Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I lean over and press my lips to her forehead before quietly muttering, “you get what you give in this life. You gave me unconditional love in a way I can see it, feel it, and embrace it. You have taught me stability simply by being you. I’m in this, Maritza for the long game.”
I shift releasing her hand but guiding her to lay draped over me on the couch. Holding her in the quiet of night soothes the part of me that has been on edge for far too many years. In time we are both relaxed together and asleep.
Morning comes all too soon as we wake up and get going. With a quick kiss, she takes Hollis to school while I head out for a quick meeting before work.
The ride over I’m not nervous as I expected to be. However, sitting in his driveway right now, I can feel a knot in the pit of my stomach. After removing my helmet, I sit on my bike trying to think of the words to start the conversation. Apparently, I sit too long because the front door opens, and Ruby emerges locking eyes with me. He makes his way over as I climb off my bike.
“Karma, you alright brother?” He asks studying me, “Hollis? Maritza?”
“No problems, Ruby. Wanted to talk to you.”
He looks up to the sky like he is seeking some answer, “thought this shit would happen one day. Wasn’t ready for it ten years ago, not ready for it now.”
Oh fuck.
“Ruby, you know things have been chaotic to say the least. I’m not one to chit chat or drag something out.”
He laughs, “right now you are. Look man to man, the answer is no.”
I’m stunned. “Are you fuckin’ with me?”
He shakes his head.
“Ruby, I love her. I want to do this right by you and her. That’s why I’m here before taking things any further I wanted to talk to you.”
He reaches out putting a hand on my shoulder. His grip is firm but not painful. “She is my world, Karma. She made me a father first. Before Mariella, before RJ, there was Maritza. I watched her stretch her mother’s belly to come into this world a ball of energy. She has grown into a beautiful woman. She was a gift to me to be her father, and she’s a gift to the man she will marry.”
“I agree, she is a gift. There isn’t another woman like her.”
He squeezes my shoulder, “Karma, you reap what you sew. You’ve been in the club for years. You are a man I want at my back. You are loyal. And true to your name you deliver what goes around. You are the what comes around.”
“I want to give her a good life. Ruby, she is good and deserves the best, I want to give her that.”
He sighs, “you can’t.”
Anger builds, “why? Why am I not good enough for your daughter?”
“I never said you weren’t good enough. But you have baggage. Your problems almost got her killed.”
In an instant I see red, I turn grabbing his cut and bunching it in both hands. Face to face, I growl. “You think I don’t fuckin’ know that. But clue in, that shit ran deeper than just Anna. Having that moment where I didn’t know if I would have another moment with Maritza showed me exactly what I want in this life.” I shove him back releasing his cut, “her.”
He adjusts his cut shaking off my aggression. “Remember when you got those rockers?” he inquires, and I nod. “You said, this is everything. To have a family.”
“I did say that, and I meant it then and now. The Hellions are my family including you, brother.”
“You can’t wear the cut and have my daughter too.” He states firmly.
My world spins out of control. “Fuck you! How can you of all people stand here and tell me choose between love and family? The Hellions, we are fucking family. Maritza is part of that whether she’s with me or not. There is no way I’m giving her up but fuck you to threaten my cut over her. You got problems, brother, big ones. That shit is not how this shit works. I didn’t put in my time to earn these patches to have a pissing match over the woman I love and my club. Especially when she’s so engrained in this life, she lives it as hard as any of the brothers. So fuck you, Ruben Castillo.”
He keeps a stern face, “and what if I take it to the table? Call a sermon and Tripp asks, my daughter or your cut, who do you choose?”
I study him in complete shock that he would ask me this. “I choose both. This is her world; this is my world. She may not wear the cut, but she’s part of it. She may not have a place at the table, but she has a place with me, on my bike, and in everything I do. If you can’t handle that, take it to the table.”