He pushes me out of the door. I trip on my heels and land on my hands and knees on the gravel, and it's so fucking embarrassing!
There's so much yelling going on behind me that it hurts my ear, and I can't seem to pull myself up off the ground. I close my eyes and breathe deeply while hanging my head, my hair flying around my face.
“Are you okay?” I nod my head without looking up. Nova strokes my back gently. I feel dizzy and my knees hurt on the gravel below me. “Did he hurt you?”
“I don't think so.” I clutch my stomach. It doesn't hurt as such, but it's scary to think it could all be over in a heartbeat through something like this.
“Are you pregnant?” My eyes shoot to hers. She knows without me even answering her, and she'd know, she has a little girl, and a little boy just a week younger than Noah. However, I nod my head regardless. “It's my brothers, isn't it? That's why you came here to speak to him?” Again, I nod as I drag myself to my feet.
“I swear to God, you fuckin' idiot!” Watching these grown men, huge, muscle-clad men, fighting, is too much for me. Draven would never do this in front of me. Never. I'm not naive to the fact men fight, I've seen it many times. However, this isn't just two random men. This is my brother and the father of my baby.
“You shouldn't have come here,” I turn my head to Avery. She's not the same girl I grew up with, she's harder, more to the point. She and I aren't as close as we once were, and that hurts me too. “Look at the trouble you've caused.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. Look at the state Hammer is in. You know he doesn't want you here, so why can't you accept that?”
What is it about me that my brother doesn't like? He's okay with Avery. Talks to her, laughs with her at dinner, because she and Ghost are usually there with us. I sit there looking in on them all, Hammer, Willow, Avery, Ghost, and Draven, all laughing and having fun, and I'm always left with a pain in my heart and wondering why I don't matter anymore.
It's not that I'm a selfish child or anything, I just don't understand what's wrong with me. Why my brother hates me, and why my cousin, the girl who was always more like my sister than my cousin has distanced herself from me.
Is there something about me that drives people away?
Have I done something to make people, not like me?
Regardless, I won't let her speak to me that way, nor will I let her blame me for this.
“So, it's okay for you to fight for your man, but I can't so much as come here where my own brother and cousin are? Don't I mean anything to anyone?”
Avery was happy to see me at first, but because Hammer is angry, she's mad at me. I can't do right for doing wrong.
It just isn't fair. I don't understand why he hates me the way he does. He helped Draven understand why Avery should be with Ghost. He even spends time with her and her little boy. He spends time with Draven. They're quite close after Draven saved Willow from some jerkoff who wanted to hurt her to get at Hammer and his club.
But me? He avoids me like the plague.
I just want to stand in the middle of an open field, shove my fingers into my hair, and scream my lungs out!
“Of course you do! God, you're such a damn drama queen. Not everything is about you, Maria. Don't you think its time to grow up?” Wow. Just wow.
“Avery!” Nova snaps. “Don't be such a bitch to your own cousin.”
Sadly, the truth is, I'm used to Avery speaking to me this way of late. She's older than me, so, therefore, thinks she has the right to tell me what to do. She doesn't. Maybe I let her get away with it too much. But that's just me; I don't like confrontation.
“It's okay,” I all but whisper while keeping my eyes on Jett and Hammer, who are both being held back by quite a few other bikers. I didn't even notice half of them before now.
This was a bad idea. I should have just slept with Tony and passed the baby off as his, then none of this would have happened. My brother would have been okay with it, maybe. He would have forced me to marry Tony, but it wouldn't have been all that bad. Sure, he's older than me, same age as Draven, but he's always been good to me. However, I can't even do that now because I stupidly told Nova the truth, and there is no way she won't say anything to Jett. Then he'll come looking for me, and... Oh, god, what a mess I've created!
I can't watch this childish behavior anymore. Why the hell men have to square up to each other, beat the shit out of each other, is beyond me.
I'm leaving.
“I have to go.” I don't give anyone the chance to stop me. I rush toward my car and climb in before Nova can catch me.
What the fuck am I supposed to do now?
Chapter Three
Jett
There's a reason they call him Hammer, sonofabitch hits like a sledgehammer. The fact I'm the VP of this MC and the cunt hit me is not cool!
Of course, I hit him back. Come on I'm not a fucking idiot. However, the fact he pushed Maria down, literally pushed her to the ground set my blood boiling. What kind of man is he all of a sudden? And the prick wonders why I suddenly think he might turn on my sister?
I didn't even find out what Maria needed to talk to me about!
It took my dad, the president of the Snakes Henchmen, to pull me off of Hammer. He might be a big bastard, but I am no weak man. Fighting amongst brothers is never allowed without good reason and permission from Shepard. What happened here was a damn good reason! Hammer basically hit a woman! His own sister!
As Shepard stands in between Hammer and me, his face like thunder, I'm not sure he won't beat the shit out of both of us. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Nothing,” I mumble while staring Hammer down. I never expected him, of all people, to do what he did. He knows he's done wrong. He knows hitting a woman is never acceptable, not by this MC anyway.
If I were to tell Shepard what Hammer did, there would be uproar. My dad would have Hammer beat the shit out of. There are rules we are to abide by, and the man who enforces those rules just went and broke them in anger. I never thought I'd live to see the day.
However, I won't say anything to Shepard because my sister doesn't need that right now.
I've made my point.
“Don't tell me nothin'!” My father yells. However, my attention is pulled away from everything else around me as I watch Maria run to her car.
“Daddy, it was just a misunderstanding. They're fine now.” Nova smiles at him. He's not convinced. She turns to me. “Go after her. She really needs to speak with you. Don't let her leave.” I narrow my eyes. “Please, Jett.”
“He's not going anywhere until somebody explains what the hell just happened here! Don't bother telling me again that it's nothin'. If it were nothin', Willow wouldn't have come running to find me in fuckin' tears!”
“I'll explain everything,” I nod at Tank in thanks. “Let them sort the girls out.”
I don't wait for a reply, I should, but I don't. Maria is already getting in her car. If she drives away, I won't see her for I don't even know how long. There was something important she needed to tell me, that's the reasons he came here. It was important enough to risk hell from Hammer. I owe her the chance to explain herself.
I rush over to her car faster than I've ever run in my damn life before. I bang her window just as she turns the key in the ignition, she jumps and screams. She smiles slightly when she sees me, and she has such sad eyes. Why Hammer has to be such a cunt to her is beyond me.
I motion for her to get out of the car. She does slowly. She looks so fucking hot in that dress. I have to give my head a shake to ward off thoughts about fucking her stupid against her car.
That asshole Razor had the same idea, and I beat the fuckin' shit out of him for touching her! The second I rushed toward them, I saw him push her against the car and touch her, heard him say he was gonna fuck her where she stood. I saw red and floored the motherfucker. I won't have a fuckin' prospect disrespect any woman like that, and he will die for what he did, you mark my words.
>
This past couple of months, I haven't been able to get Maria out of my head. No matter which club whore I fucked, no matter how beautiful her pussy, they're not her. I should never have touched her, the mafia princess. I knew what would happen if Vidal found out I'd even looked at his sister like that. Come on, the man wanted Ghost dead for touching Avery. He even beat the shit out of him for it. It was only Hammer and the fact Vidal is his brother that saved Ghost.
I'm not sure he'd be so forgiving twice.
However, I couldn't stop myself. Maria was so fucking beautiful it made my eyes sting. Her hair was so soft and smelled of crushed berries, one sniff, and I was hooked. The way her full curves felt in my hands was like nothing I had ever felt before. Those huge brown eyes of her burned me to my very soul. I had to have her.
I'd be a damn liar if I said I didn't want her right now. I want her so bad I'm going insane! Having her this close, being able to smell her perfume, every sinew in my body is tingling.
“I'm sorry, Jett,” She shrugs her shoulders. “I didn't mean to come here and cause you to fight with two of your men.”
“Hey,” I take her beautiful face in my hands. “What happened here was not your fault, not with Razor and not with Hammer. Did Hammer hurt you?” I turn her hands over; they're grazed, so are her knees.
Fucking Hammer.
“My stomach hurts a little.” Her voice is so low it was hard for me to hear her. I watch her holding her stomach.
“Did you bang it?”
“I don't know.” She suddenly burst into tears. It shocks me. She doesn't strike me as the kind of woman to cry over much of anything. She's strong. I guess even strong women break down sometimes. Her brother throwing her down like that affords her every right to cry. “I'm pregnant, Jett, and it's yours. That's what I came here to tell you.”
The whole world seems to be standing still. I'm frozen to the spot, my mind empty, my stomach full of lead. I knocked someone up? This woman right here? The mafia princess? Sister of Draven Vidal?
Oh shit!
“Please say something, Jett.”
“Pregnant? Mine?” She nods her head. “How in the hell...?”
“One of the condoms must have broken. I'm not making this up, I promise you. You're the only man I've been with, in a while. I'm so scared, Jett,”
She's scared? Fuck it all to hell! I'm not afraid of what her brother will do to me, even though I know I'm a dead man because of this, but I am scared of becoming a father. I'm not cut out for this shit.
Don't be stupid, Jett, you won't live long enough to meet that kid. This isn't like Ghost and Avery. No one will save you from this.
“Jesus Christ!” I'm not yelling at her; I'm too fucking shocked for that. Fuck! “Hammer pushed you down.” I clasp her stomach, she winces. “You're in pain.”
“This wasn't supposed to happen. I was just supposed to come here and tell you about the baby because I need to know what to do.”
“What do you mean? You know what? We can talk about this later I'm taking you to get checked out.”
She nods, not an ounce of refusal is given. I may not have wanted kids, and I'm not sure I still do, but if she wants to keep the baby, then I'm keeping them both, and I dare anybody to tell me otherwise. I'll deal with Vidal and whatever he throws my way. I'll make him see that I can take care of his baby sister. I'll fucking marry her behind his back if I have to.
I don't care what I have to do Maria is now mine, end of story.
Chapter Four
Maria
I'd spat it out without even thinking about it. Jett didn't deserve to know like that, but after what Hammer did to me, I was just too upset to think about anything else. Jett told me to get in the car, and he'd drive. I let him because I didn't think I'd be able to move the car if I tried. That's why I'd been sitting for so long without leaving before he came rushing over.
He asked me on the drive to the hospital whether or not I'd be telling Draven about what Hammer did. I told him no. I don't want my brothers to fight, no matter what my biker brother did to me. My mafia Don brother would do far worse to Hammer than push him down if he found out.
A doctor saw us right away. Everyone knows whom Draven is, meaning they know who I am, meaning they treat me like some goddamned royalty. I didn't care who knew who I was as long as they helped me. She told me to change into a ridiculous paper gown, removing everything beneath.
Now I'm lying on the bed with my feet shoulder width apart and my knees together, while she inserts the rod into my body. I can't seem to open my eyes. I've done so much thinking these past few days since I found out about the baby. Thinking about whether or not Jett would go for my proposal and marry me so the baby would not only know it's father, but I wouldn't be shamed and shunned by my family. Thinking about what I would do if he told me he didn't want the baby.
Whom could I turn to?
What would Draven say?
However, I didn't give much thought to the actual baby inside of me. What would it feel like if he or she was no longer there? It's killing me.
“Maria?” I slowly open my eyes and look at Dr. Halloway, a slender woman of around forty years of age, as Jett takes my hand. That simple gesture isn't something I expected from a man like Jett, a biker.
That sounds prejudiced, and I guess it is. However, I always had bikers down as demons with no soul and even less compassion.
“Do you see this black hole?” I follow her finger to the screen and nod slightly. I can see very clearly what that is, and my heart is beating harder because of it.
“What is it?” Jett asks. I wouldn't have, I don't know what to say right now, but I do have to laugh at his naivety. How can he possibly not see the perfect little baby on that screen?
“That's your baby.”
“Our baby,” He whispers in wonder, which makes me smile.
We both gasp at the sound of our baby's heartbeat coming through the speakers on the wall loud and clear. “Jett,” I whisper as a tear falls from my eye.
“Everything looks just fine.” The Doctor smiles at me. I close my eyes and breathe deeply. Jett kisses my head and says something, but I can't make it out, the blood is pounding in my ears too hard. “I want you to take things easy for a little while, Maria. The first trimester is when most miscarriages occur. Now, you're very close to the second trimester, and things will settle down then. However, I don't want you to stress over anything if you can help it, it's not good for the baby.”
“She won't be doing anything until the baby's born.” I smile at Jett's words because I can't seem to stop myself.
As soon as the doctor leaves the room, I gather my clothes and get dressed. Jett doesn't leave the room, although he does turn around. He then holds my hand all the way back to my car. It's not until were driving along that he speaks. “You'll be moving in with me this evening.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” He says with little effort without taking his eyes off the road. “You're having my baby, did you think I'd just walk away from that?”
“No. I don't know. I don't know what I thought, but, Jett, my brother, will never go for it. Once he finds out about the baby, he'll expect me to be married.”
He turns to look at me, a smirk riding his lips. “Is that so?” I swallow hard and nod my head. He winks at me before turning his eyes to the road.
What the hell is going on?
Don't question what you're not sure of, Maria, he could be about to give you exactly what you want without you even having to ask him for it.
His house isn't what I thought it would be. In all honesty, I don't know what I was expecting. The place is small and homey. I'm not sure how many bedrooms there are, but I think it's probably just the two, plenty enough for the baby and us.
There's a small kitchen to the left of the hallway, and the living room is directly in front of me, but I can't see what's inside, and that's about it for downstairs. Of course, I haven't been upstairs yet, but as I sai
d, it's pretty small overall.
“Why don't you take a shower? My room, our room,” he corrects himself, “Is right at the top of the stairs and first on the left. You can help yourself to one of my shirts. Get into bed and sleep.”
“Our room?”
That's what you focus on, Maria? Jesus!
I swallow hard when he clasps my waist and pulls me against his big body. He tucks my hair behind my ear. “This baby inside of you,” he places his hand protectively over my stomach, “Is mine. You are mine.”
“I am?”
“Yes, you are. I won't have the mother of my child living alone. I won't have my child under any other roof than mine.”
“My brother won't allow it, Jett.”
“I know, the marriage thing,” I nod. Draven would never allow me to live in sin, as he would put it. “That's why we're getting married.”
“Excuse me?” Okay, I know I wanted this for the baby, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to be this easy.
He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “Don't worry about anything right now. We can talk it through tomorrow. Just shower and relax. Give me the keys to your apartment, and I'll collect your things.”
It's not a good idea, but I give them to him anyway. I'm exhausted after the day I've had. A shower and a warm bed sound good right now. To be in his arms would be good too. I may not know him very well, but he's the father of my unborn child, I'm going to marry him for that reason only. The fact he's gorgeous helps a lot!
He's out the door before I can ask him where he's going.
I take a quick look around the smallish house in which I'm now supposed to live. The living room is a typical man's den, large TV, worn leather sofa, Lay-Z-boy seat that looks well worn. Open fire on the wall, which are the color of cream, nothing special. It needs a woman's touch that much I do know.
The kitchen is decent, nothing to write home about, however. I do like the black granite. Everything matches, black, and chrome. I love that the kitchen sink is attached to the kitchen island in the middle of the room. I'm going to like cooking in here.
Never Give You Up (Snakes Henchmen Book 3) Page 3
