Savage Love (Back Down Devil MC #7)(30)

Miller had been telling the truth. He had slept there.

“Oh, Miller,” Ella whispered.

“M…m…” Beck said.

Ella walked down the hall. Her eyes were laser focused, wanting to find Miller. Just to make sure he was okay. And maybe to find out where he was. Oh, and to talk about the mind blowing sex. Because that could never happen again. They had to set boundaries. Things could go back. It just wasn’t the same right now.

Slowly creeping toward the bar, Ella poked her head around. There was a handful of people sitting around the large open area.

A young guy behind the bar saw her. He threw a towel over his shoulder. “Morning. Let me get you something to eat and drink. Coffee? OJ?”

“Coffee, please.”

“Food?”

“Not yet. I think.”

“Okay,” the guy said with a smile. His leather cut was completely blank. That meant one thing. Prospect. “What about the baby there? What does he take? A shot of whiskey in the morning?”

Ella laughed. “Maybe a week ago when he was teething. But right now, he’s okay. Thank you.”

“Sure thing, ma’am.”

“You don’t have to call…”

The prospect disappeared.

He returned with a coffee for Ella. He then put the towel in front of his face and dropped it, making a face at Beck. The first two times, Beck wasn’t sure what to do. But the third time the humor set in and Beck smiled big.

“Ah, he’s cute as hell.”

“Thank you.”

“Okay, leave her alone. She’s got a kid already. And you don’t even have a patch.”

Ella saw two women approach the bar and sit down.

Oh, no. Fuck no. Not club whores…

“Don’t mind us,” one said.

“I love babies,” the other said.

The first put a hand out to touch Beck and Ella pulled away. “I’m… sorry…”

“Don’t be. You don’t know where I’ve been.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, without sounding rude…”

“I’m Emily,” she said. “I’m with Gaige. It’s okay, I promise. I wouldn’t let any reliever come within ten feet of my baby.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I should have known.”

“And I’m Mia,” the other woman said. “I’m with Nate. I’m kind of new to all this.”

“I’ve been around long enough,” Emily said. “It’s all background noise to me.”

Ella smiled.

You both have no idea how long I’ve been around this.

“This is Beck,” Ella said.

“Oh, what a perfect name,” Emily said. “Look at him.”

Beck smiled, loving the women and loving the attention.

“I’m not into the whole kid thing,” Mia said. “I love babies because they’re just innocent and cute. Do you need anything? I mean, we know you kind of came here last night. Is there anything we can get you?”

“No,” Ella said. “I think I’m okay. I have everything. Or at least everything I could grab at the last second.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “For whatever happened. Especially with a baby.”

Ella nodded. It was almost refreshing to have other women near her. And they were part of the club. They were able to deal with everything that happened. All the violence and bad stuff. Maybe, even for a second, it gave Ella a sense of hope.

Casually, she looked around the clubhouse and then asked, “Do you know where Miller is?”

“No,” Mia said. “We try to stay out of the club stuff if we can.”

“It’s easier to just go with the flow of everything,” Emily added.

“I see that,” Ella said.

She finished her coffee and ate a small breakfast. Talking with Emily and Mia was beyond refreshing by then; it was comforting. They were real, honest, and they understood everything Ella felt. Even still, they didn’t realize Ella had a history with Back Down Devil MC that went far and deep.

The clubhouse started to come to life a little as Ella ate. More guys appeared, most of them looking for a glass of water, some pain meds, some of them going straight back to where they left off, ordering a beer or even a shot of booze. They all seemed to have something to do though. That was always something that fascinated Ella about the MC life - they partied so hard but they woke up with a purpose and a plan. They all knew that it wasn’t just an image to look cool and sexy with a motorcycle and a leather cut. All their lives were at stake, all the time, no matter what.

Ella couldn’t help but watch all the guys come and go. And she would have stayed right there at the bar until Miller came back if it wasn’t for Beck starting to punch and whine.

“It’s okay,” Ella said and bounced Beck on her lap.

“I’ll hold him,” Emily offered, “if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, sure,” Ella said.

Emily took Beck and sat him on the bar. “Look at those eyes. They can say whatever they want about blue eyes, but these brown eyes are going to break a lot of hearts.”

Beck let out a goo sound and waved his hands.

“See?” Emily said. “He knows already.”