by K. Renee
A knock at the door brings her head up from our daughter, and she looks at me with a questioning expression. I shrug and set Blade on the couch and hand him the phone. Walking towards the front door, I adjust myself and open the door to see a cop standing there. “Hi, are you Elec Briody?” he says. His eyes scan over me, and I lean against the door jam.
“Why?” I ask. I hear Blade talking to Trix still, and the cop tries to look around me and inside.
“Do you know a Tina Briody?” he asks after looking at a pad of paper.
“She’s my ex-wife.” I raise an eyebrow and I can only imagine the shit she’s going to try and pull now that she’s no longer married to me. She vowed to make my life hell when I signed the divorce papers, and I guess she’s finally going to make good on her threat. “What did she say this time? That I’m abusing my son? That bitch needs to get a damn life.” I watch him and he looks uneasy.
“You have a child together?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I have a son with someone else and she’s pissed about it.” He writes down a few things before he raises his head and looks at me with remorse. What the fuck is goin’… Fuck. Everything clicks. Something happened to her.
“I’m sorry to inform you, Mr. Briody, but Mrs. Briody was found murdered last night.” I drop my head, and I hear Blade’s little feet slamming against the hardwood floor as he comes towards the door. He grabs it and pulls it open, looking up at me.
“Dadda, momma tav ew.” He hands me my phone, and I see the unease written all over her face.
“Babe, I need to call you back,” I say. Her eyebrows furrow and she goes to say something, but I look up at the cop who doesn’t bother to even look like he isn’t listening. When I look back at the screen, she nods her head and hangs up without another word. Pocketing my phone, I pick up Blade and hold him to me.
“So, Mr. Briody, where were you last night?” He starts to write notes, and I want to laugh at his pansy ass.
“I was at a bar with my buddy and I had some bitch blow me in the back. After that, we brought them back here and let’s just say I had her screaming my name all night long.” He looks at Blade and then back at me.
“And, who was watching your son?” His tone isn’t something I like and I need to protect her, too.
“His mother had him and his sister last night,” I state. He takes a step back from me and looks me in the eyes.
“Could she have left them with someone else when she went to kill your wife?” Putting Blade down, I tell him to go inside and play with his new toy. He runs inside, and I shut the door behind me.
Getting right in the cops face, I point my finger at his chest. “She didn’t give a fuck about my ex-wife. We have a two-week-old daughter. She doesn’t have time to shower in the morning, much less leave the damn house. Leave her the fuck alone. I don’t know what happened to Tina, but you can bet your ass she fuckin’ deserved it.”
He eyes me for a second before he grins. “Don’t worry, I’ll find out who murdered your ex-wife, and I’ll make sure that they are charged to the fullest extent of the law. You have a good day. I suggest you find a nanny if your baby momma winds up in jail.”
Fuck. As much as I want to go after that fuckin’ cop, I stand my ground. He gives me one last smirk before he turns and walks back towards his unmarked car. Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I dial Trix’s number. When she finally answers, I can’t get the words out fast enough.
“Where were you last night?” I bark out, making my way into the house. I look over at Blade and see him passed out on the couch already. Not giving him a nap worked wonders tonight.
“What the hell are you talking about? I was at home with the kids,” she says, sounding pissed off at me for even asking.
“Tina is dead. They think we had something to do with it. I just had a cop at my door asking where I was last night and where you were.” I hear her suck in a breath over the line and I pace the living room. “Trix, tell me you didn’t,” I whisper. She wouldn’t have done that. I know her better than that.
“Seriously? You have to ask me that, E? You know me better than that,” she huffs out.
“I know baby, but this shit is serious. I have a feeling he is going to go to your place and question you.” Running my hand over my face, I hate asking this damn question. “Was he with you last night?” She gets quiet, and the only sound I can hear is my own heart beating fast. My adrenaline is spiking and I need to do something, anything. Even if it were her, I wouldn’t let her go down for the murder of Tina.
“No. I told you we had a fight and he isn’t really talking to me.” She sounds like she’s about to cry.
“Come over here. Get you and Bexley in the car and drive straight here.”
“Won’t that cop know who I am?”
“No. I don’t think he knows your name. He will probably be searching my phone records to find your info. Just get here now, and I’ll figure something out. I won’t let anyone pin this shit on you.” I look at our son and then tell her, “I love you.”
“I’m scared.” Her voice breaks, and I know she’s probably freaking out right now.
“I know, babe. Just get here and I’ll protect you,” I state. She tells me she’s on her way and I wait for her to hang up. Once I get her here, I’ll at least be able to protect her.
Dialing Prez’s number, I wait for him to pick up. “Come on,” I mutter to myself. When he finally picks up, I can hear the frustration in his voice.
“What, E? I’m already dealing with enough shit and you pissing off my VP doesn’t make that shit any easier,” he whispers something to someone before he gets back on the phone.
“Tina is dead,” I say with no emotion.
“What?” He bites out. “What the fuck do you mean she’s dead?”
“Exactly what I fuckin’ said. I just had a damn cop at my door asking where I was last night. He was asking about Trix, too.”
“Fuck. They think she did it?” he asks. “Hey prospect, find me Romeo now!” He yells out.
“I don’t know. She’s coming to me right now. I’ll bring her and the kids to the clubhouse,” I state. I hear Romeo’s voice in the background as Stavros gives him a rundown of what I just said.
“Where is she?” he asks. Stavros tells him that she’s on her way to me, and I can hear him curse. “Of course, she fucking runs to him,” he says under his breath, but loud enough for me to hear over the line. I swear I want to kill that fucker for even touching her.
My doorbell sounds and I walk towards it to open it, but it opens before I get there. I see the car seat before I see her. When she gets through the door, I feel like I can breathe again. Being worried about her getting hauled in isn’t what should be happening. She doesn’t deserve that shit.
“Trixibella,” I say, grabbing the car seat from her. She drops a bag next to our feet and shuts the door.
“She there?” Stavros asks.
“Yeah, just got here. What’s the plan?” I ask, looking her over. She looks like she is on the verge of tears and I hate that. Setting the car seat down on the ground, I reach out a hand, wrapping it around the back of her neck and pulling her body to mine. I don’t care if she gets pissed about me touching her; I need to feel her body right now.
I feel her sharp intake of breath, and her hands grip my back, holding me to her. “Bring them here and we will start figuring out a plan,” he says sternly.
“Be there soon,” I say curtly before I hang up. Putting my phone in my pocket, I wrap my other arm around her and hold her. “I’ll take the fall before I let anything happen to you,” I whisper against the side of her head.
Her eyes snap up to mine and I can see the tears forming. “No. I won’t let you do that,” she says adamantly.
“I won’t let you go down for it, babe. They need you more than me.” I kiss her forehead and I hear our holy terror as he starts to wake back up.
When I get them all to the c
lubhouse, Stavros and Romeo are standing in the lot watching us pull in. Grabbing a sleeping Blade out of the back seat of my Chevy, I prop his face against my shoulder and shut the door. Walking over to Trix’s side, I grab the car seat from her, and lead her towards Stavros and her douche bag boyfriend.
She doesn’t go towards him, and part of me gets fuckin’ excited about that. It means I still have a chance to get her back. She stays close to me as we come to a stop in front of them. “Hey Trixi,” Stavros says. She gives him a smile, but doesn’t say anything.
I can feel the anger radiating off of Romeo, but he doesn’t say a word. He’s never been known to fly off the handle, and I know he doesn’t like to cause a scene. “I want to get Blade put back into bed,” I finally say, breaking some of the tension. Stavros nods and motions for me to leave. When Trix tries to follow me, he steps in her way and stops her.
I knew he wanted to ask her questions and I should have known that he would wait until he got us separated.
“I’ll be right back.” She hands me the bag and the baby monitor.
“Can you please put this in the room so I know when they wake up?” I nod and she puts the monitor in the car seat and I grab the bag with same hand that has the car seat.
“Your old room is still free, Easy E,” Stavros says over his shoulder. I look back at them and I see Romeo’s eyes on me. His eyes bore into me, but I don’t let it affect me. I’m playing for keeps, and I won’t let him win.
After I get Blade settled into my old bed, and put the baby monitor on the table next to it, I look down into the car seat at my daughter. Shit. I never thought that I would be a father, but now that they are here, I wouldn’t change that shit for the world. I had sworn that I’d never get a bitch pregnant, and that’s why I got fixed so damn young.
I didn’t want to live my life by the rules of a child. I love living free, and leaving on the drop of a dime. Hell, half the time I don’t even know if I’ll be making it home after a run. We’ve had too many close calls to count.
I knew going through with getting a vasectomy that it could reverse itself, but I never actually expected it to. Plus, I still wore condoms every time I fucked. Well, until Trix. Having her pussy take me in bare was the best damn feeling in the world, and I wanted it every chance I got, so I said fuck it and went bareback.
I don’t regret a damn thing. I have two beautiful children by the one woman that I will love the rest of my life. Damn, I sound like such a bitch right now. Kissing both my kids once more, I get up from the bed and make my way back towards where I left them. I can hear Stavros’s voice through the clubhouse doors and he sounds fuckin’ heated.
Quickly making my towards them, I see the tears streaming down her face. “What the fuck are you thinking, Trix? You’re letting him ruin your damn life still.” This time, it’s Romeo’s voice I hear. Her eyes meet mine, and she slightly shakes her head at me to keep me from saying anything. I know she can handle herself, but she shouldn’t have to.
When they both turn towards me, I my eyes narrow on Romeo. Before I can stop myself, I grab him by the throat and clock him in the side of the head. Stavros pulls me back before I can swing again. “I didn’t fuckin’ ruin her life. She fuckin’ chose me. You still jealous that Bexley is mine? You want what I have? Go fuck yourself!” I yell at him. Stavros has his hand on my chest, and he’s still pushing me back. “I already told you from day one that I wasn’t stepping back. She’s mine. Those kids in there are mine. You want to take them? You better be ready for one hell of a fight.”
Romeo spits blood on the ground and slowly wipes at his mouth. “You being their father doesn’t mean shit. I’ve been the one there for Trix, Blade and Bexley every damn night.”
“What, like you were tonight? Where the fuck were you? You want to be her old man? Then you should have been the one to calm her down. She might be arrested for murder because she doesn’t have a damn alibi. One that you should be able to provide, but you were fuckin’ pissy because Bex isn’t yours.” I push Stavros to go at him again, but he forces me to stop.
“You want to protect her, then stop. I won’t have you throwing out insults to my VP. Just because you went nomad doesn’t mean you can mouth off to my men,” he says, low enough that only I can hear.
I push away from him again, and, this time, he lets me go. I walk over to Trix, and she climbs into my arms. Pulling her to my body, I look over at Romeo and see the look on his face. He doesn’t say anything this time, but I know that it’s fuckin’ killing him to see her in my arms.
The baby monitor in my pocket goes off with cries from Bex, and I feel her whole body tense. “Come on. She’s probably hungry,” I whisper against her hair. She looks up at me and nods her head. I lead her away from both Stavros and Romeo. When we get to the door, I can hear Romeo talking shit. He is fuckin’ lucky Stavros stopped me.
Getting into the room, I watch as Trix goes to Bex and picks her up. She rocks her and tries to soothe her. I move some boxes off the chair in the corner of the room, and lead them both over to it. Watching Trix take a seat, I see the love in her eyes as she looks down at our little girl.
Her eyes cut to me as I watch her. “She hungry?” I ask. She nods her head and I watch her as she pulls her tit out and starts to feed her. This time, she doesn’t have any shame in me seeing her. I hear Blade start to stir, so I make my way over to the bed and take a seat next to his small body. He cuddles into my side, and wraps his little arm around my thigh.
“E,” Trix whispers from her spot across the room. My eyes meet hers, and I watch her face. “I’m sorry.” She looks back down at Bexley, and moves the hair out of her face.
“Sorry for what?” I ask. My eyes bore into her as I watch her struggle with finding the words. Her eyes scan over Blade, and then run up my body until her eyes stop on my face.
“I’m sorry for everything. You always seem to be cleaning up messes because of me. I didn’t kill her and I wouldn’t. She may have made my life hell when she found out about Blade, but having him and Bexley make all the shit we went through worth the trouble.” Her hand reaches up, and she wipes a tear from her eye.
I look down at Blade, and brush his dark hair off his forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you, babe.” I see her eyes on me still, and the sounds of Bexley nursing fill the room. A knock at the door brings my attention away from her and towards it. The door slowly opens, and I see Romeo walk inside. Closing my eyes, I lean my head back against the wall.
As much as I want to beat the fuck out of him for even being in here, he is still her boyfriend. That shit isn’t going to change until she says the words, the words that I crave to hear from her sweet lips, the ones that say she chooses me.
“Hey, I need to talk to you,” he says to her. His eyes meet mine, but they quickly move back to her. She rolls her eyes at him, and I can’t help but laugh.
“What?” she finally says when he doesn’t move. “You want to tell me sorry for walking out when I told you the results? Sorry that I haven’t been able to get a hold of you all night?” She shakes her head, and turns her attention back to Bexley.
“Can you give us some privacy?” Romeo snaps at me. Like hell I’m leaving him alone with her and the kids.
“No. It’s my room for the night, so looks like you’re stuck with me while you’re in here.” I smirk at him and he gives me a dirty look.
“You’re such a fuckin’ dick,” he mutters. He closes the door and walks towards Trix. “Baby, we need to talk about earlier,” he starts.
Before he can continue, she stops him. “What could you possibly want to talk about? You walked out on me when I gave you the results of the test. You were so mad that you left without saying a word. Now, you want to come and try to tell me you’re sorry? If that is going to be the way you react every damn time something happens, then I can’t do this. I need to provide them with the best environment I can and that won’t work.” She looks over at me, and I watch her.
; I know part of her little speech is directed towards me, too. “You mean you just want to fuck him whenever you feel like it.” Getting out from Blade’s grasp, I get off the bed and walk towards them. Before I can say anything, she puts her hand up.
“It isn’t about him. Well part of it is, but not in the way you think, Romeo. Do I love him? Yes. He is the father of my children. That will never change, but he also broke my heart. I can’t just forgive that.” Her words stop my train of thought. All I can focus on is the shit I’ve done to her over the years: the fights we’ve had and the makeup sex that always came after. We fight and fuck more than anything else. It’s almost like it’s what brings us closer.
“I fell for you, Romeo. You are the exact opposite of Elec, and that’s what I love about you. But, walking out when I gave you the results was something he would do. It’s the exact thing he did when I told him I was pregnant with Blade. Well, the only difference is we would fight about it. After he walked out, he came back to see me and we had it out. At least when we are fighting, I know he cares.” I watch the tears run down her cheeks. Her eyes meet mine and, for the first time, I feel like the biggest bastard.
“He cares enough to fight with me over stupid things that mean something to him. You either let me do what I want or you just walk away.” He moves from his spot and walks closer to her. He leans down and presses his mouth to hers. I want to pull him away from her, but I stand my ground and wait it out.
When he pulls away from her, he doesn’t say anything until he reaches me. “The cops are outside. They want to talk to her.” He walks towards the door, and I follow him. She calls my name before I can walk out the door.
“No. Stay here. Don’t leave this room. I’ll deal with it.” My voice is harsher than I mean for it to be. She frowns at me, and looks down at Bex, so I slip out quickly.
Making my way towards the parking lot, I see Stavros talking to the cops and Romeo stops at his side. He whispers something in his ear, and Stavros turns to look at me. When I stop next to them, I see the cops eyeing me. “Elec Briody,” the cop says. “How the fuck did I know I’d find you here?”
