Chapter Sixteen
Things I would tell my fifteen-year-old self now that I’m grown:
“People that you think are important and whose opinion you value right now aren’t going to matter in 5 years.” Dani
~Tempest~
Three days after the incident at the cemetery, I am a mess. The Devil’s Due MC really swooped in and made things happen with Shawn’s body so I didn’t have to answer questions and Trapper didn’t face any trouble.
Arika and I talked. She knows the truth about her dad and seems at peace with the life we have together.
Things should be good.
They aren’t.
Gentry “Deacon” Hawkins left. He asked me to trust him to come back. He told me he just had a few things to square away out of town and he would return. He said we were safe, the entire club would be here for us until he got back.
After everything he left. He won’t answer my calls, only Arika’s and I am pissed.
Tamalyn says that she’s decided to make roots here. Judge agreed so they are fixing up the place they kept Arika at and making that their home. A quick cash offer had them closing the deal in seven days. It’s nice to know they are staying. They are close enough if I need something they can come and far enough from everything they can have the quiet life they have both always wanted.
Cameron Linn and her son Brennan are making plans to relocate to Alabama soon. Hadley and Cameron are so close, now that Hadley and X have decided to settle down, Cameron wants to build a life closer to her friend. The Devil’s Due MC has ridden into my town plenty of times, but when the others pulled away this morning they did so with the intention of having life in Leed, Alabama where Sonnie has a tattoo shop, leaving Tamalyn and Judge with me.
Looks like the Nomads are going to try to tame their gypsy souls.
As for Gentry, who knows about him. I thought he would stay here with me. Tamalyn thought he would stay here with me. We thought he would be back before the others left.
Instead, he’s gone and I have to wonder if he’s going to come back. I have to remember life moves on.
I twirl the tea bag in my mug when Arika rushes out of her room straight to me.
She’s happy.
Something she hasn’t been in a while.
“Gentry’s coming home.”
“What?” I ask dropping the tea bag.
“Gentry’s on his way home. When I talked to him yesterday, he said it would be tomorrow, but just now, he said he would be here in an hour.”
Anger floods me. He can’t answer my fucking calls but he talks to her and then thinks he’s just going to come home because he decided to. Oh no, not happening. When I see him, I swear I’m going to kick him in the nuts.
“Can I stay up to say hi?”
How can I deny her? I nod my head. “A quick hello then to bed, young lady. Go ahead and take your shower so you’re ready for bed when he gets here.”
She takes off like everything is perfect while I want to scream. Since she will be in the shower a bit, I step out onto my front porch and wait.
And wait.
I continue to wait so that I can swiftly kick him in the nuts then let him see Arika and possibly kick him in the nuts again.
After a bit, I hear the sound of a motorcycle getting closer. When Gentry pulls to a stop in my driveway, I don’t get up. What I want to do is go slap him and tell him to hit the road … I can’t, though, because of Arika.
He approaches and I see the fatigue in his features.
Standing, I look him in the eyes. “Look, we need to get some things straight. You don’t get to come in and out. You wanna be the rambler, the gypsy, the nomad, go on. I got a kid, though. I can’t live that life with you. I also won’t be second to the road. I’ve been through hell. And you, you just left!”
“I’m sorry,” he says remorsefully. “I told you, I had to go get something. I asked you to trust me. I needed to sort myself and then pick something up. I’m done with the road. I’m done with everything that doesn’t have to do with you and Arika. I failed you once, it won’t happen again.”
“Where have you been? It’s been three days!”
“I went to therapy.”
I perch my hands on my hips stunned. “Say what?”
“I have nightmares from my last mission. I didn’t want to do anything that would make you or Arika think of Shawn. That final mission fucked me up, like Callahan got fucked from his mission. Everyone died but me. I dream about it. Sometimes, I would wake up not in the bed and not sure what I did. I won’t put you or Arika in danger.”
I soften. “Gentry, I can help you through that. Remember, I’m not alone that means you aren’t alone either.”
“I got hypnotized. Then I went to my safety deposit box in Georgia and cleaned it out. I know I should have called or talked to you, but I’ve been a mess in my head. You needed to focus on yourself and Arika not my bullshit. I needed to get myself strong enough to be everything you deserve.”
Before I can reply, Arika rushes out of the front door in her pajamas. “Gentry!” She hugs him and he hugs her back holding her tight. I watch him close his eyes in relief to have her close again.
How do we move through this?
“I can’t stay up. Mom said I could say hello then I gotta crash. Will you make me an omelet for breakfast?”
“Anything for my women.”
He’s casual. Too casual. It frustrates me.
“I’ll say goodnight to her, lock up, then we need to talk in my bedroom.”
He follows me in. I change into my oversized t-shirt I wear to sleep in and then look at him.
“I don’t know whether to kiss you or kick you.”
“I prefer the kiss. I’m sorry, Tempest. I had to clear my past up so I can be rock solid for you and our future. It’s how I am. I need to be ever steady, solid, and I wasn’t. I know you faced shit. I know I fucked up and failed you. I had to get my head right so I don’t drag you down a dark road with me. I can help you and Arika work through everything from the situation with Callahan now without holding you back because of my past. I shouldn’t have left you, but I knew Tamalyn would be here for your emotions, and the boys to keep you safe until I could make sure I was one-hundred percent safe for you and Arika. I can’t post any danger to you, either of you, ever.”
Unable to take one more second of fighting with him, I reach up and pull his face to me. “You told me to understand you were gonna fuck up. You didn’t fuck up until you left. You don’t bail on me when I got a kid.”
“I failed,” he whispers against my lips.
“The fuck you did, Gentry. You put your brother on watch. If Trapper hadn’t been there, then I would be dead and Arika …,” I can’t even say the words. “Trapper saved me because of you. How can you think you put me in danger or failed me?”
“I shoulda been the one to kill Callahan.”
“Take your ego and shove it, sailor. You didn’t get the kill. I get the need for vengeance. I get the need to control it, but dammit Gentry, his blood need not be on your hands.”
“How can you say that?” He asks and I hate that I can feel his pain. He is broken over what happened.
“You wanna be the one that tells Arika you killed her dad? She understands Shawn was a bad man, but in her teenage mind you being the man behind the fatal shot could turn into all sorts of things. I watched him die. It shook me for a minute. Then you know what? I felt relief. For the first time in years, I felt safe.”
I see the conflict in his eyes.
“She loves you, Gentry. I love you. We don’t need a divide between us when we’re supposed to be a family.”
“You still wanna have a family with me?”
I nod my head meaning it.
“You love me?”
“Yeah, Gentry, I love you. I never believed I would have anything in life more satisfying than knowing I help save women’s lives. But you, having you in my life, it fills this part of me I didn’t even know I was missing. Having you disappear and take it from me, that’s a loss I don’t ever wanna feel again.”
“Marry me?”
I pull my head back in shock. “What?”
“Can’t fuckin’ breathe without you. Can’t sleep without you. And I can’t fail you again. I wanna do shit right, Tempest. Marry me?”
Tears threaten to fall and I can’t seem to make the words work so instead I nod.
His lips press to mine and I let go. For the first time since Shawn Callahan’s blood covered my body, I let go.
My safe place to fall is in Gentry’s arms and I’m ready to fall all the way knowing he’ll always catch me.
Backing us up to my bed, I fall back as I pull him down over me. I wrap my legs around him so I can feel his jeans rub against my panties as my night shirt bunches up around my waist.
Groaning, he kisses me while pushing the scrap of fabric to the side. Teasing my lips, he traces my edges. Reaching between us I cup his cock and squeeze.
“Godzilla is happy to be home,” I whisper biting his bottom lip.
Gentry tugs hard on the small side threads, ripping them off. Rubbing a finger between my folds, I know I’m drenched and ready for more.
With my hands between us, I undo his jeans taking his beast and stroking him.
“Take me Gentry. Now.” I rock against him.
Without another word, he shifts to remove his jeans before sinking deep inside me. My whole body trembles at the contact, causing me to cry out in satisfaction.
Gentry looks me in the eyes as he slides out and back in, “Fucking broke the mold when they made you, baby. I love you Tempest and I’m sorry I left. I’m sorry the fucker got to you.”
“You home now for good?” I ask panting as he slowly pulls out and slides back in again.
“Couldn’t make me leave even if you wanted me to.” His eyes, the man he is and has been, I let myself believe, hope, and hold onto this moment and his words.
“I love you, Gentry, and you love me. The rest we’ll make it work.”
Finally settling in with the reassurance he needed from me, Gentry picks up the pace. We get lost in each other as he pounds deliciously into me with no restraint, my head falls back in pure ecstasy.
“Harder,” I beg. “I need Godzilla to take me harder.”
No longer able to hold back, Gentry’s lips crush to mine.
My nails dig harshly into his shoulders even through his shirt. He continues to pull almost completely out before sliding deep back inside me. Thrust after thrust he’s taking everything I’m giving and demanding more. The buildup in both of our bodies is climbing higher and higher than anything I’ve ever felt before.
My inner walls squeeze his cock tightly. He hits the spot and I combust. My body shakes so hard I’m unable to hold onto him anymore. Wrapping one arm under my ass, his other holds him over me, as my pussy milks his dick in my aftershocks. He tightens over me, his own release closing in.
“You’re everything. You’ve taught me to live for more than a promise I made my friend a long time ago.” I whisper just as the heat hits inside me as he reaches his climax.
Leaning over the bed, he pulls his duffle bag to him without separating our bodies. Reaching in, he retrieves a box and hands it to me.
“I went to my safe deposit box to get you this. My parents were never married. But my father once bought my mother this pearl ring. I know it’s not a diamond and if you want a diamond I’ll get you one. But this is a piece of my roots that I hope you accept as we tie both our roots together and build this life for us and for Arika.”
I look at it and my heart swells. “You left to go pick up a ring to propose to me?”
He nods.
“Our love story is crazy. No one will ever believe we went from hook-ups to overcoming hang-ups all so we can raise a teenage daughter together that biologically isn’t ours.”
Gentry smiles at me. “Love is love and I love you and I love Arika. There is no other definition needed or explanation our family is built on love and loyalty.”
That it is. Love and loyalty will get us through anything.