Another reason I was a lucky fucker, Meg cooked like a fucking five-star chef. “What makes your cheesecake Mexican?” I hoisted myself up into the house and Meg backed up, making room for me.
“You’ll have to wait until dessert to figure that out.”
“Or I could eat my dessert first.”
“You can’t. The cheesecake is still cooling, and if you eat dessert first, your dinner will get cold.”
I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to me. “Just one bite. That’s all, I promise.”
“Tell me what you’re keeping from me, and I’ll cut you a big ass piece.”
Damn, this woman was fucking relentless. “Nope. I can wait till after dinner.” I pressed a kiss to the side of her head and ducked around, missing her swinging arm.
“I hate you, Lo. I don’t understand why you can’t tell me. I’m sure it’s nothing, and you’re making it a bigger deal than what it really is.” She propped her arms on her hips and tapped her foot. Even pissed off and telling me she hated me, Meg still looked hot as hell.
“It isn’t a big deal, Meg, that’s why I don’t need to tell you.”
“I’m not going to be in a relationship where you’re constantly keeping things from me, Lo. I’m not some fragile flower that you need to protect and keep secrets from.” She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.
I hated that I couldn’t tell Meg about Big A and what happened at the salon, but knew it was better if she didn’t know until I knew what the hell was going on. With my luck, she and Cyn would go Nancy Drew on my ass and try to figure out how to get rid of the Assassins. I walked over to her and put my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. “Do you trust me, Meg?”
“Lo, this isn’t about trust.”
“Yes, it is, Meg. Do you trust me to do what's right for you?”
“Gah, yes, OK, I trust you.”
“Then trust that I will tell you what you need to know, and if I have to keep a secret from you, know that they only reason I am is because it’s club business, and I’m keeping you safe. Sometimes the less you know, the better, babe.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “You make sense, Lo, but it really bothers me that there are going to be times where you are going to know things, and I’ll be clueless.” There weren’t going to be many times that I was going to have to keep secrets from Meg. Now, if this would have been five years ago when the Knights were heavy into drugs and gun running, then yes there would be lots of things Meg wouldn’t know.
“Babe, open your eyes and look at me.” She opened her eyes and tilted her head down. “Trust me. Trust that I am doing right by you, and when the time comes, I will tell you what happened.”
“Ugh, fine. I trust you, but just know, you are going to make me go crazy.”
“That’s a risk I’m willing to take seeing as you’re already half crazy.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and leaned in. “You know what’s even crazier, Lo?” I shook my head no and brushed the hair out of her face. “The fact that you want to marry my crazy ass.”
“Hmm, you may be right, babe, but I’m totally fine with being crazy if it means I get you.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, and she threaded her fingers through my hair.
“I guess you could have one bite of cheesecake before dinner,” she whispered against my lips.
“Maybe I could have a bite of something else, too.” I nipped at her bottom lip, my hands grabbing her ass, lifting her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.
“Dinners going to get cold, Lo,” she moaned, tilting her head to the side, giving me better access as I rained kisses down her neck.
“Dinner can fucking wait,” I growled, turning around and headed back to the bedroom.
She squealed as I tossed her on the bed and climbed on top of her. “I guess we can always rewarm it,” she purred.
“There’s always later. I’m hungry for something else right now.”
Dinner was ice cold by the time we resurfaced from the bedroom. It was well worth it.
________
Chapter 7
Meg
“Oh for Christ’s sake, get your ass in the damn car.”
“I am not sitting in the middle; my ass is too fat.”
“You don’t have an ass, Gwen. Do you think we can stop for snacks? Rigid woke me up early this morning and kept me, shall we say, busy.” Cyn wiggled her eyebrows and plopped down into the passenger seat.
“If I’m not back in eight hours, send out the cavalry.” Lo chuckled next to me and shook his head.
“Did you call ahead to the dress shop and warn them that y’all were coming?”
“I made an appointment. I hope they’re prepared for us. I need to find a wedding dress and all the girls need to get their dresses, too. I’m fucking worried Cyn is going to walk down the aisle in a big ol’ sack I paint purple.” I watched as Cyn swung her legs into the car and slammed the door shut. In the past two weeks, her baby bump had started showing, and it seemed almost every day it grew.
Lo wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. “I’m sure you’ll find something, babe.”
“Hmm, I hope so. I wish your mom would have been able to come.”
“She said she had an appointment scheduled she couldn’t miss. You know she wants to be here.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed. “I miss your mom, Lo. She doesn’t hang out at the clubhouse much anymore.”
“I plan on swinging by there while you’re on the hunt for the great white dress, see what she and Gravel have been up to. He hasn’t been at the clubhouse much either.”
“Maybe they just want to spend time with each other. They missed out on being together for so many years, perhaps they’re making up for it now.”
“Are you coming with, or am I going to have to pick your dress out by myself?” Cyn yelled.
“I better go; the natives are getting restless.” I pressed a kiss to Lo’s cheek and grabbed the door handle.
“Not so fast, babe.” Lo grabbed me around the waist and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m gonna need a better kiss than that,” he growled. He slammed his lips down on mine, pushed me up against the car, and I completely slipped into the Lo Daze.
I delved my fingers into his hair, holding on while he devoured my lips.
“Oh, sweet Jesus. We’re never going to make it to the appointment on time if King won’t take his hands off her.” I heard Cyn mumble through the open window.
“I think it’s sweet. It’s good to know that King still has it in him.”
I tossed my head back, busting out laughing at Marley’s words.
“Dude, how the hell old do you think King is?” Gwen asked Marley.
“I don’t know. Forty?”
“Should I let them know you’re older than me?” Lo rumbled.
“Do it, and I kill you,” I warned.
“Actually Marley, Meg is–”
“Doing Lo a favor by being with him since he’s so old. I mean, whew, Lo is way older than I am,” I cut Lo off. No way in hell was I going to willingly tell anyone that I was older than Lo.
Lo leaned in, his lips touching my ear. “You just earned yourself a little time over my lap, babe.”
A shiver ran through my body at his words, and I knew my white lie was going to be worth it. “Promises, promises,” I cooed. I grabbed the door handle, pulling it open and slid into the car, slamming the door shut. “Say hi to your mom and Gravel for me.”
“Will do, babe. Have fun.” Lo tapped the top of the car and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest.
“About fucking time. I’m starving.” I glanced over at Cyn, watching as she pulled a granola bar out of her purse and ripped it open.
“We just got done eating breakfast. How the hell are you starving right now?” I shifted the car into reverse and backed up.
“I blame the baby. He’s a bottomless pit. I eat and then fifteen minutes lat
er I’m starving.” She ripped off a piece of granola bar and chomped down on it.
“Well, do you have enough snacks in your purse to get through until we are done dress shopping?” Gwen asked from the back seat.
“Hopefully. Although, I could really go for some Dip ‘N Dots.”
“Dude, it’s ten thirty in the morning. Who the hell has ice cream in the morning?”
“Little Caleb does.” She rubbed her belly and shoved the rest of her bar in her mouth.
“Yesterday you were calling him Jolio. Now it’s Caleb?” I asked, totally confused.
“Rigid and I can’t agree on a name, so every day we pick a name and call the baby that to see if it’s something we both like. So far we haven’t been able to find any that we both like.”
“What about Cody?” Marley suggested.
“Eh, no.”
“Wait, why are you only doing boy names? Do you know what you’re having yet?” Gwen piped in.
“No clue what we’re having, but we both want a boy. That is the only thing that we can agree on.”
“Well, if it’s a girl, I like Ella.” I always told myself that if I were ever to get pregnant again and it was a girl, Ella would have been her name. I could now pawn that name off on Cyn because my baby factory had been shut down ten years ago.
“Oh, I love that,” Marley sighed.
“Hmm, I’ll have to run it by Rigid, but I like it, too. Now, think of a boy name.”
Cyn, Gwen, and Marley all tossed names around on the way to the bridal store, none of them agreeing on any.
“I’m telling you, Shia is the way to go,” Marley slid out of the car and slammed her door shut.
“She’s only saying that because yesterday she and Troy had a Transformers marathon.” Gwen grabbed her purse out of the backseat and headed into the shop.
“Is your sister meeting us here?” Cyn asked.
“Yeah, let me check my phone.” I grabbed my phone out of my purse and saw that she had texted me ten minutes ago saying she was here.
“So, we get to meet your sister. Is she anything like you? Crazy and fun?” Marley asked.
“Oh, you’re in for a treat. Meg’s sister is the complete opposite of her. Married for years and she has five kids,” Cyn informed Marley.
“But is she fun? I’ve met some married women that are crazier than a tornado in Oklahoma.” Gwen held the door open, and we all headed in.
“Jackie is everything I am not. Plus, she’s one hell of a time. She may be married and have five kids, but she still knows how to have fun. I promise, between us four and her, we are going to have a good time today.”
We walked to the front desk to check in, and we were surrounded by hundreds of wedding dresses, my eyes bugging out by all the choices. Three-quarters of the store were varying shades of white wedding dresses and the other quarter of the store were the bridesmaid dresses. That was where I spotted Jackie, flipping through the racks.
“It’s about time you guys got here. I’ve already got a stack of dresses I want to try on, and half of them are not appropriate for a mother of five.” Jackie winked at me, and I knew this was going to be one hell of an afternoon.
________
Lo
“Yo, King!” I glanced over my shoulder as I walked into the clubhouse and saw Hammer headed towards me with the club phone in his hand. “Leo needs to talk to you.”
I grabbed the phone from him and put it to my ear. “Leo.”
“King. How are things in Rockton today?”
“Quiet for the time being.” Quiet that was making me uneasy. The last time there was silence from the Assassins, Meg’s porch got blown up.
“Good, good. I’m keeping my men in town, making sure nothing happens before I know about it. That is also the reason I’m calling right now. All my men are busy, and I need some help.”
“Shoot.” Leo had already helped us, so I had no problem helping him with whatever he needed.
“It’s my sister, Fayth. My damn nephew is giving her a run for her money right now, and I’m not there to help. I had to head back to Chicago for a couple of days, and he’s taken this opportunity of my absence to wreak havoc.”
It was times like these I was thankful Meg had raised such a good kid. I didn’t have to worry about Remy doing stupid shit. “So what exactly do you need us to do?”
“Fayth said she heard Marco on the phone this morning making plans to meet with some of the drug runners from down here. I don’t know what the hell this kid is thinking.” I could hear the annoyance in his voice, and I knew annoying Leo Banachi was not a wise thing to do.
“You want us to run them out of town?”
“No. I’m meeting with the leader of these little rats and plan on getting Marco out of this fucking mess. What I need from you is to send a couple of guys over to my sister’s house and keep an eye on the fucker until I get there tomorrow.”
I scrubbed my hand down my face and tried to figure out who the hell I was willing to give up for a day. “Slider and Hammer could stay over there until you get back. I’m sure they won’t be happy to be babysitting a seventeen-year-old, but they’ll do it.”
“I’ll owe you one, King. I know babysitting isn’t what you guys want to be doing right now. I’ll let Fayth know that they’ll be over.” I shoved the phone back in my pocket and ran my fingers through my hair. Babysitting a seventeen-year-old, great.
“You want me to grab Slider so you can tell us both about your phone call?” Hammer asked.
“I’m right here.” I looked to my right and saw Slider walking into the common room. “What’s up?”
“Leo just called. He had to go out of town for a couple of days, and he’s having some problems with his nephew. I want you two to head over there and keep an eye on the little fucker until Leo gets back in town.”
“How the hell long is that going to be? I had plans tonight.” Slider crossed his arms over his chest, already pissed off.
“Fucking cancel them. Get your shit packed and head over there. Call Demon and let him know what’s going on once you get settled. I’m heading over to Ma’s to see what the hell has been up with Gravel lately.”
“Fucking bullshit,” Slider mumbled under his breath as he walked back to his room with Hammer following.
I shot off a text to Demon, letting him know what the hell was going on and letting him know Slider would be calling him, and I would be over at Gravel’s.
I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. I would be fucking happy when all this bullshit with the Assassins was over, and shit could go back to the way it was. I was getting too old for this shit.
________
Chapter 8
Meg
“Twirl.”
“Twirling isn’t going to make that dress look any better,” Gwen called from the racks of dresses behind me.
“It looked so good on the hanger.” Jackie stood in front of me, her hands propped on her hips.
“Ugh!” I tossed my hands up in the air and stomped my foot. “This is beyond hopeless! There isn’t one single dress in this store that looks good on me.”
“Calm down, we have four more dresses in the fitting room to try on, and Gwen is out searching for more. Your dress is here; we just have to find it. We need to find it today in case you need any alterations done.” Jackie shooed me with her hand, and I headed back to the dressing room.
“She didn’t like that one either?” Cyn asked. She was sprawled out on the mini couch they had in the dressing room, fanning herself with her hand. A half-eaten bag of Funyuns cradled in her arm and a can of soda next to her.
“Eh, I didn’t like it either. I look like a God damn cupcake. The pouf of this dress clashes with the pouf of my ass and thighs.”
“Not this one either?” The saleslady asked, sweeping into the room, closing the door behind her.
“No, Barb, I’m 0 and 12 at this point.” Yes, that’s right. I had tried on twelve dresses, and none of them were right. I
wasn't even picky. They all just looked like shit on me.
“Don’t give up just yet, my dear. I know we have something that will sweep your man off his feet.” Oh Barb, so optimistic.
“Shouldn’t King be swiping you off your feet, not the other way around?” Cyn mumbled.
“What was that, dear?”
I glared at Cyn, daring her to repeat what she said. Barb was well past sixty and sweet to a fault. “Oh nothing,” Cyn chirped, throwing a chip at me.
“Well, let’s get you in something you haven’t tried yet, shall we? I found this in the back, and I hope it’ll be just what you’re looking for.”
“Alright, Barb, hit me with it.”
“First, we need to put this on,” she reached out the door and grabbed a different bustier. “We need to get those girls up where they belong.”
Cyn burst out into giggles, and my jaw dropped. I thought my girls were in a pretty good position, thank you very much. Hell, Lo never complained about them. “Uh, are you sure that’s the right size?” I asked as she held it up and stepped towards me. I scurried backward, afraid of the damn thing. It was going to squeeze the hell out of me, that is if we could even get the thing on.
“Oh, trust me, dear. It laces up, we’ll be able to make it as tight as we need it to be.”
Cyn stood up, wiping the chip crumbs off on her jeans and unzipped the back of the dress I had on. “The cupcake dress is no more,” she laughed, helping me step out and draped it over the couch.
“All right, young lady. I’m going to need you to take this side, and I’ll take the other, and we’ll hopefully meet in the middle.” The way Barb talked half the time, I felt that I should possibly be offended, but then she would say something nice. She was giving me whiplash. “Take off your other bra, dear.”
I reached the back clasped, unhooking it and tossed it over my shoulder as I held my boobs in my arms. Wedding dress shopping sure wasn’t turning out to be as fun as I thought it would be.
Barb and Cyn grabbed a side of the new torture device and moved behind me. “Are your breasts in the cups, dear?” I lifted the ol’ girls up, resting them in the cups, and I felt like I was going to suffocate.
Devil’s Knights MC Box Set 2 Page 21