Page 12 of In It for the Long Ride

We stared at each other for a long moment, and she slowly brought her mouth back to mine. I couldn’t help it, I melted into her. I grabbed her by either side of her face and kissed her back like I wasn’t ever going to let go again.

I feasted on her lips until we were both breathless, and then I held her close with my forehead pressed against hers.

“Does… does Oakland know she is a cop? What about Easy? I raised them, Daisy,” I finally let it all spill out. “I fucking raised them. Easy. Oakland. Shit, even Mak. If I tuck tail and run, that leaves them eating this mess. And, Darlin’... I don’t know what you know, but as things sit right now, Oakland and Easy would be left in the worst shape of all. They’re the last two sitting presidents, and Mak is clinging to that fucking V.P. patch. They’re going to get slammed. Oh, goddamn. What the fuck have we done…”

Daisy grabbed the bottle and finished refilling her glass, taking me up on that third shot after all. I noticed the way she trembled, but her voice was pure steel when she found it.

“I love Eric, and I think the world of Oakland. God knows I do. But…” She shook her head and pinched her lips into a thin line before slamming the shot. “They’re men. They made their fucking choice. They each made an active decision to bean outlaw. A criminal. Blaze didn’t ask for any of that. I have to think of him now. Only him.”

I hesitantly nodded.

I couldn’t argue with her. She wasn’t wrong, and yet, we both knew it wasn’t that damn simple. Not for Easy. Hell, not for Oakland either. They’d both suffered immeasurable loss at such an early age. That pain, coupled with the perfect storm had left them just out of reach for everyone but the outlaws. It wasn’t like Mark, or me and my brother had ever tried to dissuade any of them from being prospected or patched.

Guilt was a funny thing, and if anything happened to those boys, I’d be carrying around arsenals of it. I knew myself well enough to know that with certainty.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Who the hell is gonna think about you then?”

I forced one corner of my mouth up with a smile.

She sucked in a sudden breath and looked away, but not before I saw the way her lower lip quivered. I palmed her jaw and cheek, caressing her the way I had dreamed of. I scooted her shot glass aside, set the bottle next to it and collected her hand in both of mine. I kissed each knuckle patiently, and then looked into her big, brown eyes.

“Let me do this for you…” I begged. “Let me push Easy to safety.”

That angelic face crumpled, and she began to sob. I gathered her into my arms and slowly rocked her while she clung to me. I stroked her hair and kissed her crown while she quieted and began to compose herself.

“I don’t know how in the world you think that’s possible, but God knows, I’d give anything for it.” Her voice cracked, though it never climbed above a whisper.

I pulled her back and stared into her eyes while she quietly wept.

“I’m going to take the patch and force him aside.”

Her tears dried before I’d finished my sentence and those vivid-brown eyes turned dangerously cold. She sniffed and unwound herself from me without another word.

“Daisy,” I quietly attempted, but she didn’t look back, she entered the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Chapter 6

Montana

I couldn't blameher for being scared. She was a woman. A woman who had seen the worst that my lifestyle had to offer. There wasn't any sense in sugarcoating shit, she knew what it was and what it wasn't.

Lying to her had never been an option, we were too old to sell dreams to one another. And yet, she wasn't ready to accept that someone had to wrap this up.

Me.

It has to be me.

Those boys in uniforms weren't going to let us fade quietly into the night. Nor was the Valentino mob going to forget us. We couldn't let them, not while they were holding Easy’s wife.

Fuck.

Somebody had to put an end to it, and when that happened, law enforcement would want their pound of flesh.

It was that knowledge that kept me rooted in the chair and drinking as the hours passed. I steeled my resolve until the sound of her sniffling stopped. I thought it would be a blessing, but the silence was worse than the sound of her pain. The low hum of electricity grated my nerves until the sound seemed deafening. I rubbed my face, covered my ears, and tried to focuson something, anything but the thoughts that we're currently smothering me.

There was no mercy to be found, there never was for the likes of me. My mind raced until I was certain of at least one thing, and that was the fact that come morning, she’d be gone.

She was fixing to wake up, pack her things and the boy, and ride off without a soul in her corner.

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