Club Scars (16 page)

“Do you have any idea how badly I wanted to hum the Mission Impossible music while you were doing that?” Kat whispered.

They both burst into hysterical laughter and Ginny had to lean the gun in the corner, her hands shaking. She turned and hugged Kat when they could stand up straight again. She waved off the girls crowding the end of the hallway.

“Are you okay?”

Kat nodded against Gin’s shoulder, clinging to her friend for a long moment. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m sorry it took so damn long. When I saw you guys on the security camera I didn’t know if I should just open the door or run for the damn gun. I need to find a way to have a gun by the back door,” Ginny said with a shaky breath. 

“It felt like eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than a minute or so. The gun was probably a good idea. He was armed. I saw it under his jacket.” 

Ginny glanced at the envelope and keys still clutched in her hand. “How the hell did he get your keys?”

“I dropped the damn things,” Kat said, slumping against the wall again to tug at her hair in frustration. “How in the hell do the other mothers do it? I don’t have enough hands!”  

Ginny laughed and hugged her again. “You’ll get the hang of it. Wait until you have more than one. Come on.” She picked up the shotgun and ushered Kat and Cam down the hall.

Worried faces met them in the kitchen and Kat tried to calm their fears while Gin went to put the gun away. Cam was an effective distraction. She looked up as Lee touched her arm. The girl winced and offered an apologetic smile.

“We’re about to have company.”

Kat looked at her and closed her eyes, shoulders slumping. “You didn’t.”   

“I’m sorry.”

“Lords or cops?” she asked, honestly not sure which would be worse at this point.

“Lords.”

“Call Bowie and call off the cavalry,” she ordered her returning best friend. All it took was a look at Lee’s guilty expression for Ginny to scramble for her phone. Kat dug out her cell and punched in Crux’s number. “Everything is okay,” she said before he could say a word. “Don’t come in here with guns blazing.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” he snapped and terminated the call.

Kat pressed the phone to her forehead for a long minute before turning her gaze on Lee.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Ginny and I had it under control.”

“What if you hadn’t?”

Seeing the fear and misery in the girl’s dark eyes Kat relented and pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay, Lee. I know you were trying to help.”  

The swinging doors banged against the wall as Crux made his entrance. Fury rolled off her old man in waves and Big Red didn’t look much happier behind him. Fighting the urge to cross herself, Kat picked up the baby carrier and moved to greet Crux.

“Let’s go in the lounge where we can talk and not disrupt Gin’s kitchen,” she suggested.

“What the fuck happened?”

“Cam and I are okay.”

“I see that. Answer the question,” Crux snapped.

Plopping down on the couch, she settled Cam’s seat between her feet and started fussing with making him more comfortable. “One of Daddy Dearest’s minions approached me in the parking lot.”

“Define approached.”

A shiver rippled through her at the low growl of her husband’s voice. She bit her lip on a smile. Why was it that growl always made her shiver be it good or bad?

“I was fumbling with carrying little man and all his gear, and dropped my keys. This guy came out of nowhere and picked them up. He called me Katrina and said he just wanted to talk. I told the fucker I had nothing to say to him, but he kept babbling while I backed over to the door. When I leaned on the buzzer Gin came to the door with the shotgun. He left.”

“Just like that?”

“I guess Gin looks pretty convincing with a sawed-off in her hands.”

“He left this with her keys,” Ginny said from the doorway and handed Crux the now crumpled envelope.

Kat grimaced at her best friend and winced at the hard look Crux shot her. She watched as he tore it open. She shook her head at a glimpse of zeros. Her father knew how to make a statement.    

“What were you planning on doing with this?” he asked, eyes narrowed to sinister slits.

“I haven’t touched that,” she said, her spine snapping straight as she glared back at her husband. “Gin retrieved it with my keys. I wouldn’t have even opened it. Run it through the damn shredder. We don’t need his money and I don’t want it.”

“That’s a shit load of zeros. Daddy must really want to talk to you,” he sneered, waving the letter under her nose.

“Do whatever the fuck you want with it. I’m not having this discussion with you again,” Kat snapped. Scooping up her son, she stood and headed for the door. A startled cry tore from her lips as Crux’s fist in her hair stopped her short.

“Take the baby and give us a minute,” Crux ordered.

Kat swallowed hard at the harsh rasp of his voice, but didn’t hesitate in handing Cam to Ginny. Her friend’s hazel gaze was worried and questioning, but she didn’t have any words of comfort as Crux’s fist tightened. She took a step back, trying to ease the pull. Bowie pushed off his spot on the wall and gave Crux a hard look before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

He wrenched her head back until she was sure her neck would snap. His breath was hot against her cheek as he leaned close. She whimpered, searching his eyes out of the corner of hers.

“We’re going to have a discussion about your mouth, woman, and I suggest you listen carefully because I’m not warning you again. I give you a lot of leeway, but if you take that snotty ass tone with me again I will backhand it right out of your mouth,” he whispered, the menace in his soft voice more frightening than any bellow. She cried out as he gave her head a shake and pulled harder. “Do you understand me?”    

“Yes, sir,” she gasped, back bowing and legs trembling. She stumbled and almost fell when he released her.

“Last warning.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, rubbing her nape and the back of her skull with a shaky hand.

“I saw the look you gave Ginny. You didn’t want me to know about this. Why?”

Kat’s shoulders slumped. “After the fight we had last night I didn’t want to stir shit up again. I was going to shred it or burn the damn thing. I don’t want anything to do with him, Tommy.”

Crux ran a hand through his mussed hair, giving it a yank. His lips pressed into a thin line and she held her breath when his eyes closed. “I want to kill the bastard,” he whispered through clenched teeth.

Biting her lip, Kat moved closer. Her hands shook as she smoothed the front of his work shirt. His arms opened and she pressed her nose to his chest. “I’m sorry.”

His arms closed around her and the cursed letter crumpled against her ass as he tugged her tight. She struggled with a flood of emotions, blinking back tears. They stood silent for several long minutes. He sighed and she shivered at the humid huff of his breath on the side of her neck. His lips brushed behind her ear. She didn’t move when one of his arms slid up to hook the back of her neck, pulling her face tighter to his chest.

“With Cam and now all this shit going on, things are tight and it puts me on edge,” he whispered into her hair. “It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. I know what you came from. I’ll never be able to give that to you. As selfish as it fucking is, I don’t like being reminded of that.”

Kat nodded, fingers stroking his ribs.

“The fucked up part is that it’s not you, baby, it’s me. You don’t complain or ask for shit, but I love you and if I could, I’d give you the world.”

The strangled emotion in Crux’s voice clawed at Kat’s heart. She shook her head. He didn’t get it. “I don’t need stuff. I need a tough old man that loves me and will protect me from the monsters in this world that get their jollies off torturing women and children. Money won’t do that. You have scraped and fought your whole life. No one handed you a damn thing and maybe that’s why you’re so strong. I need your strength. That’s what I need, Tommy, not dishwashers and material things.”

“I just threatened to bust you in the mouth and now you’re singing my praises as a husband?”

Kat nodded, her lips curving at the smile in his voice. “I’ll take tough love from you any day. At least I know it’s love.” She pushed back experimentally. His arm relaxed, sliding down her back. She met his eyes. “I am sorry. With all the shit and stress you don’t need lip from me.”

He nodded, his hands now roving over her ass. “And I need to take that shit and stress into consideration. I know you’re adjusting to being a mom and fuck knows it’s…it’s different knowing that we have this whole other person completely dependent on us.”

She was relieved to know he was scared too, admit it or not.

“You don’t want to be locked up at home, but you need to make smarter decisions; park on the main streets and stay in public places. Watch for suspicious vehicles and shit. We really don’t know how far the megalomaniac will go when he realizes he can’t just buy you,” Crux said. He paused and brought a hand up to cup her cheek. “Your mom fucking disappeared. I’d go bat-shit crazy if I lost you.”

Kat could feel the blood drain from her face at the thought. Her nails bit into her husband’s back and she pressed closer, a shudder rippling through her body. His hand slid to cradle the back of her head as she burrowed her face into his shirt. Stroking her hair, he held her and waited for the words to sink in. Kat swallowed against nausea. The Merrick men had a reputation as problem solvers. Anything and anyone who stood in their way disappeared. Just the thought of Cam left to that upbringing was enough to make her sick. The sudden longing to wrap him in her arms was so powerful it threatened to bring her to her knees. She clung tighter to Crux.    

“We need to get a will drawn up. I don’t want him to have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting his hands on Cam if something happens to us. Gin’s the only one I would trust. She would die before she allowed anything to happen to Cam.”

Crux shoved her to arm’s length, an incredulous look twisting his face.

“We’ve waited this long, I’m sure as hell not going to allow anyone else to raise our kid. Nothing is going to happen to us.”

“We don’t know that and I would feel better if we were at least prepared.”

Crux shook his head in bewilderment.

“Please, Tommy. I don’t want there to be a chance that bastard gets his hands on our son.”

“Why do you always whip my first name on me when you want your own way?”

“It’s not a matter of wanting my way. It grabs your attention.”

“How do we know they’d even do it? Zeke is always grumbling about the three he has.”

“Gin will do it. I promise. She’ll convince the big man.”

“Our queen does have a way with the prez.”

“It’s not much of an issue anymore, but if anything had happened to Gin and Zeke we would’ve raised their three.”

“Oh, we would’ve huh?” Crux asked flatly.

Kat stomped on his foot and gave him a look. He chuckled.

“Please. It’s important to me.”

“Okay, baby. If it’s okay with Ginny
and
Zeke, we’ll have something drawn up,” he said with an indulgent smile. “Now I have to get back to work before Bowie fires my ass and you need to get out there and reassure the women I haven’t strangled you. Stay out of trouble and be careful!”

Kat yelped as a hard swat directed her to the door.

Ginny hurried over the moment Crux stepped clear. “You okay?” she asked, a worried gaze giving her the once over as the men left the kitchen.

“I’m fine,” Kat promised, taking her son. “Just a gentle reminder to watch my lip if I don’t want a fat one. It seems my tone hasn’t been real dulcet lately.”

“At least he issues a warning,” Gin said with a half shrug.

“Yeah, my old man is good like that. As short-tempered as he can be with others, I rarely get more than a growl,” Kat said with a laugh. “Of course that could be because when he growls, I’m generally smart enough to listen.”

“There is that,” Ginny said with a nod. “I was thinking. The family hasn’t got together since Cam joined the ranks. Why don’t we use the men’s meeting Friday night as an excuse for a carry-in at the clubhouse? It will be nice to just hang out.”

“That sounds fantastic. I miss everyone so much and anything to get out of the house. I had to come up here today to escape the fumes at home. You know how I get when I’m bored.”

“Go a little overboard with the bleach again?”

“I think it was the combination of cleaning supplies that did it,” Kat said with a laugh. “I decided it was best to get Cam out of there.”

“Drama aside, I’m glad you did,” Ginny said giving her a hug. “I’ll get us an order of potato skins going and then we’ll sit down to brainstorm. Right now, you go reassure Lee that you don’t hate her before she hyperventilates.”

Following Ginny’s pointed look, Kat rolled her eyes. Lee’s gorgeous dark eyes were brimming with tears and her bottom lip trembled. Settling the little man in the crook of her left arm, Kat stepped over and hugged the younger woman tight with the other, rocking her slightly.