“Are you happy now?” Tate asked.
She’d stared at him the whole time. He’d wanted to tell her that he was on her side, but he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was keep his mouth shut and hope Tiny and his men got there in time.
“Is this what you wanted, death? No wonder you wanted to go with the Lions, they’re just f**king pigs in a jacket,” Tate said.
He’d kept his shit together when Jeff backhanded her, but it was he who ended that scum’s life. No one touched his woman and got away with it. During his years inside The Lions he’d taken out all the men who’d said a bad word. No one suspected it was him. Any who suggested kidnapping or hurting Tate in any way and Murphy made sure to put an end to them.
There had been so many dead bodies, and he’d hidden them all. When it was safe he’d phoned Tiny letting him know what was happening.
No one hurt Tate. She was the one thing that was good in his world, and he’d be damned if he was going to let someone destroy it. It was not happening, not on his watch.
At the driveway of the cabin, he phoned Tiny to let him know where he was. His leader didn’t say a word and asked about Tate. Murphy gave an update, closed the cell phone, and turned it off. He didn’t want to be disturbed.
He climbed off his bike and headed into the cabin. It wasn’t really a cabin, but his folks always spoke of it as a cabin as it was the place they used to go to in order to get away. Going to the fridge, he grabbed the six pack of beer and headed out. The chairs were all neatly folded. He unfolded one and sat down. The cool beer helped to parch his thirst. Staring out across the lake, Murphy remembered the night Tate was talking about. He knew what she’d seen. After the guys had trashed talked The Skulls, they’d turned on Tate, Tiny’s daughter. They joked about her infatuation. All the time, Murphy had been sick to his stomach as Tate was the one reason he was at The Lions.
She didn’t know how big a threat they’d become to Fort Wills. His becoming a member had stopped it, and he’d helped to bring them down. Everything he’d done was to give him and Tate a future.
Sipping his beer, he felt the bitter taste of failure fill him again.
Tate, the one good thing in his life and he’d f**ked it up.
The sound of another bike coming in close filled the silence.
Pulling the gun out of his resting place around his ankle, he released the safety and waited. The Lions were still out there. They were a threat that the Skulls were eliminating one by one.
Lash and Nash appeared around the corner. Both looked somber as they headed toward him. He saw they each carried a six pack of beer.
“What are you two doing here?” They were close brothers with Lash being the oldest.
“Angel’s on her period and being a bitch,” Lash said, grabbing himself a chair.
“Kate’s nowhere to be seen, and the sweet-butts are pissing me off.” Nash took a chair and sat off to the side of him.
“Tiny told us where you were, and we figured you could use some company. Male company only.” Lash pulled the cap off the bottle and sat down.
“What my brother doesn’t tell you is Eva’s moved out without a word and Tiny’s being an ass,” Nash said, doing the same as his brother with his beer.
“It’s been a long couple of days,” Murphy said.
“I haven’t been up here in years.” Lash sat back, sighing. “I love coming here.”
“I’m in love with Tate, and I may or may not have gotten her pregnant,” Murphy said, needing to talk to someone.
Nash spit out the beer he’d been drinking as Lash glared at him.
“Tiny’s going to kick your ass.”
“She won’t give me the time of day. Tate talks about my time with The Lions. The shit I had to do and she’s got no idea at all.” He sipped his bottle, wishing it was something stronger.
“You’re going to accept the beating her father’s going to give you?” Nash asked.
“Yeah, I’ll do anything for Tate. She’s always been my number one priority.”
“Even though you f**ked a load of women when you decided to be a spy?” Nash was the only one talking.
Glancing over at Lash, Murphy saw the other man deep in thought. “You didn’t become a spy for The Skulls. You became a spy for Tate.”
“They were the threat of the town and to The Skulls. Tate never deserved to live in fear. She always deserved happiness and love. I always wanted that for her.”
“You sound like a pu**y,” Nash said. “Actually, you sound like my brother, Nigel.” He smirked at Lash. Murphy rolled his eyes. These two were f**king idiots when they started.
“Forget I ever said anything,” Murphy said.
“No, we’re men here. Hey, Edward, why don’t you tell Dillon that you’ve got a hard on for Kate’s younger sister?”
The smile on Nash’s face disappeared. “You’re an ass**le.”
“Yeah, I’m your ass**le brother.”
“You’ve got the hots for Kate’s younger sister?” Murphy asked. “I didn’t even realize Kate had a sister.”
“She doesn’t come to the club. Getting into the pants of a Skull is not her main priority.”
Murphy didn’t push it. He was in love with the daughter of a man who could kill him and dispose of his body easily.
“Tate will come around. She just needs to know what you did and why you did it.”
“Also, don’t f**k any more pu**y. Tate’s not the kind of girl to share.” Nash added the last bit.
None of their advice helped.
A cell phone went off. Murphy ignored it. He’d shut his cell phone off so he wouldn’t be disturbed.
“Fuck, we’ve got to round the troops together,” Lash said.
“What? Why?” Nash asked.
“Tomorrow we’re on lockdown. Two of the finest and brightest have just been killed on the outskirts of Fort Wills. The Lions have been sighted. Tiny wants us to put out the word.”
****
Tate rubbed at her temple. The phones were ringing constantly, and she was getting tired of saying the same old crap to the same people. That morning she had to deal with a phone call from her father and then an appearance from Murphy. The whole club was going on lockdown, and they wanted her to report to the club. She didn’t have anything to do with The Skulls. They didn’t need her for lockdown.
“You seem a little distracted today,” Kelsey said, sitting in the only available reception chair.