“The MC has been going through some wild shit,” I said. “Our former President was not a good one. He had been working against the MC for a long time, benefiting himself. Trev came up from another charter to take the gavel. He’s a good man. A good President.”
“I like Eden.”
“She looks ready to pop.”
“She is,” Belle said. “I can’t imagine.”
“What? Being knocked up?”
“Well, besides that, just being in this world like this. How does it all work, Duke?”
“It just does. You either get it or you don’t.”
“What if someone dies? What if someone ends up jail?”
“Same thing could happen anywhere else,” I said. “I know, it’s hard to understand our life sometimes but you’ll get used to it.”
“Get used to it?”
“Sweetie, you’re not ditching me,” I said. “I’m not ditching you either. Whatever happened in the past I can’t control. I’ll apologize for it every day but I won’t let it happen again. I’m here for good. You’re here for good. You want to get married, sweetie? I’ll make that happen. You want to be like Eden? I’ll knock you up right here, right now. Shit, we’ve been going at it how long now without protection?”
Belle grinned and blushed. “I know, Duke. That doesn’t mean I did not protect myself.”
“I could end that in a heartbeat,” I said. “But that’s not why we’re up here.”
“Then why are we up here?” Belle asked.
“To catch our breaths for a second. Because it’s going to get crazier before it gets better. And I wanted to be alone with you, Belle. To look at you. To feel you. To give you a chance to think for a second.”
“I’ve got nothing at this point, Duke,” Belle said. “Honestly. I can’t believe what has happened since I called you. It’s like… like I started a fire.”
“Meaning what? You regret that call?”
Belle swallowed. “Duke…”
“Hey, it’s okay. You could regret anything you want.” I felt a little pain in my heart hearing that. “Anything, sweetie.”
“I just had no idea this was your life, Duke. I mean, are you happy?”
“I’m happy right now. That’s all I’m worried about.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“I told you how it all happened. You go over there and you come back changed. We were warned about it. But me and Jim… we just wanted action. I never thought it would happen the way it did. I came back and just couldn’t shake it all off. What was I going to do? Go from shooting at people that wanted me dead to what? Fixing cars and arguing with the general public over the cost of labor? Going to an office to… fuck that, sweetie. I needed that sense of power and freedom. I needed to break away from all that had taken me down to hell. And the second I landed with these guys I just knew it was right. We take care of each other and that’s all that matters. There’s no judges or juries. No lawyers. We take our shit to the table, talk, vote, and when that gavel hits, you do what’s told to do.” I slipped my hand into Belle’s hand. “Now, you and I together, sweetie, that’s right to me. And if you hadn’t made that call and I hadn’t seen what the pricks from the Hell Five were going to do, not only would Jim have been killed, you would have a war in your backyard. That call you made saved everyone. Shit, sweetie, it saved me. You saved me.”
That’s when I lost my breath for a second.
What the hell was I doing acting so vulnerable to her?
I backed away from Belle and turned around. Shit, I was right back to the same spot as before. Realizing that she was my real family. From the moment I met Jim, met her, met Big Jim. They all did more for me than my family ever did.
The emotion swung and hit me square in the chest. My throat closed up for a second and I stared out to the night. The stars up in the sky and the random lights from buildings and houses all around.
“Duke?” Belle asked.
I ignored her.
I was back there again. Staring up at the stars at night. We used to sit outside when allowed and shoot the shit. Talking with my boys from Tennessee, Michigan, Oregon, and Florida. Scattered across the country but united over there for one purpose. I never talked to anyone after the IED’s went off that day. The night before it all happened we were talking about the women we left behind. I painted a picture of me and Belle that was just…
I was back to reality and I spun around. Belle was a foot away and I grabbed her hands. My fingers locked into hers.
“You are everything to me,” I said. “From the day I saw you. Your dorky hair. Your ugly braces. When you had to wear glasses for a couple years. Through every awkward moment of yours I watched a beautiful woman flourish from it. And I waited patiently for the right time. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you, sweetie. The right time… the right life. Well now, I’m going to tell you something. Fuck that. Fuck the right time. Fuck the right life. All we have is this time and this life. And I want it with you.”
Belle’s mouth fell open. There were a few moments of silence and then she smiled.