Page 14 of Abe (Marked Skulls MC 3)
I made the introductions, and Lewis shook his hand, eyeing him up and down. Oz smiled widely and didn’t know what to do with his hands as he stood behind me, fidgeting.
Rodeo began to give Lewis the details of our meeting with Paz Garcia. Lewis watched us with narrowed eyes, nodding his head as he listened.
“They want a trial run in a week’s time?” he asked, when Rodeo was finally done talking.
“Yeah, we don’t have the means to handle it. Tell Abe that!” Rodeo retorted and Lewis looked at me for my input.
“I’m working on it. Right now, we have Oz. This would be the perfect opportunity for us to put him to the test,” I said and Lewis turned his eyes on the kid again.
“And if he fails, which I have a feeling he will, what do we do then? Besides, what is one kid going to add to this mission?” Rodeo thundered and I glared at him, hoping he would just back the fuck down.
“One extra guy is better than nothing. In a few weeks, I’ll be able to recruit more,” I replied and Lewis shook his head.
“Rodeo is right about this. Now, instead of the three of you looking after the shipment and the distribution of these weapons, it’s going to be four of you. How much of a difference is that going to make?” Lewis asked.
“If I can just get a gun, I swear I can add a lot. I’m confident of it,” Oz spoke up and I whipped my head around to look at him with warning.
“First rule here, kid, is that you don’t speak till you’re spoken to!” Rodeo barked at him and Lewis waved a hand in the air.
“It’s fine, Rodeo, back off,” Lewis said and he turned from us and walked off behind the bar to pour himself a drink.
Lewis focused on Oz now.
“You have experience shooting a gun?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir!” Oz replied.
“Be honest here, kid. Have you ever shot a gun before?” Lewis growled and I saw Oz gulp as he looked straight at Lewis, holding his gaze.
“Yes, at a few beer cans,” Oz replied and laughter rang out in the bar. I sighed deeply. This introduction wasn’t going as well as I’d planned.
“So you’ve never actually shot a man before? An actual living thing?” Lewis asked him, grinning.
“And Abe wants this guy to be our backup on our biggest mission yet. Everyone is losing their fucking minds!” Rodeo growled from behind the counter as he cracked open a can of beer for himself.
Lewis chuckled and then looked at me.
“You know he’s green, right Abe?” he asked and I nodded my head.
“I guess we have no choice but to use him for this, since you’ve already shaken hands with that Garcia guy,” Lewis said and I could see Rodeo shaking his head from the corner of my eye.
“He only gets one chance, remember that,” Lewis said and looked at Oz again. “If he doesn’t perform, he’s out, you get me?” he added and I nodded my head.
“Get him outta here,” Lewis grunted and I grabbed Oz’ elbow and started leading him out of the bar.
“That went well right?” he asked as we walked out of the bar and into daylight.
“It went as well as it could go,” I said, releasing him.
“Yeah, that’s what I mean,” he said and I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. I was finding it hard to look this kid in the eye, knowing that I’d fucked his sister over my bike the previous night.
“Look, I need to train you before we go in. You need to be able to use a gun. You can’t go into this thing without a weapon this time,” I said and Oz was nodding his head wildly. He had been waiting to hear these words for a long time.
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it, man,” he said and I ran a hand through my hair. Alexis was going to lose it if she found out that I was formally putting a gun in her brother’s hand now, but I had no choice. I believed in this kid and I knew he could be a potential goldmine for the MC. All he needed, was this one chance to prove himself and I would have to help him get there.
“Meet me at Lewis’ garage in two hours. We’re going to start practicing some shots at the back,” I said. Oz smiled and nodded and I watched him run to his truck and get in.
I started smoking a cigarette as I watched him drive away. I had a lot running on this kid now, my own dignity and reliability in the MC was riding on him. I needed Oz to come through and prove himself, and now there was another problem digging away at my brain—I didn’t want to see Alexis cry again. I didn’t want her to worry about her brother, which I knew she would.
Why did I even care about what she thought? When did I start giving a shit?
Chapter 15
Alexis
I was in the sauces aisle, picking out new stock from boxes and arranging them on the shelves. It wasn’t the most exciting work, but it was exactly what I needed—something mechanical and routine, something I could do without having to think too much. I needed my brain to go numb, I needed the distraction from Abe and Oz.
My brother had finally done what I’d been wanting him to do for years. He had gotten out of bed early in the morning, even before I had a chance to leave my bedroom. I heard the front door shut when I stepped out, and I found a half eaten cheese sandwich on the kitchen table.
I should have been happy knowing that maybe Oz was finally beginning to develop good habits, but I couldn’t get rid of that itching feeling that he had only gotten up that early because he had to meet Abe. Abe was making him do it.
I’d been thinking about Abe all night, he was stuck in my head and no matter how hard I tried; I couldn’t get him out of there. I hadn’t said a word to him after we had sex and he said nothing either. It was like we had both mutually felt it, this weird spark. Like it could possibly be more than just sex; that it was more than just each other’s bodies that we needed.
For my part, I knew what it was that was drawing me to him. I felt safe around him, no matter how strongly I believed that his life was dangerous—I knew that if he was there, nothing was going to happen to me. He also knew how to make me feel noticed, like I was more than just a redheaded girl working in a supermarket. He looked at me like I might have something more to offer the world and it was an addictive feeling. I couldn’t wait for the next time that he would look at me.
But Abe was not that kind of guy. Even if he felt that spark and connection between us last night; he was not the sort of man who was looking for anything other than sex. He wasn’t like Joshua.
What he really wanted, was Oz, and I happened to be a side distraction, a play-thing in his hands.
I shook my head. The point of taking on this task of arranging the bottles of sauces on these shelves was so that I could stop thinking about everything, especially Abe.
I turned away from the shelf and bent down to pick out two more bottles from the box, and I saw three pairs of boots in front of me. I looked up slowly to find three men crowded around the box, glaring down at me.
At first I thought that these guys were from Abe’s MC. They had the same look; leather jackets, tattoos, muscular, shaved heads. But there was definitely something different about them. Abe and his friends had seemed to be less threatening, the more I stared at these men in silence, the more afraid I was of them.
“Alexis,” one of them said, and his voice was a threat. I gulped as I straightened up, looking up and down both sides of the aisle, hoping that someone would appear but nobody did. This was the quietest time of the day at the store. Probably the reason why these men had chosen to come and talk to me now.
“Yes?” I said meekly and clasped my hands together.
One of the men, who had a silver tooth which he revealed when he spoke, took a step towards me.
“We’re here about your brother,” he growled and I stepped away from him. I couldn’t understand what was going on, why our lives had changed so suddenly. What had Oz got himself tangled up in?
“He’s not here”
“We know!” one of them said.
“We can see that!” another added and I gulped a
gain.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, feeling my hands beginning to quiver. Running away from these men wasn’t an option. They were much bigger, stronger and more in number than me.
“Do you know who we are?” one of them asked, the one with the silver tooth.
“You’re from an MC, I can see that,” I said and lifted my head up to glare at them in turn. If I couldn’t run away, my only option now was to try and appear to be brave. I didn’t want them to think that they could scare me so easily, even though I was afraid. Much more afraid than I had ever been around Abe.
“We’re from the Dark Legion, and you have been talking to the Marked Skulls,” he replied and his voice seemed to be echoing.
