Reckless Love (Satan's Prophets MC, Book 2) (Satan's Prophets MC Series) (10 page)

Renee had just taken a shower and was getting dressed. She called the clinic earlier and asked Peter to come over tonight. She was a nervous wreck and beyond frustrated because Peter just wouldn’t give up on calling her. Renee finally got her courage up. She was going to tell him she wouldn’t see him ever again and didn’t know how he would take it. Her bedroom door flew open and Susanna called out excitedly as she walked into Renee’s room.

“Guess what I just—!” Susanna stopped dead when she noticed some faded small marks on one of Renee’s arms. She walked over and lifted it up to examine it closer. “Oh, honey. Did Peter do this to you?”

Renee turned her head, ashamed to admit the truth, but she couldn’t lie about it, not when Susanna was holding the proof in her hands.

Sheepishly, Renee replied, “Yes. At first I thought he just didn’t know his own strength. But anyway, I’ve come to a decision. I called him to come over tonight and I’m going to tell him, once and for all, to leave me alone. I’m a little scared of how he’ll take the news. He acts so weird sometimes.” Renee was too ashamed to tell her anything more.

Susanna gave Renee a slow, disbelieving headshake. “I am so glad to hear that you are really finished with him, honey. This is abuse, plain and simple. I’ve been there. My husband was very controlling and abusive. Believe me, it only gets worse. You know my story and how I ended up dancing at that bar. If Roach hadn’t been there that night and helped me, I might have ended up dead. All I know is that my husband is out there somewhere, probably still looking for me, and I hope to God he never finds me. I’m glad you’re ending it now with Peter before it gets to a more dangerous point.”

“Oh, Susanna! Sometimes, he scares me with his strength and his mood changes. You know, one minute he’s charming as can be, then the next, he’s over-possessive and out of sorts. I have been thinking of breaking it off with him for a little while now, but was afraid to. I think he might hurt me, Michael, or my dad. I don’t know, there’s just something unbalanced about him.”

“Is Peter coming over tonight?”

“Yes.” Renee asked Susanna in a quiet voice, “What should I say to him? He is going to get so mad when I tell him.”

“Don’t you worry. We’ll figure something out. Your dad and I will be in the house for backup if you need us. You just stick to your guns and do it, Renee. Please, honey, trust me, this is the right thing for you to do.”

Susanna walked out of Renee’s bedroom feeling nauseous. All the old, painful memories came flooding back. Her thoughts were spinning out of control so she focused hard, reigning in her fear. She knew firsthand how bad this situation could become and sat down in a chair to think. She had to do something to help Renee, but what? Finally, she realized there was only one thing to
do: Mick needed to be told. After all, he had a stake in this too.

Susanna headed straight over to Jaz’s house. Jaz was standing in her kitchen trying to figure out how much flour to put into her gravy. When the doorbell rang, she opened the door and was surprised to find her friend standing there.

“Oh, thank goodness, am I
glad
to see you!” Jaz pulled Susanna into the kitchen. “Come and help me with this gravy, I just can’t seem to get it right.” Jaz thought that remark would get the usual chuckle out of her friend, so when she turned and saw Susanna pacing, she was concerned. “Susanna, is something wrong? Your face is as white as a sheet.”

“Oh, Jaz. It’s—It’s Renee,” Susanna stammered, trying to get out the words. “I’m pretty sure Peter is abusing her. I mean, I walked in on her getting dressed a little while ago and I saw a few faded bruises on her arm. Why didn’t I ever wonder why she always wore long sleeves? I talked to her and she is going to tell him it’s over tonight. She is really afraid of him. What if he really gets mad and hurts her?” She looked at Jaz, her eyes pleading for help. “What are we going to do?”

“Oh my God.” Jaz shook her head, not wanting to believe it. She sat down shakily on a kitchen chair. “Let me think. I’d say we have got to let Mick know, but he’ll kill Peter for sure if we tell him. I don’t want to see Mick sitting in jail, not when he has a son to look after.”

“Good, Peter deserves it!” Susanna covered her mouth with her hand, shocked at what she’d said. Jaz wrapped her arms around Susanna. She knew bad memories were haunting her.

“Are you alright, Susanna?”

“No. I am sick about it. It happened to me … the controlling issues and the bruises … but I was lucky and came to my senses and ran away. We have got to save Renee.”

“We will, honey, we will,” Jaz said in a soothing voice while rubbing her shoulder. “I know, we’ll tell JD. He’ll know what to do,” Jaz continued in a fierce voice.             

Mick was sitting in front of the television eating a TV dinner when he heard a bike roaring down the dirt road. He looked out the window and was surprised to find JD turning into his driveway, kicking up the gravel.
Must be important,
he thought,
for JD to leave Jaz home alone at night.

JD parked his bike and banged on the door. Mick had barely opened it when JD barged in. “Hey, bro. Something’s come up and it needs to be handled. Figured you’d wanna be the one to take care of it.”

JD told Mick everything he had learned from Susanna. How she had seen bruises on Renee’s arm and how Renee was trying to break it off with Peter but was very afraid. Also, he mentioned how Peter was going to be at Renee’s that evening and how she was going to confront him.

Mick was pacing, clenching and unclenching his fists, getting more pissed off the longer he listened. Before JD finished saying all he wanted to say, Mick blurted out, “Did you say he was coming to her house this evening?” JD nodded. “I have to leave.” Mick didn’t say another word, hopping on his bike and starting it up. He roared out of his driveway and flew down the road headed towards town.

* * *

Renee was arguing with Peter on her front porch. She told him that it was over and she never wanted to see him again. Once the words came out, anger replaced fear, and she couldn’t stop herself.

“I was such a fool to fall for all your lies,” she went on. “I thought you really cared about me. I even overlooked the bruises you left on me, thinking you just didn’t know your own strength. God, I can’t believe how stupid I was and how I fell for all your bullshit.”

Peter was closed-minded. He couldn’t accept what she was saying. “You don’t mean that, Renee. You know you don’t. You just need more time to sort things out. You and I are meant for each other. Can’t you see that?”

Renee was fed up. “Don’t tell me what I need.
You’re
the one who needs something: therapy.” 

Peter was seething inside. His head felt like it was going to explode. He covered his ears with his hands, shaking his head, not wanting to hear anymore. He needed Renee in his life. All he pictured in his mind was his grandmother’s money slipping through his fingers. He grabbed a hold of Renee’s shoulders and pulled her towards him when they both heard a motorcycle rumbling down the road.

Mick turned into her driveway, blinded by anger to see Peter with his hands on Renee. Peter hurriedly let go of Renee’s shoulders and moved away from her. They stood still as a statue, not knowing what to think, when Mick got off his bike and took the steps two at a time.

Mick walked over to Renee. “Roll up your sleeves. I want to see your arms, Renee.” When Peter tried to make a mad dash off the porch, Mick knocked him down onto the swing. “You! Stay right there. Renee,” he repeated, his voice cracking like a whip, “show me your arms.” When Renee hesitated and turned her head away, Mick grabbed one arm and pushed up her sleeve. A few faded small marks were lined up her arm.

Mick felt sick, knowing this asshole laid his hands on her.

Peter was sitting on the swing, bent over with his hands down between his knees. Mick grabbed him by the back of his shirt. “You put your hands on the mother of my son,” he yelled, then flung him off the porch. Peter landed face down in the gravel driveway. Mick flew down the steps and started stomping on Peter where he lay.

Renee started screaming, watching the violent scene in front of her. The door opened and Renee watched in a daze as her father stood there with an old shotgun in his hands. He aimed and fired in the air above Mick’s head. Renee yelled for her father to put down the gun. Mick turned and saw the look of pure hatred in the old man’s eyes and stopped kicking Peter.

“I want both of you men out of here, now! Get out!” Charlie lowered the gun to aim it directly at the men. Peter managed to get up and make it to his car and drive off.

“Renee,” her father said without taking his eyes off of Mick, “get in the house.” Renee got up and walked into the house without even looking back to see what Mick was doing. When she was safely inside, her dad turned to Mick. “I asked you—No,
I begged
you
—to stay away from Renee. Violence follows you like a tail. I’m so mad I could shoot you right now, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get on that bike of yours and leave.”

Mick knew there was no reasoning with the old man. He really didn’t want to hurt him, so as hard as it was for him to do, he turned and walked away.

He rode around town looking for Peter, but couldn’t find him. He wondered if that was a good thing. The frame of mind he was in right then, he knew he would have no problem killing him. Last thing he needed was prison time. What the fuck was wrong with Renee? Didn’t she know maybe next time it could be his kid that might get hurt? Too angry to handle this shit, he did the only thing he could do to calm himself down.

He kept on riding.

A few minutes later, a police car pulled up in front of Charlie’s house. Charlie came outside and explained to the officer that he was cleaning his gun and it accidently went off. The cop looked around the yard and, not seeing anything suspicious, believed Charlie’s story and left.

* * *

Mick calmed down after a while, but couldn’t get Peter out of his mind. He needed to finish what he had started and make sure Peter never bothered Renee again.

Mick had a gut feeling that Peter was right under his nose somewhere. On a hunch, he rode over to the clinic. He parked his bike down the road and walked up to the building. The back door was unlocked. He opened it quietly and saw the shades had been pulled down and a small desk lamp lit the room with just enough of a glow for Mick to see Peter. He was sitting in front of a dog cage, leaning forward, his eyes wide and intent, watching two dogs mating.

“Fuck her harder, that’s it,” he heard Peter mutter. “Make it hurt, you motherfucker. Come on! Harder!”

He had his hand in his pants and was just about to pull out his prick when Mick grabbed Peter by his shirt and dragged him away from the row of cages.

“You fuckin’ perverted piece of shit!” He punched Peter in the face. “You sick bastard!” Mick steadied Peter and hit him again and again, all the while thinking of this scum touching Renee.

Peter’s attempts to defend himself were feeble compared to Mick’s powerful blows. When Peter was lying on the floor, a bloody beaten mess, Mick stomped his hand, crushing his fingers. Peter screamed out in pain.

Mick was in a rage. “That’s for touching Renee, you prick. You’re lucky you never touched my son or I’d blow your fuckin’ brains out here and now. Get up!”

Peter had to pull on the table with his good hand to help himself rise. He winced in pain and stood up, wobbly.

“Get to your car and drive out of here now. The only thing stopping me from killing you is prison time, so go before I change my mind and risk it. One more thing: I ever see your face around here again, I’ll hand you over to my club and, believe me, they’d love to have some fun with you.” Mick stood there watching Peter walk bent over to his car. It took him some time to get in before he started it up and drove away.

By the time Mick got the dogs back into their separate cages, he walked out the door and watched Peter’s car sway on its way out of the parking lot. He walked back to his bike and followed him until Peter hit the interstate highway and kept on going. Mick’s temper was still running hot. The idea of killing Peter when he got far enough away from Fulton entered his mind, but once again, he thought of his son and possible prison time. Instead, he turned his bike around and rode off in the opposite direction, flying down the highway towards home.

* * *

Renee tossed and turned in bed that night. She couldn’t fall asleep. Why did she let Peter keep hurting her for so long? She asked herself that question over and over and still couldn’t come up with an answer. Her mind felt like it was on autopilot to self-destruct or something.

She thought Peter might be her answer to a good life for her and her child, but she was so wrong. Why couldn’t she see that he was so wrong for her? What if she had married him and he started hurting Michael? She thought back to how stupid she had been; people who live behind white picket fences could be evil, too. She knew deep in her heart Mick would never treat her like Peter did. In fact, Mick had treated her so tenderly, she wished once again things could be different.

She heard a soft knocking on the door and she called out, “Come in.” Her dad walked into her bedroom looking older than he ever did, older and just plain disgusted. “I’m sorry, dad,” she said at once. “Sorry for putting you through all this. I know my life is one big mess and I just don’t know what to do or where to go from here.” Renee buried her head in her hands. “Please don’t hate me.”

Her dad hugged her tight. “I could never hate you, honey. I would hate myself for failing you, first. Renee, honey, what I am going to say has been on my mind for some time now, so just hear me out. I was thinking, maybe you and Michael should go and stay with your Aunt Jenny for a while. I can tell you’re not thinking too clearly these days. You never had a mother to guide you and Lord knows I’ve tried my best… but truthfully, I think you need a woman’s guidance right now. I called your aunt earlier to see how she felt about it and she was ecstatic. She said she would love to spend time with you and Michael again. You know she’s all alone in that big house. It’d be good for her too. I want you to be happy, that’s all.”

Renee didn’t say a word. She just sat there deep in thought. “I need some time to think this through. I’m not sure of what the answer is for me.” Her father gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and walked out. He needed to go take a few aspirin.