Quiet Country (Satan's Sinners M.C. Book 2) (18 page)

"We're goin' to California.”

"What? Why?"

"Your dad wants to go handle that fucker."

"Bear, we can't do that!”

"
We
aren't doin' shit. You girls will be at the hotel."

"Bear!”

"Trust me, Lil Mama. Remember, I told you we take care of our own.”

"Yeah, okay." I lean down, giving her a kiss. I ditched the cigarettes after we brought Kellen home, but right now, I could really use a smoke.

When everyone’s here and ready to go, we hit the road. Hanger and I both have to take cages, but we let Snake lead the way on his bike. Letting Lil Mama control the music, she flips restlessly through the stations, finally stopping on
A Sky Full of Stars by Cold Play
. While we're listening, she decides to start up a conversation.

"So you never did tell me how you learned to dance."

I look over to her then back to the road. “When I was eighteen, I started prospecting for the club. I wanted to get patched in, so when there was an undercover job to do at a male strip club, I took it." She bursts out laughing.

"You had to be a male stripper?"

"Hey now, I like the term ‘male entertainer’," I tell her in amusement. "Anyway, I had no idea what I was doin', and the guys that worked there knew I was young and inexperienced, so they taught me everything I needed to know. I guess it just stuck with me."

"What did you go by? Bear the Sexy Grinder?" She busts up laughing again.

"No smartass. If someone said that, you wouldn't think sexy, you’d think of some fat, hairy bastard,” I laugh out. “Bear isn't a sexy name, let's face it, so I was known as X. I became the most wanted man there. I had all the fast cash and even faster women.”

"X is a pretty hot name. Hmm. So with that, the man-whore was born."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I was livin’ it up, that's for sure."

“What did you do with all the money?"

"I used a lot of it to buy back the cabin, and some went to my truck. The rest I put up, along with money I make from the club, the garage, and other things."

"So what happened with the strip club?"

"I can't give you all the details, because it's club business and all. What I can tell you is that I ended up getting my patch because of my time there, and I became the Enforcer of the Satan's Sinners. When it was all done, we took down the owners, seeing as how they were tryin’ to pull one over on us and the Cobras, and ended up making an ally with their club.”

"You've known my dad that long?"

"Yeah, it's been awhile, I guess around twelve years or so. He's always been a good guy, that's why I called him. After meeting your mom, I didn't think she was tellin’ you the truth."

"Thank you for that. I was pissed at first, but now I'm so glad you did it."

I kiss her palm. "I know. You get your dad back now."

We stop in Arizona at a hotel to get some rest. The next morning, we’re all back up and ready to hit the road. We finally hit California, and when we’re in town, we find a nice hotel, and get the girls checked in and settled.

"Jacey, I need the address,” I tell her.

"Bear, I don't want to do this." She’s back to being nervous, playing with her fingers, can't sit her ass still.

"Lil Mama, you’re not doin' anything. You’re stayin' here with Crazy Girl."

"Fine, but I don't want you guys to do this."

"I think it’s a little late for that. If it was my daughter, I would do the same. This would have been done already, but I told you I wouldn't do it. Just let your dad handle it, then we’ll be on our way back home." She writes down the address, shoving it at me. "Hey, what’re you worried about anyway?"

"I just got you and my dad back and Zoey's about to have a baby. I just don't want any of you guys getting in trouble."

Softening my tone, I try to reassure her. "Lil Mama, we’ve been doin' this for a long time, nothin’s gonna happen to us. Got me?"

"I got you. I trust you."

"Good, because I'll always do what it takes to keep you safe."

"I love you Bear."

"I love you too, Lil Mama. I'll be back in a little bit." I pick Kellen up and walk both of them over to Crazy Girl's room. Hanger brought Demon with them so somebody would be there watching over 'em while we’re gone.

Snake, Hanger, and myself climb in Hanger's cage and head out. We pull up to a fucking mansion. "Fuck me, it looks like she had a good life,” Snake says, staring up at this huge fucking house.

Hanger replies, “It might look like that from the outside Snake, but behind closed doors is a different story most of the time. Don’t go second guessing yourself as to why we’re here.”

I chime in. "She had far from a good life. Let's do this shit."

We all climb out and head up to the door. Snake rings the bell and some rich jackass answers. "You married to Marie?" Snake asks, anger rolling off of him.

"Yes, how can I help you?" We push our way through when we hear a Marie ask who it is.

"Well, if it's not the cunt herself,” I say as she comes around the corner.

"Bear, what are you..."She stops herself when she sees Snake, eyes wide, mouth open.

"I told you I’d make you pay one day. Didn't think it’d be twenty years, granted,” Snake states.

"What's going on here?" the douchebag asks.

"You two go sit the fuck down."

"If you want money..." he starts to say, fear written all over his face, but we all laugh.

"Money? We have plenty of money. so shut the fuck up and go sit down,” Snake orders. They head into the front room and we follow. Once they’re sitting, we stand in a line in front of them.

"What's going on Snake, why are you here?" Marie asks. She’s trying to look calm, but you can see plenty of fear in her eyes.

"We’re here because you took my baby girl away from me. I thought you’d give her a better life, but it turns out I was wrong."

"I did give her a better life, she became a doctor."

"Not by choice,” I say.

Snake points to her husband. "Did you know he tried to rape Jacey? I'm here because I'm her fuckin' father and you let someone touch her, you fuckin' whore. You were a shit mother from the start, I shoulda known you wouldn't be good to her. Christ, Marie, you’re her goddamn mother, you shoulda fuckin’ acted like it!”

"What?” She shakes her head. "No, he wouldn't have done that." She looks over to him. "Richard, tell them you didn't do it. Tell them she's just being the spoiled little bitch she has always been."

He hangs his head in shame. “I'm sorry Marie. I was mad that night, I got drunk and I wasn't thinking clearly. It was a mistake.”

I walk up, bending down in front of her, bringing us face to face. "That’ll be the last time you disrespect my woman. After this, you don't contact her at all. If I find out you did, I'll be back for you." I stand back up, stepping away from her.

"You can't do that! I'm her mother.”

"You!” I point at her. “You should've fuckin’ acted like it then, but instead you ruined her goddamn life."

“You know the rules of the club,” Snake reminds her and she nods, but has nothing to say. I can smell the fear coming off of 'em.

"Where's the basement?" Snake asks, grabbing Richard up from the couch. "Hanger you stay here and watch her."

She gives us the directions before we walk out of the room, and we haul his ass to the basement, turning the light on before we start our descent. Snake pushes him to go down first, while I follow.

Once Richard touches the bottom step, Snake shoves him down and he tries to scramble away, but he's not going anywhere. I grab him by his shirt, pushing him into the wall, and holding his arms up, I let Snake get a few good hits into his body and face.

Snake tells him, "You tried to rape my daughter, you filthy piece of shit! I should kill you, motherfucker."

Richard coughs from the blows connecting to his body. Still holding him up, I get my hits in, trying really hard to keep control of my anger. I really wanna kill this fucker. There’s blood everywhere by the time we get done. We did a number on him: his eyes are swelling shut, lips split, blood covering his face, and he's barely conscious. I get in his face, telling him that neither he nor Marie is to contact my Lil Mama, and if they do, I'll come back and finish what we started down here. Richard nods in agreement. He better hope he does, otherwise there'll be a bigger mess to clean up next time.

We carry him back up the stairs, throwing him down on the couch next to his wife. Marie looks over to him, covering her mouth with her hand, tears forming in her eyes. Do I feel sorry for her? Absolutely not.

“You keep your fuckin' mouths shut, unless you want us to come back. You never saw us, we were never here. And next time, we won't be so nice."

Snake chimes in.

"Wish I could say it was nice seein' you again, but you’re just as much of a cunt now as you were back then. Have a fuckin' lovely day. Oh, and where's a bathroom? I gotta get this cocksucker's blood off me."

She gives us directions to a bathroom and we both clean up the best we can before heading back to the hotel.

I go get Lil Mama and my son from Hanger's room, walking them back over to ours. As soon as the door’s shut and locked, she turns on me.

"What happened?"

"We beat him pretty good and I told both of them not to contact you again."

"Are you guys gonna get in trouble for this?”

"No, they won't say anythin'. If they did, we’d be back and they definitely don't want that,” I tell her.

“Lay down and take a nap, I'm gonna shower, then go over and talk to Hanger."

She gives me a nod as I walk into the bathroom. When I get done, they're both asleep so I give them both a kiss on the head, then shut the door behind me. I walk over to the next room over and knock. Hanger opens up, letting me inside.

"Hey brother, what's going on?" he asks, curious as to why I'm back over here.

"We need to take a different route home. I gotta make a stop."

"Sure thing, we'll just follow you."

The next morning, we all get up and head out.

Jacey

On our way back home, I turn up the music, playing
Elle Goulding's Love Me Like You Do.

“This song reminds me of you.” I say, looking over at him.

"Does it?"

Bear’s gripping that steering wheel awfully hard. I can see sweat building on his forehead. Is he nervous? What the fuck would he have to be nervous about?

"Bear, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, why?"

"You look like you’re really nervous, and you're about to detach the steering wheel from the car."

We hit Nevada and soon, we’re on the Las Vegas strip. This isn’t the way we came.

“Why are we in Vegas? We didn't come this way."

"Jacey, are you all in with me?"

"What do you mean ‘all in’?"

“Just what it sounds like. I finally got you, and I'm not letting you go, ever. I've been waitin' my whole life for you. I just never knew it. After my parents, I never wanted love, a relationship, or the responsibility of one, until you. I have everything I could ever want with you, Jacey. Marry me.”

"You’re fucking crazy."

"Maybe. You love me?"

"Yes, you know I do."

"Then let's do this. What do we need to wait for?" he asks, looking out of the corner of his eye at me.

"You have your best friend and your dad here, and we've got our boy. It's perfect, unless you want a big wedding."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, let's do it. You're right, I have everybody here I would want, so let's do it."

He stops at a jewelry store and when we get out, Zoey has her window down.

"Jacey, what's going on? Why are we here?"

"I'm getting married."

"What? Don't fuck with me! What's really going on?"

I laugh at her.

“I’m serious, we're getting married!”

I see her eyes widen, mouth agape. "Oh my God! We have to get you a dress!”

She's practically jumping in her seat. Hanger smiles and tells her to calm down.

"They’re getting married! I'm so excited!” she squeals, clapping her hands. We all laugh.

“Zoey, listen to Hanger. Calm down! You could throw yourself into labor,” I tell her, and we definitely don't need that.

"So true," she says, nodding. "Okay, go get the rings then we'll get dresses."

We go into the store and I pick out a white gold band with white and black onyx diamonds for Bear, and he picks out the most beautiful two rings for me. The first would’ve been my engagement ring if he hadn't decided to do this shit on a whim. It’s a square cut onyx diamond with white ones surrounding it and trailing down the sides. He also picked out a wedding band that alternates between onyx and white diamonds, and both are set in white gold bands. Once the argument is over about who will pay, of course he wins, we walk out of the store with our rings. We find a dress shop next, and I pick out a simple white dress, while Zoey searches for one in a maternity size.

"You know you guys are strange, right?" she asks.

"Why do you say that?" I ask, laughing.

“I guess it's your whole relationship. I mean, you guys haven't been together that long."

"Neither have you and Hanger, but you're happy. Technically, it's been about a year of seeing each other, and don’t forget that we started fucking around the same time you guys did. If I wouldn't have been so scared and put him through all that bullshit, we could’ve been together this whole time.”

"You're right, it has! You were just so secretive about it. I guess I'm still getting used to you guys actually being a couple. Besides, I'm your best friend and it's my job to make sure you’re happy."

"I'm unbelievably happy, Zoey. I never thought I could have this, and now I do and I'm going to hold on to it the best I can."

"You won't have to try hard, that man has been in love with you for a long time."

"I know. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time. I wish I wouldn't have kept my pregnancy from him either."

"Oh girl, you have all the time in the world now. You just gotta let that go. He understands now why you did it, just let it be. There's no going back, move ahead. He didn't miss Kellen's birth and he's been a great father. You’re getting married, leave all the past shit there. Only forward from here girl."

"You're right. How did you get so smart?" Zoey is one of the smartest people I know. She stays quiet and watches people, but when she feels it's the right time, she gives you her opinion, and she always seems wise beyond her years. "It doesn't take smarts, Jacey. You just need somebody on the outside to make you understand."

"Yeah, I guess. Okay, we got our dresses, what's next?"

"Well, are you making him wear a suit?"

"Umm, no." We both laugh, paying for the dresses. When we walk out, the guys are standing against the vehicles. Bear asks what's next and I tell him that he needs to go pick out a suit, keeping a straight face.

"The fuck? I'm not wearing a suit, Jacey,” he tells me, so serious. I decide to see how far I can push him. "Yes, Bear, you are."

"Lil Mama." He holds fast.

I throw it back on him, and pointing, I inform him that because this marriage was his idea, he most definitely will be needing a suit to wear down the aisle. I don't know if I can push this any further though, it's hard as hell not to laugh because he looks pissed. “Fine. Let's go.” Oh God, I'm about to lose it! I'm already dying laughing on the inside. “Bear?” I coo his name.

"Yeah?” He looks at me.

"I'm fucking with you! You can wear what you have on." Everyone bursts out laughing. He starts to walk toward me and I back up. Every step I take back, he moves one forward until I'm hit the dress shop’s brick wall. He pins me against it, looking into my eyes. "That wasn't very nice, Lil Mama."

"Well, you did tell me once that I wasn't that nice." I smile at him and he leans down, smashing his mouth against mine.

"That’s enough of that shit! She's still my daughter, Bear,” Dad calls out. I can hear Zoey and Hanger laughing, but I could care less right now. He breaks from the kiss, leaving me breathless. I need a second to recover before opening my eyes.

"You’re gonna pay for that little joke later,” he informs me. I know exactly what kind of paying I'll be doing and it has me aching between the legs.

Once everyone is ready to go, we head to The Luxor to check in. Wouldn't you know, it's Vegas, so there’s a little chapel right in the hotel. Zoey and I get ready together while the guys go off to do the same. After my shower, I get my dress on and decide to leave my hair down, but curl it. Zoey puts her black dress on, pulling her hair up in a curly ponytail. We’re almost done getting ready, when I get a call on my phone. “Hello?”

"Hi, is this Jacey Thomas?"

"Yes who is this?"

"My name is Daphne Roberts. I’ve been looking at your building for sale."

"Oh, okay, hi. Would you like to meet up in a couple of days? I'm out of town right now."

“Sounds great, just give me a call when you’re ready."

"Who was that?" Zoey asks.

"Someone named Daphne. She wants to meet up and look at the building."

"That's great! It's like everything’s falling into place."

"I know! It’s kind of scary, like something bad is just waiting to happen." An uneasy feeling takes over. That's the way it's been for the last year though, right when everything’s good, something always comes along to knock things down a notch.

"Don't say that, Jacey. Everything will be fine."

We walk down to the lobby of the hotel where the guys are waiting. Bear has Kellen with him and it brings a smile to my face. I swear, I fall in love with him a little bit more every time I see him with our son. Handing Kellen over to my Dad, he walks up to me, taking me into his arms. "You look so fuckin' beautiful. I love you, Lil Mama."

"I love you too. Are you ready to do this?"

"I've never been more ready for somethin' in my entire life."

I place my hand on his cheek, making sure he looks me in the eyes as I tell him, "Me either, Bear. I've never wanted something so much as I want to be your wife." Smiling at each other, I see his eyes glass over, so trying to lighten the mood, he slaps my ass and we head to the chapel. Wouldn't you know, it’s Elvis themed. We order the package we want and they take the guys inside, leaving my dad with us girls and Kellen. "Jacey, are you sure you want me walkin' you down the aisle?" I look at my father holding my son. "I wouldn't want it any other way. I love you, I always have. My dreams never let me forget how great a father you were."

"I made a lot of bad choices though."

"You were only doing what you thought was right. I did the same thing. I heard somewhere that you just have to let it be. You can’t go back, so move ahead." I give Zoey a smile, our eyes shining with tears. I take her hand. “You’ve always been the best friend I could ever ask for. I love you."

"I love you too, Jacey. You're more than just a best friend, you're like a sister to me."

I hear the piano playing, and it's time for us to walk out so I take Kellen from my dad. He puts one of his arms through mine and Zoey walks ahead of us, Hanger never taking his eyes off her, and I can see all the love he has for my best friend. I see Bear as I make my way down the aisle, his face mimics Hanger's.

I thought he’d destroy me if I gave myself to him, but I was wrong. I was so utterly wrong. He loves me completely, protects me to the fullest, makes me smile every single day, and he will do whatever he has to do to keep me safe. I realize all of this as I walk toward him. I couldn’t ask for a better man for me or for our child.

My mother always thought it was about money, but it’s not. Money has nothing to do with someone consuming your every thought or every feeling. Love is what matters, when you would rather sacrifice yourself than to be without that person. When you can't remember what your life was like before that person came into it and you never want them to leave.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" the Elvis impersonator asks.

"I do,” my dad replies. He leans in, giving me a kiss on my cheek. "I love you, Princess."

"I love you too, Dad." Before he passes me off to Bear, he tries to stare him down, but Bear doesn't falter.

"You take care of my Princess. If you don't, I will kill you."

He reassures my father that I'll be very well cared for, and I pass Kellen to Dad before he walks away. Bear and I say our I dos, and the guys cheer while Zoey and I cry. Bear turns to Elvis.

We need some time." Elvis nods.

"Take all the time you need. We don't have anybody else coming in for a while." He walks out, leaving us all alone.

"Since we aren't doin' this the traditional way, we don't get a reception, but I wanna play you a song. Dance with me."

He puts on
Canaan Smith's Love You Like That
. Putting his phone back in his pocket, upside down so we can still hear it, he takes my hand in his and spins me around, then pulls me into him.

I can feel his hot breath on my ear as he whispers, "You made me the happiest man alive today, Lil Mama."

I bury my face in the crook of his neck, content.

"I love this song."

“Me too. I think of you every time I hear it." He lifts my head up. “You're mine now, in every way. We've come a long way in the last year."

"Don't forget, you're mine now too. And we have, haven't we?"

"I was always yours, Lil Mama, from the time you stepped outta that hallway and I laid eyes on you for the very first time."

Once we get done dancing, we make our way out of the chapel. Zoey says, “Since it's your wedding night, we’re taking Kellen”

"No, you can't do that,” I tell her, freaking out because I don't want to be without my baby.

"Yes, I can. He’ll be fine. We’ll be right next door."

"Are you sure?" Now that I'm thinking about it, it would be nice to have some time with Bear, alone.

"Yes, I'm sure, and you can call or come over anytime you want."

"Hanger, is it okay with you?"