Page 124 of Girth (Marked Skulls MC 1)
“But she’s my princess. She deserved her own castle!”
As an early Christmas gift, I transformed the guest house. I used to rent it out to people passing through or people in the club that needed a place to stay, but with Syd working the job she was we no longer needed the extra income. So, I decided to transform it into a little girl’s paradise. I stocked the kitchen with juices she could open and healthy snacks she could eat. I set up the television so she could stream all her favorite movies. I kept one bedroom and bathroom made up and locked in case my mother decided to come visit, but the other room, but the other bedroom and bathroom were decorated specifically for her.
There was a princess canopy that hung over the bed and sparkling stars that were stuck onto the ceiling. I painted the walls of the bedroom and bathroom pink and purple and yellow. She had a set of princess bedsheets and the fluffiest yellow and pink towels I could find to stock her bathroom with. I painted the guest house living room walls with this chalkboard spray paint and got her brightly-colored chalk she could use to draw all along the walls.
I did everything to make that her own personal space. I decorated the window sills with glitter paint and covered all the sharp edges with pink and purple foam she couldn’t take off. I plugged up all the outlets with dual and colorful nightlights she could turn on if she ever cut out the lights to watch a movie and got scared. By the time I was done redecorating it, my guest house was the perfect princess paradise.
And the three of us christened it with a tea party where all her stuffed animals and friends from school were invited over to the house.
I slid my arms around Syd’s waist while she continued to stir the pot of stew on the stove. I loved her stew because I loved the rice she made to go with it. She put just the right amount of butter and salt in it to make it phenomenal, then I got to pour this meaty goodness over it that she made just for me. I kissed her shoulder and felt her skin prickle against my lips.
“I’m going to make you scream my name after we put Emery to bed.”
Sydney let out a sultry laugh, and she turned around from the stove and wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I love you more than anything Syd, and I promise no matter what, to always keep you safe.”
“I love you too Hawk, and I know you will.”
As I planted my lips on hers, my phone rang in my pocket.
And the ring tone was Mac’s.
“Go ahead,” she said breathlessly. “If you need to go, I’ll put everything in the oven, and you can reheat it later.”
“I love you, Syd,” I said as I kissed her cheek.
“Go, go. Make sure Uncle Mac’s all right.”
“Go for Hawk,” I said as I picked up the phone.
“We got ourselves a problem,” he said.
I automatically took my leave and walked outside. I didn’t get many phone calls like this from Mac that sounded as panicked as he did, and the first thing I wanted to do was make sure Emery was all right.
That and to make sure no one was watching us.
“What’s up?” I asked as I felt Syd’s eyes on me through the window.
“The case fell through,” he said.
“It fucking what?” I asked.
“The case against the Devil Saints fell through.”
My mind whirled with the consequences of what he was saying. The reaction must’ve been prevalent on my face because now Syd was standing at the sliding glass door. She knew better than to open it and listen, but her hands were folded over her chest, and her eyes were dripping with worry.
I turned my head back to the guest house, just to make sure Emery was still laughing and playing like she should be for an seven-year-old.
“How the fuck did that happen?” I asked. “The DEA had everything.”
“Apparently they hired a fucking good lawyer to defend them. The lawyer convinced a jury that all the DEA had was circumstantial evidence,” Mac said.
“But all the other shit they were doing. What happened to all that?” I asked.
“They were trying to get them on the drugs before they dipped into anything else. They could only charge the group that was at the scene with the drugs. They could track everyone else, but they could only try those that were surrounding the truck during the shootout because there were no fingerprints or anything on any of the boxes.”
“They were fucking shooting at federal agents! How the hell did they get away with that!?” I asked.
“A couple of them are in jail for that exact thing because they did kill two agents. They’re still investigating the Saints because of that. You know, digging into their shit. I’m sure they’ll find the rest of the stuff they’re doing, but things fell through with the drugs. For now, the Saints are back out in the wild, and they’re looking for vengeance.”
I turned my gaze back to Syd, and I could see the blood run cold underneath her pale skin. I felt sick to my stomach. How the hell could this have happened? The plan was flawless, and they sunk themselves further into the mire by shooting and killing two fucking federal agents.
They were willing to witch hunt the Iron Souls for half the amount of drugs on their property, but they were willing to let the Devil Saints roam freely because of some bullshit lawyer.
“I’d like to have that fucking lawyer’s throat,” I said.
“All of us do. Look, I wanted to call you when I had all the information. They’ve been back around for about two days. You seen anything weird around your place?” Mac asked.
“Not that I can recall right now, but I sure as hell will be on the lookout now,” I said. “Is there any chance someone caught onto the fact that it was a setup. I mean, someone on their legal team?”
“Doubtful. If they had, they would’ve been coming after us one by one. But I wouldn’t put it past the Devil Saints to know. That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Shit,” I said.
“There is some good news out of all this, though,” Mac said.
“What’s that? I could use some.”
“Because the DEA did find massive amounts of drugs in that truck, they’ve started another witch hunt on drug deals, in general. The heat is completely off The Road Rebels, the DEA is practically on the other side of the country trying to take down the mob or some shit that the drugs were traced to, and we’ve gotten our second shipment in so nicely that we’re able to line your pockets with cash for quite some time.”
“That’s actually really good news,” I said, sighing.
“Look, I know you’re worried about the Saints coming after us. But we ran a clean operation. The have no idea that it was us that set them up for the fall. The club’s on the lookout anyway, and I’ve got eyes and ears planted all over town. I was able to line some fun pockets with a bit of talking cash just in case things were to go down. All of us are gonna be safe. Including your beautiful family.”
“Thanks, Mac.”
“How’s Emery doing? I heard Syd started a new job,” he said.
“Emery’s going well. She loves that guest house rearrangement you helped me do.”
“How does she like the chalkboard walls? I thought that was a good idea,” Mac said.
“Oh, she’s all about it. That was a good idea on your part,” I said, grinning. “And Syd’s job is treating her well. She’s been there for a couple months now. It’s only part-time, but it brings in a great paycheck and keeps her head above water until she can adjust.”
“It’s been a year since you two have been married. She doin’ okay?” he asked.
“I think there are times where she worries about what all this will do to Emery. She’s currently looking at me like she’s about to have an aneurism though, so I should go.”
“Give her my love for me, and tell her that we’ve got this. The club’s lookin’ out for you guys. We’ll do random drive-bys to make sure things are going well, and if the Saints move into our territory at all, we’ll know they’re comin’ this time.”
This time.
Those two words that always threw me back into the past.
“Hawk, listen to me.”
“I hear ya, Mac.”
“All of us are gonna be fine. There’s nothin’ that’s tellin’ us that the Devil Saints know. This isn’t like it was seven years ago. If they so much as sneeze in our direction, we’ll know.”
