Love At Last: A M/M Non-Shifter Romance (West Bay Chargers Book 4)

by Esme Beal

  Just as I pulled up, I saw some movement from inside the building. All of the Demons started to come out. Brock was among them. Leon was the last man to step out.

  “Hey! Look who it is!”

  “Damn Charger!”

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  They were all upset but I still managed to smile. I put my hands up and slowly walked in their direction. “Take it easy. I’m not here to start anything.”

  Leon looked down his nose at me. “What do you want, Cade?”

  I gave Brock a glance. He clenched his jaw then slowly stepped away from the rest of his crew. We’d gone over the plan enough times. There was no telling how Leon would react. But there was no turning back now.

  “It’s over,” I said. “You’re too late. Kennedy’s on the docks. Mato’s drugs are getting seized as we speak. Him and everybody he’s associated with is getting scooped up. You head over there now and you’ll just be heading into a cell. Kennedy won’t take it easy on you this time.”

  Leon slowly shifted his eyes toward Brock. “After everything I’ve done for you. I trusted you. We gave you a family. Now you betrayed me—”

  “I’m trying to save you!” Brock said. “You had no chance. Not with Kennedy watching over the streets. Not with the Chargers around and everybody following their lead. It wouldn’t be long until everybody figured out what you were doing with the shelter. You can’t hide it, Leon.”

  Leon sighed and took a step forward. He looked down at the ground, his hands on his hips. Even though he was calm, I knew he could explode at any moment.

  “Such a thorn in my side,” he said. “First the races. Then the fights. Now you wanna take away one of my most loyal soldiers. A man I bled for.”

  “If you really care about Brock, you’ll let him go. Let him walk away from your crew. Otherwise, what does that make him? Just another slave in your gang.”

  “Brock’s not a slave. Everything he’s done was because we have each other’s backs.”

  “Just like tonight. He saved you from a lifetime in jail. I think you owe him.”

  Leon smirked. “Maybe I do.” He walked toward me, his hands at his sides. “They say when an Omega goes into heat around an Alpha, it’s because it was meant to be. I don’t agree. Just because you got Brock pregnant doesn’t mean you’re good enough for him.”

  I looked over at Brock and saw everything I cared about. My Omega. The father of my child. The man I’d fallen for. “I’ll never be worthy of a man like Brock. But I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to prove it.”

  Brock swallowed anxiously. His eyes were glazed over as he held back all of his emotions.

  “You don’t have to prove it for the rest of your life,” Leon said. “How about you just prove it right now?”

  He walked up to me and swung without warning. A hard fist in my stomach knocked the wind out of me. I fell down to one knee and tried to catch my breath.

  “Cade!”

  Brock’s voice was drowned out by the shouting of all the Demons.

  “Beat him up, Leon!”

  “Show ‘em why they call you Lion!”

  “Teach this punk a lesson!”

  They were all hooting and hollering loud enough it could be heard for blocks. I looked up and rolled out of the way just as Leon took another swing at me.

  “All right,” I sighed. “If that’s the way you wanna do it… We’ll do it your way…”

  I put my fists up as he came moving toward me. Another hard right hand came in my direction. I moved out of the way and caught him in the stomach, returning the favor. Leon might’ve been intimidating but he still gasped like every other man I’d punched.

  I followed up with another punch that caught him right on the side of his head. He stumbled back and grumbled as he popped up to his feet. He charged at me faster than I could react.

  Two arms wrapped around me, I fell to the ground with a thud with Leon on top of me. My head hitting the pavement sent me in a daze. A few punches across my temples dizzied my head even worse.

  “Cade! Cade, you gotta get up!”

  I focused just enough to hear Brock’s voice ringing in my ears. I looked up and saw Leon rearing back. Just as he swung, I moved out of the way. With all of my strength, I pushed him off of me and got back up to my feet.

  He stumbled back down to a knee. I rushed up as fast as I could and slammed my fist across his jaw.

  “Come on, Leon!”

  “Beat him up!”

  The Demons continued chanting for their leader. I stood in front of him, getting ready another punch to end the fight. But I was already winded. I was still dazed from the punches earlier. My hesitation was just enough time for Leon to pop back up to his feet and put his hands around my throat.

  He squeezed hard. I could feel myself blacking out as I struggled to catch my breath.

  “You’ll never be good enough for Brock!” Leon shouted at me, his teeth and face bloodied.

  I grasped at his hands, trying to free myself from his grip. I was running out of time. Only a few seconds left. I had to do something.

  My instinct took over. With all of my strength, I raised my leg up and slammed my foot into his groin. He immediately let go of me, falling to his knees as he gasped in pain.

  I took a second to catch my breath. I had more time now. Enough time to walk up and hit him with another punch on the temple. One punch. Two punch. Three punches. Four punches. Five. I stopped counting until he eventually fell onto his back.

  I stayed on top of him, my hand around his throat to hold him down. I raised my fist up and looked down at this bloodied and beaten face. He was still conscious, staring at me with the same disdain he’d always had.

  “Go ahead, Green… Finish the job… You’ll have the West Bay all to yourself.”

  I squeezed my fist so hard I could hear my knuckles crack. One more punch was all I needed to put an end to Leon for good.

  “Cade…”

  I looked up and saw Brock just a few feet away from me. The rest of the Demons stood by his side, completely silent.

  “…It’s over,” Brock said. “You don’t have to do this.”

  I turned back to Leon and sighed. “You’re wrong. The West Bay doesn’t belong to the Chargers. It belongs to everybody.”

  I released him from my grip and got back up to my feet. I was still unsteady as Brock rushed up to catch me. The Demons all tended to Leon as he slipped in and out of consciousness.

  “It’s okay,” Brock whispered. “It’s okay… I think you got through to him.”

  “No man’s skull is hard enough you can’t beat some sense into him.”

  Seeing Brock smile made me grin bigger than I could remember.

  My moment of happiness with Brock was brief as I heard the rumble of engines thundering down the road. “Now what?” I sighed.

  I looked at the four headlights approaching. As they got closer, I realized it was the rest of the Chargers.

  “Damn… Looks like we’re late,” Zak said. “You all right, Cade—”

  “I’m fine.” I put my hand up to settle him down. “No need for a fight. I settled everything… I thought I told you guys to stay at the clubhouse.”

  “Come on,” Kellen said. “Did you really think we were gonna let you handle this on your own?”

  I looked over at Leon as he was only just beginning to stir again. I turned to Brock and saw he was still smiling, his eyes glazed over like he was trying to hold everything back.

  “I think things are settled now,” I sighed.

  It was quiet in the lot in front of the abandoned warehouse. The night was so peaceful. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. For the first time in a long time, the weight on my shoulders was finally gone.

  Chapter 23

  BROCK

  “How is it?”

  I put a hand up to Cade’s face but he moved it away.

  “I’m not a baby,” he said.

  “I just wanna m
ake sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m fine. Don’t let that stop you from what’s important.” Cade grabbed the fork on my plate and stabbed at some of the pasta. I laughed as he held it up to me. I kept my eyes on his as I playfully took the noodles into my mouth.

  “Fine,” I sighed as I took the fork from him. “I’ll enjoy my meal.”

  It’d been a few days since the brawl with Leon. Cade had recovered even though the evidence of the fight was still apparent on his face. One of his eyes was swollen and purple. His other eye had a red cut above it stitched closed. His head had been knocked around a few times but there was no indication he’d suffered anything serious.

  “You don’t need to worry about me,” he said. “Leon’s a tough cat but that isn’t the first scrap I’ve ever been in.”

  “Hopefully it’s the last…”

  “I don’t see any reason for me to jump into anything.”

  “Is that right? You’re a Charger, Cade. You’ve got a big target on your back.”

  “People know better than to start anything with me. It’s getting less and less likely that people wanna throw down. I’d have to go out looking for a fight if I wanted one.”

  “When you say that… It almost seems like you’re disappointed.”

  “Disappointed…” He fell silent again. I turned to him and saw him contemplating whatever was on his mind as he stared at the table in front of him. “There was a time when I would be disappointed. My entire life has been a struggle just to make it. My brother and I had our backs against the wall. We kept pushing. We kept grinding. We kept fighting. Even when you’re out in the open and there’s no resistance, you keep doing it. It’s just what I’m used to. I guess I’ll just have to get used to this now…”

  He wrapped an arm around me and kissed me on the cheek. I couldn’t help but smile, hiding my enthusiasm behind another forkful of pasta.

  It was a peaceful day in Tony’s Diner. Everybody around us was just minding their own business. There was nothing extraordinary but just being with Cade now was special enough. Satisfying my insatiable hunger was a bonus.

  “How’s Leon doing?”

  I shook my head. “I’ve only spoken to him once since it happened. He didn’t say anything. Just told me that I was my own man and I have to do what I have to do.”

  “The Demons?”

  “The rest of the crew feels the same way. They’re loyal to Leon. I… I don’t know what they’re up to now but with Mato taken care of, I don’t imagine they’re up to anything.”

  “Wait… Are you telling me the shelter they’re running is legit now?”

  “I can’t say for sure. But I’ve driven by there from time to time. The people who need it seem to be doing okay. I see nothing but smiles from some of the Omegas who don’t have anywhere better to stay. Would it be so bad if the shelter was legit?”

  “No… We need more places like that in the West Bay. My brother and I have always talked about it. He’s working on a project now. Shame I haven’t had as much time to help him out lately.”

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about Leon or the rest of my crew. You can focus on what’s important.”

  “There’s only one thing I wanna focus on right now.”

  He lowered his hand down and placed it on my bulging stomach. Just a few days and I already noticed a difference.

  “Remind me to get some new clothes,” I said. “My shirt is stretching out so much I don’t think it’ll go back after I give birth.”

  “I could ask Bryce to let you borrow some of his paternity shirts. I’m sure you’d look nice in them.”

  “Thanks. That… That would be nice.”

  He gave me another kiss on the cheek and brought me in close. I slurped on another bite of pasta then sighed.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked. “We’ve got four plates of food for you. Not enough.”

  “No, it’s enough. I’m just thinking… It feels strange. Like it’s finally over. The beef with Leon. The tension between our clubs. I feel like I can finally focus on just having this baby.”

  “I guess it is strange in a way. But this is what we both wanted. Nothing’s gonna stop me from doing everything I can to take care of you and our child.”

  “I know. I feel the same way.”

  I kissed him on the cheek and he jerked his head back. “No kisses there. Still bruised.”

  “Right, right.” I chuckled as I took another bite.

  It was a peaceful, uneventful day. A boring meal with the man I cared about. After everything we’d been through, I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.

  Chapter 24

  BROCK

  More than a week later…

  Dr. Howard sat between my legs flanked by a couple of nurses. “Keep going, Brock. You’re doing great.” He was giving me all the encouragement in the world. It wasn’t doing much for me though, considering I wasn’t paying attention.

  I blinked my eyes to stop the sweat from getting into them. The light from the room above was blinding. The combination of pain surging through my body made me more delirious than I already was.

  I’d heard all the stories. I got first-hand advice from some of the other Omegas hanging around Brickstone. They told me it would be an experience. Calling it ‘an experience’ though was an understatement.

  My body was stretching to its limits. A few hours into my pregnancy and the worst pain was still to come. My heart was racing. My entire body was sweating. My muscles ached yet I still had to tense them to give the pushes Dr. Howard kept urging from me.

  “Cade…”

  I reached a hand up toward the man standing next to me. He took my hand in both of his as I squeezed him tight. I braced myself as best as I could with another hard push.

  “You’re doing great,” Cade said. “You can do this, Brock. I know you can.”

  Seeing Cade’s handsome face, a couple of striking blue eyes staring at me… That was enough to make me endure the worst pain. I didn’t wanna think how I would feel if he wasn’t here with me now. But he was. And when Dr. Howard asked me to push again, I gritted my teeth and pushed with every last ounce of strength.

  My latest push hadn’t made any progress. I had been at it for hours already but Dr. Howard didn’t move from his spot.

  “You’re almost there, Brock,” she said. “Keep it up. Almost.”

  “Almost,” I sighed. “You said that already…”

  “Don’t give up on me now,” Cade said. “You’re so close. Keep going. I’m here with you. I’m not going anywhere.” He leaned forward and kissed me on my sweaty forehead. I could only imagine how much of a mess I looked like in my hospital gown. I was willing to look like a complete fool if it meant my pain would go away.

  Cade squeezed his hands tight around mine again and I braced myself with another hard push. I yelled out as I did as if it would make a difference.

  “Yes! Yes!” Cade cheered me on. “You’re doing it! Keep going!”

  I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. I held on for as long as I could before collapsing onto the bed.

  “Cade… I…” My mouth hung open. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I could barely breathe. I imagined this was what death felt like.

  But now wasn’t my time. I heard something that woke me up from the darkness beginning to consume me. I blinked my eyes to clear my vision and looked down at Dr. Howard.

  Standing between my legs, she raised her hands up.

  “Congratulations,” she said. “It’s a girl.”

  I blinked again in disbelief. My mouth was open but all of the words were stuck in my throat.

  I watched as she placed the baby into Cade’s arms. He was in just as much shock as I was. The baby squirmed in his arms, making even more of a mess of his sweaty shirt. He looked like he’d been through an experience, too. But holding my child in his arms, he’d never looked so handsome.

  “You did it.” He smiled at me then lowered our daughter into my hands. The baby squ
ealed for a moment, writhing in my grip before comfortably finding a spot against my chest.

  My mouth stayed open but I still couldn’t find the words. All I could do was look down at the baby girl. She was so tiny in my arms. Her eyes were shut closed like she couldn’t open them. The way she breathed so softly, her entire body moving with every breath… I couldn’t help a tear leaking from the corner of my eye.

  Cade put a hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him.

  “I love you.” Hearing him say it made me even more emotional than I already was.

  I swallowed to hold everything down then shook my head with the biggest grin on my lips. I turned back to our daughter as she rested peacefully in my arms.

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 25

  BROCK

  I sank into the mattress, my arms at my side as I enjoyed the softness beneath me. I kept my eyes closed, listening to the soft kisses trailing up and down my stomach.

  “It looks like you’re back to normal…” Cade put another pair of kisses on my bare stomach, slowly trailing down to the base of my length.

  “You sound happy to hear that. You got a problem with my pregnancy belly?”

  “Nothing wrong with the belly. It’s just nice to have the abs I’m used to seeing.” He put his mouth around my tip. All of the blood engorging my shaft made me stiffen between his lips. “I could give you another belly if you want,” he said between sucks.

  “That’d be fun. But I think I’ll just relax for a while. Besides, it’s not like I have control over my heat—Ahh!” I gasped as he pushed his face down on me completely, taking my cock down into his throat.

  Anything I had to say was lost in a whimper as he proceeded to bob his head up and down on me. I clutched at the sheets, bracing myself from the pleasure racking my entire body. My back arched. My toes curled. My muscles tensed helplessly as my orgasm built up inside of me.

  Cade sucked on me relentlessly, his mouth getting louder and louder on my wet flesh as he pushed me closer and closer to the edge. He kept going faster until I groaned his name. “Cade…” Just one last warning was all he got.