Through The Weeds (Nightshade MC Book 2) (28 page)

The next thing that Caroline knew, Buster and Ace were coming up the stairs with their guns drawn. She hadn't heard them coming. Tears formed in her eyes, and then Buster was in front of her. He looked her up and down from head to toe, his gaze falling on her raw inner arm and bleeding hand. She began to sob when his hands cupped her face.

<#<#<#<#

“I'm getting tired of patching you up.” Maggie smiled as she spoke. “Try and stay out of trouble until this heals. The scarring is going to be worse than we thought.”

“Will you be able to see the letters at all?” Caroline kept her voice low, hopefully low enough so that Buster, who was right outside the door, wouldn't hear.

“I can't say for sure but I think it's highly unlikely.”

“Well, that's something.”

“I'm glad that you can see a bright side.” Maggie finished up with the bandage. “I'll leave you some pain pills. Not as many as before. As much as you've been taking them, I don't want to risk the chance that you start to become dependent.”

“I probably won't need them.” Caroline felt like she had a high threshold for pain to begin with. Lately it had just been getting stronger with all of her injuries. “And I'm seeing the bright side of a lot of things today.” Maggie didn't know what had caused her old injury to be reopened or the bite mark on her hand, but she wasn't stupid. Caroline was sure that she figured something was going on. “You know that Buster didn't do this to me, right?”

“Of course. He's not the type for that.” Maggie smiled. “I'm used to not asking questions, Caroline, but I know love when I see it. He loves you the way that Hector loved me. It's rare, you know. You should be thankful for it every day.”

“How are you and the kids doing?”

“I never planned on being a single parent. There are times when I'm sure that I'm screwing them up real good, but most of the time, I figure I'm getting it right. They're young. So young that they're probably not going to remember much of him. That's alright, though, I remember everything.”

“He was a good guy. I really liked him. Not in like a weird way.”

Maggie laughed. “We had a fight over your blueberry muffins one day. He said that they were better than my mother's. I told him that was impossible so he brought a dozen of them home. He was right but I gave him hell until my first bite. And then I had to admit he was right and promise to feed my mother the muffins. With Baked gone, I guess I got out of that.”

“I can make you some, if you want,” Caroline offered. Immediately Maggie's eyes filled with tears and she regretted the offer. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad.”

“I'm not sad, exactly. I was just thinking how happy Hector would be to see her eat one of those muffins. They didn't exactly always get along. If it's not too much trouble to make them, I think that I need to feed my mother one for him.”

“I'll make you as many as you'd like. And it's no trouble, or I wouldn't have offered.” Caroline assured her. “Just let me know when you want them.”

“My mother's coming down Friday night to spend the weekend and help me.” Maggie sighed. “I love her to death, but if she tells me what to do with my kids again, I just might have to hurt her. Thankfully, I'm a doctor so that I can fix whatever I do.”

“That's looking on the bright side.” Caroline watched as Maggie began to pack up her kit. “Do you want to stay for dinner?”

“No. I need to get home to the kids and figure out what I'm making them.” Maggie handed her a pill bottle. “Take them as needed.”

“Thanks, Maggie. For everything. And I'll make sure you've got those muffins for when Mom visits.” She'd also make some cookies for the kids since she remembered Hector buying them consistently. “I'll drop them by the house.”

“Appreciate that. Now, take it easy. I don't want to see you again unless it's for those muffins.”

“I think that I'm going to lie down for a while,” Caroline told her. The lingering adrenaline from what had happened was fading and the pain of her arm was taking over.

“Sleep is good. Your body heals better when you're sleeping. I'll send Buster in.”

Caroline figured that Buster would be right outside of the door. Maggie had sent him out after he, for the third time, had tried to tell her how to treat her wounds. The doctor had suggested that it was much safer for his health to wait in the hall. He'd agreed with a smile, but he wasn't there now.

He'd probably gotten hungry or thirsty. She told herself that she was being silly to worry, he wouldn't have gone far. Caroline got in the bed, adjusted the covers over her and shut her eyes. If she tried she was almost sure that she could sleep, but instead of sweet thoughts to lull her to sleep all she could see was Harris looking up at her with most of her face missing.

Fuck. When the bedroom door shut a moment later she jumped. “You scared me.”

“Maggie says that you're going to be fine.” Buster cleared his throat. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Excuse me?”

“Jillian told me about your little plan. What the fuck were you thinking?” Buster's voice rose. He was good and pissed. “Were you thinking? Because you keep telling me that you're not stupid, but putting yourself out there as bait for Harris is about the stupidest thing you could have done.”

Caroline cursed Jillian in her mind. She had hoped that her friend would just keep her mouth shut. She should have known better. “I was tired of sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop, Buster.”

“We were handling it.”

“Obviously not so well,” Caroline replied dryly. “She ended up in our bedroom! And I didn't have to do anything.”

“As far as we can tell, Harris was the one who set the fire to draw Bones out. After talking to his wife, we realized she's been around their place several times posing as a neighbor. She got to know Kay a little, no doubt she picked up on the fact she's a little high strung.” Buster dragged his hands through his hair. “Once he left, she must have grabbed the ladder and come upstairs.”

“As much as you don't like the plan that I had, I was right. She would have come for me, just like she came for me today.”

“She didn't expect that you'd fight back. She should have known better, but she was completely unraveled. We found her car on the next block. It looks like she was living in it.”

“Did we get rid of it?”

“Took it to the scrap yard. It's a hunk of metal that will be shipped overseas before the day is over. We got lucky, there was a ship leaving today.” Buster sighed. “I can't have you taking risks like that, Caroline. If something happened to you....” He let the rest go unsaid.

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry but I just...” Caroline made a frustrated sound. “I was just tired of being the fucking victim. Every time I look down at my arm, I remember how weak I was. How I couldn't even manage to save myself, and I was tired of it. So you know what, I guess that I'm not really sorry.”

“You weren't weak. You survived, and that took strength.”

“It didn't feel strong.” Caroline felt the beginning of a headache take root between her eyes. “Can we not have this argument right now?”

“Okay. We can drop it on one condition.”

“That I never try and make myself bait for Harris again? I think that's a given.”

“I was more thinking that you let me handle any trouble that arises in the future.” Buster smiled at her. “And that you say yes to the bakery.”

“Okay.” Caroline didn't even have to think about it much, which surprised her. Somehow everything that had happened with Harris had erased whatever weirdness she felt about Buster's money. “But I don't want you going crazy. Something small. Something simple.”

“One small and simple bakery coming right up.” He moved in to sit on the bed next to her. “Now, lie down. You need some rest.”

“I'm not really sure that I'm going to be able to sleep. When I closed my eyes...” She didn't say any more, and she didn't have to. Buster's expression told her everything that she needed to know. He understood what she saw when she shut her eyes.

“You'll sleep. First, why don't we have something to eat? Train went out and brought back pizza. He said that you shouldn't have to think about cooking, and he didn't want Jillian in the kitchen.”

“He's not a huge fan of her cooking.” Caroline smiled.

“No. Not at all. So there's pizza. We'll have some. Maybe a beer, and then you can take your pain stuff. After that, you need a nice hot shower followed by a nice long rubdown. How's that sound?”

“If rubdown is code for sex, I'm not entirely sure that I'm going to be up for it.”

“It's not. It's just a rubdown. I'll even use that oil stuff that you like.” Buster reached out and took her hand. “I don't want you beating yourself up about Harris, Caroline. She came into our home. She threatened you. She threatened us all. You and Jillian did the only thing that you could do.”

Caroline nodded. There had been no choice. “And now we don't have to look over our shoulders every minute. It'll be nice to get out of the house. My garden has probably died.” She hated that she'd looked forward to tending it so much but hadn't actually had the time to.

“Next season, you'll plant one here, and you'll have plenty of time for it. We can even try and figure out a place for the bakery that has some land. You could grow stuff there, too. Maybe berries that you could use in pies.”

“That's a good idea. I could even plant some trees. Sure, it'll take years for them to mature, but once they do, it'd be so nice and fresh. There's that little orchard where the people have rebuilt. I don't know why I always love the idea of an orchard in the middle of the city. It's pretty awesome.” Caroline felt her face flush. “And I sound like a huge dork right now, don't I?”

“Just a little, but I happen to find it very sexy. Come on, let's head downstairs before there's not any pizza left.”

Caroline worried that the atmosphere would be different after the day's events. After all, it wasn't every day that they had to do a body cleanup and get rid of copious amounts of blood, but if she hadn't known  what happened, she'd never be able to tell. Ace and Jillian were in the living room, eating pizza off of paper plates. Train had an entire pizza in front of him and his nose buried in a book.

“Hey, has anyone heard from Danny and Amelia?” Caroline asked after she and Buster were settled at the table with a pizza in front of them. It was half everything under the sun and half pepperoni and spinach. Train knew what she liked.

“I talked to Danny earlier. He thinks that they might head back this week. He'll know for sure in the next couple of days.”

“They're probably fucking like rabbits to get knocked up again.” Train took a sip of his beer and put down his book. “Considering how long it took last time, we might need to change their address.”

“Train!” Caroline threw a wadded up napkin at him. “That's not nice.”

“That's because I'm not nice,” he replied with a laugh.

“If they need the time, they need the time.” Ace spoke up. “Buster's got Danny's proxy and we're keeping an eye on the house.”

“Speaking of houses, how is your new place, Train?”

“It's alright.” Train replied. “I've been meaning to get started on the outside, painting and putting up the new shutters. Guess that I'll have time to do that now.”

“Let us know if you need any help,” Buster offered.

“I'm good. It's kind of nice to do it by myself. Quiet. The whole place is quiet except for these two little hellions that live down the street.”

“Hellions?”

“Two boys. Always outside screaming and carrying on. Playing whatever the hell kids play now.”

“I didn't realize kids still played outside with the internet and television.” Jillian rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen.

“The place they live in looks like a shit hole, probably they don't have any of that.” Train grabbed another slice of pizza. “Get me a beer, will you?”

“Me too,” Ace called out.

“Me three,” Buster chuckled.

“None for me.” Caroline smiled. “I'm thinking that one should be my limit, since I took the pain killers.”

“Pussy,” Train replied with a chuckle.

Caroline flipped her middle finger up at him, but there was no real heat behind the gesture. Jillian passed out the beers and they continued to eat and make the sort of small talk that they always made. She found more peace in the meal than she'd thought she would. Harris could try and haunt her. Her mind could conjure up the images of the woman dying all it liked, but Caroline knew for sure that she'd done the right thing. She'd removed a threat, kept her family safe to have many more meals just like this one.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Vital Video called a rundown two story building a few blocks from the docks home. Just from standing outside of it, Buster felt a powerful need for a shower. He felt a sense of relief as Danny pulled up at the curb. It had been nearly a month since the night that they'd lost the bar and the women had been hurt ,and just about as long since Danny had taken his wife away for a few days.

Buster had known that Danny and Amelia needed time, so he'd felt like a real asshole when he'd told him that it was time to come home. All of Nightshade needed to be there for the meeting with Anthony Gagliardi because it was going to determine the future.

Tabitha's files had been a treasure trove. They'd made setting themselves up to take over Miller's business a million times easier. It was a business that would be much more profitable if they continued to trade in human beings, but there was no amount of money which could make that right for them.

Gagliardi had been Miller's biggest customer. He wasn't exactly pleased that they were going to close down his pipeline. This meeting was supposed to somehow smooth that over. The man obviously wanted something from them. Buster had no idea what it could be, but they were willing to listen. Maybe they could work something out.

“Sorry. There was an accident on the way back. Couldn't get around it.” Danny joined them and tossed a set of keys at Bones. “Thanks again for the cabin, Brother. It was just what the doctor ordered.”

“Anytime.” Bones pocketed the keys.

“Welcome back, Brother.” Train grinned at Danny. “You knock up the hag yet?”

“Watch your mouth about my wife, asshole.” Danny said the words without any real heat. He, like the rest of them, had resigned himself to the fact that Train and Amelia would never get along. “We here to do this or gossip like a bunch of little girls?”

“Let's do it.” Buster was glad that Danny's head was in the game. He'd worried that it wouldn't be, because he'd gotten the vibe that something was still off between him and Amelia.

Inside the building was cleaner than the outside, but not by much. There were two guys who looked like they could have easily been extras in a mob movie to greet them. They weren't searched and were lead back to an office.

Anthony Gagliardi was, to put it kindly, a large man, dressed in a suit that was just a little too tight. “Come on in. Sit down. Make yourself comfortable. You want something? A drink, maybe? Vito, go and get us something to drink. Now, let's talk business. After, you can all feel free to sample the merchandise. Chuckie, go and make sure that they're ready.”

“Thanks but that won't be necessary,” Buster replied. “We've got somewhere we need to be after where done here.”

“Suit yourselves.” Anthony shrugged his massive shoulders. “Let's get to it, then. Is there any number that gets Nightshade to reconsider their current stance on the merchandise I require?”

“No.” Buster spoke without hesitation.

“I suspected that might be the case.” Anthony let out a sigh. “And I'm assuming that you're not just going to look the other way if I decide to keep getting shipments through alternative sources.”

“No, we're not,” Buster replied.

“That puts me in a very bad place. My business requires... variety.” Gagliardi smiled, and it was hard for Buster to not just go over and punch him in the face. He was a vile man, in a repulsive line of work, there was no doubt of that, but his connections provided him with a certain amount of protection. The last thing Nightshade needed was another war.

“Plenty of women willing to open their legs for the right price,” Train pointed out.

“It's about more than just opening their legs. You'd be surprised at the things that appeal to consumers.” Anthony spoke in a condescending tone. Buster heard someone try, unsuccessfully, to hold back a snort of laughter. Train would know better than the rest of them. His tastes were pretty off the wall when it came to getting off. “Anyway, what if I import my merchandise to a different location? Am I going to have to worry about you breathing down my neck?”

“If the merchandise isn't coming in through our port, no,” Buster answered. There had been much debate within Nightshade over this very subject. “As long as your merchandise doesn't start showing up expired in the streets.”

“Well, there we go. It's our common ground, and I'm glad that we found it. I'll tell you something else, I can foresee us doing business on other endeavors in the future. In fact, that's why I'm going to give you five percent of my monthly take. When that day comes, you'll know the type of man I am, and we will be able to do business.”

Buster didn't feel right about taking the money but knew that refusing the offer would not be taken well, so he kept his mouth shut. Down the line, they could refuse the offer, if they wanted. For right now, he just wanted out of this office and away from Gagliardi. “We never know what the future holds.”

“That's right. Good man,” Gagliardi replied with a wide smile.

“We'll let you get back to work. Appreciate you taking the time to see us.” Buster motioned his head towards the door and Nightshade filed out. They saw themselves out, and no one said much of anything.

“Do we really want to do business with this scum?” Danny asked as they reached their bikes.

“We've done business with worse,” Buster pointed out. He wasn't going to say more, not out in the open on the street. Moments like this, he missed the bar because it had provided them everything they needed. Not just privacy but alcohol. “I guess we're heading back to my place.”

“We can go to mine,” Train offered. “We'll be the only ones there. Might be the best place for us to use for now.” The idea of taking over Foxy Bend had died along with Tabitha. Without her to sign the checks, the doors had already closed.

It was unanimous that Nightshade didn't want anything to do with Gagliardi in any part of the business that they were taking over from Miller. Once they'd known the true extent of it, they'd voted against certain aspects of it. There were lines that they just wouldn't cross. It wasn't who Nightshade was. It wasn't who they ever would be.

The meeting to bring Danny up to speed on everything else was pretty much run of the mill stuff. They paid dues. Discussed a possible charity event that Manuel was putting together for the local food bank, and went through suggestions to replace the bar. Nothing seemed to be the right fit and Buster wondered if anything ever would be. He'd even considered just rebuilding the bar from the ground up but never mentioned the idea, because he wasn't sure that the space wouldn't feel tainted somehow, as if they were trying to recapture the past.

For now, they'd continue to meet wherever they could find the privacy. Train's house provided a lot of privacy. It was in a neighborhood that was slowly rebuilding; there were several families with kids, who Buster could hear playing outside. “How's Amelia doing, Danny?”

“She's alright,” Danny answered. “All the blood she lost, it took something out of her. She's still pretty tired all of the time. I think that being back home will be good for her.” Danny's gaze shifted to Train. “Don't start.”

“I wasn't starting. I was breathing,” Train replied. “But now that you mentioned it, she just might be broken, like Jillian is. No offense, Ace.”

Ace flipped up his middle finger in response. “And Jillian isn't broken. She's just changed. Leave her alone, Train.”

“I like Jillian. She's no Caroline, but she's good people. I'm just saying, the shit that happened to her broke her. The pieces might be back together now, but it'll never be the way it was before. There's nothing wrong with that, but it needs to be acknowledged. And she needs to know it's okay to feel that way.” Train looked over pointedly at Danny.

There was a sudden and loud thump against the house. Immediately everyone went on alert. “Hold up.” Train walked over to the window. “It's those kids again. Little pains in my ass. Always outside making some kind of noise.”

“Do you ever go out there? Tell 'em to get the hell off of your lawn?” Danny asked.

“You trying to say I'm a grumpy old man?” Train demanded. “Fuck you. I'm not a grumpy old man. The shit gets annoying. “Just wish they'd shut the fuck up.” They all laughed again. Train wasn't known for being warm and fuzzy. “And if the screaming doesn't bother the rest of you, we can meet here. It's private.”

“Sounds good to me.” Buster cleared his throat. “If no one else has any business, I say that we call this meeting and get out of Train's hair. And before I forget, Caroline wants you all over for dinner Friday night. Some welcome home thing for you and Amelia, Danny.”

“Appreciate the thought, but I'm not too sure that Amelia's going to be up for it.” Danny ran his hand over his cleanly shaven jaw.

“I'll be there either way.” Train cut into the conversation.

“I think that you need to make sure she's up for it, Danny.” Buster knew that was the last thing that Danny wanted to hear, but it was also the truth. “Seeing everyone can't hurt. It might be good for her.”

“All due respect, Buster, but you worry about your old lady and I'll worry about mine.” Danny got to his feet. “I'm not pushing her to do anything. If she needs time, she needs time.”

“We're her family.” Buster pushed. He got to his feet as well. “Have her there.”

“I just said that I'm not pushing her,” Danny answered.

“Then I'll push her. Friday night dinner isn't optional. Everyone needs to be there. Am I clear?”

“Yeah,” Danny grumbled, “crystal clear. Are we done here? I need to get back.”

“Yeah, we're good,” Buster replied.

Danny left before anyone else. There was no real surprise in that, but Buster had a growing concern for Amelia. He'd always admired how strong she was, but now he wondered if it had finally just been too much for her.

“I'm going to head out, too.” Buster rose to his feet. He was restless, too restless to sit there, and too restless to go home. He needed a ride, a long one, to clear his head.

“I'm heading back to your house, too. Don't worry, me and Jillian will be out of your hair soon enough. The house is almost ready for us. Maybe another week or so.”

“I'm not going home. I need to clear my head. Do me a favor and tell Caroline I'm fine but not to wait up.”

<#<#<#<#

Buster opened another beer, drank half down in one sip. Caroline's dinner was going down in flames, and it was clear that she blamed him. It was going to be a long-ass night. It had started when Amelia and Danny arrived. Caroline had been thrilled to see her friend, but Amelia had given her the cold shoulder and headed immediately out into the backyard for a smoke. Caroline had followed her outside even after he'd told her to give her a little space.

The two women had obviously argued. Caroline had rattled the glass in the back door when she'd come back inside, and she hadn't said a word to him, or anyone else since. Normally when they were all together, it was a relaxed experience, but tonight was too tense. Only Train seemed oblivious to it as he plowed his way through the tray of appetizers Caroline had set out.

“The food is ready,” Caroline called out from the kitchen. “If I could get a hand getting the warming trays over to the table, I'd appreciate it.”

“I've got them.” Train got to his feet.

“Thanks.” Caroline took off the apron she'd been wearing to reveal the pretty blue dress she'd chosen. “Plates and utensils are already set out. You all obviously know where the beer is.” She watched as Train entered the kitchen. “Don't wait on me to eat. Enjoy.” Without another word she turned and walked through the living room and up the stairs.

Buster didn't know what that was about, but he knew Caroline was pissed and he was in for a long night. He took the stairs two at a time, expected to find the bedroom door locked, but it wasn't. “Hey. What's going on?” He shut the door and locked it.

“You forced Amelia to come here?” She kept her voice low, but he could hear the absolute anger in her voice. “You made coming to dinner at our home mandatory?”

“It's not going to do any good for her to lock herself away in that house,” Buster replied. “I won't apologize for that. She needs her family right now.”

“She lost her family. She lost her sister and niece and her child! She nearly died.” She glared at him.

“We're her family too, Caroline. You know that better than anyone!” Buster let his frustration show. He was getting sold shit for being concerned. “She needs to see what she still has, not just what she lost. That's what we're trying to do here.”

“Your intentions might have been good, Buster, but in this case, they were wrong. All Amelia sees today is people who forced her husband to drag her out of the house when she just wanted to spend the night with him. I told her that once they eat, they should leave. She said it didn't matter what I said, you'd have to be the one to tell Danny they could go.”

“I'm not going to hold them here at gunpoint, Caroline. Is that the sort of man that you think I am?”

“Of course it's not.” She glared at him. “And you even having to ask that pisses me off.”

“I was trying to do a good thing. I know that everything that's happened has taken a considerable toll on Amelia. I'm concerned about her. Like you said, she lost her blood family and her child. I know what that feels like.” Buster drew in a deep breath. The wound, when poked like it was being now, was still a painful lesion on his soul.