Page 45 of Naughty Santa Daddy

He doesn’t get to finish because she smacks him upside his head. “Somewhere you will never be again. My best-paying regular was in the audience just now. We have a holiday special—”

Studying me, Miller interrupts her, “Hey, I’ll pay you five hundred for two minutes of your time. Can you sew or not?”

Guess that answers my question about having club girls sewing patches on. Looks like it was strippers.

Hearing the crunch of the changing season’s browning grass under thirteen pairs of heavy leather biker boots, and one pair of cowboy boots, my upper body rounds with tensing muscles. Like a boxer eager to step into a ring, my hands slowly open and close, preparing to break bones. The brothers are all shoulder to shoulder, ready to watch, while at the same time praying for a chance to inflict pain themselves.

This isn’t just about Alex. Wash, Dawg, and Rabbit are all a part of us being shot at. They’ve killed innocents at the hospital located on our turf. They’ve stabbed the club in the back, and if you stab one of us, you stab us all. The brothers are furious, as am I.

While prospects and other members watch over our club, the officers are ready to interrogate one of these stupid fucks we’ve caught. “Uh,” I interrupt the silence, noticing the clubhousegetting farther away behind us. I ask, “Where are we going again?”

Miller watches me while JD explains, “To keep the club party-goers from snoopin’, we have a specific place for certainactivitiesnow.”

As if I’m suddenly the Devil’s spawn, I smile, rubbing my hands together in glee. I’m finally going to get my interrogation time. “No worry of blood splatter.”

“Or screams,” Drake casually adds.

We reach the door of a freestanding block building and wait as Miller pats his pockets, searching for keys. “I know I had them here somewhere.”

Veins bulge from my neck as my anger continues to build, festering to rage at this point. They’d be feral too if someone kidnapped their woman, tried to rape her, and kill her. Toss in the fact she’s pregnant and mine, well, this Christmas, Santa is getting bloody so these fucks never touch her ever again. “Millerrr—”

He holds them up. “I’m just kidding.”

I don’t understand why is—Then it dawns on me. I was a distance from the club before realizing I didn’t even know where I was going. “Okay.” Scratching my beard more in annoyance than a true itch, I admit, “I now understand your joking around, taking the time to put the patch on my leather.” I exhale, thinking of my Alex. “I promise to stay in control.”

Miller nods with approval. “There he is.” Then he unlocks and opens the door before flicking on the fluorescent lighting hanging from the ceiling. With the bright light, I notice a barren block room with, well, a bunch of sketchy shed tools hanging on the walls. To any norm, it’s a good cover for this building’s true purpose. To a criminal eye, however, there are noticeably suspicious stains on the ‘gardening’ tools, and thelarge stainless-steel sink and concrete floor are the pristine kind of bleach clean.

I’d take time to notice more—like no windows being present—but a movement in the far-right corner has me homed in like a snake to a rat.

In this case, it’s aDawg.

Without hesitation, my feet swoosh to the right, then to the left before propelling me into the air. As I come down, my right fist crashes into Dawg’s face. He doesn’t stand a chance against the force and drops back down to the hard concrete with a thud.

Drake teases, “Gramps, you’re off to a rough start with self-control.”

The adrenaline rushing through my veins has me breathing hard. I hold my arms out in question, “Did I break his jaw?” I doubt it. I actuallywasholding back. All the movement before my strike was to give my cravings something else to focus on.

My pointy finger grazes the tools-of-my-kind-of-pleasure, as I tell Dawg, “Many men would hate to be you right now. You fucked with my brothers.” I pause on a rusty blade, grabbing it, then face the man who is starting to shake. In a whisper that is darker than most, I add, “And you laid a finger on what’smine.”

Chapter 16

Nikki Landis

Nikki Landis

Alessandra (Alex)

The dining room is warm and inviting as I take my seat, and the aroma of my favorite pasta and vodka sauce is mixed with cinnamon, pumpkin, and vanilla. It’s a clash of two different cultures and two fierce women—a melding of my old life with the new.

Everyone I love is seated around the table as Granny and Mamá place heaping dishes of food in the center. Well, minusone. Braxton, my fierce, protective Goliath, isn’t by my side. Heshouldbe. This dinner is meant for us. For our new combined family.

Famiglia…Mine. His. Ours. The one we were forming with the tiny life growing inside my womb.

Instinctively, I move my hand to my lower belly as if I can feel the flutter of movement. It’s too soon, but I can imagine how I’ll begin to show a few months down the road. Maybe it’s just my yearning for something I never knew I wanted until now, but I can almost feel my child kicking and the tiny beats of his heart. I hope I give Braxton a son. That’s my secret Christmas wish.

This baby is everything. Every reason I need to cement the choice I already made hours ago. All the will to overcome my fears and fight alongside my child’s father. The strength I feel in my muscles and bones to stand against my enemies.

I. Will. Not. Back. Down.

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