Page 75 of Devil's Dilemma

“Sounds good, Ro.”

“You get dressed and ready, then we’ll get a bite to eat. I’ll take you home so you can get packed and make the arrangements and I’ll come pick you up later.” I frown slightly, running over what I’ll have to put in place to keep the shop going while I’m gone.

“I need to call Beth and tell her I’m okay. She was so guilty that she was the cause of me breaking down yesterday.”

“Christ darlin’. Tell her from me, I’m glad she spotted him. Otherwise we could have gotten blindsided when we least expected it. This way, we know what we’re dealing with. Sooner or later, we’ll catch up with him.”

“What will happen if we don’t find him? What will it mean to us?” Her anxious face turns toward me. We’d spoken about this before, so now I think she’s talking about the revelation I laid on her about her relationship in the eyes of the club.

I shrug. “I’ll take it to the table. Hopefully the brothers will vote him out of the club, so we can be together.”

She swings around fast. “Surely there’s no doubt they’ll do that?”

“Club rules are club rules. We don’t break them lightly.”

Her eyes widen. “So, we might never be allowed to be together?”

“One way or another, we will, and you can take that and bank it. If it means me leaving the club, then I’ll do it.”

She frowns. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

So do I.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Melissa

Having made my calls, including one to a very relieved Beth, and gotten time off work by playing the pregnancy sympathy card with my boss, I pack a small carry-on bag with stuff I’ll need in Vegas.

I tidy and clean my house, just to keep busy. I was startled by Pyro’s revelation that he’d leave the club to be with me, just that one statement in many ways showing what had been missing with Skull. Real commitment. A sign that he was going to be all in.

Of course, Skull had once mentioned doing the same thing, but I’d known at the time that would never have worked. Pyro, though, he’s more mature and while I’d had doubts about Skull being able to live in the citizen world, I don’t have the same fears about Pyro, believing I, and the baby, come first with him.

Having done everything I can, I sit on the couch, leaning my head back, thinking. Suddenly I feel a little flutter in my stomach.Wind?Hard to tell. But it could be my baby moving.

I sit still, hoping to feel the sensation again, proof that new life is growing within me.

I’m not surprised there’s nothing more. It could have been my imagination.

Pyro comes and collects me as promised. We have dinner at the club and a pleasant enough evening where the elephant in the room isn’t mentioned. Then, I again sleep in Pyro’s arms with the sheet separating us.

It’s an early start to get to the airport. Karl drives us to Pueblo Memorial, leaving us at the drop off point, so we don’t have to worry about parking.

“Have you spoken to your Mom and Dad about Skull turning up?” Pyro asks, as we line up for check-in.

“No.” I shake my head. “Didn’t seem to be any point in worrying them.”

“Don’t keep them out, Mel. You need people in your corner.”

I grimace. “I know, but there’s a balance between people trying to help, and you trying to stop them from overreacting. If Dad knew, he might be on the next plane to Vegas with a shotgun.” Half of me isn’t joking.

Pyro snorts. “Think he’d have to join the line.”

I find out something new about Pyro. He hates flying. On take-off he closes his eyes tightly, and holds my hand, only relaxing when the flight attendant starts serving.If it wasn’t for me, he’d be riding, or at least driving.Another reason to fall in love with him.

“Are we hiring a car?” I ask, once the plane’s levelled out and he seems more comfortable.

“No, Red will have someone picking us up.”

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