Unbreakable: Unrequited Part Two (Fallen Aces MC Book 2) Read online

  Hooch, a guy I remember being introduced as Murphy on a previous trip, and one of the other Forth Worth boys whose name I don’t know, play a game of poker using cards that’ve seen better days. On seeing me they all drop their hands to the table, revealing their cards, and stand.

  “He walks.” Hooch takes my hand in his and starts to pull me in for a clinch before he freezes and backs off, probably realizing the error that could have been if he’d slapped my back. “Good to see you up, man.”

  “Where are we?” I ask, leaning in close as the man of the house disappears into the adjoining kitchen.

  “Seems the club has new friends,” Murphy fills me in. “They came across you before we could get there. Your instructions on where to find you weren’t all that flash.”

  “I know.”

  “They used your phone to call the last dialed number”—Hooch—“and here we are.”

  With my eyes to the floor, I try to remember it, any of it. Nothing. “How long?”

  “Have you been out?” Hooch clarifies.

  I nod.

  “A couple of days.”

  Fuck. Elena. “What’s been happenin’ while I’ve been down?” My heart races as I wait on the next words from any one of these three.

  Hooch glances at the nameless brother and gives him a tip of the chin before retreating to the chair he’d been in. “How about you pop out for a smoke break, Seamus?”

  The lack of food, the excessive bed rest, and the fear of the unknown slam into me all at once. I shake out my hands as a sheen of sweat pricks at every pore, and shift between my feet while Seamus exits the room, showing his prospect patch in the process. “What happened?”

  “There’s been meeting after fuckin’ meeting,” Hooch explains. “With Gunner and Twig out, Apex wanted an emergency vote to replace them, but Beefy put a stop to it.”

  I search out a seat and sit on the very edge of the cushion. “Why?”

  “Said he wasn’t fully convinced of Apex’s intentions behind the immediate appointment of two officers amidst crisis,” Murphy answers.

  “Layman’s terms?”

  “Sorry.” Murphy smiles and takes his seat opposite me. “In other words, Beefy thinks Apex would have had supporters voted in whether they suited the role or not. He thinks Apex was lookin’ to strengthen his backing, usin’ the situation to his own benefit by puttin’ men in place who’ll get behind whatever shit he’s got goin’ on in the future.”

  “Aren’t we all meant to support the old fuck, though?” I place an elbow on the arm of the chair and try to ease the ache in my side. “Why would he be worried about that?”

  “Look, people have been talkin’ while you’ve been laid up. We know that this infighting has somethin’ to do with you, brother.” Hooch twists in his seat, cards flicking between his hands as he shuffles them. “Can you tell us what we need to know?”

  I close my eyes and bury my face in my hands. My worst nightmare came to fruition; the club got pulled into my shit. People are confused and rightly so. But how much do I tell them?

  “Where were you headed when you rang me?” Hooch asks.

  “Kansas City.”

  “Why?”

  I groan and drag my hands over my beard before facing them both. “What have you heard?”

  “That you and Apex are at loggerheads about somethin’,” Murphy says. “Rumor has it, the whole thing’s about a girl.”

  Hooch snorts. “Ain’t it always about a girl?” The two morons high-five each other.

  “Yeah, it’s about a girl.”

  Murphy’s face falls flat. “Why should Apex give two shits about who you’re seein’?”

  I look to the carpet between us, tracing the faded paisley pattern with my eyes. “Because she’s Carlos’s wife.”

  Hooch chokes on nothing, beating his chest with a closed fist.

  Murphy just stares. “What?”

  “You heard me.” I’m not hot on repeating it.

  “How the fuck did that happen?” Hooch finally blurts out. “Why?”

  “Didn’t know at first, okay? We met, I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about her, and then she dropped the bombshell on me.”

  “You’ve called it off though, right? Like, Carlos is just pissed about what’s been, you know?” Poor Hooch—he’s so damn hopeful.

  I shake my head at the guy.

  “Shit, King. You know how to complicate things, eh?”

  “Yeah, because I did the whole fuckin’ thing with the specific intention of messin’ everything up.” I narrow my gaze on Hooch, ready to throw down if he pushes me any harder, fuck my injuries. I shift my gaze to Murphy and soften my expression. “Has anybody heard how she might be?”

  “Dude, we didn’t know about the woman, so how were we supposed to know we needed to keep our ears to the ground for you?”

  He has a point there. “Yeah, you’re right.” I absently pat down my jeans. “Where’s my phone?”

  “I’ll go grab it.” Murphy pushes up from his seat and leaves the room.

  Hooch lets out a heavy breath and shakes his head. “You know Apex blames this whole fucked up hit on you, right?”

  “Figured as much,” I murmur. “He’s probably been sportin’ a fuckin’ boner at the possibility of givin’ me the ass from the club over it, huh?”

  “He’s got tough competition in Beefy, man. A couple of the lifers have heard rumors that the other officers will veto any action Apex proposes to take against you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. You might have fucked up, brother, but you’ve got some strong support in that chapter of yours.”

  “And yours?” I ask. “Where does Fort Worth stand in all of this?”

  Hooch grins, relaxing back into his seat. “You know how my old man feels about Apex.”

  “Yeah, he gave me some indication on that.” Certainly sounds interesting, what’s going down in my absence. “They expectin’ me back as soon as I’m up?”

  Hooch nods. “Beefy wants to talk to you about your ‘problem’.” His gaze tracks Murphy as he re-enters and sets my phone down on the small table beside my chair. “You got a plan?”

  I shake my head as I grab my phone and power it up. Thank fuck. The damn thing has twelve percent left on it. Just enough. I set it aside while it catches up on missed notifications. “I have a contact on Carlos’s side though. Figured I’d start there.”

  “That wise?” Hooch leans forward, elbows to his knees as he looks me over.

  “I need to know how she is.” I pick the phone up and clear the screen, scrolling through the contacts until I find the number I need. All eyes are on me as I tap the dial icon beside Sully’s name and lift the phone to my ear. “My head won’t be on right until I do.”

  Murphy and Hooch exchange glances while I listen to the rings. Our host pops his head around the doorway and indicates lunch is ready right as Sully’s phone clicks over to voicemail. I end the call without leaving a message and pocket the device as Seamus re-enters the room.

  “Why all three of you?” I ask, trying to push the frustration at getting no answer to the back of my mind. “Didn’t think I’d warrant this much protection.”

  “We’re not here for protection,” Hooch says dryly, gesturing for the other two to head through for the food. “We’re here to make sure you don’t take off.”

  I hesitate, my eyes narrowed on Hooch’s back as the he follows the other out of the room. “Thought you’d be on my side through all of this, man.” Here I was thinking he was doing me a solid, but the asshole was working on Apex’s behalf all along.

  Hooch hesitates, his eyes cast down as he looks over his shoulder. “I am on your side. That’s why I’m makin’ sure you do this right and don’t charge on in there, guns blazing, gettin’ your ass shot the hell up.” He spins around slowly, taking a step toward me. “You rang and said you needed help, so I turned up. No, I didn’t know what the problem was until now, but fuck, man, you rode for hours droppin’ you
r blood on the road from here to Texas. Take a stupid man not to realize it was somethin’ you weren’t keepin’ a level head about. You needed somebody to tug on your reins and slow you down, and me?” He thumbs his chest. “I’m the idiot crazy enough to try and pull this bronco in.”

  “I appreciate it, brother. I really do.” The whole situation has me as jumpy as a cricket in spring. One comment, one misled thought and I was ready to throw years of friendship with Hooch out the window.

  “Come, eat. You need to get a bit of strength back if you’re gonna have to deal with Apex’s shit.”

  I follow Hooch through to the dining table, a hell of a lot more confused than I was when I first stepped in the room. The saying goes that sometimes less is more, and the deeper I go into this mess with the club, with Elena, the more I have to agree.

  Maybe I should step out before I get stuck at this meal and try Sully again? But what’s the point? His call history will show him who rang, and if he were in a position to, he would ring back. He could be busy. Maybe he’s with Carlos? There are a thousand reasons why Sully didn’t answer. Still, it does nothing to appease my worry.

  I take a seat at the table and half-heartedly listen to the guys make small talk with our hosts. The woman—Edith—works at an old folks’ home in Kansas City. They’d been on the way in to drop her off for her shift when she’d spotted my boots poking out from behind my bike on the side of the road and had asked her husband to pull over.

  “It really is great to see you up and about,” Edith says, passing me a plate of bite-sized pastries. “I was worried about you for a bit there.”

  The woman’s a paradox. Here she is, sitting in her country-themed kitchen, full of manners and being the perfect host, while talking with an outlaw she’s aided off the radar as though it’s no big deal. I take stock of her pressed pale blue shirt and sensible fawn slacks as she stands to retrieve the salt and pepper shakers from the counter.

  “We’re thankful for your help,” Hooch says, filling the silence and giving me a pointed glare. “Would have been a darn sight harder if you hadn’t stepped in.”

  “You look confused,” Edith’s husband says, rolling up the sleeves of his work shirt while he eyes me over the table. “Bet you’re wondering why people like us would risk the trouble to help you lot.”

  “Yeah,” I admit. “A little.”

  “I was young once, too, you know. Made a few mistakes of my own.” He lifts a placating hand. “Not that I’m saying you boys made any mistakes—each to their own—but priorities change as you get older.” He exchanges a look with Edith as she fidgets with her fork.

  “You can tell them, Lee,” she murmurs. “It’s okay.”

  Murphy and Hooch appear as lost as I am, hesitating with food halfway to their mouths as they look between our two hosts. Seamus continues chewing on his lunch while he stares off into nothing, clearly tuned out from what goes on around him.

  Edith’s husband—Lee—takes a deep breath and sets his lunch down, pushing the plate toward the center of the table. “Bought my first bike when I was fifteen. Saved the money working an after-school job at our neighbor’s farm for three and a half years. Thought I was the biggest, meanest, and baddest asshole in town. Had a chip on my shoulder a mile wide, and an attitude that would eventually get me almost killed.”

  “Were you patched to anyone?” Murphy asks. The question’s not hostile—he’s genuinely curious.

  “Devil’s Enforcers.”

  “Why did you leave?” I say. There isn’t a thing in his place that indicates he ever belonged to an MC. He’s buried his memories, which means whatever the reason for leaving was, it can’t be good.

  Edith answers for him. She rises from the table and pulls the hem of her shirt out of the waist of her slacks. Hooch clears his throat, and Murphy averts his gaze. Seamus stares at the wall and chews.

  I lock eyes with Edith as she bunches the fabric up to her ribs to reveal a mass of scars. “Buckshot.” I give her a respectful nod as she tucks her shirt back in and takes her seat again. “We were out on a club ride for a fundraiser when a few uninvited guests thought they’d join in and started causing trouble. Lee was the Enforcer’s road captain at the time, and so he felt it was his responsibility to get them to leave.”

  “Take it they didn’t?” Hooch leans back in his chair, paying no mind to his food.

  “Nope.” Lee shakes his head. “A fight broke out while we were stopped somewhere for lunch. The old ladies were seated outside with the kids, close to the play area. We pushed the intruders back into the parking lot, but when they drew weapons and started toward the building again . . .” He scrubs a hand over his face, clearly trying to keep his composure. I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t have to say anymore, but he holds a hand up to quiet me and gives a quick tip of the head. “When they started back toward our group, the families were right in the middle of it.” He reaches out and finds Edith’s hand. “This woman is the bravest lady I know.”

  A lone tear escapes Edith’s eye as she smiles at Lee. Silence surrounds the table, but somehow it’s fitting—respectful.

  “Who caused the trouble?” Hooch quietly asks.

  “Blood Eagles.”

  Seamus finally stops chewing and looks at Lee. The remaining three of us look at one another, and Murphy huffs out a breath as he tosses both hands behind his head. “Of course.”

  “Anyway,” Lee says, “I know they’ve got a war on with you lot, which is why I agreed to help when I saw your patch. Any enemy of those fuckers is a friend of mine.”

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done,” I reiterate. Whatever the Aces have done to help these two out while they’ve cared for me, I hope it’s been generous. “We’ll leave this afternoon though and let you get back to normal.”

  Lee laughs and pulls his plate closer again. “Nothing’s normal any more, King. You know how it goes: once you’re a part of this life it has a funny way of finding it’s way back around to you, no matter where you go.”

  THREE

  Elena

  Another dull crash resounds around the library as something heavy hits a distant wall. I close the book I’m trying to read; the third time re-starting the same paragraph kills the mood for me anyway.

  Carlos has been on a hair trigger for the last few days. Yesterday Sully had to disarm him before he shot the groundskeeper for leaving grass clippings amongst the stone path that leads through the gardens. Poor guy was out there on his hands and knees until well after dark, picking the blades out by hand.

  I’ve perfected the art of staying on the opposite side of the house from him. I figure if I’m going to be here a while, I may as well learn how to deal with such a volatile spouse. I made my bed, now I’m lying in it.

  I’m still confused after leaving King two weeks ago. He said to wait, that we deserve a better future together, but that kiss, his despair . . . he wasn’t hopeful. I spend most mornings in bed with the covers over my head while I wonder if it was all a lie. Perhaps he was giving me hope to try and let me down gently? I don’t know—I can’t figure him out. He’s not the happy, shy guy who stole my heart at a small café anymore. He’s . . . changing. Adapting to his surroundings maybe? Whatever it is, becoming a patched member has set a fire alight in him. It’s as though he has something to prove. But to who?

  “There you are.”

  I whip my head toward the doorway and release my breath at the sight of Carlos's bodyguard. How could I let myself get lost in my thoughts and be unprepared like that? What if it had been Carlos standing there now, not Sully? Stupid, Elena. Stupid.

  “Everything under control out there?” I ask.

  Sully smirks and steps inside the library, pushing the door closed softly behind him. “You know how he is—probably couldn’t get a staple out or something.”

  I smile at the visual—it takes a lot to make me actually laugh these days. “What’s up?”

  Sully sighs and crosses the room to sit on the arm
of the seat opposite mine. His fingers twist one of the cufflinks on his sleeves to the point where I’m convinced he’s about to snap it in half. “I don’t want to reopen old wounds. I mean, you’ve only just come right.”

  This is right? I haven’t been right for a while. I’m not okay; I’m numb. “But?”

  “I missed a call from King.”

  The book in my lap hits the floor as I scoot forward. “And?”

  “I couldn’t answer—I was driving at the time . . . with him.”

  “So ring King back.” I wind my hand in circles, indicating he should hurry the hell up and pull his phone out. “Why are you waiting?”

  Sully’s dark eyes lift to find mine. “I thought you could do it.”

  My heart is as frantic as a hummingbird’s wing. I was so convinced I didn’t want to talk to him again, so angry, and so fed up with being hurt by Carlos for my betrayal that I destroyed the phone King gave me in a fit of rage the day after he left me behind. I feared it would be found and I’d pay the price. I’d regretted it immediately, but the funny thing with having nothing but time is I’d had all I needed to come to terms with my snap decision and volatile temper. I’d made peace with my stupid mistake . . . until now. I’d do anything to get that damn phone back and working.

  “Gimme.” I wiggle my fingers at him.

  Sully grins and hands over his smartphone.

  I stare at the screen and roll my eyes. “It’s locked.”

  He takes it back and releases the screen, handing it over with King’s number poised and ready to go . . . at least, I assume it’s King’s. “Blue?”

  “Color of his balls, given your situation,” Sully says with a dead-straight face. “Couldn’t have his real name in there now, could I?”

  I stare at him a beat before bursting out in laughter. It feels good. “Nice.”

  He sits quietly while I stare at the phone, tapping the screen every so often when it dims so it doesn’t go to sleep again.

  “Nervous?”

  “I shouldn’t be, huh?”

  Sully shrugs. “Understandable. Would you like a moment alone?”