Through The Weeds (Nightshade MC Book 2) (24 page)

When Buster released her leg, instead of lowering it, Caroline lifted it up higher. “Fuck.” He swore as she placed her leg flat against his chest, her ankle extended over his shoulder. Caroline felt the muscles in her thigh protest but ignored them as he was once again as deep in her as he could be.

It was unlike anything that Caroline had ever felt before. She didn't even know where the idea had come from, but it was fucking fantastic.

She lifted her other leg, flexed her hips and felt her entire body clench. “Oh. Oh.” Buster began to move again, hard deep strokes that pushed her over the edge. Caroline arched her back, drove herself down hard on him, and that was all it took. “Buster!”

His only response was a grunt, it seemed all he was capable of as he began to slam into her harder, faster. Caroline felt her body flood in response, and then she was flying. There was no pain. There was nothing but the feeling of being full of the man she loved. It was all that she needed.

<#<#<#<#

The sun woke Caroline the following morning. She closed her eyes to go back to sleep but caught the scent of coffee in the air. Buster was still next to her. It took a moment to remember that Jillian and Ace were there. The events of the day before flooded back quickly. How could she have forgotten even for a moment?

She eased out of the bed, bit her lip to keep from screaming when she hit her arm against the bed. Buster didn't stir. It wasn't easy to wash up and get dressed, but somehow she managed. He was still sleeping when she left the bathroom and headed downstairs.

The source of the coffee was Ace. He looked like he needed it delivered by an IV drip. “Hey. Want a cup?”

“Please.” Caroline moved to sit down at the kitchen table. “You look like shit.”

He let out a laugh. “Thanks. Yeah, I didn't get much sleep.”

“How's Jillian?”

“She woke up a few hours ago. Asked for some time alone. I've been down here since. I don't want to push her.” He poured the coffee with a steady hand. “How are you?”

“I'm okay,” Caroline replied. Ace cocked an eyebrow at her. “Really, I am. I'm hurting, but I'll survive.”

“Alright. I'm here if you need to talk. You know that, right? You're not alone. You've got a whole family behind you.” Ace walked over to the fridge. “You want breakfast? I'm going to make breakfast. We all need to eat.”

“We do,” Caroline confirmed. “You want me to go back and check on Jillian while you get started?”

“Please.” He smiled, but it was sad. “I'm not sure that I can help her.”

“You can. You are. She loves you.” Caroline knew that Jillian hadn't spoken the words, but she knew that it was true. “I don't know why she hides it or why it scares her, but she does love you. And I know that you love her.”

“Pretty much have from the first time I saw her.” Ace replied. “I'm just not sure that it's going to be enough. She's... closed down.”

“It's just going to take time.” Caroline hoped that was the truth. She carried her coffee with her and walked to the guest room. She knocked on the door and when no response came, she opened it anyway. “Jillian?” There was a small bathroom off of the guest room and the door was shut.

A bad feeling settled over Caroline. She put the coffee down on the dresser, took a deep breath and walked over to the door. It opened easily but the door wouldn't swing all the way open. Jillian was in the way. She squeezed herself through the partially open door. Caroline grabbed the disposable razor out of her friend's hand. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“I can't get it off.” Jillian looked up from her bleeding arm.”Some of it but not all of it.”

“We need to stop the bleeding.” Caroline grabbed a hand towel and crouched down.

“I need it off of me. I need it off of me now. It's his! I don't want it.” Jillian nearly shouted the words. “I see it and I think... I need it off. Please.”

“There's no safe way to take it off right now, so we'll cover it.” Caroline wrapped the towel around. “Like mine.”

“Ace said that he hurt you, too. I'm sorry. I should have know that there was something wrong with him before it got to this.” She sighed and banged her head lightly against the wall.

“This isn't on you.” Caroline tied the towel the best she could. It would do. The wounds didn't look that deep, they probably wouldn't even need to call Maggie. “It's not. So don't even think that. No one is thinking that.”

“Is he still here?”

“Ace?” Caroline smiled. “Of course he is. He's in the kitchen, making you breakfast. So, why don't we get you up and go see if he can cook or not.”

Jillian shook her head. “I'm not hungry. And he shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be making me fucking breakfast.”

“Why not?” Caroline asked. She shut the door and sat down across from Jillian.

“You want a list?”

“I don't think that I'm going to buy any list you come up with, Jillian. Ace loves you. I don't know why that scares you so much that it pisses you off, but it's the truth. He's not going anywhere this time, even if you do try to push him away again.” Caroline knew that she was being blunt, too blunt by the way that Jillian's expression darkened. “I never understood why you did that.”

“I had my reasons,” Jillian replied after a moment of silence. “I'd really like to be alone now, Caroline.”

“You need to get that bandaged properly.” Caroline pointed out. “I can help you.”

“I can do it myself.”

“But you don't have to.” She got to her feet and held out her hand. “Come on. I'm going to help you and then we'll talk about breakfast.”

“I'm not hungry.”

“Tough shit, Sweetheart. You're not checking out. I'm not going to let you. You survived Jillian. You survived all the shit that Jake threw at you and everything that was thrown at you before. You're still here. Still standing. Still whole.” Caroline pulled Jillian to her feet and all but dragged her out of the bathroom.

Ace was standing in the bedroom when they came out. “Waffles are done.” His brow furrowed as he caught sight of the towel haphazardly wrapped around Jillian's wrist. “What the fuck happened?” He moved forward quickly, grabbed Jillian's arm.

The movement wasn't unexpected to Caroline, but it seemed that Jillian had been caught off guard. She made a sound like a wounded animal and visibly cowered. “Easy Ace, easy.”

“I'm not going to hurt her. Fuck!” Ace released Jillian's arm. “Get out of here, Caroline. I've got this. I said go.”

Caroline hesitated but Jillian caught her eye and nodded. Her friend still looked scared, but even if Ace was angry, Caroline knew that he wouldn't hurt her. She left the room, shut the door and stood there for a moment. There was no yelling. No raised voices at all, so she walked away.

Buster was in the kitchen, wearing only pajama pants and a tee shirt. He had the better part of a waffle shoved in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed. “These are fantastic. Good job, honey.”

“I didn't make them. Ace did.” Caroline told him. “He came back to tell me and Jillian and got distracted.”

“Distracted by Jillian, I'm assuming?”

“She tried to cut off her ink. Didn't get far since she was using a disposable razor, but she did manage to get some of it off.”

Buster sighed. “Maybe Maggie was right, and she needs to be somewhere with people who can help her.”

Caroline would have probably agreed with him the night before, but now she knew that Jillian was where she was supposed to be. She was with people who loved her. People who would help her in any way that they could. “No, she needs this. She needs Ace. She just needs to realize that's what she needs.”

“You seem pretty sure of that.”

“That's because I am,” Caroline smiled for him. “And I'm also sure that I didn't get a proper good morning from you yet today.”

“That was pretty shitty of me.”

“Yup,” she replied playfully. “Gonna have to make it up to me.”

“Get your ass over here,” he replied with a grin.

Caroline went willingly, and as soon as she was within reach, he grabbed her and pulled her to him. His mouth covered hers. He still tasted like waffles, and for some reason, it turned her on. Or maybe it was more accurate to just say that he turned her on. Everything about him made her want to drag him up the stairs but before she could do that, the doorbell rang.

Caroline sighed. “I suppose that we need to get that.”

“It's probably one of the guys. I'll let him in, and we'll take this upstairs and pick up right where we left off. How's that sound?”

“Perfect,” Caroline replied.

“And we're taking that maple syrup upstairs with us.” He winked at her. Caroline felt herself blush, but that sounded like a spectacular idea.

Chapter Twenty-One

Buster never considered that it would be Harris on the other side of the door. The bitch had been keeping a low profile. “What the fuck do you want?”

“I'd like to talk. May I come in?”

“I'd rather invite a vampire inside,” he replied without hesitation. “I've got nothing to say to you.”

“Not even about the bar exploding last night or the bodies that we found inside? Bodies that are at the medical examiner right now. We're going to find out who they were.”

“The bar exploding? I don't know what you're talking about. What happened to the bar?” Buster asked. He frowned at her.

“What about the bar?” Caroline spoke from behind him. “What's going on?”

“Oh, come off of it, both of you. You really think that I'm going to buy that you know nothing of it?”

“What can I tell you? We had an early night last night.”

“You weren't even at the end of the street when it exploded. I saw you.”

Buster didn't reply. She was trying to bait him, get him to say something he shouldn't. He wondered just how much she'd seen and where she'd been. But he knew that if she had anything she could take to her higher-ups, she already would have.

“I'm going to find out who those bodies belong to, and I'm going to link them to Nightshade. I'm going to take all of you down one way or the other.” Harris smiled. “And I'm going to love every minute of watching you fall. I'm thinking life in prison for you.” She laughed. “With some wet-behind-the-ears public defender, you won't even stand a chance.”

“I won't need a public defender, if it ever comes to that. I've got a lawyer on retainer. You know what? If you've got anything else to say to me, I think that you should call him instead. Jerome Kessler. You've heard of him, right?” Buster grinned at the surprise on the woman's face. “Now, get the fuck off of my property. You're not welcome here.”

“This isn't over. It's not over until you're dead or in jail. I know which one I'd prefer.” Harris looked past him to where Caroline stood. “Enjoy him while you can. You're on borrowed time, Caroline.”

Buster slammed the door shut. If he had to look at her face for one more minute, his control was going to snap and he was going to give into the urge to punch the woman in the face. He'd never struck a woman in his life, but he'd make an exception for that bitch. “Don't pay attention to a word she said.”

“She's not going to stop. She's got determination. You can see it in her eyes.”

“She can be as determined as she'd like to be. It doesn't matter. If she had anything, she'd be using it right now. She's fishing. Fuck her. Now, where were we?” Buster asked even though he remembered quite well. “And where is the maple syrup?” She didn't reply, and her silence told Buster that Harris had killed the mood for her. It was just another reason to despise the bitch. “Alright, come on. Let's have breakfast.”

<#<#<#<#

It was strange to have a meeting outside of the bar, even stranger that it was in his living room. Buster realized that they were going to need to find another place soon, and not only for Nightshade business but for the construction company. There was no reason to let the grass grow under their feet. He waited until everyone was settled to speak. “We need to start looking towards the future. Making plans.” All eyes were on him. No one looked like they disagreed with him. “First things first, we've still got a Harris problem. She's off her rocker, maybe even off the reservation.” It was a thought that he couldn't get out of his mind since she'd left.

“Can't we just kill the bitch already?” Train asked. “Seriously. Why is she still breathing?”

“Probably because she has a badge and people are going to notice if she's suddenly missing.” Monroe spoke up. “Even if she's not the most popular person, every single person in law enforcement is going to take her dying really personal. She's one of them. It'd be like what we'd do if someone came after one of us. She's already got her own grave half dug.”

“We don't need her breathing down our necks,” Bones said. Normally, he wouldn't be in on the meeting at all but these were extraordinary times for Nightshade.

“We need to be smart.” Ace spoke up. “Stay under the radar. Miller is dead. That was our endgame to begin with. Now, we're going to take his shit over, right? So we need to stay underneath the radar, not splash ourselves all over it.”

“He's right.” Buster nodded his head. “We need to start reaching out to people, setting things up before we lose our chance. It's not going to be easy. There's a lot to be done. I think that we're up for it. Hell, we've fucking earned it.”

“The work would be easier with more hands,” Danny pointed out.

“What are you saying?”

“I'm thinking that we worked pretty well with The Street Kings and their numbers are down. Maybe we should consider joining forces on a more regular basis.”

Since they already had an alliance, Buster realized that Danny meant something else. “You saying what I think you're saying?”

“I'm saying, we should think about asking them to patch in.” Danny sat up straighter. “It's worth a conversation at the least.”

“No. It's abso-fucking-lutely not worth a conversation.” Train didn't shout, but his words silenced the room just the same. “We worked with them. It didn't go to shit. That doesn't mean that they should be Nightshade.”

“It doesn't mean that they shouldn't be. I'm not saying we go slap a patch on 'em, just saying we should give it some thought,” Danny replied. Buster found himself a little surprised that Danny was pushing the issue so hard.

“I gave it thought. Fuck that.”

“Last I checked, no one man made decisions in this club.” Danny shot to his feet. “Well, at least not since Royal's gone.”

“Don't speak his name,” Train snarled. He got to his feet as well.

Buster rose to his feet, moved to stand between them. “Alright now, everyone back the fuck down. The way this club works is we all get to say our piece. Which means that you both need to hear each other out. Everyone's going to hear everyone out.” Train sat back down but there was still anger in his eyes. It took Danny a moment longer to do the same.

“I'm not sure that they'd want to patch in with us, anyway. The Street Kings have been around a long time,” Ace added. “Asking them to give up their club, it's like them asking us to give up ours. How well would that go down with us? I'm with Train on this one.”

“You don't think that we can benefit from having more people around? We're taking a risk to take over Miller's business, it'll probably put us in the line of fire one way or another. It's smart to think about expanding our numbers.”

“So, we take on more prospects. Patch these two in. Yeah, it hasn't been the usual year, but shit, if these aren't extenuating circumstances, I don't know what are. And they've earned it, in my opinion,” Train pointed out.

“I agree,” Danny concurred.

Buster figured that he wouldn't have any objection in the room. Monroe and Bones were both good men. It was a little strange to consider Monroe as a prospect, even though it had been his idea, because the man had certainly already proved his loyalty. “Let's bring it to a vote.”

Just a moment later, the vote was cast and they'd changed one of the longstanding Nightshade rules. The mood in the room had improved greatly. The tension between Danny and Train was still there, more on Danny's part than Train's, which Buster found both interesting and troubling.

“You know what we need?” Train said over the chatter in the room. “We need a fucking party.”

“A party?”

“Can't patch brothers in and not give 'em one hell of a night. Foxy Bend.”

“That was Jake's club,” Buster pointed out. “Without him around, it's probably not even opening.”

“Actually, it is open. I went there this morning to check the vibe and talked to Karen. Jake was completely hands-off except for when he wanted to watch chicks shake it. You know how Karen's always got her nose in a book?”

“Yeah. And she looks bored all the fucking time,” Ace called out.

“Well, she's smart. She's not as smart as me, but still, she's got a good head on her shoulders and she doesn't want to lose the good thing that she's got going on. Said that Jake didn't own the bar on paper. His sister did. Real cunt, to hear her tell it. Anyway, she says the sister is all about money and that if we provided the money, she'd make an offer on the bar for us.”

“You were just talking about a party, but now you're talking about making offers on the bar?” Buster wondered if Train had finally lost it. “Explain the thought process that got you there.”

Train shot him a look that suggested it should be obvious, but the rest of the room looked as confused as he did. “You said yourself that we need a new place. It's a strip club. It's one of the happiest places on earth, and now that it's cleaned up, it's making money. A lot of money. I saw Karen working on the ledger book. It'd go a long way to washing the money that we're going to make from Miller.”

“Laundering money isn't all that simple,” Bones pointed out. “There's a lot that goes into it, and if that's a road we're going down, someone who knows the process needs to run it.” He cleared his throat. “That's me.”

“You?” Ace scoffed.

“Yeah, me.” Bones sat up straighter. “My father did it. His father before him did it. They taught me everything that they knew and I taught myself more.”

“You better be able to back up the shit that you're talking,” Ace told him. “Because if you fuck up, we're all going to be fucked and broke. Well, except Buster, but he's always been fucking loaded.” Buster flipped his middle finger up in response.

“What do we know about the sister?” Buster asked. “Why does Karen think that she'll want to sell?”

“Karen says that she's a vapid bitch. Driven by dollars. If the price was right, she'd jump at the offer.” Train sat back.

“Let's make the offer a good one, then. Offer her half a million.” Buster named the sum without blinking. Nightshade didn't have that sort of money but he did. The trust that his grandfather had left him grew each year due to careful investing by the fund manager.

“You sure about that Buster?” Danny spoke first. They were all well aware of Nightshade's finances and would all know where the money would have to come from.

“I wouldn't have made the offer if I wasn't,” Buster replied. “We need somewhere for home base, and I don't think that Caroline's bakery is the proper place.”

“Caroline doesn't have a bakery,” Monroe pointed out.

“She doesn't yet,” Buster replied. He wasn't aware he intended to buy her one until he'd said it. It was a fine idea. As much as she enjoyed working with Nightshade, she missed baking. He could tell. “Just got to find the right place, so everyone think about that. Now, do we need to take a vote or is everyone in favor of making Foxy Bend ours?” There was no objection; he'd figured there wouldn't be. “Alright, I think that's enough for today. I'm sure you've all got something else you'd rather be doing.”

“Speaking of that, I'm taking Amelia away for a couple of days.” Danny cleared his throat. “She needs to get her head clear. I need to get my head clear. Took Amelia to the ER this morning because her stomach hurt pretty bad.” He exhaled a deep breath. “Turns out, she was pregnant.”

There was a sudden silence in the room. Danny's words, and the ones he hadn't said, hung heavy in the air. Amelia had been pregnant, and she wasn't any longer. Violence had taken another child away from Nightshade. “We're sorry to hear that, Brother, truly sorry.” Buster didn't bother to try to hide the emotion in his voice. “We're here. Whatever either of you need. You need the time. Take it. Where are you headed?”

“We'll find a hotel up there somewhere,” Danny replied.

“You don't need a hotel. My folks have a cabin up there for hunting and fishing.” Bones spoke up. “They've got a caretaker, so it'll be in good shape. I'll get the keys for you soon as we leave here, directions too. It's nice. I think that you'll like it.”

“Thank you, Brother.” Danny looked touched by the offer. “Appreciate it.”

<#<#<#<#

Buster found Caroline in the kitchen, the very messy kitchen. From what he could tell, she was both baking and cooking something that involved chicken. “Need a hand?” He offered even though he knew that she would refuse.

“No. I've got it. You'd just get in my way and try and micromanage me, which would make me have to stab you with a bread knife. I'd hate to stab you today. It would make a mess.”

“That the only reason?” He pushed away from the door.

“Of course not, but it's a consideration. And before you ask, I'm making chicken pot pies for dinner.”

“Don't those come out of the frozen section?” Buster teased and earned a look that would have made a lesser man run away screaming.

“You're a barbarian.” She shook her head. “You'll never ever be able to eat another frozen one again and think that it tastes good.”

“You've already ruined frozen lasagna for me. Wasn't that enough?”

“That frozen lasagna had cottage cheese in it. Cottage cheese does not belong in lasagna.”

“Still, it was pretty damn good.” Buster grinned.