Chapter 27
Gabriella
Before
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Crash barked at the pair of us, making me flinch. I had never seen him this close before—and certainly not this angry.
Usually, I caught a glimpse of him here and there when Luke snuck me in and out of the clubhouse, but he’d always looked reasonably happy. I’d witnessed meetings between him and my dad, both of them screaming at each other, and still, at this moment, he seemed angrier than I had ever seen him.
I fiddled with the dog on my charm bracelet—“for the Devils’ stray,” he’d whispered—and waited with bated breath for Luke’s answer.
How had this all gone so fucking wrong?
Not ten minutes ago, Luke and I had been in bed together—something we had done dozens of times.
I knew it was stupid. We both did. But we had grown bold. We’d never been caught before. We were careful. We planned our meetings when everyone else was out. And, with Dante’s reluctant help, we had made it work.
Until Crash had walked in on us—me on top of Luke, quietly riding him, both of us with our hands over the other’s mouth to silence the moans. There couldn’t have been a shred of doubt in Crash’s mind what was happening, and it was painfully obvious this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing.
“I’m leaving,” Luke said, his voice loud and confident, meeting Crash’s eyes without hesitation.
After Crash had caught us, he’d barked “Downstairs,” and quickly spun around and slammed the door back shut. Followed by some vicious swearing and his fist slamming against the wood.
We’d heard Dante fighting our corner, telling Crash it was none of his business, and he had no right to go storming into a grown man’s room without knocking.
Crash had told him to fuck off, and Dante had laughed and told him his jealousy was showing, and that he shouldn’t begrudge a young man getting a ride from a fit bird. I tried not to take offense at that.
Luke had gently lifted me off him and packed a bag, kissing away my protests, and told me he wouldn’t be separated from me.
That he would choose me over his brothers.
He’d assured me it wouldn’t come to that, but if push came to shove, the club would be forgotten, and we’d forge a new life together somewhere far away from all of this.
As sweet as that was, I didn’t want that for him. I didn’t want him to leave behind the only family he had ever known.
“How long?” Crash asked through his gritted jaw.
“As long as it takes for you to accept us,” Luke replied, earning himself a scoff from his leader, as though that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. He eyed the pair of us, me pressed against Luke’s side, Luke defiantly staring him down, and sighed.
“I’m not talking about you leaving—we’ll get to that in a minute. How long has this been going on?” he said, waving his hand between the two of us.
“A while.”
“Did you know?” he asked, not looking at his son, but we all knew he was directing the question at Dante anyway.
Crash gripped the back of one of the chairs, leaning his weight on it, his knuckles growing white.
“I knew,” Dante said with a shrug. “I’ve known for years.”
“And you didn’t think to put a stop to it?”
“Didn’t think I needed to,” he replied. “Who Luke chooses to be with is his own business. At least one of us should have a choice,” he muttered.
At nineteen, Dante and Laura were already old lady and old man. Officially. And it was something Dante had rebelled against ever since.
I heard something crash behind us, and cringed further into Luke’s side. Crash had interrupted us to call a Church meeting, and since it was delayed, the rest of the club were wasting no time getting pissed in the bar that was attached to the house.
It was a scary reminder just how close we were to the rest of Luke’s brothers, and how easily we could be exposed.
Crash sighed heavily, bringing my attention back to him.
“You belong here, Luke. I’m not letting you leave. And if you attempt to, you’ll leave me with no choice but to declare you a traitor.”
I smothered a gasp, and Luke stiffened next to me.
Club traitors were killed on sight. They were considered only one step up from club rats. There was no coming back from that.
No one—and I truly mean no one—was declared a club traitor without just cause, and it was something that was done with great reluctance. No leader wanted to kill one of their brothers.
I swallowed heavily. Crash must really hate us to be willing to let it go that far.
“Crash—” Dante started, but Luke beat him to it.
“Do what you must. But I’m not leaving her. I love her.”
And there it was. His ultimate declaration. We weren’t screwing around for the fun of it, reckless and careless.
“And you?” he barked at me, making me cringe.
“Don’t speak to her. You direct what you need to at me,” Luke snapped back, gently pushing me ever so slightly behind him.
“Do you love him?” Crash asked, ignoring him, but he did soften his tone.
“Yes, sir. Utterly and completely,” I replied.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, running a hand over his stubble as he straightened to his full height. “You know what you’re both risking, don’t you?”
“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” Luke muttered sarcastically.
“I’m not talking about me, you fucking idiot!
” he roared, and I shrank back once more.
“I’m talking about her, and her psychotic club.
I might kick you out, but I’d at least do so with a day’s head-start before I sent enforcers after the traitors!
Her club—her father and her brother especially—will gut you where you stand and wear your skin as a trophy! ”
Lovely visual. Exactly what I needed when my stomach was already lurching.
“Don’t you think I fucking know that?” Luke barked back.
“Don’t you think I kept her at arm’s length for as long as I could?
Don’t you think I’ve stayed awake, night after night, terrified that she wasn’t going to return to me the next day, that her dad had found out and done something stupid?
Believe me, Crash, I fucking know all of this. ”
“You had it all, Luke! I know how important this was to you. And you had it. You earned your respect, you earned your patch… and you’re throwing it all away.”
“With all due respect,” Dante intervened. “Something like this isn’t solely your decision to make. We go to a club majority, just like always. He has my vote. Chris and Trent will surely agree. Just how confident are you that you can cast him out?”
“I’m not going to cast him out,” Crash muttered, turning his back on us and taking a few deep breaths. For the first time that night, a small flicker of hope sparked inside me.
“I’m not happy, kids. I’m really not fucking happy. But,” he paused, and the word had never felt so heavy. Our entire fates resting on that one ‘but’.
He sighed heavily and pulled the chair out angrily, throwing himself into it and grabbing his smokes. We waited silently as he sparked one up and took a deep inhale.
“I’m not willing to lose you, Luke. And it’s not because of what you do for this club—which is a lot. And it’s not because you’d be a deep loss as an asset for us—which you would be. It’s because I consider you one of my own. I love you just as much as my own sons.”
Luke shuddered under my touch, and I knew this was everything he had been waiting to hear and more.
“And, believe it or not, I don’t want you,” Crash said, glaring at me.
“In any harm's way. If my Luke says he loves you, then… he loves you,” he sighed again, something that was becoming a bit of a habit. “I know if I try to put a stop to this, it’s only going to make you sneak around even more. You’re both adults, and from what I’ve seen, you’re both clearly fucking like rabbits.
I don’t want you in the cold, all exposed where others can see you. ”
“So, what are you saying?” Dante asked as Luke’s hold on my hand tightened.
“I’m saying that this is none of my fucking business.
I’m not happy, and I hope you both come to your senses and put a stop to this.
But this clubhouse is a safe haven, for all its members.
Including you, Luke. This is your home. You and Gabriella are welcome here whenever you like, and you’ll hear no arguments from me. ”
“What about the rest of them?” Luke asked.
“I’ll deal with them. We’ve all lost our minds over a girl one time or another,” he said, chuckling softly. “There will be some arguments. And prepare yourselves for some relentless teasing. But we’ll keep your secrets. All of us. I just hope you both know what the fuck you’re doing.”
“Well, before we all hold hands and start singing Kumbaya, I think we need to address the elephant in the room,” Dante said grimly, looking at each and every one of us.
“And that is?” I asked. Surely if we had the support of the president, there were no further arguments to be had?
“Kitty,” Luke muttered, looking at Crash.
“Don’t fucking look at me, boy. I said I’d deal with the lads. You’re on your own with that one. Let’s hope you catch her in a good mood.”
We all continued to stare at him until he hissed under his breath and pushed his chair back.
“Fine! Fucking fine! I’ll go speak to the dragon.
I need a bastard drink,” he muttered to himself, walking towards the door.
He stopped in the doorframe, shuddering slightly, as though he were giving himself a pep talk, and then continued.
“Is she really that bad?” I asked, suddenly feeling nervous all over again.
“Her bark is worse than her bite,” Luke reassured me.
“Yeah, but her right hook is worse than a fucking sledgehammer. Believe me,” he said, giving me a small wink.
“I’m kidding, Gabriella. She’ll be fine.
Crash might let her have a lot of freedom with this club, but she knows her place.
The worst you’ll get is some dirty looks and more froth on your pint than you wanted.
Speaking of difficult old ladies, I’d best go see where mine has got to.
I’ll leave you both to it,” he said, nodding his head respectfully at me, and pulling Luke in for one of those ridiculous man hugs, slapping each other on the shoulders.
He murmured in Luke’s ear, something too low for me to catch, and then he left the room without another word.
“Well,” Luke said once we were alone, pulling me into his arms. “That went better than expected.”
“You can say that again,” I laughed.
“So now that we no longer need to sneak around, I suggest you get your ass back up those stairs so we can finish what we started.”
“I—”
“No arguments. I’m also very much looking forward to punishing you for calling Crash sir,” he warned with a vaguely threatening grin.
My stomach lurched, and the next thing I knew, I was racing up the clubhouse stairs, and back naked under the sheets before I could think straight.