by Sweet, Izzy
“Hand over your momma,” Coy fake growls.
Levi shakes his head, still giggling, and puts his fists up. “You leave my mommy alone.”
Coy cocks his head. “Oh, you gonna fight me, boy?”
“Yes!” Levi squeals as he launches himself at Coy.
Coy grunts as Levi crashes into him, then he takes Levi gently down to the ground.
The two of them start play fighting and wrestling. Coy grunting in fake pain with each punch Levi lands. He even lets Levi get on top of him and acts like he’s getting his ass beat.
The whole time the two of them laughing.
And I watch them, cheering Levi on while my heart swells with pure joy.
I swear I’ve never been happier in my life.
So happy I could cry.
I can’t remember the last time I saw Levi so happy and full of life. Fuck, I don’t think he’s ever been like he is when he’s with Coy.
Over the past few months, I’ve watched my little boy retreat into himself, and I’ve been so damn worried…
Coy, though, seems to have some kind of magic I don’t have. With Coy, Levi doesn’t seem to be afraid to be himself.
Hell, he even talks back to me. Levi never talked back to me before, and he still doesn’t do it when Coy isn’t around.
But whenever Coy is around, it’s almost like he’s got something to prove…
And I can’t even find it in myself to be mad.
After a few minutes, Darlene wanders in from the kitchen. She takes one look at what’s going on and shakes her head.
Eyes sparkling with amusement, she looks between Coy and me before she asks, “Don’t you two have a party to go to?”
I could slap her as I watch Coy’s head perk up with realization. “Oh yeah…”
Not realizing Coy isn’t paying attention to him, Levi manages to land on a punch on Coy’s cheek that he wasn’t expecting.
Coy grunts in real pain.
Eyes going wide as he realizes what he did, Levi starts to frantically scoot back on Coy’s stomach, but Coy’s hands grab him to stop him.
Coy turns his head back to look at Levi then his eyes light up as he growls, “That was a mistake, son.”
Rolling Levi onto his back, he starts tickling him.
Levi squirms, shrieks, and kicks his legs as Coy goes at him.
“Help me, Mommy!” Levi cries out, his little arm reaching for me.
Shaking my head, I watch Coy tickle Levi until Levi starts crying he’s going to pee himself.
“Alright, Coy, that’s enough,” I sigh, hating that I have to be the one to ruin the moment.
Thanks Darlene.
“You’re lucky your momma is saving you,” Coy chuckles as he gives Levi one last tickle then plants a kiss on his forehead.
Levi is still giggling as Coy gets to his feet and helps him up.
That is until Coy looks at me with a smile and asks, “You ready to go, Allie Cat?”
All at once, all the joy seems to get sucked out of my little boy and he looks at me with worry in his eyes.
Shit. This is the first time he’ll spend the night without us since we got here. He’s probably scared to death.
Dropping Coy’s hand, Levi rushes over and throws himself at me, wrapping his arms around me. “Don’t leave me, Mommy. Please.”
My heart squeezes as I hug him back and shoot Coy a helpless look. “Maybe we shouldn’t go out…”
The smile falls from Coy’s lips. “Allie…”
I shake my head. I know exactly what he’s going to say.
Don’t coddle him.
Coy thinks I coddle and baby Levi too much. But he doesn’t know what we’ve been through…
Sighing when I just keep hugging and trying to calm Levi, Coy stomps over to us.
“Look at me, son,” he says and literally has to pry Levi’s arms off me.
Levi sniffles and looks up at Coy with real tears in his eyes.
“Your momma and me are goin’ out tonight,” Coy says, holding Levi’s eyes.
When Levi tries to turn away and bury his face against me again, Coy grabs him gently by the chin and pulls his face back.
“You know what that means?” Coy asks him.
Levi shakes his head and chokes out, “No.”
Coy nods his head as if he expected that answer. “It means that while I’m gone, you gotta be the man of the house.”
“Man of the house?” Levi repeats with a sniffle.
“Yup,” Coy grins. “Anytime I’m not here, you’re the man of the house. You’re in charge.”
“Coy,” I frown, not liking where this is going.
Coy shoots me a look that screams stay out of this.
Levi looks between us then asks, “I’m in charge?”
“That’s right,” Coy confirms with a grin, “and that means it’s your responsibility to take care of the place. You think you can do that?”
Still unsure, Levi glances up at me and my worried face.
And dammit if it isn’t my worry that seems to convince him.
Puffing up, he looks back to Coy and tells him, “I can do that.”
“That’s my boy,” Coy says as he gives him an affectionate slap on the back. “Now give your momma a hug so we can go.”
Levi gives me a tight squeeze and I hug him back, telling him, “I love you, honey.”
Then Coy grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet.
Still not convinced this is the right thing to do as Levi looks back at me with a touch of apprehension, I shoot Coy a sharp look.
He shakes his head and begins to drag me toward the front door even though my boots don’t want to move in that direction.
“You two finally leaving?” Darlene asks with a smirk as Coy drags me past her.
“Yup,” Coy grins back at her. “Take good care of my boy for me.”
Darlene rolls her eyes. “Don’t I always?”
Shaking her head, Darlene starts to walk over to Levi.
I try to twist around to look at Levi again but Coy gives a sharp tug on my hand.
Growing a little irritated because once again he’s being entirely too heavy-handed, I try to tug my hand back. “Coy…”
“Keep moving, Allie,” he growls, and I’m tempted to punch him in the face.
How dare he separate me from my son?
Someone starts knocking on the front door as soon as we reach it. Again, I try to tug my hand from Coy’s grip as he opens the door, but his fingers squeeze until he’s nearly cutting off my circulation.
“Come on in, brothers,” Coy says to Hammy and Tampon.
Behind me, I can hear Darlene telling Levi it’s time to start getting ready for bed as the two guys walk in.
Then Levi shouts, “My daddy says I’m the man of the house and I don’t want to go to bed yet!”
Coy starts to snicker and my eyes widen in shock. “Coy! Look what you did!”
Still snickering, Coy glances back at me and says, “Darlene will be fine, she’s a tough ol’ lady. She’s got this.”
“Oh my god, you did it on purpose,” I gasp, and then I start to snicker as well when I hear Darlene getting pissed and Levi giving her a lot of grief about being in charge. “You’re sadistic.”
“Never forget it,” he says smugly as he tugs me past the two worried looking prospects and out the door.
Coy and I are still snickering as we step into the night. Hand gripping mine, but not quite as hard as a moment ago, Coy leads me up to the garage.
Tipping my head back, I peer up at the sky. I have no clue what time it is, but it’s full dark. The sky is clear, all the stars are out, sparkling above us, and I can feel something close to anticipation buzzing in my veins.
Taking a deep breath, I pull the warm, summer night air into my lungs, and my anticipation only grows as I taste the sweetness.
The night feels like it’s full of possibilities…
I can’t remember the last time I had a night out. The past tw
o years, I’ve been basically living in a prison. Trapped in my apartment and guarded around the clock. And on the rare occasions Mikhail did take me out, it was never pleasant…
Coy suddenly tugs me into him as the garage door starts to roll up.
He grins at me when I look at him in surprise. “You ready, Allie Cat?”
My lips stretch to match his grin, his happiness infectious, and I nod back. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Fuck yeah,” he says, and before I can stop him, he bends down and kisses me hard.
I’m so happy right now just being with him, I don’t try to push him away.
Fuck the lipstick.
Coy kisses me long and deep before he finally pulls himself away from me like he’s forcing himself to do it.
“Goddamn, I feel like I’ve been waitin’ for this all my life,” he growls against my lips. “Waitin’ to get you back on my bike with me.”
Then he gives me another hard, quick kiss and tugs me into the garage.
I stumble after him, feeling dazed and a little drunk off his kisses.
Coy glances back at me, a smug look on his face.
And that’s when I notice the bright red lipstick smeared all over his lips.
Laughter bubbles out of me and Coy grins, completely oblivious, as he leads me up to a black beast of a motorcycle.
I should probably tell him…
But he totally deserves it.
“Let me start her up first and get her purring then you can get on,” he says, giving my hand an affectionate squeeze before he drops it.
I nod and watch as he walks up to the motorcycle and swings his leg over it. He kicks the kickstand up, straightens the bike, and starts it up.
I find myself jumping back, the loud rumbling sound startling me.
Eyes glittering, Coy twists one of the handles and revs the rumbling engine, showing off.
I roll my eyes and shake my head.
Boys and their toys.
Sticking his arm out, he holds his hand out to me. “Come on, darlin’, hop on behind me.”
My lips quirk up with a smirk as I walk up and put my hand in his. “Darlin’, huh? That’s a new one.”
Coy uses my hand to tug me close again and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “I’m in a good mood. I wanted to call you sex kitten but figured you wouldn’t appreciate that.”
Tipping my head back, I laugh for a second. Then I lower my lashes seductively as I press against him and drop my voice to a purr, “I don’t know. I’m in a good mood too, I might have liked it.”
“Woman,” Coy growls, his gaze heating, “get on the bike or we’ll never get out of here.”
“Ah, back to woman so soon,” I snicker and let go of his hand.
Coy gives my butt a little smack as I walk the couple of steps it takes to get on the seat behind him.
I yelp and give him a dark look before I grab onto his shoulder. He chuckles, and not willing to delay us any longer, I simply shake my head.
Using his shoulder as my handle, I start to step onto the foot peg only to suddenly freeze.
Out of nowhere, ice cold, paralyzing terror washes over me.
I can’t move.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t think.
“Allie?”
Even my heart feels frozen behind ribs, no longer beating.
“Allie, are you going to get on?”
My foot suddenly drops back down to the ground, the movement jarring me a little.
“Allie, what the fuck?”
Grabbing me by the side of my vest, Coy yanks me over to his front, but I still can’t move until he gives me a little shake. “What the hell?”
Blinking at Coy, I try to draw in air, but I’m so cold…
So fucking cold it almost burns.
Coy gives me another shake but harder this time and roars in my face, “Allie, fucking talk to me, goddammit!”
I suck in a shrill breath and my eyes widen in terror as I look at him.
His face is nearly as terrified as mine as he looks back at me. “What’s wrong, baby? Tell me what’s wrong.”
The air in my lungs bursts from me quickly followed by tears as I gasp, “I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” he asks, still looking terrified but also confused.
I shove hard at his chest and stumble away from the motorcycle. “I can’t do it, Coy. I can’t do it!”
“Do what?” Coy asks, confusion still etched on his face. Then it suddenly must dawn on him because he shouts, “Fuck!” and shuts down the bike.
Shaking my head, I continue to back up, feeling like I need to put as much space as fucking possible between me and that motorcycle.
Getting off the bike, Coy quickly walks up to me and pulls me into his arms.
More tears burst from me as he wraps me up in a tight hug. “It’s okay, baby. It will be okay.”
He continues to say soothing, comforting things to me until my tears finally die down.
Once I start to relax against him, he brushes my hair back and tips my face up to look at him. “It will be okay, Allie Cat, I promise. You can trust me. I won’t let anything happen to you. I’m not Horse, I’ll drive nice and slow for you.”
I understand everything until he mentions a horse.
“Horse?” I ask.
Coy scowls and his hand strokes against my cheek. “The guy who was drivin’ when you were in that accident.”
“I don’t remember that,” I remind him, my voice sounding small and weak.
“Fuck,” he says and cringes. “Yeah, I forgot…”
I could almost laugh at the irony of that, if I wasn’t so fucked up. I honestly still don’t remember the accident everyone keeps telling me about, but something about getting on that motorcycle scares the living shit out me.
He lets out a big sigh and gives me a squeeze. “I’ll still take it slow and easy…”
I start to shake my head, but he ignores it and grabs me by the hand. He tries to tug me to the bike, but knowing he’s going to try to get me on it instantly fills me with terror again.
Digging in my heels, I cry out, “I can’t do it, Coy. I seriously fucking can’t!”
He keeps stubbornly trying to tug me to it until I break out in huge, gulping sobs.
“Allie,” he says, his face looking tortured as he stops and looks back at me.
Shaking my arm up and down hard, I manage to free my hand from his grip. Then I take off running, not even knowing where the fuck I’m going, only knowing I need to be anywhere but here.
Coy catches me halfway down the driveway. Grabbing me off my feet, he wraps me back up in his arms.
“Please don’t make me do it, Coy! Please!” I wail as he crushes me against his chest, unable to control myself.
“I won’t. I’m sorry,” he repeats over and over, and my fucking heart breaks to hear him say it.
I can’t seem to get a grip on myself until I hear someone calling out, “Pres?”
“It’s fine, go back inside,” Coy snaps back and then starts kissing the top of my head and soothing me again.
I take deep gulping breaths until I feel the terror releasing its hold on me. He’s not going to make me do it, there’s nothing to be afraid of…
“I’m sorry, Coy. I’m so fucking sorry,” I choke out.
“It’s okay, baby,” he says softly and plants another kiss on the top of my head.
But it’s not okay.
Twisting around in his arms, I press my face against his chest and give him a tight hug.
I take in his smell. The smell of leather, night air, and him.
I let it bring me back down from the edge.
But now that the terror has faded, all I feel is crushing disappointment in myself. I just ruined our whole night. I just ruined something he even admitted that he’s been looking forward to for a long time…
“I really wanted to go out with you tonight,” I sniffle and tip my head back to look up at him.
> Coy smiles down at me and there’s so much sadness in his smile I feel my heart breaking all over again. “We’re still going out, Allie Cat. We’re not gonna let this fucking stop us.”
I start to stiffen, my throat closing up, until he reassures me, “We’re not going on the bike.”
I nod my head and let the fear die back down.
I take another deep breath before I ask, “How are we going?”
Coy gives me a tight squeeze and then lets out a big sigh. “I guess we’ll take Barney.”
I frown and remind him, “But Barney is broken.”
Coy shakes his head and the corner of his mouth starts to curve with a smirk. “Nah, Grem put your battery in my garage. It will only take me a few minutes to hook it back up.”
You’d think it would be the last thing I’d be feeling right now, but I experience a hot flash of anger.
“Grem took my battery out?” I almost growl.
Coy laughs at the expression on my face, and just seeing him look a little happy again makes me feel a million times better. “Don’t be mad at him, Allie Cat. I was the one who fucking told him to do it.”
Chapter Seventeen
Allie
Coy keeps reassuring me he’s not mad he has to drive my minivan to the clubhouse, but I don’t believe him.
He refused to drive his bike and let me follow him, but it’s obvious he’s unhappy over this whole thing.
Especially when I catch him shaking his head and muttering under his breath. “Showing up at my own clubhouse in a fuckin’ cage… and a fuckin’ minivan at that…”
“Coy—” I start to say but stop myself.
I want to tell him I’m sorry again, but every time I do, it only seems to irritate him more.
Coy gives my hand a reassuring squeeze and lifts my hand up to his mouth, kissing it as his eyes remain on the road. Then he drops my hand to his lap, keeping it trapped there.
“It’s fine,” he repeats for the millionth time. “Everything will be fine.”
And I don’t know if he’s saying that for me, or for himself.
I have my doubts that things will be fine.
No, my freak-out is just another reminder that this relationship we’re trying to build is literally hanging by a thread.
The entire thing could snap and fall apart at any second.
