I flew down the stairs, King right behind me.
“Slider!” Fayth screamed and dropped the gun.
“Pick up the gun, Fayth!” King shouted.
The doctor was withering on the floor by her feet, and he reached for the gun. Gwen managed to land a kick in the doctor's side, and Fayth picked it up and pointed it down at him.
“You fucking bitch,” he rasped from the floor. “You need to die.”
King grabbed the gun out of Fayth’s hand and gently shoved her over to me. “Go upstairs,” I ordered as I put my arm around her.
“What about Paige?” she asked.
“There’s an ambulance on the way,” King said. “Go upstairs, now,” he ordered.
Gwen grabbed Fayth’s hand and tugged her up the stairs.
“You grab Paige, I’ve got him,” I said.
“You sure about that?” King asked me.
The asshole had stopped moving, but his eyes were still open. “Yeah. He’s mine.”
King gathered Paige in his arms and made his way up the stairs.
I crouched next to the doctor. “What’s your name?”
“Fuck…you,” he wheezed.
I shook my head. “I don’t really think you want those to be your last words, do you?”
“He’s gonna kill you,” he hissed.
“He can sure fucking try, but I’m pretty sure he’s the one who isn’t going to make it. He thinks he’s the only one with connections?” I scoffed and tapped the barrel of the gun on his temple. “I know people on the inside who owe me favors.” I glanced at the clock on the wall and laughed. “You know what’s fucking ironic, you’re both going to die at the same time.”
“How?”
“Because at four o’clock this afternoon, Big A is going to take his last breath, and so will you.” I stood and looked down at him. “Now, tell me your fucking name.”
“What does it fucking matter to you?” he uttered.
“Because I like to know the names of every man I kill.” He coughed and sputtered out blood. “The difference between you and me is that every man I’ve killed deserved to be dead. Now, tell me your fucking name.”
“John,” he gasped.
I cocked the trigger on my gun. “You told my woman she needed to die, right? Well you were fucking wrong.” I put my finger on the trigger, the cold steel the only thing I felt as I aimed at his head. “You need to die.”
********
Chapter 36
Fayth
“Here, lay her on the couch.”
King laid Paige on the couch, and Gwen kneeled next to her. “Paige, Paige,” she called, brushing hair from her face.
“What did he do to her?” King asked.
“Um, he hit her over the head. She tried to run up the stairs and he caught her,” I mumbled.
King nodded. “She should be okay. The ambulance should be here any minute.”
“What about Creed?” I asked.
“Not sure what was up with him. He was knocked out in the garage when we pulled up,” King replied and grabbed his phone out of his pocket.
The garage door busted open, and Demon and Gambler ran in.
“What the fuck did he do to her?” Demon demanded while moving Gwen out of the way and gathering Paige in his arms.
“She’s just knocked out,” Gwen sobbed. Gambler wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck.
Gwen sobbed uncontrollably, and she held onto Gambler.
“What happened to hi—” Demon asked, but was cut off by a gunshot.
Gwen and I both jumped and yelped.
“Slider took care of him,” King said quietly.
Dr. Stevens was dead. Slider had killed him. I put my hand over my mouth to hide a sob and tears streaked down my cheeks.
Slider’s heavy footsteps sounded up the stairs and the piercing whine of sirens moved closer. I looked towards the garage door and found Slider standing there.
“Slider,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry, Fay,” he said.
I shook my head and ran to him. “You saved me,” I sobbed. “You saved me again.” He wrapped his arms tightly around me, and I buried my face in his neck.
“It’s okay, Fay. It’s all over.” He smoothed down my hair.
My sobs ripped through me, knowing that everything was over, and Slider was okay.
It was finally over.
********
Slider
“How did you know to come home early?” Fayth asked me.
We were lying in bed, her body covering mine, and her head was resting on my shoulder. “Your brother called and told me that your doctor was coming over.”
“That still doesn't explain how you knew that I needed you.”
“That chick we talked to at the strip club had told us that Big A was meeting with his doctor a lot lately. It didn’t feel right when Leo told me your doctor had called asking about you.”
Fayth sighed and ran her fingers over my chest. “I’m so sorry, Slider.”
“It’s not your fault, Fay. It’s not anyone's fault. I’m just glad I was able to be there before something even worse happened to you. Although, you seemed to have a handle on things when I got there,” I laughed.
Fayth looked up at me and smiled. “I have to say, your hiding spot for your gun is pretty amazing. If I hadn’t known it was there, things might have ended completely different.”
I pressed a kiss to the side of her head and rolled us over so I was on top of her. “But they didn’t, Fay, and that’s all that matters. This whole fucking thing is over.”
“But what about Big A? Won’t he just try to find someone else to hurt us?”
“We had him taken care of before today. I had a connection that was able to eliminate the problem completely.”
“Do I want to know what happened?”
“I can tell you want to know, although it isn’t pretty.”
She shook her head. “As long as you say that he’s never going to hurt us again, I don’t need to know.”
“I promise with everything I am, he will never hurt you, or anyone else we love.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “You’re included in that, right?”
“Yeah, Fay. Of course.”
“Good, because I love you, and if anything were to happen to you, I don’t think I would make it.”
“Fay, what…I…but…”
Fayth pressed a finger to my lips and shook her head. “I love you, Slider. You need to get used to it.”
I kissed her finger and closed my eyes. “I’m not a good man, Fay.”
“I’m not interested in a good man. I want a man who protects his brothers and family no matter what. I want you,” she whispered.
“Keep saying that, Fay, and I’ll never let you go.”
“That’s the plan, Slider. Although, even if you wanted to leave me, I’d have my brother find you and drag you back to me.”
“Ah, that’s right, my girl has mafia connections,” I chuckled.
“That’s right, and don’t forget it. Now,” she said, her hands skating up and down my back, “do you have something you need to tell me?”
I tapped my chin. “No, I think that’s it.”
“Slider,” she scolded.
“All right, all right.” I caged her in with my arms and pressed a kiss to her lips. “You’re mine. You’re everything I said I never wanted, and I love you Fayth Banachi. I’m never letting you go.”
The End
Epilogue
Marley
“Put it down.”
I looked over my shoulder at Troy and shook my head. “No.”
“Sunshine, I’m telling you right now, put the spoon down, and stop fucking with the damn food. It. Will. Cook.”
“But what if I don’t want to put the spoon down?”
Troy slammed his hand down on the table and pointed his finger at me. “No more hanging out with Meg.”
“What the hell does Meg h
ave to do with it?”
“I have no idea, but I know she’s behind this somehow.”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the pot of boiling potatoes. “I think they’re done.”
“They aren’t, Marley. They have only been boiling for five minutes. There is no way in hell ten pounds of potatoes are done in five minutes.”
I stomped my foot and turned around. “Dammit man, I told Meg that I would make the potato salad. Now, back the hell off and let me do what I need to do.” I waved the spoon at him. “You said yourself that my cooking has been getting better.”
“Well it damn well better be getting better. We’ve been together for five years, Sunshine.”
“And I haven’t killed you yet.” I smirked.
Troy rubbed his stomach. “There was that one time with the shrimp and the rotten—”
I stomped my foot and pointed the spoon in his face. “We do not talk about the shrimp. Never,” I ordered. I slapped the spoon into the palm of my hand. “It was one time, and Meg told me where to buy the shrimp.”
“Marley, you had to have thought that buying shrimp from a gas station was not the best idea.”
“Silence!” I shouted.
“I kill you,” a tiny voice shouted from the highchair.
“Dammit, Troy. Have you been watching Comedy Central with Brock again?”
Troy shrugged. “What else am I supposed to do when he wakes up when I get home from work?”
“Put Paw Patrol on, or I don’t know, put him back to bed!” I picked Brock up out of his chair. “You’re the reason he sleeps all day.”
“He’s on a schedule,” Troy insisted.
“A one-year-old should not be on the schedule of someone who works second shift.”
“I kill you, I kill you,” Brock chanted over and over and pointed at Troy.
“No more Comedy Central,” I said, handing Brock off to him. “By the time he goes to school, he’s going to be telling dirty jokes and telling everyone he’s going to kill them.”
“The kid’s got a sense of humor. I’m just nurturing his need to hear jokes.”
I rolled my eyes and took the pot of boiling potatoes off, then dumped them into the colander I had in the sink. “Your nurturing is a bit misguided.”
Troy put his arm around me and spun me around. “Marley.”
“Troy.” This was his new thing. He thought just saying my name was going to calm me down, or defuse whatever situation we were in.
“Bok!” Brock shouted and threw his hands in the air. I couldn’t help but laugh at the little boy who was a perfect mix of Troy and me.
“See, the kid has a knack of making people laugh,” Troy pointed out.
“I pray our next one is more like me.” I sighed, watching Brock try to give Troy a raspberry on his cheek.
“Maybe someday, right?” Troy said to Brock.
“How about a day about eight months from now?”
Troy’s face turned white, and his eyes bugged out. Brock was drooling all over his cheek, still trying to give Troy a raspberry. “What did you just say?”
“Um, well. You remember that night about a month ago where I got rip-roaring drunk, and we had sex in the back of your truck?”
Troy nodded. “That’s pretty hard to forget.”
“Well, surprise. We made a baby that night.”
Troy handed me Brock and shook his head. “That’s it,” he shouted. “There will absolutely be no more sex in my truck! We had Brock the same way.”
“Da, Da, Da,” Brock chanted, holding his arms out for Troy. Brock had become a Daddy’s boy from their late night TV binging.
“Troy, that’s ridiculous. You know that has nothing to do with it.”
“I won’t believe that until you prove it.” Troy held up one finger. “Almost two years ago, we had had sex in the front seat of my truck. Bam! You’re pregnant.” He flipped up another finger. “One month ago, I let you take advantage of me in the bed of my truck. Bam! You’re pregnant again,” he proclaimed, pointing at my stomach. “No more truck sex. I’m putting my foot down.”
“Bam, bam!” Brock repeated and held his arms over his head.
“Is that all you can think about right now? Where we had sex? I’m about to give you another baby and that’s all you're worried about,” I shouted, my voice cracking. I had been an emotional wreck all week, suspecting I was pregnant but wasn’t for sure until I had been to the doctor’s this afternoon.
“Well, you have to admit, it’s more than a coincidence.”
“Troy! I’m fucking pregnant!” I shouted.
Brock cried out, and his cute, little face scrunched up. I buried my face in his sweet scent and turned my back to Troy.
“Dammit, Marley, I’m sorry.” He put his arms around me. “You know how I get. I can’t see past my own nose sometimes.”
Troy was right. I did know how he got, and that was one of the things I loved about him. He could see humor in anything. “You just need to reel it in sometimes,” I whispered. Brock was playing with my hair, and Troy’s hands rubbed my stomach.
“You’re having my baby again, Marley.” Troy stated.
“I sure am,” I mumbled.
Troy sighed, and I turned around in his arms. “We’re gonna have two kids under the age of two running around the house.” I nodded. “Ol’ Bandit isn’t going to know what to think.”
“He’ll get used to it, just like he did with Brock.”
Troy brushed my hair out of my face. “You’re having my baby,” he repeated.
I nodded and knew that it was finally sinking in.
Troy grabbed me around the waist and spun Brock and me around. Brock clapped his hands and laughed at his silly daddy.
Troy pressed a kiss to Brock’s cheek and took him out of my arms. He set him in his highchair and dumped a pile of Cheerios in front of him.
“Troy, that’s too many,” I scolded.
Troy tossed the box of cereal on the counter and grabbed me around the waist. “Silence,” he whispered.
“I kill you!” Brock shouted.
Troy pressed his forehead to mine, a goofy grin on his lips. “I promise not to let the new baby watch Comedy Central.”
“Promises, promises,” I whispered.
“I love you, Marley,” he growled against my lips.
“I love you too, Troy.”
********
Cyn
“Get in the car.”
I grabbed my purse and hitched it over my shoulder.
“Get in the car now, Diamond,” I heard Rigid say as I walked out the front door.
“You need to have a firm voice, Rigid.” I walked up to the car and put my hands on my hips.
“I can’t have more of a firm voice than I do, Cyn,” he growled. “I wanted a big, burly Doberman, and you come home with a girl Doberman with a neon pink collar on, and you name her Diamond. How the hell can you be firm when saying Diamond?”
“Like this, Dad,” Micha called from the open car door. “Come here, Diamond,” he said, patting his knee. Diamond hopped into the car, and I slammed the door.
“You’re losing your touch, Rigid. I’m going to have to start calling you Ashley. It seems to suit you better.”
“You do that, and you’re going to end up over my knee,” he said menacingly.
“Promises, promises,” I chided.
Rigid pushed me up against the car and caged me in with his arms. “You better be thankful we have somewhere to be, or I’d make good on my promise right now.”
“Micha is staying the night at Gwen’s tonight,” I purred, running my hands up his arms.
“Are you just trying to get me riled up?” he asked.
“Maybe, but you’ll never know for sure.”
“Cynthia, you’re trying my patience,” he mumbled next to my ear.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him close. “Good,” I whispered.
Rigid delved his hands into my hair and devoured my mouth.
“How the hell after five years, do you still drive me crazy?” he asked when we finally came up for air.
“Probably the same way you drive me crazy. Chemistry, big man,” I said before pressing a kiss to his cheek.
“As soon as we get home, I’m going to show you chemistry,” he mumbled.
I pressed a quick kiss to his lips and ran my fingers through my hair. “I can’t wait.”
********
Paige
“One more.”
I shook my head and brushed on my lip gloss.
“Paige, come one. How can you not want one more?” Demon asked from where he sat on the edge of the tub, holding our three-month-old son, Braxton in his arms.
I heard running down the hallway and knew my two reasons for stopping at three were about to burst through the bathroom door.
“Ma, Mom, Mommy,” Ryan and Riley yelled as they pounded on the bathroom door. I looked at Demon in the mirror and pointed at the door. “Our three-year-old twins are the reason I don’t want any more. If I managed to make it through the terrible three’s with those two, I think we’ll be doing good.”
“Come on, Paige, you know how boys are. Next time, we can have a girl,” Demon pointed out.
I rolled my eyes and turned around. I leaned against the bathroom sink and crossed my arms over my chest. “You promised me with Braxton that he was going to be a girl. I’m pretty sure when he screamed bloody murder when he got circumcised says differently.” I knew that Demon couldn’t predict what we were going to have, but I still liked to point out that he was wrong about Braxton.
“That’s because we had sex on a Tuesday with him. I figure we shoot for a Thursday, and bada bing bada boom, girl.”
“Did you really just say bada bing bada boom?” The man was pulling every trick out of the bag to try to convince me to have another baby.
Demon shrugged and looked down at Braxton. “How can you not want to have another one of these?”
Ryan pounded on the door and demanded I open it to open his juice box. “Because that,” I said, pointing at a sleeping Braxton, “turns into screaming banshees who need juice boxes opened at all hours of the night.” I opened the door a crack and grabbed the juice box Ryan handed me. I poked the straw through the hole and handed it back to him. “You boys better not have gotten dirty,” I called as they ran down the hallway to their room.
Devil’s Knights MC Box Set 2 Page 69