Wrench (The Club Girl Diaries Book 6) Read online

  “These guys, they aren’t fake. They don’t feel like they need to impress you.” She licked her lips, a smile twitching in the corner of her perfect mouth. “They are who they are, and fuck it… if you don’t like it.”

  Chelsea laughed and nodded in agreement, and I couldn’t help but smirk as her eyes flicked to mine nervously.

  “Ain’t that the truth?” Chelsea laughed.

  “So they don’t even want to meet Harlyn?” I asked, my tone clearly laced with annoyance.

  A high pitched giggle pulled us all away from the conversation as we watched Blizzard battle with Harlyn over his shoulder, threatening to tickle her if she didn’t give him the location of the ice cream.

  “Never!” she cried, laughing even harder

  I had to give it to the kid, she had all of us wrapped around her pinky finger. She was an amazing judge of character for someone so young. While Blizzard and Optimus had been the only ones to spend time with her over the past five years, the instant she walked into the club, she knew without a doubt, that she could trust every damn scary biker in the place. She’d become a princess of sorts, and you know what? None of us minded one goddamn bit.

  “Harlyn has everything she needs already. It doesn’t matter if they want to meet her or not,” Sugar murmured as she stood up. Her eyes were focused on the little girl that was her world, and quickly becoming an important part of mine too. “She’s happy.”

  As she moved past me, heading for the patio where Harlyn and Blizzard continued their epic battle, I placed my hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me, our eyes connecting. I could see sadness within them, an emotion that I’d yet to feel come from her, a woman who only ever exuded excitement and strength. With a simple squeeze of my hand, she dipped her head, acknowledging my show of support before she rushed off calling out to Harlyn across the yard.

  “You know Optimus would kill you, right?” Chelsea warned under her breath.

  But at that stage, I didn’t even care.

  If Sugar needed me, I’d fucking be there for her.

  No matter what.

  “Some things are worth the risk,” I muttered before turning and walking away.

  Yeah, some things were worth the risk. And I knew I was about to throw myself into the deep end of a pool full of shit, yet I didn’t fucking care. If it meant drowning just to keep her afloat, that was exactly what I’d do.

  “You got anything we can use?” Op asked as I made my way inside. Op was sitting at the bar, his eyes focused on where Chelsea still sat outside, a soft smile on her face as she enjoyed the sounds of laughter and joy that Harlyn had brought to the clubhouse. It was a nice reprieve from the shitstorm we were currently engaged in.

  I think we were all waiting for the penny to drop, to be hit with something so hard that it would knock us off our feet. It wasn’t unusual to have danger surround the clubhouse, but it also hadn’t been this crazy for a long time. Not where you were constantly checking over your shoulder expecting someone to be standing there ready to blow your damn head off. We were on edge, and it was wearing us down, quickly.

  I shook my head. “Sorry man, I’m trying you know. But there’s a lot of shit to go through, and I’m just one guy. These places I’m trying to get into, they have secure servers. The moment I get inside, and they figure I’m there, I’m thrown straight back out on my ass and have to start all over again.”

  He scrubbed at his face, finally turning his gaze to mine. “I appreciate the long hours you’re putting in. I know it’s not easy and could impact your probation.”

  I cringed. “Club comes first, man. Don’t even worry about it.”

  He was right! If I was caught digging into government records again, that was it—do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. I was looking at a long stint in jail. I was still on probation for some shit I pulled years ago. I got caught with classified files on my computer that the government had twisted around, and made to look like they were there for the purposes of terrorist acts against the country.

  That wasn’t the case.

  Another chapter had asked me to look into a guy who was applying to prospect. Echo, the club president, had his suspicions about the guy’s history and was running on a hunch that he was an undercover agent working for the FBI. Turns out his hunch was directly on the money, and I hadn’t been able to cover my tracks fast enough. A rooky fucking move that I should never have let happen. But I also wasn’t to know that when the club hit the guy up about the information that I’d found, that he would fight back and in turn, the club had to take him out.

  The whole club could have been brought down, ours and theirs.

  But after taking a plea deal, where I admitted to acting alone, and the fact that I’d never had any contact with the agent, they put me away and dropped their investigation—or so they say.

  I did three fucking years.

  Not my first time away and probably wouldn’t be my last. But the catch was, that I had a ten-year probation, one where I’d sworn not to own a computer nor use my abilities again. The judge enforced it, saying that I was a risk to national security.

  I was banned from ‘hacking.’

  It was almost laughable that they thought they could somehow enforce that shit. The day I got out, I had bought an entirely new set up.

  The club needed someone who could do shit that other people couldn’t. Who could find the most valuable information that these bastards thought they could hide, and use it to our advantage to protect ourselves.

  So fuck the law, if it meant doing what was best for my club and my brothers. Jail time was worth it. It always makes me laugh when I think about how the boys chose my road name. Most of the boys in the club were pretty good with motors, bikes or cars. They’d grown up around them or were self-taught, it was part of the reason they fell in love with being a member of the club.

  Me though, I was good with my hands in other ways. Give me a computer and my fingers would move over the keys faster than any normal person could keep up with. Give me a set of tools, and I couldn’t even fucking name them or what they were used for.

  While I was prospecting, one of the members demanded I help him fix up an old bike. Being a good prospect, I simply agreed, thinking that it couldn’t be that complicated.

  I was wrong.

  The minute he asked me to grab him a wrench, I stood there, staring at the tool box for a good five minutes before he realized I had no idea what I was doing. Then he promptly laughed me out of the garage and told me to send him someone that did.

  Unfortunately, the whole club found my mistake hilarious and from there on, the name had stuck.

  “You want a drink, Wrench?” Ham asked from behind the bar, just as Sugar dashed past the doorway, her head thrown back in laughter.

  I cleared my throat as I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll have—”

  An earth shattering explosion shook the building, stunning both Optimus and me for a second. The beer he held in his hand dropped to the floor with a sharp crash. I gripped hard to the bar, trying to steady myself as my mind sorted through the fuzz. It may have only been a few seconds, but it felt like I was frozen there forever, unable to fight past the ringing in my ears. That was until Harlyn’s cries pierced through the air, and Blizzard rushed through the patio doors with the child over his shoulder and one arm sheltering Sugar.

  “Get them to my room,” Op ordered as he rushed forward, checking them over quickly and pressing a light kiss to Sugar’s head.

  I gritted my teeth, but there was no time for me to be jealous. “Wrench! Get armed. We need to check out what’s going on,” Op yelled over his shoulder.

  My own eyes moved over Harlyn and Sugar’s bodies, noting no sign of injury, before I turned and leaped over the bar, Ham handing me an already loaded shotgun.

  I palmed his shoulder. “Good work, kid.”

  Brothers rushed down the staircase, taking three or more stairs at a time, already holding weapons, prepared for a war. Blizzard ru
shed the girls from the room as Neil shot through the open doors, breathing heavily with a limp Chelsea over his shoulder.

  Optimus stepped in front of him, lifting her chin and cupping her face. Her eyes were open, but she was in a daze.

  Another much smaller explosion had us all running for defensive positions, and had Optimus storming toward the front door like he was the fucking Terminator or something, snatching Leo’s rifle as he stomped past and raising it to his eye. One swift kick of his heavy boot had the door flinging open.

  I moved forward in haste, wondering if I’d have time to pull him out of the way before a hail of bullets hit his body but nothing came. Instead, the crackle of a fire was the only noise to fill the air, and as I stepped outside behind my president, my eyes scanning the street and the lot for some kind of enemy. I could feel the intense heat that seemed to be radiating from the tree across the lot.

  Where Chelsea’s car was meant to be.

  And now all that remained was a charred shell, almost burnt beyond recognition.

  Shit had just gotten serious.

  Harlyn was snoring next to me, but I barely even noticed the soft noise, my mind still reeling from the events of today. I sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the light as it began to fade against the curtains before it would cast the room into darkness.

  I welcomed it, hoping that by some grace that once darkness fell, I would finally be able to close my eyes and get some sleep without hearing the screams of my frightened child, cringing as they pierced my eardrums. Harlyn’s cries were like something out of a horror movie, and would no doubt, haunt me for a long time to come. I’d never seen or felt her that scared for her entire life. Even when she was three and broke her wrist, not much more than a whimper left her mouth. She was a strong kid, sometimes a little too strong. I wanted her to be confident and independent, but I also needed her to know that she wasn’t invincible.

  I reached over and pulled open the drawer beside our bed, fishing around inside until I found a small bag. Slowly I unzipped it, hoping that the quiet noise wouldn’t rouse my light sleeping daughter. Tampons filled the bag, a clever disguise. Digging beneath them, I inhaled a calming breath as my fingers touched the small pill container at the bottom.

  You don’t need them.

  The voice was soft but stern. Unfortunately, it was overpowered by the thumping in my chest and the haze that was settling in my mind.

  I need something.

  Upending the bottle, I tipped a tiny pill into my hand before stashing the nearly empty container back into its hiding place. Clutching the blanket in one hand and the pill in the other, I anchored myself down as every part of my mind told me to get the hell out of there. Optimus promised that us coming back meant us being safe, but it felt so far from the truth right now. There were things I needed to consider, not just this danger, but other problems that even Op and the club weren’t aware of. I’d risked a lot by coming back here, but it had come to a point where I needed to consider what was best for Harlyn and stop being so damn selfish.

  A soft knock at the door drew me away from my internal battle. My body shook as I scurried to tuck the pill underneath my pillow. It slipped from my fingers and in my haste, it fell down the back of the bed. Tears welled up in my eyes, but instead of chasing after it, I looked over to check Harlyn was still sleeping soundly before I climbed off the bed and made my way toward the door. Pulling it open an inch, I was expecting Optimus but instead found a tired looking Wrench standing on the other side. I licked my lips as I took him in, his cap pulled low on his head so I could barely see his eyes.

  “Can I come in?” he asked, his voice gravelly and rough.

  Pulling the door open, I stepped aside and allowed him through, softly closing it behind him.

  His eyes looked over to Harlyn’s sleeping body, and I saw his shoulder slump slightly as if relieved to see her relaxed and in a deep slumber. “How is she?”

  His obvious concern for Harlyn’s well-being warmed my belly and brought a smile to my face. Something I didn’t think I could be capable of, after what had happened. “She’s okay. A little scared, but with all you guys around I don’t think it will last very long. She feels safe around the brothers.”

  “She should. You know the extent we’ll go to protect her… and you.” His gaze was intense, it burned through me as though he was trying to deliver me some sort of unspoken message. “How are you feeling?”

  The question caught me off guard, and for a second I opened my mouth to spill out every single emotion inside me. My heart told me to share that with him, that I felt safe and comfortable enough to divulge my deepest darkest fears just from a simple question. Maybe it was the way his eyes stared into mine, daring me to tell him a lie and say that I was perfectly fine. For some reason, I knew that he would call me out on it, that he wouldn’t accept anything other than the truth, so that was what I gave him.

  “I’m scared,” I said simply, shrugging my shoulders. “I’ve been here before, and I know what it’s like. But Harlyn… she’s never been scared of a damn thing in her life.”

  Even in the darkening room, I still caught the way his muscles bulged as he clenched his fists. He was a powerful force, his broad shoulders and thick arms making my body ache as I imagined them wrapped tightly around me, holding me close, sheltering me.

  “I’ll fight with every breath I have to make sure nothing happens to her,” he said quietly.

  “Why?” The question fell from my mouth before I even had a second to filter it. My curiosity getting the best of me. I understood that the brothers here all felt some kind of responsibility for Harlyn because she was their president’s daughter. It was their duty to make sure that she had everything she needed, and she was kept as safe and as happy as humanly possible. But it was the tone of his voice, and the way his words felt more than just a brother’s vow, and more like an emotional promise that had made me question him.

  “Because she’s a part of you,” he answered, taking a step forward.

  Unconsciously I reacted, taking a step back as you do when someone else steps inside your personal bubble. It stalled him for a moment, and I could tell he was wondering what his next move should be. Energy fizzed in the air between us, but I still wasn’t quite sure what it meant or why it was there.

  Wrench had been sweet to me, caring and supportive over the past few days. I found myself enjoying the way he openly baited me with smart comments and jokes and wasn’t afraid to show his attraction despite Optimus’ obvious hands off warnings.

  I guess it was kind of nice to have someone risk an ass beating in order to flirt with me and pay me compliments. It was like he was putting me first, and God, it had been a long time since anyone, including myself, had put me first.

  Taking a second within the silence, I allowed my eyes to roam his body, starting at his face. Half of it was covered, and that for some reason annoyed me. “Why do you always wear a cap?”

  He raised his hand and grabbed the bill of his cap, lifting it off his head for just a few seconds as he scrubbed his hand over his scruffy blonde hair. It was wild and untamed, like he repeated that same action hundreds of times a day, never allowing it to smooth out. Then he twisted the cap and placed it on backward, so his face was clear and unhidden.

  “Better?”

  I smiled. “That didn’t exactly answer my question, but yeah… it is better.”

  He smirked back at me, the playful look on his face burning through my body and pulling me in. He continued to keep tight-lipped, not offering me any other explanation, so I moved on. With the little light that was left in the room, I could clearly now see the color of his eyes—a soft shade of dark blue with a hint of gray when the light caught them. They were both soft, and fierce, holding me captive for a few extra seconds before I managed to cut the tempting connection.

  His jaw was lightly covered in stubble. It had been since we’d been here, and imagining him with a clean-shaven face seemed almost unthinkable. A baby
soft face on a man like Wrench just wasn’t something I could imagine, it wouldn’t suit his personality.

  Suddenly, I wanted to know what it would feel like when he kissed me. Would it be rough and scratchy, or would it tickle against my lips as I brushed them along his jaw? I wanted to know what it would feel like, dragged along the most sensitive parts of my skin and his soft lips eased the burn it would cause.

  My thighs clenched together, and I inhaled a sharp breath.

  Jesus, I needed to stop.

  I turned, flicking my eyes away, looking for anything within the small room that I could focus my attention on as I fought to drag more air into my lungs.

  “You done examining me?” he asked playfully.

  “No… I mean, I was not.”

  His deep chuckle rooted itself in my body, radiating outward. It seemed so fucking cliché to think, but just that sound instantly brought a smile to my face, and my body relaxed. The low tone was masculine and raw, it wrapped itself around me like a warm coat.

  I pulled at the hem of my oversized sweater as I shifted from foot to foot. “What’s going on out there?”

  “Not much, Blizzard dragged Op out to X-Rated for some business shit while the rest of us try and pull our shit together. Couple of the guys have Chelsea’s car in the shop, trying to figure out just what caused it to suddenly explode.” He wasn’t holding anything back or trying to shelter me, telling me that it was just a minor thing and that I shouldn’t worry.

  He was laying it down, letting me know that this was as serious as I thought it was. Wrench didn’t hold any blows, and I appreciated that.

  My gut started to churn again, and my eyes moved over to my beautiful little girl who was sleeping so peacefully. “Maybe this was a mistake,” I whispered as I walked over to the foot of the bed and peered down at her. “Maybe we shouldn’t have come back.” There were so many risks here, ones that I couldn’t have even dreamed of, and some that settled in my nightmares every single night.

  I could feel myself getting nervous, my stomach turning and my mind running a million miles an hour. Inhaling deeply through my nose, I tried to calm my raging emotions as my eyes flicked over to the bed where the pill had disappeared beneath.