rock n’roll scene. Too bad they aren’t best friends like North and Givon, even though he’s still a cop.”

Dove swung her gaze around to rest on the sheriff standing next to Allis. He had a beer in his hand, but he had a wide berth around him, as if the Wolves were deliberately keeping their distance. Only Pete stood talking to him.

“I thought him and North were in a relationship with Allis,” Dove stated, confused.

“He is, but that doesn’t automatically mean he’s accepted into their ranks,” Lovey said. “He’s still a cop and this is still an outlaw gang. Givon’s accepted only because he stood with us against the Tribe.”

“Outlaw,” Dove mused. “Like Jesse James?”

Lovey laughed. “You’re so funny, Dove. Outlaw gangs don’t really conform to the standards of polite society.”

“What does that mean?”

“The Red Wolves are one-percenters. Hard riding, hard partying, a non-mainstream type group, although North and Draven have slowly been turning that around for the Wolves. It’s hard to give up the life style of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.”

Dove bit her lip. “They’re criminals?”

Lovey stared at her steadily. “What if I said yes?”

Dove glanced around to North and Allis who had become her friends, to all the others who had defended her with their lives. Her father and his men had been about good guys versus bad guys, and according to Lovey, the Red Wolves were the bad guys. But suddenly, it wasn’t so black and white. Lines blurred.

“It not so cut and dried, is it?” she mused, not expecting an answer to her question.

Lovey shook her head. “The Red Wolves are a family, and they take care of the pack. No matter what has to be done.”

“Yes,” Dove murmured. “That I completely understand.

Since Lovey was tending bar, she had to go back to work when several on-their-way-to-being-shit-faced members walked over and started banging their empty beer bottles on the counter.

Dove laughed as Lovey rolled her eyes. Someone touched her elbow, and she turned to see Allis and Givon standing next to her. Dove threw her arms around Allis, who hugged her back.

“I heard you kicked butt today,” Allis teased.

Dove shrugged. “It just needed to be done. I guess it worked because everyone seems to be having a good time.”

“That they are,” Givon replied. He nodded toward a corner were Branch sat with a plate heaped with food. “I think that’s his second plate, and he just got here five minutes ago.”

“He’s a growing boy,” Allis said seriously.

Givon snorted. “You know, I never did get that statement from you,” he told her. “It seems like every time, something has come up.”

“That’s weird, huh? Well, I’m here now. What would you like to know?”

“I’ve gotten most of what happened,” he said. “Can you tell me anything Hiller said? Names. Places. Anything that might be helpful?”

“No names,” Dove said. “But there was another man. Older. Long gray beard. He was mean and used to taunt me about breaking me in.”

Givon tensed and he looked over at North, who stood talking with Draven. When North look over at him, he crooked a finger in a ‘come here’ motion. Immediately, North touched Draven and they began walking over. Along the way, Draven knocked Cade’s arm to follow. And before Dove realized what was happening, the tall bikers surrounded her, all staring intensely into her eyes.

“Can you repeat what you just said?” Givon asked.

She nodded. “There was an older man with Hiller. Long gray beard, mean eyes.”

Givon scrolled through his phone until he found a photo then held it up. “Is this the man saw you saw?”

Dove felt the blood leave her face as she stared at the man who had mocked and laughed at her. “That’s him,” she whispered. “That’s the man with Hiller.”

“Are you sure, Dove?”

“Yes,” she said firmly. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Without a doubt, that is the man.”

Givon gave her a slight smile and put his phone away. “Good girl. Can you write out those details for me?”

She nodded and North led her into the back of the clubhouse to an office where he found a piece of printer paper and a pen. She quickly wrote out what she knew, including how she had identified the man on Givon’s phone. Then he nodded at her and left with North.

“You just gave us the break we’ve needed,” Cade murmured. He kissed her forehead.

She looked between him and Draven. “Who is that man in the picture?”

“The president of the Demon Devils,” Draven said. “We’ve been looking for a solid link between him and Hiller and you just provided us with it.”

“What’s going to happen now?”

“Givon’s on his way now to get a warrant from a judge,” Cade explained. “It’ll take a few hours.”

“And then?”

“Then they’ll go arrest him.”

“So… This is over?”

When Draven nodded, she let out a deep breath of relief, not having even realized the weight that had been hanging around her neck. Her knees felt weak and they began to buckle. Both Cade and Draven made a grab to hold her up and she ended up sandwiched between them. As soon as she realized her position, her heart began to thump wildly and butterflies erupted in her belly again, only this time it was twice as bad because both men were touching her. Her mouth went dry and she couldn’t think of one coherent thing to say.

For a moment, they were all silent as they stared at one another.

“John?” Cade whispered.

“Let her go,” Draven said roughly.

“No. And you can’t either, can you? There’s something going on between the three of us, can’t you feel it?”