Page 29

I swear I will be dreaming of gunshots with the amount of times I’ve heard them recently. Being in the safe room wasn’t as scary as getting shot at, but in a way, I feel like it was worse. At least when I was getting shot at, I was distracted. I couldn’t focus on how everything could go wrong.

Standing in the safe room, all I can think about is Midnight being out there in the gunfire.

After several minutes of silence, the door to the room opens. I let out a relieved breath when I see Colt.

“It’s clear,” he tells everyone.

We all step aside so Kaitlyn and Kolby can get to him. I know the feeling. I want to be holding my man right now too.

Slowly, we all filter out around them and into the main bar room of the clubhouse. Colt is the only brother inside, and it has my anxiety through the roof.

Then the door opens, and my world stops.

Midnight stands there, blood covering his chest and arms. The girls go running to him, crashing into him. He holds them to him tightly, but he’s not looking at them.

No, he is looking at me. My legs are frozen in place as I stare at him, tears threatening to spill.

He’s alive. He’s okay.

Then he tilts his head, a silent command to come to him.

I take off at a run, wrapping my arms around him, the girls between us.

He kisses the side of my head. “It’s okay. Shh, don’t cry. Everything is okay,” he whispers against my ear.

It doesn’t help. My emotions are a wreck, but he’s here. That’s all that matters.

“The blood,” I stutter.

“Not mine. Go get the girls cleaned up. It’s time to go home,” he tells me.

I nod, pulling back, but I don’t want to let him go. He must be able to sense it because he cups my cheek, kissing me hard.

“I’m not going anywhere. Go take care of our girls. I’ll wait for you.”

Grabbing the girls, I take them into the bathroom.

“Is he okay?” Sienna whispers.

“He is. Trust him,” I tell her.

Selena is somber as well, which is unlike her.

“You okay?” I ask her as I help her clean the blood off of her.

“It’s a lot of blood. Are you sure he’s not hurt?”

“He’s not. Everything is fine,” I promise her.

She nods, staying silent.

Cleaning them up doesn’t take long. I do have to make them change and throw out their clothes, but they do everything I ask them to. I think they are too scared to complain at the moment. I hate that for them, but it’s nice to be able to get them ready to go without the normal fuss.

I think we all need a break today.

When we make it back to the main room, Midnight is talking to Reaper. He sees us heading his way and excuses himself.

“Ready to go?” he asks.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I whisper to him.

He nods. “We know what the threat is and have neutralized it.”

I don’t even want to know what that means.

He walks us to the car, making sure the girls are in the back seat, buckled in safely. I hear him whispering to them as I wait for him outside the car, but I can’t make out the words.

When he closes the door, he turns to me, grabbing my hips. “I will always protect you,” he promises me.

I kiss him in response before getting into the driver’s seat, and he follows us all the way home on his bike. Once I’m parked in the garage, he comes to my door, opening it.

“Let’s get inside,” he says, looking down the driveway.

I notice one of the brother’s sitting there watching.

“Is he safe?” I ask, remembering the guy I thought was a brother before.

At least this one I recognize. His name is Lemon. I haven’t gotten to spend much time with him with the brothers out most of the time, but I have seen him in passing.

“He is. He’s watching the place just in case. Let’s get inside, and I’ll explain it.”

We usher the girls inside. Midnight locks the doors behind us.

“Girls, go get a shower,” he orders them.

A true sign of their trauma is the fact that they don’t whine about it.

He waits until Selena is in the hall bathroom and Sienna is in ours before he pulls me out onto the back porch.

Then he kisses me like he might never kiss me again. I pour as much of myself into the kiss, not liking the way he is acting right now. It has me on edge.

When he finally pulls back, there are tears on my face once again. “I love you,” I whisper.

He nods. “I know.”

I shake my head. “I should have told you sooner. I’ve loved you for a long time now. I was scared to say it, though. When the shooting started, I thought I lost my chance.”

“I’m here, Flower.” He kisses each cheek. “I won’t leave you ever.”

“What happened?” I ask through a sob.

“There’s a war coming. I won’t sugarcoat it for you. It’s going to get nasty, and there are going to be more lockdowns. The man we are facing has proven he won’t go down without a fight. If you want out, now is the time, Lainey. I don’t want you to stay for me if you feel you need to go. I will give you whatever you need to set up a life away from here.”

I jerk back from him. “I tell you that I love you and you want to get rid of me?”

“That’s not it,” he tells me, his forehead falling to mine. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I want you here with me, but I won’t keep you if you want to go.”

I wrap my arms around his shoulders. “I won’t lie and tell you I’m not scared. I am, but that doesn’t mean I want to cut and run. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a place to belong. Those girls mean the world to me. I couldn’t leave them even if I tried. Then there’s you. Midnight, you are my home. I don’t want to ever be without my home ever again.”

He leans in, kissing me softly. “Thank fuck. I felt I needed to offer you the out, but I wasn’t sure I would have been able to let you leave.”

“You don’t have to think about it. It’s us against the world. Always.”

“Always,” hw echoes my words.

Before he can kiss me again, the girls are at the back door.

“Can we have a family game night?” Selena asks, looking much more like herself now that we are home.

“You got it. Go agree on a game,” Midnight tells her. “I’ll order pizza.”

She rushes off as he leans in kissing me.

“I love you too, by the way. I know I said it before, but you deserve to hear it every day.”

Then he pulls back, turning me before smacking my ass. “Go help the girls. I’ll be inside in a minute.”

I do as he asks, my fingers lingering on my lips.

He loves me, and I love him.

I love our little family.

If a war is coming, I will fight alongside him.

Nothing is hurting our girls. Not if I have something to say about it.

Sitting on the back patio, I look up at the sky. Shit is fucked up right now, but in this house, it all feels right. I have my daughters and my woman. Nothing else in the world matters.

Turning my head, I smile at Lainey as she slips out the sliding glass door.

“I thought I’d find you here,” she tells me.

When I was done tucking the girls in, Lainey was in the shower. I was tempted to join her, but decided against it. I showered while we waited for the pizza, and I needed a minute to myself.

Now all I want is my woman.

“Come here,” I growl.

She giggles, coming to stand in front of me. She’s in those damn sleep shorts again. The ones that drive me nuts.

Pulling her onto my lap, I pull her into my chest. Then I place a kiss on the tip of her nose. My dick starts to harden at the feel of her heat against me. God, I will never get enough of her.

“Remember the last time we were like this out here?” Lainey asks.

I smirk at her. “Didn’t I lick that pretty little pussy until it wept for me?”

I feel the way her heart races against me. She is turned on.

“That would be it. How about a new memory?” she asks, rocking her hips against me.

I don’t need a repeat of the first time we were on this couch. I won’t be coming in my pants.

Reaching my hand down, I pull her shorts aside, finding her wet and ready. “Is my flower needy? You want something?”

She nods, biting her lip as I begin to stroke her clit.

“Tell me what you want.”

“You,” she whimpers.

“More. Use your words,” I demand.

“I want you, Michael. I want your cock inside of me. I want to feel your cum running down my legs.”

Fuck.

Just those words have me ready to come. Who knew my flower could be so dirty?

“Unzip me then,” I tell her.

She does as I ask, her hands shaking. I know it’s not nerves. No, my girl is so fucking needy that her whole body is reacting.

Once my zipper is undone, she looks up at me.

“Take me out.”

She does as I ask, pulling my cock out. Then she licks her lips, making my head fall back with a groan.

“You can’t do that,” I tell her.

“Do what?” She looks up at me looking so fucking innocent.

I shouldn’t want to corrupt her, but I do. I want her to be my dirty girl.

Mine.

“Lick those lips like you want a taste,” I tell her.

She gives me a coy smile as she backs away from my fingers brushing her clit as she kneels on the floor.

“Well, I never did get to finish the last one.”

Then she sucks me into her mouth. I groan as she swallows my cock as far as she can. Her mouth is so small that she can’t take it all, but I don’t need her to. She strokes the remaining part of my dick as she bobs her head against me. I thread my fingers into her hair, letting her set the pace. I continue to pet her, my eyes threatening to roll into the back of my head.

I want to come down her throat so bad, but at the same time, I don’t. I want to give her what she asked for. A full pussy with cum dripping down her legs.

So when I’m on the edge, I pull her off of me, barely withholding my release.

She looks up at me with plump, red lips. Her face looks like I fucked it, but truth is, she did it herself. She looks so erotic.

Pulling her up, I pull her back onto my lap. Without a word, I push aside her shorts, sliding my cock inside of her in one thrust.

“Michael.” She moans out so loud that I swear the neighbors will hear her.

Pulling her to my shoulder, I tell her, “Bite.”

She does as I ask, biting and sucking on my skin as I push her hips down onto me. I thrust up as I push her down, creating a fast, punishing pace.

I won’t come without her.

“That’s right, Flower. Clench against me. Show me how much you want me.”

I’m pounding into her so hard, I worry I might hurt her, but when she comes, I don’t stop. I hit her harder, finding my own release.

For several blissed out moments, it’s just her and me.

I hold her in my arms, kissing the side of her face. She drew blood with her teeth, but the string is worth it. Fuck, maybe I’ll pull a Wrath and tattoo her teeth marks on me.

Our moment is interrupted when my phone dings. Looking down, I cringe.

Lemon: You have company. The blue kind.

I groan, helping Lainey stand.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Cops are here,” I tell her, pushing myself back into my pants as the doorbell rings.

I help her get presentable, smirking at the way she squeezes her legs together.

I guide her into the house, locking the door behind us. Then I go and answer the door. I’m shocked to find not only the police but Miranda on the other side of the door.

“Sir, we are here about a violation of the custody agreement you have with this woman” the cop starts.

“He refuses to give me my girls back.”

I hold up my hands. “Wait, she dropped them off at my tattoo parlor months ago without a word and disappeared. She emptied their house and left a note that she wasn’t sure when they would be back. This is the first I’m seeing of her since.”

“He’s a liar. He’s a Lotus MC brother. That’s all they do. Take what they want and then lie about it. Look at his slut. She’s probably underage. You robbing the cradle now?” Miranda spits out.

I grit my teeth. I don’t like her talking about Lainey that way.

“We are taking the girls, sir. If you would go get them,” the second officer cuts in before I can respond to Miranda.

“Over my dead body,” I tell them, crossing my arms.

They call me on my bluff.

“Turn around. Hands behind your back.”

I don’t struggle. There’s no point.

Looking at Lainey, I tell her, “Go get the girls. They won’t be kind to them. They will take them, but tell them I’ll fight for them. This isn’t like before. Lemon is probably already calling Reaper, but get him to follow you to the club. It’s going to be okay.”

She nods, tears in her eyes as she runs down the hall. The cops lead me to the car, locking me in the back. I nod at Lemon, who nods back. He knows what to do.

I hear another motorcycle and see Pinky riding up. Good. One of them will follow the girls while the other follows Lainey.

Looking back at the house, my heart breaks. My daughters are hanging onto Lainey as they cry. Miranda is trying to pry them away, but they don’t want to let go. Lainey looks as torn up as they do.

Fuck.

Finally, they are able to get the girls away as they lead them to Miranda’s car. It’s a brand new BMW. Of course she’s probably fucking William, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

The anger fills my veins as I watch her drive away with my children.

Shit can never go right for me.

All I know is if she hurts my kids, I will kill the woman.

All my goodwill toward her is gone.

The bitch will get what’s coming to her.