“That’s good.”
Devil glanced back at the warehouse.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it. I know I fucked up,” he said.
“You did fuck up. You didn’t wait for us to be in position. What you did was sloppy. Not to mention the fact you could have been fucking killed. I don’t know if you’ve got a death wish.”
“I don’t.”
“Fucking shut up. Death wish or not, what you did was fucking messed-up, and against all the rules, and … it’s exactly what I would have done.”
Simon lifted his head to look at his father. “It is?”
“Yep, it’s exactly what I’d have done. I wouldn’t have gotten shot, but, you saw what was going on.”
“He was pissing on that girl. She was crying. I couldn’t … I’m sorry. I know you expect better of me,” Simon said.
“I don’t. You think Lash and I didn’t have fuckups all those years ago when we started this?” he asked.
Simon glanced at his father.
“We did. I can’t speak for Lash, but I thought I’d seen the dregs of this earth. I’d been to hell and back, and I’d enjoyed the ride. I truly believed the Billionaires were all talk no real action. They made it sound rough but were mostly bullshitting. I was wrong. So wrong. I’ve been wrong about a lot of things in my time. Those men, they know so fucking much. On a couple of the first missions or operations, I nearly got myself killed. I was the lookout. I could move like you, get in and out of shit with ease. The stuff I saw, at times I thought I was looking at some kind of setup, but it wasn’t. This is why I don’t walk away. Why I can’t. When this club is yours one day, I want you to understand that someone has to fight for those women. All of them.”
“I will.”
“I’m not going to lie, you’re probably going to be cleaning shitters for the rest of the week for disobeying me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Son, I’m not speaking to you as your prez. You’re my boy. I love you, and club or not, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Devil grabbed his good shoulder and gave him a squeeze. Then he got up and walked away.
Twig came over. “You want a ride home?”
“Yeah, I could do with that.” He got to his feet and Twig was there, by his side. “You ever hate that I didn’t let you kill yourself?” he asked.
“No.”
“You don’t hate me?”
“No. You’ve made me realize my life can do more. Chaos Bleeds is my future. I see that now.”
Simon smiled. He’d done good.Chapter NineteenFour months.
Five months.
Six months.
“I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten and you’ve still got three months to go,” Daisy said, putting a hand to her stomach.
“You do realize you’ve called me fat and are warning me that I’m going to get fatter?” Tabitha pushed her friend’s hand away with a smile.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, you liar,” she said.
Daisy groaned. “Crap, I sounded so mean.”
“Daisy has to drink. She’s upset the mommy,” Angel said.
“Look at you, Angel, encouraging us all to drink,” Lacey said. “Clearly, we’ve all had a bad influence on you.”
“This is supposed to be a baby shower. This is the fun part.”
“When are baby showers actually supposed to happen?” Tabitha asked. “Just before my due date?”
“Who cares?” Tate, her sister, said. “So long as you get some free gifts, there’s nothing else to worry about, right?” Tate clinked her wine glass with Tabitha’s water glass then hugged her close. “How are you feeling, really?”
Tabitha put a hand to her stomach and smiled. “I don’t know. We’re good. Everything is amazing. Simon is looking at houses. He doesn’t want us to raise both of our kids in the apartment. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but … we’re having a girl.” She and Simon had been keeping the sex of their baby private but now, she wanted to explain why they were looking to move. She didn’t want Lexie or Devil to think she was ungrateful.
“We need more wine,” Lacey said.
“I think this is wonderful,” Constance said.
It was nice to see her old high school friend. She hadn’t seen her since they were eighteen. Constance had returned to Fort Wills and was currently working with Millie at the toy shop.
“It’s good to see you. You’ve got to tell me all about your travels,” she said.
“Nope, not today,” Lexie said. “Today is about you and gifts and us all talking about what your baby is going to be like.”
Music played and Tabitha opened up gifts. She had a nice home spa kit, a breast pump, pacifiers, baby clothes, chocolate.
Her friends were around her.
“I need some air. I mean, seriously, you guys.” She got to her feet and moved out of The Skulls’ clubhouse. Simon was back in Piston County with the guys and Nathan. This was her first trip away from him since they’d been back together. Fort Wills no longer felt like home. It was odd. She’d missed this place for so long but now, she just couldn’t live here. The life she once had wasn’t what she wanted any longer. The only future she saw was in Piston County.