by Sam Crescent
“I wanted to be there, and, standing here knowing that you were walking home, well, it was hard. I had Pussy follow you though. Sasha got him to do it so I knew you were safe.”
“I had no idea someone was following me.”
“Pussy’s always been able to do that. It’s his trick.”
“I don’t know if I like that but okay.”
“I’ll be right back,” Butler said.
She watched him leave and stared at the table, the drinks, the lights, the flowers. It was all out of some kind of movie scene, and her heart pounded because of it.
Butler returned seconds later with her food, juicy steaks with potatoes and beans. The seasoned herb butter melted on top, and her mouth watered.
“Lexie helped with this as well.”
“I love Lexie.”
She cut into the steak, took a bite, and closed her eyes. The flavor was intense, juicy, and so perfect. She couldn’t imagine eating anything else, ever again. “This is just perfect.”
“I know, right? Lexie taught me, and whenever I’m in the doghouse, expect this kind of food. I’m totally going to rock your world.”
“You are?”
“Yes, I am.”
They kept on eating, and all the time, her curiosity was getting the better of her. She didn’t want to spoil it though.
Butler had told her himself that he wasn’t about the romance, and yet this was proof he was.
“I thought you didn’t like romance?” she asked, finally spilling out the words. She couldn’t handle the secrets and hated not knowing what was going on.
“I like romance, but I don’t think it should come with any other symbol. Not chocolate or jewelry, even though that has its place.”
She took another bite of her steak, washing it down with some of her fruit juice, and stared at him. “I … what is going on?”
He’d said that he loved her, and her feelings had only deepened as they spent more time together.
Butler took her hand, and he was suddenly down on one knee beside her at the table. “I don’t want to break up with you, Mandy. Far from it, okay. I wanted all of this because I know you’ve never had anyone care enough to give you romance. I love you more than anything, and I want to provide for you, to give you everything your heart desires, and to never stop doing that.”
“Okay.”
“Shit, I’m doing all this wrong.” She watched him reach into his pocket, and as he did, he returned his gaze to her. “There’s no one else that I want to spend the rest of my life with. I love you, Mandy, flaws and all. Just like I know you love me. I don’t have a squeaky-clean past, or at times even a budding future. I make messes of everything, and I … am probably the least romantic person in Chaos Bleeds for you to fall for. Even Dick knows what he’s doing, but not me.”
She chuckled. She couldn’t help it. He looked so sweet, so charming, and utterly lost.
“But … I will do whatever it takes to win you, to have you in my life. I can take whatever everyone else throws at me, but losing you, I can’t handle that. When you were gone, I tried to get over that. I didn’t know where you were, but I thought about you every single second of every single day, and those kinds of feelings never disappear, not once. I love you more than anything. I thought love, a family, a life outside of the MC wouldn’t happen for me, but when I’m with you, I want it all. I want you to be my wife, Mandy, the mother of my kids, and for us to get married, and I’m really fucking frustrated right now because I have the damn box in my pocket and I can’t get it out, and I want to do the romantic thing but I can’t.”
Mandy laughed, and in order for them to get the velvet box out of his jeans, they had to cut away the pocket.
“See, I blew it, completely blew it.”
She cupped his face, kissing him deeply. “Get down on one knee and finish it.”
Butler slid to the floor, box in hand, and he opened it up. The engagement ring was stunning, beautiful, and everything she didn’t even realize that she wanted.
“Mandy, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
She nodded her head, holding her hand out as he slid the ring on her finger, which was a perfect fit.
He pulled her into his arms and she closed her eyes, loving his touch around her. She loved him so much.
“I wanted this to be perfect.”
“Stop worrying, Butler. This is perfect, and I know I will never, ever forget this proposal, not ever.” She cupped his face, kissing him again. “I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you.”
“Good, because I intend to make you feel that for the rest of our lives.”
“You promise?”
“It’s a guarantee.”
****
Billionaire Bikers Picnic
“What do you think?” Lash asked.
“I don’t know, and I don’t trust it.” Devil wrinkled his nose, not really sure what to do.
“The invite said we should bring our families.”
“Do you really want to take that risk?” Tiny asked.
“They’ve got a unicorn stand. Who the fuck gives unicorns at an MC meeting?” Butler asked.
Devil glanced around the large field. The house they’d been invited to was huge and looked more like a mansion than a home. Stands were set up, and the actual picnic looked out of place, especially as he spotted several MCs each in their groups. He saw the Trojans MC, Dirty Fuckers, Saints and Sinners, then of course there was them, The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds MC.
Their reputation for sticking together was why both clubs had ridden together today. Lash had been by his side with several of their club at their backs.
He could just see his little girls squealing with delight over the teddy bear stand.
“I feel like I’ve walked into an alternate reality right now,” Dick said. “Everything looks … weird.”
“Then blink.”
His hand was on his gun, poised and ready as the Billionaire Bikers made their way out. They were dressed in suits, all ten of them. He spotted three of the men with their old ladies, but that still wasn’t enough for him to back down.
“Welcome,” Russ said.
Devil made it his business to know every single MC Prez. He could spot them in every single MC here.
“You do realize the fucking risks here, right?” Duke asked. “Or do you think you’re above such risks with your money?”
“I don’t think that at all. None of us do. I know that to many of you our club is a mockery, but I promise you it isn’t. There’s something I want.”
“Dirty Fuckers don’t play this game, we never have,” James said.
Saint remained silent. Devil waited, and when Russ turned to look at him, he knew business was about to go down.
“I know it was a long shot with the other clubs, but I want to let you all know that we know about your current alliance. We want to talk business, plans, and a future that can help many people, not just our clubs.”
Devil glanced at Lash then back at Russ. He knew what the club was talking about. “We’re listening.”
“Good, this is not a joke. We’d very much like for you to invite your families. This is a sign that we are no threat to you.”
Grabbing his cell phone, Devil dialed Lexie’s number. “Babe, how would you like to make a day of it?”
Epilogue
Three years later
Mandy moaned as Butler kissed a path down her neck, and she giggled. It had been too long since he’d kissed her, made love to her. Of course, they had the best reason for not having two minutes together.
In fact, as his hand settled between her thighs, the soft sounds of their little girl filled the air. Butler groaned, his face dropping against her ass.
“I think it’s feeding time,” Mandy said.
“Do you have to?”
“Yes, I do. You know I do.”
He rolled off her back, and she leaned
over, kissing his lips. She caught a glimpse of his wedding band, and still, even after three years, she found it to be the best sight. Her ownership of him.
“Come back soon,” he said.
“I will.” Another kiss, and she left the bed.
Entering the small nursery that all of the Chaos Bleeds crew had made up, she moved toward the crib. “Hello, my beautiful, baby Christie,” she said. “You are being a big giant pain, but I don’t mind. No, I don’t.” She spoke in a baby voice as she picked up her little girl.
Christie was only three months old, and one of the most precious people in her world. After they had gotten married the same year he proposed, neither of them was in a rush for a family. Instead they enjoyed married life, and she adjusted to her place as part of the club. Being an old lady wasn’t easy, not at all.
To the outside world, a lot of people probably assumed that besides handling food and dealing with their men that was where life ended, but it wasn’t. They were there for everything and for each other. Whether it be for birthday parties, babysitting, dealing with the business ventures, all of it was part and parcel of being an old lady. Not only were they there for each other, but also The Skulls, and they had been through a lot in the past couple of years.
Mandy held her baby girl closer to her. “I’m never going to let anything happen to you. You know that, don’t you? Nothing.”
Christie nuzzled her breast and she helped, watching her little girl suckle.
“That is a beautiful sight,” Butler said.
She knew he wouldn’t stay away long. Even when she’d been giving birth, he’d started off the labor process outside of her room. By the end, he was on the bed, and she’d rested against him, and together they worked to bring their little girl into the world.
He moved toward her, sitting on the little stool. “I still can’t believe that’s our little girl.”
“We made something beautiful together,” Mandy said.
With her free hand, she took hold of his, and like so many times before, they locked fingers.
He kissed her knuckles. “You coming in my room that day changed my entire world.”
Tears flooded her eyes. Love filled every single part of her. This was her little family, but they were part of a much bigger one.
“I don’t want you to cry,” Butler said.
“They are happy tears, so happy. You give me everything, Butler. A loving husband, a beautiful little girl, a family, a place to call my own. I love you more than anything in the world.”
He got to his feet and cupped her cheek. “And I will keep on giving to you for the rest of our life.”
“Till death do we part?” she asked.
“Even then, if I’m gone, I’ll still be waiting for you.”
The End
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Other Books by Sam Crescent:
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BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
TAKING HER INNOCENCE
Killer of Kings, 1
Sam Crescent & Stacey Espino
Copyright © 2017
Chapter One
“You think you can handle it?” Boss asked.
Viper stared out across the parking lot. A lot of shoppers were milling around today, going about their own pathetic lives, believing they were the most important thing in the world.
None of them had any idea that one of the world’s deadliest killers was amongst them. He was part of an elite group of mercenaries. He killed for the money. Whoever offered the highest bounty, he took it. He never asked questions, and he never cared about the people he killed. This was a job to him, something he was good at.
“Why can’t I handle it? Send me a picture of the girl. I’ll do the rest.”
“She has to die of natural causes.”
Viper snorted. “No problem.”
He had one month to find a woman, and to end her life. Piece of cake. He had lots of ways of killing a woman, and this would be no different.
“Deposit the money, and I’ll call you if I need more.” Viper whistled as he made his way toward the car. He put the groceries in the trunk, got behind the wheel, and waited.
Her picture came through his cell phone, and he stared at the girl in question. She couldn’t have been older than fifteen, but from what Boss had told him, she was nearly twenty-one years old, and had been on the run for nearly six months. Curious.
The picture showed her cuddled up next to her mother, and she looked happy. Pepper was chubby, her cheeks looking like the kind you could pinch, and grandmothers cooed over. Boss had given him all the details over the phone. Viper didn’t do paperwork, reading, or worrying about something being tracked.
He memorized everything. All the little details were up in his head, and that was where they would stay until the job was gone.
Viper didn’t know why the woman in question, Pepper, was running, and he really didn’t care. The moment Boss called him and gave him an assignment, he did it. Now he just needed to figure out where she was staying.
Good news for him, he had a special guy who owned equipment that could find him this woman. Leaving the grocery store, Viper made his way across the city toward the guy who he knew would hook him up.
Whenever he was in between jobs, he would always stick around where his people were so that he didn’t have to worry about endless traveling. Working for Killer of Kings was rather lucrative. They were a company known for getting the job done. Nothing was too much, no job too hard. He had traveled all over the world to do what needed to be done, from killing people, to fucking women, to even rescuing people. If the price was right, he would do anything.
From a young age, younger than any child should ever have to deal, he had been taught to hunt, to kill, and to do it without feeling a damn thing. There were scars on his back that all bled together that reminded him a past he wished he could forget. When he saw children with their parents, for a split second he felt envious, jealous that they could be having a wonderful life, a better one than he ever had. Of course they were having a better life than he had. None of them had ever gone through the hours of pain or the training that had made him one of the deadliest men on earth.
Parking his car outside of one of the shittiest apartments in the city, he made his way toward his contact, Maurice. The guy was thirty years old, a slob, but damn good when it came to computers. He was the only one who gave Viper the facts without giving him files thick with writing and shit. Viper didn’t want to be studying. Cold, hard facts were what he was after, and he didn’t need paperwork that could be traced.
Maurice lived on the top floor. He was a tall, skinny man who wore big, thick glasses. Banging on the door, Viper waited, and when Maurice opened the door his shirt was covered in ketchup and mustard stains.
“I’ve told you to change,” Viper said, entering the room.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d see you for a couple more weeks. You usually take time off. Why are you back after just a week?” Maurice asked.
The apartment was littered with debris. Only the sitting room, the place where all the computers and equipment were set up was spotless.
“You need to get a cleaning lady,” Viper said. He hated mess.
Mess equaled mistakes.
He was clean, efficient, and he didn’t have anything to leave behind. Even his apartment where he stayed during his vacations didn’t hold any personal mementos. Not that he would ever have those. Mementos would mean caring, and that wasn’t what he did. He didn’t have a family, a past, nor would he have a future.
“Cleaning ladies touch stuff, and I know where everything is.”
Viper looked around the apartment. “It stinks.”
“So? It keeps everyone out, okay? This is my mess
. My problem. Not yours. What do you want?” Maurice asked, shoving his glasses up his nose.
“Fine.” Viper handed over his cell phone. “Get me everything on her.”
“Do you have a name?” Maurice asked.
“Pepper. I want everything on the face though. You’ve got your computers that can track CCTV. I want to know where she was last seen.”
“This could take a while.”
“Don’t care. I can pay.” Viper moved into the sitting room and took a seat. It was the only place he was willing to park his ass while he waited, and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was leaving until he got what he wanted.
Something was bugging him about this assignment, which was strange because he usually didn’t care. Swift, efficient, done. That’s what he’d always been about.
Maurice was humming as he got to work, scanning her picture, and then tracking it through the database. On the big screen in front of them, he saw several names and pictures as it did the recognition thing.
The beauty about security and live feeds everywhere was anyone could be tracked or traced. Unless someone knew how to avoid the cameras and the recognition software, no one was untraceable.
“She’s young this one.”
“You’re not paid to worry about that.”
“This isn’t a rescue mission though, right? I think I saw something about this girl’s mother a few weeks ago.”
That made Viper pause. “What did you see?”
“Only that her mother had died, and Pepper’s stepfather was taking over the company that should, by rights, go to this Pepper girl. We’re talking a billion-dollar company. Stocks, shares, and they have stakes in pretty much everything. I’m surprised you don’t know that.” Maurice munched on a potato chip as he spoke.
Viper didn’t follow the news. He didn’t read the papers, nor did he care about pampered princesses. “Out of curiosity, what happens to this fortune if the girl dies?”
