“Alex shouted for Butch to be let back in. I don’t know if it’s right,” Lash said.
“I’ll give Butch a third chance. I know why he left the first time. It can be scary taking on a woman in the club. Look what has happened to all the women. They’ve all suffered at some point. I think it makes sense to give him a chance,” Nash said. “I was given that same chance to be let back in. Personally, I think Alex has had too much of a say in the club. I agree with Devil about that. Alex’s is not a real biker, not in the heart of it.”
Whizz locked his fingers inside Lacey’s.
“Is it true you’ll walk if Butch doesn’t get voted back in?” Lash asked.
“Shit, I don’t know. When you say it like that it sounds so damn bad. It is damn bad. We’re a family. Don’t you think we’ve lost enough with Gonzalez, man? Butch fucked up, and it cost us. We’ve all done shit, including your brother. Butch helped us deal with the Savage Brothers.” He leaned down and kissed her head, trying to show her the love he felt for her. “We’re not going to let anything like that happen again.”
A gun went off, and curses filled the air. Whizz covered Lacey’s body, protecting her from any damage. Glancing behind him he saw Eva aiming the gun at the far wall. Outside was clear as it led to the yard.
Most of the brothers had hit the deck, prepared to fire. Several guns were aimed at her as she raised the weapon.
“Now, I don’t give a fuck how old either of you are. You’re behaving like goddamn babies. You’re supposed to be grown-ass men, not assholes. Daddy, when your visit is over you’re going back to Vegas and you’re taking your three fighters with you.” She held her finger up to stop Ned from interrupting. “Tiny, you’re going to treat my father with some respect while he’s here. I don’t care what shit is going on in your head. He’s my dad, and you’re both fucking old. I will not have you fighting anymore in my club, and this is part of my club. Tiny, you didn’t get me to sign a pre-nup, so half of your shit is mine. Deal with your problems, but stop fucking fighting. Miles and Tabitha deserve better from the both of you.”
She dropped the gun and walked outside. The mother of The Skulls had spoken, and now they all had to be on their best behavior.
“You better hope that Angel can live up to that. Otherwise, everyone is going to walk all over her,” Nash said.
Whizz was thinking the exact same thing. Angel really needed to pick up her game if she was going to support the club and Lash. He wondered if she could handle it.
“I’m going to go and talk with Eva,” Lacey said, climbing out from the chair. He gripped her hand and pulled her close.
“Don’t go too far. I’ll take you to see Butch when you’re ready.” He dropped a kiss to her lips, wanting to do a hell of a lot more to her than that.
Her cheeks were a lovely shade of red by the time he was finished.
Whizz watched her disappear outside and turned back to look at Lash and Nash.
“What?” he asked. The two brothers were staring at him as if he’d grown a third head or something.
“You look happy.”
“Lacey makes me happy. She completes me.” He smiled thinking about the last day they’d just spent together at the beach away from the club and the mess it entailed. “I asked her to marry me,” Whizz said, smiling.
“I’d say she agreed to marry you?” Lash asked.
Tiny moved up toward the bar with Ned in tow.
“Yeah, she agreed to marry me.”
“You’re going to marry the Savage Brothers’ woman?” Tiny asked.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“You kept her locked in your room for a long enough time.” Tiny grabbed a cloth, pouring ice into the center and wrapping it around. He handed the cloth to Ned.
“You kept a woman locked in your room and she still agreed to marry you? Girl’s got guts.”
“She’s not a girl,” Whizz said, annoyed with them invading his good news.
“Your girl’s younger than me. Believe me, son, you get to an age where all women are girls,” Ned said.
“I like Lacey,” Sophia said, coming to wrap her arms around Nash’s neck. Rachel was sat on her dad’s lap, getting a cuddle. They looked like one happy family.
“You’ve barely spent any time with her,” Nash said.
“I don’t have to. She’s a lovely woman. I can see it. She’s just never had the chance to flourish before. I thought you’d understand what she’s going through,” Sophia said, glaring at Nash. “You almost lost your space within the club. It can’t be easy going through life losing people around you. She’s lost a lot.”
The men were silent as they took in what Sophia had to say. She wasn’t talking shit, and Whizz liked that about her.
“I’ve been on this earth a long time—”
“Don’t I fucking know it,” Tiny said.
Ned glared at him. “I’ve been on this earth a long fucking time, and there are women you fuck and forget. They’re a dime a dozen. They come and go. There’s nothing wrong with them. They’re just not the kind of women you keep. Then there are women you don’t just fuck, you take care of them. They come into our lives sparingly. You’ll be surprised by the impact they have. They’re the Evas, the Angels, the Sophias of this world. Your Lacey, she’s a keeper. You took out her club, but she’s still by your side. I saw the way she looked at you before she walked out of the room. She’s in love with you, and if she’s agreed to marry you, then you take her and you keep her because a girl like that doesn’t come around often. You’ve got demons in your eyes, boy. Lacey, she’ll take those demons away for you. She’ll give you purpose where you don’t think any is.” Ned lifted his glass. “Take my advice and marry her.”
They were silent as Ned swallowed down his drink.
“Why can’t you ever talk like that?” Sophia asked.
Nash glared at Ned while the older man just laughed. “I tell you, these lips have made many a woman moist.”
Whizz started laughing. He couldn’t help it. This was what the club meant to him, what he needed in his life. He could give Lacey this without a problem.
****
Lacey walked out of the clubhouse moving past the three fighters who were talking to each other. She moved across the compound toward Eva who was talking with Tate.