Chapter Thirteen
Petal was alive.
Kim was alive.
Warden had released the ties around his wife’s wrist and then turned to Petal. Dirty watched as she was freed, and expected Petal to hug Warden. Instead, she went to Kim, threw her arms around the older woman, and began to apologize.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Dirty frowned and looked toward Myth.
Raine had already been taken care of. The little whore had found Predator and several of the Evil Fuckers MC, and she admitted to feeding them the information they needed. The location of the drives and the directions they were taking. She didn’t like that Rosalie and Colt were together and that Rosalie was pregnant with Colt’s baby.
There was a lot of jealousy, but this didn’t look good for Petal.
“I didn’t mean a word of it, I swear. Okay, there is nothing going on between Warden and me, it was all, I don’t know, I wanted to confuse him.”
Dirty was confused.
Kim smiled and then cupped the other woman’s face. “I know.”
“You know?”
Petal asked.
“Petal, honey, I know my husband, and I know he is not stupid enough to step out on me. He has me, and that is more than enough for him.”
Warden laughed. “Do I want to know what is going on here?”
Kim sighed. “He was going to kill me. He had a gun pointed at my head, and he wanted to send a message to you with my body. Petal decided to start laughing, which distracted him. Then she proceeded to tell the Evil Fuckers MC that you and her were having an affair.”
Petal’s face was bright red, but Dirty had a feeling it might have been because she got hit in the face as well.
“I panicked. He was going to kill you, and we all know that would not go well. The club would not accept it. We all know they would end up doing something stupid, and you’re Colt’s mom, and Rosalie can’t afford to lose another mom. I won’t let that happen.”
Dirty didn’t like this.
“And you think she could lose a best friend?”
Kim asked.
Petal opened and closed her mouth. “She’d recover if she had you and everyone else.”
“No,”
Colt said. “Rosalie would never recover. She’s at the clubhouse right now, feeling guilty that she didn’t stop you.”
“I told her to leave. She had to be safe to have that precious baby.”
Dirty hated this, but then he saw Colt go up to Petal and do something he didn’t think the other man was capable of. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “Rosalie wouldn’t survive. She loves you, Petal. I appreciate you trying to save my mom, but your death would have been equally mourned.”
Kim went to Petal and nudged Warden close, and then he saw Myth going in for a hug as well. Dirty didn’t hug her.
Several of the guys had already gone off to chase Predator and the others. Raine had told them it was Predator running the show. Fritz had gotten the details on Predator and the man had purchased this house several years ago. He’d paid too much money for it, thinking it was going to be a good investment, and instead it had turned into a nightmare.
From what Fritz could tell, Predator had purchased the house without going to view it. He figured it was already a house in good shape, and he hadn’t read the fine print that the property needed a shit ton of work. It would seem Predator wasn’t quite so clever, and this told them that someone else was running the show.
Fritz being Fritz, had found the missing club brother, Arnold. He was not known for sticking around, and he tended to travel, only making short stops at the clubhouse. He’d been found at a rundown motel, his cock severed from his body, stabbed, shot, and stripped. His leather cut had been missing, and the only reason they’d been able to identify him was because he had their insignia inked on his back. It was a bad way to go. According to reports, he’d been awake when they took his dick.
Warden was already in the process of claiming the body. They had lost one of their own, and they hadn’t even known about it. It was bad news.
The group pulled away and he watched as Petal, still not crying, nodded, forcing a smile to her lips.
“I hate to be the one to break this … good feeling, but can we please get the hell out of here, because this place is starting to freak me the fuck out?”
She wrapped her arms around her body.
Warden started barking orders for several men to look around. Kim moved to Warden’s bike, ready to ride out of there.
Petal moved to his side and Dirty looked at her.
He was a little taken aback that she had come to him. “Take me home?”
“Don’t you want to see Rosalie?”
“Not like this. I need to get changed.”
Dirty glanced past Petal to see Myth looking at him, clearly waiting for him to fuck this up. He removed his leather cut and told her to put it on. Petal didn’t argue with him. She slid her hands into his leather cut and then climbed onto the back of his bike.
Her hands moved around his waist, and he waited for Warden, who climbed on his bike, waited for Kim to get settled, and then they were back on the road.
They had been lucky today. Petal and Kim were alive. Fritz had worked quickly, but then, he didn’t have a choice. Time had been of the essence and everyone had been waiting for the news.
Now, it was time for payback. Fritz had been able to look through old security footage at the Satan’s Death Riders MC, as well as the church, and they were getting images of the members, along with names. It wouldn’t be long before they had all the names of the Evil Fuckers MC and could rid the world of them for good.
Riding behind Warden, they headed back to the clubhouse. Petal didn’t loosen her hold, not once, and he couldn’t help but love that. It wasn’t long before they made it to the clubhouse, but he continued riding, taking her back home to where she wanted to go. No one followed or stopped him.
Riding back to her place, he parked his bike and turned off the engine. Without a word, Petal got off the bike and then rushed to her house. He watched her go, seeing her movements be quite jerky, and he knew something was wrong.
Climbing off, he took his keys out of the ignition and followed her through that door, and he slammed it behind him.
Petal spun around to look at him, and he saw the tears in her eyes. They hadn’t fallen yet.
“Don’t ever … do that again.”
“Do what?”
“Put yourself in the firing line.”
“He was going to kill us anyway.”
“Then you should have come up with a better plan, rather than claiming to be Warden’s whore and guaranteeing you were going to get fucking shot.”
“I didn’t know what to do, and I was thinking about Rosalie and what she needed.”
“Rosalie needs her best friend.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do. This is not your decision so stop being an asshole. None of this is your business.”
Dirty took a step toward her. “What happens to you, matters to me.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right? Is that guilt, is that it?”
“You don’t get it and you don’t want to get it. That’s fine, but just so you know, if anything happens to you, you’d be missed. There would be people who wouldn’t be able to think straight for knowing they had failed.”
“Oh, yeah, who?”
she asked, moving to take a step toward him, then another.
Silence met her question and Dirty stared at her, knowing he could either lie or tell her the truth.
“Me,”
Dirty said. “I would have failed. You were supposed to have fun. The girls’ night was supposed to help you, Kim, and Rosalie. A lot of bad shit had happened and that night wasn’t meant to end the way it did. And you trying to get yourself killed, I couldn’t live with that.”
“Stop it,”
Petal said.
“No, you are needed, Petal,”
he said, moving toward her.
She shook her head and he watched as the tear began to fall.
“You are wanted, Petal.”
“I said shut the fuck up.”
“And … you are loved.”
Dirty knew he was pushing and it might be too soon, and as Petal slapped him around the face, he accepted the burn. It wasn’t a hard slap, but it stung nonetheless.
She pulled back and put her hands to her mouth, and that was when he saw the tears truly fall. He knew she didn’t mean to hit him.
“You are loved,”
Dirty said.
She shook her head.
“By Rosalie, by Kim, by the club, by Myth, even by Colt, and by me.”
She covered her face and began to sob. Dirty didn’t hesitate in pulling her into his arms, and he held her. The weeping shook her whole body and he refused to let her go.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
Petal didn’t hold him back, at least not at first, but then she slid her arms around him and held on tightly. He finally had her and he wasn’t going to let her go.
Dirty tightened his arms around her as she lost control.
****
With jeans and a shirt, Petal felt a little more herself than when she was wearing the black dress for girls’ night.
Dirty pulled into the Satan’s Death Riders MC parking lot, and as she climbed off the bike, she turned to him about to say something, and then her name was called.
She turned to see Rosalie had come out of the main clubhouse and was already rushing toward her. Petal stopped talking to Dirty and instead took off. She had made her friend wait long enough, and they pretty much crashed against each other, holding on tightly.
“Are you okay?”
Rosalie asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m all good.”
Rosalie pulled away. “Someone hit you. You’ve got a bruise forming. Have you seen it?”
Petal touched her cheek and winced. “Yeah, I’ve seen it, but it is kind of cool, don’t you think? It’s going to make me look like a badass?”
She winked at her friend.
Rosalie laughed. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. When you tell me to leave, you have to follow, it’s as simple as that. Leaving you behind wasn’t funny.”
“I know, and I’m sorry, but I needed you to get to safety.”
Petal hugged her friend tightly. “I don’t plan on being in any more kidnapping situations. Also, I think it is time I bought a gun and learned how to use it.”
Petal pursed her lips.
“I’ll teach you,”
Dirty said, coming close to them.
“What?”
Rosalie asked.
“If you want to learn how to fire a weapon, I’ll get you a gun. It won’t happen again.”
Petal sighed. “That would be so cool if I had a gun and they opened up the side of that truck, and I was, like, boom, and you’re dead.”
Rosalie laughed. “Come on, food is already waiting.”
“Food? I thought Kim cooked,”
Petal said.
She couldn’t help but glance over at Dirty. Back at her home, she had lost control. She couldn’t believe she had hit him, but his words had hurt just a little. Telling her he loved her, after everything they had been through, seemed a little … cruel to her.
Looking away, she followed Rosalie inside to where the club were sitting, eating and enjoying pizza. There was a large pile of pizzas, and Rosalie reached between the men, grabbed a plate, and stole a couple of slices.
Petal took a bite of that slice to find it tasted so damn good. She didn’t even realize how hungry she was. Within a few bites she’d finished one pizza and reached for a second.
“Is it true?”
Rosalie asked.
They found Colt, and Rosalie slid against him. Colt stopped eating to put his arm around Rosalie and kiss her cheek. The two had certainly become a happy couple. Petal was so happy for the two of them.
“Is what true?”
“You tried to convince them that you and Warden were … dating?”
“I tried to convince them that Warden and I were having sex.”
She wrinkled her nose. “They had a gun pointed at Kim. They were going to kill her, and I gave us more time.”
She looked toward Kim but didn’t see her. “I didn’t upset your mom, did I?”
Colt laughed.
“Not at all. My parents are like this. After what happened, they need some time alone.”
Petal nodded. “Your mom is amazing, I mean, she didn’t break, not once. She was so strong, so powerful. Even when he put the gun to her head, she didn’t flinch.”
“My mom has always been a tough cookie. Dad always said it was her strength he fell for, and of course her beauty.”
“I think I fell in love with her a little today.”
“How are you doing?”
Rosalie asked, reaching across the table and taking her hand. “You were willing to sacrifice your life for Kim. That’s not funny.”
“It’s scary,”
Petal said. “But Kim is needed.”
“You’re needed, you stupid … ugh, don’t, okay?”
Rosalie said, and Petal saw the tears in her best friend’s eyes.
“Rose, babe, please don’t cry. I am trying to act all tough here, and you are going to make me cry.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,”
Rosalie said. “I love you. You’re my best friend and you’re like a sister to me, and I don’t … don’t die on me and don’t go doing anything stupid. Do you hear me?”
Petal reached across the table and held onto her friend, not wanting to let her go, trying to let her know she was not going to do anything stupid. She did what she thought she could to help Kim. Seeing her friend right now, she knew it was the wrong choice.
She glanced across the clubhouse and caught sight of Dirty. He was standing in the corner, beer in hand, watching her.
He’d said that he loved her. Was it wrong of her to trust it? Did she trust it?
This was not a day for making decisions. This was a day for eating and being thankful she was alive.
****
“Did you believe her?”
Warden asked.
Kim smiled up at her husband. They were already naked, and he’d already been inside her. “No. I had to stop myself from laughing. I nearly laughed so hard.”
Warden smiled down at her. His woman was beautiful. “You know, I’ve never looked at another woman, not since I saw you.”
“Well, that’s because you know any other woman would get my foot up her ass if they even tried to take you away from me.”
She stroked his cheek, sliding her hand down to his chest.
There was no need for tears.
“I knew you would come for me.”
“If Petal didn’t say that shit, would you have made it?” he asked.
Kim opened her mouth and then closed it.
“You’d be dead?”
“We don’t know that. Okay, I’m alive, and I’m here with you. It’s all good. You don’t have to think like that.”
He shook his head and Kim cupped his face. “I’m here and I’m with you. He didn’t take me away. Petal stalled. Her lies stopped them from killing me because they did doubt it.”
“I’m so fucking glad they did.”
Kim laughed. “I didn’t think I would ever be thankful for another woman claiming to be fucking you. I mean, that’s insane, and yet she did and it gave you time.”
“I wasn’t going to rest until you were back in my arms.”
“Raine … what did you do?”
Kim asked.
“I took care of it. She won’t be causing any more trouble.”
He’d gotten all the information out of her. The woman may have bragged not to have a gag reflex, but she didn’t have any measurement for pain, and she certainly couldn’t handle any. Within seconds, she’d told them everything. Fritz had confirmed the details, and Warden had put a bullet in her head. Job done.
“How are you coping?”
Kim asked. “I know you don’t like killing women.”
“Babe, I’ve got no problem killing anyone who turns on the club and puts my wife in danger. They are all on the dead list.”