Love At Last: A M/M Non-Shifter Romance (West Bay Chargers Book 4)

by Esme Beal

  “Okay, okay, okay…” I put my hands up to get them to settle down. “Get your laughs out. This is serious.”

  “No kidding,” Tristan said. “You see how tired everybody is. Fatherhood is no joke. You think it’s tough taking care of a pregnant Omega. Wait until the kid is born. Crying in the middle of the night. Trying to figure if they’re sleepy or hungry or just wanna play. Changing diapers. Having to make late-night runs to the store because you’re out of formula. Wondering if their cough is nothing or a serious disease.”

  “Come on, Mossy,” Sean said. “You’re gonna scare the man to death.”

  “I’m not worried about any of that,” I said. “I know it won’t be easy being a father. Nothing I can do can prepare me for that. I’ve gotta a bigger problem.”

  “What’s up?” Zak said.

  “It’s the Omega. He’s… He’s not exactly the man I was expecting him to be.”

  “It doesn’t matter who he is,” Kellen said. “If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. And it’s not like any of us will have a problem with him.”

  “Oh, I’m not so sure about that…” I sighed.

  Everybody around the table stopped smiling. My confession was dangling on the tip of my tongue. Each one of them was looking at me curiously.

  “Who is he?” Kellen asked.

  “He’s… He’s a guy I met a few days ago. I didn’t consider it before. I should’ve recognized him since we had so many run-ins with his crew before.”

  “He’s from another crew.” Tristan shrugged and frowned. “What does that matter?”

  “It’s not just any crew. He’s… He’s a Demon.” As soon as I said it, the room somehow got quieter than it already was. None of them were even moving. Everybody was frozen in place.

  I didn’t know how much time went by until Tristan leaned forward. “Did you just say he was a Demon?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  “Man… You sure know how to pick ‘em, Cade.”

  “I didn’t pick him. It’s just fate. That’s how it works.”

  “You know how much trouble the Demons have caused us,” Sean said. “The races. The drugs. Zak just got finished putting his ass on the line for all of us—”

  “I know what the Demons did,” I said. “Why do you think I have so many reservations about this?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Kellen said. “Demon or not, he’s still the father of your child. You have to be there for him no matter what. And we’ll all welcome him with open arms. If he’s your Omega, he’s our family, too.”

  “Cool,” Tristan said. “Just tell him to leave the Demons behind and we’ll take care of everything—”

  “That’s just it.” I got up from my seat and put my hands on my hips. “He’s a good man. Loyal. Trustworthy. The kinda guy who wouldn’t just walk away from his crew. What we’ve got, he’s got with Leon and the Demons, believe it or not. It’s not as simple as just walking away. And despite what he says, I doubt he could do it without Leon throwing a fit.”

  “So what are you gonna do?” Zak said.

  Zak’s question was the exact question I wanted to ask everybody else. I looked around the room but nobody said anything. There was no right answer. And when I realized that, the frustration inside of me just became more annoying.

  “What am I gonna do?” I said. “If we don’t play this right, there’s a chance we go to war with the Demons. You guys have families now. The West Bay is at peace. The last thing I wanna do is put you guys on the line.”

  “Maybe you won’t have to,” Kellen said. “If we don’t want a war with the Demons, our only other option is peace. We have to negotiate. Leon might be insane but he’s gotta be willing to listen. You’ve gotta convince him to let your man walk away without any friction.”

  “No friction, huh?” Tristan shook his head. “There’s already so much tension between us, one spark will light up the whole room. You saw how pissed they all were when Zak took down his man at the scrapyard. Cade here just had to go and one-up him by knocking up one of his men—”

  “Shut the hell up, Mossy.” Kellen got up from his seat and put a hand on my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter what happened before. We’ve been trying to deal with the Demons for the longest time. This is a chance for us to finally put an end to this beef. Settle this dispute for good.

  “I’ll talk to some people. I’ll set up a meeting with Leon and the Demons. Once the word gets out, he’ll have no choice but to talk.”

  If there was ever a man who could calm me down, it was Kellen. Seeing the smile behind his beard was enough to make me do the same.

  “Don’t worry, Cade. We’ll figure this out. No matter what it takes.”

  “We’re with you, man.” Sean got up from his seat and walked over to me. Zak and Tristan did the same.

  I wasn’t out of the woods yet. But there were no other men I’d rather be with than the ones standing with me.

  Kellen squeezed his hand around my shoulder, his smile growing even wider. “Congrats on the baby.”

  I chuckled and nodded. “Thanks.”

  Chapter 14

  BROCK

  The group had an informal tradition of heading over to the Southern Block every now and then to get some of Jake’s Pizza. We always got some curious eyes from the other patrons but they never had to worry about us causing any trouble. Even Leon himself thought the pizza was good enough to distract him from everything else on his mind.

  The rest of the crew scattered around outside and enjoyed the peace of the middle of the day. I sat at a table by myself. I had a whole pie. The sun was shining. A cool breeze was blowing. Even the dreary scenery of the Southern Block wasn’t enough to distract me from my hunger.

  I dived right into my slice. The garlic sauce hit my tongue and made my mouth water even more than it already was. I was pregnant, indulging in every bit of my pizza. I didn’t draw any attention to myself though because everybody else felt the same way about the pizza. It was the perfect place to gorge and get away with it.

  I downed a slice before it even got a chance to cool down then picked up another. Leon took a seat down in front of me. As intimidating as he was, he wasn’t enough to distract me from how savory the next bite was.

  “How’s the pizza?” he asked.

  “You already know how good it is,” I said. “There’s a reason everybody in the city comes to this place.”

  He looked to the side at the broken down building next to us. “The pizza’s the only reason anybody would come to this part of town.”

  The West Bay had its share of abandoned, derelict buildings but the Southern Block was just as miserable in a sense. Homeless loitering in the alleys, trying to find shade from the sun. Dirty streets and dirty buildings. It wasn’t pretty.

  “Sometimes I feel sorry for these people,” he said.

  “You do?”

  “Out here on the streets. Cold. Hot. Struggling to survive. Just trying to make it one more day only to wake up and find the struggle isn’t over.”

  “It’s rough. I know how it is. I hear things are changing around here though. Ashton Webb is pumping enough money in here, he’s gonna change this place until it looks just like the Northside.”

  “Webb’s got a lotta cash. I don’t doubt he’s capable of that.” Leon was calm as he kept staring at some of the homeless on the other side of the street. Even when he didn’t have an expression on his face, it was easy to tell when there was something on his mind. A man like him was always scheming.

  “You didn’t get the cash from Bobby.”

  I was so caught up with spending time with Cade and satisfying my hunger I forgot how I ran into him in the first place. Leon was upset, though like always, he didn’t show it.

  “Sorry… I headed over there and it looks like he’s got some protection for himself. Some biker gang.”

  “Did you count how many?”

  “Couldn’t be more than 10.”

  “We could handle
a crew of 10. I’ll send the boys over to Bobby and teach him a lesson. He’ll understand he needs the protection only the Demons can provide.”

  I’d gotten so used to hearing Leon’s threats. But something came over me now. I knew better than to try and change his mind but I couldn’t help myself.

  I put my slice of pizza down and dusted my hands off. “I was thinking maybe I could try again.”

  “What?” Leon raised an eyebrow at me.

  “I was… surprised Bobby got a crew to protect him. Lemme head back over to Bobby’s. I’ll have a talk with him. Let him know you really mean business. Once he understands that, he won’t wanna go to war with you. He knows what the Demons are capable of.”

  “I don’t want you getting into any trouble, Brock—”

  “It’s okay. I’ll be fine. If anything happens, I’ll split. Then you can send the boys to check him. Just gimme another chance to handle it. I’ll make Bobby see reason.”

  Leon stared at me for a moment then nodded. “Okay. Do what you have to do. But if you don’t come back with the payment this time…”

  “I know. Bobby will understand.”

  I picked up my slice of pizza and finished it. I quickly grabbed another one, which made Leon curious once again.

  “Something up?” he asked.

  “What? No. Nothing’s up. I’m just hungry and it’s good pizza—”

  “I’m not talking about the pizza. The past few days… It seems like something’s bothering you, Brock. You haven’t been hanging around the boys. You know you can trust me. If you’re in any trouble, you know I got your back.”

  “I’m not in any trouble. I just… I don’t know. After Pico refused to pay and now Bobby. It’s like every business is trying to give us a hard time.”

  “It’s always hard in the beginning. But once we’ve collected enough payments, we can get finished on the real project.”

  “The real project?” It was the first time I heard anything about it.

  Leon leaned in close across the table and started whispering. When he got that quiet, it was always about something important. “I’m working on something. Something big. I just need a little more cash to secure it. Once I get everything set, we’ll be making enough money to have the whole crew settled.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of it. And I must’ve showed it because Leon suddenly got suspicious.

  “What’s wrong? You having doubts?”

  “I’m not having doubts,” I said. “It’s just… After the races… And then the fights… It seems like everything we’ve been trying to do in this town has fallen through. We came here for an opportunity—”

  “And the opportunity is still there. The Chargers like to meddle in our business but this isn’t something Cade and his crew are gonna be able to mess around with. This is it, Brock. I promise you.”

  I knew better than to doubt someone like Leon. When he put his mind to something, there was no stopping him. Even with the cops and the Chargers trying to keep us in check, Leon was persistent.

  Now the situation just got a lot more complicated. With Cade on the other side, there was no way I could tell Leon what was up.

  “Something wrong?” he said.

  “What?”

  “You still look like something’s bothering you. Is it the pizza?”

  “No… Not the pizza. The pizza’s just fine. I’m just… excited about this project you’re working on.”

  “Me, too… Me, too…” He grabbed one of my slices then got up to talk to some of the other crew members. They were all laughing and smiling. The boys were always having a good time.

  I was still distracted though. Despite my hunger, I couldn’t focus. I looked over to the other side of the street and saw an older woman hunched over in an alley. She looked like she was barely conscious. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were sick though she was probably just exhausted.

  I grabbed the box of pizza and headed over to her. She didn’t move when I held it out to her.

  “Hey…”

  It took a few seconds before she finally tilted her head up.

  “You want some pizza? It’s from Jake’s. Best in the city.”

  She stared at me for a moment then her lips twisted, revealing a surprisingly sweet smile.

  “Thank you,” she said. “This pizza really is the best, isn’t it?” Seeing her grab a slice and eat it was more satisfying than eating it for myself.

  “Yeah… It’s the best.” I chuckled then took a seat on the pavement next to her.

  The scenery in the alley was as dark and dirty as it always was in the Southern Block. But the atmosphere wasn’t as miserable as I saw it before. It was nice to share a slice of pizza with someone who really appreciated it.

  It made me realize how much I missed him. I had to see Cade again. I pulled my phone out and sent him a message. He responded almost immediately, letting me know he felt the same way.

  Chapter 15

  CADE

  It wasn’t hard to find a spot in the West Bay where nobody could bother you. The abandoned buildings were free to anybody daring enough to venture into them. Sometimes you’d find homeless just looking for a place to lie their heads. Other times you’d find dealers up to no good. But most of the time, they were just empty. People had better things to do than just sit around in an old, derelict building.

  It was the middle of the day as I stood just inside of one of those empty buildings. I looked out the window onto the empty streets of the West Bay. In the distance, I could hear all of the ships coming in and out on the docks.

  My hand stayed tight around my phone. I felt a rumble in my palm then looked down to see the message. I smiled knowing Brock was on his way.

  It was only a few seconds later when his bike rolled up. He rode through the alleyway and I walked out to meet him in the back.

  He sat on his bike, just as ruggedly handsome as always. You wouldn’t have thought he was an Omega at first glance. I pictured him with the other Demons and he fit right in with the rest of them. But I knew he only looked like a man you didn’t wanna mess around with.

  “Hey…” He got up from his seat. Before he was even standing up straight, I greeted him with a kiss. I licked his tongue and smiled at the taste.

  “What is that? Pizza?”

  “Sorry… I was at Jake’s.”

  “No problem. It tastes good…” I leaned forward and gave him another kiss but he pulled his face away.

  “That’s enough for now.” He turned his head up and looked at the abandoned building behind me. “I had a little trouble finding this place. All of these buildings look the same.”

  “This one is a little different. Check it out.” I took his hand in mine and led him inside.

  It was an old factory that hadn’t been used in ages. All of the equipment was rusted and broken, cobwebs and dust covering every inch of them. The windows were gone and the ceiling looked like it could cave at any moment. Some rats scurried in the corner, probably to avoid something even bigger lurking within the walls.

  “What’s this place?” he asked.

  “It’s a factory. Was a factory, anyway. They used to manufacture car parts for production in the Northside. That was before the business went under. They were so broke, the owner didn’t even bother selling off the equipment. Just abandoned the place completely.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  I walked over to a stack of rusted sheet metal. Just looking at it brought back all kinds of memories.

  “I got my start here,” I said. “Just a young nobody trying to make a few dollars for me and my brother so we could have something to eat. The pay was actually better than I thought it would be. I wasn’t rich or anything. It was good knowing I didn’t have to worry about where the next meal was coming from though.”

  Brock walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder, breaking me out of the daze my memories had put me in.

  “It seems like there are a lot of places like this in
the West Bay,” he said.

  “A lot of businesses went under. Some fat cats in the Northside just bought other people out and made ‘em close up shop. I wanna think Ashton Webb is changing all that. More factories. More businesses. More jobs for the people who need ‘em. Especially for the younger kids who have to resort to joining biker clubs or gangs or even worse, dealing drugs on the corner. But I’m a dreamer.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with thinking like that. The West Bay is your home. You should be looking out for it.”

  A smile came across my face when he said it. Brock knew exactly where I was coming from. We already had a bond but knowing he understood me made being with him that much more special.

  I turned to him and took one of his hands in mine. I looked him right in those deep brown eyes of his and he stared back like he was embarrassed.

  “I know I can’t save Snow Falls,” I said. “That’s okay. I just… I wanna let you know that I’ll be here for you. No matter what. I don’t care about your past. I don’t care you’re a Demon. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you and our child are safe. And I’ll provide them everything they need.”

  He pursed his lips like he was holding something back then nodded. I kept staring at him, unable to fight the smile growing on my lips.

  “Come here. Lemme show you something else.” I still had his hand in mine when I led him to the other side of the factory. We walked through all of the broken equipment until we were caught in the middle of it. An old forklift sat off to one side with a set of steel beams trapping us in on the other.

  “What did you wanna show me—”

  I shut him up with another kiss. He moaned softly into my mouth as I reached down for his belt buckle. He returned the favor, quickly zipping me down and freeing the length that was straining against my briefs.

  Our tongues tangled together until we were both able to pull our jeans down. Our underwear followed, down to our knees and just enough to free our rigid cocks completely.

  “Turn around…” I whispered into his ear and he followed my instructions. He steadied himself on the steel beams laid across in front of him. His hands pressed against them. They were stacked so high that nobody could see what we were doing even if they bothered coming in here.