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  Table of Contents

  Sonny’s Surrender

  Sonny’s Surrender

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Sonny’s Surrender

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Twenty-Five

  About the Author

  Sonny’s Surrender

  Sonny’s Surrender

  Copyright

  Sonny’s Surrender

  Copyright © 2018 D.D. Galvani

  Amazon Edition

  This book is an original publication by D.D. Galvani

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locals is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or the content.

  Cover Design: Tammie Smith at Renegade Covers & Design

  Photographer: Jean Maureen Woodfin of JW Photography and Covers

  Cover Models: Darrin James Dedmond & Kristen Lazarus Wood

  Editing & Formatting: E&F Indie Services

  All Rights Reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format with our permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Dedication

  I would like to dedication this book to every cancer survivor.

  Your courage in the face of such a wasting disease knows no bounds.

  Sonny’s Surrender

  One

  The bell over the door went off, and I looked up from counting change to see a couple of teenage boys come into the store. I sighed and slammed the cash drawer shut. It’s going to be a long night. When the bell chimed again, and four more boys walked in, I knew trouble was coming. Swiping my phone, I scrolled fast, found the contact I wanted, hit the button for speaker, and then slid the phone behind some papers on the counter.

  The first boy plunked two six-packs on the counter, along with a bag of chips. “ID, please,” I requested. The boy smiled.

  “Aww, darlin’, I’m old enough—you don’t need to see my ID.” He leaned his elbows on the countertop, leering at my cleavage. Even though I was covered by my collared polo shirt, he still made me feel dirty.

  “Sorry kid—you want to buy beer, I need to see ID,” I replied. The smile left his face, and his buddies razzed him. He flipped them the bird and reached for his wallet. Pulling out his license, he flipped it onto the counter towards me, but not that close. He put it so that I had to bend over to get it. Pulling the ID towards me with the tip of my pen, I slid it to the edge of the counter and under the UV reader; the light stayed off. I looked at the date of birth and then the picture. Just as I suspected, the person in the photo was much older than the kid in front of me.

  “Sorry dude, this isn’t going cut it. That is definitely not your ID.” Sliding the beer towards me, I left the bag of chips. His smile was back in place again.

  “You asked me for ID, I gave you ID. What difference does it make whose ID it is? It’s no skin off your nose to sell me some beer. Your boss isn’t going to care.”

  “Ok, gentlemen,” I said to the group at large. “None of you are old enough to purchase beer. If you want snacks, that’s fine, but I cannot, by law, sell you alcohol.”

  A loud bang snapped my attention to the left as a rack of baked goods fell to the floor. “Oops,” one of the guys said.

  I knew better than to get in the middle of the scrum, so I stood my ground behind the small safety of the register. When the noise didn’t draw me out, the pack started to close in.

  “Listen up, boys: I’ve got one finger on the silent alarm and the other ready to punch in 911. Figure out if you want to spend the night in lockup or trying to get in some other girl’s panties because it isn’t happening here.”

  The pack laughed; it wasn’t an amusing sound. Just when the lead jerk started forward menacingly, he was grabbed by the back of the neck and dumped unceremoniously on his ass.

  The big man that dropped him continued past him ‘til he was right in front of me. Circling my waist with his arms, he pulled me up against him and kissed me hard on the lips. He leaned back and smiled. “Hey, babe, your shift almost over? I came to take you home.”

  Looking over his shoulder, I saw the boys now had looks of fear on their faces. The two men with my guy, Murph and Gears, were picking up the overturned stand and restacking the merchandise.

  “Hey guys,” I said, giving them a two-fingered wave. Out for a night ride?”

  Murph winked at me. “We just decided to ride with Sonny to pick you up—had a mighty hankering for some nachos.”

  Looking up at Sonny through my lashes, I said, “Thanks for coming, babe, I really needed the pickup tonight.”

  Dropping another light kiss on my lips, he turned to the boys. The leader of the group had gotten up from where Sonny had dropped him. He held both hands out in from of him, palms up. “I’m sorry, dude; I didn’t know she was your girl.”

  Sonny stepped forward and got right up in his face. “It doesn’t matter whose girl she is, dude,” he said putting emphasis on the word. “You don’t treat a woman like a piece of meat, any woman. It’s a lesson you should have learned early on. But since you didn’t, me and the boys would be happy to beat it into your thick skulls.” Sonny was a sight to behold. Tall, with his hair short, his beard long, and his muscular, tattooed arms on full display, his frown made his face ominous. I was scared, and I knew him well, so the kid had to be petrified.

  Hoping to save some face, the kid stiffened his spine. “You and those two losers against all of us,” he said, indicating his posse. Like rats off a sinking ship, though, the others turned and ran for the door; it banged open as they scrambled to be the first one out.

  Murph and Gears followed them out to the parking lot to make sure they left. The sound of screeching tires could be heard a few seconds later.

  I had to give the kid credit, he didn’t cut and run like his buddies. He was shaking in his shoes, but he stood up like a man. Putting one hand on his shoulder, Sonny turned him around to face me with an ease that was stunning. “Apologize to the lady for scaring her.” He looked at the floor and started to mumble, but Sonny knocked him in the back of the head and said, “Be a man; look her in the eye and mean what you say.”

  He tipped up his chin and looked at me. He had a mutinous look on his face, but he dutifully repeated his apology. He turned to Sonny and said, “Can I go now?” Sonny gave him a once-over. The kid’s face turned white and his hands balled into fists; his knuckles stood out in stark relief against the rest of his skin.

  “Get lost,” Sonny ordered. Before the kid could move, Sonny’s hand descended on his shoulder. “You’re on my radar now, kid.
I know who you are, and before the night is over, I will know everything about you, from the day you were born until right this second. You screw up, and I’ll know about it.”

  While Sonny was talking, the kid’s face was growing paler and paler. He scooted around Sonny and practically fell over his feet getting out the door.

  Turning to me, Sonny said, “Good idea putting your phone on speaker. They had no idea I was listening. But damn it, Gia, they could have seriously hurt you if I hadn’t been close enough to get here in time.”

  I sighed. I’d heard all of this before when I’d first taken the job at the store. “Sonny, I hear what you’re saying, and I really am grateful that you got here so fast and ran them off. But I need this job. If I could find something else, I’d be out of here in a New York minute. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to, and I’m stuck until I do.”

  He reached up and scratched his beard, his big hands smoothing the hair repeatedly.

  “What, Sonny? Spit it out, you’re making me nervous now,” I said.

  He sighed, releasing his beard and looking away from me. “Gia, our club secretary is leaving us next week. She helps me do all the paperwork involved with the club, as well as the outside interests the guys have. I also do most of their taxes, which is a fuck-load of paperwork. I know you’re good with computers, and I could honestly use the help.” He finally looked at me, gauging my reaction.

  Looking him in the eye, I replied, “If you are legitimately offering me a job, I will seriously consider it. But I’m telling you right now, I’m not one of the club girls, and I don’t trade myself for work. I’ve been in worse positions and have come out on top. I don’t want or need anyone’s charity. I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time without having to resort to that, and I won’t start now.”

  Sonny smiled after I had finished. “Gia, I’m not asking you to trade sex for a job. You can come to the club and meet Dana; she can show you what her job entails and what would be expected of you. The club pays a prevailing wage, and we can discuss whatever else you require. As for your body, fuck yes I want to have sex with you, but it has nothing to do with you working for the club.”

  He closed in on me behind the counter, crowding me until my back was against the wall and he was plastered to my front. He snaked an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. I could feel the hard outline of his cock as his groin lined up with mine. “Come on, Gia, admit it: sparks fly every time we get within two feet of each other.” He lowered his head ‘til he was right above my mouth, and I couldn’t stop myself from rising up so my lips met his. His were firm and warm, and his tongue traced the seam of mine, asking me to let him in. I opened for him, and he tilted my head to get the angle he wanted before devouring my mouth. I whimpered, going up on tiptoe to get closer and wrapping my arms around his neck. I let him kiss me ‘til I felt dizzy from lack of air and too much him—if there was such a thing. Somehow, he had wedged a leg between mine, and I had been unconsciously riding his muscular thigh.

  Someone cleared their throat, and I immediately tried to disengage myself from Sonny. “Gears, I’m gonna break your fucking neck. This better be life or death, because if it isn’t, it’s gonna be yours.”

  “Sorry boss, miss, but Dukes has been trying to call your phone, and it’s busy.”

  “Oh, shit, I never disconnected the call. I’m sorry, Sonny,” I said.

  He sighed. “It’s not your fault, Gia, I didn’t think of it either.” Stepping away from me, he pulled his cell from his cut and tapped a few buttons. Putting the phone up to his ear, he waited a minute before speaking. “Hey, boss, what’s up?” He grunted a few times, shaking his head before he agreed to be at the clubhouse shortly. Swiping his phone off, he turned to Gears. “You stay here with Gia ‘til she gets off, in case the idiots think it’s safe to come back and harass her again.” He turned to me. “Babe, I have to get back to the clubhouse. I want you to come in tomorrow and talk to Dana. If you think you could do the job, it’s yours. You can tell your boss to stick this job where the sun don’t shine.”

  I laughed. “What time do you want me there?”

  “Dana comes in around 9:30 after she drops her grandkids off at the bus stop or school. That should be good, yeah?”

  “Sounds reasonable. Thank you, Sonny.”

  He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss. “See you then, Gia.”

  Turning swiftly he left the shop with Murph on his heels. “Thank you for staying and babysitting, Gears. I really appreciate it. I don’t think those boys really wanted to hurt me, but a woman is never safe when a bunch of guys gets a stupid idea. They develop a pack mentality, and the hunt is on.”

  Gears replied, “No sweat, Gia, I don’t mind hanging out with you. I’ve had worse duties.” He winked at me.

  I chuckled, “I’m glad I could accommodate you, sweets.”

  He smiled. “Time to step outside for a smoke while I take a look around. You stay inside, and I’ll be back in a couple minutes, but I’ll have you in sight the whole time.”

  Patting him on the back, I said, “No worries, Gears, I’ve been doing this for a while, so I’m used to it. Go do what you need to do; I’m going to make some fresh coffee and tidy up for the next shift.”

  With that, we parted ways and went about our respective business. My head was buzzing, both from Sonny’s panty-melting kiss and also from the unexpected offer of a job. I didn’t want to stay alone in the store after tonight, and it was a dead-end job anyway. It was exciting to be able to leave this place and know I’ve got something lined up even better. I liked most of the guys in the Devil’s Wind. They were a close-knit group, and they looked after each other like family. I dumped out the pots of old coffee, doing the job on autopilot. When the bell over the door chimed, I stiffened until I saw Gears. He smiled, and I knew, come hell or high water, this was my last night at the Quickie Mart.

  Two

  I didn't want to leave Gia with Gears, but Dukes needed me back at the club. Those idiots had scared her, but no harm was done. She had been smart enough to call me, and I was already up and moving before I heard the rack smash on the floor. Grabbing Murph and Gears, I drove like a bat out of hell to get to the Quickie Mart. I hated that she had to work in that place alone at night.

  Her boss was a middle-aged asshole who thought those that worked there were beholden to him. I usually kept a guy on the place when she worked the night shift. If something happened to her because we weren’t vigilant, I would have killed someone. Dukes had no problem with it, as he felt the club owed her for saving Breech’s life when he got shot.

  Riding back to the club finally got my dick to relax. Being around her, I had a constant hard-on. A few of the club girls were always around when I wanted to scratch an itch, but lately, I just didn’t want to be with any of them. I never formed an attachment to any of them, and since Gia came, I felt even less of a need for them now.

  The girls came and went over the years, and a couple still sent us cards at Christmas. The boys never treated them like trash. We just weren’t wired that way. I’d been around clubs that used their girls like whores, and it always left a sour taste in my mouth.

  Dukes wasn’t that kind of leader. He wanted the guys to be able to kick back, relax, and have a good time, which included sticking your dick in some chick if you wanted. The rooms upstairs had seen some serious action over the years. The guys weren’t shy about who they slept with or when. But Dukes wouldn’t stand for any of the girls being mistreated while they were part of the club. Even after they left the club, if they had trouble, they would come to us to help smooth over some situations. We had, on more than one occasion, thrown a pounding on some asshole for beating on one of the girls.

  Even the skank that had betrayed Fighter didn’t get a beating, although she would have deserved it. We got real selective after that happened.

 
Walking into the club room, music played loudly, and the bar was full. Guys were playing pool and others were pretending to dance on the tiny floor. I didn’t see Dukes anywhere, so I continued on through the main room ‘til I came to the meeting room; ducking my head inside I saw it was empty. Closing the door behind me, I continued down the hall ‘til I came to my office; again, the door was open. Going in, I found Dukes in my chair, typing on my computer. “Anything I can get you, boss?” I asked, dropping onto the couch to the left of my desk.

  He grunted, “I was just leaving you an email.” He continued to peck away at the keyboard.

  “I’m going to hire Gia to replace Dana, Dukes,” I said.

  He stopped typing. “What the fuck, Sonny?”

  “Listen, Dukes, it makes perfect sense. Dana is leaving, and Gia needs a job—I just had to go roust a bunch of hormonal teenage boys before they did something stupid and actually hurt her. I don’t want her in that fucking dump any longer than she has to be. She’s good with computers, and I think she’d be a great addition to the staff.”

  “You know how I feel about Gia. She saved Breech, and nothing we do can repay that. But I’m telling you, Sonny, you have a fucking hard-on for her, and it could blow up in your face if it goes south. Keep her on the boys’ taxes and outside stuff to get started, but out of club business ‘til we know that you two are muy simpatico, got me?”

  “That was my intention from the get-go. It’s true I want her, and I fully intend to get her. She’s not going to go down easy, I know that, but I’m not giving up ‘til I see where this can lead.”

  Dukes chuckled, “Never would have thought I’d see us all with Ol’ Ladies. It’s fucking unbelievable that there are women out there who can actually love us. Not only are they all smart and sexy as hell, but they’re all loyal to the club and to us, almost to a fault. We’re fucking blessed, Sonny.”