Sal (The Ride Series) (24 page)

And with that, the small amount of fight I had went right out of me. It was big for him to apologize, especially when I was at fault as well.

“I’m sorry, too,” I whispered.

“Don’t pull that shit again,” he warned, though his bark held little bite. “I’ll admit you two nuts did actually help,” he admitted begrudgingly.

“Good,” I replied, fighting back the urge to gloat. “Any news on Ettie?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, and my heart pounded waiting for his next words. “We got her, just a few hours ago.”

I sat up, gripping his forearms desperate for more. “Was she okay? I mean, is she okay?”

“I think so,” he said, clearly beyond exhausted. “Mack took her to the hospital to get checked out. We can go visit after we get some shut-eye.”

“Did they? I mean could you tell if…?” I hedged not able to complete my sentence.

“I don’t know, Birdie.” He shook his head. “Though, I will say it looked like she’d been left alone a long time. That might be a saving grace, considering.”

I nodded, biting my lip, hoping desperately that my friend was okay. “Come to bed, babe. You’re dead on your feet,” I coaxed softly, moving over so he could climb into bed.

He ditched his jeans, his shirt, and climbed into bed, pulling me close.

“I love you, Kat,” he murmured while kissing my head and pulling me closer still.

I could only think of a time or two when he’d said those words to me and something about him using my name made it all the more poignant.

“I love you, too, Sal.”

He slept for
fourteen
hours. The poor man had run himself ragged for the last three days and he needed it. I didn’t dare wake him, even though I was dying to get to the hospital. I’d been exchanging texts with Connie and Scar all day. They’d already been to see Ettie. It sounded like she was doing far better than expected. I couldn’t wait to see her.

When Sal wandered out to the living room close to dinnertime that night, my heart nearly burst with the tenderness I felt toward him. In that moment, I saw so clearly what our children would look like when they first woke up all bleary-eyed, with dark hair going in every direction. They’d be beautiful.

“Hi, honey, you hungry?” I asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” he nodded, his eyes adjusting to the light in the room.

I stood up, tossing the magazine I’d been reading aside. “I’ll make you something.”

“Did we miss visiting hours?” he asked, his voice rough from sleep.

“Yeah, we can go first thing tomorrow,” I replied, peering into the fridge. I settled on breakfast for dinner. He was just waking up after all.

“How’s she doin’?” he asked, watching me as I made him an omelet.

“Okay, I think.” I shrugged. “The girls sounded surprised at how well she looked,” I added.

“Good,” he replied as he continued to watch me. Something was on his mind. I just had to wait for him to share.

It wasn’t until I plated his food that he spoke.

“It was a dick move on my part to show you that shit with Parker,” he surprised me by saying.

I turned to him, meeting his intense gaze as he sat at the bar.

“Yeah,” I agreed simply.

“Can you live with it?” he asked, his food untouched as he clasped his hands on the table.

“Live with what?”

“That part of my life. That violence can be part of my life,” he clarified, his dark eyes assessing as they met mine.

I swallowed hard. The truth was, part of what had kept me up last night was that it hadn’t bothered me
more
. Maybe that made me a bad person, but after everything I’d been through, I couldn’t manage to spare much sympathy for someone like Allen Parker.

I walked over to him, standing in-between his legs as his big arms pulled me close. “I’m still fairly new to your world,” I began quietly. “But I know you all operate with a code of loyalty and respect. I know you’d never exact vengeance where it wasn’t deserved. I trust you. So, yeah, I can live with it,” I nodded while looking up into his somber eyes.

He put his forehead to mine, his entire body pulsing with energy. “Marry me,” he said firmly.

“What?” I asked, completely flabbergasted as I took a step back to regard him. That was the last thing I’d expected.

“Marry me,” he repeated, not missing a beat.

I continued to stare at him with what I’m sure were eyes as wide as saucers.

“You make me want to be a better man while accepting who I am at the same time. You’ve seen all my ugly and pulled out all my sweet. I fuckin’ love you with something so fierce, it feels like it will eat me from the inside out. You’re the only woman for me. Marry me,” he said again.

My eyes filled with tears. It was so Sal to not even ask. He was practically demanding it. But, that was my man. And there was only one way to answer his question.

“Yes,” I whispered, tears spilling over my cheeks.

“Yeah?” he asked, his mouth turning into a heartbreaking grin.

“Yeah,” I nodded as he pulled me into a passionate kiss. His mouth took mine with a possession so complete I was simply lost for a time.

“C’mere,” he coaxed, breaking away while we were still panting for breath and pulled me enthusiastically to the bedroom. I assumed he was planning on taking me to bed, but instead, he went straight for his dresser. He pulled out a ring box and stood before me, opening it to reveal a gold band with rubies imbedded in its metal. “I know it’s not traditional. Maybe you want something with more sparkle. But this was my grandma’s,” he told me, pulling it out of the box.

It looked so tiny and delicate in-between his large fingers.

“It’s beautiful,” I rasped, overwhelmed by the direction this evening had taken.

He placed it on my ring finger; it was a bit big, but that could be easily fixed.

“When did she give this to you?” I asked in awe as I admired my new ring.

“When I was visiting,” he explained. “We talked about you, a lot. She knew before I’d even told her that I had someone to get back to,” he whispered, his voice deep with emotion.

I looked up at him with surprise. “You’ve had this ring since you got back?”

He grasped my upper arms, stooping low so he could meet my eyes. “I came back for you, baby, but, I also left for you, too. When I came back, I knew it was a forever thing for me. I just needed to make sure it was the same for you.”

“It’s always been forever for me,” I replied quietly.

He wrapped me up in his arms, my cheek planted on his chest and we swayed slightly, nearly dancing to a beat all our own.

I’d never felt happier in my entire life.

Chapter 20

“Y
ou look so good, Etts,” I told my friend sincerely as I sat by her bedside the next morning. Sal had driven us to the hospital and was talking with Mack in the waiting room.

“Really good,” Connie nodded in agreement.

All my girls were here, including Sophie who had driven over with Connie. We’d all embraced her like a pack of big sisters and she was slowly warming to us more and more every day.

Ettie was sitting up, her petite frame swallowed by the large bed. Her dark curly hair hung in the same chaos I always associated with her, and her eyes shone far brighter than I expected.

“Thanks,” she replied. “I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck, but it could have been worse. So much worse,” she grimaced.

“Do you feel ready to talk about it?” I asked quietly.

She bit her lip and looked out the window, a ponderous expression on her heart-shaped face. “Parker grabbed me from our driveway. Mack is so pissed because he was right inside. He ran in to grab something and I’d headed out to the car,” she recalled.

I winced at how much Mack must be blaming himself needlessly for that.

“Anyway, he threw me into the back of an SUV and put me out with something. When I came to, I was tied to a chair in some stockroom. It was pitch black.” Her chin quavered a bit and I reached over to grab her hand.

“They never came back,” she shook her head, looking down at the fingers twined in her lap. “And I know in so many ways that was by far the best case scenario. But more than two days in the dark made me nearly insane,” she admitted. “I was starving and so thirsty.” Tears started sliding down her cheeks. “And when our guys found me, I’d…I’d pissed myself,” she said quietly, her cheeks flaming.

“Oh, honey. I’m sure they didn’t even notice,” Scarlet cut in from her chair on the other side of Ettie’s bed.

Ettie nodded, still sniffling. Then she looked up at me. “Mack told me what you guys did to try to help, thank you,” she whispered.

“It was nothing,” I replied honestly. “I’d have done much more,” I assured her.

She smiled then, a genuine smile that lit her face and my heart settled a bit at the sight.

Scarlet gasped then as her eyes zeroed in on my hand. “
What
is that!” she exclaimed, standing up and moving to me, ripping my hand from Ettie’s and holding it up.

All the other girls gasped as well, and I blushed sheepishly. “A ring,” I replied. When they all continued to stare at me expectantly I held my hands up as though to ward them off. “Today should be about Ettie,” I tried to argue.

“Fuck that,” Ettie cut in, sitting up straighter and making a grab for my hand. “I’m sick to death of me.”

I laughed and squeezed her hand. “He asked me last night,” I shared, unable to contain my wide smile so big it nearly hurt. “It was his grandma’s ring,” I added.

“It’s beautiful,” Scarlet murmured, her eyes filling with tears.

“Oh, now, none of that,” I said.

“I’m just so happy for you,” she cried, wrapping me in a tight hug.

“Congratulations,” Sophie spoke for the first time, coming around and joining in the hug. “You make my brother so happy. And you’ve been so good to me. I’m so happy for you,” she added, her eyes shining with moisture.

“Oh, not you, too!” I groaned.

“You guys have fought so hard for each other. We’re all happy,” Connie assured me.

“I know. I love you, guys,” I said as I grinned.

“Why’s everybody cryin’?” Cole demanded. We hadn’t noticed the guys in the doorway; we were so wrapped up in our group hug.

“Sal and Kat are engaged!” Scarlet sang, bouncing over to Cole and throwing her arms around him. He had to take a step back since she practically tackled him with exuberance.

“Oh, yeah?” he said as he grinned, looking over at Sal who stood beside him. “Congrats, man. He shook Sal’s hand while trying to balance his fiancée.

“Thanks,” Sal replied, looking over at me with a wink.

Mack crossed the room and sat on the edge of Ettie’s bed, taking her hand in his. His mood was clearly somber, but he managed a smile in my direction.

“Why’s everybody cryin’?” Axel echoed Cole’s question as he joined our emotional gathering. Yet, he only had eyes for Sophie; his gaze swept her face with concern.

“My brother’s engaged,” she told him shyly.

Axel grinned, moving to shake Sal’s hand and patted him on the back. “Happy for you, brother,” he said sincerely. “When’s the wedding?”

I looked over at Sal and shrugged. We hadn’t talked about that yet.

“As soon as possible,” he surprised me by saying.

“Uh, babe, let’s get through the next wedding first,” I suggested, nodding at Cole. “Then we can talk.”

“We’ll see,” he grumbled.

I never expected Sal to want to run down the aisle. But one thing was for sure, the last few months he’d done a lot of surprising me.

A nurse came in then, her eyes growing wide at the room packed tightly with bikers and crying women. “Can I ask a few of you to wait out in the waiting room? We’re just about ready to discharge you,” she said as she nodded toward Ettie. She’d had to stay the night due to dehydration and they wanted to keep her under observation.

“Yes, finally!” Ettie exclaimed happily.

Mack nodded in agreement. He was undoubtedly happy to get his girl home. She’d be lucky to get a moment alone for the foreseeable future. Even now, he seemed reluctant to take his eyes off of her.

“Let’s go, babe,” Sal said with a cock of his head toward the door.

I nodded in agreement and bent down to hug Ettie briefly. “Let me know when you’re up for visitors,” I told her.

She nodded. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” I said as I smiled.

“I’ll call you later,” Scar told me nearly in warning. No doubt she’d want every detail of the proposal and to talk about the wedding.

I rolled my eyes, but nodded as Sal took my hand and practically dragged me from the room.

******

A few nights later, we had a barbeque at the club. Everyone had a celebratory vibe with our engagement and Ettie’s return. Some of the members of the Sinners had stayed in town and joined in the celebration.

Scar had even made her famous ribs. She only made them on special occasions. They were delicious and always promptly devoured.

I hadn’t asked what had become of Allen Parker. If I asked, Sal would tell me the truth and I didn’t know if I wanted that information. I could take an educated guess, but that was as far as I wanted to go. Maybe it was naïve of me, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

What mattered to me is that the danger had passed. My friends were safe and for the most part, happy. The guys were still protective; they always would be. But I had more freedom since they’d brought Parker and his goon in.

Even Jeb was back in the fray. He was here tonight with his lady, drinking beers.

I looked over to my future sister-in-law, gauging her carefully. Sophie still remained a mystery to us. Sal was growing frustrated with her resistance to share. I encouraged him to let her be; she’d share when she was ready.

As I watched, she took a call on her cell, her face growing pale at whoever was on the other end. “Sal,” I warned, nodding in her direction. He was at my side in the midst of a conversation with Hank.

His head snapped over and his eyes narrowed, moving to head in her direction.

Axel got there first.

He grabbed the phone out of her hand. “Who the fuck is this?” he growled as Sal and I got near.

“Hello?” he demanded. He snapped the phone shut in frustration.