The scent of her cooking met his nostrils, and his stomach growled. It was only lunch time, and yet she already was cooking.
He spun around to see her facing him. She held onto that towel with a death grip.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
Alex watched her gaze land on the floor between them. She was so skittish around him, always had been. Not that he could blame her. He was a monster to the core.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. I won’t hurt you. What’s going on?” he asked. He was confused by her obvious fear. Yes, during her interview she’d been skittish, but this was outright fear.
“I, erm, I heard what you did, I mean, I heard what went down at the town hall. There’re a lot of rumors about another MC club.”
“Chaos Bleeds?” Once Gonzalez had been killed Devil had taken his club and woman back to Piston County.
“No, the other club. The one that you took out.” She bit down on her full, dark lip. He wanted to do unspeakable things to this woman. The more she stood there, looking tempting as hell, the harder it was for him to resist.
“Don’t listen to gossip.” He left her standing behind the front door as he made his way up the stairs, which had a single long piece of carpet down the center. The house was pristine clean. The mere sight of the inside let him know Sunshine didn’t fuck about on his time. He wondered where she slept.
Alex closed off immediately the thought of her sleeping. It was easier for both of them if he stopped thinking about where she slept at night. The last thing he needed was for the temptation to get so strong he couldn’t back down.
****
Whizz waited in his room while Lacey got dressed. Lash appeared in the doorway looking bored.
“Is she coming or not?”
“I thought you’d be saying goodbye to your woman.” Whizz smirked thinking about Angel’s abrupt exit in the kitchen hours before.
“She’s mad at me. I’ve never spoken to another woman like that in front of her. Well, I can’t exactly call Raven a woman. She’s a whore through and through.” Lash leaned against the wall looking mightily pissed. “Angel will forgive me, but she’s gone to the spa. I hate hearing bitches like Raven talk shit to her. She doesn’t deserve it.”
“Your woman’s sweet, Lash. She’s never going to change, and you’re going to have to realize it. I doubt I’ll ever see her kicking your ass, but one could hope for it.” No man in the club would ever think to take Lash on. He was too scary, too dangerous, and too willing to hurt anyone who stepped in his way. It would be fun to see Angel kicking his ass though. The very thought made Whizz smile.
“Angel knows I’ll never hurt her. I’d rather die than hurt her.” Lash pulled out his cell phone. “Is this bitch coming?”
“Don’t,” Whizz said, warning him.
“You laying claim?”
“No.”
“You should. Boys are seriously pissed off that she’s still alive.”
The whole of the clubhouse was hurting because of the Savage Brothers.
“This wasn’t her fault. She came to help Butch.”
Lash shrugged. “Look, we’re all hurting from the shit that went down. I know I’m not in the mood to deal with her, but I promised Tiny I’d help.”
“She’s not going to kill me.”
“We’re not going to take that chance because you don’t think it.” Lash pocketed his cell phone as Lacey walked out of the room.
“Hey,” she said. Her gaze moved from him to Lash.
“Let’s get this show on the road.” Lash left the room.
Offering his hand, Whizz was surprised when she took it.
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked.
“Do you really think I saved you just to kill you now?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Tilting her head back with a finger underneath her chin, Whizz shook his head.
“I’m not going to kill you, and neither is Lash. He’s there because the club doesn’t trust you.” He kept back the part about most of the men wanting her dead. She didn’t need to know how hurt the club was, at least not yet.
Whizz understood why she was hurting. The Savage Brothers may have fucked them up, but they’d been her family for the longest time. Lacey wouldn’t forgive him easily.
Closing his bedroom door, he led her down toward the main part of the clubhouse. Lash was already exiting the building as they rounded the corner where most of the men and women were standing.
The entire room went silent. The sweet-butts, sensing the tension, stayed silent. Whizz held her hand a little tighter. He’d kill anyone who tried to hurt her. Murphy and Tate were standing together, smiling. When they turned to look at Lacey, their smiles became frowns. Tiny was crowding Eva where she leaned against the doorframe.
Whizz took in the room, the relaxed forms that suddenly tensed when they took notice of Lacey. This was what the club had been like before Gonzalez hit, before Alan hit. The family was back together. Sweet-butts, old ladies, brothers, bikers, friends, family. They were finally coming together, and for the first time since joining The Skulls, Whizz felt apart from it. He wasn’t the same man and hadn’t been because of Alan.
Lacey tightened her hand around his, and he couldn’t stop the sudden pain that hit his chest. This was his family, and yet it wasn’t.
Killer approached, his friend and brother from The Lions who always had his back. But Whizz didn’t know what to expect from Killer right now as he’d not taken the time to talk to his friend.
“Hey,” Killer said, offering Lacey his hand.
His friend stared at him while he made the greeting.
Lacey offered her hand. Compared to Killer, Lacey was so small.
Kelsey approached with their son, Markus, on her hip. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
When he got back he’ll make sure to speak with Killer. It had been too long since they last got together to catch up. So much had happened that needed to be changed.
“I’m Lacey.”
“Kelsey, and I’m Killer’s old lady.”
Whizz tuned out as Kelsey introduced her son to Lacey. He looked at Lacey as she took in the baby. The yearning was there. He recognized it and wished there was something he could do to help her.
“Come on, I’ve got shit to do,” Lash said.
“We’ve got to go.” Leading the way out of the clubhouse, Whizz was aware none of the other members came to say hi. If Angel had been present she’d have said her welcome.