Butch

“He’ll be fine. They’ll take care of them.”

“I know.” She kept her gaze on her son as Butch talked with his friends. This was the first time she watched her son walk off with kids his own age. It was a whole new experience for her.

“I can’t believe you’ve given up the life.”

“Devil, drop it,” Butch said.

Jerking her attention away from her son, she knew he needed to start talking with his friends. “I’m going to get us a drink. Do you want one?” she asked.

“Sure, baby.” He kissed her lips, and she moved away. They were all watching them. She felt like some bug underneath a microscope.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, she ruffled Matthew’s head as she passed.

“I’ve got an eye on them,” Eva said.

“Okay. Do you want me to get you anything?”

Eva shook her head. “I’ve got everything I need.”

She didn’t argue and made her way over to the drink stand. Without looking where she was going, she watched the rides and people passing her. Cheryl crashed into a hard muscular chest.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, looking up the line of his body.

It had been three years since she’d seen him last, but there he stood, holding her arm.

“Hey, Cheryl,” he said.

Words failed her as she stared at him. He looked older than the last time she saw him, damaged even.

“Alex?” she asked. Glancing behind her shoulder she saw Butch was staring at them.

“One and the same.” He wasn’t wearing a business suit like he had when she saw him in the church three years ago.

“You’re a Skull?” She had to be dreaming. There was no way she’d slept with a Skull and given birth to his child.

“We need to f**king talk.”

He tugged on her arm pulling her away from prying eyes. She started to grow scared and fought him. “Let go of me. You lost your chance to talk to me when you left. It has been three years, Alex!””

Slapping him in the chest, the pain was unbearable. She was finally moving on, and the man who’d taken her virginity turned up years later.

“Stop making a f**king scene.”

“Get your hands off my woman, Alex. What the f**k are you doing?” Butch asked, pushing Alex away.

Cheryl was too scared to say anything or do anything. The other bikers were circling them. Some of the women were looking at her curiously. She was finally moving on, and she was falling for Butch. This couldn’t be happening. It was too much.

“I’ve got to talk to her, Butch. You can back away,” Alex said.

What was happening? The world was spinning.

“I’m not coming back to the club so you can leave Cheryl the f**k alone. You got shit to say, you say it to me.” Butch turned to Tiny. “This is your way of getting me back? Hurting my woman?”

“I don’t know what the f**k is going on,” Tiny said.

“I’ve got every right to talk to her,” Alex said.

“No, you haven’t. She’s mine. Back the f**k off,” Butch said, growling the words and taking a step closer.

“I’m about to talk to the mother of my f**king child, Butch. This is nothing to do with you.”

The silence was deafening. Tears filled her eyes making him blurry. This couldn’t be happening. The cruelty of it was unfair.

“What?” Butch asked.

“I’m Matthew’s father. It’s time I stepped up.”

She screamed as Butch did no more than slam his fist in Alex’s face. For Cheryl, the world went dark.

****

Pacing the clubhouse main room, Butch glared at Alex as he waited to hear about what was happening to his woman. His anger was absolute. He was waiting for the chance to lash out and end this f**ker.

“You slept with a woman younger than me,” Tate said, scrunching up her nose.

“Don’t start, Tate. She was of age. I wasn’t breaking any f**king laws,” Alex said, holding a cloth to his nose. Sandy was with his woman. He wouldn’t allow her to attend to Alex until he knew Cheryl was okay. Matthew was playing out in the courtyard with the other kids. Sophia was keeping an eye on them as Eva tried to get Tiny to calm down.

“Did you know who I was seeing?” Butch asked.

“No, not until last night, and then when I saw you both together this morning, I knew.” Alex voice came out garbled. “Fuck, you broke my nose.”

“That’s not the only thing I’m going to be doing to you, f**ker.” Butch paced the room waiting for the all clear.

“You f**ked a woman, got her pregnant, and left her?” Tiny asked.

“I didn’t know she was pregnant. I f**ked her, and the condom broke. I didn’t give it much thought. The last few years have been hectic.” Alex shrugged.

“You avoided going into town to meet her. All the time you’re here, you avoid going elsewhere.” Alex’s refusal to go into town made sense to Butch. “You knew there was a f**king chance, you piece of shit.” He lunged, ready to end the f**ker once again. Butch couldn’t believe there was a time when he’d liked Alex. All of that liking was out of the window with this latest revelation.

Killer and Tiny held him back. “You’re not going to hit a club member.”

“I’m not a f**king member. I’ll f**king kill him,” Butch said, snarling.

“There’s more to this than meets the f**king eye,” Tiny said. “Back the f**k off before I do something I regret.”

Glaring at Alex, Butch relaxed and stormed away to slam his fist against the nearest wall. He needed to hit something, and if he couldn’t take his anger out on Alex, then he was going to enjoy hitting something else.

Sandy walked downstairs with Stink following close behind her. “She’s fine. Her head hurts from hitting the floor. You were too busy beating the shit out of each other to catch her.”

She walked over to Alex, tugged the cloth off his face and pressed the top of his nose. Alex screamed in pain. “Your nose is broken. Go to the hospital and have it set.”

“Sandy!” Tiny said, warning.

“I don’t give a shit what you say, Tiny. This f**ker is a piece of work. I’m not helping him. He’ll live, but I’m not wasting my day helping to fix his nose. He deserves the pain coming his way.” Sandy packed away her stuff, throwing the rubber gloves in the trash. “You know where to find me.”