Shadow, Bobby, and Doc take off toward the water, and I lie back down and stare at the clouds passing in the sky. Things have been peaceful around here: nobody has been shot or hit with a car, and I haven’t seen or heard from my mom, making me one hundred percent positive Shadow had indeed taken care of her. Now that I have children, though, I’m glad she’s gone. Who knows what kind of messed-up scam she would try and involve them in to get what she wanted. She was cold-hearted and only cared about her scorned heart.
“You look deep in thought,” Shadow says. I look over to see him lying back on a towel, staring up at the sky.
“I think it’s time I claim you outside of the club,” Shadow declares, smiling. I scrunch my nose, unsure what he means, but then it hits me.
“Are you serious?” I ask.
Shadow smirks. “I want everyone inside the club and out of it to know you’re mine. I want you to be my property and my wife,” he replies, brushing a hair from my face.
“Are you asking me to marry you?” I question, sitting up on my elbows.
Shadow laughs. “When have you known me to ask? I’m telling you, you’re going to be my wife,” he insists with a stern voice.
I throw my head back and laugh.
“I can’t wait to be yours, both inside the club and out,” I tell him with a smile.
The End
… for now
THE FEAR THAT DIVIDES US
(The Devil’s Dust #3)
M. N. Forgy
PROLOGUE
six years earlier
BOBBY
As I take a sip of what’s left of my beer, my eyes catch Babs coming through the kitchen over the top of the bottle. Her red hair is sticking to her face from the summer’s heat, and she’s mumbling about something. I set the empty bottle on the counter and watch her put up glasses and fill the ice bin. It’s quiet here, too quiet. Nights in the clubhouse are usually filled with easy women and drugs. Well, somewhat easy. Seeing as I’m still a prospect I don’t get anywhere near the amount of ass the patched in brothers get, but I do alright. I peel the label from my beer and start folding it in on itself.
Old Guy crashes through the club’s front doors, catching everyone’s attention.
“Where’s Bull?” Old Guy asks, his voice frantic.
I shrug, not sure.
“I think he’s in his room. You want me to grab him?” Shadow asks, sitting next to me. I look over my shoulder at Shadow and grin, ever since we became prospects he’s been kissing ass. I can’t help but make fun of him, and I can get away with it because I knew him way before the club.
“Yeah. Hurry up,” Old Guy demands. He runs his hands along the sides of his head, smoothing back the long hair that’s escaped from its ponytail.
I slide off my bar stool and toss my bottle in the trash. I’m curious as to what has Old Guy in such a state. Bull comes out of his room, buckling his belt.
“This better be good, goddamn it,” Bull mutters as he makes his way toward the front door.
Before we make it to the door, Old Guy comes in carrying a woman. She’s curled up against his chest making it hard to see whether I know her or not. She has blonde hair, stained with blood in some spots, and clothes that look like they haven’t been washed in days.
“What the fuck?” Shadow whispers, with disbelief. My eyes widen, shocked at the state the woman is in.
“Who is she?” I ask.
“Not sure. She pulled up in a nice car and kept asking to talk to whoever was in charge about wanting to make a deal before collapsing to the ground,” Old Guy informs.
“A deal?” Bull asks. He walks up to the woman and brushes the hair from her face. “Someone did a number on her.”
“There’s more,” Old Guy says. He shifts his feet, and looks downward. Movement catches my eyes, I look down at his legs to find a child clinging to Old Guy’s legs.
“Fuck me,” escapes from my mouth in shock. A little kid with long, blonde hair and red cheeks hugs onto Old Guy’s legs. I notice her pink dress, and kneel down to the little girl’s height. She has blonde hair like the woman who I’m assuming is her mother.
“Hi there, sweetie, is this your momma?” I ask, in a soft voice. I notice her left cheek is a little redder than her left, making me wonder if she fell down, or ran into something. Her face is stained from tears, and she has snot running down to her lips. She blinks her eyes a couple of times, as her bottom lip pouts. She looks at her mother and begins to wail.
“I don’t think she can talk yet,” Old Guy says, shifting the unconscious woman in his arms. I shrug, I know nothing about kids.
“What do you want me to do, Prez?” Old Guy asks.
Bull nervously runs his hands through his black hair. “Shit, just take her to one of the rooms.” Old Guy heads down the hall with the little girl clinging to his legs, crying.
“What are you thinking, Prez, taking in a stray?” Shadow asks, shaking his head.
“That woman obviously has nobody else. I’m not about to throw a child, with a passed out mother, out on the street,” Bull says, his voice sharp and angry.
Shadow nods, knowing he overstepped his boundaries.
“What the fuck, man?” I ask Shadow. I know he has issues, but I’m surprised he has no compassion for the woman and child.
Shadow glares at me with those evil-as-shit blue eyes.