by Nicola Jane
I wince, reaching behind me and taking Lottie’s hands. She grips onto me tightly. “Okay, I’m staying right here. What’s going on?”
“You tell me,” she hisses.
The door opens and the guys pour in. Riggs realises pretty quickly what’s going on and holds his hands up, halting the rest. They fall silent, and Laura’s eyes dart back and forth between me and them. “Tell me someone’s armed,” I hear Cree whisper.
“You know we don’t carry to Vinn’s place. It’s safe for us there,” Chains whispers back.
“Listen, Laura, I get you’re mad at me, but let these guys go. It’s nothing to do with them,” I say calmly.
“You got off with murdering my brother,” she yells.
“I told you, I didn’t murder him.”
“Lies!” she screams, waving the gun around again. The brothers duck, keeping their ol’ ladies hidden behind them. I take in her unkempt appearance. It’s so different from the woman I once knew. There’re dark circles under her eyes, and she looks crazed.
“Shit, man, she’s lost the plot,” mutters Blade.
“I want the truth,” she snaps. Her voice breaks as a sob escapes her. “Is he dead?” she whispers.
“Laura—” I begin, but she points the gun at my chest.
“If I shoot, it’ll kill you both. Who will look after your precious baby then?” she asks, grinning maniacally.
“Oh god, where’s Elsie?” panics Lottie.
“She’s upstairs safe. For now. Maybe I should hurt you like you’ve hurt me, Storm,” she says, tears running down her cheeks. “Maybe I should take someone you love.”
“That won’t make you feel better, Laura,” I say.
“It might,” she suddenly screams again, shaking the gun.
“Okay, okay,” I hiss. “After the police arrested me, I did some research. I know who killed him.” She sniffles, waiting for me to continue. “His name was Cobra. He had an MC here in London, and your brother stole some money and drugs from him.”
“Jesus, how many murders can we pin on Cobra?” whispers Blu, sniggering.
A noise from behind Laura grabs her attention, and she spins around, coming face to face with Frankie and a baseball bat. She takes a swing, knocking Laura clean out. “You fucking woke the baby,” hisses Frankie. “Someone get this bitch out of here,” she adds, turning back to the stairs. “And next time, carry your fucking guns.”
Lottie throws herself against me, and I hold her tightly. “I thought she was going to kill you,” she cries.
“Call the doc, get this bitch sectioned,” orders Riggs.
I kiss Lottie, and a few of the guys cheer. “About time,” mutters Cree.
“Let’s get you to bed,” I mutter. “We’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
I spend the night worshipping Lottie’s body, trying to convey exactly what she means to me . . . not just as the woman I love but as the mother of my child. When I finally pull her into my arms, we’re both exhausted. “You didn’t use a condom,” she mumbles sleepily.
“I plan on keeping that belly full of babies for at least the next ten years,” I say and I feel her smile against my chest.
“Is it really that simple?” she asks.
“We’ve spent too long trying to get this right and failed every time. For once, I’m listening to my heart. I love you. I never stopped. Having you and Elsie in my life is all I want, and I’ll do anything to make it work.”
“I love you too. Do you think our life will always be full of drama?” she asks.
“Seems to be the way in this club,” I say, laughing. “All I know, Charlotte Murphy, is we’re gonna marry. We survived so much and we have come too far to let what we have slip away again.”
She looks up at me, her sleepy eyes full of happiness. I never want to be the reason they look sad again. “We survived the storm,” she says, smiling.
“Damn right, we did, baby.”
I don’t know what the future holds, and maybe the storms will keep coming, but I know we owe it to ourselves and to Elsie to give us a go. If we can survive mental illness and addiction and still find our way back to each other, what else can possibly tear us apart?
The End.
Books Available Now in the Kings Reapers MC Series:
Riggs’ Ruin
Capturing Cree
Wrapped in Chains
Saving Blu
Riggs’ Saviour
Taming Blade
Misleading Lake
Surviving Storm
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