Shield My Heart (Heaven Hill Book 9) (21 page)

Warning flashed in Calvert’s eyes. “This ain’t over yet, Liam.”

“Yeah it is.” He gestured to his two guys. “Let’s go.”

Dalton wasn’t sure if they had made things better or worse, but whatever it was, it was done.

*

As Dalton pulled up to a remote farmhouse in the country, he spotted Layne’s bike and the other man leaning against it. He flashed his headlight twice to let him know he was friend and not foe. Parking, he hopped off and walked over to the other man.

“Things quiet here?”

Layne nodded, giving Dalton a cigarette lit from the one he smoked. “Haven’t heard a peep all night. Kind of surprised to be honest with you, but thankful at the same time.”

Dalton took a deep inhale of the nicotine, letting it wash through his system and calm the nerves that had been on high alert for so long. He didn’t think for a minute that this was completely over, but he hoped at least they could live their lives somewhat peacefully in the meantime. “Is it good if I go get him?”

“Yeah.” Layne opened the palm of his hand. “Here’s the code, and if you guys are cool, I’m gonna head out. His truck is parked behind the barn, so he’s got a way home.”

Dalton clapped him on the back as he mentally took note of the code. “I thank you for what you’ve done. See you back at the clubhouse.”

Walking down the steps to the bunker, he opened the door and saw Samuel sitting inside.

“Things go okay?” he asked as he hopped up from his seat on an old couch. Dalton could see the anxiousness and fear in his eyes.

“Things are good. It’s taken care of.” Dalton gave his uncle a smile.

The older man sagged back against the arm of the couch, his whole body seeming to deflate as he took in the words. “I don’t know what to do with myself. I’ve been living life with my head turned, watching my back, for what feels like forever.”

“You enjoy it,” Dalton spoke softly, crossing his arms over his chest. “You figure out what it is that makes you happy and stop using gambling to fill that void in your life. All it brings is sadness and heartache. For all intents and purposes, you and Liam are going to be my child’s grandfathers. I need you both here. There’s gonna be times I fuck up and I need someone to talk to. The person I’m going to want to go to is the one who took me in when no one else wanted me. You’ve gotta realize how much you mean to us, Samuel. Stop putting yourself in shitty situations.”

His eyes glistened as he raised them to look at his nephew. He remembered with clarity the small kid who’d come to live with him. He’d been malnourished, and it had looked as if five baths wouldn’t get him clean; he’d been scared of anyone’s touch, and he’d shied away from talking. To see the man he’d grown into was a testament to one of the things he’d managed to do right in his life. For nothing more than to watch Dalton continue to grow, he’d do his best to keep on the straight and narrow and ask for help when things got too rough. He couldn’t ever put any of them back in this same situation again.

“I promise if I ever feel the need to gamble again, I’ll let you know. This is an addiction I have to kick, but it doesn’t mean I can’t have help doing it. I’m sorry, more sorry than I can tell you, that I put us all in this damn predicament.”

Dalton waved his hand. “It’s done and over with for the time being, but I want you to realize I won’t be so forgiving next time. I spent most of my life trying to look past what my parents did to me and forgiving them even when I didn’t want to. I won’t do it with you, no matter what I owe you. I’m asking you not to make me.”

“I won’t.” Samuel held his hand over his heart. “You have way more important things to worry about other than me now. I won’t make you chose, and I won’t make you put your family in danger. This has been a wakeup call for me. It’s one I should have had years ago, but better late than never, right?”

“Yeah, man.” Dalton couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped from his throat. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”

*

As soon as Dalton got back to the clubhouse with Samuel, Liam pulled Dalton and Mandy aside.

“Look, I’m not sure what Calvert has up his sleeve—if anything—but I’d feel better if the two of you stuck close to here for a while. Just in case he decides to test us.” Liam held up his hand when Dalton opened his mouth. “Not that I don’t think you can protect what’s yours,” he told Dalton. “But there’s safety in numbers, and I think all of us would breathe a sigh of relief if you stayed here.”

“No, I get it, and I think you’re right. We should stay here until we know for sure what’s going on. Probably be better for everyone involved.”

Liam leaned down, dropping a kiss on Mandy’s cheek, and clapped his hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “I expect you at work tomorrow. You got your place back.”

Dalton knew better than anyone just how lucky he was. With everything that had gone on, he’d been planning on talking to Liam about getting his place back, but obviously the older man had already thought about it. Liam could have easily decided he had no place in the club again, but he’d done him a solid. One of many he’d never forget.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

He turned before walking out of the clubhouse, leveling Dalton with a glare. It was one of warning, telling him not to fuck up again, because next time he wouldn’t be so polite or forgiving. “Make sure that you don’t.”

‡
Chapter Twenty-Eight

F
or six weeks, the club had been waiting to see if Calvert and his men would retaliate, but it had been quiet. Some would say too quiet, but for others it was a welcome reprieve.

“You ready for this?” Mandy asked as Dalton slid into the driver’s seat of her car.

They had been working on getting things back to normal between the two of them. It wasn’t perfect, and Mandy wasn’t sure it ever would be, but she loved him in a way she hadn’t before. Having almost lost him, it was a deeper, fuller kind of love. She knew some people would call her crazy, but she couldn’t help her feelings. He made her feel better about herself, and at the end of the day, she’d take that over the concept of a perfect love every time. They weren’t perfect, but they were perfect for each other.

He smiled over at her, his eyes tired, a couple days’ beard growth on his face. They’d taken to having very late nights now that her morning sickness had abated. “I haven’t been more ready for anything in my life,” he answered honestly.

“Me neither.” She leaned over and grabbed his hand in hers.

There had been times the last few weeks they’d argued and things hadn’t been easy. A few times she’d wanted to give up and let things go, but both of them had persevered.

“I’ve got this, Dalton. You’ve got to stop smothering me,” Mandy huffed as she grabbed the clothesbasket she was carrying out of his hands.

“It’s heavy, Mandy,” he forced out through clenched teeth. “You shouldn’t be liftin’ it.”

“I did that and more when I was by myself and you were finding yourself, Dalton.” She met his glare with one of her own. “I can take care of myself.”

“You can, but I’m here now.” He yanked the basket back out of her hands. “And letting me carry a goddamn laundry basket is the least of things I’m gonna be doing, baby doll.”

She trailed after him, muttering under her breath.

There had definitely been trials and tribulations. She had expected them, and they hadn’t been scared off from each other yet. Truthfully, the making up had been her favorite part of the fighting.

“I’m really sorry I lost my temper earlier with the clothes basket,” Dalton apologized as he came in their dorm room. He carried a single flower in his hand, giving it to her with a flourish.

Mandy sat in the chair opposite the bed, marathoning some show on Netflix. With a bored look, she paused the stream and gave him a look. “I can do things on my own, and you’ve got to start letting me. This isn’t going to work if you don’t.” She shot him a glare.

He laughed.

“This isn’t funny, Dalton. I’m pissed. You can’t come in her with your sexy-ass swagger and a panty-melting grin on your face and expect me to forgive you.

“I can’t?” He gave her one of those grins, dropping to his knees in front of her.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he moved closer, putting his hands on her thighs, spreading them apart. “No, you can’t.”

“Oh, I can.” He licked his lips, glancing up at her. Luckily for him, today she’d worn a dress.

He winked at her as he pushed the skirt up her thighs with his hands, making sure she didn’t clamp them shut. When he could see, he moaned deeply in his throat. “No panties, huh?”

She shook her head, gulping a breath of air as he moved his hands to the juncture of her thighs. There, he used his thumbs to separate the flesh, and then waited for her to answer. “None of them fit anymore. I’m gonna need some new pairs,” she breathed out.

“Nah, babe.” He leaned in, flicking his tongue against the moisture that gathered. “Maybe I like you like this, bare anytime I wanna spread you open and have my way with you.”

Her moan was caught in her throat as he did just what he’d said he was going to do. She grabbed hold of his neck, pressing his mouth more firmly into her flesh. Throwing her head back against the chair, she let the passion takeover her body.

“Dalton.” She gasped when he gave a particularly lethal lick to her skin and pressed herself even closer. “Please don’t stop,” she begged, taking one hand from his head and trailing it up her rounded stomach, stopping when it got to the swell of her breast. Pushing the neck of her dress down, she extricated her nipple, flicking it in the same motion as Dalton’s tongue flicked her clit.

Within moments she’d fallen apart against him, sagging in the aftermath of one of the most powerful orgasms she’d ever had.

“Forgive me?” he asked, wiping his chin along her thigh.

She giggled, putting her hands over a face red with embarrassment. She’d come undone in such a short amount of time. It should be illegal, the way he made her feel. “Yeah.” She bit her lip as she leaned forward, giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

He grasped her neck, chasing the kiss, giving her his tongue. In that moment she realized a hard truth.