Retribution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 2) (24 page)

‘No more, Lennie.’

‘You don’t get to call the shots here, sweetheart.’

‘I get to call this one.’ She started to pull the trigger, and he lunged towards her again, a little too late, the shot catching his shoulder, a small spurt of blood hitting the wall behind him.

‘You fucking
bitch
!’ he spat, ignoring the pain he must’ve felt as he went for her, reaching for the gun she still held outstretched in front of her, but this time her aim was more precise. Everything she’d been taught growing up suddenly flooded back to the forefront of her mind; things she hadn’t ever thought she’d need to make use of, but somehow they’d stayed there, filed away in her memory, waiting for that time when she just might need them.

A mess of blood and brain matter splattered the wall and cupboards behind him as the shot fired into Lennie’s forehead, an almost perfect hit. And Mia watched, emotionless, as his body fell to the floor, his eyes still open, his face a mask of anger and shock. The sound of him hitting the blood-spattered tiles below rocked the small kitchen, Mia’s eyes unable to move away as he landed in an undignified heap. But he deserved no less. He’d ended up little more than an animal. A man hell-bent on something even
he
hadn’t been sure of.

Walking over to Lennie’s lifeless body, Mia gave it a gentle kick, just to make sure he really was dead this time. Then she kicked him again, a little harder, and again, each time raising the level until she was lashing out at him like he was nothing more than a pile of rubbish on the street. She kicked and kicked, screaming out all the anger and frustration and a self-pity she knew she still carried around with her. She screamed it all out until her voice was hoarse and her foot was sore from the kicking.

Lennie Rose was finally gone. Out of her life. And she sank to the floor, surrounded by the blood of her dead husband, and cried like she’d never cried before.

Twenty-Eight

‘I know Dad said we should just leave her alone, but…’

‘He’s right, Kip. She needs some time to get her head around it all. This must have been one hell of a shock for her.’

Kip threw another burger on to the barbecue. Keeping himself busy was taking his mind off everything else that was going on, giving him something to focus on, no matter how trivial. Trivial was nice, sometimes. It wasn’t something that happened a lot around the Lone Riders compound – trivial shit. ‘I might give her a call later,’ he said, flipping the burger and throwing a slice of cheese on top of it.

‘Yeah, well, make sure it
is
later, okay?’

Kip looked at Lexi. ‘You’re not my mum, Lex. So quit telling me what to do.’

‘Hey, hey, don’t talk to my old lady like that, brother.’ Coby slid an arm around Lexi’s shoulders and she reached up to slide her fingers between his, snuggling in against him.

Kip sighed, tossing the burger into a bun, staring down at it as though he couldn’t even remember cooking it. ‘I’m not even fucking hungry.’

‘
I
am.’ Luca grinned, coming up behind Kip and reaching over his shoulder to grab the burger from his hand.

‘Knock yourself out,’ Kip sighed, pushing his cap back off his head.

‘She’s gonna be all right,’ Lexi said gently, giving her brother a sympathetic smile.

‘Yeah.’ He sighed again, taking off his cap and pushing a hand through his hair. ‘Yeah. I know she is.’

‘Are
you
?’

Kip returned her smile, folding his arms as he leaned back against the barbecue. ‘I’m forty years old, sis. I think I’ll survive.’

‘Christ, Kip, you cook a mean burger, brother,’ Luca mumbled through a mouthful of ground beef. ‘Who knew, huh? Looks like you’ve inherited some of your mom’s culinary talent.’

‘It’s a frigging burger,’ Kip replied dryly, giving Luca a withering look.

Lexi and Coby took that as their cue to leave them to it. Normal service was slowly being resumed.

‘How are
you
bearing up?’ Coby asked as they walked towards the tables out the front of the clubhouse.

‘None of this is about me,’ Lexi said, letting Coby pull her into his arms as he leaned back against the wall. ‘But it’ll be good to get this place back to how it was before. Before all this crap with Lennie kicked off. Before my dad decided to drop another bombshell on us.’

‘Secrets can destroy people, Lexi. We know that better than anybody. Yet we still keep making the same mistakes.’

She looked at him sharply. ‘
You
got something you’re not telling me?’

‘I was talking in general, darlin’.’ Coby quickly kissed her forehead before his mouth met hers, and she just fell against him, glad to be in his arms. Happy to be with a man she’d had to fight so hard to win. ‘I think we’re clear of all that now. No more secrets. No more lies.’

She smiled at him, reaching out to gently run her fingers over his beard. ‘Yeah. No more secrets… I love you, soldier.’

‘I love you too, kid.’

‘Enough to come inside and show me how much?’

‘You propositioning me, beautiful? Because, you know, my old lady, she’s one
hot
biker queen. And if she found out…’

Lexi laughed, giving his arm a sly nip. ‘I’m too tired for role play.’

‘You weren’t saying that last night,’ he murmured, his mouth finding that soft spot just below her ear, ‘…when you had that schoolgirl skirt on, begging for corporal punishment to be brought back.’

‘Oh, that is so not fair,’ Lexi groaned. ‘But, if I remember rightly, that punishment is yet to be doled out. And I was a very,
very
naughty girl. Don’t you think?’

He pulled her tight against him, his dick rock hard against her thigh. She could feel it throbbing through his jeans. ‘Not naughty enough,’ he growled, playfully biting her neck, causing Lexi to let out a little scream, followed by a loud, low-down-dirty laugh.

‘Oh, Jesus, get a fucking room,’ Luca groaned, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it up. He grinned, holding it out to them. ‘I think you guys probably need this more than I do.’

‘Piss off,’ Coby laughed, his arms still tight around Lexi’s waist.

‘Whatever you say, boss,’ Luca said, still grinning as he backed away.

‘Still want your arse smacking?’ Coby asked, raising an eyebrow, which just made Lexi laugh again.

‘
So
romantic.’

‘Like I said before, baby, if it’s romance you’re after…’

She shut him up with a kiss, burying her fingers in his gray-flecked hair, pressing her body up against his. Not that it could get any closer. ‘Screw the romance. I just want to be fucked,’ she breathed, pushing her breasts out at him.

‘Jesus
Christ
!’ Coby groaned, throwing back his head. ‘I want to
marry
this woman!’

‘Do you?’

He looked at her. Right into her eyes. And suddenly the joking stopped. ‘Aye. Aye, I fucking do.’

‘Okay… well…’

‘I want to marry you, Lexi Hart. Do you fancy it, darlin’?’

‘Getting married?’

‘You’re not making this easy, kid.’

‘I’m not here to make your life easy, soldier.’

‘You gonna marry me or what, Lexi?’

She kissed him long and deep, her body moulding itself against his, his hands in the small of her back keeping her pressed to him. ‘What do
you
think?’

He grinned, picking her up and swinging her around, her legs wrapping themselves around his hips as they both laughed out loud. ‘I’m getting fucking
married
!’

‘Okay. Okay, baby. Put me… Coby! Put me down, you’re making me dizzy here.’

He lowered her to the ground, his arms still holding her close. ‘You want to keep it to ourselves for now, huh?’

‘As much as we can, baby, yes. I just think enough’s gone on tonight without throwing something else into the mix. Even if it
is
something positive. And God knows this club could do with that right now.’

‘You two are looking pretty happy with yourselves. Got something going on there you might wanna share?’ Shane grinned as he walked over to Lexi and Coby.

‘Not yet, no,’ Coby said, sliding a hand surreptitiously down on to Lexi’s bottom. She made no attempt to move it. ‘Something I can do for you, Shane?’

‘Just wondering if I could have a word, boss.’

‘Now?’ Coby asked, giving Lexi’s ass a tiny squeeze.

‘No. Later, if that’s okay. Got something I think you might be interested in. Might be of use when we start putting those new plans you’ve got for that wasteland behind the compound to good use.’

Coby frowned slightly. ‘Couldn’t that wait ‘til the morning, Shane? I mean, there’s a party going on here, and all that business bullshit…’

‘I really think we could all benefit from this, Cobe. And I guess I’m kinda desperate to tell you about it. Could be of real use to the club.’

Coby shrugged, his hands finally moving up to Lexi’s hip. ‘Okay. Come get me when you need me.’

Shane threw both him and Lexi another wide smile, tipping his cap at them before he walked away.

‘He’s a good guy,’ Lexi said, her eyes following Shane as he headed over towards the barbecue.

‘Hmm?’ Coby was distracted by something going on over by the garage. Kip was talking rather animatedly into his cell, and the look on his face was making Coby more than a little uneasy. ‘Sorry, kid, what did you say?’

‘Shane. He’s a good guy.’

‘Aye. Aye, he is… Sorry, darlin’, can I just…’ He let go of her, and Lexi watched as he walked quickly over towards Kip, who in turn was making his way over to them, and all Lexi could feel was a wave of dread start to slowly wash over her.

 
‘It’s Mia,’ Kip gasped, bending over as he tried to catch his breath.

‘What about her?’ Coby asked, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Kip.

‘We need to get over there, Cobe. Now.’

Twenty-Nine

Mia couldn’t move. She hadn’t moved since the realization of what she’d done had kicked in. She’d just sat there, staring at Lennie’s lifeless body, feeling as though she were looking in on something she wasn’t really a part of. It was like everything was happening to someone else, she felt so detached from it all. She’d killed Lennie. And it was like every emotion she’d ever felt had died with him. All she could feel was a sweeping, terrifying emptiness taking over.

But when the reality had finally started to sink in, a new-found panic had taken hold, and the only thing she could think of to do was to call Kip; to get the help she knew she needed, because she was in some deep shit here. She’d just shot a man. She’d just killed someone. And she’d never been so scared.

She looked up from where she was still sitting on the blood-soaked floor as Kip, Charlie and Coby walked calmly into the kitchen, followed close behind by Luca and Red.

‘Get her up off the floor.’ Coby directed that at Kip. ‘Luca, Red – deal with this piece of shit.’ He gave Lennie’s body a swift kick in the ribs, not missing the fact Mia seemed to have had a go at him first. Even dead men bruised, to a point.

‘Jesus, Mia…’ Kip sighed, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet. ‘What the hell happened?’

‘I thought this scumbag bastard was supposed to be dead?’ Coby looked over at Charlie, who was leaning against the counter, his head in his hands.

‘So did I.’ Charlie pushed both hands through his hair, the sigh that followed long and heavy, nerves and confusion taking a firm hold now. He hadn’t had any control over this situation at all. Someone else had. And he didn’t know who, had no idea who was in this with Lennie, because someone was. He was almost certain of that. He just knew that Mia could have been killed. And that was something that scared him more than anything. ‘I don’t know what the fuck’s going on, Coby.’

‘You need to get back to the compound and speak to Bear. You need to find out what the hell is happening here, because if this has repercussions…’

‘I’ll talk to him, okay?’

Coby held Charlie’s gaze, making sure he got the message. ‘You do that.’ He turned his attention to Mia, who was still trying to pull herself together as disjointed pieces of the night moved in and out of place, confusing her more and more. ‘You okay, darlin’?’

She looked at him, slowly shaking her head.

‘Get her a drink,’ Coby instructed, to no one in particular.

Mia was vaguely aware of Luca and Red dragging Lennie’s body into the garage. She knew there was a door that led down to the basement from there, and she suspected that’s where they were taking him. To do what, she didn’t even want to think about.

‘We’ll sort this, kid.’ Coby’s voice was soft and kind, and she looked up as he handed her a tumbler of what she assumed was some of the bourbon Lennie had left on the counter. ‘The boys, they’ll clean all this up, don’t you worry about that.’

She took a sip of the bourbon, grateful for the alcohol hit. It was pulling her slowly back to reality, even if it was a reality that terrified her. What she’d just done terrified her; that she was capable of that. ‘What about Lennie?’ She took another sip of her drink. Another hit. Another step closer to feeling something other than numb.

‘That’s something else you don’t need to worry about. He’s gone, darlin’. For real this time.’

She looked from Coby to Charlie, her eyes lingering on a man she’d always looked upon as a second dad. Which was why the shock of finding out he was her real one had hit so hard.

‘Sweetheart, I am so sorry,’ Charlie whispered, and Mia could clearly see the pain etched on his face. The regret.

‘It was nobody’s fault,’ she said, her voice little more than a whisper itself. ‘He was out of control.’

‘I could have done so much more…’

‘All right,’ Coby sighed, looking around at the carnage that surrounded them. ‘Now’s neither the time nor the place to play the blame game. You okay to go back to the compound, Mia?’

She looked at Coby again, relieved to have someone there who could sort this. Because she didn’t know what the hell she was supposed to do now. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.’

‘Good. Okay. Kip, make a start in here, then go down and help the others. Make sure this is dealt with. Tonight. All right?’ He placed a hand on Kip’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. ‘You know what to do.’

Kip nodded, reluctantly letting go of Mia, who stared blankly after him as he started opening cupboards, looking for cleaning equipment.

‘There’s… there’s bleach and disinfectant and… and cloths in… They’re all in that cupboard beside the fridge,’ she said, downing the last of the bourbon, even though she didn’t really want it, coughing slightly as it stung the back of her throat.

‘He’ll find them, kid. Come on. We’ll get you back to the compound.’ He held out his hand and Mia took it, the relief flooding through her as his fingers closed around hers. ‘It’s gonna be okay, darlin’,’ Coby said quietly, leaning into her as they headed out into the hall. ‘I promise.’

She looked at him, and she believed him. Every word he said, she believed him.

‘Mia?’

She swung around to look at Charlie.

‘I really am sorry. For everything.’

‘I’ve told you. There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s done now. It’s over.’

‘Not here, Charlie,’ Coby warned, pulling Mia towards the front door. ‘Let’s just get back to the compound, all right?’

Charlie nodded, looking back at Kip who was filling a bucket with hot water, the smell of bleach now filling the air, mingling with the odour of fresh blood, which made for a stomach-turning combination. But he’d seen worse. ‘Straight back to the compound when you’re all done, Kip.’

Kip turned to give his father a faint smile of acknowledgement.

‘We ready?’ Coby asked, giving Mia’s hand a small squeeze. ‘Okay. Let’s get her out of here.’

***

‘Where’s Coby?’ Shane asked Lexi, sitting down beside her as she handed Ozzie a piece of tomato.

‘He’s gone out.’

‘Where?’ Shane hadn’t meant that to come out quite as bluntly as it had done and he could’ve bitten off his own tongue for letting that tone take over. So the look on Lexi’s face didn’t come as a surprise.

‘If he didn’t tell you, Shane, then he probably thought you didn’t really need to know.’

‘I’m his V.P., Lexi. I thought he was supposed to tell me everything.’

Lexi turned her attention back to Ozzie, watching as he nibbled on the tomato, still trying to suss out whether or not he was a fan. ‘Then it mustn’t have been all that important.’

Shane felt an unwelcome frustration start to take hold. His carefully planned out night wasn’t going quite the way he’d envisaged, and that bothered him. Lennie still wasn’t picking up his phone, and now Coby had disappeared. It was all turning to shit right before his eyes. His perfect chance. His one opportunity. ‘Any idea when he’s coming back?’

Lexi looked up as the club’s pick-up truck pulled into the compound, Kel and Jesse shutting the tall metal gate behind it the second it was through. ‘There he is.’ She jerked her head in the direction of the truck as it parked up outside the garage. ‘But just give him a minute, Shane. Okay?’

Shane narrowed his eyes as he looked at her. Jesus, she was beautiful. He’d never realized how beautiful, until it was too late. He’d realized a lot of things too late – like the way she’d made him feel alive after years of feeling nothing at all except anger and bitterness. The way she’d always let him talk, when nobody else would listen. She got him. She understood him. And he hadn’t fought hard enough to keep her. She’d told him she’d never really loved him, but he knew that could change. Nothing was impossible. ‘Do you know where he’s been?’

Lexi’s eyes were back on the truck as Charlie helped Mia down. She was wearing Charlie’s old leather jacket, but even from where she was sitting Lexi could see the blood on her jeans. The fear on her face.

Shane’s gaze followed Lexi’s, and he felt his blood run cold as he looked at Mia. ‘What the fuck’s happened?’ His voice was quiet, and tinged with just a hint of nervous apprehension.

‘I don’t know.’ Lexi held Ozzie close, gently rubbing his back as Charlie and Mia disappeared into the clubhouse. The fact Kip, Luca and Red hadn’t come back with them told her the worst had quite obviously happened; that a major clean-up was necessary. And she tried to batter down the sick feeling in her stomach.

‘Jesus, Lexi…’ Shane felt panic start to take a stronger grip now. He had to think fast, if he was still going to pull this off.

‘Coby?’ Lexi looked up as Coby approached, his face stoic. Almost expressionless. ‘Is she…?’

‘She’s gonna be fine,’ Coby replied, leaning over to take Ozzie from her, kissing his baby son’s forehead before he hugged him tight. ‘We’re sorting it.’

‘Sorting what?’ Shane asked, more than a touch angry that he’d been left out of whatever shit had gone down. And he had a pretty good idea what that shit had been.

Coby looked straight at him, before his expression turned almost apologetic. ‘Look, brother, you weren’t around when it all kicked off, and we didn’t have time to… We needed to get out of here, fast. It was Lennie.’

The ice-cold blood in Shane’s veins ran even colder. ‘I thought he was dead.’

‘We all did,’ Coby sighed, rubbing Ozzie’s back as he lay against his shoulder. ‘But it looks like something’s been going on we weren’t aware of. You seen Bear?’

Shane knew exactly where Bear was, but he wasn’t going to give anything away. Not when he knew he needed him now. Bear had just become his back-up plan. So no way was he handing him over to Coby for some kind of lengthy interrogation. Bear was a man who knew too much, and right now, that knowledge was something Shane didn’t want him sharing. ‘Not recently, no. Want me to go see if I can find him?’

Coby nodded, giving his son another kiss. ‘You still want that word?’

Shane looked at his President. He seemed tired. Drained. Distracted. The perfect combination. All of a sudden things were starting to fall back into place. So Lennie had finally met his maker – so what? He’d had it coming. And it seemed fitting his old lady should have been the one to carry out his endgame. ‘It can wait, boss, if you’re too tired…’

‘Just come get me when you need me, Shane. I could do with the distraction.’

‘Okay. Right, well, I’ll go see if I can find our friendly Englishman.’

Shane headed off around the back of the clubhouse, where he knew Bear and the other Newcastle Lone Riders were having their own private party – smoking some weed, indulging in a line or two of coke. He’d told them where to find it, where the best “pharmacies” were, and he’d also told them where the best place to enjoy it was, away from the kids and the prying eyes. Discretion was everything.

‘You finished?’ he asked, finding the three of them huddled by the trash cans, the smell of cannabis hanging heavy in the air.

They all looked at him, but he didn’t have time for a long discussion. He needed to speak to Bear, alone. ‘What business of that is yours?’ Miller sneered, taking a draw on a fat-rolled joint.

‘I need to speak to the big man,’ Shane said, holding back the urge to take a swing at Miller. He’d never really taken to him when he’d been over in
Newcastle
. Call it a clash of personalities. And he hadn’t exactly endeared himself to Shane during this visit to
Paradise
. ‘On his own.’

‘We’re not done yet,’ Miller continued, handing the joint to Geordie.

Shane had had enough now. He didn’t have time for this shit. Leaning over he took the joint from Geordie’s hand and gave it to Bear, fixing the other two with a look that said he was in no mood for talking. ‘You’re on
my
turf now, understand? So if I tell you to get out of here, you get out of here. You got that?’

Geordie and Miller looked at each other, then back at Shane, both of them too stoned to argue. They just shrugged and walked away.

‘What the fuck’s going on?’ Bear took advantage of the joint in his hand, bringing it up to his mouth, but Shane quickly knocked it from his grasp, watching as it fell to the floor, straight into a puddle by Bear’s feet. ‘Jesus, Shane! We paid good money for that grass.’

‘Lennie’s dead.’

Bear frowned. ‘Yeah. I know he is. Well, I know he’s
supposed
to be…’

‘No. He really
is
dead this time.’

Bear’s frown deepened. ‘I don’t understand…’

‘He hasn’t been answering my calls all night, and now I know why. He was at Mia’s, obviously waiting for her to come home, no regard for the fact he was supposed to be here, helping me out…’ He stopped talking, realizing he was rambling; voicing his thoughts instead of sorting out what needed to be done now Lennie was gone. ‘For some reason Mia turned up early – at home. He must’ve been there. Waiting for her. And I don’t know exactly what happened, but she’s just turned up back at the compound with Coby and Charlie, covered in blood and looking like a woman who’s had one hell of a shock… Coby might not have said the words out loud, but, it looks like it was Mia who did for him.’