“No. It’s her. Why the hell is she here?”
“No idea, darlin’ but she looks happy to be here,” Shaft says. I look over at him to find his eyes on me. “You don’t look so happy.”
“Did you not here about what happened?”
“Not all of it. Shit, I’m sorry, Dezzy.” Shaft places his hand on my shoulder when OB walks up and grabs me away from him. He pulls me into his side, holding me tightly.
“Don’t you worry, sweetheart, I won’t let her fuck with you while she’s here.”
“Why is she here? How did she get out?” I ask nearly in tears.
“Don’t know those answers but she won’t bother you. I promise.” I glance up at OB and nod my head.
“Well, if that isn’t my ungrateful daughter. Way to leave your mother in that hell hole. Did you really think that I would let that shit slide, you dumb little whore,” she snaps as she makes her way closer to me. OB steps in front of me, cutting her off at the pass.
“You watch your words around here, Shelby. You walked a long goddamn time ago. You hold no fuckin’ power around here anymore.”
I peek around his tall frame to see the look on her face and I can’t help but smile. He’s giving her a taste of her own medicine and I couldn’t be happier about that.
“Clearly you haven’t talked your Prez, Old Barnie. You probably should since he’s the one who invited me here. Get used to it, baby. I’m staying.” With that she turns and walks away as I’m left feeling lower than I ever have in my life. He knew she was coming and didn’t say a word to me. He invited her here after everything she’s done to me. How could he?
“I’m gonna call Gauge,” Shaft says next to me.
I don’t care who he calls, if my dad knew wouldn’t Gauge have known? He’s the fucking VP. He had to have known about this. OB turns around wrapping his arms around me and holding me to his chest.
“Whatever she’s doin’ here, I’ll find out. Don’t let her get inside your head, darlin’.” His words are meant to comfort me but they don’t.
“It’s too late for that.”
Fifteen
Gauge
I swing until my knuckles bleed. I watch the blood splatter as I beat the hell out of this guy. My frustration level is beyond anything I’ve ever felt in my life. I don’t know where my head’s at anymore. Dez has it a fucking mess, and I’m not sure which way is up these days. My phone goes insane in my pocket as Remy slaps a hand on my shoulder.
“I think he gets the point,” he says nodding toward the guy on the ground. It was only supposed to be a little fun and games. We ran the security like we were supposed to but shit got boring. One of the other guys challenged me and stepped up.
“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath, holding a hand out to the fucker. In my head, this is all on him. He shouldn’t have challenged me the way he did, but in hindsight, I suppose my mess of a life isn’t really his fault. He brushes my hand away and stands on his own, his face a bloody mess. He doesn’t say shit, just turns and walks away, leaving me and Remy standing there.
“What’s with you today?”
“Should I be concerned that you just handed my boys ass to him on a platter?” Rib, the guy we’re running security for, asks as he takes in his man.
“No. You should tell him to be smarter about who he challenges though.” Rib chuckles under his breath before stepping up next to us.
“If you’re in that kind of mood, I got a traitor over in the next warehouse you are more than welcome to,” he says in the surest tone I’ve ever heard. That has my interests though.
“No shit?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Remy grumbles next to me.
“No shit. You can have at the motherfucker once you answer that goddamn phone of yours,” Rib says nodding toward my pocket. I slide the phone out and see it’s Shaft.
“What the hell do you want?” I ask as I walk out of the one warehouse on my way to the other. Free kills? I’m all in. I need to relieve this fucking tension somehow.
“Did you know that Prez’s old lady was comin’ today?”
“Prez said he was tellin’ you guys, so yeah.”
“Well he didn’t. Apparently he didn’t tell Dezzy either. They had a little showdown.”
Oh fuck!
“Your orders are to treat her with as much respect as the members.” The words taste like acid on my tongue as I say them. I fucking hate saying them too. I lean against the warehouse and pull out a cigarette lighting one up.
“Not us you gotta worry over. OB is eyein’ that bitch like he might cut her into pieces, and I can’t say her kid is far behind,” Shaft informs me.
“Not really our concern. We have our orders,” I say knowing full well I want to keep her as far from Dez as possible but I’m not there at the moment and I don’t know what kind of mindset Dez is in.
“You’re shittin’ me, right?”
“Sound like it?”
“Fuck, Gauge. We all know what she did to Dezzy. How the hell are we supposed to look away from that?”
“Because it’s a fuckin’ order, brother! You fuckin’ her?” If he says yes I swear on everything I am will knock his fucking teeth down his throat and bury him in a shallow grave.
“No, but Prez stormed out after he smacked Dez. I don’t know wh-”
“What the fuck you mean he smacked her?” I shove off the wall and head toward my bike without even thinking about it. We might be fucked up and do things others would cringe at, but hitting a woman? Not really in our nature unless she’s a fucking traitor.
“Just what I said. They got into it and he smacked her in the face and left. I don’t know what the fuck is goin’ on around here anymore, brother. Shit’s all crazy.”
“I’m on my way back.” I hit the end button as anger courses through my veins. Remy walks out of the warehouse and eyes me when I signal for him. He struts over quickly.
“Gotta head back. You got this? Prez is actin’ all kinds of crazy.”
“Fuck, he has been since his girl came back,” he says. I nod my head agreeing with him.
“Handle this and head back.” Remy nods as I toss my smoke and pull my helmet on. I rev the engine and take off knowing we’re only thirty minutes away. This run was easy and local but the call for extra security was there, which is why I was here. Rib moves some heavy guns, and without twenty- four-hour monitoring, he’s afraid someone would catch on. Now that it’s all loaded onto trucks heading north, it’s all good. He has another MC lined up to follow it out of state.
The ride doesn’t take me long but the thoughts in my head are coming faster. The idea of slitting that bitch’s throat has crossed my mind a few times, and as I pull into the clubhouse, it intensifies. I kill the bike and climb off, tossing my helmet to the ground. I see Sly’s bike is missing along with a few prospects, as well. Might be a good thing for him since I’m on edge. I stride into the clubhouse, my eyes shifting through the people trying to find her.