Chapter Fourteen
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Whizz said.
Sally squeezed his hand, and Steven wondered when the killing blow was going to come. They were standing in the clubhouse, and the entire club was staring at him. Lash was sitting back, an eyebrow raised. Killer, Adam, and Baker were smirking. Some of them looked surprised, but many of the brothers were also trying to hide laughter.
Whizz, however, looked a little pissed.
Before coming to the clubhouse, they had stopped by Sally’s home. Lacey had been there with a couple of the club women, and they were excited about his proposal to Sally. Lacey had then warned him that she wouldn’t do anything until she was sure there was a groom for her bride.
“What’s to kid?” Sally asked.
Whizz looked at her, and then at him. “What did you do?”
“I fell in love with her.”
“This is bullshit. I can’t believe this is fucking happening. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“This isn’t bullshit!” Sally released him, and took a step forward. “I know I’m not a club brother, or a member. I’m your daughter, and I am telling you right now that I love Steven. Why don’t you act this way with Drew?”
Whizz paused. “I knew you didn’t feel anything for him. I just want to protect you.”
“I don’t love Drew. I love Steven. I will always love him.”
“He’s the one that brought the information forward, Sally. You know, the shit that had you running.”
“I know,” she said. “I was with him that morning you called me. He’s my friend that I’ve been staying with.”
Okay, he was so dead.
“You went behind my fucking back.”
“I asked him to,” Sally said. “I knew you wouldn’t like it, and I wasn’t ready to tell you. I love him. I always have, and I didn’t act on it because I was young. This hasn’t been going on for years, Dad. This is only for a couple of months.” She reached out, taking Whizz’s hands. “You once said to me that the only thing you ever want me to have is to know what true love feels like, right? True love, and being part of something that’s bigger? To have a family that I can love for the rest of my life.”
“You are loved, Sally.”
“I know. I love you so much, and Mom, Daisy, and that kid she showed me a picture of. You’re great parents. The best I could have ever hoped for. I did hope for you. I hoped for a mom who’d love me no matter what, and a dad who would fight for me when everyone told him not to.” She threw her arms around Whizz, and Steven felt a lump form in his throat.
When Sally had first come to live with Whizz and Lacey, she had been a dark soul. A wounded girl who had struggled to trust the club. That same club was now her family, and they all loved her more and more each day. She was part of them. She’d bled for them, lost a part of herself, and her loyalty, like his, was to the club.
“Like all good parents, you need to know when to let me go. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay here in Fort Wills. Obviously, if you threaten Steven, we’re going on the run, and we’ll get a head start.” This had a couple of the club laughing. “Please, Dad, I love him.”
Whizz’s jaw clenched. “All I wanted was the best for you.”
“Then no man would ever be good enough for you. We both know that.”
Steven waited. Silence had fallen on the entire club.
“Mom said she wouldn’t start organizing the wedding until she knows Steven will be alive to see it.”
This had Whizz laughing. “She’s right. My first instinct was to get my gun and shoot him in the head. I’ve heard that’s effective.”
Sally chuckled, but Steven didn’t get the humor. They were talking about his life right now, and he very much loved his head.
“You love him?” Whizz asked.
“With all my heart.”
Whizz sighed. “Then you have my blessing.” Steven caught his gaze. “If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you myself. That’s a promise. I’ll kill you, bury your body, and take regular pisses on your grave.”
“That’s colorful,” Steven said. He saw the promise in Whizz’s eyes. “You won’t ever need to worry. I have no intention of hurting her. I love her, Whizz. Before the entire club, I vow that I will love, honor, protect, and cherish her, every single day. A moment won’t go by when she doesn’t know that I love her.”
Sally was smiling at him, and he blew a kiss to her, which only made her smile even more.
“Then we’re going to have a wedding to plan for. When is it going to happen?” Whizz asked. “Are you pregnant?”
“I’m not pregnant. Don’t worry. You’re not going to be a grandfather anytime soon.” She pulled away, but Whizz grabbed her arm.
“Before I met you, before I even knew you, I didn’t want to have a teenage daughter. Then when I saw you, I knew I could give you a better life. I wanted that for you. Since you’ve been mine and Lacey’s not a moment has gone by that I’ve not wished that you were mine. To me, Sally, you are my daughter, and you will always be my girl. No matter what.”
“I love you, too, Dad,” she said, hugging him tightly.
“Okay, now, go and call your mother,” Whizz said. “Lash has some club business to deal with that Steven needs to be here for. We’ll talk soon.”
Steven nodded at his girl as she left the clubhouse.
“I meant what I said. You hurt her, and I’ll fucking kill you.”
“I’ve got no intention of hurting her. What’s the club business?” Steven asked.
Lash stood up and looked at everyone. “I know we were all anticipating the hunt for this sheriff, and his accomplice. I got a call today. There was a raid on the sheriff’s house. They had sufficient evidence to organize a warrant. It turns out he wasn’t married, but he did have a lover. She was the one who was dealing with the fake witness accounts.”
“Why weren’t we there?” Whizz asked.
“Because our agreement means we can’t go and deal with this shit,” Lash said. “He needs us to remain a safe haven for all potential witnesses, and for that to happen, we can’t go hunting for them.”
Disappointment filled him.
“As such, I got pissed, and I told him that I needed to speak to the club again about this situation. I know we all like a little bloodshed. We’re a little fucked up like that, but we like to serve up our own version of justice. I’m not going to lie, I wanted a piece of the sheriff and this bitch that hurt Sally. I did, and I still do. The thing is, this puts a new light on our situation, and instead of just continuing, I wanted to see what you all wanted to do.”
They were silent for many seconds. Baker was the first to speak up.
“Our pasts and the club’s past are wiped clean?” Baker asked. “No matter what?”
“Michael can’t guarantee that. It’s a give and take. They’ll give us our freedom, but take our business to protect those in need,” Lash said. “If we back out, they have all of our old shit on us. We’ll become like witness protection for victims. They will need us to keep people safe. It comes with a risk all on its own, but he believes we can handle whatever anyone throws at us.”
“I’m still agreeing,” Gash said, speaking up. “I’ve been inside. I lost five years of my life, and I lost a baby because I wasn’t there to protect my woman. I’m still in. My original vote is still the same. We take this deal. We help.”
“I’ve had enough bloodshed to last me a lifetime,” Nash said. “I nearly lost Sophia last time. I can’t … I won’t last without her. She’s everything to me. I still stand. We can be hardcore, badass, and protect people. We’re still a club. We’re still a family, united in our belief in doing what’s right.”
“I’m not about hurting people,” Zero said. “I’m still in.”
“I want to take this fucker out, but I’m still in,” Fighter said.
One by one, the club voted to remain with the deal. Steven looked at Lash and then at Whizz.
He thought about the life and the excitement he’d seen in Sally’s eyes. He wasn’t about to take that away from her.
“I’m in,” Steven said. “The sheriff will get his own kind of justice on the inside. No one likes a child abuser, or a cop.”
Whizz snorted. “Don’t worry, I can manipulate where they’re supposed to be. He’ll get a good, hard beating for it.”
They had their means of being a club. Being a club wasn’t about running guns, doing drugs, and fucking all night long. The Skulls was always about something more than that.
“I know Ned’s pissed at this new direction,” Lash said, looking toward Tiny.
“I don’t give a fuck what that asshole thinks. I never have. We’ve always done deals, worked together. Ned’s old school. He’s been at this business so long he doesn’t even know when to fucking give in. That’s his deal, not mine. I want this new direction for the club. I’m getting old. I’ve got kids, and I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. I made promises to my woman, to your parents, Lash and Nash. I promised them I’d give you a good life if anything happened to you. It did, and that was on me. The club has had too many deaths, too much shit, and I for one am so tired of it. I actually look forward to having a break.”
Lash nodded. “I’m sorry you men didn’t get to pick up and kill.”
“Hey, why are you all fucking down?” Adam asked. “We’ve got a wedding to celebrate. That’s going to be fucking epic. Sally’s our girl, right? She should have the best splash-out wedding anyone could ever throw. We’re not dead in the dumps, far fucking from it.”
The club cheered, and before long, they left. Steven made his way outside and found Sally sitting on one of the swings.
“You’re alive,” she said. “I was kind of freaking out. I thought he’d kill you.”
“I think he wanted to. In fact, I know he does. I’m just going to have to be the best son-in-law,” he said.
She wrinkled her nose. “Nah, keep him on his toes.”
He held onto the chains of the swing and smiled down at her. “The sheriff had a wife. No, not a wife, a girlfriend with like-minded feelings. They were taken today on a string of rape and child abuse claims.”
“Oh,” Sally said.
“Yeah. The club had no part in it.”
“How are they feeling about that?”
“We’re all a little pissed. We’re used to dealing with our own problems. It’s going to be a challenge, a change, for all of us.”
This made her smile. “A change is as good as the rest, right?”
“That it is, which is why they’re all deciding how best to do our wedding.”
Her eyes went wide. “They are?”
“Yep. Our wedding is going to be the event of the year. Be prepared, it could be really crazy.”
“Mom’s already getting Baker to do the cake.”
Steven nodded, impressed. “It’s going to be awesome.”
“Hell yeah.” He cupped her cheek, and pressed his lips against hers. Marrying her was going to be one of the best highlights of his life, he was sure of it.
****
Six months later
Sally smiled as she danced with her husband. Steven held her, and she was still shocked to see that he was wearing a tux.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world.”
The entire backyard of the clubhouse had been changed to become the place she would get married. Everything was more than she ever hoped for.
Steven held onto her hips, and she smiled up at him.
“You know all the right things to say,” she said. “I can’t believe you’re not wearing your leather jacket.”
“You asked me not to today, so I was going to give you this. I wanted this day to be perfect for you. Is it?”
“It’s more than perfect.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and danced to the slow music.
The club was all around them, and Whizz had given her away. The past few months had been hard on her father. He’d wanted to keep her close, to protect her, to love her. Sally had made sure that he knew she was happy, that she wanted to be with Steven.
“So, I was thinking we could go to the Caribbean or something for our honeymoon. What do you think?” he asked.
“I don’t care, so long as I’m with you.”
They were going to Vegas straight after their wedding reception. Alex had organized everything so that they could stay at his hotel. After that, Steven had told her he was making plans for them to get away from Fort Wills for a couple of weeks.
“I’m the luckiest man alive, you know that?” he asked.
Sally rested her head on his chest. She opened her eyes, and saw Drew talking to one of the club sweet-butts that still stayed to amuse the men that hadn’t found their woman. He’d asked her to stop setting him up with women, and to give him time. She no longer lived in his apartment, and she was finishing her classes from home. Working in the gym throughout the week, she studied on the weekends and at night.
In the beginning, Whizz hadn’t liked that she was living with Steven. Again, it had taken time, but she didn’t mind.
She was now married to Steven, the love of her life, and she was happy.
“You know we’ve not talked about kids yet,” Steven said.
Sally chuckled, and lifted her head. “I do want kids. Do you? If not, we’re totally getting a divorce.”
Steven moved his hands down, grasping her ass. “You’re a little vixen, and no. I don’t want a divorce. I want kids, lots of them.”
“How many?”
“Ten. I think ten is a good number. It’s equal.”
Throwing her head back, she shook her head. “I can’t have ten kids.”
Steven licked his lips. “Can you, erm, have kids?” he asked.
“I can have kids. I promise.”
“I wouldn’t mind if we couldn’t. We could adopt. Lacey and Whizz are always doing it.”
“I can have kids, and I’ll still be able to walk around. I’m strong, Steven, and healthy.”
She had asked her therapist that when she first got her prosthetic. At the time the woman had laughed and said that nothing else was damaged, and that she needed to stop thinking her life was over.
Sally realized in that moment, her life had only just begun.