Whizz (23 page)

She nodded. “I’d hate for him to lose the family. It’ll take him time to earn back their trust. I’m not going to lie, he may never do it.”

“It will work. He won’t be alone, Lacey. I promise you I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ve even got Cheryl working Alex.”

Lacey tucked some hair behind her ear. “It must be hard for her.”

“It is, but she’s got leverage that I don’t have. She’s got her son, Michael.”

“Do you think it’s wise doing that?” she asked.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Butch within the club. Gonzalez and over the years other men have come and destroyed parts of the club. We’re no longer friends with the Chaos Bleeds crew. Devil and Tiny are no longer talking. Eva and Lexie are talking, but it’s not the same. It hasn’t been the same in a long time.”

She looked up at him. “I hope I can help you bring the club back together.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll get you a ring when we get home. I didn’t want to tell Killer that I was engaged. I want us both to tell the club that we’re going to get married.”

Heat filled her cheeks as she thought about confronting the club.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not used to being the center of attention. The Skulls is your club, your family. I’m nervous.”

He started to laugh. “You’ve got nothing to be nervous about. The women already adore you. You’ll fit right in.”

Whizz wrapped his arms around her. For once, she actually believed him when he said it was going to be okay. She didn’t really have a choice. There was no future for her without him.

****

Alex entered the clubhouse to hear nonstop arguing.

“I’m not having any of your fucking fighters near my fucking woman,” Tiny said, yelling.

“You can’t take care of my girl. You’ve put her in danger more than anyone I know. I can’t believe you even think you’ve got what it takes to take care of her.”

“Dad, stop it.”

“No, I won’t stop. I’m sick and tired of having to listen to the shit that goes down. I’m doing what that fuck-face should do to take care of you,” Ned said, growling each word out.

Alex took a deep breath and rounded the corner to enter the club house. Eva clocked him first, and she shook her head. This is what he’d been doing his whole life, talking with Tiny. He was the one who’d brought Ned into his life through the drug runs. All of them knew other people that knew other people that kept them in contact with others. It was an insane scheme of things but one that worked.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked.

Eva shook her head, turning to walk away.

“You’re not going anywhere, Eva. I want to see those grandbabies that have been kept from me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Dad, you’re not being fair. Shit went down, but that’s no need to leave men here to take care of me.”

“No one hurts my girl, Eva. You’ve got to understand that. I for one am not happy with what went down with this fucker, Gonzalez.”

The three fighters were standing there, not making a sound. Alex stared at each one, recognizing them. They were fierce bastards, hard as rock. He’d put money on them winning and earned a killing back for it. One was known as Jimmy, who could take a man down with one punch. The other, Pat, no one gave him shit about his name as he was a mean motherfucker who wasn’t afraid to use his teeth. The last one was Black. No one knew his real name. His eyes were that dark they appeared almost black. He didn’t speak to anyone. Just glancing over at him gave Alex the chills.

“What’s with the fighters?” Alex moved behind the bar pouring himself a generous shot of whiskey. After the meeting with Cheryl, he needed something strong.

“They’re here to protect my girl.”

“You think a bunch of fighters would have stopped Gonzalez?”

“It would have stopped my girl getting hurt.”

Alex pointed across the room toward Baker. “He’s the one who stopped Eva getting hurt. We’ve got the protection covered.”

“You need to step down, Tiny. You’ve not got what it takes to take on the world.”

“Dad!”

“What about you, old man? You’ve got a few years on me. Are you going to be stepping down from your fighters?”

“My boys don’t get into trouble. You, however, can’t keep anyone in fucking check.”

Tiny stepped closer, about to raise his fist.

“Stop!” Eva screamed the word. The high pitch made Alex cover his ears. “Daddy, I thought this visit was to see me and the kids. Not to bring men here to leave. This is not how it works. You know this. I don’t want men I don’t know hanging around my house. It’s bad enough getting a life as it is. I don’t want your men here.” She circled her arm through Tiny’s. “He takes care of me. He loves me, Dad.”

“No, he almost got you killed.”

“I’m still here. I’m still alive to tell all kinds of tales. Please, don’t do this.”

Alex didn’t know why he bothered coming. The only person who could talk Ned down was his little girl.

“This isn’t over,” Ned said, pointing a finger at Tiny.

“Stop with your fucking threats. They get old real fucking fast.”

Alex watched as Eva rolled her eyes. “You can’t do it, can you?” She released Tiny’s arm. “You’re my husband, and you’re my dad. I love you both. For once can you just try and get along?”

She turned and walked away, leaving two men looking a little sheepish.

“That was your fault.”

“We need to talk about Butch,” Alex said, interrupting their talk. He wasn’t interested in listening to them bicker about whose fault it was or not. There were far more interesting things going on in the world than that. He couldn’t let anything happen to his son. If supporting Butch back into the club was what kept his son close to him, he’d do it.

“What?” Tiny asked, turning back to face him.

“Butch made a mistake. You can’t risk losing him. He was loyal to the club for so long. I can’t agree with the decision to lose him.”

“Since when have you been about team Butch?” Lash asked.

“We’ll lose Whizz in the process. Both of them are great members, loyal members.” He’d not really thought about what to say in defense of Whizz.

“We’re going to take a vote on it when Whizz gets back. The fucker took off because this bastard had come to town.” Tiny glared at Ned. “I can’t believe you brought your fighters with you. Fucking prick.”

“Go ahead, Tiny, make your threats. I may be old, but I can still shoot a fucking gun.”

The threats went on but neither man acting on them. Eva had them both gripped by the balls.

Chapter Twelve

Whizz parked up outside of the clubhouse late the following afternoon. He didn’t want his time with Lacey to end, but from the three men he didn’t recognize standing outside, it was a good time to be back.

Lacey climbed off the back of the bike, handing him the helmet he’d given her to wear.

“They’re probably Ned’s fighters. He’s got a thing where he doesn’t like Eva to be put in danger.”

“It’s a bit late with her dating a biker.”

“Ned was never normal.”

He pocketed his keys, grabbing Lacey’s hand and making his way toward the noise. Eva was screaming at Tiny and Ned as they fought in the center of the room.

“Why are Ned’s fighters outside?” Lacey asked.

Even he didn’t know why the fighters were outside. He saw Nash and Lash standing at the bar looking pissed off.

“What’s going on?” Whizz asked, putting Lacey in front of him in the seat. He stood behind her so that she’d be protected from the mess.

“They’re fighting to prove they’re not old. Ned sent his fighters out as Tiny challenged him. They’re being fucking ridiculous,” Lash said.

“You were acting like an immature bastard not long ago because you don’t want to be taking over. Now you’re complaining about them acting like it.”

“It’s fucking different. Tiny should know better. This is not solving problems like Butch.”

Whizz tensed. “What about Butch?” He massaged Lacey’s shoulders feeling her tense up in front of him.

“Alex shouted for Butch to be let back in. I don’t know if it’s right,” Lash said.

“I’ll give Butch a third chance. I know why he left the first time. It can be scary taking on a woman in the club. Look what has happened to all the women. They’ve all suffered at some point. I think it makes sense to give him a chance,” Nash said. “I was given that same chance to be let back in. Personally, I think Alex has had too much of a say in the club. I agree with Devil about that. Alex’s is not a real biker, not in the heart of it.”

Whizz locked his fingers inside Lacey’s.

“Is it true you’ll walk if Butch doesn’t get voted back in?” Lash asked.

“Shit, I don’t know. When you say it like that it sounds so damn bad. It is damn bad. We’re a family. Don’t you think we’ve lost enough with Gonzalez, man? Butch fucked up, and it cost us. We’ve all done shit, including your brother. Butch helped us deal with the Savage Brothers.” He leaned down and kissed her head, trying to show her the love he felt for her. “We’re not going to let anything like that happen again.”

A gun went off, and curses filled the air. Whizz covered Lacey’s body, protecting her from any damage. Glancing behind him he saw Eva aiming the gun at the far wall. Outside was clear as it led to the yard.

Most of the brothers had hit the deck, prepared to fire. Several guns were aimed at her as she raised the weapon.

“Now, I don’t give a fuck how old either of you are. You’re behaving like goddamn babies. You’re supposed to be grown-ass men, not assholes. Daddy, when your visit is over you’re going back to Vegas and you’re taking your three fighters with you.” She held her finger up to stop Ned from interrupting. “Tiny, you’re going to treat my father with some respect while he’s here. I don’t care what shit is going on in your head. He’s my dad, and you’re both fucking old. I will not have you fighting anymore in my club, and this is part of my club. Tiny, you didn’t get me to sign a pre-nup, so half of your shit is mine. Deal with your problems, but stop fucking fighting. Miles and Tabitha deserve better from the both of you.”

She dropped the gun and walked outside. The mother of The Skulls had spoken, and now they all had to be on their best behavior.

“You better hope that Angel can live up to that. Otherwise, everyone is going to walk all over her,” Nash said.

Whizz was thinking the exact same thing. Angel really needed to pick up her game if she was going to support the club and Lash. He wondered if she could handle it.

“I’m going to go and talk with Eva,” Lacey said, climbing out from the chair. He gripped her hand and pulled her close.

“Don’t go too far. I’ll take you to see Butch when you’re ready.” He dropped a kiss to her lips, wanting to do a hell of a lot more to her than that.

Her cheeks were a lovely shade of red by the time he was finished.

Whizz watched her disappear outside and turned back to look at Lash and Nash.

“What?” he asked. The two brothers were staring at him as if he’d grown a third head or something.

“You look happy.”

“Lacey makes me happy. She completes me.” He smiled thinking about the last day they’d just spent together at the beach away from the club and the mess it entailed. “I asked her to marry me,” Whizz said, smiling.

“I’d say she agreed to marry you?” Lash asked.

Tiny moved up toward the bar with Ned in tow.

“Yeah, she agreed to marry me.”

“You’re going to marry the Savage Brothers’ woman?” Tiny asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You kept her locked in your room for a long enough time.” Tiny grabbed a cloth, pouring ice into the center and wrapping it around. He handed the cloth to Ned.

“You kept a woman locked in your room and she still agreed to marry you? Girl’s got guts.”

“She’s not a girl,” Whizz said, annoyed with them invading his good news.

“Your girl’s younger than me. Believe me, son, you get to an age where all women are girls,” Ned said.

“I like Lacey,” Sophia said, coming to wrap her arms around Nash’s neck. Rachel was sat on her dad’s lap, getting a cuddle. They looked like one happy family.

“You’ve barely spent any time with her,” Nash said.

“I don’t have to. She’s a lovely woman. I can see it. She’s just never had the chance to flourish before. I thought you’d understand what she’s going through,” Sophia said, glaring at Nash. “You almost lost your space within the club. It can’t be easy going through life losing people around you. She’s lost a lot.”

The men were silent as they took in what Sophia had to say. She wasn’t talking shit, and Whizz liked that about her.

“I’ve been on this earth a long time—”

“Don’t I fucking know it,” Tiny said.

Ned glared at him. “I’ve been on this earth a long fucking time, and there are women you fuck and forget. They’re a dime a dozen. They come and go. There’s nothing wrong with them. They’re just not the kind of women you keep. Then there are women you don’t just fuck, you take care of them. They come into our lives sparingly. You’ll be surprised by the impact they have. They’re the Evas, the Angels, the Sophias of this world. Your Lacey, she’s a keeper. You took out her club, but she’s still by your side. I saw the way she looked at you before she walked out of the room. She’s in love with you, and if she’s agreed to marry you, then you take her and you keep her because a girl like that doesn’t come around often. You’ve got demons in your eyes, boy. Lacey, she’ll take those demons away for you. She’ll give you purpose where you don’t think any is.” Ned lifted his glass. “Take my advice and marry her.”

They were silent as Ned swallowed down his drink.

“Why can’t you ever talk like that?” Sophia asked.

Nash glared at Ned while the older man just laughed. “I tell you, these lips have made many a woman moist.”

Whizz started laughing. He couldn’t help it. This was what the club meant to him, what he needed in his life. He could give Lacey this without a problem.

****

Lacey walked out of the clubhouse moving past the three fighters who were talking to each other. She moved across the compound toward Eva who was talking with Tate.