by Annie Buff
Pretty Boy knew he had to get Poppy to agree and that might not be easy but it had to be done. Pretty Boy had this deep seeded need to hear Snowman scream, to watch him bleed out slowly, to juice him and smell the stench of burning flesh. Normally burnt skin wasn’t something he enjoyed, but in this one instance he would relish it.
He took Poppy to the Red Barn for dinner alone, this was the night he was going to make her his forever. The ring box was snug in the inside pocket of his cut, waiting for him to man up and ask her. Darius knew deep in his soul that she loved him, it was just getting the words to come out right.
They had burgers and played darts, Pretty Boy had fed the jukebox every coin he had trying to muster the courage. When someone played George Strait’s ‘I Cross my Heart’, that’s when it was right. He stood in front of her, then took a knee.
“Poppy,” he spoke as he retrieved the velvet box. “You make me better, chase away the monsters. You make me feel…everything, and I need you by my side for the rest of my life.” Poppy looked down on him on his knee clutching that box, knowing what he was trying to say.
“Darius, are you proposing to me?”
“I’m fucking trying, I think I’m screwing it up though.”
She shook her head, he was doing it perfect, exactly the way it should be done.
“So ask me Darius, ask!”
He cocked his head, realizing he hadn’t popped the actual question yet. Presenting Poppy with an open box he found the right words.
“Penelope Ann Robinson, will you be my wife? Be Poppy Monaghan and spend every sunrise with me? Be my love and my voice of reason?”
The answer to the question was the easiest answer she had ever given. “Without any doubt or hesitation, yes. There is nowhere else in this world I’d rather be than by your side. I love you Darius.”
Ready, Aim…
Smoke had a club to attend to, so he left with his wife back down the mountain. Renegade stayed behind just as a precaution. Really with Red and Ajax helping, Pretty Boy didn’t need Renegade but he felt an obligation to stay.
The men spent weeks turning over any rock that came along, not finding anything of use in the search for Snowman. They had spent enough time north to see the seasons change and witness the first snow. Pretty Boy knew how badly Poppy wanted to go home so he made the executive decision to head down the mountain.
Renegade was on his bike following Red who had Ajax in the passenger seat, leaving the couple to come down on their own. Not one of them thought it would be a problem, but they should have. Snowman was unpredictable and they all knew it.
The caravan was about ten miles ahead of Poppy and Darius. That’s when it happened. The rear window in the truck blew out, sending glass shattering in every direction, cutting them both.
“Down!” He screamed trying to shield her from the bullets that were sailing through the windowless cab. Pretty Boy was desperately trying to avoid being shot and stay on the road. He noticed Poppy’s phone in her hand. She had called Ajax; the Cavalry was coming.
In the rearview Darius could see Snowman and three other men he didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. Keeping Poppy and himself alive was all he was thinking. Every time a bullet hit the truck she would scream. This was what he wanted to protect her from, this part of his world. Here she was smack dab in the middle of the chaos, that pissed him off more than being shot at.
As one of the bullets pierced the rear tire, he lost control and went careening into the forest, smashing the truck into a thick pine tree. The shooting had stopped but the ringing in his ears from his head slamming into the steering wheel was louder than the truck engine. Pretty Boy could hear Snowman cackling, he’d be damned if this was how it ended. Poppy sat clutching her belly, he wasn’t sure if it was pain or fear for their child.
“He’s going to kill us and take my baby Darius! Please don’t let him get her!” Poppy screamed as she heard the crunching of twigs under heavy feet. Pretty Boy kept her on the floor, firing with both hands hoping Ajax and Red were on their way.
Darius hit two out of the three men that had joined Snowman’s cause. One was a body shot, the other hit square between the eyes. That man lost most of his face. A forty-five did permanent damage.
Pretty Boy slid from the cab, using the truck as a shield while he reloaded and continued firing. He took one bullet in the shoulder and one in the gut but never flinched. His family was at stake. The deep roar of a Harley echoed up the road, Renegade was shooting as he raced towards the scene.
Behind him was Red’s old truck with Ajax hanging out the window yelling and firing. The third shooter went down in a hailstorm of bullets. Snowman took off on his bike aware that he was losing. Renegade went after him, the others stayed to lend aid to Poppy and Pretty Boy.
The second he knew they were safe, Darius collapsed into Reds arms. He had lost so much blood he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Poppy stepped from the truck, visibly shaking. She had one more problem they would need to address.
“Noah,” he looked up from his kneeling position next to Pretty Boy when she spoke his name. “We need to get him to a hospital, and I think my water broke.” She was panic stricken knowing she was eight weeks early.
Red already had nine-one-one on the phone, the ambulance was on its way. All he had to do was keep pressure on the belly and keep him talking.
“Come on Kid, stay with me! You got a baby to take care of! Darius don’t you dare die, you son of a bitch!”
Ajax had no clue what to do with a pregnant woman but he was about to find out. The one thing he did know was she needed to stay calm and breathe. Most first deliveries took a while so by the time it was happening, she would be in a hospital. At least that was the hope, babies were not his forte.
It took thirty five minutes to get the ambulance to their location. Red went with Darius and Ajax put Poppy in the truck to follow.
“Noah, I don’t think she’s gonna wait for Darius. I feel so much pressure and it hurts.” He could see the pain on her face as he went as fast as it was safe to go towards the hospital.
Doctors and nurses were waiting on the dock when the ambulance pulled in. They whisked Pretty Boy straight into surgery and wheeled Poppy to Labor and Delivery.
“Noah, please stay! I can’t do this alone.” She whispered between tears. He knew he had to stay with her, she was depending on him. Pretty Boy was depending on him and Ajax had no intention of letting his friend down.
Namesake
Poppy was taken down the hall to the recovery room where Darius was. He was sitting up attempting to eat Jell-O and his IV tubes were getting hung up on the bed rail. He smiled when he saw her, even more when he saw what was in her arms.
“Can I? Oh Poppy she’s beautiful.” Pretty Boy asked reaching for his daughter. She was beautiful, even eight weeks early she was healthy and doing better than the doctor expected. Only four pounds and she would have to stay a couple weeks in the hospital, but she was going to be fine.
“Ajax stayed? Damn he is one big surprise. Did we name her yet?” She had but she was waiting on everyone to reveal that.
When Red and the rest of the crew showed up, they were all shocked at how well Pretty Boy was doing after nearly dying. Once from blood loss, and once during surgery when his heart had stopped. Poppy was certain it was because he wasn’t going to leave her and the baby.
Darius had his daughter swaddled in his arms, looking every part of the proud parent. She had dark hair, but was the spitting image of her mother.
“He got away didn’t he? Fuck, I wanted to bleed that son of a bitch so bad.” Renegade started laughing, he had a little secret. A surprise of sorts as he pulled out his phone. On it was a picture of Snowman, he was strapped in the chair. Once Darius saw it he couldn’t contain his laughter.
“No worries brother, he’s ready and waiting when you’re out of here. Now can someone please tell me if that little girl is getting a name.”
Poppy figured she had ma
de them all wait long enough. “Noah stayed with me through all of it, even cutting her cord and making sure I didn’t lose it worrying over Darius. I decided she should be named Noelle Grace Daria Monaghan.”
Melted Snowman
Baby Noelle had a twenty day stay in the hospital. It was more of a precaution than anything, because she was so early. That gave Pretty Boy the time he needed to dispose of Snowman. Poppy had expressed wanting a little payback and he decided she had earned some.
“You want a gun or just wanna hit him?” She wasn’t planning on shooting him, but there was something she wanted.
“Are you serious?”
“Very! He shot at you! Shot me and almost killed us both. He needs to know how I feel.”
When they arrived at the warehouse he wasn’t sure if she could actually do it. Electrocution was a rough thing to witness. Flipping the switch was even harder.
Poppy stood eye to eye with Michael. This man was someone she once cared about and now all she could feel was hatred. He had tried to kill her and her daughter.
“Bitch! What you gonna do?” Snowman asked her, “Slap me? Ain’t got the stones to do anything else.”
That’s where he was wrong, so very wrong. Poppy had been thinking nonstop about this since the day he shot Darius. She walked over to the control box and smiled.
“Slap you? Nah, I found I can stomach the smell of burning flesh better than I thought.” A very evil grin crossed her face as she flipped the switch.
All Snowman could do was scream. Poppy spent thirty minutes turning the electricity on and off before she’d had enough.
“Darius, I’m good now. Please take me home, I need to finish her room before tomorrow.” She seemed satisfied, but somehow drained.
He did exactly as she asked him. He knew their daughter was coming home and that Poppy just got the revenge she needed. He would be back later to finish the job but for now his woman needed him.
Homecoming
Noelle was carried through the door at their home, her three uncles waiting patiently for their turn to hold her, one more than the other two. Ajax would have a special relationship with the infant, he was there when she came into the world, heard her first cry, and had cut her cord. He didn’t understand the beauty of birth until Noelle. Poppy named her after him, that was an honor that would be hard to live up to but he would try his hardest. Noah Marcus Jarvis would do his best to make Poppy proud.
Poppy has asked him and Red for a favor a while back, to find whatever they could on Darius's mother. He had some answers, she was indeed dead. Buried under a false name, two towns over. Ajax wished the news was better but at least he would know now.
They could plan their wedding, start their life together right. No unanswered questions would hangover them. Poppy had already asked Ajax to stay, and he was considering it, which even surprised him.
Putting down roots was never something that even crossed his mind. It was like taking a patch, committing to a MC. He had never been a team player until tiny Poppy waltzed into his life. She had become his friend and turned everything upside down.
He watched Pretty Boy with his daughter, how gentle and loving he was. Pretty Boy was in his element, anyone could see the pride on his face.
“Looking good there Daddy.” Ajax said with a smile watching his friend grin.
“She’s perfect man, best part is she loves me no matter what. Just like her mom.” And that was true, it didn’t matter what he told her, Poppy loved him.
She knew all the bloody details, where the bodies were buried and everything else in his past and present. Nothing shocked her, she was a true biker’s girl. If she had her way she would be finding them each a woman of their own. Darius could see that coming in the near future, she was truly the matriarch of this dysfunctional family and he wouldn’t have it any other way.