Chapter Twenty-Three
Falcon
When Diesel called church I was still wired from the events at the park.
My fists hurt from clenching so hard, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw those Russian bastards holding a gun to my head and to Viv’s heart while our son played a few feet away.
I wasn’t scared, not then because I knew Viv would protect our son if it came down to it.
I was scared now though. Scared because the kind of anger I was feeling was unlike anything I’d ever felt before.
It was more raw than the time I found Raven hanging out with older boys under a highway overpass.
It was more intense than the day I realized our folks weren’t coming back.
But unlike then, this anger was all-consuming.
Hours had passed and it was still simmering to the point of being uncontrollable.
“Are we really gonna just show the fuck up as if they hadn’t ambushed us last time?” Rebel crossed his arms, one brow raised, daring anyone to challenge him.
“No,” Diesel muttered. “We’re going but we’re not going in unprepared.” He settled back against the chair and sighed heavily. “Why the fuck does he want to meet now when he tried to snatch Falcon’s kid in broad fucking daylight?”
“Maybe he wants to make amends,” Gio answered with a smirk. “Or maybe the dude’s got a death wish.”
My hands balled into fists on top of the table while my brothers bantered back and forth.
“I hope they try some shit,” I growled. “Because I’d love nothing more than to put a bullet in each of Anton’s eyes and shove them down his goddamn throat.
” The room fell silent and I knew maybe I’d gone too far. It didn’t feel like enough.
Diesel held up his hands. “Well strap up and get there early, ready to talk but prepared to fight. One hour.” He gave a short nod and the room emptied out quickly, the brothers eager to say goodbye to their women just in case shit went bad.
This time, I was among those men eager to find my woman and I found Viv inside our room, pacing frantically while TJ napped in the middle of the bed. She stopped only when I closed the door behind me, taking in my expression. Her entire body went rigid. “You’re leaving.”
I nodded, slowly crossing the room because I needed to touch her. To feel her. To let the softness of her skin calm the raging beast inside of me. “Yeah.”
“Can you tell me anything?” she asked, her tone reined in with a hint of desperation.
“Anton Petrov called a meeting. No fucking clue what about but after today I don’t really give a fuck.
” I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t react emotionally when I saw his stupid fucking Russian face but for now, I had to put on a brave face for Viv.
Her look turned fierce as she folded her arms across her chest. “I want to come with you.” It wasn’t a request.
“Viv,” I began, knowing she wouldn’t like the answer. “That’s not how the Steel Demons roll. We don’t let our women come with us. You can’t.”
She sucked in a breath and shook her head, anger radiated off her. “I can’t sit here and wait around for someone to tell me you’ve been injured. Or worse.” She blinked and that’s when I saw the tears glistening in her eyes.
“Aw, fuck, Viv. Don’t cry.”
“I’m not,” she insisted even as she wiped moisture under her eyes.
A smile touched my lips as I reached out to cup her face, brushing my thumb along the edge of her jaw.
“If you’re there I won’t be able to think straight, babe.
I’ll be worrying about you instead of watching my six and keeping the guys safe.
” That much was true, probably worse after today in the park.
Viv, never one to miss a chance to give me shit, arched her brows, chin tilted up defiantly. “You seemed to function just fine when you went after James.”
I huffed out a laugh, because she was right.
“Yeah, well, I’m just that good.” But my voice softened and I pulled her close until our foreheads touched.
“But if something happened to you now, Viv… shit, I don’t know who I’d become.
” The lengths I was willing to go to keep her safe surprised me, but now that I knew how far I’d go, there was a peace to it.
My words made her freeze. Her mouth parted and her eyes went wide with surprise, clearly, she still had no fucking clue what she meant to me.
Tell her, asshole.
She opened her mouth, to argue, or so I assumed, but then she stopped. “Fine. But you come back to me, you hear? You do not get to disappear on me, Falcon.”
“Deal.” I placed my hand on her lower back and pulled her closer so she tilted back in the perfect angle to kiss her senseless.
Her mouth tasted like mint and chocolate, and everything I ever wanted in the world.
I didn’t want to release her lush lips, but I had to.
There was still plenty of shit to do before we left to meet Petrov.
I pulled back and then leaned in again for another quick kiss, and before I knew what I was saying, the words were out.
“I love you.”
I froze. So did Viv.
My heart hammered against my chest as I realized what I’d just done. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
Viv blinked, her expression still stunned. “Did you mean it?”
Did I mean it? “I did.”
She blinked again. “You did?”
“Fuck, yeah,” I said, my words grew more sure with every passing second. The weight of the words settled into my chest like there was spot in my heart just waiting for them to claim the spot. “I love you, Viv. And I want you to be my woman. My family.”
She didn’t look horrified, which was promising. “You do?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, just think about it. We’ll talk more later, yeah?”
Her mouth fell open in shock, and it stayed that way as I kissed her forehead, kissed my sleeping son, and backed out of the room with a wink.
Goddammit, this woman was everything to me and she really had no fucking clue.
As soon as this shit with the Russians was over, I’d let her know.
***
We showed up twenty minutes early at the old, half-burned down high school on the outskirts of Steel City, armed to fucking hell and anxious as can be. I knew some shit was going to go down, I felt it in the way my legs and arms buzzed with that anticipation of something imminent.
We didn’t hide from whatever was coming, we were just prepared as we waited.
And waited.
Anton showed up right on time, a convoy of five black Suburbans parked in a straight line. He stepped out looking slick as fuck in a dark blue suit with a silver shirt, flanked by two brick wall looking motherfuckers dressed in black.
Two more men stepped from the vehicle beside Anton’s, carrying a bruised, bloody, and bound James St. John III.
Every atom in my fucking body went ice cold.
He looked even worse than when I last saw him, a broken nose, swollen eyes, and torn shirt now added to his list of injuries. Whatever Anton and his men had done to the asshole, it hadn’t been gentle or kind.
“Travis Marconi,” Anton began without ceremony as he approached. “Diesel, thank you for meeting with me.”
Diesel nodded politely. “You didn’t give us much of a choice.”
Anton’s lips pulled into a tight smile. “I thought it best to handle this particular part of our business in person.”
My gaze was fixed on St. John. My palms squeezed into fists and my jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth. “What business is that?”
His grin grew brighter. “After our earlier skirmish, I understand your suspicions, but I assure you that it was a mistake based upon manipulation.”
I nodded, my jaw clenched and my anger barely contained.
“You have given me a gift,” he began, his accent smooth and slightly cultured. “To know the truth of my father’s death in his killer’s own words has allowed me to put this matter to rest.”
“So you don’t want to kill him,” I asked, my tone incredulous.
Anton grinned. “Make no mistake that I want him dead but in the spirit of what happened earlier, his attempt to have your son kidnapped and killed must not be ignored so I am offering you this, him and his life, as a thank you for the gift you have given me.” He motioned to St. John, who was shoved to his knees by two angry Russians built like refrigerators.
“What the fuck,” he growled. “You gonna pass me back and forth between your assholes?” St. John feigned strength but he was terrified because he knew there was no more running. There was no escape possible.
“Don’t worry, this is the last time you’ll get passed around for fun,” I assured him as I reached to the holster behind me. My hand wrapped around the cold steel and my heart slowed to a crawl, ready to do what I’ve been itching to since the park.
Diesel raised a hand and let it fall to my shoulder, a small gesture I took as a green light. “We appreciate this gift, Anton.”
St. John barked out a laugh. “Are you really going to do his dirty work?” He flicked a gaze at Anton. “Don’t be stupid.”
“You tried to have my son kidnapped and killed.” I could barely push the words past my lips without shaking with rage. “This is for me.”
He smiled. “So you say.”
“Before you die, I just want you to know that Viv loves me.”
His brows shot up angrily and I smiled as I aimed the barrel right at his head and pulled the trigger once, the crack of the gunshot echoed on the night air.
His body tumbled to the ground with a groan.
“That was for trying to take my son from me and this one is for torturing my woman for three years.” I stood tall and squeezed the trigger again, watching as the bullet cut through his throat.
Hate bubbled up, uncontainable as I watched his still body and dead eyes. I spit at him before holstering my gun and turning away.
“So we’re square,” Rocky asked, his tone more aggressive than usual. “For the man in the park?”
Anton nodded. “Da. I cannot blame a mother for protecting her son.” He smiled, shaking his head.
“The things my mother has done to protect me would make you sick. It is unwise to come between a loving mother and her child.” He said the words so easily and in that moment, I understood Anton more than I ever thought possible.
“I applaud your woman for keeping your son safe.”
“She’ll be happy to hear that.”
Anton extended an outstretched hand, and I accepted it hesitantly. “Your woman is safe from us,” he promised.
“Thank you, Anton.”
He gave my hand a squeeze and then offered it to Diesel. “It has been interesting doing business with you bikers. You are a passionate bunch, and I hope the next time we cross paths, we are on the same side.”
Diesel’s mouth kicked up into a grin. “See you around, Anton.”
As quickly as the Russian convoy arrived, it packed up and left, leaving nothing but a bunch of bikers and a dead doctor. The silence left in their wake was heavy and intense.
And temporary.
“That was fucking weird, right?” Maverick finally said what we were all thinking while breaking the tension in the air.
Diesel’s serious expression broke and a laugh escaped. “Weird is becoming our new normal, ain’t it?”
“Well at least St. John is no longer a problem,” I said, scrubbing my hands over my face. It was all done.
It was fucking over which meant it was time to get on with the rest of my life.
To TJ and fatherhood.
To Vivian.
To forever.