Hell on Wheels (Four Horsemen MC Book 6) (31 page)

 “I remember it now,” he said with a wink. “Well, I remember the money, anyway. So, your daddy’s a thief?”

“
Was
a thief,” Charlie bit out.

“Yes, I ordered Beauregard to take care of him for me.” He whistled. “But you’re so cute when you’re mad. Look at you. Flushed cheeks, sparkling eyes. What’s the matter? Do you miss your daddy?”

 Charlie backed away, refusing to take the bait. Giving in to her anger would give him the upper hand. She had to focus on a way out of there.

He walked closer, gun pointed at her head. There was maybe a foot between their bodies. “So, Daddy’s little girl is getting vengeance for her father.” Cotton laughed. “Or tryin’ to, anyway.” He licked his lips. “Well, sugar, I’ll tell you what. After I’m through having a bit of fun with you, I’ll send you to see him.”

And then Cotton grabbed her.

***

Axel carefully entered Cotton’s house after using the code.

 When he’d pulled up, he’d found one of the club’s trucks parked down the street. Charlie must’ve boosted it to get there. But there was no sign of her in the truck or around the perimeter of the house. He couldn’t shake a really bad feeling. Some sixth Horsemen sense that told him he didn’t have so much as a minute to spare.

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Axel briefly fantasized about killing Beauregard anyway, just for being a dick. But he’d come here to kill Cotton. As much as he didn’t want to follow in his father’s twisted footsteps, he’d do whatever it took to save Charlie. She was worth the guilt.

 As he made his way upstairs, he heard a man’s voice. “You like that, bitch? Come on, gag for me.”

Axel took the stairs two at a time then vaulted down the hallway. His legs wouldn’t move fast enough. At the end of the hall, a light burned.

He planted a foot on the door and kicked it open even wider. Cotton didn’t move. Or even glance away from Charlie’s prone body. Their feet faced the headboard and Charlie’s head was positioned near the foot of the bed. She lay beneath Cotton and his hands were wrapped around her throat. She flailed beneath him, hands reaching for his shoulders.

“Let her go. Now.” Axel raised his gun. He’d attached a silencer from his saddlebag.

“I don’t know who you are, son, or how you got in here. But you’d best be on your way. This ain’t got nothing to do with you,” Cotton said.

Axel cocked the pistol. “Get off her.”

“Does this little bitch belong to you? Is that it?” Cotton asked. “Come any closer and I’ll break her neck.”

Axel shot Cotton in the chest, twice, spattering the bed and Charlie with his blood. The man fell forward, collapsing on top of her.

She gasped, sucking in air.

Axel rolled the body off her and it thunked down to the floor. Then, he hauled her into his arms. “Charlie, are you okay? Talk to me. Charlie!?”

She coughed and sputtered, holding her neck. She had reddish bruises on her throat, and her eyes were bloodshot. “Axel?” she asked hoarsely. “It’s you? I’m not imagining things?”

“Yes, it’s me, Robin. I came for you. Are you okay?” He frantically checked her out, peeling the hoodie away from her throat, but she didn’t seem to have any other injuries. “Did he…did he rape you?” She still had her jeans on, but her shirt and jacket were rucked up.

“No, he…” She stopped as a coughing fit overtook her. “Tried. But he didn’t get a chance.” She stared at the blood-stained body on the floor. “Are you sure he’s dead?”

“He’d dead, baby. I promise.”

Charlie started to cry and he lifted her off the bed, taking her downstairs and away from the carnage. “I’m sorry,” she said, burying her head in his chest.

He sat down in an armchair, cradling her. Axel wasn’t sure which one of them was shaking more. “What the hell do you have to be sorry for? I’m the one who should apologize. I should’ve shut this thing with Beauregard down.”

“No, you don’t understand. Beauregard caught me. I never got a chance to empty the vault. I couldn’t save your mother. It’s my fault the job fell through,” she croaked.

“Don’t worry about that now. We’ll find another way,” he whispered. It’d been a long shot anyway. “Why didn’t you tell me he’d threatened you?” he asked, kissing her forehead, her cheeks. “Why didn’t you tell me Cotton tried to choke you earlier?”  He couldn’t keep his hands off her, had to assure himself she was okay. “And that he ordered you to kill Cotton? I would’ve helped you.”

“I couldn’t,” Charlie said, shaking her head. “I couldn’t let…”

“Let what, Robin?”

But she changed the topic. “You’re a good man, Axel. I’m glad that asshole’s dead, but I didn’t want you to kill him.” Charlie started to cough again.

“Shh now. Rest your voice.”

“No…I…” Charlie broke off, her voice ragged. “And I couldn’t let Cotton kill you, too. He took Scott away from me, and I couldn’t let him take you, too.”

“Shh, we’re both okay.” Axel kissed her forehead. And that’s when the quote Royal had spouted off hit him smack dab between the eyes. “Whatever is done for love always occurs beyond good and evil,” he said, finally getting it.

“What?” Charlie asked. “I don’t understand.”

“We’ll talk about everything when you’re feeling better, Robin. You’ve had enough excitement for one day. I’m going to call the brothers. We’ll take care of the body and clean up the evidence. And Duke will examine you.

He wrapped his arms even tighter around Charlie. They were both alive. And together. That’s all that mattered for the moment.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Three days later, Axel sat in a booth across from Charlie at Hades. It was nearly eight in the morning, and she’d had a couple of cups of coffee, so she was awake. She slathered a short stack of pancakes with maple syrup and butter.

He didn’t feel much like eating. Instead, he nursed his own coffee. He still hadn’t had the talk with her.

Over the past few days, his time had been filled with patrols and trying to get a bead on Coyote. They still hadn’t figured out where he was. The Raptors had gone to ground. While Coyote hadn’t turned up, neither had his body, which was good news. There was a slim hope that he was still alive. Steele was recuperating, and he’d given them every scrap of info he could remember.

But it still wasn’t enough.

The cartel didn’t know their heroin went missing, but it was only a matter of time until they figured it out.

Axel hadn’t had any alone time with Charlie since he’d killed Cotton. The brothers had taken the body to the desert and cleaned up his house. Axel had waited for the guilt to hit him over Cotton’s death, but the truth was, he didn’t feel any. It had to be done, for Charlie and for the good of the club. At least they wouldn’t be making anymore heroin runs south of the border.

Charlie’s injuries were healing. Duke had checked her out then took her to the hospital for more testing, which she’d passed with no problems. Her bruises had turned a pinkish purple, and she didn’t have trouble speaking anymore.

Axel intended to tell her how he felt. Today. Now. If he could just make his mouth open. “We need to talk.”

She looked up from her plate. “About what?”

Axel hesitated. He didn’t have a clue how to begin, and the last time he’d proposed a more serious relationship with a woman, she’d left him. Panic had made his tongue thick. All he could think about was the desert his life would be without her. He wasn’t sure he’d survive. Not as the president. His quiet little life beforehand, he could handle, but he needed a strong old lady at his side to lead this club. Axel needed a partner in life.
Oh, fuck it
. He just needed Charlie. End of story.

Stalling for time, he pulled her car keys from his cut then placed them on the Formica separating them. “Uh, Dani finished your car. I forgot to tell you, with everything that’s been going on.”

She put her fork down and bit her lower lip. Charlie made no move to pick up the keys, though. “Oh.”

“Uh, yeah. She did a great job. That’s Dani for you. She’s got talent,” he muttered. Stammering like a jackass, which was a common occurrence around Charlie.

She picked up the keys, jangling them. “I guess I can leave then, huh?”

Axel stared at her. If he didn’t say something, she’d get up and walk out the door in a few seconds. “Uh, what about your father?”

“My father?”

“His remains. Have you picked them up yet?”

Charlie tucked the keys in her pocket and took another sip of coffee. “No, but I doubt the police will release them for a while. It’s still officially an open case.”

“Yeah, but—”

Her eyes locked with his. “But what?”

This was it, the last opening he’d be offered. “I think you should stay. You know, so you can collect his remains. Give him a proper burial.”

Charlie watched him warily. “Is that the only reason?”

This time, when he poured his heart out to a woman, Axel prayed it would be different. “Hell no.”

“No?”

“I want you…I want you to stay, Robin.”

“Because?” Charlie asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Because I need you.” Damn, he’d gotten rusty.

“You need me,” Charlie repeated.

 “Oh, fuck, you’re gonna leave, aren’t you? I should’ve spoken up a long time ago. I waited too long.”

 “Shut up,” she said, but a smile had spread over her face.

Axel waited for her to speak again.

Charlie grinned. “No, I’m not leaving. This place is starting to feel like home, and I have friends here. I’d love to see what happens between us.”

He nearly collapsed in the booth. “I’d like that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Charlie grinned. “Would you more than
like
it? That’s a weak word.”

“I’d love it.” He loved that kissable, sassy mouth of hers.

“What else do you love?”

“You.” Axel leaned closer. He’d killed a man for her and didn’t regret it. That was a huge clue how he he felt. Her eyes filled with tears and for a second, he thought he’d fucked up. “Too soon? I mean, I…”

 “No. Say it. Please.”

“I love you.”

“You’re the first man who’s ever said that to me.”

“I’ll be the last one who says it. The only one.” Axel wanted to make it clear that he was staking a claim. There’d be no kisses with Steele. “And how do you feel about me?”

“I love you, too.”

He grinned. “Okay, then.”

“Okay.”

And then they were smiling at each other and he couldn’t stop. No, things weren’t okay in his world, but with this woman at his side, anything was possible.

Together, they could work through it.

“So, what are we gonna do?”

Axel thought about it a moment. “Date. And I need to get a bigger place.”

She arched a brow. “Do you now?”

“Yeah, so I can get a dog from Ruby’s breeder. After we move in, of course.”

“You got this all planned out, huh?” she teased.

“Workin’ on it.”  Yeah, that sounded right, maybe even a little normal.

She sighed. “You know, I’ve always wanted a dog.”

“Me, too. And we could go to school. I want to take some business management classes, to help me run the shop better.” Axel needed some balance in his life. He realized that now. Charlie would help him find it. “After you get your GED, we’ll take classes together.”

“That sounds perfect. I’m thinking English lit.” Charlie leaned across the table and planted a kiss on him. And he threaded his hand through her hair, pulling her closer. Fuck, at that moment, he wanted to lay her out on the table and pour some maple syrup on her. She looked way more appetizing than the flapjacks.

There was a roar from the other side of the room. Axel glanced over to find a crowd watching them. Voodoo, Shep, Pretty Boy, Daisy, Cowboy, and Duke started to clap. Axel had a feeling a lot of his brothers would be losing money on that ‘old maid’ bet they’d made about him.

Axel kissed Charlie again. That’d give ‘em somethin’ to talk about.  

Epilogue

Six months later…

“I’m giving you fair warning,” Charlie said, pushing her sunglasses up her nose. It was a sunny spring day and they were seated in her dad’s car. They were about to go away for a long weekend. “If you crash Betty, I will never forgive you. And I bet the ghost of my father would haunt your ass, so be careful.”

“Not that you’re putting any pressure on me or anything.” Axel threw the car in gear and took off. They passed fields of wildflowers as they drove.

“Nope. None.”

Charlie had convinced Axel to take her on a road trip along Route 66. She knew he was itching to get his hands on the car. Club life was hectic and they both wanted to get away for a bit, just the two of them. They’d left their new beagle puppy, Pearl, with Captain and Eddie.

They’d started taking classes online through Texas A & M, and they’d spent most of the winter doing a mountain of homework between their club duties.

 “We deserve a leisurely pace today.” He hit his turn signal as they reached the light. “I think we should take our time.”

She’d also been working with the club over the past few months. The other day, she’d broken into a woman’s house and retrieved important documents, like birth certificates and insurance policies. Right under her abusive husband’s nose. Charlie loved using her thieving skills for a good cause, like Dani had predicted.  

And she’d put her lying abilities to work too. She’d gotten some intel on the Raptors by sweet-talking the women who hand-stitched their club’s patches.

Charlie raised a brow. “What did you have in mind?”

“I thought we could find a cozy spot on the side of the road, make out a bit.”

He placed a hand between her thighs, right where his name was tattooed, and she primly put it back on the steering wheel.

“Keep those hands on the ten-and-two position when you’re driving Betty. Thank you very much.” Then Charlie raised a brow. “You only want to make out?”

“Well, I was hoping for more.” Axel took his eyes off the road long enough to leer at her and she smacked his arm playfully.

 “Tell you what. I’ll give you a reward,
after
you demonstrate some successful driving skills, Mr. President.”