Chapter 6
Dani
"Yeah, I'm going to head over to my parents’ for a little bit. Mom said she needs help with her flowers," I tell Devil. "Wanna meet me over there and we can have dinner?"
"I can't," he says with what sounds like a wince. "We've got some club business to take care of tonight."
Club business is the bane of my existence. Of course, I understand it—my dad was deep into it for most of my life.
"Okay." I try to keep the disappointment out of my voice. "I'll see you when I get home, then?"
"Yup. I gotta go. Love you."
"Love you too." But he's already hung up before I can finish.
This is the part I hate about the life. It steals away important moments. The ones where you want your husband to be focused on you and the life you're building—not the club he’s sworn his loyalty to.
Determined not to dwell, I pack my SUV with the supplies I need and head to my parents’. They don’t live far, so the drive doesn’t take long. My dad, Morris Rodriguez, took over the club from his dad, and since my parents didn’t have a son, they were “stuck” with me.
Which is why Devil ended up the lucky one.
"Hey, Dani Girl," he greets as I pull into their driveway and step out. His faint accent—courtesy of his mother—is still there, though it’s been years since she passed. "Did you come to help your mom?"
"Yeah," I grin. "I don’t know how I got so good at growing flowers, and she got so good at killing them."
"It was your grandmother Rodriguez," Mom says as she comes off the porch to meet me. "She knew her way around making everything grow. You absorbed all her lessons and have put them to use in ways I’m sure she never even imagined."
"Oh, that I’m totally sure," I laugh.
My mom and I never talk about what I do for the club. I’m sure she knows, but it’s a secret I keep close to the chest.
Most clubs wouldn’t have the wife of the president—or the daughter of the former one—running a major part of their marijuana grow op. But this is what I’m good at. It’s what I love. And since I wasn’t the boy my dad wanted, it’s what I could do.
Plenty of people have told me to give it up, that I shouldn’t be putting myself in danger. But the truth is, if it had been up to me, I’d be the one wearing the president patch. So I do what I can do—and I do it damn well.
"C'mon, let’s go out to the backyard. I have lemonade and cake."
I grin, grabbing what I brought. "My favorite."
Two hours later, her flower beds look better, and I’m worn out. I was already sore from last night with Devil. Now I’m sitting on the back porch with Mom, sipping lemonade.
"I take it things are going better with you and Devil." She nods toward my neck. "I haven’t seen you look like that since you were a teenager."
I roll my eyes toward the sky and smile. "They are. We talked a few things out last night. One conversation won’t change everything, but we’re working on it."
"I know," she says with a knowing smile. "I’ve been married to your dad for close to twenty-six years. I know how marriage works—especially as it grows. I just wanted to make sure everything’s okay between the two of you."
"They are," I sigh, brushing some soil off my legs. "Just growing pains. It’s not like I’m going to give up or anything."
"Good. We don’t give up, Dani."
I know that better than anyone. My parents never let go of something they believed was worth saving—which is how Devil became a member of the Saint’s Outlaws MC.
"Dad," I glance at him, "how did you meet Devil? You may have told me before, but I don’t remember."
He leans forward, elbows resting on his knees.
"He was having motorcycle trouble at the gas station near 65. Every time I passed by for a couple of hours, he was still there. I couldn’t just leave him. He was young, and I worried someone would take advantage.
