CHARLOTTE

Walking into the club’s main room, I was met with the shocked and horrified expressions of ten people—ten sets of eyes but none of them the stunning blue ones I loved so much.

“Oh, my gosh, Charlotte. You’re hurt,” Mia cried, running towards me. She grabbed the nearest dining chair as she came near and gently pushed me down onto it. Since she didn’t know my shoulder was hurt too, I cried out in pain when she put pressure on it to get me to sit. “Oh, Lord, Charlotte, what happened to you? Were you attacked? You’re bleeding. Darth, get your medic kit.” Mia was talking a mile a minute. I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think she wanted me to answer.

I looked over at Darth and saw he was on his phone texting. Booth and the others were looking at me with so much concern that it made tears well in my eyes.

The walk here had been hard, and I was so tired. Luckily, it was dark, so no one saw me limping and bleeding, but also, no one stopped to ask if I wanted any help.

I just wanted to see Shiloh and make sure she was okay. And I wanted to see Deck and give him a chance to explain what the hell this was all about. Then I would go from there.

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were coming from the hallway where the bedrooms were, and bursting into the room was Deck. He looked so distraught and, I thought, guilty. Good, so he should. I couldn’t stop the thought. I knew I was going to stay with him if he wanted me to, but I was going to make him pay for hurting me. And I might just string it out for a while.

“Sweetness,” Deck shouted, rushing to me.

 God, I loved it when he called me that. Okay, then, it might not be as strung out as I’d first planned.

Then he was on me. Well, on his knees in front of me.

“Jesus, Sweetness, you’re hurt.” His voice sounded pained. He ran his hands up my thigh to the gash now well and truly bleeding again from the pressure of walking here and putting weight on it.

My hands had a mind of their own as they reached out and caressed his impossibly short hair. Touching him brought a sense of rightness.

Deck turned his head and pressed a few hungry kisses to my palm. “Charlie, I am so sorry.”

I heard the genuineness in his words, the anguish in his tone. Deck was first and foremost a protector. His daughter, his club, me. I knew this would cause him to be hard on himself, harder than he probably needed to be, but I needed to focus on everything in front of me before I helped ease his guilt.

“Shiloh? Is Shiloh okay? Is she here?” I asked frantically as I thought of my sweet, little girl

Deck nodded his head quickly. “She’s fine. A tiny little cut on her forearm. Darth glued it shut, and now she is sleeping with some help from Panadol. Vegas is with her, but she was asking for a hug from you just before I left the room to come to you.” He paused to laugh. “She told me off good and proper for using my growling voice when we saw you,” he admitted ruefully.

“You left me there, Deck. You didn’t even look my way, at all. You just took Shiloh and left. All of you did.” My eyes left his face to look at the others. They looked just as shattered as Deck did. It wasn’t about blaming anyone or making them feel like dog poo, but I had a right to know why they’d overlooked me and left.

Deck dropped his head to my lap. His arms were now holding me tight around the waist. I could feel his fingers digging into my flesh. “Please, forgive me, baby, please,” he begged, his voice slightly muffled by my lap.

“Did you not trust me with Shiloh?” I asked hesitantly. His head whipped up quickly, and the look on his face was horrified from what I had asked.

“Not trust you? Sweetness, other than the five men standing behind me, there is no one I trust more with my daughter than you,” he whispered vehemently.

“Then why did you leave me?” I implored him.

Deck shook his head, and precious seconds ticked by as he thought. Finally, he looked up at me, and I was totally shocked to see tears welling in his eyes.

“When Zoe was pregnant, I never really took a proper interest in the pregnancy. Jason and I were at war with each other, and I thought it better to stay away from them. You know, give them their time. But when I laid eyes on that perfect little creature, even with all the chaos with Zoe dying and Jason’s grief, and mine…” he trailed off.

I could see him remembering that day. He shot a look over to Darth, and they shared a chin lift. I knew Darth had been with Deck the day Shiloh was born and then when she lost her mother, all on the same day. It was the reason his bond with Shiloh was so strong.

“Even with everything, I fell hard and fast in love with my little girl. I vowed right then and there that she would be more important to me than anything. Wh-when I saw she was in danger, and there was a rifle pointed at her and you…” His voice cracked while trying to get everything out. He ran his hands down his face and looked at me, really looked at me, and his eyes were pools of the deepest blue. “Sweetness, you will never know the terror I felt at that moment, the possibility of losing you or Shiloh or both of you, but I know I didn’t react well. My first reaction was one of a father. She has never had anything like this happen before. I fucking panicked, I am so sorry. Words will never be enough to make up for what I did to you. But, Charlie, you have to know how much I love you.”

I believed the anguish of his words about losing Shiloh or me. I believed he just reacted the way any father would. His very first natural instinct was to see to his child. He was human, and it was only fair I forgave him and moved on. Holding onto grudges because your ego was hurt made no sense at the end of the day. I had never doubted this man’s love for me. Ever. His pursuit of me had been swift and sure. He would never have acted like that had he had doubts.

Sure, my heart was still a little banged up, but I was certain my soldier would do everything in his power to make it all better.

I smiled for the first time since Shiloh and I had gone to get ice cream. I reached out, and with my hands on either side of his face, I pulled him up so he was face-to-face with me.

“Okay, honey,” I whispered softly. I closed the distance and pressed my lips to his. It seemed like forever since my lips had been on his, from early this morning after breakfast to now. Close to nine hours.

Our kiss was slow and sweet. Forgiving and apologetic.

I felt his body shiver from our contact, and my need for his touch knew no bounds. I cupped my hands on his jaw and drank him in. A soothing only Deck could provide me.

Pulling back just a little bit, and with his lips still on mine, Deck looked into my eyes. “Tell me you love me,” he demanded with a slight beg to his tone.

“I love you so much,” I said into his mouth. I felt him smile.

“I love you too, Sweetness. And I will never ever make you feel unwanted like that ever again,” he said. Despite the fact we had an audience and my injuries, we took the time to reassure one another that we were okay.

“You are just as important to me as Shiloh, Sweetness. You are the other beat of my heart.”

Oh, God, this man.

“Oh, Deck, that means so much to me,” I cried in a soft voice, throwing my arms around his neck and pushing my face into his throat.

“Oh, Charlie, please never doubt that I love you,” he beseeched.

“Never again,” I vowed.

“Fuck me drunk, brother. Will you stop spewing that soppy shit for a minute so I can get your woman cleaned and patched up?” Darth said with a growl from behind us, sparking off a multitude of laughing from the rest of Deck’s club brothers.

Covering my giggle with my hand, I moved too fast, and pain tore at my shoulder. My gasp brought Deck’s attention back to me, and his finger came up in a one-finger salute directed at Darth. His face changed from a smirk to a genuine look of concern. “Sweetness, are you hurt somewhere else?”

“My shoulder. I noticed at the park when I touched it, and my fingers came back with blood on them.”

“Fuck.” Deck growled under his breath as he looked at the wound. My bra strap was on top of it and not helping with the pain.

“It’s okay, Sweetness. The big prick is a trained medic among other things. He has patched us all up hundreds of time over the years. You are in good hands,” Deck said.

I nodded my head, then Deck moved but stayed close, and Darth took his place down on his haunches in front of me. He had a large box that reminded me of my grandfather’s old fishing tackle box. Inside, it had so many compartments filled with every single conceivable first aid need.

“Charlotte, I am so sorry I grabbed and tackled you so hard. These injuries are on me, sweetheart,” Darth apologised, shocking me. He was taking the blame for something that was way out of his control. I couldn’t let him think otherwise.

I placed my hand over his and shook my head at him. “Darth, you saved me. You put yourself between danger and me. These injuries are so minor compared to what could have happened. I don’t understand much of it right now.” I stopped and looked up at Deck, who was standing beside me, his hand resting lightly on my uninjured shoulder. His other hand was circling patterns on my neck under my hair. “But I am sure you guys will be able to fill me in on as much as you are able to tell me.” I didn’t break eye contact with Deck. Over the weeks I had been here, I had come to understand the term ‘club business’ simply was a way of protecting the innocent. The less known meant safer. But I also knew all the men would lay down their own lives to protect anyone who lived inside the walls of the compound.

Deck bent from his waist and placed a chaste kiss on my waiting lips. “I will tell you what you need to know, Sweetness, as soon as you get patched up,” he promised me.

“And after I go see Shiloh,” I corrected immediately. I needed to see her with my own eyes and get that hug.

Deck’s eyes softened. “Yeah, after that,” he agreed.

With a quick squeeze to my knee, Darth got my attention back. “Thanks, Charlotte. Now let’s get you fixed up.”