“Friends huh?” he said, and he looked into her face, and she looked back. I was proudly surprised that she had the courage to stand up to Elwood, to look him in the eye. She knew exactly how he felt about her father and the rest of the gang that he used to belong to.
“And you’ve brought her here?” he asked me, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“I rescued her from her captors, and she needs to be kept safe,” I replied, and Elwood narrowed his eyes at me.
“And you want to take on the responsibility of keeping a Muerte Viviente girl safe?” he countered.
“Yes,” I replied, as authoritatively as I could. It would be within the MC code and within Elwood’s power to refuse Valentina’s presence here, on Rogue Rebels territory.
Elwood grunted, then turned from us and walked back to his stool.
“You’re taking too many risks that are unlike you, King,” he said and reached for his can of beer that was resting on the bar counter all this while. He took a swig of it, and when he was done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s how we turn into men,” he added, and I stared back at him.
Had he permitted me to give Valentina the MC’s protection?
“She can’t stay with you. They’ve seen you rescuing her, they’re going to come after you,” Elwood continued, and I looked at Valentina, whose eyes seemed diffused. I could see that she didn’t want to stay anywhere else, but with me. Elwood was right though.
“I’ll find somewhere for her to stay,” I said, and he tipped his head to me.
“And let’s make sure that those motherfucking Black Skulls know exactly what they’re in for. Using kids for fight clubs is not going to go unpunished,” he cried out loud, and a huge cheer flew around the room. The MC was still bloodthirsty. Our business wasn’t finished yet.
I met Valentina’s eyes and a weak smile formed on her face. She knew I had meant it when I told her that I was going to keep her safe. Before we walked away from Elwood, he stopped us in our tracks.
“I’ve always been curious. What the fuck does Muerte Viviente mean? Something Spanish?” Elwood was speaking to Valentina directly. She smiled, as she answered him.
“Living Death,” she said.
Chapter 8
Valentina
“Where are we going to go?” I asked Jesus as we walked out of the bar that was bustling with noise now. My first experience of Church had been exhilarating. One moment I was trembling with fear and nervousness, and in the next, I had gathered up courage out of nowhere to hold a conversation with the leader of the Rogue Rebels. A man I knew Papi used to despise.
“I don’t know, I’ll figure it out,” Jesus said as I followed him out to his Harley.
“They call you King?” I asked him, and he turned to me with a half-grin and then shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeah. Nobody has called me by my name in years. It sounds strange coming from you,” he said, and we stared into each other’s eyes. It was still hard to imagine, that after all these years, here we were, both grown-ups, talking to each other. We had just had sex. He had been inside me.
The sound of footsteps behind me interrupted us and Jesus looked up at the muscular, tall man who was walking towards us now.
“I just spoke to Moira,” the man said.
“Yeah?” Jesus replied as I swung my face expectantly between the two of them.
“She’s willing to house Valentina for a while, till things settle down,” he said, and the two men shook hands.
“Thanks, brother,” Jesus said, and the man shrugged his shoulders casually.
“I’m Commando, by the way,” he turned to me next and gave me his hand.
“I’m Valentina,” I said, shaking it and he grinned. Then he looked at Jesus again and was gone.
“Who is Moira?” I asked him, while we walked over to his Harley.
“Commando’s sister. She doesn’t actually live here anymore. Commando just got married, and she came down for the wedding, and she’s still here. I’ll take you to her place. Commando is right, you’ll be safe there,” Jesus told me as he helped me up on his bike.
When I wrapped my arms around his waist, I did feel safe. There was nowhere I could feel safer than with him. Ten years later, and he was still the only person I could depend on.