Angels and Ashes (Heaven's Rejects MC Book 2) (16 page)

“Where are the addresses located?”

“According to Google Maps, one is a vacant lot out in Death Valley, but the other is for a residence in Tijuana.”

Fucking Tijuana
. This can’t be a coincidence that Jagger had been spending so much time down there and that’s where Maj’s phone is leading us. The cartel has footholds just about everywhere in Mexico, but maybe Tijuana is their base of operation. Either way, it’s a good place to start.

“Good work, V. Send a call out to the guys who went home and round them up. Call in the San Diego club and have them on standby. It’s time we take a little trip south of the border.”

“Can do, Boss, but there’s something else I need to tell you. It concerns Darcy. There were photos of her and the kids with Jagger on the phone outside of the house and various places around town. These bastards were tracking Jagger’s family, and he probably didn’t even know it.”

“Shit,” is the only response that falls from my lips. These fuckers
do
know where they live, and we are all sitting ducks if we start stirring shit up again. We’ve got to get everyone out and hidden somewhere else. I rack my brain, and only one thought comes to mind—my mother’s house in Arizona. Mom and I haven’t seen each other as much as I would have liked, but her house is in a populated retirement district of Phoenix. Even if they knew where she lived, they wouldn’t have a chance to snatch the kids without being seen. Mom has been bitching about not seeing the kids, so this would be the perfect opportunity to get them out of here, but that leaves Darcy and her kids. I think her parents are out in Arizona somewhere as well so this could work if we get them all out of the state until we get shit settled down.

“V, I need you to have Slider and Ratchet grab one of the pick-up trucks and run by my house to gather a couple of suitcases for my kids and then head back over here. We need to move the kids now.”

“You got it, Prez. I’ll have them over soon.”

My kids will be easy to move, but getting Darcy to agree to it will be next to impossible. The house will be loud soon, so it’s better to rip the Band-Aid off now than wait until we have a captive audience. I tip-toe down the hallway when I see a light illuminating the floor through the crack of a door. My heart stops as I see Darcy clinging to a sleeping Roxie, pacing back and forth. Her face is coiled in a look of sheer heartbreak and rage with tears streaming down her face. I continue to watch her for a few minutes before I give myself away by knocking a photograph off of the wall. As the frame falls to the floor, Darcy jumps and immediately moves her body into a protective stance over her child, her eyes locked on the door.

“I can hear you out there.”

I nudge open the door with my shoulder as I walk into the room with my hands raised in the air. Darcy gently sways with Roxie in her arms before laying her down in a bassinet by the bed before she turns back to me with her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Her face continues to be stricken with pain, and it kills me to have to bring more pain to her now with my request.

“Do you eavesdrop often on a woman in her own bedroom, or is that a newly-acquired skill?”

“What?” I stammer out like a fucking school boy trying to talk to his first crush. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I honestly came down here looking for you because we need to talk.”

Her eyes narrow at me while her arms tighten more around her.

“Talk to me about what? Your lack of clothes in my house?”

I look down and realize I never thought about putting my shirt back on. Darcy’s eyes trail downward while my cock begins to throb at her notice. Being shirtless is natural for a guy, but being shirtless around her is a completely different story. It feels so wrong yet so right.

“Shit, sorry,” I say as I start to spin around back toward the door. “I can go grab my shirt if that will make you more comfortable, but my need to talk to you was a bit more important than my lack of proper apparel in your eyes. It’s not like my cock is hanging out.”

Darcy’s eyes snap upward at the word cock, and her cheeks begin to flush.
Shit, smooth move, asshole. Way to make this situation easier to deal with. Did you have to fucking say cock in front of her?

“I … um … no,” she stammers. “I wasn’t checking you out, if that’s what you think.”

“I didn’t say anything, darlin’. Just voicing your objections to my lack of a shirt. I never pegged you for a woman that didn’t appreciate a good view.”

She rolls her eyes at me before sitting on the end of her bed, uncrossing her arms as she tries to force herself to relax around me.

“You’re so full of shit, you know that, right?”

“That’s not exactly a secret, darlin’. Can I ask what made you so upset? Getting baby fever again?” I ask.

She may not like what I am about to do, but I won’t stand in front of her like a damn dictator. I want to be on the same level as her when I make my request about moving the kids so I sit down next to her as she huffs at my invasion of her space.

“Baby fever? You have to be kidding, right?” she chuffs. “Even if I did want another baby after Hero and Dani’s girls were born, I’m lacking a couple of requirements: working ovaries and a man.”

My eyes must give away my confusion because she forces herself to laugh at me.

“I had my tubes tied after Roxie. It’s not like I was planning on using them again with Brent gone.”

As soon as his name leaves her pursed lips, the tears begin to fall again. I don’t know what to say or even how to console her because I have a feeling there’s something more going on here other than missing her husband, but time is of the essence with Ratchet and Slider likely on their way here already.

“So, you haven’t slept with anyone since Jagger?”

“That’s a little personal, but no. It seems like it would be forsaking my husband’s memory if I had slept with someone so soon. Don’t get me wrong, the urge is still there, but it’s not like I’m looking.”

“I know you miss him, darlin’. I sure as fuck do myself, but we can’t just keep wishing the impossible. He’d want you to be happy.”

Her shoulders straighten as she wipes away her tears. Time to drop the bomb and hope to God she doesn’t shoot me for my request.

“About why I came in here. I know what I am about to tell you will probably piss you off, but I need to just get it off my chest before you coldcock me. I need you to send the kids to your parents in Arizona,” I spew out quickly.

Shock flares to life on her face while her hands begin to ball into a tight fist. Just watching her angry display in front of me makes my dick harden more. If she wouldn’t knock me on my ass, I would adjust myself, because I am about one glare away from being rock hard and seriously uncomfortable.

“You want me to do what? Why the hell do I need to send the kids away?” she questions with an angry tone. “You’ve got to be shitting me, right?”

“I know my request is a bit out of left field, but there is a shit storm headed this way, and I think the kids and you would be safer away from the epicenter of the fight.”

“So this is about protecting my family and not covering your own ass? Let me guess, this has to do with what you found in the Tijuana packet.”

My hand rubs across my face in frustration while I desperately try not to snap back at her.

“You damn well know I can’t tell you shit, darlin’, but this is the best and safest route for your kids. A couple of the guys are headed here now and are going to take you and the kids to your parents’ plus Harley and Ky to my Mom’s in Arizona. It’ll be easier to handle club business without you and your family in the crosshairs.”

Her eyes drift out into the hallway as if she’s looking for something to aid in her decision. I peer out in the hallway and only see darkness and the cracked open door of Jagger’s office. I watch the rise and fall of her chest increase while she mulls over the decision.

“I’ll take the kids to my parents’, but I’m not staying. If this concerns me, I want to be in on it.”

“No fucking way, darlin’. That won’t be happening because your ass will be planted in the hot Arizona sun while you sip on fancy drinks by the pool. This is your chance at a free vacation while I handle club business. We’ll make sure nothing falls back on you and that you and the kids are safe.”

Darcy rises up from the bed and steps in my line of sight—her attempt at establishing dominance over me. My cock strains against the zipper of my jeans with each passing second of her stare.

“Even if you drop me off, I will be right back here and all up in the club’s business. It’s either know I’m here or you’ll always be looking over your shoulder to check to see if I followed you back. Your choice.”

“Fine, you want to be here and put yourself into harm’s way, that’s your prerogative, but you’ll be staying at the clubhouse.” This has to be the worst idea in the history of ideas because having her so close to the club isn’t exactly the most ideal situation for my brothers and for me. I just need to make sure that my cock and I stay as far away from her as possible. I think it would be easier to deal with the cartel than with the temptation that stands before me.

Two days into my self-imposed prison sentence at the clubhouse and I am about to lose my fucking mind. Between the whores, old ladies, and Slider, I am one smartass comment or sideways glare away from burning the place to the ground. Sure, it pissed me off that Raze ordered me to stay here, but it served a second purpose for me other than safety—a chance to infiltrate the club and investigate the photos that Trax gave me. Most seemed to have been taken outside of the club, but within the walls of this place lies the beginning of my answers.

I’ll admit I wasn’t thinking very clearly about trying to sneak around this place with so many watchful eyes, but after the booze starts flowing, my watchful keepers pass out and leave me alone to snoop around the offices. I managed to break into Voodoo’s office filled with computers and gadgets and my husband’s old office, but I’ve come up empty. Not a single shred of confirmation or evidence to support Trax’s intel. To say that I am frustrated is the understatement of the year.

There is only one room left on my list—Raze’s office—but trying to break into it is like trying to break into the treasury at Fort Knox. After a relatively quiet afternoon, I sneak out of the spare room they set me up in and slink my way toward the office only to be cut off by Dani and her insistence to have some fun. I know being away from the twins is killing Dani, especially since she can only go and visit for a few short hours a day under Slider’s watchful eye. After two failed attempts to see them, the doctor had all but barred her from being there outside of visiting hours until she fully recuperated. I can relate to how she feels because even knowing that my kids are safe where they are, it takes everything I have not to just go to them. I guess that’s one of the reasons why Dani and I get along so well—bonded by our lack of taking shit from anyone.

I should have expected her to be cheery today after her morning visit with the girls. The doctors gave her the good news that both girls were rapidly gaining weight and could be home as early as the following week. Dani begged me to have some fun with her to take her mind off being away from the twins, and after twenty minutes, I finally relented. Worst. Fucking. Decision. Ever.

“Full house, bitches,” I squeal while slamming my cards down onto the makeshift poker table of a car hood and cinder blocks. You’d think this clubhouse would have a poker table, but apparently, Raze isn’t one to play cards. The girls and Slider groan while I playfully bounce in excitement.

“Whose idea was it again to play strip poker with her?” Ricca mumbles under her breath to Slider while pushing her jeans down over her long legs. Oh, shit. Apparently Ricca picked the wrong day to be commando. I laugh as she picks them up and tosses them over on the couch. I catcall her nakedness as she tries to cover herself up only to be on the receiving end of a middle finger from her. Ricca’s body is riddled with scars from her stint in the Twisted Tribe torture chamber last year. Each cut shines under the lights of the room, and the sheer number of them fills me with pity for her situation. Honestly, I don’t know how she could be so comfortable in her own skin, but I’m betting, like me, the four shots of Jose Cuervo may be the culprit.
Fucking tequila.

“I’m not drunk enough for this bullshit,” Ricca declares as she plops back into her chair, crossing her legs to keep Slider’s eyes from wandering any farther south than they already have. I get the sneaking suspicion that Ratchet will kick Slider’s ass for seeing her like this if he finds out. Even though the two of them act like whatever the fuck is between them is nothing, everyone knows it’s a fucking act.

“At least you can drink, Ricca. The doctor won’t let me touch the stuff so soon after my C-section on top of the fact I’ve already started pumping in preparation for the girls to come home. Give Darcy another shot; maybe she’ll forget what we’re playing and we can get out of this,” Dani mutters while stripping off her t-shirt and adding it to the growing pile of clothes on the floor around us. A devilish grin engulfs my face knowing that they’re all one hand away from losing everything while I am still in my t-shirt, bra, and panties.