by K. C. Stone
“What did Moretti say?” Dom asks.
“I spoke to Giuseppe Moretti and he was very intrigued to meet Cara at first, the Gallo crime family was a big deal over there. He was saddened to hear about everything here. He said he would see what he could do to persuade the bank manager,” I tell them.
“And?” Ezra says, looking at me.
“Moretti called me back two hours later and told me that those bastards sang like a fucking canary. The bank manager is sending everything that was in the safety deposit box over here and all the money will take a moment, but they will be transferring it into a new bank account. Moretti kept the one point five million and that was to be expected,” I finish.
“So, what now, are we finished?” Tex questions.
“Yeah ,what does that mean, now that Moretti gets his money does that mean that the girls are safe, no more threats?” Viper asks.
“Let’s fucking hope, like I said we owe Moretti, but other than that Sal’s debt is clear. Thank the fuck because they didn’t have to do that. They could have said fuck that and came after blood, but they didn’t, once I explained the situation. They got it, said something about they had trafficking issues they had to deal with too, that they understand. As for everyone else, I can’t fucking say but I know we have the biggest threat under control,” I reassure them.
“Listen, now that things are about to calm down, we need to make up some cash flow. Guns need to be brought in and assembled plus Juice called on the prepay, some new little shit took over the Bowery Boys, some kid named Case, hopefully that shit will work out, he wants a sit down and to go over some shit,” I say.
“Doc, where are we at with everything?” I ask.
“Thalia gets her wires off today, she’s doing well. It took her a while, but she has really taken to the girls, she still has a long road ahead of her, but she’s doing well. As for Ally, she’s in the hospital. She has a long way ahead for her, they will be releasing her next week to go to Texas with her family. She did say to tell you guys, thanks for rescuing her,” he finishes.
“Viper, how are you doin?” I toss the question his way. I can tell by the way he’s rubbing his leg it must bother him.
“Shit, I will be fine, don’t worry about me,” he says.
“Fuck, the way Leah babies him the bastard probably milks that shit,” Ranger jokes.
“Hell yes, you know he gets her to play nurse maid and that kinky shit,” Ezra spits back.
The laughter that filled the room was infectious. I look around at each man in this room. This is what I wanted for them. The air in the room is calmer, they seem settled no longer on edge.
“All right, you bastards, we need to vote. Tex’s and Ranger’s transfers are in and have been approved,” I announce.
A chorus of “Fuck yes,” and “damn right,” fill the room.
“Also, Capone, Rooster, and Bear have all asked to be voted in and leave their nomad status behind. After all the shit we have been through they have stood by us, so I say yay,” I explain, tossing my vote in.
“Yay,” Dom seconds.
“Fuck yea,” Viper barks out.
Each one voices their yes, one after another. I slam my gavel down on the table “Congratulations, guys, it’s unanimous welcome home!” I shout.
“Alright, brothers, lockdown has been lifted. Tonight, we party, just don’t go crazy and shit, got me,” I announce, their laughter and cheers reached new heights.
“Fuck yes, it’s about time,” Tex hollers, his Texas drawl thicker when he’s excited.
“Go get that shit started,” I say, ending the meeting.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Cara
I stare down at the envelopes spread out on the kitchen table. I have read them twice since they arrived. There are twelve letters in all, some addressed to me, some addressed to Jules, she was ecstatic when I gave her the letters from him. Suddenly, my father is alive again, his strong voice echoing in my head, giving me advice. Protecting Jules and I, looking after his girls like he did when he was alive. The first few letters were written shortly after Jules was born, nothing too serious in them. He explains that the purpose of setting up the account was to make sure that we are comfortable in life and want for nothing.
His later letters go on to talk about how he feels something is shifting, they are more like warnings and he warns me about Sal. He goes on to tell me that if I need to leave to make sure I surround myself and Jules with strength, almost as if he knew something was going to happen.
His last letter was the hardest for me to read, he talks about a shift in the family, they want to lean toward a newer way of life, he talks about how Sal has become a different man, a more ruthless person and he’s not sure that he . . . in that letter he explains that if anything should happen to him that Sal might be responsible and that he regrets ever allowing us to marry. My heart breaks as I read the letters, my body shakes knowing that Sal could have had something to do with killing my father and mother. The more I read the letters, the angrier I seem to get. That man manipulated my whole life, my entire marriage was a lie, he cheated, stole money, left me with killers after me because of all the dealings he was a part of. My daughter was kidnapped because of him and now he might have been the reason my parents died.
My hands are visibly shaking now. I’m so pissed off, I could throw something, smashing it into a million pieces.
“Hey, Angel,” Locke’s deep, dark, smooth voice washes over me like a soothing balm to my soul. His hand gently brushes my shoulders leaving my skin tingling in its wake. I inhale deeply, pulling his scent into my lungs. I quickly stack the letters and put them away dwelling only makes it worse, there is nothing we can do now, John is dead, Sal is dead.
“Thank you,” I tell him, kissing the palm of his hand. I love the way his skin feels against mine.
“Sorry for what, Angel?” he asks gruffly.
“For everything I have brought to the club, to you. None of this was your fight and yet you have stood front and center to bring down so much. There is so much blood on your hands because of me,” I confess, wringing my hands together.
“Look at me.” He grips my face in between his finger and thumb. “I love you, damn it. I have loved you for almost twenty years. Nothing has or will ever change that, that bastard took our daughter. So, yes, Cara, I have blood on my hands and a lot of it. But if it’s going to protect my family, protect this family then fuck yes, I will kill for it, I don’t give a damn if I’m covered in blood,” he tells me with admiration and love in his voice.
“Besides, you cook better than these bastards,” I hear coming from behind me. I turn to see Dom standing at the kitchen counter shoveling cookies in his face.
“Fuck you, asshole, not like your cooking was much better,” Matthew tosses back at him.
“Lovely, just lovely, guys. It’s good to know you only need me around for my cooking,” I volley back at them.
“Oh, Angel, I keep you around for more than just your cooking.” The devilish gleam in his eye sparks something in me as he leans down and brushes his lips to my ear and whispers, “I also love the way your pussy feels around me, the way you taste,” he growls nipping my ear lobe. I can feel the heat rush up my neck coloring my cheeks, his growl causes warmth to pool down below, I rub my legs together to ease my arousal.
“Dad, seriously cool it that’s nasty.” The shrill voice of Jules causes me to bust out laughing.
“Juliane, my love, how do you think you got here, Princess,” Matthew says, sending her a wink.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction, the appalled look on her face was priceless.
I stand and wrap my arms around Matthew’s neck. “Why don’t we go take a nap before the baby wakes up, maybe you can tie me?” I say just loud enough for Jules to hear.
A sharp slap on my ass causes me to shriek and dart away from him. “Hey, Princess, in case you don’t understand code she means we are gonna go do it,” I hear him tease he
r.
“That’s disgusting, you guys are freaks,” she replies, making me laugh as he chases after me, my only thought is I can’t wait to get him naked.
Chapter Fifty
Locke
Fuck, my woman is beautiful, I look down at her peacefully sleeping, the way her hair curls around her face. Her body is soft and tanned against the sheets, the way her curves flow and disappear under the sheets. I thank God every day that she’s here in my life, I know things have been fucked up and we have been at constant fucking war, but I wouldn’t change anything.
My phone chimes next to me on the bedside table, I open it to see a text from Tech come through.
Tech: Come find me.
Shit, I think to myself, what now? I find Tech at the bar in the process of pouring two shots of whiskey, the look on his face mirrors mine, beat down, and just wanting some fucking peace around here.
“Yo, brother,” I say, getting his attention.
“Yo” is all he says, sliding one of the glasses my way, fuck.
“What? No, damn it, you only do this if it’s bad, so just spit it out already,” I say, taking the drink and shooting it back, the burn from my favorite amber liquid never fails me.
“I know what the Moretti’s want,” Tech says, pouring another round into my glass.
“Yeah, what is it?” I say curious on just how he knows what it is already.
“Yeah, they want us to hunt someone and find information on them, then once we do, they want us to call them with the information,” he says.
“How did you find this information out,” I inquire, swirling the shot glass in my hand watching the caramel-colored waves ebb back and forth.
“I spoke to a man named Dante, first about guns and then about the marker he was calling in,” Tech says, tossing back shot number two.
“Guns?” I ask intrigued.
“Yup, they need a new runner since Sal is no longer in the business and the word that Valentino Gallo’s daughter is now a part of this club, means that they need a new dealer,” he informs me.
“I see, and what exactly is their cut? I asked, my curiosity is piqued.
“That, he said would be worked out when they get here.” The last part was news to me.
“Motherfucker,” I shout, tossing back my second shot. “How long till they get here?” I bark.
“It will be a couple months, they have their own shit to worry about over there,” he says. “I spoke with Dante and they will call us when they are getting ready to come over here.” Tech wipes his hands on the towel in front of him.
“Shit, we need to call church and vote this shit in before they just show up here with guns and just expect us to run the operation for them.” “I swear to fuck when this is over, I’m going to a private beach with my woman and fuck her all day,” I mumble, pulling out my cell shooting a text to everyone requesting them to meet me in church.
Once the guys get the run down, everyone votes to go ahead since we owe the Morettis, it makes sense to run the guns. Our pipeline has not dried up but due to recent events it’s slowed down. The only thing left is to wait for their arrival and something tells me that when they do arrive, they will bring another kind of shitstorm with them. So, until then I will just protect my club, protect my family, and I will kill anyone that gets in my way.
That’s a promise.
Epilogue
A simple night out with the girls turned into a long night out, I look down at my watch its blaring one thirty a.m. “Shit, how much longer,” I say to the others, my adrenaline is tanking fast.
I open the door and see him leaning up against the fence. “Fuck me, he’s beautiful and mine.”
“Where the fuck have you been?” he barks and I can play it two ways I can piss in his cheerios and get nowhere or I can play coy and apologize, I opted for the second one.
“Hey, honey, I’m sorry I’m late,” I apologize, leaning down to kiss him, hoping he doesn’t grab and pull me down into his lap.
His demeanor shifts, his tone softens.
“Come sit.” He pats his lap. “I already put the baby to bed, plus I missed you. How was your night out with the girls?” he asks.
“Amazing.” I hinted tonight was the first night we have been able to go out since everything went down, now we can, but we still have our little watch dogs, and it’s okay.
“What is this?” he says, grabbing my wrist just like I thought he would, and he freaked out just like I thought he would.
“What the fuck is that? What did you do?” he barks, pointing to the plastic wrapped bandages I have, one on each wrist.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his predictable reactions. “I did something today while I was out, well, we all kind of did something so close your eyes,” I say as I unravel the cellophane from each wrist. His arched eyebrow is his way of opposing what I’m saying while shutting his eyes anyway.
“Open them,” I whisper, my anticipation for his reaction is overwhelming as I hold out my wrists palms down.
His reaction is complete silence, and I’m a little unnerved at first.
“Do you like them?” I whisper back. He says nothing but reaches up and gently traces the thin black line with a single finger.
“Cara, I can’t believe you actually went through with tattoos on your wrists.” His voice is filled with awe as he slowly turns my wrists around, his eyes widen.
“Are these?” He looks at me and his voice is caught in his throat when he sees the thin lines are locked together with a miniature version of the locket he gave me, all those years ago.
“I wanted something to remember the fun times, now when you see them it will be our dirty little secret,” I whisper against his lips.
Without saying another word his lips crash against mine and my anticipation quells when he becomes ravenous.
“Fuck, baby, that’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he mumbles against my lips, pulling and ripping at my clothes, we are fighting to see who gets undressed first.
Lying in bed with Cara wrapped around me, I finally feel like I’m alive again, I know shit hasn’t been easy. Fuck knows that it’s been one thing after another, I do know that no matter what I will protect her with my life.
“Hmmm, what is going through that sexy head of yours?” she asks in a gravelly, sleepy voice.
“Just wondering what it would be like to get married in Italy,” I say nonchalantly. I have thought about it a lot the past few days.
“Really, you want to go to Italy to get married,” she shrieks and her excitement is contagious.
“Well, I figured that since we have to go to get the rest of this shit with the account straightened out, we could make it a family trip and do what we should have done years ago,” I confess, sliding the ring I had nestled in my nightstand drawer on her finger.
“Matthew, where did you get this?” she asks, staring at her hand in awe.
“I got that from my mother, when we were in Ireland,” I tell her.
“I love you, Matthew McKenzie,” she kisses my neck, wrapping herself around me tighter.
“I love you, Cara, and I promise I will protect you and our family with everything I have. Nothing will ever hurt you again,” I promise her, pulling her on top of me and showing her again just how much I need her.
I currently reside in Arlington, Texas. I’m married with four children and I love writing romance stories, it doesn’t matter if they are MC, mafia or contemporary romance. I love reading just as much as I do writing. It’s always been my dream to write stories, I was just never brave enough, until one day with a little help from some amazing people, I found my brave and since then it’s become my solace. Welcome to my world.
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