Spike (Aces MC Series Book 3) (9 page)

Hound

The garage was now like Fort Knox, with an array of
different locks and a new alarm system. Duke had shown us the CCTV footage
after we'd finished work last night and we were shocked to see that the
intruder had actually been inside the building. Strange as it sounds, we
witnessed someone open the door from inside which obviously meant they had
Duke's keys but why would they do that? How had they got into the building in
the first place and were they planning on coming back? The situation was weird
to say the least but at this stage we all still thought it was kids cocking
around but it proved that we needed to tighten security or just stop Duke from
getting pissed and losing his keys.

I opened the external door to the garage and went about my
morning routine of opening the shutters and listened to the messages on the
answer phone when I heard snoring coming from Diesel's office. I pushed the
chair back and stood, quietly making my way over to the office door that was
ajar. Peering into the room I saw a boy in his late teens curled up in the
chair in the corner of the room. He didn't look to be much of a threat but I
didn't want to take any chances and pulled my blade from its holster,
proceeding with caution towards the sleeping teenager.
I cleared my throat but the boy didn't stir, he must have been knackered but
was also fucking stupid to have been caught here. He was lucky it was me to
find him rather than Duke or Diesel as they would've had his balls on a plate.
I cleared my throat again and this time I did wake him and saw the panic in his
dark eyes as he franticly looked around the room looking for a way out as he
grabbed for the spanner that had just fallen from his lap. I quickly kicked it
out of reach and it skidded across the floor disappearing under the desk.
The young boy stood and clenched his fists ready to fight. He was a good build
although a little undernourished and I quickly noticed the lacerations on his
neck and the dark circles under his eyes. He was obviously sleeping rough by
the stench and that would tie in with the food that was taken from the fridge
yesterday.

"Calm down I'm not gonna hurt you." I said quickly
to try and pacify the agitated young man, he didn't look like he was on drugs
but I didn't want to take any chances and antagonise him further. I didn't want
to fight him, I was getting too old for all that shit and someone with nothing
to lose could be a real danger.
"I'll keep my distance all the same, I know what old fuckers like you want
from young boys."
His statement made me snigger, here we were ready to grapple in the office and
he was accusing me of being a predator to young men.
"Less of the old you cheeky fucker."
Now it was his turn to snigger, "But you didn't deny wanting something
from young boys!" He stated dryly as he frowned.
He was clearly relaxing by the banter, "Only at the weekends so you're
lucky it's Friday, now sit down so we can have a chat."
He looked uneasy and continued to look around the office for a way out.
"I'll sit at the desk, not blocking your exit and you're free to go
whenever you want but I think you owe me an explanation, don't you?" I
stated as I walked over to sit at Diesel's desk.
The young boy nodded and perched himself on the edge of the sofa that I had caught
him sleeping on earlier.
"I want you to answer three questions. Who are you, where are you from and
what do you want?" I could see the internal struggle as he contemplated
what to tell me but I was hoping that he'd realise just how much trouble he was
in and tell me the truth. I leaned on the desk resting my chin on my steepled
fingers, waiting for him to respond.
He let out a loud sigh, "My name is Robert, I'm from Manchester and I was
hungry so I broke in. I'm sorry and it won't happen again." He stood as if
now that he'd answered my questions he could simply leave.
"Easy tiger, take a seat. Do you really think that I'm that
gullible?"
"You said three questions!"
"And I want them answered truthfully. Look, you're fucking lucky it was me
that found you this morning. Now I want to know who you are, where you're from
and what you fucking want? But this time you'll answer truthfully!" I said
this with a little more force and his eyes widened slightly.
The young boy rubbed the stubble around his chin and looked at the floor,
"My name is Cade, I'm originally from Southampton and I broke in here
because I was hungry."
I nodded my head and took in what he'd just said, "What I'm finding hard
to believe
Cade
is that you broke in here because you were hungry."
I paused and assessed him, "Because if I were hungry, I would've broken
into a supermarket or a convenience store."
Cade didn't make eye contact and shuffled uncomfortably, "You've been
hanging around here for a while now and I'm assuming you're very good at making
yourself invisible if required to do so. So my next question to you is, why
have you allowed me to notice you?" I sat back in the chair and could see him
mull over what I'd just asked.
"You said three questions."
"And I've just changed the rules of the game!"
He huffed, "I didn't mean for you to find me today, I fell asleep and let
my guard down which I'm annoyed about." Cade stood and paced around the
room agitated.
"I'm not talking about today, I've noticed you out in the street hanging
around."
He glanced at me before looking at the floor again as his demeanour changed
slightly and he looked almost vulnerable, "I wanted..."
"Hound, you in there man?" Duke shouted from the garage.
I shot up out of the chair and made my way around the desk as Cade bolted into
the bathroom.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna take a slash, I'll be out in a minute." I
stalked into the bathroom to see Cade squeezing through the window, he winked
and threw me two bunches of keys. I examined them quickly and noticed that
there was an old and new set to the garage.
"How the fuck did you get these?" I asked genuinely intrigued.
Cade smiled and slithered further out of the window, "I nearly forgot, the
third injector on the Chevrolet was broken."
I looked at him confused, "Bullshit! They're brand new."
"It was the rubber seal, it's working now." He winked at me before
disappearing.
What the fuck!

I quickly gathered my thoughts and walked into the garage as
Duke was getting out of the Chevrolet. "Nice one Hound, what was it in the
end?"
"The rubber seal around one of the injectors," I said calmly not even
believing it myself.
"Mother fucker, that had us all stumped. Get it priced up and call Lucy to
come and collect it."
I nodded still dumbfounded about what had happened this morning.
Cade had intrigued me and I planned to run into him again soon, to find out
exactly what he wanted.

Louise

"Hi Amy, I hope you don't mind us coming here this
morning?" I asked as I led the twins to the seating area at the back of
the cafe so we were out of the way.
"Of course not, how you doing?" she asked walking around the counter
to come and give me a hug.
"We're good." I glanced at the twins as they removed their coats getting
comfortable on the seats. I placed my hand in my pocket brushing against the
new phone which made me frown.
"What's that face for?" Amy asked looking at me as she narrowed her
eyes.
I pulled the phone out of my pocket and placed it on the table, "Spike
bought this for me."
Amy smiled and sat next to me, "And by your expression, you're not pleased
about this?"
I let out a sigh, "I don't know Amy, I'm confused. Don't get me wrong, I'm
grateful to everyone including yourself for looking out for me but I've never had
this type of kindness."
Amy placed her hand on top of mine and gave it a light squeeze, "I can't
speak for Connor, but I wanted to help you out because I would like to think that
if I were in your situation, someone may help me. The main problem is most of
us think that people don't do something for nothing. I can assure you that both
Connor and I don't want anything in return for helping you."
"I don't want to give Spike the wrong impression. I will be eternally
grateful to the pair of you but I don't want him to think that he has to look
out for me, I'm not his responsibility. I will be moving into the refuge
tomorrow and will therefore be out of your hair."
"Is that what you think Louise? You're not an inconvenience for either
myself or Connor."
I let out a sigh, "Spike said something strange, he said that he needed to
buy me a phone more than I knew. What does he mean by that Amy?"
"He just wants to keep you safe Louise, it's a man thing. See it from his
perspective, you turn up black and blue and in need of some help. You're a
young single mum, with nowhere to live. What kind of man would he be if he set
you on your merry way without helping you? He wouldn't be able to live with
himself." Amy smiled before walking back around the counter to serve the
lunch time rush.
I nodded now understanding what she was trying to say. The problem was though,
I wanted him to care. I wanted a man to protect me instead of hurting me, I'd
endured years of abuse but all I ever wanted was happiness for myself and my
children. Spike sparked something inside me which was outrageous after all I
had been through and I was still baring the bruises from my most recent attack.
I couldn't think like this, my heart was vulnerable and I needed to be strong.
I couldn't let my guard down for a minute because I couldn't become a victim
again.
I took the paper from my handbag and placed the new colouring pencils onto the
table before I gave Amy our food order. I didn't have much money left but I
wanted to take the children out as a treat and away from the confines of the
apartment, and we were going to the park this afternoon so that the children
could burn off some of their mounting energy.

"Sorry Louise, I'm falling behind with the orders. It's
going to be at least another fifteen minutes or so." Amy stated as she
rushed past with a customer's food.
When she passed again I stopped her quickly, "Let me help you, it's the
least I can do. The kids are fine sitting here colouring, so I can waitress for
you until the rush passes."
She didn't need to contemplate, Amy put two plates in my hands and pointed to
the two men sitting at the table near the window.
I quickly walked over to them and placed the plates on the table. They thanked
me and as I turned I saw Spike and Diesel walk past the window and enter the
cafe.
"Hi Ames, can we have our usual please." Diesel asked as he walked
further into the cafe. He glanced at Spike silently asking where to sit as
Spike nodded towards the children at the far end of the cafe.
"Spike!" Devon slid off her chair and ran as fast as her little legs
would take her towards him.
Spike crouched down to her level and took the full impact as she ran into his
chest. He closed his arms and hugged her tightly before letting her go.
"Come and sit with us," Devon said excitedly as she grabbed the
bottom of his cut and led him towards the table. I saw Diesel and Spike
exchange a look before they sat and I noticed Spike glance around the cafe seeking
me out. His eyes met mine and as he smiled I became weak at the knees knowing
full well that this man had affected me, even if I didn't want him to. I smiled
back and turned quickly as my skin heated. Amy smiled at the exchange of
glances and passed me their drinks, I took a deep breath before walking over to
their table trying to compose myself.
"Thanks Louise. Are you working here now?" Diesel asked as he took a
sip of his drink.
"No, Amy was snowed under so I offered to help. It's the least I can do as
she's been so helpful."
Diesel nodded and continued to sip his drink.
"What you drawing Tommy?" Spike asked as he moved his chair closer to
where Tommy was sitting.
"Tattoos," he said moving his arm over his drawing to hide them.
"Can I take a look, I may be able to get some good ideas for my shop?"
Tommy looked up at Spike with wide eyes intrigued by his question, "Really?"
he asked excitedly.
Spike nodded his head and Tommy slowly passed some of his drawings towards
Spike and Diesel.
"Wow Tommy, these are great."
I watched the interaction between them and my heart swelled at the excitement
on Tommy's face from the attention he was getting.
"Do you like mine? Mine are good too!"
I knew it wouldn't take Devon long to try and get involved in the conversation.
Diesel kindly took over, "They look great Devon, I really like the dog."
He said pointing to one of her drawings.
"Where? I haven't drawn a dog." She asked looking at the drawing he
was pointing to, "It's a unicorn not a dog." Devon crossed her arms
and immediately pouted.
Spike and Tommy laughed at her comment and I left them to continue serving knowing
that they were in capable hands while I continued to help Amy.

An hour later Amy and I joined the twins and the guys who
had now decided to take an extended lunch.
"Thanks for helping me out this afternoon Louise."
"The pleasure was all mine. I know it sounds crazy but I've never had a
job before because I'm not very good at anything but it was nice to feel useful
for a change." I smiled at the group but they weren't smiling back, I
observed an array of emotions on their faces as they assessed what I'd just
said. I wanted to continue the conversation and try and explain what I meant further
as it had fallen eerily quiet, "What I was trying to say is that I gave
birth to the twins at sixteen and looking after them and a husband...well it
turns out I wasn't very good at that either." I trailed off and twisted my
hands together.
"Come on kids, let's go and see what ice cream I have. Ethan, can you give
me a hand?" The twins excitedly followed Amy and Diesel to the back room.
Spike placed his warm hand over mine to stop me from fidgeting and a single
tear fell on his skin as I hung my head in shame.
"Louise look at me," Spike turned his body so that he was facing me
fully and gently put his hand under my chin
to direct
my face towards his before he wiped another tear from my cheek with his thumb.
"Don't you dare shed a tear thinking about that piece of shit. I don't
know to what extent he hurt you, I can only presume but I hope that one day
you'll be able to tell me. No matter what you think you did to provoke him,
remember that no one and I mean no one, ever has the right to lay a finger on
you babe."
Spike wiped another tear that had trickled down my cheek
and I leaned into his hand as he caressed my bruised face.