Bare (Diamondback MC 3)

“It’s not much either, is it.” I roll my eyes at her. If this is the best she’s got, well, it’s not good enough.

“What did you say your name was?” I ignore her earlier statement.

“Maria DeLorenzo. Tony was my husband. Unfortunate event with him.” She looks bored.

“Clearly, Tony isn’t Jamie’s father, though, is he?” After Monroe’s outburst of figuring out she was Jamie’s mother, my eyes sought hers. Jamie is the spitting image of his mother, the lighter skin, dark hair, the same nose and jawline confirmed it. Jamie looks nothing like Tony, which could be the reason he was at the club all along.

“Very good. You figured out what Tony couldn’t for the past nineteen years, though since he planted Jamie in the club and used him as bait, he must have found something out. Too bad for you girls and your little one that you’ll have to pay the ultimate price, especially if my son comes back injured.” Shit, fuck, damn. If the guys found a mole in the club, there’s no way Jamie will be coming back in one piece.

“Shit,” Monroe whispers, clearly having the same thoughts as me. When I notice Marie starts to turn around, gun still pointed in our direction, I make my move. Her eyes are on the guys pulling Jamie out of the van and him falling to his feet, clearly injured.

“You animals!” Maria screams out, waving the gun like a maniac. Everyone takes their own piece out. Ruger, Shovel, Razor, Cannon, and Doc. None of them are backing away, instead, they’re walking forward into the path of a psychopath who had no problem killing four men and has threatened to kill us.

“Monroe,” I mumble under my breath, but she hears me loud and clear. Her hands move to Henley’s head, and she ducks as soon as I jump on Maria’s back, wrap my legs around her waist to bring her down as my arms reach for her gun, gripping her wrists, hoping to crush it.

“You bitch! I’ll kill you for this!” The gun discharging has us all stopping in our tracks.

“Sadie!” I hear the anguish in Ruger’s voice at the same time my sight slowly dims. My eyes stay open long enough to see that Maria doesn’t have the gun any longer. After that, my world goes dark.

Seventeen

Ruger

Years were taken off my life when I watched Sadie attack Maria to protect everyone but herself. My feet took me to her before I even realized what I was doing. My guns were in the holsters I wear on my sides, not giving two shits about Jamie’s mother and the way she was trying to be all commando. The only thing I care about is making sure Sadie isn’t hurt.

“Fuck.” I drop to my knees beside her prone body, eyes rolled to the back of her head. My hands search for any injuries, trying to find the blood, but I’m not seeing shit.

“Sadie, sugar.” My voice cracks, my fingers moving to the pulse point on her neck, feeling it beating, thankful as fuck she’s alive.

“Move over, Ruger. She took a nasty fall and hit her head on the edge of the railing. That fuckin’ cunt. Glad Sadie had the opportunity to twist the gun around and shoot her in the stomach. Serves the bitch right for pulling a gun on our girls, fuck Monroe and Henley, they’re too damn young to deal with this shit.”

“You sure that was all?” I question him. Doc gives me a look that says to back the fuck down and let him do his job. I don’t back away though.

“Last I checked, I’m a doctor, not you,” he grunts. My hand wraps around Sadie’s when he says, “I’m bettin’ she’s going to wake up with a fuck of a headache, maybe a concussion.” Doc bends down on Sadie’s other side. Chaos ensues all around us, Shovel dragging Jamie up the steps to the house, Razor doing the same to what we now know as Maria. My fuckin’ woman, getting her to talk while she wasn’t paying attention, putting her life in jeopardy. If she were awake right now, I’d paddle her ass for pulling that stunt.

“Why don’t you go check on Henley and Monroe. I’m willing to bet Monroe is silently losing her shit and needs a break to be alone. Henley will need you, and there’s nothing we can do right now with Sadie until we get her back to the club.” I nod, reluctantly leaving the woman who owns every depth of my being.

I bend down, close to Sadie’s ear, and whisper, “I’m not leavin’ you. Going to get our girl, make sure she’s not shakin’ up. You wake up for us, sugar. You got too much to give for you not to open those pretty green eyes for me.” I think back on watching Sadie fall. It’s a memory that will never leave my mind, not in a hundred damn years. I stand up, not wanting to walk away from her, but Doc is right. Monroe needs a break, and Henley needs to know that everything is okay. I was praying she’d be napping through this whole ordeal. My luck ran out when the shouting began. Her little head popped up, and I saw the way she murmured, “Momma and Ru-ru.”