Alex Read online

  Silence descended around them. Hardy hadn’t noticed anyone else standing outside of the clubhouse nor did he care. All he wanted was to see his woman.

  “Why?” Tiny asked.

  “What?”

  “Why did you cheat on her? Why do that to her?”

  Hardy laughed. “You’re going to ask me that after what went down with Patricia?”

  Tiny’s jaw tensed. “What happened with me and Patricia is not in question here. I’m not the one refusing to divorce my wife. I’m not the one who is hurting my woman every chance I get. Now answer the fucking question.”

  “I don’t know,” Hardy said. The truth was, he didn’t like the answer. He’d cheated at the time because he could and the bitch had wanted it as much as he had. Thinking those thoughts tore part of his soul. Rose, she was his entire world, and ten years ago, he’d almost lost her. When she came back to him, he’d promised himself he’d never give her the chance to get away. For the first time in his life he’d prayed to a God he didn’t really believe existed, but he’d done it. Hardy would have walked through hell to get Rose by his side.

  This, her entire withdrawal from him, her complete lack of acceptance or forgiveness, was shattering his whole world. What hurt him even more was witnessing the pain within her eyes every time he saw her. Rose was breaking apart, and he couldn’t get close enough to her to mend her broken heart.

  You’re the cause of her broken heart. You destroyed her years ago and failed to the see the truth.

  Years of pretending it hadn’t happened was what brought him to this moment. Hardy knew deep down he should have done something, made her talk to him about what they’d gone through. Instead, he’d pretended like she had. He’d not wanted to remind her of his mistake. Rose couldn’t have children, and instead of doing what Whizz was doing, Hardy left it. There were so many opportunities that he’d failed to grasp. Glancing around the clubhouse compound he saw Angel and Lash heading toward their car. The couple had stopped to look at him. If that wasn’t enough, Tate, Murphy, and Simon were also witness to it. This was all his fault. Hurting Rose and now he was hurting her even more.

  Shoulders slumped, he looked up at Tiny. “Arrange a meet with Rose. I can’t sign that shit without seeing her one last time.”

  “You’re prolonging this.”

  “It’s over thirteen years of marriage on one mistake. I’m not ready to throw that all away. I know Rose wants to throw the towel in and call it quits, but I can’t.” Hardy had fucked up. He’d fucked up in more ways than one, but his heart belonged to his redheaded siren.

  “I’ll call and talk to her. I can’t promise anything.”

  “Thank you.” Hardy moved past Tiny ready to go back into the house.

  “What will you do if she doesn’t want to talk to you?” Tiny asked.

  He closed his eyes, trying not to fall apart.

  “I’ll sign the papers and give her everything.”

  Rose could have everything, the house, the car, the savings, and she’d take his heart along with her. There was no other woman for him.

  One mistake in his past was not something to throw away their marriage worth of memories. He’d not always been a screw up.

  ****

  “What do you want me to do?” Rose asked, turning from the window. Tiny had arrived at her home at seven, ten minutes ago. Whenever she saw him, she knew deep down he was coming with news of Hardy.

  “All he wants is a chance to talk to you. Is it so bad to let him talk?”

  In the window she saw her own reflection, nothing of the garden or the layer of snow covering the ground. “How’s Alex?”

  “Stop changing the subject.”

  She shook her head, turning around to face him. “What do you want me to say? You want me to see him so he can throw vile threats at me, lash out at all my inadequacies.”

  “Rose—”

  “No, you don’t Rose me, Tiny. I can’t have children, and he knows it kills me to know the truth. He wouldn’t accept me adopting any other child. I even suggested us getting a surrogate. Instead he told me we were good enough together.” Tears filled her eyes. “So, we’re good enough together even after he got that whore pregnant and now he throws it in my face. You expect me to talk to him?”

  The tears that had filled her eyes spilled out, rolling down her cheeks. Ink was in the kitchen giving them the privacy that Tiny demanded.

  “I can’t do this right now,” she said.

  “He hurt you, Rose. I know he did. I see it in your eyes, and your presence in the club is missed, more than you know.” He let out a breath, standing up to walk toward her. She wrapped her arms around her middle, staring down at the plain white carpet. Tiny placed his hands on her arms, drawing her closer to him. She accepted his warmth.

  “I can’t do this,” she said, repeating her earlier words.

  “Hardy has been in your life for a long time. I remember the first couple of years you were together. The love between you is like that of a romance flick. The same shit Eva makes me watch.” Tiny was more of a father to Rose than anything else. He was older than she was by a good twenty years.

  “This isn’t fair.”

  “Throwing away thirteen years of marriage for a mistake ten years old could be a mistake.”

  She inhaled sharply.

  “Imagine your life without him, Rose. Will you be happy? Will you be free?” He tilted her head back to look at her.

  “I am happy without having to see him, Tiny.”

  “What broke those memories loose?” he asked.

  “Everything. The past couple of years is what finally broke those memories free. They were always there. I stayed with Hardy all the time because I didn’t trust him. I would pretend it was something else, that I couldn’t be away from him. It was all false. Everything I’ve felt has been false.” She let out a breath. “I’m starting to wonder if I’ve been living a lie for the past ten years.”

  “Talk to him, Rose. He’s breaking apart without you.”

  She closed her eyes, and she saw him. Hardy, her hard muscular husband who liked to spend hours making love to her. He loved her stripping in front of the club, knowing no one could touch her but him. Rose was his possession.

  Yes, trying to pretend she didn’t love Hardy was easy. It was also easy to pretend she didn’t care, but she wasn’t really happy. The horrid truth was, she was never really happy without Hardy. He made her happy, and the power he had over her to either destroy or make her happy, scared her. This way Rose was free from fearing his next affair.

  “Fine, I’ll talk to him. I’ll come by on Friday. I’ve got a lot to do for the next couple of days.” She needed to be prepared to face the only man who ever owned her heart. Hardy was her one weakness. From their first moment together, sparks had flown like shooting stars in the sky.

  “Thank you.”

  Rose nodded, walking toward the door to see him out. Ink appeared in the doorway.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  The prospects had all been nice to her. She’d seen the interest in their eyes, their curiosity about her. Rose was the first old lady who’d left the club and her man.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  Locking the door, she walked up the long stairs toward her bedroom, their shared bedroom. She opened the door, flicking on the light switch. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward the wardrobe, turning on the light. Hardy had worked damned hard to give her everything she now owned in life. When he’d told her at a young age to trust in him, she had without any questions asked. She’d put her trust, her faith, and her whole life in his hands. He’d stopped her from working, preferring her to be home whenever he was. For the longest time, it worked, but then it just didn’t.

  Rose pulled out the leather cut that he’d purchased for her the day after their wedding. They’d been honeymooning in the Caribbean when he gave it to her. Property of Hardy.

  “That’s it now, babe. You’re mine to keep forever.”r />
  When she’d put it on all of those years ago, she’d believed she was the luckiest woman in the world. Why couldn’t they both go back to that time? She still loved Hardy with all of her heart, but every time she looked at him, it broke another little part of her.

  Chapter Four

  A couple days later

  “You mean to tell me that the man I’ve sent my woman to go and collect from the airport is the same man who killed this fucker’s sister,” Tiny asked. His rage made Alex wince. Glancing over at Ned, Alex raised his brow. This was in his hands now. Alex hadn’t told anyone to go and collect Sully.

  “Sully’s not a bad man, Tiny.”

  “Bad? He murdered a fucking innocent girl in an elevator, and you sick fucks covered it up.” Tiny got up from behind his desk. He slammed his fist against the wall.

  “Do you really think I’d put my daughter in danger? That girl was not innocent. She wasn’t innocent in any way, far from it. Sully lost control. We were all younger then. He wouldn’t kill Eva.” Ned folded his arms over his chest. Considering the guy was nearing seventy he barely had an ounce of fat on him. In fact, Ned was in top shape.

  “What exactly do we have to look forward to from this Preston guy? I’ve never fucking heard of him, and now he’s in my town killing women under my protection.”

  “Sunshine isn’t under your protection,” Alex said, speaking up. “She’s under mine.”

  “No, Alex, she’s not. The club voted, and Sunshine is under our protection. You’re lucky you weren’t voted out. If you ask me the guys would prefer to have Butch back in than you.” Tiny ran fingers through his hair, looking annoyed. “This shit, I can’t deal with. Not now.”

  Someone knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” Tiny said.

  Lash opened the door, walking inside.

  “Why’s he here?” Ned asked.

  “Lash will be taking the gavel soon enough. It’s time he learned what it means to be a true leader of the club. I won’t be keeping him out of any shit that we all discuss.”

  Alex didn’t like this. The fewer people who knew the truth the better. Lash took a seat on the sofa in the corner. “I take it we’re discussing why shit-face ended up in the hospital with a stab wound?”

  “Someone’s out for a little payback. Someone from Alex and Ned’s past,” Tiny said.

  It was into the second week of January, and Alex already believed he’d wasted enough time in the hospital recuperating. Lash looked toward Ned then Alex. “I bet there’s a lot of history we don’t know about you, either of you. Have you ever thought about that, prez?”

  Gritting his teeth, Alex was getting a little pissed off with listening to the little shit thinking he knew stuff when he didn’t.

  “They do have a history, Lash. Don’t worry, I’ve not got any doubts that they’re hiding shit. We’re all hiding shit, including this club.” Tiny leaned against his desk, folding his arms over his chest. “Let’s get something straight, I don’t give a fuck what either of you have or have not done in the past. The only thing I care about is what you did that affects my woman, my kids, and my club.”

  Alex didn’t look away from Tiny. His friend, his former brother-in-law, was glaring at Ned. There was a time when Tiny loved Patricia, his sister. From the look in Tiny’s eyes, the feelings he’d once had for Patricia were fondness, caring, not love.

  Not that he could blame Tiny for not feeling deeper for Patricia. Not many people who knew his sister had overly liked her.

  “Okay, so we only need to deal with one person,” Lash said.

  Pulling out of his trance, Alex nodded. “His name is Preston Cooper.”

  “I’ve heard that he’s into the whole master race thing, white power or some shit. That true?”

  “He was part of a group like that, but over the years they were unpopular. Preston went off the grid a couple of weeks after his sister was killed,” Alex said, sitting in the chair across from Lash. He rubbed at his temples feeling a headache begin to start.

  “Preston was supposed to be dead. He wasn’t part of any relevant gang out in Vegas, but he had his own following of supporters who believed in the shit that he did,” Ned said. “They were the Cooper’s Rule.”

  “Cooper’s Rule?”

  “It’s what they called themselves. They believed in select groups who had the right to control businesses, power, et cetera. Anyway, they were unpopular and destroyed. Several members ended up in prison and—”

  “I arranged for Preston to be killed,” Alex said. He wanted to go and see Sunshine. He didn’t want to be sitting in this office discussing the past or what it meant. One of the reasons he’d encouraged Patricia’s marriage to Tiny was to get her out of Vegas and away from the corrupt shit plaguing his life. “Only, he wasn’t killed, and it was brought to my attention a couple of days ago.”

  “What can we expect?” Tiny asked.

  “I don’t know.” Alex stared at his only friend. He’d not let anyone get close to him through his years at the casino or at the club. Alex knew the only way to survive was to keep everyone at arm’s length. It was all he’d done to survive this long. The world was a dog eat dog world, and Alex always intended to be a much bigger dog than anyone else. He’d given up everything to protect the club, the people who mattered to him, and he wasn’t going to stop now.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?”

  “Preston wasn’t your random killer or leader, Tiny. He was nothing like Snitch or Gonzalez.”

  “Then what was he like?” Tiny asked. “I can’t do anything without knowing anything.”

  “This guy has been gone ten years. I think the best we can do is put a shitload of protection around the women,” Ned said. “Preston Cooper, he didn’t have a reputation as such. No one knows what his signature is, but we can expect something bad.”

  “Why? What makes you think we can expect something bad?” Tiny looked from Ned to Alex.

  Lash was leaning back in his chair, rubbing at his temples. “It’s pretty simple.”

  “What?”

  “This guy, whoever he is, has waited a long time for this moment. Should we anticipate that he expects Alex to be dead? Whatever has gone on in the past is between Alex, Ned, Sully, and this fucker Preston. Alex is part of the club, so we’ll get hit at some point. No lockdown, we need to wait for him to make his next move.”

  “He’ll make a next move,” Alex said, staring down at his hands. “Sunshine gave me his message that he’s not done with me yet. This is my problem, Tiny, and I’ll handle it. It’s not a club matter.”

  “You won’t. Fort Wills is my town, The Skulls is my club, and for once, Alex, you’re going to do as you’re fucking told.” Tiny walked around toward his desk. “This is all you suggest, wait and see?”

  “It’s all we’ve got to go on.”

  “Sunshine, she needs to stay here.”

  “No, lockdown will not draw him out. It’ll only keep him locked away. We need him to want to hit out at us.”

  “Butch and Cheryl?” Tiny asked.

  “They need to go to Vegas,” Lash said. “Let them take Michael with them. We don’t need a little boy to be here on the chopping block. Like you’ve said, your son needs to have some fun away from this, and if this bastard wants to hurt you, he’ll hit out at your kid.”

  Alex stood, buttoning up his suit jacket. He didn’t want Michael gone, but he also didn’t see a point in prolonging the inevitable with Butch.

  “Watch out for Eva,” Tiny said, glaring at Ned.

  “Don’t order me.”

  “I’ll fucking order you. You allowed my woman to pick up a killer. Don’t ever put my woman in that kind of fucking danger again, otherwise, old man, we’ll end this once and for all.”

  Ned and Lash left the room. Alex made his way toward the door.

  “You better know what you’re doing,” Tiny said.

  Glancing back at his brother-in-law, no, former brother-in-law, Alex didn’
t know what to say. The only person who’d ever really cared about him stood a few feet away. He was so fucking sad to see the anger on Tiny’s face. Gritting his teeth, he nodded. “If it’s any consolation, I never meant to hurt you or for this to come back on you.”

  “How many skeletons have you got in your closet?” Tiny asked.

  Alex smiled. “You don’t want to know how many I’ve got.”

  “You’re taking Fighter with you from the prospects. He can handle himself in a quick fight. Adam will also be going with you,” Tiny said.

  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, right? Adam farts all the time. I can handle Preston on my own. He won’t come out yet.”

  “You don’t know that, and I’m not having another fucking serial killer loose in my town. Taking the protection wasn’t a request, Alex. It was a fucking order.” Tiny sat down on his chair, giving Alex his back.

  Seeing no other point in sticking around, Alex left the office. Fighter and Adam were nowhere to be found. He imagined they’d meet him back at his home. He was heading to the hospital to pick up Sunshine. The very thought of the younger woman lightened his whole life. It hurt Alex to know he couldn’t let her get too close to him. The last thing he wanted was for her to end up on the chopping block.

  ****

  “Okay, I think you’re all set,” Sandy said, tucking some of her dyed blonde hair behind her ear. Sunshine looked past the pretty doctor to the biker holding onto the doorframe. She was sure she’d heard Sandy call him Stink. What a weird name to have, Stink. The whole name seemed cruel to Sunshine.

  “Thank you.”

  “Stink, you don’t have to stay there all day. I’m not going anywhere.” Sandy glanced behind her at the biker.

  “I’ll wait down the hall.”

  Sunshine watched as the other woman took a breath. “Men, they can be a little intense.”

  Thinking about Alex, she smiled. He was intense when she took the time to observe him. “I, erm, I wouldn’t really know.”

  “That look on your face tells me you know exactly what I mean, honey. You better keep hold of that man.”