Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) (15 page)

Hound

"So let me get this clear we're all in agreement that
we should go ahead with the new club." Duke looked around the room and
nodded his head as there were still no objections from the group.
I personally thought it was a great idea. The club in Waltham Abbey was doing
great but at times it got so busy that it was hard to enjoy a nice drink and
sometimes difficult to even see the girls dancing. It was also great for me on
a personal level because if Paige was dancing there, I could always go to the
other club in Epping instead.
The door opened and Spike walked in looking a little worse for wear. "Nice
of you to join us Spike!" Diesel stated sarcastically to a roar of
laughter.
"Prick!"
Spike sat down and took a sip of his coffee and looking at his attire must have
come here straight from the police station this morning.

Duke composed himself from the interruption and continued, "Because
the new club will be in Epping, it needs to be a little classier if you catch
my drift."
We sniggered knowing full well what he meant. Epping was a more affluent area
and needed to strike a chord with the public in order for it to be successful. 
"Diesel and I have been thinking about names for the club and we have
decided on..." Diesel banged the table to create the drum roll, "Resolute,
which for those of you that are illiterate means admirably, purposeful,
determined and unwavering, which we think is just perfect."
Again the guys around me nodded in approval and I was surprised at how easy
they accepted change. I was now the longest serving club member and remembered
just how difficult some of these meetings had been over the years because of
clashes in personality and huge egos. It just showed what a great group of guys
we now had in the club which was why it was so successful.
Now that it had all been agreed, I knew that Justice and I had our work cut out
in order to sort everything out in time. We had a meeting with Sam next week to
discuss legal implications and finance, and I was looking forward to seeing the
different sites she was proposing.

"Are there any other issues you want to discuss?"
Duke asked looking around the table.
I raised my hand and all eyes turned to me, "I want to talk to you about
Cade." I said looking at their confused faces. "Cade is the young lad
that's been hanging around lately. It turns out he knows his way around a car
and I was wondering if there may be a job going for him."
Bear and Diesel automatically turned their heads towards Duke, asking him a
silent question.
"We can't just take anyone off the street Hound, you know the rules. We
need to know that we can trust him first." Duke crossed his arms and
leaned back in his chair assessing me.
"What if I vouch for him?" I asked as my heart rate increased. I
didn't know much about Cade but I wanted to give him a chance, an opportunity
to turn his shit life into something meaningful. I'm sure he had reached out to
me for this very reason and I wanted to help him.
"You'd do that?" he looked surprised.
I nodded my head, "Sometimes, you just need that one shot to prove your
worth. I don't think this kid has ever had it and I'd like to help him
out."
Duke smiled and I knew I had him. He looked at Diesel and Bear as he shrugged
his shoulder, "What do you think, you'd have to work with this kid as well?
Have we got enough work?"
"What with us expanding and taking on more legitimate businesses, you'll
be too busy to work full time in the garage." I had already thought about
what my response could be to different scenarios.
Duke laughed, "You've got it all figured out." He glanced around the
table at the other guys, "Look I'm happy to give the kid a chance but if
he causes any trouble it's all on you." Diesel and Bear nodded in
agreement.
I breathed out a sigh of relief. I hadn't even asked Cade but I'm sure he would
be up for the opportunity, that's why I think he'd been hanging around. I
omitted to tell the guys that he was the person that broke into the garage,
well he didn't technically break in because he had Duke's keys which it turns
out he had pick pocketed when Duke was drunk. That could've had different
repercussions for the club and himself, and although he took the keys, he chose
not to do anything stupid with them he was just trying to prove a point.
"Good because he's coming along shortly!" I said smirking to the roar
of laughter from the rest of the guys around the table at my boldness.
Duke shook his head and brought down the gavel indicating that the meeting was
over.

I strolled out of the clubhouse and into the yard feeling
the warn sun touch my face. I stretched as I walked towards the garage and
noticed Cade sitting on one of the picnic benches. I was pleased that he'd made
the decision to turn up, he'd been hanging around for a while and I'm sure he'd
made the decision to make contact with me first over the other guys. I don't
know why? Maybe it's because I'm a soft touch and older than the others, all
the same I'm pleased he did.
"Hey, how you doing?" I asked as I got closer, I couldn't see him at
first as he had his back to me but as he turned it was clear that he'd been in
a fight.
"What the fuck happened to you?" I asked sitting beside him.
He turned towards me fully and grimaced holding his side, "I'm okay, just
had a run in with some bigger boys!" He said in jest but I could see that
his smile didn't reach his eyes.
"Is this Cade?" Duke asked as he joined us outside the garage. He let
out a low whistle when he saw the state of him, "That looks sore. Go and
get him sorted Hound, we can manage here for a couple of hours without you."
"You sure?" I asked as I stood.
"Yeah, now go before I change my mind."
I nodded as I directed Cade towards my ride, before grabbing a spare helmet
from a box in the garage.
"What's he been up to?" Diesel asked nodding towards the kid.
"He's been sleeping rough. He usually carries a bag around with him but I
can't see it, he may have had it stolen."
"Where you taking him?"
"Maggie loves a project." I stated with a smile as I walked towards
Cade.
"Here put this on and I'll take you home." He looked at me with
horror on his face, "I told you, I only like little boys on a weekend, so
stop your fretting and get on the back."
I noticed that he preferred to hold onto the bars rather than me which was fine
but I just hoped that his injuries weren't going to give him concussion and he
could hold on for the journey home.
 
"This is going to sting so you need to brace yourself." Maggie was in
her element caring for Cade. She had already cleaned and dressed his wounds on
his hands and was now dealing with the lacerations on his face. It could
probably do with a stitch but Doc and James were on a conference for a couple
of days so he'd have to go without.
I watched closely as Maggie attended to him but turned as I heard the usual
bickering coming from the hallway and shuddered as the front door slammed.

"Why can't you just go with the flow, why do you have
to know now? We're not even going until Thursday." Paige threw her
designer handbag onto the kitchen work top before pouring herself a glass of
water.
"Taylor asked me to find out if you needed a lift. Why are you turning it
into a big issue?" Chloe asked walking over to give me a kiss on the
cheek. "Hi daddy," she said before turning to smile sweetly at Cade.
"Hi baby, I thought you were at work today?" I asked questioningly.
She had gotten herself a good job at the salon that Duke's new love interest
owned.
"I forgot my keys and I'm locking up tonight so I've popped home
quickly."
I nodded my head as she walked back into the kitchen to collect her keys.
"I'm not turning this into an issue but who the fuck is Taylor? Don't give
me that look Chloe. Just because she's shagging Duke this week doesn't mean I
have to do as I'm told by her."
Chloe put her hands on her hips exasperated by Paige, "She only asked if
you wanted a lift."
"All I've heard over the last couple of weeks is Taylor does this, Taylor
does that!"
"Watch your mouth Paige." I very rarely told my kids off but her
mouth was running away with her. I had listened to their conversation and knew
that Paige was simply being unreasonable and trying to push Chloe's buttons
like she always did.
"If Duke takes her as his old lady, she becomes queen bee so you need to
watch what you say. Thanks to him you have a job and earn fucking good money,
now that's enough."
Paige didn't bite back she just narrowed her eyes as she continued to drink her
water.
"Hi Stephen...no I can't make it tonight I have a lot going on."
Chloe had answered her phone talking to her new boyfriend. I glanced at her as
she waved goodbye indicating that she was going back to work. Paige followed
her out and I turned my attention back to Cade and Maggie.
"Hold still while I put the antiseptic cream on." Maggie said as Cade
flinched as the lacerations on his face and neck obviously hurt. Maggie
continued to tenderly care for Cade, using her skills from being a nurse before
she left to start a family with me.

"And who's this?" Paige asked crossing her arms as
she stood in the living room sizing up Cade.
"This is Cade, he will be staying in the log cabin in the garden for a
couple of days." Cade glanced at me confused but didn't say anything.
"Well I didn't know we were taking in strays!" Before I could answer
she had sauntered off up the hallway towards the stairs. She was in the process
of moving out and only had a few boxes left to collect.
"Sorry Cade, that girl is so rude I just don't know what to do with
her?" Maggie said apologetically as she stepped back looking at his face
from different angles to make sure she had taken care of everything.
"Look, regarding your offer of staying here that's too much man. I
appreciate your offer and all but..."
"Have you got somewhere else to go?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Well no but..."
"The cabin is at the bottom of the garden and only gets used if we have
guests. You will be self contained as it has a kitchenette and bathroom. Stay a
couple of days to recuperate but you're welcome to stay for longer if you want
to?" I didn't want to rail road the boy but he'd taken a good beating last
night and I didn't know how long he could survive being on the streets.
He smiled, "Well if you're sure you don't mind?" he said quietly.
Maggie stood and clapped her hands together with excitement, "I'll go and
get some clean towels and bedding."
I raised my eyebrows as she hurried out of the living room. I'd have to tell
her to lay off with the fussing as that's one of the reasons he left a
perfectly good home before.
"I'll show you where the bathroom is so that you can take a shower and
I'll sort you out some of Tyler's clothes before I show you to the cabin."
"Why are you doing this Hound? People don't just take strays in off the
street." He asked sceptical mimicking Paige's words.
"Let's just say that everyone deserves a chance in life. I've also got you
a job at the garage."
He stood quickly rubbing his head, "It's all too much Hound. You don't
know me, I could be a murderer, rapist or a thief for all you know."
"I asked you three questions do you remember?" Cade nodded his head,
"Well, did you answer them truthfully." He nodded his head again
without hesitation, "Then I have no reason to distrust you. I have vouched
for you at the club so if you fuck up, it's my balls on the chopping board, do
you understand?"
"Yes I do and I'm grateful Hound, I really am."
"Well great, now go up stairs and have a shower because you fucking
stink!"

Spike

"Stop fidgeting you look lovely," Angel glanced at
me briefly and smiled sweetly, quickly composing herself by taking a sip of her
drink. "And stop worrying about the kids, they'll be fine."
We had dropped them at Pam's earlier. She was Taylor's elderly Aunt but she had
a few of her friends from the Legion round at her house, I think it was safety
in numbers so they had enough energy to look after them. I'd also asked one of
the prospects to stay outside, not that I thought there was a direct threat
from Angel's husband turning up but I didn't want to take any chances.

"Do you want to dance?" I asked out of politeness.
I wasn't the dancing type but I was trying to make her comfortable as I could
see that she wasn't enjoying being in a crowded place.
She shook her head, "Thanks for the offer but I'm not a very good
mover."
I laughed and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "I'm sure that's not
true." As I pulled away I gave her a cheeky wink which made her blush. She
was a hard one to read, I was genuinely surprised when she called me this
morning to say that she'd still like to come out this evening but she blew hot
and cold and I really didn't know where I stood. It wasn't like me to chase a bird,
I could have whoever I wanted and there was always something on offer at the
club but I wanted her and it was only a matter of time before I did.
"Can I whisk your lovely lady away?" Amy asked clearly drunk as she
swayed around in front of me. I didn't want her to leave my side but Angel smiled
and accepted her hand, and I watched Amy use Angel's body for balance as they
made their way over to the seating area at the back of the club.

"She's a beauty Spike." Woods said as he joined me
with Skinner.
I smiled as I continued to watch her walk through the club with Amy, not able
to take my eyes off her.
"So are you two on the prowl tonight." I asked turning my head
towards them as Angel was now out of sight.
"Never say never man, I've got my eye on someone but it's a little
complicated." Skinner turned his gaze and looked over at the dance floor.
I raised my eyebrows as I glanced at Woods seeing his surprised reaction to
Skinners comment, "It's always difficult man, but you've gotta figure out
if it's worth fighting for." I stated thinking of Angel.
"I think I've left it too late." Skinner looked solemn as he swirled
his drink around in his glass before downing it in one, "I need some air."
He turned and walked out of the club clearly fighting with his emotions for
someone.
I glanced at Woods who shrugged his shoulders but this wasn't the time to take
the piss. I felt sorry for him, unrequited love was a killer.

The evening was going well and we witnessed an array of
different people murder songs on the karaoke, which amused me as you'd never
catch me up there. I glanced at my watch noticing that it was getting late and went
in search for Angel to take her home. When I found her she was sitting with
Keira deep in conversation. I only knew who she was as Ink had pointed her out
earlier informing me that she was responsible for the flowers at Jimmy's
funeral and the up and coming celebrations this weekend for Hound and Maggie.
She was beautiful in her own right. Not my type but she was slim with a short
hair style which would look harsh on most women but not her, with her small
feminine features.
"Sorry to interrupt but I need to get you home babe." Angel looked
panicked and eagerly stood from her chair.
"Sorry I didn't know what the time was." She grabbed for her hand
bag, "Thank you Keira, it was great talking to you this evening. I'll be
in touch soon."
Keira stood and quickly air kissed Angel before I whisked her out of the club.
Time was getting on and we needed to pick up the children and get to the refuge
before the curfew.
I reached for her hand and she took it without hesitation as we briskly made
our way to the Jeep, "Are you glad you came this evening?" I asked
hoping that she did enjoy herself.
"I am thank you. I'm not very good in large groups though, I suppose that
will come in time." She turned her head and looked out of the window as I
drove through the somewhat empty streets, lost in her own thoughts.

"Thanks for having them Pam, I really appreciate your
help this evening." I said as Angel buckled the children into the back of
the vehicle.
She moved closer so that she could whisper in my ear, "Not a problem, Amy
and Taylor explained everything. Any time you need me please just let me know,
your family are adorable."
I was taken aback by her comment but it made me smile, "I better go, we've
gotta get the kids to bed."
She nodded clearly understanding as I turned and jogged to the Jeep, "Are
they secure?"
"Yes, are we going to make it in time?" she asked fidgeting as she worried
about getting back to the refuge before they locked up for the night.
"I'll do my best."

"But it's only six minutes past ten, why won't you let
us in?" Angel was crying hysterically as she banged on the window.
The security guard had explained through the glass window that the rules were
the rules and he couldn't start changing them just for her. The whole time he
was talking to Angel he was eye balling me and I assumed I wasn't making the situation
any easier. I felt a flash of anger and knew he was only being brave because he
was behind a locked door. Prick! People saw the cut first and asked questions
later but had probably made up their own minds before then.
"I promise I won't stay out late again. I have two small children, where
do you expect us to sleep tonight?" Angel's pleading tones were heart
wrenching.
"Angel there's no point arguing with him, he's not gonna change his mind
babe." I pushed off the Jeep and walked towards her, gently placing my
hand on her shoulder to turn her round into my embrace. I rubbed the top of her
head in a soothing gesture as I held her close and she nestled against my
chest.
I breathed in her scent and the close proximity heightened my senses, I don't
know why I tortured myself? I knew that I was playing with fire but at this
moment in time, I had no interest in dowsing the flames, I needed to get my
fix.
"Shhh, it's okay. You can come and stay at mine tonight."
She pulled away as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks and her eyes
searched mine.
"Angel from where I'm standing, you don't have any other options. You've
got to learn to trust, it's killing me." She simply nodded and turned to
walk back to the vehicle as I eyeballed the security guard who was observing
from afar.
I quickly checked on the children, they were both asleep and I was pleased that
they hadn't seen the drama unfold or their mum getting upset.

We carried the children up to my apartment and they
surprisingly stayed asleep as we placed them on the bed in the spare room.
"Do you want a drink?" I whispered as I closed the door leaving it ajar
to make sure the light from the hallway could shine through, should they wake
up in the night to go to the toilet or were unsure as to where they were.
"Yes please, I'll give you a hand."
Angel followed me into the kitchen and took two mugs from the draining board. She
held them up silently asking if they were okay to use and I nodded. I set about
making our drinks and felt her eyes bore into me as she watched me from across
the kitchen assessing my every move.
"Shall we take these into the living room?"
Angel nodded and led the way sitting down comfortably on the sofa. As she
crossed her legs, her dress rode up slightly and I got to see her firm upper
thigh. She saw me look and quickly yanked on her dress to pull the material
down. I smirked at her reaction, we'd been intimate together albeit not in the
same room and here she was worrying that I may see her thigh.

"I'm sorry about tonight, it's my fault I didn't get
you to the refuge in time."
She looked confused, "It's my fault for not having a..." She looked
solemn and shook her head, "How was it your fault?" She'd composed
herself and changed the subject which was interesting but I understood if she
didn't want to talk about something.
"Sometimes Angel, you look like you have the weight of the world on your
shoulders babe but when I saw you there tonight in the club talking to Keira,
it was just so refreshing to see you with a smile on your face and acting how a
twenty-two year old should."
She was shocked by my comment, "You...watched me?"
I smirked, "Angel without sounding like a stalker, I watch you more than
you know." I let out a sigh and moved closer towards her relieved that she
didn't recoil, "I've grown very fond of you and the children. In normal
circumstances I would have made a move by now and it's killing me to not be
able to touch you but I totally respect that you've had a traumatic life and
therefore have trust issues." I reached out and took her hand, "What
I need to know, is whether you think you'll ever be able to totally trust and
consider a relationship with me?"
Angel bit her lip and I could hear her breathing become shallow as she rubbed
her thumb along my knuckles. I slowly leaned closer, not taking my eyes from
hers looking for any indication that she didn't want this. I pressed my lips to
her forehead, then slid them lower brushing the outer shell of her ear,
noticing that she had now closed her eyes enjoying my touch.

"Mum, mum where are you?" Devon sobbed.
Angel shook her head like she'd been in a hypnotic trance and moved to get up
from the sofa.
"It's okay, I'll deal with her." She looked at me questioningly,
"Trust me." She hesitantly nodded and I kissed her cheek before I
pushed off the sofa making sure that I repositioned my cock as I stalked
towards the spare room.
Opening the door wide, I saw Devon sitting up in the bed rubbing her eyes as
she looked around the room. When she saw me her face lit up with delight,
"Spike!" she shrieked.
"Shhh Devon your brother is trying to sleep." She quickly looked over
to see Tommy still happily asleep by the side of her.
"Oops!" She placed her hand over her mouth and giggled.
"Budge over." Devon quickly wiggled to the middle of the bed so that
I could lie down beside her.
"Where are we?" she whispered as she looked around the room.
"You're at my apartment. We arrived at the hotel too late and they'd
already shut for the night." She nodded her head understanding what I'd
just said, "Are you okay about staying here?"
"Yeah! Where's mummy?" she asked looking towards the door.
"Your mum has just sat down to have a cup of tea, she has had a very busy
day."
"She always has busy days. When we were at home daddy made her cook and
clean and wash and everything."
The children didn't often speak about their dad so I was interested to find out
a little more information.
"But that's what some mummy's do. They're called housewives and their job
is to look after the house and the children."
"Yeah but Lucy's mummy did that job and she didn't get smacked by her
daddy." She said in a small voice.
It pulled on my heart strings that she'd seen her dad abuse her mum. Taking a
deep breath I contemplated what I wanted to say, "You don't need to worry
about that ever again Devon. I promise that I'll never let your dad ever hurt
any of you again."
She looked at me with wide eyes, "Do you pinkie promise?" she held
out her little finger towards me which made me laugh. I hadn't pinkie promised
anything in years but I held out my hand to allow Devon to wrap her little
finger around mine and shake it.
She wriggled under the duvet and covered her mouth as she yawned. "Time to
sleep poppet." I leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead,
"Sweet dreams."
"Good night Spike."

I walked out of the bedroom trying to be quiet so as to not
disturb Tommy and made sure that I left the door ajar. I loved talking to the
kids, more so Devon as she would open up to me but I was going to make it my
mission to get Tommy to open up too. I knew that he had been ruled with an iron
fist and that was probably the reason why he was so quiet but I had a few ideas
up my sleeve.

Walking into the living room I could hear the faint sound of
Angel's breathing as she peacefully slept, curled up on the sofa. She was so
beautiful in the most natural of ways that she didn't need to apply layers of
make up or even dress up to turn heads. I was pissed that she had fallen asleep
as I felt we were getting somewhere tonight. Her barriers were slowly breaking
down and by her allowing me to deal with Devon tonight meant that she was
slowly learning to trust me more.
I sauntered into my bedroom and took the throw off the end of my bed. It sounds
very feminine but Amy decorated my apartment so it didn't look like your
typical bachelor pad. I covered Angel with the throw and sat beside her just
watching her sleep, she looked so peaceful.
How could anyone raise a hand to
her?

CJ had found out where she had originally lived from the
registration of the car and had given me her address this evening. I was in a
dilemma, I knew what I wanted to do which was to beat the shit out of her
fucking cunt of a husband but that would open a whole new can of worms.
Instead, I had asked for CJ to get someone to put the property under
surveillance for a couple of days so that we could see her husband's routines and
whether he was pursuing her and the children. Once they had reported back then
I would decide what I wanted to do. I wanted to deal with it myself but because
I'd let it be known of my intentions to claim her, Duke and Diesel would make
it club business to make sure she was protected.

I was still feeling fucking horny and seeing her laying here
wasn't doing anything to calm my appetite for her. I stood and rummaged around the
apartment to find a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled a quick note,
knowing that I needed to leave her. I couldn't fucking stay under the same roof
as her.
I took my phone from my pocket and dialled Ramsey's number, "I need you to
do me a favour...Angel and the kids are at mine tonight, I want you to keep an
eye on the place for me...That's none of your fucking business just do as
you're told, how long before you're here?...Yeah see you in ten."  
Fucking prick questioning me! While I waited for Ramsey to arrive I quietly
went around the apartment making sure I took all of the clocks from the walls
and mantels and stuffed them in the airing cupboard out of the way. Amy had
informed me that after Angel had left her apartment she found her clocks in a
kitchen cupboard. At this stage I didn't know the relevance but I was hoping
that she'd be able to tell me eventually.
I gathered my clothes and valuables, and made sure that I packed anything that
may be deemed as incriminating along with my glock and my hunting knife, I
didn't want one of the kids getting hold of them. I trusted her but I wasn't
fucking stupid either and knew that I couldn't risk jeopardising the club in
any way.