City Of Sin: A Mafia & MC Romance Collection

by K. J. Dahlen

He nodded. “Come on let’s go home and share our good news.” Raine pulled her out of the room and down the hall.

  When they got back to the clubhouse, they had a surprise waiting for them. Raine’s entire family was sitting there including Dusty.

  As soon as he saw her, he jumped off his dad’s lap and rushed over to her. “Auntie Cricket, I missed you so much!”

  Cricket wrapped her arms around his small body and lifted him to her. “Oh buddy, I missed you even more.”

  Raine went over and joined his parents and brothers. Reaching out, he shook their hands. “Why are you here?” he asked. “Not that we aren’t happy to see you but why did you come now?”

  Black Jack nodded in Cricket’s direction. “When we heard about the trouble she was in, we wanted to come then but we stayed away for Dusty’s sake. Then Hawkeye told us what Reaper found this morning and we just had to come. She needs family around her right now and that’s Dusty.”

  Raine smiled at his family. “I forgot you don’t know.”

  “Don’t know what?” his mother asked suspiciously.

  “Cricket and I got married yesterday morning. It was her birthday and we didn’t know if she would have another one, so we got married.”

  Molly jumped to her feet and hugged her son close. “We knew it was her birthday, Dusty told us that much but you should have told us you got married. You damn fool!” She slapped him then hugged him again. “Oh, this makes me so happy.”

  “Yeah, well the news gets better.” He reached inside his pocket and handed her the strip of film with the babies’ pictures on it.

  Molly looked confused for a moment then realized what it was. “You’re having a baby now too?” she screamed.

  “Actually, it’s twins.” Raine wore a huge grin on his face. “We just found out.”

  “Damn son, that’s great news,” Black Jack told him and he pounded him on the back.

  Hound, Judge and Gambler added their two cents in and soon, Raine was being pummeled. As he backed away, he had a shit eating grin on his face.

  Damn, it felt good to have them here to celebrate the good news. When Cricket and Dusty joined them, Raine smiled. “I just told them the news.”

  Dusty looked over at Cricket. “What good news?”

  “Well Raine and me got married yesterday and today, I found out I’m having a baby, actually two babies,” Cricket explained to him.

  Dusty flung her tiny arms around her neck and hugged her close. “Oh good, I’ll have someone to play with and teach them everything you taught me. We can all lay in the grass and you can tell us stories about the stars.”

  Cricket smiled at his little face. “Oh baby, I have missed you so much.”

  Dusty smiled back. “I’ve missed you too, but you know something,”

  “What?”

  “Having a dad isn’t so bad. This family thing is pretty good in fact. They love me and now they get to love you and the new babies too. Isn’t that great?”

  Cricket hugged him so very close to her. Tears welled in her eyes. “Oh baby, that’s just so much more than great. Hey big guy, I got someone for you to meet.”

  “Oh, yeah who?”

  “You have to wait and see.” She let him down then took his hand and led him to the bedroom she shared with Raine. A moment later, they all heard a squeal of child’s delight and a tiny barking sound.

  Gambler chuckled. “You got her a dog?”

  “Yup, his name is Max.” Raine grinned at his brother. “Guess you’ll be getting one too. Soon.”

  “Yeah, thanks a lot little brother.”

  “Oh hush, you know you’ll do it. Dusty has you wrapped around his tiny little finger so tight, you almost can’t breathe,” their mother told them.

  “Yeah, well you’re wrapped just as tight,” Gambler told her.

  “Yes, but I’m very happy there and so are you.” Molly stuck her tongue out at the boys.

  The next minute, Dusty came charging out of the hall with a puppy. “Look Daddy, auntie Cricket got her Max!”

  Gambler groaned. “I suppose you want a Max too huh?”

  Dusty shook his head. “No, I can’t have a dog named Max that would confuse the puppy. Mine is gonna be named Oscar after the hot dogs Cricket and I liked to eat on our birthdays.”

  “Oh, my god.” Gambler groaned under his breath.

  Raine and the others laughed loudly.

  Dusty looked up at his dad. “I have to take Max outside to go potty. Is that ok?”

  Gambler nodded. “But stay close to the clubhouse ok?’

  “I will daddy,” Dusty called out as he skipped over to the door.

  Cricket joined the group a moment later. “He’s gotten so big in the last while.”

  Molly smiled. “He’s such a good little boy. You raised him right. Thank you for that.”

  “He was easy to love,” Cricket told her.

  “I’m sorry to hear about your uncle though,” Molly said.

  “Yeah me too, but he died the way he wanted to.” Cricket shrugged. “Family never meant much to him. I don’t understand that but I guess it didn’t matter in the end. Now hopefully, his soul is at peace.”

  “That brings us to the real reason we came down here,” Black Jack stated.

  Raine frowned and stared at his family. “And what would that be?”

  “Dusty is a great kid and all but he really misses his Cricket. He talks about her morning, noon and night. He even has a special prayer for her he says every night before he goes to bed. She was all he had in the world for the first six years and while he’s happy with us, he needs her too. Now with Bane gone, we were thinking of moving down here.” Gambler shrugged. “I know the timing here sucks but he needs her as much as he needs me. I hope you guys don’t mind.”

  “And of course if they move, your mother wants to move as well,” Black Jack added. “Life in Maine just doesn’t compete with grandbabies, you know that don’t you? And now with two more coming…”

  Raine glanced over at his two other brothers. “What about you two?”

  “A change of address might just be what the doctor ordered.” Judge shrugged his shoulders. “You know us, where family is that’s where you’ll find us.”

  “Family sticks together,” Hound replied.

  “This is if your club will accept us,” Black Jack stated.

  Deke was standing close enough to hear the conversation. Deke smiled and nodded. “Of course, we will. We’re always willing to accept good members.” Deke turned to Raine. “Now what’s this I hear about twins?”

  Raine lauaghed and wrapped his arms around Cricket, “You heard right. We’re having twins.”

  “Hot damn boy.” Deke grinned and shook his hand. “Wait til Cassie hears about this.”

  “Hears about what?” Cassie asked coming out of the kitchen.

  “Cricket and Raine are having twins.”

  “Really?” she squealed. “That’s great, now Bones and Jemmia will have someone else to play with just like them. And we have another set of babies to spoil.”

  “Well, it sounds like we’re gonna be busy for a while then doesn’t it?” Deke commented. “Raine and Cricket need a house and so will the rest of you guys.”

  Dusty came in and announced to the whole clubhouse that Max pooped and everybody laughed. He stuck to his aunt like glue and wouldn’t let her out of his sight for very long at all.

  Gambler nodded at Raine a couple of times that evening and Raine nodded back.

  Even Cricket seemed happier with him around.

  He hadn’t realized just how hard she had it without the boy around but that evening he saw it.

  It was almost nine and Dusty had gone to bed already when Bones, Mountain and the rest of the group arrived back from Pennsylvania. They drove back in two vehicles. Bones drove Bane’s car back.

  After greeting everyone, Bones came over and handed her a batch of papers. “We had a coroner declare him dead for the legal stuff. No one has read the
will yet but even so, you’ll need that to dispose of his things if that’s what he wanted you to do.”

  Cricket nodded and gazed down at the papers in her hand. She didn’t really know if she wanted this or not but he was family as little as that meant to him, it meant something to her.

  She and Raine sat down at a table and opened the note Bane left for her.

  Cricket, if you are reading this I didn’t make it back. I’m not sure if you’ll be sorry about that or not. I’m not sure if I’m sorry about that or not either but it is what it is. My life is over and yours has just begun.

  Congratulations on the wedding. I know you think what I did to you was wrong but there was a reason for it. And I’m going to tell you what that reason is. Our family history is a sorted one. Filled with people like me, people who don’t feel emotions like everyone else seems to think we need to feel.

  I got along perfectly well without them but I would watch other people. I could see what I was missing and I never wanted it. I did however want it with Grace. Your mother, she was the closest time I ever got to having real feelings for anyone and even she turned her back on me.

  Orrin was my brother, my only brother but he was as different form me as day and night. He had feelings where I never did. I always thought he was the weaker man until I met you.

  I never really expected much from you, I always figured family would never amount to anything except disappointment and betrayal. But you did neither. I challenged you twice and both times, you came through for me. You even went beyond what I expected and warned me of Michael’s betrayal. That didn’t surprise me as much as I thought it would. I should have known better I guess he was after all, my son. While I didn’t know Cordelia, I understood her better. She was after all my child as well. But you, you continued to surprise me. When I came to warn you about the contract, you stepped forward for this ramble of bikers.

  I had to know if you would honor your word or if you’d run. Well, you didn’t run despite all the pressure to do just that. So I did the only decent thing I could think of. I faced my deepest fears, my own demons if you will. I always thought I would die alone and this just proved it. I’ll die alone but I’m not going to hell by myself. I’ll take that mother fucker Stark along with me.

  Let the Jessin line die with me. You deserve better than that as a legacy. The Jessin name has always been something to fear for the most part, and people were right to fear us. There’s no one left now but you anyway and you’ve never called yourself a Jessin. Your father was right to change his name. He hated our name as well. I’m leaving all my worldly goods to you, use it to be happy. Lord knows, it never brought me happiness maybe it will bring it to you. You are truly your mother’s daughter. As much as she hated me, I did try very hard to love her and I think in my own way, I did truly care for her even if it wasn’t enough.

  Bane

  * * *

  Tears ran down her face as she read her uncle’s last words. There was one more in the Jessin line but he was nothing like his mother, his uncle or his grandfather. He was more like his grandmother.

  She passed the letters off to Raine who passed them on the Deke and the others. When Gambler got to read them, he looked over at Cricket. “Do we need to worry about Dusty inheriting this curse?”

  Cricket shook her head. “No I think we’re safe. He takes after my mother’s side of the family. He should be ok.” She nodded. “Whatever there is to inherit, he’ll get half. It’s his right by birth. Bane was wrong about that. He did have someone else left. Dusty is his grandson after all.”

  Gambler shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever you think is best, although you should know I chose not to think of him in that way. He may have had Cordy for a birth mother but you were more of a mother to him than she ever was, and Bane didn’t even know he existed. He’s my son and your nephew not theirs.”

  Cricket smiled at his remark. “Thank you for that. But the offer still stands. Dusty will get half of everything.”

  Gambler nodded then turned and went down the hall to join his son.

  Raine got to his feet and pulled her up. “Come on honey, we can look at this and the rest of it tomorrow. You need your rest.”

  “Ok. Tomorrow will be busy enough.” She looked at the men around her. “Thank you guys for going after him.”

  Bones gave her a nod, as did Mountain and the rest of the men.

  After they left Bones looked over at Deke and Mountain. “Do you think we should have told her what else we found in the car along with his will?”

  Deke shook his head. “No that would only upset her. Let her believe Bane never knew about Dusty. It isn’t any skin off anybody’s nose now.” He looked over at his dad. “We can tell Gambler and leave it up to him. If he wants her to know he can tell her.”

  13

  The next day dawned bright and sunny for such a sad day. Cricket, Raine and the others followed six men bearing a plain coffin. Inside the coffin was Bane’s mortal remains.

  Molly stayed behind with Dusty. This wasn’t something Gambler or Cricket wanted him to see anyway. They walked to the edge of the woods and then turned into the trees. Deke and Bones led the way to a peaceful place. Someone had dug a hole large enough to hold a casket and when they laid him in it, Deacon stepped up to say a few words.

  When they began shoveling dirt on top of the casket, Cricket just stared at her uncle’s casket. He’d never been a kind man or even a good man. He’d scared her beyond any reason and never showed her any mercy nor even an ounce of compassion but he was her father’s only brother. She should be able to feel something for the man but right then, she didn’t. And that scared her even more.

  Walking back to the clubhouse, she felt a tiny little flutter in her belly. She had to stop and wonder at the feeling. Raine gazed at her. Cricket smiled and told him, “I think the babies just moved. I felt them for the first time.”

  Raine grinned and held his hand against her belly. When he didn’t feel anything he was disappointed but he knew the day would come when he would be able to feel his babies kick. Until then, he had to be patient.

  As they walked back he asked, “When do you want to go see about Bane’s estate?”

  “How about never?’ she quipped.

  “Honey,” Raine drawled out the word.

  “Oh, I know.” She shook her head. “I just never wanted to go back to that house again. It gave me the creeps the first time.”

  “I know,” Raine agreed. “But this needs to be done and he asked that you do it. If not for you, then do it for Dusty.”

  Cricket glared at the man. “Oh, that is so not fair.”

  Raine nodded. “I know but that doesn’t make it not true. Bane was the boy’s grandfather. He needs closure too. They both do.”

  “Do you think he really never knew about Dusty?” Cricket asked.

  Raine shrugged. “It didn’t make any difference whether he knew about him or not. What matters is that you protected Dusty. Bane would have known that much if he knew anything about you at all.”

  “Soon, but not right away. Bane didn’t have anything I really want anyway. But I’m sure he has some things that Dusty might want in the future.”

  “What about your father’s daggers?”

  “I don’t want them. I just didn’t want Bane to have them. They didn’t mean anything to me before, they mean even less now.”

  “And the money?”

  Cricket shrugged. “I suppose we could use it for something good. That might take the stain off of it.”

  “The stain?” Raine questioned.

  “It’s blood money. Bane earned his living by killing people. Good or bad, it didn’t make any difference to him. As long as someone paid him, he’d kill anyone.”

  “Maybe my brothers can use some of it to build up a business with,” Raine suggested. “They’re all going to need jobs if they plan on living here, you know.”

  Cricket nodded. “That would be a good thing. And some of it could go for
Dusty’s college fund. Before you know it, he’ll need one. I know he’s not my son but I’d like to see that boy go places I never dreamed of going. Our kids will need money for their future too.”

  “I can provide for my children. All they will ever need,” Raine told her stubbornly.

  “I know that. But this way, I can provide a little something too.” She looked away for a moment before saying, “I don’t want to keep the house. There’s just too many memories that I want to forget about that place.”

  “We don’t have to keep it.”

  “Good. Sell it even if you only get a dollar for it.” She walked away from him leaving him with his brothers for company.

  They all watched as she met up with Dusty and Max.

  “How is she doing with all of this?” Gambler asked.

  “I think she just wanted to forget everything Bane.” Raine snorted.

  “Wouldn’t you if you were in her shoes?” Hound asked. “That man put her through hell making her think he was going to kill her.”

  “True enough.” Raine exhaled loudly. “I have a question for all of you. What are you going to do here? I mean do you have a plan of any kind?”

  Gambler nodded. “Yeah, there’s something we’ve been kicking around for a while now. If we pool our money, we were thinking of starting up a construction business.”

  “Construction huh?” Raine frowned.

  Gambler nodded. “Hound is aces on a computer. He can build up a set of blueprints in no time. Judge and I can provide the muscle and Dad can run the offices. He knows the ins and outs of setting up appointments and stuff.”

  “Do you guys need another man?” Raine asked. “The money won’t be a problem. Cricket and I talked about it and Bane had a pile of money. She doesn’t really want it but she’s willing to use it for something good. This would be a good thing. What do you say?”

  “She’ll have to give up part of the money for the club won’t she?” Hound asked.

  “She’s going to set up a college fund for Dusty too.” Raine shrugged. “Either way, he would have gotten some of it anyway. But yeah, the club will get some of it.”