Chapter Twenty
As the club girls sobbed, the brothers spoke in somber voices. Fallon helped set the reception table along with Breanna and Raven. The other two old ladies, Sam and Shannon, refused to attend the funeral and reception of a club girl. Fallon figured it was because their husbands indulged on occasion with them, but a life was still lost.
“Let’s put the barbecue brisket at the end of the buffet,” Breanna said to Fallon. Lena had been cooking up a storm for the past couple days and appreciated the help Breanna and Raven offered. Fallon loved being included in the circle of club life even though she wasn’t a true old lady. Diablo hadn’t asked her to wear his patch, but they were still in the early part of their relationship. She needed to get to know him and his world better.
“Maria was one of Diablo’s favorite club girls,” she said softly.
“Does that bother you?” Breanna asked as she covered the baked beans with foil.
“I keep thinking it should, but it doesn’t. I mean, all these guys probably went with her, but that was before any of us knew them.”
Raven smiled. “You got a healthy dose of confidence, girl. I’m with you. When I started going out with Muerto, Ruby showed me her attitude, but I knew my man and that me being in his life had stopped all that.”
Fallon giggled. “I never had anyone tell me I had confidence.”
“You do. Living on your own has been good for you.” Raven smiled.
“I guess. I mean, I’m living the life I always wanted. Sometimes I think it’s just a dream and I’ll wake up back in my old bed.” She shuddered.
“Just keep going forward. Life doesn’t wait for us. Bad things and wonderful things happen. We just have to keep going,” Breanna said.
Fallon nodded and looked behind her. Diablo leaned against the bar, a faraway look in his eyes. “I’m going to see if Diablo’s okay. Do you need me to do anything more?”
Breanna touched her forearm lightly. “We’re good. Go over to your man.”
Fallon walked over to him. He smiled when she gave him a quick hug. “Are you doing okay?”
“Yeah. I just can’t believe I let this shit go down. I knew something was up with those two fuckers.”
“Don’t do this. In every situation, we can look back and say we wished we would’ve done something differently. And maybe we would if given the chance to go back. Believe me, I’m the queen of wishing I’d done things differently in my past. But ever since I got away from the situation at home, I realize that I spent most of my life living in the past so I missed out on the present. You weren’t the only brother in there. All of your brothers were there. Don’t put all of this on your back.”
“She was only twenty-three. Fuck.”
“I know. It’s such a sad waste of a life.”
Diablo stared at her, his gaze soft and tender. “You’re fuckin’ incredible. Most women would be so bitchy about me being sad over Maria. They’d be jealous.” He stroked her cheek with his fingers.
“I know you guys were friends. It’s terrible to lose a friend.”
He bent over and kissed her, then trailed his mouth to her ear. “You’re very special to me, Fallon.”
Excitement tingled through her, and she ran her hands over his shoulders. “You’re special to me too. More than you’ll ever know.”
And he was. Since he’d come into her life, her world had exploded. After all those years, the woman who’d wanted to emerge was finally able to do so, and it felt so fucking liberating. Where life had been gray and beige, it was now full of color. Where there had been sadness and lethargy, there was now joy and boundless energy. Life had never been so wonderful. And she was in love. In love. The emotion vibrated through her. The only thing that could make her life more over the top was to hear him tell her that he loved her.
“You gonna get some chow?” Paco said as he passed Diablo and Fallon.
“Yeah. You ready?” Diablo said, looking at Fallon. She nodded.
The rest of the afternoon was spent eating, toasting, drinking, and sharing stories, but a tense undercurrent of white-hot anger rumbled in the brothers’ voices. Maria’s death would not go unavenged.
As Fallon covered the last bowl of potato salad with plastic, Breanna came into the kitchen. “I would’ve helped you put things away,” she said, sitting on one of the stools. She took her high heels off and rubbed her foot.
“No problem. It was a nice tribute to Maria. I’m glad. None of her family came to her funeral. At first I thought it was heartbreaking, but then I realized that her family really was the Night Rebels.”
“That’s right.” Breanna took off her shoes and sighed in relief. “My feet are killing me. Are you and Diablo going to take off? I know Steel is ready to go.”
“I’m not sure what he wants to do. Raven left a while ago with Muerto. She told me to tell you goodbye. You know, she’s been helping me decorate my apartment. She’s got a real flair for it.”
“She’s the best. We’ll have to do a girls’ night out. We can go to Alfonso’s for margaritas and tacos. Have you been there?”
“No. Diablo and I usually go for barbecue. If we eat Mexican, we go to La Cantina.”
“We’ve got to go to Alfonso’s. They have the best margaritas in town. I’ll talk to Raven and we’ll set a date.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun. Let me know.”
Steel walked in, placed his hands on Breanna’s shoulders, and kissed the side of her neck. “Ready to head out?”
She tilted her head back and caught his lips.
Fallon turned away and opened the refrigerator, putting the leftover food inside.
“I’ll give you a call,” Breanna said.
Fallon turned around. “Great. Bye.” She watched them walk out, then smiled when Diablo stood in the doorway. “Did you want to go?” she asked. He nodded. She washed her hands, then went over to him.
“I feel like a ride to Chaco Canyon. You good with that?”
Grasping his hand, she smiled. “I’d love to go there. We’ve talked about it for a while but it seems like something always came up to keep us from going there.”
They said their goodbyes as they walked out of the clubhouse. Fallon couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around her man and feel the vibration of his Harley under her.
* * *
The desert landscape spread out before them, and shadows danced across the road in the late afternoon sun. The wind whipped around them, pressing Fallon closer against Diablo. The bike veered to the left and they left the main highway, climbing and twisting around roads carved out of the mountains. The heat from the desert dissipated the higher they climbed, and the brown scenery melted into green.
When they’d finally reached their destination, Diablo killed the motor and helped her off the bike. He seemed small in comparison to the noble walls carved by nature. All around there was raw beauty. The only sound she could hear other than their breathing was the distant rush of water echoing against the sandstone flanks.
“It’s beautiful here,” she said as she walked to the edge of the canyon. Looking down, the gorge spread beneath her, a river flowing in a dusty bed fringed by evergreens and pines. The water shimmered blue under the clear sky, the rocks sparkling like jewels.
Diablo came over and put his arm around her. “I’ve been wanting to share this with you for a long time.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m glad we waited. We know each other better, and I feel closer to you than I have to any other person.”
“It’s good to hear you say that. You mean more to me than anyone.”
She glanced at him. “What about your sisters? You never really told me about them. I’d like to hear about them if you’re up to it.”
Sighing, he walked over to his bike and took out a Native American woven blanket. He spread it on the ground and held out his hand to her. She came over and he helped her to sit down. Smoothing her fingers over the soft cotton, she said, “This is gorgeous. Where did you get it?”
“Steel gave it to me. He’s got an aunt who makes these blankets.” He stared out at the red cliffs for a while, then turned to her. “I don’t have any contact with Clarissa. She’s a couple years older than me. After we were farmed out to different foster homes, we lost touch. When I turned eighteen, I looked her up, but she didn’t want anything to do with me, Beau, or Taya. She’s been divorced twice and had her three kids taken away from her. She’s going the route of our mom—a meth junkie. As far as I know, she’s still in Salt Lake. I haven’t spoken to her in years.”
“You don’t have to talk if it upsets you.”
“It doesn’t. It’s just the way it is. My brother ODed in a back alley surrounded by trash. I couldn’t help him. The drug was too powerful. I did a stint in prison ’cause I beat the shit outta the perv who was messin’ with Taya.”
“I didn’t know you were in prison,” she said softly.
“Yeah. I lost my head when I saw what Taya’s foster fuck was doing to her. If I had to do it all over again, I still would’ve beaten his ass. No regrets there.”
“Do you ever see Taya?”
He blew out a long breath, leaned back on his hands, and stretched his legs out in front of him. “When I got out, I tried to find her. Word was that she was using and selling herself to support her habit. One day, I bumped into her and took her to the motel where I was staying. She told me she wanted us to get a place together and start over as a family. I was good with that. After she took a long shower, we went out to dinner. She ate like she hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. Taya was so talkative and friendly, but I cut through it all and told her that I knew the score. Of course, she denied turning tricks for dope. I told her I didn’t care what she did before, but we had a chance to have the life we should’ve always had. She agreed and I had a good feeling about it. I told her to crash with me until I made enough to get us an apartment. She told me she wanted to go into rehab and really turn her life around.” He pressed his lips together.
“Did it work out?”
He laughed dryly. “Something woke me up at about three in the morning. I saw Taya by the dresser. I asked what the fuck she was doing. She said she needed some aspirin. I told her I had some by the nightstand and went to sit up. She rushed over and before I could switch on the fuckin’ lamp, she clobbered me in the head with something hard. I blacked out. When I came to, she was gone and so was my wallet, money, watch, knives, and cell phone.”
“That’s awful,” she said, her hand over her mouth.
“It’s my fuckin’ family. I didn’t even bother to look for her. I took off for Colorado that day.”
“So you never heard from her?”
“It’d been a few years, but then she started calling me whenever she needed money. I know she’s still using.”
“I bet you give her money.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, not judging. She already knew the answer because she’d discovered that, deep down, he had a heart of gold.
“Yeah. I shouldn’t but I do. Fuck if I know why.”
She moved closer and straddled him, her hair brushing against him as she bent over. “Because you’re a wonderful person. I wouldn’t expect anything less of you.” She kissed him passionately, hard and wet, while he grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her down even farther.
“You do something to me, woman. You’re the first woman who has my heart—all of it.” He sank his mouth into the curve of her neck and shoulder and an electric charge zinged through her.
“Oh, Diablo,” she murmured through parted lips.
“I fuckin’ love hearing you say my name, sweet pea.” He sat up and rolled her onto her back, his face hovering over hers. His mouth crushed hers with such intensity it took her breath away. It was like he wanted to devour her whole, claim her mouth as his alone.
She snaked her arms tightly around his neck as they kissed wildly under the blue sky, the river below them rushing over rocks, in sync with their fevered desire. Diablo glided her shirt over her head and then unclasped her bra, her breasts falling out. Like a starving man, he gorged himself on her creamy flesh, sucking her nipples to hard, reddened points.
Lust mingled with love crashed inside her like a tidal wave as her sexual hunger grew. His touches, his scent, his taste fueled her arousal, creating delightful shivers from the tips of her buds straight to her throbbing pussy. As he played with her tits, he pushed her pants down over her hips, his callused fingertips catching on her panties.
“I can’t fuckin’ get enough of you,” he rasped as he placed little kisses all over her body, making her wiggle from want. Then his fingers slipped between the slick puffy folds of her sex.
Frantically, she searched for his zipper. “I want you inside me.” He guided her hand to his crotch and she unzipped his jeans, releasing his granite-hard dick. The beads of precome left a small wet trail on her belly as he shrugged off his pants.
And then he was at her entrance, shoving into her while he kissed her deeply. She wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to go faster until they were one rhythm. They clung to each other, fused together by their raw passion and lust, never wanting to let go.
Their cries of euphoria and surrender echoed in the canyon. As Diablo gripped her, his breaths short and shallow, her body and mind yielded to him completely.
She’d never felt such intense senses and emotions, and she realized she’d just experienced a life-changing moment. From that moment on, they were one, fused together by love, trust, desire, and friendship.
After he rolled off her, she cuddled in his arms, knowing she’d never be the same again.
He was her anchor and she was his, and together they could face anything.
As she gazed up at the sky, she wiped a tear that had trickled from the corner of her eye.
And then there is life.
Her smile matched the radiance of the sun.