“Man, you’ve got it bad,” Nash said.
They stood by their bikes on the forecourt of the club.
Each of the men was saying bye to their ladies or the women who satisfied their needs.
“I’ve always had it bad for Angel.”
“I know, but this is different and you know it. You’re the reason Tiny called in the debt and the reason David is not dead yet,” Nash said.
“There are times I wish you weren’t my brother.”
“Yeah, having someone know everything about you must suck. Does Angel know the extent of your obsession?”
Lash glanced back at the club in time to see Tate talking with Angel as they left the building. She glanced over toward him but didn’t do anything else. Steven climbed into the car with the two women going in the back.
“No, she doesn’t have a clue what I’ve done to keep her safe and to keep her for myself.” Since the moment she turned eighteen, Lash had done everything he could to keep her safe and to keep the problems her father brought to their life, away from her.
Steven pulled out of the parking lot, and Lash turned his attention back to his brother. “And you’re not going to tell her. Angel doesn’t need to know everything, and I’ll tell her what I think she needs to know when I’m good and ready.”
He put the helmet on and flung his leg over the bike, straddling the machine.
“You better. I’ve heard shit like this has a tendency to blow up in your face.”
“I don’t intend to have anything blow up in my face. It’s going to work.”
Tiny pulled out onto the main road, and everyone else followed suit. The two remaining Prospects stayed behind with the others.
Riding on his bike, Lash followed the rest of the crew through town and out onto the main road. They needed to travel a good hour to get to the warehouse that stored most of their business.
It had once been a boxing factory, but when the recession hit, the factory went under and plenty of people lost their jobs. The club had banded together and laid claim to it. None of the old ladies ever visited the warehouse, and no one who wasn’t part of the club came close to the warehouse, not even the law. Since the death of Lash’s and Nash’s parents over turf, Tiny had done everything he could to make the town safe. No club deals went down near town, and no other crew came to Fort Wills.
The ride was a long one, but it allowed Lash time to clear his head. There were times he struggled to think when he was right in the middle of a problem. Riding his bike gave him the freedom and the quiet to think of every problem.
Angel was not a problem, but her father was. He hadn’t been joking when he’d told her David wouldn’t make it to the end of the year. The Skulls were trying to regroup their losses caused by David. Other than get back some money, the rest of the club wanted him dead. Lash had asked for a little more time. If they took David out of the equation too soon, Lash would lose any chance he had with Angel.
Time was not on his side. It wouldn’t be long before the club voted against David being gone. The older man was stalling too damn much and making it hard to believe his stories. The guy was full of it. The death of Angel’s mom had left David broken in some way. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t something the club took into consideration.
By the time he pulled up outside the warehouse Lash wasn’t any clearer as to what he wanted. Climbing off the bike, he lit a cigarette and waited for Nash and the others to pull up the rear.
“Whoo,” Nash said, laughing. “There’s nothing like a ride to put the air in your lungs.”
There was a bolt across the door along with several locks in place to keep people out.
“I know what you mean.” Taking a long pull on his cigarette, Lash looked up at the sky. It was a hot, clear day, and his thoughts returned to Angel. He wondered if she was having fun. Tate was an amazing girl. She’d been a little toddler when Tiny took him and Nash into the fold. His old lady was still alive back then. Pain struck whenever he thought about Tiny’s woman, who’d been like a mother to him. Patricia cared for everyone, and Tiny was her whole world. It was watching and listening to the pair that made Lash know he’d never have a sweet-butt for a wife. Patricia had been an outsider, but her love for Tiny kept her by his side. Her death hit their leader hard, but Tiny finally worked his way out of the heartache. Tate was like Patricia in a lot of ways. Tiny wouldn’t let her get involved in the club even though the younger woman wanted to.
“Thinking about Patricia?” Nash asked.
“Yeah, she was the one who suggested this place to Tiny.” Lash looked at the warehouse. How Tiny still made it through the doors was beyond him. He couldn’t imagine losing anything so precious to him. If something was to happen to Angel, he couldn’t even breathe at the thought let alone live with it. There was never going to be a way for him to live with it.
“I miss her, too. She was a strong woman. I could never allow myself to love someone that much and then watch her die.”
“Is that why you f**k and take blow jobs from women you won’t keep?” Lash asked.
“It saves being alone and in pain.” Nash slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go so you can get your pansy f**king ass back to Angel.”
Together they walked into the warehouse.
David was sat at a desk typing away at the computer. Several other members of The Skulls were stood around the warehouse. They all took turns in babysitting David. When they left, whoever stayed behind was locked inside the warehouse until the next morning.
Lash had spent two nights with the bastard, listening to him mutter on about his wife and daughter. He didn’t like the older man, but he was his woman’s father. Lash had no choice but to try to help him out.
“Give us some good news, David. I’m growing tired of this shit, and your daughter’s ass is looking tempting,” Tiny said.
Fisting his hands at his side, Lash knew there was nothing sinister in what Tiny said, but hearing the words was still hard to handle. The civilians didn’t need to know that The Skulls had a code. If Lash hadn’t laid claim to her to all the members, Angel would have been f**ked within her first week at the club.
They didn’t run a hotel service, and the men needed a regular supply of sex in whatever form that came.
“I-I-I can’t g-g-get i-i-it back.”
Rolling his eyes, Lash saw through the lies.
“Then I guess Angel’s ass is mine.”