Saving You Losing Me

Chapter 50

CHAPTER 50

ATOM

T he guys think I’ve lost my mind and only my closest friends understand how much this day means to me. To the others, Clara arrived a few days ago and now I’m marrying the enemy’s wife.

They don’t realize the depth of our history, but they know not to voice their concerns with me. I make the rules in The Darkside and what they think matters shit.

Somehow Candy worked a miracle and has transformed the clubhouse. There are flowers everywhere in the bar, which has cleaned up perfectly and I almost don’t recognize the place.

It’s not the best wedding venue and Clara deserves way more than this, but as time is the enemy we have no other choice.

In The Darkside we are protected. Emilio won’t have a clue about our marriage and Clara will be my wife before I break the happy news that his stay in town is over and it’s time for him to leave.

Time is of the essence and so I stand in my smartest pair of jeans and my favorite t-shirt, alongside my battered jacket with the president’s patch on the sleeve. Not the finest wedding attire, but my preferred option.

I have never pretended to be anything else with Clara. First the derelict house and now the shotgun wedding. This is me. This is us and she isn’t the kind of girl who wants the finer things in life over ones concerning the heart.

Razor stands beside me, the minister watching my men warily, probably wondering how the hell he ended up here. Not many people have the balls to refuse a visit from Razor and he was instructed to gather the necessary documentation in the few short hours he had.

The marriage will be as legally binding as possible to run Emilio out of town and when the dust settles, I’ll give Clara the wedding she deserves.

A gentle hush fills the air as the door opens and from somewhere soft music plays into the bar and everyone turns toward the back of the room.

My heart is racing as I prepare for something that’s been a long time coming and as I slowly turn, I smile at the two pretty girls solemnly walking inside, throwing petals from two small white baskets. They are wearing pink dresses and have huge smiles on their faces and as I catch their attention, I wink, causing them to giggle.

Candy follows them and offers me a sweet smile and she pulls them beside her as they stand to one side and my heart pounds as I turn to see my bride for the first time.

Clara walks into the room like an angel. My dark angel. The only woman I have ever loved. She is wearing a white dress that hangs just below her knees. Her glorious figure filling it in all the right places, her hands clutching a bouquet of beautiful pink roses.

I can’t tear my gaze away as she walks toward me, straight-backed and alone. Her eyes are fixed firmly on me and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

As she reaches me, I step forward and ignoring the onlookers, take her hand and pull her close, leaning down and whispering huskily in her ear, “You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen and I can’t wait to call you my old lady.”

Her eyes shine as she steps back and turns to the minister, who clears his throat and begins the proceedings. We ordered the shortened version and I’m glad about that now because Clara can’t become mine soon enough for me. This ceremony is merely a legality because, in my eyes, she has always been mine.

As we repeat our vows, I mean every word I speak and as I slip my ring onto Clara’s finger, I whisper, “We’ll get you a proper one soon.”

“It’s perfect,” she says with a broad smile and grasps my hand tightly as the minister finishes the service.

Then he declares us husband and wife and I waste no time in kissing her deeply, oblivious to anyone in the room.

Our first touch as husband and wife is a long time coming and as I kiss her in front of my club and our new family, I have never been so happy in my life.

Two hours later and our celebrations are over. It was short, sweet, and quick for a reason. This was a formality, a business deal if you like, and when I marry Clara for real, it will be a very different experience.

We head back to Clara’s apartment and the girls are still high on adrenalin.

“Do we call you daddy now?”

Sophia asks innocently and Maria regards me with a soft smile.

My heart tugs inside me because the thought of that animal who had the pleasure of creating them anywhere near them causes a pain in my heart I never saw coming. Just thinking of what could have been in their future steals my breath and I say carefully, “If you prefer, you can call me Atom. The decision is yours.”

Sophia shrugs. “Well, I’m calling you daddy because you are now.”

Maria nods. “Me too.”

Clara’s gaze catches mine and she smiles as the girls head off to change their clothes. She wraps her arms around me and whispers, “The resilience of youth. Life is so clear cut when you don’t realize the pain of it.”

“Not anymore.” I make her a promise I will honor to my dying day.

“You and the girls are safe here and always will be. I am not Michael Santobello and never will be.”

“Thank God.” She presses her lips against mine and I pull her in closer and kiss her like a man kisses his woman. Possessive, desperate and loving,mixed with lust and promises of a bright future.

Her eyes sparkle when I pull away and she groans. “I wish–”

I place my finger on her lips. “We have forever, darlin’. I won’t be long.”

She nods, anxiety replacing the happiness from earlier but also realizing this is the last tick off the list, enabling us to crumple the past into a ball and toss it into oblivion, while we reach for a fresh piece of paper and script a new one.

I meet the guys out the front and they wear their bandanas covering their faces.

We are going to war.

They accept that and are up for it. It’s been a long time coming and has taken one brave woman to slay the beast and capture another one.

I am her beast and my claws are sharp and as my trusty blade and gun nestle against my side, I prepare myself to clean up the vermin and prepare to live life how I always imagined it.

We head straight to the lion’s den. The place Emilio rented as soon as he realized Michael was dead. There must be forty of us riding today, patched members and prospects who are hoping to earn their patch. We are a force of reckoning with retribution fueling our mission.

We graze the perimeter of the building and Razor fires a few shots into the air, causing the lights to flood the lot and men to pour from the exits.

I call out. “Emilio D’Angelo.”

A loud voice shouts, “Hold your fire!”

As he ventures into the light, he is covered by his men, and I take that as my cue to shift off my bike and head across to meet him.

We face off like two generals in the middle of mayhem, and his cunning smile has my trigger finger itching.

“Well, well, I’m honored.” He laughs softly. “I heard you preferred to hide from trouble by drinking yourself into oblivion after Michael stole your woman.”

He shakes his head. “It’s a shame I’m about to do the same. Where is she?”

“Not coming.”

His expression turns to anger.

“You know the price.”

“Do you?”

I stand with my legs apart and my fists clenched as I throw a dark warning into my voice.

“Today, Clara married me. She is taken.”

The blood drains from his face as he struggles to keep up and I say casually, “Her businesses are now mine. Her daughters are now mine. She is now mine. There is nothing left for you here because if you step foot in any one of my premises and even ask for small change, it will be the last thing you do. Do I make myself clear?”

Emilio snarls, “You think I’m scared of you, a small town MC club with a drunk for a president? Michael always considered you an easy target. It’s why he chose to ruin you in the first place. He always said you were unable to compete with him and apparently, only you believe you can.”

He waves to his men. “One word from me and you’re dead. That’s the power I hold. Your slip of a marriage contract will be burned along with your precious clubhouse unless you bring me Clara and annul your sham of a marriage. You have two hours.”

I call out loud so his men can hear.

“You have no power here, Emilio. Michael pulled your strings and everyone knew it. Without money from the businesses, you have nothing. I will always have vacancies for any of your men who want to stay in town and work for me, but I must insist that you pack your fucking bags and leave on the next bus out of here, otherwise you leave in a box.”

“Are you seriously threatening me?”

Emilio laughs out loud. “You’re a fucking joke, Atom, and you always have been.”

As he says the words, a loud explosion rocks the sky and as I dive to the ground, Emilio yells, “What the fuck?”

Chaos erupts around me as his men yell and when the explosion stills, I glance up at the pile of ash that was once Emilio’s warehouse.

“What the fuck is happening?” Emilio is shouting and yet nobody replies, staring at him in horror as he rounds on his men.

“Who did this? Who is responsible for torching the place?”

He turns to me. “It was you.”

He reaches for his gun but I’m faster and as the shot fires, he screams as he collapses to the ground.

I shoot again and this time he roars in agony and I shout, “There will be no killing, not anymore. Call an ambulance and anyone who wants to remain in town under new leadership, report to The Darkside in the morning. It’s business as usual with a different boss. This one is done here.”

I turn away, leaving Emilio squealing on the ground and as I sit astride my bike, I take a deep breath.

Life will change around here for the better. Clara’s businesses will no longer be breeding grounds for corruption and devastation and we will make certain no other fucker attempts to pick up where Emilio and Michael failed.

It’s over.