Steven (The Skulls Book 15)

by Sam Crescent

  “Then no man would ever be good enough for you. We both know that.”

  Steven waited. Silence had fallen on the entire club.

  “Mom said she wouldn’t start organizing the wedding until she knows Steven will be alive to see it.”

  This had Whizz laughing. “She’s right. My first instinct was to get my gun and shoot him in the head. I’ve heard that’s effective.”

  Sally chuckled, but Steven didn’t get the humor. They were talking about his life right now, and he very much loved his head.

  “You love him?” Whizz asked.

  “With all my heart.”

  Whizz sighed. “Then you have my blessing.” Steven caught his gaze. “If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you myself. That’s a promise. I’ll kill you, bury your body, and take regular pisses on your grave.”

  “That’s colorful,” Steven said. He saw the promise in Whizz’s eyes. “You won’t ever need to worry. I have no intention of hurting her. I love her, Whizz. Before the entire club, I vow that I will love, honor, protect, and cherish her, every single day. A moment won’t go by when she doesn’t know that I love her.”

  Sally was smiling at him, and he blew a kiss to her, which only made her smile even more.

  “Then we’re going to have a wedding to plan for. When is it going to happen?” Whizz asked. “Are you pregnant?”

  “I’m not pregnant. Don’t worry. You’re not going to be a grandfather anytime soon.” She pulled away, but Whizz grabbed her arm.

  “Before I met you, before I even knew you, I didn’t want to have a teenage daughter. Then when I saw you, I knew I could give you a better life. I wanted that for you. Since you’ve been mine and Lacey’s not a moment has gone by that I’ve not wished that you were mine. To me, Sally, you are my daughter, and you will always be my girl. No matter what.”

  “I love you, too, Dad,” she said, hugging him tightly.

  “Okay, now, go and call your mother,” Whizz said. “Lash has some club business to deal with that Steven needs to be here for. We’ll talk soon.”

  Steven nodded at his girl as she left the clubhouse.

  “I meant what I said. You hurt her, and I’ll fucking kill you.”

  “I’ve got no intention of hurting her. What’s the club business?” Steven asked.

  Lash stood up and looked at everyone. “I know we were all anticipating the hunt for this sheriff, and his accomplice. I got a call today. There was a raid on the sheriff’s house. They had sufficient evidence to organize a warrant. It turns out he wasn’t married, but he did have a lover. She was the one who was dealing with the fake witness accounts.”

  “Why weren’t we there?” Whizz asked.

  “Because our agreement means we can’t go and deal with this shit,” Lash said. “He needs us to remain a safe haven for all potential witnesses, and for that to happen, we can’t go hunting for them.”

  Disappointment filled him.

  “As such, I got pissed, and I told him that I needed to speak to the club again about this situation. I know we all like a little bloodshed. We’re a little fucked up like that, but we like to serve up our own version of justice. I’m not going to lie, I wanted a piece of the sheriff and this bitch that hurt Sally. I did, and I still do. The thing is, this puts a new light on our situation, and instead of just continuing, I wanted to see what you all wanted to do.”

  They were silent for many seconds. Baker was the first to speak up.

  “Our pasts and the club’s past are wiped clean?” Baker asked. “No matter what?”

  “Michael can’t guarantee that. It’s a give and take. They’ll give us our freedom, but take our business to protect those in need,” Lash said. “If we back out, they have all of our old shit on us. We’ll become like witness protection for victims. They will need us to keep people safe. It comes with a risk all on its own, but he believes we can handle whatever anyone throws at us.”

  “I’m still agreeing,” Gash said, speaking up. “I’ve been inside. I lost five years of my life, and I lost a baby because I wasn’t there to protect my woman. I’m still in. My original vote is still the same. We take this deal. We help.”

  “I’ve had enough bloodshed to last me a lifetime,” Nash said. “I nearly lost Sophia last time. I can’t … I won’t last without her. She’s everything to me. I still stand. We can be hardcore, badass, and protect people. We’re still a club. We’re still a family, united in our belief in doing what’s right.”

  “I’m not about hurting people,” Zero said. “I’m still in.”

  “I want to take this fucker out, but I’m still in,” Fighter said.

  One by one, the club voted to remain with the deal. Steven looked at Lash and then at Whizz.

  He thought about the life and the excitement he’d seen in Sally’s eyes. He wasn’t about to take that away from her.

  “I’m in,” Steven said. “The sheriff will get his own kind of justice on the inside. No one likes a child abuser, or a cop.”

  Whizz snorted. “Don’t worry, I can manipulate where they’re supposed to be. He’ll get a good, hard beating for it.”

  They had their means of being a club. Being a club wasn’t about running guns, doing drugs, and fucking all night long. The Skulls was always about something more than that.

  “I know Ned’s pissed at this new direction,” Lash said, looking toward Tiny.

  “I don’t give a fuck what that asshole thinks. I never have. We’ve always done deals, worked together. Ned’s old school. He’s been at this business so long he doesn’t even know when to fucking give in. That’s his deal, not mine. I want this new direction for the club. I’m getting old. I’ve got kids, and I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. I made promises to my woman, to your parents, Lash and Nash. I promised them I’d give you a good life if anything happened to you. It did, and that was on me. The club has had too many deaths, too much shit, and I for one am so tired of it. I actually look forward to having a break.”

  Lash nodded. “I’m sorry you men didn’t get to pick up and kill.”

  “Hey, why are you all fucking down?” Adam asked. “We’ve got a wedding to celebrate. That’s going to be fucking epic. Sally’s our girl, right? She should have the best splash-out wedding anyone could ever throw. We’re not dead in the dumps, far fucking from it.”

  The club cheered, and before long, they left. Steven made his way outside and found Sally sitting on one of the swings.

  “You’re alive,” she said. “I was kind of freaking out. I thought he’d kill you.”

  “I think he wanted to. In fact, I know he does. I’m just going to have to be the best son-in-law,” he said.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Nah, keep him on his toes.”

  He held onto the chains of the swing and smiled down at her. “The sheriff had a wife. No, not a wife, a girlfriend with like-minded feelings. They were taken today on a string of rape and child abuse claims.”

  “Oh,” Sally said.

  “Yeah. The club had no part in it.”

  “How are they feeling about that?”

  “We’re all a little pissed. We’re used to dealing with our own problems. It’s going to be a challenge, a change, for all of us.”

  This made her smile. “A change is as good as the rest, right?”

  “That it is, which is why they’re all deciding how best to do our wedding.”

  Her eyes went wide. “They are?”

  “Yep. Our wedding is going to be the event of the year. Be prepared, it could be really crazy.”

  “Mom’s already getting Baker to do the cake.”

  Steven nodded, impressed. “It’s going to be awesome.”

  “Hell yeah.” He cupped her cheek, and pressed his lips against hers. Marrying her was going to be one of the best highlights of his life, he was sure of it.

  ****

  Six months later

  Sally smiled as she danced with her husband. Steven held her, and she was still shocked to see th
at he was wearing a tux.

  “You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”

  The entire backyard of the clubhouse had been changed to become the place she would get married. Everything was more than she ever hoped for.

  Steven held onto her hips, and she smiled up at him.

  “You know all the right things to say,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re not wearing your leather jacket.”

  “You asked me not to today, so I was going to give you this. I wanted this day to be perfect for you. Is it?”

  “It’s more than perfect.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and danced to the slow music.

  The club was all around them, and Whizz had given her away. The past few months had been hard on her father. He’d wanted to keep her close, to protect her, to love her. Sally had made sure that he knew she was happy, that she wanted to be with Steven.

  “So, I was thinking we could go to the Caribbean or something for our honeymoon. What do you think?” he asked.

  “I don’t care, so long as I’m with you.”

  They were going to Vegas straight after their wedding reception. Alex had organized everything so that they could stay at his hotel. After that, Steven had told her he was making plans for them to get away from Fort Wills for a couple of weeks.

  “I’m the luckiest man alive, you know that?” he asked.

  Sally rested her head on his chest. She opened her eyes, and saw Drew talking to one of the club sweet-butts that still stayed to amuse the men that hadn’t found their woman. He’d asked her to stop setting him up with women, and to give him time. She no longer lived in his apartment, and she was finishing her classes from home. Working in the gym throughout the week, she studied on the weekends and at night.

  In the beginning, Whizz hadn’t liked that she was living with Steven. Again, it had taken time, but she didn’t mind.

  She was now married to Steven, the love of her life, and she was happy.

  “You know we’ve not talked about kids yet,” Steven said.

  Sally chuckled, and lifted her head. “I do want kids. Do you? If not, we’re totally getting a divorce.”

  Steven moved his hands down, grasping her ass. “You’re a little vixen, and no. I don’t want a divorce. I want kids, lots of them.”

  “How many?”

  “Ten. I think ten is a good number. It’s equal.”

  Throwing her head back, she shook her head. “I can’t have ten kids.”

  Steven licked his lips. “Can you, erm, have kids?” he asked.

  “I can have kids. I promise.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if we couldn’t. We could adopt. Lacey and Whizz are always doing it.”

  “I can have kids, and I’ll still be able to walk around. I’m strong, Steven, and healthy.”

  She had asked her therapist that when she first got her prosthetic. At the time the woman had laughed and said that nothing else was damaged, and that she needed to stop thinking her life was over.

  Sally realized in that moment, her life had only just begun.

  Epilogue

  Five years later

  Steven watched as Tabitha, Daisy, Anthony, Miles, and the others left to head to high school. He was feeling fucking old in that moment. With a baby against his chest, he watched as his wife moved toward him.

  Sally looked so beautiful in the maternity dress, which was blue with red flowers all over.

  “Can you believe how grown up they all are?” she asked, reaching out to stroke their son’s head.

  They had been married for five blissful years, and after four years, she had convinced him to have a baby. The maternity dress she wore was one of his favorites, and it allowed for her to breastfeed their son when he needed it.

  Even though she had given birth four weeks ago, she glowed in ways that made him ache.

  “Tabitha’s just told Tiny that it’s just a high school party and that everyone is going,” Steven said, laughing. “He’s having a fit right now. Whizz isn’t doing much better. The only consolation is the fact they’ve got Tate’s Simon who’ll be there, Miles, and Anthony, and the others as well.” Steven looked down at his son. “Shit, what if we have a girl soon?”

  “What would it matter?” Sally asked, smiling.

  When Caleb started to fuss, Steven helped place their son in her arms. Standing behind her, he wrapped an arm around her waist, and smiled at their son. He still couldn’t believe what they had made together.

  He loved this woman more than anything in the world. During the past five years so much had changed.

  Michael had kept his end of the deal, even bringing all the files and copies of what they had on the club. Lash still had them, and they had stored them in a safe place as a reminder of what they’d once been.

  Steven had thought it would take a lot longer to get accustomed to their new life, but it hadn’t been that bad.

  There were moments when the club didn’t have a choice but to retaliate.

  A call had come through three years ago, and it had put all the brothers on edge. It had been a cry for help that Michael had asked for them personally.

  A young mother of twins was getting beaten regularly, and when the deadbeat father had tried to hurt the kids, she’d panicked. She had called, needing protection, and Michael had said they were needed.

  Ten of The Skulls had gone to the house. Killer had stood in front of the asshole while the mother packed her and the kids away.

  Not only did The Skulls provide a safe place for those who needed anonymity, they gave their protection to those in need.

  It had felt good doing something right.

  “Are you still happy?” Sally asked.

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got the love of my life, I’m a father, and I’ve just seen Tabitha drive Tiny crazy. It’s all good fun, and I’ve got a feeling with Chaos Bleeds due to make a visit, it’s going to get a whole lot more fun.”

  Sally shook her head. “I love you, Steven.” She cupped the back of his head, and kissed his lips.

  As far as Steven was concerned, she had no idea how much he loved her. There were no words good enough to tell her how much he did.

  Still, there was the rest of their lives for him to really show her.

  The End

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  BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER

  TAKING HER INNOCENCE

  Killer of Kings, 1

  Sam Crescent & Stacey Espino

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  “You think you can handle it?” Boss asked.

  Viper stared out across the parking lot. A lot of shoppers were milling around today, going about their own pathetic lives, believing they were the most important thing in the world.

  None of them had any idea that one of the world’s deadliest killers was amongst them. He was part of an elite group of mercenaries. He killed for the money. Whoever offered the highest bounty, he took it. He never asked questions, and he never cared about the people he killed. This was a job to him, something he was good at.

  “Why can’t I handle it? Send me a picture of the girl. I’ll do the rest.”

  “She has to die of natural causes.”

  Viper snorted. “No problem.”

  He had one month to find a woman, and to end her life. Piece of cake. He had lots of ways of killing a woman, and this would be no different.

  “Deposit the money, and I’ll call you if I need more.” Viper whistled as he made his way toward the car. He put the groceries in the trunk, got behind the wheel, and waited.

  Her picture came through his cell
phone, and he stared at the girl in question. She couldn’t have been older than fifteen, but from what Boss had told him, she was nearly twenty-one years old, and had been on the run for nearly six months. Curious.

  The picture showed her cuddled up next to her mother, and she looked happy. Pepper was chubby, her cheeks looking like the kind you could pinch, and grandmothers cooed over. Boss had given him all the details over the phone. Viper didn’t do paperwork, reading, or worrying about something being tracked.

  He memorized everything. All the little details were up in his head, and that was where they would stay until the job was gone.

  Viper didn’t know why the woman in question, Pepper, was running, and he really didn’t care. The moment Boss called him and gave him an assignment, he did it. Now he just needed to figure out where she was staying.

  Good news for him, he had a special guy who owned equipment that could find him this woman. Leaving the grocery store, Viper made his way across the city toward the guy who he knew would hook him up.

  Whenever he was in between jobs, he would always stick around where his people were so that he didn’t have to worry about endless traveling. Working for Killer of Kings was rather lucrative. They were a company known for getting the job done. Nothing was too much, no job too hard. He had traveled all over the world to do what needed to be done, from killing people, to fucking women, to even rescuing people. If the price was right, he would do anything.

  From a young age, younger than any child should ever have to deal, he had been taught to hunt, to kill, and to do it without feeling a damn thing. There were scars on his back that all bled together that reminded him a past he wished he could forget. When he saw children with their parents, for a split second he felt envious, jealous that they could be having a wonderful life, a better one than he ever had. Of course they were having a better life than he had. None of them had ever gone through the hours of pain or the training that had made him one of the deadliest men on earth.