“I’ll go.” I ignore Viper and say it louder for the others to hear me.
“Like fuck, you will!” Halo roars, standing up and leaning over the table. Ignoring all the guns and all the men, he snags my lips, pouring his love into every movement.
“I told you, I won’t let you go, Luna, and I won’t, even if it makes you hate me. You are mine,” he murmurs against my lips. I can feel the tears running down my face. There’s no other way.
Movement catches my eye, drawing my attention from Halo and up toward Megan, waving to get my attention.
It has to be me, she signs, a mix of fear and determination clear in her eyes.
“No.” I shake my head at her. Never.
She looks down to where my stomach is hidden by the table and swallows before standing taller, the fear replaced by resolve.
It has to be me. That’s my niece or nephew in there. They need to be here with their fathers. I’ll never be able to look at myself in the mirror if you go.
“I don’t fucking care!” I shout at her.
“What the fuck is she saying, Luna?” Diesel shouts at me, watching backward and forward as our fingers communicate with each other.
I refuse to answer. I’m not handing her over. I won’t do it. I look away from her so I can’t see her words, which is a fucking bitch move when the person you’re arguing with can’t yell at you for being a bitch.
“Woah, feisty,” Zero comments before my hair is snagged and yanked.
“Megan,” Gage warns but she can’t hear him. She’s standing between Zero’s legs, seemingly oblivious to his presence as all her anger is focused on me. She lets go of my hair so she can sign, her movements sharp with her anger.
“Don’t do that. Not you. Don’t use my deafness to your fucking advantage. You want to argue about this shit, then fucking argue, but don’t turn away like that,” I repeat her words with a wobble in my voice.
Not everything is about you, Luna, so stop being a fucking martyr. You’re staying, I’m going, end of conversation. Don’t fight me, you won’t win, not with this.
I cup her face with both of my hands, letting the tears run freely now.
“I love you,” I tell her, watching her swallow, knowing she never heard those words from anyone but her mother.
She pulls me up off Viper’s lap before wrapping both her arms around me and squeezing tight.
“Well, this is touching and all but do you think we can move this shit along?” Bates calls.
I pull away and glare at him.
“Fuck you. What a shame they can’t take you instead.” I don’t give a shit who he is. He moves to stand but Gage beats him to it, standing and facing him down, his black-looking eyes making him look like the devil himself.
Bates throws his hands up, muttering under his breath, but stays seated. Megan takes the opportunity to twist us around before gently nudging me out from this side of the table. Viper reaches up and snags Megan by the hips, pulling her down onto his lap, letting her take my place. Zero reaches over and snags a piece of her hair and starts twirling it. She gives him a weird look before turning back to me.
I don’t see anything else, finding myself wrapped up in Halo’s arms, his smell enveloping me as I hold on for dear life.
“So we have a deal then?” Zero’s voice rings out.
“No, we don’t have a fucking deal. Haven’t you heard anything we said? We don’t bargain with our women,” Diesel shouts.
“Fucking hell, I really need to learn to sign,” Orion grumbles. “Cherub?” I turn at his voice and see Megan signing at her pissed off brothers. I pull away from Halo and Orion wraps his arms around me for a second before turning me to face Megan.
“What is my sister yelling about?” he asks, making me smile for the first time since this fiasco started.
It’s not up to you, Diesel. You're thinking as my brother and I adore you for it but Viper is right, you have to think about this from a VP’s perspective. You won’t hurt the Chaos Demons if it means putting me in danger and they won't hurt me knowing they will have not just you guys but the mother chapter after them. She nods, indicating Priest and Bates who are watching her with interest.
“You don’t know they won’t hurt you. How the fuck could you possibly know until it’s too late?” Diesel barks at her.
They won’t hurt me, she signs, tensing when Viper pulls her back onto his lap more fully.
“Don’t be so fucking naïve, Megan!” Diesel grits out.
Her face hardens at his words. “I know this because they just sat here for the last half-an-hour pointing an empty gun at Luna. When Stacey brought me out, Zero leaned forward so he was obstructing Stacey's view of her. He was keeping Luna safe.” All the men look at Viper and Zero in surprise.
“How do you know the gun is empty?” Diesel asks. I’d like to know that too.
“I saw him switch out the one he had pointed at you for the one at his back. There was no reason to do that unless there were no bullets to fire.”
“Well, fuck!” Halo says from beside me. He walks forward, holding out his hand for the gun, my gun, and surprisingly, Viper hands it over without a fight. Halo opens it up and shows the men it is indeed empty.
“Why in the hell would you come here and point an empty weapon? You had to know if things turned to shit, you wouldn’t have time to draw your other one,” Priest asks him, looking genuinely curious.
Megan answers for him and I translate without thinking.
“Because they didn’t want Luna or the baby getting hurt accidentally if something happened to them.”
Everyone freezes, making me realize what I just said. I’m spun back around in Orion’s arms to face him. He’s now flanked by Halo and Gage, all of them staring down at my stomach, looking at it like an alien might pop out any second.
“You’re pregnant?” Orion asks, his voice full of emotion.
I nod, choked up.
He drops to his knees in front of me, in front of his club brothers and the Chaos Demons and lifts my T-shirt before placing a kiss just above my belly button. Gage shoves him aside, making me laugh through my tears as Orion topples backward and Gage takes his place. His large scarred hands almost wrap around my waist completely.
“Hey, little one.” He doesn’t get anything else out before Halo sends him flying. I can’t help the laughter that erupts from me when Halo presses a kiss to my belly.
“Are you guys happy?” I choke out, making them all stop ribbing each other and take in my face. They must realize this is something I had been worrying about.
“This is what you wanted to talk about, huh?” Halo kisses me long and hard before I can answer. “We’re happy, sugar, how could we not be?”
“Well, congrats. We’ll just leave you to this love fest,” Zero jokes from behind us, breaking the moment.
We all turn to face them as they stand. No one is happy about this, despite knowing it’s the right thing to do for the protection of both clubs.
“Orion?” Diesel calls out to his brother, looking for any hint from him that he can tell them to fuck off but Orion’s eyes are only for his sister.
“You don’t have to do this,” he says, making sure she can see him clearly enough to read his lips.
“Yeah, I do. It’s okay, Orion, Diesel. I’m stronger than I look,” she insists, putting on a brave face.
He stomps toward her, making Viper and Zero reach for their guns again, but all he does is wrap his arms tightly around her before pulling back and brushing his lips over her forehead.
“She checks in daily,” he tells Viper and Zero who look at each other before nodding.
“If she gets hurt, I’ll kill every last Chaos Demon and anyone they have ever had any kind of connection to. There will be no escape and I won’t ever stop hunting you,” he warns them as Diesel steps in for a hug of his own.
“If she gets hurt, I will hold them down for you to shoot before shooting myself,” Viper vows, making me take a relieve
d breath. I believe him and I can tell by the faces of those around me, they do too.
“I’ll pack up some of your stuff and get it sent over to you. If you need me, I’m there,” I sign for her. She nods and offers me a small smile.
Viper and Zero each grab one of her hands and walk her toward the entrance. I follow behind with my guys at my back and stand on the steps, watching her walk away. The rest of the MC looks up at Orion for confirmation before parting to let them through. Viper climbs onto his bike and Zero lifts Megan on behind him. She rests her hands loosely on his waist before seeking me out through the crowd.
I can see the fear in her eyes she hid from me before. I stop myself from running over and ripping her off the bike but it’s not what she needs right now. What she needs is faith.
I lift my hands and sign.
You’ve got this. You are so fucking strong that I’m humbled by you. I have a feeling you’re going to bring that club and those men to their knees. She looks at me with confusion, clearly oblivious to the way Viper and Zero have been looking at her.
Time to take back that crown, sweetheart.
She rolls her eyes at me but at least the fear is gone.
Oh, and Megan, I have eyes on you. Take care. Her eyes bug out at that.
What did you do? She signs back as Zero climbs on his bike and revs his engine.
Say hi to my brothers for me. I smile at her as Viper pulls away, making her grip his cut. Without being able to sign, she winks at me before both bikes pull away in a cloud of dust and smoke. I turn and walk back inside, ignoring everyone else as they follow.
I head back to the table. Priest and Bates have Stacey on a chair between them. If she had read them correctly, she’d have shit her pants but instead, she attempts to flirt with them despite looking like a raccoon. When that gets her no reaction, she slides her hand over Priest’s cock. He doesn’t acknowledge her but he lifts his head and his blazing eyes meet mine.
“Stacey, get your shit. You’re leaving in ten whether you’re ready or not,” I tell her. She turns to me with a smirk.
“But what if I don’t want to? Maybe these boys want to take me back with them.” She starts to unbutton Priest’s jeans but yelps when he grips her wrist and squeezes it hard.
“Nine minutes,” I tell her.
“Oh, come on. Stop acting so high and mighty. You just sold out Pres and VP’s sister. You think they’re going to want to keep you around after that? And as for that baby—” She throws her head back and laughs. “That could be fucking anybody’s. You were gone for two months. No way a girl like you kept her legs together for that long. It’s okay, girl, I get it. Sometimes you just need a hard cock, am I right?”
Now, I have to be honest, not much shocks me but seriously, the stuff coming out of her mouth right now is insane.
“How the fuck you hid from us all that you’re batshit crazy is beyond me but I’ve got to admit, I feel like a chump right now.” Diesel looks at her like he hardly recognizes her.
“Diesel, can I borrow your phone please?” I ask him sweetly. He doesn’t question why, he just pulls it from his pocket and hands it over.
I dial a number from memory and put it on speaker, placing it on the table in front of us.
“Oz’s diner. You kill ’em we grill ’em.” I look to the ceiling, praying for strength as Halo snorts beside me.
“Oz, can you just try to be normal for five minutes?” I ask him, exasperated.
“Gee I don’t know, sis, can you try to not get kidnapped for like five minutes?” he asks in an exaggerated girly voice.
“Give the phone to Zig.”
He mumbles something but passes the phone. “Luna?” Ziggy’s soothing voice calls over the phone. Thank goodness one of my brothers is sane.
“Can you do me a favor real quick and punch Oz in the fucking face for me?” He doesn’t answer but a second later we hear the sound of skin hitting skin and Oz cursing.
“Thanks, Ziggy. Love you. Can you pass me back to the fucktard for a minute?”
There’s shuffling before Oz’s voice comes back through the phone.
“Was that necessary? For fuck’s sake, Luna, I just had that tooth capped.”
“Oz.” My tone shuts him up straight away.
“Tell me what you need,” he asks me, switching from dumbass brother to the soldier he trained to be.
“You have a perimeter set up around the club and house?” I ask, feeling the guys around me stir. I might not have been able to get an SOS out but the GPS will lead them right to that ranch if it hasn't already.
“I’m hurt you even need to ask,” he replies. See? Fucktard.
“They have Megan,” I say softly, knowing my brothers have grown close to her in a sisterly way.
“Extraction?” he asks, all business.
“No, not yet at least. Just watch and report. If you can find a way to let her know you’re there without alerting anyone else, I would be eternally grateful. If you can get her a weapon, I’ll get you that date with my friend Cally you so desperately want.”
“On it. Timeframe?” he asks. I look at the guys around me. Some look at me in awe, some look at me with nothing but love. I shrug.
“For as long as it takes. Megan is priority number one. Pull in as many guys as you need.”
“Done. Anything else?” I look at the guys who all shake their heads but then my look falls on Stacey and the calculated gleam in her eyes.
“Yeah, I need someone relocated. Completely off the grid. Carla still looking for another girl?”
“She’ll take her for you. I’ll send Greg round to collect her. He’ll be there in twenty.” He hangs up the phone without saying goodbye, like the tool he is. He’s so freaking lucky I love him.
“I said it before but I’m saying it again, Orion, I’m stealing your girl,” Diesel tells him, pulling me into his arms.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he whispers. I kiss his cheek before finding myself up in Orion’s arms with his hand on my ass and his tongue in my mouth. There really are no PDA rules in an MC. I don’t pull away, knowing he needs this. I soak him in, glad to be home and in his arms.
“Does someone want to tell me what the fuck just happened?” Priest shouts.
Reluctantly, Orion slides me to my feet and pulls away, making me groan. Can’t a girl make out with her man for five fucking minutes without being clam jammed?
“Luna here has protection on Megan. She’ll be safe for sure. There isn’t a chance Oz and Zig will let anything happen to her,” Halo explains, making me feel warm and fuzzy.
“What about me? Where am I going?” Stacey whines when she realizes nobody is paying her any attention.
“My friend Carla will be taking you in,” I inform her, being deliberately vague. I see the calculating look behind her eyes again. I’m not the only one.
“Luna—” Gage speaks but I interrupt him.
I scan the room and see Half-pint leaning against the wall.
“Half-pint, will you take Stacey to get her shit?” I’ve seen the way he looks at her, he’s really not a fan, which means she wouldn’t be able to twist him up with the promise of a blow job.
She shuffles over to him. Sore, I’m sure, from the ass-kicking Megan gave her but she goes without protest.
“Luna, after the shit she pulled we can’t just let her leave. You can’t seriously think she can be trusted,” Gage tells me.
I snort. “Not in this lifetime. Carla is a housekeeper. She runs a tight ship. She’ll keep her in line.”
“A housekeeper? Well, why didn’t you say so?” Bates chimes in sarcastically.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I forget to mention the house Stacey will be living and working in is owned by Pablo Flores? If she tries to leave or better yet, stir up trouble, she’ll find herself very dead, very quickly.”
“You want to tell me how you know a Columbian drug lord?” Gage stares down at me.
“We recovered his daughter when a rival took her
as leverage.” I shrug, not willing to go into it anymore. It’s none of their business.
“Who the fuck are you?” Priest looks me up and down. I wish I was wearing a bra and dressed in something other than borrowed sweats but it is what it is.
Halo is the first one to answer, a smile on his face filled with pride, love, and respect.
“She’s the Queen of Carnage.”
The End… for now.
* * *
Acknowledgments
Jodie-Leigh Plowman – Designer extraordinaire. Thank you for my beautiful cover.
Tanya Oemig – My incredible editor - AKA miracle worker, who goes above and beyond.
Missy Stewart - Proofreader and lifesaver.
Gina Wynn - Formatting Queen.
Sosha Ann – My amazing PA and friend. You are one of the strongest people I know, and I adore you.
Aspen Marks - My sister from another mister. You have more heart and courage packed into that tiny body than anyone else I know. Your strength is inspiring, I love you.
AC Wilds - My voice of reason in a world of crazy. No, wait, my voice of crazy in a world of….you know what, never mind. All that matters is that my world is a better place because you are in it. #rideordie #butletsstopforfoodfirst
Isobelle Carmichael - my gorgeous friend, who has no idea just how beautiful she is both inside and out. One day you will see what I see, then look out world.
I am truly blessed to have such amazing best friends. Thank you for all the love and support you give me. I cherish each and every one of you.
Julie Melton, Rachel Bowen, Sue Ryan - My Beta Angels. You ladies are the bee’s knees. I will never be able to tell you how much I love and appreciate everything you do for me. I couldn’t imagine doing this without you.
Thais Neves – I’m getting choked up just thinking about how much you have come to mean to me. For someone who writes, I oddly can’t find enough words to express how much I love and adore you. You have been my shoulder to cry on, the reason why my stomach has hurt from laughing, and the voice in my head that refuses to let me quit. Your unwavering belief in me is humbling. I promise I won’t let you down.
The Queen of Carnage Page 23