Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) (22 page)

After a long silence Ink sat up and rubbed her stomach with
a grimace on her face.
"What's up babe?" I asked concerned.
"I've not been feeling well lately and now I've got a stomach ache. I just
think I'm still a little run down from the whole 'Hawke and Patch' thing. My
cast hopefully comes off next week and I may take a holiday in the sun, I think
I've earned it."
"With or without Diesel?" I asked with humour in my voice.
She snorted, "Depends if he's sorted his shit out, I don't think I could
handle him mourn his ex-wife. At this rate it will be with the girls, we could
possibly visit Savannah in Paris."
"The only person you're ever going away with is me!"
Ink and I turned to see a dishevelled Diesel swaying back and forth with his
hands in his pocket, his jaw was locked and he was staring hard at Ink. She
ignored his comment and turned her head so that she was looking in the other
direction.
It was my time to leave them to it, I stood and patted Diesel on the shoulder
before I made my way through the yard towards the club house. Before I went in,
I glanced in their direction to see that Diesel was holding Ink in his embrace
stroking her head as he was talking to her, hopefully explaining his reasons
for running to Amber's aid.

I entered the club house to see that the guys were getting
ready. The guys from the Norfolk charter had already left this morning and we
were just waiting for everyone to meet after being put up in various rooms or
just crashed where they fell last night in various stages of intoxication. The
club house was now looking fairly tidy but would need a proper clean once our
visitors had gone and I noticed Ash, Ames and Maggie taking the last of the
black bags out of the side door.
Duke, Recon and Bear were sitting at the bar going over last minute details.
"I'm only a phone call away if you need anything." Bear said as he
collected two large rucksacks from the floor.
"I'm gonna miss you man." Duke stated as he stood from his stool and
patted Bear on the back.
We were all going to miss the guys, they all brought something different to the
club and their absence would leave a gaping hole.

Skinner strolled into the bar stretching with a big smile on
his face.
"Good night?" I asked with a smirk.
He nodded his head, "It was a fucking good night but now I'm ready to go."
Skinner walked over to give me a brief hug before indicating to Buster to pick
up his bags from the floor.
Duke laughed, "Get your own fucking prospects!"
"You're no fun, just let me use him one last time."

We strolled out into the yard and loaded the van with the
last of the guys belonging.
Whip joined us, "Keep me up to date with everything and if you need me to
come back just let me know." Hound nodded and I could see his internal
struggle.
He had one child in hospital, one heartbroken and the other about to fly the
nest without even mentioning Jayden. The man looked broken but I was pleased
that he had Cade by his side, he was shaping up to be a good hang around and I
wondered if he may become a prospect eventually and act as a surrogate son
while Hounds kids were all sorting their lives out.
We waved our goodbyes as the group left the yard, "Church now!" Duke
shouted as he stalked back towards the club house.

Duke

"I want details, what do we fucking know?" I paced
the room back and forth as the guys looked at each other confused by my
actions. I had instructed Justice to cover the wall with paper and he had a
board marker in his hand ready to write down all the information discussed.
"Any news on the van CJ?"
He shook his head, "False plates so no further leads at the moment."
I suspected just as much and knew that this would be a dead end for our lines
of enquiries.
"Well Amber's dead so she can't give us any fucking information and she
was naked so she had nothing on her that could be incriminating." I
stopped pacing to see if Justice had got everything down. "What else has
happened recently, shout it out."
"Fire at the salon." Hound stated.
"Brick through the window at the gym." CJ said with anger in his
voice.
I nodded my head at their responses, "Don't forget about the altercation
with Tyreese."
"Yeah but that won't have anything to do with the other stuff
surely?" Rex asked.
"Don't be so sure, now keep going."
"Well you gotta mention Angel's stalker, the kidnapping of Ink and the
death of Jimmy also." Spike said looking at Justice as he wrote this all
down.
"And Duke being knocked off his bike!" Woods spoke up.
"That's a fucking lot of coincidences over a six week period," I said
as the group observed the list. "Now let's start thinking about if there
is a pattern and whether we can think of anyone that may have a grudge against
the club."
"There's no pattern there, it's just directed at the club." Hound
said resting his arms on the table.
"I agree so let's think of who may hold a grudge." I stated looking
around the group.
"Tyreese or Louise's husband," Hound shouted.
"O'Neil," Spike stated with venom in his voice to a round of chuckles
from the guys.
Spike had been hauled in last week for having a shit attack at O'Neil which we
all found amusing as Spike was the least likely club member to lose his shit.
"Rev!"
We all turned to stare at Lyric as he munched on an apple oblivious to the eyes
on him until he looked up. He shrugged, "Well, has anyone seen his body?
Or are we all taking crack pot Locke's word for it?" Lyric casually took
another bite from his apple.
"Watch your fucking mouth Lyric, you're out of line!" CJ jumped in
quickly to defend his friend.
Lyric was right we hadn't seen a body, we had just taken Locke's word for it
but I didn't have any reason to distrust him although I was still confused as
to why he hadn't come home.
Lyric raised his arms and shrugged again, "Just calling a spade a spade
but come to think of it, you may as well add Locke to the list."
At a blink of an eye, CJ jumped out of his chair and flew across the table
knocking Lyric over with the force. They grappled on the floor before I had
even realised what had actually happened. Fists flew and CJ looked to be
getting the upper hand before Rex pulled him off and Woods stood between them
to stop any more bloodshed.

"Fucking cut it out you two. I don't have time for this
shit right now but if you wanna do this, it will be in a controlled environment
so that I can watch with a beer in my hand." Diesel stated as he walked
through the door.
I knew he would be late as he had to smooth things over with Ink regarding
Amber and the mood he was in, I didn't know if it was good news or not?
"Flex!"
"No fucking way Diesel." I said with shock evident in my voice.
"Don't rule it out man, put him on the fucking list." He said
forcefully as Justice did as he was told. "And why isn't Amber on there?
She was fucking murdered by some arsehole because of her links to the club, the
least she deserves is to be on your mother fucking list!"
I glanced at him, "Do you know something you're not telling?"
"Whoever it is went for the easy options originally, Ink, Ash, Louise and
now Amber because our women are easier to get to. Now, I fucking hated Amber as
much as the rest of you, probably more because of Shaun. I'd even wished her
dead myself over the years but she didn't deserve to die at the hands of
someone else because of her involvement in the club. They've gotten braver
recently with the attack on you but I can't see them stopping until they finish
what they've set out to do."
"And that is?" I asked impatiently.
"I wish I knew!"

Duke

We had an afternoon of thrashing out possibilities yesterday
but we were still no further to the truth of finding out who was responsible
for the recent attacks and the death of Amber. Everything we considered was
coincidental and there was no proof to decide one way or the other. I didn't
have the man power to put our main suspects under surveillance or the funds to
source an outside agency. I let out a sigh as I rubbed my face agitated as I
didn't know what to do.
"You okay?" Spike asked sitting beside me on the bench.
I simply nodded picking up my can to take a swig as Spike's eyes narrowed with
concern.
"We're just gonna grab some lunch. Do you want anything?" Hound asked
shouting across the yard with Cade by his side.
I glanced at Spike shaking his head. "Nah we're good thanks Hound," I
shouted back as they walked out of the yard.
"How's Cade shaping up?"
"He's working out great, he's a fucking good mechanic considering he's so
young. He even knows his way around a bike."
Spike nodded his head and glanced around the yard taking off his sun glasses,
"Where's Diesel?"
"Sorting out paperwork..." We both turned to the sound of screeching
tyres and a blast of a siren as four police cars and a meat wagon pulled into
the yard at speed.
"What the fucking hell is going on now?" We stood in unison pushing
the table forward and stalked over to the plain clothes police man getting out
of the car. "Can I help you?" I asked my annoyance evident in my
voice.
"Are you Mitchell Groves?" He asked calmly.
"Yeah, what do you want?"
"I have a warrant to search your premises." He held up the paper work
to show me the warrant. "How many people are on the site?"
Now that Cade and Hound had left there were only six of us here and hopefully
they were hiding our guns in the relevant places. "Six in total. Do you
want me to get them?" I asked calmly knowing full well I wouldn't be
allowed.
"No, sit on the benches over there and give your phones to O'Neil while we
do our investigation."
I heard Spike groan at the mention of O'Neil's name which made me snigger.
O'Neil hated Spike even more than he hated the Aces and I just hoped that he
would try and keep it together to avoid another evening in the cells.

"Get your fucking hands off me, I'm moving as fast as I
can." I turned quickly to see Diesel being frogmarched out of the garage
by a burly middle aged officer that stood a couple of inches taller than
Diesel.
"Sit at separate tables, I don't want you communicating with each
other." O'Neil spat as he swaggered towards us looking pleased with
himself. "Well boys, let's hope you haven't got any narcotics especially
you Connor otherwise you'll be locked up faster than you can say 'Setup!'"
He laughed at his own joke as we glanced at each other bemused by the fucking
head case in front of us. I caught Diesel's eye as he winked quickly indicating
that he had hidden our weapons and I was just hoping that Woods had time to do
the same in the club house.
"O'Neil, I know you've taken a personal interest in the club but I would
just like to say that you won't find any narcotics here. We are a group of men
that love to ride and enjoy the simple things in life hence starting a small motorcycle
club where we can bond and talk about our mutual respect for motorcycles."
I smiled as I saw the heat rise through his body resulting in him turning a
bright shade of red, "Are you okay? Would you like me to get you a drink
of water?" I asked sarcastically.
"Stick your mother fucking drink up your arse, I know what you're trying
to do." O'Neil wagged his finger at us as I played dumb to his statement
by shrugging slightly. "You won't fool me, I know you're up to something.
I just need to prove it."
He stalked off in the direction of the club house like he had a cock shoved up
his arse.
"Prick!" I mumbled to the giggles of Diesel and Spike.

An hour had now passed and the six of us had been positioned
on various benches outside the garage with two officers keeping watch, to make
sure that we weren't communicating. We had now been cuffed as we were
considered dangerous due to the multiple previous offences. The cuffs were
digging into my skin and I was getting annoyed by how long they were taking and
the business I was losing while sitting here.
I was aware of each of our phones bleeping indicating that we were being
messaged and could see the frustration build on Spike's face the longer he was
sitting here.
Hound and Cade hadn't returned, they must have seen the commotion and had decided
to stay away until it was clear. I knew Hound would've contacted all other club
members to make them aware of the situation, which hopefully meant the other
businesses were still functional unless they had been swooped on also.

"How much fucking longer, I need to pick the kids up
from school?" Spike shouted at the small group of officers that had now congregated
in the middle of the yard. A few of them glanced our way before continuing with
their conversation clearly ignoring his pleas.
"Do you need to pick them up?" I asked concerned.
He shook his head, "I was going with Angel to collect them today."
Spike said with a bright smile.
I was pleased that he had met someone who made him happy and I was also
grateful that Louise hadn't told him what we had offered her. In time, I would
explain why we had to do it and hopefully she would accept my apology but the
fact that she could keep secrets would in turn help her to become an excellent
old lady, if that's what Spike's intentions were for her which I'm sure they
were.

Our phone's continued to bleep and ring and I was now
concerned that something serious had taken place for there to be so much
activity on the mobile's especially between myself, Diesel and Spike.
"You may as well get comfortable boys, you're gonna be here for a while."
O'Neil snarled.
 

Louise

"Shit!" How the bloody hell did I get a flat tyre.
I kicked the wheel out of frustration and ran my hands through my hair while I
decided what to do.
I felt someone behind me, "What's up Louise?" I turned to see Ramsey
hovering and looked down at the wheel so that he could see my predicament.
"Sorry, I didn't notice that earlier when I checked the vehicle." He
said clearly puzzled.
"Don't beat yourself up, I'll just have to think of something." I contemplated
what to do next but decided that I should give Spike a quick call. He would be
annoyed if I didn't tell him what I was doing. I dialled his number quickly and
listened to it ring several times before it went to answer phone. "Hi
Spike, it's Louise. I've got a flat tyre on the Jeep so I'm going to call a taxi
to take me to the school. Nothing to worry about I just wanted to keep you
informed."

I used the internet on my mobile to quickly find a taxi
company and called them asking to be picked up as soon as possible.
I saw Ramsey frown, "You don't have to get a taxi, I can have this changed
in ten possibly fifteen minutes." Ramsey said as he took the keys from my
hand and walked to the rear of the vehicle.
"The taxi will be here sooner than you can change the tyre and I don't
want to be late." Ramsey went to close the boot, "No please continue
to change it." I said walking closer to where he was standing. "I
don't need you to come to the school with me. I'll ask the taxi driver to wait
while I collect the children and then we can get a lift straight back here, by
that time you would've finished." I smiled brightly letting him know that
everything would be okay.
"I don't know Louise. I got in trouble a couple of weeks back when I
didn't listen to direct orders from Duke. I don't want to fuck up again!"
He stated as he tucked his hands in his pockets.
"What harm could possibly come to me? Please don't worry, I'll be
fine." I touched his upper arm and squeezed lightly giving him
reassurance. 
"Promise me that you'll get the kids and come straight back here." I
used my finger to mimic a cross over my heart, "Oh go on then but don't be
long."
I noticed the blue Ford pull up in front of the Jeep, "That's for me
Ramsey." I said as I walked towards the vehicle giving him a simple wave before
sliding into the comfortable seat.

Arriving outside the school, I noticed the usually hustle
and bustle of the parents jostling to stand in the correct position in the
playground so that they could collect their child first. I usually hung back until
the teacher brought the children into the playground, letting them leave the
line one by one as the teacher recognised the parents.
"Are you okay to wait here while I pick the children up and then take us
back? I'll obviously pay you extra for waiting."
The taxi driver didn't say anything audible and nodded his head which I took as
a yes. Opening the car door, I noticed a chill in the air and drew my cardigan
closer as I shivered. I still didn't own a coat and made a mental note of
purchasing one soon as the weather was starting to change as we were now in
October. By the time I strolled into the playground after hanging back a little
to miss the exodus there were only a few children left but I couldn't see the
twins. My heart started to accelerate but I tried to breathe slowly knowing
that there would be a reasonable explanation. Maybe they were kept behind as
the teacher wanted to talk to me or they had forgotten something and had to go
back inside. I neared the teacher and her brow furrowed as she registered me.
"Mrs Walker, is everything okay?" Mrs Williams asked as she stepped
closer.
I frowned, "Where are the twins?" I asked looking around the
playground a little confused by her manner.
"Your brother picked them up around one o'clock this afternoon for their
dentist appointment." She glanced at me with a small smile as she shook
her head slightly obviously thinking that I had forgotten.
I stood still as the rush of blood filled my head, "I don't have a
brother, I'm an only child!" I screamed.
I saw the colour drain from Mrs Williams' face as she turned and quickly ran
into the school. I followed her as she burst into the reception area to alert
the office staff and the Headteacher.
"Get me the paperwork quickly!" Mr Hammond said as he jogged into the
reception area guiding me to the leather chairs and gesturing for me to sit
down. "Mrs Walker, the man who turned up had the parent consent form that
we sent home with the children last week. He brought it in this morning and
said that he would need to take the children out this afternoon as they had a
dentist appointment."
As he said the words 'dentist appointment' I knew exactly who had the children
and my worst fears had now been confirmed.
The school receptionist handed him the form, "Look, it states here that he
is the second person to contact in an emergency and you have signed the form.
He even gave the correct password when he collected the children this
afternoon."
I tried to speak but the words just didn't come out.
What was I going to do?
I stood and paced the reception area. There was no point sitting feeling sorry
for myself, I needed to act fast and get the children back.
"I have never seen that fucking form before in my life. My abusive husband
has taken my children and I need to get them back before he hurts them. Have
you contacted the fucking police?" I wasn't one to swear but the staff
weren't dealing with this situation well. They wanted to show me things to
prove that they weren't responsible for the disappearance of my children but
that wasn't helping. My babies were missing and I needed to find them.
"Yes, they're on their way."
I nodded and pulled my mobile from my pocket, I quickly dialled Spike but he
still didn't answer which was strange.
Where the fuck was he?
"Spike, Liam has the kids. I need you to help me find them, please give me
a call back when you get this message." I said frantically into the phone.
Think Louise, think! I continued to pace the reception area under the watchful
eye of the Headteacher, I needed to make contact with the club but had limited access
to numbers. Maggie!

"Hi Louise, how you doing?" Maggie asked.
"Maggie I need to get hold of Spike but he's not answering his phone. Do
you know where he is?"
There was a slight pause, "Erm...things are a little complicated. What's
up Louise?"
Complicated? A hard lump formed in my throat and for the first time in a month
I felt like an outsider. I thought that I had been accepted but those five
simple words confirmed I couldn't be much further from the truth.
"Oh don't worry Maggie, everything's fine." I said in a small voice
as the tears pricked my eyes. I hung up and held the phone firmly in my hand as
I thought of what to do next.

"Excuse me miss, do you still need the taxi?" The
middle aged portly man asked as he removed his hat to scratch his balding head.
I shook my head, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, no I don't need it
anymore." I reached into my pocket and brought out a couple of notes,
"Hopefully that will cover the fare." He nodded and turned to leave
the reception area. "Oh hold up!" I said trying to get his attention.
"My kids have been taken by my husband, we're just waiting for the police
to arrive. Do you think you could put his registration number out over your
radio to ask the drivers to look out for his car?" I asked breathlessly
trying to get all of the words out as quickly as possible.
"Why can't your husband see the kids?" he asked looking at me
questioningly.
I drew my shoulders back to muster the courage to speak the unspeakable,
"We left him because he was violent towards us!"
The taxi driver nodded his head and stepped forward to place the money I had
given him back into the palm of my hand. "Give me his registration and
your mobile number, and leave it with me."
"Thank you." I sobbed as he squeezed my hand.
The flashing lights of two police cars caught my attention as they pulled up
outside the school.
Bob, the taxi driver said his goodbyes and promised that he would let all of
the local taxi drivers know which I was grateful for.