Fallen Angels MC, 4
Smokey thought he lost Tania the day she walked down the aisle to marry another man. Months later, he nearly runs her over with a shopping cart—bruised, terrified, and clutching a baby that has his eyes.
One look is all it takes. Tania isn’t just escaping her abusive, well-connected husband. She’s been used as a walking payday, her hidden inheritance funding everyone but her.
The Fallen Angels can handle dirty money and dirty enemies. But as custody battles, court games, and old scars close in, Smokey has one goal: protect the woman he’s always loved and the son he never knew he had … even if it means burning his world down.
Excerpt:
Tania got out of the truck and went inside the clubhouse. She didn’t know who was in the common room, if anyone. She didn’t know if anyone spoke to her, she could only think of getting upstairs to the room. The room she only had because of Smokey. The safety she only had because of him.
Because her family had stolen from her. And they’d been planning it for God knew how long.
As she made her way up the stairs and down the hall, she couldn’t help but remember her childhood, when she’d spent more time with the Hamiltons than with her own parents. When on the occasions her parents had hosted an event with the Hamiltons, she’d always gotten lectured on her behavior later. Now that she thought back on it, she realized she’d always been able to relax around Smokey’s parents, to be herself around them when she couldn’t even be herself around her own family. There was always some part of her she had to hide or change in order to fit in.
She let herself into the apartment she shared with Smokey and their son and stared at the playpen. She couldn’t imagine stealing from her child, much less planning to do it. That’s when all of it hit her. Her parents had presented her with Rod. They’d urged her to see him. When he’d proposed after only a couple of weeks, she’d thought it was too soon.
But then she’d discovered she was pregnant. She’d been in a panic. She knew something had happened with Carter. She didn’t remember exactly what but she had enough flashes of memory to know it could be his. But that had been just once. She’d been with Rod more than that. Odds were the baby was his. She’d considered going to him, telling him what was going on, but knew that if anyone in town found out, they would talk about her.
In her parent’s opinion, there was little worse that could happen than to have the people in town talking about you. She didn’t want to think about what the mysterious ‘they’ her parents had always warned her about would say about her leaving Rod to move in with Smokey. Or at least she thought he wanted her to stay. Maybe all he wanted was his son.
But he had called her his woman, surely that didn’t mean he was only looking for another fling.
She was so confused.
Unsure what to do, she pushed through the door into the bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she toed off her shoes before scooting up and lying down. She curled up into a ball and gave in to the tears she’s been fighting since Smokey had told her about the money and that her parents, along with her husband and in-laws, were conspiring to steal from her and from Carter.
Who would do that to someone they supposedly love?
Tania didn’t know how long she lay there, but she was still sobbing when she heard the creak of the door. She should get up. She shouldn’t let Carter see her this way.
Before she could summon the will to get up, or to stop crying, she was rocked backwards as someone climbed onto the bed behind her. Warmth curled against her back as an arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. The familiar scent of gasoline, oil and soap, mixed with a touch of baby powder told her it was Smokey.
“Let it out, sweetheart, I got you.” He didn’t try to stop her crying. He didn’t give her false promises by telling her it would all be okay. It wouldn’t be, at least not for a long time, and she knew it. But with Smokey at her back, she thought she could handle it. Whatever came their way.
Chapter Twenty-Five
At a loss for what else to do, Smokey held Tania while she cried. He knew she needed to get it out before she could look at things and start to move on. He much rather when she had some crazy blow up about something stupid. Anger he could handle, her tears tore him up.
As he held her, he couldn’t help but wonder if Taylynn had seen her make her way through the common room and had known this was coming. Was this why she’d taken Carter almost as soon as he’d come in.
“W-Where’s Carter?” Tania hiccupped.
“With Taylynn. She snagged him as soon as I came in with him. Said she needed to practice. I was worried about you, so I didn’t question it. Did she say something to you?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.” She was quiet for a moment. “I was so lost in my head I don’t know who was in the common room or if they said anything to me.”
“Feeling better?”
“Kinda. It doesn’t hurt anymore, or at least not as bad. I’m kind of numb now.” She rolled over to face him. “Is this how it’s supposed to feel?”
“I don’t know, baby. I think we all feel a little different, and all we can do is deal with it as it comes. I’m pretty sure that even if it’s stopped hurting now, it will hurt again, maybe as much as today, maybe not. But I can tell you one thing for sure.”
“What?”
“I’ll be there for you, no matter what. If it hurts, I’ll hold you while you cry. If it makes you angry, I’ll take the hits until you can handle it. Whatever you need, Shell. I’ll be here for you. Not just for you either. You. Carter. Any other kids we may have. I want it all, baby.” He held his breath as he waited to see what she would say.
She stared at him. As if she wasn’t sure what to say.
“I know you’re probably not ready. We’ll get there. First though, is the divorce. Let’s go talk to Hawkeye, see what he can tell us. We might need to call in Dagger or maybe call Fletch to get him to decode all the legalese, but we’ll figure it out. First thing is the divorce, assuming you want to continue with that.” His last words lilted at the end, asking her if she really wanted a divorce.
“I do. I can’t stay with him. If I’d known about the money, I would have left months ago. But I thought I was stuck.”
Smokey tightened his hold on her.
“I know things are up in the air and scary right now. You’re just getting out of an abusive relationship and people will tell you that you need time to breathe, to find yourself again. I’ll try to give you all the space I can, Shell, but there’s so much to consider here baby.” He spoke into her hair, hoping she wouldn’t interrupt or argue. He needed to get this out and didn’t know if he could if she stopped him before he had his say. It hadn’t escaped him that she didn’t say anything when he’d told her he wanted her, he wanted more kids, that he wanted it all, and he didn’t know if it was too much too soon or if she was just afraid to tell him no, at least until they had the current threat taken care of. “I just want to keep you safe. Both of you. I don’t want to control you, Shell. I never have. I love your spirit, I love everything about you and I always have.” He fought the urge to hold on to her, to never let her out of his arms. Instead he kept his hold snug but not restrictive. He wanted his touch to tell her he was there. He would support her but he wouldn’t hold her back. He could only hope she understood.
- Series:
- /series-fallen-angels-mc/
