by K. J. Dahlen
Reva felt a shiver of need make its way down her body and pool at her center. “No what does it mean?”
“It means you can finally be my wife,” he whispered in her ear. “I can finally lay claim to your body and soul.”
“Is that what you want?” she asked him softly.
“I’ve wanted that for longer than I can remember.” Gator growled.
“Me too, big guy. Me too,” she whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you more,” he whispered.
Raine shook his head and smiled. Then glanced over at Bones.
Sam nodded at him. “I told ya, locked jaws and hangs on for however long it takes.” He motioned his head to Gator.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The next morning, the whole clubhouse was filled with people. Not only were the members all present the Moore family were there as well. Black Jack and Molly and all four of their sons, Raine, Hound, Gambler and Judge. Molly had cried a little when Raine told them about what happened with Bulldog but Black Jack held her for a moment and assured her their son was still alive and she stopped.
“I prayed every day for him to feel remorse for his actions but now I know he never will.” Molly told her sons. “Whatever the cartel has in mind for him, I hope he will finally ask the Lord for mercy for his soul.”
Raine closed his eyes. “Mom, you raised us all right, but Harry was never one to do what he was told. You know that.”
“Yes, I know,” Molly admitted. “We did what we could for all of you.” She hesitated then had to ask, “Did he seem repentant at all?”
“He signed the divorce papers for Reva,” Raine told them. He didn’t want to tell his family what transpired. He wanted to give them a good feeling about his brother, even if only for a moment.
His father grunted. “That was the only good thing he ever did for her.”
“Is she going to marry that Gator person now?” Molly asked.
“I hope so,” Raine told them. “She deserves to be happy and he makes her happy.”
“Are you sure about that?” Molly asked with concern.
“Yeah Mom, I’m sure. He really loves her and she loves him back.” Raine insisted. “I’ve been watching them for almost a year now and they have something I wish I could find. Plus, they have a chance to adopt three kids. They’re going to be a family now and you should be happy for them.”
“Oh, I am.” Molly smiled. “I just wish Harry would have given her, her freedom a long time ago. She deserves to finally be happy.”
“Yeah Mom, she does and now, I think she’ll have everything she ever wanted, everything Harry should have given her but didn’t. She’ll have what you and Dad have.”
Black Jack hugged his wife close and nodded at his sons.
~* * * *~
Across the room, Melora looked at Sam and asked, “What’s wrong with you today? You’ve had something on your mind since last night.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, I have. I just don’t know how to tell her.”
“Her?”
“Adriana.”
“What do you have to tell Adriana?” Melora looked down at her son who was sleeping in her arms. At his long silence she glanced up at him.
“Georgio Canton told me something last night,” Sam finally replied. “It was about Adriana’s mother and it wasn’t good news.”
“Oh no…” Melora gazed around the room and found Adriana talking to her sister Quinn. She turned back to Sam. “What happened?”
“Radar murdered Stacy because she called me and had me pick up Adriana. He wanted to trade Adriana for some piece of a cartel deal with the Cajuns. When that didn’t work out, Radar pulled a gun and Georgio had to put him down. He also killed the shithead that was willing to take a fourteen year old girl in trade for a deal. Adriana is finally safe, but she no longer has her Mom.”
“She’ll stay with us now,” Melora insisted. “She isn’t going to like it but she doesn’t have a choice anymore.”
Sam just stared at her. She was certainly full of surprises. “So when are you going to marry me?”
Melora smiled. “Maybe when I can take advantage of you. Like in six weeks?”
“Nope, I ain’t gonna wait that long to claim you,” Sam insisted. “Hell and no. How does next week sound?”
“Sam,” she groaned with frustration. “I want a wedding night like anyone else. I want to go from the reception to the bedroom. I want to strip off your clothes and ravish your body and allow you to ravish mine. I can’t do that next week. I just had a baby remember?”
Sam leaned closer to her. “I don’t care. I want to claim both you and that baby. Let’s get married next week. Then in six weeks, we can have another ceremony here with the club. We can get dressed up and say our vows all over again, and then we can have that wedding night you want. I promise. But for now, I want you to legally be my wife. Can you do that?”
Melora sighed. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“This will give you girls enough time to plan a proper MC wedding.”
“And what would you consider a proper MC wedding?” Melora asked.
“You’ll figure that out.” Sam grinned.
Melora sobered and sighed. “What are you going to tell Adriana?”
“I don’t know. How do I tell her that she’ll never see her Mom again? That some lowlife murdered her for making sure she was safe. How do I tell her that I’ve loved her since the day she was born and I tried to stay away but never really could? That I’ve watched her grow up from a distance but didn’t dare come close enough for her to see me, to know me?”
“Honey, I think you just did,” Melora admitted as she nodded to a spot in back of him.
Sam turned and found Adriana standing behind him. Tears rolled down her face and she had her arms wrapped around her waist. “Mom is dead?” she whispered.
Sam went to her and put his arms around her thin shoulders. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry.”
Adriana sobbed in his arms. “What happened? Do you know?”
Sam laid his chin on the top of her head. “Georgio had just came from Saratoga Springs. He was there to settle a dispute between the two MC clubs. I asked about your mother and he told me what happened. Radar murdered her when he found out you were gone. Georgio’s man had to shoot him when he pulled a gun. His man also killed the man Radar was going to sell you to. He told me he doesn’t condone selling young girls into what would be considered sexual slavery.”
Adriana shuddered. “So, where does that leave me?” she whispered.
“You’re my daughter and you’ll always have a home with me,” Sam told her.
“But you’re going to have a new wife and a new baby.” Adriana protested. “I won’t fit in with that.”
“I know it’s not ideal for you but me and T-Bone would be more than happy if you’d live with me and Sam,” Melora added. “I can’t wait to get to know you.”
“You’ll never be my mother.” Adriana told her. “Even if you and Sam ever do get married.”
“Adriana,” Sam growled.
He was going to say something else but Melora held up her hand to stop him. “I know that,” Melora defended. “I hope you know I would never try to replace your mom either.”
“Damn right you can’t,” Adriana told her.
“I lost my own mom when I was younger than you and I resented anyone trying to replace her, so there is no way I would do that to you. Instead, I hope we can become friends. You, Quinn and Deke are T-Bones’ sisters and brother. I want him to know what it’s like to grow up with family. None of you had that either, so maybe we’ll all find something here.” She paused, “Can you do that?”
Adriana glanced down at the small infant in her arms and nodded. “I can try.”
“That’s all a person can do is try.” Melora nodded. “Maybe tomorrow, you and your dad, your brother and sister can take you home to get your things. I know it hurts sweetheart and it’s going to hurt for a while, but it does help to talk about her.
When my mom died, I didn’t have anyone to talk to for six years, then I had Izzy.” Melora smiled. “I about drove her nuts but she heard all about my mom. She was probably sick of hearing about her at the time but it helped me to talk about her. Someday, when you’re ready, I’d like to hear about your mother.”
Adriana turned to Sam. “Can we do that? Can we go to Saratoga Springs and get the rest of my things?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, we can. We have to make funeral plans anyway.”
Adriana nodded and moved away.
Quinn was there to wrap her arms around the younger girl.
Sam sat down by Melora and whispered, “Thank you.”
“For what?’ she asked. “I still remember what it was like to lose my mom. It tore my heart out. At least your daughter has you, Deke and Quinn.”
“She has you in her corner too.”
“You have to give her some time Sam. She’s a teenager, she’s going to be rude and obnoxious at times, she’s going to nice one minute and crazy the next, she’s going get boy crazy at some point and you’re going to have to live through it. You missed out with your first two but this one is going to drive you nuts and you have another one coming up right behind her.”
Sam groaned and covered his eyes. “Can you just shoot me now?”
“No.” Melora giggled. “But I can be right there beside you to help you through it.”
“Good, I’m holding you to that.” Sam sighed then lovingly smoothed his hand across her cheek.
CHAPTER NINE
Mountain watched Izzy over the next few days and was growing concerned. While Sam and his three oldest kids were in Saratoga Springs, he and Izzy watched over Melora and the baby. While Izzy was out one afternoon, Mountain found his chance to talk to Melora. “Hey baby girl, I need to ask you something.”
“And what would that be Dad?”
Mountain paused then chuckled, “I still can’t get used to that, you calling me Dad.”
Melora laughed and patted his arm. “Just wait til T-Bone starts calling you grandpa.”
“Yeah, that’s just gonna be weird.” Mountain shook his head. “But I do need to talk to you and I’m not sure how to say what I need to say.”
Melora sat down and patted the place next to her. “The best way is to just say it outright.”
Mountain sat next to her on the couch. “First off, I want to marry Izzy and we need to know if you’re going to be okay with that.”
Melora leaned into her father and hugged him. “I will be just fine with that. I just want the both of you to be happy.”
“But I am your dad and so much older than she is. Don’t you think it’s a little weird?”
Melora shook her head. “I love and am marrying a man a lot older than I am, plus I just had his son. That may seem weird too, but it’s my life and I’m loving it. So no, I don’t think it’s weird.”
“Ok then, what would you think if Izzy and I were to go and collect her brother and bring him out here to live with us?” Mountain asked. “I haven’t asked her yet, but it seems like the right thing to do. She told me what happened the night he got hurt and as far as I’m concerned, those two need to be together again. I don’t give a shit how old he is. They need to be together.”
Melora stared at her dad with tears in her eyes. “Oh Dad, I think so too. She has missed him every day for the last eight years. For a while, she used to cry herself to sleep at night worrying about how he was doing. She didn’t want to leave Chicago without him but neither one of us could stay there.” Melora hesitated then asked, “Did she tell you the reason she had to try and run away that night?”
“Yeah, she did. She told me her father traded away her virginity in a fucking game of cards.” Mountain growled.
“Did she tell you who was coming to take her?”
“No she wouldn’t tell me his name.”
“Then maybe I shouldn’t either.”
“Maybe you should.” Mountain stared hard at her.
Melora shook her head. “It doesn’t make any difference now. This guy liked young and unused girls and boys. Everybody in Chicago knew it but no one could stop him and no one even tried. If they did, they didn’t live long.”
“Was he connected?” he asked.
Melora nodded. “When Izzy’s dad went to prison for the shooting, we all feared this guy would kill him inside the joint.”
“Is her father still alive?”
“Yeah and he’s due to get out soon. I think that’s playing on her nerves too. She just wants to protect her brother.” She hesitated then went on to say, “I talked her into visiting her brother once. We had to be very careful because if her uncle found out he would have thrown Boone out, right then and there.” She shrugged. “That was the deal they made the night of the shooting and I truly believe Michael Clemends would have done it.”
“I thought her last name was Zackery?”
“No her real name is Clemends. She changed it because of the publicity around the shooting,” Melora explained. “That and the fact she couldn’t be sure the man after her would leave her alone.”
“What do you think about going to get her brother and bringing him back here to live with us?”
“I think it’s a wonderful idea. In fact, I think you need to get him here before his dad gets out of prison.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because his dad is no good. He wasn’t eight years ago and I doubt he’s changed much.” Melora shook her head. “He’s had eight years to work up a rage against his kids and if Boone is the only one he can get his hands on, it won’t be pretty. You need to get him and bring him back like right now.”
“How do you know about their dad?” Mountain looked concerned.
“Let’s just say you guys aren’t the only ones who have friends.” She smiled.
Mountain stared at his daughter for a long moment then shook his head and changed the subject. “I was thinking about buying this house from you, after you marry Sam and move in with him but then I got the idea of taking the first floor apartments of the housing units we bought with the shop. Me and Izzy would have the bigger apartment and Boone could have his own place. Or we could open up a wall and all live together. The shared rooms we all would use and I could teach him how to work on hot rods.”
I think it’s a great idea.” Melora smiled. “Izzy has always wanted a place she could call her own. We both used to dream about what we wanted out of life.” She turned to face him. “You do realize this kid is in a wheelchair. That’s going to be a huge adjustment for him and you to make. Are you prepared to deal with it day after day?”
“I’ve been thinking about that a lot actually. I know it’s going to be hard at first for everyone but yeah, I can do it. One of the guys in my old club got put into a chair, by Whiskey. He had a hell of a time adjusting but he did it. We all helped him and slowly he made the transition. It wasn’t easy on any of us. We hated the fact he was in the chair and so did he, but slowly we all came around.”
“Ok, let me ask you this, can a man in a wheelchair work on hot rods?”
“Hell yeah, he can if he wants it bad enough, he can do anything,” Mountain replied with a grin. “Travis taught us all that.”
“Then I suggest you go get Boone and drag his ass back here with you,” she urged. “And I hope you’re able to give Michael Clemends the finger as you’re driving away. The old bastard deserves that and so much more.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” A steel glare passed across his violet eyes.
Just then, the front door opened and Izzy came in. Her arms were loaded down and Mountain got to his feet to help her.
Melora smiled as she watched them and suddenly, she couldn’t wait for Izzy to hear the news. She was getting her brother back!
~* * * *~
Sam stopped the truck in front of a small grey house. There was a line of yellow police tape around the place and he didn’t think this was such a good idea. He didn’t want Adriana to
see the inside until he or Deke checked it out first.
He looked over at his youngest daughter.
She seemed pale and had tears running down her cheeks.
“Maybe we should wait with this,” he suggested. “We don’t have to go inside right now.”
Adriana shook her head. “The cops told us they cleaned up the place. Let’s just go in and get my stuff. We still have to go to the funeral home.” She opened the door and jumped down to the driveway.
When Deke and Quinn joined them, all four made their way to the front door. Adriana handed Sam the key and after he opened the door, they all went inside. Adriana gasped when she saw the mess that was left. Furniture was overturned and lamps laid broken on the floor. Pictures of Adriana through the years were smashed. Beer bottles and trash were all over the living room and kitchen.
Adriana walked over to a curio shelf. Her mothers’ collection of ceramic angels were mostly broken, their wings torn off and laying everywhere. Out of the fourteen she had there was only one left, a small baby angel shoved way in the back. She carefully picked it up and held it in her hands. Tears ran freely down her face and she didn’t say anything as she cradled the angel to her chest. Silently without a word, she turned and made her way to the bedrooms in the back of the house.
Quinn walked over to the shelf and began gathering the pieces of the angels. She looked at Sam and Deke. “She’s going to want these someday.”
Sam nodded and found a small container, handing it to his oldest daughter, he went to find his youngest. She was sitting on her bed still holding the baby angel. He went over to her and sat down next to her.
“Mom got this one for me on the day I was born,” she told him. “Every year on my birthday, I would buy her a new angel. It was our own family tradition. She told me I was her real angel, a true gift from God himself.” She leaned into her father. “Now they’re all gone, including Mom.”
