Page 73 of Gunner

“Papa. No” Diletta crosses to him and throws her arms around his neck. “I want you with me. I want you to enjoy your grandchildren. I’m not- I don’t… I don’t know. But one day, I want kids. I want them to have a happy life without having to look over my shoulder worried that someone you’ve angered will take it out on my family. Just because this is in your blood, doesn’t mean that it has to be your destiny for the rest of your life. You do have the power to choose.”

She’s pleading with her father and I’m standing here watching them, at least on the outside, my shrewd gaze missing nothing, a thug of all thugs, but inside, I’m melting the fuck down. This is too much for my sore brain. It’s too much for a fully functioning brain.

How can Diletta think about a future with a family and normal shit after today is beyond me. But the moment I heard her say those words, I knew that’s what I wanted to. I wanted it all.

By the time Diletta steps back and rejoins me, her father is already giving me foul looks and threatening me in English.

He goes through the whole list of what he’ll do to me if I ever hurt his daughter. I nod hard, because we’re in total agreement there.

“You’re goddamn lucky that she saved you,” Luciano seethes before snapping his fingers at his men. They circle around him, but not before he kisses Diletta on the cheek.

“Don’t stay away so long this time,” she implores. “Think about what I said. There’s always something more out there, even if you think you’ve already done everything. Plus, I miss you, Papa.”

“I miss you more than anything,” he responds in Italian, the look of longing on his face so intense that it nearly breaks me. I know what a gift he’s giving me and there’s no doubt that so does he. He switches back to English. “I’m choosing her happiness. I’m giving her what she wants because seeing her miserable would destroy me.”

“It would destroy me too. Everything I have is hers. My life. My future. Anything she ever asks for, there’s nothing on this earth that’s too great.”

Luciano gives me another fierce onceover. He’s used to men cowering at a simple glance. Seeing as I’m an outlaw biker and not some random civilian, it’s not going to happen. Gunner isn’t afraid and Ronan surely isn’t. I don’t break that hard gaze until Luciano finally whirls, rejoins his men, and setting off towards his private jet.

“I know I’m damn lucky you saved me,” I whisper under my breath, wrapping my arms around Diletta and dropping a kiss on her hair. Amazingly, she leans into me like I’m her safe place.

She waits until her father is on the plane, all his goons up there with him, and the door shut. I’m not sure about the rest of his soldiers, or where his ghost is. I don’t like being watched, but keeping Diletta safe is always going to be my first priority.

She lifts a hand and waves, then leads me back to the car. Before the roar of bikes fills the air, she brushes a kiss over my lips and peppers my cheek with a hot path until she reaches my ear. “I’m damn lucky that you saved me first.”

I turn into her touch, my voice low in her ear. “You didn’t tell him.”

“I might. In time. I didn’t, mostly because I didn’t have to. Whatever happened, you did it so convincingly that even he believed it was real. I believe that you’re safe here. You can take a breath.” Her hand grazes my chest and then settles right above my heart. “We can take one together.”

Epilogue

Diletta

Six Months Later

The clubhouse is well on its way to the usual Friday night rowdy debauchery. Lark and Penny head out with me before the real madness starts. The club’s women have yet to arrive and out of respect for the old ladies and children being there, the guys refrained from drinking and cussing too much. They smoked their cigarettes outside. The unofficial cut off time for family friendly anything is around ten, so Lark makes sure she has Penny ready to go before then, even though her daughter is quite reluctant to say goodbye to all the bikers. They dote on her a ridiculous amount. After she asked Bullet about guns for the millionth time, he built her one out of cardboard and elastic bands and showed her how to knock empty cans off the TV stand in the lounge.

That got everyone else going. Soon there were lessons on darts, pool, and promises that they’d all be the first to teach her how to ride and drive, even though that’s not going to be for almost a decade.

I remember the day the guys presented Penny with a leather vest just like her dad’s, with adorable patches like ‘Club Princess’ and ‘Daughter of Tyrant’sewn on the front, the club’s stone angel with her bowed head on the back. Penny was as excited on the outside as Ronan was on the inside when the club presented him with his new cut to replace the one that got wrecked that night in the rain.

Literally, the minute we step outside into the brisk fall night, we hear the music crank up a few decibels from inside.

“I’m so glad that the guys in this club are good guys. The smell of everything makes me so nauseous right now, but especially smoke. And it’s not good for Penny to be in there when the air is blue.”

“Mom’s having a baby,” Penny announces, grinning wide. “I’m going to be a big sister.”

“Yes, sweetheart. That’s so exciting!”

Lark bends to zip up Penny’s little leather jacket. She’s so adorable in it and her sparkly jeans and pink hiking boots. I thought of Lark as a boho queen in that shoe store and she’s still every bit of one. She hasn’t traded her long floral dresses in for denim and leather yet. Everyone knows that her heart belongs to the club. There’s no dress code required.

“Diletta is also having a baby,” Lark tells Penny. “Remember?”

“Right!” Penny rushes for me and wraps her arms around my waist. I’m almost six months pregnant and my bump has yet to really pop. She lays her cheek on my stomach. “Baby? Are you in there? Can you hear me?”

“She’s in there, sweetheart.” I bend down and kiss the top of her curls. “I just don’t have a big tummy yet, but I’m sure it’s coming.”

The baby had been unexpected, thanks to mine and Ronan’s one night of letting our hormones overtake our heads. With everything that happened afterward, my thoughts of Plan B went out the window, and by the time I remembered it was too late. As soon as I saw the lines on the test, I knew that I wantedthis baby. It was like the universe was giving me a new start. And Ronan too, I’d been worried about his reaction, but when I’d told him, he’d fallen to his knees and pressed kisses against my stomach. Our little girl was going to be so loved.

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