Chapter Ten
Mel laughed as a large guy sat on the back of Pea’s bike, and off they went. Anyone could pay for a ride on an MC bike, and half of the town wanted the opportunity.
“You’re having fun,” Penny said, standing beside her.
Leonardo was with the other kids, enjoying the playground. She saw that Elena was watching them all.
“I am. It’s funny to watch Pea.” She rested a hand on her stomach. Their family was going to be along any day, and she found her patience was decreasing with every single day that passed. “Did you get impatient?”
“Toward the end? Hell, yeah. I couldn’t handle the baby being inside me. I wanted him to be born.” She turned toward the park where Leonardo was walking around, having fun with some of the other club children. He would be in nursery school soon. Time was flying by so fast.
“I can’t believe that not so long ago he was just a little baby,” Mel said. “Now he’s a big boy.”
Penny chuckled. “I know, right? I love him so much. Rage and I are trying for another one.”
“Congratulations.” She hugged her sister tightly.
Past Penny’s shoulder she saw Autumn standing alone, and she didn’t like to think of the young girl by herself. She’d lost her mother, and what life she had known. “I’ll be back, and we’ll talk soon.”
Leaving her sister, she made her way toward Autumn, who had turned to leave.
Picking up her step, Mel followed her.
“Hey, Autumn, what’s up?” Mel asked. The young girl stopped, and she saw the tears in her eyes. “Oh, honey.” She went to her, wrapping arms around her.
“I’m sorry. Just seeing everyone, it’s like a fair, and it brings back a lot of memories of my mother, and I thought I could handle that, but I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Mel pulled her away and wiped the tears from under Autumn’s eyes. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for. She was your mother, and I can tell that you loved her very much.”
Autumn did. “She was the nicest person in the world.”
“I lost my parents some time ago. I had to take care of Penny, and it was hard. Life is hard. No one ever tells you what to expect when you lose someone you love.”
Moving away from the chaos of the fair, Mel found them a private spot so that Autumn could weep without questions. Sitting beside her, she rubbed her back and tried to offer her comfort.
“She was just … she was always there for me. Nothing was ever too big or too small. I miss her. I didn’t want to leave the ranch, but I was forced to. My dad forced me to come here. He doesn’t want anyone to know that I exist.”
“I’m sure he has a very good reason,” she said.
“He’s a monster that walks in a world of monsters.”
“Your father wants to protect you more than anything.” She stroked Autumn’s hair. “He’s many things, Autumn. He’s still your father.”
Autumn rested her head against Mel’s shoulder, and she hugged the young woman, feeling her pain so acutely. It was hard for her to breathe past her own fears.
“Mel?”
She frowned as she turned to see Tara, the club whore she’d had a bitch fight with. Mel hadn’t seen her since that night, but Tara looked a mess. The need to protect her unborn child, Autumn, and herself rose up within her.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. I loved Pea. I love him, and I want him to be happy. You make him happy, and I wanted to say so—”
A gunshot rang out, and Tara dropped to the ground. Before Mel could do anything, she and Autumn were grabbed. A hand was placed over her mouth.
“I suggest you don’t say a word or you’ll end up like that other bitch.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. Tara was dead, and her baby’s life was in danger, as was Autumn. Whatever happened, she had to do something to save them.
****
“Have you seen Mel?” Pea glanced around at the park, trying to find his woman. It had been a couple of hours since he’d last seen her, and he didn’t like it. She was close to her due date, and he wanted to make sure that she was taken care of.
“No,” Willy said.
He looked at Big Ricky. “Have you seen her?”
“No.”
Penny was laughing as Rage kissed her neck, holding her close. “Have you seen Mel?”
His sister-in-law stopped. “Yeah, she went to talk to Autumn. Why?”
“How long ago was that?” Pea saw Big Ricky tense up, and suddenly, all of the brothers were alert.
Seconds later there was a feminine scream, and every hair on Pea’s body stood on end. He rushed toward the sound, and as he rounded the corner, he saw Mel being forced into the back of the truck.
“Pea!” She screamed his name, and he charged forward. His brothers were there, and they were chasing after her along with him. The car was pulling out of the parking lot, and the door was open. There were men he didn’t fucking recognize. Pea kept on running, needing to get to her. His heart was pumping, and he kept on running.
“No!” He yelled as the truck pulled away, getting faster and faster. He was about to rush out into the middle of the road when someone grabbed hold of him. Saint was there, as were the rest of the club, and Big Ricky. He’d seen enough to know that Tara had been shot.
“Who the fuck was that?” Pea asked. Big Ricky had to have known who it was.
The look on the big guy’s face was clear. He knew, and that bastard had been after Autumn, and in doing so, they’d taken his woman.
“I don’t know.”
“Then you better fucking know!” Pea stormed up into Big Ricky’s face. He didn’t give a shit, but pulled out of Saint’s hold.
“Pea, we’ll get her back. This is not the answer.”
He whirled around and glared at his Prez. “If this was your woman, you wouldn’t stop, and that fucker would be dead on the ground, or at least getting you some answers.”
The sounds of sirens appeared in the distance, driving him fucking crazy.
“Get on the phone. Find out everything you’ve got,” Saint said. “We’re going to get her back.”
Big Ricky was on the phone to Lorenzo, and Pea was losing his fucking mind. The cops were there to get their statements, going through all the mundane shit. He was so fucking pissed off. Mel was there. She’d called to him, and he couldn’t get to her. He’d sworn to protect Mel at all costs, and right beneath his nose, she’d been taken. He was pissed off and ready to fucking murder someone. Big Ricky if the bastard didn’t get his answers.
Once all statements had been made, Pea headed toward the clubhouse where Saint ordered them all. It was bullshit. All he wanted to do was be hunting for Mel. She couldn’t get too far, but if he went off on his own, he could go in the wrong direction, and never find her. Parking his bike in the clubhouse parking lot, he entered the club and waited. He wasn’t handling this shit well. Something bad was happening, and it was up to him to find her.
The moment everyone was back at the clubhouse, and Big Ricky was there, Pea knew this was because of Autumn, and Mel was simply collateral damage.
“My boss was contacted with the details of two women. First, his daughter, and the second, a heavily pregnant woman.”
Penny sobbed, covering her face.
“What’s the plan?” Pea asked. “I don’t give a fuck if Mel means nothing to him. She’s mine, and she’s part of this club, and we will go and get her.”
“Lorenzo is handling it,” Big Ricky said.
Pea stepped up toward Big Ricky. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know.”
The first punch against the guy’s face gave him little satisfaction. He wanted to kill this fucker and bathe in his blood. When he kept on hitting Big Ricky, he was suddenly grabbed from behind, and pulled back. He fought them off, and glared at the bastard. “I told them all that you were a fucking danger here, and now my woman is at risk. You think I don’t know what she is to your fucking boss? She’s expendable. Mel means nothing to him, and if it means them killing her rather than Autumn, they’d do it.”
“Pea,” Saint said.
“I made a fucking vow to protect her. I promised her we were going to have a family.” He stared at Big Ricky, not caring that his club was seeing how broken he was. It had been a couple of hours that he turned his back on his woman, and she was gone. “I don’t give a fuck what your boss says. What do you know, because I’m not going to stop until I get my wife back.” He stared at Big Ricky. “You came to this town for our protection. Someone got through because you didn’t share. I’ll get my wife and Autumn back, one way or another. This will go a lot fucking faster if you tell me what you know.”
“You’ll have the entire club behind you,” Saint said. “We don’t have time to wait around for orders. They’ve got one of our own. You can either help us, or you get out of the way, and we hurt a lot of people to get our girl back.”
“Please, don’t make me beg. Don’t let me lose her.”
Big Ricky glanced down at his cell phone.
“She’s been taken to an old, abandoned building on the outskirts of the city. Lorenzo is on his way there to make it personal. He’s going to pretend to do a swap. You’ve got a couple of hours before he gets there. The men that took her know he’s on his way. If you arrive, they could kill both of them.” Big Ricky gave them the location, and Pea nodded, thankful.
“We’re heading out straight away,” Saint said.
Penny grabbed his arm as he walked past her. “You really do love her?”
He stared at his sister-in-law and smiled. “Of course I love her. She’s my fucking world. I’ll bring her back.”
The bastards who’d taken her were going to pay. No one touched his family, put them in danger, and got away with it. He’d set this right, and then Mel was never going out of his sight.
****
Mel groaned, but she couldn’t move much. They had her chained tightly to the wall. Her legs were outstretched, and her arms above her head. She was aching all over. Her head hurt from being hit, and as her blurry vision cleared, she saw Autumn was sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. She was crying as someone circled her.
“The Lorenzo family are monsters, and they thought they could get away with all the crap they’ve been doing. I didn’t like that. Your father really believed he could keep your existence a secret. He’s a fool.”
Mel didn’t recognize the man, who was covered in ink, but he also wore a business suit.
“I’ll give him props though. He’s clever. He thought hiding you away in this really shitty town would keep you safe. How could I resist taking Lorenzo’s precious gift? It was known that he had a love away from the family. You were it, and now I’m going to take that away from him as well.”
He ran the point of a blade down Autumn’s face, and Mel gasped. “What the fuck are you doing?”
They turned toward her.
She couldn’t let them hurt Autumn, or her. Every instinct in her was screaming to protect those around her.
“Well, well, well, the pregnant bitch. You know I’ve been told that you mean nothing, and I should just kill you, but you’re one of the MC bitches.”
“A pregnant MC bitch, I’ll have you know. I’m an old lady, and if you think you’ll get away with this, you’re fucking wrong. My man will gut you.”
He moved toward her, and she saw the scars on his face. There was no way she had seen this man before. His scars stood out, and he’d have been recognized around Sinners’ Corner, possibly even talked about.
She was in a dangerous place right now. How long had she been taken? Did Pea know she was gone?
“For a vulnerable woman, you’re very fucking stupid.”
Gritting her teeth, she glared at him. “Looking at a fucking idiot doesn’t scare me. You’ve got a poor girl tied up, and a pregnant woman chained. I mean, seriously, you’re clearly not that tough.”
She should have expected the blow to the mouth, but it still fucking stung. In the next instant, tape was pushed over her mouth.
“I’ll come to you soon, whore.”
The pain, the fear—this was not good for the baby.
Try and stay calm.
Pea will come.
He’ll come, and he’ll save us.
She had to believe that. There’s no way this was the end for her. There was no way that their journey ended like this. They had made plans for a big family, lots of love, and she wasn’t going to pass it up. She refused to.
Tears filled her eyes, and for the first time since her parents died, she prayed for help.
Come on, Pea. Come to me.
****
Pea entered the abandoned building ahead of the club. He’d ridden like a madman, hating that these bastards had already gotten a couple of hours ahead of him. Nothing was going to happen to his woman. Fucking nothing.
He ignored his club, intent on killing whoever had thought to touch her. There was no way he could think of her being hurt. It just couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t let himself think the worst. Pulling out his gun, he began running upstairs. Within minutes he heard his club brothers heading toward him.
Drawing his gun close, he entered a room, and saw Autumn tied to a chair and Mel chained to the wall. The sight of his woman made him drop his guard, and as he did her eyes widened. Something dropped down hard on his hands, making him release the gun.
He took a punch to the gut and face before he finally got his bearings. Everything went by way too fast, and he lost focus on Mel. All he knew was that he had to protect her at all costs.
Pushing his first attacker against the wall, he slammed the bastard’s head against the brick work.
Someone grabbed his hair and tugged him back. Pea was used to the pain, and punched behind him, which released his hair. Grabbing his gun from the floor, he pressed the muzzle against the fucker’s temple, and fired.
The other man was slumped on the floor, and his brothers entered the room with Big Ricky.
He went to Mel, taking the tape off her mouth, and then untying her wrists.
“I knew you’d come for me.”
“There’s no way I’d be able to rest until I got you home.” He took hold of her chin, and turned her face this way and that. “Who hurt you?”
“The one you left alive,” she said.
Tears filled her eyes, and he pressed a kiss to her lips.
“Tara died.”
“I know, baby. I know. We’ll bury her.”
“She was saying sorry, and they just shot her.” He pulled her into his arms, and her shaking body was just too much. Releasing her, he moved toward the man who’d dared touch her. Saint grabbed his arm.
“He’s for Lorenzo.”
Big Ricky held Autumn, and Mel was crying.
He nodded, and looked down at the man.
No, he couldn’t do it.
Breaking out of Saint’s hold, he grabbed the fucker, and before anyone could stop him, he smashed the bastard’s face against the brick wall, three times, killing him.
“They owe us,” Pea said, wiping his hands down his pants. “We’ve been hiding their girl for a long time, and they kept us in the dark. You really think I was going to let someone else take care of the bastard that hurt my woman?”
Saint didn’t say a word. Instead, he gave a nod of the head.
Pea looked toward Big Ricky. “You can handle this?”
“Yes, I’ll handle it.”
“Good.”
Pea went to Mel’s side, picking her up in his arms. “I’ll be taking a cab home.”
****
Saint had stayed with Big Ricky and with Autumn as they waited for Lorenzo to show.
Rage was waiting with their bikes. Saint was thankful that Mel was alive and nothing bad had happened to them. Within the last few hours he’d seen Pea in a completely different light, and he really didn’t know what to make of him. He could relate to Pea, especially when it came to his own woman.
All he wanted to do was be with Natasha and his little boy, George. His woman had named his kid, and he didn’t mind. Saint loved his son so damn much, and his woman. Life was complete, and so he could imagine what Pea was going through.
He’d back his men no matter what.
“Why is the MC here?” Lorenzo asked.
Saint watched as Ricardo Lorenzo and his entourage of soldiers entered the room. Then he saw the dead men and tutted.
“Your club is dead,” Ricardo said.
“No, it’s not.” Saint stared at the man that so many people were frightened of.
Ricardo looked toward Big Ricky. “You failed to keep her safe.”
“This was all my fault,” Autumn said.
No one spoke to her.
“This mess will be cleaned up, and I will deal with your tre—”
“Will you fucking look at me?” Autumn screeched the word, and Saint winced at the pain in her voice. Everyone turned toward her. There was a lot of shit going on between father and daughter. Something had been brewing there for a long time.
Her hands were clenched into fists, and tears were shining in her eyes. Blood ran down her cheek, but she glared at her father.
“You gave me to Ricky, and told him to take care of me. He did that. I went with Mel, and we both got taken. This mess was one man protecting his woman, and his unborn child. Surely you know what that feels like.”
Ricardo’s jaw clenched.
“Pea wasn’t going to leave anything for you. His old lady and your daughter have gotten close in the past few months,” Saint said. “It was only natural he’d kill the bastards that put his woman and kid in danger. He saved you a job. Also, if you think you’re going to take my club on, bring it. You put an innocent girl in my town because of my club. You used me and my club’s name to keep her safe. I suggest you call it tit for tat.”
“Fine!” Ricardo looked at Big Ricky. “I’ll deal with you, and you will move out of Sinners’ Corner immediately.”
“No!” Autumn said.
Saint wanted to see the show, so he leaned against the wall, and watched.
“Excuse me?”
“What did she ever see in you?” Autumn asked. “She was so good, and you’re … so evil.” He watched Ricardo pale. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I want Ricky to stay. He’s the only person I trust. He’s the only person she ever trusted. Will you go back on your final word to her?”
“Autumn…”
“Don’t. Don’t say my name like you care. She died alone and in pain because of you. The least you can do is give me what I want, and let me live my life in peace. I love Sinners’ Corner. I love the MC, and I love Ricky. Don’t make this about you and the Lorenzo name. It’s not me, and it’s not my name. If you loved my mom, then you won’t make this about yourself, or your name. For once, you’ll think of your daughter, or your mistress, my mother.”
Saint watched as emotions played across Ricardo’s face. There was so much pain there, but he hid it well. He gave in, and it was clear to see to Saint that it was hard for the man to do that. He was the mafia, but also, if he wanted to keep Autumn’s identity a secret, he really didn’t have a choice.
“Fine! Next time, I will take your head, Ricky.”
“Next time share details with the club, and this shit won’t happen,” Saint said. “We’re not your friend, nor are we your enemy, but we won’t let anything happen to your girl. You have my word, and the word of my club.”
****
When Pea got Mel home, he ran a bath, and within seconds he had her stripped down, naked, and in the water.
“I’m fine, Pea.”
He removed his own clothes and climbed into the water behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, he held his woman close. “I could have lost you tonight, and I can’t handle that, Mel. I can’t handle the thought of losing you for a fucking second. Just … let me have this.”
She sank against him, and submitted to his hold.
“You killed those men,” she said.
“I was going to leave the last one for Lorenzo, but then I saw the bruise on your face and knew I couldn’t let him live after that. I had to kill him.”
Mel didn’t let him go, and only when the water went cold did he release her. Pea ran them another bath, and this time they got cleaned.
Afterward, he held her in their bed, not even giving either of them a chance to dry.
“I love all this attention,” she said with a chuckle.
He held a little tighter. “I love you, Mel. I can’t handle the thought of not doing this. Not a day is going to go by that I don’t tell you how much.”
She rolled over, and he placed a hand on her stomach. Tears were in her eyes.
“I love you, too.”
“Nothing will ever tear us apart. I’m sorry about Tara, I really am, but it’s you I love, Mel. It will only ever be you.” He cupped her cheek, wiping away the tears. “I’m the luckiest fucking bastard alive.”
She laughed. “No, I’m the luckiest woman.”
“I didn’t think it was possible, but you tamed the fucking man-whore.”
“It sounds like a kinky story.”
“It is. It’s our story.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, knowing that he couldn’t be with anyone else. She was the only woman he was ever going to love.