Clutch: Satan's Fury MC (24 page)

“Are you sure you can’t do something about that?” Cassidy teased. “One Maverick is enough.”

“I’m so gonna tell him you said that,” Henley growled, and then out of nowhere, she suddenly turned her attention towards me. Her lips curled into a mischievous grin as she said, “So you’ve heard our stories from Clutch. You know I’m with Maverick, and Guardrail is with Allie. You know Wren is Stitch’s ol’ lady and Cassidy is with Cotton.” She waved her hand in the air as she continued, “Their stories are old and boring. We’ve heard them a hundred times. Now we want to know all about you and Clutch. How’d you two hook up?”

I shrugged, suddenly feeling shy with all four sets of their eyes on me. “I don’t know. We met at the diner where I worked. Other than that, I guess there’s not much to say.”

“Somehow, I doubt that,” Henley said. “With Clutch, there is always something to say.”

I glanced at Henley, giving her a small smile. Stalling for a minute, I sat circling the top of my water bottle with a fingertip, trying to find the words. I didn’t know how to explain to these women how deeply I felt for Clutch, how powerful our love felt to me. I didn’t know these women, and they were all his people … his family.

“Well, to tell the truth … we had a bit of a rocky start,” I confessed. “I was just trying to keep my head above water when he showed up. Starting something with anyone was the last thing on my mind at the time. At first, I was kind of ticked at him for being so good-looking … No, I take that back. I was really, really mad at him for being so damn good-looking,” I said with a smile. “From the second I met him, he completely unhinged me. Just his presence alone awakened something uncontrollable inside me. I felt a pull towards him like I’d never felt before. He was so hot, I couldn’t keep my eyes or my mind off of him, and I hated feeling so consumed.”

Their eyes were all on me.

So I continued. “It didn’t help that he was there every time I turned around. He was a distraction that I felt for certain I didn’t need in my life. I was sure he was nothing but hot as hell trouble, and I knew we were a whole different level of trouble
he
definitely didn’t need. But I was selfish, and he kept pulling me in with that sexy little smile and all the sweet things he’d do. He seemed to understand what we were going through without me even telling him—better than
we
even understood, truthfully. We all became attached to him pretty fast. He … made us feel like ourselves. His presence awakened what we didn’t even realize we’d lost after my parents’ deaths. He pulled us into the present. I couldn’t help myself. He was just too easy to fall in love with. It was like he was my knight in shining armor, but instead of riding on a big white horse, he was riding a big black
iron
horse.”

Cassidy gave me a strange look, then said, “You really love him, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I really do.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Clutch is a really good guy. I’m glad he found you.”

“I’m glad he did, too. And he couldn’t have come at a better time. We needed him in more ways than I could ever imagine.”

“Maverick said you’ve been taking care of your brother and sister after your parents were killed. That had to be hard,” Henley told me.

I shrugged and said, “They’re my family. There’s nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for them. And honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to make it through this whole thing without them. Maybe this will all be over soon and we can get back to a normal life.”

“You will. It will just take some time,” Wren assured me.

Just thinking about it made me miss Clutch even more, so I decided to change the subject. “Do you know what you’re having? Have you thought of any names?”

“No names yet, but we found out the other day that we’re having a little girl,” Wren answered, beaming with pride.

“A little girl! That’s awesome, Wren. Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Henley asked.

“We’ve just had so much going on, and Stitch …” she started, but stopped.

“What about Stitch?” Henley pushed.

“He’s acting a little weird ever since we got the news from the doctor. I think he might be a little disappointed,” Wren explained. As she was talking, Stitch came up behind her.

Before I had a chance to warn her that he was there, Stitch asked, “Disappointed about what?”

Her eyes widened with surprise when she heard his voice, and her face flushed red as she turned around to face him. Her eyes dropped to her hands as she answered, “I was just telling them that I thought you might be a little disappointed that we weren’t having a boy.”

His eyebrows furrowed, but not in anger. He seemed completely surprised by her response. The strong man covered in tattoos and a full beard turned completely soft as he placed his hand on her belly and said, “Darlin’, the minute I saw this little girl on that computer screen, I knew she’d already wrapped me around her little finger … just like her momma. I’m just worried … not sure I’ll ever be able to tell her no, so you’ll have to be the one who does that.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “I think we’ll manage.” She wrapped her hands around his neck. “I love you, Griffin, and you’re going to be an amazing father to our little girl just like you already are with Wyatt.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips and said, “It’s getting late. We need to get Wyatt home so he can get some sleep.”

He took her hand in his, then helped her step down from her stool. She turned to me and said, “It was really nice to meet you, Olivia. I think you’re going to make a great addition to the crew.”

“Thanks, Wren. It was great to meet you, too,” I told her. As soon as they were gone, I stood up. “I guess I better get going. It’s been a really long day and I need to check on the kids.”

“Okay. Try to get some rest,” Cassidy urged me. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge if the kids get hungry. Just help yourself.”

“Thanks. I’ll let them know,” I told her as I headed for my room.

When I walked in, Hadley was already sound asleep while Charlie was close behind her. He rubbed his eyes and yawned before he said, “How was it?”

“It was fun. They are all really nice,” I answered as I sat down at the foot of the bed.

“Have you heard from Clutch?”

I looked down at my watch and my stomach sank when I realized I hadn’t heard from him in hours. I feigned a smile and said, “He’ll call in a little while.”

“You’re worried. I can tell.”

“Maybe a little, but I’m sure everything will be okay.”

“What do you think they are going to do?” Charlie asked with concern.

“Do about what?”

“You know, with the guys that are after us. What do you think they’ll do to them?”

“I don’t know, Charlie. I just know that Clutch is going to do whatever it takes to make sure we’re safe. That’s all that really matters.”

“I really like him, Livie. He’s a good guy.”

“Yeah, I think so, too.”

Charlie gave me a quick hug before he went next door to his room. I crawled into bed next to Hadley and tried to go to sleep, but it was pointless. There was no way I was going to be able to get any rest until I knew Clutch was okay. I reached for my phone and laid it next to my head, praying that it would ring, but it never did.

Cyrus loaded Rick into the back of the SUV, and I was just about to join him when Gus called out to me. He was talking on the phone and motioned me over to him as he said, “Hold on. The tracker worked. Crow got the son-of-a-bitch.” After several minutes, Gus hung up the phone and said, “It’s Perry’s son, Daniel.”

“Damn it. I knew it was that motherfucker,” I growled.

“Once Crow got the address and tracked it to Daniel, he was able to hack into all of his information and link it to the offshore bank accounts that paid Rick. He also found out that he’d paid a guy named Jonathan Tate a hundred and fifty grand the night Olivia’s parents were killed. Must have been too chicken-shit to commit murder on his own. He just paid the guy another hundred grand yesterday along with a plane ticket to Memphis. Tate isn’t affiliated with any organization, so we won’t have to worry about any blowback from him. According to Crow’s intel, the two met at a shooting range six months ago. Tate’s an alcoholic hermit doomsday prepper,” Gus explained, shaking his head.

“Looks like he won’t be alone tonight.”

“Depending on what they were able to bring on the plane, they might be stopping somewhere to get more guns and ammo before they get here,” Bic added. 

“I’ll have Crow keep an eye on it,” Gus told him. “But for now, it’s time for us to roll out.”

We all piled into the SUV and headed towards Olivia’s apartment. Once we got there, Cyrus pulled Rick out of the truck and had him make one final call to Daniel. As soon as he answered, Rick told him, “They’re still home. I’ve been watching the place all night. I think they’re in their rooms, from what I can tell. They turned the living room lights off about thirty minutes ago. Yeah, just like I told you. It’s the apartment above Daisy’s Diner on Front Street. The first one at the top of the stairs.” He paused and then said, “Yeah, they’re all there and it’s just them. Been up there for a while now.” Before he hung up, Rick asked, “Hey, man. When will I get the other half of my money?” Unfortunately for him, the line went dead before he got his answer. Rick grumbled, “Lying bastard. Bet ten to one he doesn’t pay me another dime.”

“Yeah, it’s not looking good for you there, buddy,” Cyrus chuckled as he yanked him back over to the SUV and locked him inside.

Within the hour, we were in Olivia’s apartment. It felt strange being there. The place didn’t look the same without her in it. We got to our posts. With Crow monitoring the surveillance feeds from the cameras they’d installed the day before, we’d have no problem knowing exactly when Daniel entered the building. Lowball and a couple of prospects were holed up outside in the hallway and Gus and Murph were in the kitchen while Cyrus and I waited by the front door with our weapons drawn. Since the club owned the diner and the apartments upstairs, we didn’t have to be concerned about anyone reporting gunfire. We had everything covered, and now all we had to do was wait.

Luckily we didn’t have to wait long before Crow’s voice came through our two-way radio, letting us know that Daniel had just parked his rental car in the back lot. With Tate in the lead, they started up the back steps. Crow continued to inform us of every move they made until they reached Olivia’s front door. The tension in the room crackled around me as I watched the door handle turn. Knowing they were just on the other side, I had to fight the urge to yank the door open and just end them both right then and there. I took a deep breath and held myself together.

Eventually, the door crept open, and my heart began to pound against my chest as Tate slowly slipped inside. He was a big guy, and he reeked of cigarettes and cheap liquor. I was about to come unglued with impatience when seconds later, Daniel followed in behind him. He was tall and lanky, and the idiot thought he was being clever by wearing all black, right down to the gloves and ski mask, like some burglar he’d seen on TV. Just seeing him made me want to punch him in the face.

The door clicked shut, and just as Tate took a step forward, he spotted the reflection of one of the guys in the kitchen.

“Fuck!” he shouted as he aimed his gun at Murph, but before he had a chance to shoot, Gus nailed him right between the eyes. Blood gushed from his wound as his lifeless body dropped to the ground.

Daniel froze. I stepped up behind him and said, “Surprise, surprise, motherfucker. Don’t you know better than to mess with a biker’s ol’ lady?”

I didn’t give him a chance to answer. Instead, I took the butt of the gun and slammed it against the back of his head, making him drop to the ground like a two-ton lead weight. By the time he started to wake up, Cyrus had already bound and gagged him to a chair. We didn’t have to worry about anyone hearing him scream, but Cyrus got a kick out of shoving a dirty sock down the fucker’s throat, hoping that he’d gag on it as he came to. And sure enough, the minute he opened his eyes, he started coughing and gagging like the pathetic little bitch that he was.

Daniel’s eyes roamed across the room. Panic washed over his face when he noticed all of my brothers standing around him. Gus walked over to him and grabbed a fistful of his hair as he said, “Not gonna sugarcoat this, Daniel. As of tonight, you’re done. We’re going to dump your sorry piece of shit ass into the fucking river, but before we do that, my man Clutch has a few questions for you.”

He released him just as Bic started towards him with one of his long, sharp blades. Daniel’s face twisted with fear as Bic took the knife and pressed it against his chest, applying enough pressure to slice through the cotton fabric of his black t-shirt and gouge into the first few layers of his skin. Blood began to seep down Daniel’s chest as Bic knelt down in front of him. While twisting the knife still embedded in Daniel’s chest, he said, “My brother has a few questions for you. You answer him, and this will go a whole lot easier for you.”