Page 67 of Blackbeard
I collapsed next to Leigh, holding her hips snug against my groin. She wiggled back, tugging my arm around her waist.
A smile touched my lips and I palmed her breast, burrowed my face into the curve of her neck.
Maybe I could get used to being a married man after all.
A week before the Makarov run was scheduled to go down, I found Baby Doll in the clubhouse on a quiet morning. Every gun she owned—five total—was in pieces on the table before her. She thoroughly cleaned and inspected each piece, before putting the gun back together again.
Big G and Vlad were zoned out in front of the television, talking in low voices and nursing cups of coffee.
Crash emerged from the kitchen with a mop and a bucket of soapy water. He lifted his hand in greeting, but he didn’t say anything before he disappeared out of sight.
Mornings weren’t typically crowded or loud affairs at the clubhouse. Only a handful of us were early birds. The rest of us drank too much, stayed up too late, and overslept the next day.
But this deal with the Makarovs and the Forsaken had everyone more subdued than usual. Kingpin made it clear that no man—or woman—among us would be forced into taking the gig. Each person had to assess for themselves whether they were willing to take on the risks that came with this job.
If anyone chose to stay behind, it wouldn’t be held against them.
None of us backed out. Even Crash was allowed to volunteer, as long as he didn’t get in the way.
Baby Doll used her foot to push out the chair across from her, wordlessly inviting me to sit. She continued to assemble her pistol while I took a seat.
“You’re glowing,” she said, indignant. “That harpy of a wife you signed up for was supposed to bleed the life out of you.”
I breathed a faint laugh and picked up a bristle brush, cleaning out the muzzle of her shotgun.
“Honestly, I’m surprised she didn’t stab me in my sleep within the first seventy-two hours of our marriage. Sometimes, I’m amazed I’m still breathing, to be honest.”
“Well,” Baby Doll replied. “I wagered fifty bucks that your bride would get sick of your shit after two weeks and demand a divorce.”
“Your confidence in me is heartwarming,” I said in a flat voice.
“Spike, on the other hand,” Baby Doll continued, showing no remorse and no mercy. “He wagered that you would be hypnotized by pussy, committed to doing everything in your power to make the marriage work. So I lost,” she sulked. “And Spike was fucking right.”
I pressed my lips together tightly to smother my amusement.
“He’ll never let you hear the end of it now,” I pointed out.
Baby Doll groaned.
“God, I hate you. You’re my best friend, and you failed me. How could you do this to me, Diego?”
She tossed her rag at me playfully. I caught it in mid-air and tossed it back, hitting her in the face. She sputtered and wrinkled her nose at me.
But I knew her well enough to recognize when she was looking out for me, concerned. We worked in silence for a few minutes, while I debated how much to tell her.
Taking Leigh to meet my parents had changed things between us, creating a shift that was…domestic, intimate,embodying what a marriage was supposed to be, not a damned business deal.
Even though Leigh was beginning to win me over, I couldn’t say the same was true for my club.
“Would you believe me if I told you that I wasn’t thinking with my downstairs brain in this scenario?”
Baby Doll snorted with skepticism.
“Not even a little. I’ve known you for seven or eight years by now, and in all that time, you have never looked at another woman the same way that you look at your wife these days.”
I sighed and folded my arms across the table. She was right. After my breakup with Courtney, I committed myself to life as a bachelor. I swore off having any serious, long term relationships, and never entertained the idea of marriage, no matter how much Abuela heckled me about it.
I didn’t suffer from a lack of companionship. I had the Blackjacks, my family, and good friends like Baby Doll. Getting five minutes alone was a rare occurrence.
