Forsaken - Book 2 (Star Crossed MC Lovers) (10 page)

Chapter 11

Selene

Shock rolled over me in deafening waves as I walked back into the garage. Domingo was an ass, but he was still family. He was the one to teach me to ride a bike as a little girl, and fight with two fists. Tears burned my eyes, and I let out a frustrated growl. The bastard rarely carried a gun. He was a knife fighter. Was he really reaching for a gun?

I spun on my heel as Lucky opened the door and pressed his hands to his hips. "I need your help, Lena. I can't drag him through the forest. You're going to have to help me pick him up."

"He was my fucking cousin, Luck. This isn't some random guy that you killed. He was my Uncle Jeffery's son." I let the anxiety that threatened to pull me under rise up and fill my voice with a tightness that best explained where I was.

"I understand that," Lucky bit out through clenched teeth.

I could tell he was shaken.

"He came at me, Selene. What choice did I have but to defend myself? Fuck."

"Defending yourself doesn't mean killing someone," I growled back, hating that we were fighting, but stuck in the middle of it now.

"So killing someone who attacks you with a knife and goes to pull a gun isn't okay, but watching an innocent guy snort your daddy's shit and seize to death... that's all cool and shit?" He growled loudly and turned, walking back out in the early morning.

How had things gone from us making love to screaming at each other?

Right. My family showed up.

I let out a shaky breath, finished putting my boots back on, and went in search of him. He was right about one thing... I wasn't at all like my father. He wasn't either, though. I needed to tread carefully. If I had called him the day before to come and help me with Jamison he wouldn't have hesitated a second. I couldn't either.

Setting my resolve, I walked out of the garage and moved toward the edge of the forest where Lucky was tugging my cousin through a puddle of mud. I almost barked at him again, but held my tongue. I bent down and picked up Domingo's legs.

"I'm sorry, baby. I wouldn't have killed him if-" he started.

"I know. I'm sorry too. I just want this kind of shit to go away." I nodded toward the forest. "Let's get this over with. I'm going to be sick later over just being a part of it."

He moved back into the forest, walking quickly, but carefully. "Then help me get him out here and go back inside. I don't want your hands dirty with a murder, Selene."

"Murder? Fuck is that what it is when you're defending yourself?" I leaned down as we stopped and let out a painful sigh. There was no love lost between me and my cousin, but having seen two dead men in the last two days, I was slightly overwhelmed.

"I guess. Hell, if I know." Lucky wiped the back of his forearm across his forehead and let out a shaky sigh. "I never would have imagined taking anyone's life. I'm  against this kind of shit."

"I know, baby." I moved toward him, needing his touch all of a sudden. What the hell we were going to tell my dad was another story.

Nothing. I'm not telling him shit. He can think Domingo hit the open road and gave up on all of us.

Lucky wrapped me in a tight hug, kissing the top of my head and then moving us back toward the garage. "I'll deal with the rest. Just clean up the garage and as soon as I'm done, we'll get the fuck out of here."

I nodded, not quite sure I wanted to talk about anything else. After he dropped me back off at the garage, he found a tool that resembled a shovel and left.

Cleaning up quickly, I forced myself to hum a song I'd heard on the radio a few weeks before and calm down. My heart was racing at the thought of Lucky getting found out, but I should have been worried for myself, too. Lucky's situation was out in the middle of nowhere. Mine was in a fucking arcade in the middle of town.

Plopping down on the couch, I pressed my hands into my hair and tugged lightly. How differently things were now. Lucky and I were obviously going to try to repair the damage between us, but the fun, playful stuff was gone. I longed for it, and yet I knew that because of our life choices that it would be a while until the sun shone down on us again. Until we were free.

He walked back in, and I stood, my chest contracting painfully at how pale he was.

"You okay?" I asked and walked toward him.

"I guess." He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself.

I wrapped mine around his from the side and kissed his shoulder. "You couldn't have known that he would come here."

"I'm worried about anyone else knowing about us. I can handle the Wolves, but your father put an end to what he thought was a friendship a year ago, Lena." He glanced down at me before releasing his hold on himself and turned to pull me  against him. "I can't lose you again. I won't."

"No. You don't have to, baby." I lifted to my toes and kissed him as my fingers brushed through his dark brown hair.

"I want more time with you, but you need an excuse, Lena. We can't keep leaving the door open for your people or mine to take note that we're missing for long chunks of time." He touched my face. "I don't just want your body, baby. I want your time and your conversation, your thoughts. I need to see you laugh and have fun. I want so much from you, Lena. Just promise me that we can work toward it. That all of this shit will one day be worth it."

"It will. I can feel it already starting to get better." I ran my hands up his chest and cupped his neck, pulling him down into one more kiss. "I told my father that I'm starting college. It will give me an out for a good chunk of the day, every day. How about we nickname you St. John's community college?"

He chuckled and brushed his nose past mine. "Anything to have more time with you."

"I need to go. I'm going to head back to the house. I'll text you later." I kissed him again.

"You sure you're okay? I'm sorry about--"

I pressed my fingers to his lips. "Hush. I'm sad to lose another member of my family, but if he was threatening you, then you come first."

There was no way I was going to let Lucky know just how fucked up my insides were at knowing that he point blank killed someone without hesitation. It was nothing like what my father had called on Dante to do back at the house a few days before, but it was a death nevertheless.

"I love you, girl. You're mine. Forever." He nipped at my lips, and I smiled, nodding and walking out of the garage. I needed to get home and convince my father of my college acceptance. Seeing that I was interrupted, there was only one way to do that.

I would get Dante to go up there with me.

***

Mateo met me at the door with a goofy grin on his fat face when I walked into the house.

"Where you been, Lena?" He poked at my side as I swatted his hand away.

"Out. Why?" I swatted at him again. "Get the fuck off. I'm not in the mood."

"Your dad's sent Elec out to find you. Said you had to deal with some rough shit yesterday."

I paused and turned to face my youngest cousin. "Rough shit? Some dude died at my feet and Elec left me the fuck there to deal with it on my own."

"Right, and as a patched member, that should be no problem for you." He touched the side of my face and gave me a shit-eating grin. "Remember that, silly girl. They’re watching you."

"Good. I'm not doing that shit anymore." I pulled from him and walked into the main dining hall. Paz was on his phone at the far end of the room, looking at the window and talking in a low voice. I turned and walked from the room, almost bumping into Mateo.

"Back the fuck up, bro." I pushed at his chest softly. "You're not my shadow."

"No, but Dante will be soon. Your papa's worried." He chuckled.

"You're getting on my fucking nerves." I moved down to my dad's office, knocking once and walked in, making sure to slam the door in my cousin’s face.

Dante glanced up from the couch where he was sitting, a tight smile spreading across his thin lips. "Speak of the devil."

My father poked his head out from a large closet just beside his desk. "Butterfly. There you are. We were getting worried."

"I was at Grandma's. I have a living grandparent, remember?" I grumbled and took a seat as far as I could from Dante. They were both a little too happy to see me, which could mean only one thing... another job or trip to deliver death to some poor, unsuspecting victim.

"Someone is a little edgy." My father chuckled and moved to stand beside Dante. "You take her now that she's here."

"Take me where?" I couldn't seem to keep the angst out of my voice. I hated that I was pissy, but I was. Just being in the house around them made me that way.

"We feel bad about your college stuff, so Dante's going to take you up there and help you with anything you need to get all signed up." He patted Dante's shoulder.

"Fine." I shrugged, getting my way without having to say anything at all.

"That was easy." Dante chuckled and stood. "I'll drop the stuff off at the Markum party too. Selene can stay in the car."

"Car? I'd rather take my bike." I stood up too. "I'm itching to ride."

My father glanced at Dante, as if it were his right to decide how we were riding. I almost snapped at the two of them that I was a grown-ass woman, but I kept my tongue.

Dante glanced at me and nodded. "It's all good. She can take her bike and I'll follow behind her. I understand the need to ride."

"Thanks." I walked to the door. "I need ten minutes to freshen up."

"Alright, and butterfly?" My father began. "I'm proud of you."

"Why is that?" I opened the door and turned around to face them.

"For leaving that fucker to die. We don't need rats in our world, Lena. He deserved what came to him. I’m proud of you for delivering it." He winked and turned back to Dante as my stomach turned upside down.

I barely made it to my bathroom upstairs before hitting my knees and throwing up everything in my stomach.

My father was proud of me for watching someone die.

Maybe Lucky was right. Maybe it was time to join the other side. I couldn't stay on the side I was currently on. I didn't even know the man leading us anymore. My father died a long time ago.

Probably the night he killed my mother.

Chapter 12

Lucky

I will still shaking by the time I made it back to the bar. Having the courage to kill someone came natural just because of the way the MC helped to raise me most of my high school years. None of my brothers would have hesitated to take out a crazed Delgado who was reaching for a weapon.

Then why do I feel like such shit about this?

It had to be because of the look on Lena's face. She'd been stunned, shocked and slightly disgusted. I pulled up to the clubhouse and let my thoughts dissipate. There was nothing I could do about it now, and even though I was a little overwhelmed myself, life went on.

I could worry about her approval and mental stability later when I lay in the darkness of my room for an afternoon nap. It was coming... I promised myself.

Rusty glanced up as I walked into the clubhouse and tugged my bag over my shoulder. "Hey kiddo. Whatcha know?"

"Nothing much, old timer." I smiled and stopped by my room to drop my stuff off. Several of the guys lived at the clubhouse, which moonlighted as a bar and a small restaurant when old Mae was up to cooking. The rest of the members were married and living around the edges of the city.

After washing my hands and fixing my hair to lay flat, I walked back out into the bar and put on a bar apron. It was almost lunchtime and the place was going to fill up like it always did near the weekend.

"You alright, boy?" Blade walked up to the bar and pressed his thick forearms on it as he watched me closely. His distinguished look was almost comical given the fact  he was a hardened biker. He could fool just about anyone. Not me, though.

"Yeah. I've been better." I rolled my shoulders. After all the shit I'd been through with my old man, Blade was the one to rescue me. I wasn't willing to lie to him or do anything that might hurt our relationship.

"Liar." He tapped the bar. "Come out back with me and help me unload the new truck of liquor that came in. The guy driving the fucker is out cold, and I know today is going to be busy. Football game is playing tonight and the town's buzzing already."

I nodded and walked out of the bar with the older man on my heels. A comfortable silence lay between us, which was more than welcome. Lena was the only other one in the world that I could simply be myself around and not feel the need to fill the air with idle chatter.

We worked on the truck for about ten minutes before Blade hit me up again. "You gonna tell me what has you so damn pale?"

"Yeah. These fucking boxes are heavy. Not all of us are ape-shit strong like you." I gave him a cheeky grin, but he wasn't having any of it. "Yeah... I killed Domingo Delgado this morning. Fucker pulled a knife on me, and then went for his piece."

Blade stopped in his tracks. "What? Where? Do we need to go bury the body?"

"No. I already did it." I didn't answer the other questions, which had him in my face fast.

"I asked you where and what happened. We don't keep secrets from each other, Lucas. You know that." He squeezed my arm firmly, but not enough to threaten me.

"I know that, Blade, but I have a few things I'm dealing with that I don't want to share with the MC just yet. A man still has his privacy." I tugged away from him, trying hard not to let my temper flare. I had too much of my old man in me as it was.

"I'm not talking about the club, boy. You and I have been through a lot together. You're like a son to me. I'm here if you need something. You know that." His voice was gravelly, and I knew he was holding back emotion he didn’t want to show.

"I'm in love with Selene Delgado. I want her to be my wife; the mother of my children, my riding partner forever." I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned to face the music.

"That it? Fuck. I thought maybe you were thinking of running or joining the other side." He let out a long chuckle.

"Really?" I stood stone still, a little shocked by his lack of concern.

"Yeah, really. She's a woman and you're a man. I know you're rivals, but you'll figure that shit out. You know where your place is, and the fact that you wasted one of her cousins this morning leaves me to believe that you're not going to cross the line. Women come first, but not above the pledge of the club. You know that, right?"

I did, though I didn't agree. I nodded and got back to picking up boxes of liquor. The sound of someone calling my name had me glancing up.

My father.

"There you are, you bastard." He hiccupped and walked toward us, waving his fist in the air. I'd not seen him in more than three months. The last time we'd been in the middle of town, and he'd torn me down so fast that I didn't react when he came swinging at me. How he could hate me so much for nothing was stifling.

"You're not welcomed here, Paul. Back your drunk ass up and get out of there." Blade moved in front of me, and I almost had to laugh.

I was in much better shape than the biker before me, but it wasn't about brute strength. Blade was making a statement to my old man. I belonged to him and the MC now. If I fought... we all fought.

My dad stopped in his tracks and crossed his arms over his frail chest. "I ain't got no beef with you. Move the fuck outta the way. I'm taking my boy back home."

"Your boy is a man, and he's a patched member of the Wolves now. He don't belong to you no more, old coot. Get the fuck out of here, or I'll hand out ass-whooping after ass-whooping. You hear me?"

I had no doubt that my father was going to ignore that warning completely. He was an old navy vet and there was no telling him anything that he didn't want to hear. He'd sooner take an ass-whooping than back down  any day.

It was going to get ugly if I didn't step in, so I did. Moving around Blade, I took a step toward my father and lifted my hand, palm facing him.

"Stop, alright? I'm not going home with you, and I'm not a boy anymore. You keep getting in my face, and I'm going to be the one to whoop your ass. It's not something I want to do, but I will." I rolled my shoulders as anger over all the abuse I'd taken roared to life inside of me.

"Fuck you, Lucas. You're not going to do shit." He moved toward me, and I turned, lifting my hand to Blade as I could hear him moving forward to. I would take care of it. It was far overdue.

He swung at me, and I jerked to the left, missing his mean right hook. I grabbed his arm as it moved past me and pulled, tugging him off balance, which wasn't too damn hard to do. He was drunk as a skunk, which was nothing unusual.

Kicking at the back of his knee, I put him on the ground, pulled his hands behind his back and put my knee in his back. I wanted to press his face into the dirt, to punch him a hundred times and make him feel the pain of all he'd done to me, but I couldn't. I was nothing like some of the monsters in our town. I would never be.

I pressed down on his back and leaned down so that he could see my face. "Get out of here! I'm not playing with you anymore. Every punch, every hit, every nasty word is worthy of me putting a bullet in your skull, but I'm nothing like you. I never will be. I can't wait until I have a son so I can show him just how special he is. What a gift he is."

Blade moved up beside me and ruffled my hair. "Come on, Luck. He's not worth your time. He's dead to us... remember?"

I looked up as my heart raced. "Yeah. You're right."

Getting up, I had to move fast to miss my father's leg as he swung it out, trying to knock me off my feet. Blade moved in and pressed his boot to the side of my dad's face.

"Get the fuck off my property right now, Paul. I see you again, and we'll be burying your ass on the back ninety. Got it?" He pressed down as my dad groaned.

Some part of me wanted to defend the old goat, but I knew better. He needed to learn a lesson, and I was grateful to Blade for teaching it. Moving back to the truck, I picked up the last three boxes and heaved them into the bar.

Knife met me and took one of them off of me, his eyes moving across my face. "What's up?"

"Just my old man causing shit again." I sat the other two boxes on the bar and shrugged. "No big deal."

"He outside?" Knife sat his box down and reached over, squeezing the back of my shoulder tightly.

"Yeah, but Blade's out there with him."

Knife chuckled. "Seems like I might need to get out there then. He's the most likely to take your dad out."

"True." I turned my attention back to the bar as my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see the first text I'd gotten from Lena in the last year. A smile moved across my face and peace settled back over me.

Juliet: There's a place called Clay's near the south side. About 20 minutes from here. You know it?

Romeo: I do. What about it?

Juliet: Meet me there at ten. I got us a room.

Romeo: Done. Be careful. Hurry up!

Romeo: Don't tell me what to do.

I chuckled and slipped the phone back in my pocket. Knowing that she wasn't too pissed at me loosened the knot in my chest that had formed earlier that morning. Where I'd have cared greatly about the situation with my dad a few months before, he meant nothing to me now. He would die alone, and most likely drink himself into a coma, but that was his fate. I could have no part of it, namely because he didn't want me to.

Looking around at all the familiar faces, I let go of my past. My future was here, in the MC, and with Lena.

Blade stopped in front of the bar as I moved behind it and tapped the counter top. "He's gone."

"Good. Thanks, but you know I can handle my own shit, right?"

"Wouldn't doubt that for a minute, Lucky. It's just a lot harder to handle your own shit when  family is involved." He rolled his shoulder. "Your secret’s safe with me, too. Just be careful. Make sure that when the time is right, you bring that little girl over here for us to help take care of her."

"Lena?" I turned my attention on the old biker.

"Yeah. We all know that Rafael ain't got no respect for women. I don't know what she doing over there, but it can't be good." He ran his hand through his hair. "Just be smart about all of this. They'll put a hit on you so fast that it will make your head spin."

"A hit?" I laughed. "They want all of us dead."

"Good point. Get to work and stop being a smart-ass." He tapped the bar and turned, walking off into the crowd of townsfolk that had shown up.