Ember: Next Gen (Snakes Henchmen MC Book 12)

by Alivia Grayson

  “What the hell, Marco?” Jud snaps me out of thoughts of Ember on our wedding day.

  You don’t even know if the girl will say yes, Marco. Why are you fantasizing about something that may never happen?

  I want to spend the rest of my life with Ember, we don’t have to be married for that. But making her my wife, me being her husband, there’s nothing more I want right now than that.

  “You barely know the girl, and now you want to marry her?”

  “I know Ember well enough, Jud. I’ve never loved another person the way I love Ember. I may not have known her very long, but she’s everything to me, man.”

  Jud nods his head just as Rhea walks through the screen door. “Now, I wasn’t earwigging,” Which means that she was doing just that. “And I’m trying so hard not to screech excitedly and yell for everyone to get out here,” She pinches my cheek as though I were five years old. I slap her hand away with a chuckle. “I am so proud of you!” Rhea steps away from me with a smile plastered to her face. “So, when are you going to ask her?”

  “Jesus, Rhea,” Jud gets to his feet and leans back against the porch banister. Rhea takes a seat on my mothers porch swing and rocks it gently. “Don’t encourage him, he’s only just met the girl.”

  I roll my eyes and swig my beer.

  “Jud, shut up,” I smirk at Rhea as she shakes her head at Jud. “If Marco really loves Ember, and he knows without a doubt that they’re meant to be, then nothing else matters.” Rhea looks at me and smiles. “Is she the one, Marco?”

  I smile and nod my head. “I know she is, Rhea.”

  “This is ridiculous!” Jud snaps while running his hand through his hair. “How the hell can you know she’s the one when you barely know anything about her? Does Ember even know what she’s getting herself into with you?”

  “Jud! What the hell?” Jud shrugs his shoulders at Rhea, while she shakes her head at him.

  “Wow,” I scrub my hands over my face. “Why do you always think the worst of me, Jud?” My brother stares at me, and I swallow the lump in my throat.

  I know I haven’t always been the most conventional of people, and I know I’ve put my family through hell in the past. But I’ve tried hard to prove I’m better than my past. I thought that I was doing a good enough job to show my family that.

  “I know that I’ve done stupid things in the past, and I know you think I wasted my time with music,” I laugh sardonically. “You even warned me about Sasha,” He told me from the moment he met my ex that she wasn’t being completely honest with me about something. Jud even warned me that Sasha would break my heart, but I didn’t listen. I thought I knew better than him, and that Jud was just a jerk because he didn’t like Sasha. I was wrong, and he was right, and that’s the bottom line.

  “I was young and dumb back then, Jud. But this is different, Ember challenges me in every way. She called me out on my bullshit from the get-go. Ember made me see that by doing what I was doing to myself, I wasn’t living, I was barely existing. Ember told me that she knew, without really knowing me, that I was better than all of that.”

  I smile as I remember how Ember called me out in town. She had a sweet way of talking, even when she wanted to make a point. Ember made my heart beat faster that day, and I swear, I fell a little bit in love with her right then and there.

  “She makes me smile, Jud. Ember only has to look in my direction, and all is right in my world. You know, some nights, between gigs, we sit on the roof of whichever hotel we’re staying at, and we talk as if we’ve known each other for fifty years. We never run out of conversation. She makes me look at the world in a different light. Hell, she makes me believe in myself.

  “Ember and I write music together, and out lyrics are electric. But it’s more than that, Jud, Ember makes me feel alive. I love everything about that girl, she has a massive heart, and she’d do anything for anyone, no questions asked. But most of all, she loves me, Jud. Ember loves me for me, and I have no doubt in my mind that she’d never cheat on me.”

  “How can you be so sure, Marco? You thought the same thing about Sasha, and she cheated on you more than once.”

  I sigh. It’s not my place to tell Ember’s story, but I can’t have my brother tarnishing Ember with Sasha’s brush. I understand his concern, but I’m a big boy and can look after myself.

  “I’m sure because Ember has been cheated on, and I know she’d never do the same to me. She trusts me for the same reason. I know you’re only lookin’ out for me, but don’t make your mind up about Ember until you meet her. She’s special, Jud, and you’ll soon see that.”

  My brother stares at me for a moment before rolling his eyes and smiling. “Fine. I just want you to be happy, Marco. I also want you to know that I am proud of you for everything you’ve achieved so far.”

  “Thanks, man, that means a lot.” More than he knows. I’ve never needed his approval, but to see that he’s proud of me means that I’m not doing too bad a job with my life.

  “So,” I look at Rhea, she’s smiling at me. “Got anything special in mind? Because I’m assuming you only want to get married once?” I chuckle and nod my head. Ember is my one and only. “Then you need to make your proposal something Ember will never forget.”

  I have something in mind, but it can wait. It’s getting late, and I need to get home and call my girl.

  “Don’t forget to ask her dad’s permission,” Jud chuckles and walks away.

  I look at Rhea. “Do people still do that? Ask the father for his daughter’s hand in marriage?”

  “Of course!” She laughs while getting out of her seat. “I don’t think they use those exact words any longer, but it’s traditional to ask the father of the bride to give his daughter to the groom. Or something like that,” She laughs again. “Tom asked Dad if he could marry me, you remember that?”

  I nod, groan, and scrub my hands over my face. My Dad is the total opposite of Ember’s father. How the hell do I go about asking a man like Tank if I can marry his daughter?

  Grow some balls and just ask him, Marco. What’s the worst Tank could say? At the end of the day, it won’t matter his answer. If Ember wants to be your wife, she will be, regardless.

  I say good-bye to my family and make my way back to my house. I’m beyond nervous about what I’m about to do, but I’m going to do it anyway.

  Marco: Tank, I know you weren’t expecting me to text, but I just wonder if it would be possible for us to video call?

  I know that probably sounds strange, but there’s something very important I need to ask you.

  I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this from Ember.

  Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. I’m organizing a surprise for her, and I don’t want her to find out about it too soon.

  I sit on my couch, tapping my phone against my lips, waiting for a reply.

  Needless to say, I startle when my phone rings in my hand. I take a deep breath and answer. “Marco, what can I do for you?” Straight to the point.

  “There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

  “Can you make it quick? I’m a little busy with work.”

  I nod my head and take another deep breath. “Are you alone?”

  Tank narrows his eyes. “Yeah,”

  “Okay, the thing is, your daughter is the love of my life. She’s means everything to me, and I can’t see my life without her in it. Ember is everything a woman should be, and I have you and her mother to thank for the amazing person she is.”

  I’m rambling on and on about what Ember means to me, and I can’t seem to stop myself. Tank just stares at me, now and again raising an eyebrow and smirking.

  “Marco,” Tank holds his hand up to me, and I stop talking. We’ve been on video call for almost eight minutes, and I still haven’t told him what I called for. “I get it, Ember changed your life, and she’s the love of it. Now, get to the actual point of this call before I die of old age.”

  I chuckle and nod my head. I’m nervous, but I
need to get to the point. “I’m calling because I wanted to ask you for your permission,” God, I feel sick! “To marry Ember.”

  Tank’s eyes widen, and he shifts in his seat. The man doesn’t speak for a full minute and a half. The whole time, I feel like my stomach is going to drop out of my ass!

  When he finally speaks, I let go of the breath I was holding. “I’d say this was too soon, but I knew I wanted to marry Ember’s mother three days after meeting her. Ember has been hurt in the past, but I see how happy she is when she’s with you.” That makes me smile. “Ember is my pride and joy, and I’ve already given you the lecture and the warnings, Marco.”

  He sure did, while telling me, he’d rip my spine out with his bare hands if I so much as made Ember cry. I’d be a damn liar if I didn’t say that Tank Marshall scared the shit out of me that day.

  However, I hope that I proved to him that Ember means more to me than any death threats. A lesser man would have walked away, but Ember is worth everything her father has to throw at me. Nothing in this world would cause me to walk away from the woman who saved my soul.

  “I have to be honest,” Tank continues. “When Ember talks about you, there is so much love emanating off of her that both Nova and I know you’re the love of Ember’s life. I have to know that you’re gonna take care of Ember, no matter what comes your way.”

  “I’ll take care of Ember no matter what it takes. Nothing means more to me than Ember does, Tank. Not even my music, and believe me, that means the world to me. Ember is safe with me, I promise you.”

  Tank nods his head. “Luckily for you, I believe you. My wife likes you, and that speaks volumes. Nova reads people very well, and if she trusts you, then the rest of us do, too.” I smile because I like Nova too. “I guess what I’m saying is that you have my permission.”

  “Thank you!” I can’t help laughing. As I said, it wouldn’t have made a difference to whether I asked Ember to marry me or not. But knowing Tank is fine with me asking, means more than I thought it would.

  “Make it special, Marco. Make it a proposal to remember.”

  I plan to…

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Ember

  “Is this going to hurt?” I look at my brother and swallow hard.

  Eagle chuckles while attaching the wires to his tattoo gun. My stomach is churning, and I feel like I’m going to throw up.

  When Phoenix asked Ava, Jessie, Aya, and me to accompany her to Snake Skin Ink, we all jumped at the chance. I was intrigued to see what Phoenix would be getting next. I don’t believe the girl needs any more ink; she has dozens of them. She could give my brother a run for his money. She has that man.

  But who am I to judge?

  Needless to say, while Phoenix is with Axel, getting a vicious looking werewolf tattoo on her upper thigh, I came to Eagle’s room. I wanted to see if he had the time to fit me in before his next appointment. He told me that he has the next forty-five minutes free, so he could fit me in with ease, especially when I don’t want anything big.

  Of course, my brother was amused when I told him what I want tattooing. He made fun of me for a couple of minutes but stopped when he realized how much it meant to me that he does this.

  “Ember, tattoo’s hurt like a motherfucker. However, it all depends on the person and how much they can take.” He’d know, the man has two full sleeves of various monsters, all shaded gray. Eagle’s lower legs are both covered, his back, and even the back of his right hand. That’s a lot for a twenty-three-year-old, and he’s not done yet, so he’s told me often.

  I yank my hand away. “I’ve changed my mind.” I am no good with pain.

  Eagle laughs while grabbing my right wrist. He places my arm on the padded table in between us, the inside of my wrist face up. “You’re having five letters tattooed on your wrist, Ember.”

  “But it looks so big!” I point to the transfer paper in which Eagle wrote what I wanted freehand in Chopin Script. I have to admit that it’s beautiful, and my brother is gifted, even with the written word.

  “It’s not big,” Eagle sighs. “Look, I’m not gonna sit here and talk you into or out of this, Ember. I am gonna tell you that a tattoo this small will take me less than ten minutes. But, at the end of the day, the choice is yours.”

  I take a deep breath, smile, and nod at Eagle. “I’m ready,”

  I grit my teeth as soon as the needle touches my skin. Christ, how do people do this all the time? I know some say that it’s an addiction, once you have a tattoo, you’ll soon want another one. But I am never doing this again!

  Jesus, the buzzing of the needle, is rushing through my body and up to my head. The nerves in my left leg are jumping, my stomach is cramping, and I’m sweating.

  In the past, I’ve watched Eagle, Mom, and Dad get tattoos. Each one of them sat still, and never once looked as though they were bothered by what was happening. But here I am, all but crying like a child because it hurts.

  I close my eyes and let my mind drift off. I take a deep breath and relax my body. It doesn’t hurt as much now that I’ve closed my mind to the pain.

  “And… We’re done!”

  I open my eyes and look at my brother. He winks at me, and I look down at my wrist as he wipes the new tattoo. “Oh, wow!” I am in awe of what I’m seeing. I can’t help smiling. “You did an amazing job, Eagle.”

  “Naturally,” He chuckles while covering the tattoo to protect it.

  My brother is a fantastic tattoo artist, and I wouldn’t have let anyone else do this for me.

  “Do you think Marco will like it?”

  “You inked his name on your body. What man wouldn’t like it?”

  I laugh and hug my brother. “Thank you, Mikey, I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome, Member,” He winks, making me laugh.

  “Will I see you before I leave?”

  “I’ll come find you,” My brother kisses my cheek, and I leave the room.

  I meet the girls’ in the waiting area, where we spend over two hours waiting for Phoenix to finish up.

  When she finally makes an appearance, we go for coffee across the street. I don’t have time for anything else, I’m leaving in three hours, and I still have to have dinner with my parents.

  I show the girls my tattoo, and then Phoenix shows off hers. The artistry is brilliant. Axel is also very gifted when it comes to ink on skin.

  “Didn’t that hurt?” Jessie asks.

  “It’s Phoenix,” Ava laughs. “She doesn’t feel pain.”

  “But, it’s massive!” Aya’s eyes widen as she shifts forward in her seat. “You let Axel finish it in one sitting. It had to have hurt!”

  “Aya, do you see how many tats I’ve got?” Aya nods her head at Phoenix. “Do you think I’d have this many if they hurt?”

  I sip my coffee, my mind not all here with the girls’. I’ve been thinking about leaving again, and how scary t is that I won’t even be in America any longer.

  I’m scared of being so far away from my family. I’ll miss my mom and brother so much, but it’s my dad, whom I’ll miss the most.

  Being away from home for three months already, and only being home for just shy of three days is hard. It’s even harder knowing that I’ll be gone over three months this time.

  I know that I have to get used to it, especially as this is my life now, and I will. However, I can’t help feeling nostalgic.

  * * *

  Spending time with the girls’ was great. I’ve already said goodbye to them and everyone else in my life. I’m back at my parents’ house, ready to leave within the hour. We had dinner without Eagle because he was caught up with work. However, he promised to be here before I go.

  “Have I told you how proud I am of you?”

  I laugh as my mom reaches over and pushes my hair out of my eyes. “Only sixteen times since dinner.”

  Mom laughs, and I stare at her for a moment with a smile on my face. To look at her, no one would realize Nova Marshall is forty
-six years of age. My mother has a youthful complexion, and many have mistaken her for my older sister. My mother is beautiful, and I’m proud to be her daughter. I only hope Marco understands when I tell him about my mother’s alter ego. Hell, I hope he understands when I tell him about my family, full stop.

  Have a little faith, Ember.

  “I’ll miss you while I’m gone.” I kiss my mom’s knuckles and then hold her hand in my against my chest.

  “I’ll miss you too, baby girl. But this is your dream, and I want you to enjoy it to the fullest.”

  I nod my head and hug my mom tightly. “I love you, Mom. Thank you for always supporting me in everything I do.”

  “Oh, Ember,” Mom laughs while pulling away from me enough to cup my cheek with her hand. “You don’t need to thank me for what comes naturally.” She turns her head and smiles. I do, too, because I can hear the sound of the acoustic guitar, coming from the porch. “I think your dad misses you more than he’s willing to admit.”

  I miss him too, and there won’t be a day goes by where I won’t miss my dad.

  “I’m just going to see Dad.” I kiss Mom’s cheek and make my way to the porch.

  The sound of my dad’s voice as he sings softly, the song he wrote and sang to me as a little girl, fills me with warmth.

  I take a seat beside him, and he smiles while looking at me, and still, he sings.

  It began one early winter evening: when I met the most beautiful little singer.

  I was the strongest biker around until she came into my life. She melted my heart and took it for her own.

  She was my Daughter,

  My Beautiful Daughter,

  My Little Singer…

  She used to sit and hold my hand and tell me, ‘Daddy, you’re my hero.’ Then she’d smile, and I knew that I would be whatever my little singer wanted me to be.