Chapter 5

LIZZY

Rochelle guides me back into the clubhouse. This is all my fault, and now, Rock has been arrested. I swipe my tears away with the back of my hand and straighten out my shoulders. I'm fucking sick of being the victim. Well, no more.

"It'll be okay," Rochelle says, pulling out a chair for me. I lower myself into the seat, wondering how the hell I'm going to get Rock out of this mess. I love him. Shit, I actually love him. I stand abruptly, and Rochelle looks at me alarmed.

"We need to do something," I say, panicked, realising I can't lose him. Not now.

"Calm down. The men know what to do," Rochelle says reassuringly, but it does nothing to put me at ease.

"Fuck the ‘men'." I use air quotes to emphasise my sarcasm. "It's my fault he's sitting in a fucking cell right now. It's my fault that ignorant bastard came here in the first place. He took everything from me, he isn't taking Rock too," I yell as bikers pile in from outside. Rochelle grimaces and glances over at Drifter.

I walk over to where he's standing, and he eyes me up and down. "And . . . what the fuck are you doing about this?" I poke his chest with my finger, noticing everyone wince at my display.

He looks over to Rochelle, raising his brow.

"Rochelle," he growls, and she's by my side within seconds, "take Lizzy to calm the fuck down before I end up losing my shit."

"Come on, Lizzy," she pleads with me, tugging on my arm.

"Not a fucking chance," I scream. "I want to know how you plan on dealing with this shit."

"Club business, Red. Now, get the fuck outta my sight."

Rochelle grabs me by the arm and leads me to the stairs, but I pull out of her grip. I'm sick of men telling me what to do. She sighs, sitting on the stairs.

"Sit down," she orders, and I lower myself to sit on the step next to her. "You need to understand something, Lizzy. This is how the club works, and if you truly do love Rock and are going to be part of this life, you have to get used to it."

I sit with my head in my hands. "How can you trust that everything will be okay?" I whisper.

"Because," she places her hand on my shoulder, and I lift my head to look at her, "I've been part of this life since I was a kid. I trust them to make the right decisions. You have to remember Rock is their brother, their family. They won't let him down." I nod and sigh. I hate feeling out of control. Darius took away all my control, and just as I felt I was getting it back, he does the same and strips it away from me again.

"Now, let's go check on Meli. I asked Mumma Bear to take her upstairs away from the chaos."

"Thank you." I give her a weak smile. "She's been exposed to so much, yet she's so young. She was the reason I left. I couldn't let her witness it anymore."

Rochelle stands, placing her hand out for me to grab and helping me up.

It's been three agonising hours since the police took Rock. I've stayed upstairs with Meli, out of the way. I'm ashamed about how I acted. These people have been nothing but kind to me and I lost my shit.

Meli is propped up on the bed, chewing on one of her hands, and she lets out a little squeal. She really is content here.

The door handle goes, and I look up in anticipation but sigh when Rochelle walks in. "Sorry, just me," she says, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Any news?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "No, not yet, but don't worry." She places her hand on my knee to stop it from bouncing up and down. "Gear's sister is a solicitor and she'll get him out of this."

I let out the breath I didn't even realise I was holding. "I didn't expect to fall for him like this." I sniffle as I begin to cry, the weight of the last few days catching up with me. She smiles sympathetically. "I thought he was an arsehole," I admit with a laugh, swiping away my tears.

"Oh, trust me, he can be an arsehole, and it won't be plain sailing with him, but one thing with these men is that when you're theirs, they will protect you with their last breath," she explains. "You have to understand, these men can be the biggest wankers out there to everyone else, but for you, he will be your everything. You'll never be lost again with him by your side. Your beautiful little girl," she reaches over the bed, grabbing her little foot and smiling at her, "will be his everything. She will never be without, and she will be surrounded by a family who will adore her."

"Rochelle," she looks at me, "what if he gets prosecuted?"

She laughs and throws me a wink. "We're The Broken Iron Demons. Your ex may be a judge, but he's never played with us. We have our ways."

I wish I had her confidence, but she doesn't know Darius like I do. He's as corrupt as they come. All his colleagues knew he was beating me, but they didn't care. If anything, they were afraid of him.

"So, you're going to be his ol' lady then?" Rochelle smiles at me, and I find myself grinning.

"Erm . . . I said no initially." I laugh and run my hands over my tired face. "It wasn't until the police were taking him away that I realised I loved him, that I want this." I wave my hand around, as if to explain that I don't just love him but everything that comes with him.

"Have you thought about your tattoo?" she asks, and my mouth drops open. She throws her head back and laughs, then she pulls down her top to show Drifter's name inked in script on her collarbone. It really is beautiful. "You'll both get tattoos with each other's names. That way, everyone will know that you belong to him, that you're his for eternity."

I feel the corners of my lips turn up into a huge grin as a crazy idea forms in my head.

"Let's do it now," I exclaim, and Rochelle looks at me as if I've got two heads. "I'm serious, let's do it now. When he comes out, I want to show him that I meant it, that this is the life I choose."

She stands from the bed, grabbing Meli and making her way to the door. "Come on then, what are you waiting for?"

ROCK

It's been forty-eight fucking hours since I got taken in. I knew the minute they arrested me that it wouldn't be smooth sailing. Darius is a dodgy fucker, and I predicted he'd pull out all the stops so they'd hold me for as long as they could. Gear's sister, Misty, knew the drill, and I was under strict orders to answer ‘no comment' to not cause bigger issues for myself.

I walk into the clubhouse and cheers erupt around me. I scan the room looking for her, Red, the one thing that's kept me going for the last forty-eight hours and the only thing I've been able to think about. Her simple ‘yes' ignited a fire in my stomach. She's mine, and all I want is to wrap my arms around her, but she isn't here. My stomach drops as I look around frantically and thoughts race through my mind. Has he gotten to her and she's agreed to go back?

Gears shakes my hand, patting me on the back. "Welcome back, brother."

"Your sister is fucking incredible." He nods in acknowledgement and moves across to the bar, allowing the rest of the brothers to greet me. Drifter approaches me with his arm wrapped tightly around Rochelle. He leans in, giving me a man hug. "Nice to see you, brother."

Rochelle stands on her tiptoes, placing a peck on my cheek.

"Where is she?" I ask as I look around, still searching for her.

"Don't look so panicked, Rock." Drifter grins. "You don't think we would let her go, do you?" I relax. I should've known better than to doubt him.

"She's upstairs," Rochelle confirms, and I frown. Why would she be hiding out there when this is where she belongs? "Don't look so worried. She took on your Pres and attempted to hand him his balls." She laughs, side-eyeing Drifter.

"She didn't hand me my fucking balls, woman," he retorts, pulling Rochelle into his side, but she throws her head back and laughs. "But good fucking luck with her, brother. She's got some sass."

"Meli's been restless the last couple days, so she's gone up to try and settle her," Rochelle adds, and I turn on my heels and make my way up the stairs two at a time. I need to be with her.

I open the door, peering through before I enter. She's standing in front of the window bouncing Meli up and down as she hums to her. Rochelle was right—she is restless, and her cries pierce through the room.

"Come on, Meli." Red sighs in frustration. "Just give Mummy an hour without your screams," she pleads.

I make my way across to her, placing my hand in the small of her back. She startles, her face relaxing when she turns to see me. Tears fill her eyes, and I lean in to give her a tender kiss on her nose.

"You giving Mummy a hard time, princess?" I whisper in Meli's ear as I lean down to kiss her on the head. A stray tear falls from Red, resting on Meli. I wipe it away with my thumb before reaching over, taking Meli from her and putting her over my shoulder. She settles instantly, snuggling into my kutte. I rub her back gently as I rock her back and forth, and Red breathes out a sigh of relief.

I smile at her. "Missed me, Red?"

"I thought I'd lost you already," she murmurs, throwing herself back onto the bed.

"You'll never lose me," I reassure her as I make my way round the bed and lie beside her with Meli resting on my chest. She rolls over onto her side to look at me, her eyes glistening with tears in the soft glow of the bedroom light.

"She missed you too." She nods to her daughter, whose small murmurs fill the space between us. Red places her hand over the top of mine on her daughter's back.

"Rock," she whispers, and I look down at her. Her eyes are closing as she nuzzles closer to me. "Don't ever leave me again."

"Never," I whisper, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Her eyes close softly and her gentle snores fill the room. This is where I belong.

I'm woken by the sound of the shower running in the distance. Rubbing my eyes, I stretch out on the bed. I look over to Meli's cot, where she's content playing with her feet. It feels so good to be back here. Red walks out the bathroom followed by a plume of steam, a towel wrapped around her and her wet curls cascading around her face.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" she asks. She's looking much more refreshed than she was last night.

I stretch out and yawn. "It's all good, love."

"Rochelle is taking Meli to one of the local playgroups today. I thought we could spend the day in bed?" She winks at me, a grin adorning her beautiful face.

There's a gentle knock at the door and she opens it just enough to see who's there. Rochelle pushes her way past. "Where's my beautiful baby?" she chimes, making her way across to the cot.

"She's all ready for you and her bags are next to the door," Red replies, rubbing her hair with another towel.

Rochelle lifts her out the cot and raises her little hand. "Say bye to Mummy and grumpy face," she says, moving Meli's hand to wave. Meli let's out a squeal and kicks her little legs with excitement. Red kisses her on the head before she leaves, closing the door behind them.

She launches herself onto the bed and snuggles in beside me. She smells devine. I roll her onto her back, capturing her mouth with my own, our tongues entwined. She breathes heavily, shoving me back gently.

"Hold on," she pants.

"It's been well over forty-eight hours since I've been inside you, so there's no stopping me." I lean down, nibbling on her neck, and she groans in pleasure.

"But," she protests, fighting with herself, "we need to talk." I slow my assault on her body to look at her. That didn't sound good, and my brows pinch together as I frown.

"Relax," she whispers, leaning up to place a soft kiss on my lips. "I want to show you something." She pauses, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Well . . . spit it out." I push my hard-on into her abdomen, showing her that I really can't wait much longer. She reaches up and pulls at the towel so that it opens, giving me full access. My eyes roam her body until they land upon the sexiest thing I've ever seen. There, between her breasts, is a quaint tattoo of a small love heart spiralling downwards with my name entwined within it.

"Fuck, Red, it's beautiful." I gently trail my fingers over the intricate ink, admiring my name on her skin.

"You like it?" she asks while chewing on her bottom lip, a sure sign she's apprehensive.

Leaning down, I place a soft kiss over the artwork. "Abso-fucking-lutely."

She chuckles. "I wanted you to know that I'm yours, now and forever." She reaches her hand up and runs it down my face. I lean into her touch and close my eyes.

How did I get so fucking lucky?