Christmas Outburst

CHAPTER TWO

– ZALE –

I hit the button of the hands-free device when I hear a call coming in. Reef, my VP, and I are on our way home. I wouldn’t have taken the call, but it might be Leon. My eyes need to stay on the road and it’s why I accept without checking the caller ID.

“Yeah,” I grunt.

My son’s voice is filled with a hint of fear when he says, “Dad, Ma is at the house.”

I take a turn and know it’ll take at least another five minutes for me to get home. “Get out of there, right now. Go next door to the old woman’s place, hide in her yard or something.”

“The old woman died,” Leon grits and releases a heavy sigh for a boy his age.

Fuck. I’ve been working around the clock to get things settled between the club’s issues, and work. It’s been a crazy few months and I hoped shit would have settled down by now. Hell, it’s why I bought the house to give my kid some solid family time. I guess I’m still fucking shit up.

“The house is still there, break in and get inside,” I tell him. “Find something to protect yourself. I’m only a few minutes out. Stay safe until I get there.”

“Holy shit,” Leon mutters. “Nah, Dad, I don’t think that’ll be a problem…because Nixie just walked in with a shotgun and she’s still wearing a smile on her face.”

“Who the fuck is Nixie?” I grunt.

“Did you call him? Does he want us to call the police?” a woman asks.

As if local law enforcement can do shit. If my ex is out, they should have at least given us a heads-up.

“No cops,” I snap.

“My dad says no cops,” Leon relays to the woman.

“Okey dokey,” the woman states. “The shouting has stopped. Do you think she went back in the house?”

“Stay where you are, I’m pulling in now,” I tell my kid and disconnect the call when I come to a stop in front of my house.

I hit the kickstand and palm my gun.

Reef is right beside me, pulling his gun from his shoulder holster, and asks, “What’s going on?”

“My ex,” is all I tell him, and he gives me a chin lift in understanding.

I’m the president of Razing Muck MC, Blaine, Minnesota chapter. Every member knows about my fucked-up ex, Vera, who tried to kill my kid and herself a few years ago. Vera locked herself up in the clubhouse and we barely were able to save Leon before the fire she started took out half the building. The damage could have been so much worse. Vindictive bitch.

Though, the whole situation felt like it was my fault. I was the one who told her to pack her shit and leave. I wanted Vera out of the clubhouse, and my damn life. She would still be able to be in Leon’s life, though. I’d never take his mother away from him. Well, under one condition; no booze.

Vera had to be completely sober, and it wasn’t something she’d done in decades. Hell, the bitch consumed alcohol during pregnancy, and it caused for Leon to come into this world way too early. She’d add whiskey to her first cup of coffee, that’s how she’d start the day. When she started fucking the prospect I assigned inside my own damn house to keep an eye on my kid, I was completely done.

I kicked her out, she went apeshit, and her crazy ass landed in jail. Twelve years for arson in the first degree, and in addition to the arson charge she got another five years for the child endangerment charge. Shame the attempted murder charge didn’t stick. She knew our kid was in there when she started the fire, and wanted him dead.

Fuck, she should have gotten the full twenty years. Doesn’t make sense she’s out, so what the hell is she doing in our damn house? We recently moved here too, how does she fucking know where we live?

The front door is wide open, and I can tell with one glance the lock is busted. Gun aimed forward, I step inside and feel Reef at my back. The living room is a mess. Someone went crazy here and shoved everything out of place.

“Backdoor is open,” Reef rumbles.

The rest of the house is quiet and it’s clear the bitch is long gone. We check the backyard, upstairs, and make sure she’s in fact gone.

“Let the rest of the brothers know to keep their eyes open. Fucking hell, I wanted to make a clean break with the shit that happened in the past. We finally have the new business up and running and then this shit happens,” I growl.

Reef grabs my shoulder. “We’ll deal with it. Remember, we’re completely legal for outsiders now. No one is gonna fuck anything up. Not with the club, the business, or family.”

I bob my head and hope to fuck he’s right. “Gonna go next door to get my kid.”

Stomping out of the house, I pound my fist on the door and keep at it until it swings open. I thought an old woman lived next door until Leon informed me otherwise. With our business having us work odd hours, I don’t exactly pay much attention to my next-door neighbor. But fuck, I am now.

Her hair is a dark brown mess tied to a bun at the back of her head. Some dark strands rebelled, broke free, and are now framing her face. Hazel eyes, high cheekbones, and full lips which are currently molded into a smile. The woman has a pear-shaped body with her wide hips and full tits. She doesn’t invite me in, and I appreciate her trying to block me from entering, and keeping my son safe along with it, but I don’t have time for this shit.

The smile on her face looks as if she’s perfected it over time, part of her attire. Well, she clearly doesn’t know me ’cause a smile means shit. The bitch who gave birth to my son used to be a perky sunshine-farting person until I found out it was the booze fueling her happy-go-lucky status.

Maybe that’s why I don’t drink on a regular basis, and revel in my pissed-off look all the time. It sure as hell works for the line of work I’m in, and it makes people back off. This woman, though? She doesn’t seem too impressed as I stare down at her.

“Leon, come here,” I bellow while I keep my eyes on the woman.

She’s not young, doesn’t flinch at my harsh voice, doesn’t dress fancy or sexy for that matter. I wonder what she does for a living, and how old she is. There’s something about her, a vibe she radiates, a deeper beauty. Fuck if I know what makes her intriguing. Then again, who the hell cares?

“Leon isn’t going anywhere unless I’m sure it’s his father who is picking him up.” The woman’s voice doesn’t hold anger.

In fact, her fucking smile is still in place when she opens the door wide enough for me to watch her pump the fore-end of the shotgun she’s holding to put a shell in the chamber.

“Now, mind introducing yourself?” She places the barrel of the shotgun against the president patch of my leather vest. “It would be the polite thing to do since you’re standing on my porch.”

I glance down and back up to narrow my eyes. She’s got balls. The chicks I run into swoon or shake some tits and ass to get my attention. This one? She doesn’t even bat her eyes or check me out. The woman is more like a mama bear protecting the cave her cub is in. The cub in question is my own fucking son.

I grit my teeth and snarl, “Zale Madblock.”

She points the shotgun to the floor and unloads it as she steps back to allow me to get inside. “Leon is in the pottery studio in the back of the house.”

I grunt and step around the woman. Leon rushes down the hall. Fourteen-years-old, but he’s the same height as me. He’s still growing and is working out to put some muscles on his lean body, but right now he’s my kid who hugs the fuck out of me. I hate the fact that his mother put this fear in him.

He takes a shaky breath and murmurs, “Why did she come here? What does she want? Why is she out of prison, Dad?”

I cup the back of his head and connect our foreheads. “Lots of questions I’m going to get the answers to soon, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Leon grunts, his voice a mere whisper when he adds, “Nixie’s kind. I’m glad she was home.”

I throw a glance over my shoulder and notice the woman peeking through her curtains. “Hey, I thought you said we shouldn’t call the cops. Why did they show up anyway?”

“I didn’t call them,” I grit.

Sounds like she’s grumbling something under her breath before she says, “Gertrude must have seen something.”

“Nosey old fart,” I snap and glance at Leon. “Stay here with Nixie.”

Stalking to the door I tell the woman, “I’ll handle it.”

She glances in the direction of the gun tucked under my leather cut. “And how exactly are you going to handle it?”

“None of your business. I said I’d handle it, didn’t I?” I snarl, causing her to wince at my outburst.

Fuck. I release a deep sigh. “Just…look after my kid for five more minutes, and we’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

Her gaze goes to something behind me, probably Leon, and she gives me another one of those fake smiles. “Sure, it’s the neighborly thing to do. Oh, and Zale?”

I come to a stop in the doorway to throw a glance back at the woman.

She points the shotgun in my direction. “Remember to put lights up in your yard or your porch. It’s the Christmas lights, joyful decoration theme this street always does together every year.”

“What the fuck?” I grunt and point at the cop getting out of the damn patrol car. “Kinda busy here, woman. I don’t give two shits about any Christmas lights or whatever. Hell, it’s not even that time of the month yet.”

“Christmas is once a year, not menstruation. Though, it’s just as much a damn pain in the ass,” she mutters under her breath.

She clears her throat. “You owe me one, that’s the favor I want in return. Hang some lights up in your yard, your porch, or in a tree, whatever.” The smile is becoming weird when she steps closer and yet again shoves the barrel of the shotgun against my patch. “Be nice and jolly for a change.”

The woman places the shotgun into the umbrella rack, throws the handful of shells into the drawer of the cabinet next to it and wanders off. I blink a few times to process her words, and the way this woman acts; completely different than any chick I’ve encountered in all my life.

“Madblock,” the cop rumbles.

I glance at the cop standing before me and instantly recognize him. “Sebastian Dent, didn’t know you became a cop.”

His gaze slides to my leather vest. “And somehow, I knew you’d become biker scum like your old man. Mind telling me why I received a distress call from one of your neighbors?”

I grit my teeth. The fucker was a meddling dick in high school, and I guess he picked a profession to legally stick his nose in other people’s business.

“Why don’t you go check on the old woman first, eh? I’m sure she’s the one who called,” I snap, not wanting this fucker in my business.

He looks down his nose at me. “Don’t go anywhere.”

I point at the house next to the one I’m standing in. “I live right there. Where the fuck else would I be?”

Sebastian jerks his chin in my direction. “And yet you’re next door, probably fucking your neighbor, Nixie Faxon. I didn’t know you were into older women. What? Already had every pussy in town that’s your own age so now you’re not as picky?”

Anger washes over me and I step closer to the idiot.

My VP instantly grabs my shoulder to hold me back, but I get the words out anyway, along with my fist hitting his face. “Show some fucking respect, motherfucker. Especially when you’re wearing a law enforcement uniform and are on duty.”

I don’t even care when I end up with cuffs in the back of his patrol car. The satisfaction of the black eye I gave him was fucking worth it.