Owned by the Outlaw (2 page)

They had been together since she was twenty-one
years old. He had been the man she had given her virginity to, the only man she
had lived with, and he was the father of her only child. In every way Malice
had owned every innocent part of her, but at twenty-six she wasn’t innocent any
longer. She was an intelligent woman with a nursing degree under her belt,
owned her home, and took care of her son. However, Molly knew Malice wasn’t
still in love with her. She could look in his hardened face and see that the
reason he wanted her was because he was a man determined to own things. She was
the mother of his son, and therefore he thought he had a claim on her, and
maybe he did to an extent. But Molly was strong, and a bitch on the best of
days. To say they butted heads was an understatement because she was just as
stubborn as he was.

 
Molly didn’t
want Dakota to follow in his father’s footsteps. She didn’t want her son in an
MC, didn’t want his life constantly put in danger. He was young still, and for
now those decisions were solely up to
her
,
but she knew there would be a time when he would have to decide what path he
wanted to take, and there was nothing she could do about it. Malice would
always be in their son’s life, and Dakota looked up to his father like he was a
hero. She supposed to a child an outlaw MC member was a kind of superhero,
strong and powerful and invincible. But she wanted their son to learn other
things in life besides solving problems with violence and illegal activities.

Malice nodded and pushed away from the wall he was
leaning his big body against. Unfolding his arms and taking a step toward her,
Molly hoped he wouldn’t start any shit. Just the other night right before the
Grizzly MC had escorted the women to this cabin, she and Malice had gotten into
it right there in front of everyone. She could see he wanted to “talk” again,
and she wasn’t in the mood.

“You’re doing okay?” He stopped a few feet from her.

The scent of his leather cut through the sweet smell
of the marijuana he had clearly just smoked, and the spicy cologne he always wore.
It filled her nose and surrounded her. “I’m fine, just tired.” A chorus of
loud, deep laughter came from the living room, and she glanced that way even
though the wall blocked her view from actually seeing them.
“Seems
like the guys are having a good time.”
She crossed her arms under her
breasts as a chill worked through her.

“They are just trying to wind down after all the
fucked up shit that happened.” He looked her up and down, and she sensed a
flash of sexual heat come from him. Malice had always been overly sexual and insatiable
in his appetites. “You’re cold?” Before she could answer he turned his back on
her and walked over to the hall closet a few feet from them. He opened it and
grabbed a sweater from the shelf, and turned back around to present it to her.
“It’s probably big as fuck for you, but it’ll work.”

For as hardcore as Malice was, he had always shown
her his gentle giant side. It really was a shame things hadn’t worked out
between them, but she had done what she felt was best for her and Dakota. She
nodded as another loud round of laughter barreled into the room. “Maybe they
could take their party down to the basement since the girls are trying to
sleep. They could use some uninterrupted rest.” It wasn’t like she was asking
them to move a mountain. The basement was fully finished and equipped with a
game room, bar, and even two extra bedrooms that she heard some of the members
used when taking shifts when watching the women they brought here.

“Yeah, I’ll tell the assholes to take it
downstairs.” He smiled, but even though she could tell it was genuine, Malice
was hard and unyielding and it came across as a bit forced. “So, mind if I take
Dakota this weekend for an overnight stay?”

She may not like all the danger and aggression that
was a part of Malice’s life, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want her son
around him. Malice was smart enough to keep Dakota away from it. “I don’t mind.
You have plans or just staying in?” She set her purse on the ground and pulled
the sweater over her head. The tag was still on the sleeve, but she could tell
it had been bought for one of the guys given the size of it. The sleeves
covered her hands, and the waist fell to mid-thigh. But all of The Brothers of
Menace were built like beasts and towered over the average person.

“I was thinking of staying in, and maybe renting
that new Disney movie.” He shrugged. “And of course eat junk food all night.”

Molly smiled. “You’re already Dakota’s favorite
person, but now I think you’re just trying to make me look like a boring mom.”
She chuckled. This was a nice interaction with Malice, and she wished it could
always be like this, but more times than not it was this tug and pull because
he was just so damn hardheaded and stubborn.

“Nah, you aren’t boring. You’re a good mom, and take
care of him.” He could be charming when he wanted to be.

“Thanks for that.” There was an awkward moment of
silence after she said that. “Just call or
text to give me
the exact day and time you want
him. I can meet you halfway.”

Malice nodded. “I can come get him. I don’t expect
you to meet me halfway. That would make it over a two hour drive for you.”

“Malice, you in there, asshole?”
Kink, the MC VP, came stumbling in and braced a hand on the wall. He glanced at
Malice and then looked at Molly.
“Hey, Molls.
I didn’t
know you were still here.” Kink’s voice was slurred and his eyes red-rimmed.

She smiled but said nothing. She couldn’t blame the
guys for getting wasted. The last couple of days had been hard on everyone, and
the strain of what had been done to those poor women weighed heavily on
everyone. But before Kink even spoke again she knew what he was going to say
was probably going to border on the douche-bag radar if not pass it. He was
drunk after all, and she hadn’t met any member of The Brothers of Menace that wasn’t
crude on a good day.

“Dude, you need to come and watch this fuck flick
that Ruin put on.” Kink grinned and stood taller. The tattoos that covered his
neck were visible over the collar of his shirt. “This chick is fucking herself
with a whiskey bottle—”

“Man, Kink, shut the fuck up,” Malice ground out in
a harsh, annoyed voice.

“Just take the party downstairs, please. The women
are trying to rest.” Hearing Kink talk about porn stars screwing themselves
with whiskey bottles and other bizarre instruments wasn’t the worst thing she
had ever heard, and it wouldn’t be the last, but right now she was too tired
and just wanted to sleep. As she attempted to move past Malice and Kink towards
one of the backrooms that had all of her things, Malice reached out and placed
his big hand on her shoulder. She stopped, closed her eyes, but didn’t say
anything. He removed his hand, and she looked over her shoulder.

 
His jaw was
clenched tight, and his face was hard-set. “I’d still like to finish our
conversation we started at the warehouse.”

She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. Glancing
over at Kink, she waited for his drunken ass to look at her, realize he needed
to leave, and then faced Malice once they were alone. “There isn’t anything
left to say, Malice.” She could hear him grind his teeth. “Listen, I’m tired,
and don’t want to get into this, but it’s been a year and a half. I know you’ve
been sleeping with all those women that hang around your club, and I know that
you aren’t in love with me. I’m not sure why you just won’t let things go,
Malice.” She grabbed onto all of her strength. Malice’s height was impressive
at a whopping six foot three inch frame, and Molly had to crane her neck back
just to look into his face. Appearing strong was sometimes a feat when any of
these MC members were in a foul mood—which Malice was right now—because even if
she wasn’t tiny by any means, they were huge.

“I’m not getting into anything with you right now,
Molly, but you and I are meant to be together.” He bared his teeth, and although
the sight may have been frightening to some, all it did was annoy her because
she had seen it too many times since being with him. He leaned in close, but
she knew what was coming before the words left his mouth. “I’ll say it again,
Molly, because be being nice and trying to give you space clearly hasn’t
worked.”

She lifted a brow and waited for him to finish.

“I popped your cherry, and you had my kid. There
will always be a part of me that sees you as mine.”

Molly closed her eyes and shook her head. “God,
Malice, just admit you are not in love with me, and just want me around because
you don’t like being denied anything, and that you like being this possessive
asshole?” She crossed her arms and glared at him. They stared at each other for
several seconds, and the sound of him grinding his jaw was almost as loud as
the guys stomping their way down to the basement. “Your silence is confirmation
enough.” She sighed and dropped her arms. “Just let me know what time you want
Dakota. I might even just come back up here and check on the girls.” She turned
and left while he was still speechless, because the days when Malice didn’t
have a retort to throw back were a rarity. Oh, he was pissed, but he’d get over
it. He didn’t have a choice.

She made her way down the hallway to the only
bedroom in the back of the house and closed the door behind her once she was
inside. She leaned against it and sighed. A migraine was taking root in the
center of her head and moving down the base of her skull. Looking at the bed,
and then looking over at the attached bathroom, she decided a shower would have
to be done in the morning. She just didn’t have the energy right now. She
walked over to the bed, stared down at the queen sized mattress, and fell face
first onto the down comforter. Not even bothering to take off her shoes or
change into her pajamas, Molly closed her eyes and forgot about everything else
except the blissful peace of sleep.

****

Malice ground his teeth and stared at the now closed
bedroom door that Molly had just disappeared behind. He felt like this every
time he saw Molly. It was like the old feelings that he had when with her came
back, but they weren’t the bone deep kind of love they’d once had. Malice was a
possessive man by nature, always had been and always would be. Maybe it was
because of that that he was still having these issues over letting things go?
When they had broken it off he had already known things were over well before
then. He hadn’t been around as much as he should have been. Although that had
been the time when Lucien had been just starting to get things started with
forming the charter he couldn’t use that as an excuse. Molly was right. He
wasn’t in love with her anymore, but she was the mother of his child, and there
would always be a place in his heart for her. “Fuck.” He breathed out and ran a
hand through his hair.

“You good, man?”

Tuck came out of the room where everyone was hanging
out, several empty beer cans in his hold and a glossy look in his eyes. Several
of the guys were buzzed, while others were staying sober to keep watch on the
women. This whorehouse was as safe as the clubhouse, but the girls had been
through hell, and taking that extra step to ensure they felt protected was
paramount.

“I’m fine, just Molly bullshit.”

Tuck nodded, but Malice knew it was more of a
reaction than an understanding. Malice didn’t go around spouting off his
personal business to the guys, not because he didn’t trust them, but because it
wouldn’t have helped. The club was his family, but bitching about feeling like
he still had some kind of claim on Molly—his ex-old lady—wouldn’t have anyone
doing anything but busting his balls.

Tuck stopped and stared at Malice. He dropped a can,
and the empty aluminum bounced off the hardwood floor. “You want to talk about
it?”

Malice was sure as shit not going to get into this
with Tuck when Molly was just down the hallway, so he said nothing.

Tuck shrugged. “How do you feel about her being in
Steel Corner?” Tuck leaned down and grabbed the can. “I know you guys broke it
off a while ago, but I also got the feeling it was kind of unfinished.” Tuck
let out a belch and then immediately started laughing.

“I’m not about to get into this right now.” Malice
had been friends with Tuck for longer than he could even remember, and normally
Tuck was a somber man, but when he drank he let loose a little. Malice shook
his head and grinned. He couldn’t help it, especially when Tuck started
rambling off about eating pussy out and how the woman was so loud his ears rang.
Malice took hold of Tuck’s arm and led him away from the foyer and into a more
private area. No reason why the women needed to hear this shit, especially
after what they had been through.

“Damn.” Tuck put the can in the trash by the kitchen
sink and leaned on the counter. “I’m drunk.” Tuck looked over at Malice. There
was no amusement any longer on the other man’s face. “I shouldn’t have gotten
this bad, but honestly, just thinking about what that fucking pimp and his
motherfucking friends did to those girls…” Tuck closed his eyes and exhaled. “I
feel murderous all over again.”

Malice gripped his shoulder and squeezed. “I know,
man. Shit like this really makes you think about life, and how maybe we aren’t
so bad after all.”