Nasty Bastard (Grim Bastards MC Book 4) (12 page)

Gidget

Smoke has only been gone for two days, and I already miss having him around. I can’t understand why, since we didn’t spend much time together before he left. In reality, I’ve been missing him for nearly fourteen years. I guess, being here just makes the feeling worse.

He’s been texting though, a couple of times every day. He even called yesterday, when Lettie was helping me walk up and down the hall. He was so pissed that I was up, he hung up without even saying goodbye. At first, I was pissed, too. That anger turned to something else, something sweet, when I realized he was worried about me

Trix opens the door, catching me with a smile on my face. “Are you ready to get out of this damn room?”

Returning her smile, I nod and say, “Hell yeah.”

“Oh, I get it. Boz kept me locked in his room for a week then tried to carry me everywhere for days after. It pissed me way the fuck off.” A smile covers her face as she adds, “The brothers seem to get a little overprotective when their women get hurt.”

Walking out of the room, I shut the door and reply, “Maybe, but you’re forgetting the fact that I’m not his woman.”

She cocks her head to the side and says, “From what I hear, you’ve always been Smoke’s woman.”

Not replying, I concentrate on my feet as we walk down the hall. I want to make sure I don’t get too tired and can actually stay out of the bed for a while. Also, I have no idea how to respond. A part of me knows she’s right; I’ve always been his.

As soon as we turn the corner, I pick up my pace. The sounds of music and people laughing can be heard from down the hall. “Are they having a party?”

“Nope, it’s always like this,” she says, motioning around the common room. “Was it so different back in the day?”

Thinking back, I nod my head. “Yeah, it was always loud, and there were always a bunch of people around.”

I stop in the doorway and take a look around. There are less than ten people in the room, but they are so loud you would think the place was full. There is a bar area to the left, with a few tables and chairs. In the middle of the room is a couch, recliner, and coffee table. A huge television is hanging on the back wall, in front of another couch and two comfy looking chairs. To the right is a couple of pool tables and a long table with chairs.

Everyone is just scattered around. Two men are playing pool, one more is at the bar, and there are two women walking around picking up empties. Another is by the pool table, making sure she is noticed by the men there. Something about her makes my skin crawl.

Trix watches me while I take it all in. She leans over and whispers to me, “That’s Violet. She’s a club whore, here for the guy’s entertainment.”

Trying to ignore Violet, and the looks she is now shooting in my direction, I follow Trix over to the couch and sit down. She picks up the remote from the table and starts flipping through the guide for something to watch.

“Oh, that movie
Me Before You
is coming on. Have you already watched it?” Trix asks me, and I shake my head no. “Good, I’ve been wanting to see it. I’ll grab us a couple of drinks. What do you want?”

“I haven’t had a pain pill today, so I’m thinking a Bud Light would be good,” I tell her, as she gets up and heads over to the bar.

She comes back after only a couple of minutes with two beers in her hands. “Addy just texted. She’ll be down in just a minute. Parker’s asleep, and Cam is almost that way.”

Guilt hits me as I realize everyone is taking care of my son but me. Just the thought has me putting my beer down. “I really should go check in with Parker. Addy said she would bring him to see me after they got back from the park, but she never came back.”

“Don’t,” she says with a shake of her head. “This is the first time you’ve done anything in days. Take the breather. You can go back to being Mom tomorrow.”

Trix uses the remote to turn off the stereo and then turns the TV on. Immediately, the guys start to bitch. “Damn it, Trix. Did you have to turn off the music?”

A large grey-haired man walks over to the couch, shaking his head. “You know I can’t play pool without it.”

Before she can respond, her phone dings. She pulls it out, obviously reading a text, then turns to me. “Boz needs me for a second. I’ll be right back.”

I barely hear her words as I take in the man standing in front of me. It only takes a second to recognize Round, Smoke’s dad. Besides the graying hair, he hasn’t changed one bit. Maybe a little more facial hair and extra tattoos, but that’s it.

He takes the seat Trix just exited and says, “We need to talk, girl. Got some shit I need to say to you.”

The harsh tone of his voice sends a shiver of fear all the way down my spine, but I nod my head. “Okay.”

He doesn’t waste time before speaking. “I want to apologize to you. I fucked up. Didn’t realize how bad until after they brought you here.”

To say I’m shocked and confused would be an understatement. “I’m sorry, Round. I have no idea what you’re talking about or what you feel the need to apologize for.”

He leans against the back of the couch and cups his beard, running his fingers through it. “I gave some shit advice to Smoke a long time ago. Turns out, he didn’t need my advice. The boy knew what he wanted, and I fucked it all up for him.”

He goes quiet for a moment, forcing me to ask, “What?”

“I fucked up with his mom, married her when we were too damn young. Neither one of us knew a fucking thing about what forever meant,” he admits in a voice so low I have to strain to hear it. “She grew to hate me, the club, and the lifestyle we lived. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to the two of you.”

His words make no sense to me. None of what he is saying does. “What does that have to do with me?”

His eyes meet mine as he says, “I opened my fucking mouth, told Smoke you were too young to know what you wanted, and so was he. Even said he was holding you back from living your dream by making you his old lady.”

Suddenly, his words make sense. Smoke let me go because he didn’t want to be the reason I gave up going to college. If anything, that just pisses me off more. How dare the bastard make my decision for me.

Anger courses through me as I look at Round. “You didn’t do shit. He knew me, knew what I wanted. This is all on him.”

Reaching out to grab my hand, he shakes his head. “No, you don’t understand. He watched me and his mom fight. He saw her turn to another man when I couldn’t give her what she needed. I planted that seed in there, made him think you would end up just like her. I made it take root in his brain.”

I don’t have long to process his words, before Parker comes running into the room. He runs straight for me and jumps into my lap. I’m so glad to see him that all thoughts of my conversation with Round leave my mind.

I wrap my arms around him and say, “I’ve missed you, baby boy.”

“Momma. I’m not a baby,” he says, snuggling deeper into my lap. “Smoke says I have to be a good little man.”

My baby is growing up before my eyes, and I love knowing Smoke has something to do with it. “Well, that’s true, but you’ll always be my baby.”

An older woman with long black hair walks over to us and introduces herself. “Hi, I’m Lisa, Round’s old lady.”

I stand up and am temporarily speechless. She is one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Smoke’s mom was pretty, but Lisa is drop dead gorgeous. Then again, Round is no slouch, so they look perfect together.

I reach and give her hand a quick shake. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Gidget.”

Parker reaches up and starts tugging on her arm. “Can we go outside now?”

She smiles and says, “If it’s okay with your mom.”

She then looks at me and adds, “Addy said he took a cat nap and got up ready to take over the world. Cam’s still sleeping, so I offered to take Parker outside to run off a bit of his energy.”

I laugh, nodding my head. “He can go, if I can come, too. I need a little fresh air.”

Round grumbles that I should be in bed, then tells a prospect to let Trix know where I am. As he leads us out the door, he tells me, “If you go, so am I. You better know, I’m telling Smoke this is your fucking idea.”

We are just stepping into the yard when my phone rings. I pick up my phone and see Smoke’s name on the screen. My anger at Round’s confession comes back full force as I put it to my ear.

“Hello,” I say, unable to hide my fury.

“What the hell is going on, Gidget? What’s the matter? Are you and Parker okay?” he asks, his voice hard.

He throws the questions at me so quick, it almost makes my head spin. “Nothing’s wrong. Why do you ask?”

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Gidget. Hack just called and said Dad was walking you and Parker out of the clubhouse.”

My anger retreats when I realize he was worried about us. Richard never worried about us, never even asked how our day went. Smoke, on the other hand, is checking in from the road. As irritating as it is, it’s always sweet as hell.

Pulling in a deep breath, I explain what we’re doing. He asks a million questions, making sure Parker and I have everything we need. Each thing he says has my heart warming toward him. I have to remind myself that he’s the one who broke it all those years ago. Still, watching my son play with Round, I realize he did me a favor. Maybe I’ll do him a favor and forgive him when he gets back, but not before we have a long talk.

“Fine, don’t stay out there too long. I’ll give you ten minutes to get your ass back in bed. If not, I’ll be calling my dad to make sure you get there,” he’s warns, ending our conversation without even a goodbye.

Before I even put it away, it’s ringing again. I see Smoke’s name again and bring it back to my ear. “Hello.”

“Tell Dad there’re some balls around back in the shed. He can pull them out for Parker.” With that, he hangs up, not bothering to say goodbye again.

For some reason, my lips are tipping up as I slide my phone into my pocket.

Smoke

I pull up to the front of the clubhouse, parking a few feet from the front door. Brew comes to a stop right beside me, and we both climb off our bikes at the same time, stretching from the ride. What should have been a short trip turned into a fucking wild goose chase.

“Good to be home, brother,” Brew says, a cocky ass smile on his face. “All I want is a cold beer and my woman.”

“Me too,” I reply, hoping like hell Gidget is inside waiting for me. Maybe she’s even missing me a little. Fuck, when did I become such a pussy?

After we walk into the clubhouse, my eyes scan the common room, looking for Boz. Instead of finding him, I lock on to Gidget sitting at the bar with a beer in her hand. After five days away, with nothing more than a few texts and a couple of short phone calls, the sight of her nearly takes my damn breath away. Instead of the injured woman I left, she is smiling and healthy.

Her beautiful black hair is hanging in shiny waves down her back, looking exactly the same as it did when she was a teenager. Just like back then, my only thought is wrapping it around my fist as I glide in and out of her. Yellowing bruises still mar her tanned skin, but she’s no longer pale like she was when I left. Even from across the common room, I can see her light blue eyes filled with laughter.

Brew slaps a hand on my shoulder and says, “Go see your woman. I’ll tell Boz everything we found out, or more, what we didn’t learn.”

Ignoring him, I keep my eyes locked on Gidget. Beside her, Rocky is smiling as he downs a shot of Jack. A second later, he pushes the bottle toward her and says something. She shakes her head and smiles, lifting her beer bottle in the air. He leans close to her and whispers into her ear, before his hand snakes out to run through her black hair.

A second later, I’m across the bar, pulling the asshole off his barstool, and sending him crashing to the floor. “Don’t ever fucking touch her again.”

“I got that message loud and clear, brother.” He lets out a loud bark of laughter as he pushes himself off the floor and dusts off his pants. “I’m figuring everyone else here got it, too. If not, I’ll make sure to pass it along.”

“Smoke, he didn’t do anything. You should apolog—” She starts, but I cut her off with a shake of my head.

My eyes cut to her, letting her see every bit of fury raging inside of me. “I don’t want to hear one fucking word coming out of your mouth.”

Not waiting for a reply, I scoop her off the barstool and stalk down the hallway, carrying her in my arms. “You’re mine, and everyone here needs to know it.”

When we get to my room, I nod my head to the doorknob and grunt out with anger, “Open the fucking door.”

Instead of arguing, she does as I say, never opening her mouth. I carry her inside and use my booted foot to kick the door shut, then stomp to the bed. I nearly toss her on the bed, then remember her injuries and stop. Fuck, I need her bad, need to claim her as mine. Still, I can’t take a chance of hurting her.

“Are you still hurting?” I ask, still pissed at finding her damn near in another man’s arms. “How’re the ribs doing?”

She shrugs and says, “They’re still a little sore but better. Another day or two and I’ll be back too normal.”

“You think you can handle this?” I look down at her, hoping like hell she can understand the meaning behind my words.

Gidget’s quiet for a second, but just when I think she’s not going to answer, she does. “Can we talk about everything that’s happened after?”

My cock perks up at her words. “We can talk about anything you want, but right now, I need to be inside you.”

She reaches up and cups my cheek. “Yeah, I can handle it.”

“Thank God,” I say as my lips touch hers.

It’s soft at first, but the tempo of the kiss doesn’t last. She parts her lips, allowing me to deepen the kiss, then grabs the back of my head, pulling my hair to force me closer. The taste of her brings everything back, all the years of longing I suffered without her. As good as it was before, it’s even better now.

Her hands tug at my shirt, forcing me to pull back and ask, “Are you sure you want this to happen, baby? This isn’t a one off. Once I sink into you, you’re mine forever, and nothing’s gonna make me give you up this time.”