by Ana Jolene
Knuckle spun around and suddenly, father and son were facing off. “I was saving his fucking life.” He pointed at Bronson who was being towed away by the Phantom. “I was saving all our fucking lives! Now let’s go before they decide to shoot us all.”
“Have you lost your mind? We could have taken them all on. We had them outnumbered!”
“It is done!” Anger glittered brightly in Knuckle’s eyes. “We spare Vincent’s life, we get ours back. We are no longer part of this war.”
“You’re a fucking fool if you think they’ll abide by those terms.” By the looks on my brothers’ faces, I could tell that many were in agreement with Hastie.
Knuckle spun around again, stepping right up into Hastie’s personal space. “I don’t see president written on your cut, motherfucker, so I suggest, you shut the fuck up and listen to me. We go back to Ward Four and hand over Vincent. Or would you just prefer that I shoot Bronson in the head from here because that’s what you’re telling me to do!”
Hastie’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t say anything. The rest of Glory MC watched on as conflict transformed his features. But Knuckle was right. Only he was wearing the patch that was as coveted as a crown. In Glory MC, he was king.
But did Knuckle forget that this was a motorcycle club and that decisions were made as a group? Even though Knuckle aimed to safely take Glory MC out of the war with the Phantoms, he’d made a rash decision on his own. Who could trust the Phantoms not to attack Ward Four?
Seven
I never thought that when I heard gunshots being fired that I’d be running towards it, rather than away from it. But that was what I was doing now.
“Isla, wait!” my mother cried, trailing after me.
Not once did I stop to look back at her, instead focusing on the shouts that led me to an opening. As I drew nearer, the voices grew more familiar.
As the sight of Glory MC came into view, a part of me relaxed. Seeing Lucky’s familiar figure amongst the crowd made me want to run straight into his arms but even in my rush to reach him I knew that something had just happened. And it wasn’t good.
Hastie saw me first and then elbowed Lucky hard enough to make him wince. As he turned to growl at him, he caught sight of me. Immediately, his angry features transformed into one of relief.
I ran towards him, desperate to feel his arms wrap me up like a warm blanket. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he breathed as his arms locked tightly around me. I inhaled his scent, running my fingers through his hair. Fighting back tears, I did my best not to fall to pieces. But Lucky knew me too well. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head, sensing that something else needed his attention more. “What’s going on?” I asked. By the blood on their clothing, it was clear something had happened. Behind them, several of the Phantoms members lurked in the shadows, as if waiting for Glory MC to act.
“Knuckle made a trade,” Lucky explained. “Bronson for Vincent.”
I blanched as shock arched through my system. Why would he do that?
Just as I opened my mouth to argue that decision, a voice called out. “Isla, come back!”
I froze at the use of my real name again. Lucky stiffened as my mother came to a huffing stop and shot me a confused look. Glory MC drew their weapons, forcing her to freeze where she stood.
For a moment, I considered telling Lucky about it all right then and there, but I decided now wasn’t the time. Too much had happened tonight for my mind to fully comprehend. I needed a moment to simply take it all in.
“Isla,” my mother begged. “Please.”
I couldn’t tell you the number of nights I’d lain awake in bed, wondering why my mother decided to abandon me. For a long time, I dreamt about what it would be like to meet her again. To be able to ask her why . . . what did I do wrong?
But now that she was standing in front of me, begging for me, I couldn’t find the heart in me to ask. Maybe my days alone made me heartless. But after everything I’d lived through, you couldn’t fault me for that. I’d done everything I needed to do to survive on my own.
“Stay away from me,” I told her. She flinched so hard, you would’ve thought I had hit her.
Sensing my distress, Lucky tucked me into his arms, pulling me away. But not before I saw his eyes flash with a sort of understanding when he looked at my mother. “Let’s go,” he said.
When my eyes met his, they were filled with concern and I knew that when we got back, I’d have to explain everything. I just wasn’t sure I could do that without tears.
TWENTY-NINE
My Girl
Seven
I dreamt of Ainsley.
In the dream, she wasn’t the age she’d been when she’d died. She was four, wearing the same clothes the day our mother had abandoned us in Wal-Mart. “Isla, where’s Mommy?” Her eyes were wide with inquiry, as cobalt as mine were cerulean and they swam with fresh tears.
“She’s coming back.” I tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her tiny ear. “She just forgot something in the car.”
Ainsley nodded, content with the answer before busying herself with her candy. I glanced around, thrown back in time again, feeling the same panic I felt as I looked for signs of our mother. But instead of the aisles of Wal-Mart surrounding us, Ainsley and I stood in our mother’s house, the place she took me to hide from the Phantoms.
“What is this place?” Ainsley asked. Her eyes roamed over the unfamiliar setting.
I didn’t want to be here anymore than I wanted to be left in Wal-Mart, so I bolted for the door, finding it securely locked. “Shit.” I had to get us out of here.
I took a large step back, readying to kick the door in if I had to. “What are you doing?” Ainsley cried. “Don’t break it!”
“We’re not staying here.” Not if I could help it.
“Why not? It’s been a long time.” Her voice came out as a whisper. “I miss her.” Then she began to cry. Dropping to my knees before her, I pulled her into my arms. Over and over, she sobbed “I miss her. I miss her,” until tears welled in my own eyes. Her words were a sad echo of the truth that lay within my own heart.
Although I didn’t want to admit it, I did miss my mother. Even after everything she’d done to Ainsley and me, there was still a part of me that wanted to run straight into my mother’s arms and remember what it felt like to have her embrace me again.
At the same time, I didn’t know if I was capable of forgiving her. She had abandoned us, leaving us with no choice. Confusion warred with yearning until I wiped angrily at my tears. I’d shed enough tears for her already over the years.
The front of my shirt was damp when Ainsley pulled away. In her eyes, I saw the same hurt reflected back at me. “I thought she loved us.”
“She does.” I don’t know why I said that to her. But it came out so automatically that even I believed it. “And she’ll come back for us. I promise.”
Ainsley rested her head against my shoulder and sniffled. “I’m glad you’re here though. You always know what to do.”
From where we sat on the floor, I stared at the door, knowing that with enough muscle, I could pry that door open and walk Ainsley out of here. I could take her away from here and we could start a new life. Forget all that our mother had done to us and move on.
But in my dream, I didn’t. I stayed and comforted my baby sister until the door opened and our mother stepped in. She wore a scarf over her head; just like the one I’d seen her wear in the market. When she pulled it back, Ainsley shot up and ran towards her, crying out in relief. She scooped her up and kissed her chubby cheeks. My smile was genuine as I watched the jubilant gleam in my sister’s eyes. A few seconds ago, she was sobbing with yearning. But our mother’s presence had changed that. Was I a bad person for wanting to take a child from her mother? “Okay, let’s go,” Mom said, hugging Ainsley protectively to her chest.
Wait. “Where are you going?”
“We’re leaving.” Her eyes and words were co
ld as ice. “You’re staying.”
Staying? No! I didn’t want to be left alone. Not again. She was already heading out the door as Ainsley waved and uttered a cheery, “Bye, Isla!”
I ran for it, meeting the hard, cold surface of the door. I kicked and yelled for them to come back, but my cries after them went unheard. Sobs began to escape at the realization that I was alone again.
A black hole consumed me, bigger than before. I hadn’t realized it before now but perhaps I associated my mother’s abandonment to my sister’s loss as well. If she hadn’t left, maybe we could’ve still been a family. Ainsley and I wouldn’t have been subjected to abuse by the Martins and she wouldn’t have killed herself. Our mother leaving had started a cyclone that sucked everything good out of my life until nothing was left. Until I was nothing.
This dream made me feel like it was happening all over again.
* * *
I jolted awake, gasping for air. Lucky loomed over me, eyes gentle, touch kind. “You had a bad dream.”
A dream? I shook off the lingering sense of absence in my chest, focusing on the fact that Lucky was here with me, offering me comfort when not too long ago we couldn’t even stand to be in the same room together. “Are you all right?”
Turning to face him, I gave the question more thought than Lucky probably intended. Was I okay? “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “What would you do if your mother stormed back into your life after what she did to you?”
Light eyes morphed into stunning steel. “I’d run.”
“You would?” I couldn’t picture Lucky running from anything.
“Running from her was the one thing that saved my life.” I shifted towards him, drawn in by his words. His arms opened easily, accepting me without question.
I considered his words for a moment. I could run. My mother wouldn’t know it until I was long gone. There would be no need for me to deal with her, no need to deal with my emotions. It would be the simple way out.
Lucky leaned into me, brushing his lips against mine. It was nothing but a whisper of a touch but it brought on more comfort than I’d ever had in years. Somehow, we’d gone from enemies to this.
Lovers.
Did I want to leave all this and start over again? Could I leave my friends? Leave the family I’d made in Glory MC? Leave Lucky?
I snaked one arm around his neck, doing the same with the other until we were locked together. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted.
“Do you hate her?”
“Yes.”
“But could you forgive her?”
Forgive her? I didn’t know. After all these years without her, I couldn’t deny that there was a pang of yearning at seeing her again. The dream had confirmed it. I missed her. But was that enough to forgive her of all her sins? “I think that I could with time,” I began slowly. “But right now, I want answers, Lucky. I want to know why.”
He pulled me tight against him where the beating of his heart pulsed against mine. “We can do that. We can go see her, get your answers and then go from there.”
We, he had said. Not me. We. It had never been anyone else but me for so long; it felt strange to have someone around to have my back. Who would do whatever it took to make sure I was okay.
After Ainsley had died, I thought I’d be alone forever. Meeting Indy had shown me that all was not lost. I considered myself lucky to have her in my life. But then I found a family in Glory MC, too.
Overcome with gratitude, I tilted my head back so I could look into Lucky’s eyes, saying the words that I hadn’t ever dared uttered before now. “I love you.”
Lucky
I tried to keep the smile out from my words. “A little late, don’t you think?”
“Is it?”
“Most women tell me they love me after the first night.”
Ah, there it was. That smile. Seven’s most lethal weapon. “I’m not like most women in your life, Lucky.”
Damn, she couldn’t be any more right about that. “You’re the only woman in my life.”
What the hell was I doing? Seven had just admitted to loving me and instead of saying it back, I was teasing her. Any other girl would have been offended, but not her. She knew me well enough to know that something as important as this wouldn’t slide by me smoothly.
When she pulled back, she reached for the bottom of my shirt. I pushed her hands away, collecting them in my own and kissing them when she protested. “Turn around. Get on your hands and knees.”
I could tell she liked that idea. Her eyes sparkled with that wildfire before I kissed her deep. Bracketing her hips with my hands, I let my hands roam for a while, warming her with my touch, my kisses. I wanted her to feel everything I felt for her. “Lucky, please,” she panted with a swirl of her hips against my groin.
The friction created more heat. Sliding her panties out of the way, I eased into her slowly, groaning at how well we fit together. Our rhythm quickened until we were both gasping for breath.
“Lucky!” she cried. “You’re going to fuck me right off the bed!” When I opened my eyes, she was right on the edge of the mattress, her body half on, half off the bed. Gripping her hips tighter, I pulled her back.
But not all the way. She was still dangling off the bed but in this position, it put her ass right in the air, sparking an idea in my head. “Do you trust me?”
“I know that look. Whatever you are thinking, it’s never going to happen.”
Dammit. Chuckling, I pushed her down into the mattress, mounting her from behind. We groaned in unison at the change of angle, deeper than before. I trailed my hands down her spine. “You okay?”
“Yes. More. Please.”
She used her arms to keep her up from the floor as I started to move. The more I rocked into her, the closer we inched towards to edge of the mattress, the threat of falling off a real possibility, but it was impossible to stop now.
Seven had taught me that one’s past didn’t define a person. Her past had been dark and lonely, but it never once broke her spirit. Seven had found a place where there was joy.
Despite the drugs and lack of parental presence in our lives, I’d say that Lennon and I turned out okay. I didn’t think either one of us could say we reached the same point as Seven, but we were better off now. After everything that Seven had done for me, for Lennon, and for Glory MC, I wanted to make sure that she wasn’t alone when she decided what she wanted to do with her mother.
Her body tensed as she let out a low moan. Craning her head back, Seven stared at me with glazed eyes. I didn’t see an abandoned child, a sisterless loner, or a paid whore. I saw her as a survivor, a fighter, a lover.
Not Isla like the woman in the street had called her. But Seven.
My girl.
Biting her lip as she came, I watched as the most beautiful woman in the world lost herself in my arms. I shuddered, loving it, loving her so much that it became hard to breathe.
But she still had more to give, this selfless woman. Seven ground her hips against mine until there was nothing left to hold back. I gave it to her, my desire, my heart, my soul, so that she could not only know—but could feel—just how much I loved her too.
THIRTY
Try
Lucky
“You sure you want to do this?” Seven had spent the rest of the afternoon drinking copious amounts of alcohol to the point where I thought she was going to make herself sick. I had to make sure she was really okay.
“Yep.”
“You’re not too drunk?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, let’s do this shit.”
“I really hope I’m not making a mistake,” she said over her shoulder as we walked up to her mother’s home. It didn’t look like much, but for someone who was living alone in the post-flare world, it wasn’t bad either.
Out of some strange need that seemed unlike me, I found myself fixing my hair and adjusting my shirt. Seven shot me a strange look. Despite the fact that her mothe
r had been absent for most of her life, that didn’t mean I didn’t want to make a good impression. As the door opened, I removed my shades.
Immediately, I could tell where Seven got her eyes from. Seven’s mother had the same cerulean eyes that gleamed like open water. “Isla,” she breathed as she saw us before her. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you.”
“Can we come in?”
“Sure. Of course!” For a brief moment, I saw the moment of hesitation in her mother’s eyes as I stepped through the door. Seven had filled me in on her opinion of Glory MC; she wasn’t a fan. But there was no way in hell I was going to let Seven speak to her without me around to offer support.
Seven introduced me even though it was clear she knew who I was already. “I’m Helen,” she said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Helen,” I said, extending a hand. Though she took it, I could tell she wanted to dump her hand in acid after by her expression.
I hid my amused smile and turned to take in the furniture. Though none of it looked particularly new or expensive, it seemed that she’d been settled for a while. “Please,” Helen said. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure. Anything you have is fine. We’re just here to ask a few questions.” Seven settled at the table, pulling me down beside her. Even at rest, her body was taut as a trip wire.
When I reached out to comfort her, a nervous half smile curled her lips. “Anytime you want to leave,” I whispered softly. “You just let me know.” Her fingers squeezed mine in a silent thank-you.
Helen returned carrying a tray of tall glasses. As she served them, I couldn’t help but observe the way she moved. She stayed mostly out of my way, never veering too close as if she knew one wrong move of hers would make us bolt. But despite everything, she seemed genuinely pleased to have us around, even if that meant she had to endure my suspicious looks out of the corner of her eye.
