Spice’s Halloween (Royal Bastards MC: Camden Maine Chapter #2)

Chapter Five.

Lindy – Present day.

I locked the doors behind Mary and watched her walk to her car through the small window. My hand lingered over the panic button, and I was aware my baseball bat waited by the door. Not only was that close, but my gun was up on the shelf, hidden but within reach. After I got jumped, I’d never taken mine or my employee’s safety for granted.

Spice and the MC had helped ease my fears, but wariness still lingered. Not that I had to worry about David. I hadn’t thought of him in years. All this reminiscing Spice and I had been doing clearly dragged up some old memories.

David Higgins, man whore of Camden and father of at least forty children that we were aware of, was long gone. Spice had handled that.

Mary’s car lights came on, and I watched as she reversed and drove away. She was an innocent sweetheart. I’d taken Mary under my wing the moment the girl applied for a job. Mary’s parents were fuckin’ assholes. Devout churchgoers, they judged everyone and everything. They’d never set foot in my shop.

Which meant Mary was safe. While I didn’t know what had happened between Mary and her family, something clearly had. Through the grapevine, I’d heard she had been engaged to be married to the preacher’s son. Next thing she wasn’t and had been excommunicated from their church. Two days later, Mary wandered into my shop and asked in a quiet voice if I needed help.

The truth was, I hadn’t, but a girl like Mary had no place being on the streets. And that was where she’d slept before I hired her. I informed Mary she’d work five days a week and could have the apartment above the store. Three months ago, a leak had flooded it, and Mary was now living in a heavily discounted house owned by the club. Which had meant us finding Mary a car that was cheap but reliable.

Spice teased Mary and made her blush, but I knew he liked her and her polite, calm ways. I guess for Mary, my shop had been something of a culture shock, but she’d been desperate. The kind of desperation that led to stupid mistakes—and sometimes death.

Happily, I looked out over my domain and smiled. I had two buildings knocked into one. The second half was crammed with decorations, all sectioned neatly off. You could rent anything from me from Halloween to Christmas to the 4 th of July. In fact, I needed a larger area, and Spice was on the lookout for either a bigger building or buying the shop next to me. Upstairs was full of fancy-dress costumes and accessories. If you wished to be Wonder Woman or Harley Quinn, come and find me. The shop rented as well as sold them.

Besides the costumes, there was a section for expensive dress hire. Oh yeah, this biker bitch understood what a Versace was now, and I possessed several dresses women could rent out if they needed to. Teenage girls came and hired them for prom, so they were a nice little money maker.

I worked with a charity shop in town, too. If someone donated a designer dress, I’d get the first pick. Then, once I’d owned it a year, I’d donate it back and they could sell it on.

The mayor’s wife gifted a lot of clothes to the shop, so I certainly got my money’s worth out of them. The stupid bitch couldn’t be seen in the same outfit twice. Of course, I wondered if she was aware RBMC money paid for a few of them.

A little nastily, I smiled as I walked into the main section.

This was where I started years ago. Once Spice and I had got together, he’d not liked me working late nights in a bar. Spice had asked what I’d really wanted to do, and I told him my dream of opening a shop that sold my own candles, creams, and soaps. Spice had encouraged me to go back to college, and there I learnt the skills needed.

As a graduation present, Spice had bought the building and given me the start-up money. The shelves were filled with my handcrafted items. Everything smelled wonderful, and I was proud of my domain. Twenty years ago, I’d returned to college again and broached into herbal usage, and now created my own ointments and treatments.

Thanks to Spice taking a chance on me, I now employed six staff, excluding Mary. I’d become a success in my own right.

Sitting on a stool behind the counter, I gazed out the window and allowed my mind to drift.

David Higgins. That was a blast from the past. David was long turned to worm food, but his legacy still marked Camden. At least forty kids he’d sired with his man whore ways, walked the streets around here, and there was probably more. Hell, a quarter of the children in the quiet cul-de-sac we still lived in had been David’s.

The whoring bitches he cheated on me with hadn’t questioned David’s vanishing act. No one had. Not the cuckolded husbands, the kids he’d sired, or his family. David’s existence had been a tragic blight on society. But it was David’s disappearance that proved that Spice loved me. A smile lit my face as I remembered how I’d found out.

Lindy - The Past.

“Stop arguing and sit your ass down. Spice, I don’t care you’re a man’s man. You were shot a day ago and discharged yourself from hospital. Which means I’m going to look after you,” I snapped at Spice.

“Lindy. I don’t need looking after,” Spice groused with a sulky glance.

“No? Think again. And Berserker gave me his phone number and that of the clubhouse. He said if I can’t reach him at home, he’ll be there. And Berserker ordered me to call if you got difficult,” I retorted smugly.

Spice looked betrayed. “Prez did not do that!”

“Want me to prove it?” I demanded.

“No. But quit fussing,” Spice growled out.

“Then stop being a baby and do as you’re told, or you’ll end up back in hospital and worse off,” I said with sass.

Spice narrowed his eyes.

“You’re enjoying this!” he accused.

“I have no idea what you mean,” I said innocently.

Spice sat upright on the sofa where he’d been slouching. “Bullshit, woman. You’re relishing being the boss. Well, tell you what, get here and give me a bed bath.”

I raised an eyebrow and laughed, and Spice looked like a pouty teenager.

“When I get you naked, it will be to fuck your brains out, Spice. Not to give you a bed bath you don’t need. You’re fully capable of a shower or a wash. Now the TV thingy is next to you, and a cold soda, too. Keep your leg elevated on that stool. Can I start cooking dinner, or is there anything else?”

Spice glared, and I could tell he was trying to decide which part of what I’d just said to deal with. While he worked it out, I left the living room. Despite arguments that Spice be brought to my house, Fists and Pipes had dropped him at his. That meant I would stay here.

Fists had been kind enough to escort me home after I’d expressed a fear of being alone. He’d waited in my room, alert and clearly on guard, as I packed a case and gathered toiletries. After walking me to Spice’s house, Fists returned and walked through my home and ensured everything was locked up. After wishing me luck, Fists ran from the house as Spice bitched loudly. It had been rather funny.

I was making a casserole and homemade bread and had just reached the kitchen when Spice shouted his reply.

“When I get you naked, you better be hyped up, baby. Because I will fuck you all night long,” he bellowed.

“At the moment, you wouldn’t last thirty seconds. So shut up and behave if you want to show me you can last that long,” I retorted, and Spice snorted.

I laughed at Spice’s disgust and continued to make dinner.

Spice – The past.

Lindy had a mouth on her, and fuck if it didn’t turn me on. As much as I dished out, Lindy handed it straight back and with more attitude than me. I was in a constant state of hardness and had to keep a blanket over my lap, or she’d see what she was doing to me.

Lindy sassed me at every opportunity and even did it in front of my brothers, who were highly amused. Berserker made the mistake of calling Lindy a ballbuster to her face, and now she’d bust his balls whenever she saw the chance. The club loved her, albeit differently than I did.

Lindy differed from the simpering women at the club that hung around. There were three types: whores, barflies, and braggers. The whores serviced the brothers, and we looked after them. But they’d never be on the back of a bike with a property cut.

The barflies were women who appeared to attempt to hook a man. The braggers were those who slummed for one night. Lindy was none of those, so we were all taken by her.

Lindy was a true old lady. Respectful and loyal, but she’d bust our balls at the drop of a hat. Lindy understood how far to push and didn’t cross a boundary.

Four days had passed since the shooting, and my house had frequent visitors coming and going. There was envy in their eyes when my brothers looked at me.

Lindy had made so many cookies and cupcakes I thought I was opening a fuckin’ bakery. But as soon as one of my brothers arrived, coffee and snacks appeared. Add to the fact she baked like a dream, my brothers were in heaven. And they usually wrangled lunch and dinner, too.

Lindy didn’t seem to care. She loved having so many of us to look after. I was a lucky fuck and realised it. Lindy wasn’t even slumming, and she genuinely enjoyed being around us. It was when Lindy chided Berserker for stomping mud all over the clean floor I knew she was a keeper and was buying into our life.

Lindy looked at our president with respect and caring but wasn’t afraid of him. Berserker treated her, in turn, like an annoying little sister. Lindy was everything I’d desired and didn’t think I deserved. Fuck, even now, I couldn’t believe Lindy was into me as much as I was her. And it showed my brothers that they, too, could claim a good woman. Gave everyone hope.

I was chatting shit with Crusher, Evil, and Heat when Fists walked in. Fists’ expression caught my attention.

“You have him,” I murmured.

“Yup. Higgins is in the Hideaway, where he can scream all he wants. Nobody can hear,” Fists said with a grin.

Years ago, we’d soundproofed the Hideaway. Screams in a graveyard would bring all sorts of nosey fucks out.

“Let Higgins sweat. I’ll tell Lindy I need to attend a club meeting tomorrow,” I replied.

Crusher raised an eyebrow. “Lindy has you pussy whipped?”

“Nah, brother. It’s more about courtesy. Lindy’s looked after my sorry ass all week, and I ain’t gonna disrespect that or her care. She’s bent over backwards and doesn’t even have a property cut on yet.”

“Spoken to Berserker?” Fists asked.

“Next time we’re in church. Lindy’s one in a million. I’d be a fool to let her go,” I replied.

“Glad to hear that,” Lindy stated, entering and handing Fists a beer.

He took it, and Lindy handed the rest of us a bottle before leaving and returning with a huge dish of nachos.

“Holy crap,” Fists murmured as, moments later, she carried in a tray of cookies.

“Yeah, he’d be a fuckin’ idiot to let her go,” Crusher said, tucking in.

“Yup, Spice would be a big fuckin’ idiot. Like he thinks he can sneak out and tell me he’s got a meeting tomorrow. If you got shit to do, Spice, then do it, but don’t ever lie to me about it,” Lindy stated, placing her hands on her hips. She gazed down at me sternly.

“Wow,” Evil muttered, his eyes wide.

“I’m aware the club has secrets I can’t and don’t need to know. All you have to say is, club shit, baby, and I’ll be fine. Don’t lie because lies grow and then implode and ruin relationships. If you care, then be honest,” Lindy continued before picking up the empties.

“And by the way. There’s a new handbag I want, it’s pretty expensive. As you’re doing club shit, I don’t suppose you’d mind me shopping on your dime,” Lindy finished sweetly. She winked at us and walked her pert ass out.

I looked at my brothers as they gazed back.

“Lindy ain’t got a cut on her back,” Fists said finally.

“Don’t even go there!” I snapped.

“No, Lindy ain’t claimed yet!” Heat muttered, looking at the doorway Lindy had disappeared through.

“Fuck off!” I howled as they continued to ignore me.

“No cut means she’s free game,” Crusher drawled and grinned evilly.

“May the best man win,” Fists announced.

“There’re some shoes and a really expensive scarf I’ve seen, too!” Lindy called out, amused.

“Take my card!” my brothers yelled together.

Lindy’s laugh was a beautiful thing.

◆◆◆

I entered the Hideaway and stared at the asshole hanging from a meat hook on the ceiling. Higgins looked a mess, and it was clear he’d not had a lot of sleep, judging by the bags under his eyes. Higgins glared at me in pure hate.

“Still alive, fuckwit?” I inquired as my brothers filed in.

“Let me go,” Higgins rasped.

“Get him a drink,” I said to Pipes.

Pipes approached, opened a bottle of water, and allowed Higgins to drink from it.

“You stink, man. Did you piss yourself?” I asked as if we were having a casual conversation.

“I’ve been hanging here for hours. Nobody let me use the toilet. So, yeah, I pissed myself,” Higgins snarled.

“Why did you do it?”

Higgins looked at me. “Do what?”

“Cheat on Lindy. Dude, she’s the full package. You had that and cheated? I don’t get it,” I said.

“Because it was easy. All that pussy out there, they’re begging for it. And Lindy loved being a homebody and letting someone look after her. What Lindy didn’t know didn’t hurt her,” Higgins replied.

“But you did when she found out.”

“Come on, dude, you think Lindy was ignorant of it?” Higgins sneered. “The bitch knew but turned a blind eye because she had me and everything she wanted. Lindy was engaged to the one guy every man wishes to be and every woman desires for herself. But Lindy had my ring on her finger and not them.”

In disbelief, I shook my head. “And you think you’re worth all that?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Holy crap,” I murmured. “Why beat the shit out of her?”

“I didn’t!” Higgins exclaimed.

I drew back my fist and hit him straight in the gut. “Don’t lie. Lindy recognised your voice.”

“Lindy’s lying!” Higgins said, choking as he winced in pain.

I struck him a second time. “We were doing so well with the truth.”

“Dude, I never touched Lindy,” Higgins cried.

I walked around him and punched him in the kidneys.

“Okay!” Higgins screamed as I pulled a knife. “I beat the shit out of Lindy because she blew my life up. She told everyone, everyone! I was fired and couldn’t get another job. I lost my home, car, dignity, and reputation. Lindy was a complete bitch; she didn’t have to do that!”

“You’re blaming Lindy for you not keeping your dick in your pants?” Pipes demanded.

“There’s so much pussy out there. A man ain’t made to be tied to one woman!” Higgins hissed.

Pain was etched on his face. I was just beginning. Higgins was completely unaware of what awaited him.

“Dude, Lindy’s mine now. And I’d never cheat on her. Women like Lindy are rare. And you shit on her. That makes you a fuckin’ idiot. Who would discard a woman like Lindy?” I asked, and my brothers shook their heads. “You’re gonna hurt like Lindy did. But why break in to shoot her?”

Genuine terror crossed Higgin’s face.

“That wasn’t me!” he shrieked.

I looked at the blade in my hand and, in a swift move, stabbed Higgins where he’d shot me.

Higgins let out a high-pitched scream, and I winced as it assaulted my ears.

“Well, that doesn’t usually happen until we cut their balls off,” Fists said.

Horror crossed Higgin’s face at Fists’ statement.

“That wasn’t me. It wasn’t!” Higgins continued to deny.

Sighing, I yanked my knife out and stabbed him in the leg.

“Please let me go. I’ll leave the state and not come back. You’ll never hear from me again,” Higgins begged as tears and snot ran down his cheeks.

“Tell me why you wanted to kill her,” I ground out.

“Because Lindy deserved to die for what she did!” Higgins wailed as I twisted the blade in his leg.

Higgins screeched again.

“You cheated on Lindy, not vice versa. Lindy did nothing but call you out on your actions. If you hadn’t committed them, she couldn’t have done shit, and you’d still have your happy life,” I said, stepping away.

I opened a tall cupboard and looked at the array of weapons in there. It was hard to decide what to use on him. My eyes lit on a piece of rubber pipe, and I picked it up. It was flexible, and when hit with it, it stung like a whip, raising harsh welts.

“Strip and hose him down,” I ordered.

Higgins begged for mercy as my brothers tore his clothes from him. Then I systematically set about beating Higgins like he’d done Lindy. Every time he screamed for mercy and for me to stop, I paused and asked if he’d given Lindy the same consideration.

I swapped from the pipe to a piece of wood with one-inch nails embedded in it. When I’d finished, Higgins resembled a pincushion. He was unconscious when it snapped, and I threw it down in disgust.

“Worked it out of your system?” Berserker inquired mildly.

I shook my head, wiping sweat from my brow.

“No. It burns deep in my gut. This asshole treated Lindy, a woman any of us would kill to own, like shit. Then he beat her to a pulp and shot me. No, I’m not done,” I replied.

“Then wake this fuck up,” Berserker said to Crusher.

It took me another two hours to work it out of my system, and my own body stopped me as the pain in my shoulder became intense.

“End it,” I ordered Pipes.

Pipes stepped up and simply shot Higgins through the head. The abrupt act was rather shocking, but it amused me. Higgins wasn’t worth shit in my eyes, and Pipes action showed that.

“I’m gonna shower and head home to my woman,” I said to Berserker.

“Good idea. Got me a date with Pearl tonight. Bought her a pair of diamond earrings I saw her admiring,” he replied.

I wanted to yell at him to watch out. Pearl’s parents were bible bashers, and Pearl wouldn’t be happy with an MC. But Berserker saw something that I clearly didn’t, so I kept my mouth shut.

I nodded at my brothers and headed upstairs to shower and put clean clothes on.

I knew I’d ask Lindy to marry me when she found the bag of bloody clothes and washed them without a word. She was an amazing woman, and she belonged to me.