Piper
I open my eyes and try to sit up, even though the pain that rips through me causes my breath to catch, it takes a second before I can breathe properly.
I look down at my left upper arm, which is now covered by a thick bandage, but traces of blood are still seeping through, turning parts of it deep red. And for a second or two I have no idea where I am, the room I’m in is dark, blackout curtains cover the window so I have no clue as to what time of day, or night, it is. But as I look around me, let my eyes adjust to the darkness, I recognize the room as the one Vanni and me had stayed in at the clubhouse. I’m back at the clubhouse, and I don’t know how that happened, the last thing I remember was watching Logan kick the shit out of Marco; of me aiming at that asshole’s head, and firing… Did I kill him? I must’ve killed him, everything’s a little blurry, a little disconnected.
The door opens and my head shoots around to see who’s coming in, but I can’t make them out, I just know it’s a man. But as he comes closer I recognize his smell, the cigarettes and bike oil, the faint odor of marijuana, and my stomach takes a dive. I draw my knees to my chest and close my eyes as I hear him draw the curtains, allowing light to flood into the room but I keep my eyes closed, even when I feel him sit down on the bed beside me.
“Look at me, baby girl.”
I don’t want to open my eyes, I don’t want to face what might be happening now. I’m still scared and confused, I just want to keep my eyes closed and let sleep take over again.
“Look at me, Piper.”
I want to let sleep take over, but I can’t, not yet, so I open my eyes and I look at him. My husband. And I don’t know what to say, I don’t know what to do, because he doesn’t look angry. He looks calm, his eyes aren’t dark and cold they’re warm, and that throws me a little, but it doesn’t make me feel any less terrified.
“That wasn’t your daddy’s men who tore our clubhouse apart last night, Piper.”
I frown, hugging my knees tighter against my chest. I’m confused.
“It was the Devil Hounds. Our rivals, they got real cocky, thought that coming at us full-on like that – they thought that was gonna work, but it didn’t. We lost a couple of brothers, and I’m not happy about that, but they lost more. ‘Cause we won.”
I take a couple of seconds to let what he’s telling me sink in. It wasn’t my father’s men… “I… I heard police sirens, when I… when we…”
“When you ran?”
I keep my eyes fixed on his, and I still don’t know how I should be feeling here. I’m so confused, nothing feels real.
“You know I got friends, Piper. Law enforcement friends, people who make our shit go away, ‘cause that’s what I pay them to do. And last night, that was one hell of a mess, but it wasn’t your daddy’s men who caused it.”
“But… Marco, he…”
“He was working alone. Crazy-assed bastard got some ego, I gotta give him that. And, yeah, he was on his way here, he was coming for you, but I guess he saw the shit already going down. Didn’t want to join in with a fight that wasn’t his.”
“I still… I still don’t understand… Reba, she… How did he get to Reba?”
“She ran, too. During all the commotion she took a chance and she ran. I guess he got to her before she could get too far. All worked out pretty well for him on that score. ‘Til he got to you.”
I drop my head and briefly close my eyes again as I try to take all of this in.
“He knew everything, Piper. Where our clubhouse was, my place at the beach… stood to reason he’d try there.”
I drag my hands back through my hair, wincing slightly as another wave of pain shoots up and down my arm.
“You’re lucky that’s the only war wound you got, baby girl.”
I raise my gaze, confusion sweeping over me again as he throws me a small smile.
“Where’s… where’s Reba now?”
“She’s safe. Everyone’s safe. Even you.”
I feel my gut twist up into a tight knot, the contraction so strong it causes me to draw my knees up even further against myself.
“He’s dead, right? Marco? He’s dead?”
Vanni nods, his eyes never leaving mine, and I’m still confused. But then another wave of fear washes over me, and I feel sick to my stomach, feel the nausea rise so quickly it’s all I can do to hold it down.
“Where’s Logan?”
He raises an eyebrow, and that nausea shifts again, rising right up into my throat.
“Logan’s safe, too.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s helping everyone else try and put this place back together. It’s a big call, it’s all hands on deck.”
“Vanni…”
“Shit like this, it focuses the mind, Piper.”
“I don’t… I don’t understand…”
“Makes you realize all kinds of stuff. What really matters, who really matters. So, I’m not gonna hurt him. Don’t get me wrong, he touched my wife and that don’t usually go unpunished in my club. That level of disloyalty, that kind of betrayal, it shouldn’t go unpunished. And it won’t. But I’m gonna spare him, Piper. He can keep his sorry life, ‘cause he won’t be living it here. He’ll leave, I’ll make sure of that. He won’t have any other option. He’ll leave, go someplace far away, with his girl, with Reba, and he won’t touch you again. That’s his punishment. That’s your punishment.”
“Vanni, I’m…”
“No, Piper…” He shakes his head and I stop talking. “Don’t say you’re sorry. I don’t want to hear shit, I just need you to know that… I love you.”
His words only confuse me more. And I close my eyes again, and I remember everything Logan and me had said to each other, those promises we’d been about to make; our unspoken plans to run… I can’t run anymore. I know that now. I can’t. I’m too tired.
I open my eyes and look at Vanni. And I still don’t understand why he’s being this way, because reasonable and rational isn’t something he’s known for, but that’s exactly what he’s being right now. And it’s confusing, and yeah, he’s basically giving me an ultimatum, or he’s telling me in his own way that my choices are limited now. I stay with him, or I’m on my own, that make-believe future I thought I’d wanted with Logan, that’s gone. It’s over before it even got off the ground. This is my reality now. This is my future. This man. He’s all I have left.
“What about my father?”
It’s Vanni’s turn to drop his gaze, and then he stands up and walks over to the door, he leaves the room without saying another word, and all I feel is a knot of nerves filling my insides, winding its way around everything, and I’m still confused. None of this makes any sense.
I fling back the sheet and get out of bed, ignoring the pain, which seems to spread far wider than just my arm now. I must’ve been hurt elsewhere, I don’t remember. I don’t even know how I got back here, from Venice, I can only assume Reba had a car; that her and Logan brought me back here.
Going over to the window I peer outside. The sun’s shining and the sky’s a clear blue, but that doesn’t disguise the devastation littering the compound. From here I can make out broken glass, upturned trash cans; smashed windows and mangled Harleys, it’s not pretty. I can only imagine what the mess is like inside.
“Piper?”
His voice makes my blood run cold, and I don’t turn around, I can’t. Because this isn’t happening, I really am just dreaming, I have to be.
“You did well, last night.”
I take a deep breath and slowly turn to face him. My father. Frankie Cabbetto. Tall, dark, and ridiculously handsome, he’s a man my mother fell for in a heartbeat, and then regretted it for the rest of her life. And I don’t understand why Vanni’s let him in here, this man wanted me dead, didn’t he? Sent Marco Vierra all the way to California to kill me.
“Have you come to finish the job?” I don’t want to look at him, but my eyes are strangely drawn to his, and another wave of confusion swamps me as he shakes his head, stepping further into the room.
“I’d called Marco off, a few days ago.”
“Called him off?” I frown, crossing my arms against myself to form that barrier between us that I need.
“I didn’t want you dead, Piper. Not anymore.”
“You changed your mind? Just like that?”
“The situation changed.”
“How?”
“What you heard, what you assumed we were going to do…”
“You gonna tell me I heard wrong? That you weren’t gonna open fire on a police rally, shoot innocent officers dead, in cold blood, for what? Revenge? Because one of your asshole army got sent down for something he absolutely did do?”
“And it never happened. We didn’t go through with our plan, because the situation changed, Piper. And that’s all you need to know.”
“So, that makes me safe, huh? Everything can just go back to normal.”
“You’re safe, yes.”
“You looking for gratitude?”
He doesn’t reply, but he keeps his eyes firmly locked on mine, his expression barely wavering. I look a lot like him, I realize that now, as I look at him. Probably the first time I’ve looked at him this closely for a long time. I might have my mother’s blonde hair but everything else is my father’s.
“Did you know? What your lieutenant did to me? Did you know?”
He nods, and I break the stare, throw back my head and I laugh, but it’s a cold, humorless laugh, he knows that.
“Did Mom? Did she know?”
“No, Piper, she didn’t. I sent her and your aunts away, to the island in the Caribbean, away from everything that was going on…”
“Well weren’t they the lucky ones.” I drop my head forward and hold his gaze. “I guess everything you taught me, when we were kids – some of it must’ve sunk in, huh? Enough for me to make use of it. Enough for me to end that bastard’s life.”
Again, he stays silent. And I still don’t know what’s happening here, but I know he’s here for a reason. Frankie Cabbetto doesn’t do anything without a reason.
“Were you here all the time? In California?”
“It became apparent that Marco had his own agenda, Piper, even after I’d instructed him to stand down. I had to make sure he did as he was told.”
“Your timing was a little way out.”
“But you came good.”
“There but for the grace of God. He had time to kill me, he was just a touch too slow, which is so unlike him. You been letting standards slip?”
“We were right behind him, Piper. We were there to pick up the pieces and clear up the mess.”
“You brought me back here?”
He nods, and I lean back against the window ledge and drop my head, sighing quietly. I don’t know what to feel now, what to think. This still doesn’t make any sense.
“What really happened? To make you backtrack, ‘cause you don’t do that. It makes you look weak, doesn’t it? That’s what you always used to say.”
“When I heard what your husband was planning, Piper… I looked into him. Vanni Colletti. Looked into the kind of man he is, his background, his family, his business interests. And I can understand why you needed to find a man like him, to keep you safe. He isn’t a stupid man, he’s one hell of a businessman. He’s a lot like me, in some respects.”
I want to tell him that Vanni is nothing like him, but I’d be lying. I even thought it myself, how like each other they both were. And that thought still makes me feel uncomfortable.
“What are you really doing here, Dad?”
“Oh, I really did come to make sure Marco left you alone, Piper, that’s the truth. But it wasn’t the only reason. I wanted to talk to your husband.”
“Why?”
“Because I think we could work well together.”
I narrow my eyes again, this is all getting way too crazy now. “How? I mean…?”
“The biker gang that trashed this place last night. The Devil Hounds.”
“What about them?”
“Their founder, Holt Murphy, he’s someone I’ve had a lot of dealings with. But he also has links to the Romano family…”
“The Romano family? But they’re…”
“Enemies of mine? Yes, they are, have been for a long time, ever since my great-grandfather was in charge of our family. But they’ve been quiet for a while now, which hasn’t surprised me. It’s common knowledge that Gino Romano’s been very ill, that, for a time, he relocated back to Sicily. It’s also common knowledge that a lot of his family followed him over there, which in turn means a great deal of their business has taken place in Europe for a while now. He left Tony Ginelli in charge of things here at home, but there wasn’t that much going on. Gino made sure anything important, any business he needed to be a part of, he made sure that took place close to where he happened to be, the fucker may have been ill but not ill enough to let shit pass him by. Ginelli was nothing more than a front, something to show others that the Romano empire wasn’t totally dead on US soil. It was just taking a break. But now Gino’s back. His family are back, and they’re moving in a different direction now. He’s working very closely with Holt Murphy, setting up biker gangs in various towns and cities across the country, trying to gain territory by making their mark, and they’re succeeding, in some places. It’s quite easy, for a man like Gino Romano who has law enforcement right where he wants it. The men in his pockets are both influential and easily bought, which makes what he’s doing dangerous. But, although he’s succeeded in some areas, in others it’s proving a little more difficult.”
I look at him, and suddenly all the pieces start to fall into place.
“The Devil Hounds are part of the Romano empire.”
It’s not a question. My father already knows the answer.
“What they did here, last night, it was a warning. Because they aren’t going to stop, Piper. And I’ve made Vanni aware of that, told him everything he needs to know. And as it’s been my lifelong ambition, as it was my father’s and grandfather’s before me, to bring down the Romano empire, to end them once and for all, I think myself and this club need to work together, to make that happen. I get what I’ve always wanted – everything the Romano family have. And Vanni Colletti gets what he needs back – his territory, as well as a wealth of new business contacts.”
“It makes sense, don’t you think?”
I look up to see Vanni enter the room. “You’re OK with this?”
“I think it’s a perfect solution to the problems both me and your daddy are experiencing, baby girl.”
“What about your chapter back in Nevada? I mean, you’d have to stay here, right? In California?”
“Chase is looking after things back home. I’ll be staying here, ‘til we’ve seen off those Devil Hounds for good.”
I look back at my father. His face is an image of calm, and it sends a shiver tearing through me, but there’s an inevitability to this situation that I have no power to change, I know that now.
“Are you going to put your own men in here?” I ask, crossing my arms tighter against myself.
“Travis Lane and Bonna Moretti are going to be joining this chapter. I’m also sending a few men over to a couple of other chapters where a little trouble seems to be starting up again, but they aren’t being sent here to take over, Piper. Vanni knows that. They’re being sent here to help, they’re my contribution. Although, I myself am also relocating here to Los Angeles. For the foreseeable future.”
I don’t know how that makes me feel. I don’t. For so long I’ve despised my father, for the way he let Vierra treat me, for the way he could turn from being a man who loved his daughter into a man who wanted her dead. So having him so close to me again… can I trust him?
“Your mother’s coming, too, Piper. She misses you.”
“And whose fault was that, huh?”
“Can we start again? Please?”
“What? Forget you had a hit out on me? Yeah. Why not?”
My sarcasm doesn’t escape him, but it doesn’t make him angry, either. It’s almost like he’s accepted that this is what he’s done to me, I’m this person now. Because of him.
“I love you, Piper. You’re my daughter, and I’m sorry. For what happened.”
“Frankie Cabbetto apologizing? Now I know I must be dreaming.”
“We can make something good happen here. Between my world and this one we could create a powerful team.”
I look at Vanni, and his expression tells me he’s buying this, it’s a done deal. He’s allowing his club to be infiltrated by one mob family in order to bring down another club ran by a rival mob family. This is fucking crazy! It’s another bloodbath waiting to happen.
“It’s the only way, Piper.”
Vanni’s words signal the end of this conversation. My father’s edging his way back into my world and there isn’t a thing I can do to stop that from happening now. There’s no safe place for me to run to anymore, no escape. But I’m alive. And that’s the only thing I can be grateful for right now. The only thing…
Vanni
I wanted to kill him. I wanted to tear out his heart and hurl it against the wall, watch the life drain out of him as he slumped to the floor. He touched my girl, he don’t deserve to live. And if it hadn’t been for Frankie Cabbetto’s intervention Logan Sandero would be nothing more than a broken mess in the gutter. For Piper’s sake I’m allowing him to live, but he isn’t going unpunished. He can’t be a member of this club anymore, he needs to leave, go far away, ‘cause the longer he stays here the more likely I am to change my mind and end his sorry life. I just got more important things to focus on now, like making sure my wife stays where she’s supposed to, and keeping my club standing.
I watch Piper’s interaction with her father, and it’s obvious that once upon a time they were close. She may think she left that princess past behind but there are traces of it still there, it’s just that, this princess can hold a gun, shoot men dead, and that only makes me more determined to keep her by my side. I’ll make her into that stronger, tougher woman she needs to be, if she’s gonna stick this life out, which she has to, now. She has no other choice. And I can’t let her go, I won’t, let her go. I fell in love with that woman the second I saw her sitting at my bar, and all this shit, it hasn’t changed that fact. I still love her, and she needs me, no matter what she might think. So we lose Logan Sandero, and we gain men from Frankie Cabbetto’s army – men Piper grew up with, men she knows, they won’t be a threat, not in that way. The only people who need to start worrying now are those asshole bastards who tried to do us over last night. They got no idea what’s coming to them, ‘cause once we got our new army in place a new game begins. One they’re not gonna win.
Logan
I throw some clothes into a holdall and carry it out into the hallway, throwing it down beside my half-helmet. I can hear Reba upstairs, she’s taking a shower. It’s about the fifth one she’s taken since we got back from Venice last night, says she can’t get the stink of him off of her. She needs to know she’s safe now, maybe it’s just gonna take a bit of time for her to get that into her head.
The sound of running water stops suddenly and I glance upstairs before I head into the kitchen. We should eat, before we leave. So I find some eggs in the fridge, I’m guessing they’re OK, they haven’t been there too long, and the remains of a packet of bacon I opened a few days ago. There’s bread out on the countertop, I’ll make some sandwiches, even though she’ll come down and tell me she isn’t hungry. But she needs to eat. We’ve a long journey ahead.
I’m just taking the bacon from the pan when she walks in, dressed in jeans and one of my shirts, she has no other clothes. We’ll need to pick out some stuff en-route to wherever the hell it is we’re going, because I don’t know yet. Where we’re going. We’ll think of somewhere.
“I’ve made us sandwiches.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t care. I don’t know how long it’ll be before we eat again so, just take it. For me.”
She reluctantly picks up the sandwich and takes a bite as she slides up onto the stool by the counter, and I watch as egg yolk runs out from between the bread, landing on the plate in a sticky, yellow puddle.
“This isn’t how you wanted things to work out, is it?”
Even she knows that’s a rhetorical question, but I’m guessing she still wants some kind of answer.
“No. No, it isn’t.”
“You were gonna leave with Piper, weren’t you?”
I put my sandwich down and wipe my mouth with my forearm, reaching over for the mug of coffee behind me. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Reba. Me and Piper – it was nothing but a dangerous fantasy. It was stupid. A mistake.”
“I don’t think you mean that.”
“With respect, Reba, you don’t know who I am anymore.”
She drops her gaze and takes another bite of her sandwich, Jesus, this is so fucking hard.
“And now you’re left with me.”
“Come on, it isn’t like that.”
“It’s exactly like that, Logan. Vanni gave you an ultimatum, you leave with me or he kills you. He was never gonna forgive you for what you did, that was never gonna happen. So you had no choice.”
“And I’m fine, about leaving with you, OK? Maybe it’s even for the best.”
She frowns slightly, placing her sandwich carefully down on the plate, right on top of that puddle of yolk. “I think we’re both very different people now, Logan.”
I close my eyes and breathe in deep, this is more messed-up than I ever thought it could be, but how did I think it was gonna end? That Piper and me would somehow find a way to go skipping off into the happy-ever-after followed by a line of fucking fairies and dancing cartoon rabbits? Life isn’t a Disney movie, I was deluded to even think I could have her. I shouldn’t have gone there, she wasn’t worth this much pain.
“Yeah. We are.”
She slides down from her stool and comes over to me, gently placing her hand on my chest and that sends a small but familiar shiver trickling up my spine. It’s like a tiny sliver of the past is trying to push its way forward, make me remember how I used to feel about this woman. Like I ever forgot? I never forgot, I couldn’t. I just pretended I had. Everything I did from the second she walked out on me, I did it to try and forget her. Everything. And that included thinking I loved Piper Colletti. And I’m not sure that I did, love her. I just told myself that’s what was happening, and then when Reba showed up – I tried to convince myself more and more that loving Piper was the way my life needed to go. And that almost got me killed.
“We can start again, Logan. As those different people. Forget the past, what we had back then, forget it. We can make new memories, build a new life, we can do that.”
I take her hand and lift it to my mouth, kissing her fingers, and the taste of her floods my mouth, fills me up with something strong and real and – Piper was never real. Not to me.
“I loved you so much, Reba.”
“I know, baby, and I am so sorry…”
I press my fingers to her lips, I don’t want to hear her say sorry again, I’m tired of that word. “I can’t promise you anything right now, do you understand? Everything’s so fucked up and my head, Jesus, it’s all over the place, so right now, I can’t promise you anything…”
My phone ringing distracts me and I reach around to pull it from my pocket, looking at the caller ID.
“Who is it?” Reba asks, stepping back from me.
“Piper.”
Just saying her name is like a kick to the gut, but I need to hear her voice, even though it’s the last thing I should do. I should ignore her call, delete her number, I shouldn’t do this. But instead I press the phone to my ear, and I wait, for her to speak first.
“Logan?”
“Does he know you’re calling me? Does Vanni know?”
“No. He’s with my father… Do you know what’s happening? That my father’s…?”
“I know, Piper. Bullet told me. Are you OK?”
“Yeah. I guess I am.”
“Vanni hasn’t hurt you, has he? I mean…”
“No, he hasn’t hurt me. I think we’re gonna be fine.”
“And that’s OK for you, is it? Fine’s OK?”
“Do I have another choice?”
There’s a pause, a moment of silence between us and I lift my gaze as Reba leaves the room, heads outside, she doesn’t want to listen to this.
“It could never have happened, in reality. Could it? Me and you. It was a ridiculous idea from the start.”
“You got under my skin, Piper. And I needed you, I really did… Shit! I still need you now, I’m tired of fucking lying to myself. I’m tired of the crap and the lies and the notion that something’s impossible purely because some fucked up asshole says it is…”
She stays silent as I trail off, a little taken aback by my outburst, but all of a sudden I’ve been hit with the kind of clarity I’ve never experienced before. I don’t want this, what’s happening with Reba. I don’t want to be pushed into a life with a woman I will always care about, but I don’t love her. And I don’t want to settle for second best, not anymore. I want to be fucking happy, Jesus, don’t I deserve that?
“Do you still want us, Piper?”
“Are you crazy? What the hell are you talking about? You’re leaving…”
“Not without you.”
“Don’t do this, Logan, please…”
“Do you still want us, Piper? ‘Cause I don’t think you called me just to say hi. So tell me the truth, baby. Do you still want us?”
There’s another pause, another moment of silence, all I can hear is her breathing. But I need her answer, I need her to tell me what she wants.
“Yes.”
Her voice is low yet I hear that word loud and clear.
“I still want us.”
“Then I’m not leaving without you.”
I’m not leaving without her. Whatever it fucking takes…
Piper
I end the call and place the phone down on the nightstand, drawing my knees to my chest. What the hell have I just done…?