Reckless Love (Satan's Prophets MC, Book 2) (Satan's Prophets MC Series) (21 page)

The Clint Eastwood movie wasn’t too bad,
Mick decided after it was over. Renee was happy and that’s all that mattered to him.             

The doorbell rang. Aunt Jenny looked over at Renee, who shrugged. Mick got up to answer the door, as he was the closest.

Mick was dumbfounded to see Robert standing there. “Hey, what are you doing here? Everything okay?” A million thoughts raced through Mick’s mind. Robert said he was there to see Jenny. “Jenny? Look man, I don’t know what’s going on, but you did freak out the last time you saw her. Wanna tell me what that was all about?”

“No. I’d rather talk to her first, if you’ll let me.”

Mick studied Robert for a few seconds. He wondered once again what was going on, but told him to wait outside while he went to get her.

Charlie was just about to get up and see what was keeping Mick at the door for so long when Mick returned. “Jenny, Robert is at the door to see you.”

“Me?” She frowned. “Why on Earth did he come here to see me?” She got up and walked out onto the porch. Mick followed to keep an eye on them, his gut telling him something wasn’t right.

Robert was standing with his back to the door, trying to calm down his racing heart.
This is it,
he thought,
the confrontation you’ve deliberated over for the past few weeks.

“Hello, Robert, nice to see you again. What can I do for you?” she asked, wondering what was up with this guy.

Robert turned around to face his demons, head-on.

“Hello,
mother
.”

Jenny’s ears began to ring, the noise roaring through her head. Mick caught her before she hit the porch floor.

* * *

Charlie was holding the smelling salts under Jenny’s nose after Mick carried her onto the parlor couch. Mick went back outside to try to make sense of it all.

“What the fuck, man. What are you trying to pull here? What do you mean by ‘mother’? Jenny and this family are under my protection; you fuck with her, you fuck with me and my brothers.”

“Hold on, Mick. I’m not fucking with anyone. It’s a long story and I’ll explain it all. I don’t mean any harm to anyone. I just came to talk to Jenny. Let me inside. We’ll all sit down together. I’ll tell you my story.”

Jenny was coming to when they walked back into the house. She was as white as a sheet and Renee hurried to make her a cup of tea.

“I don’t understand. Mother?” Jenny stammered, full of hope. Was it possible? “You called me ‘mother’…?”

Robert was sitting in a chair across from Jenny. He hated doing this to her and was wondering how she would take the news. His stomach was full of jittery nerves. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and started his story.

“I’m sorry about how I laid this news on you. I didn’t mean to be so blunt, but the words just came out of my mouth. I was adopted by Anna and Edward Marks soon after my birth.”

Jenny’s hand flew up to her chest and her voice was shaky and soft when she spoke. “Oh my God! Is it really you? After all these years?” Renee was handing her the cup of tea, but she brushed it aside. She was overwhelmed with a thousand thoughts running through her mind.

Charlie sat down next to her on the couch. “Jenny, what is going on here? I don’t understand?”

Jenny completely ignored her brother and couldn’t take her eyes off of Robert. She started talking quietly. “I was so young. I didn’t have a choice. You have to believe that.”

Charlie stood up and ran his hands through his hair. “Somebody, please, tell me what is going on here. Jenny, did you have a child?”

Robert interrupted him. “I am Robert Marks. Like I previously said, I was adopted right after I was born. When I was around ten years old, my parents told me I was adopted, but I never wanted to know who my real mother was, and truthfully, I never cared to know.” He looked straight into Jenny’s eyes. “They were the best parents I could have ever asked for. They supported me in everything I did, made sure I had a good education, and best of all, they loved me unconditionally. My parents are dead, but my mother left behind a journal. I’ll bet you didn’t know she kept tabs on you.” Jenny shook her head no. He continued on. “She wanted to be there for you if you ever needed assistance, but you never did. During the last days of her life, she mentioned your name. Then… when I met you that day at Mick’s wedding… Well, that’s the reason for my reaction. Truthfully, I just wasn’t ready to face you.”

Mick put a beer down in front of Robert and he nodded his thanks. Charlie spoke up once again, pleading with his sister. “Jenny, please, tell me what this is all about.”

Jenny’s eyes held such sorrow in them as she looked at Robert. “I think I had better start at the beginning. I was eighteen years old and dating Tony Figuero.” She sighed. “We were both so young and in love, but he did a stupid thing. He wanted to give me an engagement ring, but he had no money. He broke into a jewelry store and stole a ring for me.” Jenny started crying softly. “Soon as he gave me the ring, I knew. I told him to take it back, but he was so sure of himself and thought he would never get caught. But he did. He went to jail, and soon after, I found out I was pregnant.” She looked at her brother. “Mom and dad were furious when I told them and said I brought shame to the family. Remember when I went away for all those months? You thought I took a paying job to care for an old family friend who was sickly and needed help.” She shook her head sadly. “It was to have the baby and give it up to a family that couldn’t have children.” She looked over to Robert with a pained expression. “I had nowhere to turn. Please believe me, I had no choice. Leaving you with that family nearly destroyed me. When I came home, I vowed to make something of myself, to turn my life around. You
have
to believe me, I wanted you desperately. I had no choice. I’m so sorry.”

Robert nodded. “I know. I read my mother’s journal. It’s all in there. I’m sorry, too.” Robert looked at all the stunned faces. He could see he had shocked everyone. “Well, I guess I said all that needed to be said. Anna wanted me to find you, it was her dying wish. So,” he shrugged his shoulders, “I did. I will be going now.”

“Wait!” Jenny blurted out. “Where do you live? Can we see each other again? I really would like to get to know you, hear about what your life was like growing up. Please, I don’t even know, are you married?”

“Nope, never married. I’ll hang around for a day or two so we can talk. Then, I have to get back home. I’ll get a room at the motel down the road.”

“Nonsense,” Charlie coaxed him. “You can stay right here with us. We have plenty of room.” He looked at Robert hopefully, knowing Jenny would want that.

Robert picked up on the hopeful sound in his voice. He debated for a few seconds, then said, “Okay, thanks. I’ll go get my duffel bag out of my car.”

Jenny grabbed her brother’s hand and gave it a light squeeze, silently thanking him.

* * *

Robert stayed for two days. In that time, Jenny listened to him talk about his childhood years, his achievements in school, and how he played football in college. During the day, they would take long walks and at home, they would sit quietly alone, just the two of them, and talk late into the night. Jenny wanted to hear about every little event in his life.

She couldn’t get enough.

Robert explained his feelings and why it took so long to meet her. He told her of his inner struggle with being adopted, and the feeling of rejection that haunted him even though he had two great parents. She understood completely. She was just glad that he finally did come to meet her.

When Robert had to leave, Jenny was down in the dumps. She wished they could spend more time together. Robert promised he would stay in touch with her and she knew it would take time to establish any kind of a relationship. Right now, she was happy for whatever time she could have with him.

Mick was upstairs getting dressed to head out to The Den. He had to go to work tonight, even though he was scheduled off. Danny said he would fill in for him so he could spend the evening with Renee. It was her birthday and he wanted to take her back to their favorite Italian restaurant up in Vestal. But Danny called earlier to say he was sick, so that ended their plans.

Renee was disappointed, but tried to keep a happy face on for Mick. She knew what she was getting into when she married him, and she took the occasional bad along with all the good.

“Sorry, babe. I gotta go to work. We’ll go tomorrow night, I promise.”

Renee had to frown at that promise. “Don’t make promises you might not be able to keep. I know club business comes first, I accepted that. Let’s just hope we can go tomorrow night.”

Mick walked over to his jacket and pulled a small box out of one of the zippered pockets. He handed it to Renee, shaking his head with disappointment. “I wanted to surprise you with this later tonight, but looks like that’s not happening now. Happy birthday, babe.”

Renee reached out to take the box, her heart full of love, thinking about Mick picking something out himself just for her. She couldn’t wait to open it. As she undid the pretty pink wrapping and pulled away the layer of cotton, her breath caught in her throat. She lifted out the solid gold chain, her hand trembling with emotion as she held it up to see the pendant attached to it. Etched in the gold pendant was a tiger with his paws raised in the air, ready to attack, an exact drawing of Mick’s tattoo. But what started Renee crying was when she read the two names on it. “Renee and Michael” was etched below the tiger’s open mouth in the protective embrace of the tiger’s paws.

“Let me guess. As usual, they’re tears of happiness,” Mick murmured, smiling.

Renee threw her arms around Mick’s neck and kissed him. “Yes! I love this. Will you help me put it on?” She turned around so Mick could hook the clasp behind her neck. She fingered it lovingly when he was done. “I am never taking this off. I love you with all my heart.”

Mick hugged Renee and kissed her tenderly. “How did I ever get so lucky to have you and Michael in my life? I’ll be home as soon as I can. Love ya, babe.”

* * *

Mick was glad to see Drifter, Roach, Spokes, Rebel, and a few other members of the club at The Den when he walked in. He hoped it was a quiet night so he could leave his bros watching over the place and hurry home to Renee. His hopes were dashed when shortly after, a bunch of younger guys walked in. Mick knew right away they were out looking to sow their wild oats.

“Fuck,” he said to Roach. “Looks like trouble just walked in the door.”

Mick had his eyes glued to the table where the guys sat. He watched as one round of drinks followed closely behind another and another. He looked over to Big Daddy and saw he had his eyes on that table, also. Soon, they started getting rowdy, yelling and grabbing at the waitresses as they walked by. Shortly after, Mick saw a beer bottle go flying onto the stage. Big Daddy was right on top of it. He walked over to their table and had the bottle-thrower by the collar of his shirt, lifting him up when a guy came up behind him swinging a pool stick. He cracked Big Daddy over the head. He went down to his knees.

Mick motioned to Drifter and his bros. By the time they got there, more beer bottles were flying towards the stage. The dancer, pissed off, picked one up and threw it back. It connected with a guy’s head sitting at the next table over. The crowd went wild, cheering and yelling. Mick grabbed one of the men as he was trying to climb up on the stage to get to the girl, and smacked him in his face.

Then, all hell broke loose. The other customers moved back against the walls, making room and enjoying the ruckus. Fists were flying and some other drunken customers decided to jump into the brawl and have some fun. Mick took a couple of good shots to the face as he delivered punishing blow after blow. Big Daddy was back on his feet plowing through the melee like a human bulldozer. Well over six feet of solid muscle, he knocked out one guy after another.

Mick turned looking around for the next one and saw the fight was over. The bar room floor was littered with drunken, laid-out men. He looked over to the bar and was surprised to see Robert sitting there.

Robert raised his beer up in a salute to Mick.

He walked over, sat down, then yelled for someone to bring him a wet towel. Mick growled at Robert’s smiling face.

“You could have helped us out here, man.” He winced and touched his split lip, getting blood on his fingers.

“Why? You and your bros were doing okay,” Robert jested back.

Big Daddy handed him the wet towel and Mick wiped his rapidly swelling lip and cheeks. “What brings you back up here? Did you miss my amusing company?”

“Hate to disappoint ya, man, amusing as you may be, but no, I didn’t. I’m here for two reasons, actually. Nothing I wanna discuss tonight, though.”

“I gotta go get cleaned up some more and clear this place out. If you give us a hand, you can come stay at my house tonight. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

* * *

Mick unlocked the back door and motioned for Robert to be quiet and follow him. He went upstairs to the linen closet, took out a few pillows and a blanket, and led him into the spare bedroom. Next, Mick peeked in on Michael and saw he was sleeping peacefully.

He walked into his bedroom and found Renee sitting up reading a book. She took one look at his face. “Oh, God, what happened to you?”

Mick winced. He was hoping Renee was asleep. “There was a fight at the bar tonight, some young guys feeling their oats. My face looks much worse than it is. The fight only lasted a short time and no one was seriously hurt.”

She didn’t say anything, simply closing the book and rolling over. Mick knew she was trying really hard to accept his lifestyle and he loved her that much more for it. He got undressed and climbed into bed naked. Mick wrapped his strong arms around Renee to pull her close. Renee loved being spooned by Mick, and when he started nibbling on her neck, upset as she was, her body craved his touch.

She turned around and kissed his bruised lips. “Does it hurt when I kiss you?”

“Nah, baby. It feels good.” Mick lifted her nightgown over her head and threw it on the floor. Her naked body felt so good pressed up against his. He ran his hands over her full breasts before lowering his head to gently suckle her nipples. His fingers found her moist center and worked their magic. Soon, Renee was moaning softly. Mick turned to lie flat on his back with a pillow behind his head.

He lifted Renee up and over him until she was kneeling with her slick folds right where he wanted them.

“Hang on to the headboard, baby.”

Renee did as she was told. When Mick’s tongue made one long stroke over her moist sweetness, she let out a little gasp. Mick was relentless; his tongue licked her soft, dewy petals until Renee thought she was going to burst into flames. When his lips suckled hard on her clit, her orgasm overtook her with wave after wave of intense, pleasurable sensations.

Renee knew Mick loved getting a blow job, so she hurriedly changed position until she was leaning over his cock. She lowered her head, letting her tongue dance around the tip to tease him for a bit before taking his rock hard staff into her hot mouth. She slid her head up and down, taking him in deeper with each movement. It didn’t take much before Mick warned her that he was going to explode. Renee was determined to give Mick as much pleasure as he had just given her. She kept her mouth on his cock and swirled her tongue until he climaxed. She felt it slide down the back of her throat and gagged. She got up and ran into the bathroom to rinse out her mouth.

Mick was all smiles when she came back. “I warned ya, babe.”

* * *

When they woke up the next morning, Mick informed Renee that Robert had slept over. If Renee was surprised, she didn’t show it or ask any questions. She knew when Mick was ready, he would tell her why he was there.

Renee had just finished feeding Michael his oatmeal baby cereal. Mick and Robert were eating ham and eggs when she informed Mick that she was heading over to Holly’s soon. Jaz was meeting them there and they were going to try their hand at wallpapering Holly’s foyer wall. 

Mick and Robert burst into uncontrollable laughter when Renee mentioned the wallpaper had big pink flowers on it and Striker had forbid her to put it up.

After Renee left with Michael, Mick took Robert into the den where they could sit back and talk.

Mick settled himself on the big leather sofa and Robert sat in the recliner. “Nice house you got. Got any joints stashed around anywhere?”

Mick spoke in a sharp tone. “I don’t bring that shit into my house. So you gonna tell me what’s going on, or are we gonna sit here all day and chit chat about the weather?”

Robert’s voice was flat and devoid of emotion when he spoke. “I did some investigating and found out about my father. Not that I give a shit, but I know that Jenny always wondered what happened to him. It’s not good, man. I found out that when he got released from jail, he joined up with some gang down in Florida. A few years later, he was killed in a shootout with another gang.” Robert focused his eyes on Mick. “Problem now is, do I tell Jenny, or let her keep believing he is happy somewhere?”

“Fuck! That’s a tough call.”

“Yeah, I know. It doesn’t bother me. I never knew the fucker, but it might really bring Jenny down.”

“If you want my advice, I say let her have her dream.”

“Sounds like good advice.” Robert nodded. “Might as well let a sleeping dog lie.”

Mick sat up straight on the couch. “What’s the second reason you’re here? You said two.”

“I quit working with the feds.” At Mick’s look of shock, he continued on. “I shot a man in self-defense and I was investigated for abusing my authority. Guy came charging right at me, his gun aimed at my head. Can you believe it? Those fuckers. They took my badge and put me on leave. After I was cleared, the day they handed my badge back, I took it and threw it back on the desk and told them to shove it up their asses,” Robert gloated. “You should’ve seen the look of surprise on my superiors’ faces.” Robert took another drink of his coffee. “Fuck them all. I don’t need that shit. I do my duty to protect people and get my ass handed back to me on a platter? What the fuck?”

Mick was slowly shaking his head. “Shit, man. I can’t believe it. You just up and quit? What are ya gonna do now?”

“I guess I’ll go see Jenny as long as I’m here, then… who knows? Maybe sell my house when I get back and move on somewhere. Not really sure yet.” Robert stood up. “Well, thanks for the bed last night. Maybe I’ll see you around before I leave town.”