Needless to say, she starts singing like a canary. Smart girl. Maybe I’ll help her after this. We’ll see.
Reap
“You ready?” Grim asks as we pull up in the jeep in front of Miguel Silva’s home.
This little trip to Brazil is all business. I have a message I want this bastard to receive. It’s all my pleasure to do this for the prez and boss man.
“Ready,” I grin.
“Listen, Erica. This is just a drop. Don’t get crazy.”
I turn to look at Colin. I place a hand over my heart and feign shock. He rolls his eyes at me.
“When do I ever get crazy?”
He barks out a laugh. “You were born crazy, baby. Now get your ass out there and deliver your gift. It’s hot and I want to get back home tonight.”
“Fine,” I mumble and step out of the car.
I get the box from the back seat and turn to walk to the front gate. My lips turn up as the guys outside the gate are too busy checking me out to realize how close to danger they are. I want it that way. The leather miniskirt and thigh-high boots are doing their job perfectly.
I wink at one of them and lick my lips. His grin grows and he looks around at his friends like a showoff. He poofs his chest out and adjusts himself. I laugh to myself.
I’d eat him alive.
“Hey, boys. You get this to your boss for me. Let him know I’ll come back here anytime he wants,” I purr in Spanish.
I hand over the box and turn to skip my way back to the Jeep. I’m sure they’re watching my tiny skirt bounce as it barely covers my ass. That will give me the distraction I need to get back to the car before they realize what I’ve given them and I have to end a few lives.
Shame. That would be so much fun.
“Let’s go,” I say as I half hang out of the car.
Grim takes off as I slam the door shut. Our job is done.
I turn to him and grin. “I hope Miguel likes his head served on a platter.” We both burst into laughter.
Chapter 38
Forever
Brick
A month and a half later…
I watch Eva as she takes notes on her tablet while we do this walk through. She has no idea this will be our new Soul Deep Architecture and Construction headquarters here in North Carolina. She thinks it’s only another site I’ll be finishing off.
The original developer lost his funding and had to pull out. I picked it up for a steal. It’s still early enough in the project where I can put my own spin on it. Including a nursery for the staff.
I grin as I drop my gaze to Eva’s belly. She’s still not showing yet. However, I’ve woken every morning for the last few weeks with my hand pressed to where her little bump will be.
“What do you think?” I ask as she looks up from her tablet, her eyes distant as if she’s already redesigning the floor plan.
“It’s a great location and with a few tweaks you can totally make the final design your own. I have a few ideas if you want to hear them,” she says and bites her lip.
Still shy, but she’s grown so much. I think she’ll be ready to take over before the year is up. The workers love and respect her already.
“Come show me what you’re thinking.” I wave her over.
As I thought, she has the plans open on her tablet, already laying out her ideas alongside the list she’d been making for me. I’m going to miss working together like this. It’s my hope that I’ll get all the club shit settled so I can spend time in the office working with her.
Either way, Eva will do great. She has a mind for detail. With time she’ll have the confidence to match.
I point to the tablet. “I like this, but let’s move this and I’m thinking about an apartment over our office,” I say and look up through my lashes to watch her reaction.
Her mouth forms an O shape, and she furrows her brows. It takes only a few seconds before I see it sink in. She looks around the space and turns in a circle.
“This is the new office,” she breathes.
“It’s been official since this morning,” I say and grin.
“Oh, wow, this place is huge. It’s bigger than the Georgia building. Wow.”
I wrap my arms around her. “It’s going to be all yours. Are you ready for that?”
“Wait, what?”
I chuckle. “We talked about this. You’re training to run Soul Deep. You’re going to take over for me.”
“I was half asleep when you started that conversation, and you were rubbing my feet. I was fully asleep before you got more than two sentences out,” she says and gives me a wary look.
“Well, it’s all yours.”
“Ours,” she corrects. “It’s our empire. Well, it will be…”
She trails off. Ah, she’s leading us right where I’m heading. This ring is burning a hole in my pocket.
I pinch her chin between my fingertips. I’ve told Eva I plan to marry her, but I don’t think she believes me yet. I saw her face during King and Misty’s wedding.
“You’re right. Our empire. Everything I own belongs to you, darlin’. My heart, my soul, everything,” I say and plant a kiss on her lips. “You feel me?”
“I feel you.”
I take the tablet from her hand and get down on one knee, placing the tablet on the floor. Her eyes grow wide and she covers her mouth. I pull the ring box from my pocket and open it up.
“Good, because I need to make that shit clear to the world.”
“Owen,” she drags out.
“Eva,” I mock and wink. “I wanted to give King and Misty time to have their moment. Now it’s ours.”
“O-wen,” she sobs.
I laugh. “Reel it in, baby girl. I need to ask you something.”
“Yes,” she shouts.
I throw my head back and laugh. “I still ain’t asked.”
“So. You already know my answer. Yes.”
I shake my head. “Come here, darlin’.”
She moves closer and I slip the ring on her finger. I stand and wrap her in my embrace. I pull back slightly.
“Just so we’re clear. This means you’ll marry me.”
“Yes, I will marry you Owen Brick Mason.”
“About damn time,” King booms as he and the rest of the Squad appears. They’re popping champagne as they enter the space.
“It’s only been a few months,” Eva says and starts to laugh.
“I’m with King. Too damn long.”
Eva shoots me a look and I peck her lips. I’ve wanted to make her my wife since the night I found out she was carrying my baby. It killed me to wait this long to make it official.
Misty, Sal, and Reap rush over to tug Eva from my arms to wrap her in a group hug. My brothers and soon to be father-in-law all gather me in a hug as well.
“We got some celebrating to do,” Cage croons.
Eva
I’m still in shock. I thought we were just coming to walk through a new project. I had no idea we’d be walking through our new offices or that Owen had planned to propose.
I was actually counting down the days until I have the baby and I can get Brick’s brand on me. I’d thought about a wedding as I watched Misty get married, but never once had I stopped to consider Owen would propose.
“Hey, Eva.”
For the first time today, I frown. I turn to see Troy looking around at all of my family celebrating our engagement in our new office. I draw my brows in, wondering what the heck Troy’s doing here.
“Hey, Troy,” I say warily.
“Looks like quite the party,” he says like a goofball.
“What brings you here?”
Before he can answer, Misty and Reap come over. “Eva, you have to come hear this,” they say in unison and laugh.
“Hold on,” Troy says. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“About?” I lift a brow. Something in his tone gets my attention.
He moves in closer, seeming to try to close Reap and Misty out of the conversation. I
notice right away that the gesture gets Reap’s attention. She leans to whisper something to Misty before she walks off.
“Well, your school sent the forms to be filled out for your evaluation,” Troy says, bringing my attention back to him.
“O-kay. Someone fills that out so I can get my grade, right?”
“Yeah.” He licks his lips and lets his gaze roll over me. “You see. I thought it might be a conflict of interest for Mr. Mason to fill it out. If your school found out about your intimate relationship…”
He allows his words to trail off like the sleezy, sly bastard he is. Right at that moment, Owen stops behind him. Troy has no idea that my fiancé is now only a foot away with his arms folded across his chest, his ears red, and his nostrils flaring.
Now, I’ve seen Owen angry, but this is next level. I don’t think I can even call him Owen at the moment. All I can think is Brick.
I decide to play along with Troy and see how far he plans to take this. “I’m not sure where you’re going with this,” I say innocently.
“I’ll be happy to fill the form out myself. That is if you’ll have that lunch date with me,” he says and gives me that annoyingly unattractive smile.
“Wait, let me get this straight. You do know that I’m involved with Owen?”
“Yes, but I’m sure completing your internship and graduating are of some consequence to you. This fling you have going with him can’t be worth losing all of that,” he replies.
I place my ringless hand on my nonexistent bump and lift the other to reveal my engagement ring that this smug dumbass hasn’t taken the time to look at. It’s much too big for him to have missed if he weren’t such a pompous dickhead. His eyes nearly pop out of his head.
“Does this look like a fling?” I question.
Behind Troy, Reap hands Brick a crowbar. Before I can think to move out of the way, Brick swings the thing right at Troy’s knees. I yelp in surprise.
“Party’s over, ladies,” Reap sings as she grabs me and Misty by the arm. I glance at the door to see Gutter pushing Sal into Daddy’s arms and out the door.
“You’ve disrespected me repeatedly,” Brick snarls. “I let your ass slide and you come here with this shit? All you had to do was your fucking job. Drop the docs off and leave with your life.”
“Oh God,” I gasp as I look over my shoulder to find Brick choking the shit out of Troy.
“Honey, that’s your man. The Squad captain, a Lost Soul for real. And in about thirty minutes it will be as if that shit never happened,” Reap says before she laughs her ass off.
Epilogue
More to Come
Eva
I look around at all the brothers and their old ladies as I sit at the raised reception table in the clubhouse’s main hall. Do they all have stories like ours? There are so many smiling faces around the room.
I’ve never felt the love as much as I do now. I went to college to get away from all of this, thinking I would reinvent myself. The funny thing is, I never tried and I’m glad I didn’t.
Instead, I found my way back home. I beam as I come to that realization. The Lost Souls are my home.
“Hey, Mason,” Misty says as she comes to sit beside me and laugh at herself.
“What’s up, Kennedy?”
Her cheeks glow. It’s not just the baby. King wasn’t playing about her being his for life. Their wedding was in true Lost Souls fashion, right here at the compound.
Owen and I chose a church wedding, but the reception had to be here. King insisted and Owen looked as if he would have been disappointed if I wanted to do anything else. Honestly, this was the only thing that felt right.
“God, that sounds so crazy,” she says.
“I know, right?”
Becoming the prez’s old lady looks good on Misty. I’m happy for her and King. My brother will have a son soon and I plan to spoil my nephew.
“We just became sisters and now you’re changing your name.” She pouts and reaches to play with the wedding rings on my swollen finger. “I wish I could still wear my rings on my hand.”
“Ha. Mine are on there just barely,” I say with a laugh. “Besides, we’ll still be sisters. I’m changing my last name, not my family.”
She reaches for her wedding rings on the chain around her neck and smiles. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I never thought this would be where we’d all end up. Married and having children with the prez and VP.”
I place my hand on my undeniable bump and smile. “Would you rather have it any other way?”
“No, not at all.”
“Come on, let’s get a dance in before they move the party outside and our feet are too swollen for us to move,” I say.
She smiles and nods. I laugh as she pushes up from her seat and waddles ahead of me. I’m big, but not that big yet.
King and Owen appear as soon as we get on the dance floor, as if we’ll hurt ourselves out here or something. These two are going to be a mess when these babies get here.
Owen pulls me into a tight hug and rocks me from side to side and kisses the top of my head. I wrap my arms around him as much as my protruding belly will allow. A song starts and the swaying becomes a part of the music.
At five months it’s becoming a challenge to get as close to Owen as I’d like. The fact that there are two little ones in there might account for most of that. I smile when I think about them.
“You look beautiful, Mrs. Mason,” Owen says in my ear.
I laugh. “Is everyone going to call me that today?”
“They better,” he growls, his eyes sparkling as he looks down at me.
“I love the way it sounds.”
“I do too.”
“Now, this is how you celebrate,” King croons as he holds Misty in his embrace beside us. “We’ve got a clubhouse full of bikers showing some real love.”
“Couldn’t have asked for more,” Owen says with a gorgeous smile on his lips.
“I can. This little boy is demanding I eat again,” Misty says.
I laugh. I was thinking the same thing not even a second ago. As soon as we started to dance I got hungry. However, I didn’t want to ruin the moment.
“Let’s feed my boy then,” King says. “You want something, sis?”
“Please, the fruit was so good. I can eat that and still dance.”
“We don’t have to dance if you’re hungry,” Owen says as his brows pinch with concern.
“No, I’m not ready for this to end.”
“I’ve got you,” King says and pats Owen on the back.
I can’t stop smiling as I watch King and Misty walk toward the food tables. Cage catches my eye and lifts his beer at us. I beam at him and then look up to see Owen smiling his way as well.
However, there’s something else in his expression. I slide my hands to his chest, drawing his attention. The look I caught is still there.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he says.
I frown. “Then what’s with the long face?”
“Memories. Cage has been a father to me since the day he walked into my life,” he says, pain showing in his expression.
I sway in his arms thoughtfully. I’ve never asked him how their relationship came to be. He was already with Cage when we moved in.
“He means a lot to you. How’d you become one of his kids?”
A cloud grows over his face. “He saved me from hell,” he says.
“What?”
At first, I don’t think he’s going to answer me. We continue to dance, but he’s stiff and his gaze is hard. I try to think of something to change the subject and lighten the mood. This is our wedding reception after all.
“I was seven. My real father had been beating on me for over a year. He hated that I was alive, but my mama wasn’t and he was stuck with me.
“One night he beat me to within an inch of my life and left me to die. For two days, I laid on that trailer floor in my own body fluids with broken ribs, a broken leg
, and a broken arm.”
He gives a snort of disgust. “My daddy came in and out with whores to fuck, stepping right over my small body. It was the one who came to feed me after my pop passed out who called Cage and had him come get me.”
“Oh my God, babe. I—”
“No, I want you to know,” he says in a detached voice and continues. “It’s how I became a Lost Soul.”
“Okay.” I nod.
“He picked up my broken body after he beat the shit out of my pop—ending that sorry son of a bitch’s memorable life—and took me to get care. He asked me if I’d like to be his son and have a safe place to grow up and I was his boy from that day,” he says.
“Wow.”
It’s lame, but I don’t know what else to say. I cup his face and his smile comes back. I love this man so much.
“For as long as I can remember, this clubhouse has been my home. Now you know where the darkness comes from. Cage got to me before it was all too late.”
“And then he managed to bring us together without even knowing,” I say.
“Yeah, I think from that first summer home, somehow, in my heart, I knew you were my destiny.”
His words bring a huge smile to my face. I lift up on my tiptoes and Owen bends to close the distance. I kiss my husband to show him how much he’s loved.
He might be a lost soul, but he’s my lost soul.
* * *
***
“Eva,” King calls as I make my way across the clubhouse headed for the back door that leads out to the yard.
I turn and smile at him. He tilts his head toward his office. I nod and go to follow him inside. I think this is that talk that’s been coming for some time now.
Taking a deep breath before I walk inside, I hope I can keep from crying. I’ve been so emotional lately, but it’s time to face the music. Brick and I were wrong in the beginning.
I find King sitting on the couch in his office with his long legs stretched out in front of him and his arms stretched across the back. He pats the seat beside him.
Forever Page 24
