Whizz (11 page)

“She’s been through a lot. I’m pleased she didn’t die. Out of all of them she made the most sense.”

Whizz stayed silent. Sometimes words were not necessary.

****

Lacey opened her eye to see a little boy staring at her. No, it was a baby boy. Stretching out her arms, she caught sight of a woman she knew as Prue sitting, holding the boy on her knee.

“It’s about time. I really thought I was going to have to throw a fit to wake you up. I’ve been bored out of my mind, sitting here watching you sleep,” Prue said.

“What are you doing here?” Lacey asked, seeing the door to the room open. The hustle and bustle of the house filled her senses. What was Prue doing in her room?

“Whizz has gone to the hospital to see Butch. He asked me to take you out shopping. Guess what? Angel’s coming along with us. We’re taking the kids with us though.” Prue kept talking. She turned to a baby voice as she talked to Markus. “Tell Lacey that she has got to come.”

Sitting up in bed, she held the blanket to her chest. Beneath the covers she was naked. Whizz had helped her wash her body then carried her through to the bed after drying her. She didn’t want Prue to see her naked.

“You’re naked. We’ll leave you alone until you’re dressed. I’ve got a feeling Markus is going to have it easy to pick up pussy.” Prue stood, leaving the room.

“Oh, Angel left you clothes on the chair in the corner.”

The door closed behind her, and Lacey thought she had entered the Twilight Zone. Pushing some hair off her face she glanced over at the clock to see it was past ten. She rarely slept in anymore. Last night she’d been so exhausted that she’d passed out cold. Her last memory was of Whizz curling around her as she lay on the bed. Pushing the blanket off her body, she grabbed the clothes then entered the bathroom. Her eyes didn’t look red and puffy. Staring at her face, she actually looked refreshed, which scared her a little. She’d been in The Skulls’ clubhouse, and yet she looked better for it rather than worse.

She went to the toilet, did her business, and washed her hands before brushing her teeth. Lacey dressed in the denim skirt and white maternity shirt that Angel had let her use. This would be the only time she wore maternity clothes.

Don’t do it, Lacey. It’s not worth it.

Walking back into the bedroom, she put on some sneakers after brushing her hair.

“Are you done yet?” Prue asked, speaking through the door. Opening the door, she stared at the other woman.

“I’m done.”

“Come on. I’ll feed you first. Whizz wants me to keep an eye on you.”

She followed behind Prue as they walked downstairs. No one stopped this time to stare at her. It helped that Prue kept talking about everything and anything.

“Where did she go?” Hardy asked.

They entered the kitchen to find Hardy, Gash, Nash, and Steven talking. Angel was feeding her son as Eva was dealing with a temper tantrum from Tabitha.

“I don’t know,” Nash said. “I’ve only just got up. Give me a break.”

“Rose isn’t in my room, and she’s not answering her cell.”

“For fuck’s sake, she wanted some space. Give it to her,” Gash said, snapping.

“Where is she?” Hardy stepped toward the other man. Gash got to his feet, showing he wasn’t threatened.

“You can get in my face all you want, Hardy. I’m not the one responsible for sticking my dick in the wrong woman. She wants space, deal with it, or you’ll be dealing with a divorce.” Gash snapped up his drink, storming out of the room.

“I love her. I don’t want her to leave.”

“Rose loves you, Hardy. Give her some space,” Angel said, offering him a smile.

Taking a seat at the table, Lacey gasped as Prue put Markus in her arms. “Right, I was thinking we’ll skip Fort Wills and go straight to the mall in the city. No one is keeping us locked up tight anymore. I need to get away,” Prue said.

Markus wriggled in her arms and Lacey held on as she listened to the other woman. This was more than she could handle. She’d never held a child in all of her life.

“Lash won’t be happy,” Angel said.

“Screw Lash. This is a girls’ day. What about you, Eva? Are you coming along?”

“I want Simon!” Tabitha threw her bowl off the table, glaring at her mother.

Eva rolled her eyes. “No! Tiny’s right. I’ve put up with your temper long enough, lady. You’re so going in the naughty corner.” In quick moves, Eva put her daughter in the corner. “You will stay there and think about what you’ve done.”

“She better stay there,” Tiny said, appearing in the doorway.

Tabitha looked shocked to see her father watching. “That’s right, missy. I saw you.”

She stuck her lip out. “I want Simon!”

Tiny looked at Eva, frowning. “She means Devil’s Simon, not Tate’s.”

Tabitha faced the wall, folding her arms over her chest. She looked every inch the spoilt little girl.

Prue placed a cup in front of her. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Just some toast.”

No one paid Lacey any attention as she held Markus close.

“How long has she been throwing her temper around?” Tiny asked.

“She liked Simon. They were close.” Eva cleaned away the mess. “I’ve been talking with Lexie. Simon has been the same way.”

“What do you want?” Tiny folded his arms, the same way his daughter had.

“We want to meet up.”

Lacey tuned out as Angel started talking with Prue. “How’s Kelsey?”

“She’s vomiting. I think she’s preggers again. It wouldn’t surprise me. Killer is always on her.” Prue finished making some breakfast then made her way over to her. She took Markus out of her arms. “Not that I can complain. They make beautiful kids.”

“Are we inviting Tate along?” Angel asked.

“Don’t go ruining my good mood.”

“I’m not going,” Tate said, walking into the room. Lacey looked behind her in time to see Tate smirk after she looked from her dad to Tabitha. She passed Tabitha on the way to the table, ruffling her head. “That’s my girl.”

“Don’t encourage her, Tate,” Tiny said.

Tate chuckled, taking a seat at the table. Her rounded stomach was starting to show. She’d almost lost her child after an attack from Gonzalez. Fortunately, Tate hadn’t died, and neither had her unborn child.

“Get your own cereal,” Prue said.

Angel looked at her. “Don’t mind those two. They’re always bickering.”

Lacey felt like she was suffering from whiplash with the way the two women were talking. Eva and Tiny were talking, and Miles kept eating his food while glancing at his sister. Tabitha was dancing on the spot, not doing as she was asked. There was so much going on.

“Fine. You can go, but make sure Devil knows about it as well. I’m not going to be dealing with his shit because of you two.”

“Lexie has already got Devil’s agreement. We’re going to meet up at Paradise Rocks.”

“That’s fucking hours away,” Tiny said, spitting his coffee back into the cup.

“Yeah, but it meets at the middle. I’m not having Lexie come here and risk Devil kicking your ass. I’m not going to Piston County and have you follow me to kick his ass. Paradise Rocks is neutral territory. It’s not owned by The Skulls or Chaos Bleeds. It’s like Switzerland,” Eva said.

Tiny looked like he wanted to say something else. He looked around the room, and his gaze settled on Lacey. “Does Whizz know you’re out?”

She nodded. This man was scary as fuck. She didn’t want his anger directed at her, not one bit.

“Don’t you have a voice?”

“Dad, stop scaring her. Prue looks like she wants to shoot your ass, and I heard she’s pretty mean with a gun,” Tate said.

“Shut up.” Prue glared at the other woman before turning to the president of The Skulls. “Whizz knows she’s out. She’s not a fucking dog. I’m taking her out with Angel.”

“Lash know about this?”

Lacey wanted to die. They were treating her like she was something evil that needed to muzzled or something. Not that she could blame them. None of them knew her, not really. They only knew she had been part of a club that had killed several townsfolk. Eating her toast, she stayed quiet while the others started to talk.

“He knows, and he’s fine with me going with them,” Angel said, cleaning Anthony up.

“Really?”

Angel looked at Tiny. Her face was bright red. “Really. Lacey is not going to hurt me. You’re being rude in treating her like you are.” She stood, turning her back to Tiny. Lacey saw her hands were shaking.

“Dad, enough already. You keep questioning Angel then Lash is going to kick your ass.” Tate took a spoonful of her cereal and smiled at him. “Besides, Tabitha’s more likely to hurt Angel than Lacey.”

“Am not.” Tabitha’s little voice came from the corner.

“Are too,” Tate said, sticking her tongue out at her little sister. The two sisters were also giggling as they played with their dad.

“Stop it, you two,” Tiny said, shaking his head. “Your mom’s going to see Lexie with Simon. I better not hear any more crap from you, missy.” He pointed his finger at Tabitha before moving onto Tate. “You should know better. You’ve got a kid of your own and one on the way.”

“Will do.” Tate saluted him.

He shook his head, walking out.

Tabitha walked over to her sister, and they high-fived. “We had him, did you see?”

“Yep.”

Was this what it was to be a family? Lacey had been ten years old when her family had been torn from her. Pushing the thoughts aside, she finished eating as Zero walked into the kitchen.

“What have I told you about leaving my bed?” He pulled Prue into his arms, slamming his lips down on hers.

Lacey wished she could have something like that. Zero was careful of Markus as he kissed Prue.

“You were snoring your ass off. I’ve been awake for ages. I’m not lying around all morning just to get a kiss with your morning breath.”

“Woman, I swear I’ll spank your ass.”

Prue’s smile grew wider. “Is that a promise?”

Everywhere Lacey turned the signs of love and devotion were clear to see. Lacey finished her food, climbed off her chair, and made her way to the sink. She washed the dish aware of her hands shaking.

Angel stood beside her. “It’s okay to be nervous. I was nervous when I first arrived here.”

She smiled at the other woman, hating her reaction to being around the club. Lacey wanted to be part of it while she felt she didn’t deserve it. Her family was long gone, dead, by the men who were now around her.

“Stop mauling me.” Prue slapped Zero in the gut. “It’s time for us to go before we get stuck in a shitload of traffic.”

“Come on.”

“Wait, have any of you seen Rose?” Zero asked.

Angel had grabbed her arm and started leading her out of the room. The two women stopped to look at Zero.

Prue tilted her head to the side to observe her man. “We don’t know.”

He stared right back at her. “You know where she is.”

She snorted. “Of course I do. I’m not going to tell you for you to run right off back to Hardy. That man needs to learn to go without. He should have known to keep his dick in his pants.” They headed out of the clubhouse with Anthony and Markus with them. Prue placed the two pushchairs in the trunk of the car as Angel secured the two kids in their car seats.

“Right, Lacey, you’ve got a choice. You can sit between the two brats or you can sit beside me. Angel doesn’t mind where she sits so long as she’s got an eye on the boys.”

“I’ll sit up front with you.” Lacey didn’t handle kids, and hadn’t touched kids since her ordeal. The last thing she wanted to do was get involved with what she could never have. On the road she couldn’t even get a puppy as they didn’t have the means to keep one. From the moment the guys had it fixed in their head to deal with Gonzalez, she hadn’t been able to settle down.

Get over it.

Lacey didn’t know what to expect from the future. If she was honest with herself, the prospect of the future terrified her.

****

“What’s going on?” Tiny asked, brushing past Alex to walk into his home. Alex heard Sunshine in the kitchen dealing with his breakfast. He enjoyed being at home a lot more than he did being at the clubhouse right now. The men were angry at him for what he had done to Butch and keeping it from the club. It had been his idea, his decision that Tiny had agreed to, and the men were not happy with it.

“Nothing.”

“You’re hiding out in your house because of the shit that went down between Devil and me?” Tiny folded his hands. The sound of pans banging around drew Tiny’s attention. “Who’s that?”

“Sunshine. She’s my housekeeper and has been since I bought this place well over a year ago.”

“You’ve had this place a year and you didn’t tell me?”

Alex hadn’t told anyone about his purchase of this place. He didn’t want any of the club descending on him unnecessarily, and also, he didn’t want any of the club to be near Sunshine. By keeping his place a secret, he kept Sunshine to himself. From the moment he saw her he’d not touched another woman, hadn’t wanted another woman.

“This is my business, and it doesn’t affect the club.”

“You wanted to give up your life in Vegas, the casino, all the shit Ned had coming your way to come to my town. Why the fuck are you in my town if you’re going to keep shit from me?” Tiny asked.

“I helped create this town. I helped you, Tiny.”

“Yeah, I know you helped me. I know you were always there, but you were not part of the club, Alex. You were a businessman who wore a fancy suit. I did all the shit here. I got my hands dirty while you stayed away. When Michael came out of the woodwork, you told me you wanted to be part of the club. What’s changed?”

Alex rested his hands on his hips. He wore a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt. The scent of Sunshine was on everything. These were the clothes he bought when he hired her. She washed and pressed them regularly even though she didn’t need to. Everything smelled of her. She’d been the only woman in the house for so long, and he loved it. He didn’t have to share her with her family as they stayed within town. Sunshine did leave the house to visit them.

“Devil was right. I don’t know the first thing about running a club. You need to take care of The Skulls by yourself.”