Chapter 26
Girth
Lewis was behind the bar, pouring me a drink and my head was spinning. Within minutes of Lewis declaring that he was not going to protest against Lila and me being together, the celebrations began.
It was only now that I was realizing that Lila had been single for years. Other than a few casual relationships she’d had in high school with boys who didn’t deserve her; she had never been in any serious relationships. So, even though it had taken the MC members and Lewis some time to warm to me being with her, everyone was in a good mood now just based on the fact that Lila finally had a man.
When I looked over my shoulder, I saw that Lila was sitting down on a chair, in the middle of a circle made up of Abe, Rodeo and some of her friends who were forcing shots down her throat. Lila’s loud throaty laugh filled the bar and I was beginning to feel a little light headed. This was not the reaction I was expecting when I told Lewis the truth.
I thought that I would have to leave Orlando, leave Lila and never come back. I was expecting Elwood to kick me out of the Rogue Rebels too. I didn’t think I deserved to belong to a brotherhood after I had broken the most basic rule. But instead, Lewis had filled a pint glass up with beer and now smacked it down in front of me on the counter.
“You, sir, deserve a drink,” Lewis said and wiped his hand with a rag. I thanked him and gulped some of the beer down my throat and Lewis was watching me with studious eyes.
“I don’t know what spell my daughter has cast on you, but you need my blessings and you need luck,” Lewis said and we smiled at each other.
“I don’t deserve her,” I said and Lewis nodded his head as he started pouring himself a drink as well.
“No, you don’t. Nobody does. In my eyes, in my world, Lila is a princess and she deserves to be treated like one,” Lewis said and I clenched my jaws.
“I intend on treating her as one,” I said and he smiled.
“I can see that you will. She has made the right decision and I’m relieved. I would have been happy to see her with Hugh too, but that was before I had even considered the two of you as a couple,” Lewis said.
I was guzzling my glass of beer down thirstily. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a drink. So much had happened since I first arrived here. I’d met and fallen for a woman who brought me to my knees. Everything about this city was bloody insane.
“I need you to know, Lewis, that I never intended on going against your MC or your rules,” I said, as Lewis took a sip of his drink too.
“And I want you to know that if you ever hurt my daughter, or do anything to make her cry…” Lewis began to say but I was nodding already.
“I’ll have your entire MC to answer to,” I said.
“And the Rogue Rebels. Elwood will not stand for Lila being hurt either,” he added.
I knew he was right, but I didn’t have any intention of hurting Lila. I wanted to hold on to this feeling, the way she was making me feel; all my life and I would fight it to my death to keep it that way.
Lila came up to us then, and I pulled her into my arms.
“I think I’ve had three shots of tequila,” Lila said and laughed.
“I think you have,” Lewis said and shook his head. Father and daughter smiled at each other, before they both turned to me again.
“Your man here was just telling me how he intends on treating you like a princess all your life,” Lewis said and I looked at Lila with a smile. She was shaking her head and had her brows crossed.
“I don’t want to be treated like a princess. I wanted to be treated like an actual adult woman. Can you do that for me, Girth?” she asked and I leaned towards her, drinking in the shape of her perfect pouty lips and the color of her clear blue eyes. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever set my eyes on.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” I said and Lila closed the gap between us and we were kissing again.
When Lewis turned away from us, to talk to some of the other guys, Lila and I were staring into each other’s eyes.
“What about New York?” I asked her. I couldn’t exactly forget about it. She had cried in my arms over it. I knew exactly how badly she wanted to go. Lila shrugged her shoulders.
“What about it?” she asked and I looked at her with an indulgent expression on her face.
“Lila, I don’t want to turn into your father. I don’t want to keep you from doing what you really want to do,” I said and she watched me with her sparkling blue eyes as I chugged down the rest of the beer. Lila licked her lips and drew in a deep breath.
“The only reason I wanted to go to New York, was to have an adventure, to experience something new, to defy my father and to feel safe. I get all of those things from you, Girth and then some,” she said and she sank into my open arms again.
It was still strange to hold Lewis’ daughter in my arms, out in the open like that. I could feel the surge of adrenaline in my veins. This would take some getting used to.
Lila giggled as she looked up at me, and we knocked our foreheads together, just as the doors of the bar were thrown open.
“Lewis!” a voice shouted and we all turned our heads to see. It was Marcus one of the MC members I had been introduced to before.
He looked like he had been running. His shoulders were heaving, he was out of breath and his eyes were wild with fear and rage.
“What’s going on?” Lila exclaimed and my first instinct was to hold her back and stop her from going any closer to the door.
Marcus was rushing towards Lewis now, who was staring at the man. We were all expecting bad news.
“It’s Fred. He’s been shot!” Marcus said.
Lewis walked around the bar counter, glaring at Marcus. He was obviously the kind of man who had a tendency of shooting the messenger.
“What the fuck happened? Where is Fred?” Lewis growled and Marcus’ eyes darted fishily around the bar.
“At the front of his house. Hugh got there, to take care of the scene. The Dark Legion did another drive-by shootout, like the one they attempted on Lila,” Marcus said and his eyes sought out Lila in the crowd, who was standing huddled up with me. I could sense her body stiffening with fright.
“Fuck ‘em. Fuck!” Lewis growled.
“Where is he shot? Have they taken him to hospital?” Lila was crying now, and I tried to hold her close to me. I knew that Fred was like a father-figure to her, and I respected him too. Marcus turned to us and drew in a deep breath.
“They got him in the heart. They’re taking him to the morgue,” Marcus said.
Fred was dead. They’d fucking killed Fred. This was war.
THE END
Turn the page for a sneak peak at the next book in the series, Rodeo which releases on June 6th!
They call me Rodeo, ‘cause I was made for ridin’.
When a member of our MC turns up dead, I know exactly who did it.
But when I show up at the witness’s house to confirm my suspicions, she tells me something I don’t wanna hear.
It wasn’t the MC I thought. It was someone else.
So now we have two enemies. And I have to keep her safe from both.
Because she’s beautiful and fragile.
She needs someone like me to take care of her.
And I do, all night long.
Things usually get complicated when I try to rope a girl.
But this level of complicated?
This is a whole new thing.