Alamo said nothing, so I wasn’t sure if he had something planned or not, but I could tell Doc didn’t like his silence.
“You and I’ll talk later,” Doc said.
“What do we do now?” I asked. “Does Dalton think there’s more of a threat?”
Doc shook his head. “He’s confident there’s no one else, so we’re good. The Howlers will continue to watch Colorado for a while, but I, for one, am glad this shit’s over. I need a fuckin’ break.”
The room murmured with agreement.
“Anything else anyone wants to talk about?” Doc asked.
With no response, Doc dismissed the meeting and we filed out to join our women in the great room, happy to find that Willow had cooked.
But first, Quin.
She was currently sitting on one of the sofas rubbing her belly, her face contorted in pain, and my blood ran cold. “Quin?”
“Hm?” she panted out.
I knelt in front of her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Just some aches. I’m okay.”
“Doc,” I bellowed, standing to seek him out in the crowd.
“What?”
“Quin’s in pain.”
“I’m okay, honey,” she countered, but I ignored her.
Doc put his plate down and walked over, kneeling in front of Quin. “How bad?”
“Not bad. Just some pangs.”
“Get her back to the exam room,” he ordered, and I helped Quin off the sofa, lifting her into my arms.
“I really am fine,” she insisted. “This happened with Kinsey too.”
“It did?” Rage and regret flooded me. I should have been there for all of it.
She wove her fingers into my hair. “Don’t.”
I sighed, but didn’t respond.
“Everything’s okay, honey, I promise,” she said as I settled her onto the bed in the exam room.
“Humor me.”
She bit her lip and nodded.
Doc did a quick exam and declared Quin was fine. “The pain is more than likely due to stress, Quin, but if you don’t start feeling better in an hour or so, we’re callin’ your OB, got it?”
Quin nodded.
“Which means no fuckin’ ridin’ it out,” I pressed.
“I won’t,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I promise, Knox.”
“One hour, Quin,” Doc repeated. “I’m counting.”
She nodded and Doc left us alone.
“Hey. I’m fine,” Quin said. “Please don’t worry.”
“Easier said than done,” I admitted.
She guided my hand to her belly with a smile. “Our baby’s good, honey. I just got a scare today. But you’re here now and I feel safe again.”
I leaned down and kissed her middle, then her mouth. “Fifty-four minutes.”
Quin patted my cheek. “Got it. You gonna let me walk back to the great room, or will you insist on carrying me again?”
“Don’t push me, Welly.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m going to walk.”
“You feel any pain—”
“I’ll tell you,” she interrupted, sliding off the bed. “I promise.” Wrapping her arms around my waist, she gave me a gentle squeeze. “We’ve got a design center to visit tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, huh?”
“Yes. Doom has all the square footage sorted, so all we have to do is go pick our colors for the re-mod.”
“We should probably wait for the permits to come back, don’t you think?”
“No.” She sighed. “I hate all this hurry up and wait.”
“Me too, baby, but if you let your man work it out, you can just relax.”
“Have you met me?” she challenged and I chuckled.
“It was worth a shot.”
“We can at least get some ideas, right?”
I smiled. “Yeah, we can do that.”
She grinned, patting my face gently. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, baby.”
I kissed her gently and then we headed back to the great room. As we joined our family, I couldn’t help but send up a little prayer of thanks… even though, I wasn’t someone who believed in such things. But I couldn’t deny that somehow fate, the universe, God, or whatever, had brought my girls back to me and I knew there was nothing in this world that would tear us apart.
I was one lucky motherfucker, and I’d never take any of it for granted.
Quinlan
Three months later…
“READY?” KNOX ASKED me as we stepped onto the front, wraparound porch of our newly finished home.
“So ready,” I said with a grin.
Kinsey was jumping up and down beside me, yanking on my hand.
Knox unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping back so I could lead Kinsey in before him.
I dropped Kinsey’s hand and burst into tears. “Oh my god.”
“Good, huh?” Knox said, wrapping an arm around me.
“Mama crying?” Kinsey frowned up at us, her eyes concerned.
“Oh, munchkin, Mama’s happy.” I settled my hands on my giant belly. “Do you like your house?”
“House!” she squealed.
“You wanna see your room?” Knox asked, scooping her up and jostling her playfully.
“Room!”
He chuckled. “Okay, princess, let’s go look at your room.”
As he carried our daughter up the stairs, I took a minute to take in the splendor that was our new home. Doom had made sure the integrity of the history was preserved, while updating the structure to code, and it was spectacular.
The front door opened to a huge foyer where you could see all the way to the back of the house. The staircase to the second floor was up against the right wall, next to the French doors that opened into a bright office that would serve as a guest room. Doom had installed a murphy bed and built in a small closet, and managed to add on a small bathroom without taking space from the kitchen.
I moved toward the back of the house where hand-scraped hardwood floors led me to the giant great room and kitchen, separated by the six-foot granite island. Huge sliding doors led to the back of our wraparound porch overlooking trees and our humongous back yard.
A few of the guys were angling for a pool and as much as I’d love to host backyard pool parties for the club, I don’t know that I could do that to Valen. What most of the club didn’t know was that he and I had a brother, Sebastian. He was two years younger than Valen and he drowned in a neighbor’s pool. Valen had almost died saving him, and it’s the reason our dad left. I was only two-months old and don’t remember any of it, but it has always stayed with my brother and only healed somewhat because of Jasmine.
So, the answer was a big fat no on the pool. At least for now.
I had made the decision not to return to work after the baby was born. I wanted to go back to school, which Knox wholeheartedly supported. Irene had informed me that Don had been fired. He seemed to be having some legal issues that made him a liability to the company. I thought nothing of it until I realized the legal issues were in the form of stolen license plates, expired driver’s license, etc. All things that could be messed with via computer hacking. I chose not to ask Knox and Rabbit about it, aiming for plausible deniability, but I was pretty sure the two of them were jacking Don up in a big way.
The evil side of me was all for it.
Actually, all of me was all for it. That asshole had it coming.
“Welly?” Knox called.
“Back here, honey,” I said, and turned to face him… just as wet flooded my jeans. “Oh my god.”
“What?”
“My water just broke.”
“Fuck. Seriously?”
I nodded. “Yes. What are we going to do about the party?”
Our housewarming was supposed to happen in two hours, and since I’d had no control of the planning or the executing, I was in the dark about the particulars.
“Texting Dash now,” Knox said, pulling
out his phone.
Before he could put it away, Willow walked through the front door. “Knock, knock. Sorry, I’m early, are you decent?”
“Yes!” I called. “My water just broke, can you watch Kinsey?”
“Oh my word.” Willow came into view, carrying grocery bags, Alfie toddling in front of her. “Go, go, go. Dash is right behind me. We’ve got y’all covered.”
“Where’s my hospital bag?” I asked Knox.
“In your trunk. We’re good, Welly, let’s go.”
Knox ushered me out of the home I had yet to fully explore, glancing back longingly as I was guided into my car. We rushed to the hospital, Knox surprisingly calm as he got me checked into a birthing room.
My contractions came hard and fast an hour into our stay and I demanded an epidural, pronto, but I was too far along.
“Are you ready?” he asked, kissing me gently.
I nodded.
“You’re doing so well, honey,” Andi encouraged.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Andi would be the nurse on duty for the next eight hours. Reconnecting with my friend had been one of the best parts of getting away from Michael. And discovering that she and Dalton, the FBI agent who’d helped the club out more than once, were married was an even better surprise. She was happy and I loved that for her.
“Push,” the doctor demanded, and I focused on delivering our little boy.
Xavier Knox McKellar screamed his way into our world twelve minutes later. Nine pounds, six ounces, and twenty-two inches long. As I predicted, he was a giant. The doctor settled him on my chest and I stroked his full head of dark hair.
His name was Sebastian’s middle, since I’d promised Valen he could give their little boy (due in two months) our brother’s first name. Between the two of us, we were determined to honor the boy who I was certain would have grown up to be an amazing man.
“He’s perfect,” Knox whispered, kissing my forehead, then Xavier’s.
I stroked Knox’s cheek. “Thank you.”
He blinked back tears and grinned. “Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?”
“You fought for us, honey. Long after I’d given up any hope. This is all because of you.”
“I will always fight for us. Always. You’re my redemption. I love you more than the world, Quin.”
“I love you more than the universe.”
As we cherished our time with our son, I couldn’t wait to live out our years here, our family close, our life finally settled.
Redemption was sweet.
2018 Trixie Publishing, Inc.
Copyright © 2018 by Piper Davenport
Remington
We'd had a deal. One night only.
He broke that deal when he called the next day.
For two years, I've worked to forget the taste of his skin, but then he shows up at a time I need him the most...and wants more than I'm able to give.
Finch
One night with her wasn't enough, but I gave her space and let her go.
Now she's in trouble, and I'm no longer willing to watch her walk away.
I have one chance to slay the dragons of her past.
The problem is, I'm no one's knight in shining armor.
CHAPTER ONE
Remington
“9-1-1, WHAT’S YOUR emergency?”
“There’s a man trying to break into my apartment,” I whispered as I hid in my bedroom closet. “His name is Vitaly Popov and I have a restraining order against him.”
My phone buzzed, and I checked the screen. I had been texting back and forth with my friend, Grace Lundy, when Vitaly showed up at my door. Sending a quick note back that I was hiding, I put the phone back to my ear and listened for instructions.
Another bang against my door made me jump and I let out a quiet squeak.
“Ma’am?”
“I’m here,” I whispered.
Today could only have been classified as a shitty day. Actually the past four days, really. The shittiest. Grace and I had both been hired as paid interns for the Portland Ballet Conservatory, and it gave us an amazing opportunity to dance with some of the best dancers in the world, including Vitaly Popov who had been visiting from Russia.
At least, I thought it was an amazing opportunity.
However, Vitaly had cornered me in the practice room, and I hadn’t been fast enough to escape, so I’d tried to talk my way out.
Unsuccessfully.
He’d slammed me against the mirror, the barre digging into my back, and forced his mouth on mine. I’d hit, bit, clawed at him with no luck, until I was finally able to shift and get a knee in his dick. But he still had enough of a grip on me to smash my face against the mirror, drawing blood as I bit through my lip.
Grace had walked in just as he ripped my leotard and she helped me get away from him. I’d immediately reported the attack to the director of our ballet conservatory, and she dealt with the matter by firing me. Vitaly was a star, and I was a girl from a small town in Georgia. I was nobody. At least, as far as Director Walsh was concerned. If she actually knew who my family was, she’d be so far up my ass she wouldn’t see daylight, but I’d used my grandmother’s maiden name in all my paperwork, so she wouldn’t know.
Grace had left PBC in solidarity with me, and I’d headed to the police station to file a report, then home to nurse my wounds.
Apparently, Vitaly had been served with the restraining order, because he yelled nasty things to me through the door in Russian. I knew they were nasty because I dated a Russian guy for about a minute, and the first words he taught me were the bad ones. How Vitaly knew where I lived was a mystery, but that made this situation even scarier.
“Okay, stay calm. What’s your address?”
I swallowed, then whispered, “4200 Alberta, unit twelve.”
“Where are you? Are you safe?”
“I’m in my closet,” I whispered. “He’s knocking on the front door and I’m scared he’s going to break it down. Oh, God, please hurry!”
“Alright, ma’am, I’ve dispatched police officers to your address. Are you hurt?”
“No. No, I’m fine.” Tears streamed down my face. “Just scared.”
“What’s your name?”
“Remi…ah, Remington Charles.”
“Cool name.”
“Thanks.”
“Okay, Remi, stay calm, officers are three minutes out.”
“He’s still banging,” I squeaked.
“Okay, honey, the police are close now. Take a deep breath and try to calm down.”
I squeezed my eyes shut as Vitaly continued to pound on my front door. In the distance, I heard the muffled sound of sirens and the banging stopped. “I hear the sirens.”
“Okay, hon, I’ll stay on the line with you until the officers arrive.”
“Thank you.” I bit my lip. “The banging’s stopped. I think he’s gone.”
“Officers are walking up your stairs. Can you open the door for them?”
“Um, sure,” I said, and hauled my butt off the floor, easing out of my closet and heading to my front door. I checked the peephole and saw two men in uniforms, so I unlocked the door and pulled it open. “They’re here.”
“Okay, Remi. They will take it from here.”
“Thank you.”
I hung up and slid my phone into my pocket.
“Ma’am? Do you need me to call for an ambulance?”
“What?” I frowned, then remembered the bruises on my face. “Oh. No, these are from the other day. I reported them when I asked for the restraining order.”
“Okay. Can you describe the man?”
“I have a photo,” I said, and pulled up Vitaly’s picture from PBC. “I also have the restraining order here. Let me get it.” The paperwork was right by the front door, so I grabbed it and handed it to the officer. Just as I was taking the form back, Grace came running up the stairs, followed by her badass biker boyfriend, Flea. “Remi? Are you okay?”
; “Don’t move,” the cop ordered.
Flea’s hand went to his waist and I realized pretty quickly he was strapped.
“It’s okay, they’re friends,” I rushed to say. All I needed was a shoot-out on my doorstep. “Thank you for getting here so quickly.”
Grace had told me in passing that she was taking care of her grandmother who’d broken her leg, but we hadn’t gotten much further into our personal lives. She was always pretty focused on the task in front of her and I was busy trying to keep up, so I was kind of surprised she was here.
Grace pushed past the officer, despite Flea’s growl of warning, pulling me in for a hug. “Where’s Vitaly?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I have everything I need,” the officer said. “We’ll send a BOLO out for your assailant. We can put a car out front for a few hours—”
“No, she’s going to pack a bag and come with us,” Grace said.
“It’s fine,” I argued. “I don’t think he’s going to come back.”
“Not really up for discussion,” Grace bossed. “Pack a bag…enough for a few days. You’re coming with us.”
“Grace—”
“Don’t argue with her,” Flea said. “It’s not worth the wasted breath.”
Grace smiled. “What he said.”
“Ma’am, what do you want to do?” the officer asked.
“I’ll go with my friends,” I said.
“Okay, my partner’s searching the vicinity for Mr. Popov. We’ll head out once you’re gone.”
“Thank you,” I said, and went about packing a bag.
* * *
Finch
“No sign,” Hatch said as I joined him back at the front of the building.
“Me neither,” I said, and shook my head. “The message you gave him was ignored, apparently.”
When Grace’s friend had been attacked by Vitaly a few days ago, Hatch had said he roughed him up a bit and warned him to stay away. Almost broke his nose, definitely bruised it, but the asshole didn’t listen.
“Little fucker. He’s gonna regret that.”
Hatch Wallace was the Sergeant at Arms for our motorcycle club, Dogs of Fire. I was a member and typically worked closely with Mack, our club’s legal counsel, but tonight, I was at Hatch’s place when my sister, Grace, freaked. And when Grace freaks, we all pay attention.
Redeeming the Biker's Past (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 3) Page 16
