The crowd explodes in cheers and hollers, and I’m as nervous as hell. Each set ends with me singing Roman Angel. I wasn’t sure the song would work on stage, but hearing the crowd go wild, hearing them sing along with me is the best feeling in the world. They love us. Christ, they really love us!
The last song comes to an end, and Marco yells, “Thank you and goodnight!” before taking my hand and leading me off stage.
I’m on such a high as we enter the dressing room. I throw my sweaty arms around Marco’s neck and kiss him deeply. There’s no better feeling than being up on that stage with my man. I feel like I’ve been on the best kind of drugs in the world. The adrenaline pumping through me is something else right now.
“That was amazing!” I yell happily. Marco chuckles and pulls me closer, kissing me deeper.
“God, put her down!” Marco rolls his eyes and sets me back on my feet. Hannah seems to be in a bad mood yet again. For the last few days, Hannah has been snapping at everyone, especially me, for what seems like no reason at all.
“Here, I think we’ve all earned this.” Saint hands each of us a beer.
I take one happily, snap off the cap, and chug half the bottle. God, I was thirsty. Marco rarely drinks of late, but I think he’s earned just one tonight.
“You drink like a man!”
“What the hell is your problem?” I grab Marco’s arm. Hanna’s constant snapping is starting to piss Marco off. The only reason I haven’t snapped back at Hannah is because I don’t want to cause tension throughout the band. I wouldn’t say as I let the woman walk all over me, but I’m too loved up to care what she thinks. “Any chance you get, you snap at Ember. Why?”
“Marco, it doesn’t matter.” But he doesn’t hear me. Colin is now yelling at Marco for yelling at Hannah, Marco is yelling how this will never work with Hannah hanging around. Hannah is yelling at me and saying it’s all my fault that the boys are arguing, and I have no idea what I’ve done wrong.
God, I was on such a high when I walked through this door. Now I’m going to have to face screaming fans to sign autographs when I’m no longer in the mood.
“Hate to break this up, guys,” Darryl, one of our security team, says with his head poking around the door. Darryl is a big guy, and I do mean big in every way.
Each person turns in his direction. Marco is still holding tightly to my hand, and his body is still leaning toward Colin. “What do you want, Darryl? Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something here?”
“Sorry, Marco, but there are three huge fuckin’ bikers out here demandin’ they see Ember.”
Bikers? This could be good, or it could be bad. Good because we’re in Texas, and my daddy’s club is in Tennessee. Bad because any other club could come after me now that I’m well-known – almost – just because of who I am to get at my Dad.
“I don’t care who’s out there! You know full well that no one is getting near Ember!” I can’t help smiling to myself because Marco is so protective of me. I really like it.
“I know, but...”
“Just get outta my fuckin’ way!”
“Daddy?” I would know that voice anywhere. That’s the voice that used to sing me to sleep at night, the voice that would soothe my fears, and cheer me on in the good times. It’s my daddy’s voice!
I yank my hand from Marco’s as my father pushes his way through the door. “Daddy!” I practically scream like a child while jumping into his arms. I don’t care that everyone is watching me; I really don’t.
“My little girl. Sorry, we didn’t get to see you sing, it took us a while to get here.”
I had no idea he was coming, but I am so happy to see him! “That’s okay, you’re here now.”
“Whoa,” I hear Saint say in the background. I know my father can be intimidating, he’s huge, tall, and so very well-built for a man of his age. But I think it’s my uncle Hammer that has them all stumped. Now he is huge - a giant of a man and twice as scary.
“Uncle Hammer!” I hug him tightly, and he squeezes me just as tightly.
“Good to see you, princess.”
“Missed me?”
I look behind my uncle, and emotion fills me as I reach for my brother. He grabs me, and I sniff back happy tears. “I’ve missed you so much.” I whisper in his ear. I pull away from Eagle and smile.
“This your band?” He tips his head toward the guys.
I smile and nod my head, inwardly laughing at the looks on my bandmate’s faces. They’re shocked to see that my father, his brother, and mine are bikers. Colin, of course, knows my family, he knows my brother, as does Hannah. Marco knows too, but then he knows everything about me. However, they’ve kept my secret and not said a word to Saint and Bob. I feel terrible about that because they’re my friends also. Matt and Caren are looking at me wide-eyed, and I know the two of them are angry. They can be mad all they like, but they best keep their mouths shut!
“Daddy, Hammer, Eagle, you remember Colin and Hannah?”
“Hi,” Colin and Hannah say with shocked expressions on their faces. Hannah sinks down in Colin’s lap and he pulls her close to him. What the hell do they think my family is going to do to them? They’d never hurt them, they’re innocent.
“This is Saint and Bob.” They wave slightly with wide eyes. God, is it so shocking that my family are bikers?
The dressing room seems very small all of a sudden with my Dad, brother, and uncle here, and the place isn’t huge, to begin with. There’s the usual four walls, painted cream, a black leather couch, a mini-fridge, a small table, and a couple of chairs, a dressing table with a bunch of stuff scattered over it, but that’s it.
I adjust my messy shirt that accompanies my tight black pants, the chains I removed when we walked into the room, then I adjust my messy ponytail. I grab Marco’s hand and smile at him. He winks at me, letting me know that he is in no way scared of my father, brother, or uncle. Probably should be, but I’m glad that he isn’t.
“Daddy, Eagle, Hammer, this is my boyfriend, Marco. Marco, this is my father, Tank, my younger brother, Eagle, and my uncle Hammer.”
“It’s good to meet you, sirs.” Sirs? Oh, nice one, Marco. He shakes my father’s hand, then my uncles, before shaking my brother’s hand.
“How long has this been going on?” My Dad raises his eyebrow.
“We started dating a short while ago.”
“I see.”
“Daddy, don’t,” I know what he’s about to do, and I don’t want him to embarrass Marco or me with the whole ‘Dad’ thing he has going on. I don’t want him to intimidate Marco, it’s embarrassing. If Tank starts, then so will Eagle and Hammer.
“Let’s go, Ember. You too, Mr. Russo, I think we need to have a little talk.” My Dad walks out of the room with my brother and uncle, following him without letting me say anything.
“Dude, her dad’s gonna kill you.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Saint!”
“Marco, her Dad’s a fuckin’ Snakes Henchmen. Did you not read his patch, he’s the fuckin’ VP! Oh, my god, all three of them are Snakes Henchmen! Why did no one tell us?”
I swallow back the urge to throw up. This is all I ever hear when people realize who my family is. They’re not just violent bikers, okay, they can be, but they’re good men with huge hearts.
“Because I didn’t want the world knowing where I come from,” I sigh.
“You didn’t think you should let us know you’re related to filthy bikers? Your father practically runs the damn club!” Matt snaps loudly.
My blood is boiling. Christ, I hate this man! “He’s more than just a biker!” I snap. “He’s my father! Do not bad mouth him or anyone else belonging to my family in front of me, ever! Any of you! My father will not kill Marco. He won’t do anything but talk to him. You know, that’s what good father’s who love their daughter’s do, make sure the man they’re with isn’t going to hurt them! Don’t you dare tell anyone who they are, nor where they come from, because then, the
y might just kill all of you.”
“You brought a psycho’s daughter into the band, well done.”
My eyes widen in Matt’s direction. Did he really just say that? “Keep your damn mouth shut, Matt! My father is not a psycho, but his cousin is. You might have heard of him, Draven Vidal?” That got everyone’s attention. “My uncle Hammer? He isn’t only my father’s brother, he’s Draven Vidal’s half brother. So it would be in your best interests to keep your fucking mouth shut!”
“I can’t believe this.” Saint mumbles to himself, and I feel like crying in frustration. I shouldn’t have said all of that. I swore never to say anything about my family. But Matt pushed me to it, and from the look on his face, he’s now terrified. Actually, that’s not a bad thing, maybe he’ll stop bulling me now.
“Fuck this!” I grab Marco’s arm and drag him behind me. He doesn’t say anything, just comes along willingly. I am so angry now that I could just throw up!
“Baby,” Marco yanks on my arm the second we’re out the door and in the long corridor. My father, brother, and uncle are waiting just down the hall, they can see us, they’re watching us. I swing around to look at Marco. He cups my face and I lean into his touch. “Don’t let them get to you; they know nothing.”
“I just can’t take people saying things like that about my family, especially my Dad. He’s more than a biker, he’s my father, and he means everything to me. Yes, he’s done bad things, but he’s always been there for me.”
“I know, baby. Don’t worry; I know what he means to you. I know what you mean to him also if the death glares are anything to go by.” We both laugh, and he kisses me softly.
“Are you angry with me now that you know who my family is related to? I wanted to tell you, but as soon as people find out I have family connections to the Vidal’s, they tend to distance themselves from me.”
“I knew who Lydia was the second you told me her surname. I just didn’t know you were related to the mafia. But no, I am not angry with you because you have family connections to the Vidal’s, Ember.”
I lean into Marco’s touch with my eyes closed because I need to push back the need to cry. I’m not sad at all, but the anger I feel is making me emotional.
“Hey,” I open my eyes and smile at my man, he’s smiling at me, proving to me that I was right about him all along. He is everything I ever wanted and I will never let him go. “It’ll be all right.”
“I don’t know what my Dad is going to talk to you about, but please just go with it. He’ll try and intimidate you, force you to say things you might not be ready to say... Things about me. But just remember, you mean so much to me, Marco.”
“You mean so much to me, too. Now, let’s get this talk out of the way.”
We follow my father down the corridor and into a room to the right of the building. I don’t know how my Dad got access to this room, or even if he did, but he doesn’t seem to care either way. Hammer waits until Marco and I are in the room before closing the door the behind us. The place is quite large. It’s set out pretty much like our dressing room, the same furniture, but there are large potted plants and a sound system in this room. Plus, the AC is on full by the feel of it. It’s freezing in here; I can feel goosebumps creeping along my arms.
“Daddy, what’s this about?”
“Sit down.” He orders. Both Marco and I sit on the small couch in the middle of the room, and I notice a coffee machine in the corner. Mmm, coffee. I could so do with a huge cup right now. Ice coffee, Mocha. God, I’d kill for one of those with a drizzle of caramel on top.
Focus, Ember!
Right.
My Dad and Hammer grab chairs from the corner of the room. Dad keeps his eyes on me as they both sit in front of Marco and me. Eagle leans back against the window and smiles at me.
I’m nervous. Dad is going to interrogate Marco the way he did Toby. Dad seemed to like Toby to a degree, but he gave him a hard time in the beginning. He tripped Toby up with his words, which probably should have told me something back then. But I just thought Toby was nervous meeting my father.
Marco doesn’t seem nervous at all, and that tells me a lot about him.
I can’t wait for my grandmother to meet Marco, she’s going to love him. Lynette is a special lady who opens her heart so easily to love. My Mom used to say that I got that from her. Mom’s Mom and Dad’s Mom were best friends, even though grandma Hillary was a lot older than my grandma Lynette, it didn’t change how much they loved each other. When Dad’s parents were murdered, it destroyed Lynette because she loved Hillary so much. They were so alike in the way they were kind, strong, took no shit from anyone, and they loved their kids endlessly. I wish I could have met Hillary, but sadly that wasn’t to be.
My parents say that I’m much like both of my grandmother’s, and I like to think that I am. I may never have known Hillary, but I’ve seen home movies that my Dad and his brother had of her and my grandfather. Titus was my grandfather’s road name, Michael was his real name. My brother was named after him, and Dad always says how much my brother is like our grandfather. It’s ironic that both my grandfather’s were also best friends. Just like Lynette, it hit Shepard hard when Titus was killed.
BlackJack and Taylor Anderson are also best friends with my grandparents. Their son’s Hawk and Wrench and their surrogate son, Stryker, have always been like uncles to me. Their daughter, Phoenix, is one of my best friends. Phoenix promised me before I left that she’d keep an eye on Eagle for me, and I’m pretty sure she’s doing just that.
I may never have known my father’s parents, but I am incredibly close to my mother’s parents. I can’t even imagine my life without them. I honestly can’t.
If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to take Marco home with me at the end of our tour and introduce him to my grandparents, my Mom, hell, my whole family. I want him to know the people I love, and maybe he’ll take me to meet his family one day too.
One day...
Chapter Twenty-Three
Marco
All three bikers are staring me down. Ember’s father is big, intimidating, fucking scary, even. Her brother isn’t much smaller, though he’s just as daunting. But her uncle? Jesus Christ, he’s a monster in comparison, and twice as scary. I’m not sure they won’t beat the shit out of me right here and right now for so much as holding Ember’s hand, which I am doing, and I don’t intend to let go. They might be intimidating, but I won’t pretend to not care about Ember when she’s all I care about.
“I’m Tank. This is Hammer.” Tank points to himself then his brother. “And this is my son, Eagle. We’re not here to cause no trouble, but Ember is my only daughter, and I’m here to make sure she’s okay.” Fair enough. “Have you told him about Toby?”
Ember doesn’t look anywhere but at her father. She nods slowly while biting her lower lip. “I told him that it didn’t work out with Toby and me and that he’s now with Lydia, yes.”
“So you told Marco how Toby cheated on you with your best friend?” Ember’s back stiffens, and her mouth opens and closes so many times, I have to squeeze her hand so she’ll stop. “We’re not stupid, Ember, we’ve been around a long time, we know something more happened.”
“I know that,” She whispers while looking over at her brother for a second. He nods his head slightly as though he were telling Ember something without words.
“How could you keep something so massive from me, Ember? I thought at least you would have spoken with Eagle.”
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to hurt Lydia.”
“But, it was all right that she hurt you?” Eagle rolls his eyes with a sigh.
“No, it wasn’t all right, Eagle. They both hurt me in ways they shouldn’t have,” Ember sighs while rubbing one hand over her face. “What they did was wrong, but they fell in love. I’m not excusing anything because it was terrible of them to act on what they were feeling. I didn’t know they were in love before Toby and I even met,”
“
What are you talking about?”
Ember looks at her father while explaining how Lydia and Toby had been dating before she met him. I listen to Ember telling her family everything she once told me, and I wrap my arm around her waist for support.
“When I sent you that text, and you wrote back Noted, I thought that meant you wouldn’t hurt Toby.”
“It did, and I haven’t.” Tank grits his teeth as though not hurting Toby is an inconvenience.
“Thank you. I want you to know that the pain has gone, and so is the anger. Do you know why I don’t feel those things any longer?” Her father shakes his head. “Because of Marco,” She looks at me and smiles, and I wink in her direction. Ember looks at her father again. “He was a friend to me when I needed one the most, and he made me realize that what they did was not my fault. Lydia and Toby were meant to be together so that I could find Marco. I know that without a doubt. I also know that you want to walk out of here and ring Toby’s neck in front of Lydia.”
Tank runs his tongue over his top teeth and raises his eyebrow. The act serves only to tell me that he’d like to do far worse to Toby.
“I’m okay now, Dad, so for me, leave Lydia and Toby alone. They know what they did to me, and they have to live with the guilt for the rest of their lives. I think that’s punishment enough.”
Eagle huffs and shakes his head. “You’re too nice for your own good.”
“What are your intentions with our girl?”
Fuck, even the sound of her uncle’s voice is ridiculous. It’s so deep, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard one like it before.
I smile at Ember when she squeezes my hand. I turn to look at the men watching me. “I’m not gonna to give you a big speech and kiss your asses to make you think I’m some amazing guy who’s perfect for Ember. I doubt as her father there is such a man for your daughter.” So my dad once told me about my sister. No man would ever be good enough for her in his eyes. “But I am going to tell you that she means everything to me. I’m not gonna to pretend I’m a saint because I’m not. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, but then I met Ember, and she changed every damn thing about me.”
Ember: Next Gen (Snakes Henchmen MC Book 12) Page 18
