Butch Read Free Page A

This
was the life he wanted now. None of them knew the true danger that they faced.
Butch had lived through it once, and he wasn’t doing it again.
    “He doesn’t care, Tiny. Leave him alone.” Alex leaned
forward. “We want you to come back.”
    “No. I’m not coming back.”
    “We need you. Devil’s got something going on, and
we’re all going to be in danger if we don’t band together.”
    Holding his hand up, Butch shook his head. “I’m not
going to argue with you. I’m not coming back. I’m out. I’ve got an appointment
with a tattooist, and he’s going to black out my club markings. You’ve got all
my leather cuts. I’m done, and I’m out. I don’t need to know any more shit.”
    “You’re being an asshole,” Tiny said.
    “Who is causing a problem?” Butch asked.
    Tiny stayed silent as Alex leaned forward, linking his
fingers together in front of him. “A man known as Frederick
Gonzalez. He’s ruffled Devil’s feathers, and when I asked Ned Walker,
Eva’s father has told us to stay clear of the bastard. Frederick is not a man
to be trifled with.”
    Whistling, Butch looked out of the window thinking
about Cheryl. Something tingled in his mind about the name. He couldn’t grasp
the memory, but he saw a boy leaning over him when he got shot. No, it couldn’t
be related. There was no way it could. His past was dead. This wasn’t his
problem anymore. Cheryl was his problem. The club used to be his life, and he’d
been out of it for a month and already there was a new enemy.
    “I’m not coming back. I’ve got a life.”
    “Is a cunt really worth this?” Alex asked.
    Fisting his hands, he glared at the other man. “Yeah, she
is.”
    “I don’t have a clue who this woman is, but she must
have one golden pussy to keep you away from us all.”
    “She’s not keeping me away. I’m choosing to be away.”
Butch stood up. He was finished with this conversation. They could turn up
trying to bring him back, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen. He was in
love with Cheryl Barnes, and he wouldn’t do anything to mess that up. “Coffee
is on me.” None of them had touched the cups in front of them. He made his way
to the back of the shop and refused to let anyone disrupt him from his own
thoughts.
    He was making the right decision. Danger, when it came
to the club, always ended in violence. The last few years had proven that.
    ****
    Cheryl finished wrapping up the bouquet of red roses
for Nash. He handed her a card to write up the payment. She didn’t speak to him
other than to offer advice on the kind of flowers his wife would want. Nash was
one of only a few men who came to the store to buy flowers. She loved making
the bouquets they requested. Some of the men had amazing taste when it came to
color.
    “Lash says you’re the best, and I have to say, Sophia
is going to love me for these,” he said.
    She smiled, handing him back a receipt and his card.
“I hope she likes them.”   Seconds later
he left the shop without a word about Butch. One month ago she’d woken up at
two in the morning to find Butch waiting on her doorstep. For the first time
since she’d met him, he hadn’t been wearing a leather jacket with The Skulls
logo on. She hadn’t recognized him at first until she saw his green eyes. There
was no way she’d ever forget those green eyes. From the moment she first met
him in the church those eyes had plagued her. Living in Fort Wills for the last
ten years hadn’t given her any clue as to who all the members of the local MC
club were. She didn’t pay much attention to all the men. Her thoughts were
preoccupied elsewhere.
    When the door was closed behind Nash she went back to
finishing up her summer display with bright, vibrant colors. Her thoughts
returned to Butch like they always did when she was alone. The first week he
quit The Skulls he’d spent the nights on her sofa, against her mother’s advice.
After that week he found a place of his own, but he