“Well, damn.No, I didn’t know that.”He beamed at her.
Now, she licked her lips and asked, “Can I do something?”
“What?”
Della leaned over and brushed his lips with hers.She groaned and then pulled back.“I’ve always wanted to do that.But before I just couldn’t.”
Snake grinned as he felt amazed.He had never guessed her feelings.“You’ve always wanted to kiss me?”he asked in shock.
“Now I know what it is like and wow, it was something I should have done years ago.”
Snake slowly shook his head.“No, you didn’t really kiss me...this is a kiss,” he murmured as he lowered his head and kissed her.
Della sat there in shock as she raised her hand to touch his cheek.
Snake deepened the kiss and braced her face with both hands as the kiss got wilder.Finally, he pulled away and gazed into her eyes.“Now that was a kiss.”
Della stared into his eyes as she trembled a bit.“Wow, is right.”Looking stunned, she raised her shaky fingers to touch her just kissed lips.She reached out again to cup his cheek with her hand and confessed how she felt, “You may not want to know this but I’ve loved you for many years.I never had the chance to tell you that before but it’s true.I had such a crush on you before you left, then life as I knew it went to hell and that’s the only thing I had to hang onto until now.I also know you probably don’t share those feelings and that’s ok.Whatever happens, I just wanted you to know that someone out here loved you once upon a time.I’m glad I found you again.I know I was a bit crazy when I first saw you so you may not believe that, but I sure have missed you all these years.”
Snake stared at her.“I feel the same way, Della.”
Looking shocked, she blinked her eyes at him.“What?”
Nodding, he admitted, “I hated leaving you.But you were too young for me to...be with you.I also didn’t think Jesse would be happy if we got together.Not that I care about that anymore.Then when the worst times happened while I fought that war, I would picture your face.It got me through the most insane things.To tell you the truth, I don’t want to have to walk away from you, not again, not this time.The first time nearly killed me.”
She planted her face in his chest.“Did you know I was there that morning?At the bus station.I was standing by the fenceline and I heard you and Jesse fighting.Then I saw you turn around and get on that bus.I was crying when it pulled away.”
Reaching out, he turned and wrapped his arms around her.“I never you and I never thought you felt that way about me.”
“So what happens now?”she asked him in a low whisper.
“Now we go and tell your story to my brothers.Then we’ll make a plan to take Jesse and his buddies down.It’s gonna get a bit scary for you and there will probably be some danger.But when this is over, you’ll be safe and I’ll still be standing right beside you.You hear me?”
Della nodded.“Yeah, I hear ya.But taking them down isn’t gonna be easy.The Red Devils are real-life killers, Jack.And some people might die.I don’t want that.”
Snake sighed hard as he hauled her close to him and she laid her head on his shoulder.“Darlin, I know you don’t want it but it has to happen.Those idiots won’t ask politely and I’ll be damned if I just turn you over to them.Nope, that isn’t going to happen.If it comes down to them or us, I choose us and I’m not gonna apologize for that.My brothers know that and I hope you do too.”
Della nodded.“Jesse made his mind up a long time ago as to which side he belongs on...and it ain’t mine or even yours.He literally handed his soul over to the Devils and he’s lived that kind of life all these years.He’s been dealing and using drugs, snatching people off the streets and selling them to the highest bidder and doing God only knows what.He’s been hurting innocent people for nothing more than the fact that he can do it and that’s not what our dad taught him.My dad would be so ashamed of him.”
Snake nodded.“Yeah, he would be.I remember growing up with only him guiding me.My dad wasn’t in the picture as you know.But the one thing I remember was your dad telling us that every day we have a choice to make and if we can’t look at ourselves in a mirror every night then we did something wrong and we had to make that wrong right before we could move on.And to live right we should do that same thing again and again.He told us the sign of a real man would be looking at ourselves in the mirror every night and not being ashamed of the face looking back.I guess Jesse didn’t remember that.”
Della just sat there with her head on his shoulder for a long time and finally said, “I suppose I have to tell them everything.”
Snake nodded.“Yeah baby, my brothers need to know the details so we can stop whoever comes looking for you.”
Della looked up at his face.“Will you be there with me?”
Snake nodded.“I will always be there, right beside you all the way.”
