Unveiled Wishes (Iron Shield MC #2)

15. Replaced By Bikers

Chapter 15

Replaced By Bikers

W reck

I hadn’t slept all night. The guilt was eating me alive, and my stomach was so upset I wanted to hurl. I was dirty, and no amount of scrubbing would clean up the mess I’d made.

It was mid-morning, and the club was quiet. I could still smell the lingering scent of bacon from breakfast, but I hadn’t joined in today. I wasn’t sure I could stomach the food, and I hadn’t wanted to deal with any jokes about my appetite. If I gave the brothers an inch, they’d take a mile.

I wanted to get this done quickly and with the fewest eyes possible. I left my room, not bothering to knock on Pretty’s door. There was nothing new to say, and I didn’t want to stand there staring at each other. We each thought we were right, and no one would give. I’d been listening to Zook talk about his mistakes, and the one thing I had focused on was actions spoke louder than words. I was going to test his theory. Knocking on Aunt E’s door, I waited. When I heard nothing, I knocked again, but this time, Thunder answered.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked, suspicion lacing my voice. Aunt E had always been nice to me, and if Thunder was messing around with her, we were going to have a serious issue.

He smirked at me and opened the door. I took a glimpse inside, and it appeared to be innocent. Aunt E was sitting on the bed in her pajamas, propped up against the pillows. There was a chessboard to the side of her with the pieces scattered all over. I didn’t know enough about the game, but it looked legit.

“I play chess with her to help stimulate her mind. Nothing more, Wreck.” Thunder chuckled, finding amusement at my expense. It might have appeared innocent, but Thunder had staked his claim. I knew the look better than anyone else. I’d done the same thing in private.

“He even lets me…win some…times,” Aunt E chimed in, her voice soft and a little shaky. She tucked her hand between her knees, her gaze unfocused. “Wreck,” she said, her voice wavering. My heart clenched. Each relapse, no matter how small, was a sharp reminder of what she’d been through. She should have never been in that position to begin with.

“Aunt E, how are you feeling?” I wouldn’t be that rude bastard who asked for a favor without checking in with her first.

“I am…good,” she said. “Not winning.” She waved her hand over the game.

“Just smile at him, and I am sure he’ll forget how to play,” I said, well aware of what a well-timed smile could do.

“Friends,” she murmured, shifting to get more comfortable against the pillows.

“Can I borrow you this afternoon?” I asked her. “Pretty opened his mouth, and now Flo won’t make him potato salad for Christmas. I was thinking I could do it, but I don’t know how, and I don’t want to ask Flo. She holds a grudge.”

“She does,” Aunt E laughed, but then her eyes lost focus again, and she drifted away.

“It’ll take her a few minutes. She’s getting better, but this still occurs a couple times an hour. They’re not sure if it will ever completely disappear,” Thunder explained.

“Will she remember we’re here? She had a hard time with my name,” I asked him.

“Yeah, I noticed that, but I am wondering if it’s because of the letters and not actually remembering your face. When we play Scrabble, she has a hard time with Ws.”

“What are you doing, Thunder?” I should have minded my own business, but I didn’t want to see Aunt E hurt. She was too fragile to make relationship decisions.

“The same thing you are. Let it go.” We stared each other down.

“Let what...go?” Aunt E asked, returning to the present.

“Letting you out of this game. Think you’re up for making potato salad?” Thunder asked her, his tone gentle. My gaze shifted between them. How had this started? Was it really mutual?

“Do I have…to get…dressed?” She wiggled her fuzzy slippers at me.

“Not if you’re going to help me. I can deal with dog slippers.” I smirked at her as she smiled at me. She slid one slipper onto the floor and shifted until her feet dangled off the bed.

“You got it, Liz?” Thunder asked her, but she waved her good arm at him.

“I am fine.” She sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes. When she was ready, she reached out and held onto the nightstand that was next to the bed. Thunder’s eyes never left her back.

“You’re so fucked,” I whispered to him. He just shot me a look that said I shouldn’t throw stones in glass houses.

She slid her ass to the edge of the bed and stood, rocking until she regained her balance.

“One day, you’ll be back to normal, and we’re all going to have to watch out.” I tried to joke with her as she hobbled towards me.

“I don’t know…normal is.” She lifted her good hand and gave me a sad wave.

Thunder and I let her walk out the door first, and while I was watching to make sure she didn’t fall, he was clearly checking her out.

She turned into the kitchen and was out of earshot when he said to me, “I am old, not dead.”

“Yeah, but she’s not well. You going to use the club girls?” I needed him to say yes to ease my guilt.

“Why?”

“You’ve been a biker for longer than I’ve been alive. You really think you can go without while she heals? There’s a chance she may never fulfill your needs.”

“Are you using the club girls?” Disappointment came over his face.

“You’re not my father.” I didn’t need a lecture. I already knew I had fucked up, and I was going to have to fix it or let him go.

“I know, but let me give you a little piece of advice. When you find the one you’re supposed to be with, nothing else compares. If all I get with her is hours of TV and board games, it’ll be enough. I know what a prize she is. If there ever comes a time when it’s not, I’ll use my hand or walk away from her. I won’t hurt her.” He patted me on the arm and walked away.

***

Gerry

I stood at my kitchen counter, drinking my morning cup of coffee. I was delaying the inevitable, but the more I tried to psych myself up, the more I thought about just staying home. My girls wouldn’t understand, but there was a lot of animosity floating in the air.

“Dad, I wanted to make sure you were coming for Christmas.” Grace had called two weeks ago. I had been feeling sorry for myself, so when her name came across my phone, I picked up, hopeful that she was leaving Sabre.

My heart had sunk at the invitation. “I don’t know, Grace. I am not really a welcomed guest at the clubhouse. Maybe you should bring the baby and spend Christmas here.”

“I am sorry, but I don’t think I can this year. This is JR’s first Christmas, and I want it to be special. His family is here, and you’re the only one missing.” I had wanted to rail at her. She was my daughter, and I was their family. “Aunt E has a hard time in the car, and I am not sure she could sit the four hours. Plus, it’s hit or miss if Meredith will even get dressed to travel. It would be easier if you came to us.” Grace’s voice was gentle, but it felt like a dismissal.

“I’ll think about it and let you know.” It was the best I could do. I wouldn’t blow smoke up her ass over a holiday that felt more like an obligation and a kid that wasn’t even named after me.

“I hope you can come, Dad. Just let me know if your plans change, and I’ll get a room ready for you.” She had hung up, not bothering to call again to confirm my plans. I had texted her to let her know I would show, still simmering with anger that she wouldn’t attempt to see me unless I drove north.

I almost turned around when I drove past Liz’s home towards the highway. She hadn’t been there since the night the cartel had done the drive by, and it showed. There were bullet holes in the front and large pieces of turf blown to smithereens. If she didn’t clean it up soon, the Homeowner’s Association would send her a letter. This was an upscale neighborhood.

I pulled up to the clubhouse gates earlier than I had expected. If this had been a vacation, I would have been excited to make good time, but this felt like a death sentence. I was going to have to kiss a lot of hairy ass for a mistake that wasn’t even my own. It was Matt’s, and I didn’t even get to reap the rewards.

I’d lost almost everything. My girls barely spoke to me. Liz wasn’t around the corner to take care of my every whim when I called. I’d lost the cartel as clients, and even the Guardian Knights had slowly stopped using my services. I couldn't be choosy with my clients anymore, so I had to take on dumb criminals to make sure I got paid.

The guard walked out of the shack and made a hand motion for me to roll down my window. “State your business,” he growled at me.

I hated it here, but if I wanted to pretend to be a good father, I was going to have to spend Christmas with the Iron Shield. Joy.

“Don’t you know who I am?” Sabre should have made sure that his guard dog knew I was coming today.

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking what your business is” The guard put his hands on his hips, but I could tell he was packing. If he felt like it, he’d slide his hand further, pulling out his little friend. Sabre would probably patch him in tomorrow if he ended my life.

“Call Sabre.” I was done with this asshole. Staring out my windshield, I dismissed him.

“I am not bothering him. Either state your business or turn around and get the fuck out of here.”

“Speaking to his father-in-law like that will not earn you your patch.” I didn’t know if that was true, but the guard wouldn’t know. He also wouldn’t ask Sabre for fear of being disrespectful. I could own this kid if I really wanted to, and the thought made me smirk.

“Acting like a fucking asshole will not win back your daughters. There’s no way Flo came from you.” He walked away with his cell phone in his hand. The gates were still closed.

I watched as he made a phone call from inside the office. Nodding a few times, he hit a button on the inside of the shack, and the gates opened. Thank God. The less I had to interact with these dumb motherfuckers, the better off I would be.

I pulled into the lot and parked my car but didn’t immediately get out. The last time I had been here, I had been a prisoner. They didn’t trust me, and I had no use for them.

I walked through the front door, but no one was in the main room. It was silent. I had told Grace I was coming today, and she should have been here to greet me. The light was on in the kitchen, and I headed that way.

“Ge..y.” Liz smiled at me from her spot on the kitchen island stool. She wore pajamas, and I was sure there were fuzzy slippers on her feet. What the fuck was this? Liz always dressed for the day, even when she wasn’t leaving her home.

“Liz,” I said, walking over to her.

“W..eck is making…my mother’s…potato salad,” she said to me, the trauma clear in her speech.. “I am sup..er…ing.”

I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her tight into my body. I could fix all of this. She just needed to get dressed and do her makeup, and everything would be fine.

“You need to let her go before I remove that hand.”

I hadn’t noticed there was an older man, wearing the club cut, sitting next to Liz. I had just made a beeline for her.

“Or what?” I was feeling defensive already, and Liz was mine. No one was going to tell me what I could or couldn’t do.

“You’re scaring her. If you don’t remove your hand, I’ll make sure you never wipe your own ass again.” His lips curled into a snarl, his eyes fixed on where my hand rested on her shoulder.

I felt her shake underneath my arm. Perplexed by her fear, I swept my arm away from her and retreated a step. She laid her head against the older man’s arm, and he held her good hand until she returned to normal.

“He won’t hurt you, Liz.”

It was official. My girls had replaced me with bikers.