Lucifer’s Fury (A Motorcycle Club Romance) (14 page)

“You guys are right. I’m just letting my fears from the past affect the present. I’ll tell him after the doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Deal?”

Giggling, the girls nodded. We shared a group hug and they all rubbed my belly, even though there was no bump. It was too soon for that.

After the girls left me in peace, I headed for the shower, stripping off my clothes along the way. After sitting with the girls and finally making a decision about the merge, and revealing my not-so-secret secret to them, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

After a long hot shower, I pulled on a pair of shorts and tank top, and slipped into a pair of flip-flops. The Texas heat and humidity was insanely bad today but the guys obviously didn’t give a rat’s ass. Most of them were drenched in sweat already as they worked out, while a few hung around the boxing ring and watched a couple of guys beat the tar out of each other. Shaking my head, I made my way through the chaos to the group gathered around a boxing ring.

The large pavilion was obviously the place to be when there wasn’t any club business. The sounds of flesh hitting flesh, followed by cheers, brought my eyes back to the ring. Damn. These two guys weren’t messing around. To the average person, one would think they hated each other but these two guys didn’t. Hell, they were best buddies, but neither was holding back as they pummeled the living hell out of each other.

“That all you got?” the tall bearded man asked his opponent.

The other man growled, spitting blood on the stained white mat of the ring. His response was a solid punch to the jaw that sent the bearded man to the mat. Damn.

“Good fight,” the young fighter said, extending a hand to his friend.

Shaking my head, I headed for the workout area, where Jasper and a few other men were huddled together. As I approached, all conversation ceased.

“Should I come back later?” I asked.

“Nope,” Jasper said. “We just got a request for a sit down with the Twisted Bastards. The new President wants to call a truce. What do you think?”

“My only conditions are that they discontinue human trafficking and stay true to any agreements made.”

“All right. Make the call, Suicide, and let Dorian know to meet us here tomorrow at sunset. We’ll have the sit-down and see what shakes out.” Jasper pulled me aside. “You and the girls will need to be there for the meeting, too. Armed and ready,  just in case.”

“Sure. I need to talk to you. We had our meeting, and our final decision has been made. We all want the merge to go through. It’s for the best. But there is one little condition.”

“And what’s this little condition?”

“We want to continue our work putting a stop to human trafficking. Maybe not necessarily in the same way as before, but the girls want the backing of your guys as protection.”

“I think that’s doable. It has to go to a vote, but I’m sure the guys will be on board with that condition.”

“Any ideas on how to fold the clubs together?”

“Actually, I have been tossing around an idea. Let’s talk in the office. Less ears that way.”

“Okay.”

Jasper held out his hand and I slipped mine into his. We walked across the lot to the clubhouse. The back hallway was dark as we made our way down the long hall. Unlocking his office, I pushed passed him and took a seat on the couch.

“Bourbon?” he asked.

“No thanks. I’m good. So what idea are you kicking around?”

“It’s going to sound strange, but hear me out. At first, I thought a simple merge would be fine, but after getting to know your girls and seeing them in action, I don’t want to strip them of their ranks. So I propose we double up. Two officers for each position. Dual roles. Partners. Big Brass and Cherry Pie would team up as Veeps, Suicide and Siren as our Warlords, and me and you as President. I’ve got two enforcers returning from a trip soon but I don’t know that it’s necessary to pair them up with anyone… but we could go with four enforcers if need be. What do you think?”

“I... Jasper, that’s a great idea. It allows everything to ultimately remain the same… and nobody gets demoted. I think it’s a win-win.”

“We’ll have an official meeting after the sit-down with the Twisted Bastards is taken care of. I want to make sure that shit is put to rest first. Judge and Justice should be back in town by then. They’re patched so they need to be present for the vote.”

I hadn’t had the opportunity to meet these two guys yet, but I could tell that Jasper thought highly of them, so we’d wait until their arrival to finalize everything.

I was actually looking forward to stepping back a little, especially with my being pregnant. I knew I wouldn’t be able to pull my weight and ride along with the rest of the crew. It made me a little sad, but it was what it was after all.

“I’m good with that,” I said. “I’m taking the girls to town tomorrow. Figured we all need a break, or at the very least, some down time to just be girls, so I won’t be around for a few hours. I’ll keep the cell handy if something comes up.”

Leaning up on my toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. It started off as a quick peck but soon turned almost feral. His large hand brushed across my belly, and suddenly I realized we couldn’t raise a baby in the clubhouse. No freaking way was I going to be that kind of mother. Absolutely not.

It was too wild and loud. All that sex going on, and smoking and drinking. Shit. No kid deserved to be brought up with all that going on around them. No, they needed a quiet and normal place to be raised up in. Comfort. Safety. Normalcy. My heart raced as all those thoughts bombarded me at once.

Pulling away from Jasper, I stared at him for a moment. “I think I’m going to look at houses in the area, too,” I said bluntly. “Something simple and practical.”

Jasper cocked his head to the side. “Lola, are you looking to put down roots? I can help with that, you know.”

I don’t know what got into me but my freaking mouth just lost its filter. “Maybe you already have helped with that.” I kissed him again and booked it out of there before he could utter a word.

As I rounded the corner at the end of the hall, I ran smack into a wall of hard muscle. Suicide. Christ almighty, he was a big man. I shouted a quick ‘I’m sorry’ over my shoulder and kept right on moving.

I ran into the main room-slash-bar of the clubhouse like the devil was chasing my ass and plopped into an empty chair at the table where my girls were sitting.

“I need your help. All of you,” I said, breathing so damn heavy I was barely able to get the words out.

“What did you do?” one of the girls asked.

“Nothing. Well... shit... we were kissing and he touched my stomach...” I stammered.

They all looked at me like I had lost my damn mind.

“That usually isn’t a problem, Lola,” Siren said jokingly.

Frowning, I ignored her and continued on. “...and then it hit me like a lightning bolt. I can’t raise a baby here. No way is my child growing up with sweet butts taking it in the ass only a few feet away, or bar brawls and shoot-outs. Christ! I just freaked… so I blurted out that I was going house-shopping.”

Crossing my arms in front of me on the table, I dropped my head on my arms and began to panic. Nobody uttered a single word. “I don’t know anything about house-shopping,” I said. “I know nothing.” I lifted my head as I swiped a hand across my eyes, ridding my face of tears. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying. God! They must’ve all thought I’d gone soft and weak.

“Calm down, drama queen,” Cherry Pie said, patting me on the head. “The first thing you do is decide what kind of place you want and how much you want to spend. Then we call a damn real estate agent. Then you go check out the listings and pick the one that you can’t live without. It’s fucking easy, sweetheart. Stop panicking. It’s not good for the baby.”

A deep male voice sounded from behind me. “Baby? What baby?” Suicide asked, looking at the women around the table.

I stiffened at the sound of his voice, immediately regretting not running to the room I’d been sharing with Jasper to pull myself together. Shit. Shit. Shit.

I glanced up at him and my mouth went dry. He was eyeing all of us, his dark eyes bearing down on me, demanding answers.

I knew without a doubt the jig was up. He wasn’t going to walk away without answers. He crossed his arms over his large chest, silently waiting.

“Please don’t tell him,” I begged. “Give me one more day to get ahold of myself and see the doctor. Please!”

Suicide leaned down and gave me a hug, whispering softly. “One day but that’s all I can give you. He’s my brother and he needs to know.”

I nodded. “I promise,” I said softly.

He stood tall, towering over us, and smiled. “Good… and congratulations.”

Chapter 16: Blaze

Lola had been acting awfully strange lately. Her actions today solidified that something was really wrong. Ever since she had blurted out something about house-shopping and bolted from my office, she had been avoiding me. I didn’t know what the hell was going on but it was definitely making me worry.

Was she worried about our relationship? Was she questioning my love for her? Was she thinking about running again? Fuck me! I hoped like hell she wasn’t.

Rubbing my chest as the ache built to a raging crescendo, I realized that I had to let her know without a doubt that she was mine, that I’d never ever let her go, that I wanted and needed her in my life. And most importantly, I needed to let her know I had no doubts about us.

Leaning back against the bar, I scanned the room, taking everything in. Suicide and Siren were tucked into the corner booth, their heads close together as they talked. Pushing off the bar, I headed their way. As soon as they see me, their mouths snapped closed. What the fuck was going on in my clubhouse?

Sliding into the booth, I let out a heavy sigh and started peeling the label from my beer. “Is there something going on with Lola I should know about? She’s been acting strange. Avoiding me.”

Siren leaned forward and snatched the bottle from my hand. “Stop pouting like a baby. She’s fine. You’ll see soon enough.”

“No.” I shook my head. “Something is definitely going on with her. She wants to go house-shopping. What’s wrong with the clubhouse? And she’s been avoiding me all fucking day. It’s not like her. I can’t fucking lose her again. It’ll kill me.”

Suicide just glared at me, not saying a word. Secretive bastard wouldn’t say a word even if I threatened him. But Siren... she seemed to want to talk. Good. I could work with that. I could be patient and wait for her to spill what she knew. It didn’t take long.

A second later, Siren couldn’t help herself any longer and started to sing like a canary. “She’s putting down roots. It’s what women do when they plan to start a...” Suicide elbowed her in the ribs. “Fuck! That hurt, asshole.” She rubbed her side. “Christ, you didn’t have to do it so hard.”

Leaning back in the booth, I dug in my pocket and pulled out the ring. I’d managed to hold onto it all these years, hoping that I would get to see her wear it again. This time she wouldn’t have to
ever
take it off. The light hit the blue oval-shaped sapphire, the white diamonds surrounding it sparkling. I had chosen the sapphire because of her gorgeous blue eyes. I thought it would complement her beautifully. And it did. Perfectly.

“Oh my God! You still have it?” Siren gushed, reaching across the table for the ring in a lightning-fast move, snatching it from me.

“What?” I asked, stunned by her excitement.

“The ring, you idiot. We were talking about it earlier. She had tears in her eyes.” She glanced down at it, smiled, then placed it back in my hand, curling my fingers over it. “You’re going to ask her to marry you again, aren’t you? You should do it soon if you ask me.”

“Yeah.” That was it. That was all I could manage in that moment.

“She’ll say yes,” Siren said, confidence in her voice. She leaned over and whispered something to Suicide.

He shook his head, his lips tightening to a flat line. “Don’t get involved in this. Leave them be,” he said flatly, sliding out of the booth. He offered me a slight nod and lumbered away towards the bar, mumbling and grumbling as he went. What the hell was his problem? Had everyone gone mad?

“Screw him,” Siren said. “I love Lola and she loves the hell out of you. I might regret this… but for the sake of love, what the hell. You know something is going on and you’re right. She’ll let you know soon, though. Just give her time to come to terms with it. But that ring should come first. Maybe tonight would be good. It would ease her mind and let her know that what you have is really real. You understand?”

“Is she worried that I don’t love her? Is that it?” I asked. “Because I fucking can’t live without her. She’s all I’ve ever wanted and she’s all I’ll ever need.”

“Then ask her to marry you and let life happen. Make up for all of that stolen time. Buy a house. Start a family. Do everything you wanted to do ten years ago and don’t let anything get in the way this time.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

Fisting the ring tight in my hand, I left the bar and headed for my room.
Our
room. Stopping outside the door, I placed the ring back in my pocket and pushed the door open. Lola was laying on the bed, reading one of those dirty erotic romance novels. I sat down beside her and slipped the book from her hands and placed the bookmark inside it before laying it on the nightstand. “Let’s go for a ride.”

“Now?”

I nodded and kissed her cheek.

“Okay, let me put on some jeans then.”

My heart was racing as I watched her change her clothes. I still wasn’t sure what was going on with my girl, but after listening to Siren’s advice, I knew this was the right move. Once she was dressed and ready to go, we headed for the front of the clubhouse. Siren smiled as we walked by the bar. She mouthed ‘good luck’ and turned away, smiling.

Outside, Lola headed for her motorcycle but I grabbed her hand and pulled her towards mine instead. With a shrug, she followed me closer to my ride.

“Ride with me tonight.”