Page 34 of Always My Fate

Blackie

Blackie paced the bedroom like a caged animal, phone glued to his ear as an update from Horse came through, more gunfire, another attempt to breach the ranch. The sounds of war in Belle mixed with the too-quiet tension in his own house. Peaches sat up in bed, pale but fierce, her hand protectively over her belly.

“I don’t give a fuck what it takes,” Blackie snarled into the phone. “You hold that line, Horse. Like I know you can.” He ended the call with Horse and dragged a hand across his face, chest tight.

“Blackie,” Peaches said quietly from the bed. “You need to go.”

He froze mid-step and turned on her. “The fuck I do.”

“You’re torn in half,” she pressed, green eyes locked on his. “The club is under fire. Your brothers are bleeding in Belle while you’re stuck here babysitting me. I can see it eating you alive.”

Blackie crossed the room in three strides and dropped to his knees beside the bed, taking her face in both hands. “You think I’m leavin’ you right now? With Daniel comin’ any day and those MDMC asses threatenin’ everything we built? Like hell, Peaches. I’m not losin’ you. I’m not losin’ him. Me leaving is exactly what they want, and I’m disinclined to give them a thing.”

Her hands came up to grip his wrists. “And I’m not losin’ you to guilt either. This is tearing you apart, Kirk. I hear it in every call. You’re tryin’ to lead a war from this bedroom while hoverin’ over me like I’m made of glass. I love you for it, but you’re suffocating us both.”

The words hit hard. Blackie’s jaw clenched, fear and frustration boiling over.

“Goddamn it, Lottie,” he rasped, voice cracking. “You don’t get it. I’ve already missed too much. I finally got us right. We got another son on the way, and now this? What if something happens to you or Daniel while I’m gone? What kind of man, what kind of father, leaves his pregnant old lady in the middle of a war?”

Peaches’ eyes filled but didn’t spill. She pulled his forehead to hers. “The sort who trusts his queen to hold down the home front if he has to leave to save the club. The type of man who built this club strong enough that it can fight even when its president has to stay with his family. Either way you look at it, there’s a distinct decision to be made. I’m here to remind you that I’ve survived worse. I’m still that woman, Blackie. Let me be her. Let me help carry this with you.”

Blackie closed his eyes, breathing her in, citrus, warmth, and that unbreakable steel. The war outside was raging, but the fight in his chest was louder.

“I’m so fuckin’ scared,” he whispered, raw and honest. “Terrified of losin’ you. Afraid of failin’ Daniel before he even gets here. Shit scared that if I leave this room, I come back to somethin’ broken.”

“You won’t,” she whispered fiercely, kissing him. “Because you’ve never been that man. You’re the one who stays when it matters most. And now, in this moment, you’re needed by your brothers. If you can’t do right by them while you’re here with me then you need to adjust your location to suffice.”

Blackie let out a shaky breath and climbed carefully onto the bed, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her deeply, then rested his forehead against hers again.

“You’re correct,” he admitted gruffly. “I hate it when you’re right. But baby, I’m stayin’. We fight this war together, you from this bed, me from this house. Horse, Rook, Oaky, Duane, and even fuckin’ Gunny have their orders. The club will hold.”

Peaches smiled softly, her hand covering his. “Always my fate, Blackie.”

“Always.” He echoed the vow, voice thick with emotion. “You, me, Daniel, all the kids. This entire beauty of a family. I’m choosin’ us first tonight. And we’re gonna make it through this storm.”

Outside, the distant echoes of the fight continued. But in their bedroom, Blackie held his queen tighter, the personal crisis easing into a hard-won peace.

***

Peaches

She woke slowly, becoming aware of Blackie’s voice coming from the next room. She had a few moments before clarity kicked in, but she dialed in on his conversation, and what she heard froze the blood in her veins.

“Motherfuckers took down Duane.” The anger and agitation in his voice told her she hadn’t been hearing things. “He’ll live, but it’s gonna take some work to really heal. Bastards broke both of his legs.”

There was silence for a moment, then he made a dismissive noise. “No, brother, every one of them needs to be eliminated. Permanently.”

Peaches thought of Duane’s sweet wife, Dani, imagining being the one to receive this heavy news. It wasn’t me, though. It’s one of my ladies. My sisters.

“You fuckin’ realize I can’t go. I’ve already laid out the dozens of reasons I need to be here.” Blackie’s voice was taut with anger. “Fuckin’ givin’ myself an ulcer trying to be everything to everybody without them seeing me.”

He laughed harshly. “No, Twisted, my brother, I’m not leavin’ Peaches defenseless.” He paused, then softer, lower, he said, “I’m listening.”

She pushed up in the bed, organizing the thousand and one pillows Blackie placed around her. Grabbing her phone, she first checked for notifications, finding a half dozen. The one thing she’d been worried about was if Dani had heard about Duane. The second report had made clear his injuries were common knowledge, and she didn’t want Dani to hear about it in a text chain. The brief description sounded bad, both legs broken below the knee. She couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in.

Settling in, she let her chats know she was up and available, and the requests flooded in, each of them a sort of validation of her role in the club. She was the queen and had always been benevolent in that way.

Twenty minutes after she was on the phone with Dani, the woman was on her way to the hospital to be with Duane. Their kids were still in school, so Peaches organized an old lady with a patched better half to run to the house before the kids got home. She didn’t want their most vulnerable to be exposed under any circumstances.