“Let me in!” Angel finally burst past her husband, closely following by Malia and Gigi.
Gigi was the first to put two and two together, and thankfully Gears was there to catch her before she fell to the plastic on the floor. The very fact that she sensed exactly what this was, was enough for me. That girl had been through so much in her life. Being reminded of that time in her life so visually was too much. I didn’t want to put her through this any more than I wanted Malia and Angel in here.
“Is this—”
“Yeah,” I answered, too late to stop her from coming to her own conclusions.
Tears filled her eyes. “While I was busting my ass at home, trying to make him happy, trying to make ends meet, he was here making others suffer.” Malia came closer. “I’ve never felt thankful for what I had, but right now, I’m so fucking thankful.”
Finally, I pulled her in for a hug. “You’re not a part of this, baby.”
Angel was unusually quiet, dumbstruck, until she backed up to a wall and tripped on a bit of plastic, sending her sprawling to her hands and knees by the bed. Wolf leaned in to help her up. “Is that—”
“Get the fuck up now, baby.”
“What?” Malia asked.
“Hair.”
Someone had done a really shit job of cleaning up. Just under the plastic was what appeared to be clumps of blonde hair, matted with blood. Whoever’s hair it was, she’d had it hacked off in a brutal way.
“Burn it.”
We all turned to look at Malia.
“Lives ended here. They suffered unimaginable things and we need to end that.” Everyone stayed quiet, contemplating that this was probably the best way to put the ghosts of this place to rest.
“Agreed,” Gigi muttered. “This is one giant tomb. Knowing it still stands, repurposed or not, will haunt me.” Gears’ face solidified. There would be nothing left standing on this planet that he would allow to haunt his wife. Her haunted days were over.
“It’s creepy as fuck and I don’t want my family involved in something with that history. We don’t need a constant reminder of what happened here. I agree. We burn this fucking hell hole to the ground.”
My brothers and I all looked at each other as soon as Angel finished her words. No one was going to disagree.
“Fire it is then.”
Twelve Months Later
“Fuck’s sake, come on!”
Malia was never like this when we were younger. She was sure of herself, confident in her clothing choices. I’d never known her to change her clothes three different times in less than twenty minutes before. She was nervous.
“Coming.”
I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. When she rounded the corner, she stole the breath from my body, sucked up the oxygen in the room and made the world around me stand still and stop spinning.
The night of the fire, I wanted to feel free from it all, completely released, but I couldn’t, not just yet. There were still two issues to deal with. Firstly, we had to find Charmayne. Her name was all over those fake insurance papers, and I didn’t want the stupid bitch getting any ideas about picking up where her psycho lover had failed. Within three weeks, Shadow had tracked her down and made it pretty clear to her that Malia was under the protection of the Black Sentinels. With a chunk of cash, she left town, scared when we reminded her that not only had she fucked over Malia, she was also on the radar of the Acerbi family. That was enough for her; she was gone within the hour.
The second problem, and definitely one that money wouldn’t solve, was Dean’s parents. I had to be able to face them when I went home, because now he was gone, I would be going home again. I’d spent too long hiding in the shadows. The fear of bumping into him had affected my relationship with my family. In the end it was Malia who showed me the light and told me that this would be part of our penance. We’d have to live with what we’d done because we couldn’t save him. The Dean we’d handed over to the mafia wasn’t the same Dean we’d both loved. I went alone the first few times, my mom still harboring a lot of resentment towards my girl. They blamed her for driving me away. Until they got over that, I wasn’t putting her and them in a room together and ultimately, if they never did, I’d have to make a choice.
In a world full of madness, we’d found our way back to each other, clung onto the good and smothered out the evil.
The Sentinels family grew again. Each new person who joined brought something that none of us realized was missing, something different that rounded us all and solidified our bond. Malia’s addition was something none of us expected.
“Do I look okay? I feel like a cargo ship.”
“You look fucking amazing and you are carrying some very important cargo.” I rubbed my palms over the swell of her stomach, my hands itching for the connection with our unborn child as much as her.
“There is nothing sexier than knowing I’m growing our baby.” She kissed me, covering me in fucking lip-gloss. “Apart from you shirtless in that cut.” Mal licked her lips, her eyes firmly fixed on my chest and abs.
She was wrong. “There is, Mal. You.” I saw her pupils flare with want and knew I had to get her out of there. I probably had time to give her a fast fuck against the wall, but I didn’t have time for her to hit her wardrobe again. “Come on. This is important. Before we get there, I need to tell you that I love you and what you’re doing is really special. I’m so fucking proud of you.”
“No, nuh uh, not taking all the credit. It’s a family project.”
And by family project she meant the Black Sentinels.
Forty minutes later, my brothers and I, all the wives, kids, girlfriends and anyone who meant anything to us, stood watching Wolf in front of the old Morrison Mayhem Productions warehouses. The women had grins like Cheshire cats, pleased as fuck with what they’d pulled off in such a short space of time. Standing there I realized I’d learned a big lesson: never tell Malia, Angel and Gigi that something couldn’t be done.
“From tragedy comes hope. Each of us here have been through that. Each of here understands the need to do something good, to put a good check mark on our souls in the hope of erasing some of the past. Today, we get to do that.”
A few of the brothers whooped and hollered.
“When that young, cocky, shirtless son of a bitch joined us, he was drifting. Only part of him belonged with us. His missing piece was working her way back to him.”
I nodded at Wolf, his words striking me somewhere deep as Malia leaned her head against my shoulder.
“Well, that missing piece tracked him down and brought something new to our family. She brought compassion and a chance at retribution for the sinners among us. She reminds us that together we’re stronger, together we have power, and together is the only way of life for us.”
“Come on, Prez, the beer ain’t getting any colder,” Mac shouted from beside Malia, this place just as important to him as it was to her.
“Yeah, yeah, you fuckin’ animals. One last thing. This place means something different to all of us.” He eyeballed Mac, Malia and Gigi. “But to those who will walk through its doors, it means safety, it means support and most of all, it means a second chance. Brothers. Family, I give you the Kai Center for hope.
* * *
Another year on
“You see that woman out there? That beautiful goddess? She’s your mom.” Oceania—yeah, we named her after our love of the water—ignored me and carried on grabbing handfuls of sand. “Don’t eat it, baby girl.” I sighed, more content than I’d ever known was possible, listening to Malia’s mini-me babble and ramble in utter nonsense. I watched as Malia cut across the waves on a surfboard, bent low, dragging her fingers through the wash of the water, her curls bouncing in the wind. I looked at the guys around her, trying harder to catch her attention than the waves, but it didn’t matter. She was where she was meant to be, back on the water, living her best life. With one eye on Oceania and the other on my woman, I watched as she ran out of the w
ater towards us, towards me, her body mesmerizing me.
Fuck.
I was getting hard again.
The very worst thing about coming to the beach was seeing her like this. It wasn’t just the bikini that did it; it was her smile, seeing her reconnect with the water.
“Your turn, Reef. Did you build momma a sandcastle?” Malia dropped the board on the sand and fell to her knees.
Fuck.
That wasn’t helping. Not only did I get a shot of her tits, the material wet enough to show me some nipple action, but she was on her knees while she did it.
“No, she’s fuckin’ eatin’ it again.”
“Babe, don’t f-bomb in front of her.”
“She can’t understand.”
“Yet.” Reaching for my board, I stood up and saw Malia smirk. “Looks like you need a good dose of cold water.”
“Can’t help it if my woman is hot as fuck.”
“Babe!”
“Sorry.” I leaned over and kissed her. “Back in twenty.” Twenty feet away from her I stopped and spun around. “Yo! Mal. Wanna try again?”
“No.” I felt my heart stumble at her bluntness. “No need.” A slow smile spread across her face as she rubbed a hand over her tummy and that stumble of my heart grew to a flutter so powerful that I prayed this time I’d planted a boy inside her.
THE END
This summer I sat on a beach in California, watching the world go by. It was a hive of activity, but the thing that grabbed me was the ocean.
The deep blue. It lived and breathed.
At that moment, I wished I could surf, or even swim good enough to try, and I knew I was going to write a book where the ocean was a character, a part of the story.
The calmness I feel when I can see the ocean makes me wish I lived closer.
One day, I will.
This book is for all those that got lost in the Waves.
Victoria Johns is a writer who enjoys sharing a happily ever after and believes that it’s every good girl’s dream to experience a steamy one. Growing up in North West England in a large family surrounded by love and support she found her Prince Charming many years ago and enjoys living the life they’ve made with their son.
She’s always had a creative imagination and decided that some of the stories bubbling in her head need to be given life and shared. This pen name gives them the freedom to be loved by others.
When she’s not writing, she’s sewing, cycling or chomping on crisps in front of the TV.
www.victoriajohnsbooks.com
Facebook: @victoriajohnsauthor
Twitter: @victoriajohns75
Instagram: @iamvictoriajohns
Amazon: author.victoriajohnsbooks
The Soul Sisters Series
Fostering Love
Forgiving Love
Fated Love
Finding Love
Foundation Love – A novella
The Soul Mates Series
Survivor
Deserved
Alive
Forbidden
Heartstone – A Short Story
Part of the Titanic Tales Charity Anthology
The Black Sentinels MC Series
Angel
Gigi
Collaboration Novel with Nikki Ashton
I wanna get laid by Kade
Malia: A Black Sentinels MC Novel Page 23