I’m not sure where that came from but holy shit, I don’t question it. Not with the way Derek fucks me like he never wants to let me go. He ravishes my body with his own until I’m a withering mess beneath him. His long, hard strokes sends my body into a tailspin of chaos and need. His lips find mine and he kisses me hard as I fall over the edge, taking him with me.
Once he slows down and I’m sated, Derek rests his forehead against mine. “You are mine, Belle.”
I hold his face in the palms of my hands, “You are mine, Derek.”
“Forever.” He pulls out of me and I immediately miss his body against mine. “I need you to promise me you’ll be safe when meeting Salazar. I can’t lose you.”
I slide my panties on along with my jeans, just in case anyone walks in. I approach Derek, “I will. I won’t let him hurt me, you or anyone else anymore.”
Derek kisses me again and pulls away. “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“I know.” He hands me my shirt and I slide it on. I can still feel his come between my legs. “You know we didn’t use anything.”
“I know. Like I said, if anyone deserves my child, it’s you, Belle. I’m an asshole and go after what I want. What I want right now is your belly swollen with my child.”
A smile graces my lips and I kiss Derek again. No more words are needed with where we stand. We are together forever and if I do end up pregnant, then that’s God’s way of tying us together even further.
***
It’s dark by the time Monica and I leave the safehouse. We’re driving a black Dodge Ram Derek was able to get from Ricardo. How he can get these things under the Cartel’s radar is a question I don’t want an answer too.
Now, we need to focus on Salazar and end his terror on us. Monica pulls into a deserted parking lot that is near a rundown bar. There are a couple of pickups parked haphazardly and a sleek black SUV next to the doors. I don’t see any of the Royal Bastards around, but I know they’re here. Monica puts the truck in park and looks over to me.
“When we go in there, please be careful. Don’t get to close to Salazar where he can grab you and use you for a shield. Once we know he’s in there, get the hell out and Torch will light the place up like the fourth of July.” She squeezes my shoulder. “I’ll be waiting right out these doors for you.”
“Why don’t we light it up now?” I question. If they think it’ll be that simple, then just torch it now, not wait.
“Because we need to know for sure he’s in there. Keep your phone on and Derek has his muted. So he can hear everything but they can’t hear him.” Monica dials Derek from my phone and flashes it to me. She hands it to me and I shove it in my jeans pocket.
Together we open our door and close them, making our way up the stairs to the bar. She squeezes my shoulder in encouragement and I walk through the doors, alone. Monica staying on the front porch watching for anyone trying to sneak up on us. The first thing that I see is four men gathered around a booth. Once the door shuts behind me, they all turn in my direction. Dust and dirt are caked on every surface beside the booth. I take a hesitant step away from the door when a large hand lands on my shoulder, making me jump. I junk punch the guy and he goes down like a sack of bricks.
“Now is that any way to treat my guest?” The man sitting at the booth asks the man on the ground holding his balls. “Come, Danyella. Join me for a drink, no?” He opens a bottle of scotch and pours two glasses. I look over my shoulder and see another man blocking the door.
“Why is there a man blocking the door?” I ask loud enough for Derek on the other line to hear. So he knows I can’t get out.
“Please, join me. It’s rude to not drink when offered.” The intent in Salazar’s voice is unmistakable. If I don’t go there, he will kill me on the spot. I take a small step toward him when shots ring out through the bar. I duck and crawl behind the bar’s counter. Bullets rain down onto me and splinter into the wood above my head. I lift my head to see if I can find an escape route when a small whimper catches my attention. I head to the middle of the counter and look inside a small hiding spot. A little girl stares back at me with tears in her eyes and her lips are trembling. She has a pert nose and wide-set black eyes. Her features look familiar to me but I can’t place where I’ve seen her before.
With renewed strength, I gather the little girl in my arms and hurry toward the stock room in the back of the bar. Bullets whiz past my head and splinter into the wood, sending shards in my direction. The little girl doesn’t scream but she does bury her head into my chest, hiding her face.
I cover her body with mine the best I can and slam the door shut. I look around and see there’s no back door. Shit. The sound of bullets stops for a moment and the smell of copper and gun powder is thick in this room. Looking up I spy a small slider window covered with dirt and sand. I grab some boxes with the little girl still clinging to me and stack them up against the wall.
“Hang on, baby girl. I’m going to get us out of here and we’ll find my friends.” I soothe her. She nods her head, her body trembling with sobs. “Can you tell me your name?” She doesn’t answer me. Instead of wasting time, I grab more boxes and stack them higher so we can reach the window.
I set the little girl on her feet, but she doesn’t let go of my neck. “Listen, I need you to climb these boxes and out the window. I’ll be right behind you. Can you do that for me? Can you be a big girl and get out that window?” I point to the window waiting for her to answer.
A loud bang comes from the door and my heart races in my chest. They’re coming for us and we don’t have much time. “Please, baby girl. I need you to climb to safety.” I plead.
The little girl hesitantly releases my neck and begins climbing up. The banging on the door increases and it shudders with every slam. I quickly throw things in front of it to prevent it from opening. I turn around to see how she’s doing and she’s almost to the top.
“That’s it. You’re doing great, honey. Just a little further.” I encourage her. She continues to climb until she’s at the window. Looking down at me with uncertainty, I make the decision to climb up behind her. These boxes won’t hold our weight for too long. Once I reach the top, I pop open the window and sit on the sill. It’s a drop down but we need to do it.
“Climb into my back and don’t let go. I’m going to get us down from here. Can you do that?” She nods her head with fear in her black eyes. Once she’s secure, I turn so my stomach is against the windowsill and my feet are dangling. The door to the supply room bursts open and I come face to face with the man I junk punched pointing a gun right at my head. I send up a prayer that we make the drop and release my hold on the windowsill just as a bullet flies at my head. My feet are dangling in the air. I don’t know how far I have to drop, but I have to do it before he catches me.
I release my hold and we fall to the ground, my body taking the brunt of the fall. I land on my front side, keeping her protected. The impact jars my feet all the way up to my stomach. I feel sick but know we need to keep moving. I pick myself up off the ground and help the little girl up. She clings to me so I pick her up and we start running in the direction away from the bar.
A light shining far off in the distance is my goal. My body aches, my head is pounding and my stomach is queasy but I can’t stop for anything. The light gets brighter and brighter the closer we get. I spot a shiny black Harley and relief fills my body. I collapse right before voices reach me. My body drifts into a dark, voided place.
Epilogue
Capone
It’s been a few hours since we came back from the biggest fucking set up ever done. I failed my Belle and now she’s hurt because of me. Red and Derange have her in the room she picked out back at the safehouse. Derange said she wasn’t hurt, but fuck, the way she collapsed right before she reached me, I thought she was dead. And the little girl she had with her? I have no idea who she is or what she’s doing here. But that will be back seated for now. Now my top priority is Dany
ella.
After Danyella’s phone cut out the moment she stepped into the bar, I knew it was a setup. We tried to manhandle the door and that’s when the shots were fired from inside. After that, I didn’t hold back. I went in guns blazing and took down the main heads of the Salazar Cartel. Including Salazar himself. Then when Danyella came running from around the building, directly toward me, I sent Torch to do his magic. He lit that motherfucking place up like the fourth of July on crack.
The letter written to me is sitting on the table. My head is resting on my hands when the kitchen door swings open. Danyella comes into the kitchen and spots me sitting here. It’s now or never. I shove out a seat, motioning her to sit next to me. She slowly makes her way over with her eyebrows drawn together and her lips pursed. I appraise the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. From her feet to the tips of her hair, Danyella is absolutely perfect to me and for me.
“What’s that?” She asks, motioning to the envelope in my hand.
I place it on the table between us, my name scrawled on the front facing both of us. “This was here when I got here. I haven’t opened it yet and I wanted to make this decision with you. Do we want to leave whatever’s in this letter unread or do we want to do it together?”
Danyella picks up the envelope and looks it over. Then her green eyes land on me full of understanding and love. “What do you want to do?”
I fold my fingers in front of my face with my elbows on the table, like a prayer. “I don’t know.” I point to the letter. “What I do know is that can’t be any good.”
“But you’ll drive yourself crazy if you don’t read it.” Danyella nails the issue on the head. She’s exactly right. If that letter answers anything about what happened five years ago, I’ll want to know. Danyella’s thumb slides under the seal and rips it open. She pulls out a piece of paper and a picture floats between us onto the table. It’s a photo of a little girl with jet black hair and dark eyes, like my own. Her features are similar to mine but there’s no fucking way this can be. I pick the picture up and study it. Her pert little nose is scrunched and she isn’t smiling the way a child should be.
“What the fuck?” I question and look up at Danyella. She’s reading the letter with tears pooling in her eyes, making them a dark green. She hasn’t seen the picture yet and the image is the same little girl Danyella saved a few hours ago.
“Capone,” Danyella starts reading the letter. “I know this isn’t what you wanted and I know this isn’t your fault. You didn’t know what Salazar had planned when he learned where his grandson was. He hired me to trick you into sleeping with me and I did it. I’m no better than he is, but this little girl doesn’t deserve the outcome Salazar had planned for her. I was a pawn in his game and had no choice but to follow through with what he wanted. When I found out I was pregnant, Salazar wanted to use my little girl to lure you out. Only he didn’t expect me to fight back. I spent the last six years keeping her safe, away from Salazar.
“If you’re finding this letter, it means Salazar found me and I’m no longer breathing. I did something he never would have dreamed I could do. To him, I was the hired hand who went with everything he said and wanted. But the moment I felt that first kick, to the first time I heard her heartbeat, I knew I’d sacrifice my life to save hers.
“I wanted to do this face to face, but I had no way of getting her to you safely. I enclosed a picture of my little girl, Nina. Our little girl. Please, take care of her and protect her the way she deserves. My brother, Ricardo, knows how to find Nina and when you’re ready, he will bring her to you. Please forgive me for deceiving you all these years and don’t take it out on her. She’s an innocent brought into this cruel, harsh world. I have told her who her daddy is and she’s anxious to meet you. Layla.”
I take the letter from Danyella’s hands and read it over. It’s written right here in black pen. I have a little girl I had no idea about. Anger radiates through my body from missing her first cries, her first steps, her first words. Missing all the milestones and goals Nina has taken.
“Derek,” Danyella whispers. “What are you going to do?” The look of hurt and betrayal crosses her beautiful face.
“I don’t know. All I know is this woman could be lying to get me to take a kid that isn’t mine. After everything I’ve witnessed and seen, every lie in my past, this could be the exact same thing.” I clench the letter in my grip until it crinkles.
Danyella picks up the photo and studies it. The moment realization crosses her face, I see it. The look of determination and unbridled passion. “I don’t think she’s lying to you. If this little girl is yours, we are going to raise her and take care of her. We will do this together.”
“Are you sure? I would never ask you to raise another woman’s child.”
Danyella stands up from her chair and approaches me. Her body is still sore from her escape from death, but that doesn’t stop her. She straddles my lap so we’re chest to chest. She grips my face in the palm of her hands, forcing me to look at her. “If this little girl is a part of you, I have no problem loving her like she’s my own. Even if she isn’t yours, I have no problem taking care of an innocent little girl who has so much to give. But by the looks of her and you, I wouldn’t doubt she is yours. Even if you can’t see it.”
I wrap my arms around Danyella’s waist and hold her tight. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Belle. You’re the light in my dark world.”
“Right now, you can kiss me and then we can go wherever it may lead.” And I do, I kiss Danyella with so much passion, I’m dizzy and breathing heavily. Her pussy grinds into my cock, making it hard behind the zipper of my jeans. I kiss my way down her throat to her heaving chest. Danyella throws her head back, bringing her plump tits up to my face. “Together, Derek. We’ll conquer this together.”
Even in all the chaos of the Club life and our lives, we will do it together.
Note from the Author:
First off, I want to start with my wonderful readers. Thank you for taking the time to read this book. I hope you’re enjoying the Royal Bastards MC world.
Crimson and Nikki, thank you for letting me be a part of this world and trusting me to do it right. Without the support behind all the authors in this world, Blayze never would’ve come to life. So, thank you again for allowing me to be a part of this world.
My Beta Bitches! Joy, Monica, Krista and Sherry. Finding my mistakes and pumping me up for this release. You ladies are my girls and always will be. Thank you for your late-night messages and for letting me be a part of your lives. You’re forever in mine. Sarah, my Ride or Die. You’ve been with me since Racing Dirty (even before that with the novels in the vault) Thank you for your editing and feedback on all my work. Without you, I would have never pushed that publish button.
Kat, thank you so much for jumping in and proofreading this novel for me. Your feedback was amazing and you did it with a small timeline. Thank you so much for the extra set of eyes! I’m forever indebted to you.
Michelle, oh where to start? We’ve been together since before Indy publishing (Kind of forced since you’re my sister in law) but I wouldn’t have it any other way. You’re stuck with me for life. Oh! And AARP called, they’re still waiting for you to fill out that paperwork.
Rex and my spawns. Each book is written is for you. Thank you for putting up with my ass on a daily basis. I love you all from the bottom of my heart.
Lastly, I want to thank my dad. If it wasn’t for your love of reading, I never would have pursued doing this. Thank you for your support and undying love of the written word.
Books written by J. Lynn Lombard
Savage Saints MC
Kayne’s Fury:
Get it here; Amazon: https://amzn.to/2DbXmAl
Blayde’s Betrayal
Get it here: Amazon https://amzn.to/2Z0yGoc
Stryker’s Salvation
Get it here: Amazon https://amzn.to/2InXZKV
All are #Freeon
KU
Find the stories that started all of this in the completed Racing Dirty Series
Thrust; Amazon: https://amzn.to/2AwrgJ7
Torque (book 2) Amazon: https://amzn.to/2H0JugS
Turbulence (book 3) Amazon: https://amzn.to/2KNuTaj
Call my Bluff Anthology
Get it here: https://tinyurl.com/CallMyBluffAZ
Want to keep in touch with me?
Join my mailing list at http://bit.ly/2u71A8P
Join J. Lynn’s Badass Bitches reader group on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2qtxkpw
Follow me on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2COi78o
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2CP2fCH
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2HkczDZ
Instagram: www.instagram.com/j.lynnlombardauthor
Capone's Chaos: Royal Bastards MC Los Angeles Chapter book #2 Page 12