Bull, page 13
Ohmygod! I think I went into shock. I could tell that he meant it. I knew they’d had sex, but I’d never heard a man come right out and say something so sexually explicit before. Millie’s expression revealed that she liked it, though. She closed the refrigerator door and turned toward the food on the counter.
Satisfied, Loco began to stuff his face.
Bull gave me a wink as he closed his mouth around a forkful of eggs. Damn. I’d never thought of the sight of a man sticking a fork in his mouth as sexy, but he had nice lips. Smooth and full. I licked my lips as his closed over his fork and met his eyes, blushing hotly at his knowing smirk. To save myself, I made a show of rolling my eyes.
Millie joined us at my small table and the next few minutes were spent eating.
“Waffles were damned good, baby.” Bull got up from the table and took his plate and cup to the sink.
“Ditto that.” Loco followed suit. On his way back, he stopped behind Millie’s chair and dropped his hands to her shoulders. As he leaned over her she automatically glanced up, and he swooped down and gave her a lusty kiss. “What you got going on the rest of the day?”
Bull’s phone rang. He answered it and walked out of the room, talking low.
“I have a couple of jobs to take care of,” she replied, still looking up at him.
“What time you get done?”
“Five. Why?”
“I’ll come by and get ya. Take you to my clubhouse in the desert.”
“Okay.”
Then Loco surprised me by inviting me. “You want to come? I can bring the truck.”
Millie and I exchanged looks. She seemed okay with it, but I wouldn’t know anyone at Loco’s clubhouse, and besides, I didn’t want to be a third wheel. “I’d better not. I have an early shift in the morning.”
He nodded. “Don’t worry if she doesn’t come home tonight.”
Millie and I exchanged looks. She appeared happy over Loco’s comment.
Bull came back into the room. He slipped his phone in his back pocket as he walked. “Gotta go.” He pinned a serious look on Loco, and I got the impression that more was being said between them than Bull’s brief comment. Then he turned to me. “Window and door are good now. Be back later to fix your bed.”
“Your bed! What’s wrong with your bed?” Millie asked.
I felt the heat of a blush crawl up my neck and into my cheeks and avoided looking at Bull. “Remember the crack I told you about?”
“The one you glued back together?”
I nodded. “It finally broke.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t know when I’ll be back. Gonna ask TJ to hook you up with a security alarm.”
“What? No! That won’t be necessary after today. I’m going to register a complaint to the police and take out a restraining order.”
Bull’s glare revealed that he wasn’t happy about to hear that. Loco snorted, but when I glanced his way he looked off to the side as if he’d found something else more interesting. “Told you it would be handled.”
I wasn’t sure that I liked Bull’s bossy tone. I was used to making my own decisions.
“Don’t involve the law.”
“But—”
He leaned in close to my face, taking my breath away, and said between his teeth, “No complaint. No restraining order. No cops. Got it?”
I nodded, not even sure what I was agreeing to, because with Bull so close, his dark eyes holding mine captive and his breath against my parted lips, all I could think about was that I wanted him to kiss me.
“Say it,” he gritted.
I had to really think for a minute. “No complaint. No restraining order. No cops.”
After that, he and Loco left, leaving me to wonder what the hell had just happened.
Chapter 19
BULL
We were walking to our bikes when I asked Loco, “You got time to go somewhere with me before heading back?”
“What’s up?”
“Blade sent me a location for Viola’s ex.” I swung my leg over my bike. “Think I’ll pay him a visit.”
The grin that came over his face was scary evil. “We gonna kill him?”
I shook my head with a smirk. “Not this time.” I laughed at his look of disappointment.
Seventeen minutes later we were riding through an unmanned gate to an upscale community of older homes. My GPS took me right to the asshole’s house. We pulled up the drive and shut our bikes down right behind a pricy sports car.
I looked around the quiet area, noting the immaculate lawns, landscaping, and mature trees. The few cages I saw were expensive. The houses were big and pricy, too. The kind of place lawyers and doctors could afford. Not a lowly banker. “What do you want to bet this is his parents’ house?”
A snort erupted from Loco. “Was just thinking the same thing, Brother.”
We dismounted and walked to the front door. I sneered at the ornate doorbell and ignored it, pounding on the decorative wood door. As we waited, I could hear the sound of a chainsaw close by as a neighbor’s tree was being cut down. The noise had probably drowned out our arrival. Someone from inside yelled out something, but I ignored it and continued to pound.
The door was halfway opened when Nick saw who we were and then tried to slam it shut again. I put my boot out to stop it and then forced my way inside. Loco was right behind me, making sure to close the door behind us. I grabbed the front of Nick’s name brand shirt and pushed him back against a wall so hard that a picture crashed to the floor.
“Wh-What?”
“You alone here?”
“Ye-yes.” The fear was evident in his eyes as they followed Loco as he walked past us and further into the room. “Where’s he going?”
“Making sure you’re not a fucking liar,” I snarled, bringing his attention back to me.
“Wh-What do you want?”
“Know who I am, asshole?” I grated into his frightened face.
I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, his face contorted with anger. “Yeah. You’re one of the men my girl cheated on me with.” The disgust in his tone was as weak as his attempt to break free.
I shook my head. “Wrong, asshole. I’m your worst nightmare.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but I gave him a rough shake.
“You don’t talk. You listen. This is the only warning you’re going to get. Stay the fuck away from Viola. You don’t call her. You don’t visit her at work. You don’t go to her apartment. You don’t fucking go near her. If I find out you break any of these rules, I’ll be back.” I paused for effect. “And it will be the last fucking time.”
He strained against the hand I was using to keep him pinned against the wall. “Viola is my girl—”
The man didn’t have the common sense of a dog if he thought ignoring a threat from a man like me was smart. I gave him a violent shake, slamming him against the wall a few times to make sure he got my message.
Loco came back into the room and gave me a chin lift to indicate that everything was good. I put my eyes back on Nick. I wasn’t about to get into a fucking conversation with him. I was done. “Well, she’s mine now.” I ended with punching him in his mid-section, and then released him, watching as he slid down the wall to the floor. I stared down at him for a minute, shaking my head at the pitiful sight of him clutching his torso, pain twisting his pasty ass face. What had Viola seen in him?
Loco and I exchanged looks, he shrugged, and then we left.
“What the fuck did your girl see in that whimpy-ass pussy?”
I didn’t bother correcting Loco about Viola being my girl. “Don’t know.”
“Wasn’t even worth the trip. Didn’t even get any blood on the wall.”
Once I was seated on my bike, I looked across at him. “Didn’t see the piss running down his leg?”
His expression revealed that he hadn’t.
“If there’s a next time they’ll be plenty of blood, Brother. I’ll make sure to invite you.”
I hoped the asshole was smart and left Viola alone after this. I knew his type. A big talker, arrogant and controlling with someone weaker than him, but it was all for show. He was the kind of pussy that took advantage of women and got physical with them, but when it came to a real fight, he had no backbone. Pissing on himself when I hadn’t done much to him up to that point showed that he was a pathetic excuse of a man.
“You going back to the clubhouse now?”
Loco gave me a nod. “Yeah. Demon’s got us building a walkway and some fancy gazebo for Annabelle’s wedding next month. She wants an oasis in the desert.” He grinned. “Bobbie’s got all kinds of plants and flowers coming in to set it up.”
Bobbie was Demon’s old lady.
I’d heard about the last-minute change of plans. Demon thought moving the wedding from our clubhouse to his would be safer for everyone, in case one of our rivals wanted to prove something by making an unscheduled appearance. It was hard to sneak up on a place in the desert, and he didn’t want anything ruining his baby sister’s big day. LD didn’t mind the change of location either, considering that Jolene was so far along.
“Well then, see ya around.”
We rode together for a few miles before Loco gave me a signal and veered off in the direction that would take him out to the desert. I continued to my clubhouse, making a mental note to go by and see Uncle Tom later in the day, maybe before I stopped in to fix Viola’s bed for her. My mouth curved upwards when I recalled how her bed had broken, and then disappeared just as fast thinking about the colossal mistake I’d almost made. The bed breaking had been just the thing I’d needed to stop me from making a mistake.
I made the turn that would take me out of Vegas. From there it would be a straight shot down a quiet road. There was nothing to stop me from going full throttle, and I was flying around a curve almost parallel to the road when I saw something in the distance. The closer I got, the better I was able to see what it was. Bike parts littered the road. Someone had laid their bike down, and my heart was in my throat when I realized whose it was.
Fuck!
I slowed my bike down and came to a stop on the gravel, jumping off and rushing to the wreckage. One look at the damage confirmed that another vehicle had hit the bike, which was laying on its side with oil and gasoline leaking on the ground around it, and one other liquid that I was able to make out—blood. I glanced up, instantly looking for Cappy in the surrounding cacti and brush.
“Cappy!” I narrowed my eyes on the spots of blood that led off the road, reaching up for my Bluetooth at the same time. I scanned the area as I walked into the brush. “Cappy!”
“What’s up, bro?”
I recognized Orlando’s voice. “Cappy’s been in an accident about a mile from the clubhouse.”
He swore. “Does he need an ambulance?”
“Don’t know yet, haven’t found him.”
“Shit! On the way!”
“Cappy! Brother, answer me!”
I found him behind a boulder. It looked as if he’d crawled there for protection. His gun was in his hand, his body in bad shape from the crash. Some of his clothes had been ripped away, signs of road rash marred his exposed skin, and his leg was broken, the bone had gone clear through his pantleg. The whole left side of his face had been peeled away and resembled hamburger. My mouth twisted when I realized that he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.
Fuck, how long had he lain there?
There was a lot of fucking blood, but that didn’t disguise the two bullet holes in his gut. His color was gone.
A faint groan from him made me fall to my knees next to him. “Fuck, Brother!” I didn’t dare touch him. I could hear my brothers approaching in the distance and didn’t bother to radio in that Cappy needed an ambulance. I recognized the signs of impending death. “Who did this?”
He groaned again, his eyes fluttering to open. “D-Don’t...kn-know.” He started to cough up blood, his face twisted with pain. I could see it in his eyes, too. The sudden silence indicated that my brothers had arrived. “Dressed...in...black...face...shield.” He took a shallow breath. “Black...Charger.” He coughed some more. “T-Tinted...tinted...” He closed his eyes and stopped breathing.
“Bull!”
“Over here!” I hollered back, getting to my feet. I stared down at Cappy as my brothers, Orlando and Frenchie, rushed to my side, with LD in the lead.
“Fuck!”
It hadn’t taken LD long to realize that Cappy was dead. I waited for him to acknowledge the bullet holes as he narrowed his eyes on his VP. I knew the second he saw them.
“The fuck?” His eyes shot up to me.
“This was no accident,” I stated the obvious.
“Shit!” Orlando snarled.
“He say anything?” LD barely got out between clenched teeth.
“Just that it was a black Charger and the shooter was dressed all in black.”
“He didn’t get a look at his face?”
I shook my head. “Must have been wearing a helmet. Cappy said he had a face shield.”
“Shit.” We all shifted eyes to Frenchie. “Saw a fucking Charger go by the clubhouse a little while ago, the driver laid on the horn. Thought it was fucking kids again.”
I could tell that LD wanted to hit something. He looked like he was about to blow up. We all felt the same way. Hated to lose a brother. My first thought was that Radar must be involved in this, but the truth was that we had a lot of enemies that would like to see us crippled. Killing the VP of a club was serious business, but the way this had gone down made me wonder if someone had had a vendetta against Cappy.
“Get Yogie and Morton out here to help you brothers clean this shit up. Bring Cappy’s body back to the clubhouse.”
LD’s comment had been directed at Frenchie and Orlando.
“This gonna be a private burial?” Orlando asked.
LD nodded. Cappy had been shot, which was what had most likely killed him. No one wanted the cops involved.
“Does he have family?” I followed them back to the road to our bikes.
“Think he has an estranged son somewhere.” LD paused and stared off into the distance.
I wondered if he was thinking about the son that he’d lost so many years ago, or the new one that Jolene was going to pop out.
“Blade can look into who might need to know.” He climbed on his bike, started it, and gave the three of us a solemn look. “Church in an hour.” With that, he tore off down the road.
“Sucks to be president,” Frenchie muttered.
“Sucks more to be VP,” Orlando spat.
I couldn’t argue with either of them.
Chapter 20
VIOLA
“Want another coffee?” I asked as I watched from my bedroom doorway as TJ repaired my bed. He was a handsome man, and I was momentarily mesmerized by the play of muscles in his arms as he worked. “I’d offer you a beer, but you’re working,” I joked.
His face was a little red from bending over. “You’re not giving me a choice?” he joked back with a crooked smirk.
I pretended to think about it for a second. “Well, since you’re the one who insisted on fixing my bed, I guess I can make an exception.”
Green eyes sparkled with his easy grin. “Then I’ll take the beer.”
I turned to get him one, vaguely aware of the muted sounds of Dunkin and Jolly talking as they worked on putting in the new security system Bull had insisted on. I’d tried to talk TJ out of it when they’d arrived, but he’d just brushed me aside with a lame excuse and went to work. Later, he’d rushed to help me remove the mattress from my bed when he saw me struggling with it and asked what I was doing. Before I knew it, he’d volunteered to fix it.
I’d finally resigned myself to the fact that they were going to do what they wanted to do no matter what I said and fixed them coffee and sandwiches at lunchtime. They barely took a moment to eat before they got right back to work again.
“Beer!” Jolly’s exclamation drew my gaze to where he was working at the top of a ladder. “TJ gets a beer?”
His bottom lip jutted out, causing me to laugh. “Would you guys like a beer, too?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Dunkin answered enthusiastically, while Jolly nodded like a bobble head.
I continued to where TJ was working, setting his beer down on the dresser. “Is it fixable?” I inquired about the bed.
He straightened and reached for his beer. “Temporarily,” he replied, taking a drink. “As long as you don’t do anything too strenuous on it.”
I felt heat rush up into my cheeks as his gaze locked steadily onto mine. I got the feeling that TJ was fishing, but it was the image of what Bull and I’d been doing in my bed the night before that caused me to blush. “I’ll try not to,” I said before leaving the room.
“I’ll get you guys a beer but promise me you won’t fall and break anything.” I was on my way back to the kitchen, and this time both men were on ladders.
“You’ve got a lot of stuff, but we’ll pay for anything we break,” Jolly promised.
I grabbed two bottles, laughing. “I meant if you break anything on you,” I clarified. “I’m not worried about my stuff.” I handed Jolly a beer and then moved to Dunkin.
“Holy shit!”
The concern in Jolly’s tone made me glance back at him. He’d been in the process of raising the beer to his lips when he’d halted in midair, his eyes growing big and focused on the plant in the corner. I grinned. “Did you see what looked like a big rat?”
His eyes met mine as he nodded. “Biggest fucking rat I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s Barbara Streisand. BS for short. She’s my cat, so don’t kill her.” I was surprised she’d come out of hiding with so many people around. TJ must have done something to scare her out of the closet.
“Dude, you don’t know the difference between a cat and a rat?” Dunkin snorted.
“Fuck you, Brother. You didn’t see what I saw.”
The doorbell rang.
“BS is a Sphynx,” I explained as I went to the door.
A quick peek revealed that it was a frazzled-looking Lissa on the other side. I barely got the door open wide enough for her to come through when she forced me back into the apartment. The expression on her face revealed that she was upset over something, and her eyes did a thorough sweep over me, as if she were looking for something.
