“Fuck, Nitro, I’m your fucking president. How the hell am I supposed to run a fucking club if I don’t know everything?”
I raised my hand in a defensive gesture. “It won’t happen again.”
King shoved his fingers through his hair while he scowled at us. Finally, he blew out a harsh breath. “Okay, I’m gonna take Jen home and get her sorted. Then I’m calling Church for tomorrow. And Nitro?” His eyes bored into mine. “Get ready to step up if I can’t find Hyde.”
* * *
King’s words played on my mind all afternoon and night. Tatum had picked up on my uneasiness and asked me a couple of times about it. I’d changed the subject each time and managed to divert her attention with sex. She was smart enough, though, to know something was going on. After she showered that night she came to me again.
“I don’t expect you to give up club business, but can you at least tell me if everything’s okay? Because it feels like it isn’t and I need to be prepared for shit, Nitro. I mean, I can suit up with the best of them. Maybe I can help you. Who knows? But I refuse to be the woman who scurries away to the corner and remains oblivious to problems.”
I sat on the couch and took in the sight of my woman standing before me offering to go to battle with me. And with the family I’d chosen for myself—my club. It was the most beautiful fucking sight I’d ever seen. Tatum was love and loyalty and family all rolled into one.
Standing, I went to her. “It fucking terrifies me, Vegas,” I murmured as I curled my hand around her neck.
She placed her hand on mine around her neck. “What terrifies you?”
“Losing you.”
“You’re not going to lose me.”
She had no idea of what was to come. She’d only witnessed the war we’d had with Silver Hell. The one we had planned for Gambarro would likely guarantee more death and destruction. It was the gamble we took when we joined Storm. We agreed to lay down our lives for our brothers if needed. And I would if I had to.
The thing I struggled with was inviting death into my home, into my blood family.
“Storm is about to go to war with Angelo Gambarro.”
Her eyes widened, but only for a moment. She tried to hide her emotions, but I saw them. And she was right to be scared. But still, my woman stayed strong for me. “When?”
“In two days. We’ve been planning it for months. It’s a huge operation and one that could put your life at risk.”
She took a moment and then she said, “Right, so you tell me what I have to do, and I’ll do it. Whatever you need. Even if that’s just being there for you at night to massage your tired muscles and love you enough to get you through the next day, I’m your girl. But if you need me to do more, you tell me that too.”
Fuck me, she was something else. I pulled her to me and kissed her as if it was our last kiss ever. We needed to take what we could from each other in case the unthinkable happened. When I ended the kiss, I said, “I love you, Tatum. You’re the woman I never thought existed. And you’re the woman I’m going to marry one day even if it takes me all my life to get that proposal right.”
She ran her hand gently down my face. “I love you more. And I’m pretty sure if you’d tacked a ‘will you marry me?’ onto the end of that, I would have said yes. Screw romance. All I need is your arms around me, and your heart beating next to mine and I’m a happy girl.”
“Will you marry me?” My breathing slowed while I waited for her answer. One word and she’d make me the happiest man alive.
She smiled up at me and ran her hand down from my face to my chest. Placing it over my heart, she said, “This is mine and always will be.” Standing on her toes, she kissed me and then she whispered the only word I wanted to hear. “Yes.”
It didn’t matter what life threw at me any more. With Tatum by my side, and my family in a happy place, I had everything I ever needed. She was wrong about romance, though. I was determined as fuck to crack that sucker and make her the happiest woman on earth.
THE END
Epilogue - Tatum
“If I Could Fly” by One Direction
I poured myself a rum and Coke and downed half of it straight away. Placing the glass on the kitchen counter, I took a deep breath.
I can do this.
I want to do this.
I trust him.
The front door opened and closed, and then Nitro’s boots thudded on the wood floor as he made his way to the kitchen where I waited for him.
He’d been at the clubhouse all day where I presumed they discussed their plan for the next day. I took in his body as he watched me. He was so tense. I didn’t blame him. The club had a lot to deal with.
His eyes dropped to the bottle of rum on the counter.
“You want me to make you a drink?” I asked.
He nodded. “Thanks. I’m just gonna take a shower.”
When I was alone again, I thought about everything we’d discussed the night before. I’d meant every word I said about being there for him however he needed. It was what you did for family. I’d been doing it for those I loved all my life, but this, with Nitro, felt different. He was the man I’d waited all my life to find, and I would lay my life down for him if he needed me to. I’d go to hell and back for him.
I took our drinks into the living room and curled up on the couch with my feet tucked under me. Sipping my rum slowly, I waited for Nitro to return.
“You good?”
I turned to find him standing next to the couch, freshly showered and dressed only in a pair of grey sweatpants. Water dripped from his messy, just-washed hair. His beard, which I loved, needed a trim, but as far as I was concerned, it was still hot as hell.
I nodded and patted the couch next to me. “Yeah. Come, sit.”
When he sat next to me, he ran his finger down my face and said, “You seem off, Vegas. What’s happening in this pretty mind?”
Before I could answer, something behind me caught his attention. And then he noticed everything I’d done to the house. “Fuck,” he murmured. “Did a rainbow explode in here?”
I wiggled so I could move closer to him. Crawling into his lap, I said, “Do you like it? Or do we need to get rid of some of it?”