Naked Dirty Love (21 page)

Cillian shook his head. “Fuck! I was really hopin’ we wouldn’t have to run into that motherfucker. It’s gonna be hard enough lookin’ at him without grabbing a fuckin’ gun and unloadin’ into his motherfuckin’ face.”

“It ain’t about us, brother,” Kink replied, strangely the voice of reason in this particular conversation. “That motherfucker had a hand in Miranda’s death and now, I gotta start plannin’ her funeral. Don’t think I’m not hurtin’ right now ’cause I am. If
anyone
has a concrete reason to put a bullet in that motherfucker’s skull, it’s me but…not tonight. Not when he’s witnessin’ his fuckin’ kid bein’ born. It can wait. After all, tomorrow’s another day and once he leaves the hospital, he’s fair game.”

Cricket whistled from the back seat. “I gotta agree. We have a few goals in mind, and that’s makin’ sure Gisela, Chantal, and Kyra are safe. We get them outta there when they’re ready to leave and we live to see another day to put a bullet in that fucker’s brain.”

“Agreed,” Trey finally added. “Let’s just get to the hospital. This war ain’t over by a long shot—we got plenty more bodies to bury, but not tonight. I think enough people have gone to ground today.”

Following that statement, he floored the gas and drove faster to Birch Tree Hospital.

Chapter Fourteen

Kyra

S
hortly after Gisela, Chantal, and I checked Lacey into the hospital, we all walked outside and smoked cigarettes together on a designated bench, a full twenty feet away from the hospital’s entrance.

Cell stood a few yards from us, close enough to keep watch on the surrounding area while far enough away to grant us blessed privacy.

“Do you think Carlito will show up?” Chantal dragged from her cigarette, exhaling silently.

“Well, she
is
his fiancée and she’s giving birth to their son.” Gisela flicked the excess ash from her cigarette. “What do you think? I mean…if it was Cillian, he’d be here in a heartbeat.”

I glared at my best friend and her short memory. Cillian didn’t attend the birth of their son in Northern Ireland, even if it was her parents’ fault. However, that wasn’t a moment in her life I was in any position to share.

Chantal quickly finished her cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray. “Well, since I’m her best friend, I should be there. I’d kill her if the situation was reversed and she wasn’t there for me.”

We both watched her stroll quickly back into the hospital.

Gisela glanced at Cell. “You should be following her—not worrying about us. We’re both armed and much older than you. Chantal, on the other hand, is barely nineteen and doesn’t have a weapon. I’d hate for Kink to lose his old lady
and
his sister on the same day.”

“But…I thought—”

“No one pays you to think, Cell,” I interrupted rudely before dragging on my cigarette. “Gisela and I got this, okay?”

The youngest and newest club member nodded before he quickly caught up with Chantal, leaving my best friend and I alone.

“Well, you handled that smoothly.” She tossed her cigarette on the asphalt and stubbed it out with her wedge sandal. “What’s going on, sweetie? You’ve been on edge since you spoke to your dad.”

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly but I couldn’t meet her penetrating gaze. “My dad wanted me to come back to the club since the drive-by happened today and I said no. I would’ve had to risk too much and, in the end, I decided it wasn’t worth it.”

My best friend placed one of her hands on my shoulder and squeezed lightly. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Did he ask you to choose, yet again, between them and the club?”

“Yes but…it was more out of desperation than anything else.” I groaned and finally turned toward Gisela. “He wants me to come back but at the expense of Trey and I
can’t
do that. I know…I’m such a selfish bitch, thinking only about my own happiness and perhaps what’s best for everyone involved but I can’t leave him.”

“Afraid you might get caught up in a situation similar to Lacey?”

“Fuck, I’m already there,” I muttered. “Not that I’m pregnant because I’ve been very careful on that front. God knows I don’t want some sort of…accident to bring us together.”

“You mean like my situation with Cillian?” She laughed though the sound was tinged with a bittersweet melancholy only I would have noticed.

“No, not like that. You and Cillian—you’ve got history, sweetie. You two have been in love with forever, lost a kid together during your teenage years, and burned for each other. It’s not the same with Trey and I—”

“Wanna bet?” she interrupted me. “What? You think you two don’t have history just because you haven’t been lovers forever? You had a friendship and you two cared about one another. The only difference is he chose to pursue happiness with another woman and that went up in flames. You, on the other hand, buried your feelings with throwaway boy-toys who meant
nothing
to you. And yet, you still found your way back to each other. It’s beautiful, it’s unique—it’s your past—it’s you. Embrace it, don’t run away from it.”

I brushed my hair out of my face after tossing my cigarette to the ground. “Listen to us, like a pair of old ladies, talking about the good
ole
days.”

“Well, in case you failed to notice, we’re both in our thirties now. Although that’s hardly considered pushing up daisies, we’re not exactly spring chickens anymore either.”

We both laughed together though my heart thundered in my chest from nervous anxiety I couldn’t shake.

I wouldn’t be able to hold on to the secret my father accidentally disclosed to me and, truth was, I didn’t want to either. He didn’t deserve my loyalty, even if what he’d done ultimately caused his demise.

Still, I was torn. This was the club I was talking about, not just my dad. I didn’t know how much the other members knew about his decision. They probably didn’t know anything. Since he’d kicked me out, my father continually acted impulsive and foolish. I truly didn’t think he consulted anyone before he’d decided to make his deal with
Aztecas Infierno
.

“There’s something else.” I bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. “I mean, I need to tell you but I can’t have you spouting off to Cillian, at least not yet.”

“What is it?” Gisela’s amber eyes brightened. “We’re business partners first, Kyra. I wouldn’t tell Cillian
anything
you disclosed to me in confidence. It would be unethical and God knows I don’t need any additional issues with the Nevada Bar Association. They barely allowed me to continue practicing law. The next time I’m reported, they’ve stated, unequivocally, they’ll disbar me and prevent me from practicing in any other state, too. I couldn’t allow that to happen…ever. Law is my life.”

I could feel my pulse in my throat, throbbing through the veins in my forehead, forming a migraine I wouldn’t be able to handle for very long. “My dad…he told me about how he needed me to come back to the club so he could keep me safe.”

Gisela’s perfectly shaped eyebrows arched questionably. “What
exactly
does that mean? How can he keep you safe from
Aztecas Infierno
when they’ve obviously gone rogue?”

Uh-oh, here we go…

“Jonesy…my father…has been working with Emilio Navarro. Not on any sort of drug deal because he’s not interested in that but…he wants to bring the Saints to their knees. He’s assured Emilio, in so many words, he’d help him destroy the Saints if and when I was out of the way. Today was my out and I was supposed to say yes but I didn’t.”

“Holy Christ, Kyra!” She stood and began to pace. “You mean he’d go this far just to get you back? What the hell did Trey ever do to him?”

I stood too and stepped in front of Gisela to stop her from pacing. “It’s not
about
Trey—my dad’s beef is with Dizzy and it’s an old motherfuckin’ issue. Apparently, Maureen Cox has always enjoyed the company of men of ill repute. Emilio Navarro was not her first…he was the one she married. Before him, she had a relationship with my Uncle
Llywelyn. My middle name is the female version of his. It didn’t end very well and…Dizzy murdered him.”

“Oh, God. No wonder your father is so pissed off.”

“Yeah, he’s got a right to be upset, but to do this? To make a deal with that monster and I’m supposed to forgive him and let bygones be bygones? Miranda is
dead
! I liked her…a lot. She was always sweet to me and never treated me with suspicion just because I was the daughter of the Bastards’ Prez. I can’t forgive him for that and pretend like it never happened. He’s my dad, I’ll always love him, but he’s lost my respect forever,” I explained softly. “It’s a shame to hear that.”

If it was possible to jump out of my skin, I would’ve, but the look on Gisela’s face was enough to send shivers down my spine.

I turned around and came face to face with Carlito. Flanked by his minions, he looked every bit the dime-store pimp he was. I couldn’t even summon the acting skills to glare at this man with anything
other
than disdain.

“Ladies,” he began in a suave voice. “Tell me, what kind of two-bit, punk ass club leaves their most valued possessions without anyone to protect them?”

Gisela laced her arms under her breasts and silenced him with a frosty look. “We don’t need men to protect us, or did you think we were stupid enough to come here unarmed? Birch Tree is
our
town and if you don’t want to end up in jail, you would do yourself a favor and get the fuck outta here.”

Carlito laughed out loud. “Tough talk comin’ from such a little lady. But then, I forgot…you don’t need Cillian’s name or protection…do you,
Miss
Jackson?”

“The last name is Jackson-Cox now. And no, I don’t. In fact, all I have to do is place a call to Daddy dearest and he’ll have members from his own organization, and the Abandonato family, down here so fast, it’ll make your head spin. So I suggest you take your little band of
vatos locos
and be on your way back to wherever the fuck roach motel you crawled your ass out of,” she said calmly and with conviction.

His blue eyes softened. “I came here to see the birth of my son into the world,
Missus
Jackson-Cox. I have no beef with you. Your old man and I—we can settle the differences between us some other day. I’m here for my fiancée and my child, nothing else. My men will not harm you, and we will not threaten you in any way, is that clear?”

“Fair enough.” Her arms dropped to her side while she continued to stare at him with cold, desolate eyes. “You do that…go see your
ex
-fiancée and your child. With your luck, you might not get much time. Cillian, Trey, Kink, and Cricket are on their way over right now so say your peace and get the hell out of here.”

Carlito walked past, his men in tow except for one who stood in his spot.

“By the way,” he said. “I meant we aren’t here after
you
, Gisela…but Kyra is considered cargo. Her father wants her back home and we do keep our promises.”

“What?” I cried indignantly. “I’m not going anywhere!”

He whistled to the guy who had yet to move. “Cheuy, escort Ms. Hughes back to her father’s home.”

The rest was a blur as the burly yet strong Latino grabbed and proceeded to drag me away from the hospital. I kicked and screamed while two men held Gisela back. If I was loaded into a vehicle and rushed off, everything would be over.

How could my father be so stupid? Did he really think these men would deliver me to him alive? I could see my whole life flash before my eyes, including all the memories I’d yet to make.

The life I dreamt of living with Trey; not only as his beloved old lady, confidante, lover, and the mother of his children, but also his partner and life mate in every sense of the word. The twilight years when we were old and gray but still very much in love because we’d lived a lifetime of good times and bad together. This couldn’t be the end—I’d never allow my life to be snuffed out on
these
terms, ever.

The world seemed to move in slow motion, my arms pinned to my side, the screeching of tires as they came to an abrupt stop and the booted sound of steel-toed shitkickers hitting the pavement.

“Let her the fuck go or so help me God, I will motherfuckin’ end you right here, right now in public!”