Center of Gravity (Marauders Book 3) (25 page)

“It’s mine,” Mitch said, leaving no room for any doubt. “I know it is.”

He rubbed his face and leaned his elbows on the table with a sigh. It had been a long day. In some ways a really good day, but in others it had been pure hell. He wasn’t used to having to restrain himself around Anna, and he had been forced to restrain himself not to jump her. He honestly hadn’t thought she’d been serious about the ‘friends’ thing, but she obviously was, and he was wondering how the fuck this was going to work if they were going to be ‘friends’ until the kid turned eighteen.

“So you and her…?” Mel wondered.

“Friends,” Mitch answered with a dry chuckle.

“I’d say that’s going well,” Brick laughed.

“It’s awesome. Now that you know, I’m gonna go home and jerk off and take a cold shower.”

Now it was Mel who laughed. When he looked at her she tried to hide it by putting her hands over her mouth, but it just made her bright red instead.

“Why is everyone so fucking amused by this?”

“It’s just…” Mel started and dried her cheeks. “So not you to pine over someone and… I’m sorry. Mitch, I know you, you’ll figure this out.”

“Thanks. If you manage to say it without laughing your ass off, I might believe you.”

Mel got up and walked over to his side of the table. She sat down and put her arms around him, giving him a sweet hug. He still remembered the first time she’d hugged him. She’d been with his dad for maybe six months, and he’d been in a fight at school. Brick’d had a go at him, yelled about him being an idiot, and once he was out of the room, Mel had hugged him and told him that the reason Brick was pissed about him being an idiot was because he knew how smart he could be. He’d realized then that the woman had magic hugs, and fuck it if they still didn’t work. He leaned his head against her and patted her arm.

“Honey,” she whispered, “this is going to sound a little high school, but she likes you.”

“She’s scared we’re gonna mess it up and thinks it’s better if we stay friends so we can raise the kid together. “

Mel laughed again, and she didn’t even try to hide it. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” She kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry about it. Let her get used to being pregnant and just be there for her. I think you might need some time to get used to the idea, too.”

“Probably, but I’m looking forward to having a kid.” He looked straight at Brick when he said it. “I am.”

“I know,” his dad said. “I know you like kids, and I get that this isn’t how you wanted one, but it’s still your kid, and that woman is your kid’s mom.”

“I’ll take care of her, Dad. We’re figuring this out.”

“Good, because you need to keep her close, and you need to keep your head clear.”

“I will.” He would. He had no idea how he’d keep her safe, but he would.

“Gotta say,” Mel giggled. “Really looking forward to another grandkid!”

“Yup,” Brick agreed. “If it’s a girl, gonna let her dance ballet?”

“They have cakes named after ballerinas on their birthdays. I doubt I’ll have anything to say about that.”

“Smart man,” Mel said and patted his cheek. “Ask your dad, when it comes to girls, you’re just along for the ride.”

“Think your sister would be a crazy feminist who yells ‘death to the patriarch’ while she beats up her date if she’d listened to me?”

“She what?” He hadn’t heard about that, but it did sound like something Eliza would do.

“A boy took things a bit further than she was comfortable with. She beat him up,” Mel explained.

“Who?”

“We’ll get to that,” Brick said with a nod, meaning they’d talk about it when Mel wasn’t around.

“Not strange that she beat him up,” Mitch said with a shrug. “That’s what we taught her.”

“Oh, it’s not the beating I have a problem with,” Brick smiled. “It’s what she yelled that kind of gets to me.”

Mitch couldn’t stop laughing, but he was really proud of his baby girl. He’d never admit it to his dad, but Mac and he had probably had something to do with her being very ‘female rights.’ Sure, he liked having willing girls around, but he didn’t want his sister to be one. And if he ever had a daughter, he’d do the same.

-o0o-

His frustration around Anna didn’t subside. On the good side, it didn’t get worse, but he wasn’t sure that was even possible, because fucking shit he wanted to touch her. He wanted to stroke her belly, his baby, and he wanted to touch her everywhere else, too. The urge to kiss her was fucking killing him at times. To the point where he was glad to get out of town for the big meeting with the Smiling Ghouls MC in Englewood.

It didn’t take him long to spot the massive Nomad president, and Russ met them with a big grin.

“How’s Fertile Myrtle?” Bull asked him with a hug. “Knocked up again?”

“Nah. I think she’s done,” Russ laughed, and then he turned to Mitch. “Doesn’t feel like all that fucking long ago you had pimples, but I heard you’ve knocked someone up, and that you’re managing to piss off a seasoned ex-member.”

“Heard anything about Hump?” Brick asked.

“Let’s get inside. I’ve talked to Chucky, we can use their chapel for a while. Say hello to everyone, and let them get drunk while we talk.”

Mitch wasn’t really paying attention, but he greeted everyone, managed to have a quick word with Dutch, and then he went to the Chapel to wait for the others. His dad was the next one in, and he sat down next to Mitch.

“How are you dealing with this?”

“Honestly, it’s getting frustrating as fuck. I can’t find shit about him, and I’d feel a lot worse about it if it wasn’t for the fact that Mech can’t either. I’ve asked a few of the other clubs’ geeks for help, but he, his old lady, and his daughter are all gone.”

“That worries me,” Brick mumbled.

“No fucking shit. No one should be able to disappear that completely, and he definitely shouldn’t be able to. Even if Russ has heard something, it doesn’t mean—”

“Yeah, take it easy,” Brick said and shook his head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I’m not worried we won’t find him. Sooner or later we will.”

“I’m worried what he’ll do before we find him,” Mitch said. “And I’m wondering why he’s waiting.”

“He’s messing with your head,” Brick said. “Like the hacking, it’s all to fuck with you, and if you don’t keep cool, he’s won. Keep that in mind and stay sharp.”

At the same time, Russ walked into the Chapel. He sat down and lit a smoke with a smile.

“I talked to Wolf the other day. He sends his best.”

“How is he doing?” Mitch asked.

“Think he’s tired as hell. Ronnie was there last week with all the kids,” Russ chuckled. Russ and Ronnie had four kids, which was why the other members tended to call Ronnie ‘Fertile Myrtle.’ “He’s putting an ear to the ground regarding Hump, too.”

“What did you find?” Brick asked.

“Not much, which hadn’t struck anyone as strange until I started asking questions. The assumption so far has been that Hump got with the rules and didn’t try to contact anyone and even moved out of Emporia. But staying out of touch and disappearing from the face of the earth are two different things.” Russ turned to Mitch. “Is there more to the story?”

“Like what?” Mitch asked with a laugh. “Like, did I fuck his daughter in the ass?”

“Would anyone be surprised if you’d done something like that?” Russ said with a crocked smile.

“Have you seen his daughter?” Mitch asked with a wink. “I wouldn’t fuck her wearing a full rubber suit.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Russ laughed. “If he was so shit with computers, how did he steal money from us?”

“He was shit with computers, but great with numbers,” Mitch said.

“More than one way to skin a cat,” Russ nodded. “I found two leads that could be something. Looks like he’s been in Texas for a while, and there are rumors he made a new friend. Or rather, he sent out his daughter to make a new friend.”

“So did you find his trail or his daughter’s?” Brick asked.

“His daughter’s, but I suspect he’s been there, too, because I found his ex-wife,” Russ smiled.

“What did she say?”

“Nothin’. I found her behind the tool shed on the farm where I assume he used to live.”

“Buried?” Mitch guessed.

“Yup.”

“What did you do?”

“Reburied her.” Russ shrugged. “Just wanted to find out if he’d dumped his old lady or his ex-wife.”

“Jesus.” Brick shook his head. “So he skips town with his old lady and ex-wife, kills the ex-wife and sends his daughter out to find new friends. Why the fuck is the daughter helping him with that?”

“We don’t really know what order he did those things in,” Mitch pointed out. “He might’ve killed the ex-wife after his daughter had done what he wanted her to do. What friends did he have his daughter make?”

“Geek friends.”

“Not top shelf geek friends,” Mitch muttered.

“Probably need a better looking daughter to get the top shelf,” Russ laughed.

“Doubt that. Most of those guys only dream of seeing an actual, real life pussy, but I doubt Hump would know how to recognize a top shelf hacker.”

None of Russ’s news, with exception of Hump having been in Texas, was much of a surprise to Mitch. He knew Hump couldn’t have done the hacking attempts without help.

“Did we do a search for his daughter?” Brick asked, and Mitch rolled his eyes, which made Russ laugh out loud. “Okay, sorry, had to ask. Do we have any details about the hacker?”

“No,” Russ admitted. “I just found out that his daughter had all of a sudden been all over a bunch of them, and disappeared just as suddenly. I took that as a sign that she got what she wanted. A few of them promised to get back to me if they hear anything, or if anyone of them suddenly go missing.”

“And his Old lady?” Mitch asked. “I’ve done searches and shit, but I’m not sure I remember her.”

“She was a sweetbutt for a while. He pulled her from the clubhouse and into an apartment for his pleasure only,” Brick summed it up. “A while later, his wife found out, they divorced and he marked her. According to Rabbit, both of the women are greedy bitches.”

“And we know for sure that she isn’t behind the skimming?” Russ asked. “You know, the power of the pussy leading him on to get money. The power of the pussy can make you do stupid shit.”

“Yeah, you should know,” Brick muttered.

“Wanna fill me in on what the fuck happened?” Mitch chuckled. “Dad gets all bent out of shape when the topic of you and pussy pops up. Something about Wolf’s niece?”

“She was off limits, and I started something up with her.”

“He kind of skipped the part where she was nineteen and a mess,” Brick growled. “Or the fact that his type of starting up includes bruising.”

Mitch stared between the two of them, and then he started laughing. “Jesus. In his defense,” he said with a nod towards Russ, “the four kids are kind of a hint that she liked it.”

“Thanks,” Russ said. “But it’s not about that, and you know it.”

“I know,” Mitch agreed. “Back to Hump. I’ll hit the forums and find out who from Texas could’ve done the code used on our system.”

“You can do that?” Russ asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Codes are like fingerprints. Most have reused parts, but it can still be a hint. If we found the guy who did the original code, it can lead further.” He had a feeling he’d lost both of the older dudes along the way, and sighed. “It can help, just trust me.”

“Think we’re both gonna take your word for it,” his dad said. “But we need to keep a wide net, so you stay on this too,” he said to Russ.

“Got all my guys on it,” Russ nodded. “They’re spreading the word.

-o0o-

Later that night, Mitch was sprawled out on a couch, watching a girl work a pole. Mac sat down next to him.

“Can I sit here or would that be cramping your style?”

“Nah,” Mitch shrugged. “I’m kinda starting to get it.”

“Get what.”

Mitch pointed towards the half-naked girl. “She’s hot and all, but…”

“She’s very nice, but she’s not what you want,” Mac laughed. “So how long are you gonna walk around with a massive set of blue balls before you get the girl you do want?”

“Thanks for reminding me. Whatta you think about them?” he asked and nodded towards the members of the Smiling Ghouls who were appreciating the attention the sweetbutts were giving them.

Mac looked at them in silence for a while. “I was gonna ask you the same.”

“I think it could be a good deal, but what I’m wondering is what’s being said over our heads.”

“Between the Cartel and the European branch of them?” Mac asked. “You think there are things going on over our heads?”

“You know, those dudes over there think they’re the head of their MC, but I’ve found that the head of any group is the part that’s bringing in the big bucks, and that’s not those guys in the Ghouls.”

It had bugged him during the entire meeting, and he knew his dad enough to know that he was thinking the same thing. The US branch of the Smiling Ghouls was basically living off the money the Dutch charters were making. It should be clear to anyone that without the Dutch, they’d make fuck all. Mitch was wondering if the Dutch Ghouls were aware, and he kind of thought they were. He had a feeling that getting the okay from these guys wouldn’t in any way mean they were in. Just like he knew that getting the okay from Brick didn’t meant that the cartel was in. In this case, the cartel
was
in, but they had needed to confirm it before getting in on the deal.