Chapter Six
“I can offer you wine,”
Rosalie said.
“You’re not drinking wine and come on, you and I both know we’re not really beer or wine drinkers.”
Petal put her hands on the kitchen counter. Colt had a nice place, and she already saw Rosalie’s feminine touches.
Rosalie had told her a few months ago that she was only going to stay the night at Colt’s, and well, she had never returned to their home. Not that Petal blamed her. She, herself, hadn’t changed a thing about Gabrielle’s room. Although Rosalie had gone through her things, the room remained the same.
“True. I don’t know, hot chocolate seems kind of lame for our first girly night in what feels like forever.”
“I need hot chocolate,”
Petal said.
Rosalie laughed. “You look like you could use a couple of hundred mugs. You’ve lost way too much weight.”
She waved her hand in the air. “It’s fine. I’ll get them right back. With everything going on, food is just … you know.”
“I get it, but can you still believe we’re managing the diner? Colt was telling me we’re considered a good investment.”
“I didn’t know that.”
The Satan’s Death Riders MC had bought the place, and given them the start-up money to make the changes needed and be able to function as a diner for the first couple of months while they found their feet. It wouldn’t be long before they would have to consider hiring a new waitress.
Burto was more than capable in the kitchen, and they were doing okay with just the three of them. But Petal knew it would only be a matter of time before they were stretched too thin, especially as Rosalie was now pregnant. She wasn’t going to be able to be on her feet for long hours.
“Yeah, it would seem everything was going wrong, and now things are going great. I’m kind of afraid to even think about it, you know?”
Rosalie said.
Everything was going great for her friend. Petal was just getting by, day after day. She was learning to live again, but Dirty kept making it hard.
“Yeah, it’s about time things went right. For a long time, I didn’t know if we were ever going to hear good news again.”
Rosalie finished making their hot chocolate and moved to the fridge, appearing with a can of cream. “Extra cream?”
“You’ve got it.”
The cream was swirled on top, and Rosalie held out her mug. She took a sip, and it was scalding hot but tasted good. She grabbed a paper towel because the extra cream was on her nose.
They made their way to the sitting room. Rosalie curled up on one end of the couch, and Petal took the other.
“So, how is married life treating you?”
Petal asked. “He better be good to you, otherwise I will make sure to castrate him the next time I see him. That is a guaranteed promise.”
Rosalie laughed. “Don’t, please don’t. Colt and I are making it work.”
“Making it work? You’re just a walking advertisement for married life, aren’t you?”
Another chuckle. “It’s good. I think I’m just afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Admitting how good it is.”
“Why?”
Rosalie sighed. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but whenever something is good, someone or something seems intent on taking it away from us. Haven’t you noticed that?”
Petal nodded. “Yeah, I have.”
“To say I am in love with Colt and that I’m happy, to say it out loud, it’s like the universe will take it away from me, and that terrifies me. I love my life.”
Petal reached out and grabbed Rosalie’s hand. “It wouldn’t dare take anything from you. I won’t let it.”
“I lost Mom,”
Rosalie said. “And I nearly lost you.”
She saw the tears shining in Rosalie’s eyes.
“What if I lose this baby?”
Rosalie asked.
“Stop,”
Petal said. Her whole body felt like it was being repeatedly stabbed. “You’ve got to stop thinking this way.”
“Something bad is going to happen.”
“No, it’s not. Bad stuff happens all the time, and it’s not your fault and it’s not even pointing at you. Bad stuff is just that—bad—and there is nothing we can do about it. You’re going to be a great mom. I mean, the jury is still out on Colt, because I still don’t like him.”
Rosalie laughed. “You’ve got to like him. He’s my husband.”
Petal wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have to like him, and until I know for sure he has your best interests at heart, I don’t like him.”
Her friend chuckled. “I have missed this. You and me.”
“I’ve missed it too.”
“We should do this more often.”
Petal smiled. “We should try. I don’t think your husband is too keen on sharing you with your best friend.”
“Tough. You and I are besties for life, forever. We promised, remember? We share everything together. You and me.”
And there was the guilt. Kim knew the truth. Myth knew some of what happened. She had not told Rosalie anything. Knowing that her friend was now in love with her husband, Petal was never going to tell her.
Rosalie didn’t need to know what happened. It was all in the past and the consequences disappeared the day Gabrielle died.
“Yeah, you and me,”
Petal said.
****
“Did it work?”
Kim asked, stepping into the bedroom to find her husband staring down at his cell phone.
“The run went without a hitch.”
She rubbed cream into her hands. “This is good news, right?”
From the frown on his face, she was starting to think it wasn’t good news.
“It’s good news.”
“But you’re not happy.”
Warden put his cell phone on the cabinet beside the bed. “Something is not right.”
“Maybe you’re just not used to the Evil Fuckers MC being around,” Kim said.
Warden shook his head. “It’s not that. We removed the bodies, and some of the men, I had never seen before, and those that I remember—and trust me, I remember them—weren’t there.”
“They might have gone.”
“No, they wouldn’t just disappear like this. Trust me.”
Warden ran his fingers through his hair. “I want you to be extra careful.”
Kim moved toward the bed and climbed behind her husband. “You’ve got to stop stressing. If there is a problem, we’re going to face it together, okay? I think this is all a good thing. We’re finally free. Rosalie is pregnant. The club is doing great. The threat is gone. We’re finally going to get what we wanted.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Stop overthinking everything.”
****
One month rolled into a second. Rosalie started to show, just a small bump, but it began to grow.
The club finally made the decision on what to do with the Evil Fuckers MC territory and were already starting the building work. They had decided on an apartment building, complete with a parking lot. They had no choice but to purchase more land, but the club had been doing good with its investments, so it was easy to find the funds.
Dirty tried to get close to Petal. He didn’t know how to make amends, and as he sat drinking at the bar, he watched Petal with Myth, Colt, and Rosalie.
It was Friday night. Another Friday in an endless supply of Fridays, and once again, Petal was at the clubhouse, completely ignoring him. Usually, he left, going to his room, so he didn’t have to watch Myth and Petal look so fucking happy together. They looked like a couple. He never saw them kiss or do anything but hang out.
Myth was not the kind of guy to hang out with a woman without getting something from it. They were fucking, he was sure of it. He just couldn’t fucking prove it, and it pissed him off.
After his sixth beer, he was done with the taste and slammed his hand on the counter, demanding a whiskey. Rooster gave him a frown, but he didn’t give a shit.
Petal wasn’t taking the hint that this was his fucking club, and it was time for her to leave. He’d done what she asked and left her alone. He didn’t eat at the diner, and he kept his distance when she visited Gabrielle’s grave. He behaved like the perfect little fucking puppy dog, and for what? For her to have fun, laughing and joking like it didn’t matter.
His anger reached a new level.
Rooster handed him the whiskey, and he took the bottle before he could even pour it into the glass. He wasn’t interested in small measures. He searched for the burn of the whiskey. He needed to forget Petal and her perfect pussy.
Glancing over at Colt, he even felt betrayed that one of his good friends was sitting with her. It was Colt’s fault. Colt and Rosalie’s fault. If it hadn’t been for Colt wanting to spend more time with Rosalie, he wouldn’t have had to seduce Petal. Fuck them all.
He tipped his head back and took several long drinks.
“Whoa, man, that is the strong stuff, and you’ve already cleared half a bottle.”
“Fuck off.”
That was what he said in his head, but he had a horrible feeling those words didn’t come out right.
He was done with this shit. Done with Petal playing the victim. She had wanted his cock when it suited her, and he wondered if Myth even knew that.
Getting to his feet, he kept hold of the bottle. He walked across the main clubhouse, and it seemed to take a little longer than he anticipated. His feet were not even working as they should. Still, he made his way over there and collapsed into the spare seat. Whatever conversation had been happening at the table went silent.
Dirty looked at Petal, and she stared right back at him for only a second. She quickly averted her gaze and he couldn’t help but sneer.
“Dirty, what’s up, man?”
Myth asked.
“Fuck you,”
Dirty said. “You’re not the boss of me, and just so you know, I have come over here to wish my friend and his woman congratulations. You did the job, man, you finally knocked her up. It’s about time you did your job,”
Dirty said, glaring at Rosalie.
“Dirty!”
Colt said his name, and it was firm.
He’d pissed off Colt, and from the tears in Rosalie’s eyes, he’d upset her.
Dirty pouted. “Sorry, did I say what everyone was thinking out loud? Are we not allowed to do that anymore? Bad, Dirty, bad.”
“I think you’ve had too much to drink,”
Myth said, reaching for his whiskey.
“Fucking leave it.”
He jerked the bottle right out of reach. “What is it with you, you want my sloppy seconds, and now you want my bottle of whiskey too?”
He heard the pained gasp and he knew that was Petal. It cut him through, but he didn’t stop. In the back of his mind, he was screaming at himself to shut the fuck up, but he just couldn’t seem to stop.
“You need to stop,”
Myth said.
“Tell me, Myth, is her pussy as tight for you as it was for me? Like old Colty boy here, I was a little surprised to find out she was a virgin, but one taste and she was begging for it.”
Dirty laughed.
The room had gone silent.
“Stop,”
Myth said.
“Oh, but you might want to take my advice and bag your dick. Unlike Rosalie here who takes fucking forever to get knocked up, it wasn’t the same for Petal, was it, babe? It’s a shame that bullet took out our baby, right? Or was it a fucking miracle?”
Dirty burst out laughing and Petal stood up from the table so fast that her seat fell back. She didn’t say anything. All she did was leave the clubhouse.
“Oh, come on, Petal, I was only sharing a little fun. Getting it all out in the open so—”
Everything went dark.