Page 136 of Devil's Dilemma

Giggling as I have to run to keep up with her long strides, I ask, “What, Beth?”

“Him, there. What’s his name?”

I look around. There are three Devils propping up the bar. “Which one?”

“The one with no ink.”

Lizard’s there with full sleeves on both arms, Mace standing alongside, is also heavily tattooed. There can only be one man who fits the bill. “Ink.”

“That’s what I said,” she says indignantly. “The one with no ink.”

“Ink,” I say again, feeling my lips curve.

“Jeez. Have pregnancy hormones already gotten to you? What’s the man in the middle’s name?”

“Ink,” I laugh. “That’s his name.”

“Ink? But he’s got no tattoos.” She stares over my head as if to check.

“I rather think that’s the point,” I tell her drily.

But she’s already lost interest in his name. “Can you introduce me?”

This is what I feared might happen. “Are you sure you can handle a biker?”

“If you can, I can,” she winks, “and will you look at that.” I turn to see Ink, who’d been leaning against the bar, is now standing straight. Beth fans herself. “I do believe he might actually be taller than me.”

Well, she’s a grown woman, I sigh to myself. She can make up her own mind. For an answer I grab hold of her hand, and much in the same way as she’d done to me, drag her across the room.

“Hey, Mel,” Liz calls out as we approach, “are you going to introduce us?” His eyes roam over Beth appreciatively, taking more than a moment to reach from her head to her toes. With her height, there’s a long way to go.

I admit I’ve probably been around bikers too long as I never used to be this direct. “Sorry, Liz, it’s not you she’s interested in.”

Mace raises an expectant eyebrow.

“Or you.” I chuckle when he exaggeratingly puts his hand over his heart.

“Yeah, Ink. It’s you. Ink this is Beth, Beth this is Ink. The rest is up to you.”

Beth gasps, but now it’s me winking at her before I leave and go to find my own man, my husband and father of my child.

Chapter Forty-One

Pyro

I’ve been a married man for four months. Four months, which have brought me nothing but joy. A couple of weeks back Mel had her scan and we saw our daughter for the very first time.

I’ve watched over her as though she’s made of china, trying not to let anything upset her. Reassuring her how glad and fucking happy I am that she’s mine whenever she gets that lost look in her eyes, a look I’m overjoyed to be seeing less often as time passes.

We’d had good news a couple of weeks back. Her claim had been settled in full. The judge had reviewed the evidence and determined she had been dragged into something by an agent who hadn’t paid sufficient attention to her safety. If, as was expected at the time, she was walking into a dangerous club, he’d put an innocent civilian at risk. Her good character, as vouched for by so many people, had shown she’d had no previous criminal leanings. He awarded the amount that had been asked, and I’d applauded as she’d made an anonymous donation to a charity that Cad had investigated and said was trustworthy.

Now I’m free to concentrate on our life, my wife and child. A daughter. A little girl. I’ll still mourn the son I never saw born, but hell, I’m going to be a dad. I can’t fucking wait.

I watch Mel sleeping, there’s a small smile on her face as though she’s having a good dream. I hate to wake her, but I promised that I would.

“Mel, Mel, darlin’?”

“Huh?” She rolls over.

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