10. Laying Claim （Dust）

10

Laying Claim (Dust)

A whole week went by since we wiped up their blood, dragged their bodies deep into the Smokies, and fixed Hannah's landscaping with our crew. I'd barely left her place to run the club.

Thank Christ half the brothers were away on their honeymoons. But it was only a matter of time before Skin and Joker came back to raise hell, assuming the others didn't start to first. I'd brushed off Sixty, Lion, and Tin when they called to check on me.

Firefly hadn't sent me shit. Long as he cleaned the guns and ran the patrols, he kept his distance, too pissed over me and Hannah to come knocking over me disappearing for a few days.

Maybe he wondered why I had so many prospects pulling double duty. They'd keep their mouths shut if they wanted to earn their bottom rockers. If even one person squawked about doing extra patrols this side of town, near his sis' place, there'd be hell to pay.

For her, I'd paid the devil's toll several times over. Wouldn't hesitate to do it again .

Once you killed for a woman, something primal went off inside, an urge to destroy every last motherfucker who came around threatening her life.

Hannah mostly stayed in her room, or worked on her computer, frantically messing with her software. She wanted to rip apart the money laundering scheme at the roots and get her app back on track as a legit one.

The Sicilians probably realized she'd broken her chain. That meant I had to hit them first, before they could get it together and come digging for their dead men.

Our attack goal came easy. Finding out where to hit them, and how...I'd rarely met as big a bitch as the problem staring us in the face.

Wasn't easy doing research, just Hannah and me, desperately seeking out a lead on where they called home. Six days in, I wanted to tear her fancy place apart, knowing it was only hers because she'd built it under the gun. Worse, we couldn't find the bastards who'd made it possible, and mortgaging her life on death threats.

“You look terrible, Dusty. Take a walk,” she said, looking up at me over the computer, wearing her glasses. “I'll stay here and work. We'll run into something sooner or later. Nobody keeps a clean nose online. A little more detective work, just a little while longer, and we'll have them.”

Easy for her to say. She knew a lot about proxy this and deep web that. More than I'd know about computers if I gave up riding tomorrow and spent every waking hour at the keyboard .

Right now, only thing I knew for certain, I wanted to take her to bed wearing nothing except those thick black frames around her eyes.

“Keep the candle burning, darlin'. I'm going for a ride,” I told her. “I'll make sure the prospects hang out by the gate 'til I'm back. You stumble across a miracle that leads us to 'em on that thing, you let me know. I'll be back in thirty or forty.”

Chances were, we wouldn't sniff out the Sicilians today. Too bad.

The longer they stayed hidden pushed everything back – briefing the club, dealing with the fallout, coming to make them pay in blood.

Patience, I told myself. Just a little while longer, like Hannah said.

Nobody hid forever. This club had tracked and slaughtered more bastards who deserved to die than anybody else in the state. Meanwhile, there was another problem I could solve today, one with a solution a whole lot clearer.

First, I headed home. Took me about twenty minutes to dig through the old tool crib in my garage. Besides the ratchets, hammers, and drills, I kept a few handguns locked up, plus several ghosts from the past.

Found the little ring box lurking underneath some old newspaper. It was wrapped up in the same faded articles Ma put around it last year when she gave it to me. She said I should keep it safe, in case 'something happened' – the phrase she used for worrying about her own mortality .

I'd snorted at her then, scoffed at the whole idea of holding onto my grandma's wedding ring. She told me to shut up and take it because she didn't have any use for it anymore. Because, one day, I'd find a girl worth giving it to.

Seemed impossible at the time. Now?

Fuck. I, Daniel Grayson, had officially fallen to his knees.

Went down hard. Foaming at the mouth to end forty odd years of bachelorhood. The man who'd always pushed cupid down like some yappy little dog had his arrow lodged deep, and that shit was poison.

I couldn't go on without seeing this old gold band on her finger. Couldn't breathe easy every day Hannah wasn't wearing my ink. Fuckin' her blew my brains out, but I wouldn't truly own her 'til I saw that ring against my dick every time she wrapped her fingers around me. Love wouldn't mean what it should 'til I bent her over, took her from behind, and saw PROPERTY OF DUST tattooed on her shoulder, her ass, wherever she damned well pleased, as long as she was mine.

Clenching the ring box against my palm, I nodded to myself. Let's fuckin' do this.

One more stop waited before I brought it to my woman.

I rolled up to preacher man's door on the other side of town. Walked up the broken steps and pounded on his door 'til he opened up, greeting me with a cup of coffee in his hand and a flannel shirt around his skinny shoulders.

“Dusty? Something I can do for you, son? ”

“Yeah,” I said, watching as the fear and respect flickered in his eyes. All these years later, he remembered how I'd saved his ass, and he owed me for the rest of his days. “Get dressed, climb in your truck, and follow me down the highway. I want a wedding, and I need it now.”

His eyes bugged out, but he didn't argue. This guy knew when the club called, he answered, and gave us whatever the hell we wanted, without asking too many questions.

I went back to my bike, waiting for him to lock up before I started the engine. We pulled out of his driveway and hit the road together, his truck behind me, heading for Hannah's place.

We were home in no time. The prospects were gathered outside the fixed up bushes, pacing around leisurely as they had their smoke breaks. They looked at preacher man tailing me through the gate with more than a few questions in their eyes. I stopped in front of Apache, fresh meat wearing our prospect patch, just home from Afghanistan with no job in sight. We'd given him plenty to do in our garages.

“Prez? There a reason we're seeing the preacher again?”

“Stand guard in the house and find out. Pass that along to the rest of the boys,” I said. “Gonna need a few extra witnesses for what's about to go down. Get everybody inside, quick as you can.”

He nodded one more time as I blew past, rolling through the huge iron gate. I climbed off my bike, grabbed the ring box from my saddlebag, and told preacher man to wait with the prospects 'til I returned .

That little black box in my fist burned like a hot stone. I waited on Hannah's doorstep for about a minute before I shoved the door open and stepped inside.

Today, I had a date with destiny to win over my wife. I wasn't going anywhere else before I had a yes out of her.

“Darlin', put that down, and come out back. We need to have a talk.”

She looked up at me over her laptop, tucking a loose lock of soft, brunette hair behind her ear. “Now? I mean, I was just getting deep into the database. I'm digging into everything I can find about Dom in the Sterner Corp files. Mister Sterner graciously got my old access restored this morning.”

“Now,” I said, giving her a shallow nod. “You'll be back talking to billionaires and playing detective as soon as we're done. Right now, we've got business.”

That wasn't totally true. If my proposal went off like I planned, I'd have her down the hall in the library within the hour, with preacher man hitching us then and there. And we'd be marking the occasion by going upstairs, hitting the bed, and taking our pleasure 'til she knew I hadn't lost my mind.

I'd show her this was real. Show her I meant for it to last forever.

I loved this woman, dammit. No more denying that, no more running, and no more lies.

I'd kiss her, hold her, and fuck her 'til she realized the truth .

I stepped out onto her balcony and waited. Waited for her hands to land on my shoulders softly before I turned, looked at her, and invited her into those fires burning in my eyes.

“What's wrong?” she asked, her eyes going wide.

“Wrong question, darlin'. We both know what's wrong, what's eating at us, what we need to do to get the Sicilians off our asses. We're working on it.” I paused, grabbing her hand, pulling it close to my chest. “We're having a heart-to-heart because I want to put the mafia shit on hold for a second to remember what's right.”

She tilted her head, a curious smile tugging at her lips. “You're talking about us?”

I nodded. “You, me, and the next fifty years we're gonna have together on this Earth. I know it sounds crazy talking like that right now, and I damned well know it. Guess what?” I moved my arm around her, bringing her close, never breaking eye contact. “Doesn't fuckin' matter. Long as I've got you, and you're wearing a smile on your face, nothing else does. We'll settle with the Sicilians. Smooth things over with Firefly. Kill every asshole standing in the way of you, me, and the future we deserve. Leave the club biz to me. We got together in the first place because we both wanted to wind up in bed, darlin', but it's a whole lot more than that now. No denying it.”

“Yeah...” She looked down and opened her lips, softly whispering. “You're right.”

“I've walked through Heaven and Hell, Hannah. Watched brothers crash and burn, then pick themselves up to take another swing at life. I had to crawl out of the shadow left by my old man's sins, and hell, I'm still doing it.” I waited for her eyes to meet mine again before I cupped her cheek, tilting her face to mine. “All those awful things made me wonder about a fuck of a lot. It's hard for a man to have much certainty when the ground keeps shifting under him. You, on the other hand...fuck, babe, you're my rock. Go ahead, tell me I'm crazy, or it's fuckin' soon to say it. Then ask me if I care. I'm telling you the God's truth, what I knew the first night we got together at your brother's wedding. I'm telling you I've had enough. ”

“Enough? Of what?” She looked like she was in a trance, hanging on my every word.

I smiled. “Enough of pretending this ain't going nowhere. Like it's just a fling, one more fire in the night due to burn out when we've had our fill. Enough of acting like we can't have a future, or we're only in this together because we've got history, or I'm just playing hero just to keep you alive.”

“Dusty...this better not be a joke.” Her big blue eyes flashed hot, telling me she'd slap me across the face if I messed with her now.

Thankfully for her, I was in so deep, so real, second guessing didn't have any place, and never, ever would. “Why you gotta doubt everything, darlin'? Think everything's a fuckin' prank?”

Her face softened, cheeks blushing red. “Maybe because I know who I'm dealing with. You're a strong man, Dusty, and you have a good heart. But you're also the oldest bachelor in the entire MC. You're telling me – no lies – that you're honestly planning to settle down? With me? ”

She practically squeaked the last word. As if her own disbelief and fear reached up, caught her around the throat, and refused to let go.

“I'm done telling you anything with words, darlin'. Brought something better to do the talking for me today.”

The sun came out behind the clouds just then, shining down on us. Like I needed another sign the time had come.

She watched me reach into my pocket, clench the little black box tight against my palm, and drop slowly to my knees. I grabbed her hands with mine, bringing them to my lips. I kissed each one before I said anything else, wondering why the fuck I had this bitter lump building in my throat when I'd reached the happiest moment of my life.

“Marry me, Hannah Davis.” My thumb popped the box open. I let that antique gold with the diamond in the middle shine on like a crazy star sent to earth. “Whatever else happens, I want you wearing my ring, calling me your man. I want you sharing my bed every damned night, on the back of my bike when I remind the Smokies who owns 'em. I want to see you smiling like that when you're carrying my kid. Want you to say 'I do,' darlin', and know it'll make me the happiest man in the world.”

I watched her stand there for several seconds, too shocked for words. Didn't think we were in trouble 'til her knees began to buckle, and she came crashing down into my arms.

Fuck! So much for that yes I'd staked everything on. Hannah couldn't tell me anything because she'd passed out cold.

The prospects came running when they heard me swearing up a storm. I motioned them to stay behind the screen door, leaving me to hold her, press her tight against me, measuring her breathing.

It was shock. Nothing life threatening. She'd simply overloaded, and I needed a little time to bring her back.

“Darlin'...wake up. Open those sweet eyes, and tell me you'll be mine.” I moved her face softly to mine, kissing her lips.

The old Dust would've rolled his eyes at this scene, like watching a twisted fuckin' fairy tale where the Prince wore leather and his damsel in distress wasn't even officially saved yet.

“Dusty?” Very slowly, Hannah's eyes fluttered open. It was my turn to hold my breath, anticipation strangling me by the throat.

Had she blinked out because she loved the idea of us getting hitched? Or did she want to head for the hills, screaming?

“Hannah, if you ain't feeling up to it, you don't have to answer me now. I think you oughta –“

“Kiss you?” she said, her energy returning, folding her hands tight around my neck. “I will, because that's the only thing I need right now. I want my fiance's lips on mine, and I don't want to wait. ”

Couldn't remember the last time I wore such a shit-eating grin before I took a woman's mouth with mine. Our lips collided like runaway trains. Crashing, rolling, fire in every movement, fueled by the happiest words I'd ever heard leaving anybody's mouth.

When I looked up, we both noticed the noise. The prospects stood behind us, roaring while they slapped the glass and the walls, ready to bang my fist as soon as I came through the door.

“Do we really need an audience?” she asked, flashing me a wink.

“Nah. They're for part two of my master plan.”

“Part two?” I helped her up into my arms, making sure she was steady on her feet, before I said more. “When I asked you to marry me, darlin', I meant today. I've got the same man who married the rest of my brothers and their girls waiting out front. He's ready, if you are.”

“You're insane,” she said, laughter breaking through the huge smile on her face. “How did you know I wouldn't insist on having a huge ceremony with all our friends and family?”

“Because if you gave me a yes, it'd be because you want it as bad as I do, babe.” I pulled her to my chest, planting another kiss on her hot, wanting lips. “When I make decisions, I don't fuck around. We'll have the reception later, once we're out of this mess, and the brothers are ready to come pay their respects to my wife. Today, I need that ring on your finger to mean what it says in gold and jewels.”

I grabbed her hand, twined my fingers in hers, and squeezed. I studied her, hoping she wasn't about to collapse again.

No, those big blue eyes in her pretty face were steady. True. Still smiling, she shook her head, giving her body a sweet, sexy ripple. My cock stood on end, ready to consummate our vows upstairs, soon as they were done.

“You're lucky you're so right about me, Danny.” My real name slipped out, and it sounded damned good hanging on her lips. I led us inside, turning an ear to her as she whispered a little more. “Guess the fact that you know me so well means it's meant to be.”

“Yeah, darlin', we are. I'll kiss fate's ass all day if it means kissing you every night,” I thundered in her ear, moving a possessive arm around her waist while we headed for the huge library in her house, where I'd told preacher man to wait. Apache passed my orders to the prospects ahead of us, and they were waiting.

“Careful, Dusty. Poets aren't supposed to ride motorcycles,” she warned, her sassy little tongue protruding through her teeth. “You can kiss the devil himself if it'll keep us like this forever, just as long as you clean your mouth first before coming to me.”

We both laughed. I pulled her closer, stopping in the library once we'd arrived, while preacher man jerked up from a nap in the big office chair and walked to the desk, getting his shit together.

“Bullshit. You like it dirty, woman. And you ain't sharing me with anyone. I'm giving up all the pussy on the planet for you, darlin', and I'm dead serious about it. ”

She turned, subtly moving her hip against my cock, just enough for me to notice without anybody else seeing. The prospects stood near the walls, whispering among themselves, shocked to hell that they were about to see the Prez tie the knot.

“Hmm, such a sacrifice.” She narrowed her eyes, sweet sarcasm dripping off her tongue. “Guess I'd better make sure I keep you happy and well fed. Because if you go rogue while I'm wearing this ring...”

She lifted one hand to her throat, flattened it, and made a swift cutting motion.

Smiling, I watched her eyes soften, the jealousy fading. The hunger in those beautiful blue gems of hers matched mine. I held a louder, lust charged growl in my throat, tightening my grip on her hand, ready to lead us down to the preacher.

“Darlin', if I was that kind of fool, we wouldn't be doing this. I'll die before I hurt you. Now, come on. You can serve me another helping of that fine ass upstairs, as soon as we're done.”

“And do you, Daniel Grayson, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love and to cherish, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?” Preacher man looked at me, his spectacles as honest and questioning as the eyes of God.

“No question,” I said, squeezing Hannah's fingers in mine. “I do. I will. I promise. ”

The prospects stirred in the seats behind us, their excitement getting to them. I knew if I spun around, I'd see four crazy smiles, big as the Tennessee sunset. Only regret I had about this was doing it without my brothers there, too, or my Ma.

She'd forgive me when she found out I'd taken a bride. If she didn't, then she'd damned sure get over it when the first grandbaby came along.

Preacher man didn't stop for anything. I took my eyes off him and looked straight into my woman's soul while he turned his attention to her, several thousand books lined up around us on the high shelves mirrored in his glasses.

“And do you, Hannah Davis, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, for richer –“

“I do!” she shouted, her hands trembling in mine when the words burst out. “You don't need to finish. I don't need riches or perfect health, to convince me to marry this man. I just need Dusty because he's right, and because he's mine.”

I quirked an eyebrow. She said that last word with such wild fuckin' vigor it nearly beat my own. I'd have to take her ten times harder tonight for that.

Preacher man paused and smiled. He looked up from his Bible, giving me the same look I'd seen him give my brothers when they'd gotten wed.

“Then by the power invested in me by the great state of Tennessee, and the trust given by the Deadly Pistols Motorcycle Club, I am honored to pronounce you husband and wife. Please, kiss the bride. ”

Like we needed any encouragement. The prospects whooped and hollered while our mouths connected, explored, and claimed each other the same way I hoped they'd do for the rest of our lives.

Hannah always tasted good. Up here, at this makeshift altar, she tasted like heaven itself crawled out of her, onto her lips.

Didn't want to take my mouth off hers, but I had to, just to say one more thing gnawing me deep down. “I love you, darlin'. Love you like I've never loved anything, and always will 'til the day I die. Nothing will ever, ever, ever fuckin' change that. I'm saying it today, in front of everyone, because I want to remember it when the times get rough. I want this love banging in my chest twenty-four seven, louder than my own heart.”

“Dusty – I love you, too!” she purred, staring at me like she had a lot to say, too.

I never let her get that far.

Taking the ring, I shoved it on her finger, and smiled when I saw the perfect fit. Sometimes things are meant to be, and the world gives up a hundred signs confirming it.

This was one of those days. Perfectly imperfect.

Soon, my lips joined hers again, and this time they didn't stop. We were still kissing while I scooped her up in my arms, and headed for the stairs. We left behind preacher man and the prospects cheering us on. They were smart enough to have a few drinks and keep watch while we got some quality time.

Sweet, merciful fuck, we needed it, too. If anything interrupted us before late morning tomorrow, dragging me away from my wife's beautiful body, I'd morph into the meanest, craziest motherfucker anybody ever had the misfortune of laying eyes on.

“I meant what I said down there, Danny. I really do love you,” she whispered, the soft glow flickering around us.

We stood next to that big bed of hers, completely naked, my hand stroking between her legs. She'd soaked herself for me before I laid a single finger on her.

My cock pressed against her little belly, rabid to seal the deal we'd just done the only way a man and woman should. We'd have a proper honeymoon after we dealt with Dom and his assholes. 'Til then, we'd have the most electrifying sex anybody ever had.

“I know you mean it, darlin'. We've fought this thing between us longer than we should've. Never been so glad to lose a battle in my life.” I pulled her face to mine, taking another kiss, stroking my tongue on hers to taste Hannah's sweetness.

“Before today, I was afraid to let on how much I felt it,” she said, slowly closing her eyes, moving her cheek against my hand. “Didn't know how much I meant to you, how much you meant to me. It's so sudden, but it's right.”

“Fuck yeah, it is. We sorted out the right and wrong, as soon as I put that ring on your little finger.” I took her hand, turning it over in the light, giving me a perfect view of my family's ring against her skin .

My cock twitched, hornier than ever. I'd marked her once with my wedding ring. We were only getting started.

Next, she'd get it from my teeth, my cock going off inside her, and the needle when she took my name on her skin. We'd skipped the unwed old lady stage and jumped straight to outlaw's bride. Fuck if it wasn't right, every single part of it.

“I want you so bad, Dusty. You don't even know.” She stopped, moaned, and I moved my thumb against her clit.

“Think I've got some idea, darlin'. We've used our mouths to talk enough today. I'm more interested in using them for something else. Lay back, spread those legs, and let's speak another language.”

She smiled as I eased her back, tumbling onto the bed. I crashed down on top of her, fisting her hair, pulling her head up to give me access to her sweet, pale throat. I kissed her there. Hard.

Stamped my lips on Hannah's skin in a slow, steady worship line down her body. Every few seconds, I'd stop and linger longer on the spots that made her jerk, moan, beg. I sucked her tit, rolling the other nipple between my fingers, dreaming about the day they'd be swollen and full from knocking her up.

I'd never wanted kids before. It'd be awhile before we went there, but I couldn't fuckin' deny it, this raging urge to knock her up building in my balls. My sperm were wild, yearning to be in her, even though we had all the protection in the world.

Her sweet cunt coated my cock in its cream as I rubbed between her folds. Up and down, up and down. Soak every fuckin' inch, down to my balls, darlin'.

My swollen head pressed against her clit. She moaned louder, twisting her hips, still pleading with her movements when I dragged my dick away to continue the downward march of my lips.

There's a time for slow and sensual. Tonight wasn't fuckin' it.

Soon as I had my face between her thighs, I pushed it straight to her center. Bouncing, squealing, and gasping for air, I locked her legs around my shoulders, pushing them down tight. My tongue rode her pussy like mad.

Only eased off to make her work for it. When I pulled back too far, she whimpered, grinding her cunt into my face. I rewarded her, bringing her in closer, burying my lips, my tongue, my teeth in that pussy 'til it imploded on itself.

“Dusty!” She hissed it. My name struck my ears like music when she tensed up.

I licked her faster, harder, sucking her little clit between my teeth 'til she couldn't remember her own name, much less mine. I devoured my new wife like I hadn't before, and I loved it. Alive like my first time taking her while she twitched against me.

My tongue fucked her the whole way through, guiding the firestorm in her hips, owning her 'til she came for me.

With her legs still trembling, I came up for air, sucking the last of her cream off my lips. Let her rest for about a minute, holding my cock rigid against her entrance, leaning over her and stroking her hair .

“You're so gorgeous,” I said, planting another kiss on her lips. “I held out forty goddamned years for the perfect package, darlin', and you're it. The wait was worth it. Beauty ain't enough, even though you've got that in droves. I wanted the brain and the heart, too. I'm one lucky SOB.”

“You're right about that,” she purred, smoothing her legs up and down mine. “Just for the record, I always wanted a man like you. The ones in suits who flinch when somebody gets in their face, they never had much appeal. Always had a crush on you, Dusty, even before I went off to college. You wouldn't look at me then because I was too young.”

“Yeah, you were, darlin'. Never thought much about patience being a virtue before, but it damned sure was this time,” I said, amazed how I'd watched her turn into a smart, sexy woman before my eyes. “We're gonna make this right, Hannah. Everything between you and me, Firefly, the club. It gets better from here, babe. Never been so sure about anything in my life.”

“Why wait? Make it better now, Dusty,” she said, brushing her lips over mine. “Fuck me.”

What little power I had left to resist went out the door. I rolled my hips back, letting my cock angle down to her entrance. Watched her suck her bottom lip when she knew what was coming, and let her little moan slip into my ears when I sank down into her.

“Fuck!” I cursed, awed how she felt just as good as the first time.

Taking her hands in mine, I pinned them above her head, more kisses smothering her lips while my dick fucked into her. I thrust every way I knew how, the start of owning her tonight from every beautiful fuckin' angle.

It wasn't just seeing that ring I put on her finger shake every time our hips crashed together. It was knowing I'd made her mine, inside and out, tonight and forever.

“Dusty, yes – oh, God!” she cried out again, just how I liked, when I fucked her over the edge a second time.

Her greedy pussy pulled at my cock, tried to bring me off, and I damned near lost it deep inside her. But I wasn't done yet.

Soon as her legs stopped shaking, wrapped around mine, I eased out and flipped her over. This time, I watched her sweet ass bouncing as I took her, pounding my balls against her clit while I fucked harder and faster than before.

My grandma's ring glittered while her hand tensed, clutching the sheets. A slow, feminine growl poured from her lips while we fucked. Each time I quickened my strokes, she matched me, moving her ass back to meet my thrusts.

My hands moved like demons. One snatched at her hair, giving it a pull, turning her gasps into grunts of ecstasy. My other hand straightened, came down on her ass several times, making her fuck me back faster.

I wanted to demolish her tonight, and build her up as mine. More beautiful, more sexy, more sweet than ever before. But my body wouldn't let me do it in one go. When her cunt clenched my dick again, I lost it.

“Fuck, darlin', I'm coming!” My cock ballooned while I snarled the words .

My balls slapped her one more time while I drove in, held it, and let the wave pour out of me, into my bride's womb. Hot, thick fire erupted in steady, wild jerks.

I came like a motherfucker deep inside my wife for the first time, and kept on doing it long after my seed slipped out the space between us, spilled onto the sheets, and carried us deeper into bliss. We fucked for a small eternity, grunting our pleasure, grinding our flesh, whispering each other's names through clenched teeth.

When it was finally done and I pulled out half-hard, I wondered if a man could get so hot he'd fuck right through his woman's birth control. If it happened...we'd figure it out.

I took her in my arms, stroking her brow, wiping away the sweat and breathing in the scent of sex. “You're gonna kill me in this bed one of these days, darlin'. Least I'll die happy.”

“Sorry, no room for death anytime soon,” she said, squeezing my hand, resting her head against my chest. “There's just you and me tonight, Dusty. No reapers allowed.”

“Deal. No fuckin' reapers. I'm a helluva lot more interested in making a life for us than taking anybody else's.”

She cooed her agreement into my muscle. I stroked her hair softly, imagining my old man standing in the corner, shaking his head in sick disapproval at what I'd just said.

He'd raised me to be a badass, a killer, his successor in Dixie's meanest MC. I'd lived half my life doing it, but I'd always let the good outweigh the blood.

Now, that went double. For the first time in forever, his ghost didn't haunt me. I never gave it a second thought by the time she turned her face to me, begging to be kissed.

Three Weeks Later

The mansion was just a distant memory. We didn't have the crew to guard it twenty-four seven, run all our biz, and keep tracking the Sicilians, so Hannah moved in with me. My house meant a smaller space to cover, and less chance anybody unexpected tracked her down without making their presence known in town first, asking for intel.

If sharing the same bed every night seemed like paradise, then having her there in my own place was nirvana.

We took things slowly at first. She worked hard on her machine when I wasn't around, always protected by a couple prospects. I showed up around the clubhouse again, taking club business by the horns. I made sure we kept our coin rolling in, despite the distractions.

Ma? She screamed when I finally introduced them, and explained what we'd done. Left out the part about the savage, relentless bastards we had to deal with. I told her we'd eloped, gone off and done our own thing, while we figured out how to break the news to the club and everybody else in our lives.

Ma gave me plenty of shit about that. Thankfully, it didn't last long. By the end of the evening, I saw the two favorite women in my life chattering away over chai tea lattes. Ma stopped to wipe tears from her old eyes when she thought nobody was looking.

The unthinkable had happened. Her son was married. Such a surprising, surreal, and beautiful happening it nearly brought a tear to my eyes, too.

As for the club...not so fuckin' easy.

I waited for all my boys to come home, get back to work for several days, before I decided to do church. We were three weeks in since we'd moved the wife none of them knew I had to my place.

Firefly took more time away with Cora's baby coming. When I gaveled the briefing open that day, I should've seen his blows coming, before they hit me in the face. A new baby puts stress on the strongest man, pressure I hoped I'd know personally one fine day, so he had good reason to be extra wound up.

“Boys, there's been a few developments while you were off having fun. I handled it myself 'til now because I wasn't gonna shit on anyone's honeymoon.” I paused, searching their reactions, taking a long pull from the fresh tobacco in my pipe.

“Tell me it ain't the Deads.” Joker's gaze shifted over. Having his revenge and gaining a family drained a lot of his venom, but something still lingered, a lifelong urge to destroy anybody wearing the Deadhands MC patch.

“Nah. Our friends down yonder in Georgia can barely even find what's left of 'em since we took down Hatch and his crew. This is something different. ”

Yeah, different. Good candidate for understatement of the year.

“Fuck it. There's no way to say it that's gonna please everybody, so I'm just laying it out,” I growled, choosing my next words very carefully. “Hannah's in trouble.”

Firefly nearly hit the fuckin' ceiling. He stood up, his big hands gripping the edge of the table. If there was ever a time to slam the gavel, calling for order, it was now.

Skin, Lion, Crawl, and Tin jumped up behind him, took him by the arms. I wondered if four burly men would be enough to stop him from turning the room upside down.

“She took a loan from the Sicilian Brotherhood.” I said it coldly, listening to men shake their heads and hiss between their teeth. “It was an honest mistake. Something she did when she was young and dumb, before she made all her money, and now it's caught up with her. Me and the prospects were protecting her house when we took down two vicious motherfuckers there to kill her. We got them first, and dumped their bodies off in the usual places. Brothers, it's a clusterfuck, no bones about it. But she's asking for a favor, and I'm willing to answer. She needs our help, and she's going to get it.”

“You two-faced weasel sonofabitch! First you fuck her, then you hide this?” Firefly roared, his spittle flying several feet through the air. He strained in the brothers' arms, trying to break away like a bull charging through a crowd.

“Shit, Firefly! Easy!” Skin growled, taking a rough elbow to the gut when my big Enforcer got some leverage.

“Fuck everybody, and fuck you, Prez! You wanna do her a goddamned favor, you can stay the fuck outta her life. She's too good for this, damn it. Too fuckin' good.”

“This is turning into a shit show,” Joker said, leaning toward me, maintaining his icy calm. I looked at him and nodded.

Fuck's sake, I had to tread lightly. I'd narrowly saved my patch a couple months ago, after that dust up with the Deads. More horrific infighting in this club would do me in for good. Brothers at each others throats were easy targets for any outsiders looking to pick us off.

“I'll give you boys the rest of the details as soon as I can hear myself think.” I waited, eyeballing Firefly, feeding the rage boiling over in his eyes.

His face was red. Every few seconds, his temples bulged, grinding his teeth like he wanted to chew me up and spit me out. If he ever regretted the swing vote that kept me at the head of the table, it was now.

“They roped her into a money laundering scheme through that matchmaker app of hers. She's torn up their infrastructure, cut them off, and thrown out their shit since we killed the two assholes. This file, here, contains everything we know about the capo after her, a man named Dom Barone.” I pushed the manilla envelope in front of me toward Joker.

My Veep flipped through the flimsy pages, ignoring the chaos around us, giving me a quizzical look before passing it to Sixty next. “Hardly anything there.”

“Yeah, that's our biggest problem at the moment,” I said, drawing more smoke into my lungs, before I let it out in a good, long puff. “We need more intel. Need it fuckin' bad. I moved Hannah into my place because we're spread too thin to watch her mansion around the clock.”

Firefly twisted in his brothers' arms, his eyes becoming pure death, fixed on me. Almost like he knew what was coming next before I even said it.

“She's living with me. It's no secret –“

“Motherfucker!” Firefly lost it, struggling with all his might, elbowing poor Skinny boy in the guts again. This time, Skin lost it, winded. Crawl took his place, grunting as he tried to hold the giant back. Took the rest of the boys in the room jumping up to hold him against the wall, howling like a maniac the whole damned time.

I stood up, putting out my pipe. “Brothers, I ain't the enemy, and neither is Firefly. We've got our disagreements, and I'm hoping one day, we'll put it all behind us. It's no secret me and her have had a thing for a long time. Half this club knew. So did the brother who's pinned down, trying to tear my head off.”

Moving between my men, I stopped about three feet from Firefly, close enough for the fuming hulk to spit in my face if he wanted. He looked up, opening his lips. “You're a two-faced, cradle robbin' sack of shit, Dusty. You put a bigger fuckin' mark on her head than the Sicilians ever will.”

Several men jeered. Others whispered among themselves. The brothers were getting pissed with his antics, and we'd have a full blown fight on our hands real soon if I didn't play lion tamer fast .

“Firefly, we've rode together, fought together, bled together, even fuckin' wept together. I can live with you wanting to reach down my throat and pull my balls out through my teeth,” I said coldly, coming closer, 'til we were face-to-face. “One thing I ain't tolerating is you letting your anger spill over, fuckin' up the rest of this club when Hannah needs our support. She'll always be your little sis, yeah, everybody knows it. We get it. But she's more than that now. She's my old lady, brother. She's my wife. And I'll take a hundred kinds of death before I let your bullshit cause hers, or anybody else's wearing this patch.”

“Wife?! The fuck?” Half a dozen identical cries went off, almost at once.

Firefly's eyes bugged out his head, and then pinched shut. For a second, I feared he was having a goddamned stroke. Several brothers probably wondered the same thing, holding him down, looking back over their shoulders at me for instruction.

“Leave him be,” I said quietly, watching as the big man finally overloaded himself, and slumped. Overwhelmed or giving up, who the fuck knew, but he'd lost his will to fight. “You all heard me the first time. Hannah and I got hitched about three weeks ago in a quick little ceremony in her library. Just a couple days after Skinny boy and Joker tied the knot. I couldn't wait a day longer, knowing the danger, and the fact she'd be facing this world like a defenseless fuckin' lamb if I didn't protect her with everything we had.”

“She had that anyway, Prez,” Skin said, the scar on his cheek rippling as he twisted his lips. “The girl's always been family, before you came along.”

“Yeah, but she wasn't mine, and that had to change. I love her.”

Nobody argued. Firefly opened his eyes. The lightning hot rage scorching through his body faded, but a deader hatred simmered on his face, focused on me.

“This club's doubled down on Hannah's life, brothers. Skin's right about us owing her a helping hand from day one, thanks to her blood, same as our very pissed off Enforcer here. Now, she's wrapped up in this patch even deeper, part of our hearts and souls.” I thumped the skull with its smoking pistols on the back of Joker's cut, just above his bottom rocker. “I know this shit's getting real old. Seems like every month, we're chasing down some jackals, trying to keep them from eating us alive. This ain't no different from what we've done before. We're going after the Sicilians for love, for peace, for vengeance, for money, or maybe just because they're demon fucks who deserve to die.”

Half the boys in the room nodded. Lion looked at me, taking one hand off Firefly to scratch his scruffy beard. His closest brother, Tinman, stood behind him, still trying to wrap his head around why this club oughta have more heart than a man needed to sink his dick into new whores begging for the patch. Crawl held onto Firefly's arm, his dark features making him look even more determined in the dull light.

“We've taken pure hell this last year,” I said. “So much shit. We've survived beatings, bullets, knives, rogue pimps, and two of the meanest fuckin' clubs who ever set up shop in Dixie. I'm asking ya'll to step up and stand strong one more time.”

“Prez, you can stop right there,” Joker said, a little bit of his trademark crazy returning to his hazel eyes. “We're with you. Whatever mistakes were made before with the Deads, they're ancient fuckin' history. We ain't leaving anybody's old lady to suffer alone, especially not yours.”

“Old lady, wife, over my goddamned dead body...” Firefly snorted harshly under his breath, shaking his head.

“I couldn't ask for better friends and brothers. All of you,” I said, bowing my head gratefully. “We'll hash out the details as soon as we know more. Skinny, I want you on the financials in that folder full time. See if you can use your sense for numbers to find out where the fuck those shell accounts go.”

“You got it,” he said, a slow smile pulling at his scarred face.

“I'm trusting every man in this room to do me the biggest solid of my life. I'm counting on you. Even the ones who want me dead right now...well, here's hoping we can put that shit aside, and make sure Hannah lives out her days in one piece. We can settle what else that means with fists or words later.”

I looked Firefly square in the face. He stared at me while I walked back to my seat, never saying a word.

“About half you boys got women and kids to worry about. Believe me, I'm starting to share your frustrations with the river of blood we're always trying to cross without drowning in this biz.” Skin and Joker nodded.

“Everybody else, you're still deciding who you are. Maybe you'll be content to fuck bitches, make money, and ride with the wind for the rest of your days. That's your right, and there ain't nothing wrong with it.” Sixty looked at me and grinned, his goatee twitching in a way that said he'd never give up the partying.

“We're all different, every man wearing this patch, but we took an oath to each other. If we don't live by it, and die by it if need be, we don't have shit. When I slam this gavel down, bringing church to a close, I want three brothers bringing Firefly to the bar. Give him as much as he needs to calm the fuck down.” I paused, locking eyes with my big pissed off brother again, hating that he had the same baby blues as my Hannah. “Firefly, when you sober up, we'll sit down and talk. Whenever and wherever you want. Let's talk this out like men, unarmed, and make ourselves a deal we can both live with.”

“I ain't making shit with you, Cap'n. You're a backstabbing son of a fuck who stuck your dick in the wrong fuckin' place. Fuck you. Fuck –“

Skinny boy cut him off with a quick, blunt punch to the gut. We'd all had enough.

“I'm closing this out for the day, boys. We'll all sit down and talk, soon as I've found us something worth talkin' about.”

I slammed the gavel down so hard the handle nearly snapped. Sitting back in my chair, I watched my brothers haul Firefly away, still spitting and cussing me out .

It'd take a lot of whiskey to soak his ass happy. And even then, some poor bastard might wind up with his fists in their face, taking punches I deserved.

Joker nodded, the last one leaving the room, giving me a brotherly slap on the shoulder. I lingered behind for a few minutes, staring at the relics lining the wall. Old photos, flags, and patches hung in frames like museum pieces, capturing a hundred good times, bad times, and dirty fuckin' times under my old man's rule.

I'd finish what I started, turning this club around. I fuckin' had to.

It wasn't all about Hannha, even if she'd taken centerstage. Every man who had my back deserved a happy ending. I'd put my ass on the line a hundred times over if I could bring it. I'd even see the day when Firefly got over his shit, hugged his sis, and sat next to me with a beer while we watched our kids playing at our feet.