Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) (19 page)

The next thing I knew it was a hive of activity. Whoever Amy
had spoken to had obviously given her some instructions and she was referring
to her phone like a check list. Ramsey had come into my apartment and was
keeping watch, looking out of the window. There was only one entrance into the
property and Amy had locked the door and put the chain on to secure it further.
"I need to get up into the loft space, where's the hatch."
I looked at her puzzled, "Why do you need to get into the loft? Do you
think he's up there?" I asked panicked but quietly as I didn't want the
children to hear from their bedroom.
"No it's nothing like that but I'm just following orders." She looked
sincere as she held up the phone indicating the text.
I walked to my bedroom and pointed at the loft hatch. Ramsey stealthily got a
chair from under the desk and removed his blade from its holster. He positioned
it under the loft hatch and took a small Maglite from his cut. Taking a deep
breath he lifted the loft hatch and used the light from the torch to look in
all directions to make sure all was clear. He returned his blade to its holster
and reached in with one hand patting the area close to the hatch.
I drew my brows together not understanding what the hell was going on but his
face lit up when he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small red
container and held it tightly as he closed the hatch and jumped from the chair.
Ramsey placed the tin on my bed and opened the lid to reveal a small hand gun enclosed
inside.
"What the fuck!" I said aloud.
My words caused Amy to snigger, "It's for protection until the guys
arrive."
I looked between Amy and Ramsey, and noticed how he handled it with ease making
sure that it was loaded.
"How the fuck did it get there? It's not mine!" I stated trying to
keep it together but slowly felt like my whole world was toppling around me.
"Louise it's for protection. Spike knew that the kids would never go into
the loft and it was best you knew nothing about it unless you needed to."
Amy said in a matter of fact tone and I was surprised by how she was keeping it
all together under the circumstances but then I suppose she had been involved
in this life long enough to understand the protocol.

There was a series of loud bangs on the front door. We
glanced at each other and Ramsey cocked the gun, "Stay here!" He whispered
holding the gun in front of him as he silently made his way towards the front
door.
Another series of loud bangs came from the door and I grabbed Amy's hand for
reassurance. I could see Ramsey visibly relax as he peeped through the spy hole
before unbolting the door and letting the guys in.

Diesel, Woods and another man that I hadn't met before made
their way into my tiny apartment.
Diesel stalked over to Amy and hugged her, "Are you okay?" she nodded
and gestured towards me. "I need you to sit down and explain to us exactly
what happened. I may also need to ask you some questions regarding your
husband."
I glanced at Amy and the closed bedroom door belonging to the children.
"Do you want me to stay or sit with them?" Amy asked reaching out to
gently touch my arm.
"Please could you sit with them, I don't want them to be scared." Amy
smiled and walked towards their bedroom door, knocking lightly before she
entered.
Looking back towards Diesel I could see that he had lots of questions he wanted
to ask but was trying to be diplomatic, a quality that Spike had said he was
lacking.
I paced into the living room and sat on the armchair grateful of the space. I
took a deep breath, "What do you need to know?"
"What happened when you came home?" I gestured to the two cards that
were still on the floor and he quickly picked them up and read them, passing
them to the other guys once he was finished. He looked back towards me,
"So he hasn't made any direct contact with you?" I shook my head.
"Liam hasn't been home for the past seven days which would mean that he
has probably been trailing you himself, hence knowing about this place as
you've only been here since Monday. I'm surprised we haven't seen him. Does he
have any military background?" He asked looking at me thoughtfully.
I was surprised how much he knew as I hadn't ever given anyone my surname or previous
address but they obviously had their ways of finding information. I shook my
head to his earlier question, Liam didn't have any military experience, the
only thing he was good at was knocking his wife about and making his family
miserable. 
"Does he have any family or friends around here?"
"No, that's one of the reasons I came here as there are no connections to
Essex."
"And what about vehicles, does he have a car or a motorcycle?" The
thought of Liam on a motorcycle made me snigger, earning me an unreadable
glance from Diesel. Liam despised the very people that had taken his family
under their wings and shown me more love than he ever had in the eight years we
were together.  
"He has a five series BMW." I gave him the registration and he raised
his eyebrow slightly.
"A little different to the car you were driving!"

Diesel was right Liam lived a very good life. Money was
tight especially with him losing his well paid job at the bank. We were in debt
but he wanted everyone to think he was the perfect husband that provided for
his family. Over the years my dishevelled appearance brought him attention from
women which he enjoyed and I received snarky comments in the playground
questioning why a man like Liam would possibly stay with someone who looked
such a mess which did little to my confidence. Little did they know that food
was sparse and I would go hungry in order to make sure my children were fed.
I'd become obsessed with my weight when we first started dating because of his
constant jibes about me filling my face or questioning if I really needed all
the food that I had on my plate. I did need to lose a few pounds but after a
year of being together I had lost well over a stone and the weight had
continued to drop off ever since. My clothes become uncomfortable to wear and
hung off me like a bag of rags.
I knew that Liam had done this on purpose as his constant taunting about being
unattractive and having no prospects wore me down and took away the last of my
self-esteem. This is why Spike meant so much to me. He had seen me at my lowest
and he wasn't afraid of following his gut instinct of getting to know the
person inside the empty shell.

"The story of my life!" I stated as I leaned back
into the chair, "What happens now?"
"Well he must be staying somewhere so Woods and Justice are gonna drive
around the local hotels, B&B's and camp sites looking out for his
car." He held up the piece of paper and handed it to Woods. "By what
you've said he hasn't got a lot of money so I doubt he would've hired a car and
now I even doubt that the man who approached you is a private investigator
which opens a whole new can of worms." Diesel nodded at the two men,
indicating for them to go and do their job and I smiled as Justice caught my
eye to let him know I was grateful. He didn't say anything but simply nodded
his head before he left the room.

"I'm gonna stay the night if that's okay with you? I'll
sleep on the couch until morning then I'll swap over with someone else until
Spike arrives tomorrow evening."
"I couldn't possibly ask you to do that Diesel, what about Ink?"
"She's gonna stay at Amy's and they'll have a prospect with them. Look, a
while back Spike did the same for me so I'm returning the favour, the only
thing I ask is that you don't tell Spike. He will only come back, acting all
cave man and we have too much going on at the moment."
I nodded my head understanding what he was asking although I knew that Spike
would be pissed off with me when he returned.
I turned to the sound of the children's bedroom door opening and saw Amy poke
her head out, "The children want to know if they can come and see
you?" Amy asked.
I nodded my head and Amy pushed the door slightly so that the children could
make their way into the living room and gingerly sat on my lap allowing me to
cuddle them.
"If you're okay Louise I'm gonna make a move, I've got a lot to sort out
for the party tomorrow."
"That's fine Amy, I'll be okay Diesel's going to stay."
Amy said her goodbyes and thanked Diesel for coming over, and left closing the
door behind her.

"Can I get you a drink?"
"Louise, don't worry about me. Go about your normal routine and try to
forget that I'm here." He pulled out his phone and started to text
someone.
I smiled and took the children into the bathroom to get them cleaned up. It was
too late now to give them a bath but I gave them a wash down instead making
sure that they had also brushed their teeth trying to keep the situation as
calm as possible and follow the same routines.

After putting the children to bed, I walked into the living
room and saw that there were two cups of piping hot tea on the table in the
middle of the room.
"I couldn't find coffee or sugar so I assumed that's how you took
it." He said pointing to the mug closest to me on the table.
I picked up the mug grateful for the hot drink, "Thank you." I took a
sip and relaxed into the arm chair letting out a long sigh.
Diesel leaned forward to put his phone on the table before picking up his mug,
"How are things going with Spike?"
I looked at him surprised that he would ask such a thing, "Fine, why has
he said otherwise to you?" I asked panicked that Diesel may have some inside
information.
"No, on the contrary. I've seen the way you look at each other, how he is
with the kids and how you interacted at the club house today but you've gotta
see it from my point of view. You're gonna be vulnerable Louise, that's the
nature of the beast considering your circumstances but I don't want you
settling for Spike just because he can offer you security. He's had too much
shit in his life to be fucked about and I just wanna make sure you're in it for
the long haul."

Whoa! Where the hell did that come from? I understood his
motives, he was only looking out for his cousin and I could see how he may have
come to that conclusion but even so, did he need to be so direct?
"Spike has also become fond of the children, we all have but because of his
fucked up childhood I know it will break his heart if you walk away. I'm not
putting a guilt trip on you Louise, what I want you to do is think about this
long and hard. If there's a slight possibility of you not wanting to start a
relationship with him, I want you to walk away before he gets in too
deep."

I didn't know what to say to him, he didn't beat around the
bush and gave it to me straight. I was taken aback by his comments and he must
have seen the shock on my face but he continued.
"If you want to get away from here, this is the perfect time to do so
whilst he's away. I'll get my car, we can load up the kids and I will take you
anywhere you want to go."
Diesel reached into his pocket and pulled out a large envelope, placing it onto
the table in front of me. "There's five grand there, you can take that and
start a new life for you and the kids. Once you're settled, I'll give you
another five grand to keep you going." He sat back on the sofa making
himself comfortable.
I was gobsmacked and had to take a minute to digest what he'd just said. I
stood and furiously paced around the living room trying to keep the noise down
as I didn't want to wake the children.
"How fucking dare you come into my home and talk to me like this." I
don't know where my courage had come from but I was sick of people especially
men telling me what I should do and how I should feel.
"I don't care who you think you are but you don't scare me. I've endured
things in my short lifetime that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy and
there's nothing that you can say or do to hurt me even more."
I stopped pacing and stood with my hands on my hips directly in front of him,
"Not that it's any of your business but my feelings for Spike run deep, he
means the world to me and I am grateful that he took pity on me that day at the
cafe because it gave me the opportunity to spend time with him and find out
just what a wonderful person he is." I reached for the envelope on the
table and threw it at him, "Now you can take your money and piss off out
of my home. I'd rather take my chances with Liam than sit here and look at your
face again." By the time I had finished my rant, I was shaking and braced
myself in case things turned nasty.

He stood and placed the money into his pocket as he looked
at me with an unreadable expression. I was still breathing heavily but I stared
at him as he made his way to the front door. He turned towards me and smiled,
"Thank you." He said quietly before leaving the apartment.

Thank you! What was he possibly thankful for after I just
told him to piss off?

Duke

"Right let's hurry up and get seated, we've got a lot
to go through this afternoon." I rolled my eyes as they casually strolled
in making sure their phones were turned off and handed them to Ramsey who stood
at the door with the box to put them in to.
Stoney was the last to arrive and closed the double doors behind him as he
looked around the room for a chair.
"Obviously today is a special day. Skinner is going to be President of the
Kent charter but we're not bothered about him as he'll have a fucking huge
party with his new family next weekend." Skinner stood and bowed. I'd
known Skinner for years and had met with him last night regarding his new role.
He was loyal to the club and I knew that the Kent charter would be in good
hands. He was aware of the direction that the club was heading in and he was in
agreement that it was the best thing for the club to have longevity.
"Everyone in this room has been in Tyler's situation and we promise to make
it a very special day and evening." I gave him a wink knowing that we had
the strippers coming over from the Bird Cage and Liquid later on this evening.
Liquid was the strip club the guys ran at the Norfolk charter and they were
coming down for this evening's festivities.
"So first things first, it is customary for the new patched member to receive
his road name. Now, when we decided that Tyler should be patched we racked our
brains for a suitable name and Hound happily shared some childhood memories. We
voted last night and your new road name is...'Whippet!'"
The guys clapped and cheered as Tyler stood and gave a bow.
"Now you can obviously shorten this to 'Whip' but when your pulling the
ladies, make sure you tell them your name is in reference, to the fact that you
can run fast rather than your antics in the bedroom, you don't want to scare
them off!"
I held up his new cut and Whip slowly walked around the table to the continued
whoops and cheers from the group.
"Before I give this to you, I just want to say a few words. Tyler has only
been with us a few years as a prospect but during that time he has shown us how
dedicated he is to the club and in my opinion he has been the best Prospect we've
had in the club for a very long time." Tyler stood humbled by my words and
I stretched out my arm to hold him around the back of his neck. "I hold
him in high regard and to be honest I see a little of myself in him, although I
can assure you Hound that I've never been anywhere near Maggie!" The group
broke out into fits of laughter.
I patted Tyler on the back and held open his new leather cut to help him put it
on.
"Speech!" The group shouted as they drummed their fists on the table.

Tyler stood in front of his brothers and I could see that he
looked emotional. As I glanced around the group I saw an array of emotions from
the brothers who were probably thinking about the time that they each were
patched into the club.
Tyler cleared his throat and pushed back his shoulders, "I just want to
start by saying thank you. All I have ever wanted to do is to become a patched
member of this club. I've seen the highs and the lows over the years because of
my dad's involvement but this only made me want to be a part of the club even
more. But most importantly and I'm sorry dad, Duke has been my inspiration to
work hard, knuckle down and prove myself. I hope I've done you proud and don't
want to ever let you down."
Fucking hell, I nearly welled up at his words. This kid had shown so much
potential over the years and that's why I wanted him to go to Kent, not to get
rid of him but for Whip to become his own person. I gave him a manly hug,
patting him on the back and as he walked off I quickly grabbed his arm.
"It isn't over yet Whip," he looked at me confused. "As we are
all aware, Skinner is the new President of the Kent charter but he will
obviously need some assistance down there. I want you to go with him and be
that support. I'm not saying that you'll be VP, only Skinner can decide in time
who he wants by his side but I want you to go down there and show us what
you're made of."
This time Whip welled up and brought me into a not so manly hug so that he
could show me his gratitude. The rest of the guys stood to show their acceptance
of Whip to the group and as I pulled away he wiped his tears. I quickly brought
him in closer so I could kiss his forehead.
"Now go and sit down before you ruin my street cred." I said quietly in
his ear as he gave me a small smile.

"Now we have something as equally big to discuss.
Because we're losing Skinner and Whip for the foreseeable future and Bear for
at least two months, we are gonna be short on numbers. I spoke to Flick at the
Norfolk charter and he said that he can spare Recon and Lyric for a couple of
months. Now I know this is a big deal, inviting brothers from another charter
here but I can personally vouch for Recon, he has been a friend for years and I
would happily have him by my side. For those of you that have been with the
club for over five years, you will know him as he was one of us before leaving
for Norfolk and he would be a good addition to strengthen the group." I
looked around the table to see the guys nodding in agreement and felt relieved.

"Now, we all know that Lyric has had beef with CJ
before and Woods may be upset that he'll lose his crown of being the best
looking brother," the group laughed as Woods stuck up his middle finger.
"But all jokes aside this vote has to be unanimous." I glanced at CJ
as he rubbed the back of his neck staring at me clearly pissed off.

"All in favour of Recon joining say yeah," I
looked around the room nodding my head as everyone was in favour of him
joining. "Excellent, now all in favour of Lyric joining say yeah,"
again I looked around the room as one by one the guys said yeah until I came to
CJ.
Lyric was a smart arse, a cocky little bastard but loyal to the core and hadn't
caused the club any bother in the time that he'd been with us. The problem I
had, was trying to convince CJ as they both had history. I remember the last
fight they had which was brutal and they both ended up being hospitalised. It
resulted in me losing a shit load of money as it was a draw because they'd both
beaten the shit out of each other and couldn't continue.
"Skip me and go around the rest of the group first." CJ stated as he
crossed his arms clearly annoyed.
I didn't say anything, I just continued to go around the rest of the group and
everyone was in favour. I took a deep breath and went back to CJ, "What do
you think?"
"You do know I'm fighting his brother in a couple of months!"
I nodded my head, I'd done my homework. Bare knuckle boxing was a vicious sport
but I couldn't stop him doing that as much as I couldn't stop Woods from playing
football or Hound enjoying an occasional game of snooker.
"I can promise to behave myself but if he fucking starts, I won't hold
back and let him get away with it."
CJ was a fucking hard bastard and I could feel the rage radiating off him as he
sat in front of me. I knew it was a lot to ask but we needed numbers and these
guys were the only two to volunteer.
"If he causes any shit CJ he's out plain and simple." I stated
showing my support. CJ had shown his worth during the time he'd been at the club.
He was ex-army and his communications and surveillance experience was
invaluable to the club.
He nodded his head, "Yeah!" Then stood and stalked out of the room.
It wasn't the correct protocol to leave during church but I understood that he
needed space and I wasn't about to pull him on his shit.
"I'll go talk to him!" Justice said as he stood and left the room.
"The last thing on the agenda is Locke. Has he made contact with any of
you since Thursday evening?" I asked as I looked around the room, he was
still AWOL and I was getting concerned. I had my issues with him and everyone
was now well aware but I didn't want him to think he couldn't come home. We
needed to find him but I had decided to leave it until Monday before I sent out
another search party although we were still low on numbers.
"If there isn't anything else you can all go and enjoy the party." I
brought down the gavel indicating that this meeting was now over.

I stood and stretched as my back was still hurting from the
accident.
"You alright Duke?"
I turned to see that Diesel had stayed behind and was still sitting down in his
chair, "Yeah I'm okay, a little sore but I'll live. What's on your
mind?" I asked as I sat next to him.
Diesel took the envelope from his pocket and pushed it along the table. I
lifted my eyebrows surprised that he still had the money and stroked my chin
thoughtfully.
"How did it go?" I asked bemused.
Diesel laughed, "In so many words she told me that she didn't care who I
was because I didn't scare her, the feelings she has for Spike run deep and to
piss off out of her home."
His comment made me snigger, "Not scary, are you losing your touch?"
"Ha-ha. Well I think we can safely say that she's not cocking him about
which is great, he deserves to find someone that will make him happy." I
nodded my head in agreement to his statement.
"I agree but I'll leave it to you to explain to Spike why we did it!"

The party was now in full swing and some of the Kent charter
had arrived early to start off the celebrations, eager to have a good time
before they left tomorrow to ride down with Skinner, Whip and Bear. I was
expecting some resistance from the Kent guys but when I met with them they
understood that I needed to do it because of the threat made to my life. I had
also explained that if anyone had any problems with the way I was running the
club they were free to leave which surprisingly they all declined. I think they
were actually looking forward to the new leadership and the direction Skinner
was going to take them in.

"Should you be drinking?" Taylor asked as she
pointed to my glass.
"Don't get your panties in a twist, it's only coke. I didn't fancy my
chances drinking alcohol while taking strong pain killers."
The familiar rumble indicated that more of our guests had arrived, I counted around
fifteen motorcycles pull into the yard jostling for position in the now limited
space.
I saw Flick first as he was a portly bloke in comparison to the other guys, he
removed his helmet and placed it onto the handle bars of his motorcycle. He
raised his hands above his head and stretched moving his shoulders in a
circular motion to loosen up.
I walked over to the other side of the yard to greet him, "Flick!" I
said extending my hand towards him.
He dismounted his motorcycle, "Duke, how you doing?"
I smiled, "I'm fine, it will take a lot more than that to finish me
off!"
"I'm glad to hear it, now where can I get a drink?"
I directed him into the club house slowly followed by the rest of the guys. We
usually allowed the children to stay until six but the guys liked to party hard
and I didn't want them around, so I'd instructed all minors to leave a little
earlier today, that way the real party could start early.

"Duke!" I turned to see Recon stomping over in my
direction with his arms held out wide to embrace me in a hug. I hadn't seen him
for a while as I'd been busy with the drug runs but he was one of those friends
that you didn't need to speak to all of the time in order to know that he was a
friend. He was a nutter, in every sense of the word. He liked to work hard and
play even harder especially with the good looking ladies.
"Are you sure about moving here? I didn't think it was your scene anymore?"
"Yeah, I need a change of scenery and pussy!" Recon looked around the
room smiling like a child in a sweet shop. "How's Amy doing?" he
asked raising his eyebrows animatedly.
"Just fine, so you can take that look off your face." I said bluntly
not wanting to discuss her further. "Are you sure it's just pussy you
want, you're not getting any younger mate!"
"Fuck off, just because you've claimed a bird doesn't mean I have
to." Recon continued to look around the room, "Who can you
recommend?"
"Depends what you're into?"
"Everything!"
I caught Georgia's and Rio's attention and indicated for them to come over with
a nod.
"I want you to take special care of my dear friend, and give him anything
he wants!"
The ladies giggled as Recon placed his arm around both women as they led him
down the corridor to one of the back rooms.

I glanced around the club house to see everyone in high
spirits. I was pleased how the club had pulled together, what with the huge
adjustment of adapting to life without crime, to the death of Jimmy and the kidnapping
of Ink. We had all coped with a lot over recent weeks and I was pleased that we
now had a genuine reason to celebrate.
I was going to miss Skinner and Whip but things had to evolve in order to stay
on top and I was pleased as I had now successfully placed my own pawns within
every charter.
Lennox was an Essex boy originally but he had moved to the Norfolk charter
three years ago. He was my insider and kept me informed of any issues that I
should know about, I also had Praise in Suffolk and now I had Whip in the Kent
charter. Being at the top you needed allies or you wouldn't be at the top for
very long.

The alcohol was flowing and I was trying to keep a clear
head so I took myself outside into the yard where the old ladies usually
congregate during such an event away from the fucking and drinking. I preferred
it that way. Ink was happy to wear her branded leather as was Maggie which told
everyone that they were off limits but Taylor didn't want to which I respected,
although I had asked her to get a tattoo. She was slowly coming around to our
way of life, we still had a long way to go but she was willing to try and I was
more than willing to show her especially now that I had a baby on the way,
which warmed my heart.

"I'm glad you didn't die!" I turned to see Diesel
leaning on the wall outside the club house holding a bottle of jack. He raised
it slightly, "Cheers!"
"Prick!"
Diesel sniggered, "I wouldn't want all of this responsibility for all the
money in the world! I'm happy to be your VP forever."
"How much have you drunk?"
Diesel shrugged and swigged from his bottle of jack.
"Well, our lives should become a little easier now with only legitimate
businesses to worry about. The new club will be up and running in a couple of
weeks once the location is confirmed and the paper work has been completed. Things
are still gonna be a little tough financially but they'll be better in the long
run." Diesel nodded his head although his expression a little glazed.
"And I suppose with Rev and Bishop gone it will ease some of the
burden?"
I smiled and snatched the bottle from Diesel's hand, taking a big swig despite
the pain killers I had taken, "I'll fucking drink to that!"