Forgiveness

by Wilder, Chiah

By the time Flux was inside again, he cursed his fucking heart because it was beating so fast and he couldn’t hear anything going down in the hallway. He tried to focus.

  There. A small sound. Muffled shouts.

  But it was too far away still, and Flux sped down the hallway until he took a sharp turn and came face to face with a conference room that was used for VIP clients.

  Flux didn’t hesitate. He brought his leg up and rammed his shit-kicker into the doorknob, crushing the hunk of metal and breaking it off the door in two hits as he barreled into the room.

  What he saw made his blood go cold.

  “Fucking hell!” Chet yelled, shaking his head with his pants around his ankles and his dick hanging out. Splayed on the desk was Maggie on her stomach. “Get the fuck outta here, asshole.” A slight quiver cut through the bravado in Chet’s voice.

  At first the situation before him didn’t really sink in, and he stared at Maggie’s tear-stained cheek as she looked at him from where her face was slammed against the desk. Her shirt and jeans were down around her ankles, and another guy held her hips as if he was about to ram home inside of her. Chet held Maggie’s arms behind her back.

  “Flux,” she sobbed softly.

  A white-hot, seething rage shot through him in a quick burst of sensation.

  Then he saw red.

  The whole universe condensed down to his hand, and in two quick strides Flux was in front of the first motherfucker, clocking him so hard the pussy landed flat on his back, out cold. Flux rounded out the beating with a few solid kicks to the asshole’s ribcage.

  Maggie struggled up from the desk, and Flux put himself in front of her within a split second and caught Chet’s fist as it flew through the air.

  “Fuck. She’s got bruises from you. You’re gonna pay for every fuckin’ one of them,” Flux rumbled low in his chest as he gripped Chet’s fist and threw him off his feet. “Let’s see you do the same shit to me that you did on Maggie. Fuckin’ pussies like you always pick on the women.”

  Before Chet could reply, Flux locked an arm around the bastard’s neck and dragged him back off balance, nailing him over and over again in the kidney with Flux’s knee. The first blow knocked the air out of the wimp. After that it was all muffled screams, small pleas, and useless attempts to breathe. Flux didn’t relent for a one second. He pounded the guy in the nose again for good measure and swung Chet around and pushed him toward the desk as Flux held the cowboy’s arms behind his back.

  “Give him something to remember you by, Duchess. You get a piece in this fight too.”

  Flux locked eyes with Maggie as her lower lip trembled and she licked at the dried blood, wincing. He wanted to keep beating the fucker until he was dead and buried. Instead, he settled for tightening his grip as Chet moaned in pain.

  “If you pass out, I’ll fuckin’ wake you up. I’m not done with you yet,” Flux growled in Chet’s ear as Maggie stared at them both, a vacant look in her eyes.

  Flux nodded and jerked his head toward the bedraggled bull rider. “Go on, Duchess.”

  Maggie hesitated for a second then kicked her leg forward and delivered a solid blow with her foot right between Chet’s legs. He groaned and sunk to his feet, and Flux dragged his ass back up so Maggie could deliver a second blow.

  Flux laughed dryly when Chet groaned again. “There’s a rumor going around that you fuckin’ suck in bed, asshole. Maybe my woman will make that true for you. It’s kinda hard to perform without functioning balls, asswipe.”

  Maggie doubled up her fists and landed two good blows to the other man’s stomach. Flux felt them shudder through his spine and he couldn’t help but smile at his woman with a look of straight pride written across his smug face. She wiped a hand across her mouth and it came away with blood from a split lip. Another sharp stab of hatred made Flux twist Chet’s arm until he was half-naked and on his knees before Maggie, who spit on his head.

  “The only fuckin’ thing keeping you from the goddamn grave is that I don’t want my woman to be a party to your murder. But if you ever so much as speak or even look her way again, I’ll make sure you meet the grim-fuckin’-reaper, pretty boy.” Flux dropped the rider’s arm, slammed his shoe into the back of his spine until Chet yelped and went flat to the floor. “You stay there like the fuckin’ slug you are and think about how every damn minute of the day you should be thanking me for sparing your pitiful life.”

  Without another word, Flux scooped up Maggie into his arms burrowing his nose into her hair and whispering all the sweet nothings he could think of that might comfort her after what she’d been through.

  “Is it okay that I’m doing this? You’re not … sore or anything?” Flux asked, carrying her out into the hallway and making a beeline for her truck. But what he really wanted to ask was if he was only making things worse by touching her now. He hoped the shit she’d suffered at the hands of Chet and the other fucker hadn’t bled through to Flux touching her.

  But he had his answer when Maggie’s teeth chattered against him and her fingers dug into his T-shirt, as if she never wanted to let him go again.

  “Okay … shh … I’m taking you back to the motel, Duchess. I’ve got your back—always.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Flux

  By the time Flux had gotten a few sips of whiskey into Maggie and had her tucked into bed, some of his rage was now a simmer instead of a full rolling boil. When they’d arrived back at his motel room, she’d asked him to join her in the shower, and a huge amount of relief spread through him at the request. Maggie had turned the water on full blast and maximum burn-your-skin-off temperature, and Flux had washed every inch of her from top to bottom—twice at her insistence. When he’d wrapped the towel around her, all of her skin was baby pink except for her face, which was still pale and haunted.

  Without saying a word, he’d given her one of his shirts and a pair of sweatpants he never wore to bed, tucking her in as if he knew how to do the caretaker bullshit. Every five seconds he kept asking her if she was okay and if she needed anything. He figured he was annoying the hell out of her, but he couldn’t help it.

  “You need to sleep, baby,” he’d said in a low voice.

  Maggie had nodded but kept her gaze pinned on the hunk of junk TV on the scratched-up dresser. There was some kind of musical on—an old one in black and white, but he didn’t watch much of it because he couldn’t take his eyes off her for a single second.

  Flux stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, fishing around for some coins and dollar bills. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he opened the door and looked at her. She didn’t say a word or give him a glance, her eyes stayed fixed on a skinny dude whirling a pretty girl around a dance floor.

  Flux stepped out into the cool air and made his way to the dented vending machine around the corner. He bought a hot chocolate and a small bag of M&Ms, and anything else that was chocolate and candy coated. He hurried back, not wanting to leave her alone for more than a few minutes. Flux closed the door and put the purchases on the nightstand next to her then went into the bathroom to wash his hands.

  When he came back into the room, Maggie sat up in bed, surrounded by wrappers and clutching her Styrofoam cup. He glanced at her death grip and a ball of tension settled in the pit of his stomach. Shit. I don’t know how to make it better for her, and it’s fuckin’ killing me.

  “Flux?” Her voice was hoarse as she snuggled down into the pillows.

  “Yeah, Duchess. Whaddaya need?” He peeled himself off of the wall right next to her bedside. “Is your drink cold? You want another one?”

  “Will you come sit with me, please?” she whispered.

  Fuck, he wasn’t used to this small, vulnerable voice coming out of his sassy, shit-kicking Duchess; it nearly ripped him in half. Flux cleared his throat and took a seat on the edge of the bed on top of the covers. He didn’t want to overwhelm her right now, and if she needed more than that, he hoped she’d ask for it.

  When Mag
gie’s arms opened for him, he scooted next to her without hesitation and curled around her body angling her head on his chest. They stayed like that for a long time, and every now and then, she’d sing a line or two with one of the actors on the screen. Flux ran his fingers through her hair over and over again mostly to convince himself that she was there—that she was safe. No one’s ever gonna touch you again, Duchess, or I’ll fuckin’ kill anyone who tries.

  Sighing and wincing, Maggie rearranged herself so she looked up at him from her nest in the pillows.

  “Are you okay? Am I hurting you?” he asked, unable to keep the concern from his voice.

  “No, it’s okay.” She ran her fingers down the front of his T-shirt. “I realized something today.”

  “Oh yeah?” Flux leaned his head on his hand, resting his elbow against the bed as he looked at the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his life. “Tell me.”

  “I love you, Flux. I’ve tried not to because I know it makes things all kinds of complicated between us, we agreed we’d be casual and—”

  “Duchess,” he cut her off and then a huge-ass grin spread across his face as he grabbed one of her hands. “I love you too. You’re what I’ve been waiting for. You brought me back to life again. And I don’t care if it breaks our fuckin’ agreement. You wanna know something, darlin’? You had me from the second I saw you swaying your hips by the jukebox and you gave me a whole lotta sass. I didn’t want to admit to myself how serious I could fall for you until it was too late.”

  “S-so, wait …” Maggie stuttered, slightly brightening as her hand squeezed his back. “You mean?”

  “I want you in my life, Duchess, and not as a fuck buddy. I want you to be mine, and nothing made that clearer than when I saw you in that fuckin’ room.” Pricks of anger burned through his veins.

  “It’s okay,” she said softly.

  “I think you’re the sexiest, most beautiful, and most genuine woman I’ve met in a damn long time, Duchess.” He locked his gaze on hers. “You make me want to be a better man.”

  Maggie’s lips twitched as a flush crept up into her cheeks. Groaning softly, she hid her face in the pillow.

  “It’s so fuckin’ adorable when you get bothered, Duchess. Every part of you is amazing and if I ever stop appreciating you, you have my full permission to deck me in the damn face and rip my fucking balls off, got it?”

  “Noted,” Maggie said, her face still buried in the pillow.

  “Glad that’s settled. Now for starters, you’re gonna stay with me while we’re in town.”

  “Kind of like moving in together?” she asked, this time bringing her head up, her brows drawn down low.

  “Fuck, yeah. You staying two doors down from me is bullshit, but if you don’t want—”

  “No. It’s perfect. Of course I will!”

  Flux barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before Maggie jumped on him and tackled him down on the mattress as she rained kisses all over his face, neck, and collarbone. Flux clasped both sides of her face between his hands and kissed the hell out of his woman as if it was the last kiss they might ever share together.

  He was achingly aware how fleeting life was, and he wasn’t about ready to waste a moment of it without Maggie along for the ride. This time I won’t fuck up. Things will be different. As he continued to make out with Maggie and savor every second beneath her touch, he sent up a small thank you to Alicia, knowing she was smiling down on him with their daughter tucked in her arms.

  The way Flux’s life had turned around so fast in the past few weeks, he had every notion that his sweet Alicia had brought Maggie into his life. He was convinced that Alicia wanted to stop the destructive road he’d taken. Although guilt still riddled his body, and he had a ton of self-forgiveness to go, for the first time since his family was killed, he was back on the right path again.

  “Thank you,” he whispered into Maggie’s hair as she kissed his neck and her lips moved over his jawline. “Thank you for tearing me away from the asshole I used to be and for helping me become a man worthy of you.”

  Flux felt her physically melt into him at the same time that his arms wrapped around her waist as their bodies fused together. The sweet sounds of whatever musical was on TV played in the background as they clung onto each other like magnet to steel.

  “Do you believe in happily ever afters?” Maggie whispered. “I didn’t used to at all. In fact, I thought my luck with men was pretty shitty and that I’d never fall in love. That’s why I put everything into my career—it didn’t need to love me back.”

  “What changed, darlin’? Me showing up at that bar and rockin’ your world?” Flux laughed.

  “It was the way you held me when we danced, it was so … tender. You treated me like something special and precious even though you didn’t know me. I don’t know … that just stuck with me.” She craned her neck and kissed the base of his throat. “Even though you’re rough around the edges, you’ve always treated me like a princess.”

  “You deserve it, Duchess.”

  “And you deserve to be happy, despite everything you’ve been through, Flux. I want to make you happy.”

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing right now? At this very second?” Flux cupped his hand under her jaw. His pulse hammered at the silky-soft feel of her tender skin under his rough fingers.

  “It’s one moment of many,” Maggie whispered against his lips as she slid her hand under his shirt, caressing up his stomach toward his chest, and bringing his shirt up with her arms.

  Flux growled and ground the hard bulge in his pants against Maggie, then took her mouth in a wild kiss.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Flux

  The next night

  “You called Charlie and made an appointment to tell him about that fucker and what type of shit’s going on in his rodeo, right?” Flux double-checked as he threw on his favorite black T-shirt and tied a green bandanna around his head. “Unless I’m with you, I don’t want you leaving the room until Charlie takes care of that psycho bastard, okay?”

  “Okay, and Charlie’s coming by later to talk about what happened and why I’m not competing tonight. I’ll stay put. I never pictured you as a worrier.” Maggie laughed. “You fret over me like a mother hen.” Maggie threw off the covers and walked naked and barefoot over to him. She bent down and picked up his white T-shirt and slipped it on over her head.

  “Fuck, you’re the hottest woman I’ve ever seen in my life. If I didn’t have a damn obligation—” He cut off the thought and cupped her ass with one hand while his free one twisted all that hair and yanked her head back. He kissed her hard and deep.

  When Flux broke away, they were both breathing heavily, and he had a boner that was going to be annoying as fuck when it came time to grind down on the damn Satan’s Pistons.

  “Where’re you going?”

  “I told you I got some club business.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means I can’t tell you shit.” He smiled and tweaked the tip of her nose then swatted her ass.

  “Why not?”

  Flux shrugged as he slipped a hunter’s knife into the pocket of his cut. “It’s just the way it is in the outlaw world.”

  Tears sprang up into her blue eyes as she stared at him. “Be careful, Flux. Come back to me in one piece. I don’t want to lose you now that we just found each other.”

  He drew her to him and squeezed her tight as he rubbed his hands up and down her back. “Don’t worry about me. There’s no fuckin’ way I’m not coming back. Double lock the door and stay safe. That’s an order, Duchess.” He kissed her gently then pulled away.

  “Yes, sir,” she teased, but her gaze still held concern.

  “Go on back to bed and watch a movie. I’ll be back before you know it. If Charlie gets here before I do, make sure it’s him and he’s alone before you open the door. If some shit goes down, call the fuckin’ badges.”

  “I’ll be fine
, really.”

  “Do you know how to use a gun?” Maggie nodded. Flux crossed the room and rummaged through his duffel bag and pulled out a thirty-eight revolver.

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “Is that something you carry around with you all the time?”

  “Yeah. I’m on my own a lot so I gotta have protection.” He laid it down on top of the nightstand. “If you need to—use it.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  He hated to be away from Maggie for even a single second right now, but his club had a score to settle with the Pistons. For the better half of the morning, Flux and the rest of his brothers had met about thirty miles away from Kremmling to discuss the plans for later that night. They decided a beatdown was in order and deadly force would only be used if one of the Pistons took out a weapon.

  Flux opened the door and looked at her before he headed out. “I’ll be back as soon as possible. Call if you need anything, Duchess, or text if I don’t answer.”

  Maggie nodded and shooed him off with a wave of her hands, but he hesitated in the open doorway, halfway in the world and halfway out of the reality he wanted to be his forever.

  “Oh, and Duchess?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

  Then he walked out into the darkness, closing the door behind him.

  * * *

  Flux met his Insurgent brothers outside the rodeo grounds, in a vacant dirt lot that was less than a block away. They did the meet and greet routine, and then Hawk went over the ground rules again. The club wanted to keep contact with the badges at a minimum, but if they had to use deadly force they would, but they’d have to hightail it out of there before any badges showed up.

  Flux glanced around at the well-rounded group of brawlers, knuckle busters, and dirty fighters and chuckled. Satan’s Pistons are royally fucked.

  “You think the pussies are gonna show up?” Animal asked as he lit up a joint.

  “They’re too fucking stupid not to,” Steel, the president of the Night Rebels, answered.