Nothing Else Matters (Demons Disciples MC Book 2)

by Allana Walker

  “He said the same to me. But there was nothing that would have stopped me from getting with Striker. I saw him, and I wanted him, as bad as I knew he would be for me. I wanted him.” I did. I never admitted it to myself, but when my eyes landed on his that night, I knew my heart wanted him, and I gave it to him. My eyes mist over. “I love him.”

  “Why are you two torturing yourselves then?” I'm about to answer her when the waitress walks over with our order, placing the food and drinks down in front of us.

  “If you need anything else, my name is Polly,” she says before walking away.

  “Honey.” Lauren reaches across the table. “You two are making this harder than it should be. What did he do?”

  “I saw him with a whore. I went to talk to him, and I saw him with her.” A silent tear drips from my chin.

  Her eyebrows pinch in the middle. “When?”

  “After he punched the stripper, I said it was over. Didn't take him long to get over me by screwing a whore, huh?”

  “Honey, he didn't.”

  “Lauren.” I know how close they all are and how she sees him as another son, but I saw it, and I saw the pictures. “I saw him getting close to her.”

  “I was there that night. He pushed her away.”

  I feel like someone has thrown a bucket of cold water over me.

  “But I saw all the pictures.” I look down at the table, confused as hell.

  “What pictures?” Lauren’s brows pinch.

  “I was sent a few pictures of Striker and another girl getting down and dirty.” I shake my head to rid the images from my mind and look her in the eye to continue. She’s looking at me with curiosity. “So, please don't cover for him. I've made peace with the fact he can't just be with one woman for the rest of his life. He's not a family man like Nico.” I shrug, lying through my teeth. I'm so far from making peace with it. And I want to kill the whore who even dared touch Striker.

  “I wouldn't lie to you. Not now, not ever. He didn't cheat. He was raised better than that.”

  “Whatever, I don’t want to talk and think about him. Right now, I want to enjoy time with you and make a huge dent in Dad's credit card.”

  And I did. I forgot about Striker until I was lying in bed with nothing but my thoughts and my hand on my stomach.

  “I love you, baby. I will love you enough for both your father and me.” A tear falls down the side of my face as I fall into an unsettled sleep.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Striker

  Sitting in the bar, I can barely see anything in front of me. Daria left two hours ago; she can’t even bear to be in the same state as me. Nico didn’t even tell me, I had to find out from Fran. Emily’s with Jake in Florida. Now, both my girls are out of the state. Daria hates me. That slap told me as much. I’ve been slapped before, but fuck, she hit me so hard I thought I lost a tooth. I have a cut on my cheek, and a bruise. Her words rattle around in my head over and over. You like going behind my back, talking shit and screwing whores. I have no clue where that came from. I’ve never touched any of the whores since I got with her. Hell, even before then I didn’t.

  “Barkeep. Another.” I slap the bar, my head hanging down.

  “I think you’ve had enough, son.”

  “I’ll say when I’ve had enough. Another.” I bang my fist on the mahogany bar.

  “Striker.” Turning, I see a blob of color. Blonde hair. Jess. Trying to stand, my legs disappear from beneath me and she has to catch me. “Shit, Striker.”

  “Hey, sister-in-law.” I smile lazily at her when she pulls me upright. “How are you doing? Do you want a drink? We can go all night. Shh.” I try to put my finger to my lips, but my hand hits her tit instead. “Shit, I’m sorry. Might as well tell Daria I hit on you too. She already thinks I’m fucking everything in sight anyway.”

  “I’m not telling her anything.” She tries to hold my weight. I’m three times the size of her, but she somehow manages to get me to her car. “Let’s get you home.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t done drinking.”

  “Tough shit.”

  I must have fallen asleep when I was in the car, because the next thing I know, I’m in my room at Dad’s house with Jess glaring down at me with her hands on her hips.

  “You need to get your head out of your ass and get Daria back when she returns. I’m tired of this shit and tired of seeing you drink yourself into an early grave. And Daria doesn’t need this stress in her condition.”

  “Condition?”

  “Her mental state. You remember she’s been suicidal, right?” Her voice is hard, harder than I’ve ever heard it before. “I know you’re having a hard time too, and I can see it in your eyes that you think we’re only thinking about Daria and how she’s doing, but it’s not true. We’re all worried about both of you. Nico especially. He wouldn’t be able to choose if it came down to it.”

  “I would never ask him to choose.”

  She smiles. “That’s exactly what Daria said. You two need to talk it out, Striker. Yes, Daria is a stubborn bitch. I’ve had twenty plus years’ experience with her stubborn ass. But you have to make her see that you love her and that you are serious about you two. She’s been let down so much in the past. She believes actions over words.” Patting my knee, she leaves me to my thoughts.

  I’ll show her how much she means to me and what I’m willing to do to save us.

  ***

  I open my eyes, my head pounding, like little men are having a rave in my head. I vaguely remember Jess holding me up and putting me in the car, but I have no idea who undressed me and put me to bed. I hope to God it was Dad and not Jess.

  I pick up my cell and see an alert flash up—Daria’s birthday. I swallow past the lump forming in my throat, pissed at myself for the way I spoke to her yesterday. I type a message, but I don’t press send straight away. My thumb hovered over the send button for ten minutes before I finally pressed it. I don't know what I’m hoping for. A reply? A call to arrange a time to meet up and fix us? But all I got was nothing. Not even a thanks.

  I look down at Blue staring up at me with his happy face. “Just me and you, buddy.” I pet his head, putting my cell down, and head into the shower. I press my head against the cool tiles and let the water hit my back. I close my eyes, trying to come up with something, anything that will make Daria talk to me and tell me what I’ve done wrong.

  After my shower, I head down to the kitchen and see Nico is already there making coffee.

  “Hey, man. How’s the head?”

  “Banging.” I throw a couple of Advil in my mouth with a glass of water. “Have you heard from your mom?”

  “Cut the crap, Striker, you want to know if Daria arrived safely.” Damn, he caught me. “The answer is yes. They arrived late last night. Mom said the apartment is huge, like a mansion in the sky. She had no idea Daria was married to Jake.” I nod. “Daria called me this morning saying thank you for getting Mom's plane ticket and that she’ll see me when she gets back.”

  Not going to lie, hearing him say he's heard from her just solidifies my thought that she doesn't want anything to do with me.

  “It's her birthday today.”

  “I know, Nico. I text her.” I stare into my coffee. When I glance up, his eyes widen. “Don't look so shocked, Nico. She's still the mother of my kid.”

  “I'm just surprised you messaged her. Why couldn't you have done that when she was here and sorted all this shit out?”

  “Because she made it clear at the meal, bachelor party, wedding, and when you all staged that intervention. She wants nothing to do with me.”

  “You can't blame her, Striker. You said you were worse than her stepmom.”

  “I know what I said, Nico, and I'm not proud of it.”

  “Well, you need to apologize. That hurt her more than she will ever let us know.”

  “I fucking know all this. I know I’m the bad guy, and I know she’s better off without me in her life!”

  I know what
people think about me. I took advantage of a seventeen-year-old girl who walked into my room scared and trying to escape a bad guy, but she ended up walking in to an even bigger asshole’s arms. She didn’t say no. As far as her body language and the way she was acting towards me, she wanted it as much as I did. Yeah, I should have asked her, but if I remember correctly, she kissed me back, pulled my clothes off first, and started sucking my cock. I also know people think I’m the primary cause of everything, but Daria is just as responsible as me for all of this.

  “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I will fight for you two to get back together, but you need to sort this out before it kills one of you. I would prefer not to bury either of you because you’re both too goddamn stubborn to talk.”

  He gets up and storms out, slamming the door. I hate this and how it’s changed me. Nico and I never fight like this, ever. Not even when he stole my crayon the first day I met him.

  You weren’t screwing his little sister then.

  I grab my keys and go for a drive.

  ***

  “I see the chat with Jessica had no effect on you.” A voice wakens me from my drunken state. “Get a shower!” Dad barks at me, walking into my room of the clubhouse where I’ve spent most of my nights getting drunk.

  Ever since Daria left last week, I've drunk my weight in beer and fireball. I'm surprised any of the bars have any alcohol left the way I've been going.

  “Why?” I grunt, turning over and pulling the pillow over my head.

  “Because Daria will be back today, and you stink. You need to win that girl back before you lose her completely and she takes your daughter as far away from you as possible.” He grabs the pillow off of my head, and I sit up and stare at him. His blue eyes are blazing through me. “I'll be damned if I lose my granddaughter over your stupidity!” He throws the pillow back at me, and walks out, slamming the door, and causing a picture to fall and smash on the floor.

  I rub my face with a groan. I stand and walk over to the smashed photo, picking it up and moving the glass out of the way. It's a family photo of me, Daria, and Emily. My lips twitch, remembering that day. We were at a school barbecue, raising funds for a library. Nico caught this picture of Emily and me playing and Daria looking on. There's so much love in her eyes. The smile on her face is genuine, one I haven't seen in a while.

  I throw my clothes on and place the picture into my back pocket. I need to get my girls back.

  “Where are you going?” Nico stops me when I walk through the bar area.

  “I need to get my woman back.”

  “Fucking finally.”

  “He still has to get Daria on board,” Jessica pipes up. “You can't use sex to get her back this time.”

  “I know. I've tried that way.” I look at her and Ezra reaches over for me.

  “You want to go to Uncle Striker, huh?” Jess smiles at her son before handing him to me.

  I look at the two people in front of me that I know for sure can help me, while Ezra pulls at my beard.

  “I need help from both of you. I need you to help me get Daria to talk to me.”

  They look at each other and their lips lift into smiles. “What do you need us to do?”

  I launch into telling them my plan. I just hope it works, otherwise I'll lose all hope of ever getting her back.

  ***

  “Thanks, guys,”

  “Anything to help get your stubborn asses back together where you belong.” Nico sighs. “I better go pick up mom and Daria from the airport. Their flight is due in an hour.” He looks down at his watch and shakes my hand.

  “Good luck.” Jess smiles, holding a sleepy Ezra in her arms. “Make her listen.”

  I scoff out a laugh. Easier said than done.

  Now I just have to wait and face Daria once and for all.

  I look around the living area as I wait for her to come home and face me. There are lots of pictures of Emily growing up from a baby all the way to now. I spot one picture that I'm surprised still sits on the fire surround. A picture of Daria, Emily, and me on her tenth birthday. We weren't even together then, and I can see the love in Daria's eyes when she's looking at me in the photo. A look that has diminished over the weeks, and I don’t know why.

  I've been trying my best to find a reason, other than my jealous rage, that would make her avoid me for the past few weeks, but I always come up short.

  Headlights fill the room, alerting me that she's back, and I hear her speaking to Lauren, which makes my heart beat faster.

  “I'll see you tomorrow. Let me know what time you want me to pick you up, okay?”

  “Thanks for everything, Lauren.”

  I stand, wiping my sweaty palms on pants legs, and stretch my neck, readying myself for what I know is going to be a fight.

  What's new?

  “S-Striker? What are you... what are you doing here?” Our eyes clash and my body heat rises. I take a step closer, but stop when she drops her bag on the floor and holds her hand up, asserting her boundaries. Our eyes are still locked together.

  “I had to see you, Daria. I need to talk to you. We need to sort this out. What's got you hating me so much you had to take off thousands of miles to get away from me?”

  “I can't do this right now, Striker. I'm tired and need to shower.” Her voice is small and she sounds so broken. I take a moment to really look at her. Her once bright hazel eyes I fell in love with no longer sparkle; they’re dull and almost lifeless. Daria has never been big, nor has she ever been skinny, but right now, she looks like she has lost a ton of weight since the wedding. It's breaking my heart seeing her like this.

  “We're doing it now, Daria. I'm not leaving until you tell me.” My voice is demanding but not too much to antagonize her. I close the distance between us until I’m directly in front of her. I lift my hand to cradle her face. I feel like I'm about to pass out, my pulse rapidly thumping in my ears at the skin to skin contact. She closes her eyes and leans in to my touch. Hope blooms within me at the way she reacts. “I love you, Daria. I want to fix us.”

  She opens her eyes, and I lean in, wanting so much to kiss her lips that I've missed. Our lips are just about to touch when she moves her head away and steps back out of my reach.

  “No. I can't.” Her chest rises and falls in quick concession.

  “What the fuck have I done, Daria?” I raise my voice a little. She flinches back and her eyes harden, narrowing them on me. “Look at me like you’re pissed all you like, baby. I'm getting real tired of your stubborn ass ignoring me at every turn when all I want is to fix this for both our sakes, and for Emily's sake.”

  “Don't you dare use our daughter to get at me.”

  “I'm not,” I groan out loud, running my hand through my hair. I knew this would turn into a huge screaming match, but I’m not leaving until I get answers from her because I have been going out of my mind trying to figure it out. “But hearing that our daughter was crying because of us splitting up… we need to sort this out for her. If not for us, we certainly need to do it for Emily and even try to be civil to one another.”

  “I want you to leave.” When I don’t, she plants her feet wide and glares at me. “Leave or I’ll call the cops.”

  “You can call the cops. You can call anyone you like, Daria, but I am not leaving until you tell me what I've done!”

  “You fucking cheated on me!” she screams, her face turning red and her mouth turning into a sneer.

  I stumble back. “What?”

  “Yeah, I know you slept with the new whore. I tell you to leave and that we're over, and the first thing you do is put your cock into a whore.”

  “I would never cheat on you, Daria. Why would I? You're the best damn thing that ever happened to me.”

  “You did!” she yells louder. “I know what I fucking saw!”

  “You sure? Because I sure as hell didn't sleep with anyone when you told me that we were over.” She walks off up towards her room. “Daria. Daria, don't fucking wal
k away from me!” I storm after her, taking two steps at a time.

  I follow her to her room and she walks out of the closet, holding some pieces of paper in her hand.

  “You didn't cheat? Then explain these!” She shoves them into my chest, tears streaming down her face now, and I see they’re photographs. I look down at one and I feel like someone has sucker punched me when I see me, or someone who looks like me from behind, kissing someone else, naked.

  “Daria, I didn't cheat.” I swallow.

  She lets out a humorless laugh. “Just leave, Striker. We're obviously too toxic together to have a relationship.” I walk towards her, but again, she stops me. “Please just leave. I need to get a shower and I would prefer it if you weren't here when I come out.”

  “Stop running away from your problems. Stop running from me and talk to me. We need to figure this out.”

  “Figure what out? The fact that you hurt me so much that I feel my heart ache every time I hear your name? Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is you and that bitch together. I love you, Striker, I really do, but I can't deal with it. I can’t deal with seeing you. I have too much going on right now. It hurts too much to be in the same room as you.” She winces a little, her hand holding her side, and her face scrunches up a little like she’s in pain. I edge closer to her, wondering why she’s in pain. Did something happen while she was in New York? Did she hurt herself? “Please. I'm begging you, just leave me alone.” She walks to the bathroom, holding her midsection, then closes the door softly and locks it.

  I stride to the door and place my hand on it, wanting so badly to kick it down and take her in my arms. “You have to believe me, I didn't cheat, Dee. I would never do that to you. I love you.” Pushing off the door, I walk solemnly down the stairs and outside where Nico, Lauren, and Jess are still waiting.

  “What happened? We heard shouting,” Jess asks, standing in front of me looking over my shoulder.

  “Striker?” Nico tries to stop me walking by grasping my arm, but I jerk it away. I drop the photos onto the ground.