In the next second, I see Teena get out. She’s wearing a white dress that’s been ripped along the side, revealing her bra. Her face is bruised and there’s blood dried around her nose.
Someone has worked her over pretty good.
“Skull!” she hollers, running towards me.
“Fuck,” I hear Beth mutter. To be honest, I’m thinking the same thing.
“Skull!” Teena cries again, running until she plows into me. My arms go around her in reflex.
“Teena, what is going on?” I ask, very conscious of the way Beth is watching us. I don’t see jealousy in her eyes, but there’s a definite dislike of Teena evident in them, which admittedly I can understand, though I thought we’d put that behind us.
“He attacked… attacked me!” she cries, taking a deep breath between the broken words. A shudder goes through her body and I pull back to look at her. She’s been beaten. Not horribly, but someone’s definitely left signs on her.
“Who did this to you?”
“I don’t know! He was wearing a vest like yours, except it had… it had Chrome Saints on it. He was big and had blonde hair…”
Viper. Motherfucker! Does he know of the attack his father and I are planning against Colin next week? Had my men slipped up on doing recon? Or was it the mole I have in the group? Who the fuck is it? Briar? He, Torch, and Beast are the only ones who knew…
“Skull, he said to tell you that next, he’s coming after your daughter. He was crazy. He said you turned his father against him.”
“Viper? Did he say his name was Viper?”
“I don’t know! I was so scared!”
“It’s okay, querida. It’s okay. Where were you when he attacked? Do you know where he is now?”
“It was at the parking garage at the hospital. I was so scared, amante! He left me alone after I promised to come straight to you with his message, but…”
“But?” I prompt her, my mind going over the options in my mind. I can’t go back to my club first. Chances are, whoever the mole is will warn Viper we’re coming. He’ll never suspect me coming immediately on my own, and Torch and Beast will have the men follow me. That way, even with a mole, I’ll have more on my side. It’s my best chance.
“I followed them after they left. They’re at that strip joint on Old Mill road, the one that shut down last month.”
“How did you follow without them seeing you? Especially since you’re so distraught?” Beth asks.
I get that she’s jealous, and I wish I had time to work this out, but I don’t. The quicker I can hit Viper, the better. I don’t want to give them more time to prepare because I’m sure Viper will know I’m coming after him. The moment he brought my daughter into it, his fate was sealed.
I turn to her. “Beth?”
“Here, lover,” she says sweetly—way too sweetly. Shit.
“You get our daughter and Teena back to the club, make sure you are safe. I’m heading after Viper. This fucking shit will end today.”
“Skull!” she protests. “You can’t just go! You’re probably walking into a trap!”
“She’s right, amante! You must be safe. I couldn’t take anything happening to you,” Teena adds in.
How did I not notice her voice was so annoying before?
“I’ll be fine, Beth,” I tell her, ignoring Teena’s plea. “You head straight back to the club. Tell Torch and Beast only what’s going on. That way, they will only be ten minutes behind me at the most. Can you do that?”
“Damn it, Skull! This is crazy. Aren’t you the same man who preached to me about charging head first and…”
I walk to her, holding her shoulders tight.
“Beth. I’ve got this. Plans were already in place to take Viper out. This just speeds it up so we can concentrate on our wedding. Trust in me, mi cielo. I. Got. This. You just get you and our daughter safe and send Torch and the boys, si?”
“If you get hurt, I’ll never forgive you,” she whispers, tears in her eyes.
“I’ll be careful.”
“I love you,” she whispers again, kissing the side of my face gently. I grab her face and hold it.
“That’s not how you kiss your man, mi cielo,” I tell her before claiming her mouth in a hard, quick kiss that can’t leave any question in her mind that I need her. When we break apart, I go to my truck and get my gun that I keep in the dashboard. Beth doesn’t say anything else. She just stands there and watches as I leave.
“Be safe!” she calls just as I jump into Teena’s truck, slamming the door.