Three Strikes (Demons Disciples MC Book 1)

by Allana Walker

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  He sighs, sitting beside me on the bed. “Just please, this has to stop.” He pulls me to him and kisses my head. “Now get some sleep. We have Nico and Jessica’s engagement barbecue in a few hours.”

  Nodding, I lie back. Striker stands to walk out. I know he has things to sort out for his dad’s return and for the barbecue, but I need him here.

  “Lie with me.” I grab his hand. “Please, Striker. I don’t want to be alone.” He agrees and lies back with me.

  ***

  I had to pluck up the courage to face everyone after my little display earlier. Nico and Jess are in the far corner when I arrive. The first person I encounter is Blaze.

  “Pour some sugar on me any day, Daria,” he jibes, winking at me. Asshole.

  “If you want to keep breathing and not have a repeat yesterday, but this time you’ll be leaving here in a body bag, I suggest you shut the fuck up and leave her alone.” Nico comes to my rescue, handing me a bottle of water.

  “Thanks.” I offer a small smile, unscrewing the cap and taking a mouth full. We sit on the nearby bench away from the crowd and noise. I haven’t got enough nerve to join in yet.

  “How are you feeling? Striker told me about your little strip tease.” Looking around at him, I expect to see amusement or some sort of teasing to come after, but all I see is a face full of concern. Taking my hand in his, he looks at me seriously, such contrast to how he normally is. “If you ever need to talk and you can’t speak to Jess, Striker, or your dad, just know I’m here. Okay?” Nodding, I try to keep the tears from falling.

  “Thank you, Nico.” My voice is hoarse with unshed tears and I give him a hug.

  “This is where you’re hiding?” We hear a feminine voice. We pull apart and are met with a stunningly beautiful middle-aged blonde woman. “What’s going on?” She looks between us with her brown eyes. I can’t take my eyes off of her. Tall, dark blonde hair, and looks at Nico like he’s her number one.

  “Mom.” His smile widens when he gets up to hug her. “Mom, this is Daria.”

  “Daria, I’ve heard so much about you. Jessica never stops talking about you.” She smiles, holding her hand out to shake mine.

  “Whatever she says, it’s a lie.” I smile thinking about all the stories Jess could have possibly told her.

  “So, you haven’t tamed Striker?”

  “Tamed? No. I don’t think he can be tamed, Mrs. Sanchez.” I giggle.

  “Please, call me Lauren.”

  “Pumpkin.” Dad rushes over to me and starts pulling at my arm. We’ve all been chatting about the wedding and other things and I feel myself beginning to relax a little. “Pumpkin, I really need to talk to you.” He pulls me again.

  “Dad, what’s wrong with you?” I yank my arm from his grasp. One, because it was irritating and two, because I could feel Striker about to lose it and probably kill my Dad in front of me for putting his hands on me like that.

  Looking between me and someone behind me, all the color drains from his face and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down like he’s scared of something. “Dad?”

  “Nick?” Looking behind me, I see Lauren’s eyes wide and her mouth open in shock.

  “Daria, I’m begging you. Please come with me.” He takes my hand and pulls. Again, I snatch it out of his grasp.

  “No. Not until you tell me why!” I demand. He’s still staring at Nico’s mom.

  “Daria, honey. Please.” He doesn’t call me pumpkin. I narrow my eyes on him. He always calls me pumpkin. Looking between them, I ask them a simple question. “How do you two know each other?” I glance at Nico and everyone else; I can tell they’re all wondering the same thing. Striker is by my side within seconds.

  Dad looks around at all the eyes on him. “Not here. Let’s go inside.”

  “Tell me!” I demand. He looks at Lauren and takes a deep breath before looking down.

  “She’s your birth mom.”

  I feel like someone has just sucker punched me. All the air leaves my lungs as I look around at Lauren, who has tears falling.

  “No,” Nico scoffs. “No, there’s been some sort of mix up. She’s not her mom.” He looks to Lauren who’s still staring at me. “Right, Mom?” She looks round at him and sadly nods her head. “Tell me he’s lying, Mom.”

  “I’m sorry, son. It’s the truth.” Her voice breaks.

  I start backing away. “Pumpkin.” Dad tries to reach for me. But I turn and run towards the club house and through the corridors.

  “You’ve done enough,” I hear Striker growl before I enter the clubhouse and sprint to Striker’s room.

  It’s not possible. That woman out there isn’t my real mom. There’s just no way that this is right. It has to be some sort of sick and twisted joke. Slamming the door of Striker’s bedroom as hard as I can, I pace the floor, pulling at my hair.

  He’s lying. He’s wrong. Why would he just pin it on the first woman he sees? Not just any woman, but Nico’s mom. I know he would do anything to get back what relationship we had before, but to just pin it on that poor woman is uncalled for.

  She said it was the truth.

  I let out a feral scream and swipe my arm across the top of the drawers, scattering and breaking everything that falls off.

  “Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Striker comes up behind me, his arms around my midsection protectively. I feel a slight calmness wash over me. “It’s all going to be okay,” he whispers into the back of my head, kissing my shoulder while I cry my heart out.

  “I need Jess.” I sniff, calming down a little as I lay my head on his chest, listening to the soothing rhythm of his heart.

  “Okay, baby. You sure you’ll be all right?”

  “Honestly, I have no idea.” The tears begin to fall again. “I don’t know what I feel right now. I’m just numb.” He links his fingers with mine, bringing them up to his mouth and lightly kissing them.

  “I’m here, even if it’s just to use me as a pillow.” I let out a little laugh. “I love you, Daria.” He lifts my head to look into his eyes. “I’ll go and get Jess.” We stand and I go to clean up the mess I made, but Striker stops me. “Leave it. I’ll get one of the prospects clean it up.”

  “Striker, I made the mess. I’ll clean it.” He says nothing but shakes his head with a slight smile on his face and leaves.

  “Oh, Daria.” Jess runs towards me where I’m sitting at the desk, staring at the picture of Emily and me that Striker has. It hits me; I don’t have any pictures of me and my mom when I was little. Not even with Denise. The damn tears begin again when Jess takes me in her arms.

  “I’m sick of all these tears.” I grip onto her shirt. “I’m sick of all this shit, Jess. It's shit storm after shit storm. I honestly don’t know how much more I can take.”

  “Hey, you have me.” She hugs me tighter. “We’re in this together. You cry, I cry. If you need me, I’ll drop whatever I’m doing and come be your shoulder, or even your alibi. You’re my best friend, and blood or not, you’re my sister.” She lets me go, holding me at arm’s length. “I know you have Striker now, and I’m not his biggest fan, because let’s face it, he’s probably the biggest cause of all these shit storms.” Her face twists a little but she catches herself. “But, I see how much he cares for you and he would do anything for you and Emily. That’s what matters. You and Emily.” I know she and Striker have always butted heads, but lately, I have seen them warming to one another. “He came out and told me you needed me. He made a beeline for your Dad. Don’t worry, Barron was there to referee.” She laughs. “I don’t know what was said, I just needed to get to you.”

  “I love you, Jess.” We sit on the bed. “Striker isn’t the guy he was before. He’s changed so much. As strange as it sounds, after everything he’s done, he makes me feel safe.”

  “Remember what Mom used to tell us? That if when you take a man’s hand you feel giddy, your heart beats faster and yo
u feel excited, walk away from him. He’s not the man for you. If you find a man that makes you feel warm, safe, and secure, he’s the man you’re going to marry.” She nudges me.

  Marriage?

  “I don’t think, Striker is the marrying type.” I snigger at the thought.

  “I don’t know. If anyone is able to change him, it’s you. He loves you, Daria.” She rolls her eyes. “Come on, you need to talk to your dad. He’s panicking that you hate him again.”

  “I just need a minute to gather my thoughts.” She kisses my cheek and leaves.

  I don’t hate my dad, I’m just shocked. I’ve known Nico since I was seventeen. Spent many days, years around him, gone to dinner with him and Jess. All this time he’s been my brother. My blood. I need to speak to Lauren. I need to understand.

  Walking out, everyone turns to look at me. Striker is the first one by my side.

  “You okay, baby?” Nodding, I stare at Nico and Lauren, walking in what can only be described as a daze.

  Time to get some much needed answers.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Striker

  Seeing Daria so broken and upset makes me crazed with anger. Once I tell Jess that Daria needed her best friend, I make a beeline for Nicholas. Dad gets in between me and him, obviously knowing the incensed look on my face. He’s seen it many times before.

  “You fucking broke her heart once again!” I point in his face. Dad’s hands are on my chest, trying to keep me at a distance. “First you throw her out when she’s eighteen and pregnant, you take that evil fucking hag’s side more than your own flesh and blood.” His eyes widen. “Yeah, Daria has told me all about how you told her to get rid of Emily. How much it shattered her heart when you chose the stepmother from hell over her.” His eyes become ablaze with anger.

  “I didn’t want to. There are things you have no idea about! Besides, you’re one to talk. You tried to kill my daughter. Tore her down. She has had nothing but trouble since she got involved with your psychotic ass!” Nicholas yells louder. “She was happy until you came into her life!”

  “Happy? You think she was fucking happy?” I snap. “You think she was ecstatic to have every aspect of her life fucking planned down to who she was going to marry? All she wanted was you to realize what a fucking domineering bitch your wife was. Maybe you liked that. Liked the fact that she told you what to do.”

  “No. I had no fucking idea it was all going on. I was busy with my campaign and meetings.” Sadness clouds his eyes.

  “Exactly. All she wanted was your fucking love and attention.” Breathing in and out, I calm myself down and walk away from him before I kill him. “Scotch.”

  I walk over to check on Nico. He needs me just as much as Daria does right now. I see him with his head hanging low with Lauren sitting in front of him.

  “How come I didn’t know you were pregnant?” Nico’s voice sounds so lost and confused. He’s sitting with his hands clasped in front of him as he tries to make sense of this fucked up situation.

  “Nico, baby. When I started showing, I went to live with Great-Aunt Jean.” Lauren moves from her seat and kneels in front of him, covering his hands with hers.

  “But Dad? You cheated on him.”

  “I did. I’m not proud of that.” She has the decency to look ashamed. I know Nico. He hates cheats and woman beaters. “Your father and I were having major problems, had been since before you were born. The constant fights and arguments got to me real bad because it was affecting you. I hated myself for it. So, I went out, got drunk, and slept with Nicholas. I fell pregnant with Daria.”

  “But why? Why did you give her up?”

  “Your father wanted nothing to do with another man’s child. He told me to get rid or he would hurt you, Nico. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  Nico looks so upset, so unlike the fun loving smiling guy I grew up with. When he stands up, he starts pacing.

  “So, you picked one child over the other?”

  “I’m in no way proud of the way things went, but yes. I had to save you both and the only way I knew how was to give Daria away to Nicholas to give her the best start in life.”

  “You could have just said no.”

  “Nico, you know what your father was like. It was his way or no way, God help anyone who went against him.” Lauren stands in front of Nico, stopping him pacing. “There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about my little girl, wanting to know what she looked like. I thought about how much of an amazing big brother you would have been to her.”

  “We’ll never know, will we? Because you took that away from me!”

  “Nico,” I place my hand on his chest to try and calm him down.

  “I wanted to tell you so many times, Nico. That you had a beautiful little sister. I couldn’t have you look at me the way you’re looking at me right now.” She looks down. “Like you hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you, Mom.” He sighs, taking her in his arms. “I just wish you had told me.” He stares ahead, looking round to see what he’s looking at. I see Daria walking towards us. Her eyes are all puffy and red from crying. “Holy fuck, I have a baby sister.” His eyes snap to meet mine. “You’re fucking my sister.”

  “Hey, man, I didn’t know.” I throw my hands up in surrender. We always had this rule; never fuck each other’s family members.

  “Fuck, what am I going to do?” Just as he finishes his sentence, Daria reaches us. I kiss her head, but she doesn’t even look my way. She looks between Lauren and Nico.

  “Lauren? Can I speak with you, please?” Her voice sounds like a little girl, like Emily’s when she’s upset or done something wrong. Not the bitchy, confident woman I have come to love.

  They walk away to the room Dad offered for privacy. I look at Nico. He’s looking at their retreating backs, specifically Daria. It’s like he’s seeing her in a new light. Placing my hand on his shoulder as a show of comfort, he shrugs me off and runs out of the clubhouse.

  “Nico?” Jess shouts after her fiancé, about to chase after him.

  “I’ll go,” I say, stopping her. “He’ll be fine, I promise.” She nods as I chase after my best friend.

  I don’t have to go far as I find him under a tree overlooking the lake. I laugh to myself. He and Daria aren’t all that different. I look over at the bench where Daria usually comes down to think.

  “You know, I always wanted a sibling,” he says sensing my presence. “Someone to talk to, to protect. You were the closest thing I had to that.” He chortles.

  “You’re my brother, Nico. You will always be my brother, man.” I sit next to him.

  “I have a sister. The same sister I’ve watched get treated like a piece of trash, talked to like she’s just another club whore.” He narrows his eyes on me. “I witnessed you wrapping your hands around her neck, choking her. You almost slit her throat in front of me. I let that all happen.” His eyes blaze with fury the more he recounts all the shitty things I’ve done to Daria in the past, but that’s where it’s staying. In the past.

  “I walked in and saw her lifeless body when those bastards almost killed her, saw her bleeding out in front of me. A part of me broke seeing her like that. I thought it was because I was thinking about how you, Jess, and Emily would be if she had died that night.” His hand clenches into a fist. “Now I know why I’ve had such a protective streak with her. She’s my damn sister.” He slams his fist down on the grass. “I wish I knew earlier. I could have gotten her as far away from you as possible.”

  “Come on, man. I was young and stupid back then. I was hurting and angry she kept my daughter away from me for nine years.” I try to explain myself, but he knows what it was like for me back then. “It’s different now. I regret everything I did to her back then, and not a day goes by that I don’t hate myself for everything. You know how I feel now and how ashamed I am of it all.”

  “Yeah, but back then I could have protected her from our fuck
ed up world a little longer.” I notice something that I haven’t seen from him before. A tear falling.

  “I know, I know.” I pull him to me, kissing his head. “You can make up for it all now. Spend time with her. Get to know her as more than my girlfriend and Jess’ best friend. Get to know her as your sister.”

  He starts laughing. I look at him, perplexed at what’s funny. “Oh man, she’s going to hate having a big brother.” He shakes his head. “She already hates how protective you are of her, she’ll be livid to have me being ten times worse.” His laughing subsides and he looks at me seriously. “You ever go back to the way you were, I will kill you, and I don’t care if you are my brother or my niece’s father. I won’t hesitate to kill you as soon as I see you.”

  “Noted.” I give him a sharp nod. “Come on, we’d better get back. Jess is worried about you and I’m worried about Daria.” He stands, looking at me with concerned hazel eyes.

  I grin when he sits up straighter and the fact the big brother instincts are already shining through. “It’s just…” I take a deep breath before I continue. “I’m just worried that she won’t take this news very well. If your mom doesn’t live up to who she wants.” Nico looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I mean, we know she’s the most loving woman in the world and would do anything for us. But you’ve had her all your life, Nico. Daria hasn’t. She’ll only see her as the woman who abandoned her as a baby.” I know Daria, and I know she’ll be extremely standoffish. She won’t listen to anyone but that voice in her head telling her not to trust a word that comes out of Lauren’s mouth, and that this woman is all types of wrong. “I’m worried she’ll do something stupid again.”

  “Well, let’s make sure that that doesn’t happen. I need to speak with her dad.”