Chapter Two
Entering her parents’ home, Petal instantly wrinkled her nose at the mess. It looked like they hadn’t bothered to clean up for several days. Pocketing her keys, she released a sigh and immediately went to the fridge. There was no food in the fridge and she gritted her teeth, as she began to gather up the dishes that hadn’t been cleaned. She loved her parents, but they were not good at being adults. They were good at making babies and showing them love and attention. Just not the whole deal.
This was why she never allowed Rosalie to come around her house when they were growing up. The only time Rosalie was allowed to visit, and even stay for a couple of hours, was after she did a massive clean.
Petal had seen the way Gabrielle kept a clean house and doted on her daughter. Petal’s parents loved her, but they doted on each other. Their kids were not the priority.
So far, she hadn’t seen a sibling. This was the way it was when she lived home. Her brothers and sisters found different places to go. It wasn’t that home was a bad place, it just never felt like home.
This was always strange for her to think. Gabrielle and Rosalie felt like home. Before Gabrielle’s death, they had been solid. Mother and daughter.
Maybe that was the problem. Petal couldn’t go to her own mother for advice, as there was rarely any for the other woman to give. Not anything she would listen to.
The first day she got her period, she went to her mom, thinking she was going to die. Her mother told her to get over it, that it was what every woman went through, and shushed her away, as if she had a single clue. At the time, Petal didn’t have a clue. She had no choice but to go to Gabrielle. The other woman pulled her into a hug and talked to her about her cycle. They even went to the supermarket, and Gabrielle gave Petal a detailed explanation of everything she needed to understand and make her own decisions.
Looking back now, considering everything Gabrielle had been through, that woman had a great deal of strength. She’d been an excellent mother, putting her daughter first. She knew that hadn’t always been the case. Rosalie told her that when her mother first gave birth, Gabrielle hadn’t wanted her, and Rosalie accepted that.
“Doesn’t that make you sad?”
Petal asked.
“No, it doesn’t. Let’s face it, my mom had just given birth to her rapist’s baby, she wanted me as far away from her as possible. I get it. I don’t have to like it, but I do get it. She had no one, even after giving birth. Besides, she grew to love me when it mattered most.”
Pulling out of the memory, Petal piled all the dishes into the sink and then moved around the house, picking up soiled clothes, even used diapers. She did not miss anything about this. At the sound of a baby crying, Petal took a deep breath and moved toward the sound. It wasn’t in the sitting room or the dining room. She made her way upstairs, toward one of the bedrooms, and there in the boys’ bedroom was the crib.
The crib moved from room to room depending on what sex the baby was. Most of the time, Petal and her siblings had to be the ones to take care of the new brother or sister.
Entering the boys’ bedroom, she was not surprised to see the room clean. She had no doubt the same could be said for the girls’ room as well.
“Hello there,”
Petal said.
Petal hadn’t visited her parents in a few weeks. According to Rosalie, they had heard about her being in the hospital, but Petal knew they wouldn’t visit for fear of being landed with the debt. Warden and the club had taken care of her hospital bill. She didn’t have to worry about paying it off.
Picking up the little guy, she smelled his diaper and knew he needed a clean one. She walked downstairs with him, where she saw the rather battered child’s bag. As she changed the diaper, her father appeared. He was buttoning up his shirt as he came downstairs, and smiled when he saw her.
“Pumpkin,” he said.
Her father’s name was George, like her older brothers.
“Hey, Dad,”
she said. This man was clueless and utterly besotted with his wife. He walked up to her and kissed her on the forehead.
“It has been too long, honey. I would love to stay and chat, but I’ve got to head out to work.”
He was a good worker. A hard worker.
“It’s fine. Uh, you do know there’s no food in the fridge, right?”
Petal asked.
“Shit, again? Fuck, I thought I got Daisy and Randy to get some stuff.”
He pulled out his wallet and handed her several bills. “Be a doll, would you, and fill the fridge?”
Just like so many times before, she took the bills and nodded her head. There was no point in arguing or fighting him. “You got it.”
He kissed her head. “Don’t be a stranger. Also, do you mind taking little David with you? Your mother has been so tired of late, and I don’t want to wake her to take care of him.”
And there was the problem. Did he even realize his wife rarely took care of their kids?
Petal nodded.
David, her baby brother, had snuggled up against her, and she didn’t even want to think about why. He was a new baby seeking comfort, and already she had a feeling he didn’t get enough of it.
Her dad left, and Petal wanted to go upstairs and berate her mother, but that would only make an enemy out of their father. That was what George, her brother, did, and in the end he left. She hadn’t seen him in several years now. Petal hoped that wherever he was, he was enjoying a good life.
“It looks like it’s just you and me, buddy. Come on. Let’s go shopping.”
She kissed his cheek, and then decided to clean him up before she left.
She tried not to think about the baby she had lost. This was her little brother. She had done this countless times over the years, taking care of a brother or sister. Imparting the wisdom Gabrielle had given to her, to her sisters.
Petal wondered if this would be her parents’ last child. They needed to stop, because they were getting a lot older, but she also knew her brothers and sisters were getting tired of raising their siblings.
There had been no one in the house, which was good, as it was a school day, but when she lived home, sometimes she missed school to take care of the new addition. She did that with Francine, and she knew her sister had graduated high school and skipped town.
Her parents in total had ten children. Little David would be number eleven. Six boys and five girls.
She cleaned David up, found a nice new set of clothes, and changed him. Grabbing the used car seat, she placed it in her car, secured it in place, and gently put him inside the seat.
Climbing behind the wheel, she turned over the ignition and headed off in the direction of the supermarket. Little David seemed quite content on the drive. He didn’t scream or make noise.
For a Friday, it wasn’t too busy. She found a parking space and got out, reaching for the car seat. She locked the door and made her way toward the cart bay. She found the cart that would have the child seat, secured it in place, and smiled at David. The little boy was so sweet.
Walking her way through the supermarket, she grabbed some vegetables, only the ones she knew they knew how to cook. Once that was done, she made her way through each aisle spending more time at the meat section. She found several cuts on sale, which she knew she could bag and prepare for them. Canned items were the easiest and at times the cheapest.
It was halfway around the store that she came to a stop when she saw Rosalie with Colt. There was also a couple of the MC members, one of which was Dirty.
She tried to pull out of the aisle but David chose that moment to gurgle and alert people to their presence. She forced a smile to her face.
“Petal,”
Rosalie said, rushing toward her. Within seconds, she let out a gasp as her friend attacked her in a fierce hug.
“Hey,”
Petal said.
Her friend knew she had to take care of the grocery shopping. There were a few times she’d even taken Rosalie with her, but most of the time, she tended to drop her friend back home rather than take her to her place.
“How are you doing?”
Rosalie asked. “I called you this morning, but you didn’t pick up, and who is this little guy?”
Petal refused to look in Dirty’s direction.
“This is David. He’s my brother,” she said.
“Brother? I didn’t even know your mom was pregnant again.”
Petal wasn’t about to say that she didn’t either. She would have visited her mother sooner.
“May I?”
Rosalie asked, reaching a hand out.
“Of course.”
Rosalie reached out and touched David’s little fingers. “He is so freaking cute. Oh my.”
“Is my mom influencing you?”
Colt asked.
Petal unstrapped David and lifted him up out of the car seat. She held him in her arms. “Would you like to hold him?”
Rosalie’s eyes went wide.
Now this never happened. From past experience, Petal didn’t allow anyone to hold her siblings. In the past, one person nearly dropped one of her sisters, and since then, she never allowed it. Rosalie wasn’t just anyone. She was her best friend, and Petal trusted her with her life.
“You would allow me to?”
Rosalie asked.
“Yes, of course. I trust you.”
The only reason she never allowed Rosalie in the past was simply because she never asked. Petal always figured she didn’t want to hold the baby, which she totally understood. Some people didn’t want to hold babies. They were so fragile, and it was scary having them in your arms.
Rosalie looked so nervous, but there was this beaming smile on her face, and Petal was so pleased her best friend had finally found some happiness. Even though her mother’s death had caused her immense pain, the death of her father gave her such happiness. In a strange way, Gabrielle was now at peace. It wasn’t a peace she asked for.
Placing little David in her friend’s arms, she stepped back and couldn’t help but smile. Rosalie looked good with a baby. Rosalie had all the right instincts as a mother.
“See, nothing to worry about,”
Petal said.
“He’s so precious,”
Rosalie said.
“All babies are.”
Rosalie chuckled. “Of course. I know what you mean.”
Petal couldn’t help but glance over toward Colt. She didn’t know if she expected him to look frightened by his wife totally taken with a baby.
He looked happy. His gaze moved to her, and he gave her a nod, to which she offered a single nod of her chin. They didn’t arrange this. She didn’t even know she had a little brother. That was how quickly her own life had swept her by.
She needed to check in with the rest of her brothers and sisters. While Rosalie held onto David, she pulled out her cell phone and sent a quick group chat to them all. It only took her a few seconds, but she didn’t like that it had been months since she checked in. Unlike her brother George who had left without looking back, she hadn’t been able to. Petal knew it wasn’t her responsibility, it was her parents’, but she just couldn’t not take care of them. They were her family and she loved them.
“He’s so lovely, Petal,”
Rosalie said.
Petal welcomed him back as Rosalie placed him in her arms, and she put him in the car seat. She made sure he was secure before turning back to her friend. All the while she was aware of Dirty watching her.
She refused to look in his general direction. It was easy considering they had kept their relationship secret. At first she thought this would be unbearable, no one knowing exactly what happened. Going through this pain without anyone quite understanding, or perhaps even getting fed up with her for taking so long to deal with her pain. Now she was grateful for the secret relationship. The last thing she wanted was pity from anyone.
Before she could say anything, Rosalie pulled her in for a hug.
“We’re gathering stuff for the party tonight. Remember, Kim wants you to be there.”
“The party?”
“Yeah, remember, Kim wouldn’t accept anything but a yes for an answer, and pretty much got you to agree to go.”
She pressed her lips together and smiled. The memory was there, she just didn’t realize it was that close.
“I’ll try to make it, otherwise, will you let Kim know that something came up?”
“She won’t like it,”
Dirty said.
Petal tried not to tense up.
“It doesn’t matter if she likes it or not. I’m not being rude, but family comes first.”
“You might like to know that when Kim doesn’t get what she wants, she goes and finds out why. I’m sure your parents would be thrilled to meet the fierce and loyal Kim Cox.”
He knew about her family. He knew about her responsibilities, and he also knew she didn’t want anyone else to find out what she did for her parents. It was embarrassing.
Looking at Rosalie, she offered a smile. “I’ll try.”
There was no trying about it. She would arrive at the party if she liked it or not.
****
Petal’s parents were not bad people. Dirty knew that. They were actually very nice people, just a little neglectful at times, and Petal’s mom had come to rely on her too often.
Dirty didn’t like how much time she devoted to her family. Even when they were sneaking around, she always had some event to deal with for a brother or sister. If one of them was in trouble, they’d call Petal, not their parents. It was like she had become the mom.
He did some snooping into Petal’s life. Her parents had been together since they were teenagers. In fact, they were childhood boyfriend and girlfriend. The classic friends-to-lovers tale for the two of them.
Her father worked hard at one of the local factories. He’d made his way up to managing one of the sections, and it dealt with food. Dirty didn’t delve too deeply into what he did, all he needed to know was that the job was legit, which it was. The mother didn’t work, but she took care of the kids, kind of. She had the help of the siblings, and he knew she was part of everything. She was just a little sloppy in the cleaning, and relied on Petal a lot, which he didn’t like.
Not that he’d taken the time to get to know her parents. Or truly met them, or could form a true opinion.
In fact, when her parents arrived at the hospital, he made sure they left without causing Petal more trouble. No one knew they arrived, but he’d seen them and had only recognized them from the photos he got about who each of them were.
Sitting at the bar, he nursed his glass of scotch and waited.
He had a feeling Petal was not going to turn up. If she did, he’d be surprised. There was no doubt in his mind that Kim would go hunting for Petal. Kim was worried about her, as was he. Not that he could show anything, as people would start asking questions.
He didn’t care. This thing with him and Petal was over. He got free and so had she, before they got a “prison sentence”
together with a kid.
“Fuck me, Kim knows how to throw a party or what?”
Myth said, coming to sit beside him, taking a long drink from his beer bottle.
The other brother was usually on her protection detail, so he spent a lot of time having to be sober. With Kim at the club with all the brothers, as well as her husband, Myth was in the clear for a good time.
Dirty wondered if this was why Kim had thrown the party in the first place. She was a tough woman—strong, fierce—but she loved them all deeply and in her own way. She never wanted any of them to go without.
Is that why she insisted on Petal coming to the club? Did she know about their secret relationship? He highly doubted it. Kim didn’t need to go sneaking around asking questions about him. He’d been careful after her last warning to him, and the fact Colt wanted him to get the job done. His part was done.
“There is so much good pussy here tonight,”
Myth said.
Dirty hadn’t been paying attention to the club pussy.
“Do you recommend any of the newbies?”
“Sorry, you’re going to have to test drive them for me.”
“You don’t know which one is the best?”
Myth asked.
“What can I say? I’ve been busy.”
Myth snorted. “That’s a fucking lie. I remember a time when you didn’t need an excuse. You were quite happy to fuck to your heart’s content and get your job done.”
Myth shook his head. “What is happening to everyone?”
Dirty didn’t have to say anything. He knew what his trouble was. It was a pesky little blonde he couldn’t get out of his mind. Fucking Petal.
She was meant to be a little fun, which was exactly what she was, but the trouble was, he couldn’t get her out of his freaking mind. He knew the best way to deal with this predicament was just to get another woman, fuck her until he forgot who Petal Hargreaves was.
There was no way Petal was ever going to let him back inside. They were never going to do causal. He’d hurt her. She wasn’t going to forgive him.
He knocked back his full glass of whiskey and slapped the counter, wanting another refill quickly. Rooster was there, as per usual, manning the bar. There was no other brother that could keep up with the demand, but Rooster always had their backs.
“Fucking ace,”
Dirty said, as his glass was refilled.
Rooster shook his head and refused to give him the bottle. “Prez’s orders. No bottles. This is just a party, and no reason to get shit-faced.”
Which meant Warden wasn’t happy with something. A few months of no Evil Fuckers MC, and it was time to celebrate. The MC must have disbanded. Daemon had gone on a wild killing spree, there was no one left.
Dirty had seen that fucked-up mess. Deamon had killed his own son in the carnage. There had been a lot of dead bodies.
He lifted the glass to his lips and glanced toward the door as it opened, and she was like a fucking glass of ice water hitting him square in the face.
For the past few months, he’d seen her in the ever-growing uniform that seemed to hang off her body rather than hug her curves. Even today at the grocery store, she wore an oversized sweatshirt that covered her body.
Tonight, she wore a pair of jeans that hugged her body, along with a shirt that pushed her tits together, but it also showed off the weight she had lost. Her long blonde hair had those natural curls she always tried to straighten and was constantly fighting with. It also looked like she had put on a little makeup.
Rosalie, like always, was with Colt.
The moment she saw her friend, that was it, and Colt merely shook his head and moved toward the bar. The two women stood together, holding hands, talking. Petal looked really good. Better than he expected.
Memories of feeling that body wrapped around him rushed through him, and his cock hardened. He wanted her so badly, it was all he could think about in that moment. To feel her wrapped around his dick. She felt so incredible. Even on the night he had taken her virginity. She had been in a great deal of pain, but he refused to allow her to remember her first moment with tears in her eyes, so he’d done everything he could to make it the best experience of her life.
Of course, that wouldn’t matter now, because he’d given her one of the worst experiences of her life.
“Three beers please,”
Colt said, slapping his hand on the counter.
“Three beers,”
Myth said. “There go your plans to get laid.”
The other brother left with a smirk.
“He does know that if tonight turns to shit, his chance of getting laid ends as well,”
Colt said.
“Don’t sound bitter,”
Dirty said. “Do you want me to create a distraction?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“You sure? With Petal around, you won’t get a look in.”
“It’s different now. I don’t need you distracting Petal. It’s all good.”
Three beer bottles were placed in front of him.
“All good? You do surprise me.”
Colt laughed. “I have that ability. Nah, there is no reason to keep the two apart. It makes no sense. I know Rosalie is doing much better, and with time those wounds might heal. It is going to be hell, but it will be a manageable kind of hell.”
Dirty knew Colt spoke from experience as the brother lost his sister. She died in his arms during a shoot-out at the park. There was nothing Colt could have done. He held his sister as she died. From that day forward, Colt’s hatred of the Evil Fuckers MC had been cemented. It nearly cost him Rosalie. They all assumed Rosalie had been like her father, Deamon. They’d been wrong. Rosalie had been a true innocent. And Colt nearly fucked that up.
Just like Dirty fucked up his time with Petal.
“Thanks, anyway. If I need you, I’ll let you know.”
Colt slapped him on the back and made his way over to the two women.
Colt offered Petal a beer, which she took, and he watched as she had a small sip. She rarely drank, at least from his experience with her.
Rosalie went into Colt’s waiting arms, and the three of them talked.
Dirty couldn’t take his eyes off her. She looked amazing. And that smile she had on her face … if he didn’t know her as well as he did, he would have thought that was real.
Time ticked by, and a couple of women came to him, wanting to spend some quality time. He moved them along. He didn’t want to be with them. There was only one woman he wanted, and she’d stepped right into the lion’s den. All he had to do was wait for the right moment, and it presented itself faster than he expected.
Petal left Colt and Rosalie and made her way to the bathrooms. This was his chance to talk to her, especially while everyone was distracted. He made his way toward the bathroom, and he saw only one stall was in use. The sound of the toilet flushing let him know she was seconds from coming out. When she left the stall, she took one look at him, froze, and then shook her head.
“What are you doing here?”
she asked.
“Do I need to remind you this is the clubhouse? There is nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said.
She moved past him going toward the sink, but he saw her hesitate.
“There’s no need to be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you,”
Dirty said.
Petal laughed. “Yeah, okay.”
“Look, I get that we had a bad spell, and that is fine. We’ve dealt with some pretty intense news, and that is okay as well, but I think if you get on the pill and I wear a condom, you and I could make it good again.”
Petal dried her hands on some paper towels. For several seconds she stared at him without making a sound. The echo of the towels filled the room.
“Make it good again? Get on the pill?”
She turned toward him with a frown so deep on her brow. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Petal asked.
The anger in her voice startled him. He wasn’t expecting her to be quite so aggressive. She looked ready to scream. She tossed the paper towels into the trash.
Within seconds, she stepped up toward him. “Do you really think there is a chance I’ll ever be with you again after what you did?”
“It was a reasonable question.”
“It was insulting. You insulted me, and you think, what, because it has been a couple of months, I’d get over it, that I would in some way just forget what you said and like a fucking doormat get back in bed with you?”
“We were good together,” he said.
She laughed. “Fuck you. You’re right, we were good together, and you ended that. There is never going to be a you and me. We’re done, Dirty. We were done the moment you asked me if the baby I carried was yours. I’m not one of the sluts you pass around.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Kim asked.
He’d been so focused on Petal that he’d not even heard the door of the bathroom open. Dirty didn’t know how much Kim had heard.
“No problem at all,”
Petal said. “I’m just clarifying a few things, which I have now done and we’re good here, aren’t we?”
She didn’t wait for a response. He got one last lingering look, and Petal grabbed her beer and left.
Dirty had every intention of leaving but Kim stood in the doorway.
“You know, I told you not to use that girl,”
Kim said. “I remember our conversation very well. I warned you from going any further, even if my son asked. I know what happened. I can fill in the blanks from there. I suggest you leave her alone.”
“You don’t know everything,”
Dirty said.
“I know enough. According to Petal’s medical records, she lost her baby. According to the notes, she was not too far along, which I know puts you in place of being the father. Now, I don’t know exactly what happened between the two of you, but I know you did something to hurt her. I lost my daughter because of this club. I lost Gabrielle because we were not able to protect her. I refuse to lose any more people, and if you have any respect for me at all, you will leave Petal well enough alone.”
Dirty knew that was all the warning he was going to get.