Marked By The Devil

by Joanna Blake

  She pointed at Mac.

  “You go with him. Callaway, sit your ass down. Whiskey, go check on the bikes and take Becky for some air.” Last, she pointed at her husband. “You, carry on holding the building up.”

  Then she waited until everyone sprang into action and very slowly sat down. The girls broke into applause as Whiskey took Becky’s hand and tucked it into his arm. Then they left too.

  Jack was smiling the whole damn time.

  “All hail the Queen,” I joked, and Janet winked at me.

  Fewer than twenty minutes later, everyone was back, no one was pacing, and we were all eating junk food and chips from the dining hall. Everyone except Janet and Sally. Janet because she was extremely health-conscious and Sally because, as she’d whispered to me softly a few minutes ago, she was finally expecting and wouldn’t put anything that wasn’t organic near her lips.

  I’d squeezed her hand in silent celebration.

  The room got quiet. Jack stood up from where he was leaning against the wall, and I swore I heard the building groan from the sudden loss of a support beam. I looked around to see everyone staring at the double doors that led to the delivery wing.

  Dev stood there, holding a box of cigars.

  “It’s a boy!”

  Everyone went nuts. Even Lucky woke up and congratulated Devlin. The guys all accepted a cigar, though Janet reminded them they’d have to wait to go outside to smoke them. Then we all hurried down the hallway to see Kaylie. She looked stunning, fresh-faced and joyful, holding a tiny bundle in her arms. Her hair was a little messier than usual but that was it.

  The woman was unfairly perfect, and if I didn’t love her so much, I might have been jealous of how angelic she looked!

  She smiled when she saw us, and we crowded around, wanting a look. She tugged the blanket down a bit so we could see his face. He was perfect. Tiny and red, but perfect. I could already tell he was going to be a heartbreaker.

  “We named him John.”

  Devlin smiled at her, putting his arm around her and beaming.

  “After my brother.”

  “He’s perfect,” I murmured to Kaylie when it was my turn to lean over.

  She smiled happily.

  “I know.”

  Later, when we were at home alone and curled up in bed, Callaway told me how badly he’d always wanted a family of his own. Like me, he’d grown up without parents. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Bonnie. He did, and he knew he was lucky to have her. But he wanted what everyone else had.

  Every television show, every movie, everywhere you looked, there were two parents and a kid or two. He whispered to me that he wanted more than two. I laughed and told him to slow his roll.

  He attacked me, rolling me to my back. He caught my hands in his, holding them above my head.

  “Slow my roll?”

  “Yes.”

  I wiggled, trying to get away from his hot lips where they pressed against my neck. He just laughed, giving me tiny little kisses that tickled. He breathed into my ear, and I squealed, my whole body breaking out in goosebumps.

  That’s when I felt it.

  Callaway was hard again.

  “Cal!”

  “What?”

  “But we just . . .”

  He grinned at me.

  “Like I said, I want it all.” He leaned down to kiss me. “And I want it all the time.”

  He released my hands, and I slid them around his neck as he started making love to me.

  “You’re lucky then.”

  He didn’t lift his head as he worked his way down my body, kissing as he went. Finally, he looked up, playing idly with my nipple.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because I want it all too.”

  He grinned and gave me a little love bite.

  “I love you, soon-to-be Mrs. Molly Callaway.”

  “I love you too.”

  Six months later

  Callaway

  “There’s no reason to wait. We should do it now. Today.”

  I waved the marriage license in the air. Molly was in college and so busy with school and Tommy, even though I helped a lot with her kid brother. And for the past few days, I’d had a strong feeling she wasn’t telling me something. I had a feeling I knew what it was.

  Her cute little pajamas had given her away. She usually wore these little camisoles and short sets to sleep. They drove me absolutely crazy. They were so close to naked, but far too covered up.

  And usually, the tops hung loosely over the waistband of the shorts.

  But not lately.

  Lately, they were riding up. Her normally flat tummy had started to stick out. Just a little bit.

  To tell the truth, it was sexy as hell. So were her swelling breasts. I was almost a hundred percent sure she was pregnant . . . or hitting the donut shop near her college really, really hard.

  Either way, I liked it a lot.

  I had been sitting on the feeling for almost a week now, waiting for her to tell me. I wanted to get married first. I’d been waiting six months for her to think it was the “right time” and this was it.

  Our baby was not being born out of wedlock, dammit! Not that I cared about that shit. Not for anyone else. But for my little girl or boy?

  Fuck no. Things were not going down like that.

  “Are you serious?”

  Molly had her hair in a bun with a pencil sticking through it. She was wearing floral sweatpants and a tank top that clung to her curves.

  Her juicier-than-ever, brand-spanking-new curves.

  She must think I was an idiot.

  “Yes, I’m serious. It’s time.”

  “But we can’t just get married. We have to plan it.”

  “Yes, we can. I already called Preacher from the Untouchables. He’s happy to do a fly-by wedding. Gives him a chance to ride fast and look at pretty girls, the bastard.”

  She giggled, then she sobered. “You really are serious.”

  “Yes. I am.”

  “Why now? I thought we were going to plan everything.”

  I sat beside her in the window seat and pulled her into my lap.

  “It’s okay if you’re scared. We’re going to do this together.”

  I put my hand on her belly so she knew what I was talking about.

  “Do what? The wedding?”

  I stared at her. She wasn’t being cute. She just . . .

  Holy hell. She doesn’t know.

  I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to freak her out. I’d better ease into it, let her come to the right conclusion.

  “How are you feeling lately, sweetheart? Any different?”

  “I have been pretty tired lately, I guess. And hungrier than usual.”

  “And what about these gorgeous melons?”

  She giggled as I fondled her breasts. Then she swatted me away when I gave her a gentle squeeze.

  “Ow!”

  “Sore?”

  “Ugh, yes!”

  “What about nausea? Have you been feeling sick?”

  She looked at me and blinked.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Hear what?”

  “Hear me puking? I tried to be quiet. I guess I ate something bad and—”

  “Shh. Sweetheart, I don’t think it was something you ate.”

  She stared at me.

  “Then what?”

  I stared right back, my eyes telling her that it was something else entirely. I rubbed her tummy again. She looked down and then back up at me.

  Then she jumped clean off my lap.

  “Oh, my GOD!”

  I smiled at her and patted my lap.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. Come sit.”

  “I am such an idiot!”

  “No, you’re not. It’s not like you’ve ever been pregnant before.”

  “I should be taking . . . vitamins! And stuff!”

  “It’s okay. We’ll get all that. Let’s just take a test first.”

  “Okay, I’
ll go to the drug store.”

  I smiled sheepishly.

  “I already have some. In the hall closet.”

  She stared at me and shook her head slowly.

  “You knew before I did.”

  “Looks that way. So, you want to take the test?”

  She nodded and I followed her down the hall. I stood outside the door while she used the test. She was way too shy to pee with the door open. I kind of wanted to see her pee, but I didn’t tell her that.

  She would have just called me a pervert. And the truth was, she would be right. I was a filthy, dirty pervert, but only where she was involved.

  It’s been like that from the first moment I laid eyes on her.

  The door opened and Molly stood there. She looked over her shoulder at the stick sitting on the countertop. Very slowly, we walked over to it together. We stared, not looking away as the little minus sign slowly turned into a plus.

  I held her tightly, kissing her lips over and over again. Finally, I let go and she rested her head against my chest. I was gonna be a daddy.

  “So, how about that last-minute wedding?”

  That’s how I ended up standing on Jack’s roof deck a couple of days later, wearing a black suit. I was surrounded by the inner circle and a few other club guys. Preacher was there, drinking way too much tequila for a man of the cloth, even if the cloth was leather in his case. Tommy was the ringbearer, and we had loads of flower girls. He could walk now and was attending high school, though he was a couple of years behind. He had tutors and was taking extra classes and attending summer school to catch up.

  He’d end up graduating a year or two behind where he would have. It was good enough. He was going to be okay.

  He was wearing a gray suit jacket and jeans. He had a little flower in his jacket, just like the rest of the guys. We were ready. The girls, however, were nowhere to be found.

  Molly hadn’t agreed to marry me that day. But she had agreed to marry me three days later. Jack and Janet had gone all out. The loft was tricked out below with tables and chairs surrounding an impromptu dance floor. The roof deck always looked festive with the string lights, but they’d gone above and beyond. Twinkling lights, flowers, and white bunting were everywhere.

  Honestly, I can’t really believe they pulled it off so fast. But I owed them everything for doing it. I would give them anything, including a kidney.

  Anything but my bride.

  A redheaded little boy ran up and whispered in Preacher’s ear. He nodded and we all got into position. Mac played his guitar softly as we all turned to look at the stairs that opened onto the roof deck.

  A soft breeze made the lights swing just so. It was the perfect night. We were lucky, I thought, just as the door swung open.

  And then I ceased to think at all.

  An angel was floating toward me. Her long, dark hair was loose, with flowers woven through it. Her beautiful face was serene, with just a hint of makeup. Her lips were extra-rosy and there was just a touch of shadow and liner around her gorgeous blue eyes. The dress was white silk, and it clung to her curves. She held a bouquet dripping with white flowers in her perfect little hands.

  My mouth went dry as she walked toward me. My mouth must have been open because when she took her place beside me, she gently reached out and lifted my chin to close it. I smiled at her, feeling like a dope. The luckiest damn idiot in the entire world.

  Then the ceremony began.

  “We are gathered here today to bind these two in marriage. This filthy degenerate with this exquisite young beauty. Now, Miss, I have to tell you that you do not have to go through with this. There are always other fish in the sea, and if you like an older man in leather, there are plenty of options.”

  I growled at the cheeky bastard and he winked at me. Molly giggled.

  “Get on with it, Preacher.”

  He looked at Molly.

  “Are you sure, sweetheart?”

  “I’m sure.”

  He sighed dramatically.

  “You always were a lucky bastard, Callaway.”

  I smiled at him, feeling magnanimous. Molly hadn’t hesitated. She loved me. Preacher had a way with the ladies. He was in his late forties and wore his hair long, and his beard was pure white. Apparently, he turned down as many women as I did, and that was saying something.

  “I know it, Santa Claus.”

  He laughed at me, but I knew he’d make me pay for it later.

  “Do you, young Callaway, take this flawless creature to be your wife?”

  “I do.”

  “And do you, you beautiful angel, take this disreputable man to be your husband?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Molly was trying not to giggle.

  He sighed mournfully.

  “Then, I have no choice. I must pronounce you man and wife.”

  The crowd whooped and hollered as I kissed her. I was shocked when Preacher pulled her against him and kissed her soundly. He set a surprised Molly on her feet and winked at me as he headed to the bar.

  “That’s for not waiting for permission.”

  I glared at his back, ready to do murder.

  A heavy hand landed on my shoulder.

  “Shake it off, ‘young Callaway’.”

  I looked at Jack then back at Preacher.

  “Do you think he’d survive if I threw him off the roof?”

  “Can’t let you do that. Too many custom motorcycles parked downstairs. You might hurt one.”

  I laughed and we shook hands. I was quickly surrounded by well-wishers. Children were weaving around between our legs, playing a game of tag. Champagne and drinks were handed out. Photos were taken. And then it was time to go downstairs and eat.

  The string lights were hanging down here too. Jack and Janet had mostly moved into the new house and were deciding what to do with this place. It made one hell of an event venue, and I told them that.

  The high ceilings and old windows, molding, and gorgeous wood floors . . . it felt like we were in a loft in New York City. Something you’d see on TV with rich folks hanging around, eating strange food and talking about their stock portfolios and summer houses. It was more than we could have asked for, especially with three days’ notice.

  In fact, it was pretty much a miracle.

  Everyone ate, and then Mac and Donnie did some light DJing. Then it was time for the toasts and I prepared for some brutal teasing. Molly looked adorably shocked as the stories started coming out. I cringed a time or two but it wasn’t too bad. Anyway, my colorful past was firmly behind me.

  First, Whiskey roasted me. Then Donnie roasted me. Even quiet Mac roasted me, though it was brief. Thankfully, Jack refused to let Lucky anywhere near the mic. That would have been a disaster. But then Jack and Dev made up for it.

  “Callaway is a good man, and he’s going to be a good husband and father. I love him like a brother. Congratulations, little brother.”

  I laughed and cheered as the giant took his seat. It was the shortest wedding toast in the world, but in my opinion, it was also the best. Then it was Dev’s turn.

  “Molly is already like family to us. Tommy too.” I turned to see Molly’s brother turn red. He idolized Devlin, just like the rest of us did. “We are unusually blessed in the people we spend every day with. Callaway is one of a kind. There were times I worried that he wouldn’t grow up. All it took was one look at you, Molly, and he changed. He became the man we all knew he could be. There was an empty spot inside him and you filled it. We’re glad to call you both family.”

  I looked at Molly. She was sitting beside me, holding a champagne glass. Hers had sparkling water in it, though nobody could tell. We weren’t ready to tell folks about the baby yet. But soon.

  She was so beautiful it took my breath away.

  The room erupted in cheers and we waved. I pulled her chair even closer to mine and wrapped my arm around her slender waist.

  “Sweetheart?”

  “Yes?”

  “W
hy don’t we sneak out of here? We could leave early for the honeymoon. Stop at home and have a little alone time . . .”

  “Honeymoon?”

  I smiled. I’d kept that part a secret too.

  “I thought we’d just go someplace casual. No big deal.

  “Casual?”

  “Uh-huh. How does Hawaii sound?”

  “Hawaii?”

  “Yes. For a week or two.”

  Her eyes got wide.

  “But Tommy! And . . . school!”

  “It’s all taken care of. He’s going to crash at Donnie’s for a few weeks. And I talked to all your professors. They can email you the assignments. How do you feel about studying on the beach?”

  She nodded eagerly.

  “Yes, please! I’ve never been anywhere nice. This is . . . thank you so much.”

  She kissed me so sweetly I felt like I might float off my seat. I’d never been this happy in my life. I’d never felt so blessed.

  “Kiss me again, sweetheart. And tell me you love me.”

  She tilted her head and our lips met. She was so sweet and gentle. She looked so perfect.

  Something about her always made me want to mess up her hair. Not with my hands but from her head rubbing on the pillows while I had my way with her.

  “I love you, Callaway. I love you more than I ever thought possible.”

  “I love you, sweetheart. I’ll love you until the day I die, and afterward too. I’m yours for all eternity.”

  She giggled, her arms still around my neck.

  “Okay, then.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “Okay, let’s get out of here.”

  We waited until the cake was served. We made a big show of cutting it. Then she made a big show of getting some on my shirt.

  We went to the kitchen to clean up. Except we didn’t stay there. Giggling like school children, we snuck to the giant industrial elevator and closed the gate. Only, I’d forgotten how loud the motor was.

  As the elevator slowly started to descend, our friends surrounded the cage and started throwing flower petals on us. We laughed as they teased us for sneaking off, and I kissed my bride as a flurry of white rose petals showered down around us.

  Like I said.

  It was perfect.