“Seems to be fine. She’s freshening up and then intends to come out here for a while. Are Jocelyn and Devyn coming over tonight?”
“I can ask them. They’d love to see Madisen. I’ll text Jocelyn.” He took out his phone and typed out a message. After he sent it, he asked more questions. “How much of a fight did she put up when you told her you were bringing her here?”
“Not much. The bigger issue is trying to get her to believe I want her, and this isn’t some kind of hookup. She spouted some bullshit about how she wasn’t the kind of woman a man like me would notice. She has no idea how fucking gorgeous she is, Bull. I intend to show her. Enough about that. Did you hear anything else about Chris or her stepdad?” I had barely finished when Outlaw came up to us and sat down beside me. Tate slid a beer to him. He took a gulp, then he looked at me.
“Brother, I’m glad you’re here. I just got done researching those two assholes. Chris Corbin is your run-of-the-mill loser. He never has a job for long, always seems to find money and women. They never last long. He’s an abusive prick. Serena isn’t his first victim. Not sure if he was around when the fire happened, still digging on that. As for her stepdad, Paul Butler, he was given early parole due to good behavior and overcrowding. He was released two weeks ago. No one notified her and I can’t tell why. He did go back to her hometown. I’m digging to see if he’s still there. There’s a chance he found her and did this. Sick bastard. I was able to hack in and read the court report on his trial. I read what Madisen testified happened that night. The bastard needs to die.”
I tensed up. I knew she’d probably left things out. “Tell me.” He looked at me and Bull then gestured for us to follow him. I told Tate if Madisen came out while I was gone, to keep an eye on her and tell her I’d be right back.
He handed me a stack of papers. Bull stood so he could read over my shoulder. The more I read, the angrier I got. She’d said he had attacked her and fought him off. She failed to mention that he beat her to the point she had cracked ribs and bruises everywhere. She had used her fists on him. He’d ripped off her clothes and used a belt to beat her. She had told how she had kicked and punched him. She used several kinds of self-defense moves. At one point, he pulled out a gun and threatened to kill her. She ended up struggling with him for the gun. It had gone off and barely missed her head. She was finally able to grab a lamp and clubbed him over the head, knocking him unconscious. He’d been about to rape her when she did it. By the end of the report, I wanted to scream. Outlaw hesitantly laid down several pictures. They were of Madisen after he had beaten her. It was awful. Seeing her hurt like that made me sick.
“Jesus Christ, put them away. I can’t fucking believe this! He did something like that and they let him out for good behavior. She’ll never feel safe with him on the loose. Even if he wasn’t the one to lock her in the bakery and tried to burn her alive, he needs to be taught a lesson. Find this fucker, Outlaw.” He nodded. Bull was looking pissed, like me.
“We’ll protect her, Rebel. For now, let’s all go enjoy the evening. She should be out there now. Jocelyn and Devyn are both coming over to see her. He’ll pay for what he did to her. I promise.”
We all went back out to the common room. I saw the ladies over on one of the couches talking. I headed over with Bull on my heels. Ace was already close to them, keeping an eye on them. With both of them pregnant, Ace and Bull were even more protective of them. I couldn’t blame them. I’d be the same way when Madisen was carrying my baby. This thought stopped me in my tracks for a moment. Had I really thought about her and kids again? Yeah, I did. And thinking about it, I found the idea felt right. I wanted her to have my children. I wanted to watch her grow round with my baby. I’d never thought about having kids of my own, probably because I never thought I’d want an old lady. I made sure to wrap it up so there were no little Rebel’s running around. I knew with Madisen, I wanted to feel all of her without any kind of barrier. I had no idea if she was on the pill or not. I’d ask her later.
She looked up at me smiling. I picked her up and sat down on the couch, pulling her onto my lap. She looked at me with a frown on her face. Bull did the same to Jocelyn and Ace came over to Devyn. After we had them on our laps, several of the guys came over to chat. For the next hour or more, we sat talking, laughing and having a good time. Tate kept us supplied with drinks. She had one rum and Coke then switched to soda. Somehow, we got on the subject of Devyn’s school.
Even though she was pregnant, she was still working toward her degree to become a pharmacist. She was young, but a hard worker. Jocelyn had raised her right. Ace was nothing but supportive. From there we got on the topic of the bike that Slash and Maverick were building. Madisen asked them a lot of questions about how they did it. She was genuinely interested. The guys were happy. She sighed.
“I love the look of a motorcycle. I’ve never been on one, but it is on my list to do. Maybe one of you guys will take me for a ride.”
Both of them froze and looked at me. I nipped her ear with my teeth, and she jumped. “Baby, you’ll get your ride. You’ll get more than one, but the only man you’ll be riding with is me. My woman doesn’t ride with another man. None of my brothers will give you a ride.”
“Why not?”
“Because they know if they do, I’ll have to beat their asses. In the MC, the only one who gets on your bike is your old lady, kids, or a close female relative. Period.”
She gazed at me. “So, does that mean I’m your old lady.
“You bet your sweet ass you are. I told you this was serious. So, no riding some other guy’s bike, unless you want his ass beat.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. I’d teach her about being in an MC. We had some absolute rules. Jocelyn changed the subject, asking how the cleanup was going at the bakery.
Most of the guys had joined us. They were all sitting on chairs in a big circle around us. Jocelyn was talking about them going out to Dublin Falls before the babies came so they could see Harlow, Terror and the grandkids. Bull’s daughter was married to the president of our Dublin Falls chapter. They had two children. It was kind of funny thinking of Bull having kids younger than his grandkids, but he and Jocelyn didn’t seem to mind. He loved the hell out of that woman.
We were laughing as Madisen told everyone about her less-than-stellar moments in culinary school. She was hilarious telling them. I happened to look over toward the pool tables. There stood the bunnies. They’d come in before we had, but no one was paying them any attention. You could see the hate in their eyes as they looked at the old ladies. I nudged Joker who was sitting beside me.
“Look over at the pool tables. See how the bunnies are.” He glanced over then whistled.
“Fuck. We’re going to have trouble. They are pissed that another brother is off the market. I know CeeCee is. She’s been after your ass, Rebel. I hope she stays away from you and doesn’t cause any trouble. I remember all the stories the Dublin Falls guys told about their bunnies. I don’t want that shit to happen here. Maybe Bull needs to meet with them or something. Though why they think any of us would pick them for an old lady, I have no idea. If I settle down, I don’t want to be with someone who spreads her legs for every guy she’s met. I know it sounds terrible since I haven’t been an angel, but it’s just the way it is.” I nodded my head in agreement. The thought of taking one of them as an old lady did nothing for me. I tugged Madisen closer. She looked over her shoulder at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, baby. You feeling, okay? Let me know when you get tired and we’ll go to my room.”
“I will. Right now, I need to use the bathroom.”
I told her where to find the one for communal use. It was closer than her trekking all the way to our room. She excused herself. Tank grabbed my attention, asking about repairs to the bakery. It was several minutes before I realized Madisen hadn’t come back. I got up to see if she was okay. I should have taken her, damn it. As I approached the bathroom, I could hear voices. I stopped outside the door to listen. It was Madisen, and it sounded like CeeCee. I hadn’t noticed her leaving the common room.
“Listen, bitch. I don’t know why you’re here or why you’ve been all over Rebel tonight, but he’s mine. I’m the one that keeps his cock happy. He might throw you a bone, but he comes back to me. It must be a pity thing. You know, give the fat ass a fun time.”
Anger shot through me. How dare she fucking say that kind of shit to Madisen? I’d fucked her a couple of times, but not for a long while now. I went to push the door open when Madisen answered her, causing me to freeze.
“Well, slut, if he was so into you, you’d be on his lap not me. You weren’t the one he told, he wanted to be his old lady, to come here to stay with him. Or how much he dreamed about fucking me. Guess you weren’t that memorable after all. I’ll be sure to burn my pussy deep in his mind when my fat ass fucks him all night long.”
Heat flashed through me, hearing her talk about fucking me. God, did I want that. I heard a shriek. I shoved the door open. CeeCee was coming at Madisen. I raced to grab her, but there was no need. Madisen was ready for her and grabbed her in a chokehold. She had CeeCee’s hair wrapped around her fist and had CeeCee bent into an uncomfortable position. CeeCee couldn’t move.
“Bitch. Don’t you dare try and touch me. I’ll bust your ass. Go back to your skanky friends. I won’t tell you again.” She shoved her away from her. That’s when they both saw me. CeeCee turned on the waterworks and ran toward me.