Hell's Claim (Hellfire MC Book 13), page 9
“You are going to meet me in the ring. Callie is a sister to me,” Chance snapped.
“Guessed that was coming. I still want permission to date her,” Sunny pressed.
Chance studied him. “Know you’re a good man. Also aware you do not mistreat women. But you got this suspicion hanging around you, and you ain’t resolved it yet. Don’t know if I can give my agreement on this, Sunny.”
“Oh, shut up,” Clio exclaimed from behind. “Will you treat Callie right, Sunny?”
“Fuck, yeah!”
“You’ll make her feel a queen like Chance does me and ensure she doesn’t go without?”
“I’m not sure what’s in our future, but know this: I want to get to know Callie better and make something with her. I can see a relationship, but Callie’s feelings need to be considered, too,” Sunny answered honestly.
Clio smacked Chance around the back of his head. “Give Sunny permission.”
“Clio,” Chance said, pained. “I’m the president.”
Clip slapped him a second time. “She’s my sister, give him freaking permission or no sex tonight.”
“You have permission,” Chance exclaimed quickly.
Sunny began laughing. “Wow, that’s all it took?”
“Thalia and Bear are having the kids overnight. Chance is going to get loud and dirty sex, but if he withheld permission…” Clio left the threat hanging. “Of course, he’s still gonna beat the crap out of you in the ring.”
“Naturally,” Sunny muttered as Chance beamed.
“Tomorrow,” Chance said.
Sunny nodded, resigned.
◆◆◆
Chance could’ve hit harder but didn’t, and Sunny knew it. Even so, he’d still have bruises, and Sunny’s ribs hurt. He was sure they were bruised. Funnily enough, Chance had left his face alone. Chance had stated that he did not want Callie getting with Sunny out of sympathy for his poor, injured features. Nor did Chance want Callie embarrassed if Sunny took her out by the marks Chance would’ve caused.
Either way, Sunny knew he could be in a lot worse pain. Chance had taken his pound of flesh and walked away happily. Sunny didn’t blame him. Family members were off limits, and they all knew it. You had to get permission to date someone related to a brother. Sunny had that now.
He headed for a flower shop and looked around, bewildered. He’d not really bought flowers before. Cherry liked glittery things, and Liv preferred a book or Punko Pop.
“Who did you upset, and how much do you want to spend?” the woman behind the counter asked.
“Not upset anyone that I know of,” Sunny responded, bemused.
“Wow, a Hellfire brother in my shop for a reason other than pacifying their old lady?” she teased, and Sunny laughed.
“Guess my brothers give you a lot of business?”
“Yup, me, the jeweller’s a couple of doors down, and the soap and candle shop,” she replied. “I’ll say this, when you guys apologise, you do it properly.”
“Thank you. This isn’t an apology. This is I want to date you,” Sunny said.
The woman blinked. “Well, thanks, but this is the first time we’ve met, and I don’t know you.”
“Oh shit. No, I do not want to date you, but the lady I’m sending flowers to.”
“Ah, that makes sense. I was about to hit the panic button then.” She laughed. “So, this is a woman you want to date?”
“Yup. And I’ve no idea what to buy her. She’s also younger than me.”
“No old lady flowers then.”
“Is that a thing?” Sunny asked, and the girl laughed again.
“No. I was teasing you. How big do you want to go?”
“Enough to attract her attention, but not too big it frightens her,” Sunny replied.
“Okay. Would you like to wait?” the woman—her name badge said Lilac—inquired as she rounded the counter and began picking flowers.
“No. Do you deliver?”
“Yes, if you want to pop to the soaps and candle shop, it’s called Heavenly Delights and add a gift bag to your order, we’ll deliver that too,” Lilac offered.
“Thanks,” Sunny replied and headed in that direction.
◆◆◆
One hundred and fifty bucks lighter, Sunny hoped Callie would enjoy her gifts. He’d signed the card with a simple message. ‘See you soon, Sunny.’ That would get Callie wondering.
As he walked to his bike, he paused as he saw a man watching him. Sunny’s eyes narrowed; the guy looked familiar, but Sunny couldn’t place him. He turned away and disappeared into the crowd. Sunny frowned but carried on toward his Harley. He switched his mind to the problem of the traitor. It was time to check in with his team.
◆◆◆
“You can rule out Chance, Bear, Big Al, Rooster, Diesel, Chatter, and Celt,” Solace stated.
“Sure?”
“Yeah, we’ve followed them for several months, they ain’t dirty,” Acker’s replied.
“We haven’t cleared many,” Sunny mused.
“Nope. But you’ve got us focussing on one person at a time. And we’re taking it in shifts to watch them. They might not do anything illegal at once, which is why we guessed we’d need at least four to five months watching them,” Diaz explained.
“Acker, have you picked any scuttlebutt up as a candidate?”
“No, but some of them are fuckin’ assholes. If Hellfire vote for them to prospect, you’re idiots,” Acker’s replied.
“Give me names at the end of the meeting. I’ll make sure I vote nay,” Sunny said.
“We’re getting there, Sunny, but you knew it would take time,” Diaz added.
“We’ve got Shee, Levi, Pyro, Tiny, and Shotgun left,” Solace mused, tapping her finger on the list.
“Still too many to point the finger at.” Sunny sighed.
“You got a gut feeling or something?” Acker’s asked.
“They all know why I am back. I’m feeling the pressure,” Sunny admitted.
“If we speed up the surveillance, we risk missing something. I’m pretty sure we can clear Pyro from the list, but boy does he have a fucking secret,” Solace muttered.
“He has an alter-ego called Justice? Figured that one out myself.” Sunny shook his head in disbelief and discovering that little gem.
“The man is fucked, but if he weren’t messing with the guilty who the law let off, I’d have a problem. As it is, justice is being wrought, not got a problem with that,” Diaz commented.
“Do we keep going? You’re paying us for this, and it’s costing a fortune,” Ashford asked.
“I got money. That ain’t an issue. This has been hanging over my head for twenty years. I just need to know who it is,” Sunny replied.
“Then we will keep watching and digging. We’ll get him,” Diaz said reassuringly.
“Yeah, and he’ll pay when I find out who,” Sunny promised.
“Amen to that,” Ashford muttered.
Callie
I stared at the huge flower arrangement in bemusement. It was beautiful, and I’d never got one before.
“Who’s it from?” Freddie demanded as she picked up the card.
“Probably one of my sisters, but I don’t know why,” I replied.
“How about Sunny?” Freddie said, and I turned to her in disbelief.
“What?”
“He sent them, and he says, I quote, ‘see you soon.’”
“Pardon?”
Freddie giggled as she repeated it as I opened the gift bag from Heavenly Delights. I pulled out some candles, incense sticks, body lotion, and shampoo.
“Someone has an admirer,” Freddie teased.
“Shut up,” I replied, but there was no bite to it.
Freddie grinned at me and took off, yelling about my secret boyfriend. Wonderful, there’d be no end to the teasing.
◆◆◆
Next day, I woke up to Harry bouncing on my bed.
“Harry!” I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
“Get up, Sunny sent another present,” he declared.
“Huh?”
“Callie, get the hell up, we wanna eat and can’t, as it’s your gift.”
“I shall kill you if you don’t disappear,” I warned.
“Is she up?” Freddie screeched, and I sighed. There’d be no going back to sleep now. I glanced at my phone as I tried to wake up and saw it was eight in the morning. Great, no lie in today.
“I’m coming!” I yelled irately as Freddie screamed for me to get up.
“Give me five minutes, and you better have coffee on!” I hissed at Harry, who grinned and disappeared. I stumbled out of bed, hit the toilet, and washed my hands and face before brushing my teeth.
Incredibly grumpy, I headed downstairs and into the kitchen. There, a delightful aroma greeted me.
“Doughnuts?”
“Pastries, I think, but we can’t be sure. None of us wanted to be so rude to open it without you,” Jack said.
“What a load of bull,” I replied and opened the huge box and sniffed at the smell. My stomach growled in rebellion at the scents.
“Wow,” Phil gasped.
Inside the box was a selection of pastries, but Sunny had been clever. Nobody would have to fight over who wanted what. He’d included five of each type.
“And here you go,” Phil said, handing me a huge cup of coffee. I noted it was from one of my favourite coffee shops.
“Sunny sent one for each of us, but two for you.” Freddie giggled. She had frosting around her top lip as she tucked into a doughnut.
Phil had a bear claw in hand while Harry was chomping on a croissant, and Jack ate an almond pastry. I sipped the coffee and closed my eyes in ecstasy.
“Wow,” I murmured.
Freddie offered me a sly look. “Still think he’s not interested?”
“Shut the fuck up. I’m not caffeinated,” I growled, snatching a doughnut. The others laughed and ate the very generous breakfast Sunny had bought.
◆◆◆
I was in the garden, relaxing by the pool the next day. Everyone had been disappointed because no breakfast items had arrived. I had texted Sunny thank you for his gifts and asked why he had sent them, but he’d not replied.
“Nice!” Harry said, coming out of the house holding a box. I opened an eyelid and frowned as I sat up.
“Did I miss a takeout order?” I wondered. I’d been dozing on and off as today was warm, and I was soaking up the sun.
“Nope. Sunny got lunch,” Harry stated and placed the box on the table. To my surprise, each bag was named, and when they opened theirs, they each had their favourite subs, chips and a cake. Coffees had also been sent.
I was amused at what Sunny was doing but had no idea why. Was this his way of apologising? Yanking my phone out, I texted him.
‘Sunny, thank you for lunch, but please stop. I accept your apology.’
I placed my mobile down, and opening my bag, drooled at the sub. Yup, Sunny knew my favourites. My phone dinged in reply.
I peered at it, and my mouth dropped open.
‘This ain’t an apology. This is me saying I see you and like what I see.’
What on earth? I put my phone down and considered what Sunny was telling me. Was he acting out of guilt? In this situation, I was unsure of what to say and do. While everyone joked around me, I pondered the quandary I found myself in. My phone pinged again, and I picked it up.
‘Don’t shut down on me, Callie. I mean what I say. This is me stating my interest in you. But I know you’re gun-shy. So, I’m going to court you the old-fashioned way. The way my dad taught me.’
Holy cow. I tried to stop the smile hitting my lips but failed as Freddie whistled.
“Is that Sunny?” she demanded.
“Yeah.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he wants to court me the old-fashioned way,” I answered, bemused. Freddie whistled again as the others cheered a little.
“Why, though?” I asked, and they quieted.
“Why what?” Harry inquired.
“I don’t get why he wants to date me.”
“Seriously? Callie, you’re beautiful, inside and out,” Freddie exclaimed.
“Yeah, somehow I doubt that,” I replied.
Freddie gaped at me as Jack stared at me with narrowed eyes.
“Well, now, I didn’t see that coming,” he said, surprised.
“What?”
“You lack self-confidence. You are so confident while on investigations, I never noticed. Callie, I’m aware of your past, we all are, honey, it is not something you’ve ever hidden from us. But it’s done a number on you. Honestly, I had a crush on you for ages at the start. However, you were so focused on the tasks facing us I realised you’d never date a member of the team,” Jack replied.
“Really?” I asked, pleasantly shocked.
“Yeah.”
“Jack wasn’t the only one,” Phil spoke up, and I turned to him with wide eyes. “I fancied the pants off you, but you had an unapproachable air to you. Now, I know it’s because you’re guarding your heart, but that little trait was attractive because I wanted to be the man who breached your walls.”
“Damn,” I muttered, more than a little shocked by their admissions.
“Not me, though,” Harry admitted cheerfully. His gaze flicked to Freddie, who didn’t notice. “I liked someone else.”
“Sunny is being genuine?” I asked.
“Yeah. Callie, the man is sending you personal gifts, but when sending something that can be shared, he covers all of us. That’s a guy with a mission. Sunny knows how important we are to you. By including us, he’s covering all bases into winning you over,” Freddie explained.
I frowned, trying to understand. “Sunny’s using you to get me?”
“Not quite. Sunny knows buying you food and not us would make you feel bad. To neutralise that, he sends to us all. That means we like Sunny and say nice things about him. Which means you absorb our good feelings about him. It’s a clever plan,” Freddie continued.
That gave me food for thought. Sunny was honestly courting me, according to the others. I still didn’t know if this was his way or apologising and trying to make amends. As much as they ate at me, I hated my self-doubts and wished I could read people better.
I had dated a couple of times, but they’d not been men like Sunny. Adam had done a number on me, and the guys I’d dated after him had been few and far between. Trust didn’t come easily to me. Sunny had hurt me more than Adam, though, and if I was honest with myself, it was partially my own fault. I knew Sunny had been drunk; I had to take ownership of that.
But Sunny, the sexy man, was courting me, and in earnest, it appeared. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Chapter Nine.
Sunny
Every day for a week straight, Sunny sent Callie gifts. Chance looked confused at what he was doing, which appeared to be nothing. Chance wasn’t aware of his slow courtship of Callie. However, Freddie had spilled the beans to Lavender, and Lavender had told Clio, who was ecstatic. Clio kept dropping hints of things that she knew Callie liked. Thalia wasn’t much better, but Polly regarded him suspiciously. Let her. The bitch had been taken down several notches after her two weeks with Callie.
There was even talk of the five quints doing a special episode for the network, which would be interesting. But that was up in arms at the moment. Right now, Sunny was watching Callie from a distance as she received his latest gift. She was outside Ravenberry Manor, and her team were milling around as usual.
Callie unwrapped the parcel, and a squeal left her lips.
“What is it? Holy damn, how did he get hold of that?” Phil exclaimed.
Callie was holding a prototype of a new spirit box. It hadn’t even been released for commercial use yet. With Phoe’s help, he’d tracked the inventor down and invested some money to get Callie one. It was the buzz item in the paranormal community, apparently one of the clearest and most powerful boxes created. And now my girl had it.
Sunny watched Callie’s face light up as she opened the box it came in and yanked it out. The team all crowded around her as she examined it. Callie’s face was alight with sheer pleasure, and Sunny smiled. He had scored a winning goal with that. Callie passed the spirit box to Phil as she read the card.
He’d signed it and told her to be ready for seven tonight and to dress nice. Callie blushed as Freddie snatched it from her hand and squealed. Callie laughed as Freddie began babbling at her and shook her head.
A warm feeling flooded Sunny as he realised that was what Callie looked like happy. It was rare, as she kept herself tightly locked down. But for a brief moment, Callie shone. Sunny wanted to see more of that and would break his back ensuring Callie was always content.
Knowing he’d see Callie tonight, Sunny turned away. He had a mission.
Sunny hit his Harley and disappeared before Callie realised he was there. He headed into the Black Hills and left his bike in a parking lot. For an hour and a half, he hiked into them before turning to where Zeus was buried.
Today he wanted to tell the asshole’s remains that he’d not only survived but thrived. Even though Zeus had been killed after Sunny had left, Bear had brought him out here when he had returned. Sunny had needed to know where Zeus laid, and Bear had understood. The bastard had caused so much pain, Sunny needed to see the unmarked grave.
The route had been burned into his brain, and Sunny found it easily enough. He stood and looked at the slight depression in the ground where the body had decomposed and the dirt had resettled.
“I won, asshole. I’m still standing,” Sunny murmured.
Naturally, there was no answer. If he’d received one, Sunny would have died of shock.
“You thought you beat us when you killed Engima, Bullet, and Slash. Stingray wasn’t a loss, he was as dirty as you. But you were wrong. I thrived in the army and had a beautiful daughter and rewarding career. And now I’m back in the club you perverted.
“Hellfire is clean, it’s a wonderful thing. Yeah, I know you’ve got someone in there still, and I’ll find and deal with them. But you’d not recognise the club. It is stronger than before, and Chance is a great president. All you are is a cautionary tale. Shit, you don’t even have a legacy, Zeus. Hellfire has legacies, it has princesses, and it has love and loyalty. Something you never understood.”
