by Winters, KB
“She’s okay now, babe. And if she’s not, she will be. Stitch will make sure of it.” The kid had stepped up, big fucking time. Gone was the playful new Bastard we all loved, replaced by the serious, take no shit man who looked after his woman.
“There’s no being okay after that, Max. Trust me.” I wished there was some way I could erase the memory of what she’d gone through with her foster father. Better yet, I wished I could find that motherfucker and give him the ass kicking of a lifetime and leave him with his own personal scars.
“You know I do, baby. But don’t shut down on me, please. I need you and our boys need their ma. If you want, help Marisol. I have a feeling she’s gonna stick around for a while.”
Jana cast a glance at our boys, who’d finally played themselves into exhaustion, curled up together in the playpen. Asleep. “You’d never be able to tell what terrors they are when they’re sleeping,” she laughed.
“Just wait,” I told her, making her shiver with unease.
“If they’re half as bad as you and Golden Boy, I’m handing the reigns over to you, honey.” There was nothing I loved more when she pressed on my shoulders to lift her petite frame up and took the kiss she wanted.
“Mmm, reigns,” I moaned against her mouth, using my body to press hers against the counter and taking our kiss to the next level. It started slow and sweet, but then, her slick pink tongue slipped between my lips and cranked up the heat to about a thousand degrees. When her arms wrapped around my neck, I lifted her up and let myself get lost in the taste of her. Happy to see her fears didn’t leave a lasting damage.
Too soon, she pulled back. “Is this cartel shit over now, Max?”
I hoped to fucking hell that the answer was yes, but the truth was I really didn’t know. But the truth I couldn’t tell my wife was, I didn’t think this was over. Not yet, anyway. “Until we have a reason to think it isn’t, yeah babe, it’s over.”
Jana’s eyes searched my face for signs of deception because I promised I would never lie to her, not even to ease her mind. “But you don’t think it is?”
“It’s the cartel babe. They don’t usually give up easily but let’s not borrow any trouble, yeah?” Brushing a lingering kiss to her forehead, I held Jana close until her arms went around my waist and she relaxed against me. “I won’t ever let anything happen to you, baby.”
She nodded against my chest. “I know, and I love you for it. But I can’t stop thinking about Marisol. God, she must have been so terrified.” How could I not love this woman with every fucking fiber of my being? Instead of being angry at Marisol for bringing this trouble and potential danger to our doorstep, to our fucking family, she was worried about her. Afraid for her.
“I’ll check with Stitch and see how she’s doing, okay? Maybe you can go up there and see her yourself.” I knew it was the only thing that would make her feel better and allow her to get back to being the wife and mom our family needed her to be.
“I love you, Max.”
“Damn straight you do, babe. I love you more.” And that was the fucking truth.
Jana grabbed my shoulders and slid from the counter, those damn fine curves she hadn’t been able to lose since giving birth to Jameson pushed up against me and sent blood shooting straight to my cock. “That’s good to hear. Now back up so I can finish all of this,” she spread her hands around the kitchen, filled with all kinds of dishes from chicken and sausages, to mac & cheese, salad and a few dozen cookies.
“You know Thanksgiving isn’t for another week or so, right?” There was enough food to feed the entire club, the Reckless Bitches and the families for at least a few days.
Her sweet laugh echoed in the kitchen, causing Charlie to stir in his sleep. “I needed something to keep from going crazy and unfortunately, spread sheets weren’t getting the job done.” Between feeding everyone and tending to her clients, I didn’t know when she found time to sleep but she was the perfect wife. Able to hold shit down when I couldn’t and she never complained, just wrapped her arms around me happily when I returned. “And you were occupied.”
I growled against her neck and nibbled her ear. “I’ll get Lex to watch the boys and we can take an hour or so for ourselves.” After the past few weeks, that was exactly what I needed. An hour alone with my woman.
“Give me an hour and then I’m all yours, big guy.” Then Jana jumped up and wrapped her legs around my body, crashing her mouth against mine in a kiss so hot I would have taken her right there in the kitchen if not for the sleeping boys in the corner.
When she pulled back, I smacked her ass with a groan. “I’m gonna hold you to that, sweetheart.”
Chapter Twenty-Four - Gunnar
Goddamn it was good to be home. Not even when I left to take care of my mom and get custody of Maisie had I missed Mayhem as much as I did over the past few weeks. Being back now, though, I appreciated every little thing. From getting up at the ass crack of dawn because for some reason that was when tots liked to wake up, to trying to navigate breakfast with a fussy little tyrant whose blue eyes matched my own. “Gunny, more ‘cakes!”
If she wasn’t the most adorable damn kid on the planet I’d have fed her oatmeal with no butter or brown sugar. Instead, in my efforts to be the parent she deserved, I’d made pancakes. Blueberry pancakes, thank you very much. Brother of the fucking year. “We already had pancakes for breakfast, Maisie.”
I watched as she got comfortable on her perch at the top of the slide. She nibbled her bottom lip in concentration as she prepared to launch herself from the top. She was an outside baby, preferring to be out in the sun and playing in the dirt than doing anything indoors.
Finally, she launched herself down the plastic incline, giggling loudly as she picked up speed and flew right into my arms. “More ‘cakes Gunny!” She smacked a loud kiss to my cheek before wiggling out of my arms and running around to repeat the steps all over again. And again.
And again.
The energy she had was astounding. Hell, the truth was, I envied that level of energy. Compared to her, I felt like an old man, constantly dragging ass while she darted around full of life and excitement. But this was parenting so I stood my ass at the foot of the slide and caught her at least a dozen more times. “No more pancakes,” I told her, using the sternest voice I was capable of with her, which wasn’t nearly as stern as it was with the rest of the world.
“Catch me, Gunny!” She pushed herself off the slide with as much power as her chubby little arms would allow and came flying at me, right into my waiting arms.
“Love you, mwah,” she said as she pressed a kiss to my cheek to accompany the sound.
“Love you too, squirt.” Having kids was never something that I’d thought would be my life. I didn’t have a good example and given my life with the Reckless Bastards, I just didn’t think it was possible. But meeting Maisie had changed all that. I loved her from the moment she looked up at me with those big blue eyes that we both got from our mother. A protective instinct rose up in me, and when Ma asked me to give her a better life than she’d given me, I knew I would.
“Push, Gunny?” Her little mouth pursed into an adorable half-pout, half-smile as her eyes drifted to the swing set about twenty feet away from the slide.
I put her on the ground and Maisie took off, her chubby little legs encased in denim carried her to the row of five swings. “Wait for me, squirt.”
“Push high,” she instructed when I stopped in front of her and lifted her in the air to plop her in the swing seat. I was powerless against her smile but when I stood behind and pushed her higher and higher, the sound of her giggles wrapped me around her tiny little fingers. When she looked at me like I was some kind of hero, it only strengthened my resolve that I needed to find a way to keep her safe. To give her better than we ever got.
“Head up, Maisie.” She loved to lean back with wild abandon and even two tumbles out of the swing hadn’t cured her of it, even if both times had shaved a few years off my life.<
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“But the sky, Gunny! Sooo pretty!”
I swear, that sweet giggle would be the death of me. The sound of a car door slamming stole my attention and put me on immediate alert.
“Time to go inside.”
“But, Gunny—”
“We’ll come back later, squirt. I promise.” That shut her up quickly and I scooped her from the swing, and with her hanging from my hip, we marched in long-legged strides to the back door entrance of the clubhouse. “Ask Uncle Cross to come outside, okay?”
“Okay. Love you, Gunny!” It was her way of saying goodbye but this time she managed a wave while running on unsteady legs and that little move pulled another smile from me.
When I was sure she wouldn’t sneak out for more time on the swings, I turned to the woman who now leaned against a sleek black Tesla SUV that looked like it came from outer fucking space.
She was curvy as fuck with honey brown skin that said she was mixed race or maybe Latina. Confidence oozed from her in painted on blue jeans and a white t-shirt that hugged big round tits and a slender waist, but her wild burgundy curls said she was a force to be reckoned with. My cock twitched to life, surprising the fuck outta me since I hadn’t been with a woman since a few random hookups after my mom had passed. It had been so long I almost didn’t recognize the sensation.
But just as quickly as my cock sprang to life, so did my unease. Strangers didn’t just show up at the compound and definitely not through the back gate when it was locked. Oversized sun glasses shielded her eyes but I could tell they were trained on me by the way her pouty red mouth curved into a smile. And because I felt her gaze as it raked over my body. “Can I help you?” Dammit, I sounded gruff as fuck, as usual, but I didn’t know this chick or who’d sent her. No matter how fuckin’ hot she was.
“Maybe, but right now I have more important matters to deal with.” My darkest scowl didn’t even faze her, her own smile just grew wider.
“Look lady, I don’t have time for your fucking games. Why are you here and how the hell did you get in?”
One brow cocked high above her sunglasses and then she removed them, revealing amber eyes that were so light she looked otherworldly, or some shit. “I’m here—” she began but her words cut off at the sound of the door smacking open behind me.
“Holy shit, Peaches, you’re here! And you look damn good, girl.”
Vivi. I should have fucking known. This woman, no matter how talented, was the walking, talking definition of trouble. Chaos. The woman, Peaches, smiled even brighter. “Same girl, love agrees with you. And I’m diggin’ the pink hair!”
Before her words were even out of her mouth, Vivi brushed past me at a run, stopping in front of the curvy beauty and wrapping her skinny arms around her in a tight hug. “You said you might be able to fly in a few days from now or else I would’ve picked you up from the airport.”
Peaches threw her head back and laughed, showing off a freckle right over the pulse of her neck. “My new ride came in the day we spoke and I figured this was the perfect trip to test it out. What do you think?” She stepped back and I watched them both in wide-eyed fascination as Vivi circled the car, brushing a finger along it reverently.
I’d never seen women get so enthralled by a car. It was kind of a fucking turn-on. “Damn this thing is sweet as fuck, Peaches. Business must be good.”
“Damn good,” she replied with a shrug. “Anyway I didn’t think it was a good idea to catch a commercial flight with all the sketchy shit I got with me so, here I am.” Peaches ran a hand through her hair, fluffing her curls as she took in her surroundings with the keen eyes of someone who was used to trouble. It made me curious about her story.
“Sketchy shit, I’m intrigued.” Vivi smiled and looked at her friend and it was the softest I’d ever seen her. I could see why Jag had fallen for her.
“You will be,” Peaches promised and squinted her eyes in my direction, licking her lips. “Hey, Big Sexy, think you can use those muscles to help me with something?”
Fuck yeah, but…Big Sexy? “I’m not a valet.”
“Good,” she said and rolled her eyes, “because I’m not offering a tip.” She waited a beat but instead of pouting or begging, she turned and lifted the badass bat wing side door of the SUV and bent over, giving me a long and satisfying glimpse of her heart-shaped ass. She heaved out a suitcase with a loud grunt. With a casual kick, she tilted the box on its wheels and smiled at Vivi. “Anywhere we can have some privacy?”
“Yeah. Our camper is over here because lockdown is still in full effect. You can meet Jag later, for now just follow me.”
Peaches fell in step beside her after she closed the batwing door, and they talked and laughed loudly as they crossed the parking lot toward the camper. She stopped when Maisie shot out the door and stepped in front of them. “Hey cutie, who do you belong to?”
Maisie grinned and pointed my way. “Gunny!”
Peaches looked over her shoulder at me, giving me another long up and down look that she punctuated with a wink. “Lucky girl.”
“I like your hair,” the little girl said as she pointed to the wild curls.
“I like yours too,” she offered, twirling a finger around one of her curly pigtails.
Vivi knelt down in front of Maisie, who hugged her with all her might. “This is my friend Peaches. Peaches meet Maisie, Gunny’s kid sister.”
Peaches held her hand out until Maisie took it. “Nice to meetcha, Maisie.”
My little sister giggled when Peaches shook her hand like she was an adult. “Nice to meetcha too, Peaches. That’s a funny name.”
“It’s because I’m so sweet,” she shot back with a smile that made the little girl laugh even harder.
“You’re funny. Wanna play?”
She looked at me and then back to Maisie. “Maybe later, kiddo. I’ve been driving for a long time and I need a nap.”
“Grown-ups don’t have to take naps,” she accused.
“No, but why wouldn’t you want to curl up in bed in the middle of the day?” With that thought she gave her pigtail a gentle tug and kicked her box back on its wheels. “Don’t forget about our playdate later, okay”
Vivi whispered in Maisie’s ear and sent her running to me while she herded Peaches into her camper just as Jag came out and laid a hand on my shoulder. “I see you met Peaches.”
“Yeah,” I grunted.
“She’s funny,” Maisie said to Jag, arms raised in the universal sign for pick me up.
Jag picked her up and blew a raspberry on her cheek. “Jana’s finally done cooking, who’s hungry?”
“Me!” Maisie clapped her hands excitedly and gestured for me to join her and Jag.
Food. That was music to my fucking ears.
Chapter Twenty-Five - Stitch
“We got breakfast burritos, spicy home fries with Jana’s delicious salsa and a few pastries that Mandy whipped up before work.” I said as I brought in a tray of food.
How in the hell Jana found the energy to cook all this food every day for the past few days, I’d never know. But I was grateful that she had because the kitchenette in the club’s apartment Cross had been living in until about six months ago when he moved in with Moon, was bare. That and I was shit in the kitchen beyond grilled cheese and SpaghettiOs.
Marisol’s brown eyes widened in surprise but that haunted look still lingered there. “I hope no one went through all this trouble on my behalf.” Her voice was soft and quiet, almost timid in a way I’d never heard from her.
“What, like you’re not worth it?” I shook my head, ignoring the sad look in her eyes that was like a kick to the fucking nuts. “Jana has been stressed and to deal, she’s been cooking up a storm for the past couple days. This is what she does when she’s stressed.”
Her lips twitched in a smile, but the old Marisol still hadn’t emerged. Not after spending a few hours with Jana, who got her cleaned and changed after spending over a week with that fucking tiny psychopath. “T
hat’s kind of her. And you. Thanks, Stitch.”
“None necessary, babe. Just dig into this feast before I eat it all and ruin my figure.” That pulled another small smile from her but it was a small flicker compared to the woman I’d met six months ago. I appreciated that Cross had given us his old place during the lockdown because Marisol was too traumatized, too broken right now to mix in with the chaos of the MC. We’d been up here for going on four days, the first two of which were spent mostly in total silence because Marisol refused to speak.
Even now, when she did speak it was so damn soft I could barely hear her. Or worse, it was shaky as though she was on the verge of tears. She still refused to talk to me about what had happened during that week when we were apart but I’d somehow found a reserve of patience for her. I wouldn’t push hard but I would still push.
She got up quietly and I groaned at the sight of her, fully dressed. Marisol had gone out of her way to hide her body from me over the past few days which only heightened my suspicions about what that fucktard had done to her. She must’ve gotten dressed while I was out getting food from downstairs, dammit.
“Thank you,” she whispered again when got settled at the small kitchen table. At first she ate hesitantly, like she was waiting for something bad to happen, which only made me more curious to know what that bastard had done to her.
I was happy to see her appetite return as she tucked into half of a big ass steak and egg burrito, pouring a healthy serving of Jana’s habanero salsa over the top of it. “Damn girl, I love to watch you eat.”
“Stitch,” she said with that faint hint of annoyance blended with affection.
“What? I’ve missed you Marisol and now that you’re eating again, it reminds me how much I love your appetite.” All of her appetites but I didn’t want to go there. It was too soon. “Are you ready to talk?”
