Gonzo (Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club Book 7) (11 page)

G
onzo

I
called
Connie Wednesday evening since I hadn’t heard from her. She was friendly enough, though she sounded flustered.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m
fine
. Chloe decided she wanted tattoos like yours and she drew all over her stomach and arms with permanent marker!”

Oops
. I have a full sleeve on one arm. Another of those things that makes me stand out as a bitten wolf, because once you’re a wolf you’ll lose a new tattoo the first time you
change
.

“Do you want me to come talk to her?”

“I’ve a good mind to take sandpaper to her skin to get it off.
Nothing
is working.”

I could hear the frustration in her voice but I knew she’d never hurt the kids that bad. “If rubbing alcohol isn’t working, try hairspray.”

“The alcohol faded it, but it’s still there.”

“Try the hairspray. I’ll be there in twenty minutes, less if the traffic will get out of my way. I’m on my bike, but I’ll be as quiet as I can once I hit your neighborhood.”

I texted Duke to let him know I might not be able to work the bar, and headed to Connie’s.

They were in the kitchen, with Chloe in tears sitting on the island in shorts and no shirt. I could still see green on her, and I looked at Connie.

“She used red, blue, black, and green. The alcohol faded it and the hairspray took everything but the green off.”

“Do you have coarse sea salt? Or, just coarse salt, but it’s usually sea salt.”

She walked to a cabinet and returned with a large shaker. I dialed the top so it would pour instead of shake, and poured about a spoonful into my hand. I dripped water into it from the faucet, worked it until it was a paste, and rubbed it on Chloe’s arm.

“This’ll be uncomfortable, and that’s okay, but if it hurts then tell me and I’ll stop, okay?”

She nodded and I carefully rubbed tiny circles over the green marks on her arm. She breathed in and I looked at her, took in her scent, and kept at it. When I smelled her scent edging past discomfort I moved to another section, and before long the green was gone, too.

“Now her stomach,” her aunt said, clearly still unhappy.

I hesitated. “Will anyone see her stomach? It’ll wear off naturally in a few days. I understand worrying about her arms because it’s short sleeve weather, but…”

Connie glared at me, then Chloe, and threw up her hands. “Fine, it can stay since no one at school will see it.”

I wondered what was really going on, because this seemed like she was blowing something small into something big.

“Why did you write on yourself, Chloe?”

“Why did you write on
yourself
?”

“I didn’t. A really long time ago I paid someone to inject ink under my skin with a needle. It was like getting a thousand shots, over and over — but I was an adult, and I was old enough to do it. It’s against the law for kids to get a tattoo.”

“Needles?!”

I nodded, and she looked at me in awe, which wasn’t the response I’d been looking for. God, she was
definitely
my kid.

I lifted her from the counter, set her gently on her feet, and pointed to an empty corner. “Go stand facing the corner until your aunt and I figure out what to do.”

I watched her walk to the corner and then nodded to Connie’s laptop on the table as I looked at her. “Can you open a blank word processing page, please?”

She sat at the kitchen table and clicked a few times, and when she nodded I sat down beside her and pulled the laptop toward me to type:

S
he closed
the laptop and said, “Okay, that works. I’ll go get the supplies she’ll need — you explain it to her.”

Connie left and I said, “Please come here, Chloe.”

I sat her on my leg and wished I had a tissue close so she could blow her nose. “You knew you weren’t supposed to use those markers, didn’t you?”

She nodded and I told her, “I’m disappointed you did something you knew was naughty, but I still love you. I think you’ve learned your lesson, because you don’t want us to have to try to get that off your skin again, do you?”

She shook her head and I smiled and kissed her forehead.

“Your aunt is going to bring some crayons and a coloring book, because we want to remind you where it’s okay to color, and what it’s okay to color with. While you color, I’m going to play video games with Declan.”

At this the tears flowed and she stuttered out, “I… I… I want to p…p…play video games with you!”

“I know you do, but you need to use your crayons on the coloring book so you can remember where it’s okay to color. We’ll all do our thing until the pizza arrives, and then we’ll put all of this behind us, okay?”

Connie came back with the crayons and coloring book, and I told her, “I want a large pizza all to myself. Extra cheese, and every kind of meat they have except anchovies.” She nodded, and I went to the den to play with Declan.

He was playing an educational game, and one I thought far above a four year old’s level, but he nailed it. When he finished his game he told me, “Two people can play on the same side — will you help? Aunt Constance makes it harder when she helps, and it’s more fun when it’s harder but I can’t do it by myself.”

He showed me the level his aunt sets it when she plays, and before long the two of us were building words with letters based on how we wanted a story to go.

We paused the game when the doorbell rang, and I told Connie that Declan and I would need to finish our game after dinner before we shut it down. She nodded as she handed my credit card back to me, and I got plates from the cabinet while she opened the boxes.

Chloe’s shirt was back on, and her mood seemed a little better, but she was still subdued.

However, the food picked her right up, and by the end of the meal she was talking a million miles a minute once again.

When we finished eating Connie had Chloe help her clean up while Declan and I finished our game, and then they joined us in the den where we played Chutes and Ladders.

Wednesday and Saturday nights are apparently when hair is washed, so I had a little more one-on-one time with them while Connie dried their hair.

Declan and I looked through a picture album he wanted to show me of his mom holding him as a baby and doing things with him as a toddler.

“Do you miss your mom?”

“I don’t remember her. Do you miss her?”

Well, I’d stepped right into that. “I didn’t know her very well, but I’m sad she’s gone.”

“I’m sad she’s gone, too.”

“Your Aunt Constance takes really good care of you and your sister.”

“I know and I love her. Have you ever had a snot flavored jellybean?

I laughed. “No, thank goodness. Have you?”

“Yes, and it was disgusting. The grass flavored one was icky, too.”

When Connie traded kids with me, Chloe just wanted to sit in my lap and talk, so I held her and hugged her and kissed her forehead and cheek when she said something smart, and hoped I was giving her what she needed.

We went through the bedtime reading routine, and then Connie and I sat on the top step until they were asleep, and we went downstairs.

“Did something go wrong at work today?”

Her shoulders fell. “Yes. I can’t talk about it, but someone else did something boneheaded that wasted three months of research. We have to start from scratch.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you were more flustered than usual. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“We have an interview tomorrow at the elementary school I’m trying to get them into, and it’s possible I overreacted but tomorrow’s interview is
so
important.” She took a breath and let it out. “Thanks for coming and helping. I don’t get overwhelmed often, but today just seemed to be one hit after another.”

“It all worked out in the end. I wish I could help in the effort to get them into a good school, but you’ve done the legwork and I don’t want to interfere.” I stroked my beard. “I’m pretty sure my presence would be detrimental, so I won’t ask to come.”

“It might not be if you shaved and put a suit on.”

I shuddered. “I’d rather be shot again.”

She looked shocked, and I put a hand on either side of her head, gently pulled her to me, and slid my hands down to her shoulders and used my fingers to work the muscles I knew were tense.

She groaned and I smiled. “If you’ll sit on the floor while I’m on the sofa, I’ll rub your shoulders and neck while we watch Sons of Anarchy.”

“No, really, I’m okay—”

“Come on,” I interrupted as I walked her to the den. “You’re tense and I can help. I’ve already promised I won’t do anything sexual unless you want me to, but I’ll tell you again that I’ll keep it platonic.”

“When’s the last time you had sex?”

I’d fucked someone’s throat a few hours earlier, but… “Why do you ask?”

“I want to know.”

“I don’t believe that’s relevant to my giving you a backrub.”

Somehow I coaxed her to the floor, leaned her against the sofa, and I sat behind her and rubbed her shoulders and neck — and smiled with each groan I pulled from her. I smelled the tiniest hint of lust, so I concentrated on her neck, just under her ears, and rejoiced a little when the scent grew.

Yeah, she hadn’t enjoyed sex because the little college boy didn’t have a clue what he was doing.

I went back to her shoulders because I wanted to make her want more instead of feeling as if it’d been too much. When the scent of lust faded I returned to her neck again and brought it back, and then moved back to her shoulders. I’m sure she didn’t actually watch the episode of the Sons, but when it was over she put her right hand on my right hand and told me she needed to get to bed.

“Shall I carry you to bed and let myself out?”

“No, I have to lock up after you leave.”

“Oh, so you want me to carry you to bed and stay?”

“I… NO!”

I chuckled. “I know, Connie. Walk me out so you can get to bed. I’ll pick you and the twins up at noon Saturday. It’ll be best to dress them in jeans or jean shorts, and a t-shirt you won’t mind them getting muddy and dirty. You’ll be most comfortable in jeans, too. Dress down for this, not up.”

This time, I kissed the tip of her nose after our hug. She was relaxed and languid, and I managed to get away with it.

C
onnie called
me the next day to let me know the interview had gone well, but it would still be a while before they knew anything for sure.

I talked to each twin about five minutes, and then to Connie a few minutes before she let me go. I missed them, and talking to them when I couldn’t be with them made my heart hurt, but I appreciated her keeping me up to date.

G
onzo

I
brought
them to the picnic in my car, since I now had car seats apparently good enough for them to drive in a Nascar race. We parked in the garage so the lot would be available for guests, and as we came out of the garage and walked toward the party, Gen and Harmony approached us.

I was holding Chloe’s hand while Connie had Declan’s, plus we each had a dish. I’d convinced Connie to leave her purse locked in my trunk, thank goodness. Gen and Harmony took the dishes off our hands and had Connie at ease before we reached the crowd. We walked the twins to the back where the little kids were playing, and I introduced them all around. Within a few minutes Declan was racing another boy across the little obstacle course we’d made for the kids to keep them off of ours.

Declan is used to racing humans, but these kids are wolves-in-training, too. When he reached the end and hadn’t won, he looked at me as if something was wrong.

“It’s okay, Declan. These are your peeps. You’ll have to work harder to win, is all.”

“What did you mean by that?” Connie asked.

“By what?”

“These are your peeps?”

“People. These are your people.”

“I know
that
, but how are these people
his
people.”

“Do you ever use a babysitter for the twins? Is there a way for me to take you somewhere for a few hours without the twins one day next week?”

She shook her head. “They spend too much time in daycare as it is. I’m not adding to the time someone else has them instead of me.”

“It’s something you need to understand, but I have to take you somewhere to explain it.”

“What if I take a morning off work?”

Abbott is dead to the world in the mornings. “It’ll have to be after three in the afternoon.”

She sighed. “Okay, I can take off at 2:30. If it’ll take two hours we’ll be finished by five, in plenty of time to pick them up at daycare.”

“When’s the latest you can pick them up?”

“Six.”

I nodded. “We can make that work. I need to make arrangements — how much of a lead time do you need to take off work?”

“You need to make
arrangements
to explain how these kids are like the twins?” When I didn’t say anything, she pursed her lips and said, “Preferably two days, but I can usually get away with letting them know the day before since we don’t have anything big coming up.”

I sighed in relief that we’d figured this part out. Once she understood they’re werewolves and will one day change into wolves they won’t be able to control right away, she’d understand they’re going to need to be living with me.

Maybe.

It took some persuading before she realized the people watching the little kids knew what they were doing, and had organized games for them to play. Eventually, I pulled her to the table with the ol’ladies she knew and needed to meet, and they made a place for her to sit with them.

I walked to my brothers who were standing around watching one of the prospects cut the pig. He’d supposedly gone to a fancy chef school until he ran out of money and couldn’t keep up with tuition, and he’d worked as a cook since coming back. We’d had him in the kitchen at the bar since he prospected in, and he was doing an impressive job of cutting the hog.

Duke dipped his fingers in his beer as he walked to the prospect, and touched his forehead as he stepped close. “I anoint thee, Knife. You’re damned scary with that thing.”

We all laughed and smiled, and when Brain held his beer up, we all did as well as we said, “Knife!”

There isn’t really an official ceremony for naming a prospect, but we don’t usually do it until we’re pretty sure we want to give them more privileges.

I grabbed two plates and snagged some of the ham, explaining I was making plates for my kids when my brothers protested. I looked through the table with all of the sides and gave them a spoonful of a half dozen things they might like. I walked the food back to them and called them over as I sat the food on a tiny picnic table, and then laughed as all of the other kids started yelling for their parents to make them plates, too.

“I made a new friend!” Declan told me loudly. “His name is Hunter and he’s COOL!”

“And he has two sisters!” Chloe chimed in. “Emmie and Sapphire, and they know what it’s like to be twins! Except, they’re trip… trip…”

“Triplets,” I said helping her out.

“Yeah, Triplets!”

“I’ll talk to their mom about setting up a playdate, would you like that?”

They both shouted “Yeah!” and I laughed.

I got them both a small bottled water from an ice bin, made sure they were settled in, and told them if they wanted more food just to yell for me and I’d come see what they wanted.

I’m not sure why the women group together and the men group together at these functions, but they do. I hadn’t warned Connie because I knew she’d be fine once she got here, but I worried she’d freak out about my not being around. I kept an ear out to be sure she was okay, but she seemed to be doing fine.

Aaron walked up to our group and I told him it seemed our kids had hit it off. He rolled his eyes and said, “My children will teach yours horrible things. I worry the three of them may very well plot to take over the world by the time they’re twelve.”

“Add my Chloe to the mix and it might get worse.” I laughed. “I’d like to say Declan might be the voice of reason, but Chloe usually overrides all reason when she’s plotting something.”

I made the rounds and did my best to talk to everyone there. Our picnics are primarily about gathering our large family together, but they serve a dual purpose of bringing in people who are friends of the club. One of the detectives had a particularly sour scent and I wondered what he might be up to. I stepped away from the crowd to call McGyver in the control room and let him know to keep an eye out. “You’re the fourth person who’s called me about him. I’m watching him.”

I checked in with Connie regularly, gave her updates on how the twins were doing, and brought her more water.

Britches came running up to me at one point to tell me, “I saw your twins and they’re a-dor-a-bull.”

I grinned. “I think so, but I’m biased. Oh, I’ll be home until noon Monday, can you come early?”

“Not a problem. It’ll be cash this week. You need me to get you a beer?”

“No thanks, I’m good.” She turned around and wiggled her butt at me, and I slapped it with a chuckle. “Go before you get yourself in trouble.”

“But I like being in trouble with you!”

“You’ve never been in trouble with me, Britches. Go.”

She laughed and walked away, and I turned around to see Connie glaring at me.

On the one hand, I didn’t want her mad, but on the other hand I admit being just the tiniest bit pleased to know she was jealous.

I nodded to her to follow me, and we walked into the garage.

“Speak,” I told her. “I can tell you’re upset.”

“You pay people for sex!”

How had she… Oh, Britches said it’d be cash this week. “No, she cleans my house. I pay her a hundred dollars with a check or one-twenty in cash. Her choice.”

“You aren’t having sex with her?”

“Sometimes, but I don’t pay for it.”

“She’s too young for you! What if you get
her
pregnant!”

“She isn’t on birth control so I only fuck her ass.”

“You… you… you…” She turned her back to me, so flustered she couldn’t respond, and yet I thought I smelled a hint of something close to horrified arousal.

“I’ve never lied to you about who and what I am. I’ve fucked…” I counted in my head. “I think six women since Sunday, a few of them more than once. Britches isn’t special to me. You’re special to me, Connie. None of them are.”

“Six women in one week?” She crossed her arms over her chest and hunched in as if she were cold, but it was warm in the garage.

I didn’t answer and she asked, “Do you spank them? Is that why you slapped her bottom?”

“I swatted her bottom because she was being cheeky and was asking for it.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“I’m aware.”

“So you
do
spank them?”

“Not usually, but I won’t answer any more questions about my private sex life. What’s this really about?”

She still had her back to me, and after she was quiet long enough I wasn’t sure she was going to answer, I gently turned her around and pulled her into my embrace. Finally, she said, “I’d started thinking maybe I might want try a third time, but there’s no way you’d want to…”

I pulled her a little closer, kissed the top of her head, and caressed her back. “There’s nothing I’d enjoy more than giving you your first orgasm, but we’d have to make sure our doing so won’t mess up the co-parenting relationship we’re forming. If we try and it doesn’t work out, what happens?”

I heard activity that told me they were about to let the little kids loose in the wooded area with the supersoakers, and I walked her toward the door. “Let’s go watch the twins battle it out with the other kids with supersoakers. We’ll pick this conversation up later, okay?”

She nodded and we went back to the party.

When their fifteen minutes were up and the kids came out of the woods, they were
all
soaked, so there wasn’t a clear winner. Declan had come out with Hunter and Sapphire, but I hadn’t seen Chloe or Emmie yet.

However, when they finally came out with
huge
smiles on their faces, they were both completely dry. The crowd laughed and clapped and Emmie took a bow. Chloe followed her lead, and the two girls hugged and danced around.

I’d stayed with Connie to watch, and I told her, “The triplets that Chloe and Declan have made friends with are Aaron and Sophia Drake’s children. I’d like to set up something with Sophia for a playdate, if you’re okay with it.”

“Aaron Drake? Really?”

“You know him?”

“No, but I know who he is. Yes, it should be fine to set up a play date. We can invite them to the house.”

The rest of the picnic was without incident. Everyone had eaten several times throughout the day, so all we had to take care of was bath time and reading time for the twins when we got them home.

They both fell asleep while I was reading, and I tucked them both in and followed Connie down the steps.

My phone rang on the way down and flashed Abbott’s number and I told her I needed to take it.

“I’m good for Wednesday around 3:15 or 3:30,” Abbott told me, “depending on when I awaken. However, I need to let you know that because of her profession, I’ll need to insert a block in her mind to keep her from taking the twins’ blood to work.”

I didn’t like it, but I knew he was right. It could too easily attract Concilio attention if she started researching how supernaturals could heal and tried to apply it to humans. I stepped out on the deck before I responded. “You should probably do it so she’s blocked from using the twins’ blood or any other supernatural’s, as well. I’d hate to cut myself and have her get a sample of it without my realizing.”

“Of course, I just wanted to make you aware.”

“Thank you. We’ll see you Wednesday at The Billiard Club. I understand I’ll owe you five thousand dollars? I assume cash will work?”

“Of course.”

I went back inside and apologized again, and she said, “I liked your friends. Thanks for taking us. The twins had a blast and I enjoyed myself as well.”

“I hope you’ll want to come again. I’ll let you know when we plan the next.”

My original plan had been to drop them off, get the twins settled, and go back to the party, but I felt like I needed to stay with Connie, so I asked, “Is there somewhere we can cuddle and relax? I won’t do anything besides hold you unless you want more.”

“I’m not on birth control, and I’ve never even
considered
…” She crossed her arms again and her face went red.

I chuckled. “If it goes that far, we’ll figure it out. I have condoms.”

“Then why didn’t you use them for—”

“No more questions about others. We’re talking about you and me. No one else is welcome in the room.”

“I don’t know what I want.”

“Okay, fair enough.” I sat in a fancy recliner and pushed it back, but nothing happened. She pushed a button and I heard and felt the motor as the back went down and the feet came up. I rolled my eyes and said, “I’d like to hold you. Even if we just sit and watch television and do nothing else.”

“Did you ever cheat on your wife?”

“Never. If I promise fidelity I keep my word. I haven’t promised it to anyone at this point, though.”

She sat in my lap and I lifted her and adjusted her until we were both comfortable. She rested her head on my chest and I stroked her cheek. “Oh, I’ve arranged a time Wednesday. Are you sure you can take off?”

“When do we need to be there, and where are we going?”

“Between 3:15 and 3:30, and it’s in the Hamilton Place area. Can I pick you up here at three?”

“Yeah.”

We didn’t talk much. I rubbed and caressed her, and she snuggled into me more as we watched the Sons. I laid with her asleep in my lap for nearly thirty minutes before I picked her up and carried her to bed. She’d already taken her shoes off, and I knew she’d be uncomfortable sleeping in her jeans. I grinned to myself and figured what the hell, and pulled them off.

She was wearing hideous white cotton underwear, but it somehow worked to make her even sexier.

I got her under the covers, stripped to my boxer briefs, and joined her on the other side of the bed.

I wouldn’t mind getting her girl-cooties.