Page 14 of Scotch: Unraveled

“Listen, I told you—” Whatever he’s about to say he can shove up his ass. I see a man mounting his bike and it’s one of the men who’ve come in to pick up Gunner or Diesel when their parents are working late. I hop out of the car, waving my hands in the air as I call out to him. There’s nothingishabout him. This guy is hot with a capital H. All that sumptuously dark hair, and deep soulful eyes darker than his hair.If I was five years younger…I have to stop myself from going down that road. What I need is to get his attention. Shoot if I can’t remember his name.

“Hey…” I call out. “Hey there…”

“Miss Frankie?” he hollers back.

“Yes,” I shout. Thank god. “Yes, it’s Miss Frankie. I need to see Duke Ellis; it’s important.”

“For god’s sake, Dutchy, let her in.”

The man at the gate, Dutchy, rolls open the gate to allow me inside. As I drive onto the property, I see Duke make his way out of a pretty home with a white wraparound porch. I stop my car not too far from him and jump out.

“Jesus, Miss Frankie?” he asks, staring at me with surprise written all over his gruffly handsome face. “What the fuck you doin’ here? Weren’t you s’posed to be havin’ dinner with our man Scotch?”

“Scotch?” I ask. “You mean Rory? Yes. We had dinner.” I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to people calling him ‘Scotch.’ “He picked up the truck today. We had dinner. Then out of nowhere, a Sheriff’s Deputy pulls him over, draws his gun, says the truck was stolen, then put Rory in the back of the cruiser.”

“Fuck,” he says, wiping his hand over his hair. “The babies?”

“With me. I lied—said they were mine and it was his visitation.”

“Good call. Take ’em into the house. Doc’s in there with the kids.” This he says to me before turning to the guy whose name I can’t remember. “Hero,” he says to him. Hero, that’s right.Seriously—drop dead gorgeous.Remember Frankie, no other man will ever be Rory. But boy, if any man could get me over Rory, it would be him. One look at Hero and I’m ready to flirt my ass off.

“On it,” Hero calls back, running into the clubhouse. Duke mounts his bike and takes off, not quite like a bat out of hell.

After unhooking each girl from the seat restraints, we walk up to the blue house. My mind is spinning. Caitlin Brennen-Ellis looks every bit like the wife of a biker when she throws open the door. Tight, white Harley tank and painted-on jeans. Her hair is tied in a knot on top of her head. She is straight up badass.

“Frankie?” she asks, then her eyes drop to Mollie and Macie and her voice drops. “This can’t be good.”

5.

Rory

Duke, Boss, and Chaos, along with Sgt. Tommy Doyle of the Thornbriar Police Department have been here for fucking hours as we wait for them to release me. I bought the truck. I have the paperwork. Deputy Dipshit continues to live up to that moniker by continuing to be a total dipshit, dragging his feet until he hears back from the dealership, which closed hours ago.

Thank god Frankie had been with us. Though her getting out of her car when a man had a gun drawn wasn’t smart and we’ll be discussing that when I get out of here. But the fact that she didn’t panic and had the presence of mind to drive to the compound—I’m sitting in a jail cell for no goddam reason, yet I can’t wipe the smile off my face. She told the deputy they were our girls and got them to safety.

How many other women would’ve even gotten involved let alone thought so fast on their feet?

Since the men are already here, but I’m still due my one phone call, I use it to call Caity, as I don’t have Frankie’s cell, something I mean to rectify as soon as I get home. Hopefully she’ll still be there, though if she’s not, I understand. It’s getting late and she has to work tomorrow.

“Hello?” Caity answers.

“Are my girls with you?” I ask without pretense.

She laughs into the line. “All three of them.”

“Then I must have the wrong number because I swear I only have two.”

“She’s been here for hours. Since she doesn’t want to scare the girls, she’s decided to stay the night.” Caity must cover the phone because it becomes muffled, but I hear her say to her daughter, Jade, “Yes, sweetheart. You can change Mollie if she needs it.”

Scare the girls? They’ve lived on the compound since Thursday. In the trailer since Sunday. More like she doesn’t want to admit she’s scared to go home. Frankie never could admit when she was scared. It was always a guessing game with her. I laugh under my breath at Frankie thinking she could get away with her antics. Then I laugh more picturing little Jade changing my baby girl and actually missing changing her myself. Mollie’s little smile. The way she watches me as I clean her up, with those wide, innocent eyes. I’m fucked, totally fucked, and it’s all those wee babes’ fault. How the hell did a brother of the Lords end up missing wiping an ass? And I can’t believe that Frankie is willing to stay for my lasses.

Caitlin’s voice is clear again, but it drops to a whisper. “What I think, Rory MacGregor”—she’s been talking with Frankie, all right—“is that if you want three instead of two, then don’t fuck this up.”

Christ, what has Frankie been saying? “Can you put her on the line?”

“Sure. Hang on.”

The phone rustles and then I hear Frankie’s soft, “Hello?”

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