“Wow, I thought they were going to kill me,” Lacey said, tucking some of her blue hair behind her ear.
“They want to.” Lash spoke before Whizz got a chance to say anything.
Shooting a glare at his friend, Whizz handed Lacey a helmet. “They’re still dealing with everything that has happened. It’s the first time in a long time where they’ve been able to relax.”
She took the helmet of him. “I spoilt it?”
“You didn’t so much as spoil it. You’re a reminder of everything they’ve lost.”
“What about Butch? Is he okay?” She touched his arm.
“He’s dealing.”
“What about the club? Is he still part of the club?”
Whizz shook his head. “He’s club business, and you’re not part of the club.” In truth, he didn’t know what was going on with Butch. He climbed on the bike, waiting for her to put the helmet on. She did, then climbed on behind him. Her thighs straddled his back and legs. The heat of her distracted him.
“You’ve had a bitch on the back before, Whizz, focus,” Lash said, pulling out of the parking lot of the compound.
Lacey tensed behind him. Firing up the machine, he took off after Lash. This was not the time and place to start delving into those memories. The women on the back of his bike had been fun. Lacey didn’t represent fun to him. She represented living, a second chance, his only chance.
She wrapped her arms around him as he followed the path Lash had taken. He’d already visited the house after it all went down. The old place was burned to the ground. The bodies had been disposed of, and the entire house had security gates around it. In time the debris from the crumbling building would be removed and another place built. He didn’t know how Lacey was going to handle the destruction.
Lash was already climbing off his bike as they parked up. The sun was shining down on the street. He turned his engine off, waiting for her to climb off. Whizz felt her gripping the outside of his jacket in her fists.
Several seconds passed, and she climbed off, removing the helmet and handing it to him. She took off toward the gated area. He watched her avidly, waiting for her reaction to the chaos. There was nothing there. The bodies were gone, disposed of after the incident happened.
Seeing the house from Lacey’s point of view, he saw nothing but death and loss.
Whizz leaned on the seat of his bike as Lash came to stand beside him.
“Has Tiny told you what he wants from me?” Lash asked.
“About you taking over as president?”
“Yeah.”
“I know. Is that why you’re acting out?” Whizz didn’t remove his gaze from his woman. She looked so sad, and he hated the fact he was the cause.
“I’m not acting out.”
“The Lash I know wouldn’t have said that shit to a sweet-butt, especially not in front of his woman.”
“She was running her mouth off about my woman.”
Whizz shrugged. “I’ve seen you warn other women but never be crude in front of Angel. You’ve been acting out trying to prove to Tiny you’re not the right choice to take over as president.”
“And you think I am?”
“I think you’re a better leader than you realize when you put your mind to it. Stop acting out and being an ass. Be a leader. Be what the club is going to need you to be.” Whizz watched as Lacey reached out to touch the gate.
“What about her?” Lash asked.
For once Whizz glanced at his friend. “What?”
“The club doesn’t like her being there. She should have died with all of them.”
Whizz stood tall, facing Lash. He didn’t care how violent Lash could get. Whizz wasn’t afraid of Lash or Killer, their enforcers.
“She’s mine.”
“She’s not a Skull and will never be a Skull.”
“If I claim her and she’s mine, that will make her a Skull. I’ve been through shit for this club. You want to start telling me what I can and can’t have?” Whizz wasn’t in the mood for the club to be down on what he wanted out of life. He’d done shit for The Skulls and showed his loyalty to all of them. There was no way he’d have anyone telling him who he wanted in his life. There was no way for him to claim her yet with all the shit up in the air. Both of them needed time.
“You’re going to claim her?”
“I don’t know, but you better get this through your thick fucking skull, if I do, no one will put a hand on her.” He backed away to step closer to Lacey. Her shoulders were shaking from her tears. This was her moment, and he hated witnessing her pain.
****
Lacey heard him arguing for her. Why couldn’t he be an asshole? Whizz was too nice, too considerate of her. She couldn’t just walk away from him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, whispering the words out to the air. She had to believe Dalton was in a better place. He deserved a hell of a lot more than her.
She gripped the gate hard, trying to hurt herself as the pain of what she saw was too much.
Whizz’s hands landed on her waist. “I’m here.”
“You shouldn’t be fighting for me. I’m not part of the club. Lash is right. Everyone hates what I represent. You need to get rid of me.”
One of his hands left her waist to pull the hair off her neck. “You need to stop talking about what you think needs to happen, baby. I’m not going to let you go, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
“This is wrong, Whizz.”
“No, it’s right.”
“I should be there.” She rested her head on the gate. The cold was refreshing against her forehead. “I was supposed to die with them. I’m not supposed to be alive.”
Tears filled her eyes making her vision blurry. She didn’t brush the tears away letting them fall freely down her cheeks.
“You’re alive because you needed to see me.”
“It was wrong. There’s so many mistakes I made.”
He let her go to grip the gate outside of her hands. She stared at his darker hands with the scars from the nails being pushed through them by that monster who had taken him. Whizz had been through so much, and he deserved a woman who was delicate, who didn’t come with baggage. Not only did she come with personal baggage, she came from a club who only symbolized betrayal to his club.
“Did you want to die?”
“I wanted to leave with them. We were going to leave to find a place to settle down. There were so many plans. I hoped to see Dalton fall in love. For so long he’d been looking after me, taking care of me. I couldn’t love him the way he wanted.”