Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) (12 page)

Fourteen

‘Mia, and Ben?’ Charlie let out another long, pained sigh, closing his eyes as he listened to Lexi speak.

‘Sorry. It just slipped out. I mean, I’m probably banging on about stuff you’re not in the least bit interested in here, but…’

Charlie sighed again as his daughter continued to tell him something he could have done without hearing. If everything was as it should be – if Lennie was still in
Newcastle
– then Charlie would probably be quite pleased that Mia seemed to be moving on. Although, in his eyes, he still thought that, maybe, it was a little too soon for her to be throwing herself straight into another relationship. And with Ben? He supposed she could do a lot worse. Ben Salter was a straight-up kind of guy, Charlie knew that much. He seemed steady enough; reliable. Although, in terms of the moral ethics involved…

‘… She’s gorgeous, and he’s pretty hot, so, I guess you throw two people like that together and the attraction can sometimes be just too strong, huh?’

Charlie sat up as Lexi finally finished talking, resting his elbows on the table, pushing one hand through his hair – hair he was surprised hadn’t fallen out by now with the stress he was under. ‘Is it serious?’ he asked. ‘Ben and Mia, I mean.’

‘I’m not sure they actually want anyone to know they’re an item. And, in all honesty, I’m not even sure they
are
an item. I mean, all anyone saw was the two of them sharing a kiss at Mum’s the other night, but poor Kip, he’s devastated…’

‘Kip? What’s Kip got to do with it?’

‘He’s got a bit of a thing for Mia. He’s been really good to her since she arrived here, and they’ve been getting on really well, so, I guess he thought something might’ve developed from that.’

‘But it hasn’t, right?’

‘No. It hasn’t. But whether that’s because of Ben… Oh, Dad, you should have seen him. He was trying to pretend he couldn’t care less, but I could tell he was gutted.’

‘Tell him to get his arse down to the
Candy
Cave
. Go pick up a hooker or something. Let Mia get on with things.’

Lexi waited a beat or two before she spoke again. ‘You all right? You seem, I dunno – on edge.’

‘Things are just a bit all over the place here at the minute, kiddo. But nothing for you to worry about. Roller’s old lady’s just had a baby, so his head isn’t in the right place right now… I’m behind with the books for the bar, and because Maggie’s away visiting her sister I guess I probably haven’t been eating properly… Too many late nights, sweetheart, that’s all. Your old dad needs his sleep.’

Again, Lexi waited a few seconds before she said anything. ‘You sure everything’s all right? If you need to…’

‘Everything’s fine, Lexi. Okay?’

‘Yeah. Okay.’ Lexi knew when to leave a subject alone. And the tone of Charlie’s voice was telling her to leave this one be.

Charlie let out another heavy sigh, sitting back in his chair. ‘How’s my grandson doing?’

‘He’s good. Really good. Callie – Red’s girlfriend – she’s amazing with him. And Ozzie adores her. Well, he adores both of them, really.’

‘And Coby? Is he handling everything okay?’

‘Coby’s fine. Why wouldn’t he be?’

‘Darlin’, your old man is President of an MC that is trying its level best to distance itself from a lot of bad shit. And that isn’t something that happens overnight.’

‘Well, he seems to be coping with it all pretty okay to me.’

‘Then that’s all that matters. Look, I’d better go. It’s getting late over here, and I probably should try getting some sleep.’

‘Yeah. You should. You take care of yourself, Dad, do you hear me?’

‘Always, baby. Always.’ Charlie put the phone down and dropped his head into his hands.

‘Did you ask her?’

Charlie looked up as Bear sat down next to him – his newly-appointed V.P., seeing as Lennie had now gone AWOL. ‘I couldn’t, Bear. I don’t want to panic anyone, and as much as I trust my daughter, I’m not sure she would’ve kept this from Mia. And the last thing we need is for Mia to start panicking.’

‘So, how are we gonna know if he’s definitely in
Paradise
?’

Charlie had told Bear about sending Mia over to
California
. He’d had to. Lennie disappearing had meant he really couldn’t do this without somebody’s help. And he could trust Bear with his life. He’d tell everyone else when – and if – that became necessary. But, for now, this was still something he wanted to keep as quiet as possible. ‘I’ve contacted Michael Bailey; he’s the sheriff over there, and an old friend of mine and
Tay
’s. If Lennie’s in
Paradise
, or anywhere close by, he’ll know about it.’

‘And if he
is
there?’

Charlie looked straight at his Vice President. ‘Then you know what we have to do.’

***

Mia tried to close the door as quickly as she’d opened it, but even as she was doing it she knew it was a pointless action. Closing the door on him wasn’t going to make him go away. It wasn’t going to change what was happening here. It was only going to make things worse.

‘Don’t even think about it, darlin’,’ Lennie sneered, pushing past her and slamming the door shut behind him.

Mia backed away, trying desperately to reach into her back pocket for her phone, but he was too quick, grabbing her wrist and smacking the phone from her hand. All Mia could do was watch as it clattered to the floor, his fingers still holding on to her wrist, so tight she could already feel the red marks beginning to form.

‘You tell nobody, do you hear me?’ he hissed, his face so close to hers Mia could almost taste the beer and cigarettes he’d so obviously recently indulged in. ‘Nobody.’

‘And you think Charlie won’t already know where you are?’

‘I saw him leave, Mia,’ Lennie continued, ignoring her question. ‘Is that what you’re into now? Mr. Suit and Tie, all straight-laced and up himself?’

‘You have no idea what kind of man he is.’ Her voice was steady, no hint of the fear she was feeling coming through just yet. But for how much longer she could manage to stay calm, she didn’t know. Inside she was terrified, but she needed to show him she wasn’t scared of him any more. She’d fought back in the past, she could do it again.

‘You fucking him?’

‘Every second I can.’

‘Once a whore, always a whore, huh?’

‘Bastard!’ she spat, gaining a certain satisfaction from watching her spittle hit his rough cheek, the look of surprise in his eyes as he realized what she’d done.

‘You fucking
bitch
!’ he roared, pushing her back against the wall, his hand still tight around her wrist as he yanked it up towards her head, a pain so sharp shooting up her arm she couldn’t hold back the yelp. ‘Am I hurtin’ you? Yeah. Not such a big girl now, are we?’

‘Fuck you!’

‘Keep going, darlin’. ‘Cause I’m ready for you, sweetheart. I am so fucking ready.’

‘Charlie will know you’ve gone, and he’ll be looking for you. And when he finds you…’

He yanked at her wrist again, and another shot of pain ran the length of her arm.

‘You want to make this public, Lennie? Hmm? You want them to see me with a broken wrist, bruises all over my skin? You want that?’

‘Your boyfriend might find a messed-up whore a turn-on,’ Lennie hissed, his face up close to Mia’s again, the smell of him making her feel physically sick. ‘I mean, it certainly doesn’t bother
me
.’

She closed her eyes as she heard him unzip himself, preparing herself for something she’d been through many a time before with this man. But she shouldn’t have to go through it again, and from somewhere deep inside she felt a strength rise up from the pit of her stomach, a strength that allowed her to raise her knee, jerking it roughly into his groin, the crunch of it hitting his hard dick loud and satisfying.

‘Jesus-fucking-
Christ
! You fucking
bitch
!’

In the split second he let go of her she managed to slip away from his grasp, but as she ran for the door he, again, was too quick for her, grabbing her by her T-shirt and throwing her down on to the stairs.

‘You ain’t even worth the bother of a quick fuck. That can wait, but let’s get one thing straight here, darlin’…’ He crouched down so he was on her level, his face once more too close to hers. ‘You’re mine. You made those vows, and they made you mine. And I know that suit-wearing solicitor – the one you’ve been fucking; I know he’s the one Charlie’s got working for him. The one who’s trying to make sure you’re rid of me. But that just ain’t gonna happen, baby.’

‘You really think this is gonna work, Lennie?’ Her stomach was twisted into so many knots, a tight, painful fear flooding her body, but she wasn’t going to let him see that fear, she couldn’t do that. Because that would be letting him win.

‘You tell anyone I’m here, Mia, and it won’t be you I hurt. Do you understand?’

She couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping, derision dripping from it. ‘Pathetic doesn’t even begin to describe you,’ she hissed, her eyes boring into his. ‘You don’t scare me, Lennie. It’s all words, just words. Empty threats, that’s all they are. So you keep acting like the biker freak you are, because you don’t scare me.’

His expression stayed fixed for a beat or two, before his mouth twisted into an ugly, terrifying smirk. ‘Yeah, well…’ He stood up, staring down at her. ‘Maybe that’s your first mistake.’

She watched him walk out, slamming the door behind him, and as soon as it closed she pushed herself up, ignoring the pain in her wrist as she ran over to lock it, making sure he couldn’t get back in. Her stomach was heaving but she swallowed hard, breathing deep to keep the fear, and the nausea, at bay.

Crouching down she picked her phone up from the floor, turning it over and over in her hands. What exactly could he do to her if she told anyone he was here? Nobody was going to let anything happen to her. They’d keep her safe, they’d told her that.

She turned the phone over again, staring down at her list of contacts, her finger hovering over Coby’s number; Charlie’s number. What exactly could Lennie do if she told anyone?

Sliding her phone back into her pocket she stood up, making her way over to the mirror in the hallway. Staring at her reflection she felt nothing but numb. She knew exactly what Lennie Rose was capable of. She knew exactly what he could do if she told anyone. And he’d know. If she did tell.

Closing her eyes for the briefest of seconds she took another deep breath before calmly walking into the kitchen. She had groceries to unpack.

Fifteen

Shane smiled at the pretty waitress as she leaned back against the counter, her more-then-ample breasts spilling out of a way-too-low-cut, over-tight Tee, giving her a small salute as she smiled widely back. He recognized her from a party at the clubhouse a couple of weeks ago; a wannabe biker babe with her eyes fixed firmly on her own Lone Rider. And, from what he could remember, she’d seemed to have no real boundaries when it came to her own way of snaring one. Whether she’d had any success or not he had yet to find out. But he couldn’t remember her ever being back since.

Scanning the dimly-lit bar, he made his way over to an empty booth at the back and sat down, looking up as Miss Big-Tits approached the table. A vague memory of Luca – or had it been Cain? It was still too much of a blur – sucking on those puppies filled his head, and he smiled again, not hiding the fact he was staring at them. They were pretty hard to miss.

‘Something you want?’ she asked, licking her pale pink lips in a more than lascivious manner, her eyes immediately dropping to his V.P. rocker. Oh, this one wanted to go straight to the top. Or as close as she could realistically go, because Mr. President was out-of-bounds. Now Lexi was back, Coby wasn’t going anywhere. Those two were solid together, a real biker king and queen.

Shane sat back, lifting his eyes from her what he now realized were surgically-enhanced tits. He needed a drink, and his order was the only thing this mama was going to get from him tonight.

‘Bourbon. Straight up. No ice.’

‘That all?’ she asked, her eyes trying desperately to lock with his, but he wasn’t in the mood to play any more.

‘Just get my drink, darlin’,’

He watched as she turned to go, making sure her hips had just the right amount of movement in them as she walked away. Jesus! She was relentless.

‘Nice arse!’

Shane looked up at the man who’d sat down opposite him. ‘I’d give that one a miss, brother. She ain’t worth the trouble.’

‘You don’t think trouble is something I’m used to?’

Shane leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table in front of him. ‘And you don’t need no more of it. You got enough.’

Lennie sat back, staying silent as he flicked a book of matches back and forth between his fingers.

‘I need to know you’re still on board here, Lennie.’ Shane’s eyes darted nervously around the busy bar. It wasn’t one the Lone Riders frequented, which was why he’d chosen it as a meeting place. It was outside of
Paradise
, but only just. And Shane knew how dangerous the tiniest lapse in concentration could be. The consequences it could bring. ‘My telling you where Mia was, that didn’t come without conditions, remember?’

Lennie’s dark eyes fixed on Shane’s. ‘Yeah. I know that.’

The pretty waitress with the too-big-tits arrived with Shane’s bourbon and, probably realizing that he was a lost cause as far as her flirting was concerned, she immediately turned her attention to Lennie. ‘Can I get you anything, sugar?’

Lennie smirked, placing his hand on her bottom and squeezing it gently. ‘You can get me plenty, sweetheart.’

‘Oh, you’re English!’ she gasped. ‘I just
love
your accent!’

Lennie’s grin broadened as he gave her bottom another squeeze. ‘You ever been to north-east
England
, darlin’?’

‘I ain’t ever left
America
.’

‘Then you don’t know what you’re missing.’

She leaned over the table, pushing her now-heaving breasts right in Lennie’s face. ‘Neither do you, honey.’

Lennie laughed quietly, his hand brushing quickly over what she probably thought were her best assets. ‘You wanna help me fix that?’

‘I’m done here in an hour. We can go back to my place and show each other the sights. That sound like a plan, sugar?’

‘You bet your beautiful arse it does, darlin’.’ He gently smacked her bottom as she stood back up, her low-down dirty giggle letting him know he was nowhere near crossing any lines with her. ‘Now, be a good girl and go get me a whisky – scotch. None of this bourbon shit. Straight. No ice.’

He watched her leave, absent-mindedly rubbing his hand over his bulging crotch as she sashayed across the floor.

‘You’re unbelievable,’ Shane sighed, taking a sip of his drink.

‘Hey, brother, I’ve gotta get my kicks somewhere, ‘cause that bitch-whore of a wife of mine isn’t giving me any. Not with her permission, anyway.’

Shane stared at him. ‘Christ, Lennie, you haven’t…?’

‘Oh, chill the fuck out, Shane. She was having none of it. Kicked me right in the balls when I tried.’

‘For fuck’s sake…’ Shane leaned forward again, his eyes boring into Lennie’s. ‘You’re supposed to be keeping this low key, until everything else is sorted.’

‘This thing with Coby…’

‘This “
thing
”? Jesus, Lennie, what we’re doing here, this isn’t some crappy kind of revenge because he…’

‘Retribution. Is that it?’

Shane continued to stare at him, saying nothing for a good few beats. ‘I loved her, Lennie. Everything I did, I did it for Lexi, not him. Never for him. And maybe I should have said no, to it all, to everything they asked me to do. But I was blinded by her, so fucking obsessed I only wanted to do what was best. For
her
. Because I knew when I left, when they kicked me out of
Paradise
, I knew
she’d
be coming with me. I knew I’d finally have a chance to win her over, to make her mine… And it worked, for a while, you know?’

‘I know, brother. You guys, you were good together.’

Shane looked down into his drink, twisting the tumbler round and round on the spot. ‘She’d never really loved me, she told me that, when I came back here. She’d never really loved me. She’d always loved
him
. But I can’t help thinking… I can’t help…’ He took another drink, draining his glass before slamming it back down on the table. ‘If he hadn’t come over, to
Newcastle
… If he’d just… He took her from me, Lennie. I could have made it work, we just needed time. We just needed time…’

‘You’re really gonna do this? Just because you still got a hard-on for Lexi?’

Shane glared at him. ‘The life I wanted, he’s got. The woman I loved for longer than she’ll ever know, he’s sleeping with her…’

‘And you never felt like this when she was with Jesse?’ Lennie questioned, pulling a match from the book and sticking it between his teeth.

Shane ran both hands over his hair, sighing quietly. ‘I don’t… No. I don’t know. I mean, maybe there’s always been something there, but… when she got it together with Coby…’

‘You got something against the guy? More than just the fact he’s fucking Lexi, I mean.’

‘It’s his fault my life turned to shit. His fault I had to leave a place I’d finally settled in. If he’d kept that Scottish dick in his pants and left her alone…’

‘There was no guarantee she’d have turned to you, brother. She was Jesse’s old lady.’

Shane fixed Lennie with a determined look, his eyes cold and serious. ‘You’re here because you’re willing to do anything, and I mean
anything
, to claim back the woman you love, am I right?’

Lennie chuckled quietly, chewing slowly on the match. ‘Yeah. You’re right.’

‘And that’s all I’m doing too.’

‘You really want to do this?’

Shane’s expression remained cold, his voice carrying an almost chilling edge to it. ‘You have no idea how much, brother.’