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THREE MORE MONTHS LATER
Pearl and her baby, Onyx, the only one of the litter I had kept, sat on the seat next to me as I pulled my car up next to the Devil’s Horsemen’s clubhouse.
They were panting from the heat, and my heart was beating a mile a minute as I contemplated what I needed to do. After Hawk had left, I had swore I would never contact him or try to see him again. What’s done was done, and after all, he was right, there was no way we could fit into each other’s lives.
I spent the next few months working and sculpting, continuing to loose myself in my work just as I had before he had shown up. I adopted out Pearl’s babies to homes that I screened and visited myself to make sure they were good homes, and decided to keep the runt of the litter. Pearl loved him, and they were adorable together.
Still plagued with questions, I set off on a mission to find out as much information as I could on my own.
After breaking down and calling Dakota finally, I found that Genevieve had gone back to France suddenly, leaving the girls to fend for themselves. Luckily, they had all the connections they needed, and they were all doing just fine, except for missing me, they said. Instead of telling them about the kidnapping, I told them the lifestyle had gotten to me and I had taken Pearl and gone on a long vacation to Hawaii.
I apologized for worrying them, and although it was a lame excuse, I decided it was the right thing to do.
Genevieve had been good to all of us, including me, and although I was still angry with her, I understood what she had done. She had come from nothing, I had learned, after doing more research on her and the club. Her father was a migrant worker in France, and she was very poor. When she met Hawk’s father as a young girl, she jumped on the chance to come to America. What she wasn’t expecting was to be living the life of an old lady to an MC president, and she learned quickly that making money was the way to success. When Hawk’s father died, she did what she had to do to survive, only adding a whole lot of luxury to the equation.
When she met me, she saw a quick path to retirement. The only problem was that she underestimated what an asshole my father was.
Kate was happy to hear my voice when I called, and relieved to learn I had moved out of Los Angeles. She liked having our father to herself, and it was obvious he hadn’t mentioned the kidnapping to her. She was clueless to everything, and that was exactly how she liked it. She wanted to raise her kids in peace, and I couldn’t blame her for that. I was perfectly willing to give it to her.
I didn’t bother calling my father at all. The fact that he didn’t try to come to my rescue in any way spoke volumes. He had been telling me for years that he didn’t care about me, and this whole thing had only turned up the volume. I could hear it all very clearly now.
So, I was on my own. It was just me, Pearl, and Onyx.
For now.
I put the dog’s leashes on them and led them out of the car. I kept them close to me, looking around for Two Dog Dave’s dogs to attack at any moment. The clubhouse looked just as I had remembered from my brief stay and I shuddered at the memory of Pearl being held down by those scary dogs.
Bracing myself and taking a deep breath, I walked through the open gate of the chain link fence. Harley’s and trucks filled the parking lot, and I spotted Hawk’s motorcycle against the brick wall.
Crazy Mike walked out, his eyes trailing along my body as he approached.
“Hi,” I said.
“Howdy, lady. You’re Hawk’s friend.”
“Um, yeah. Is he around?”
“Sure, I’ll get him,” he leaned down and petted Onyx before he walked back inside. “Cute puppy.”
I looked down at Pearl and she was shaking a little as she looked around.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” I whispered to her. It was the scene of the crime, and I felt a little bad for bringing her here. I felt even worse knowing I was about to face Hawk.
When he walked out, my breath caught in my throat.
“Vanessa!” He look so surprised to see me.
“Hey.” His eyes took us in, and he leaned down to say hello to Pearl as he looked at Onyx. “Who’s this?”
“That’s Onyx. Pearl had puppies,” I said.
“What!?” he replied. “Oh, shit. Two Dog Dave’s dog?”
“Well, yes, she hasn’t been with anyone else.” I said, laughing.
“Oh. Right.” He straightened, shaking his head in disbelief. “Wow.”
“Yeah. I was going to tell you last time I um…saw you…but um…I didn’t get a chance.”
“Oh, right. Vanessa, about that…”
“No. It’s okay. Listen to me, Hawk. I wasn’t going to ever contact you again. That last night we had was beautiful, and at first I was so hurt that you left like that, but the more I thought about your note, the more I agreed with it.”
“You did?”
“Yes! You and I…we’re complete opposites, we come from totally different worlds. I get that. We’re like, we’re like…”
“Oranges and apples,” he said, smiling at me.
“Yes! And fire and ice.” I nodded.
“Like diamonds and dust,” he said.
“Like war and peace,” I said.
“Like heaven and earth,” he said.
“And like love and lust.” - “And like leather and lace.” We said at the same time.
“Leather and lust. I like that one better.” He replied, smiling, his beautiful eyes crinkling in the sunshine, bringing me to my proverbial knees once again.
“Yes, Hawk, exactly like that.” I sighed. “But that’s not why I’m here, to debate our opposite positions on the spectrum.”
“No? Then why are you here, Vanessa?”
“Because, I, well, I couldn't just leave your life without you knowing everything, and well…Pearl…” I stammered, the words getting stuck in my throat.
“Pearl? What’s wrong with Pearl?”
“Nothing, it’s just…it’s just that, well…Pearl isn’t the only one that got knocked up.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in, but once it dawned on him what I was saying, his jaw dropped and his eyes trailed down to my belly.
“No…” he said, looking at me sideways.
“Yes, Hawk. I’m pregnant. Three months.”
“Holy shit. Oh, my god. Holy fuck!” He grabbed me around the waist, picking me up and twirling me around, the dog’s leashes tangling around my legs as they barked and jumped around us.
“Yeah…I thought you should know.” I said, laughing as he put me back down on the ground and I untangled myself.
His face grew serious and he reached up, grabbing my face and bringing it close to his as he peered into my eyes.
“Vanessa, I don’t care if we don’t agree on anything ever. I love you. I don’t care if we fit in each other’s lives - we’ll make room. We’ll figure it out as we go along. These last few months without you have been awful, and I can’t live without you. All my life, I’ve searched for someone like you, someone who could make me forget my past, to think, even for a moment, that maybe I'm not a complete monster. When I’m in your arms, Princess, nothing else in the world matters.”
“I need you, Vanessa. I promise I’ll take care of you and Pearl and Onyx and…the baby…just give me a chance to show you. I’ll leave the club, if that’s what it takes. I can be a better man, I promise.”
He reached down, kissing me softly as the dogs barked at us.
“It’s a good thing opposites attract, I guess,” I whispered, pulling away and smiling at him.
“Like leather and lust, baby…” His grin was wide and the joy in his eyes made my heart swell.
I looked up at him, seeing the gentleness of this rugged, unusual man that I was madly in love with shining down on me and I knew my future wasn’t going to be easy.
But I could take it. As long as we were free, as long as the chains of our pasts could be broken, we could make it work.
There was no way it was going to be a smooth ride.
But what a ride it was sure to be.
***The End***