Smokey

by Sam Crescent

  “This club is nothing to you. My woman is my responsibility.”

  “Call it an investment. If you try to retrieve both women and some of you die, it’s a poor investment for me. I don’t get the same standard I’ve become accustomed to.”

  Smokey laughed. “You’re talking bullshit.”

  “I’m helping, Smokey. We can work together or apart. That’s up to you.” Carlos adjusted his cuffs. “Seeing as I already have intel on where Creed may be holding those women, and Ava is close to giving birth, I’d say you don’t have much choice. My men are available right now. You’d have to organize your men. One of the women could die in the process.”

  “I fucking hate you right now.”

  “Hate me all you want. You know I speak the truth.”

  He still hated him for it.

  “Fine.”

  “Good.” Carlos clicked his fingers and a laptop was given to him. “Here is your last known location of Creed.”

  “You had this on you the entire time?”

  “Creed and the Twisted Bastards MC are enemies of ours as well. You never stay one step ahead unless you know your enemy’s next move. This is where we last located. Where would he take them.”

  Smokey looked at the map and clicked on the keyboard, bringing it in closer.

  The place Creed was last seen was a motel, but he would be too stupid to take Ava and Raven there.

  Smokey looked around and knew exactly where he’d go.

  “There,” he said.

  “That’s where he is.”

  Carlos closed the laptop and left.

  “Call the boys,” he said, turning to Hunter.

  “You need me with you.”

  “I need you to grab our men in case this goes south fucking quickly. Do it. I can’t have anything happen to Ava.”

  Hunter nodded.

  “The rest of you, you’re with me.”

  He went to his bike, straddling the machine, purring it to life, and took off, heading toward the warehouse where Ava was.

  If anything had happened to his woman, he wouldn’t fucking hesitate. He’d kill the bastard. There was no way he was going to be able to live.

  With his men at his back, and Carlos and his men trailing behind him, Smokey tried to focus on finding his woman. On loving her. Never letting a moment pass him by when she didn’t know the truth.

  He gripped his handlebars, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. He was always in control. Right now, he felt close to exploding. He itched to kill Creed. To watch the life extinguish from him.

  As he rode hard, the time passed too fucking slow. He was already breaking speed limits, and as he got closer to his destination, his need to hurt Creed increased. He wanted to annihilate him. To watch him fucking burn.

  Ava’s sweet smile. Her kisses. The way she held him. It all flashed through his mind.

  He was coming for her.

  As he got near the warehouse, the smart thing to do would be to stop and sneak upon them. Smokey didn’t have time for that. He continued to drive past the part he would normally park to attack. He rode straight into the gates, pulling out his gun and firing at the single guard he saw waiting.

  One by one, his men joined him, as did the cars.

  Smokey didn’t wait.

  His woman was in that warehouse. She needed him.

  Holding his gun firmly in his hand, he shot at two men coming toward him.

  His brothers joined him as they advanced into the warehouse. More men wearing the Twisted Bastards insignia came forward.

  He fired. Some going for the head, others for the leg.

  Ava’s scream filled the air.

  Panic rushed through him as he advanced into the warehouse, aware of Carlos joining him. There were club men everywhere.

  Fire rushed through his shoulder as he took a bullet. He ignored the pain, firing.

  Trusting his men and Carlos to keep the bullets off his back, he charged forward and came to a stop where he saw Creed holding a gun to Ava’s head.

  She held her stomach and he spotted a bruise forming on her cheek.

  “Hello, Smokey.”

  “You should have left her alone.”

  “What kind of fun would that have been? You wouldn’t have come to claim her?” Creed licked her cheek and Ava screamed.

  The sound was full of pain.

  “Raven did provide me with some entertainment, but she was no match for my men.” Creed glanced toward Smokey’s left.

  He knew Raven was on the floor. He’d caught sight of the puddle of blood.

  Smokey didn’t know if she was dead or not, but Creed’s life had only minutes left to it.

  Creed leaned down. “He’s wondering if he can kill me. How you will see him if he kills me right here. Will you be able to love a killer, Ava? Or will you turn your back on him like everyone else in the world?”

  Ava turned to look at Creed. “I don’t care if he kills you.” She looked toward him. “He made me watch as Raven took each punch, each beating. He deserves to die.”

  That was all Smokey needed.

  Aiming at Creed’s head, he shot a single bullet, and it went straight through his head.

  Ava let out a cry, moving out of Creed’s hold.

  Carlos came forward as Ava screamed.

  Smokey watched as liquid fell between her thighs, coating the floor. He went to his woman.

  “The baby’s coming, Smokey.” She sobbed.

  “I’ve got you.”

  He glanced over at Carlos, who had picked up Raven.

  “She’s got a pulse, but it’s faint. I will take her to the hospital.”

  “If anything happens to her—” Smokey said.

  “Nothing will happen to her.”

  Smokey knew that sound. He knew what Carlos was thinking and feeling.

  “You don’t get to have her,” he said.

  Carlos didn’t say a word. He turned on his heel, and Smokey went to put that shit to right, but Ava screamed and he watched as she began to turn red.

  “Our baby’s coming. I’m not in the hospital and it’s coming.”

  “We need to get her to the hospital,” Ugly Beast said.

  Ava chose that moment to scream again. He grabbed her hands as she spread her legs.

  “Check,” Smokey said.

  “Dude, I’m not checking.”

  “I need to know if I can get her to the hospital. You’re the only one who knows what you’re looking for.”

  “Dude, that requires me looking at your woman’s … parts.”

  “Do it,” Smokey yelled as his woman screamed some more.

  Ugly Beast looked like he wanted to kill him.

  He did as asked.

  Ugly Beast lifted up Ava’s skirt and quickly pushed it down. “Oh, yeah, that baby is coming.”

  Ava shook her head. “No. No. No. No. It can’t come here. There’s so much blood. I watched Raven fight for me.” She sobbed. “I never got to tell her that I forgive her. I saw what they did, Smokey.”

  “Raven is going to be okay. What we’ve got to do now is focus on you.”

  Kinky, Hunter, Brick, Elijah, and Demon were there.

  “Let’s get this out of the way.” He pointed at the body behind him as he removed his leather cut. “You’re not going to make it to the hospital, but we’ll take you there as soon as we can.” He looked at Ugly Beast. “You’re going to help deliver.”

  “What? Fuck no. I don’t know how to do that shit.”

  Smokey was already taking out his cell phone, dialing Ava’s doctor.

  “It hurts. I need to push.”

  The doctor answered, and Smokey quickly brought him up to speed.

  “You need to bring her into the hospital.”

  “Not happening. She’s having this baby right here. Right now. We’ll bring her to you as soon as it’s safe for us to move her.”

  Ava chose that moment to scream.

  The next few minutes were the most su
rreal of Smokey’s life. With the doctor instructing, Ugly Beast helped them to give birth to his son.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “It’s good to see you awake,” Ava said.

  Raven groaned. “Thanks.”

  The woman looked so damn small in the hospital bed.

  “Can you ask Smokey when I get out of here? I can’t stand hospitals.”

  “I know.” Ava wanted to get closer. “Thank you.”

  Raven opened the one eye that wasn’t badly swollen. “For what?”

  “For protecting me and Umberto.”

  Raven groaned. “Umberto? Why the fuck would you call your kid that?”

  “Smokey told me it was important. Ugly Beast helped to bring him into the world. I don’t think he’d like the name Raven, but if I have a little girl, I’m going to call her that.” She smiled at the other woman. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I did.”

  “No, you really didn’t.” She got to her feet and moved a little close to the bed. Her son made a little moaning sound that caught at her heart. “I forgive you, Raven. Don’t ever put yourself in danger for me again.”

  “I care about you, Ava. It wasn’t out of guilt that I did what I did. You’re Smokey’s woman, and you’re one of my friends. I fucked up. I wasn’t a good friend.”

  “Then let’s agree from this day forward, what happened in that basement, stays in it. You and I, we’re good. We’re friends again.”

  Tears fell from Raven’s eyes, but the woman didn’t sob or show any other indication that she was crying. “I’d like that.”

  “Would you like to see him?”

  Raven nodded.

  Ava chuckled. “He’s such a big boy.”

  “I love kids,” Raven said.

  “I’ve seen the way you are with Bella. You’re good with kids.”

  “How’s Harlow?” Raven asked.

  “She’s fine. She lost a lot of blood, but the glass didn’t hit any major arteries,” Ava said. She’d already gone to see Harlow. The other woman was in good spirits. Her parents were angry, but Harlow wouldn’t hear a bad word said about her or the club. She was due to go home tomorrow. She was already talking about returning to work.

  The sound of a voice clearing had her turning to see Smokey standing in the doorway.

  “I’m sorry I failed you,” Raven said. “I will hand in my leather cut.”

  “Don’t talk so fucking stupid.” Smokey entered the room, coming to her side. “I’m not here to take your cut from you, Raven. I came to thank you.”

  “Thank me?”

  “I didn’t expect you to win being ambushed. You saved Ava and my son the best way you could. I’m not going to hold it against you, being taken. That could have happened to anyone.”

  “I tried so hard,” Raven said.

  Smokey went to take her hand, but one of them was crushed and the other had been broken.

  He put his hand gently on her cheek. “You did, and I’m so proud of you. Your place at the club will never be in question. The guys are all proud of you.”

  “Which one of you had to carry my ass out?” Raven asked.

  “That would have been me,” Carlos said.

  Ava turned to see Carlos. The other man’s arms were folded, and Smokey had told her who he was and what he did. In fact, over the past couple of days since giving birth in the warehouse, Smokey had shared a lot about the club. More than she thought he ever would.

  “Why are you here?” Smokey asked.

  “To see how she’s doing. She was in pretty bad shape.”

  “We can take care of our own,” Smokey said.

  Carlos smiled. “Until next time. I hope you continue to recover.”

  Ava looked at Carlos then at Raven.

  They didn’t leave until after Carlos, and Raven was exhausted. She passed Kinky who sat outside the door reading a book.

  He offered her a smile, and she returned it.

  Umberto was getting quite heavy in her arms. Smokey, seeing her struggling, took his son in one arm, holding him close, and with the other, he wrapped his arm around her waist.

  “What was that all about?” she asked, as they took the elevator.

  “What was what?”

  “You didn’t see that?” Ava asked.

  “What?”

  “The way Carlos looked at Raven?”

  Smokey shook his head.

  “You totally did see it. Don’t even deny it.”

  “I saw it, but it can never happen.”

  The elevator opened up and they stepped out, making their way toward the exit. Ava was already planning a gift basket to bring back to Raven. “Why not?”

  “Simple, Carlos is mafia. He has to marry a very sweet, virginal woman from his own kind.”

  Ava frowned and shook her head. “That doesn’t seem right.”

  “Right or not, that’s what has to happen. It’s their rules.”

  “Rules are stupid.”

  Smokey leaned into the car to put Umberto into the car seat. Ava climbed in to strap him in.

  Her breasts felt heavy, so he would be hungry soon.

  “Have I turned you into a rebel?” Smokey asked. “Since when does my woman think rules are stupid?”

  She laughed. “You know what I mean.” She shrugged. “They are.”

  “I don’t know if I like this new woman.”

  He cupped her cheek, running his thumb across her lip. “Marry me.”

  Ava gasped. “What?”

  “Marry me. I’m in love with you, Ava, and I believe you’re in love with me too. I want to have the world with you. I know I can’t offer you a normal life, but I can offer you one filled with lots of love. You’ll never want for anything.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  He wanted to marry her.

  He loved her.

  She loved him so much.

  “I don’t want anything else. I only want you. I love you. Yes.”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  She watched as he patted down his leather cut, then his jeans before holding out a ring.

  “You bought a ring?”

  “I’ve been wanting to ask you to marry me for some time.”

  This did surprise her.

  “I love you, Ava. I’ve been wanting to make you mine. The guys think I’m pussy-whipped. I tried to practice how to ask you to marry me.”

  She cupped his cheek, leaning over Umberto to kiss him. “This is perfect.”

  “I’ll never treat you like your ex did.”

  She laughed. “I should hope not.”

  He slid the ring onto her finger, and it was the perfect fit.

  Smokey couldn’t offer her normal or easy, but she didn’t want that. She’d fallen in love with the President of the Hell’s Bastards MC. She didn’t want any other kind of life.

  Epilogue

  Ava laughed at the scowl on Raven’s face. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail with a few strands falling around her face. The bruises had long gone, and she’d been doing some physical therapy for her leg and hand.

  Most of the damage had been healed with time, however, Raven had also been living with Abriana, and that woman had bought her dresses. It was why they were at the Fort Clover summer picnic, and she looked like she wanted to commit murder.

  Ava sat with Umberto resting against her stomach. She lay on her side, watching her friend. Harlow had already made her excuses to leave. Raven’s bad mood had gotten to her, and she’d headed off somewhere.

  “You find this funny?”

  “Who wouldn’t?”

  Ava ran fingers through her hair. It had started to grow out again. She had thought about having it cut, but Smokey loved the length.

  Speaking of her husband, she glanced over to see him talking with Carlos. The mafia man seemed to be spending a lot more time in town, which pissed Smokey off.

  Raven didn’t look tow
ard him, and Ava wondered if the other woman even realized she had an admirer.

  Smokey shook Carlos’s hand and then made his way to their picnic mat. He sat next to Ava’s head and she rested on his thigh.

  He stroked his fingers through her hair.

  “You’re looking pretty, Raven.”

  She glared at Smokey, got to her feet, and stormed off.

  “You did that on purpose?”

  “What? I said just the right thing that would piss her off and make her walk off? I didn’t mean to.”

  “You’re lying.” Ava sat up, putting a hand on Umberto’s stomach.

  Smokey reached out, stroking his son’s head.

  The club surrounded them, and she felt at peace just by being near them. In the last few months, she’d gotten over her anxiety when it came to stepping foot into the club. She spent a great deal of time there.

  The memories, no matter how painful, were all in the past, and she was determined to move on.

  Raven struggled.

  Smokey had told her many times how she woke up the clubhouse screaming. Sometimes, Ava was there and she’d go to her, offering her comfort.

  “What were you and Carlos talking about?” Ava asked.

  “He’s purchased a house in town.”

  “He has?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you’re happy with that?”

  “I’m not happy with any of it. I don’t want him near Raven nor in town. One problem at a time.”

  “Have you heard who has replaced Creed?” she asked. That name left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  “No. They’re still arguing for leadership. I’ll deal with whatever comes. You know me. No more talk of shop or business.” He pulled her close, resting his face against her neck. “Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?”

  “I thought we couldn’t go.”

  “I’ve already organized it. Hunter can handle things. If things fuck up, I’m a phone call away. Harlow can handle everything at the bakery. I want to take you and Umberto somewhere.”

  Ava smiled as she glanced behind her. “I only ever want to be where you are. You pick a place, and I know I’ll love it.”

  Smokey gripped the back of her neck and slammed his lips down on hers.

  She had finally found what she’d longed for.