Having to change a diaper in the middle of the night had become my reality the day I came home with a newborn in my arms. Day or night, whether I was tired or not, it had to be done. What wasn’t normal at two in the morning, however, were the noises coming from outside my house.
Bullet Night, as I’d taken to calling it, had happened two months ago. Tyler was at the club tonight, he’d headed there three hours ago. Hurrying to finish the diaper change, I put my crying daughter in her crib while peeking through the second-floor windows, which faced the street.
A tow truck was trying to drop the Porsche in our driveway. By try, I meant it was completely destroyed; it looked more like scrap metal than a car.
“Shit,” I murmured and stepped back not wanting to be seen, then ran to find my phone. Melody kept crying alone in her bedroom as I dialed Tyler’s phone and hurried downstairs to make sure the doors were all locked.
“Bekka, is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not. It’s fucking not okay. What happened to your car?”
He must’ve moved to the back office at the club, since the background noises and music went away before he said, “My car? What do you mean? The Porsche is here. You saw me leave in it earlier.”
I knew the Sullys were trouble, but hadn’t thought they’d go this far to intimidate us. “I think you should check the parking lot.” Tyler always parked his car in the back of the club, away from the customer lot. I could hear the back door being unlocked, and waited.
“What the fuck? My car is gone.”
“I know it is, Tyler, because it’s in our driveway now, and it’s destroyed. Someone dropped it off a few minutes ago.”
“Lock the doors and lock yourself in our bedroom with Melody. I’m calling the cops this time. They can mess with the club all they want, but not my home.”
His word choice put me on edge and I had to ask, “Tyler, what else have they done?”
“Nothing, okay? You and Melody go to our bedroom and stay there until the police arrive.” The line died.
Fear gripping my heart, I ran back to my daughter. Her face was all red and sweaty from crying so much and I scooped her into arms. “I’m sorry, baby girl, I’m sorry.” Her small body was warm; I hated that I’d left her alone and distressed. She was safe in my arms now, though; so I did as Tyler had ordered and grabbed her blanket then locked ourselves in my bedroom.
Even though my entire body was shaking, I managed to cradle Melody and nurse her. Her eyes closed as soon as she got a drop of milk and her body calmed. That’s all she needed.
While I worked on calming myself and my breathing, red-and-blue lights began flashing outside my window. Minutes later, there was the unmistakeable sound of Levi’s muscle car pulling up. A bunch of swearing followed.
While I wasn’t an expert, from what I’d seen, his car couldn’t be fixed. It was totaled. Thanks to his insurance, it would be a matter of days until a new one could be sorted, but I doubted Tyler ever thought his Porsche would have to be replaced because of vandals.
“Bekky?” The front door slammed behind him. “Bekky!” Panic echoed in his voice and Lord responded, his claws clacking on the wood as he ran to the door to meet Tyler.
“I’m in here.” Melody was half asleep in my arms when I got up to unlock the door. “Tyler,” he stood before me as I opened the door, “are you okay?”
Lord jumped to get his attention.
“I don’t know, are you?” The tip of Tyler’s index finger ran down my cheek to my lip.
“I think so.”
He took us in a warm embrace, one I needed more than I’d realized. “I have to deal with the police officer outside, but I had to make sure you guys were okay first. I’ll be back. I love you.”
“Be careful,” I said while wondering, What happens now that the police have been involved?
The Sullys would probably deny doing anything to the car, or maybe they didn’t care? My vision got blurry, but I knew crying wouldn’t solve anything. Melody’s eyes were closed again and I kept her in my arms, keeping her close while trying to push away the reality of our problems. I wanted to wait for Ty to come back but exhaustion got the best of me, and I fell asleep holding my child.
“Bekky, I’m going to put Melody to bed, okay? You should go to bed now, too.”
I heard him but had been deep asleep, so it took me a few minutes to wake up. They were gone once I had. Where is he?
“Tyler? Are you downstairs?” I called out and, to me, my voice sounded tired and anxious.
“Down in the kitchen.”
Yawning and walking down the stairs, I found him shirtless with his jeans on, a beer in his hand. “Are you going back to the club?” I asked gawking at him.
“Not tonight. I think I’ve dealt with enough shit for one day.” He took a drag of the beer. “I’m staying here now, fuck it. I’m done splitting my time between the club and my family.” The anger in him was noticeable, but that he had decided to stop fighting surprised me.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m done with the club.” Teardrops rolled down his cheeks; he was turning the pages to a huge chapter of his life. “The policeman said it was a lost cause to fight against the Sullivans, and I sure don’t want to die before my daughter even turns one.”
“You won’t die, okay? You won’t.” My man was devastated, but I didn’t know what to say, so I enveloped him in my arms and tried to comfort him—something that had never happened before. Tyler was always the stronger of the two of us; this made me feel helpless.
“I don’t want to die or be their target.” Lifting me, he sat me on the kitchen counter. Although we were looking at each other eye-to-eye, neither of us could say a word while his fingers caressed the side of my face and lips. “I’m so sorry for putting you in this mess.”
“It’s out of our control, don’t be sorry.”
“When I saw your name on my phone, calling me, I knew there was something wrong.” Another wave of tears washed down his cheeks.
“I know you loved your car, but I’m thankful it was your car they decided to take, and not you. I couldn’t live without you.”
Tyler kissed me then, and held me like I was a treasure. It felt so good to be close to him tonight. Letting him go for another night away wouldn’t have been possible. “Don’t ever leave me.”
“I won’t,” he promised.
“If you check the camera recording, maybe you’ll see them taking your car.”
He nodded. “Good idea. I’ll check in the morning.”
“It’d be proof against them. They’d get arrested,” I urged. There had to be a way to make the Sullivans pay.
His warm index finger covered my lips. “Shh, let’s think about something else. I’ll handle everything in the morning.”
“You always handle things by yourself, Ty. Do you keep secrets from me? Is the car the only thing they’ve managed to do?”
“Bekky, please, I’ve had enough of this crap today. The Sullivans aren’t good people, and I ruined their chance to build another market for whatever drugs they were selling at The Black Shakers. I don’t do drugs, or have the will to deal with them anymore.”
For at least ten seconds I watched him, his face and posture, trying to catch any signals he was holding back, but he wasn’t letting anything slip. “I’ll find out what else they have done.”
“You shouldn’t bother. It’s a waste of time. I’m just glad to be back home for good.” He took my chin between his thumb and index finger, and added, “I see it in your eyes, Bekky. Stop trying to figure out things you don’t want to know.”
“Tell me why you have started keeping things to yourself when you never did before?” A low groan came out of his mouth, and I could tell he was annoyed, but I had a right to know.
Tyler ran a hand through his hair and let a long sigh. “You are taking care of our child, you take care of everything around the house every damn day, but it’s my decision to draw a line between what’s going on here and at the club. You have enough on your shoulders as it is. I don’t want you to go back to how you were when Melody was born. I swore to you I would take better care of you and protect you. I’m keeping my word.”
“You are frustrating.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I won’t change my mind.”
The sad part was that I knew he wouldn’t. He had decided to keep me out of this and he would follow through.
“Are we going to bed now, or are you hungry?”
“Bed.” Our lips met.
“Mm, I like the sound of that,” he murmured.
“Really, Tyler?”
The smile he gave me was unbelievable. He was unbelievable. His car got smashed, he’d decided to close down the club, been dealing with police, and now, he wanted sex. My mind had been way too preoccupied to even consider any action under the sheets. Any time with the man of my dreams was a good time, though.
“Fine, take me to the bedroom,” I said then pretended to huff and act like this was no big deal.
My legs around his waist, I tightened my hold on him when he lifted me off the counter. Giggles escaped me as he hurried upstairs.
“Shush, woman, or you’ll wake Melody up and our time together will be ruined.”
I giggled again, against his chest to cut down the noise this time. “You’ll have to be quiet, too, which is almost impossible for you.”
“Oh, please, babe.” He laughed.
“Shh!”
Somehow, we made it to our room without waking our little one. When he’d placed my behind on our bed, I loosened legs and arms and then his body covered mine in its entirety. Pulling my top over my head and pushing down his dark jeans, we worked together to undress one another between kisses and the building tension.
His gaze searing into mine under the light of the moon as soon as we were naked made me anxious for what was to come. Gentle with his touch, his hands cupped each side of my face. Tyler held me in place and kissed me like our problems didn’t matter anymore. For right now, it was us… and only us.
Tyler’s body was so beautiful. He had a little bit of ink, but not too much. My hands wandered across him, feeling him and the heat coming out of his pores. He pressed his groin into mine, and I loosened my legs further to give him the control. It wasn’t something I gave up often, but tonight, after what we’d dealt with, I needed a break.
“You’re gorgeous, babe.” Soft lips covered my neck. “I love you.”
Each word he whispered in my ear gave me chills, and I whimpered. Kissing him was a favorite of mine, which he knew, and our lips locked as we began to make love. My hands gripped his buttocks and followed the rhythm of each thrust.
“Always thriving for control,” he said smashing our mouths together.
“Anyway I can.” A heartwarming smile appeared on his face and I melted beneath him. Tyler’s rare smiles were worth so much to me.
Lowering his mouth to my shoulders and breasts, he kept torturing me with the kisses I wanted on my mouth.
“Ty.”
He ignored me, and instead kept working on me, making feel like a million bucks. One thing about Tyler, he knew how to make me feel good. He had no problem complimenting me.
“Look at you, I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
Damn right! “Have you ever seen the Victoria’s Secret’ angels? They’re gorgeous.”
“Bekky, you are ten times better than any of those women. Trust me.” Both his hands took hold of my hips and he drove into me again.
I smiled and had to chuckle at this conversation in the middle of sex. Ty thrust his hips forward then, and I whimpered again. “I... love you.”
The building sensation and longing in my body was on the verge of free falling. I was afraid I couldn’t hold myself back long enough to match Ty. We were no longer talking. Instead, Tyler groaned against my breasts as he moved within me. His breath was hot as he exhaled again and again. Goosebumps tattooed my skin from my neck down.
My toes curling in the sheets of our bed, my back arched as my brain approached the point of arousal blackout. A deep growl came out of me as my body exploded under Tyler’s.
“Stay with me, Bekky.”
Not letting go of me, he was good enough to keep going even while I was coming undone in his arms. Tyler rammed back into me, then cradled me against his chest where I loved to be. This moment was ours. Together as one. His body tightened, and a low groan echoed in our room loud enough to wake the entire neighborhood.
“Damn, you see how I feel about you?”
My answer was a simple, sated smile. There was no need to say more.
Being in bed with Tyler, cuddling into his side or enjoying his arms wrapped around me, had never felt better. The fact that he was back with us full time didn’t hurt either. He’d made me the happiest girlfriend and mother since, most nights, I’d been going to bed worried for him and us. Lord still had some growing to do before I could feel protected by him, even if his presence in the house helped me feel better. It wasn’t so quiet around with a fur baby.
While this wasn’t the best time of our lives, I knew it was temporary.