"Hey, we've cleaned up. Time to get outta here. What are we doing with Daemon?" Razor called out, bringing me back to the problem at hand. Holding her by the elbow, I led Mia from where we'd stepped away back to the area where it all happened. Ryder stared at me, lifting a brow as he waited for my answer, too. This was a huge f.u.c.king problem. With the state Daemon was in, it would be unsafe to put him on the back of a bike.

"Leave him to rot," I said, my gaze raking over his bloodied body. It looked worse than what it really was. If I'd wanted to kill him, I could have a thousand times over. I could have turned his gun on him. But I wanted him to suffer, to lie there in the middle of nowhere and think about what he'd done. Betrayal was the worst sin amongst brothers. My father would probably hang him by his b.a.l.l.s.

Ryder's head jerked up in surprise. "You sure? I can put him on the back-"

"No. f.u.c.ker needs thinking time. Once we get to the other side, I'll make a few calls and someone will come get him. Until then, I want him to feel what it's like to be f.u.c.ked over by your own blood."

"What if the cops or Pedro's thugs get here first?" Razor asked, scratching his beard.

Hammer chipped in. "He's more likely to be bitten by something poisonous out here first. This place is crawling with dangerous venomous creatures. The Mexicans call the Coral Snake the twenty-minute snake, because after you've been bitten, you'll be dead within twenty minutes. There are killer wasps, army ants that destroy everything in their path, caterpillars that inject people with venom, and spiders-"

"f.u.c.k," Ryder exclaimed. "He's well and truly f.u.c.ked."

I shrugged. He had it coming to him. My mother was a big believer in karma, and Daemon had brought this on himself through his actions over the years.

"Good luck to our brother, either way. He's going to have to explain three dead bodies and gunpowder on his hands. And I don't think his Spanish is very good either."

"He's f.u.c.ked. He'll wish you'd finished him off," Ryder said. The man never failed to amaze me. As tough as he appeared on the outside, underneath Ryder had a heart of gold. Very few people got to see it, but I knew by the way he was grimacing that he was as torn about leaving Daemon as I was sure about it. In my book, it spoke volumes about the character of a man who would still be concerned for someone who'd treated him like s.h.i.t from the beginning.

"And if he makes it out of Mexico alive, he has Malone to deal with. I'm not sure who I'd choose if I were him. Our old man will have his f.u.c.king hide for what went down."

My old man was fair, but if anyone crossed him, they'd die regretting it. It wouldn't matter that it was his flesh and blood that had turned against the brothers. The punishment would be the same.

The sky was a canvas of hues of pink, orange and blue. Before long, the heat would punish us for being caught out there without water or fuel. Taking care not to leave fingerprints, we syphoned the gas out of Daemon's bike to fill ours.

We had thirty miles to go to shake the Mexican dust from our feet.

Thirty miles to freedom and a new beginning.

A new life was just starting for Mia and me.

Chapter 26 - Mia.

Swept off my feet by the man who promised me a new life, I stared into the mirror with a small smile on my lips, part of me elated that the fairy tale of my childhood dreams were becoming reality. Yet the sadness that tugged at my heart could not be ignored. Two of the most important people in my life were missing that day-two people who should be witnessing my new beginning.

My big day.

My and Cobra's big day.

The day I promise to be his forever and he promises to take care of me until our last breaths.

Allowing the sorrow to wash over me for a moment, my fingertips caressed the gold cross hanging around my neck and I brought it to my lips, silently sending the kiss back home to two extraordinary women who meant the world to me, yet I didn't know if I'd ever see them again.

It sucked that in order to find my happiness with Cobra I had to give up being part of their lives. Why was life so d.a.m.n cruel sometimes?

Cobra had sent a message once we'd crossed the border, getting the news to them that we were safe, making good on his promise. He'd arranged for Esme to get a new phone that was exclusively to stay in touch with me. Since it was too dangerous for Mama to have a phone too in case my father found it in her possession, Esme would visit her every time we'd communicated and show her the messages.

Taking a few deep breaths I made peace with myself, grat.i.tude filling my heart that I got through the ordeal of escaping the Don unscathed; alive mostly thanks to the Scorpio Stinger bikers and how they had one another's backs when faced with death and betrayal.

And because the Don was dead and the investigation surrounding his death was still underway, Esme and Mama were safe-for now. Cobra promised that if anything changed, he'd take care of their safety. I trusted him. He'd never let me down.

Esme had sent me snippets of news from back home, mostly about her family and the men in her life. She was still keeping in touch with Hammer. Maybe some time in the future there would be a chance for Esme to come and visit me in LA. My mother wouldn't ever make the journey. It would be too dangerous.

A knock on the door yanked me back to the moment. From the reflection in the mirror, I saw Ryder leaning against the doorjamb, his expression neutral.

"Hey, Aless . . . Mia. Just checking on you. Anything you need help with?"

I still felt awkward and shy around Ryder, he seemed a lot more serious about life in general than the rest of the boys. Cobra had filled me in on some of the things that had brought Ryder to the club, but he didn't elaborate too much, so Ryder was still very much a mystery to me.

Shaking my head, I chewed on my lip before remembering that I had just applied lipstick. c.r.a.p, I have to fix that . . . I can't walk down the aisle with messy lips.

"Sorry there aren't any b.i.t.c.h . . . er, women around to help you today. You get me though." A c.o.c.ky grin twisted his face. One day some woman was going to be very lucky when Ryder fell for her. He was tough on the outside but he had a gooey centre that I'd had the privilege of witnessing.

I swung to face Ryder. "I'm fine," I said with a shaky voice. I'm lying.

"Yeah? Then why did I see your eyes go all watery while you were staring into the mirror?" His arms folded across his chest and he lifted one eyebrow in question.

"How long had you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

"Ryder, um . . . I . . . while we have a moment alone, I just want to say thanks for what you did for me." I wasn't making much sense and the right words weren't coming to me to convey my grat.i.tude. "I know you did it for Cobra, but I owe you too."

With a few long strides Ryder closed the gap between us. "You have nothing to thank me for." His eyes softened as he took both my hands in his and met my gaze. "Cobra is a lucky man. Make him happy Mia. That's the thanks I want. He deserves it . . . and so do you."

Sucking in a long slow breath, I nodded because I didn't know what to say. Ryder being sweet to me completely undid me. It was the last thing I expected to come from his mouth.

"The start you and Cobra had was rough, and I'm sorry you had to witness betrayal in the club so soon. I guarantee you that behaviour isn't normal. Daemon went rogue-not that it surprised me. I never trusted the b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

I found my voice. "I couldn't believe what happened out there in the desert. Maybe I grew up too sheltered, but I've never experienced a brother turn against another like that. He looks so much like Cobra that when I first saw Daemon, I thought he'd be like him."

Ryder's mouth turned downward. "Daemon has a black heart. He's never accepted me into the club. He believes I want to take his place. Irony is I f.u.c.king don't." He shrugged. "Yeah, the Stingers are my family now, but I have a blood brother too, and I could never dream of wanting harm to come to Max."

For a moment I let my guard down and admitted my feelings to the biker.

"I miss my mama and Esme. I wish they were here today."

"I get that. I miss Max too, he's on the other side of the continent in New York, carving out a good life for himself." He hesitated for a moment, then smiled at me. "Tell you what-why don't we 'officially' adopt one another since we both got no blood family here? I've always wanted a sister."

Rubbing at the ache in my chest, I swallowed back the tears burning behind my lids. "I'd like that," I said, standing on tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, hands off my woman, Ryder," Cobra's voice boomed. "Kissing my bride before I get a chance is sneaky brother." He laughed as he came into the room and snaked an arm around my waist to pull me into his embrace.

Ryder's eyebrows shot up in alarm. "Dude, you're not supposed to be here, man. That's bad luck. Don't you know that s.h.i.t?"

Cobra laughed out even louder. "What? Are you crazy, brother, thinking I can go so many hours without a kiss? Not possible." His gaze swung from Ryder to me. "You ready, baby, for the beginning of our life together? Because I sure as f.u.c.k can't wait."

Ryder rolled his eyes. "f.u.c.k me, now I've seen everything. How the f.u.c.k did you get so c.u.n.t-struck, my friend? I'd never believe it if I didn't see it with my own f.u.c.king eyes."

Cobra jabbed Ryder in the ribs. "You just wait, big mouth. Out there somewhere is a woman just waiting to crush them b.a.l.l.s of yours-and I can't wait for the day to see you p.u.s.s.y whipped."

"Me? No f.u.c.king way. Ain't ever going to happen, dude." Ryder patted Cobra on the back. "One of us with a lobotomy is enough. I still wanna think with my top head."

Cobra chuckled. It was so d.a.m.n good to see both men in such high spirits after everything we'd been through. It seemed to just have made the bond between them stronger. "Oh how hard you're gonna fall, brother. I bet your b.i.t.c.h is going to have you eating out of her hand."

This was fun watching the two of them word-sparring. It would have to be a special kind of woman to change Ryder's mind, yet I had a feeling when he fell for someone, it would be with his whole heart.

"No woman will ever sneak into my heart. I'm never going to allow that s.h.i.t to happen. Not that I'm saying I'm not happy for the two of you . . . just that I'm too f.u.c.ked in the head to ever fall for anyone."

Cobra turned to me, his gaze soft as he spoke. "You will. I never planned on getting hitched either. But I am . . . because I want to. With Pedro six foot under, the urgency to get married is no longer there, but I can't imagine my life without Mia in it, so that's why we're doing this today."

He pulled me closer and brushed his lips over mine. His hand cupped my a.s.s and squeezed, sending bolts of pleasure to my p.u.s.s.y.

I closed my eyes and savored his touch. Today I was finally getting rid of my d.a.m.n virginity. About time.

I couldn't believe my ears once we had crossed the border and made it safely to the compound and Cobra told me he'd changed his mind about claiming me and decided to wait until I'd turned eighteen and he married me.

Not wanting to wait and using all my wiles, I'd tried to seduce him several times in the last three weeks, but he always resisted, telling me how special it was going to be on our wedding night.

"Good thing you'll be married soon. Think you can wait till after the ceremony?" Ryder said as he walked toward the door. "Come, let's give Mia time to dress. Everyone is waiting."

Cobra ran his hand under the robe I'd slipped over my new underwear. His palm caressed over my ribs and up to my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He squeezed the ample handful and I felt his c.o.c.k harden against me.

"f.u.c.k, I can't wait to finally get inside you," he groaned.

"Me too," I whimpered, desperate for him, craving more than the kisses and heavy petting I'd come to love. My hand drifted to his erection, stroking him through his jeans.

"Christ Cobra, you're gonna look real funny walking up the aisle with three legs. Let's go man." Ryder was right. I suppressed a giggle at the image in my mind.

His lips seared mine, showing me he meant every word. I'm going to need new lipstick.

Cobra let go of my lips and with a hoa.r.s.e voice, he said, "See you soon, baby."

Chapter 27 - Cobra.

While I'd believed that Mia couldn't possibly be more beautiful the time I'd seen her again before we'd escaped, I knew it wasn't true.

Watching her walk toward me down the makeshift aisle on the white beach sand, the sight of her made me breathless. I never expected to feel so much love and to find it multiplying every day that pa.s.sed.

I grinned as she smiled shyly at me, wanting to burst with happiness. Mia's arm tucked into Ryder's as he walked proudly beside her and brought her to where I stood.

The simple white dress she wore hugged her perfect body, bringing a smile to my face as I remembered Ryder's comment about three legs. Yeah, I was hard just looking at her.

Her face framed with her dark hair, blowing softly in the ocean breeze, Mia wore a pretty crown of tiny white flowers on her head and she carried a bunch of pink roses in her hands.

I wasn't surprised that Mia wasn't wearing shoes. She wasn't wearing makeup either, just the natural glow of a happy woman.

We kept our vows simple. I stared into her chocolate eyes, speaking from my heart. "Mia, I love you more today than yesterday. And I'll love you even more tomorrow. Forever, baby."

Her eyes glistened as she said her words to me. "You, Cobra Malone, are what I've always wanted. You saved me in more ways than one. I will always cherish our love and our family."

I kissed the s.h.i.t out of her while everyone clapped and hooted.

I whispered into her ear, "Tonight, my wife, I'm going to make love to you, claim you as mine and then, baby, I'm going to f.u.c.k you."

She gasped. "Yeah. Finally."

I laughed, then kissed her again, never getting enough of her lips. "It's going to be difficult to be polite and not leave before the party is over. My c.o.c.k wants your p.u.s.s.y."

"f.u.c.k polite. f.u.c.k me instead." Christ, how was I going to keep it in my pants when she spoke dirty like that back to me?

After the sun set, the sky still painted with ribbons of pink and orange and blue, we went back to the club house to celebrate. It warmed my heart when I saw how much effort the boys had made to hang balloons and s.h.i.t to decorate the place. Ox made his famous barbeque and Hammer had hired a band to provide music to dance too.

Just as I finished my speech, I couldn't contain myself any longer. I took three long strides to where Mia sat and before she knew what was happening, I lifted her into my arms.

"Brothers, ladies, please enjoy the rest of the party. I have serious business to take care of. It can't wait a minute longer. We gotta go."

Everyone stood and clapped as I carried a blushing Mia to my motorcycle. I got on and patted the seat behind me. She pulled her long dress up and got on behind me, shifting forward so that she was flush against my body.

"Jesus. f.u.c.k, you want me to come right here?" I asked as she kissed my neck while her arms gripped tightly around my waist.

"Save it for the bedroom. For when you f.u.c.k me for the first time."

f.u.c.k. My c.o.c.k throbbed against my tight pants.

Razor had opened the gate, and he saluted us as we rode out.

"Happy f.u.c.king," he yelled as the bike roared down the road.

I'd booked a hotel room not far from there, but even the twelve minutes it took to reach our destination was too long.