Wood surrounds us. Since coming back here, all I’ve been able to think about is how quickly this place would set alight, hungry flames engulfing the entire building in seconds.
“We should book you in for a scan,” Diesel says. He sits on the edge of the bed. “After the fire and everything, we should make sure the baby is healthy.”
“It will be,” says Cash.
“Yes.” Diesel nods. “But it won’t do us any harm to check.” He reaches out to grab my hand, the feel of his skin immediately making me feel calmer. “Look, darling, I know the next few weeks are going to be challenging for you, so just let us know what you need. Space? Comfort? Just say the word.”
“The last thing I want right now is to be alone.”
Bishop sits beside Diesel. Cash stands, looking somber.
I bring my legs up to my chest, remembering the cracking bones. The blood. The fire. Everything leads up to that bullet shooting out of the gun, the moment Daddy became a corpse.
I look up, taking in my bikers. Seeing them makes me feel better, the guilt subsiding. If one of them had lost their lives, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself.
“I should apologize,” Diesel says. “For what I did all of those years ago. Your mother was innocent.” He bows his head respectfully, pausing for a moment. “Death always comes with a consequence, and seeing you hurt is the biggest one I have ever had to endure.”
I tense my jaw. I think it will always be a tough pill to swallow that Diesel was the one who shot Mom, but I believe him when he says it was an accident. I look into his eyes and don’t see a mask. I see him and know that he’s telling me the truth.
“Yes, karma doesn’t exactly have our interests at heart there,” I say, “but the pain of losing you would have hurt a thousand times more.”
Diesel’s stare deepens.
“We’re sorry about your father,” Bishop says after an extended period of silence.
I look up at him. Bishop isn’t sorry for his death—he’s sorry that Daddy was never there for me. At times, it might have appeared that way on the surface, but it was all fake.
And it hurts that I thought it was all true.
“Thanks,” is all I can say for now. They’re right, it’s gonna take me a while to wrap my head around all of this.
But still, there’s no time quite like the present, and right now, I have all of my bikers in the same room, a baby in my belly.
“Let’s not dwell on it too much,” I say. “A lot of damage has been done, but we still have each other.”
They all nod in unison.
I scootch forward toward Diesel and Bishop and bring them in for a hug, lifting my head to signal Cash to join. I bask in their masculine scents, the gasoline and leather that I could happily smell for the rest of my life. Encased in six tattooed arms, I feel safe, and it no longer feels like I’m hiding anymore. It feels real. This is my world. Cash, Bishop, Diesel, and our child.
We are the creators of our own future.
A heat grows between my legs, taking me by surprise. I didn’t think I’d be in the mood for anything for a while—yesterday we all just collapsed on the bed and tried to sleep, so I thought it would be this way for a while.
But it continues to grow.
And I continue to hug them.
There’s a shift in energy in the room. I know Diesel can sense it too, his breathing becoming heavier.
“What would you like, Melissa?” he asks, pulling away.
I look into his dark brown eyes and reach the conclusion that I’ve never been so certain of anything in my whole entire life. “You.” I turn my gaze to Bishop and Cash. “All of you.”
Bishop trails a finger up my bare legs. In terms of clothes, there wasn’t much that fit other than boxer shorts and loose tees four sizes too big. Bishop reaches my hip, lifting the hem of the T-shirt up to my hip so he can snake his hands around my waist.
“It feels so good to have you in my arms again, sweetheart,” he says.
I look at him, noticing a difference in his attitude. He wasn’t like this at the start—so open with his feelings—unless it had something to do with sex. As much as I adore this side of him, right now I want him to talk dirty.