Cole: A Bad Boy Romance

by Hart, Michelle

  “You sure you're not going to run away?”

  “I can't, my car is still at the VA.”

  Gunner smiled. “How about I pick you up in a few hours?”

  “That would be perfect.”

  Gunner leaned outside the car window and planted a kiss on me cheek. He put his sunglasses back on started his Mustang. The thunderous roar of the engine vibrated in my chest. I waved and exhaled as he drove away.

  I went into my apartment and everything looked foreign. I had only been away for a day but it felt like an eternity. I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge for something to eat—completely empty. I fixed myself a cup of tea instead and opened up my laptop to a blank Word document. I wanted to get down as much information as I could before I forgot. My notes from yesterday were pretty much useless.

  Flashes of last night distracted me from my work. How could I get any work done when Gunner was the only thing on my mind? I thought long and hard until the perfect title came to me:

  A Pound of Flesh

  Chapter Twelve

  Gunner

  I rode back to the VA, thinking about my love for Veronica. My entire existence was built around my brothers. It was who I was. But my feelings were changing. I no longer desired to be the bad boy. If I could go somewhere safe with Veronica and live the rest of my life in peace—no more bloodshed—then isn't that what I should do?

  I found John, Hudson, and Bryce sitting around the meeting room table. Their faces were long but their eyes lit up when they spotted me. Bryce shook my hand as Hudson gave me a one-armed hug; a white shoulder-sling kept his arm close to his chest.

  John stood up and gripped my biceps. “I'm glad you're okay, Gunner.”

  “Me too,” I replied.

  We sat down at our seats. Our club had become so small. I ached inside for the loss of Wyatt. He was my brother. It reminded me of all the brothers I lost over in Afghanistan. I'd never forget them for as long as I lived.

  Brotherhood. That's what this men meant to me. I couldn't leave my brothers when they needed me most. I had to get revenge for Wyatt. I had to make sure the VA was whole before I got out.

  John sighed. “We all want the Russians to pay but we need to think this through. We're hanging on by a string here. If we went against the Russians now, we'd all end up in body bags. As of right now, all the Russians involved in that deal are dead. Give me a chance to talk with some of the higher-ups in their organization. For all we know, Boris was doing this alone. Once I get more information, we can make an informed decision.”

  The one thing I wanted in the world—revenge—was finally within my grasp. But I didn't feel complete. Not without Veronica by my side.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Veronica

  My paper was nowhere close to being started. My mind was completely distracted. Two pregnancy sticks sat behind me on the bathroom counter. There was no denying it—Gunner and I were having a baby.

  But I hadn't seen him in days. I tried to get a hold of him at VA but John told me he was really busy. What if I was just another one of his conquests?

  My luck that I would get pregnant the first time I had sex. I was on birth control but I must've missed a day by accident. There was just so much that happened to me over the past couple weeks.

  How could I tell him? Should I even bother? I barely knew the man. He might run for the hills the second he sniffed trouble.

  But he was the right one for me. I knew it deep down in the pit of my stomach.

  I needed to focus on my paper. All I had was a title that seemed very scary. Was that what I wanted to convey? What did I want to tell the world about Gunner and the veterans? The crime? The violence?

  Those were all things everyone knew already.

  The family aspect was the key.

  The words flowed through my fingers and into the computer. I wrote and wrote until my wrists began to cramp up.

  Outside the booming engine of a Ford Mustang approached. I saved the document and slammed the laptop shut. My paper would have to wait...

  Gunner was here.

  I checked my makeup in the mirror and brushed my hair quickly.

  The doorbell rang and I tried to still my pounding heart. I opened the door, wearing nothing but a silk robe. Gunner's eyes went wide.

  “I'm pregnant,” I blurted out, my hands shaking. Bad timing, Veronica. My man stood in the hallway with a faceless expression.

  Gunner finally smiled and stopped me before I could say anything else.. “You better invite me in before I take you right here in the hallway.”

  I grabbed Gunner's arm and pulled him inside. His mouth latched onto mine while his hands wandered underneath my robe and felt my pregnant belly.

  “I love you, Veronica,” he whispered to me.

  “I love you too, Gunner.”

  This rough and hard man was all mine.

  And I was his to do with as he desired.

  We would be a family soon enough.

  The End