Haven: Renegade Saints MC (24 page)

Max

I couldn’t stop thinking about Talia, and the look on her face as she’d laughed. It sent shivers down my spine and chills through my whole body. It was like she’d reached right into my chest, pulled out my heart and ripped it in two.

I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get over her.

The first night that we were home, I stayed in my room. Alone. Tori seemed to sense that I wasn’t feeling well, and she left me alone. I wanted to talk to her, I wanted to explain everything to her, but I knew that now wasn’t the right time. Now was a time for healing, and now was going to be my time to relax and recover from everything that had happened.

It was only a matter of time before Danny knocked on my door.

“Come in,” I said in a low voice. Danny handed me a beer and we clinked.

“I talked to the guys, and they’re all really sorry for suspecting you,” Danny said darkly. He took a long pull on his beer and glanced out the window. “Everyone feels like a real fucker for thinking that you killed Kristoff.”

I shrugged. I barely even felt that pain anymore. The shock with Talia had eclipsed everything else I felt about Kristoff and the MC. Dealing with the fallout from the Renegade Saints wasn’t a priority now that I felt like my whole life had been ripped apart. Everything I’d ever known had been a lie. Even the shock of finding out how Kristoff had ruined Talia’s mother didn’t hit home the way it should have. I wondered how Tori was taking it.

“She’s alright,” Danny said. I glanced at him. “I mean Tori,” he added. “She’ll be fine. She’s real shaken up over learning that shit about her dad, but she’ll be alright in the end.”

I nodded. “I can hardly believe it myself,” I said in a low voice. “I can’t believe that Kristoff would have done that. He always seemed like such a solid guy.”

“Maybe Talia’s mother wasn’t, you know, right in the head,” Danny said. He tapped himself on the temple and took a drink of beer. “It happens, you know. Men lie to women. Things like this get out of control.”

I swallowed hard. “That’s one fuckin’ word for it,” I said slowly. “Thanks for sticking around, man.”

Danny nodded. “That’s what I’m here for,” he said. “You know that, man. I got your back. You’re my brother, my only family.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “So, I guess you’re not thinking about leaving the MC anymore to start your own garage?”

Danny laughed. “I was never really thinking of doing that,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It’s that witchy woman who told me it would be a good idea.”

I chuckled. “Tori’s persuasive,” I said. “I can’t believe I married her, you know? She came to me, asking for help…and this is how it turned out.”

Danny shrugged. “Don’t matter,” he said blackly. “My parents only knew each other for about twenty-four hours before they were standing in front of a judge.” He winked. “Mom always said she got pregnant that first night. I just think she didn’t wanna let my dad get away.”

For a moment, we sat in silence like that. It felt different, like all of the tension had been resolved. I was almost able to believe that things would be good again, that there would come a day when I wouldn’t think of Talia. But then, her face would float into my mind and I’d be left feeling even more unsure.

“I don’t know that I can ever get over her,” I confessed. “She broke every rule in the book and part of me will always love her.”

Danny looked at me with a weird expression on his face. “She did,” he said slowly. “And she’s a real snake, Max. You know that, right?”

I nodded. “I know,” I said sadly. “I didn’t mean that I still love her, I just meant…well, I meant that moving on wouldn’t be so fuckin’ easy.” I swallowed hard, feeling tears come to my eyes. A few years ago, I would have wanted to kill myself and give in my man card for crying so much. But now it was second nature, even it was embarrassing as hell.

Danny glanced at me. “You alright, man?”

“I just don’t know,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Danny shrugged. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “You can’t have any way of knowing that,” he said, taking a deep drag. “You just can’t know.”

I took one of his cigarettes and lit up. “Thanks,” I said softly. “I appreciate it, man.”

Danny left me alone for the rest of the night. Occasionally I’d go into the kitchen for some bourbon, but other than that I couldn’t bring myself to leave the house. I didn’t even feel like going for a long ride on my bike; it would have felt wrong, celebratory almost.

Tori was acting weird. I could tell she was avoiding me, and I didn’t want to pry. But the next morning, I knocked on the door of her room.

When Tori answered, I was shocked to see that she was fully dressed. “What are you doing?”

Tori shrugged. “I thought I could find an apartment somewhere,” she said softly. “You know, get a job. Maybe take some of my inheritance money and do something good with it.”

I glanced at the ceiling. “Why? What makes you want to leave?”

Tori reached out and touched my hand. A spark leapt between us. “I don’t want to leave, really,” Tori said. Her green eyes were filling with tears and I could tell that she was deeply upset. “I don’t want to go, Max, but I have to go.” She reached up and wiped her cheek. “I mean, you don’t love me.” She sniffed again. “You love Talia, and Talia’s alive. And the most important thing for you to is to be back with her.” She tried to pull the ring off her finger but it was stuck.

I was shocked. “Tori, what the fuck are you talking about?”

She took a few steps backwards and sat down on the bed. “I know you love her, Max,” Tori said again. “I can see it in your eyes. I could see it in your eyes when you first told me about her, after I’d found the brush and mirror in your closet. I know that you two were engaged, and meant to be together forever.”

I swallowed hard. “Tori, that’s—”

“Wait,” Tori said. “Please,” she added, flushing deeply. “I mean, I’m not through yet.” She glanced down and finally took her hand away from me. “I want to let you pursue a divorce, Max. You were kind enough to protect me when I needed protecting, and I think that time has passed.” She looked in my eyes and I felt my heart breaking all over again. It wasn’t possible that Tori would try to leave me now! Not after all that had happened, not after everything that we’d worked on together.

“Tori, please.”

“No,” she said firmly. “Please, Max. I also wanted to apologize.” She glanced at the floor. “I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for breaking out of the house and making you chase me, twice. If I hadn’t been stupid enough to go, this never would have happened.” She swallowed hard and more tears came streaming down her cheeks. “If I’d just come to you when I got the phone call yesterday, we would have avoided this whole thing. You never would have had to kill Silas, and the police wouldn’t have had to come.” Her voice broke and she started sobbing. I could tell that Tori was really broken up about this. I felt helpless watching her, like there was nothing I could do.

“Tori, I had to kill Silas,” I said, taking her hands and looking deeply into her eyes. “I had to, you know that, right? He was dangerous, and he was a menace, and he would have begun abusing other women if I hadn’t taken care of him. I think the only goodness in him was that part of him that helped me at the end. I don’t feel bad about it, and neither do you.”

“But I shouldn’t have caused someone to die.” Tori sobbed. She bent over her lap and started crying more intensely than ever before. “I don’t care how bad he was! I hate knowing that I’m responsible for someone’s death!”

“Tori, listen to me,” I said firmly, moving closer to her. “Listen to me, okay? You did nothing wrong! Talia was the one who did this, she was the one who manipulated Silas and forced him to help her. She was bad, so was he. She’s gone and he’s dead. What more do you want?”

Tori blinked at me. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “I want to go away, and give you your divorce.”

As she stood up from the bed, I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly. At first, Tori tried to pull away but after a few seconds she wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed me hard.

“I love you,” I told her, pulling away and pressing my lips against hers. “I love you so much.”
Tori melted in my arms. She closed her eyes and for a moment, I thought she was totally going to swoon. She gazed at me and I swear that for a second, I was falling deeply into her eyes.

“I love you, too,” Tori said. She pressed her face against mine and slipped her tongue into my mouth. As her hands tangled in my hair, I felt her give a soft little sigh of happiness. “Do you really love me?”

I laughed. “Yes,” I told her. “Yes, I really love you. I love you so fucking much, Tori. I’ve loved you for so long and I just now realized it, because I’m a giant fucking slow moron. I don’t want to get a divorce. I want you to stay my wife, and I want to love you forever.”

Tori smiled. She was crying again, but I could tell they were happy tears. As she reached up to wipe her eyes, she stroked my face tenderly. Love filled my heart and hurt my chest.

It may be true that Talia and I had been in love. Hell, it may even be true that part of me felt like I’d never get over her. But now, with Tori, that was my future. I could tell that she’d always be a faithful wife, and that was exactly what I wanted. Tori may not be exciting or dangerous like Talia, but she was the woman I loved from the bottom of my heart.

“I want to spend my whole life with you,” I whispered in Tori’s ear. “I never thought it would work out like this, but I’m so glad that it did.”

Tori nodded happily. “Me, too,” she said in a soft, husky voice.

I grinned at her. “You know what we need to do now?”

Tori shook her head. A slight look of confusion came over her gorgeous face. “No, what?”

“Plan a honeymoon,” I said with a grin. “It’ll be perfect.”

Victoria

“This doesn’t fit!” I whined loudly. “None of my clothes fit!”

Max laughed. “You look great, baby,” he said, leaning in to kiss my cheek. “You look stunning.”

My eyes welled up with tears of frustration as I tried to yank the zipper up my last—and most forgiving—dress. Max and I were on honeymoon in Spain, and I was pregnant. Six months, to be precise.

“Second trimester is an excellent time for a honeymoon,” the doctor had praised me. “You’re past feeling tired all the time and your energy should be close to normal levels. Plus, you won’t have a giant belly yet!”

Stupid me. I’d believed her, and then we’d booked this trip. When we first got to the airport, they didn’t even want to let me on the plane because the gate agent thought I was a few more months pregnant than I actually was. Max had to get my doctor on the phone, much to my embarrassment. After that, I thought it would be smooth sailing all the way. But my clothes weren’t fitting, and we had tickets to the opera.

“Max, I’m so upset,” I whined, sniffling hard. “This sucks! And everything makes me want to cry!”

Max pulled me into his arms and nuzzled my neck tenderly. “You’re beautiful,” he said slowly. “And I won’t ever let you forget it.”

I blushed hotly. “You’d better let me forget it when I’m on the delivery table and pooping because I’m trying to push so hard,” I said softly, glancing down.

Max laughed out loud and I blushed even harder. “I won’t look,” Max promised. “And you’ll be just as beautiful as ever. I know you will.”

Frowning, I tried once more to tug the zipper up my back. It wouldn’t bulge—the fabric split away from my sides like I’d grown a mountain in only a few months.

“I hate this,” I muttered, flopping down on the bed. “Our last night in Spain and I can’t even get my dress on! What am I supposed to wear to the airport?”

Max chuckled. “Baby, we’ll find you some new clothes,” he said tenderly. “I promise.”

I sighed and stared out the window. We had a gorgeous view of the heart of historic Seville and I felt my breath catch and my heart jump every time we looked outdoors. In the year since the incident, things had finally calmed down to a normal that didn’t include bloodshed and stalking.

Max, Danny, and the other guys opened up a garage run by the Renegade Saints. It was only a matter of time before they had a ton of loyal customers, and Max was doing better financially than ever before. I’d tried to insist on getting a job but Max wouldn’t allow me to, especially not in my condition. “It’s unseemly,” Max had said when I was starting to show. “I don’t want people thinking that my wife is struggling and has to work for her own money.”

Part of me loved how protective Max was. Now that I was used to living with him and we were happy, I couldn’t imagine how I’d ever chafed under him. But that was back when things were different, when I was unhappy and scared all of the time.

I’d come to terms with Silas’s death. After a few months, the nightmares subsided and I started dreaming again like normal. I believed that Max had truly done the right thing—if he hadn’t killed Silas, Silas would abuse other women for sure. It was in his blood, his DNA, like something that he couldn’t ever get away from. Part of me still felt sad. I would have liked for Silas to be able to turn his life around, but I wasn’t sure that it ever would have happened.

Talia was in a federal prison. She’d been sentenced to life for killing my father. I hadn’t gone to the trial; fortunately, I hadn’t had to testify against her. Max had, though, and I knew that it had been one of the hardest days of his life. When he’d gotten home, I’d cooked dinner and given him the most intense blowjob that he’d ever had in his life. That was the first night that I really felt like everything was going to be okay for us.  I didn’t like to think about the possibility of her getting parole—what if she came after me, or worse, our baby? But Max promised that he would always protect me, and I knew he was telling the truth.

“Baby, I hate to rush you,” Max began. “But we’re running late if we want to make that show.”

I pouted and tugged my dress off. “It won’t fit,” I said softly. “I can’t go. The only thing that fits me right now are these,” I added, pointing towards my jeans.

Max laughed. “I have another idea,” he said. “What about we just stay in the room and get tons of room service? Wouldn’t you like that?”

I nodded happily. “Yeah,” I admitted. My stomach rumbled. “I’m starving.”

Max grinned. “It’s because you’re eating for two,” he said happily. A proud light shone in his eyes. “I can’t wait to be a father,” he added. “You’re going to be a great mom.”

“There’s one thing I wanted to run by you,” I said softly, wrapping my arms around Max’s waist and pulling him close. “I want to name the baby Christoff if it’s a boy, and Kristina if it’s a girl.”

Max grinned. “I love it,” he said. “And I love you.”

I melted. “I love you, too,” I replied. Finally, I was home.

THE END