by KB Winters
To make matters more intense, I had no idea if my cavalry would be Lasso and Jag or an actual cavalry of men who would kick ass, shoot bullets and make Genesis and his Killer fucking Aces regret they’d crossed the border into Nevada. I had no idea and I wouldn’t until it was too late, so I really hope I didn’t misplace my trust.
“Rochelle, looking good. A little fat for my tastes, but good.”
His voice came from straight ahead and I stopped, looking up to see where he was. It was difficult to see because his SUV lights were shining bright. “Wish I could say the same.”
“Had to make sure you listened this time. I know listening has always been difficult for you.” His sickening sneer made me wish I’d come with something other than a small gun strapped to my thigh.
“I listen just fine Genesis, I just don’t always want to do what you want me to.”
He laughed that sickeningly soft chuckle he used when he wasn’t really amused. “Because you always think you know best. Now look at where we are.” Genesis shook his head as he stuck his hand inside the car and turned off the high beams. He hadn’t changed. Same shaggy copper hair brushing his shoulders, same pouty mouth more suitable to a male model than a gangster. I couldn’t see his smoky gray eyes, but I’d bet they were bloodshot with a combination of pills and coke.
“Where exactly are we?” I crossed my arms and looked off to his side because I knew it would rile him. I needed him wild and reckless and I could push until he flashed a handgun.
“Goddammit, Rochelle stop playing these fucking mind games!” His arms jerked forward, and he kicked a leg out sideways in a show of temper, but a quick pinch to the bridge of his nose and Genesis was calm again. Sort of. “Look, just come with me now and work with me until I’m satisfied I’ve been paid back for all the pain and suffering you’ve caused me, then you can come back here and play house with that fucking cowboy.”
I smiled at his disdain for Lasso. He never did like men who were too good looking, said he couldn’t trust them but the truth was he couldn’t stand the jealousy. “I’m not going anywhere with you Genesis.”
“Come on,” he cajoled softly, grinning with that little head tilt he thought made him look hot but really he looked like Justin Bieber. “It’s just a couple jobs. It could be like old times. I’ll even think about keeping the brat around.”
“Like I would ever want my kid around a headcase like you.”
I shook my head, knowing I was poking the bear but unable to stop myself. He drew closer and I slowly drew back, reaching around my waist for the gun. “How about this Genesis? You go home and you might make it back in time to save another stash house or two.”
He took two steps forward and then lunged, pulling back his hand and punching me in the nose before I could move. “You still got a smart fuckin’ mouth. I always hated that about you.”
I fell to my knees; grateful he didn’t break my fucking nose. I looked up at him with a smile. “How many of your safe houses have been hit, Genesis? Two? Four? Seven?”
“Laugh it up, Rochelle. It’ll probably be the last time you laugh for a long time.” He smiled, pacing back and forth in front of me. “I have shit you know nothing about so don’t think you can ever hurt me.”
“You sure about that? Because I can remember at least a dozen, maybe more. In fact, a certain hazel-eyed gangster was very interested to learn about the house just off Pico.”
Anger flashed again, and his foot raised high in the air, telling me exactly what he had planned. I rolled away and slid back on my ass, trying to stand without turning my back to him. “You’re a dead bitch either way, Rochelle. The question is, do you want to live long enough for that bastard of yours to be born?”
I stood with a grunt. It wasn’t elegant or intimidating but I wasn’t foolish enough to believe I was either of those things. My heart raced. I could feel the baby projecting dissatisfaction with my mood but anything I did to draw attention would make my stomach a bigger target.
“I’m actually flattered, Genesis. To think that I mean more to you than all those stash houses. All that money. More than the new place in Santa Monica or that bungalow in West Hollywood right in the middle of all those families. Even more than that beauty salon with the hidden wall.”
Jag had come through big time and the wide hazel eyes snarling back at me said I’d hit a nerve.
“I could just kill you now.”
I nodded. “You could but after tonight you’ll need me more than ever. Oh, and there’s the fact that you’re not getting out of here alive.”
If Lasso didn’t show up, I was more than prepared to make the easy choice if it came down to me and my baby or Genesis.
He laughed. “Your boyfriend is too busy worrying about his whores.” He spat the word, waiting for my surprise or shock, maybe an emotional outburst.
“Oh, no!” I covered my head with one hand and my mouth with the other. “Was that what you were expecting? Sorry to steal your thunder but the women are fine. I’m not so sure your guys fared as well. And by the way, he’s not my boyfriend. He put a ring on it.” I flashed my ring finger, taunting him, digging my feet into the dirt to brace for the next blow.
Instead, he laughed. A quick glance at my wrist said I had two minutes before help arrived. With two large shapes behind Genesis’ car, I hoped I called for enough men. Shit, I hoped enough men were allowed to come.
“I hope you had a good time on this little fucking vacation of yours, Rochelle, because you’re mine. You. Are. Fucking. Mine. MINE!”
He reached for my arm and I jerked away from him, earning a backhand for my efforts.
“Yeah, you feel like a real big man now Genesis, smacking around a pregnant woman. I’m not yours, not ever.”
“We’ll see if you say that when I get rid of that fucking kid. I’ll be doing the dumb son of a bitch a favor. With a dumb cunt like you for a ma, death is the best possible outcome.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you were fucking stupid enough to come alone.”
Now it was my turn to laugh and I gave it the full maniacal, wide-eyed cackle. “Did you really think my husband would let his pregnant wife come alone to meet her unstable ex? You can’t really be that stupid, can you?”
“I’ll kill you, bitch!”
He lunged again but I wasn’t quick enough to escape. His cool hand wrapped around my throat, leaving me to claw at his wrist and hand.
“It would be so easy to fucking end you right now you stupid fucking bitch. You’re lucky I still need you.”
I smiled, struggling for breath and thinking only of the oxygen my baby wasn’t getting. “I’m a decoy to give him and his men time to fuck up your men and leave you all alone.”
“Uh, fuck.” He punched me again and let me fall to the ground, pulling his leg back to kick me, this time in the face. I blocked the worst of it but that left the baby unprotected and the next kick that came stole my breath.
“You motherfucker!” I reached for the gun, but it had fallen out of my hand and I scrambled to find it. “Better save your energy to ward off all those dicks you’ll be taking up the ass in prison!”
There it is! I grabbed the handle and pulled it closer, ignoring the throbbing, spasming pain in my stomach.
His foot came up and he laughed, evil and joyful. “You wish. I won’t kill you Rochelle. I’ll kill that fucking bastard of yours instead.” I squeezed the trigger twice, sending two bullets right into his stomach.
“Fucking. Bitch. Shot. Me.” Big gray eyes stared at me, shocked as he dropped to his knees, both hands clutching his bleeding gut. “Rochelle.”
He reached down to his side, but I was too mesmerized by the sight of the life flooding out of him to pay attention and then I heard it.
A loud pop.
But it was weird that I wasn’t looking at Genesis anymore, but the night sky so black and velvety, sparkling with stars as a searing pain shot across the left side of my face, filling it with warmth. Two more shots sounded,
at least I think so, but the ringing in my ears was too strong.
I smiled at the beautiful sky and then there he was, the man I’d been fighting for too long. The man I wanted more than I’d ever let myself admit. The only man since my dad that I ever loved.
“Lasso?” I waited for him to say something, anything. But he didn’t.
Instead, everything went black.
Chapter 24
Lasso
“How long does it take to get some fucking answers?” It felt like I’d been in this goddamn hospital waiting room for days, waiting for someone to come out here and tell me that Rocky was okay. Seeing that bastard kick her in the stomach and then watching her pass out in my arms took about fifteen years off my life. And now they wouldn’t let me back there, wouldn’t let me see her until they ran tests and treated her.
Bullshit.
I could have stayed at the clubhouse, but the guys had it handled and I saw the sheriff headed in as the ambulance took Rocky and me to the hospital. Everything was as clean as we needed it to be for the cops to show up. We’d made sure of it before even calling them.
The last I saw of Genesis, he was writhing in pain and begging for help. The fucking EMTs thought they would work on him first because he was bleeding, but I made them see the error of their ways. And now the universe was punishing me, making me sit here in silence with no information on Rocky.
She couldn’t lose the baby. Not only would it take her from me, but it would break my heart. I’d gotten used to the idea of having a baby and being a dad. She’d been punched, kicked and shot tonight, put through the proverbial fucking ringer.
“Rochelle Izzo’s family?”
I rushed to the doctor’s side. “I’m her husband.” It seemed like forever before he looked up from her chart to give me some news.
“Rochelle is mostly fine. The bullet graced her temple, so she’ll have a scar. The baby is fine, his heartbeat is strong and other than an elevated blood pressure, there are no signs of distress.” I stopped listening after a while, so relieved that she was going to be all right.
“Thanks, Doc. Can I see her?”
“Yes. She’s been in and out of it since you brought her in, but she keeps mumbling Dallas.”
I smiled. “That’s me.” It was damned pathetic to be so happy about something so little, but Rocky had a mile-wide independent streak so the fact that she was calling for me had to mean something.
It had to mean she felt something for me, I just knew it. But she was scared as hell, rightfully so, which meant it was up to me. And when I stepped inside that sterile, too-white fucking hospital room, with all the chirping, beeping and hissing, my eyes went to her. My heart skittered to a stop and kicked up again with a lot less energy.
Nothing had ever felt as good in my whole damn life as sitting in that hard orange plastic chair with her soft hand in mine. I rested my forehead on her thigh, my other hand on her belly, needing to touch her and see for myself that she was all right.
“You were so stupid. So fucking stupid and so incredibly brave. I wish you knew how tough you really are, even though I want to throttle you for going in there alone.”
I pressed my lips to her palm, feeling relief settle over me when she squeezed back. “Now you just have to wake up so we can talk about the rest.” All I wanted in that moment was for her to just open those big green eyes, long lashes framing them beautifully. That sight might get my heart beating normally again.
“The baby’s okay?” Cross stood at the foot of the bed, looking nervous for the first time since I’d met him.
I nodded, my relief still palpable even an hour after receiving the news. “Yeah, Rocky took the brunt of it.” I still couldn’t believe she’d done that, curled around her belly to protect our kid. “They’ll both be all right.”
“That’s good.” I knew there was more so I just waited him out, not like I was leaving Rocky’s side until she left this hospital. Maybe not even then. “Look Lasso, I owe you an apology. I had my reasons, but I never wanted anything to happen to her.”
I stood and looked my Prez right in the eyes. “I know, man. No apology necessary. We had different ideas but in the end you came through, like I knew you would.”
He barked out a laugh before catching himself and casting a sad glance at Rocky. “Make sure you tell that to your girl. I’m pretty sure she’s never going to warm up to me.”
“It’ll take some time, but Rocky is pretty forgiving.” It would be a long damn time before she warmed up to the club, but once I convinced her to stick around and stay married to me, she would. “Trust me.”
“I do,” he said in a tone more serious than our conversation warranted and I knew he meant something more. “Thought you might be hungry,” he said and shoved a bag from the best damn taco place in all of Nevada into my hands.
I laughed and held up the bag. “You thought it would bribe Rocky, right?”
He shrugged. “Pregnant girls love food. I’m glad everything’s okay.”
“Me, too. Thanks, Cross.”
“No problem.”
He left and I ate four tacos before I slowed down. Finally, the excitement of the day took its toll. My head rested on Rocky’s thigh, one hand holding hers and the other cupping her belly as I drifted off to sleep. They were safe. I didn’t know how long I’d been asleep when I felt a hand brushing my hair. No, not brushing my hair, brushing past it.
“Damn tacos,” she groaned and I smiled, lifting my head to look up at her, red hair standing in all directions and skin flushed from exertion.
“You’re all right.” I meant to just say it out loud to confirm but it ended up being a throaty groan. I stood and pressed my forehead to hers as relief settled in my bones. “You’re all right.” I said it again because it felt damn good after watching her pass out in my arms.
“I’m all right,” she said on a shaky, teary sigh as she raked her fingers through my hair. “Really, Lasso, I’m fine. I mean, I lost the baby,” she said on a sniffle, blinking like crazy to signal she was on the brink of tears. “So now we don’t have to stay married and I’ll have to start over. Again. But it’s fine. I’m fine. See?”
I smiled and gave her a thorough once over. “You want to say fine one more time just to get it all out?”
It was slow, but she rewarded my patience with a soft, sad smile. “Fine. Now I said it for you so, you’re welcome.”
I gathered her hands in mine, kissing both sides of her hands, her fingers, letting the feel of her pulse racing against my lip settle my nerves.
“And you didn’t lose the baby.” I let that sink in because I knew it was what she was most worried about. “We didn’t lose the baby.”
“We … didn’t?” Her hands went to her stomach and her eyes went to me for confirmation. “We didn’t?”
I shook my head and stood, pointing to the other monitor. “That’s the baby’s heartbeat right there. Strong like it should be. The kick hurt you more than the baby, but you both are fine, as long as you take it easy for a while. Let your husband take care of you.”
“But that’s—”
“Doctor’s orders.” She pouted but I could see the smile playing around her lips.
She leaned back but I noticed she didn’t let go of my hand. “You don’t have to, you know.”
“I know Rocky, but dammit I want to. Seeing you take that bastard’s beating and knowing I was too far away to do a damn thing about it tore me apart, but watching you pass out in my arms damn near killed me.”
“I’m sorry I scared you. I had it under control, well, mostly.” I leaned into her palm and closed my eyes, letting the sound of her breathing, the flowery scent of her skin wash over me.
“I’m just happy you both are all right.” My lips brushed hers softly and I pulled back because I didn’t want her mouth to distract me the way it all too easily did. “Rocky I don’t want you to leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said as she gestured to the hospital b
ed. “Taking it easy, remember?”
I tried for a smile, but I couldn’t because I knew what she was doing. It was exactly what I would have done before I met Rocky, created emotional distance with humor. “Not just now, Rocky. Forever.”
She sucked in a breath, wide green eyes staring at me like I landed from another planet. “Lasso, don’t. I don’t need false promises.”
“You know me better than that,” I told her in a firm voice that held none of the anger I felt at her words. “You’re already my wife and the mother of my child. Why would I lie now?”
“The baby,” she said sadly.
“The baby is mine, too, whether you want to be with me or not. I’m talking about you. Us. I want this us to be permanent. You and me and the baby. Together.”
“That’s a tall order, cowboy.”
“I’m a tall man, babe.” She grinned. “Seriously, I don’t know how else to tell you. I wish I had some pretty words to match your pretty face but all I have is me and the love I have for you in my heart. We’ve been through a lot in a really short time, more than most couples will go through in a lifetime and we’re still here. Still wanting each other. Right?”
I hoped to hell that I hadn’t misread all the signs that ran through my head in the ambulance ride to the hospital.
She nodded but Rocky was quiet. Too quiet.
“I love you Rocky. I know we got married for noble—but wrong—reasons. But now that you and the baby are safe, it’s time to talk about us. I want us to stay married and raise that kid together, maybe even have a few more if you haven’t created a craft store empire by then.” I pressed a kiss to each of her palms and placed them over my chest. “That’s what I want Rocky. You. Us. Everything.”
“Okay,” she said and swallowed nervously.
She should be nervous because what I had planned for her was a full onslaught of irresistible.
“You’ll stay with me when they discharge you from here. You’re free to stay in our room or the guest room. That should give you some time to take it easy and think about what you want from me, and from you. When you figure out what you want, or don’t want, I’ll be here.”
