Opal (Rugged Skulls MC Book 2) Page 10

  “You motherfucker,” I hear being yelled, but I can’t work out who said it. The blood is rushing through my ears.

  “Mom.” I blink and see a crying Tucker. He must have opened the door when he heard the commotion.

  “Baby boy, go back inside,” I tell him, but he shakes his head and sits next to me, holding on to me tightly.

  I blink a few more times and see Opal and Roy fighting on the lawn in front of my house. Opal is winning, and I think that is a blessing right now, but that doesn’t mean I want it to continue.

  I gingerly push to my feet, keeping Tucker close to me. I wince when my t-shirt sticks to the skin on my shoulder. Keeping my arm around Tucker, I step forward, just in time to see Opal stand and look down at Roy.

  “Stop!” I yell at them.

  They both look at me. Opal stands to full height and Roy goes up onto his elbow and wipes the blood away from his nose. I look at Opal and I can see the anger raging inside of him, but as soon as our gazes connect, his eyes soften, and he steps toward me.

  My eyes stay focused on him while he jogs toward me. I can see his gaze rake over my body, checking for injuries. He closes the gap, taking my face in his large hands.

  “Fuck, baby.” He touches my face with a feather light touch. I wince at the contact and his features sharpen as he looks over his shoulder at Roy, who is now on his feet, glaring at us.

  Opal slides a hand around my shoulder, and I cry out, arching away from the contact. His eyes narrow before he turns me slightly and lifts my shirt. He hisses, and I know that the skin is broken. Hell, I can feel blood dripping down my back.

  “Tuck, bud, can you take your mom inside for me, please?” Opal asks Tucker, who nods, tears streaking down his handsome baby face. I glare back at Roy.

  “You stay far the hell away from us,” I tell him, sucking in a breath from the soreness of my back. Opal takes a gentle hold of my upper arms and turns me back to the door so we can go inside.

  “Baby, go,” Opal says, his voice taking on a tone I haven’t heard from him before; a tone that leaves no room for argument. Nodding, I turn to the house, pulling Tucker tight to my side.

  “Once a biker whore always a fucking biker whore. I will get my son, Jodie. You can bank on that. The Rugged Skulls are a pussy club. They won’t do anything to protect you. They fuck and drink; that’s all they’re good enough for. Just ask your boy here.” Roy sneers and laughs when Opal takes a step forward, but I grip his wrist to stop him.

  Roy laughs loudly as he walks over to his bike and slings his leg over, starting it up and revving the throttle a few times, making sure to cause as much of a disturbance as he can. It’s strange seeing him like this. He was never this person. Then when I found out about his second life, it was like he completely changed right in front of me.

  “I will be back, baby, and your new lover boy won’t stop me from getting my boy,” he threatens again before speeding off down the road.

  My entire body sags and my knees go weak, but Opal holds me up, helping me walk through the house and into the kitchen. Helping me sit on a chair, careful not to place me all the way back.

  “Do you have a First Aid kit?” Nodding, I go to speak, but Tucker beats me to it.

  “I know where it is.” Then he zooms off.

  “He’s a good one, babe. You did good.” Opal smiles at me as he lowers himself to his knees, grimacing as his ankle bends.

  “Opal, up, please. I don’t want you to hurt that ankle. Lord knows if you did while fighting.”

  “Baby, my ankle has been great. Your hands are like magic.” He winks at me but then his face sobers.

  “Why did he hit you?” he asks, cupping my face gently again. I can’t stop myself when I lean into his touch.

  It’s crazy how this man makes me feel after only knowing each other for a short time, but as my parents always say, when you see that one person who will capture your attention, your heart will whisper, ‘That’s the one.’

  I felt that with Opal.

  “Roy never liked it when I talked back, even when we first got together. But with me being military, I never backed down. Seeing him today was like seeing a stranger. He was never like this. He was on something—I have no clue what he is taking these days—so I refused to let him see Tucker. He called me a few names, so I went to hit him, but he got me first,” I say, shrugging, then wince at the pain in my shoulder. My body arches again and Opal gently pulls my t-shirt over my head. I’m thankful I wore a sports bra today.

  “Twist,” he tells me. I twist so I’m sitting sideways on the chair so he can get better access to my back. “Shit,” he mutters.

  “Got it,” Tucker says as he comes running back into the kitchen. He places the large First Aid bag on the table and climbs into the chair next to me, looking worried now that he can see my back.

  “Mama is okay, buddy. Just a few scrapes, okay.” Tucker nods at Opal. “Do you know where all your clothes are in your room?”

  “Yes,” Tuck answers.

  “Good. Can you go and pack a bag for yourself? A few days’ worth, and whatever games or toys you want to bring with you. We’re going to stay at my club for a few days, okay. Now go. I need to talk to Mom,” Opal explains, ignoring my confused expression.

  In a whirl of action, both Tucker and I have a bag packed and we are on our way to Opal’s clubhouse, which he referred to as the Tower.

  Fourteen

  Opal

  After I sent a text to Magnum, telling him to send someone to pick up my bike from Jodie’s house and why, I piled both Jodie and Tucker into her beast of a car and drove to the Tower.

  She sat stunned for a few minutes, then once I explained why I was doing this, she deflated and nodded, before telling me what to pack. Her shoulder is all scratched up, bleeding in a few places. When I get her to the Tower, I need to look at her injury and see if I need to change the bandages that I put on her.

  The main gates open and Abe nods to me.

  “Wow,” Tucker says from the back seat. I smile at him in the rear-view mirror.

  “You like bikes?” He nods enthusiastically, making me smile harder.

  Seeing him smile after what he just saw makes my heart happy, as girly as that sounds. Kids should never see their parents fight like that. It doesn’t matter that Jodie tried protecting him, he was more concerned about protecting his mom, and he’s only eight years old. That just shows that Jodie has done a bang-up job raising him the right way.

  “Maybe I’ll take you for a ride one day,” I say, chancing a glance at Jodie, who is scowling at me, so I grin at her, adding in a cheeky wink. “We just need your mom to give us the thumbs up, bud,” I say, knowing that in naught-point-two seconds, Tucker will pull out the nagging mode.

  “Moooooom, please. Opal will keep me safe,” Tucker whines, and my grin gets bigger.

  “Yeah, Mom, please,” I beg with my best child-like whine. Jodie rolls her eyes at me.

  I wink at her, keeping the feel in the car upbeat, because I know that as soon as I get into the Tower room, my rage will surface, and believe me, it doesn’t happen often but seeing that cunt hit Jodie had me seeing red.

  Tucker isn’t a stupid kid, he knows something is up with the adults around him, but I want to detach him from that feeling, which is why I have been joking around with him. Now, seeing that my brothers’ bikes make him smile, it’s a great distraction.

  “We’ll see,” is all she says as I pull into a space and turn the car off. Jumping out of the car, I go to the back-passenger door and help Tucker out, then move to Jodie’s door.

  “Brother.”

  I look up to see Magnum, Sarge, Slide, Edge and Rookie all standing in front of the car. Each of them will have my back in any situation and me them. Jodie’s eyes widen when she sees the wall of leather and muscles.

  “Hey, look at me,” I tell her, taking her chin and making her look at me. Her eyes stay focused on them until the last minute, then her gaze hits mine.

&
nbsp; “Stefan, I don’t think—” I place a finger over her luscious lips, cutting off her words.

  “You and Tucker are safe here. My club, the Rugged Skulls, are nothing like the Snake Heads MC. My brothers will protect you with their lives because I called dibs on you, baby. Do you remember?”

  “Yeah, I was supposed to talk to you about that, but you decided to ghost me,” she snarks, and the boys chuckle behind me, not even bothering to try and hide that shit.

  Shaking my head, I lean in and kiss her forehead, before explaining.

  “It means you are mine, baby. Both of you.” She gasps, looking between the boys and me.

  Her brow furrows before she speaks. She looks damn beautiful no matter what her facial expressions are. I smile at her and her eyes narrow even further.

  “What are you, five? Calling dibs on me like that,” she asks, placing a hand on her hip.

  “What five-year-old boy do you know that would call dibs on a sexy as hell woman like yourself?” I joke.

  “Seriously, Stefan. I—” This time it’s Tucker that cuts her off.

  “Mom, that man has a tattoo on his neck. That must have hurt, right?” Tucker asks, looking at Magnum, who just smiles.

  Magnum steps forward, then kneels so he’s eye to eye with Tucker. His eyes widen at this big ass man getting close to him, but he stands his ground. I even notice that his chest puffs out a little, making himself seem bigger. Magnum sees it too and chuckles.

  “It did hurt, but it looks awesome, so it was worth it.

  “Mom, I want a tattoo,” Tucker says, tearing his eyes from Prez and looking at Jodie, who is already shaking her head. He goes to whine, but Magnum gains his attention again.

  “When you are old enough to pay for it yourself and you have thought long and hard about what you want, then you can get one. They are permanent, little man, so there’s no backing out once it’s on your skin, you get me?” Magnum explains, and Tucker nods.

  “I need to get them both settled in my room. I’ll meet you in the Tower room.”

  With a nod from my brothers, I lead both Jodie and Tucker through the main room and down the hallway to my room. I have the second biggest room after Magnum.

  Pushing the door open, I guide them both inside, happy to see that Risky has had a cot added to my room for Tucker.

  “Is that for me?” Tuck asks, and I nod.

  “Yeah, bud. Right through that door is a bathroom. Go and slide those two doors open.” I nod in the direction of my entertainment unit.

  It’s black stained wood, with a TV in the center. The doors slide to cover the TV and reveal a set of shelves. But it’s what’s under the TV that will impress Tucker.

  “Holy moly,” he says, in complete awe.

  “You are a big kid at heart, I see,” Jodie whispers right next to me. Now it’s my turn to shiver.

  Turning to face her, I keep the smile on my face and lean in so only she can hear me. There is no way I would want Tucker to hear what I want to do to his mom.

  “I do have a big heart, baby, but that’s not the only thing that’s big about me,” I say, then kiss the space just beneath her ear. She sucks in a breath and her body tightens.

  Yeah, you have that effect on me too, baby, I think to myself.

  “Behave,” she scolds but with a smile on her face. She drops her gaze to my crotch, then brings it back up to meet mine with a sexy smile on her face. Her lips quirk up on one side. “Maybe one day I’ll find out.”

  “Not maybe, baby.” I wiggle my eyebrows and she bursts out laughing, and I smile at her. I wait for her laughter to stop but it doesn’t. She is almost gasping for air by the time she does finish. I frown at her as she dries her eyes, sucking in deep breaths.

  Waving a hand between us, she smiles at me. “Sorry, the way you said that made me think of the Carly Ray chick song.”

  “Fucking chicks and their chick songs,” I mutter. “Have a seat and let me check the shoulder, then I have to go to church and deal with this.”

  Thankfully, she listens and sits on the edge of the bed. I look over to check on Tucker, and he already has a game up and playing. Turning back to Jodie, she slowly pulls her shirt off her head, and I can’t stop my gaze focusing on the most amazing tits I have ever seen.

  Smooth, round and firm. Looking sexy and screaming at me to reach out and touch them in the blue lycra material. I bite my bottom lip and let out a low moan when she sits straight, and her chest pushes out more.

  “You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you, sweetheart?” I ask in a low tone, and the cheeky little vixen smiles up at me. Then she lets out a fake gasp, resting her hand over her chest.

  “Me? I would never do such a thing.” She smirks at me.

  “Sure, you wouldn’t.” I peel off the small bandage that I added at her house and see the bleeding has stopped, but it still looks red and sore.

  “Opal,” comes from the other side of the door, along with a knock.

  Making sure the tape is stuck back down, I hand Jodie her top and step over to the door, pulling it open to reveal Lash.

  “I know you have some things to deal with so I thought Tuck could come to the games room with my three. They have the PlayStation up and running and are in a very competitive game and could really do with a fourth player,” he explains.

  “Oh man. Can I, Opal, please?” Tucker asks, running over to me. I smile down at him, kind of enjoying the way this kid seems so at ease with me already. I run my hand over the top of his head and look over my shoulder to Jodie, silently asking for permission. With a nod of her head, I kneel down so I’m eye level with him.

  “You can go, but you listen to Linus, okay. He’s the oldest. Don’t go outside unless you have told an adult with a patch, you got me?”

  “Will do,” he answers, nodding enthusiastically, then he makes a burst of laughter break free when he salutes me. I return the salute and he walks out of the room with Lash, who gives me a nod.

  “See you in church, brother.” Giving him a chin lift, I close the door and get back to Jodie.

  I settle Jodie into my bed and leave her curled up, resting, while I go and deal with her ex’s club.

  “I’ve made contact with the Prez of the Snake Heads. He’s calling back when he finds out what’s happened. He said that he hasn’t seen Creep in a few weeks,” Magnum explains.

  “This ‘Creep’, that Jodie’s ex?” I ask, leaning back in my seat at the table. Everyone is here sitting and waiting to hear what this fucker has to say.

  “So where has the cunt gone?” Rookie asks, the tone in his voice evident that he is ready to rip some heads off. Hurting women is a big-ass trigger for Rookie.

  “Can we stop using cunt like a derogatory term, please? I happen to like cunt. Licking it, fucking it, making it come,” Slide adds, making some of the boys chuckle. I can’t help but let out a huff of a laugh.

  “Jesus Christ,” Sarge mutters, shaking his head.

  “Oh, come on, man. You like cunts as much as the rest of us,” Edge pipes in from his place at the table. We all laugh when Sarge turns to smirk at him.

  “Yeah, brother, I do, and now that you have decided to give up all pussy for the sake of one that might still hate your ass, I’m getting your crazy bitches whining to me about it,” Sarge snarks, winking at Edge, who smiles back before redoing his hair, tying up that messy pile on his head.

  “She will be worth it, brother.” He winks at Sarge. Slide opens his mouth to speak but the phone ringing cuts off his words.

  Magnum smirks and lets it ring four times before hitting the answer button.

  “Magnum,” comes a wheeze through the phone. Damn, the guy needs to pull back on the smoking.

  “Smack. What news do you have for me?” Prez asks, his tone now gruff and full of business. He leans back in his chair, acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world, and he probably doesn’t. Not much gets to Magnum, unless you hurt him and one of his.

  “I want to meet up fac
e to face. Creep wants to speak to the fucker who stole his woman and kid.”

  “You mean the one who saved his woman from taking a beating from him, and also beat his ass,” Magnum replies, winking at me.

  “Listen, you cocky cunt. I want my kid. You can keep the whore,” Creep, aka Roy yells through the speaker. I chuckle and lean forward, keeping my cool exterior.

  “Oh man. I guess you are shit out of luck because they are both mine now. You will have to go through me to get them,” I say, cool, calm and collected.

  Now this is the Opal the Army made.

  “Listen, you fucker,” Creep screams, and I can just imagine how angry he’s looking right now on the other end of the call.

  “ENOUGH,” Magnum bellows. For a split-second silence coats the room.

  “You want a meet, fucking fine. Come to my clubhouse tomorrow and we will get this shit straightened out. You, your VP and Creep, that’s it. You bring more members and they can fucking stay outside the gate; they do not come onto my compound. You hear me?” Magnum growls, showing his authority.

  “I hear you. Tomorrow at eleven.” With that, Smack hangs up. Leaning back in my seat, I look at Magnum. Our gazes lock, silently communicating. He’s asking me if Jodie is all worth it.

  This is how we are still alive; this bond that we carry is unbreakable. After a beat, he breaks the connection and looks around the room. Each of my brothers waiting for instructions on what to do next.

  “Rook, Slide, go over to the studio and make sure the new girls and the new guy aren’t causing any waves. Sarge, make sure the garage is up to date on the bookings and collections. Edge, pop over to Logan’s and pick up the order that just came in. Anything else?”

  No one says anything so Magnum ends church and I leave, not waiting for anything else to be said. I need to get to Jodie and make that woman mine.