Make It Right (2 page)

“It's too late for that.” Amelia had to look away from him. “Please go.”

“You know me. You know that I'm not going to do that, but maybe we've talked enough for tonight. You are tired, I can see it.” His hands were gentle as he cupped her face and made her look at him. “Come on, don't cry. I hate seeing you cry.”

“Should I laugh? My sister is missing. My niece is missing. And if I want to find them, I've got no choice but to deal with the devil.” The second that the words were out of her mouth, she realized that calling the club he loved the devil might have been a sure way to start a fight. Better a fight than a fuck; she'd realized that they were heading in that direction the second he started to touch her.

“Better the devil you know than the devil you don't,” he pointed out, his hands still holding her face gently. “We will find Fiona and Taylor. We will find out what happened to them. You know that, right?”

Amelia sighed. “I know, but I didn't want this. I didn't want to see you. I don't want to see you.” She couldn't see him or keep being close to him like this. “So, I'm going to ask you again to please just leave. Go downstairs. Please.”

For a second she thought he was actually going to go. He lowered his hands, his eyes on hers, and Amelia looked away. She had to. Instead of stepping back and leaving, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. Amelia felt her entire body go tense. She could smell him, the raw and powerful scent that was a mixture of the leather of his cut, the scent of the road, and underneath all of that it was just him. It was too much, combined with the feeling of his arms warm and strong around her. There was a split second when she had to choose to either relax and give into him or fight. She chose to fight, even though he was much stronger than she was. Her hardest attempt at shoving him off of her barely budged him and only succeeded in them being even closer than before.

“I promise that I'm not going to hurt you again, Amelia. I promise.”

Amelia felt anger joining in her emotional free-for-all. “You promise?” It must have been the anger that gave her enough strength to actually shove him back some. “And why should that mean a thing to me? You broke every promise that you ever made me.” She let the anger roll through her, let it remind her that no matter how good he smelled in that moment, he'd hurt her. He'd been cruel and callous. He'd thrown her away. Made her disposable. And now he seemed to think that a few hugs and some bullshit lines were going to make that better? It was insult on top of injury.

“Will you let me explain?” He tightened his arms around her, pulled her back to him. “Let me make it right.”

“Make it right? There is no making this right, Danny.” Amelia pushed at his chest again, and this time he nearly lost his grip on her. She wasn't sure if she was glad or disappointed that he'd held on. “I'm only here because of Fiona and Taylor. If they hadn't vanished, I'd have never stepped foot in Detroit again. When they come back, I'm leaving. I'm never coming back.”

“Seems like you've got it all figured out. What's so impressive about Pennsylvania?”

“How do you know where I was?” Amelia was tired of struggling, tired in general, so she stopped and just let him hold her. It didn't mean anything. It didn't change anything. It was just easier. She was too tired to fight, even with him.

“James told me. Just for the record, if you hadn't been on your way here I'd have been on my way to you.” One of his hands moved down to her lower back. “Fiona would never tell me where you were, and believe me, I asked. Asked Ace to look for you but he said that he couldn't find anything. You've got to believe me, I wanted to make what I did right.”

Amelia did believe him, and that belief softened something inside of her. Of course, Fiona wouldn't tell him where she was and not mention it to her. Danny was an off-limits topic, one of the few that they had between them. “I hate you. I really hate you. You know that right?”

“Yeah, I know.” He sounded sad about it. He leaned in to brush his lips against her forehead.

“Stop it, Danny. Just stop. I told you, once this shit with Fiona is over, I'm gone. That's how it's going to be.”

“There someone you're heading back to?” There was a note of jealousy in his tone. It was no real surprise, because he'd always been that way.

Something began to tingle inside Amelia. A restless feeling rushed through her entire body, and it was only with conscious effort that she didn't move closer to him. They were on a slippery slope, one they'd been on thousands of times before. If they let themselves fall down it now, Amelia knew that she'd be plagued with regret. She should have told him there was someone but she couldn't bring herself to lie. “No, there's not.”

“Why not?”

“Why do you care?” She found anger beneath the tingle. He had no right in the world to feel possessive of her when he'd thrown her away.

“Why not?” He repeated and his grip on her tightened. “It never feels right, does it? Being with someone else, comparing them even though you know that they're never going to even come close.”

“Do you have someone?” Amelia wasn't sure that she was ready for the answer. There was never a shortage of willing women hanging around Nightshade. They were called pass-arounds. Some did it for the rush, or at least that was what they claimed. Others did it hoping to land the white whale and become an Old Lady. As far as she knew, none of them ever had.

“No one special,” he replied.

“So just fucking the pass-arounds, huh?” Amelia felt nauseated at the mere thought of them. She could clearly remember the ones who'd been around, the ones who would throw themselves at Danny basically in front of her, the ones who would try to make her think it wasn't for the first time.

“I won't lie and say I haven't. I do have needs.”

“Yeah, I remember that. I figure that you're lucky your dick hasn't fallen off just yet—or has it?” Amelia regretted the words as he pressed his hips against hers, and she felt the evidence of his arousal. “Danny.”

“Now that's how I like to hear you say my name,” he leaned in and Amelia saw the kiss coming. She could have turned her head, stopped him, but she didn't. Instead she just rode the wave of warmth that flooded through her the instant his lips touched hers. There was an electricity between them; there always had been. She'd never been able to deny it, even in the dark days after the divorce, when all she had left of him were the memories.

There was no doubt as to who was in control of the kiss; it was him. It was almost always him, and Amelia remembered just how much she'd missed his touch and how much she'd missed him. Her body trembled and she pressed against him, desperate for more contact. Desperate for him. She whimpered when he pulled back.

Amelia could only imagine what he was going to say, and she knew that there was only one way to keep him quiet. She stretched up, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. If her actions shocked him, he didn't show it. Danny took control of the kiss, moving her backwards until she felt her legs bump against the edge of the bed.

He lowered her down gently, still kissing her, and Amelia let herself give in to everything rushing through her. There would be time later to think and worry, but for right now, she simply wanted to feel. A whimper escaped her lips when he pulled back from her, the loss of his lips and the comforting warmth of his body against hers only made her want him more.

Danny reached for the waistband of her pants and hooked his fingers beneath them. “Lift up.”

Amelia didn't need to be told twice, she lifted up and watched as he drew her panties down as well. The room was getting hot, and she knew that it had nothing at all to do with the temperature. It had to do with the way her body was suddenly on fire for him. She sat up, pulled her shirt over her head  and threw it without a care for where it landed.

“Look at me.” Danny stood in front of the bed. Amelia looked up, met his eyes. “I love you.” He'd never spoken those words easily, Amelia knew that. Emotion rose in her throat, because despite everything, she still loved him, too. She would always love him; there was no way around it, but that love didn't change the facts.

For what seemed like forever they just stared at one another. Amelia started to become hyper aware of the fact that she was naked while he was still completely clothed. “Relax,” his voice made her jump. “I'm not stupid, Sweetheart, I know that you're not going to say it back, but that doesn't change the way that I feel about you.”

Amelia feared that he was going to keep talking, that she'd start to come to her senses and stop things before they went any further. This might be a mistake. In fact, she was sure that she was going to regret it, but that didn't matter. She was just about to say something, she wasn't sure what, when he was on her again.

She'd expected him to be forceful, but instead he was sweet. His hands moved slowly over her skin, touching spots that she'd forgotten she had. “Danny.” She said his name impatiently, reached up to run her hands over the leather of his cut. Her fingers traced over his name. She'd sewed it on with her own hands.

He shifted, pushing her thighs open wider so that she was completely exposed to him. Amelia felt her body start to tremble as his fingers moved over her skin. Only the sound of their breathing filled
the air until he reached the junction of her thighs. And then his fingers were inside of her, and Amelia thought that she might die from the pleasure.

She thought that she heard him chuckle, but she couldn't be sure. All she was sure of was the pleasure spreading through her and the feeling of her fingers digging into his arms. He was still fully dressed, the rough denim of his jeans pressing against her. She could smell the leather of his cut. Fuck her, she'd missed him. Missed this. Missed them.

His mouth claimed hers as he pushed his fingers deeper. Amelia bit down on his bottom lip as she felt her body begin to tighten around him. “Oh. Oh.” She tore her lips from him, gasped for breath as the orgasm hit her with the force of a speeding train. Through the haze that her brain was enveloped in, she heard Danny chuckle as he pulled back from her to get undressed.

He'd just hung his cut on the hook on the back of door when a phone began to ring. “You've got to be fucking kidding me.” With obvious annoyance he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a flip phone.

Amelia knew he was going to have to leave before he said another word into the phone. It was obviously club related. It didn't matter how turned on either of them were, how close they were to being together or, if memory served, even if they were in the middle of the act—Nightshade came first.

“Be there in ten.” Danny slid the phone back in his pocket. “Babe, I've got to...”

“Go.” Amelia replied. “I know the routine.” And maybe the routine had saved them or at least her from making a choice could only be followed by pain. Regret was setting in, along with shame that she could so easily fall back into the routine of being with him.

“I'll come back as soon as I can. Keep the doors locked. I'm going to make a call, get you some company.”

“I've got a gun, and I'm more confident of my ability with it than the ability of whatever prospect you could possibly send.” Amelia informed him. “I can handle shit myself.” She needed to remember that just as much as she needed him to know it.

“It's not a prospect, it's Paco.” He crossed over to her, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Try and behave. I know how the two of you get when you're together.”

“Be safe.” Amelia closed her eyes as she spoke. Just how many times had she said those exact words? She'd lost count but could clearly recall numerous nights she'd said them and then stayed awake with worry and wondering to keep her company. Danny was gone by the time she opened her eyes, and once again she was alone.

Chapter Two

Even from a distance the fire was visible, smoke trailing up into the sky. Danny kept his eye on it as he rode towards Fulton Street, the location of one of the Nightshade stash houses. It had to be the house on fire, otherwise Royal wouldn't have called for all hands on deck.

There were police, firefighters and even an ambulance when he finally arrived, and the fire had spread from their house to the house next door. He was off the bike right after he saw the flames eating at the pretty tan and white house. He knew the family that lived in that house, they all did. Before he could barrel through the police tape to get closer, Royal grabbed his arm. “They got out, all of them. Even the dog. It was Rosa who called me.”

“What the fuck happened?” Danny demanded.

“She saw a dark-colored SUV parked out in front and then a few minutes later noticed the flames. The truck was gone. She called it in. Firefighters just got here a few minutes ago. Both houses are going to be a complete loss.” Royal's voice was steady and calm but there was something darker in his eyes.

Danny knew that losing the contents of the house was going to be a blow, and that there was going to be some blowback because of it. They'd been doing business with the Millers in Canada for a while, smuggling cigarettes and booze across the border. Now and then they had different cargo, something that paid better but carried a deeper risk. Thankfully, this wasn't one of those shipments. They'd lost cigarettes and a dozen cases of Patron.

“It could have been worse,” Train pointed out, his eyes locked on the flames. “Could have been the next shipment.”

“It's bad enough. I want to find out who did this. Train, I want you at the house on Elm. Ace, head to Clark. Danny, I want you on Archer. Buster and Earl are already at the other two houses, so they're covered. I put in a call to the Millers, which should be a fun conversation.

<#<#<#

Danny had grown up only a few blocks away from Archer. It had once been a thriving community; now it just looked sad. Most of the homes were abandoned, some had faded for sale signs, while others were just crumbling down. Davenport Development, Royal's company, had bought the small cottage style house for just under a thousand dollars. Tens of thousands of dollars later, it was now habitable and used as a holding spot. It would soon get sold, and then there would be another house and another. Davenport Development had at least a dozen houses in Detroit that they were working on now. There was nothing unique about any of the stash houses, nothing that would lead someone to think that they were special because of it. They'd taken steps to make sure of it.

He parked his bike in the small garage and kept his gun in his hand as he entered the house through the connecting door. It was quiet inside; there were a few lights burning but they were on timers. Danny did a walkthrough and then backtracked; finally he was satisfied that he was alone. He entered the bathroom, opened the cabinet beneath the sink and removed the fake wall in the back.

It was Royal's secret stash. Danny didn't know what was in the package, and he didn't want to. All that mattered was that it was safe. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, replaced the false wall and walked out of the bathroom. There wasn't much in the way of furniture in the house—a couple of folding chairs and an inflatable mattress. No real entertainment to speak of, except for a few bike magazines and a battered paperback, some murder mystery, which meant that Train had left it behind at some point.

Danny didn't need anything to occupy his mind. He had plenty to think about, starting with
Amelia. After seven years, he'd expected that she'd have changed, but she was still almost the same, maybe a little skinnier. She still smelled and tasted the same, the noises that she made when she came were a familiar song, but as much as she was the same there, was something obviously different about her. Maybe it was more accurate to say that she was the same on the surface, but she'd changed inside. The look in her eye was one that he'd never be able to forget. She was sad, more than just because of what was going on with her family. It was a heavy weight on his shoulders to know the role he'd had in changing her.

At the time, locked in a cage, he'd thought that he was doing the right thing by filing for divorce. He didn't want her to put her life on hold to wait for him, especially when he'd believed that his sentence would be extended by decades for committing murder behind bars. Danny had begun to realize he'd fucked up big time even before he received the notice from his lawyers that the divorce was final.

              Danny had been angry at her for a long time, as illogical as it was, since he'd filed the papers, but deep down he'd never really expected her to sign. He'd wanted to give her an out, but he'd expected her to fight. The anger had worked itself to nearly hate until he was released. Before he'd realized what he was doing, he was parked in front of the Mason house, watching Fiona chase her daughter around the yard.

She'd slapped him across the face before he could say a word when he'd approached, and he'd let her. Danny figured he deserved that or worse. Fiona had made it clear that Amelia wanted nothing to do with him ever again and it was only at that moment that he'd realized how badly he'd hurt her. He had a chance now to make it right, a slim chance, but if he could get her to let him in like she had today then the odds were better.

Overwhelmed by the sudden urge to hear her voice, he reached for his phone. He didn't have her number, but he had Paco's. He was just about to dial when he heard the familiar rumble of a bike. It was Royal; he could tell by the sound of the engine.

“We need to talk.” Royal looked grim as he walked into the house a moment later.

“What happened?” Danny had known Royal a long time. He'd never seen the look that was on his face at the moment, and there was no way in hell that was a good thing.

“Look around, see if Buster has a bottle around. I think that this conversation requires it.” Royal removed his gloves, tucked them into his back pocket.

Danny didn't want a drink. He wanted to know what the fuck had his President suddenly so serious, but he looked for a bottle, found one in the last cabinet he opened in the kitchen next to a stack of paper cups. “Well, now we've got a bottle, so what's going on?”

“It's about Fiona and Taylor.”

“What about them? Did we find something?” Danny nearly dropped the bottle. If they were dead, it was going to crush Amelia. The very last thing that he wanted was for her to have to feel any more pain.

“No. There's been no news. I've put the word out that we're looking for them. This isn't about them disappearing. It's about Taylor's father.”

“Fiona doesn't talk about him. She's never even named a name.”

“I know that. I asked her not to.”

For a moment Danny was confused as to why Royal would tell Fiona not to talk about Taylor's father, but then an idea began to form and it all made perfect sense. Royal loved his wife but he had a wandering eye. Mostly he kept that eye out of Detroit, enjoying out-of-town pussy as if it were lined up like a buffet. “You're Taylor's father?”

“Yes,” Royal nodded. “I know that you're probably angry, but it was different with Fiona. It's always been different with Fiona. I love her and I love our daughter. There is nothing that I will not do
to get them back.”

“Angry? Fuck angry. I'd like to beat you into the fucking ground. You knocked my sister-in-law up! And didn't fucking think to tell me!” Danny reined in his desire to punch Royal directly in the face  and clenched his hands into tight fists instead.

“I couldn't. No one knew. No one knows. You're the first person that I'm telling. I wanted you to know before we go to the table again. We have to consider the fact that someone figured out who Fiona is to me and that's why they're gone.”

“If I'm the only one that you've told, how could anyone know?” Danny pointed out.

“Maybe the same way that someone was able to burn a stash house. Maybe someone is telling tales out of school, or maybe it's completely fucking random. Either way, it's in our best interests to find out and fast.”

“Agreed.” Danny didn't like unanswered questions much himself. “First thing that we need to do is switch up what houses we're using. All new places seems the best idea.”

“I've got Ace checking to make sure we didn't pick up a bug or some shit before we sit down and hash it out. For now, I want you to take what we've got here back to Fiona's house with you. I'm sure that you lived there long enough to know somewhere you could keep it.”

There was a subtle change in Royal's tone, the shift that meant things had gone from request to straight-out order. “Alright,” Danny replied, though the idea of stashing anything in that house didn't sit right with him. It had been his home. It still felt more home to him than the place he'd owned for the last year.

“Go now,” Royal told him. “I'll stay here and keep an eye on things. I imagine that you're eager to get back to your wife.”

“Speaking of Amelia, are you planning on telling her?” Danny felt the beginning of a headache coming on just at the thought. “I don't think that she's going to take it well.”

“Something tells me that's an understatement, which is why I think she'll take it better coming from you.”

“From me?” Danny shook his head. “She's not going to take it any better coming from me. The only person who she might take it well from is Fiona.”

“Fiona very well may be dead. My daughter may be dead. I'm sorry that Amelia is going to be upset, but right now it's something we can't avoid. She can hear it from me or she can hear it from you.” Royal reached for the bottle and poured a healthy amount in both of their glasses. “It's your choice.”

As far as choices went, it put him squarely between a rock and a hard place. Either way, Amelia was going to be furious. Even more than that, she was going to be hurt again. He didn't want that, but the only way to avoid it was not to tell her at all. For a moment he considered it but knew that when she found out the truth she'd never forgive him. “I'll tell her.”

“Good man,” Royal patted him on the back. “Give me five minutes and you can be on your way. And I'm sorry that all this screwed up your first night back with her.”

Danny poured himself another drink. He was going to need it. Amelia was already on edge; this was going to push her over. He wasn't sure she'd let him catch her. Despite what had happened in their bedroom before he left, he knew that she was far from trusting him. Telling her Royal's secret wasn't going to help with that.

<#<#<#

Paco was on guard when Danny returned. He'd agreed to stay the rest of the night to keep an eye out and said that Amelia was sleeping. Upstairs in their bedroom, he found her curled up on her
side, the covers tangled around her, which meant she wasn't sleeping well. Danny hung his cut and undressed. He didn't hesitate before he got into bed with her, managed to get the covers off of her and over both of them.

She stirred then, turned so that she was facing him. “Everyone whole?” Her voice was thick, and he wasn't quite sure that she was actually awake. It was the same thing she asked every time he came back from something club related.

“Everyone is fine. Nothing to worry about.” For a moment Danny was tempted to tell her to go back to sleep or to wake her all the way up to finish what they'd started before. Her legs were bare. He could feel the warmth of her body, and he wanted to lose himself in her.

“What's wrong?” Suddenly she sounded more awake and she opened one eye. “What happened? Oh God, was that about Fiona and Taylor? Did you find them? Are they dead?” Both of her eyes opened, but she stayed perfectly still.

“We didn't find them.” Danny reached out and put a hand on her hip. “I do have to tell you something, though, and I'm not sure it's something that you're going to want to hear.” He kept his voice low and hopefully soothing.

“Tell me.” She moved to sit up, but he held on tight to her hip. Danny relaxed a little when she settled down. “Damn it Danny, you're scaring me. Tell me.”

“Tonight I found out who Taylor's father is.” He braced himself for some kind of reaction from her, but she just continued to look at him with the same worried expression. “I spoke to him.”

“I know that. He's the one who called you. That's what you wanted to tell me?”

“You knew?” Danny had run through quite a few reactions from Amelia in his mind on the way back, and her knowing was never one of them. “You never said anything.”

“I only suspected it at first. Royal showed up at the hospital to congratulate you on your niece and he had that stuffed unicorn with him. I told myself I had to be wrong, but eventually Fiona told me the truth. She also told me I could never say I knew, but I guess the cat is out of the bag.”

“Why did she tell you?”

“I asked her to leave Detroit with me when I left after I signed the divorce papers. She wouldn't. I pushed. Finally she said that she couldn't leave because of Taylor's father. I wanted to kill Royal, and I told Fiona that. She told me I couldn't kill the man that she loved.” She rolled on her back and sighed. “Did you really not know until tonight?”

“No. Royal says that I'm the first he's told.” And Danny believed that was the truth. Royal didn't give his word lightly, because he always kept it.