Chapter Twenty-Three

Luc

Sitting at the bar, drinking a beer, I was going over the latest club contract when Gunny walked in from the back smiling like all was right in his world. Since Ivy had showed up, I noticed the old man came around more often. Not that I cared. He was always welcome here. However, it was strange to see him so relaxed and giddy.

"Why are you so fucking happy?"

"Oh nothing. It's just a beautiful day, that's all." The old man grinned, sitting in his favorite spot. "I'll take a cold one, Mouth."

"Coming right up, Gunny."

"Gotta say, Prez. I think therapy is really doing wonders for our girl. She's got a pep in her step today."

"That so," I muttered, marking out demands our current client was asking for that would never happen. It was no secret how the club made its money. Well, not to the officers, at least.

As for the rest of the patched brothers, they believed the club made money with the strip club, apartment building, and rental houses the club owned, also from helping to distribute Hell's Breath, a top-shelf whiskey that the Sons of Hell MC created. When King approached me with the idea, I wasn't too thrilled about getting into the liquor business, but the man made a good point. There was money to be made with whiskey. It also helped when my goddaughter Skylar called me and told me she and her old man Pyro would visit when the first shipment arrived in a few months.

Apparently, it was an easy gig. King had already called and made arrangements with several bars, clubs, and MCs up and down the West Coast, all of whom were clamoring to have his new special blend of Hell's Inferno on their shelves. All my brothers had to do was deliver the product and make damn sure they got paid.

While that kept the club brothers busy, the officers and I, well, we worked on the club's real purpose. Since we were all trained in one thing. One very specific skill set that set us above the rest. We used our combined knowledge to gain information and get closer to our prime objective. The reason for the club's existence in the first place. To find and kill all those behind the execution of Col. Hercules Malpas.

The man I spent twelve years in prison for.

"Yep." The old guy nodded, grinning when Mouth handed him a cold beer. "I was worried for nothing. Our girl is going to be just fine."

"What makes you say that?" I asked, looking up from the contract.

"Because she's out back right now beating the shit out of Gina."

"Jesus Christ," I moaned as Mouth jumped the bar, Slash bolted from the room, and Trash and Agony both grinned. Groaning, I got to my feet and sneered at the old man, "You couldn't have led with that shit?"

"Ain't gonna ruin my girl's fun. Besides, the bitch asked for it."

Making my way toward the back, I spotted Pinball and Puck shaking their heads. "It's over with. Need to get the Plebs to get rid of the body. Ivy wasn't fucking around, Prez."

"She killed her?"

Pinball grinned. "Oh yeah. Bitch never had a chance."

Puck laughed. "Ivy just snapped that cunt's neck like a twig. It was awesome."

"Where is Ivy now?"

"Back soaking up the sun like nothing happened. She's even smiling now."

Walking out back, I spotted Ivy sitting on a lawn recliner, sunglass on, facing Logic who was talking to her. Growling, I narrowed my eyes at the barely-there bikini she was wearing, showing off what belonged to me.

Across the lawn, Mouth was ordering TBAR and KROD, two of the club's Plebs on how to clean up the mess Ivy had made when I distinctly heard TBAR say, "Got a woodchipper in the garage. We can use that."

KROD grimaced. "Naw, ain't cleaning up all the blood splatter. I just say we chop her up and take her for a boat ride."

"Shark bait." TBAR grinned high-fiving KROD. "Nice."

"Been a while since I've been fishing. We can make a day of it."

TBAR high-five'd KROD again. "First one to catch a shark wins?"

"And buys the beer."

I really worried about those two.

Neither one had a fucking functioning brain cell between them.

Leaving Mouth to handle those two, I walked over to where Ivy was, only to stop halfway when Logic gave a slight shake of his head, halting me in my tracks. "Why did you do it, Ivy?"

"Because she pissed me off," my crazy-assed troublemaker muttered.

"Help me out here, Ivy," Logic groaned. "Just because Gina was being a bitch and mouthing off, didn't give you the right to kill her. People are going to say all kinds of hurtful things. Are you going to kill them all?"

"No."

"Then why her?"

"Because she said I couldn't give Luc what he really wanted, and she was right. I can't."

Frowning, I stepped into the shadows so I could hear her better. While I typically wouldn't give two shits about what she and Logic discussed, the inflection in her voice told me that what she was about to say was important, and I wanted to know what the fuck it was.

"Ivy, how do you know what he wants unless you ask him?"

"I don't, okay!" she shouted, getting agitated again.

"Enough," I declared, making myself known. "She's had enough today. Just leave it for another day."

Logic sighed but nodded and got to his feet.

"I'll go help the Plebs."

I hated seeing her upset. In fact, I was getting really tired of it. It seemed every time she just started to be herself again, shit happened and knocked her back down. The poor woman couldn't catch a fucking break, and I was fucking tired of the world beating her down. She'd suffered enough already, and I would be damned to Hell before I let one more person destroy what was left of her.

Enough was enough.

Later that same day, I watched Ivy joke around with Mouth, who played at being annoyed. She was having a good time. There was a lightness to the club whenever Ivy was in a good mood.

She seemed to have an effect on everyone. Her laughter was infectious.

Me included.

"Come on, Mouth. Please?" Ivy needled the grumpy man, who rolled his eyes, hiding his smirk. "I'll be good."

"Ha!" the man huffed. "You, be good? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Come on," she groaned. "I really want to learn."

"Then have one of the other brothers teach you. Trash is really good, I hear."

My enforcer frowned, got up from his spot, and walked away. Smirking, I just shook my head. Ivy was definitely barking up the wrong tree if she thought Trash would teach her anything.

"I don't want Trash to teach me. He's still undecided about what pussy he wants."

Slash spit his beer across the bar and choked. "What the fuck?"

Waving him off, Ivy just scoffed, "It's nothing. My old neighbor at the apartment complex has a litter of kittens, and Trash wants one but won't tell me what color pussy he wants."

"Jesus Christ," Slash groaned, getting to his feet and walking away.

"Please, Mouth." She pouted.

Knowing damn well the fucker wouldn't back down, I swallowed the last of my beer before standing. "Come on, Ivy. I'll teach you."

Ivy stood stock still as she gaped openly at me.

Mouth grinned, shaking his head. "You stepped in it now, Barbie."

"Um...," she hemmed and hawed. "I changed my mind. I don't wanna."

"Too fucking bad. Let's go," I ordered, pointing to the spot in front of me.

The brothers rushed to move tables out of the way as Ivy slowly moved around the bar to stand in front of me.

Fumbling with her fingers, she whispered, "You don't have to do this. It was just a stupid idea. I thought it would be fun."

"Not stupid," I said reaching for her hand, yanking her closer to me while I wrapped my other arm around her waist.

Looking up, I saw Frost grin when he pushed play on the stereo system and the sounds of Billy Currington's "Must Be Doin' Something Right" played through the speakers. "Just follow my lead."

The second I moved, Ivy's head went down, watching her feet as I moved her about the floor. The woman was determined not to make a mistake. Could have told her that dancing was a learning experience, if she would just look up at me.

Annoyed, I growled, "Ivy."

Her head whipped up. "Yeah."

"You are supposed to be looking at me."

"I don't want to step on your feet."

"You won't, if you just relax."

"I can't. I don't want to mess up."

"This is not a damn test, woman. It's just a dance."

"I know." She smiled, looking back down at her feet.

Groaning, I stopped and took a step back. "Dancing is about trust. Trust that you know your partner will guide you around the floor. You need to relax and let me do my job."

"But what if I step on your foot?"

"Then you step on my foot. It's not that big of a deal."

"I just want it to be perfect. I've never danced before."

"Maybe she needs something slower." Saint smirked. "You know, break her in easy."

"And I know the perfect song." Logic smiled wickedly as he walked over and searched for what he was looking for. "All right, Ivy. Just follow Luc's lead and don't look away from him."

The woman huffed. "Fine, but if I break his toes, it's on you."

Grumbling, I pulled the woman to me when Elvis Presley's , "Can't Help Falling in Love" blared through the sound system.

This time, Ivy never once looked away.

Holding her tight, I slowly swayed with her around the floor and soon found myself lost in her pale sterling silver eyes as the words to the song swept me away. She truly was a beautiful woman, and when her hand tightened in mine, I pulled her closer and gradually lowered my head and finally kissed her for the first time.

However, when she didn't respond, I pulled away.

Taking a step back, she lightly touched her lips. A puzzled expression crossed her face, almost as if she were unsure what to do next. I could clearly see the indecision, worry, and confusion marring her face. She was close to the edge again and this time it was because of me.

"Why did you do that?" she whispered, taking another step back, putting distance between us. I didn't like that. I hated that she felt she needed to dissociate herself from me. That was the last thing I ever wanted. I was only trying to show her something new and, in turn, made everything worse. I told Logic I wasn't good at relationship shit and this just proved it.

She stood stiffly, her body rigid.

"Ivy, talk to me."

Shaking her head, she backed away, refusing to say another word and stormed out of the room.

Moments later, I heard the metal door of my playroom slam shut.

"Luc," I vaguely heard Logic say my name before I grabbed a chair and threw it across the room and watched it slam into the stereo system, cutting the fucking music.

I was done with this shit.

I was done pretending to be someone I wasn't.

Turning to Logic, I sneered, "Fuck this shit. It's not working."

"Yes, it is. You have to give it time." He guarded his words carefully. "She is like a small child in a lot of ways. She never experienced life like we did. She grew up in a house of pain. That's all she knows. Showing her new experiences isn't a bad thing, Luc. It will show her that there is more to this life."

"It's confusing the fuck out of her!"

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Luc," Slash spoke up. "While I still agree she needs help, Ivy needs to be able to live her life as she wants and not what society deems acceptable. When have any of us ever given a fuck what anyone else thinks? Yes, Ivy is a bit much, but so are all of us."

Logic sighed. "She needs to learn that there is more to life than pain."

"Bullshit," Alias growled. "Let me ask you this, Logic. What if Ivy is exactly how God intended her to be? Yes, she's fucked in the head. What woman isn't? Yet, that woman has managed to survive and thrive. Does she have moments where she jumps off the deep end? Yes. But she is also a functioning adult who doesn't need any of us, yet chooses to stay and be part of something other than herself. All of us fucking know that she could up and leave at any minute, yet she doesn't."

"Alias is right, Logic," Gunny said from the bar. "I know I'm not a brother in this club and I really don't have a say here, but all of you have made me feel welcome, and that girl has shown me more kindness, more respect than any motherfucker out on those streets. She doesn't judge me for my lifestyle. She accepts me for who I am and loves me anyway. Ivy isn't perfect, but she's perfect for me. She doesn't need to change or be someone she isn't."

"Gunny, you need to understand—"

"Enough," I growled, fury coursing through my veins. "This fake bullshit ends right now. I get you are the professional here, Logic, but when it comes to her wants and needs, I'm in charge. You just concentrate on her mind. I will take care of everything else."

"That's just it, Luc. They are all connected. Ivy doesn't know what she wants or needs because she's never been given a choice."

A wicked smile crossed my face.

"And that's exactly what I'm going to give her."

"What?"

"No fucking choice."