Broken Ride (Men of Valor MC)

I quickly spelled out the word: F, A, I, T, H.

Chapter 10

Sky

Dex’s phone was ringing on top of his pile of clothes on the floor.

“Your phone has been going off,” I told him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I usually can feel the vibration and so I leave it on my bed. Must have been distracted,” he said, sitting up to answer it.

I was still riding high on endorphins, my mind spinning with the recent memories of his touch. I was trying to memorize them all, allow them to replace any other experience I’d ever had from before. It felt as if Dex’s touch had that power in it, a kind of purifying rebirth. I’d never known sex with love before and the love made it an entirely different experience. This was healing, not harmful, it was life affirming instead of shutting me down. The trust we’d built, seemed to me in that moment, the strongest force in the world.

“Shit, Sky. I’ve gotta go,” Dex said. He was scrolling through a million and one texts. His eyes were set in determination and his forehead retracted into tight frown lines. A rapid transformation from Dex my lover into Patriot, brother of Valor, exactor of revenge.

“Is everything okay?” I signed to him. He was already pulling on his jeans, wrenching his t-shirt over his head. His body was a machine, no wonder he was interested in anatomy. His muscles were delineated on every inch of his body, abs defined, enormous biceps pulling tight the sleeves of his t-shirt. As he yanked it over his head, his back muscles flexed in gorgeous configuration. He was a perfect anatomical specimen himself, and his heart, made of pure gold, belonged to me. And mine to his.

“If you stay here, I want you to lock the door and not leave the room. Or you can come with me and I’ll drop you at school.”

“Well how long will you be gone? I think I might just stay so I can be here when you get back.”

Patriot’s brows knit together in concern. I knew how much he hated to leave me alone.

“I’ll call your dad to pick you up. But don’t open the door until he gets here. Promise me that.” He placed one finger on his chin and then lowered it splayed to tap his other closed fist in the sign for “promise.” I returned the same sign to him and he quickly kissed me on the forehead.

I watched in silence as he removed a .38 revolver from the top drawer of his dresser. He checked the chamber to see if it was loaded and shoved the gun into his pants. It wasn’t my first time seeing a gun. Not only did I grow up around them, but I’d seen my fair share on the streets. He grabbed his helmet and kissed me on the head one more time before rushing out of the room. From the other side of his bedroom door, he told me to lock it. I stood up and turned the bolt.

I was used to Malcolm rushing out on us, sometimes in the middle of a meal. He’d tell Claire that, “Justice doesn’t wait,” then quickly wipe his mouth and disappear on his bike. Claire lived with it. She didn’t like guns, or even like motorcycles, but she loved Miller so she made it work. I tried not to get too emotional or worry too much about Dex. He could take care of himself and I was confident he’d come back to me in one piece.

I paged through Dex’s sketch book again taking my time soaking each drawing in. His talent was astonishing. No one had ever turned me into a work of art before. I came from a past where I was so used to being mistreated that this kind of reverence felt like religion, like I’d been idolized, but I didn’t even feel weird about it. Our love felt like a sacred vow, just by the nature of its existence.

When I checked my phone to see if Malcolm was on his way, I was surprised to find quite a few missed calls from him and a text that read:

“Honey, your mom’s in labor. A guy named Bear is in the main club house, he’s going to bring you to the hospital.”

My adrenaline surged knowing the twins were about to make their appearance. Alex and Ava, my soon to be siblings. I jumped up and grabbed my jacket and my backpack and flipped the lock on Dex’s bedroom door.

I needed to use the bathroom, so I turned down the hall away from the clubhouse bar. There was an unlabeled “ladies room” that Dex always brought me to, assured me it was cleaner than the rest of the club bathrooms. Someone had made an effort to add nice mirrors and fixtures. There were neatly organized toiletries and even some flowers by the sink. I wondered who took the time to make it nice. Patriot and I always went straight back to his room so I didn’t have any friendships with other women who hung out at the club, in fact, I didn’t even really know any of the guys. And I got the distinct feeling that Dex didn’t want me to. I washed my hands and face and pulled a brush through my hair. I imagined Claire doing her special labor breathing she’d learned and had been practicing at home lately.