The Secret's Out (Hawks MC: Caroline Springs Charter, #1) (18 page)

Motherfuckin’ Christ.

Whatever was in that box had bled.

“What the fuck?” Eli hissed.

“That’s what we want to know,” Dive said. “If this has anything to do with Josie, Talon’s gonna—”

“We’re protecting her,” Eli snapped.

“How?” Memphis demanded.

Eli looked to me and I nodded, he explained, “We already told you we dealt with the fuckheads hassling Josie. What we didn’t tell you was how. The father of the main guy givin’ shit to Jose was a man of Pick’s past.”

“What past?” Dive asked.

“Caden?” Eli uttered and fuck it to hell, it touched my heart. I nodded again as I kept my gaze on the box.

“His mother used to sell his body to men and women. She also used to get him to do illegal shit so she could stay high or drunk. One of the guys who bought time with Caden is this Cameron’s father. We approached them, told Cameron to leave Josie alone or else his father’s past would surface and everyone would know.”

“Did you have proof?” Memphis asked.

“Yeah,” I said. Because I did. I had proof on them all. It was in the final week I’d decided enough was enough and I took footage of them all. Their faces were caught on camera when they...did things to me. I had that printed out into pictures, which was what Cameron had seen of his father.

“The dad’s name, was it Nigel?” Dive asked.

My head snapped to him when he held out a note. “It was attached to the parcel.”

“Jesus,” I hissed before opening it to read.

Caden, or as your biker people call you, Pick.

You may have grown up to be a fine young man, but you will never be as cunning as I.

I have someone you may want alive. In the box is a piece of that someone and if you don’t do as I SAY, then you will find more pieces of her turning up each day until you listen.

I want the whore.

You have forty-eight hours to say goodbye to the slut and hand her over to Cameron where she works at 10 A.M. on Friday.

Nigel.

“Pick?” Memphis said. Tearing my eyes from the paper, I looked to him. He gestured with his head to the box. Fury, deep, unsettled fury burned inside of me. That fucker thought he could play with me again.

“No,” I snarled. “I won’t let the fucker have the satisfaction.”

Whoever was in the box was gonna have to stay there. I had no one worth worrying about except for Josie, Eli and my brothers. Fuck.

Jesus motherfuckin’ Christ.

Had he taken a brother?

How?

No, it couldn’t be. We would have heard.

“You need to know,” Eli said gently. He picked up the box with a gloved hand and opened it.

Hell. Fuckin’ hell.

“Do you know who...?”

Yeah, I fuckin’ did.

I knew whose finger lay inside the small box.

My mother’s. The ring her dealer gave her was still sitting on her dead finger.

Turning my back to them all, my hands ran again and again over my shaved head as I lifted my head and bellowed to the roof, “Fuck!”

E
li

As I stared
at Josie’s retreating sexy form when she strode down the hall and then her bedroom door banged shut, I couldn’t help but remember the conversation I’d had with Caden after he recognised the finger in the box. Josie didn’t need to hear it, but unfortunately, we were running out of options after being caught out on a lie from both of us.

“Out,” I’d growled to Memphis and Dive. Dive already had the door open and was out it before Memphis stood from the table and stalked around it. He took the back of my neck in a hold and pulled me in close. There he whispered into my ear, “Take care of our brother. Don’t let him lose himself. If I’m guessing right, it’s his mother’s finger. She ain’t worth the trouble. Get him through it and make the fuckers pay.” With that, he left, closing the door behind him.

“Caden,” I started.

“You know who it is?” he asked with his back to me.

“Yes,” I replied. “Come sit down, brother.”

Caden snorted. “What, you gonna give me head to forget about that fuckhead cutting bits off of my mum?”

Angry. Of course he was. The man was playing him and he didn’t deserve it.

Like Memphis had done to me, I took the back of Caden’s neck in my hand and steered him to the table, sitting him down in a seat. There I let go and sat next to him. His elbows went to the table and his head and eyes pinned to the box. So I picked it up, put the lid on it and threw it toward the trash can.

“Listen to me,” I began, his eyes came to me and then returned to the table, telling me he was gonna listen, but the clenched jaw told me he wasn’t happy about it or the fucked-up situation. “Think back, Caden. Think back to how your own fuckin’ mum used and abused you. Man, she gave an innocent boy’s body to anyone who’d pay so she could get her fucked-up fix. She’s never cared, Caden. If you go to her, help her, you will be sucked back into her nasty fucking web.

“Is she worth your time, your help when finally, fuckin’ finally, Caden, you have pure beauty in your life? She’ll ruin it, brother. She will fuck up your life again.” I placed my hand on his arm on the table. “Don’t let her. She’s using you again, using your heart to get what she wants. Don’t let her win. She ain’t worth it. You have us now. You have your own family and she is not a part of it. The only good that woman did was give birth to you. Now she should be just a memory. Fuck, not even that, not after what she did to you. She’s fuckin’ nothing, Caden, not even worth a thought.” I paused. “Let it go, brother. Let her go and move on to what comes next for you, Josie and me. Your family.” I could only hope Caden would see reason with my words.

We sat in silence for a while. I watched him as his mind ran through many thoughts.

“I don’t know if I could live with myself just letting him have my mum.”

“Are you willing to hand Josie over for her?” I asked.

“Fuck no,” he growled.

“Why do you feel the need to save that bitch of a mother of yours? What has she ever done for you? Tell me of a fuckin’ time she had your back and wasn’t offering it up instead for her own life.”

Nothing but silence.

Because there had never been a time his mother had his back.

Not like Hawks.

And not like Josie would.

“Fuck,” he hissed. “Fuck!” he yelled. “She’s nobody to me. I have no family but the brotherhood and...you and Josie.”

“Damn right, Caden.” I nodded. “Let’s head home. Our girl will be wondering where we are.”

Without another word, he stood and started for the door. Then he turned to me when I was a step behind him. He looked at me and gave me a half-smile. “Who knew we’d...? I ‘preciate ya, man.”

Grinning, I said, “Same.”

On the ride home, I thought it was time to take the reins back into our hands. There was no way in fuckin’ hell I was gonna let the fucker ruin Caden’s life. He had just started to live again.

I slid off my ride and waited for Caden to take off his helmet, I was about to tell him my plan when he spoke, “I’m gonna make a call to Lan. Maybe he can do something. I can’t,”—he shook his head—“I can’t just let her die.”

“You know what that means?”

“What?”

“You’re the better man, out of any of them, us. Fuckin’ always have been, you and Josie deserve each other, but I’m a selfish fucker and I’m taggin’ along for the ride as well.”

Caden threw his head back and laughed. “It wouldn’t be the same without you, Eli. You fuckin’ know that.”

I sent him a chin lift. “’Cause I’m that awesome.” I smirked. “Make the call, see you up there.”

Looking to Caden after Josie stormed off, he stared back and then with a nod, he started for her bedroom door. He was gonna tell her it all. I needed to be in there for them.

“Thanks for your help, brothers, but...”

Dodge chuckled as he stood from the couch. “Yeah, yeah we get it. Make-up sex and truth work wonders.”

A snort, then a shrug. “True that,” I said.

Dallas walked to the door from the kitchen. “She’s strong now. She can handle it.” He glared and then left. Dodge sent a wink before he closed the door after him.

Dallas was a strange fucker and the woman who brought him to his knees was gonna have to be the sane one for the both of them.

Lockin’ the door, knowing Simone wasn’t gonna be home for another two hours, I walked to the bedroom to see how things were going. See if they’d got to the sex part of the fun yet.

––––––––

P
ick

Opening the bedroom door, I stepped in to find Josie standing across the room with her hands on her hips glaring at me. Fuck, it was cute and I would have told her if I wasn’t worried she’d throw something at me. At least she wasn’t crying. I’d feel like a real arsehole if I saw her in tears.

“Baby, it’s not what you think,” I said calmly.

“Then what is it?” she asked with a tremble in her voice.

“How about you sit down?”

“No.” She glared.

“Okay, all right.” I sighed and ran a hand over my buzz cut. “Precious, you mean everything to Eli and me. Fuck, you know we love you and have for a fuckin’ long time.” Tears pooled in her eyes. Jesus, I knew I never said the words, but she had to have felt it. Striding forward, I cradled her in my arms. Her forehead went to my chest. “I love you, Josie, and there is no way in hell I would jeopardise it for anything.”

“Then why lie?” She sniffled.

The bedroom door opened and we both knew it would be Eli. Still, we didn’t turn. He came up beside us and ran his hand down her back.

“We wanted to protect you,” I offered.

She groaned and pulled away, glaring once again. Fuckin’ cute.

With her hands on her hips, she snapped, “Don’t you both get it? If it has anything to do with either of you, I want to know. I don’t want to be put inside a bubble and go along thinking the worst.
I
want to protect you both as well and I can’t do that not knowing what’s going on.” She wiped at her eyes. “I love you both. You have my heart, my soul, and you’ve both made me stronger. You both know everything about me. But you both need to let me all the way in and tell me everything about you. Please.”

While I got my head together, preparing to tell her everything, so nothing was between us again, Eli said, “Sweetheart, you already know everything about me. My parents sucked. So I took up a life with a new family. What I didn’t expect to find was an even better family within the brotherhood. You and Caden...hell, you both mean a fuckin’ heap to me and I’d do anything for you both. We can tell you everything about us. But please, baby, you gotta know we can’t tell you everything that goes on with the club.”

“I know that,” she uttered with a nod. “And I understand it. I just want to be there for you both when you need me. I want to help ease any troubles you both may have. And I need you to know that I’m not the person I used to be. I can handle things, the good, the bad and the very ugly, if I know it helps you both.”

Eli smiled at her and held out his hand. She took it and he led her to the bed. I joined them, sitting down on the other side of our woman.

“We’re gettin’ the picture, sweetheart. We’ve witnessed you growin’ into a beautiful, young,
brave
woman,” Eli said.

“Good.” She nodded to the floor and then raised her eyes and looked at me. “Can you tell me what’s going on, if it doesn’t have anything to do with the club?”

“Yeah, precious. I can tell you, but fuck, baby, it ain’t good.”

She reached her hand up and ran it down my cheek, then took my hand in hers. “I know.”

Closing my eyes, I braced myself. Christ, I didn’t want to tell her. I wanted to protect her from the fuckin’ wrong things in life, but she was right. We couldn’t keep her in a bubble. To know us, she had to know everything that was goin’ on.

“You know I had a shit past. My mum sold my body and got me to do shit I didn’t like so she could stay high. What you don’t know...the men who, fuck, who took advantage of me.” Shit what would she think of me? I needed to get it out quick, see where I then stood with Josie. Looking to our joined hands, I continued, “I hunted them down and killed them all, but there was one I couldn’t find, until recently.” I didn’t pause for breath, needing to get the words out there. “He’s Cameron’s father. Eli and I went to meet with them. Told his dad that he had to keep his son away from you or else his past would be shown to the press.”

Eli pressed on for me. “We thought he’d listened. It’d been two weeks. Until this morning. Caden had a delivery at the compound, which was why we had to go. There was a box. Let’s just say Nigel, Cameron’s fucked-up father, has told Caden if he doesn’t hand you over to his son, he is going to kill Caden’s mum.”

She gasped and squeezed my hand. I looked to her and she said, “I’ll go. We can’t let—”

“No way in hell, Josie,” I growled. “I’d go there myself and kill the lot of them before I let them take you. I have enough blood on my hands, what’s more—”

“And they deserve it,” Josie said quietly.

Eli’s eyes widened and my head jerked back. I then uttered, “What?”

She stood suddenly, dropping our hands to face us her hands went to her hips, her eyes glared with an intense gleam to them and she leaned forward to speak her next words. Fuck me, she was furious on my behalf. Even her cute nose was scrunched up. “They deserve death, Caden. I know I’m a bad person saying that, but...but...
fuck it
. Your mum is a bitch and if I had a gun myself, I would shoot her for what she put you through. I’m sorry, but I would. People like that, like Nigel,” she snarled, “they deserve nothing but death. Hell, if I had my chance I would have loved to have killed David with my bare hands for what he did to me. But I can’t.” She took a deep breath. Her gaze flittered to the floor and then back up to me. “I’m sorry your mum is in that situation, but she’s...crazy, Caden. Crazy to have damaged her son, her own flesh and blood like she did. I know you won’t give me up...but, I know you have a big heart, Caden.” Christ, she got to her knees in front of me and moved her way between my legs, taking my hands in hers. “So I know you don’t want your mum’s death on your shoulders.”