by Wilder, L.
“Who?” She whipped around, and the minute she spotted Maria, tears filled her eyes. “You didn’t tell me she was coming!”
“Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. They flew in last night so that they could be at your graduation. She saw you get your diploma, but with so many people at the graduation, she decided to wait until we got here to let you know they’d come.”
“Well, I can’t think of a better surprise.”
Marlowe rushed over and gave her mother a hug. A few weeks after learning about Maria, Marlowe wrote to her. She was nervous about it, thinking Maria wouldn’t reply, but she did. The two corresponded back and forth for weeks, and eventually Marlowe mustered the courage to call her. Days after, they had their first visit, and it went even better than expected. They’d promised to meet again soon but juggling their busy schedules had turned out to be more difficult than either of them had expected. I knew how much it would mean to Marlowe to have Maria there for her graduation, so I flew her and her family in and did my best to keep it a secret from Marlowe. While it wasn’t easy, it was clear from her expression my efforts had paid off. I gave them a few moments to speak alone, then went over to join them.
As I walked up, Maria said, “Like I told you before, I never wanted to let you go. I simply didn’t have a choice, but I never stopped thinking about you. I’d always hoped and prayed that you would have a good life and you’d be happy. Seeing you now, I know all those prayers have been answered.”
“Thank you, Maria. That means more to me than you could possibly know.” Marlowe looked over to Maria’s husband Diego as she said, “Thank you for bringing her and the kids. It’s so good to have them all here.”
“I had little to do with it.” Diego looked over to me as he said, “Rafe set the whole thing up. I just got us to the airport. He took care of the rest.”
“Of course, he did.” Marlowe slipped her arms around me as she smiled. “Thank you. This is the best graduation present ever.”
They all sat and visited a while, but after a couple hours passed, Maria’s two young girls started to become restless, and she and Diego decided to take them back to the hotel—but only after promising to come by the house in the morning. They would be there for several days to visit, but I could see Marlowe was a little disappointed that they were leaving. Hoping to lighten her mood, I leaned over to her and said, “You’ve got another surprise coming.”
“What?” she gasped. “You’ve already done too much.”
I motioned over to Menace, letting him know it was time for his big reveal. When he came over, he reached into his pocket and brought out a set of keys. As he handed them to Marlowe, he said, “These are for you.”
“What are these for?”
“Your new office.” As Marlowe took them in her hand, Menace told her, “We got you a new desk and your own laptop. You’re all set for Monday.”
“Seriously?”
“Hell, yeah.” Marlowe would be helping Menace out with the nightly receipts and the inventory. While she wouldn’t ever know how we’d used the bar to launder the club’s money, her help would be invaluable to Menace. “I’m looking forward to the extra shuteye. Hell, I sure could use it.”
Marlowe reached up and hugged him as she said, “Thank you, Menace.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” As he stepped back, he motioned his head over to Remington and Delilah. They were both holding up a shot of tequila, waiting for Marlowe to join them. “Enough of this mushy shit. You have some celebrating to do.”
“Yes, I do.”
Marlowe stepped over to me, lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against mine. After a quick kiss, she winked, then turned and headed over to the girls. I stood there watching her laughing and talking with the other ol’ ladies, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She meant everything to me. As I reached into my pocket, feeling Marlowe’s last surprise, a warmth washed over me. I could picture us married, cuddling up on the couch watching TV and those good morning kisses to start the day. I could picture those inevitable arguments and the making up after. I could picture our kids with her beautiful smile and my streak of stubbornness. We would grow old together, never leaving each other’s side. Yeah, I could picture us together … forever.
The End
More from the Ruthless Sinners coming soon! Be sure to check out the excerpt from Holding On after the acknowledgments.
Acknowledgments
I am blessed to have so many wonderful people who are willing to give their time and effort to making my books the best they can be. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to breathe life into my characters and share their stories with you. To the people I’ve listed below and so many others, I want to say thank you for taking this journey with me. Your support means the world to me, and I truly mean it when I say I appreciate everything you do. I love you all!
PA: Natalie Weston
Editing/Proofing: Lisa Cullinan-Editor, Rose Holub-Proofer
Promoting: Amy Jones, Veronica Ines Garcia, Neringa Neringiukas, Whynter M. Raven
BETAS/Early Readers: Tanya Skaggs and Jessey Elliott
Street Team: All the wonderful members of Wilder’s Women (You rock!)
Best Friend and biggest supporter: My mother (Love you to the moon and back.)
Excerpt from Holding On
Prologue
“There a problem here?”
“No, there ain’t no fucking problem.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
I’d been sitting at the bar having a drink with Rafe when a beautiful brunette caught my eye. She was standing next to the front door with a wide-eyed expression, making it pretty clear that she’d never been in a strip club before. Even in the dark, I could see that she was hot, smokin’ hot, but she looked completely out of place dressed in a trendy long sweater and jeans with knee-high boots. She hadn’t been standing there long when some asshole came up to her and started trying to make a play. I’d seen her shake her head, telling the guy no at least a dozen times, but he just kept at it. Concerned that he might do something stupid, I walked over and tried to intervene. Looking down at the petite brunette, I asked her, “Everything all right over here?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she replied, while toying nervously with the odd-shaped silver pendant on her necklace. “I was...um...I was just trying to tell this gentleman here that I’m not staying long, so I don’t need a drink...but he keeps insisting.”
“Understood.” I looked back over to the dickhead who wasn’t taking no for an answer and said, “Time for you to move on.”
“This is some bullshit, man.”
“Move, or I’ll move you myself.”
“Fuck this,” the guy grumbled as he turned to leave. “I don’t need this shit.”
Once he was gone, I looked over to her. She continued to rub the pad of her thumb against the back of the silver pendant. “You okay?”
“I am now.” A soft smile crossed her angelic face. “Thanks to you.”
“You here alone?”
“No.” She released the pendant, letting it drop to the delicate line of her cleavage, then motioned her hand to the crowd behind us. “I’m here with my friend, Madeline. She’s looking for her boyfriend ... or soon to be ex-boyfriend.”
“He in that much trouble for being here?”
“Oh, it’s not just this,” she scoffed. “The cards have been stacking up against him for a while now, so I’m hoping she’ll give him the boot.”
“And you came along to watch the show?”
“Well, yeah.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I couldn’t let Madeline come here alone.”
“I see.” I glanced over my shoulder at Diamond as she danced on the stage. “So, what do you think of the place?”
Unable to help myself, I let my eyes skirt over her soft curves, and damn, she was fucking sexy. It was easy to see why the asshole didn’t want to take no for an answer. Hell, I was struggling myself, loving
nothing more than to take her home and fuck the life out of her, but that wasn’t going to happen. This girl was the real deal, all class, the kind a man committed his life to and did everything in his power to make happy. As tempting as she might’ve been, I didn’t fuck with women like her. She gave me a light shrug and answered, “It’s great ... if you’re into this sort of thing.”
“And I take it you’re not into this sort of thing?”
“Umm ... not exactly. I’m more of a glass-of-wine-and-a-movie kind of girl.”
“I see.”
“Don’t get me wrong.” Her eyebrow inched higher, and she snickered. “There’s definitely something intriguing about all this.”
Her mannerisms were subtle, almost undefinable, but there was no doubt that she was flirting with me. I could see it in her eyes, in the way she moved, and the slight tremble of her voice, leaving me wondering why a chick like her would be into a man like me. I gave her a slight smile and replied, “That there is.”
I could’ve stood there and talked to her all fucking night, but unfortunately, fate had other plans. She was just about to say something when I heard Rafe call out to me. “Yo, Shotgun!”
“Yeah?”
I turned to see what he wanted and found him pulling a customer towards the back door. I could hear the anger in Rafe’s voice as he shouted, “I need a fucking hand!”
“On my way!” I looked back over to the brunette. “I gotta get going. You and your friend try to stay out of trouble.”
Her dark eyes locked on mine, sending the blood rushing to my cock. “I’ll do my best to keep her in line.”
Fuck. It was a damn good thing that Rafe needed me; otherwise, I might’ve ended up doing something I’d regret. I gave her a nod, then turned and started through the crowd. As soon as I exited the back door, Rafe had some thug pinned against the outside wall. He took a moment to clue me in on what had gone down, then stepped out of the way so I could take over. The guy tried to bolt, but I quickly grabbed him by the throat and slammed him back against the wall. His beady eyes narrowed as he spat, “You don’t know who you’re fucking with, man.”
“Then why don’t you tell me who we’re fucking with?” I growled as I tightened my grip around his throat. “I’m all ears.”
“Fuck you, man. I ain’t telling you shit.”
“You might wanna rethink that.” He was trying to play the tough guy bit, but I could feel his racing pulse against my fingertips. The guy was freaked out, and rightly so. He knew he’d fucked up. Not only had he put his hands on one of our girls, he’d tried to swipe several hundred dollars’ worth of blow. He continued to give us the runaround even after I roughed him up a bit. While I had him pinned against the wall, I plowed my free hand into his gut. Air rushed from his lungs, and he was struggling to catch his breath when I leaned forward. My face was just inches from his as I snarled, “Why’d you come here tonight?”
“Came to see me some ass and titties. Maybe getting a little side action just like everybody else.” I knew he was lying. It was written all over his smug face. “Not looking for no trouble. Just had a misunderstanding with one of your girls. That’s all.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” We had bouncers all around the strip club. They were usually the ones who dealt with shit like this, but I knew the minute I laid eyes on this asshole that there was something up with him. “You best get to talking, or you and I are gonna take a trip over to the clubhouse.”
“This is some bullshit. None of this would’ve happened if you and your crew hadn’t moved in here, but you just wait and see.” He cocked his chin up at me like he was some big player. “Only a matter of time before you pay for that shit.”
“That a fucking threat?”
“Maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t.”
I tightened my grip around his throat, making it even more difficult for him to breathe. He twisted and jerked, trying with all his might to break free, but I never loosened my hold on him—at least not until I felt a piercing pain in my side. When I looked down, I saw that he’d stabbed me with his fucking pocketknife. Rage rushed through me, and before I realized what I was doing, I’d slammed my fist into his throat, crushing his larynx. His head reared back as he tried to take a breath, but it did little to help. After several brief moments, he collapsed to the ground and continued to gasp for air. Stunned, Rafe looked over to me and complained, “What the fuck, brother? We still had questions for him.”
“The motherfucker stabbed me.”
“It’s a fucking pocketknife, Shotgun.” Rafe motioned his hand over to the small knife that had fallen to the ground next to our unnamed stranger. “It can’t be much more than a scratch.”
“Fuck you, man.” I lifted my shirt to reveal my bleeding wound. “That’s more than a fucking scratch.”
Rafe smirked as he teased. “You gonna want Doc to put a Band-Aid on your booboo?”
“Keep running your fucking mouth, jackass, and see what it gets ya.” The gasps finally stopped, a signal that the guy had died. I gave him a nudge with my foot and grumbled. “Fuck.”
“Should we call in Billy?”
Billy the Butcher was the club’s cleaner. He handled all kinds of situations from big to small, and he did it without leaving any ties to the club. Since I wasn’t sure exactly who this guy was or why he’d really come to Stilettos, I figured it would be best to let Billy handle it. I gave Rafe a nod and said, “I’ll call him.”
“And Viper?”
Viper was the Ruthless Sinner’s president, and everything that went down with the club went through him first. “Yeah, I’ll call him too.”
As I reached for my phone, I looked down at the stranger once again. I had no idea what this guy was hiding, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before we found out. And as the club’s enforcer, I’d be ready for whatever came our way.
Chapter 1
“You ready for another?” Rafe asked Krissy.
“Sure.” She gave him a friendly smile. “I’ll take another beer.”
“You got it.”
Some of the guys had gotten together at the clubhouse to grill some burgers and throw back a few in hopes of blowing off a little steam. We’d had a long week and were looking to just chill out for a bit. Hawk brought along his ol’ lady, Delilah, and her best friend, Krissy. We’d all been sitting around at the bar, talking shit and having a beer. I could tell right away that Krissy was going to be a handful. She was a pretty girl with a killer figure, who didn’t have a problem saying what was on her mind. I watched as she leaned over and whispered something in Delilah’s ear. The alarmed expression on Delilah’s face hinted that Krissy was up to something. When he returned with a round of beers, she batted her eyelashes and said, “Aren’t you sweet? Thanks, Rafe.”
“No problem, babe.”
Krissy glanced over at Delilah, who gave her a warning scowl. She slightly nodded, and for a brief moment, I thought she’d adhere to Delilah’s plea. After taking a sip of her beer, Krissy pretended to ignore Rafe, who was sitting right next to her at the table. Rafe’s brows furrowed with displeasure as he watched the girls talk. Trying his best to draw her attention back over to him, he asked, “You two having a good time tonight?”
“Absolutely.” Krissy flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’ve never been to a biker clubhouse before.”
“Glad you decided to come out.”
“Me too.”
“I gotta tell ya ... You’re looking all kinds of fine tonight, babe.” Rafe leaned back in his seat and let his eyes skirt over Krissy. Apparently, the ladies found his boyish good looks and crooked smile charming, even when he said lame shit like, “You make a man wanna do bad things.”
“Oh, really?” Krissy gave him a playful smirk. I’d overheard her and Delilah talking earlier, and from what little I caught, Krissy hadn’t had the best of luck with the male population. After continually going for the wrong kind of guy, she’d met some doctor at the nursing home w
here she and Delilah worked. It was clear from the way Krissy had been talking that she was pretty pumped about the guy. A spark of mischief flashed through her eyes as she asked, “What kind of bad things?”
“Why don’t you come back to my room, and I’ll show ya?”
Without taking his eyes off Rafe and Krissy, Widow leaned over to me and chuckled. “He’s laying it on thick.”
“Yeah, but it seems to be working.”
“I don’t know, man.” Widow shook his head. “Delilah’s gonna be a hard cock-block to overcome.”
“She’ll come around.”
“You think so?” Widow glanced over at Rafe. “You wanna put a wager on it?”
“Yeah, I’d be up for that.” I picked up my beer and took a swig. “Fifty bucks says she gives in.”
“You’re on.”
We both watched as Krissy bit at her bottom lip, then said, “That’s really tempting.”
“Then, whatcha waiting for?” Rafe gave her a wink. “I’ll show ya a real good time.”
“I’m sure you would”—her nose wrinkled with regret—“but I think I’m gonna have to pass.”
“Oh, come on, babe,” Rafe pushed. “Do us both a favor. It’d be a night to remember.”
Country was sitting at the other end of the table, his shoulders shaking as he tucked his head and chuckled under his breath. Even he could see that Rafe was about to get turned down, but Rafe wasn’t giving up. In fact, he seemed to be digging in his heels, hoping that he could sway Krissy to take him up on his offer. A smirk crossed his face as he leaned towards her and whispered something in her ear. Her cheeks blushed a bright pink, and I was beginning to think he might’ve actually pulled it off until Delilah gave her a scornful look. Like a balloon deflating, Krissy slumped back in her chair as she looked back over to Rafe and said, “I’m sure it would, but I’m here to spend time with Delilah.”
