Page 74 of Ravaged and Ruined
“Are you feeling okay?” I ask, brushing a hand over her belly. The baby kicks. My chest tightens. The little life we made is right there, stretching toward the world.
“Better now that you’re off your feet for two damn seconds,” she replies. “You’ve been pacing for hours.”
My laugh is low. “Feels strange. Being still.”
“You should try it sometime.”
I don’t tell her I’ve been sleeping with one eye open since the night we barely made it out of that warehouse.
Dog shifts, his big head leaning against her leg. She strokes between his ears, her fingers careful and slow.
I kneel beside her and press a kiss to the swell of her belly. “You still in there, Pulcino?” I whisper against her skin. “You gotyour mama’s fire and your old man’s temper. Gonna raise hell when you come out, huh?”
Lacey laughs, brushing her fingers through my hair. “They’re kicking like crazy. Maybe they’re just ready to meet you.”
“I’m ready to meet them, too.” My throat thickens. “I don’t deserve you.”
“No,” she agrees, lips curved in a smirk. “But I love you anyway.”
A laugh shakes loose from my chest. She means it. That’s the part that still knocks the wind out of me sometimes.
Footsteps scrape behind us. I glance up and spot Marianna, Padre’s niece. Just turned twenty-two, but she’s got the fire of a woman twice her age and the attitude to match. She’s weaving through the tables, clipboard in hand, half a smile on her lips, flush in her cheeks.
As she walks off, I glance around the casino, pride swelling again. But my good mood falters when I spot Grizzly on the other side of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The second our eyes meet, he looks away and heads for the door.
“Everything good?” I call after him.
He stops but doesn’t turn around.
“Yeah,” he says. “Just got something to handle.”
Then he’s gone.
I stare at the door for a long beat. It’s not the first time he’s made an exit like that. Quick. No explanation.
That itch in the back of my mind starts again. Grizzly’s been acting off for months now, like he’s hiding something. We’ve ridden side by side for a while now. I trust him with my life, but there’s something he’s not saying. He’s my VP, my second-in-command, and I need to trust him. But trust only goes so far.
I make a mental note to confront him soon, but for now, I push it aside. Tonight’s not the night for that.
As Lacey relaxes back into the cushions, I take another slow walk around the floor, making note of where the security feeds converge, where shadows fall too thick in the corners. Always thinking like a threat is looming. Can’t turn that part of me off.
Behind me, voices echo. Hashtag cussing about where the extra security cameras should go. Pike’s running cabling under the card pits, and Surge is checking the vault room with one of our new recruits. Padre’s been working with the city to make the books look clean enough for anyone poking too close.
I look back at Lacey. The way she holds her belly like it’s the center of her universe. The way her eyes soften every time they land on mine. She forgave me. I still don’t know how I earned it, but I’m never giving her another reason to doubt it.
I head up to the office overlooking the main floor. The view hits different from here. I can see everything. The card tables, the bar, the new slots waiting for final inspection. The future.
I stand like that for a while. My hands on the railing. My eyes on her. And even as peace settles in my chest, I can’t shake the flicker of concern lingering in the back of my mind.
This life isn’t easy. It’s never going to be. But this right here. Her, our kid, the club, it’s more than I ever thought I’d have.
And I’ll be damned if I ever let it slip through my fingers again.
Yeah… this is everything I need.
And if anyone ever comes to take it from me again. They’ll learn real quick just how far I’m willing to go.
