Released (Devil's Blaze MC #3)(58)

He reaches into his other pocket. I watch him and, almost as if everything is in slow motion, he goes down on one knee. I can’t stop the tears that fill my eyes. I don’t even try. When he looks up at me and shows me the most beautiful princess-cut diamond I’ve ever seen, I think my heart stops beating.

“Will you marry me, Beth?” he asks. “Will you have more children with me? Will you give yourself to me forever? I swear that if you do, I promise I will bust my ass to make sure you never regret it.”

All my dreams coming true in one moment… everything I’ve ever wanted, here within my grasp. When he holds my hand and slips the ring on my finger, I’m shaking my head up and down over and over.

“Yes! Yes! Oh, God, yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” I drop down to my knees and fall willingly into his arms.





“I can’t believe you got on your knees for me,” Beth says as we’re loading stuff back into the truck.

She’s got this silly grin on her face and her eyes are full of happiness. Mission one accomplished. From this moment on, I will bust my ass to make sure all Beth ever has are smiles. That’s my goal and my promise not only to her, but to myself. She has no idea the lengths I will go to just to make sure that all she feels is happiness from here on out, but she will.

“You can return the favor later,” I tell her, and I’m rewarded with a deep blush on her face.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Is this what normal feels like? Me, the woman I love, and my daughter. This right here is all I need. Fuck the rest of it. I’m buckling a sleeping Gabby in the car when I hear the squealing tires of another vehicle getting close. I secure Gabby quickly and look up just in time to see an old black truck come barreling up the road from the small picnic area we’re in. This is a private road and the only cars on it would be the ones the guards would allow in the club. When the driver spots us, they throw on their brakes. The car heaves at the abrupt change, the tail-end sliding a little in the gravel.

In the next second, I see Teena get out. She’s wearing a white dress that’s been ripped along the side, revealing her bra. Her face is bruised and there’s blood dried around her nose.

Someone has worked her over pretty good.

“Skull!” she hollers, running towards me.

“Fuck,” I hear Beth mutter. To be honest, I’m thinking the same thing.

“Skull!” Teena cries again, running until she plows into me. My arms go around her in reflex.

“Teena, what is going on?” I ask, very conscious of the way Beth is watching us. I don’t see jealousy in her eyes, but there’s a definite dislike of Teena evident in them, which admittedly I can understand, though I thought we’d put that behind us.

“He attacked… attacked me!” she cries, taking a deep breath between the broken words. A shudder goes through her body and I pull back to look at her. She’s been beaten. Not horribly, but someone’s definitely left signs on her.

“Who did this to you?”

“I don’t know! He was wearing a vest like yours, except it had… it had Chrome Saints on it. He was big and had blonde hair…”

Viper. Motherf*cker! Does he know of the attack his father and I are planning against Colin next week? Had my men slipped up on doing recon? Or was it the mole I have in the group? Who the f*ck is it? Briar? He, Torch, and Beast are the only ones who knew…

“Skull, he said to tell you that next, he’s coming after your daughter. He was crazy. He said you turned his father against him.”

“Viper? Did he say his name was Viper?”

“I don’t know! I was so scared!”

“It’s okay, querida. It’s okay. Where were you when he attacked? Do you know where he is now?”

“It was at the parking garage at the hospital. I was so scared, amante! He left me alone after I promised to come straight to you with his message, but…”

“But?” I prompt her, my mind going over the options in my mind. I can’t go back to my club first. Chances are, whoever the mole is will warn Viper we’re coming. He’ll never suspect me coming immediately on my own, and Torch and Beast will have the men follow me. That way, even with a mole, I’ll have more on my side. It’s my best chance.

“I followed them after they left. They’re at that strip joint on Old Mill road, the one that shut down last month.”

“How did you follow without them seeing you? Especially since you’re so distraught?” Beth asks.

I get that she’s jealous, and I wish I had time to work this out, but I don’t. The quicker I can hit Viper, the better. I don’t want to give them more time to prepare because I’m sure Viper will know I’m coming after him. The moment he brought my daughter into it, his fate was sealed.

I turn to her. “Beth?”

“Here, lover,” she says sweetly—way too sweetly. Shit.

“You get our daughter and Teena back to the club, make sure you are safe. I’m heading after Viper. This f*cking shit will end today.”

“Skull!” she protests. “You can’t just go! You’re probably walking into a trap!”

“She’s right, amante! You must be safe. I couldn’t take anything happening to you,” Teena adds in.