by Frankie Love
"What do the Blue Devils want with you?" Conley, the club president, asks, and I clench my jaw knowing how bad this is going to sound.
"I should have told you before. I should have told you when I came here a year ago."
"What didn't you say?" Conley asks.
I look around the bar. All these men have given me their word that we're in it together, and now they are waiting for me to answer.
I clear my throat, knowing it's time to man up and tell the damn truth because Lydia's life is on the line. I tell it to them plainly. "My stepdad was the Blue Devils' president, Rooster, and when I was 14, nine fucking years ago, I killed him when he nearly took my mother's life. I did my time and I've kept my head down, even after I got out of juvie. I made sure they couldn't find me, and it worked until now."
Conley grunts in anger. “Until now all right.”
"Sounds like Welder wants to make you pay," Ranger says.
I nod. "I'm sorry, Ranger. I didn't think that they’d find me, and I certainly didn't think they'd come for Lydia. I would have never gotten her involved."
Conley, though, surprises me. "We've got to get on our bikes and head there now. Those motherfuckers have been encroaching on our territory for way too long. I don't know what they're playing at, but this game is over. We're going to go there with guns loaded and we're going to bring our girl home."
Everyone nods in agreement, and I feel a sharp pain in my chest. A feeling I've never had before.
"What is it?" Ranger asks.
I can't tell him what the feeling is. These guys will never let me live it down, but the feeling — it's fucking love, gratitude, hope, all that shit wrapped up in one because these men aren't blaming me for anything.
They've got my back. When they say ride or die, they're not talking shit.
They're speaking truth from their hearts, and right now, I fucking feel it.
"Thank you," I say.
Conley shakes his head, obviously hearing the emotion in my voice. “You were nothing but a kid, Jackal. You don't have to explain no shit to us. You're probably right. Had we known about the Blue Devils, we would have just fought them sooner. Now the time's right, and we're going to get Lydia, and we're going to bring her home, and it's going to be okay."
I nod. "I know where their clubhouse is. I've been checking on them every so often, stalking their social media and shit. I've wanted to make sure they weren't going to come close. But I saw a couple of them the other night. Some of them were down at Hollow Oak Lake."
“Fuck," Conley says, "I knew that party was a bad idea."
He's right, of course, and there's a reason I kept my head down so low all these years, because I was scared this was going to happen, and now it has, and it's all my fault.
But I can't rewrite history. What's done is done. What matters now is getting Lydia home safe and sound, and when I say home, I mean bringing her to me.
We get on our bikes and we ride. I tell Conley and Ranger where we need to go and Ranger takes the lead as the road captain. We follow him. There are about 18 of us out today. The Blue Devils won't know what hit them.
It's a two-hour ride before we get to their property, but when we get there, having crossed the California border, we get off our bikes, ready to fight.
Welder comes out, introducing himself like he's family, but he's not.
"Which one of you is Jackal?" he says, looking at us. His eye meets mine. “Ahh. There he is." He points to me. "You ready to pay up?"
"What are you going to do, shoot me?" I ask. "Fine, fucking shoot me. Just don't touch Lydia."
I hear Lydia screaming from inside and another man is dragging her out. Her hands are tied behind her back and her hair is loose and wild around her shoulders. She looks terrified.
"Don't, Jackal. Don't do something stupid,” she begs.
But it's way too late for that.
Good thing I have a plan.
I raise my gun. I aim to shoot, but instead, I walk toward Welder and I tell him how it is. “You know our territory. And you came too fucking close to our land. You stay put, you understand? You give me my girl, and don't you dare touch her again. Your hands are dirty in ways you're not ready to come clean about, and I have shit on you that could get you all time."
"What shit do you got on us, boy?" Welder says, spitting in my face.
I tell him the truth. "I have a hard drive. Rooster's hard drive."
"I don't even know what that means," Welder says.
"Yeah, you wouldn't," I say, "because my mother, she may have given her life to Rooster, but after he died, she realized the hell he put her through, and so she gave me a gift when I got out of the slammer, and you know what that was? It was the evidence I need to make sure you don't fuck with me. Now maybe I should have given the ultimatum a long time ago, but I didn't know where I was going, and now I do. I'm only going one place, and that's home to the Heartlands, and you sure as hell aren't coming after me."
Welder looks at his men and I see they're scared. "Fuck, Welder. If he's got some evidence of shit that Rooster was doing..."
I know what they're thinking. "I know what you guys were doing 10 years ago, trafficking women and children. I've seen the fucking evidence. All of you would pay if it came out and you know it, but I've already done my time and I have nothing left to lose. So give me my woman and stay the fuck away from us."
My threats seem to work and they bring me Lydia, anger in their eyes. But I see their fear there, too. Fear of going to prison for what I have on them.
"Baby," I say, pulling her to my chest, kissing her hard, "I fucking thought I lost you."
"You'll always have me," she says, looking up into my eyes, pressing her hand to my chest, "because I'm right here in your heart. Always, Jackal. Always."
"Good," I say, "because as soon as I can go shopping, I'm buying a ring to put on your finger. Do you understand?"
The men I ride with holler and clap around me, understanding what's happening.
"Is that a proposal?" Lydia asks. I lean down and I kiss her hard. The girl of my goddamn dreams.
"Fuck, yeah, it's a proposal," I say. "You're going to be my wife. You know that, Lydia?"
She smiles. "Yes, Jackal. I do. I know it with all that I am and all that I plan to be. I'm yours."
Epilogue 1
Lydia
One Year Later…
The morning Jackal came to my rescue, saving me from the Blue Devils, I knew without a doubt he was the man I believed him to be: strong and loyal, capable of taking care of me even when he feared he didn't have that sort of strength. He did. He does. And now, we're getting married in one day.
"Can you believe it?” I ask. A year ago, we were out at Hollow Oak Hill finally getting together, and now Jackal runs his hands over my back as he pulls me to him, kissing me softly.
"Now you're my bride."
"I can't wait for tomorrow," I tell him.
"Me neither," he says. "You made me wait a whole year."
I laugh. "Are you mad?"
He shakes his head. "Not at all. It's been a really good year," he says. We look out on our property. He moved out of his apartment after we got engaged and we found a little house not far from town, facing some hills with a large tree on the property. When I saw it, I knew it was the one for us.
"You sure?" he'd asked. The house was a modest three-bedroom, one-story home, with pale blue siding and white trim, flower boxes in the windows and a picket fence surrounding the front yard.
"It's perfect," I had said. I didn't need fancy appliances or state of the art anything. I wanted a home with four walls and a roof over our heads that I could share with the man I love. And the tree would be the perfect backdrop for lots of photographs.
"Whatever you want," he had told me. "The place is yours."
"We can afford it?" I'd asked him. I was just about to start community college and while I’d gotten a part-time job at a coffee shop, I knew it wasn't going to help pay for much
more than my textbooks.
"I got it," Jackal had told me. "I got a raise at the shop. I think Conley was just being nice, but…”
I cut him off. "Don't say that, Jackal. You've worked there for a year. That's probably why you got the raise." And Jackal had nodded, trusting me.
When we moved in, we both had nervous energy. I'd never lived apart from my sister, and he'd never shared a place with a woman. It was new for us, but a good kind of new. Every day as we set up our place, it held that happy excitement that only comes from a new beginning.
Early on, I tossed out all his V-neck undershirts, saying they were out of date. And he shook his head when he learned I brush my teeth with warm water. He didn't understand that, the same way I didn't understand how he could drink his coffee black, and the same way he thought I was crazy for liking plain yogurt.
But those minor quirks didn't get in the way of us falling in love… or making love in every room of the house — on the couch, on the floor, on the kitchen table, in our bed, in the other bedrooms, in the hallway.
I smile now as Jackal and I consider our wedding day tomorrow. We've had so much fun falling in love and now we get to make promises we'll keep forever.
“We should get going now," I say. "I promised Ruby I'd be there by noon for the family portraits."
"I still can't believe she talked you into doing her family portraits the day before your wedding."
I laugh. "I know, but we're going to be gone on our honeymoon for a month."
"A month." Jackal groans in happiness and so do I. We've never seen the world. I haven't gone anywhere besides Nevada, and he's only been to California. But all the money I’ve earned from my photography business this year, I put away in an account for our honeymoon.
We decided to take a total leap on something totally out of our comfort zone and go to Europe. I still laugh with incredulity when I think of it. Me, going to another continent! We're going to spend a week in Spain, and then take a train to Italy to see Rome and Venice. And we're going to spend our last week in Paris. I feel so lucky.
"Are you thinking about the trip again?" Jackal asks.
I nod. “You know me so well."
"I do."
"The flight's going to be so long," I say.
"Yeah, but that's okay. We can catch up on some television show we're behind on." He kisses me on my neck, making me giggle.
"You're right. We should probably download something tonight."
"Tonight? It's the last day before we get married."
"I know, which means we shouldn't even talk to each other or see each other. Isn't that bad luck?" Jackal’s hands run up my back.
"It's only bad luck if I see you on the wedding day. I don't think there are any rules about tonight." He runs his hand under my shirt, cupping my breasts, and I laugh.
"Okay. But first, I've got to get to Ranger and Ruby's."
"Okay. I'll go pack your stuff in the truck," he says.
"Thank you," I say, giving him a kiss. I grab my purse as he grabs my camera bag and lighting equipment. I get the tripod. And soon enough, all my gear is stowed in the truck, and we're headed to my sister's house.
When we get there, their home is abuzz, but it always is with three babies under three. Ruby wanted these photographs of her newborn, Dusty, before we left, and I understand. Babies changed so fast, and at three months, this is the perfect time for a photograph of him with his family. He's finally smiling, and even though he's still so little, he's not quite as squishy as he was when he was born.
We spend the next few hours taking pictures. Jackal helps by giving the two-year-olds Goldfish crackers in between photographs, and adjusting the lighting when I need help.
Ruby smiles. "I'm sorry. I know it was greedy of me to make you come out here."
I laugh. "Oh, stop it. I'm not stressed about tomorrow."
"I can't believe that," Ruby says. "Aren't you nervous about the wedding?"
I shake my head. "Not at all. In fact, I'm glad we decided to have the wedding at our house. It's not going to be stressful at all.”
Ranger nods. "You guys are smart, saving the money for the honeymoon. You guys are going to have the trip of a lifetime."
Jackal squeezes my hand. "On that note, we should head out because even though the wedding tomorrow isn't going to be a big one, we still have some things to get ready."
In the truck, I go over the list of notes on my phone. "The caterer is coming tomorrow at 4:00 to set up the dinner. The baker is dropping off the cake we ordered."
Jackal and I built benches by hand for our guests — we figure we can use them for our patio after the wedding. And we created an arbor and made garlands off of Pinterest tutorials for a DIY sort of ceremony.
Conley is marrying us, which I find quite fitting, and I'm wearing my sister's wedding dress — something borrowed. We've invited our closest friends from the Heartlands. Maddox and Peaches will be there, and so will Ruby and Ranger, of course, Conley and Calico and a handful of others. But there will only be about 20 guests. And instead of a fancy dance party, we're having a dinner under the tree, where we are putting down our roots. Cheesy maybe, but I prefer to think of it as symbolic.
"So we're all set then, huh?” Jackal asks.
I say, "I think so. Did you make the playlist?"
He nods. "Yep, sure did. It’s filled with Elvis.”
"See, look at us. We're super organized. Who would have thought? Apparently, you can be young and still figure out a wedding."
Jackal laughs. "I knew we could do it. Hell, you and I, we can do anything." He squeezes my hand as we pull up to the house.
I lift my eyebrows. "Speaking of anything," I say, "since the wedding's all planned and set, I feel like I made a promise earlier."
Jackal laughs. "Girl, one thing I know about you, you never break your promises."
In the house, we strip from our clothes quickly and roll into bed. Jackal runs his hands over my body and I stroke his cock, loving the way he feels, loving him. We don't have to be married to know that, to know our promises will never be broken. He is mine and I am his. And somehow, we got that lucky.
He kisses me hard and my mouth opens; our tongues entwining, our fingers laced, our bodies joining as one. My legs wrap around him and I inhale his perfect smell. He makes me feel beautiful and desired and loved. He is pure man, all man and all mine. He breathes hot air in my ear and my spine tingles with pleasure. He enters me, filling me up in the most beautiful and perfect way; complete.
"I love you so much, Jackal," I tell him.
"I love you too, baby," he says, kissing me again. My body is on fire as he moves against me, making me feel at peace with whatever comes next in our lives. "I love you so much," he says. "So damn much."
We rock as one; my pussy wet as he takes control, running his hands over me, as he thrusts deep inside me. I let out a cry and he moves deeper inside me until I lose control, wrapping my arms around him, my fingers threaded through his hair, feeling both alive and lost in him.
"Remember when you said you were going to ruin me?" I pant as the orgasm runs over my body, through me, up and over us both.
"I remember."
"Well, you did ruin me for one thing," I say.
"What's that, love?" he asks.
"You ruined me for all other men, forever."
Epilogue 2
Jackal
Five years later…
I fell in love with Lydia the moment I laid eyes on her. I didn’t think I was good enough for the Heartlands sweetheart. It took a year to get the courage to ask for what I wanted. Her. And even then, it was her making the first move. She stepped out of her clothes, sitting on that rock bare naked with the sun setting behind her, looking like a goddess, like a queen.
If I knew it before, I knew it then — she was the only woman I would ever love. And five years later, there is no doubt in my mind, I had it right. She is more incredible than I could have imagined. And being her husband is
the best thing in my life.
She walks into the kitchen in nothing but my tee shirt. Her tits looking so damn cute, her nipples poking through, her breasts round and full. And I can see her curvy ass from underneath the hem of my shirt. She's not wearing any panties.
"Fuck, baby," I groan, looking at her as I finish making the coffee. I step toward her, put my hands on her hips and lift her up on the counter.
"Good morning to me," she laughs, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me. "Can you believe it's been five years?"
Our foreheads touch and I breathe her in. Her hair is as long and silky as ever. Her skin's tanned from the summer sun, freckles on her nose.
"Five years is a long time," I say.
"Not in the grand scheme of things though, is it?" she asks, pushing back. She licks her lips. "I mean, can you imagine 10, 20, 30 years together? We get to spend our whole life growing up with one another."
I smile at her. Her beauty filling the whole room. "Yeah, we're real fucking lucky, aren't we?”
She nods. "I got extra lucky because you may be the only man I've slept with, but I picked right — you take care of me so well.” She runs her hands under my shirt, then pulls it off. “I need to see your bare chest, your muscles.”
She traces her finger over my new tattoo, over my heart. It reads Lydia. She has a tattoo on her hip. A J with a heart over it, for me.
"You look so cute this morning," he says. "You're glowing, really."
She smiles. "Yeah, well, I have an anniversary gift to give you.”
"Really?" I look around for a gift. "What is it?"
"Aren't you going to give me a present first?" She twists her lips to hide a grin.
"Greedy much?" I say, laughing and stepping away. “Give me a second,” I say, chuckling as I walk to the bedroom. I come back with a jewelry box, handing it to Lydia. "Five years means something."
"What does it mean to you?” she asks.
"It means that anyone who thought this wouldn't last was wrong. We're stronger than ever, you and I."
