Gareth walks into the room, pale, and Derek doesn’t even look at him. “I am sorry, two of them attacked me,” he tries to tell Derek.
“You get out of my fucking face, we will talk later.” Derek finally looks at him, and even I want to step away from the look he is giving Gareth. Gareth looks shaken. He looks at me, and I want to tell him I don’t blame him. So much was going on all at once. “LEAVE!” Derek roars, taking a step toward Gareth, who closes his eyes. Gareth turns around and walks out of the room just as my brother runs into the room.
My dad steps away and Derek takes his spot. He tears the bulletproof vest off of me and rubs his hand over my stomach. “Baby, where else are you hurt?” He pushes my hair out of my face.
“Just my wrist. I’m okay, Derek.” With my good hand I rub his arm, and he lets out a deep breath. I can feel the heat coming off of him.
He shakes his head and finally looks at me. Heartbroken is the only word I can use to describe it. I scoot closer and rest my head on his chest. “Take me out of here.”
He scoops me up and carries me out of the room. I can feel eyes on me, but the clubhouse is completely silent.
He carries me into our bedroom here at the clubhouse, sets me down on the edge of the bed, and gets down on his knees in front of me. “Derek, we need to get the doctor to come see you.” I touch his bloody shirt.
“He will be here,” he reassures me and takes a hold of my wrist gently. The same hands that just broke someone’s neck.
We sit in silence. “Derek, I am fine honey.” I touch his cheek and he closes his eyes. He shakes his head and just kisses the top of my head, and I don’t say anything else. I just let him hold me because he needs this, but most of all I need him.
There is a knock at the door and Derek jumps to his feet, standing in front of me. The door opens and I see it’s the club doctor.
Derek relaxes and pulls up a chair for him to sit in beside me. The doctor starts to go to Derek, but he shakes his head. “Her first,” he snaps.
The doctor moves to me without a word. I am pretty sure he is used to this. “She is pregnant,” Derek informs him and the doctor nods.
“Well, it’s broken for sure, she needs to go to the hospital to get it checked thoroughly.” He moves to Derek and looks at the wound. “I can stitch you up, you just need some antibiotics, which I can give you.” Derek takes off his shirt and sits back in his seat as the doctor gives him a shot and sews him up.
Is it wrong that I find that sexy?
Once he is finished, Derek says, “Come on, angel. Let’s get you to the doctor.” He helps me off the bed, and we walk into the main room of the clubhouse.
Mom is sitting at the bar with Shaylin, who is just smiling like she is having the time of her life, and Dad is standing with Wilder. Gareth is off to the side by himself. He looks up when notices we’re in the room. I smile at him and he starts over in our direction. Derek stiffens at my side.
“Brittany, what did the doctor say?” Gareth asks me.
“Do not fucking speak to her!” Derek yells, pushing him away from me.
“Listen man…I feel fucking guilty, I never saw them take her,” Gareth pleads with him.
Derek laughs and it’s not one of happiness, that’s for sure. “I left her in your care. I don’t care how many fucking guys were there fighting you. She was taken and they tried to rape her.”
Eyes snap to me in disbelief, and I hang my head because his saying that just makes it all the more real. It’s something that had to be told, but that shit stings.
I touch Derek’s back, hoping this will calm him down. I don’t want them to fight over me, and I don’t want to ruin their relationship.
“Man, I am fucking sorry.” Gareth sounds broken, and Derek lets out a deep breath. “We will talk later, Gareth,” Derek tells him. “I need to take her to the hospital, her wrist is broken.” He doesn’t say anything else, and Mom comes up to my other side.
“I will come with you guys,” she tells us, rubbing my back, and we walk outside and get into one of the trucks we drove here. Derek just has his bike here.
Derek gets in and reaches over, dragging me to the middle seat so I am close to him. I rest my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes.
Maybe a nap will take all of this away.
Derek
Hours Later
The hospital put her wrist in a cast and gave her some medication for the pain that is safe for the baby. She is exhausted.
She is at the house right now, asleep, and her mother is with her, along with Joslyn, in case she wakes up.
I am mad at her because she put herself in danger trying to save me, but at the same fucking time, it makes me love her all the more.
What I saw when I walked into the fucking bedroom will haunt me forever. She tells me I should be easy on Gareth but, brother or not, I left her in his care and that carelessness caused her to get hurt.
When I walk inside the clubhouse, all of the Grim Sinners are still here. The Devil Souls MC has left. They decided to just let us handle this, because it’s more personal for us.
Gareth is standing at the bar serving some of the guys, since he’s a prospect. I know one day I will fucking get over it, but right now? I can’t.
Brooks approaches me. “Ready for this shit?” he asks.
I nod and, one by one, we walk downstairs to the interrogation rooms. We have L. Garcia and one of the men that tried to hurt Brittany.
Just thinking about someone hurting Brittany makes me physically ill, especially with our baby in her womb.
The room is pitch black and ice cold. Lane flips on the lights. L. Garcia is hanging from the ceiling by his wrists, with only his toes touching the floor. The other one is in a similar position, but his feet aren't touching the ground. It’s torture because there is no relief.
They are soaked. They have been sprayed with ice water and left in this cold room. L. Garcia looks up at us as we step closer to him.
“I guess it’s the time, isn’t it?”
We don’t speak, but I am going to deal with him right now. I look at him. I don’t want to fucking know his name. I don’t need his name.
I step in front of him, waiting for him to face me. He was such a bad motherfucker when he was hurting Brittany; let’s see that now.
He moans and finally lifts his head, and his eyes widen as it sinks in what’s happening.
“What’s the matter?” Wilder sneers. Brooks is at Wilder’s back, ready to take a swing at the guy.
I hear L. Garcia scream and I grin because I know the guys have already started their fun. The guy who hurt Brittany looks over at L. Garcia and yells, trying to kick us and push us away because he realizes what’s happening.
“It looks like to me like he is cold.” I walk over to the wall and grab the torch along with the gas.
I hand Brooks the gas, and he grins as he walks over and pours it over the guy’s head until it’s pooling around his feet. Then we line up a few feet away. He screams as the gas seeps into his eyes.
I open my lighter and toss it down onto the gas. He screams as the fire gets closer and closer to him before he’s completely covered in flames. His screams are only fueling the fire in my heart. This is just a small taste of what he is going to be feeling in hell.
I watch as the flames melt his skin off to his bones, but in my heart it is not enough. He will never suffer enough for hurting my Brittany.
Lane comes into view and hands me a gun. “Finish this, man.” I nod and walk over to Garcia, who is still alive, barely.
I grip his face in my hand. “Enjoy hell, motherfucker.” I put the gun against his skull and pull the trigger.
It’s fucking over, all of the drugs, trafficking, it’s all over.
I look at my brothers. We can finally fucking breathe—the war has ended.
We all huddle together, our heads bent, as we take a moment of silence before we go back to our families, and to sleep, I feel like sleeping off a whole-ass
year.
We leave the bodies there; the prospects will take care of it. Gareth is waiting for me at the door, and I nod my head at him. His face softens
That’s all he is getting. I love my brother but Brittany is my whole world. She and the child she’s carrying are fucking everything to me.
Chapter Sixteen
Brittany
Four Months Later
Life is good. I had missed these days of calm within the MC. This war has taken something out of all of us, but it sent a message around the world that we are not to be fucked with.
I am five months pregnant, give or take a week or two. I am loving my little baby bump and Derek is too. He seems unable to take his hands off of me.
Not that I mind of course.
With everything that has happened, Derek has changed. He is a lot more protective of me now. Sleeping has been hard for him. He’s had nightmares about what could have happened to me, and that killed me inside.
I had the same nightmares, which made it even worse. It took a major adjustment period to heal from this. Derek had a harder time than I did.
I knew I was safe, but Derek had nightmares about that guy who tried to hurt me over and over. I would wake up in the middle of the night with him pretty much lying on top of me.
He can’t go to sleep anymore unless his hand is on my throat, his fingers on my pulse, as a reassurance I am here and alive. It killed me to see him like that
Right now he is grilling burgers for us outside, and I am inside preparing the salad. I walk outside carrying the bowl, and I hear a clack as Derek drops the metal tongs on the grill. I eye him, confused, and he takes the bowl out of my hands. “Should have called me, baby, you don’t need to carry anything.”
My mouth opens in disbelief, but I am not surprised. When I said he was protective? I meant over everything. I roll my eyes because it’s kind of ridiculous. “Baby, it’s a plastic bowl.”
“I don’t give a fuck if it’s a piece of cotton, you don’t carry shit,” he says and that dances on my last nerve. I walk over to the table and pick up the salt and pepper shakers, and I shake them to annoy him.
He tries not to smile at me being a smart ass, but I can’t help it. I back away and he follows. Yeah, I am in trouble.
I run inside the house with him hot on my trail. “Baby, don’t fucking run!” he yells.
I laugh louder and run straight into our bedroom, jumping onto the bed, because these chases always end in sex.
He walks into the room to find me lying on my side on the bed. He glares at me and I smile sweetly. “Hey, honey.”
He laughs. “Don’t ‘hey honey’ me!” He wags his finger at me and picks me up off of the bed, putting me over his leg.
I stop laughing as he pushes my shorts down my ass, leaving me bare. He rubs the bottom of my butt before his hand comes down just hard enough to cause a slight sting but not enough to hurt.
“Tell me you’re sorry.”
“I am so sorry, master,” I mock, and I can feel him shaking as he tries not to laugh. He brings his hand down again before his fingers sink deeply between my folds as he slides two fingers inside me.
“Hmm, someone needs me.” He strokes gently, and I let my head fall so my forehead rests against his leg.
“I always need you,” I admit.
He stills. “Right answer.” He gets down on his knees, throwing my legs on either side of his face.
I bite back a moan at the first feel of his tongue as it moves through my folds to find the spot where I want him most.
“God,” I moan and scoot further down the bed. He chuckles and licks one more time. “You’re going to come on my dick this time, baby.” He lifts my arms and rests them on either side of my face, kissing me. I don’t even care that he was just going down on me; his kisses have a way of completely distracting me.
I lift my legs and he slides inside me. I clench down on him, already close to coming.
“Hmm, heaven.”
“You’re my heaven,” I whisper.
He stops moving and looks down at me, and he shakes his head before he gets out of bed and moves over to the cabinet, across the room, where he keeps some of his clothes.
I sit up on my elbow. He comes back over, and I can’t help but groan as he joins me again in bed.
He lifts a little box, opening it. My heart stops at the sight of the ring inside the box. “Brittany, will you make the happiest man in the whole world and become my wife? You are the best thing that ever happened to me, angel. I love you so fucking much.”
Tears fill my eyes, there is no stopping that. I don’t even hesitate “Yes, I will!”
He slides the ring on my finger. “It’s beautiful.”
He pushes my hair from my cheek before resting his forehead against mine. “No, you’re beautiful, angel.”
Oh my God, my poor heart. I laugh, tears just falling down my face. This is pure happiness; this is bliss and everything that I ever imagined, but it’s here and its happening.
Derek has completed my life.
I lean up and kiss him, pouring every ounce of emotion I have into the kiss. He makes love to me, and it’s soul stealing, every single cell in my body awakened.
* * *
The Next Morning
“What has you thinking so hard?” Derek asks as we sit together eating breakfast.
I stew over what to say. I am almost ashamed to even mention it, but I think I need this closure. “I think I want to go see my biological parents. I need to let go of that part of my life. It’s time to move on, and I won’t if I don’t get the closure I need.”
He studies me for a few beats before he nods. “I agree, baby, we will go see them, but if they’re mean to you, I’m beating their ass.” He gets up off the barstool, taking his plate to the sink.
I walk over to him and press my face against his strong back. “Thank you for taking me.”
He turns around and hugs me to his chest. “Of course I will, baby. I love you, and I’m always down to kick someone’s ass over my baby.”
Of course he is. I smack his ass and run upstairs to get ready. It’s a couple of hours away, and I honestly don’t even know if they’re still in the same place, so I make a phone call to Alisha to see.
I really hope that it doesn’t hurt Darla’s feelings that I am doing this. She has done so much for me, and she will always be my mom—the mom I consider a mother. The person who gave birth to me is just that; blood doesn’t make you family.
Family is the ones who love you above everything else.
* * *
During the drive I may or may not have dozed off. Derek hasn’t let my hand go the whole time; he knows that this isn’t going to be easy for me.
Alisha confirmed that they both still live in the same place I grew up, and I didn’t ask for any more information than that. I wanted to see for myself. The last time I saw my mother was when she hit me in the head with a huge glass ashtray, and I still have that scar to this day.
I think I would have an easier time forgiving them than Derek would. Derek isn’t very forgiving when it comes to me. Which I understand because when it comes to him, I am superprotective. I am still pissed at his aunt from all those months ago, when she was a bitch to Derek. I think I will forever hold that grudge. Derek is precious and if someone doesn’t see that, well, fuck them because I don’t care.
“Want me to swing through a drive-through before we get there?” he asks and points at Wendy’s.
“Yeah.” I stretch trying to wake up. Being pregnant makes me so tired all of the time. I have started working again, but I’m not up to working full time. I mostly do it for charity because it is the most fulfilling part of my job.
Derek hands me my nuggets and I dig in, thankful for the distraction. I just don’t want to think about it, because I don’t want to stress myself out. I don’t want to go back to that part of me, that little girl scared out of her mind, because I am not that anymore.
Derek tak
es my hand, kissing the back of it. He doesn't say a word, but I know this is his way of telling me that he has me, and that alone means the world to me.
Way too soon we’re driving down my street. The houses are different now. Most of them have been upgraded, and it looks like a nice place to live.
My parents’ house is at the end of the street near the woods, at the end of all of the newer houses. Trash litters the yard, the house is covered in dirt and grime, the roof is tilted inwards, and one of the windows is broken and covered with plastic.
Wow.
That’s the only thing I can think right now. It’s so different than it used to be, or maybe I was just blind to it?
We pull to a stop, and I just sit and stare because this is really happening and I am scared.
I am terrified what will be behind those doors.
“You don’t have to do this,” Derek suggests.
I shake my head. I’ve come this far, and there is no going back. I need to let all of this go, and I need to say goodbye or say hello. It depends on what happens behind that door.
I close my eyes, breathing deeply before I let it out slowly. “Let’s do this. “
Derek lifts me out of the truck and takes my hand. I take a second to admire him. He is wearing a pair of light-colored jeans, black biker boots, a white V-neck T-shirt, and his cut. He is fucking hot, and the only thing that is going to make him hotter is when our baby is born.
We step up on the porch, and it creaks and dips slightly. “Fuck.” Derek walks in front of me to make sure the porch doesn’t break under his weight.
We reach the door. The wood is cracked and half broken. It looks like it’s been stomped in a couple of times.
Derek Page 14