Chapter 29 #2
He doesn’t say anything, but that says it all. They’re not going to hurt him; they’re going to kill him. Cold creeps through my body, we’re talking about murder. And this is all linked to my plan…
“It’s for the best,” he says.
“The best?” I sit up and move away from him. “He’s your dad, how can you be so flippant about him dying, about people killing him?”
“It’s not the same thing as your parents. Yes, technically he’s my father, but he wasn’t my dad. What he’s done is dangerous: for the club, for my mom and Donovan, for you. I’m not going to feel bad about whatever Diablos Rojos do to him.”
“I… it’s just… murder. ”
“It won’t be us. Diablos Rojos are still involved with illegal shit, and Frank fucked with them, he’s got to face the consequences.”
My mind is racing, I can’t believe we’re sitting here having a conversation about a man being killed.
“But… what will your mom say?”
“She doesn’t need to know. They’re divorced, I’m his only emergency contact, the prison will phone me to inform me of his death.”
“I… I can’t process this right now…” I let my head fall into my hands, trying to remember how to breathe. “Can we talk about something else?”
“Hey,” he says, pulling me to lie next to him. “Of course we can, but we can talk about this again whenever you want. I want you to be okay.”
I nod, desperately trying to think of a distraction, something to get me away from this conversation which is sending me into a panic.
“Um… maybe… maybe we take some of my stuff back to your room at the clubhouse?”
“Yeah?” His face brightens. “You don’t want to stay here?”
“I’m not sure it’s fair on Slim to have us take over his new house.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“Also, maybe it’s safer at the clubhouse… I mean, I know I’m safe… but with Frank and Diablos Rojos… I don’t know, maybe I’m just being stupid—”
“No, you’re not. I’m going to keep you safe wherever you are. But if you’ll feel safer at the clubhouse, that’s where we’ll go.”
I nod. “Thanks. ”
“Come on, pack your bag; I’ll pick up the rest of your stuff tomorrow. For now, everyone is gonna want to see you, and I want to kiss you in front of everyone. I’ve waited long enough to claim you publicly.”
“Wow, possessive much?” I say, standing and throwing on a robe, ready to pack my bag.
“Absolutely, you’re mine, and everyone needs reminding of that.”
“They’re going to hate us if it’s just constant PDA.”
“PDA?”
“Public displays of affection!”
He laughs. “Well we kept us a secret for two months, so they’ve had two months free, now they’re just gonna have to deal with PDA overload.”
“Like I said, they’re going to hate us.”
“Let them, it will be hard for me to care while I’m buried inside you every night.”
He leaps from the bed and grabs me, pressing his hard cock against me.
“You really are insatiable.”
“Got a lot of time to make up for,” he says, pushing my robe to the floor.
“Well we’ll never leave this room if we start something, so let’s at least take it to the shower.”
“Lead the way, princess.”
Diablo
Having Elizabeth on the back of my bike again feels right, and I’m almost sad when we arrive at the clubhouse. At the same time, having her back here with me is even better. When all this stuff with Diablos Rojos is sorted out, I’m getting us a place of our own, but until then, this is home.
We’re met with cheers from Tank, Pretty Boy, and Slim, as we walk in hand-in-hand.
“Finally!” Tank shouts.
“Took you both long enough,” Pretty Boy says.
We laugh as we join them at the table, Tank sliding beers to us both.
“Is my house still in one piece?” Slim asks.
A blush spreads across Elizabeth’s cheeks, and she looks down at the bottle.
“Your house is fine,” I say, “but Elizabeth is moving back in here with me, at least until we get our own place.”
I pull her into me for a hug before leaning down to kiss her, resulting in more cheers from the guys.
“What’s all this racket?” El Jefe yells, walking into the bar area from the private room. His face softens when he sees us. “Ah, Beth, it’s good to have you back, and I’m pleased to see you’ve both made up.”
“Yeah,” Tipo says, moving to stand next to us. “You’ve decided to forgive this knucklehead then?”
She chuckles and takes a sip of her beer.
“I’m not forgiven yet,” I say, kissing the back of the hand I’m still holding. “But we’re working things out.”
“Good,” El Jefe says, “and if he gives you any more trouble, you come and see me.”
“Now that I can do,” Elizabeth says.
“Besides, we owe you. Your idea might just save our club; none of us wanted to go back to running guns or drugs, but we might not have had a choice if things escalated with Diablos Rojos.”
“It was just an idea,” Elizabeth says, “besides, it might not even work. ”
“We’ll find out on Saturday,” Tipo says, “and we’ll let you know as soon as possible.”
“Elizabeth will find out when we do,” I say, “she’ll be with us.”
“Excuse me?” El Jefe asks, his brows rising.
“I promised her I’m not leaving her again; so if I’m going on a ride, she’s coming with me.”
“Girlfriends don’t join us on rides,” Tipo says, “you know the rules.”
“Yeah,” Elizabeth says, “I can stay—”
“No, I promised you—”
“Angel, you can’t literally be glued to my side twenty-four-seven.”
“Watch me,” I smirk and she rolls her eyes.
“It’s okay,” El Jefe says, “Beth can come.”
“Really?” I ask, not expecting him to agree so quickly.
He nods. “Yeah, you made a promise, that’s important.”
“Can I bring a girl?” Pretty Boy asks.
“No,” El Jefe says, before striding out the door without saying another word.
“What’s softened him up?” Tank asks.
“Personal stuff,” Tipo says, “so none of your fucking business. Beth can come, but no other girls. You got it?”
Everyone nods and I grin at Elizabeth, but she just shakes her head at me.
As soon as Tipo is gone, she leans in, “You can’t ask for special treatment just because of a promise, it’s not fair on everyone else.”
“But I don’t care about everyone else, I care about you.”
I claim her lips in a kiss and the guys all groan.
“Is this the kind of shit we can be expecting from now on?” Pretty Boy asks .
I don’t break the kiss but stick my middle finger up at him instead.
“How many spare rooms do you have, Slim?” Tank asks, “They were loud enough when they were trying to be quiet, I dread to think what it will be like now.”
Elizabeth pulls away from the kiss and buries her face in my neck; she’s cute when she gets embarrassed.
“We weren’t loud,” I say.
Pretty Boy chuckles. “You were pretty fucking loud.”
“I can’t believe you all knew this whole time,” Elizabeth says.
“Please, it was obvious,” Tank says, “and it was fun playing puppet master.”
“Puppet master?” I say, “No way, this wasn’t because of you.”
“Evidence from the prosecution, please,” Pretty Boy says, nodding at Tank.
“El Jefe decided you should both go into the closet,” Tank says, lifting one finger on his hand.
“I shoved you into the closet and locked the door.” He lifts another finger.
“I took us to the diner where Donovan told us Beth worked, and he then set you up to go and get Beth at the bar. And, oh yeah, I was the one who sent you to Miguel’s place when you were moping around because Beth was gone for the weekend. ”
“He has a point,” Elizabeth says, nudging me. “And we both admitted that this wouldn’t have happened on its own.”
“Yeah yeah, whatever,” I say, “it doesn’t matter anyway, we’re together now.”
I kiss her again and the guys all get up and move to a table further away from us.
“You’ve scared your friends away,” she giggles.
“Good.” I lean my forehead against hers. “So you’ll come with us? ”
“Hmm?”
“To Diablos Rojos?”
“I mean, won’t they think it’s odd if you turn up with me? If girlfriends don’t usually tag along.”
“Girlfriend?” I ask, “Are you saying you’re my girlfriend again?”
I know it’s a loaded question; I’m asking if she can forgive me, asking if she can trust me again. This last night with her has been amazing, and I’m acting like we’re back together, but nothing is certain.
“Is that what you want?” she asks.
“Elizabeth,” I hold her face in my hands and look into her eyes. “It’s the only thing I want.”
The smile she gives me is the best thing I’ve ever seen, and I know that I need to spend the rest of my life trying to make her smile like that, I never want to cause her pain or hurt like I have this past week.
“Then yes,” she says.
“And just to be sure, are you saying yes to going with me to see Diablos Rojos, or yes to being my girlfriend again?”
She chuckles. “To both I guess.”