Chapter 27
MARTINA
Fifteen minutes later, Diesel still isn’t back. My phone buzzes, and I frantically swipe at the screen and answer it.
“You better get downstairs, now.” Maxie’s tense voice fills the phone.
“What’s the matter?” I almost don’t want her to answer.
“It’s not something I want to talk about over the phone. Just get down here. I’m in the back lot.”
I rush into the bedroom and throw on clothes as my brain shoots out every horrible scenario possible.
Maxie found Diesel with another woman.
Diesel is making Maxie do his dirty work and will tell me he’s breaking up with me.
Diesel is badly hurt, or has opened his stitches and is bleeding out.
I bolt out of the apartment, down the stairs and out the back door of the club. The bright sun blinds me, and when my eyes adjust, I see Maxie, Marisol and the other Harlots along with all the Royal Bastards.
“What’s going on?”
Diesel steps forward, and my heart jacks up to a dangerous level.
He holds out his hand, and the crowd parts around us. We walk farther until I’m standing next to a matte black and cobalt blue Harley Street Glide.
I look between the motorcycle and Diesel.
“You like it?” he asks.
“It’s beautiful. Whose is it?”
“It’s yours, babe,” Diesel says, like it’s the most logical thing in the world.
“Mine?”
“All yours.”
“But I don’t know how to ride, and—”
Diesel leans in, cups the back of my head, then whispers, “Just enjoy the moment. We’ll worry about the logistics later.”
“I don’t know what to say. It’s . . . I mean, I never . . .” My throat closes with emotion.
“Ohhh, no.” Maxie laughs. “Here she goes with the tears. Next thing, she’ll be hugging everyone.”
And, of course, she’s right. I start off with Diesel, and by the time I’m done, I’ve embarrassed most of the members of both clubs.
I run my hand over the smooth leather saddle. “I can’t believe it’s really mine.”
“Well, believe it.” Diesel wraps his arm around my waist. “And after we go over the basics, I’ll teach you how to ride.”
“As crazy as this guy is,” Blood jerks his thumb at Diesel, “he knows how to handle a bike.”
“This is what you were talking about on the phone before.”
“You heard me?”
“I thought you were breaking up with me. I even called Maxie.” Then I turn to Maxie. “You knew all about this, huh?”
“Yup, but I was sworn to secrecy. Probably the only time I’ve let Diesel tell me what to do.”
They all laugh, and, for the second time that week, I realize I’ve found my people. My tribe. The place I truly belong.
DIESEL
Smoke, Blood, and I congregate around the portable bar in the corner of my living room.
“Well, you’re one of us now.” Blood slaps me on the back.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been a Royal Bastard for over a year.”
“Nah, brother, being a Royal Bastard has nothing to do with it.” Blood and Smoke exchange a smirk. “You’re now a member of the pussy-whipped men attached to the Royal Harlots.”
I screw up my lips. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”
“Like it or not, it’s what you are.”
“So, you’re telling me you’re both pussy-whipped?”
Smoke and Blood exchange another look. “I don’t think our brother knows the true meaning of being pussy-whipped, so why don’t you explain it to him, VP?”
Blood slings his heavy arm over my shoulders. “Pussy-whipped is when a guy goes along with the little shit and doesn’t bitch.” He waves his hand at our women laughing and toasting Martina’s new Harley with mimosas. “Like this, so later he can have a taste of pussy.”
I take in Blood’s words, then nod.
“Small price to pay for these outstanding women, but don’t get me wrong, if Marisol or Maxie push too hard, we push back, just not about the small shit.”
“Makes sense.” Can’t argue with their logic.
“And it makes for the whole happy wife, happy life thing.”
Marisol saunters over. “I hope you guys aren’t scaring him off getting with a Harlot.”
“Nope.” Smoke tugs Marisol to his side. “Just laying out the facts.”
“I suppose he gave you the whole pussy-whipped talk.” Marisol flicks her eyes between Blood and Smoke.
“Ahhhh.” Now I’m in a tight spot. Sell out my prez or piss off his woman?
“I hope he did ‘cause, that way, you’ll get exactly how things work.” She pecks Smoke on the cheek and makes her way back to the women.
“What just happened here?” I ask.
“Clear-cut example of pussy-whipped.”
Smoke holds up his glass. “Here’s to strong women and the reason we love them.”
MARTINA
After everyone leaves, I gather up the glasses and bring them into the kitchen. Diesel wraps his arms around my waist. “Why don’t we leave the clean-up till later?”
I turn in his arms and smile, loving the strength radiating off his body. “Today was amazing. Of all the things I was imagining earlier, I never thought I’d own my own Harley by the end of the day.”
“You’ve been through so much. I wanted to give you a little happiness.”
“Well, that is way more than a little gift. Honestly, I’m thrilled, but I know it was expensive and—”
He puts his forefinger against my lips. “I wanted to do it, and the look on your face made it all worthwhile. I just—” He stops, and I sense a mood shift.
I cup his cheek. “You look worried.”
“Something’s weighing on me, and since we promised we’d only spit the truth from now on, I gotta ask you.” He pauses and draws in a breath. “Now that you have your passport, are you still staying in Tijuana?”
I weigh my words in my head, wanting to get them right and in a way Diesel will understand. “It’s kind of crazy. When Eduardo handed me my passport in his apartment, all I could think about was getting back to the States. Of course, I want to see my mother, and I will, but then everything changed.”
“Because of me?” Diesel asks.
“Not the way you think. I’ll admit, you turning me away hurt, but even with all that, I still wanted to fight.
Then, when I got in the cage, it all became clear.
Winning is amazing, but even if I hadn’t won, my decision would be the same.
I like the exhilaration, the high of having control of my body and my mind. ”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“Finding the Harlots and sharing the same goals and desires when it comes to fitness is validating. I always felt out of step with other girlfriends who were only interested in makeup and fancy clothes. I was always into working out. It’s what keeps me sane, and with the Harlots, I’ve finally found my people. I finally fit in.”
“I can tell they feel the same about you.”
“It’s that feeling of finally belonging.”
“When I first came down here, I was on the run from a mob boss, but also myself. Two shitty marriages, and I wasn’t even thirty. I was drinking and drugging too much, then Smoke and Blood came along, and they knew me, ‘cause at one time, they were me.”
“Exactly.”
“Looks like we both found our right place.”
“As long as we’re together, it’s the right place.”
THE END