by Sierra Rose
“I think you’re beautiful no matter what you’re wearing.” He licked at the pad of one of my fingers and I jerked my hand away.
“Behave,” I whispered only loud enough for him to hear me. We’d been through some shit together over the last three years, and where I’d be fine befriending the crazy bastard, I knew he was completely sold out to my father. There was that, and the fact that he hadn’t been shy at all in reminding me that our future would be together. I was his and as soon as I realized that… the better off all of us would be.
Such a crock of shit.
I forced a smile seeing that my father had turned his eyes on me. "Dante, don’t be so open in front of my father. It’s embarrassing.” I said in a facetious tone. My father favored him as a partner to me, but it would never happen. I didn’t care how long I had to play their sick game, nothing would ever become anything of me and the large bastard in front of me.
I wasn't trying to play coy with him and Dante knew it. My father might not, but Dante did. I hated him with the inferno of a thousand fires. Behind each of his smiles, there was a flurry of malicious activity just waiting to play out. I’d seen the same scenario play out so many times over the last three years that I’d lost count.
"Selene, Dante has an important question to ask you." My father glanced back from his seated position. I was ready to tug my hand from Dante’s and take my place at the table, but with the string of events it didn’t seem like it was quite yet time to recline. At least not for me.
"Oh?" I turned and gave Dante a piercing gaze. I knew what question he had to ask, and the answer was no, flat out no. I fully intended to marry Lucky Morrison, and had already said yes only hours before. Even if I hadn’t… Dante wasn’t the man for me. Period.
Dante took his seat, his large, muscular frame filling up the wingback dining room chair . He motioned for me to sit between him and my father. I wanted to flop down in the chair, but it would only speak to my adolescence, and I didn’t need another reminder that I was the youngest patched member of the MC.
Dante took a quick sip of the Chianti wine that sat before him and turned, giving me a charged glance as his bottom lip quivered.
"Selene Delgado, you know how much I care about you. You are a beautiful woman..."
Gulp. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and prayed like hell that I was simply stuck in the middle of a really, really bad dream.
No fucking way this is happening. And in front of everyone? No fucking way.
"I have asked for your father's blessing, and he’s given it," Dante said, his eyes wide with emotion. He searched my face as if looking for pre-approval to what he was about to do.
I made sure to purse my lips and narrow my eyes in blatant defiance. He knew me well enough to know that there was no way in hell I was going to say yes to marrying him. I groaned quietly to myself.
Psychopaths. All of them. They all make their acts so damn convincing.
I stared back at Dante as my stomach turned to lead. I had to put a stop to the madness before it went too far. My father wasn’t going to do it, and he obviously agreed with Dante, which was good for the gander, but this goose wasn’t having any of this shit. Not a drop of it.
Without missing a beat, I answered the question before it was ever asked, delivering a cool, swift blow to Dante's ego.
"No," I said as I crossed my arms over my chest.
"It's decided," my father responded sternly. "Selene, you will marry Dante."
Oh, you think so?! Try again mother fucker.
"Who decided? You?! Because the last time I checked, I’m a free woman. I’m not one of your pawns. You can’t strategically plan out my life! I am a grown-ass woman, and you will not marry me off to whatever Black Heart you want just because you think they'd make a good President some day!" Fury rushed up from the center of my stomach. That was it. I had too much of my father in me to sit idly by while other people decided my fate or my future.
Fuck every one of them and the hogs they rode in on.
"Selene, you don't understand..." Dante pleaded with his hands open toward me.
"No Iglesias! You don't understand! I’m not his to give away, and my answer is no!"
"Selene Maritza Delgado!" my father spat in a voice that was both raspy and menacing.
I turned and stared at my father wide-eyed. I didn't take crap from anyone, but that didn't mean I was foolish. I knew when to tread carefully around my father. This was one of those moments. Just because he believed that he could force me to marry Dante didn’t mean that I was going to go through with it. Starting a war with him over something so fucking stupid was a waste of time and energy.
I wasn’t doing it. I didn’t care what he or Dante, or any of them believed.
"End of discussion, Selene. You will marry him," Rafael said in a calmer voice.
Before I could utter another word, my father had reached for his cherry wood gavel that sat on the table. As my mouth opened in protest, Rafael Delgado brought the gavel slamming down onto the table.
It was decreed. Despite what I wanted, my father had decreed that his only daughter would marry Dante Iglesias, the most dangerous man in Riker County.
Funny how wrong he was.
Chapter 10
Lucky
"Armor the fuck up! Let's go!" Viper screamed as he flagged all of us to follow him.
I was already on my bike in the middle of the yard when the rest of the Stone Wolves joined us. The afternoon with Selene had put me in an incredible mood, but having the girl of your dreams agree to marry you could usually do that to a guy.
"Lucky, I want you to go over to Clivesdale Lake. Johnny Pike asked for our help and we're going to give it." Viper pinned me with a hard stare as my mood slipped.
"Johnny Pike? Is he the one whose kids are all missing?" I hated to even bring the subject up. All of us had been sick over the idea of someone hurting the man’s kids. He’d worked his whole life in Pleasant Valley, and had very little to show for it other than those kids.
"The very one. Do you know why?" Viper lifted his eyebrow at me.
"I have a pretty good idea," I said and lit up the cigarette that was hanging off my lip. Selene hated it when I smoked, so I tried not to do it around her, but I couldn’t help but need the relief it provided during tense moments, and this one was beyond tense.
"Care to fucking elaborate?!" Rusty griped as he struggled to straddle his motorcycle and turned his attention on Viper.
"Johnny found a supply of bad crank in Jason’s bedroom, and it was supplied by Delgado. Wherever those kids are, Delgado knows something about it." Viper rolled his shoulders. “Hurry the fuck up. Get your old asses on your bikes, or get out your damn knitting shit and make me a sweater while we’re gone.”
Rusty laughed and shook his head. “Fuck you. No one has the time to knit a sweater that would cover your big ass. Go get you a woman and stop trying to feel up us men.”
"Let's go. We ride," Viper ignored Rusty’s comments and put his chrome helmet on his head before hitting the gas and pulling his Harley out of the parking lot of the Stone Wolves MC.
Sickness tugged at my insides as we drove over to Johnny’s place. I didn’t know the details of what went down, but I knew that when Selene and I had a few kids, that I would protect them with my life. Realization ran through me as we pulled up to the Pike property.
If we have babies, we’ll have to move. I could never let Raphael know that he had grandchildren. The mother fucker has too much of a sense of entitlement.
I growled at the thought, and then forced myself to quiet down. I needed to hear what the hell had happen to Johnny’s kids. Someone had to help the old boy, and there was no one more prepared than my MC.
"Johnny boy... what seems to be the problem?" Viper said as he climbed off of his bike and closed the distance between the dirt road and the house.
Johnny Pike, a worn down father of five, sat on the porch steps of his trailer as he watched us approac
h his property. He had a forlorn look on his face. Leaning over, with his elbows resting on his knees, Johnny's face provided no smile nor comfort.
"About the same, man. It's been two weeks since Kim left, and my two youngest kids are mixed up in some shit," Johnny said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
I thought I could see the heat rising off the back of Johnny’s neck.
"Who are they getting mixed up with?" Viper asked, as if we all didn't know.
"Fucking Delgado. That creep Dante that does his bidding for him came around here about two months ago, and he's been getting a lot of the kids in the trailer park hooked. As if that’s not bad enough, there's a rumor floating around that the supply is tainted. It's like they want to try to hurt people," Johnny said with a desperate look on his face. I could imagine that the pain of a real father was tremendous when his kids were in danger. It was written all over Johnny’s face. I’d never seen the look on my old man’s face, but he was a bastard almost as bad at Selene’s daddy was.
"Damn piece of shit," Rusty commented. “Fucking Delgado has no respect for anyone. I swear he thinks this is all a damn game.”
"How old are your kids?" Viper took back control of the conversation.
"Kaley is fourteen, Jason is sixteen. We can't lose any more, man. My wife, she'll go off the deep end for real this time. We haven't seen Kaley or Jason in two days. My wife doesn't know. She's staying at her mother's house in Upper Glenn. She's so broken up over this. I don’t know if she’ll come back," Johnny said with a heartbroken look on his face.
Lucky patted Johnny on the back in a sign of support. "Listen man, we've got your back. We'll keep an eye out for your kids."
Johnny choked up a bit as emotion flooded his eyes. "You have no idea what this means to me. Seriously. Please, just bring my kids home...."
"And Delgado will be dealt with. You can believe that," Viper insisted with a stone-cold look in his eyes. I had to force myself not to shiver. Where the Delgados were scary as hell most days of the week, we weren’t. It wasn’t until someone fucked with us , or the people of our sleepy little town. Then we reared up like a beast in sheep’s clothing, coming out of our calm and laying waste to everyone involved in the tragedy.
Johnny had a nervous look in his eyes as he stared back at us. “I’m almost too scared to hope.”
I nodded, understanding his sentiments all too well. "You can count on us. We’ll take his ass down for you."
"Where was the last place you saw your kids? It'll help us track 'em down," Razor asked, sounding much more sensitive than his name should have allowed.
"Down by the lumber yard. Jason was working down there for the summer. Kaley went down to take him his lunch. I haven't seen them since."
"This might sound like a stupid question," I said as I rubbed the back of my neck. "But have you considered getting the cops involved?"
Rusty rolled his eyes as he glared at me for even asking.
"I'm just saying... They're just kids," I responded, holding up my hands as a sign that I meant no offense.
"They won't help me..." Johnny said with a reluctant look on his face. "Not after those racketeering charges I faced a few years ago."
I gave Johnny a look of understanding as he glared off into the distance. The moment of silence wouldn’t last long though.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Four shots sounded into the night, coming from the location of central downtown where the clubs were located.
"What the fuck is that?!" Rusty asked with wide eyes.
"I don't know, but it came from the vicinity of the club. Let's go." I turned and jogged back toward my bike. We could help out Old Man Pike, but it would have to wait a few minutes. Whatever was going on sounded bad. Really bad.
"Johnny, we'll keep you posted," Razor yelled behind him as he got on his bike and gave me a nod. “Lead the way. Let’s go.”
"What the fuck kind of trouble is Delgado stirring up now?" Rusty asked in protest.
I replied with the icy cold that I felt inside of me. "I don't know, but I don't like it one bit."
Chapter 11
Selene
Dante held his hand out to me, begging me to sit down next to him. He was a total bulldog around everyone else, but his soft spot for me was a bit of a weakness. One I intended to exploit fully if the time ever came to do so.
"C'mon, let's talk about this..."
"No, Dante. There is nothing to talk about. My father is not marrying me off like we're in some third world country. Fuck that!"
"Selene, sit down!" Rafael insisted sharply as he watched me balk away from the man he intended me to marry.
Dante was not a patient man and his temper was beginning to show, but just barely. He barked out his next response through clenched teeth. "Selene, I'm not asking. Sit down. Now."
"No! It’s not fucking happening." I was losing my shit, which wasn’t a good thing at all, but it was hard to pull back now that I’d allowed the flood gates to open wide.
Dante stood and reached for my arm, missing thanks to me jerking away from him. His pride was on the line now, and the fury that flitted across his face scared me, but I’d gone too far. I wasn’t backing down. He gripped the fabric of my favorite flannel shirt with both hands and picked me up, slamming me hard against the wall just behind us.
"I ain't asking," Dante spat through gritted teeth. "Now let's sit down and talk this out like rational adults.
"Selene, this is a business deal." My father moved up beside him, his expression calm. He
was perfectly fine with the brute in front of me roughing me up a little. Why that surprised me was beyond me. There was no reason for me to stay with my father anymore. He was the only source of protection I thought I had. I was obviously wrong. Dead wrong.
"And I'm a fucking patched member, not some sweet butt. Coerce one of them! Not me! I'm your only daughter and you're pimping me off to your prized psycho!" I screamed frantically.
"Prized psycho, huh?" Dante said in surprise. He turned away for a second as he sucked air through his teeth. Not a second later, he sent a sharp back hand flying clean across my face, shocking the shit out of me.
Crack!
I stood there in surprise as my face seared with pain and tears burned my gaze. I’d half expected my father or cousins to do something, but when I looked over at them, they had all gone to playing on the electronics. My father had moved back to the table, his back to me.
I pressed myself against the wall and watched as he leaned over and snorted a long line of cocaine up his nose. Disbelief ran through me as warm liquid trickled down from my lip.
"Now you and me are gonna have a little chat," Dante said as he reached out and gripped my shirt by the collar, yanking hard.
I didn’t know what the fuck to do, but follow him. Fighting him was sure to come, but I had to make sure that he didn’t discover the wire. If he knew I had it on.
The wire. Fuck.
I jerked from his hold and slammed my hand down over my left hip, hoping like hell that I activated the damn thing. Dane wouldn’t have missed much, but I was sure to hear about not turning it on later, if I made it out of the current mess I was smack dab in the middle of.
Deciding not to waste another second on endless chatter with Dante, I spit into Dante's face and pushed at his chest. Getting alone in a room with him was never a good idea. I’d seen him rough up a girl using not only his strong hands, but the rest of his body, too. The memory of it caused my stomach to turn. Why the fuck my father would want to set me up to spend the rest of my life with a monster like Dante was beyond me. It had to simply be because he didn’t really care at all about me. There was no other logical explanation.
This time, Dante didn’t hold back in his retaliation. With extreme force, he slammed me against the wall of the dining room and slapped me hard across the opposite cheek, making sure to hit my nose as well.
“Fuck,” I cried out and kicked at him. “Stop slapping me or I swear I’m going to cut you
from the center of your stomach to your throat, Dante Iglesias!”
I needed Dane to understand that something was going down. I wasn’t sure the voice module would pick up on the fact that I was fighting against a mountain and virtually getting my ass handed to me.
Gripping my arm, Dante squeezed tight as he yanked me from the room. His other hand slid into my hair and he pulled me, using his grip on that as well.
I cried out in agony, but was met with stony silence. I turned and my eyes met my father’s, the dusty white powder of his relief still sitting on the tip of his nose. He gave me a wink and waved like he did when I was little.
My heart broke in half. For the last time.
This time Mateo moved right out of the way, but make sure to speak a few words that shocked the shit out of me. “Ya should've thought twice before fucking that Stone Wolf, Lena..."
"What?!" I asked in alarm.
"Lucky Morrison. Of all the men, why him?" Dante stopped and pulled me up to press his nose to mine. A man no longer stood before me. A devil from the belly of hell had taken his place. If I had any sense in my head, I would be lost to fear, but obviously I didn’t. "I'm not good enough for you, but Morrison is?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" I insisted, and kicked at him widely.
He spun me around and wrapped me in a bear-hug from behind, lifting me off my feet and carrying me to the office nearby. Dante walked in and kicked the door shut before dropping me on my ass.
I moved to my feet and turned to face him as anger exploded through the center of me. “Don’t you fucking come near me! You have no clue what you’re talking about, Dante.”
"Don't be a whore and a liar," Dante spat with anger. “I got the fucking photo like the rest of us did, Selene. You riding his cock in the middle of the damn forest, like the fucking slut you are. Disgusting.”