Nasty Bastard (Grim Bastards MC Book 4) (14 page)

“But why a phoenix?” he asks, leaning down to place a soft kiss to the base of my spine. “Don’t get me wrong, I fucking love it. Probably the most beautiful piece I’ve ever seen. I’m just wondering if it means something special to you.”

When he finally loosens his hold, I roll over and look at him. “When I signed the divorce papers, I felt free for the first time. I was able to leave all that shit behind and start over. I was like a phoenix rising out of the ashes.”

He pulls me into his arms and kisses me deeply. “You do realize, when you were finally able to make a decision on your own, you chose to come back to me.”

I could deny his words, tell him I came back for a free house, but I don’t. I can’t, because he’s right. I may not have planned on coming back to him, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

Smoke

I wake up feeling a weight pinning me to the bed. It takes a second for me to realize what it is—my woman. It’s nice waking up with Gidget wrapped around me. Back in the day, we often slept together. Granted, I’ve never woke up with her naked in my arms before. It was an amazing feeling back then; it’s even better now.

Rolling my head to look at the clock, I see we’ve slept through the night and most of the morning. As much as I hate leaving her, I really need to go talk to Boz about my and Brew’s worthless trip to Clarksville.

I slowly roll Gidget off me and climb from the bed, then walk to the bathroom. When I’m done with my morning routine, I grab a pair of jeans and t-shirt. After finally getting dressed, I slip on my boots and cut then head back to the bed to give Gidget a soft kiss on her forehead. She grunts out an aggravated moan and rolls over. By the time I reach the door, sounds of her quiet snores reach my ears.

Walking down the hall to Boz’s office, the scent of fresh coffee reaches my nose. I decide, instead, to take a quick detour to the kitchen. Lettie is standing at the stove, her hand on a skillet, shaking her ass back and forth. Parker’s beside her, singing some messed up version of
Mary Had a Little Lamb
and shaking his hands in the air.

“Having fun?” I ask, taking a step into the room.

Parker stops in his tracks, hands held in the air, and smiles. “Wanna dance with me, Smoke? It’s so much fun.”

A huge fucking part of me wants to say yes. I wanna forget all about being the VP of the Grim Bastards, pull that kid into my arms, and dance like a fool. But there’s a small part that keeps reminding me men don’t go around making asses of themselves. Then, I remember a time when my dad let the girls paint his nails. His brothers gave him hell, but he said it was worth it to make his babies smile.

Knowing I want to be like Dad, I walk over to Parker and toss him over my shoulder. He continues to sing through giggles, as I dance around the room. Lettie, Parker, and I are laughing, when the door swings open and Boz walks in. I stop in my tracks, waiting for him to call me out for acting like an idiot. Instead, he laughs and finishes the last line of Parker’s song.

I sit Parker on the floor as the Pres walks over to us. He ruffles the kid’s hair and says, “I see my mom’s been teaching you how to dance.”

I let out a relieved breath, wondering why the fuck I was nervous in the first place, and join Boz at the table for a cup of coffee. “Where’re Brew and Hack?”

“Seems we’re the only two up this morning,” he answers, taking a drink of his coffee. “Figured I’d grab me a cup then wake their asses up. We gotta talk about your trip. Plus, Hack sent me a text late last night, saying he found something.”

We talk for a few minutes, before Lettie places a plate of scrambled eggs in front of both of us. She looks to me, a brow cocked, and says, “Parker woke up early this morning and wanted to see his mom. When we got there, she wasn’t in her room. I told him she must be taking a shower and we’d go see her later.”

The right side of my mouth tips up. “You may want to give her a wakeup call before going back to look for her.”

She places a hand on my cheek and bends down to whisper in my ear. “I’m really glad you got your girl back, but if you hurt her again and make her run off, I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you for dinner.”

With that threat, she turns around and helps Parker into his seat. He starts to eat his eggs, still singing under his breath. I stare at him a second, just taking him in, as he happily eats his breakfast.

Finally, I look back to Lettie and say, “If I do, I’ll let you borrow my knife to do it. I’ll even have the brothers hold me down to make it easier for you.”

She smiles, takes her own seat, and starts eating. “Sounds like a plan.”

It takes us a few minutes to finish off our eggs. After a quick goodbye to Lettie and Parker, we walk to Boz’s office, carrying a fresh cup of coffee in our hands. As soon as the door is shut, Boz heads over to his desk and sits down.

“I guess Brew told you we didn’t have much luck while we were in Clarksville. Not to mention, the Saints were no help. The only good thing about the whole trip is that we found some good weed,” I say, taking a seat.

“Yeah, he told me. Well. not about the weed, but about the rest. Also said the Saints seemed as surprised as we were that Stone had even been in their town,” he says, bringing the cup up to his lips. “Do you think they were covering for him or shooting you straight?”

I shake my head, sure of my answer. “Fuck no. The Pres was pissed that something was going on in his town he didn’t know about. That’s why we stayed so fucking long. He wanted us to ride along, while he tried to get some answers from the boys that are supposed to have eyes on that part of town.”

He nods, believing I know what the fuck I’m talking about. “I went ahead and sent someone over to pick up Gidget’s car while you were gone. I stored it in the old barn. Didn’t want her seeing it and getting any ideas about running.”

I should’ve thought about doing that. I packed up some of Gidget and Parker’s shit before I left, and sent it back with Hack. But I never even thought about her damn car. If Torch had come back, there’s no doubt in my mind he would have trashed it. Her entire life is upside down right now. That’s the last fucking thing she needs.

“Thank you, brother,” I say, lifting my chin. “I want to get a security system installed over there. Hack can connect it here. We sent a few prospects to watch it day and night. If Torch shows up, we’ll know.”

“Good idea,” he says with another nod. “I’ll get Hack on it as soon as he gets his lazy ass up.”

A second after his name is mentioned, the fucker walks through the door with a smile on his face. “My lazy ass is already up, brother.”

“About damn time,” Boz says, leaning back in his chair. “What was that text about last night?”

Hack takes his time, walking over to the desk and leaning his hip against it. “Torch got popped for DUI in Springfield a few months ago. When they searched his car, he had an unlicensed hand gun in the glove box. Same damn gun had been reported stolen by an old lady in Nashville. Even with his record, the fucker got off with nothing more than eighteen months of probation.”

Good to know my brother is digging for information, but I don’t see what the hell that has to do with us. “And, that’s gonna help us how?”

Hack’s smile grows. “He has to report in to his probation officer every thirty days. He hasn’t missed one appointment yet, and he’s due in next Thursday.”

“We just wait there to pick his ass up,” I say, thinking there is no way in hell it could be that easy.

A million things could go wrong, and most of them will land us in lock-up. His probation officer will be in a government building. That means cops, lots of fucking cops. Taking him without getting on their radar is going to be damn near impossible.

“I did a little digging. Seems Torch has a great-aunt in Springfield.” He is interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He pulls it out of his pocket and puts it on silent before putting it back. He shakes his head, the frustration evident on his face. “The woman’s fucking ancient. She’s lived in the same house for forty-seven years, with never any trouble. Two months ago, the cops were called out on an excessive noise complaint,” Hack explains, cutting his eyes between Boz and me. “I’d bet my left nut Torch is crashing at her house when he has to go see his probation officer.”

The Pres nods and looks over to me. “Go talk to your dad. He’s been working with a few prospects and said there’re two about ready to get their cuts. Tell him to have them watch the house and let us know if Torch shows his face.”

My father’s face the day we buried Shelia flashes through my mind, and I shake my head. This isn’t the job for him. He’d have his ass sitting at the house and take the fucker out before we even had a chance to question him.

“I know the prospects he’s talking about. Let me talk to them. I don’t want Dad involved until we have Torch’s ass in the basement,” I say, not explaining my reason.

Boz looks at me a second, a question in his eyes. “Shelia?”

He says my sister’s name as a question, and I simply nod. I stand up, setting my cup on his desk. “This time, the fucker isn’t getting away from us.”

Gidget

Watching Marlin find Nemo for the hundredth time, my mouth opens up and allows a huge yawn to escape. Luckily, Parker isn’t quite as bright eyed as he was when we first started the movie. His pretty blue eyes are heavy, and the thick lashes he inherited from his father keep fanning across his cheeks. A few minutes more, he’ll be out, and I’ll be able to join him for his afternoon nap.

I look over to Addy and smile, seeing that she is sound asleep as Cam snuggles against her chest. Guess moms, and aunts that become moms, need a nap from time to time. When I look back to Parker, his eyes are closed and his chest is slowly moving up and down. Thank goodness!

Just as I start to close my eyes, the door opens and Layton stomps in. He looks around at the sleeping occupants of the room and crooks his finger at me. I nod, moving Parker off my arm and laying him across the couch, then stand up.

With each step I take, my eyes wonder over Layton. He’s wearing a weathered Slip Knot tee below his Grim Bastards cut. His legs are encased in a pair of worn jeans that sag just a bit at the waist, with a small hole just left of his crotch and another at mid-thigh. A pair of scuffed leather boots completes his look.

His dark brown hair is windblown, letting me know he just got off his bike. Even though I’ve only been here for a few days, his hair seems to be a bit longer. Stray curls lay haphazardly all over his head. Tonight, I plan to run my hand over each and every one of them before my mouth discovers the rest of his body.

When my eyes finally land on his, they are alive with happiness. His dark lashes are long and curl up at the end in a way most women would die for. They frame his eyes perfectly, drawing everyone’s attention to the deep chocolate color of his irises. The jagged scar that nearly took one of them is not as noticeable as it was at first. If anything, it seems to make his face impossibly even more handsome.

He takes a step forward and whispers, “Tonight, I’ll strip off all my clothes and let you look your fill. But, right now, I want to take you for a ride.”

Excitement fills me at the thought of being on his bike again. It quickly fades as I remember I’m not a girl anymore. Now, I’m a mother and can’t just go anywhere I want. My son comes first, and he always will.

I lose my smile as I shake my head. “Sorry, I can’t leave Parker. Lettie is planning on taking him and Cam to the zoo tomorrow. Maybe, we can go then?”

“Go ahead. I’ll watch Parker,” Addy says with a yawn.

I shake my head again, pasting on a smile. “No, you’ve watched him for days while I was laid up in the bed.”

She stands up and walks over to the crib. After she lays Cam down, she turns to look at us. “You watched Cam for me this morning so I could sleep. Now, it’s my turn. Brew promised to take me out for pizza later. Cam will be with us, so Parker can come, too. By the time we get back, it will be bed time.”

Looking at her, it hits me. This is what being friends is all about. It’s give and take, helping each other, and sharing in the good times and bad. Damn, having her and Trix in my life is going to be wonderful.

“Are you sure?” I ask, but before she can answer me, Layton is pulling me out the door and down the stairs.

When we reach the common room, his dad calls for him. “Smoke, Lisa wants to know if you, Gidget, and Parker want to come over for pot roast tonight.”

“Another time.” He looks toward him, not even slowing his steps. “Right now, I’m taking my woman for a ride.”

He leads me out the door without saying another word. We head straight toward a sky blue lowboy. It only takes me a second to realize it’s the same bike his dad gave him all those years ago. Knowing that I’m going to ride it again has my heart picking up speed.

I jerk away from his hold and go straight to it. “I can’t believe you still have it.”

Pulling me back into his arms, he places a kiss on my lips and says, “Some things just get better with age.”

When I left town, he had just finished priming it and was saving up money for a paint job. At the time, he planned to paint it candy apple red. I didn’t love the color but never said a word. It wasn’t my bike, so it wasn’t my choice. He seemed so determined; wonder why he changed his mind?

“Why sky blue?” I ask against his lips. “I thought you had your heart set on red, just like your dad’s.”

He kisses me softly and steps back, walking over to the bike and slinging his leg over it. “It’s not sky blue. I prefer to think of it as Gidget blue.”

“Huh?” I mumble, wondering what the hell he’s talking about. “I don’t know what you mean by that.”

Layton smiles, looking more like the boy I remember than the man I met last week. “Look in the mirror, baby, and you’ll have you’re answer. Took me for fucking ever to find the exact shade of your eyes.”

I stare at him in shock, and he just shrugs. “Since I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get between your legs again, I figured I’d keep you between mine.”