Road from Ruin

Chapter Twenty Nine

DELTA

The simple things in life used to excite me. Finding a great new shirt on sale, seeing my mom smile at my dad, meeting the new puppies that came into the adoption centre and then watching them go home with their forever families.

But god was I wrong. Exciting to me will never again be finding the perfect cut of steak to cook for Dean, but will be feeling the wind in my hair as I ride on the back of Reds motorcycle. Exciting will be random romantic acts like surprise date nights or sexy lingerie. Unfortunately exciting  in this new life that I have fallen head first into can also be the man that I love coming home with a gunshot wound.

I have two things that I need to say out loud but have locked myself in the bathroom to avoid voicing them. One: I am in love with a man that isn't my husband, who just so happens to be laughing at me through a bathroom door. And two: the idea of living a life other than the one I am seems like an absolute tragedy.

Red and I have had an understanding from the second that we met. Our interactions would be temporary. I was running when he caught me. Attempting to hide from the terror of my life and create a secure home base before facing my personal problems. A large, tattooed, bearded man waltzed into my life and changed its course forever. Now I just need to figure out how, or if I even should tell him. I don't want to leave. He keeps using the phrase "start your life back up." Whenever things are bad or my feelings come to surface, he constantly reassures me that my life will get back on track. He will help me to get me on my way. But I don't want to leave. Just the thought of me being temporary in his mind brings tears to his eyes. I lean over the sink and stare at myself in the mirror for a moment. My blue eyes are always the brightest when I cry.

I hear Red talking to someone through the door so I wipe my eyes clean and attempt to pull myself together. Opening the door I hear him say "We're on our way, yeah she's comin." Before pulling the phone from his face and running his hand through his hair. His eyes meet mine for a moment and I instantly know something is wrong.

"What else could have happened? Didn't the absolute worst happen already today?" I ask playfully, trying to lighten the mood in the room. Unsuccessful it seems.

"Gotta go back to the bar babe, somethings come up. Would be better for you to hear it straight from the horses mouth, not mine okay?" He explains with a fire behind his eyes that I've yet to see.

What in the world could be worst than a gang literally shooting up your clubhouse and injuring multiple members? I'm starting to feel like I'm the bad luck charm Red never asked for. I must say everything I'm thinking with my face because he quickly stands and rushes towards me. Grabbing my face in his massive hands he says "We'll figure it out. We always have and always will." He presses a kiss to my forehead and starts packing up everything he needs to go back to the bar.

I stopped, stunned for a moment at his words. As much as we talk about me leaving we also talk about the fact that I'm his and he's mine. Maybe telling him I want to stay will be easier than I thought.

I follow behind him like second nature, mindlessly grabbing my belongings and getting on the back of his bike. It isn't until we pull into the parking lot that I realize he drove here with a god damned bullet wound.

"Is your arm not sore? You held onto both handle bars the entire way here." I point out as we both get off the bike.

"It's obviously sore angel, but were just down the road so I knew I could handle it. I would never put you in danger, don't you know that?" He asks seriously, grabbing my chin to ensure we maintain eye contact.

"Of course I know you would never put me in danger... I was concerned about you." I explain gently.

His eyes soften and he leans in for a gently kiss.

"Sweet. My angel is so sweet." He bluntly states. With no explanation of the strange encounter we just shared he turns and walks towards the bar, not without grabbing my hand and pulling me directly behind him.

Entering the bar is like walking into a new world. Dust still clings to the air, visible through the light streaming in from all of the open windows. Men and women are tossed around on various pieces of furniture talking quietly. The atmosphere is so unlike the regular vibe of the bar, I get shivers down my spine. Decker stands against the back door nursing a beer and a black eye. I shoot him a smile before turning to lead Red and I both towards him.

"Never looked better Darling." I say as I grab a warm beer from the bar and post up beside Decker.

"You should see the other guy." He says with his lips still attached to the bottle.

"You alright?" Red asks without looking at him.

"Livin'." Is all Decker replies.

Strangely enough that seems to be enough of an interaction for the both of them.

"Delta let me just say, you're one of us. You don't need to be an old lady to have our protection. No matter what happens. If you want in, if you want to be here with us, you are." Decker says, absolutely surprising me.

Before I can reply Red pulls me into his side as close as possible. He puts his lips to my ear just at their President walks into the bar.

"What he said angel. Whatever happens right now. You're in if you want in. Even if you don't. I'll protect you until I die." He whispers as he presses a kiss to my neck and turns his head to listen.

"So all, we got a name." Their president says to the entire room. Everyone is suddenly sitting  a lot straighter. "Seems the little problem we had here was a two birds one stone situation. The guys today were working as private contractors, a paid job." He explains gently, but every member in the room is already on their feet. There are only two people in the room that don't seem surprised, Decker and Red.

"Took the prospect we found bleeding out to the office and had a little chat. Sang like a canary." He explains with a gruesome smile. "Bringing the drugs onto our land was just an attempt to push some product they got from a private investor that they couldn't get rid of. They didn't give a flying fuck that we went in and shut down their warehouse and took out their men. They had a way bigger payout than some shitty drugs. Turns out today was way more personal than we thought, and it's a damn good thing we have the Cali guys here soon to have our back..." He continues before Red suddenly grabs my hair and jerks my face towards him. "Remember what I said." Is all he can say before I hear their president speak the last words I ever would have expected --

"... he's got in with a bad fuckin crew, he's desperate. Wanted to send a message, let us know he's taking back whats his. Dean Thompson is coming for his wife."