Being here right now with Mae and Charon made me realize just how fucking desperate she must have been to have left. Then to have come back, knowing my old man would most likely kill her.
“I love him, River,” Mae whispered. “I love him so much already. I cannot stop staring at his face . . . he is a dream come true.”
As I lay with Mae and Charon, I thought of the fucking war we were in. The war that was building, getting ready to explode. And I knew, now I had this—them—I’d fucking fight harder than before. I’d protect my club harder than ever. And if any motherfucker tried to take them from me, I’d kill them. I’d cut them open and make them bleed until no blood was left.
No fucker was getting to my family. Nobody.
I smiled coldly when I thought of someone even fucking trying.
Chapter Ten
Adelita
“You’ll be fine,” Tanner reassured me and took hold of my hand. He pulled me to him on the bed. I went—I would always go—crawling onto his lap and wrapping my arms around his neck. As I stared into his blue eyes, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact we were here.
At night, when Tanner slept, I would lie awake in fear. Dread would course through me at a rapid pace. A suffocating weight would gather in my sternum, a dull persistent ache when I let myself succumb to the idea that scared me most—that this was all a foolish dream. That right now, Tanner and I were playing house. Locked up in his room like we were free from our pasts, free from the shackles that had held us back from running away when we first fell in love.
I would stare at the ceiling, the room pitch black due to being far away from the city lights. But even in the darkness, I would see my father’s face. I would see Diego’s. I would see their men mobilizing to bring me back. I had no idea if they suspected the Hangmen. But the fact that it was quiet—too quiet–didn’t fill me with hope. Instead, it filled me with such great terror that I touched Tanner whenever I could. Each kiss was given as though it would be our last. I savored his muscles under my hands. His hair through my fingers. And I cherished how this felt—to be with the one I loved.
My fiancé.
My heart.
Leaning in, I kissed Tanner, holding on to him tightly. Tanner kissed me back, then laughed against my lips. My chest warmed as his deep timbre rumbled through me. If we got through this mess, it would be my greatest task—to make this man laugh more.
“If you keep grinding your pussy against me like that we won’t be going nowhere, princess.”
Sighing, I pulled back and got off Tanner’s lap to look at myself in the mirror. I stared at the black jeans I wore, and the tank with the Hangmen emblem in the center. Beauty had brought me more clothes from her store. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I had to breathe deeply.
If my father saw me now . . . if he saw that emblem standing in pride of place on my chest . . .
I squeezed my eyes shut when I thought of that man. The man I had loved so much. Idolized. Worshipped . . . to have the illusion shattered by the haunted eyes and timid voice of a serially abused child.
“You ready?” Tanner moved behind me, his hands on my shoulders. He brushed my hair away from my neck and kissed my bare skin. His rough hands ran down my arms, only for his hand to link through my fingers. I couldn’t help but stare at the reflection of us both—Tanner in his dark jeans, boots, white tank and Hangmen cut. And me, his woman, matching him in dress but the complete opposite to him in looks.
To my eyes, I had never seen a couple look more compatible.
Tanner brought my hand to his mouth and laid a kiss on the back. “Come on.” I breathed deeply, trying to quell my nerves. The president, Styx, and his wife were coming to the clubhouse today with their new son. They had been home a few days, but the men had yet to see his new child. Tanner told me there was a celebration to be had in Charon’s honor. And I’d been allowed to attend. For many