Forever Zara: (novella 9.5) by V. Theia (ebook reader txt) 📕

didn’t know what path he’d be on now. A lonely one.

“Gonna hold you to it, Zara.” Kissing the side of her head. He motioned to the bar, almost a full block wide. Inside was modern chrome and high stools, intimate tables. Zara had tapped into what was popular currently.

Slapping hands and fist-bumping his boys, he stepped up to Hawk, who had Gia under his arm. Leaning in, he kissed his sister’s cheek. “I take it you got him to this?” Hawk hated the fanfare of crowds. Gia chuckled. “Yep.” He didn’t wanna know what his baby sister had to bribe his VP with.

In the crowd stood his father, mom, and Rex’s widow. He didn’t know what was going on with his two cousins, didn’t care. As dumb as they were, it took little persuasion for them to believe Rex had fled with all their money to live in Vegas with his mistress. They took off back to Texas. But their mom, after her initial surprise, decided she didn’t care where Rex had gone. She’d wanted to divorce him for years and was unable to find the courage to leave. She now lived outside of Denver and saw Annie and Ajax regularly.

Some shit worked out the way it was meant to. No one missed Rex.

He thought it might cause waves with Mad-dog, but his father never brought it up.

“Smile, VP,” Rider smirked, “being social won’t last long.”

“The first drink is free, Hawk!” Rider’s woman declared.

Hawk only grunted, chin down to his chest, watching the crowd like he expected ninjas to jump out from every corner.

Everyone was here. But two of their boys were missing. Lawless and Arson. One day they’d be a full crew again.

He stood back and let his Zara take the reins as she announced the bar open. She even cut a ribbon taped across the double doorway, and she did it beaming, cute as fuck.

Only when people piled into the bar, he pulled her toward him, found her mouth with a deep kiss, she moaned.

“Gonna take you for another ride,” he let her know. Her head angled up. Eyes drowsily lowered while she licked him from her lips.

“Yes, yes.” She replied.

“Then how about we wrangle the monsters, see if Angie is free, and go out for food in Denver?”

They didn’t get many days where they could do what they wanted. The club kept them both busy, but he’d always make time for his family.

For decades it was always club first.

He had it drummed into him; living by that one rule, nothing got in his way.

And then something extraordinary happened.

It was a pint-sized, Disney loving angel who took him down and rebuilt him from the ground up, strengthening him, more determined than ever to rule the right way.

And to live.

He had four good reasons to make sure he went on breathing.

“You read my mind. I’ve been craving fried shrimp for days.”

“Craving, huh?” He smirked, arm around her waist. “Something you wanna tell me, Icy-baby?”

He didn’t expect the elbow to his gut, but it made him laugh, anyway.

“Get that thought out of your mind, Rider Marinos. My reproductive system is out of business. Do you think I can cope with more of your babies?”

“You made half of ‘em too.”

“Yes, I did. They get all their goodness from me.”

“Is that so?” He rasped. “I’ll see how much of my badness I can put in you later.”

That was the thing about being married to this woman. There was no need to be in business mode or Prez mode. She relaxed him, made him playful.

Laughing, Zara pressed her face into his chest.

“Hey, Ambrosio?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“But we are not having any more kids,” she said, firm, “the ones we have cause enough trouble as it is.”

Rider grinned, wasn’t that the damn truth, and they were still babies.

Fuck knows what they’d do when they were older.

If they were anything like he was, they were gonna get into some shit one day.

He was willing to find out, with Zara at his side.

Willing to kick their little butts when they needed it.

* * *

17 years later.

Harper had never been a fan of being told what to do.

It was instinctual to rebel against an order

And not by a big dumb alpha idiot who thought he knew what was going on when he didn’t know shit.

She glared at Knox. “Keep pointing that finger at me, and I’ll snap it off.” It was a rare moment when she was in an argument with one of her younger brothers. Knox was the more stubborn of the two boys. He couldn’t get it into his stupid head he wasn’t in charge of her, or the club yet. However, he was in training to take over from their father one day. It didn’t make him the prez today.

She was her own woman and wouldn’t stand for someone telling her what to do. Or not to do, as the case was here.

“You fucking end it now, Harp. I mean it, don’t force my hand.”

Her chin went back, stare blazing, staring at the same color eyes as her own. All three of them had grown up like triplets. Though she was the oldest, Knox acted like the oldest kid, her protector, and overbearing boss.

“Or you’ll do what?”

“I’ll put an end to it. You know it’s goddamn fucked up.”

“It’s none of your business what I do.”

“Or who you do? Open your fucking legs for anyone you want, but not him.”

She gasped, feeling as though he’d slapped her.

Knowing they hardly ever fought, unless it was something stupid that resulted in the three acting like kids again, his insult came like a physical punch to her midsection. She put her