chapter Two
“We should use her.”
Liam ground his back teeth together. He didn’t agree with this at all. In fact, he thought the idea was about the stupidest thing he had ever heard. “Denise did what she did for Roni, not because she wanted to get an ‘in’ with the club. She made that very clear to me when I tried to say thank you for her part in getting us out. We don’t need to use somebody who doesn’t want to be involved. That’s dangerous.”
“I say we take a look at her financials. We might be able to persuade her,” William Walker Sr. disagreed with his son. “Steele,” he yelled. “I need you in here. Get me a credit report and everything else you can on Roni’s friend, Denise Cunningham.” He steepled his fingers together and rested his chin against them.
Dread settled over Liam at those words. There was a reason she had so readily picked up an extra shift at work on what he had been told was her birthday. When he’d approached her, he could see weariness in her eyes. It wasn’t weariness caused by working too much, it was real tiredness. The kind that one got from being depressed and living paycheck to paycheck for too long. He’d seen it in some of the women who liked to hang around the clubhouse. They were women who were used specifically for sex, they weren’t ‘old lady’ material. He didn’t want this for her, didn’t want any part of it.
With startling clarity, he knew that their bookkeeper and club secretary, Travis Steele, could find anything out about anyone. He was one of the best hackers in the world, and with the click of a mouse he could destroy a person’s life.
“Let’s see,” Steele clicked a few buttons and chomped down on a piece of gum. “Denise Cunningham is the single mother of thirteen-year-old twins. One boy, one girl. She was just served a foreclosure notice on her home. Looks like she used to work at a local factory and lost her job when the economy tanked. There are lots of credit card bills, and it looks like collection companies are beating down her door.”
Liam cursed. This was the exact kind of situation he didn’t want the club to be in. He didn’t want to have to use women to do a man’s job. His father liked desperate. Liam thought desperate equaled mistakes.
“Get Roni to get her in here. Let’s make her an offer she can’t refuse,” William told the group as he got up from the head of the table. The smarmy smile on his face made Liam rage.
“Wait a second old man, ain’t we gonna take a vote on this?”
The group gasped at Liam’s use of the phrase ‘old man’. There were many things his father was. A*shole, vindictive, arrogant. But old man? That was going to earn him a lashing when this was over.
“Do we really need to? She’ll work for us, and maybe we’ll get free p-ssy too,” he laughed flippantly.
Liam wasn’t laughing. His gaze had instead turned very dark.
William recognized the look on his son’s face. It was a look he’d seen in the mirror one or two times before. This was the kind of emotion he’d been looking to get out of his son for years. It was the kind of emotion Liam would need in order to run the club one day.
“That piss you off, son?” he goaded.
Liam carefully reeled his emotions back in. “Nah, I just wonder why we want a woman to do what our grunts can do. How are they gonna prove themselves if we never give them a chance? Jagger wants to be patched, and he never will if we don’t give him somethin’ to do. That’s why we have Prospects.”
William’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the son who was daring to question his authority. “I’m president of this club. Until you get this patch,” he pointed at the president’s patch on his cut. “What I say goes, boy. I say we use her. F*ck no, this isn’t going up for a vote. We need her, she probably needs us. End of discussion. You got anything else to say to me?”
He did have something to say, actually a lot to say, but knew this wasn’t the time to bring it up. He’d bide his time and approach the old man when he wasn’t so worried about how he would look to the rest of the club. He spit on the concrete floor to give him time to compose himself before facing his dad. “No, everything’s fan-f*cking-tastic.”
“Glad I have your support VP,” William bit off sarcastically. It was really a “f*ck you” more than anything. “Ya know what? Why don’t you go get her and bring her here? We’ll be waiting.”
Pissed, Liam grabbed his stuff and got up. He stood so suddenly the chair kicked back, shattering as it fell against the hard ground. Not bothering to pick it up, he stepped over it and stormed out of the clubhouse. Once he got to his bike, he hopped on and put the key in the ignition. At that point, he slowed down. Like always when he was about to go for a ride, his worries began to fade away. His heartbeat slowed and he could breathe normally. Chuckling to himself, he ran a hand through his hair before grabbing his helmet. If there was one person on this earth that could piss him off and turn him upside down, it was his father. He had been stupid and showed his true feelings – that he really didn’t want to use someone who was not affiliated with the club – and old William had jumped on this show of weakness. When would he ever learn not to walk around with his heart on his sleeve?
“Try not to hurt her, okay?”
He glanced around at the small voice that spoke behind his back. It was Roni. “I don’t even want to use her, but you know what William says goes.”
“I hate that I got her involved in this,” she worried, her hands twisting in front of her.
“It wasn’t you, it’s him. He’s an a*shole. He’s ruthless. That’s why he is who he is.”
“Are you going to take someone with you?”
He grimaced. “No, I’m not showing up at a single mother’s house with another large man. She’d probably think we’re there to rape her.”
“Can I give her a heads up?” Roni asked, a desperate plea showing in her eyes.
“Please do.”
With those words he was gone, and Roni frantically dialed her friend.
Damnit, she had known it was a bad idea to accept money from Roni’s brother. Denise hung up the phone and frantically looked around the house for her car keys. Was there any way she could leave before he showed up? Who was she kidding? He would probably be waiting for her when she came home. The kids were at a friend’s house and would be staying the night. At least she didn’t have to worry about them. A gentle knock sounded long before she was ready.
“Denise? It’s Liam Walker. I need you to come answer the door.”
She thought about telling him no or acting like she wasn’t at home. She hadn’t even heard his motorcycle pull up. She’d had no time to prepare.
“C’mon, don’t make me come in there.”
Would he really do that? Roni had told her he was the least of any of the evils that could have come to get her. A hard edge had laced his voice this time, telling her he would do whatever he had to do. His patience was obviously wearing thin. She walked over, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
“Come in.” She hated the fear in her voice and how small it sounded, even to her ears.
He shut the door behind him, checking to make sure no one was watching. “Care if I have a seat?”
Liam Walker was larger than life to her. He may as well have been over seven feet tall and four hundred pounds. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she nodded. Purposely, she sat as far away from him as she could and still be in the same room.
“This ain’t gonna work if you’re scared of me. I’m not here to hurt you,” he said softly, watching as she swallowed roughly.
“What exactly are you here to do?”
“The club needs a favor,” he explained.
Denise didn’t say anything. The leather of his cut creaked as he ran his hands along his jean-clad thighs. For some reason she was amazed at how big his feet looked in the large motorcycle boots he wore. She focused on that, trying not to acknowledge the fact that he had just asked her for a favor.
“What kind of favor?”
“It’s dangerous, I’m not gonna lie to you. To be honest, I really didn’t even want to bring you into this, but the old man wanted you here. We need some help transporting some drugs. You do it, you’re paid well. You don’t do it, we’ll pretend like this never happened.” It meant going against his dad, but he would do it to keep her safe.
She didn’t believe him. How were they going to pretend like this never happened? There was no way they would allow her to say no and she knew it, but still she asked. “Can I have some time to think on it?”
He almost gave it to her but knew that if she thought about it too much she might turn him in or run. “No you can’t think about it. You need money and the club needs you.”
“How do you know I need money?” she asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach. Granted, she had grabbed the money quickly the night before, but she had hoped desperation wasn’t completely apparent on her face.
Intimidation was the only thing that would make her do it at this point, and he knew it.
“There’s nothing the club doesn’t know about you. I know your house is in foreclosure. I know that you’re having a hard time feeding your children. I’m offering you a way out. Do this for them if you won’t do it for anyone else.”
His words were completely below the belt, but they were also completely true. “Promise me that my kids won’t be hurt.”
That was the one thing he could promise her. The children would not be hurt on his watch.
“I can promise you. I will protect them with my life.”
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.
“Tell me where and when.”
The deal was made, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to back out. If she backed out, she knew without a doubt he wouldn’t be able to protect her children. Just like everything else in her life up to this point, she would do it for them. That would help her sleep at night.