Originals Ride: Hellions Motorcycle Club (Hellions Ride Book 8) (17 page)

She tilts her head to the side, studying me. “Why?”

“Why?” I choke out. “Because we have loved; we have lost; we have broken; and dammit, we’ve rebuilt. We are going into the prime of our lives, and there isn’t a single soul I want to share that with but you. I was young. I was dumb. But, baby, I did everything I could to keep you safe, build a life for us together, and keep us together. I made mistakes along the way, and that’s on me, not you, but I’ve changed, and you know it. Let me have the opportunity to spend the rest of our days giving you everything I should have been giving you from the start.”

She shakes her head. “I made a fool of myself by standing by you. I’ve been your doormat—come in, wipe your feet off, take off a load, find your release, and walk right back over me on your way out. I allowed it.”

Climbing onto the bed over her, I bring my eyes level with hers. “Don’t. Please, Mary Alice, don’t you do it.”

“I love you, Rhett, but where did it all go so wrong? Why did I let it all slide? Dia told me I should have kicked your ass more often. I didn’t. Blaine has never let himself love again. I can’t say that, if it had been me and not Dia, you would have given me the same loyalty.”

“Maybe there was a time I wouldn’t have. I can’t go back in time and change things, Mary Alice. I can tell you that, for years, I have been loyal, loving, faithful, and for as many days as you give me, I’ll give you my everything. I can tell you that, if tomorrow were to come and this was no more, I would never have a love like we share again. You are it for me, Mary Alice, and I took that for granted once, but I won’t do it again.”

With shaking hands, she cups my face and pulls me to her, kissing me softly. I taste the salt of her tears, and the need to be one with her consumes me as I deepen our kiss.

Breaking away, I drop my head to her neck. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I took you for granted. I’m sorry for all the pain between us.”

I kiss her neck before I roll us to our sides and kiss her lips again. Wrapping her leg around me, I let my hand tease her through her cloth pants and panties.

“I love you, Mary Alice. I promise you it’s only ever been you in my heart. You own me, baby. I promise you my loyalty.” I kiss her again as she tightens her arms around me.

Slowly, tenderly, I give my wife what I should have given her years before as I make love to her body. I give her my heart, my soul, and my body. I give her every part of me, knowing without a shadow of a doubt, for me and her, this is our forever ride together in life. We could have lost it all, should have lost it all, but in the end, she loved me through everything, and I’ll love her until the end of time.

Couldn’t Be Prouder

I ring the doorbell at the same time I hear something crash to the floor.

Pulling the gun from my back, I ready myself as I twist the doorknob, only to find it unlocked.

Entering the space, I find my precious Doll on the floor naked. Her husband Tripp is on top of her with her legs around his shoulders just as he thrusts hard, groaning her name.

“Fucking shit, Tripp. I should shoot your naked ass.”

“Daddy!” Doll squeals, pulling her legs down and her husband down to cover herself. “What the hell are you doing here?”

I turn my head toward the kitchen. “Surprise.” I don’t hide my sarcasm. “I’ll go make myself a snack. You two better have made me a granddaughter during your little tryst.”

“Nothing little about me or about how I fuck my wife,” Tripp gives back smartly.

“Shoulda put that fuckin’ bullet in you years ago.”

I go into the kitchen to get a snack, listening to my daughter scramble around before I feel her two small arms come around and hug me from behind. Her blonde hair is sticking out everywhere just like her mom’s used to.

I reach behind me and give her a squeeze.

“Be right back. Tripp will need his T-shirt back, and I’m sure you want me to not remind you of what we were doing.”

I laugh. Then on a sigh, I watch as she scurries away to get dressed.

“You’ll always be my little girl, Doll,” I whisper to the space around me.

It’s not long before the two of them are in front of me again. Tripp reaches out, and we exchange the normal handshake, half-hug, and back slap before I give my daughter a proper hug now that she’s wearing her own clothes again.

“Where are the boys?” Tripp asks, looking for the rest of the club.

“In Haywood’s Landing.”

“You came alone?” My daughter questions with concern.

“Prez doesn’t need to ride alone,” Tripp reminds me of something I know very well.

“I didn’t come here for Hellions’ business. I came here to see my daughter.” With my explanation out, I lift the envelope from my back pocket. “You were too young when your mother passed on to have this. The time has come, Delilah, that you get another piece of her.”

Putting the envelope to my lips, I inhale, barely able to smell her perfume as I let go of the last thing I’ve held on to for our daughter. The envelope is wrinkled and faded from years of being tucked away. However, Claudia’s script is still bold and full of the love she put into it when she wrote the letter.

Sitting down at her dining room table, my precious Doll breaks the seal that was last touched by her mother’s lips. On a sigh and with tears already filling her eyes, she reads the letter barely above a whisper as her voice cracks with emotions.

My dearest Doll, Delilah,

Oh, baby girl, how I wished for you, prayed for you, and loved having you. If you’re reading this, then the cancer won, and my precious, I’m so sorry to leave you. Please know I do so with the knowledge that you have a family with the Hellions and a father who will give his own life before he lets any harm ever come to a single blonde hair on your head.

The time will come in your life when things will shift. It’s called change, and baby, we all have to go through it. Mary Alice will give this letter to your dad so that he can determine when the time is right for you to have this piece of me, this piece of our life, and this piece of advice for your future.

I hope that, as you read this, you have come to terms with the decisions your dad and I made many years ago about having a club life. Although exhilarating at times, the Hellions didn’t come to be because of some need for a thrill ride, Doll. No matter what direction life takes the club, please go back to the roots of it all and remember it’s family, loyalty, and love above all else.

Your father took a stand for what he believed in many years ago, and the Hellions formed out of necessity to keep those closest to him safe. Times weren’t always easy, and my precious, as much as I want your life to be simple and smooth, you, too, will have to ride through the rough patches as they come.

We could have walked away from the club many times, and maybe we should have—I don’t know. What I do know is, if you’re reading this, the club stands firm. Understand that no matter what the dangers, the risks, and the losses we faced, the club continues out of love and loyalty. Ride until we die.

Doll, the Hellions are your family, your safe place, and your father will stand strong until the time comes that he feels it’s right to pass along what it means to be a leader.

Blaine is a man of great pride. Doll, you have to know he’s proudest of you. In saying this, you will also need to know that, when the time comes, it will be out of pride that things come to a head, and your dad will make decisions, very hard decisions. And I can’t predict the future, my precious, but I know he does so with your best interest at heart.

I write you this letter so you understand you are a Hellion through and through. The love Blaine and I have for you, the club also has for you.

My time with you is all too short, my Delilah, but please know that I leave you my heart.

My heart is full of love for your dad, you, our club, and the future. My heart is full of loyalty to those who have never let me down.

My heart is full of hope for you, my daughter. I hope that you find the love of a man who is strong, a man who will not back down in the tough times yet love you tenderly each and every night. My hope for you is a future where you can watch your man take his place in something he believes in and ride until you die. Doll, you stand with him as he does so. It won’t be easy, but my girl, you have my strength; you can stand strong against every curve in life’s road.

My hope for you is to have children just as wonderful as you are who can give you back the love you gave to your dad and me.

My hope for you, my dearest Doll, is that no matter what, you know yourself inside and out. You know where you came from, what you believe in, and that, when life gives you choices on which path to take, you ride strong on the path least taken.

Be fearless, my Delilah, love hard, and remember where you came from.

I’m always with you, watching over you. Carry my heart with you, carry my love through you, and ride every curve with pride and loyalty.

Loving you through eternity,

Mom

Tears fall down my daughter’s face as she finishes the letter, and I fight back my own emotions.

“What does this mean?”

“You are so much like your mom, Doll.”

She gives me a fierce grin. “We all know that, Dad. What’s going on here?”

“Nothing yet, but times are changing, and I need you to know where you came from.” I look at Tripp. “I need you both to know the Hellions were born out of necessity, but we ride on out of love and loyalty. This is your family.”

“Are you stepping down?” Tripp gives me his honest thoughts like always.

“Talon, when the time comes for my final ride, you will know. Things are changing, and the future path isn’t always so clear, so when I know, you’ll know, son.”

Doll jumps up with tears coming down her face. She buries her head against my chest as she holds me close.

I look over her at her man. “Tripp, I respect you, and I believe in you. When the time comes, you will have my vote. That’s something the two of you need to consider. For now, let’s go for a ride as a family.”

“BW is with Rex and Lux, so let me grab my helmet,” Doll says, stepping away.

“You sure about this, Roundman?” Tripp asks out of earshot from Doll.

“Not yet, but a man’s gotta know when it’s time to take a different path.”

Less than five minutes later, I’m on my bike with my daughter holding on to her husband as he rides beside me. Slowing, I let Tripp take the lead in front of me.

I feel the memories of Claudia’s hands roaming my chest while we rode. I feel her body behind me, her legs against my own, and her hair whipping around, slapping me in the face. I feel the wind squeeze me as I look ahead to see my daughter in front of me, riding free.

“
Love you for eternity, Blaine
,” Claudia whispers in my mind.