I took a step back, giving a nod.
“Yeah?” he questioned, warily.
“Yeah, fuck. Fine.” I held up my hands. “I’ll hear you out.”
“All right.” Shooting a glance over my shoulder at Natasha, he called, “Thanks, I’ve got it now. Head on back to the clubhouse. A prospect’s just outside waiting to give you a lift back there.”
She leaned into me and whispered, “I love you.” Then, with a chaste kiss to my cheek, she took off, heading outside. I watched her through the windows behind Mason as the prospect Mason had put on her helped her up into one of the club’s trucks. I breathed a sigh of relief when they took off, heading back to the safety of the clubhouse.
“You had her here to tame me, huh?” I questioned Mason. Well, it was less of a question and closer to a statement of fact. Anyone who knew about the two of us was familiar with the rumors, the sedative effect she had on me even in my worst rage-filled moments.
“She brings you peace.”
Damn. He was right on the money as usual. All-knowing bastard.
He shifted his weight uncomfortably. “I’m sorry I refused to see it, to see what she really is to you, what she does for you.”
“It’s all good now. Forget it.”
“It would’ve spared you a hell of a lot of pain.”
I shrugged. “What doesn’t kill you and all that, right?” Turning and beginning to pace the length of the shop floor, I uttered, “Speaking of that, if we don’t play this really carefully, you and me aren’t gonna make it back.”
“We know our shit. It’s far from our first fucking rodeo. We’re gonna be fine.” He dropped his gaze for a second as he said, “No matter what, even if the worst happens, you’re gonna make it. I swear it to you.”
I stopped short. “What? What the hell does that mean?”
He turned from me and walked to one of Luce's jewelry shelves, the ones housing the rings she’d made. He picked a couple of them up, lifting them, inspecting them, testing their weight. Distracting himself.
“Mason,” I pressed walking over to him. “Answer me.”
Avoiding my gaze in that skillful way of his, he said, “Your kid needs his father.”
I didn’t like where this was going. “And my sister needs you.”
With a heavy sigh, he turned to face me head-on, “We’ve gotta talk priorities here, Cole.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “We’re not trading lives here.”
“Even with me finding a way to keep Natasha out of it the risk is still high. As soon as Nik realizes he’s been had, he’s gonna lose it in a big way. What if he takes that out on you before we can take him down?”
“It won’t come to that. You’ve got my back. And, even though I’m pissed at him for the underhanded shit he tried to get Tasha to go through with, I know Slade does too. Tank. Van. Liam. The entire club. We’re a brotherhood for a reason. We protect our own.”
“That’s all great in a perfect world, but you and me know better than most that we’re real fucking far off from that.”
“Look, it needs to be done. Like you said, Slade isn’t gonna stop now. He’s going for it.”
“You should sit this one out.”
“What?”
“Stay back here, man our defenses, be with Natasha and Luce.”
“Then who’s gonna have your back?”
He shrugged. “The rest of the club.”
“It’s not the same and you know it. I’m the best and you’re gonna need the best going into this. You and me, we can read each other, shift gears and react in sync with just a look. Invaluable stuff when split seconds count when all hell breaks loose.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“Well, I’m not willing to let you.”
He stormed over to me, getting in my face, as he thundered, “You’re gonna be a father! There’s no way in hell I’m gonna let what happened to us during our childhoods happen to the next generation! That baby deserves more than what we had!”
“Luce and me lost both our parents and so did you. Even if this goes south, my kid will still have Tasha. And Luce, for that matter.” I grasped his arms, giving him a bit of a shake. “You’re overreacting and overthinking all of this. Jesus, Mason, you’re freaking the fuck out!” I frowned at him. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”
He pulled himself out of my grip and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just… the time for losing shit, all the pain… it’s over now. We’re not taking more of it. It’s our turn now. Our turn to be happy.”
“Okay, brother. I hear you, all right? It’s all gonna be okay. We’ve got this.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Slade should’ve buried Nik and the Strikers long ago.”
“Well, he didn’t have us before. We’ll do this. We’ll take every precaution, I swear it. We’ve just got to keep our heads in the game and forget the stakes, just focus on the mission and remaining levelheaded. That’s how we’re gonna succeed.”
I held out my hand to him.
With a little hesitation, he took it. “To ending this.”
As we shook firmly, I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, brother.”
21
~Natasha~
“A BABY GIRL,” Cole mused aloud as he snatched the keys out of the lockbox and joined me by the front door of the bungalow.
I turned to him. “You’ve been saying that since we left the clinic hours ago.” I giggled. “Are you okay?”
He opened the door and led me inside, his hand to the small of my back. Shutting it behind us and pocketing the keys for the time being, he told me, “It’s just… I know we’re having a baby.” He gestured at my growing baby bump. “I see it every day. But hearing the heartbeat today and seeing the visual on that monitor... it just made it more real, drove it home to me, I guess. And now knowing it’s a girl… it’s amazing.”
“Amazing, huh?” I teased.
“When I pictured
