Vengeful Soul by Emma Creed
“Please tell me this is the last of it?” I pull the tail gate of the truck down and unload more boxes, as Nyx shakes his head.
“How much stuff does one girl need?” He passes me the box labeled, nail polish.
“What have I let myself in for?” I snatch the box out of his hand when he laughs at me, and pile it on top of the others on the porch.
“Stress, anxiety, a lifetime of being wrong,” Jessie says, staring at the freaky looking doll he loads off.
“Can’t we just say this fell off on the way up here?” I take it from his hands.
“I heard that,” Gracie calls from inside the house. And Jessie and Nyx both cringe at me.
They wish me luck and leave when we’ve finished unloading the boxes, and I head inside to see if Gracie needs help with anything.
“What the fuck is that doing on my wall?” I look up at whatever it is she’s hung.
“Um correction, our wall. And it’s a tapestry. I think it makes the place look homely.” She crosses her arms over her chest and admires it.
I see an opportunity and run with it.
“Okay, you get to keep the… thing, if we can lose the doll that looks like it might come alive and kill us in our sleep.”
“That doll is an antique, it was my grandmother’s.” Gracie does that pouty thing with her lips that makes me want to fuck her. “Besides, I’ve already decided that you can keep those carcass decorations on the wall by the door, so the compromise is already done.”
“They are deer skulls and they aren’t decorations, they have a use.”
“Like scaring off the creepy dolls.” She looks at me cleverly, getting my dick hard with her sass.
“No, you can hang your keys on the antlers,” I tell her, picking up my keys and demonstrating. “Your first bit of mail came through this morning,” I change the subject, reminded when I see the mail on the table by the door.
“Gracie Marshall,” I hand the envelope over to her.
“You didn’t?” She stares back, her eyes wide and a little furious. And I smile at her as she snatches the envelope out of my hand, and reads it for herself.
The agency is being dealt with, Prez is even letting me lead the take down operation myself so I can be assured Gracie is safe. But in my opinion, you can never be too careful. We talked about Maddy setting her up with a new name, one she could enroll in college under and practice when she qualifies to become a therapist. And I may have convinced Maddy to give her my name when she dealt with the application.
“I don’t see what the big deal is, I’m gonna make you Mrs. Marshall someday anyway.” She scowls at me and rips open the letter.
“It’s an acceptance letter,” she squeals excitedly, leaping onto me and wrapping her legs around my waist. “They actually accepted me. I’m going back to college.”
“That’s great.” I got to admire her for what she’s taking on. Counseling kids who have been through such trauma ain’t going to be an easy job, but I know my girl will nail it. And seeing her so excited makes me wonder how I ever doubted we could work. When Gracie sets her mind on something, she sure as hell makes sure it happens.
“So, Road Captain, you wanna take Mrs. Marshall upstairs to celebrate?” she whispers. Over the past few weeks, that happened too. I got patched in as a full Charter member and I’m officially taking care of Skid’s role until he comes back home.
“We still haven’t discussed the doll,” I point out.
“The doll can go.” She rolls her eyes and quickly kisses me.
“Wait,” I pull back surprised. “No argument, no brat attack. Not even another compromise?”
“Of course there is a compromise, Brax, I was just gonna tell you what it is after we’ve fucked.”
“Tell me now.” I frown, knowing how cunning she can be.
“Okay, since you’ve already decided we’re getting married. I’m gonna need to work a baby into the plan.” I actually feel my mouth drop open.
“But we… you just enrolled. A…”
“Relax, I don’t want one right now, I’m thinking in a couple of years’ time. But until then, we should babysit for Nyx and Ella once a week, it’ll help you loosen up and be ready.”
“Once a month, and I’ll give you a kid whenever you want one,” I tell her, even surprising myself at how serious I’m being.
“Really?” she asks, as surprised at hearing those words as I was saying them. Gracie was expecting me to put my foot down and freak out. But I’m full of surprises these days. She’s changed my life.
I still carry a whole lotta hatred. My temper’s still short. And knowing that Skid didn’t get to Chop in time and the bastard’s still out there grates the hell out of me. But Gracie put something in me that lightens the burden of it all, and in moments like this, her happiness is infectious. I want her to have the world.
“Gracie, I told you I’d give you anything you wanted.” I kiss her neck, and I can’t believe that she got me actually warming to the idea of making kids with her.
“You know that was a huge mistake, right?” She laughs at me.
“No regrets,” I tell her, meaning every word I say.
“So are you gonna give me what I want right now?” she asks me, fidgeting herself against my crotch.
“Are you gonna be a little brat if I don’t?”
“I’m gonna be one anyway.” She bites her lip as she smiles, making my cock stretch into the tight gap between us.
“Then you’re about to get fucked, Gracie Marshall.”
“Stay,” I throw a look at Duke, who’s resting on the couch, before I carry her up the stairs with the sound of her laughter echoing around the walls of my cabin.
Gracie is still the girl I took. Her spirit won’t be broken and she’s always gonna test me. But she’s also the cure to all my hate, the remedy for my vengeance, and the proof that any man, no matter how broken, stands a chance of being healed…
Even the worst of ‘em.