Chapter Twelve

Apple

Whoever was banging on my door was gonna die in the most painful way possible. I might not be able to do it myself, but I was pretty sure I could sweet talk Lemon or Venus into doing something horrific.

"What the fuck?" I sat up, covering myself with the sheet.

"Imma kill a motherfucker," Deacon muttered before he kissed the top of my head and got out of bed. He didn't bother to put on pants, just opened the bedroom door and stomped into the living room.

I hastily put on his T-shirt before following him, getting there just as he threw open the door. Naked as the day he was born.

"This better be fuckin' good, Falcon."

"Jesus, man!" Falcon took a couple steps back from Deacon, raising his hands in defense. He also turned his head away and shut his eyes tightly.

I came behind Deacon and wrapped my hand around his bicep. "You might want to put on some pants before you do anything unnatural to him there, babe." I tried to joke, to defuse the situation but, honestly, I was about to laugh until I peed.

"He did this on purpose." Deacon threw me an exasperated look over his shoulder. "Just to piss me off."

"No, bro! I swear! Rocket said he needed you at the clubhouse. I think Crush has something for you on the guy named Calhoun."

Deacon stilled, turning his head slightly as if making sure he'd heard Falcon correctly. "Martin Calhoun? Stepfather of Bear's woman, Olivia?"

"Yeah. That's the bastard."

I sucked in a breath. This was part of the same group of people Deacon had left me to hunt before. Would he do it again? Would I survive if he did? Would Lemon let him survive?

"Tell Rocket we'll be there in ten minutes."

"Sorry, man. Apple can't be in on club business. I don't imagine things are any different at Iron Tzars."

"They're not. But Apple goes where I go. Don't like it? Take it up with Lemon."

Falcon stiffened. "Not on your fuckin' life." He backed off another step. "You take it up with Lemon."

Deacon rolled his eyes before slamming the door on Falcon. Then he sighed and knocked his head against the door once. Then again. "Fuck." The word was muttered. Deacon heaved a long sigh. "Just… fuck ."

"You have to go." I tried to pretend it didn't hurt he was leaving again, but it did. And it sucked ass.

"Never said that, baby. Let's get dressed, then go see what's goin' on." He turned and pulled me into his arms. "Everything will be all right. I promise."

"Can you make that promise?" I didn't look up at him but buried my face in his chest.

"I can and I am, Apple. I made you a promise and I absolutely will not break it."

"But --"

He cut me off with a kiss. "Don't borrow trouble, Applejack. Trust in me." He gripped my shoulders as he searched my gaze. I could almost feel him willing me to take that leap of faith. It might be foolish, but I knew I was jumping in with both feet.

"You better catch me," I muttered. Instead of asking what I meant, he just grinned at me.

Exactly eight minutes later, we were in Rocket's office. Lemon had, indeed, made the guys let me in. As usual, Rocket merely grinned at his wife with affection like she amused him and, therefore, he'd give her whatever she wanted. Surprisingly, Venus was standing quietly in the corner, Piston stood a few feet away so still and silent he almost seemed to disappear into the background even though he wasn't a small guy.

"If you want to get this guy, now's the time." Crush finished the details of his report. Looked like he and Byte had set something in motion to flush out Martin Calhoun, and it was working. "He'll be on that private island he bought in exactly two weeks. I've arranged for a company called ExFil to take the private detail. ExFil is owned by a guy named Joe Gill who used to be president of Bones MC in Somerset, Kentucky. Pretty sure Iron Tzars has a relationship with him."

"Cain," Deacon said. "His guys gonna take care of the bastard?"

"No. And he's adamant no one should find out about Calhoun's disappearance until several weeks after they pull out. Which is where I come in," Crush continued. "Me and Byte are gonna create some footage to prove Calhoun was out and about right up until everyone forgets ExFil was anywhere near the guy. Cain doesn't want to tarnish the company's reputation by a guy they're protecting getting whacked on their watch."

"Reasonable," Rocket said, stroking his beard. He turned his gaze on me. "Well? This was your baby. What's the next move?"

"I'll get someone from the Tzars to take this. They can take care of business as good as anyone without the wrong people gettin' wind of it."

"Thought you'd be the one goin'." Rocket gave Deacon a curious look.

"No. I made a promise to Apple I intend to keep. I went back on my word once, and it almost cost me everything, Rocket. Much as I want this kill, I'm not takin' it."

"Suits me." Ringo sat back in his chair. "I'll be happy to take it on."

"Not if I take it first," Bear, Olivia's man, growled at Ringo. "I think I get first dibs on this one."

"I'll take it." Venus moved from where she stood in the corner. "I'll find out everything he knows, and maybe few things he doesn't know he knows."

Rocket raised an eyebrow. "You sure about this? You've been gone from Salvation's Bane for a while. That's your home club. Maybe you better check in with Thorn before you commit to something like this."

Instantly, Venus's expression hardened. "I do what I want. When I want. I'm with Thorn at Bane because he helped me once. He doesn't dictate to me, or tell me what I can or cannot do."

"I'll go with her." Piston shifted just enough to take everyone's attention from Venus and put it squarely on him. "She's Salvation's Bane, so if Thorn has a problem with her takin' this up outside his club, tell him to take it up with me."

"I don't need you to fight my battles, old man." Venus gave Piston an uncharacteristic show of anger and irritation. Usually the woman was as unflappable as they came, but I'd noticed how Piston seemed to get under her skin. Yeah. That was gonna be fun to watch.

"Didn't say you did. But havin' me as a buffer between you and everyone will let you get the job done quicker."

Venus rolled her eyes. "Fine." She pointed her finger at Piston. A finger with a dagger-sharp nail. Painted hot pink. "Stay out of my way." With that she stomped off. Piston followed her without another word, his expression blank.

There was silence in the room as the two walked out. I glanced at Lemon who had tucked her lips between her teeth, looking for all the world like she was amused.

"We takin' bets on how long Piston lives?" Bear's gaze snapped to Ringo when he spoke, giving the other man a sharp look. Ringo grinned and shrugged. "Just askin'."

"I give it thirty-to-one --" Falcon had a mischievous grin on his face. "-- Dude won't make it through the month."

"Oh, I'll take that action." Lemon laughed. "Hundred bucks."

Falcon's mouth opened in surprise, then his face split in a broad grin. "You're out a hunk of cash, woman. Venus'll eat that fucker alive."

Lemon smirked. "Yep. She sure will. Just not the way you think."

Falcon's smile faded to be replaced by a wary look. Like he sensed a trap but hadn't figured out how to get around it.

"On another note," Crush sighed as he turned around, "I've been looking into Redwood. I should have let it go, but I couldn't. Rocket, he and Hammer were tight. Did some service together overseas they didn't tell anyone about."

"You sayin' they were closer than we knew they were. You think he was bidin' his time until he could get revenge on someone in the club? Me?" His gaze instantly hardened. "Was he going after Lemon to get back at me?" Rocket stiffened, leaned back in his chair, resting one elbow on the armrest as he stroked his chin.

"Hard to say." Crush pushed his glasses up on his nose. "We're all off the books. But, you know if I dig deep enough and hard enough, I can find out anything. If he has someone else out there working with him, we'll find out." Crush scowled, shaking his head.

"You and Byte are invaluable to this club, Crush." Rocket held the man's gaze steadily. "Some of the shit you can do seems like magic."

"Yeah, well, sometimes I wish we weren't so good." He and Byte exchanged a look. Byte winced and turned back to his computer, his shoulders hunching slightly. "I don't know exactly what the op was they went on, but that's when Redwood got involved with the same people Calhoun and Illivitch did business with. I don't know how much Hammer knew, but Redwood was perfectly aware of what he was doing. I'm only guessing -- and I can't stress enough, it's only a guess -- Hammer knew everything Redwood did. What I can't find is anything to link Hammer to the trafficking, but Redwood was in deep."

"Fucker died too easy." Deacon pulled me closer, and I could practically feel the anger vibrating through him.

Crush inhaled a long breath. Held it a couple of seconds, then let it out. "I know I'm the one who vets every single prospect who wants to join us, Rocket. I do it to keep everyone here as safe as I can, but I try not to go past a certain line. Everyone has secrets."

"It's uncomfortable for you." Rocket didn't phrase it as a question.

"Yeah. I accept my responsibilities as the club's tech guy, but I never thought I'd have to spy on my own brothers."

"You're not spying," Lemon moved to stand behind Crush. She put a hand on his shoulder. "You're keeping everyone safe. Including the people you look into. Besides, it's not like you share anything with anyone. You tell Rocket anything you think he needs to know. The rest goes in a file only you, Byte, and Rocket have access to. He can read it if he wants, but unless you tell him to look at something, he respects everyone's privacy."

No one in the room looked uncomfortable but Crush and Byte. Despite some pretty major setbacks, these guys had stuck together and started opening up to each other more than when I'd first met them. Which was mostly all Lemon's doing. My sister was a force of nature when she decided she wanted something, and she wanted Grim Road to be a family. Slowly but surely, she was achieving her goal. All thanks to her.

"Was anyone else tight with Redwood or Hammer?" Rocket drew the attention back to him.

"Not that I've found," Crush said. "I don't expect to find anything. 'Course, I didn't expect what happened with Redwood either."

"No one did, Crush." Rocket turned his attention to Deacon. "So? You're letting Venus take point on this. You headin' back to Iron Tzars?"

Deacon shrugged. "Don't know." He glanced down at me. "I suppose I'll go wherever Apple goes, so maybe you should ask her."

That startled me. "You really meant what you said before? You'd leave Iron Tzars if I wanted to stay here?"

"I meant it when I said I wasn't leaving you again. That means I go where you go. I want you happy so if you want to stay here, I'll put in whatever formal request Rocket wants for me to patch over to Grim Road."

I looked at Lemon who gave me a smirk and nodded her head. I smiled at my sister. My twin. I loved Dani just as much as Lemon, but it was different. Lemon was part of me. The months we'd been apart when she first came to Grim Road had been the longest of my life.

"I'm not ready to leave my sister again," I said softly. "I'm sorry, Deacon. I don't want to make things difficult for you, but I want to stay here."

"Then that's what you'll do. It took an act of God and the promise of my firstborn for Rocket to let me in here in the first place, so I've got motivation to stay." He grinned, giving me an affectionate look. "Truth is, I'd rather you stay here until Venus does her thing and rids the world of Martin Calhoun. I wasn't lying when I told you I thought Grim was the safest place for you to be."

"You can use the time to suck up to me, Deacon." Lemon gave Deacon a bright smile. Which always meant she was getting ready to wreak havoc on some unsuspecting mortal. In this case, it was definitely Deacon.

Deacon only grinned. "I'll look forward to it. Sister."

That wiped the smile off Lemon's face in a hurry. "No way. You might be with my sister, but that in no way makes you my brother."

"Always wanted a little sister. I'll tie your hair in knots and put worms in your bed."

"And I'll put Nair in your shampoo and give your bike a brand-new paint job."

"Oh, hell no," Knox said, sitting up straighter in his seat. "No more fuckin' pink bikes in my fuckin' garage, Lemon. There's a line."

"And you know I just love obliterating those pesky boundaries, Knox. So, suck it up, buttercup."

"I'm gettin' too old for this shit." Knox stood. "Rocket, if you don't need me any longer, I've got to go do something to forget about the two pink Harleys that I can't trash sitting in my garage."

Rocket waved Knox on, chuckling as he did. "Never a dull moment in this place, Deacon. You'd make a good addition."

"Let's wait 'til Venus comes back. Me and Apple'll hash it out, then let you know." It both shocked and thrilled me that he included me in the decision. Maybe he was learning from his mistakes after all.

"You know," I spoke up, needing to point out the obvious. "Y'all mentioned Venus coming back several times, but you haven't said a thing about Piston."

"That's because she'll probably kill him before he has a chance to come back."

"I'm tellin' you, Falcon," Lemon said, "Piston'll win her over. I think he already has and she's just playing hard to get."

"Don't think that just because you're the VP you can renege on your bet. When I win, you're gonna owe me a pretty penny."

"And when I win, I'm going to enjoy that hundred dollars. Might frame it and put it above the bar in the common room. I'll put a plaque on it that says, ‘Proof Lemon is always right'."

I gazed up at Deacon and, for the first time, had some real hope for our future. It was small things like telling Rocket we'd discuss where we wanted to stay as well as big things like not going back out on the hunt in order to keep his promise and stay with me. I could tell, looking into his eyes, he was at peace with his decision. It wasn't something he was giving up for me. The man truly didn't want to leave me.

"I feel like I already won." The words slipped out quietly. I wasn't sure if anyone else heard me, but Deacon did. His gaze softened as he looked down at me.

"Me too, Applejack. Me too."

Because he was trying, I thought I needed to try too. "You know, if it's something you really want to do, Deacon, you can go after Calhoun. Just promise to come back and to not shut me out again. That's all I need." I sucked in a breath at the thought of him leaving. "I can't lose you again, Deacon." We were still in Rocket's office with people around us, but our conversation was quiet. Between us only. It struck me that it didn't matter. These people were as much my family as the guys at Iron Tzars. I knew everyone here had my back.

"I'm doing exactly what I want, Apple. I'm not OK with being away from you. Not any more than absolutely necessary. There's plenty of people in both Grim and Tzars willin' to do this. Ain't sayin' I'll never have to leave for short periods of time, but I promise I will always come back to you."

That must have been exactly what I needed to hear because a band around my chest loosened. I hadn't realized how worried I'd been until that very moment. The relief was nearly overwhelming, and I found the room spinning slightly. Then Deacon wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly against him.

"Get a room, you two." Lemon laughed cheerfully. "Rocket, let's me and you get a room too. I feel the need to get freaky."

"Far be it from me to go against my vice president's wishes."

"I want to get freaky too," Deacon whispered.

"Yes," I said, nodding my head emphatically. I couldn't help the big cheesy grin on my face. "Let's do that."

Deacon took me back home. Once inside he stripped me bare. I laughed and ran from him only to let him catch me in the backyard. And yeah. We were both bare-assed naked. When he finally caught me, he laid me down on a bed of soft clover, covering me with his body and making love to me under the warm sunshine. Everything might not be perfect, but I could honestly say I could never remember being more content. I had Deacon. He had me. We had each other. Life was better than good.

Life was… beautiful .