by S. Nelson
“Is that true?” Marek asked me again, completely ignoring his VP.
It was what I wanted. I just didn’t want to do it right then. Thinking we had some more time before anything about us being together came to light, I’d pushed the notion from my mind until I was ready to do it. I never thought he was going to force me into it so early after I’d accepted to be with him.
But it looked like I had to make a decision and quick. Or rather, give my response—my decision had already been made for me, the man holding my hand hostage unwavering in his resolve.
“Yes,” I whispered, averting my eyes from Marek’s intense stare and quickly glancing around, looking for any signs of my uncle. Thinking maybe it would be easier for him to hear the news without us touching, I continued to struggle out of Stone’s hold, but he was relentless.
“Stop it. I mean it,” Stone grumbled, yanking on my arm. “It’s either you continue to hold my hand, or I’ll shove my tongue down your throat as soon as I catch sight of Trigger.” He continued to stare straight ahead. “Your choice.”
I had no doubt he would do exactly as threatened, so I stopped fidgeting. And no sooner had I stilled when I saw my uncle walking toward us. Marek was blocking the middle of us, where our hands were joined.
Breathing in and out deeply did nothing to calm me. Shit was about to go down, and I was hastily trying to think of ways to calm the situation as soon as it erupted. I could beg and plead with him to be rational, or I could stand strong. Remind him I was grown and could make my own decisions, including who I was going to share my bed with.
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t say anything referring to us having sex.
Everything happened so fast. First, my uncle was smiling at me then he was staring at our hands, the look on his face switching in a split second. Confusion danced over his features before fury took hold.
Coming to stand next to Marek, he glanced from Stone to me to our hands again. His entire body tensed and, rising to his full height, he became quite an intimidating force. Disappointment and anger dueled behind his eyes, and I felt awful that I was partly the cause of his anguish.
“What. The fuck. Is this?” he seethed, pointing toward us with a sharp gesture. His focus wasn’t on me, however, but on Stone. He was impatiently waiting for an answer when I began to speak.
“Uncle Trigger, please let me explain before you start yelling,” I pleaded, trying to step closer to comfort him in some small way. But I couldn’t move because Stone was still tightly holding onto me.
My uncle’s gaze never wavered. It was as if he never even heard me speak.
“Why are you touching my niece?” he bit out, advancing closer, menace pouring off him in waves. When Stone didn’t answer, my uncle shoved him. Hard. Finally breaking our hands apart. “Answer me, you bastard! Why the fuck are you touching my niece?” he repeated, stepping dangerously close to him again. All the men surrounding the ring heard the commotion and came rushing over. A firm hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back. I tilted my head to the side and saw it was Tripp. Pulling me further away, he said, “You might not want to see this, Adelaide.”
“This is happening because of me,” I assured him, not taking my eyes off the two men preparing for battle.
“No, this is all on Stone, sweetheart. He knew better. He knew he shouldn’t have gone after you, but he did. And now he has to deal with the consequences.” Tripp’s tone was unaffected. The words he spoke were so matter-of-fact, it was scary.
Sidestepping the nomad, I shrugged off his hold and moved back out front to witness what came next.
“I warned you what would happen if you so much as touched Addy!” my uncle shouted, his hands running over the top of his head in anger, strands of hair loosening from his ponytail. Without saying another word, Trigger reached behind him and pulled a gun from his waistband, aiming it directly at Stone. My eyes bugged out of my head at the horror which was about to unfold. Surely, he wouldn’t make good on his threat and kill the VP of his club. Marek wouldn’t allow it.
Or was Stone’s decision to ‘go after’ me that detrimental?
Hands tried to pull me back again, but I fought against them; I assumed it was Tripp but I couldn’t be sure. I rushed forward until I stood next to the president of the Knights Corruption.
“Do something, Marek!” I cried out. “You can’t let this happen.” I tugged on his arm. “You have to stop this.” He never even looked at me, instead jerking his head toward the two men about to go to war.
“Trig, just don’t kill him. Okay?” Marek bristled with some kind of emotion, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. I was sure he was pissed two of his men were at odds with each other, but it was more than that. He acted like he was powerless to stop what was about to unfold, but didn’t he realize he held all the authority necessary? He was the president, after all. His word was law. Even I knew that much.
Realizing their leader wasn’t going to intervene, I raced forward to shield Stone. Or I tried to, at least. As soon as I was close enough, both my uncle and Stone shouted for someone to remove me.
At least they were on the same side when it came to keeping me safe. But I didn’t care. I knew Stone would never harm Trigger, but it looked as if my uncle was hell-bent on teaching Stone a lesson.
“Uncle Trig, please put the gun down,” I begged. “Please don’t do this.” Tears clouded my vision, but I couldn’t afford not to see every single movement either one of them made. They danced around each other, Stone keeping his eye on his opponent’s weapon.
“He knew what would happen, Addy. I told them all.”
“Don’t be crazy,” I pleaded. “Can’t we just go inside and talk this out?” Even as the words left my mouth, I knew they were ridiculous.
“Addy!” Stone shouted. “Let it happen. Then we can move on.”
“You’ll never move on with my niece. After I shoot you, you won’t so much as be able to whip it out ever again.”
“Trigger . . .” Marek warned. “Be careful what you do. I mean it. You can graze him, but if you disable my VP in any way, you and me are gonna have an issue.”
Oh, God! Had they all lost their minds?
They weren’t going to back down. My uncle had Marek’s approval to shoot Stone, and Stone was simply standing there, waiting for his punishment. Did he know all along he was really going to be shot?
Was he crazier than I thought? Did he want to be with me so badly that he was willing to take a bullet because of it?
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t breathe.
I was paralyzed with fear.
Suddenly, my brain formed a thought, and before I could properly filter the words, they fell from my lips before I could stop them.
“I’m pregnant!” I shouted, stepping forward to make sure they heard me. For some reason, it didn’t dawn on me to worry about Stone’s reaction over the news. All I wanted to do was distract my uncle enough to refocus his attention.
But it did the exact opposite.
“You knocked up my niece?” my uncle roared, steadying the weapon in his hand and resting his finger over the delicate trigger.
Before I could say another word, he fired.
Stone
I’d been too shocked by what came flying out of Addy’s mouth that I took my focus off her uncle. And it was in those few precious seconds that he made good on his threat and fuckin’ shot me.
The ol’ bastard really did it.
While I didn’t think his threats were idle, I hadn’t really put any stock in them either. Worst-case, I thought he was gonna come at me and throw a few punches, which I would have let him seeing as how I did go against one of the codes. ‘Never mess with anyone in another member’s family.’ But I couldn’t help myself; Addy and I were meant to be together, and nothing—and no one—was gonna get in the way.
The force of the bullet pushed me back, throwing me on my ass before I even realized I’d been shot. Of course, there was no pain, but pressure
exploded toward the top of my thigh. When I looked down, I saw a hole in my jeans, blood pouring from the wound and dribbling to the concrete below, causing quite the mess.
“You’re fuckin’ crazy, Trigger!” I yelled, throwing off my cut before taking off my T-shirt. Placing the material over the wound, I knew I had to stop the bleeding before my body decided to revolt against me. I didn’t know how badly I’d been injured, but I was sure Addy would tell me any second.
“I warned ya,” he said cockily before turning around to walk toward his niece. “You need to come with me, Addy. Now.” He reached for her hand in anger and, family or not, that shit pissed me off.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. You just shot a man and walked away. One of your own brothers,” she cried. “How could you do that?”
“How?” he shouted. “Because he knew what the punishment was for messing with you. That’s how. Now, come with me so we can talk.”
“No. I love you, but I’m beyond livid with you right now. You need to leave me alone until I calm down,” she insisted, pulling her hand from his and retreating until he took the hint. A defeated look held him in place before he turned toward the clubhouse, no doubt going to pour himself a stiff drink. Something I could have used right about then.
I rose to my feet before Addy reached me, terror laced behind her beautiful blue eyes. “I’m okay,” I said, standing up straight after tying my shirt around my leg. “Let’s get inside so you can patch me up before it gets worse.”
I tried to focus on anything but the words she’d shouted for everyone to hear. ‘I’m pregnant.’ Upset she chose to openly reveal something which should have been done in private, I shrugged away from her when she reached for me. I should have been the first person she told, not my whole goddamn club.
Refusing to have our conversation in front of everyone present, I walked ahead and disappeared inside the building. True to what I thought, Trigger was already behind the bar pouring himself a drink.
I glanced in his direction briefly before heading down the hallway to my room. I had just stepped inside when Addy appeared right behind me, closing and locking the door for added privacy.
She rushed forward and reached for my leg, but before she could attend to me, I grabbed her arms and pulled her close. So many things fired off inside my brain I had no idea which topic to tackle first.
The fact she chose to hide the pregnancy from me.
The fact she chose to shout out the life-altering news in front of everyone, making me look like an idiot that I found out right along with my brothers.
The fact she obviously didn’t trust me enough to come to me the minute she found out she was carrying my baby.
The fact she finally agreed to be my woman, but chose to hide the first thing that cemented us in each other’s lives like a horrible secret.
Maybe I was being irrational, overthinking and playing into the paranoia flooding me, but what else could I do?
I wanted to hear her out, I really did, but betrayal built quickly in my veins. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were pregnant? You ashamed that’s my baby or somethin’?” She tried to step back but I held her close, refusing to allow her to escape before she answered me.
Her face fell, looking as if she was insulted I would ask such a thing. Swallowing the words bubbling up her throat, she shook her head and silently pleaded with me. For what, I had no idea.
“Answer me!” My temper took hold and battled inside me. I knew I had an issue, but if shit like this didn’t happen then the beast would never rear his ugly head.
Was it too much to ask for people to not piss me the fuck off?
Finally pushing her away, I sat on the edge of the bed, not caring that the blanket was soaking up the river of red seeping from the hole in my leg.
“Of course not. How could you ask me that?” Her eyes misted with unshed tears. Normally, I would have comforted her, but I was too upset—not necessarily at the news, but at the way everything had played out. I could deal with the ramifications of choosing to be with Addy, with being shot like some kind of dog in front of everyone because I’d chosen to disobey Trigger’s warning. But what I was having a hard time dealing with was the fact she was growing my kid inside her and chose to keep that information from me.
“How long have you known?” I asked, playing with the button of my jeans, knowing full well I had to dispose of the material soon. Addy’s eyes kept flitting toward my thigh, hoping I would let her tend to me before I managed to lose more blood.
“I just found out.”
“When?” Had she harbored the news for weeks? Months? I’d just seen her naked and hadn’t noticed anything different about her body, so I assumed she wasn’t too far along, but what the hell did I know?
“Yesterday,” she finally confessed. “After you left the hospital, Dr. Weber called me to his office and delivered the news.” Her head was down, locks of her blonde hair falling forward and framing her face.
Tensing at the mere mention of the doctor, I knew I needed to focus on something else or I would explode. So I stood up, popping open the button of my jeans, and dragging my zipper through its metal teeth. As soon as she realized I was trying to undress, she rushed forward, untied the T-shirt I’d wrapped around my leg, and gently tugged my jeans down until they were a tangled mess around my feet.
Realizing she hadn’t known long helped to simmer the heat swirling around inside me. After countless seconds of silence, I concluded that shock had played its hand in the delay of her coming to me and filling me in that our lives had been forever altered.
A few breaths and I was well on my way to calming down.
“I thought you were on the pill,” I said, kicking the jeans away so there was no restriction for when she inspected the damage her uncle had caused.
Kneeling in front of me, her delicate hands brushed over my skin, inspecting the wound to determine her next move. “I am . . . I was. But it’s not a hundred percent reliable. Things happen.”
“Things happen?” I repeated incredulously, running a hand through my hair in disbelief.
Completely choosing to ignore me, she focused on fixing me. “I still can’t believe he shot you,” she uttered, the sudden frown on her face expected. I loved that she worried about me, but it seemed there were bigger issues which required her attention.
Our baby, for one.
Stilling her hands, I tilted her chin upward and forced her to look at me. Children had never been on my radar, even while I was pursuing her. But the thought of her swollen with my child somehow suddenly pleased me, a feeling I never thought I would have.
“Are you happy about it?”
“It?” She half smiled. “Do you mean our son or daughter?” While she made an attempt at lightheartedness, there was worry etched deep into her expression. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, her apprehension shone bright for me to see.
“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
She averted her eyes and rose to her feet. Placing her hand over my heart before looking at my face again, she confessed, “It’s complicated, Stone. There’s other factors at play. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, or even what’s gonna happen for that matter.”
Forgetting all about the fact I was standing in the middle of my room at the club in nothing but my underwear, blood continuing to trickle down my leg, and reeling with the news I was gonna be a father, I blanked with a response to her off-the-wall statement.
“What the hell does that mean?” Moving closer until she backed against the door, I pinned her not only with my body but with my stare. “You thinkin’ ‘bout not having my kid?” The thought she would want to exterminate a piece of us was beyond any scope of reality I was unexpectedly thrust into.
Instead of answering me, she ducked under my arm, but wasn’t quick enough. “I can’t do this right now,” she cried. “Please . . . just let me go.”
“Not a chance in hell. Not until you tell me whatever else it is you’re h
idin’ from me.” Dragging her toward the bed, I forced her to sit, taking a seat next to her, demanding she clue me in to the craziness inside her head.
“What do you want from me?” she asked. My silence forced her to continue, albeit hesitantly. “I’m shocked at the news of the baby, among other things.” She mumbled the last part of her sentence, but I’d heard it. I had excellent hearing, something she hated whenever we argued and she tried to slyly get in the last word. It never worked because I always heard her grumblings, therefore officially having the final say.
Panic stole over her, and I would have bet if I placed my hand over her heart it would be racing. “What’s wrong? You need to tell me now before I think the worst. I can’t begin to fathom why you’re this upset over finding out you’re pregnant. I mean, yeah, it’s a shock, something we didn’t plan for, but it happened all the same. Did you think I would be angry or somethin’? Did you think I would demand you get rid of it? Because I would never do that. Ever. That kid,” I said, pointing to her belly, “is half you and half me, therefore perfect.” I smiled, but my expression did nothing to calm her.
Instead, she started to cry.
Tucking her under my arm, I rained kisses down on top of her head, whispering soothing words in her ear to let her know I was there for her, in whatever way she needed me to be. My initial thought that she wanted to abort my child quickly disappeared. I saw the look in her eyes, and it was one of acceptance of our newest addition. But something was clouding her happiness. Something dire, I was sure, even if she refused to speak the words.
Clearly, she wasn’t gonna fully open up about whatever else was weighing heavy on her, so instead of continuing to force her confession, I redirected the focus onto me.
“Wanna patch me up now?” When she lifted her head, my eyes stayed glued to hers, waiting for the smallest sign she was gonna crack and break down again. But she didn’t, instead turning her attention to my leg.
Trigger had managed to remove a chunk of flesh, the bullet piercing and exiting my limb. Thankfully. It would have been one hell of a pain in the ass to cut out a lodged bullet, and with Addy in her current state, I didn’t think she would have the strength to tackle the repair right then. And even though I didn’t care about the wound, I knew it wasn’t smart to leave a foreign object inside my body.
