“I don’t expect you to love me yet, or put a ring on it Dante, but I do expect you to trust me. I did not tell a soul your secret, nor would I. I care about you, and I’m not that kind of girl. I can’t believe that you could even jump to that conclusion.” He saw the hurt in her eyes and didn’t know what to make of it, so as she exited the vehicle and went to hail a cab, he didn’t stop her.
Chapter 17
Dante started punching the steering wheel in all his anger, gritting his teeth like an animal. He was writhing and throwing the biggest fit anyone had ever seen. His horn honked to show his frustration with himself and with Cynthia. He had made such a mistake hiring someone who knew about his secret and then telling her even more, family or not. Then he went and made her his old lady. She infiltrated the ranks, and he had been so blind with lust that he just let it happen. He knew he should have kept that private investigator on her tail. For all Dante knew all it would have taken was one more day for him to find something suspicious.
He shook his head and restarted the car, ready to get out of there. Since he had no idea who had threatened him, there was nothing he could do just yet. He would have to see what information he could gather Monday, and maybe he’d hire a more reputable investigator to look into the matter.
He pulled up into his parking space at home and hung his head over the wheel, feeling suddenly exhausted. All his dreams could come crashing down on him any moment, and he had no control over the situation. For all he knew his secret could be on the news before he got back to the office next week.
His feet felt heavy underneath him as he climbed up to his luxury loft alone. He peeled his clothes off and let them fall to the floor of his bedroom in a pile. It meant they would need ironing later, but he just didn’t care at the moment. Sleep was about to take over as he scooted his feet across the floors to his bed. He fell down in it and shut his eyes, his thoughts of Cynthia and Essential Steel swirling together trying to put together where he had first gone wrong, when she might have decided to betray him. But all he could remember was that first unsure kiss he had given her in his office and the way he felt when she let him kiss her again.
Dante drifted off to a dream filled sleep where he hoped to find solace and a solution to his impossible dilemma.
* * *
Saturday afternoon came along, and Dante woke up after tossing and turning all night. He had big plans to try and reconcile with Devil’s Pirates MC once and for all before things there got out of hand, though he wasn’t looking forward to explaining why Cynthia wouldn’t be there with him. Hopefully, they’d just get the hint and leave it alone. He was determined to get her off his mind, at least for the day.
He walked out the door with his hair gelled and spiked. It had grown out a bit, and he always liked the more punk look when it was longer. His leather jacket and boots went well with the look. He left the apartment and hopped onto his trusty bike, headed for The Blue Pig, decked out to play the part of Diesel. The renovations had been totally completed, and it was getting more business than ever. It was getting harder to get private time for their MC meetings.
As soon as he pulled up to the parking lot, Diesel was sure he was experiencing déjà vu. The lot was filled with bikes already, like the entire club had arrived without him again, but at least there was no loud music or sounds of breaking glass bleeding out of the facility. In fact, it was bright inside but almost dead quiet. Something was going on, and he wasn’t sure that he even wanted to know what by the way his weekend was going so far.
Still, he wasted no time bursting through the doors to see the club assembled congregation style, sitting in even rows, as quiet as mice feet on a floor. They all had pens and pieces of scrap paper that they were writing on and passing to a man holding a glass jar who was then bringing them up to Bryant. It looked like a vote was being cast. What voting would his club be doing without their leader?
Bryant pulled him in close and squeezed Diesel's shoulder. “Don’t grab me like that, man. What the hell is going on here? Cuz this sure looks like fucking mutiny,” Diesel whispered desperately into Bryant’s ear, but he was pretty sure with all the quiet that much of the club could hear him.
As the jar got full, Diesel watched it get passed to Missy, the bartender, who was laying out the pieces of paper onto her counter to count. “It sort of is a mutiny, Diesel. That’s all I can say for now until our neutral party counts up the votes.”
“What is it they’re voting on, Bryant?” he asked through gritted teeth, his anger rising. Why would no one just tell him what was going on? He was about ready to roll some heads. Bryant held his hand up to still his leader as they both looked to Missy who had the papers separated into two piles. Adrenaline was pumping through Diesel's veins mixed with fiery anger. This was his fucking motorcycle club, and he had no idea where the hell they got off doing things without him.
“The votes are in, Diesel,” Missy nodded to him, bowing her head. At least someone still had respect for who the leader was even if it was a non-member. “They voted for you to step down.”
“They did what?” His voice echoed through the building, bouncing off the walls. He watched some of the members cower in their seats in fear. If only they had been afraid enough to stop such a crime against his leadership.
“I’m afraid it’s true,” Bryant confirmed. “And they will use the vote against you if you don’t follow their demands.”
“What demands? I’m the fucking president, and I make the demands.”
“Not anymore, man,” Bryant said solemnly, handing him an envelope. But he got the feeling Bryant couldn’t be anywhere near as sorry as he was acting if he was going through with this dumb ass charade. Envelopes were becoming an awfully huge part of his life lately. “These demands. Someone wrote them and passed them to me. It was sealed, and it has remained that way as a verbal demand was given as well, that I not reveal the information enclosed to everyone.”
Diesel opened the envelope with all his fury; ripping through the paper. He saw inside familiar handwriting that made his heart freeze in his chest.
We, the new faction inside of Devil’s Pirates MC do not approve of Diesel’s leadership. We want a vote to eradicate him forever. Diesel, if you are reading this, you must step down, no matter what the vote says or we will expose you for what you are to your precious company.
Diesel felt like someone had pushed him backwards, and he stumbled against the bar. He glared out at the people he once called his family and saw a true devil in every face. His enemies and his friends all looked the same, and his fists were clenched, ready to punish them all until they revealed themselves for what they really were.
“I don’t know which of you voted for me to step down or which one of you wrote this, but I am still the fucking president of this club, and I make the fucking decisions! This vote is not a valid one, and I am going to get to the bottom of this. And believe you me, when I do, the assholes responsible will have their heads on a stake!”
He could feel his face turning red and his blood pressure rising as he spoke. He had never felt so desperate and so angry like he was now. It was a miserable state of being, and he had no idea how to handle it as his world came crashing down. He had lost Cynthia and now his motorcycle club family. It seemed that Essential Steel was next. He could see himself turning into one of those scruffy homeless men that held up quotes that made no sense as people passed by and ignored him.
Some of the members did look frightened or ashamed, slinking down in their chairs or avoiding his glare, but there were others that reacted a different way. A few of the men stood up, matching Diesel's threatening fists and others just walked out the door like they couldn’t hear or see him. It was making him feel crazy.
Then he picked out Billy’s face in the crowd along with Barbie who walked up to Diesel together, putting an arm on each side of him. He couldn’t help but notice the evil glare she was giving Bryant, as if she was angry with him. Billy looked stunned that Barbie was anywhere near him.
Diesel was about to break out of their hold, but Bryant gave him an extra push while the other two dragged him outside to the parking lot and sat him on the curb. Billy pulled out a cigar and offered it to him. Although he wasn’t a huge smoker, he was quick to take the offer, knowing that it would help him calm down.
Barbie bent down to the cigar in his mouth and lit it with her bubble gum pink lighter.
Diesel took a puff, letting all his troubles float in the air with the smoke, drifting away as the wind carried everything he knew about himself and his life with it.
Chapter 18
Diesel watched Barbie pull out a cigarette and begin to smoke. It was one of those peach flavored ones, and it tickled his nose. “So tell me, what’s going on with you and Bryant?” Although he was asking Barbie, he looked right at Billy who was sitting next to him on the curb to gauge his reaction. Billy’s face turned beet red with the silent suggestion that he was involved.
“That man is so fucking annoying. All he does is drink and get high and talk about women other than me. He thinks cuz he has a thick dick he’s worth a million bucks, but especially now that he sat there and let that happen when he’s your VP, I don’t want anything to do with him.” Dante leaned back on the concrete and scoffed. He just couldn’t wrap his head around Barbie talking so viciously. Her voice sounded like Tinkerbell.
“So, you’re sure it has nothing to do with Billy boy over here?” Dante was enjoying putting the attention on someone else. He didn’t want to think about what had just happened inside that building or what it meant for him. He just wanted to screw around with his family, the piece he had left anyway.
Billy looked like he was going to have a stroke as Barbie smashed her burnt out cigarette to the ground. Her face looked a little red, too. A nervous giggle escaped Barbie’s lips, confirming that something was amiss. “Well, maybe Billy came to my rescue last night after the lamest date ever with Bryant. I ended up stranded at a strip club of all places.” She stomped her heel on the ground like a two year old having a tantrum. “But Billy was so sweet to come and pick me up.” She smiled sweetly at him, and he smiled back. Dante could tell that the young club member was tipsy.
Even if nothing specific had gone on with them yet, Dante could smell it coming a mile away. It was really too bad considering how long his shithead of a VP had pined for that woman and how short of a time it had taken for him to fuck it up. “Anyway, I’ll leave you two boys to talk. I’ll be inside if either of you need me.” She winked at Billy and practically skipped back into the bar. Dante was always shocked to think of her as 27. She didn’t act like she was a day over 17.
Dante sat up, feeling the silence and the pain as he realized exactly how turned around he was at the moment. “So, you wanna talk about what’s going on?” Billy asked, always sounding wiser than his age suggested. “I swear I voted no on that stupid thing. It was ridiculous, and none of us even knew what was going on. I don’t think it’ll hold because the whole asinine thing was so secretive.”
Dante looked over his shoulder to be sure no one else was listening. Billy had quickly become a good friend, and if his enemies knew his secret, his friend might as well know too. “I’m the owner, the president, of a business. That’s where I am during the day. I use my influence a lot of the time to help us make money and good investments. I know it’s wrong, but it’s better than transporting drugs or selling illegal guns to crazy fucks who use them to shoot up malls and shit. I love my company; it’s everything to me. I built it from the ground up, but now I might lose it because my secret is out. And I lost Sin cuz I accused her of being the one to leak the information.”
“You think Sin caused all this?” Billy sounded shocked. “I wouldn’t bet anything on that, Diesel. The way she looked at you… it’s the way I’ve always wanted someone to look at me. Besides, aside from coming in with you, she has no involvement with the MC. I don’t see how she’d be involved in staging some kind of coup like this, especially since she isn’t even here.” Dante hung his head, knowing that what Billy said made sense. He should have trusted her, and now he was pretty sure he’d lost her for good.
“Yeah, I know. Now, I’m losing the MC, my company, and my girlfriend. What a great day this is turning out to be.” Dante let out a wry laugh as he took another puff on his cigar.
“Nah, I think a lot of this will blow over, and as far as Sin goes, apologize. You can’t just let a great woman slip through your fingers like that. You have to fight for her.” Billy formed his hand into a fist as he spoke passionately. Dante slapped his friend on the back.
“You speak as if from experience, Billy, but I think you need to take your own advice. There’s a beautiful woman who I believe is waiting inside that building for you with a bunch of drooling bikers. How long do you think it will take for her to find someone else to latch onto?” Dante had to admit he was trying to get Billy to go so he could be alone, but he would also love to see Billy finally have an old lady of his own. And Barbie was as nice and sexy as it got in their world.
Billy glanced back at the bar and then to Diesel, looking as if he were contemplating something. Then he took off like a bat out of hell towards the door. He probably just realized how easily she moved on from Bryant. Dante smiled slightly before standing up and stretching out. He had a girl of his own to win over, and he also knew how quickly she might be able to find someone else. He wasn’t about to let that happen. The smile quickly faded from his lips as he walked to his bike.
* * *
Dante ran up the stairs to Cynthia’s apartment, hoping he would find her at home. There was an odd chill in the air, so he’d put on a long sleeve black shirt with a skeleton on it and some jeans that had some chains hanging off of them. He thought he looked pretty good and normal, which was what he was going for. He didn’t want to be Dante the company owner or Diesel the president of a motorcycle gang. He just wanted to be the man who made a mistake, asking for forgiveness from his beautiful girlfriend.
He cleared his throat and knocked on the door, trying to control his breathing as to not panic. He held a bouquet of yellow roses in his hand; the only thing acceptable the store had immediately available.
He heard the click of the lock unlocking and saw the door knob twisting as his heart raced nervously. He had been so busy thinking about whether or not she’d answer the door that he hadn’t thought about exactly what to do if she did.
When it opened he saw that she was in a white robe that went down to her knees, a long cotton shirt peeking out from underneath. Her hair was in a twisted pile on the top of her head, and he knew that she would probably be embarrassed that he was seeing her that way, but he was ready to reassure her how amazing she looked even like that. It made him think about having her in his bed at night and waking up to her in the morning. There was so much they had yet to experience in their relationship, and he hoped that they would get a second chance.
She sighed and motioned for him to come inside. He set the flowers down on the kitchen counter so that she could find a place to put them later. By the time they sat down, staring at anything but each other awkwardly, no one had said a word. “So, what brings you here, Dante?” The way she asked the question sounded annoyed, like he was interrupting something. But it was clear all he had interrupted was her binge-watching Netflix.
“I brought you roses,” he answered dumbly, ready to kick his own shin. He shook his head, trying to physically clear it of any more idiocy that might be floating around inside. “I actually came to apologize. I’m sorry for accusing you of leaking my secret or having anything to do with the threat against me and my company. It is clearly much bigger than that.” He bowed his head down in humility, hoping she’d see how sincere he was.
“So it took proof to trust me?” her question came out harsh, cutting at his insides, but he couldn’t deny she had a point.
“I come from a world where everything requires proof. It’s something I need to work on for you, for us.” He
looked her right in the eyes when he said it so that she would know exactly what he meant. He wanted them to be back together. He watched her face carefully for a reaction and did not see what he expected to see at all. She was fuming.
Cynthia stood up and started shaking her finger at him like a mother giving a lecture, and something told Dante it was no laughing matter. “I can’t believe you think you can waltz back in here with some friggin' roses and just claim that we’re back together. I may like that you’re this hot bad boy leader of the pack type of guy, but that doesn’t mean you can treat me like shit. You really hurt my feelings, Dante. I thought we were building something good together, and the first time things get tough I get a boot in my face. It’s not okay, and I am not going to let you sit here and act like an admission to being human and some roses are going to change how I feel. It’s barely been 24 hours.”
Dante cringed at her words. She was angry and sounded like she had no intention of getting back together. What could he say to convince her to come back to him, that he was truly sorry? “I’ve put more trust in you than anyone else I’ve ever met. This is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a healthy relationship with a great woman, and I realize I am not doing a great job. But I am doing my best. Look, I need you. I don’t know how long I have left at the company. The MC wants me to step down or my secret will be leaked. I’m not sure what to do right now, but if I can’t figure out who is behind this then I’m screwed. I was sitting there through all this thinking how dumb I was for letting you go and how much I needed you now that everything was worse than ever. I really am sorry, and I don’t know how else I can say it.”
Billionaire Stepbrother - Secret Lives Page 10