With a deep sigh, Talia parked beside the bikes and made her way up the stairs to their door…and knocked. She had keys, but after being gone for so long and under the circumstances, it just didn’t feel like her right to walk in anymore.
She waited and knocked several times, with no answer. Unless Tucker had been picked up by one of the brothers, then his bike and truck in the lot meant he was there. So why wasn’t he answering the door?
Maybe he’d changed his mind about her coming back… “I ain’t goin’ anywhere, sugar,” she heard his voice in her head, remembering his promise to wait for her.
With tightness in her chest and mounting fear in her gut, Talia inserted the key in the lock and pushed her way inside.
The apartment was quiet. Too quiet. Talia took tentative steps until she reached the bedroom. The door had been left open a crack, and with a bit of hesitation and fear of what she might find on the other side, she touched two fingers to the white panel and pushed.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight laid out before her.
On the bed was Tucker, sitting at the foot, bent over his knees with his phone in his hands. The sound of Angry Birds filled the air, and when he heard her tiny gasp, his head shot up. “I was starting to worry you’d changed your mind,” he said, his voice strained.
But Talia could hardly focus on what he was saying. She was too distracted and overcome with surprise and awe and love for this man to take her eyes away from the room. Everywhere she cast her gaze, she saw dozens upon dozens of flowers. Roses and daffodils and lilies and baby’s breath, exotic blooms and common mixed together. Bursts of color tantalized her vision, and the sweet smell in her nose electrified her senses.
Talia’s rigid composure shattered in an instant, and she started bawling her eyes out. Tucker was standing in front of her a second later, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tight enough that it was as if he’d reached inside of her and smashed all the broken pieces back together.
Talia stayed in his arms like that for so long, she lost track of time, but when she finally managed to pull herself together, she looked up at him and said the only words to come to mind: “I love you so much.”
Tucker’s denim gaze filled with emotion and he transferred those strong, capable hands to her face and pulled her mouth to his for a kiss that said both welcome home and please don’t ever leave again. It was one full of forgiveness and fear and desire, all wrapped up in one explosive moment that led quickly to clothes being torn off and growls of need and desire, and before Talia knew it, she was on her back on the bed, Tucker pounding his hard length between her legs and bringing her to an orgasm that shot her into the stratosphere. The sex wasn’t filled with finesse nor was it romantic, but it was exactly what both of them needed at that moment.
Once they both had time to calm down, still bound to one another by tangled limbs and a mutual refusal to let go, Tucker looked down into her eyes and said, “I think we’ve said everything that needs saying, sugar.”
Talia agreed with a simple nod and gentle smile. They always communicated best when they were naked, stripped bare, all the way to their souls. She loved him, he loved her, and no amount of distance or time or circumstance was going to change that.
Reaching up, she touched her fingers to his freshly shaved jaw and took a moment to just look at him. Ruggedly handsome despite being so well-groomed, and just the right amount of everything to make her heart sing.
Without words, she placed a sweet, lingering kiss to his lips, letting him know that she’d never leave his side again. She was home now, and that’s where she planned to stay. Forever.
twenty-six
Cricket wasn’t nervous. Really, he wasn’t. It was just that he’d never imagined being opposite the POS guns-slash-drug-slash-cartel—or whatever he was—leader, talking about dating his little girl.
Victorjia had failed to mention that her daddy was freaking Manuel Contreras. She was just his toothpaste girl, and that had been enough for him. And now he was in over his head because he was absolutely attached to this woman, and she was attached to trouble. Trouble he didn’t know how to distance himself from because he was totally unwilling to call it quits with her.
They hadn’t spent a ton of time together, but every moment they had, starting with that stupid little chat in the general merch section of the grocery store meant a hell of a lot to him. It marked the start of a hopeful new future, and he was so on board with all that it promised and more…except for the potential father-in-law.
Could he really see himself connecting to a woman whose daddy was so corrupt? He was smart enough to make the distinction between them. Victorjia was not her father. If anything, she was the opposite. That’s why he was struggling so bad with this.
“If you’re going to date my daughter, you’d better be prepared to make an honest woman of her,” Manuel was saying from his cigar chair where he was, coincidentally, chewing on the butt end of an unlit cigar.
“She’s not pregnant,” Cricket said defensively. She wasn’t. She’d assured him she was on birth control, and he’d used condoms during all of their sexcapades. They weren’t at the stage of talking marriage either, not that he hadn’t entertained the idea a few dozen times.
She was just so damn perfect for him. Call him a poor sap, but he was completely taken by her. In love wouldn’t be a far reach. But this bombshell of her parentage was enough to make him take a breath and think with his big head.
Manuel’s narrowed eyes and the impatience pouring off him was unsettling, like looking into the eyes of a shark with deadly intent. Cricket wasn’t easily shaken, but it wasn’t where he wanted to be. It was one of those “I’m doing this for you” kind of things that he hoped Victorjia recognized and appreciated.
He cast her a sidelong glance and found her eyes on him. She wasn’t comfortable either, which made the alpha in him sit up and toughen up because he wasn’t about to be weak when his girl needed him strong.
“Look, I’m into your daughter. She’s a great woman, and I love spending my time with her.” He smiled at her and continued. “I have no idea where this is going—we just met—but I’m hoping it ends up someplace great. But I can’t sit here and promise marriage when we hardly know each other. That’s not fair to either of us, and I’m not going to put her in that position. So while I respect what you’re trying to do here, which I think is protecting your daughter from people like me, or men in general, cuz, shit, I would too if I were in your shoes, I’m just not going to get on board with you right now. But I can and will promise to treat her right and do my best not to hurt her. But I’m a man, so I’m going to guarantee I’ll fuck shit up along the way. I’ll just try not to.”
Manuel glared at him, and Victorjia twisted her hands in her lap. Cricket prayed for the best. Her daddy was looking like he wanted to jump him, maybe drive a knife through his chest, and Cricket didn’t want to have to lay him out in front of his girl, but he’d put a bullet in the bastard’s head before he let him put him in the ground before his time.
“I don’t like you,” Manuel declared, “but I also can’t keep you from sneaking out of the house and hitching rides to meet up.” With this, he looked at his daughter, who stared at the floor looking guilty as sin.
Cricket had no idea what was going on between them, but he had a feeling they sure did.
“I’ll be keeping my eye on you,” Manuel warned Cricket. “If I feel like anything at all is going on that I don’t like…let’s just say you won’t like what happens next.”
“Papito—”
Manuel held up his hand, cutting Victorija’s attempt to scold him off. “This is how it will be,” he declared, ending any further argument on the spot.
Cricket didn’t particularly like how he spoke to his woman, but he wasn’t going to correct him. This time. If they made the journey together, though, he’d be sure to put the asshole in his place if he stepped even a toe out of line.
Appearing embarra
ssed and more than done with this whole shenanigan, Cricket decided it was time to get Victorjia out of there. Announcing their plans for the evening, Cricket reluctantly shook hands with Manuel and guided his woman out of the mansion to his bike. As he placed the helmet on her head and got her fit up against his back, he could feel her father’s eyes boring a hole through his head same as any bullet, but he didn’t let it get to him.
A reasonable man, he could understand where the man was coming from, and that was where he was going to try to keep his head. Peace. That was the name of the game, and starting a fight over things like ego wasn’t wise. Now that Blake had secured a tentative agreement between the Spartans and Contreras, it was in all of their best interests to maintain it and try to strengthen it.
Besides, Contreras made a good faith effort by giving up his main supplier. A big player like Rubio off the market was a huge win for everyone. Not only did it mean a chance at a normal life again, with their turf unthreatened, but it meant that their town could start to heal. That anyone Rubio’s organization had touched, anywhere he had his fingers, had a chance to heal. That was priceless, as far as he was concerned.
Twenty minutes into their ride to nowhere in particular, Cricket pulled the bike over, parking it at the top of a hill that overlooked their little town center. Rolling hills covered in lush, green trees, little houses interspersed along the winding neighborhood roads, a swimming hole peeking out from a forest stared back at them. But Cricket’s attention wasn’t there. It was on the woman sitting behind him with her arms clamped around his waist as if she was afraid to let go.
Cricket pulled off the glove on his left hand and covered hers.
“I’m sorry for my father,” Victorjia said before he could speak. “He comes off strong, but he means well.”
“I know. I don’t blame him,” he said, even if he kind of did. He couldn’t help it; he didn’t like the man.
“I hope you won’t hold what he is against me,” she said with a tremor in her voice.
Cricket understood, with just that little shake, she was in as deep as he was. So neither of them had a chance in hell of rewinding this whole thing. Huh…that was interesting. Almost amusing.
“The only thing I’ll ever hold against you is my body,” he teased, and they both tightened their grip. Comfort, that’s what they offered one another. The world was so cold and unforgiving, and yet, just like his brothers, he’d managed to find that warm, soft sliver of paradise. Imagine that.
As they sat there staring out at the incredible view, Cricket couldn’t help thinking about how everything had come together. All the struggle, the carnage, the heartache and loss and pain had all led up to this point, and in an unlikely turn of events, two opposing sides had come together with one mutual interest: the love of another person.
Manuel Contreras was a monster. But he was also a father. In the end, he cared more about his daughter and Rena, the new woman in his life, than he did about all the money in the world—not that he didn’t already bathe in the shit. He’d cut a deal that could just as easily sign his death warrant as it could set him free. That impressed Cricket because not a lot of people would do that. Manuel gave up a lot, but he was gaining so much more in return. Maybe that’s why he did it. Maybe he had ulterior motives that none of them had realized yet. Only time would tell.
Cricket was praying for the best possible outcome, because he still had hope for the world being a better place someday, and this felt like a good step in the right direction.
“What do you say we go get some ice cream, head back to my place, get naked, and make a mess.”
Victorija’s blunt teeth bit playfully down on his shoulder. “I say that’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all day.”
Oh yeah, Cricket thought as he revved the engine and shot off back down the hill. They were definitely headed toward something great.
twenty-seven
Taco looked at his little boy lying helpless in his arms and couldn’t imagine a better ending to the day. Then he looked over at Bambi, his woman, who was swollen and miserable with their third child, and he couldn’t imagine a better start to the rest of his life. He was one lucky bastard.
Today, they’d made a deal that would set the stage for years to come. If it held, he’d never have to worry about the club business bringing shit to his door that would endanger his family. After all these years, Blake had finally brought true peace into their lives.
He had to admit, he was starting to think the dream was just that—a dream. But the asshole had come through for them, and now the future was so bright, Taco might have to wear shades.
Being on cloud nine wasn’t high enough. He was on cloud twenty-nine. Even a golden ticket into Heaven couldn’t make him as happy as he was now, and he’d done some sketchy shit in his life; that pass would be super nice to have.
Everything was falling into place, it seemed. They all had a path toward a nice, cushy life with the normal worries, instead of some outlandish, unbelievable bullshit that was better fit for a fiction novel rather than real life, and if they played it right, played it straight, it might actually stay that way.
Who could ask for anything better?
Taco felt like Julie Andrews. He could really go for a spin or two on a hilltop. Except he fucking hated that song. There was only one musical he liked, and he’d take his secret love of summer lovin’ to the grave. In the biker world, that was called survival. Even if they were all just a bunch of pussy-whipped losers.
“Why are you staring at me,” Bambi grumbled, making Taco chuckle. Quietly. No need to wake the baby.
“Just thinking about how lucky I am,” he told her truthfully. Half of her face pressed into the bed pillow, she cracked her right eye open and glared up at him as if trying to find the lie in his face, but all she was gonna find was the deep and abiding love he had for her.
After a moment, she rolled over onto her side and stared at him some more. Still waiting? She wouldn’t find a change. Taco was totally gone for her and always would be.
“How do you not hate me? I’m a total shrew lately.”
“Nah, you’re just pregnant,” he said easily. Hormones. Bleh. They made his lady crazy, but when it was all said and done, it was a small price to pay to get the little human that would terrorize their life in the best way possible for years to come.
“You’re too good to me.”
“Not good enough,” he contended. In fact, he felt like she deserved so much better than him, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Didn’t want to give her ideas. Even though he was certain she loved him, he wasn’t taking any chances. The woman was too good for a slum dog like him. Babies. Babies everywhere. That was his solution. Plus, he just enjoyed seeing her full and round from his babies growing inside her. It was the hottest damn thing he’d ever seen. Imagine that. Man, he’d come a long way in a short time.
But that was women for ya. When the right one came along, they had a way of changing a man forever. There were days that Taco reflected on his life and couldn’t comprehend how he’d gotten by for so long without her.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered to her, and she returned the words with softly spoken ones of her own.
With their babies between them, Taco and Bambi closed the gap as much as they dared and crossed an arm over each other, cradling their little family between their loving embrace, knowing that nothing and no one would ever come between them, because if they tried, Taco would be there, ready to eliminate it. And he knew he’d always have his brothers at his back, which was the most comforting knowledge of all.
twenty-eight
Moose clenched the blankets in his fists. Beside him, Mouse was lying there, basking in the afterglow of their vigorous lovemaking. She was, in a word, insatiable. But who wouldn’t be with a beast like him in their bed.
All jokes aside, he might be a cocky bastard on his best day, but he still had his moments of weakness. Not that anyone better ever tell anyone. The brothers d
idn’t need to know that he was anything but hard and tough and ready to kick any one of their asses if warranted.
Back to the matter at hand though…
He had a hell of an elephant weighing on his brain. His earlier conversation with Quick kept playing on repeat until he was certain he was going to lose his ever-loving mind. He’d memorized every damn word his president and friend had said, analyzing the conversation to death, until he came to the stunning conclusion that the asshole had a point: he needed to stop being a pussy and ask the damn question.
But Moose didn’t ask for shit. Never had and didn’t intend to start now. He was more a demand and receive kind of guy. Except for that one time when he asked Angel to try being his girl on for size. But that was a one-time deal, a courtesy of sorts because he was a nice guy.
Reaching down beside the bed, he felt around, and when his fingertips grazed the cool leather, he pulled the size small jacket up and draped it haphazardly over Angel’s naked hip.
She stiffened, then slowly sat up as she asked, “What’s this?”
Tucking his hands behind his head, Moose watched her hold the leather jacket up in front of her, allowing her to take a moment to digest just what it was that she was looking at—a jacket that would fit her perfectly, with his name across the back along with the Spartan’s insignia, and a “Property of” patch.
She couldn’t miss that, and she hadn’t. Looking over her shoulder at him, Moose decided he wasn’t going to allow an argument or any kind of protests to pass her lips.
“I’ve decided to take you on permanently.”
“You decided?” she said, her tone escalating, indicating that she, in fact, was going to argue.
“I did. You took the trial period, and I decided it’s expired. I want to keep you, Mouse, and I’m gonna. You’re my woman now, for better or worse, forever and ever.”
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