Chapter Twenty
Dirty glanced over to where Petal continued to pace his bedroom. She had been doing that for the past ten minutes, and each time he thought to talk to her, he stopped himself. Her hands were pressed together, and every now and then she would randomly look up at him, stare for a few seconds, before going back to pacing.
He was supposed to be resting. This was not a problem to him, watching his woman walk up and down. She wore jeans and a shirt, but he had taken his time to memorize what she looked like naked. He was more than happy to keep watching her. Imagine the sway of her naked hips and the fullness of her tits. He would give anything to have her naked and wrapped around him right now as he pressed his thick cock deep inside her sweet cunt. There was so much he wanted to do to her, but he held himself back and merely watched. That was all he could do for now.
“Do you have any idea that you could have been killed?”
she asked.
“I wasn’t.”
“Dirty, you were shot in the shoulder, and forgive me here, but it looks like it could have been close to your heart.”
He smiled.
“What are you goofy smiling at?”
she asked, along with that sweet frown.
“You’re upset.”
“And you’re happy that I’m upset?”
“I’m not happy about it, but I kind of am at the same time. You’re upset because you’re worried, and you’re worried because you care about me,” he said.
Petal pursed her lips. “Care? Is that all you think this is? Of course I worry, you stupid … man. I don’t just care about you, okay! I love you. There, I’ve said it. I love you and I was worried because we have not had the best start and that could have all been over today. Colt might have made it home, but there was a chance you might not, and that scares me.”
He held out his hand. “Come here.”
She stared at his hand and this time she did hesitate for a mere second, and he waited. Slowly, she put her hand in his, and he pulled her against him so she had no choice but to fall into his lap.
“I love you too, and trust me, this is nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Dirty, you were shot.”
“And I made it out alive.”
“What if … one day … you don’t?”
“And I could feel the same way about you working at the diner, Petal, or going to buy gas. You were shot.”
He pressed a hand on her stomach. “You nearly died. You were nearly taken away from me, and when you came around, all you could remember was me asking that fucked-up question, and realizing in that moment I had lost you.”
“You didn’t lose me,” she said.
“I did. The last few months have been unbearable. Worse than I could have ever imagined.”
He stroked her hair back from her face. “And it was because I didn’t have you. I know this. I missed you so much. Missed you more than anything.”
He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her down to press a kiss to her lips. “And I regret everything.”
He saw the tears in her eyes.
“Don’t cry,” he said.
“I just … everything seems to have messed up, hasn’t it?”
“No. I messed up. This was just club stuff. Like I told you before, this is not my first time getting shot on the job.”
He forced a smile. “I want you to do something for me.”
“Anything.”
“Just go over to that chest of drawers there and move the boxers out of the way, and you’ll see it.”
Petal frowned and moved across his bedroom, opening the top drawer and doing as he asked. She pulled out a velvet box.
“Come here.”
She came toward him and he saw that her hands were shaking.
“I was wondering if I should save this for a special occasion, or for Halloween, maybe even Christmas, but the truth is, there is never going to be a perfect time. There is just now, and there is just us.”
He took a deep breath and opened the velvet box.
“Petal Hargreaves, there is no one else I want to spend my life with.
I am in love with you.
I’ve been in love with you for a very long time, and I will do everything in my power to keep you.
You are the love of my life.
I want you to be the mother of my children.
I want to grow old with you and have children with you.
I want to get a dog and name it whatever you want to name it, and have it running in the yard.
I want to get a house with you and tinker with your car, or my bike.
I want to scare the shit out of our kids’ friends because their dad is a big old biker.
I want to be by your side through it all.
Through your happy moments, your dull moments, I want everything.
I didn’t even realize how much I wanted until I met you.
Life was about fucking, partying, and club.
Now, it has you, and you’re the only woman I want to be with.”
He didn’t get to finish as Petal threw herself at him, moving to straddle his waist, as she held onto his head and kissed him hard.
He still held the box in his hand, but he cupped her face.
“Is that a yes?”
he asked, the moment she came up for air.
“Yes, yes, yes, and I will marry you. I want to marry you.”
He chuckled. Taking the ring out of the box, he grabbed her hand, and slid it right onto her finger, and it fit perfectly, just like he knew it would. “You’re mine, Petal. Forever.”
She cupped his face and kissed him. Running his hands up her back, he sunk his fingers in her hair, and she let out a giggle.
“You’re injured!”
She gasped, breaking the kiss.
“It’s a flesh wound. I’m more than capable of making love to my fiancée.”
To prove his point, he banded an arm around her and lifted the blanket right from under them. He was already naked beneath the blanket. Within seconds, he had her shirt on the floor and her bra unsnapped, with those full ripe tits in the palm of his hands, where they were meant to be.
His woman, soon to be his wife. She was the love of his life. He knew that now. He’d been too scared before and he had fucked up big time, but he was never going to allow that to happen again.
Petal moved away and wriggled out of her jeans, followed by her panties. She joined him back on the bed, moving to straddle his waist, and he reached between them, stroking between the folds of her pussy.
Sliding his fingers between her slit, he ran a finger across her clit, circling her nub, before gliding down to stroke the entrance of her cunt. He heard her soft, subtle gasp as he slid one finger inside her, and soon he followed with a second, stretching her. She had such a tight pussy, and he knew he was going to hurt her if he took her hard.
He wanted her soaking wet when she took his cock. Keeping two fingers inside her, he twisted his hand so he could continue to tease her clit with his thumb. He watched as she threw her head back, moaning his name, and it was such a beautiful thing. She lightened his whole freaking world.
“Dirty, please,” she said.
“Come for me, Beautiful. Come for me.”
She cried out his name and he watched her go over the edge, and it was such a fucking mesmerizing sight. This was his woman, his everything, and he wanted her badly. Before she had even gotten the chance to come down from her orgasm, he moved her over his cock, lining up the tip and pulling her straight down onto his dick. He didn’t stop until he was seated to the hilt within her, and Petal cried out.
He took possession of her lips, swallowing her cries. She was careful with him, her touch light on the shoulder that had been hit, but he didn’t care. Nothing was going to stop him from fucking this woman. She was a craving, and finally he was going to get his fix, but he also knew it was never going to stop.
Petal rode his cock and he watched her, keeping hold of her hips as he drove her down onto his length. He was so close to his own orgasm after just a few strokes, but he gritted his teeth and held himself in check. He wanted this to last as long as freaking possible.
“I love you, Dirty,” she said.
“And I love you, Petal.”
He stared into her eyes, and he came, filling her with wave upon wave of his release, hoping in that moment they were lucky enough for it to stick.
It was time for him to put a baby inside her.
****
Warden entered the hospital and as he looked at Fritz, he knew the man before him was changed. There was no light in his eyes. That spark that made Fritz himself was gone, torn away by Diablo. He glanced over at his son, and knew he saw it too, as did Kim.
“Hey, Prez,”
Fritz said.
Not even a smile.
“You’re awake, this is good news.”
There was no smile. No head tilt, no glint, nothing. He was a shadow of his former self, and he’d been awake for just over an hour.
“How are you feeling?”
“How you’d expect after being tortured for a couple of hours,”
Fritz said. “I didn’t talk. He didn’t want me to talk. He did all the talking.”
Warden looked toward Kim and Colt. “I need to talk to Fritz alone.”
Kim nodded and she moved to the bed, about to touch his arm, but he saw the flinch within the other man.
“We’ll be outside. Would you like some coffee?”
Kim asked.
“No,”
Fritz said. “No coffee. Nothing, thank you.”
Warden knew his wife was hurting, but he had to focus on Fritz, and he waited for them to leave, then took a seat, keeping his distance from the bed.
“Who found me?”
Fritz asked.
“Colt and Dirty. Petal brought you here in her car.”
Fritz nodded. “I like Petal. She’s got attitude.”
Warden smiled. “We know it was Diablo. We know he is working for Don Stefano Napoli. You were getting too close.”
“I wasn’t too close,”
Fritz said. “I found the connection, and this has nothing to do with Don Stefano Napoli.”
He frowned. “That is who Diablo works with.”
“Diablo. One of the most feared men in the world. A man no one knows anything about, and a man … with no face.”
Fritz smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I got curious. Did you know that Daemon was a man like everyone else?”
Warden was confused.
“I began looking through everything related to the Evil Fuckers MC, and I came across an interesting picture. It showed an image of two people, exactly the same.”
Fritz didn’t look away.
“What are you talking about?”
“Daemon wasn’t an only child, Warden. He was a twin, and that twin is none other than Diablo, and he doesn’t work for Don Stefano Napoli. That is the tale the mafia spun because the only person who has ever been able to keep control of Diablo was his brother. Also, there is more…”
“More?”
“Rosalie, Daemon might not even be her father.”
“What?”
“There’s a chance Diablo might be her father.”
“You’re saying Gabrielle had two men after her?”
“Twins, Warden. Daemon was a twin, and the only difference between the two, Diablo was captured as a child by their enemies, and he was scarred down one side of his face, but the other looks exactly like Daemon,”
Fritz said.
“Why wasn’t he with the Evil Fuckers MC?”
Warden asked.
“Diablo has a problem with rules. He has a problem with authority, which is what makes him the perfect killing machine. He loved his brother, and now that we’ve taken him out, he’s coming after the club.”
****
Petal sat in church and listened to everything Warden had to say. When he arrived from the hospital after the man known as Fritz woke up, he declared church. The only difference was, he asked for Petal to come to church, and seeing as she was Rosalie’s best friend, he believed it was in her best interest to come as well.
This only meant one thing. Something bad was about to happen.
She felt sick to her stomach, especially as Warden began to question Rosalie. Petal looked toward Dirty and he shrugged. He didn’t have a clue what was going on.
“Do you remember all the times your dad visited your mom?”
Warden asked.
“What is this?”
Rosalie asked.
“It’s important with what I am about to tell you. I need to know everything.”
Rosalie frowned. “I don’t know. Some days he would come when I was at school and I’d only know he stopped by because … the way she acted.”
She nibbled her lip. Colt put his hands on her shoulders, and Petal reached for her hand.
“Dad, what is all this about?”
Colt asked.
Warden leaned forward and his hands were pressed together. He didn’t look at anyone, and then he focused on Rosalie. Petal felt Rosalie’s grip tighten, which could only mean one thing—her friend was terrified.
“Daemon, your father, had a twin brother.”
“What?”
Rosalie asked. “No, no, that cannot be possible.”
“Fritz, the man in the hospital, figured it out. Diablo works for Don Stefano Napoli, but that is the extent of it.”
Warden turned his gaze toward Colt. “He is after you, son, and he’s after the club. He is using the Evil Fuckers MC to exact revenge.”
“You’re kidding,”
Colt said.
“How do you know?”
Rosalie asked. “Mom never said anything. I never met him.”
“Daemon’s blood is on record. I was wondering if you would consider a DNA test,”
Warden said.
Petal couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she didn’t need Warden to fill in the blanks.
“No,”
Rosalie said. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”
“Fritz believes your mother was the victim of both men.”
Rosalie shook her head. “No, you’ve got to be wrong.”
“Baby, I’ve got you.”
It had been a few months since Rosalie had panicked, but Petal knew what was coming. She started to pant, and her hands had gotten clammy.
“Rosalie, calm down,”
Petal said. She didn’t think the panic attack would be good for the baby, and she knew her friend would never forgive herself if anything happened.
“That means … no, no, no, that means all this time, she was having to … oh my God, I can’t. I can’t do this.”
Colt took over, pulling Rosalie into his arms and holding his wife. Petal continued to hold her hand, and she had to be strong for her friend.
“If he’s coming after the club, it means no one is safe, right? What does that mean for the diner? We can’t just live in this clubhouse, it is going to drive people insane,”
Petal said, herself included.
“I’ve got to wait for Fritz to come out. Diablo seems to be laying low now—”
Warden was stopped by the buzz of his cell phone. All their cell phones had been removed and Petal watched as he glanced down.
“What is it?”
Kim asked.
Warden clicked the button and then another and she knew he’d put it on speakerphone.
“I take it you heard mine and Deamon’s little secret.”
“Diablo,”
Warden said.
“The one and only. I had hoped to make an entrance with more pizazz, but I guess just finding out the truth is enough for now.”
“What do you want?”
There was a chuckle. “What do I want? I want my brother back, but unless you can bring back the dead, I guess I’m going to have to go for plan B, and trust me, I hate plan B.”
Warden didn’t say anything.
“So, for the death of my brother and the complete demolition of his clubhouse, I think it is only fair you pay the price in full, don’t you?”
Diablo asked. “Oh, and if you’re curious as to who Rosalie’s father is … I’ll give you that little detail. She’s mine.”
Petal held onto Rosalie. This was all happening so fast. Daemon was a sick fuck, but she had a feeling, compared to his brother, he was an angel, which was terrifying.
“So, I think I am going to have a little fun. You see, you took my brother and his club, and now it’s fair for me to take from you. I’m going to start with your club. One by one, they are going to die. But I am going to wait, because I know Rosalie is pregnant, I think it is only fair I take that brat as well. Start my own little family, one I know you will not take away from me. You crossed the line, Warden, and now it’s time for you to pay the price.”
With that, the line went dead.