“Do I get to help you out of your pants later?” she asks with a cute as fuck smile on her face.
Shaking my head, I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers. “Plannin’ on it, mi corazon.”
DELLA
I place my hand on my belly and let out a long groan as I sink down on the mattress of the bed. We’re home, or at least the place that we’re calling home for now. Santiago called a realtor today among a million other things that he did for his upcoming trip tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
I can’t believe that he’s leaving me for weeks. I lower my eyes, looking down at my wedding ring that’s resting on my stomach, wondering if this is all a good idea. Maybe he should stay here with me. Who cares if his father’s legacy lives on? I know that I don’t. I just want him to stay breathing.
“What?” he asks as he pulls a shirt off of a hanger.
I shake my head, not wanting to voice my worries. He stops what he’s doing and watches me. I can feel his eyes on me so I slowly lift mine.
My fears take over as I lift my gaze to meet his. Stupid hormones get ahold of me again and tears not only fill my eyes but fall as well.
“What if you don’t come home to me?” I whisper, too afraid to say the words too loudly.
Santiago drops the shirt and hanger in his hand onto the floor and walks over to me, sinking down between my legs. His hands wrap around the outsides of my thighs, his head tipped back slightly and his eyes looking directly up into mine.
“I’ll be back. I promise that shit, Della. Gonna come home to my wife, fuck her, watch our baby be born, fuck her, and then put a dozen more babies inside of her belly. That’s what the fuck is going to happen.”
I can’t help myself, I laugh softly at his promises, at his vows. I wish that we could just decide what will happen in life, that what we said came true and that was that.
“I hope that it happens, just like that,” I breathe.
He snorts. “It will.”
Without another word, he lifts up and presses his mouth to mine. For the first time in a decade, I don’t want to have sex. His kiss is chaste, sweet, and it doesn’t turn me on. Not because he doesn’t turn me on, but because I’m nervous and sad.
I feel like I’ve just found him and there’s a real possibility that I could lose him. He stands to his feet and starts packing his bags again. I watch, unable to take my eyes from him.
“Jaguar bothers you at all, shoot his ass.”
“Santi,” I hiss.
He shakes his head once. “Serious as fuck, nena. Shoot his fuckin’ ass if he comes anywhere near you. I know you’re going to be in Dallas and he’s supposed to be down in TJ, but he happens to be in the same room as you, he looks at you even sideways, shoot his fuckin’ ass.”
Pressing my lips together, I don’t respond to him. There’s no sense in it. He’s convinced that what Jaguar said, what he threatened wasn’t just out of anger, but that he’ll try to follow through with it.
I, on the other hand, don’t think that he will. He obviously has a bruised ego, his pride a little beat up, but I think he’ll eventually move on. Besides, he has his Charm right there at his side every waking moment.
The house phone rings and I jump, unused to the sound. Reaching for the cordless device on the nightstand, I bring the phone to my ear with a hello. There’s a brief pause, a moment of silence before a crackling noise on the other end of the phone.
I frown, looking over to Santiago. He immediately reaches for the phone and places it to his ear while barking a loud hello full of masculinity and no nonsense. It’s sexy.
His jaw clenches and I watch as a muscle jumps in his cheek. “Yeah, I saw him. Didn’t end well, for him. I’m talking to you, aren’t I?” He laughs but it’s not full of an ounce of humor. “I’ll see you soon little brother,” he growls before he ends the call.
I watch as he pulls his hand back and sends the phone flying across the room. It crashes against the wall with a loud thud. Santiago is breathing heavy as he turns his body to mine.
He’s panting, his chest rising and falling with his anger and obvious frustration, but to me, he just looks so damn fuckable that I can’t even keep my lips closed. My mouth opens in an O and I just watch him.
“Fuck,” he hisses. “How do I stay pissed when you look at me like you can’t wait for my cock to pound into you?”
My lips twitch. “You can tell me about your phone call after you make me come, twice.”
He grins, lifting his hand and reaches behind him. I watch as he pulls his shirt off over his head, exposing his tattoo covered chest.
I lick my lips at the sight, my eyes finding and focusing on the gigantic eagle on his side, the wings wrapping around his belly and his back.
So fucking sexy.
Chapter Thirty-One
EAGLE
I touch the side of Della’s cheek before I turn and walk out the door. Taz is standing on the porch, he tips his head and gives me a wave as I walk away from him toward the packed and loaded down SUV at the curb. I don’t say anything to him, he has all of the orders that he needs.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, I look back at the house and wonder if I’ll ever make it back here. I also wonder if I do, will anything ever be exactly the way it is right now?
What if she takes me up on my suggestion of fucking someone else?
I’m not really sure that I would be as okay with it as I said I would. I lied out of my ass when I told her that it wouldn’t bother me. Just the thought of another man touching her makes me want to kill.
I shake off thoughts of Della, of our shaky future and I think about the phone call last night that I received from a man claiming to be my half-brother as I start the car’s engine and shift it into drive.
Dialing Dragon’s number, I wait for him to pick up. He does, on the second ring, his voice scratchy from sleep.
“This better be good,” he grunts.
“My half-brother in Columbia knows we’re coming,” I state.
There’s a moment of silence. I assume he’s in shock. I felt the same fucking way last night and still do this morning. Whatever the fuck he has going on, how he knew that we would be coming after him, I don’t know.
“Who is in on this?” he demands.
“Wish to fuck I knew,” I snap. Dragon sighs heavily and I feel that shit in my goddamn soul. “All he said was that he knew I was headed his way and he couldn’t wait to see me. Obviously, this wasn’t a friendly, brotherly call, I just don’t know what to expect the closer we get. I don’t want any of us getting ambushed and hurt.”
“No fuckin’ shit. The best you guys can do is stay vigilant. I’ll call Santoro and tell him what’s going on, his guys may have more technology shit than we do to keep an eye out.”
I thank him, then end the call as I pull up to the quiet clubhouse where there are four SUVs running and waiting to leave.
My eyes scan the people standing around until I find Jaguar. Without a second thought, I shift the SUV into park and jump out. With purpose, I stride toward him. Lifting my hand, I extend a finger and point toward him.
“Don’t even go near her. I’m not fighting with you over my wife. She’s mine. She chose me and she chooses me. It’s done, brother.”
Jaguar jerks his head, pushing off of the wall that he’s leaning against. “She’s only with you because she had no fuckin’ choice. She’ll get bored and come back to where she knows she belongs. I ain’t fuckin’ worried,” he lies.
I snort. “Just stay away, man.”
“Going down to TJ. I’m not worried about a pussy that I’ve nailed dozens of times. Not when I can hit strange every fuckin’ night there.”
Turning my head, I spit on the ground, knowing that this fucker is nothing but a goddamn liar. “Whatever. Just know I have eyes on her and you. One foot out of line and you’re going down.”
Turning my back to him, I walk away, ignoring his shouts behind me. He’s not worth my fucking time. If
Della wanted him, she’d be with him.
I’m not worried about her as much as I’m concerned about him and his behavior. If anything happens to her, to that baby, either of them?
I’ll lose my goddamn shit.
I will lose my fucking mind.
“Ready?” I call out.
There are Sinister Skulls and Savage Beasts standing together, unlikely friends that have grown close over the past few months.
Something that would have never happened a year or two ago, but they’ve become part of us and after this run, they will be linked forever, patched over as Beasts.
A goddamn empire in the making.
First, we gotta hold hands with the Italian goddamn mafia and take down a Columbian cartel.
“You ready for this?” Mountain asks.
Shaking my head, I look over to him. “Not in the fucking slightest,” I admit.
His lips twitch. “None of us are, but this is what separates us from the rest of the men of this world. We may not be ready for what’s next, but that doesn’t stop us from diving head fucking first into the pile of shit that’s waiting for us.”
I let out a snort. “No fuckin’ shit, hermano. We gotta be vigilant. We gotta watch all of our backs,” I warn.
He jerks his chin. “Yeah, we sure as fuck do,” he agrees.
“Thought you’d be doing the runs to New York, what’re you doing coming with us?” I ask as we start to climb into the waiting cars.
Mountain shrugs a shoulder. “Dragon don’t want me going out there. Says I spend too much money on those high-class call girls. I think he’s afraid I’ll be like him and snatch one up for myself.”
“A blonde?” I ask with a smirk.
“You know if me and Della could have been more than what we were, that shit would have been perfect.”
I grip the steering wheel tightly with my hands, watching my knuckles turn white as I blindly follow the SUV in front of me.
“Since you could be the father of her baby, I would recommend keeping your goddamn mouth shut about my wife,” I grind out.
He barks out a loud laugh. “I would have claimed her just to keep her away from Jaguar. That shit was toxic as fuck. I’m glad that y’all fell in love, but she’s really not my type. A friend that I fucked because she was a clubwhore and nothing else. I respect her. I like her, but I’m just saying, it would have made life a hell of a lot easier if she was completely my type.”
Slicing my eyes over to him, I arch a brow. “That speech didn’t make me feel any goddamn better,” I snap.
He laughs, shaking his head. “Not sure it was meant to. Just sayin’.” He shrugs.
“You’re not wrong, which pisses me off, but I’m glad that she’s not.”
“I’m not hers either,” he points out.
It’s my turn to smirk. “Yeah, I know that shit for a fact. Della likes her man a little darker than your white meat. She also likes my big fat cock. I’ve seen what you’ve got, hermano,” I say as I shake my head.
“Fuck off,” he barks. “My cock’s just fine. I haven’t had any complaints.”
“When was the last time you fucked someone you didn’t have to pay or wasn’t a clubwhore?”
“Fuck off,” he grinds out.
“Just sayin’,” I chuckle.
We spend the rest of the next three days of travel absolutely roasting the shit out of one another. I’m glad that Mountain is the man next to me and that we’re good with one another.
I’m happy he doesn’t harbor any feelings for Della, that he respects the fact that I’m her Old Man and that he was willing to protect her. I’m also thankful as fuck that it didn’t have to come down to that.
DELLA
Coyote jerks his chin toward his woman, Gisele, in a silent demand for her to follow behind him. I’ve spent seventy-two hours with her off and on and I think she’s said maybe ten words to me.
What she has done is attempt to hide in plain sight, shrink to as small as possible, if she could physically become invisible, I think that she would.
Coyote doesn’t act as though anything is wrong, though. He is himself, joking and hanging out while I pack my things for our road trip to Dallas.
“Can we visit with Presley before we go?” I ask as I shove a sweatshirt into my oversized purse. “I haven’t seen the baby yet with everything that’s been going on.”
Gisele’s eyes widen and she looks from me to Coyote, then back to me again before her gaze settles on his. I watch curiously as her chest starts to rise and fall quickly. She begins to pant and I wonder if she’s on the edge of a panic attack.
Coyote’s gaze stays focused on hers, he’s communicating a look between them, one that I can’t interpret, but she must understand it completely.
Her shoulders tense, rising up to almost her ears before she lets her breath out in a whoosh and drops them. She nods her head once and drops it to her chest.
“You and Taz will go separately. I’ll meet you at the first rendezvous. It’s a hotel out in the middle of goddamn nowhere, easy to see if anyone comes up on us and just shitty enough that we’ll probably be alone, but the deadbolts will work.”
“Sounds amazing,” I deadpan.
Coyote chuckles then gives me a wink before he turns his attention back to Gisele. He places his hand against her lower back, then guides her out of the house. I follow behind them, tugging on my suitcase.
Stopping at the front door, I turn around to look at the house behind me. I may never come back here again. If Santiago sells it while we’re gone, then all I’ll do is pack up our things. I take in the entire space. It’s frozen in time, somewhere in the late seventies, early eighties.
It was not just Santiago’s mother’s home, but I think that it was her freedom as well. I place my hand on the doorframe and grip it tightly as I take in this dusty, frozen in time, home. This was her sanctuary, her dessert for the hells that she undoubtedly suffered from that man’s hand.
Dropping my hand, I inhale a deep breath and stiffen my spine. I’m going to take a nod from her. I’m going to gather my strength, hold on to it and keep it inside of me. If nothing else, I can always be strong on the inside. Always.
Walking over to the waiting pickup truck, I climb inside before Coyote slams the door behind me. Looking over to the driver’s side, I give Taz a small smile. He jerks his chin before shifting the pickup into drive and heads toward Presley’s.
I don’t know what the future holds for me, but with Santi at my side and my own inner strength, I know that I can get through everything that comes my way.
I will not fail. Not at anything.
My spine will forever stay firmly in place, strong and able to carry whatever load is placed upon my shoulders.
I refuse to be weak willed again. I refuse to let a man use me, abuse me emotionally or otherwise. I was so close to being a spineless, weak woman. So close to being Jaguar’s emotional punching bag, being his doormat just because I felt like I owed it to him. I thought that it would just be easier to let him have what he wanted.
Being used and abused isn’t easier than standing up for yourself. They’re equally difficult and straining. I’m just lucky that Santiago appeared and had my back, that he stood next to me and stood up for me when I wasn’t always able to do that for myself.
I feel like a different woman today than I was just a few weeks ago. I feel strong, capable, but most importantly I feel loved. I also feel like this baby, our child, will know nothing but love from his father, from Santi.
“Ready?” Taz asks.
I didn’t even realize that we were at Presley and Silver’s. Nodding, I look down at my lap, my belly, and place my palm there. I’m growing larger every day, it seems.
I can’t wait for the future. For what is going to happen next. A month ago, I was dreading what would become of me, and now, I am excited for each and every day.
Taz opens his door and I watch as he jogs over to my side. He tugs my door open and like a gentlema
n, he holds out his hand and helps me down. I frown, lifting my eyes up to meet his.
“When did you become chivalrous?” I ask.
He smirks. “Usually, it’s only when I think it can get me laid. Today it’s because you look like you could use a friend. You doin’ okay, babe?”
Inhaling a deep breath, I shrug a shoulder. “I don’t know. I feel really weird. Like everything seems really final.”
“What does?” he asks, keeping my hand in his.
“I don’t know. I just feel off. It’s probably because I’m heading to Dallas. I don’t want to deal with my parents’ shit and then Eagle is gone and I haven’t talked to him in a couple of days. I’m just off.”
Taz nods as he lifts his hand to knock on Silver and Presley’s front door at the same time his phone rings. Silver opens the door, his gaze meeting mine with a small frown before his eyes swing over to Taz who holds up his hand.
“I came to see the baby. I wasn’t able to go to the hospital…”
Silver’s lips twitch up into a grin. “Yeah, come on in, babe.”
I smile, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. Lifting my eyes up to meet his, I nod once. There was a time that I wanted this man as my own. He embodied everything that I wanted in a man. He was rough, full of raw sexual energy, and he was safe.
Safety.
That’s a word that I don’t have a lot of experience with and I thought that Silver was just that. Sure, he’s scary. His world can be downright terrifying, but he never frightened me.
Granted, he did make me suck his dick in front of my parents, but I can’t deny that I enjoyed doing it right in front of my mother’s shocked bitch face. It was pretty epic.
“Thanks,” I whisper.
He steps aside and I take one step inside, then another, until I turn the corner and see Presley holding a little bundle of blankets in her arms on the couch. My heart swells with love at the sight of them.
Naturally, she looks stunningly gorgeous, because that’s just the woman that she is. But I want to see her daughter.
UNLEASH ME: SAVAGE BEAST MC 4 Page 26