She linked her arm with his. “You’ve got no idea how much fun I had. I didn’t want it to end.”
“It’s not going to end. We’re not driving back tonight.”
They found a burger place and entered the shop. Lacey took the booth in the back corner. She picked up the menu as Whizz took a seat.
Her clothing was dry. She’d spent most of the afternoon lying on the sand, waiting for her clothes to dry.
“Are you sure you don’t want to get back in touch with home?” Lacey asked.
He shook his head. “No. Everything going on in Fort Wills can stay there for forty-eight hours. I’ve not done something like this in years. It’s time for us to live a little, Lacey.”
She smiled, glancing over the food. “You’re going to think I’m a right pig.”
“No, I’ll order double of whatever you order. I can’t have my woman feeling like a pig.”
****
Alex cursed, closing his phone. Whizz had turned his phone off on purpose. He glanced across the room at Cheryl, the mother of his child.
“Where’s Michael?” he asked.
“He’s with Eva back at the club.”
Sunshine would be back soon. He’d been hoping for a peaceful Sunday to get his thoughts together.
“You want me to talk to Tiny about giving Butch a second chance.”
“Yes.” She was fiddling with her hands. He hated women who fiddled with their hands. Alex had been a complete ass to Cheryl. The attraction he’d once felt for her had long gone. She’d been a nice distraction. The only good thing to come from the weekend they spent together was Michael. His son brought a whole load of complications of his own.
“No. I’m not going to do it. You’ve got to be insane to think that.”
“Butch did everything you asked him to.”
“I didn’t once tell him to go to the Savage Brothers and betray our club. The Skulls was his club, not them.”
“I get that, and he paid that fucking price, Alex. I understand your anger, I really do. I was angry when he told me about it, but he also gave you their location when he didn’t need to. Butch gave you that location knowing that you could have still killed him once he had. He didn’t put the women in any danger. That was all on me. He made sure you killed them all but one. Butch held his end of the bargain. Do not bring this back to him. You were the one to put him at risk in the first place.”
He shook his head. “Butch knew what he was getting into when I asked. You can’t know what shit he was getting into.”
Alex saw her eyes were filled with tears.
“You’re not going to help him?”
“No. I’m not going to convince Tiny to bring him back into the club. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Cheryl nodded. She took a step back. “You better make the most of being with Michael.”
Alex froze. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“You can’t take my son from me.” He took a step toward her.
“I won’t be taking him away from you. You will. If Butch can’t be part of The Skulls, there’s no reason for us to stay in Fort Wills. We’re looking at homes out of town. Maybe a fresh start would be for the best.”
She turned her back on him. There was no way Alex was going to let her leave with his son. “I’ll fight you for my son, Cheryl. You’ve got no chance of winning.”
Cheryl turned to face him. “I’ve got every chance of winning. You can fight all you want, Alex. You’ve got the money, the reputation, the credit that is due a man of your stature, but you don’t have something that Butch and I have.”
“What is that?” he asked, calling her bluff.
“Michael’s love.”
Her words were like a gunshot wound. They hit hard, and direct.
“I can win.”
“Go ahead, Alex. When a judge asks our son who he’d rather be with and he says his mother and stepfather, no judge would ever give him to you, and if he did, Michael would hate you.” She shrugged. “Butch doesn’t deserve to be cast aside. Make sure he isn’t and we’ll stay in Fort Wills. I’m make sure Michael forgives you.”
He stared at her for several seconds. “Tiny got it wrong. You would be much better in the role of leading the club. You’re a manipulative bitch.”
“No, I’m not, Alex. What I am is a mother and wife, prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure her man is cared for. Butch and Michael mean everything to me. I’d never do anything to put them in danger. You’re nothing. You were a sperm donor. I’m not bluffing, Alex. Don’t ever think you can fuck me over.”
She turned on her heel and left him alone. He couldn’t chase after her or demand that she come back. Cheryl had the last word all the way.
His cell phone went off. Hoping it was Whizz, he answered without looking at the screen.
“Hello,” Alex said.
“You better get your ass down to the clubhouse before I kill my motherfucking father-in-law,” Tiny said.
“I’m coming.”
This was what his life had turned into. He’d become a referee.
Chapter Eleven
Whizz opened the door to the luxury hotel room he’d booked them both into for the night. They’d eaten food at the burger place, and he’d asked the owner for the best hotel in town.
“I guess this place beats cockroaches and rats,” Lacey said, moving past him to sit on the end of the bed. She did a little bounce then lay back. “Feels good.”
“You stayed in a lot of places with rats and roaches?” He closed and locked the door. Pulling the curtains closed, he made sure they had a lot of privacy.
“Yeah, a lot of run down places that were not worth the shit they were asking.” She sat back up, resting back on her hands. “This place is good though.”
He stared at her. The need for her started to build back up inside him. Whizz wanted her badly.
“Stand up,” he said, dropping the blankets onto the floor.
She stood without argument. He kicked his shoes off, watching her do the same, mimicking his actions.
“Strip.” He tugged the shirt he wore over his head.
Lacey hesitated with her hand at the top of her shirt.
“There’s no room to be nervous here, Lacey. I want you. I need you.” He threw the shirt on the floor between them. “We’re going to make a pile of clothes here.”
He went to the belt holding up his jeans.