by Erin Trejo
“Fuck you!”
“No, I’m gonna fuck your wife as soon as my boys bring her in,” I calm my tone and tell him. His eyes go wild and I let him think I’ve got the bitch. I don’t but that’s because I know I’ll get what I want from him.
“Leave her alone!”
“Why should I? You tried to kill my woman,” I remind him, releasing his hair.
“I didn’t do shit.”
“No? So it wasn’t you that was overheard on the closed line givin’ the orders?” His eyes widen as he glances around at all of us before dragging his gaze back to mine.
“Fuck you.”
“We already established who I’d be fuckin’. Wolf, what’s the ETA on this asshole’s wife?” I glance over my shoulder at Wolf. He pulls his cell out and types out a few things before looking up at me.
“They will be goin’ in in about five minutes, Prez.” Thank fuck he knows when to play along.
“Fine! Fuck, it was me! I ordered it,” he finally yells.
“Why?”
“She killed my boss’s brother.”
“Who?”
“Mack Brody,” he says, sending my world into a downward spiral. My eyes move to Gauge’s and I see the fire burning deep within them. It’s the same fire that I feel burning through my body as we speak.
“You fucked up, Anderson.”
“No, they did! They didn’t kill the bitch the first time,” he growls.
A dark chuckle leaves my throat and the guys know what’s about to go down.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I’m pacing Sly’s bedroom not sure of what to do. I’m on edge and I can’t think straight. This is one big mess. I shouldn’t have let him go. I should have tried harder to stop him. Why didn’t I?
“Um, Fab?” I hear Temple’s voice, and when I turn to face her, she stands there with a stick in her hand. I open my mouth to say something but what do I say? Krista rounds the corner and comes into the room quickly cutting off Temple.
“Dez saw it. I don’t know why you didn’t do it in here,” she says out of breath. I wring my hands together, well all that I can with this cast on. It doesn’t take long for Dez to come storming the room.
“I know what you’re thinking,” I start but she stops me. Shaking her head, she inches toward me as vomit creeps into the back of my throat.
“That yours?” she asks, nodding toward the test that’s still in Temple’s hand. I nod my head slowly, at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say. I should have been more careful; I know that much.
“Dezzy,” I sigh.
“No. Don’t do that. I’m not mad, I’m actually a little relieved.”
She’s what? She isn’t mad that I’m pregnant?
“Relieved?” Her smile slowly creeps across her face and my heart swells. I wanted to be closer to Dez, I really did. I know having me around has been hard on her and I hated that, but we have been getting along better since I’ve been here, and the air was cleared.
“I wasn’t the best daughter. In fact, I was a pretty shitty person to my dad for a long time and I hate myself for it now. Dad needs a reason to be who he is, and you are giving him that.” Her words cause tears to fill my eyes. Instead of the argument that I thought we were going to have, she wraps her arms around me, pulling me into a hug. Our moment doesn’t last long. The sounds of glass shattering jolts us apart. I can hear guys yelling, the prospects calling out to Dezzy.
“In here!” she calls out but suddenly all the noise stops. All of us share a glance when Dez puts her finger to her lips. The three of us move to huddle together when Dezzy reaches into the back of her jeans. She pulls a gun. She’s carrying a gun? Of course she is! Why would I expect any less from anyone here? She motions to us to move toward the bathroom, which we do, but as soon as she sticks her head out the door she’s immediately taken down. Her gun flies through the air, her body slamming against the wall before being pushed to the floor. A group of men stroll into the room, smirking with guns in their hands.
“Fabiola. You are a hard one to track down these days.” I take in the stance, the way they hold themselves.
“They’re cops,” I whisper under my breath. The girls huddle in closer, but they quickly break us apart. The man in front, his green eyes showing through the mask he wears, grabs me roughly.
“Get away from me!” I try to fight back but there’s no use. A fist slams into my stomach knocking the air from my lungs. Temple is screaming like she’s being murdered, and Krista is trying to fight back. Dez is on the floor heaped over in a pile. My stomach rolls when I don’t see her move at all.
“Shut up!” the man hisses in my ear. He drags me past Dezzy and down the hall. I see the dead prospects on the floor in a puddle of their own blood. Sobs rip from my chest as the man keeps moving.
“Please don’t hurt them,” I beg him.
“Be a good little bitch and I won’t.” When we’re outside and I see the bikes, I gasp. “What’s the fastest way outta here?” The bastard nods toward the bikes with a laugh. I press my feet into the ground trying to push back but he’s too strong. I can’t get on that thing. I don’t want to.
“Please don’t do this.”
“Shut up and get on!” I’m about to refuse when the door opens behind us. Turning my head, I see Temple with a gun to her head. My body trembles as I shake my head no.
“Okay! Let her go, I’ll go. I’ll do whatever you want,” I tell him. He chuckles and thrusts a helmet onto my head before nodding to the guy. He shoves Temple back inside and moves toward his own bike as I climb on the back of this one. In the matter of seconds, we take off. I try not to hold onto him but as he takes the curves, I have no choice.
I try to think of who he could be. Why would he take me? I come up blank. I have no guesses as to who could do this, yet those eyes seemed so familiar. My body trembles and shakes as I try to control my breathing. This is bad. This is really bad. Just as the thoughts start to settle, the sound of more rumbling bikes perks up my ears.
Chapter Twenty-Six
It didn’t take long to kill that bastard and send the prospect out on the boat to finish the clean-up. It also took me three seconds to get in the van and head back to the clubhouse. After Krista called in hysterics, we calmed her down enough to get the story from her. Someone took Fab and fucked up the girls, killed my prospects. I didn’t go inside to check on anyone. I left Shaft to handle the mess and the rest of the guys grabbed their bikes and followed me.
Fire races through my veins as I rev the engine and shoot forward. Shaft lost his shit worse than any of them knowing that Temple was harmed. They said Dez was knocked out, but she was waking up. They came into my house, my club. They fucked with my family and now my woman. Shit like that doesn’t slide in our world. I can feel my phone vibrating in my pocket. Pulling it free, I press it to my ear.
“You should be seein’ them just around this corner,” Mystic roars into the line.
“How many?”
“Five that I can see on CCTV. They passed the intersection on Briscoe one minute ago.” Without another word, I hit the end button and slide it back into my pocket, pulling out my gun instead. I motion with my hand toward the curve, so the guys know to be ready. Adrenaline courses through my veins as I maneuver my bike around the bend. Right there in front of us is another set of bikes. Five of them, just like Mystic said there’d be. I shoot forward, firing my gun at the one up front. His tire blows and sends him flying off the road. That got the others’ attention, which is what I wanted. Motioning for Gauge to move on my right, I veer to the left. A few more shots are fired until they decide to return the favor.
Dust kicks up from the road when I see the bike with Fab on it start to lose control.
“Fuck!” I roar knowing that if this asshole doesn’t know how to handle his machine they are going down. And that’s exactly what happens. It’s almost as if it was in slow motion. The bike slowly started to tilt to the left before skidding across the pavement
. Fab’s body goes off to the left while the man’s goes straight. I pull my bike to a stop and frantically rush toward her.
“Fab!” When I’m close enough, I drop to my knees, checking her for any visible injuries. When I don’t see any aside from scratches she croaks, “I’m fine.” My heart nearly leaps from my chest hearing her words. That’s what I needed; I needed her soothing voice to stop the madness in my head. Blowing out a breath, I help her up and check her once more when I hear groaning.
“Stay here,” I warn her in a demanding tone. She nods her head, cradling her stomach. If she’s hurt worse than I think she is, I’m going to lose it. When I walk up to the piece of shit on the ground, I pull back and kick him in the ribs. He howls in pain, but I do it again and again as I curse him.
“Stupid motherfucker! Did you think you could touch my woman? Huh?” Another kick. “Come into my house?” Another. “Fuck with my family!” I hear shots close by, but I know it’s my guys. After a second longer, they show up by my side.
“Pull his mask off, Wolf,” Gauge orders. Wolf leans down, pulling the mask from the guys face. I spit on him when I hear her gasp.
“Told you to stay over there!” I roar, taking my anger out on her instead of this fuck.
“Derek Brody,” she says softly as tears fill her eyes.
“What?” I ask confused. The asshole on the ground smirks up at her.
“You remember me,” he grunts.
“Why?” she asks, shaking her head as if she doesn’t understand.
“You killed him! You killed my brother!” he roars angrily but he can’t move. Glancing down, I can see the bone as it sticks through his torn jeans.
“Got a few minutes before the cops show up,” Wolf announces.
“She didn’t kill him, I did. You targeted the wrong person, asshole. What a goddamn shame it is too,” I say as I shake my head in annoyance.
“She’s fucking you, so same thing!” I nod my head at Wolf who raises his foot and presses on the prick’s leg. He howls even louder now.
“You fucked up my home. You fucked with my family. I wanted to kill you quickly, and then I wanted to watch you die slowly. Neither works for me, but in this case, we have limited time. Knife.” Holding my hand out to Gauge, he passes me a knife. Leaning down, I rip the assholes shirt open and carve the word pig into his chest. He screams and bucks but that does nothing. When I step back, I pass the knife back and pull my gun. This shit ends here. Whether I like it or not, I don’t have time to play games and watch him die. I need to get Fab out of here and to the doc to be checked.
“You marked yourself, asshole.” Pulling the trigger, Fab screams a little before, I assume, she covers her own mouth. I don’t look over until I hear her heaving.
“Can you ride?”
“You…you shot him.”
“He fuckin’ laid his hands on you. Of course I shot him! Now can you ride?” I’m pissed, annoyed - hell, I’m may be on a little high right now, but dealing with her emotions isn’t high on my list of things to do right now.
“Yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The doctor has checked me over a million times. I was lucky the asshole gave me a helmet, or I’d probably be dead right now. Aside from road rash, I’m fine. Minor cuts and I’ll have bruises but that’s the worst of it.
“Baby looks fine as well,” he adds, looking up at me. I nod my head, but I can’t look him in the eye.
“Thanks.”
“I take it he doesn’t know yet?” Shaking my head, my eyes fill with tears. Tears that I’m sick of crying. The doc’s hand comes down on my good arm in a reassuring gesture. “He’s going to be happy, sweetheart.” I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t know that Sly wanted another kid. I didn’t really plan on this either. The doc helps me up before he leaves the room. I already showered and changed although I still feel dirty. After everything that has happened, I can’t seem to wash the guilt from my skin. My thoughts are interrupted as a knock on the door pulls my attention. Sly peeks his head in.
“Why are you knocking on your own door?” I tease him a little lightheartedly. I may be struggling with all that has happened but being around Sly makes it all a little more bearable. His smile nearly melts my damn heart.
“Didn’t know if you wanted company.” I shift on the bed and pat the spot next to me. Sly walks over, looking like the hell that I feel and climbs up on the bed. Lying back, he reaches for me, pulling my head to his chest like he always does.
“That was a mess,” I say softly.
“Sure the fuck was.”
“I’m sorry about your guys.” My heart aches from the sight that I saw when I was being dragged out of here.
“Me too,” he says solemnly.
“Dez is okay, right?”
“All the girls are fine, darlin’. I’m glad you are too.”
“Sly…there’s something I need to tell you and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.” With that, he pulls his body from under me and leaps off the bed. He begins pacing the room, his hands on his hips.
“Look, Fab. I know shit went south quickly for us, but it isn’t always like this. I’m fuckin’ sorry, so goddamn sorry that you were involved in any of this, but you can’t just walk away from me.”
“I’m pregnant.”
“I fucked up. Time and time again but I need you, Fab. I need you more than I can say,” he continues as if he didn’t hear me.
“Sly. I’m pregnant!” I yell louder this time. His rant comes to a halt as he slowly turns his head to face me.
“What? No.” Shit, is he mad?
“Yes.”
He’s silent. This can’t be good. Running his hand through his hair, he blows out a breath, his eyes bugging out a little.
“I’m old, Fab. Does that affect the baby at all? Like, could I have fucked somethin’ up with it? I wasn’t the best dad to Dezzy,” he says looking off into the corner. “I messed her up. I’ll fuck up this one too. I can’t do this, Fab.” I narrow my eyes and watch him as he tugs at his hair, his beard, anything he can get his hands on while my heart slowly breaks inside of me.
“After everything we’ve been through, how can you say that?” I see his throat bob when he swallows and turns to face me. The look on his face says it all. I don’t need to hear the words that are going to come out of his mouth, I can feel them.
“I’ve fucked up a lot of things in my past, Fab. I’ve ruined people, taken lives but the one thing that I can never forgive myself for is hurtin’ Dezzy. I can’t take back the way I treated her. I can’t make that up to her. I refuse to do it to another child.”
“Sly, come on,” I begin but he stops me.
“No, Fab. I need you to understand this. Regret consumes me for what I did. I wish I could change the past, but I can’t and I’m not a different man now than I was back then. I’ll ruin that baby, Fab. You can’t let me do that to your child,” he says, looking completely serious. My heart beats faster in my chest as I wait to see what else he has to say. Nothing could be worse than this though. Nothing.
“You made me think. You made me feel and now you are throwing me and your child away like trash?” I ask, looking him in the eye. He doesn’t say anything, just scrubs his hand over his face looking exhausted.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen, Fabiola. I didn’t.”
“You think I did?”
“I don’t fuckin’ know! Fuck, Fab!”
“You bastard,” I whisper softly. I know he’s just hurting but hurting me to ease that ache isn’t helping. We stand in silence for a long time before I nod my head and walk out the door. I’m down the hall and into the main room when he follows.
“Don’t walk away from me!”
Everyone in the room turns to watch the showdown between us. My chest rises and falls, hurt, anger, and I don’t even know what else running wild inside of me. But it all fades when I look into his eyes. The eyes that hold me captive. The eyes that allow me to see into
his soul.
“You don’t want this, and I get that.”
He shakes his head. “You don’t get shit! I don’t wanna fuck that baby up, Fab. My little girl turned into a goddamn junkie because I fucked up!”
“That’s not true!” Dezzy yells, stepping up next to me. “I did what I did because of Mom. I blamed you, God knows I did, but we’ve made our peace, Dad. We’ve moved on and we’ve bonded. Don’t use me as your excuse.” A sob rips from her throat just as Gauge steps up and wraps his arm around her, pulling her in tightly.
“Dezzy,” Sly says her name on a whisper, dropping his chin to his chest in defeat.
“She’s right. Don’t use her as an excuse. You don’t want this baby, that’s fine with me, Sly. I’m ready to take care of it myself.” That took all the courage I could muster. Even though I’m barely holding myself together, it needed to be said.
“You are?” he asks, sounding confused. He takes small steps toward me, watching me for my reaction.
“Yes, I am.”
“You would take this baby and raise it right?” he asks. My pulse kicks up a notch, the closer he gets to me.
“Yes.”
“Just like your momma raised you?” Nodding my head, I feel the tears welling back up in my eyes. I blink trying to get them to stop but when he reaches up and cups my cheek in his hand, I lose. The tears fall down my cheeks and I can’t stop them. “Would you raise that baby just like your momma did you?”
“Yes.” He leans down, pressing his lips to mine softly before whispering, “Don’t let that baby hate me the way she did.”
Epilogue
“Chris, don’t put that in your mouth!” I bend down and take the leather from his hand. He’s his momma’s child. Chris was born two years ago and has had some kind of leather in his hands since that day. He makes me smile and forget the bad in the world. I suppose that’s a plus.
