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“Yeah, I do. There are always going to be people trying to tear you down. Francesca needs us in her corner to build her up, like you all did for me. I only have one request.”
“What’s that?” Guard asks.
“Five minutes with Jessop before we turn him over to the cops,” Priest replies with a curve to his lips.
I snort. “Get in line.”
“We’d better get back out there,” Wildcard says. “Who knows what they’re planning.” He jerks his head toward the door.
Thunder lets out a loud, bellowing laugh. “I can see Vi starting her own search-and-kill mission.” The room bursts out laughing. Orion lets out a chuckle of his own and tells Guard to end the meeting so he can get to Vi before she puts her plan in action.
Orion throws open the door to find our wives and girlfriends waiting for us. Francesca is in the back, looking slightly shell-shocked, whereas the others are standing like sentries guarding her, seemingly angry as all get-out.
Ava steps up to her husband and puts a hand on his chest. When he smiles down at her, her face lights up with a grin. She turns to the Lady Pride. “I told you so,” she mocks. “The Pride fears no one, and neither do we.”
Hawk and his men come out from behind the bar. “The Redemption Riders want to offer our assistance. We’ve got connections of our own. Your call.”
“We’ve made enough decisions for tonight. Tomorrow, we divide and conquer,” Guard announces.
By this time, I’ve made my way over to Francesca, who is trembling. “Frankie, what’s wrong?” I ask, taking her hands in mine. She looks over my shoulder, scanning the faces in the crowd.
“This is too much. You’re risking too much. No one besides my mom, Grandma Nora, and Grandad Ian has ever protected me. Since they’ve been gone, I’ve discovered just how horrible people can be. I finally resigned myself to knowing I only had myself to depend on. This is…” She trails off as a single tear trickles down her cheek, and she grips my hand tightly. She’s choked up, unable to go on. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close to me.
“I think we’ve done enough Saturday night confessions. They may be good for the soul, but I’m done for tonight. I say we get the party started,” I say to turn the attention from Francesca and lighten the mood in the room.
Everyone is busy, so I move Francesca into a private corner. She hiccups and says, “They’re amazing people.”
“Good to the core, baby,” I murmur.
ELEVEN
Unconditional Love
HAMMER
The food’s been eaten and the kids are slumbering peacefully at Hanna and Risk’s place for the night. The couples who have kids take turns taking the babies for sleepovers on party nights. The kids love it, and it gives the rest of us all a chance to let loose.
Some of the guys play pool inside, while others are hanging outside around the firepit shooting the shit, but when the music starts, the women have a way of leading them onto the dance floor. I’m not even sure if most of the guys are dancing, but they’re sure enjoying the floor show. It’s hard to ignore the gyrating hips of their women, tempting them to do what resembles dancing but is more like foreplay to what happens after the party.
From the other side of the yard, I can see Izzy and Abby trying to get Francesca to join them. Francesca giggles and shakes her head, politely refusing. I walk over to her and hold out my hand. “Dance with me.”
She looks at my palm, then back to me. “I don’t know how to dance.” She tips her head to the group already out there shaking their groove thing. “Not like that.”
“Good time to learn, babe,” I tease, then bend at the waist and whisper in her ear. “I want you in my arms.” She lays her hand in mine and follows me to the edge of the floor. She’s stiff at first, hesitantly swaying from side to side and looking around at who may be watching. “Close your eyes.” I keep my tone low for only her to hear. Her fingers clutch mine tighter, but she does as I ask. I place my hands on her hips. “Now feel the music.”
I move her hips along with mine, and eventually, she relaxes. I turn her so that my front is plastered to her back, moving against her body so that she can feel how hard I am. I slide my hands to her belly, slipping them under her top, caressing her bare skin. I rest my cheek on hers, and she leans back, suggestively wriggling her ass against me.
We move to the rhythm of the music, and with each song, Francesca becomes a little bolder. Her arms and torso flow with the melody. I watch as she comes alive. She hums along, and soon, she’s free. It’s magnificent to watch, like a butterfly spreading its wings for the first time.
Francesca wraps her arm around my neck. “You know how to make everything seem so simple.”
“Things are simple. It’s people who complicate it all,” I respond. “You want to dance”—I shrug—“then dance. Who the fuck cares what anyone thinks? By the way, I like the way you do it. You gotta learn to do what makes you feel good. We become conditioned to do what we’ve been told. Mostly because our parents want us to be successful. They do it out of love. Unfortunately, we buy in to that, and that’s why there are so many miserable people out there. They did what was expected instead of what made them happy.”
She thinks on this a moment, then replies, “You know, you’re right. I never really thought about it that way. There were a ton of unwritten rules that I considered to be standard behavior. But look at the judgment and maliciousness from the same individuals who are following social protocols.”
“Do what makes you happy.”
The back of her hand caresses my cheek. “You make me happy.”
