Flame

by Chelle Bliss

  “We’ll drop him off and go. We’ll only have a few hours to sleep before we have to be there,” James says. “She doesn’t care that we’ve crossed the state and come back in the same day.”

  “You know how she is… There’s never a good reason to cancel a dinner. Bullets. Near-death experiences. Hell, not even a hurricane would stop her,” Thomas tells them.

  I tip my head back, staring out the back window at the sky painted with pinks and purples as the sun starts to rise over the horizon.

  All I want to do is talk to Gigi and crawl into bed, leaving all the bad shit behind. But I have a feeling I don’t get a choice in whether I attend family dinner since the big men in the front seat aren’t finding a reason I can’t go. The fact that Joe wants me at his house and is going to drive me there himself seals the deal.

  “We’re grabbing a quick cup of coffee, but we’ll be at your place a few minutes after you,” James says, handing the money over to the woman.

  “I’ll be there waiting,” Joe says before disconnecting the call.

  “Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Thomas says, turning his head to stare at me as I lift mine, forgetting the beautiful sunrise because although that wasn’t so bad, it wasn’t good either.

  I laugh. “So bad? I’m pretty sure the man wants to kill me.”

  “Here’s your hot and black coffees,” the woman says, holding three cups in her hands, waiting for James to take them.

  He hands one to me, then to Thomas, and takes the final one for himself. He doesn’t say anything else to the woman. He’s had a shit night like the rest of us and doesn’t want to get into another argument over something as simple as a cup of coffee.

  “That man,” James says, placing his coffee in the cupholder before he rolls the car forward, “is a devoted father. He’d lay down his life for his family. Just like we would in his shoes.”

  “I would’ve taken a bullet tonight to save Gigi.”

  “We know that, kid. Hell, even Joe knows that. He knows everything that went down at the compound. Trust me, he’s thankful that you helped get her out of there alive, but the man’s out of his mind right now. Joe doesn’t scare easily, but he’s been a raving lunatic the last few days. He’ll come around. Just give him some time and space to let him get his head on straight.”

  I rest the Styrofoam on my knee, letting his words settle deep. “Then maybe you should just drop me off at my place. Give everyone some space without me around, crowding shit.”

  Thomas shakes his head. “Ma wants you at her house, you’ll be at her house.”

  I close my eyes, trying to picture the mother of these rough and tough men. She must be a powerful force if, even at their age, she’s still the boss.

  “And if Joe walks around there all broody and moody, she’ll set his ass straight if she likes you.”

  “Why don’t you two hate me?” I ask, lifting my head and prying the lid off the coffee.

  Thomas laughs and shakes his head. “We’ve been in shit just as big as you were last night. You didn’t cause what came at you, but we played a role in the hell we brought to our door. Our women were almost casualties too. We know how things easily spin out of control. That’s life, kid.”

  “Hell, Izzy’s been knee-deep in our bullshit so many times,” James says, gunning the engine as soon as he’s on the highway with nothing but open road before us. “But that was shit we brought on ourselves or she put into motion. Life happens. Shit happens. We rolled with it, and so did you. The family, including Joe, will get over what happened. And if you’re lucky, they’ll welcome you into the fold if that’s what you’re looking for.”

  “I want Gigi in my life.” I figured I’d lay shit out for her uncles since they are here and I’m not going anywhere. “She’s the best thing to ever happen to me. But the family…” I pause, wondering how to explain the shit I’ve been through and the lack of familial support I’d grown up with. “That isn’t something I’m used to dealing with.”

  “I didn’t grow up Gallo,” James says, looking at me in the rearview mirror for a moment, “but they treat me as if I did. From the moment I stepped foot in her mother’s house, I was welcomed as part of the family. Doesn’t matter how you were raised, kid. Once you’re in, you’re one of them. One of us. Win over Ma Gallo and Suzy too, and you’re in the fold.”

  “Gigi’s mother is going to hate me.” I’m never the guy a girl brings home to meet her mother.

  Thomas laughs, smacking his leg. “You’re just like Joe, and Suzy’s crazy about that man. Suzy may seem straitlaced, but don’t let her fool you. She’ll take to you like glue if she sees her daughter’s happy. You’ll remind her of the man she fell in love with. The guy with the chip on his shoulder who’s head over heels for a girl.”

  All of this is out of my comfort zone and territory I haven’t ridden through before. I’ve never dealt with an entire family. I never gave a shit if people liked me, especially not a woman’s parents. But this is different. I have to win over countless people, starting with her mother and then her grandmother before I could get everyone on board.

  “You looked death in the eye last night and came out alive,” James says. “Facing our family will seem like a cakewalk.”

  “Yeah,” I mutter, staring into the blackness of the coffee, not believing a goddamn word. Sure, I was scared when the gunfight was going on and the door to my old room opened, but I knew how to respond. Family…isn’t something I’m used to.

  “Just relax. We’ll be at Joe’s soon.”

  “Oh goodie,” I mumble and sip my coffee.

  Thomas and James laugh, clearly getting a kick out of my misery and knowing full well shit isn’t going to be as easy as they make it out to be.

  An hour later, I’m climbing out of the back of James’s car, and I catch sight of Gigi on the front porch, hugging a blond woman tightly. I assume it’s her mother because that’s the only thing that makes sense, but there’s very little resemblance between the two.

  Joe’s next to them, glaring at me like I’m the enemy, and not over the shit that went down, or the fact that he probably knows everything about what happened between Gigi and me in Daytona. Well, not everything because I’d be a dead man, but he knows enough that he has to want to at least break my legs.

  “Pike!” Gigi yells as soon as she sees me. She moves away from her mother, running down the front steps, across the driveway, and leaps into my arms. “I was so worried about you.” She holds me tightly, locking her hands behind my neck and staring up at me. “I thought maybe my uncles would leave you somewhere on the side of the road.”

  “I’m fine, darlin’.” I push the hair away from her eyes, needing to see her face. “Your uncles were nice.”

  I didn’t say they were friendly because, under the circumstances, it wasn’t like hanging out with my buddies, but they weren’t assholes either. They laid shit out for me, telling me how it is and how to get in everyone’s good graces.

  She smiles up at me. “They were nice?”

  I nod. “They weren’t mean.”

  “Huh. That’s shocking.” Her smile widens. “I want you to meet my mother.”

  “I’m sure she hates me, Gigi. Maybe I should just go back to my place.”

  Gigi shakes her head, tightening her hold around me. “Not happening, big guy. My mother is a cream puff. She’s going to go bananas for you.”

  “Bananas?”

  “Yeah.” She smiles again but bigger this time. “My mom is sweet where my dad’s rough. She’s going to love you as much as I do.”

  I glance toward her parents. They’re in a heated conversation. Her mother’s eyes are on me, but her father’s only paying attention to his woman. She slaps Joe’s chest, eyes raking over me as a smile spreads across her face. She looks harmless. A mess of blond hair, fair skin, and a tiny little figure. Gigi gets her size from her mother, but everything else about her is all her daddy.

  “I want to kiss you so badly right now.” I rest my
forehead on hers, trying to control myself because her father could very well end me right here.

  “We’ll sneak away once things settle down. Maybe at my grandmother’s, we’ll go for a walk or something. But for now, my mother’s waiting, and I think her patience has just about worn out.”

  “Lead the way, darlin’.”

  She releases her grip on me and grabs my hand, pulling me toward the front porch as soon as her feet touch the ground. Joe ticks his chin toward Thomas and James before James peels out of the driveway like his ass is on fire.

  Suzy, Gigi’s mother, doesn’t even glance toward the noise. Her eyes are locked on me, soaking me in, probably thinking the worst.

  “So, you’re Pike,” she says with a small smile.

  “Ma’am,” I reply, squeezing Gigi’s hand because this is almost as terrifying as the gun pointed at my head.

  Her mother comes down the stairs, meeting us at the bottom. “Thank you for keeping my baby safe.”

  “Um, you’re welcome.” I nod because I don’t know what else to say and I wasn’t expecting those words or her kindness.

  “Now, don’t freak out. I know you’re a badass biker and all, but this mama bear wants to give you a hug.”

  Gigi snorts as her father starts cursing. “Told ya,” Gigi says, describing her mother perfectly.

  “Hush it,” Suzy tells her and holds out her arms for me.

  I pause, gazing down at my girl, but she’s smiling and jerking her chin toward her mama. “You better do what she says. She isn’t as sweet as she seems, especially if you don’t do what she asks.”

  “Seems to be a theme in this family.” I let go of Gigi’s hand and move into her mother’s waiting arms.

  Suzy’s hug isn’t soft. Her hold is pretty damn firm, especially for her size. “I can hear you two,” Suzy says with a small chuckle. “I can also understand why my daughter likes you.” Suzy pulls back, gazing up at me, eyes sweeping across my face. “You’re just like her daddy.”

  My eyes go to Joe, who’s now pacing on the porch, brooding about the fact that I’m being welcomed and still looking like he’s ready to leap over the railing and murder me at any moment. “I don’t know about that.”

  Suzy takes a step back, hands still on my arms, gazing up at me. “Sweetie, if you don’t see the similarities between you and her daddy, you must be blind. Her first love was her father, and now my baby has found a man who’s the spitting image of him.” Joe’s eyes are on me as she speaks, and his cursing gets louder. “Don’t mind him. He has a lot of trouble dealing with his children growing up and sprouting wings.”

  “I do not.” Joe stalks down the stairs, heading right toward us. “I have a problem with my daughter falling for a guy who’s—”

  “Exactly like you?” Suzy interrupts him.

  Joe grunts. “I wouldn’t go that far, sugar.”

  “He’s a biker, has tattoos, piercings too. Probably a lady-killer with a chip on his shoulder and bossy as all hell.”

  “Yep.” Gigi smiles.

  “So, tell me, dear husband, how are you two different?” Suzy crosses her arms in front of her chest, staring at her husband, waiting for his response.

  Joe waves his hand in my direction, and his eyebrows draw down. “He’s…”

  “What?” Suzy taps her foot, looking a little annoyed at this point, and the sweetness has all but disappeared.

  “Shorter.” Joe shrugs.

  Suzy grabs his arm, plastering her body against his. “That’s the best you can come up with, sweetheart?”

  “Sugar…”

  Suzy shakes her head. “Whatever you’re feeling right now doesn’t matter. Look at your daughter.” She tips her head toward Gigi. “She’s happy, Joe.”

  “Well…” Joe’s eyes go to his daughter then to me before going back to his wife. “I won’t say I’m happy about any of this.”

  “Would you ever be happy with any man she’d bring home? I remember you didn’t like the other two either.”

  “They were spineless shits,” he says quickly.

  “And Pike is not.”

  “He’s just so…so…”

  “Like you,” Suzy says with a smile, winking at her husband.

  Gigi chuckles at my side, tangling her fingers with mine as she tugs me toward the front door, leaving her parents standing at the bottom of the steps. “We’re going in. We’ve had a long night and could use a nap before Grandma’s.”

  “Pike can take the couch in my office. Separate rooms,” Joe says, “if you want Pike to live another day.”

  “You’re cute, Dad.” Gigi laughs as we walk into the house. “Don’t listen to him,” she tells me. “He’s a bit overdramatic.”

  “But he’s right, and this is his house, darlin’. If he wants my ass to sleep on the porch, that’s where I’ll sleep. We’re under his roof, and he gets to set the rules.”

  “Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “I’ll show you where his office is.”

  “Thank you. Now, tell me about your grandma. I’ve had enough surprises this week to last me a lifetime.”

  Gigi nods her head down a hallway, and I follow her as she starts to walk. “She’s fierce.”

  “Great,” I mutter because the fierceness in this family has already been off the charts.

  “She’s tough too.”

  “Even better.”

  “But…” Gigi stops outside a closed door and leans against the wall, tangling her fingers with mine. “If you win her over, you have an ally for life. It doesn’t hurt that she’s the boss of everyone, including her sons.”

  “So, you’re saying I have to win her heart?”

  “You have to win her mind.” Gigi smiles.

  I’ve got this one in the bag. Winning over the ladies has never been a problem. I’m sure another fierce and tough Gallo won’t be too hard…

  25

  Pike

  With the way Gigi described her grandma, and based on the size of her children, I expected the woman to be tall, sizable, and downright scary.

  “Baby, I was so worried about you,” her grandmother says, wrapping her arms around Gigi and squeezing her tightly.

  “I’m fine, Nonna. Pike made sure of it.”

  Gigi’s already working the woman, trying to put in a good word for me because, like she said, she’s the boss. The ride over here was tense. I sat in the back of the SUV with Gigi, getting an icy glare from Joe in the rearview mirror as her two sisters chatted in the seats between us.

  Her grandmother’s eyes are on me as she embraces her granddaughter in the driveway. “This is the boy I’ve been hearing about?”

  Gigi pulls away, glancing over her shoulder at me, a smile on her lips. “Yep, but don’t believe anything he—” she dips her head toward her father who’s stalking by and ignoring us all “—says. You know how Daddy has a tendency to fly off the handle and overreact.”

  Her grandmother laughs with a slow shake of her head. “He’s just worried about you, and sometimes his emotions get the better of him. Cut him some slack, sweetheart. Your daddy will come around, but you have to give him some time to adjust to the reality that you’re no longer a little girl, but this beautiful and confident woman who’s standing here today.”

  I smile because I already like this woman. She gives sound advice, and it doesn’t sound like there’s an ounce of judgment in her voice.

  “I guess.” Gigi shrugs and steps to the side, turning toward me. “But he should’ve come to this realization the day I graduated from high school.”

  I haven’t moved a step. I’m too engrossed in their conversation, the way they look at each other and like each other. One taller and younger, one shorter and older, but of the same blood with the same eyes and mannerisms.

  “You never stop being a parent, Giovanna. There’s no off-switch once your children sprout their wings and fly away from the nest. We always worry. Always want the best for them. When they hurt, so do we. He’s just doing what he thinks is best for
you, even if he may be totally off base. Forcing something on him that he’s not ready to face won’t make changing his heart and mind any easier. Just give him time, and he’ll come around and see the light. What’s your mother say?”

  I turn toward the SUV where Gigi’s mother is on bended knee, speaking with the two younger girls. I can’t imagine what it had to be like growing up a Gallo. Sure, they were all up in each other’s business, which could be annoying, but there is so much love between them that the good had to outweigh the bad.

  Gigi sighs. “Mom seems to be cool about Pike. She says he’s the spitting image of Daddy.”

  I catch her grandmother’s eye as she laughs. “Oh, that had to go over big with your father.”

  “Can you talk to him for me?” Gigi begs. “Please. You’re the only one who can talk sense into him sometimes.”

  The woman’s laughter grows louder. “Child, when it comes to a man loving his children, there’s no talking sense into him. You have to give him time and make him see the light.” Her grandmother’s eyes rake up and down my body before landing back on my face. “So, you’re the one causing all the fuss?”

  “Ma’am.” I dip my head, giving her a playful smile because my lady-killer smirk doesn’t feel right. “I’ve heard so many great things about you.”

  “All lies, I’m sure.” She waves her hand through the air and steps closer, squinting up at me as she cranes her neck. “Well, aren’t you a looker?”

  The smile on my face only gets bigger, because Grandma may be old, but she’s a tiger. “You aren’t so bad-looking yourself.” I throw her a wink.

  “And a charmer.” She laughs. “You’ve caused quite a commotion in a family that’s seen serenity for a long time.”

  “I’m sorry.” My voice goes up as I speak, making it seem like I’m asking a question when I’m making a statement.

  “Don’t be.” She shakes her head. “You’re both alive and well. Life has a way of reminding everyone of the preciousness of everything. Sometimes we need to have things shaken up a little to bring everything back into focus. Now, let me get a better look at you.” She lifts her hands and wiggles her fingers.