Say Yes, Senator

“I’ll go if you need me to,” I dared to say, and he jerked his eyes up at me. His brows crossed and I could see that I had made him angry again.

“You’re going nowhere,” he ordered, and I watched in shock as he stepped into the shower. For a second, he was still dry, and in the next second, he was drenched. His clothes were soaking wet as he allowed the shower to wash over him. Jesus took another step towards me, now standing directly under the jet. I had to crane my neck to look up at him, and I parted my lips, drinking in some of the water that was streaming down my forehead.

“But…” I began to say, and he grabbed my bare waist, pulling me straight into his arms. Our bodies were pressed together again, and I spluttered while the water poured down over us still.

“I’m going to take care of you, Valentina. Like I was always supposed to. Nothing is going to happen to you ever again,” he said, and he lowered his face down to me. Our lips met, and I closed my eyes, parting my mouth to let his tongue enter in. He didn’t care that his clothes were getting wet, that he was thoroughly drenched now…neither of us did. We were just happy to have found each other again.

Chapter 7

King

After Valentina had eaten, I took her to Church. In the bar, the others had already gathered around Elwood. Heads turned when they saw me walking in with Valentina. I didn’t have much of a track record of being seen with women, and I also suspected it had something to do with how gorgeous she was.

A path cleared out for us, straight to where Elwood was sitting on his bar stool, and I caught Commando’s eye as I walked up to the front. Valentina was right behind me, and I could sense that she was nervous. I had filled her in already with the details of what Church was usually like so that Valentina had an idea of what to expect. However, I knew she didn’t belong in this world, and it was all new and scary for her. Especially now that she had the attention of a room full of tattooed up men in leather jackets.

“King. Congratulations!” Elwood spoke, but his eyes were on Valentina the whole time. He had to have heard that I had left the warehouse sooner than everyone else, and now he was sizing up the cause for it.

“We got all the kids out,” I replied, and a low cheer rang out in the bar. I could sense Girth, Slade, and Commando exchanging smiles as well. Our mission had been successful, and as far as I knew, none of my brothers had been lost to the cause.

“Where are the kids now?” Elwood asked, and Commando stepped up to chip in.

“They’re upstairs in the rooms, eight of them in total, Jewel and Ava are taking care of them,” he said, and I looked at him. He hadn’t gotten out of the habit of referring to his mother by her name, Jewel, and Ava, of course, was his wife. They were the only two permanent female fixtures in our Club at the moment.

“They can’t live here!” Elwood barked in surprise and Girth spoke up next.

“Jewel said that she would house them till we can figure out a more permanent accommodation for them. Ava wants to work towards figuring out school and reuniting them with their families,” Girth said, and Elwood’s eyes narrowed even more.

“When you say that Jewel has offered to house them, you mean, house them in our home?” he growled, and Girth nor anyone else replied. Jewel and Elwood were a power couple, forces to reckon with. While Jewel openly disapproved of her husband and son’s lifestyle, she had learned to live with it, and she made sure that the MC was looked after with a feminine touch. Elwood might have been our leader, and as tough as they came, but he was putty in the hands of his woman.

He turned to me now, blaming me for eight kids living in his house. For putting him in this position.

“I can take them,” I suggested because ultimately, this mission was mine and I should have been responsible for their upkeep. Elwood waved his hand in the air and grunted.

“Jewel won’t let me live this down if I take those kids away from her care. Besides, where are you going to fit eight kids in that tiny place of yours?” he asked and a few of my brothers laughed around me. I wasn’t joking. I would have found a way if it came to that. I wasn’t a man to shirk responsibility when it arose.

Elwood’s gaze landed on Valentina again, who was standing beside me, half shielded by my body now.

“And who is this?” he asked, and I could sense the deathly silence around us. It was the question that was on everyone’s mind. Including Commando’s, even though he hadn’t asked me directly.

“This is Valentina Luis, her father is Romero, the former leader of the Muerte Viviente,” I replied and watched as Elwood’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“You mean the same fuckers who got the Black Skulls involved in the fighting ring business?” he growled, turning his rage to Valentina now. I said nothing but only tipped my head once in response.

/> “The same fuckers who I had to rescue you from ten years ago?” Elwood continued in the same barking voice, and now he stood up from the stool. I could see him taking slow, dangerous steps towards Valentina. His mouth was scrunched angrily; he was breathing fire from his nose. The Muerte Viviente had been a pain in the ass for him for a long time, and now he had the daughter of their leader in front of him.

I didn’t want to fight Elwood, but if he laid a finger on Valentina…

“Daughter of their former leader. My dad is old and sick now, he wasn’t involved with the Black Skulls and their fighting ring,” Valentina spoke up, and I jerked my head down to look at her. I could see the fear mixed with defiance in her eyes. She was staring Elwood down, holding her chin high up in the air.

Elwood stopped in his tracks; the room was still silent. He hadn’t expected Valentina to speak up like that. He grunted, as his eyes roamed over her, he was still sizing her up.

“And what are you doing here? Daughter of the former leader of Muerte Viviente,” he said, in a low hissing voice.

“They were holding her captive. Romero owes the Muerte Viviente money, which he hasn’t been able to pay back. They kidnapped Valentina as revenge,” I cut in, and Elwood turned his emblazoned eyes at me again. I could nearly feel the heat coming out of his nostrils now.

“And what is it to you?” he asked, and I clenched my jaw. He was going to make me confess my feelings and my past, in front of all my brothers here.

“She’s my friend. I knew her from when I used to work the fighting rings for her father,” I said, and Elwood and I locked gazes. He was searching my eyes, trying to figure out the truth behind my words. Then he snapped his head away to look at Valentina again.