Page 67 of Dirty Deeds

I try to lift my hand to rub at the ache, but they’re bound behind my back. Tears spill from my eyes as my gaze travels around the boat. The last time I was here, I met the man of my dreams. I didn’t know it at the time because I was jaded by Brent. That’s when I spot Brent, pacing outside on the deck, his phone to his ear.

“You’re not hearing me, Guthrie. You need to meet me at the marina. I fucked up.”

Panic sets in at those words and I close my eyes. Just when I thought the man I married couldn’t be any more vile, he proves me wrong. Anger surges through me and I start to kick my legs. I try to pull my hands free. I scream.

I cry.

I beg for someone to help me.

But the silk tie around my mouth makes it impossible.

He has me at his mercy.

Just like he always wanted.

CHAPTERTWENTY

WOLF

I pluckthe photo of my three sons from the mantle, and stare at it. They were so young. So carefree. They didn’t know how cruel the world was or that life would put them through the wringer as it does all of us. I don’t know if that’s because I shielded them from the ugly, or if I just didn’t pay enough attention to them.

My guess it’s the latter.

The last couple of years have been hard on us as a family. But losing my youngest son opened my eyes to a lot of things. God gave me three children. He gave me a legacy and it took losing Frankie for me to realize that legacy was not my club.

It was my sons.

For a long time after Frankie passed, I worried about Nico. I feared his guilt over falling in love with Carrie would consume him to the point of no return. But his devotion to Anna gave him purpose and even though he still struggles from time to time, I know deep down, he’ll be okay. He’s finally allowing himself to be happy and he’s finding his way within the club. I never wanted him to join the ranks of the Satan’s Knights, but you can’t fight city hall. Our kids are going to do what they want, and we can either support them in their journey or fight them along the way.

Enzo is a different story. I never worried too much about my middle child. Out of the three of them, he had his head screwed on the straightest and that’s mainly because he had no desire to be anything like me. But ironically, he wound up being my clone.

A lot of things can be said about me and most of them are all true.

I’m not a good man.

My crimes are endless.

And my hands have seen more blood than I care to admit.

But the ones that need me, got me.

And the ones that need Enzo, have him. He wears his heart on his sleeve, but he guards it where the ladies are concerned. He’s so afraid of failing a woman, that he hasn’t allowed himself to fall in love.

Until Danica Matthews.

I set the frame back in its rightful place. We can’t choose who we love, and often it’s the ones we least expect that knock us on our ass. Danica isn’t who I ever pictured my son falling for, and I certainly didn’t anticipate the trouble that would come with him finding his perfect match, but such is life, right?

She makes him happy.

And in the end, that’s what counts.

We get one life, and it goes by quickly. If you’re like me, you live half of it before you discover it’s not the grind that makes it full. It’s the people and the memories we create with the ones we love.

My phone rings, jarring my thoughts. Reaching into my kutte, I glance at the contact on my screen and a sense of dread washes over me.

We get one life, and it teaches that nothing ever comes easy.

Accepting Slim’s call, I lift the phone to my ear and brace myself.

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