Page 69 of Vex

“Glad to do it. We all had fun. I promised her and the other kids we’d go back next week, and half the men have insisted on going too. I’m anxiously looking forward to seeing Gunner and Cash try to fit their asses into a go-cart. Gunner’s knees are going to be against his ears. And I don’t think a go-cart has been made that’s wide enough for Cash. Should be good fun.”

“Vex!”

I hear my name shouted and look to see Gunner and Cash hauling ass across the clubhouse toward the main door. I lift Taja to her feet, set her on the floor and stand.

“Go to Pooh or Petey’s house. Stay there until you hear from me. Don’t leave the compound,” I order before running out the door behind the others.

“What’s going on?” I shout to Gunner as Pooh’s truck slides to a stop next to me.

“Explosion and fire at Dreams,” Gunner says before he and Cash jump into his truck and tear out.

I hurry to get into Pooh’s truck and we’re off right behind them.

The fire department’s finishing their job while Gunner and Freddy are speaking with the cops. I’m standing in the lot with several of the Devil’s looking over the damage. The fire department was quick in their response and did a great job in minimizing the damage, but there’s still enough that Dreams is going to be closed down for a while. No injuries and that’s all that really matters to any of us.

Freddy and Pigeon were both there and got everyone, employees and customers, outside safely. We’ve sent everyone home after making sure they were okay to drive. Suki was here working but wasn’t near the kitchen when the explosion occurred. It was a small one but only because it failed. If it hadn’t, countless injuries and probably a few deaths would’ve occurred. I sent Suki to the compound to be with Taja and let her know what happened.

Gunner and Freddy approach our group and Gunner lays it out.

“We have no choice but to let the cops do their thing. We’ll let them chase their tails. It’ll keep them out of our way. Rex has the video feed and I’m heading back to view it. Story to the cops is that the security cameras weren’t working. Stick to that if asked. Meet at the clubhouse for Church.”

-*- -*- -*- -*-

“Do you know this guy’s name?” Gunner asks Taja as he points to a still image from the video feed.

“Road name is Tats. One of Rooster’s guys,” she answers quietly. “That’s all I know about him. He’s the one who hit me right after mom died and Rooster showed to get payment for Tessie.”

“He’s going to be a dead man when we find him,” I tell her with no hesitation.

Taja looks me in the eye for a moment before giving a quick nod of her head. She gets the life. She understands how things work in an MC, even though she was young when Rooster left. Smart girl.

“I’m so sorry that…”

“This isn’t on you or Tessie. This is all on Rooster,” Cash interrupts.

Gunner asks a few more questions, and Taja answers as many as she can before I walk her back to my room. Standing just inside it, I pull her close to me and hold tight. I know she’s feeling guilty and to blame, but Cash was right. Rooster’s made a fatal mistake by taking on the Devil’s. He made that choice and he’ll pay for it.

“Get some sleep. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I whisper to her.

I give her a brief hard kiss and close the door behind me. I know she’s not going to sleep much, but I can’t help that right now. The club has business to take care of.

Chapter 25

Taja

When I hear the scratching noise I’ve been expecting, I get out of bed and pad over to the door. When I open it, in walks Duffy, tail swishing. He rubs against my legs on his way past and lands with a thump on the bed. I curl up with him, stroking his fur and listen to his purring. I think I can sleep now.

Sometime later, I feel Vex sliding in behind me and wrapping his arm around me to place his hand on my stomach. He does that often, and I’ve come to need it from him. I push back slightly, so we’re touching back to front the full length of our bodies. He’s solid, warm and all man.

“Everything okay?” I ask sleepily.

“Will be. Get some sleep and grow our baby,” Vex murmurs in my ear.

I fall back to sleep knowing that things are a mess right now, but Vex won’t bail and leave me to deal with it alone. The club won’t bail on Vex, Tessie or me. For the first time in my life, I can clearly see what a good MC club can be. It doesn’t matter if you ride a bike or drive a truck. All that matters is the caliber of the people you surround yourself with.

“Youaregoing to take the credit card, and youaregoing to buy everything our little one will need,” Vex tells me while pushing his card into my hand.

“Vex! You’re being ridiculous. I’m not racking up a huge credit card balance buying all the stuff you keep saying we need. We can pick things up a little at a time. Until Dreams is back up and running again, we’re both out of work. Dude, seriously, you might want to listen to me on this. I know how to budget like nobody’s business,” I continue to insist to the stubborn ass man.

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