Captured (Devil's Blaze MC #1)(75)

“Let’s get the f*ck out of here.” I turn to Colin and Matthew. “I’m heading to Kentucky to start over. The crew that takes over here and mine, wherever we end up, are clear from you. Your shit does not enter into my territory, ever. If it does, your grandfather will know just what happened to his son.”

“We’re clear,” answers Matthew. “Redmond’s body will be loaded onto his private jet, which will crash into the Appalachian Mountains after having engine trouble. No one will know what took place here today.”

I walk off. I really can’t handle being in the same room with them anymore. I’m done.





Two Weeks Later

“Beth, mi cielo. I don’t want to leave you, but I can’t stay here. You’re everywhere. You’re in my bed, in my club… my dreams. Hell baby, I even feel you on my bike. I can’t breathe here. It’s too much. I want to join you. I feel like I’m dead already. I’ve thought about it, but something stops me each time. Hell if I know, querida. Something inside me says you don’t want that from me, so I’m going on. I know you wouldn’t want me to blame myself for your death, but I do. The guilt chokes me. Fuck. It’s because of me that all I could do was put another empty tombstone beside your sister’s. I’m sorry for that the most, querida. God, there’s so much I’m sorry for.” I sigh, looking over top of the tombstone. “I don’t want to be here. I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. I just couldn’t.”

I release a large breath, rub my hands together, then start again.

“I killed your father. I made a pact with Colin and Matthew. God, mi cielo, I hated doing that. I still feel like I let you down, but I’m f*cking tired. There’s been so much blood… your blood. It had to end. Without you, none of it matters anymore. None of it. Part of me wonders how you’d feel knowing I took your dad’s life. Did you even know Redmond was your dad? Were you keeping secrets from me? I can’t keep going like this. So… I’m leaving.” My hand goes to her locket, still hanging around my neck. I hold it and close my eyes. It’s almost as if I can feel her with me, like I can smell her. Jesus, I’m going insane. “I’ll always love you, mi cielo. Always.” With that, I rise, placing the daisies I brought on top of the tombstone, then walk away. I know I’ll see her tonight in my dreams.

I’ll never let her go. I can’t.





Almost Eight Months Later

“I can’t believe we’re standing outside the theater like a couple of thieves casing the joint. You said he loves you? You… love him, or you wouldn’t be carting your pregnant ass all this way. Why can’t you just go up to him?” Katie asks.

She doesn’t understand. I wish it was that simple.

“It’s been almost nine months, Katie. What if he’s moved on? He thought I was dead! I can’t just walk up to him and say, ‘Oh, hi. I’m not dead. Here I am and, by the way, I’m having your baby.’”

“Why not? It’s the truth.”

“You’re really starting to annoy me.”

“It’s a gift,” she says, and I regret saying it instantly.

“There they are,” I whisper, my voice trembling.

I turn to watch as Skull’s crew comes out of the theater. There’s Sabre and Latch, Torch, and quite a few new guys I’ve never seen before.

“Oh, he’s pretty,” says my sister. “I wouldn’t kick him out of my bed. Well, at least not until I was done with him.” I can tell she’s looking at Torch. She’s probably not even kidding. My sister is nothing like me. I envy her sometimes.

“That’s Torch. He’s kind of a player,” I warn her.

“He could play me like a deck of cards. Slam me down, flip me over and deal me all f*cking night,” she says. I can see her licking her lips.

The first one to really catch my eye is this huge man with a thick beard and so much hair that it’s hard to tell if there’s a face under it. “Beast. Oh, God… He’s okay.”

“Beast? Well, that’s a good name for him, that’s for sure,” Katie responds.

She makes me want to giggle, and how that’s possible when we’re doing this, I don’t know. If she hadn’t been by my side all this time, especially after we escaped our grandfather, I’m not sure what would have happened.

I stop thinking about all of that at once, because I see Skull coming out of the theater. He hasn’t changed much. He’s still so beautiful, he hurts my eyes. His hair is shorter… a lot shorter. I mourn it. I want to move my fingers in it like I used to. He’s lost weight too, though his muscles are still amazing, especially his arms. I want to take off running to him. Even being this heavily pregnant, I probably would.

Except for one small detail. He has a beautiful blonde standing beside him. She’s got angles and curves I could never hope to achieve. She’s laughing at him and you can tell she’s enjoying being with him. He’s got his hand on her back, just like he used to do with me. He has his club surrounding them, protecting her.

I know that’s it, without a doubt. My heart feels as if it’s being squeezed. Has he moved on already? I almost whimper at the pain that fills me with that thought. My hand goes to rub my stomach. I was so young and completely out of my element. What if what I thought was soul mates was nothing like that to Skull? It’s only been months. Could I have meant so little? Oh, God… What if I have this all wrong?