Don Vidal

5 - Little lady

Draven

“Boss?” Tony, my most trusted man and second in command, calls while opening the door to my office. The office I keep at the back of my restaurant. Well, come on, even Mob bosses need a legit business to keep the law at bay. “There’s a little lady out here asking for you.” He says with a smile.

I smile to myself because I know exactly who he means by little lady.

“Drayban!” She shouts with the sweetest little giggle. “My wan cam nin!”

“Let her in.”

Tony nods, laughs, and opens the door for her to run inside. She looks so fuckin.g adorable in her pretty pink dress and her dark hair tied up in pigtails at the side of her head. She looks just like her mother did when she was a baby.

Jessica, my little niece, is two years of age, and she speaks and acts like a ten-year-old, even if her speech is baby-like, and she is my fuckin.g world. Yeah, I’ve got a soft spot for kids, so shoot me.

I get out of my seat and crouch down with my arms wide open as she runs to me. “Hello, gorgeous girl.”

“Hi, gorzus boy.”

I chuckle at her, kiss her cheek, and stand at my full height while still holding her. This little girl means as much to me as her mother does – everything.

“Sorry, Dray,” I hate anyone shortening my name, and there aren’t many people in this world that could get away with it, but my sister? I’ll answer to whatever she wants to call me. “She ran off when she realized where we were. You know how excited Jessica gets when she sees you.”

I do know. This pretty little princess loves her uncle.

“Don’t worry,” I kiss my beautiful sister’s cheek. “You know I don’t mind seeing this little angel.”

My sister is twelve years my junior, and I practically raised her. I was beyond angry when she came to me and told me she was pregnant with the baby of an MC’s Vice President. I was pissed off when she told me that she wanted to marry him but impressed that she wanted to do the right thing where her child was concerned.

I wouldn’t allow it, refused point-blank to let that piece of shi.t marry my sister. I even arranged Maria’s marriage to one of my men. I had no idea I was killing her by doing it.

How was I to know she’d fallen for Jett?

I thought it was nothing more than Maria trying to put her child first. Every child should know both parents. Well, as long as those parents love and protect the child, at least. We all know some parents need to be six feet under.

However, I should have known it would just be a repeat of what happened with Avery. I should have realized I’d be killing my little sister as much as I was my cousin. The difference was I knew Avery was in love with Ghost; that’s why she tried to take her own life.

Maria?

I didn’t think she loved Jett. They’d been together one night, not months like Avery and Ghost had. I thought Maria just wanted a father for her baby. I thought I could find someone better than that biker filth. Only he wasn’t better, and I killed the little bastard. But that is another story.

It took my brother going on at me for weeks to make me understand what I was doing to Maria. I was hurting her, and she was the last person on earth I would hurt. It’s not like Jett gave up easily, the motherfucke.r wouldn’t stay away from Maria, no matter what I threatened him with.

In the end, I gave them my blessing because Maria meant everything to me. All I have ever wanted was for her to be happy. If Jett made her happen, then I had to swallow my pride and let her be with him.

I almost lost Maria just before Jessica was born. Our father kidnapped her. Tried to use her to get to me so that he could take over the family, as he believed he should’ve done in the first place. If he hadn’t f****d up big time, he would have.

He wasn’t banking on the son he fathered to his second wife, the son born after me and before Maria, my biker brother, coming to the rescue. He helped me save our sister and became our true brother that day. The three of us now have a close bond. I would kill for either of my siblings, and I know my brother, Hammer, as he goes by, although his given name is Sam, would do the same thing.

“You know I don’t mind squeezing her giblets.” I wink at Maria, who rolls her eyes and laughs. My niece laughs happily as I playfully squeeze her. “What brings you here today?”

My sister takes a seat in the chair in front of my desk while holding her arms out to Jessica, who promptly shakes her head in refusal to leave my arms. She wraps her little arms around my neck and kisses my cheek, making me smile. She’s always like this.

Maria sighs and rolls her eyes with a smile on her face.

“There’s something we need to talk about.”

“Oh?” I sit in my leather chair, placing my niece on my lap, facing her mother, and letting her play with the pens on my desk.

“It’s about Marnie.”

I raise an eyebrow. I’ve been stupidly thinking about her today, and now my sister is here bringing her up.

What are the odds?

“Don’t give me that look. You’re my big brother; I know you. Neither you nor Sam can lie to me about anything without me knowing the truth. You slept with her, didn’t you?”

“And that’s your business, how?” My niece laughs when I tickle her. Anything to distract me from whatever it is Maria wants to talk about.

“It’s my business when my best friend calls me and asks me to set up a meeting between you and Marnie. I’m not sure what she needs to talk to you about, Draven, but it must be important if she’s willing to beg.”

I scratch my jaw with my fingernail.

The woman walked out without so much as a goodbye, and now she wants to see me?

I can’t deny that having Marnie in my office for even a moment would quell some of the pent-up frustration I’m feeling right now. To pin her against the wall, rip those little panties from her body, squeeze my fat coc.k into her tight cunt and f**k her six ways to Sunday, and...

“Draven, are you even listening?”

No, I’m thinking about fuckin.g your friend’s sister.

“Yes. Marnie wants to see me. You have no idea why. What makes her think I’d even want to see her for any reason?”

“Because I know you’re not that heartless. Marnie’s husband beat the hell out of her last night, Dray, and it wasn’t the first time.”

My nostrils flare in anger. One thing I hate, one thing I won’t tolerate, is a man who beats his woman. I don’t give a shi.t how far she pushes, how much she’s asking for it. A real man never raises his hand to a woman. I watched my father beat the shi.t out of my mother too many times to know it was not right.

“Brooke said that Marnie has two black eyes, bruises everywhere, and he doesn’t even know that she cheated with you. Can you imagine what he’ll do to her if he finds out?”

“Fine. I’ll see her. Just calm down; you’re getting worked up.”

“I know.” She tucks her dark hair behind her right ear. Maria still looks so glamorous; motherhood didn’t change that. Being married to a biker didn’t change that.

Good.

One thing I was worried about was Jett changing the woman Maria is.

“It’s just that Jett would never raise a hand to me. Hammer would never raise a hand to a woman; no one in the MC would, and I know you wouldn’t either. When Brooke told me what happened, that Marnie has suffered for five years with that pig of a man, I looked at my little girl, and I envisioned her being older with a man like Paul.”

“Don’t think like that. No man will ever lay a hand on Jessica, Maria. I’d kill the son of a b***h if her father didn’t first.”

“I know. I know. It’s just, I’m pregnant, Dray.”

Again?

Damn.

I can’t say that I’m not happy for Maria, I am. She’s married to a man who adores her and their daughter. My sister is safe and cared for; she’s in love, and that’s all I care about.

“I’m fourteen weeks, I’m hormonal, and I want you to know that I love you.” Maria sniffs. Here we go again. She was like this when she found out about Jessica — crying a lot, emotional about everything.

“I love you, too, angel. I am so happy for you, Maria.” She smiles. “You are a wonderful mother, and I am so proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you, too. It’s because of you that I’m a good mom. You raised me to be a good girl with morals. I have Jessica because you allowed me to keep her. I’m married to the man I love because you believed it was the right thing to do. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have my little girl and this little bundle on the way.” She places her hand on her flat stomach, and for the first time in my life, I’m sitting here wondering what it would be like to be a father.

I never wanted children. I’m not the type of man who deserves them.

“You have these wonderful gifts because of you, Maria. Because you,” I smile and take her hand across the table. “Are the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. You’re just like mom.” I wink at her. “Now, about Marine.