Nasty Bastard (Grim Bastards MC Book 4) (6 page)

I stay quiet, watching as the men climb off their bikes. I don’t recognize any of them, but know right away something is wrong. They’re not wearing cuts, so they aren’t Grim Bastards or from any other club that I know of. Just looking at them makes me want to run inside, but they’d catch me before I could even lock the door. Plus, I don’t want them anywhere near Parker.

The obvious leader of the group walks up to the edge of the steps, while the others stay out in the yard. He’s an average sized guy, not a lot taller than me. He isn’t very muscular. In fact, he could only be described as scrawny. He’s wearing a plain t-shirt and pair of jeans, with black biker boots. There’s so much grease in his hair, it’s hard to tell if it is actually brown or dark blonde. The sores on his face and hands, and my years of working as a nurse, tell me the man is a meth addict and has been for a long time.

“Who are you?” he asks, stepping onto the first step.

One more and he’ll be right in my face, but I hold my ground. “This is my home, so the question should be, who are you?”

“We’ve been here a time or two, and I don’t remember seeing you before.” He smirks, looking back at the others. “How about you, boys? You remember seeing this hot little piece of ass last time we stopped by?”

A few grunted “no’s” are accompanied by one man grabbing his crotch and saying, “I wouldn’t forget snatch that fucking hot.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why the hell did I ever think coming back to this shit hole was a good idea? I should have taken Parker to somewhere new and started our lives over, but it’s too late for that now. I have two choices: break down and cry or pretend that my entire body is not shaking with fear. I choose the latter and hope to still be breathing after this is over.

Clearing my throat, I keep my eyes locked on the leader. “I just moved in a few days ago, so I doubt we’ve met before.”

“So you just moved into Stone’s house?” he asks, cocking a brow.

I try to choose my words carefully, not wanting to piss him off anymore. “Stone doesn’t live here anymore, hasn’t for a while. I have no idea where he is… no one does. I heard he and his son have been missing for a few months.”

This time, all the men laugh, but the leader is the one that replies. “Those fuckers have been gone for three months. You don’t look like an idiot, so you have to know they’re nothing but worm food anymore.”

“I don’t know,” I say then lie my ass off. “That could be true, but I hope nothing has happened to either of them.”

“No one gives a shit that they’re gone; it’s a fucking blessing not to share the air with the two fuckers,” he states, pushing his filthy hair out of his face.

He looks around the yard, as if searching for something, then turns back to me. “Considering those baby blues you got, I’m guessing you know Stone.”

Shit! He had to pick up on the one damn thing I inherited from my dad. If he lays eyes on Parker, he’ll see the exact same thing. That can’t happen. My eyes close for just a second as I say a quick prayer for my son’s safety.

Shrugging my shoulder, I tell him the truth. “I know him, but not very well. I haven’t seen him since his first wife’s funeral.”

“Now, tell me the truth. How are you related to Stone?” he asks, leaning back on his heels.

I’m too scared to lie to him, afraid that somehow he will know I’m not being honest. I decide to tell him a vague version of the truth and throw in a few things I learned from my lawyer ex in hopes of confusing him.

I keep my voice steady as best I can. “He’s a relative. When the house was found empty, I was told I could set up residence until his whereabouts were discovered. If after seven years, he is not found, I will inherit the house as his next of kin.”

“For some reason, I don’t believe you. I think you know the man more than you’re letting on,” he drawls, climbing up another step to bring us eye to eye. “Now, Stone has something that belongs to me, and I intend to get it back, one way or another.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I unintentionally take a step back from him. “I told you, I haven’t talked to Stone in years.”

Ignoring me, he steps onto the porch, just inches from me. “I would suggest, if you know anything, you tell me now.”

I refuse to back away again, to let him know that he’s scaring the shit out of me. “I swear, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He reaches out, grabs the tops of my arms, and yanks me to him. “Listen here, bitch. I’m done with your bullshit. You’re here, so you have to know something. You need to tell me now, before I have to get rough.”

My fear goes up another notch as I pray that Parker stays put in his bedroom. “If I knew anything, I’d tell you.”

He lets go of one arm and slaps me across the face, causing me to lose my balance. Only his brutal hold keeps me on my feet. His free hand comes at me again, this time in the form of a fist. As soon as it connects with my face, my entire mouth fills with blood. The pain is extreme, but I stay quiet, not wanting to scare my son.

“I promise, I have no idea what you are talking about,” I plead, trying to pull my arm away from him, but he just tightens his hold.

His free hand goes to my hair, jerking my head back roughly. “Tell me what you do know, bitch.”

Tears stream down my face as I tell him the truth. “I swear, I don’t know anything about Stone or what he has of yours. Please, just let me go.”

“Quit crying, bitch, and get me my shit or the money it would have made me. If you think you’re keeping it for yourself, you’re fucking crazy,” he barks, letting go of my arms.

Without his hold, I stumble back, falling on my ass. Before I can move, his booted foot kicks me right in the chest. I land flat on my back, and he comes down after me. He gropes my breasts, squeezing them enough to make me flinch. Then, his fist flies into my face again.

“Please, stop,” I beg through my tears. “I don’t know anything about Stone’s business. Please, just let me go.”

This time, his punch lands on my jaw, sending a wave of pain through my head. Before the pain even has a second to fade, he hits me again. He grabs a handful of my hair, pushing himself up, and yanks me back to my feet. I want to scream and cry, but I bite my tongue to stay quiet. My son is my only concern, and keeping quiet is the best way to protect him.

Relief fills me when he releases his hold on my hair, only to be quickly replaced with fear once again. His fist comes at me once more, this time hitting me straight in the gut. The force of it sends me back to the ground, knocking the air out of my lungs. He then lifts his foot and stomps onto my ribs. The pain shooting through me leaves no doubt in my mind that a few ribs have cracked, if not broke.

“The name’s Torch. Figured you should know, because everyone deserves to know the name of the man that is going to kill them. That’s exactly what I’m going to do if you don’t have any answers for me the next time I see you.” The man grabs my hair again, leans his face down, and says, “You got one week, no more.”

Before letting go of my hair, he gets even closer and flicks out his tongue. He licks at the blood on the side of my face then throws my head back down. I close my eyes and wait for what is coming next. Instead of more pain, I hear the sound of retreating footsteps then motorcycles starting up.

I lie there trying to catch my breath and listen to their motorcycles fade away. I need to get up and check on Parker. It’s gonna hurt like hell, but there’s no other choice. Not willing to wait another second to check on my son, I sit up. The pain makes my head spin, but I push through it, stand up, and make my way inside.

Locking the door, I make my way stumbling down the hall. My brain keeps screaming to call the police, but my heart is telling me that, if I do, Richard would have ammunition to use against me if he ever decides he wants Parker. I can’t take that chance. Instead, I head to check on my son. Before I even get there, he comes through his bedroom door and runs straight for me.

He stops just before hitting me and screams, “Momma, you’re hurt.”

Even through the pain, my brain goes into overdrive to come up with an excuse. “Yeah, baby, I am, but it will be fine after a little rest.”

“What happened?” he asks, reaching out and running a hand over my arm.

“I fell off the porch, but I’ll be okay,” I lie, slowly moving toward the bedroom. “You wanna lay down with me for a few minutes?”

If I can get just a little rest, everything will be fine. I’ll get up and clean myself up. Then, Parker and I are gonna leave this house and this fucking town behind. Hopefully, I can forget that the fucker known as Stone is my father.

He runs ahead of me and opens my bedroom door. “Yeah, Mommy. Let’s take a nap so you will feel better.”

I nearly pass out as I lay down in the bed, but keep my wits long enough to give Parker some instructions. “I’m going to sleep for a while. I want you to stay right beside me.”

As the words leave my mouth, everything goes black.

Smoke

I’m stuffing another bite of lasagna in my mouth when my phone dings with a new text. Pulling it out of my pocket, I see Boz’s name, and my eyes scan the text quickly.
Ready to roll out. Meet us at the clubhouse.

I look over to my dad and say, “Gotta head to the clubhouse. Boz wants me to ride out with him.”

My dad looks at Lisa and motions for her to give us a minute alone. She stands up and gives my dad a wink, before walking over to me and placing a kiss on my cheek. “Ride safe, Smoke.”

“Always do. Thanks for dinner, Lisa. It was damn good,” I reply, watching her walk out of the room.

“What’s going on?” Dad asks as I head toward the door.

“Boz wants all of the officers to ride with him tonight,” I say with a shrug, wishing I could tell him more.

Dad wore the VP patch before me. He’s been by my side since the day I started wearing my officer patch. It feels fucking weird as shit not sharing what’s going on with him, but I can’t. Until we figure out a new set of rules for retired officers, I’m not sharing shit.

After a quick goodbye, I walk outside, hop on my bike, and head to the clubhouse to meet up with my brothers. It won’t take me long; Dad picked his house because it was close to the club.

After driving the short distance, I pull through the gates and see my fellow officers sitting on their bikes, waiting for me to join them.

“We ready?” I ask, raising my voice to be heard over the rumble of bikes.

Boz simply nods and heads out the gate, and Hack, Brew, and I follow quickly behind him. It only takes about twenty minutes to get to our destination. Pulling into the driveway of Stone’s house, my eyes automatically go to the bright white Nissan Pathfinder sitting in the driveway. Who the fuck is driving that?

Cutting off my bike, I turn to look at Boz. “Thought the house was empty?”

“Me too.” He tilts his head just a bit and shrugs. “I called Mom about an hour ago. She didn’t say anything about Gidget making any plans on coming back. Think Stone’s old lady came back?”

“Looks like she’s gone,” Hack says as he climbs from his bike. “Maybe she took off with someone and left her car behind.”

Turning back to look at the house, I realize he’s right. The place looks deserted. Even though it’s damn near dark, not a light is on. The front door and all the windows are shut. Listening closely, I can hear an air conditioner running inside but nothing else.

Shit, I should’ve been here two months ago; it was my plan. Brew and I both wanted to talk to Stone’s old lady, make sure she didn’t know anything about what went on with her old man and his son. Then, Brew’s old lady ran into some trouble, and everything else got put on hold. Now, we’re too fucking late to get the answers we need.

“Maybe so,” Brew mutters, as he walks over to us. “I don’t see Stone buying his old lady a car like that. She’d be lucky if he bought her a bike.”

Boz cocks his brow and looks to Brew. “Maybe she got her hands on some of our money and bought herself a car.”

“If she did, looks like she left it behind,” Hack adds, turning to look at the house. “We still need to check the house.”

Looking at the house, I shake my head in disgust. Stone’s house was always a piece of shit, but now, it looks like it needs to be condemned. The grass is grown so high it nearly blocks the house from view. The once yellow paint is nearly completely gone, leaving it an ugly ass shade of dingy white, and half the shutters are hanging on their hinges.

“Brew, you’re with me. We’ll check the shed and garage,” Boz says, as he walks around his bike. “Hack, you head inside with Smoke. Look in every damn nook and cranny. Our first priority is finding out what happened to the money, but make sure that asshole didn’t leave anything behind that could hurt the club.”

He starts to walk off but turns back and adds, “Be ready for anything and watch your fucking backs.”

Not bothering to respond, I head to the porch and try the door. Of course, the fucker is locked. My eyes search the area until they land on a rock the size of a cantaloupe. Picking it up, I toss it through the window and reach my hand inside to unlock the door.

“Why the hell people put windows in their doors, I’ll never fucking understand,” Hack says with a shake of his head.

Opening the door, a smile crosses my lips. “Don’t complain about it, brother. Windows make our job a hell of a lot easier.”

As I step inside, the smell of lemons hits me in the face. “Someone’s been trying to clean this shit hole up.”

“Smells like it,” Hack replies, stepping in beside me.

It is almost too dark to see shit, so I leave the door open to let in as much of what daylight is left and look for the light switch. It only takes a minute to find it. When I flip it on, I’m surprised at what I see. The living room is clean, damn near spotless. It looks nothing at all like the pig sty it was the last time I stopped by, way before Stone turned on the club.

The room holds an old sofa, one that should’ve been thrown out years ago. There’s a veneer covered coffee table that is covered in round watermarks that I can almost guarantee came from beer cans, and one end table that is propped up with a book. Other than that, the only thing in the room is a stuffed bear. What the fuck? Stone didn’t have any little kids.