Club Thrive: Predator

by Alison Mello

  “Hey, baby.” Mikey comes over and gives me a kiss while Ryker is still wrapped around my legs.

  “Ewww.” Ryker screams and runs off when he realizes Mikey is kissing me.

  “Well, that worked out in our favor.” He deepens the kiss. “I missed you today.” He stares into my eyes.

  “I missed you too, but I should warn you before we get to the hospital, Slade wasn’t too thrilled with me paying for his lunch today, so you may get some crap for it,” I inform him with a silly grin.

  He shrugs. “Fuck it. What’s he going to do? The guy works hard for us and this entire family—he’s entitled to lunch.”

  “I agree. Like I said, just giving you a heads up.”

  “Go change and we’ll get going.” He pats me on the ass. “I told Shane and Katie we would bring them dinner.”

  “Sounds good.” I hurry off to change, and as soon as I’m done, we hurry out the door to pick up the pizza Mikey ordered. The shop is right down the street from the hospital, which is perfect, because it’ll still be hot when we get there.

  We pull up to the hospital and Mikey grabs the pizza while I take Ryker’s hand. Of course he ordered enough to feed a freaking army, but that’s how Mikey rolls. He said he wanted to make sure there was plenty in case the entire crew was there. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Logan pulled strings to get her a single room like he did for everyone else.”

  Mikey laughs. “Me neither, hence all the pizza. Everyone was at our place last night, which means everyone will be here tonight.”

  When we get into the room, as Mikey suspected, everyone is here. The guys are all standing on the far side of the room and the ladies are all crowding around Katie. “Hey everyone,” Mikey says holding the pizza. “I brought dinner.”

  The guys all start to cheer and Katie scolds them. “Shhh, the nurse has already threatened to throw you out if you’re loud.” Mikey shrugs and shuts the door to mute the noise from so many people being in the room.

  “Awwww, Katie, she’s beautiful,” I gush at her little bundle of joy.

  “I just fed her, would you like to hold her?”

  I can’t help the huge smile that spreads across my face. “I would love to.” I scoop her from Katie’s arms and sit in the chair so Ryker can see too.

  Mikey comes over with a piece of cheese pizza for him and he chooses that moment to say, “Mommy, I want a baby brodder or sister.” I bite my lips, trying to fight my laughter.

  Mikey squats down in front of him. “What do you say we let Mommy finish school first and then we can talk about it?” My eyes go wide. I can’t believe he just said that to him. I mean, I love Mikey with all my heart, but this wasn’t something we had really discussed. I had no idea how he felt about having a kid of his own. Ryker nods and takes the pizza sitting on the floor to eat. He looks down at me, kisses me on the head, and then winks as he walks away.

  “Shelly, look over here.” I look at Miranda. “Smile,” she announces, snapping a picture of me and Taylor with her phone. “Sorry, Katie made me promise to take a bunch of pictures tonight.”

  “No need to be sorry. She’s so precious.”

  “Mommy, can I hold the baby?” I look at Katie, concerned, but she nods her head.

  “Ryker, come sit with me,” Katie instructs him. He jumps up and climbs onto the bed, sitting between Katie’s legs.

  I walk Taylor around the bed and stand behind him. “Now, listen, buddy. You have to sit very still. Babies are very fragile.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” He looks up at me as I lower Taylor onto his lap and his face lights up. He really is excited to hold her.

  “Ryker, look at Auntie Miranda,” I tell him as I squat down so she can get a picture of the three of us.

  She snaps the picture and then calls Mikey. “Mikey, get in here with your family.” What an awesome thought. Our family.

  Mikey comes over and squats on the other side of him. We all smile and she takes another picture. I take Taylor back from Ryker and ask him to sit and finish his dinner, that word family running wild in my head. I believe in my heart that Mikey looks at us as a family, but the scary part is that Eli wants to break us up. He wants to be a part of this family and that scares me. Not to mention I’d be afraid to bring another child into this world, not knowing what he would do if he found out I was pregnant with another man’s baby.

  I need to focus on the positive. I have tons of amazing people around us and they will keep us safe. Tonight is about this beautiful baby and her family. “You look deep in thought, are you okay?” Mikey squats in front of my chair.

  I give him a tight smile. “Yeah, I’m all right.”

  He rubs my leg. “That didn’t sound very convincing. Was it what I said to Ryker?”

  I shake my head. “Actually, it was what Miranda said about us being a family and the thought of Eli trying to wedge his way into our happiness.”

  “Aww, baby, he can never do that. Even if he somehow manages to get supervised visitation, he’ll never be a part of what we have, and I promise if you want to have a baby with me someday, that’s our business. I promise I will forever keep all four of us safe.”

  My smile grows. “I love that you always make me feel better. I love you so much.”

  He kisses me. “I love you too.”

  “Everything good over there?” Slade asks.

  “Mommy and Mikey keep kissing today.” Ryker has a look of disgust on his face.

  The entire room erupts into laughter. “That’s what adults do when they love each other.” Mikey ruffles his fingers through his curls. “Finish up, little man. We have to get you home and into bed soon.”

  “Okay, Mikey.” Ryker shoves his second slice of pizza into his mouth.

  “Let me take her. You go eat.” Mikey scoops the baby out of my hands.

  “Someone has baby fever,” I mumble with laughter as I walk away to get some pizza. The guys are all hovering around the boxes like they haven’t eaten in days.

  “What kind would you like?” Slade asks, grabbing me a plate.

  “Barbecue chicken, please.”

  “One slice or two?”

  “One is fine for now. Thank you.” He nods and hands me my plate.

  “How’s school coming?” Logan asks.

  “Good, today was a crazy day though. It started out really slow and then all of sudden we had this burst of patients come in.” I turn to Katie. “I wore a mask all afternoon and kept my hands extremely clean so I could come see you.”

  Katie laughs. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that. This is a hospital, it’s loaded with germs. I know they try to keep it clean, but there are sick people everywhere.”

  I shrug. “I wasn’t taking chances.” I turn back to Logan. “Anyway, there’s a bug going around, so watch yourselves, especially the little ones. It’s brutal.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” Sky comments from across the room.

  “Mommy, I’m done.” Ryker hands me his plate. I put it beneath mine and tell him to sit and we’ll get going when I’m done.

  We spend about another thirty minutes with everyone and then the nurse comes in to check on Katie and the baby. She sees how many of us are in here and her eyes go wide. It’s funny how big this family is and her parents aren’t even here. To help ease her panic, I announce it’s time for us to get going. That will be three less people in the room. We’re saying our goodbyes when I hear her tell Katie that everyone is going to have to go shortly. “Congrats,” I say to Shane, giving him a hug.

  “Thanks, and thanks for dinner.” He shakes Mikey’s hand while I hug Katie goodbye.

  It’s been a long day and I still need to clean Ryker up for bed.

  Chapter 20

  Mikey

  I sit back on the couch anxiously awaiting news from our lawyer. He went to court to represent Shelly and Ryker today. I have to say it’s been one of the longest days of my life. I’ve spent a lot of time playing with the little guy and snuggling with him on the couch.
I’m not sure if it’s because I fear losing time with him to that loser, or it was my way of occupying my time, but I can honestly say work wasn’t cutting it. I feel bad for poor Shelly. She walked out the door this morning a nervous wreck, but she can’t afford to miss any of her clinical time. She has to get so many hours in or it will set her back and she won’t graduate on time.

  I’m really hoping to have something to celebrate tonight. “Mikey, can we watch a movie?” Ryker asks when he’s done flipping through the cartoons on TV.

  “Sure, little man. Go pick one and I’ll start it.” The second he jumps off the couch to pick a movie my phone rings. I literally jump out of my seat to check it and am thrilled when I see it’s the lawyer. “Hey Jerry, can you give me one minute?”

  “Sure,” he responds, sounding happy.

  “Ryker, pick a movie so I can get it going. I have to take this call in my office.” He pulls out the Disney movie Cars and hands it to me. I place it into the player and grab my phone. “Sorry, Jerry, just one minute. I have Ryker and I’m getting him settled.”

  “No problem. I’m in the car on the way to the office, so take your time.”

  I press play on the DVD player and cover him and his bear with a blanket. “Thanks, Mikey.”

  “You’re welcome, little man. I’ll be back as soon as I’m done. Come get me if you need anything.” I grab my phone and hurry to my office. “Okay, Jerry, tell me you have some good news.”

  “Well, good and bad,” he announces. “The good news is that his motion was postponed until his trial is over. Another woman has come forward and accused him of rape, and now he has to go back to court. He somehow managed to make bail, but the judge would not agree to let him see his child with the charges he has against him.”

  “What’s the bad news?”

  “He’s livid. He held it together in court so he wouldn’t get into trouble, but I don’t trust this guy. He’s angry, and from what I’ve heard, he’s vicious and vindictive.” He sighs into the phone. “You didn’t hear this from me.”

  “Okay.”

  “I have some friends in high places, and from what I’m told, they have enough to convict him on the rape charges, especially since the victim is willing to testify. The cops have been keeping a close eye on him and it looks like he’s been watching you guys from afar. I have a feeling he was planning to get visitation and then run with Ryker.”

  “Fuck,” I whisper into the phone.

  “I wouldn’t tell Shelly that much because I could be totally wrong, and I think she should enjoy this victory. Just make sure you guys are watching your backs.”

  “Always. Thanks, Jerry. This is good news, and hopefully he will be put away for a long time and we won’t have to worry about him anymore.”

  “My fingers are crossed. I’ll be in touch if we have to go to court again.”

  “Thanks.” I cut the call and dial Sky.

  “Hello, Michael,” Sky answers with laughter.

  I growl. “You know I hate that.” I shake my head.

  “I know, but it’s fun to mess with you from time to time. What’s up?”

  “I just got some good news from the attorney and was hoping to plan a girls’ night for tomorrow night for Shelly to celebrate. Are you down?”

  “I’m always down for some fun. I’ll let the nanny know right away and make Logan clear our VIP section.”

  I burst into laughter. “Make him clear it?”

  She giggles. “Yeah, you know how it is. I’m pretty damn spoiled and my girls and I get what we want.”

  I shake my head like she can see me. “You’re lucky that man loves you.”

  “Don’t I know it. Besides, he leaves that one free for us most of the time anyway.” I hear the laughter in her voice. She’s talking like she’s in charge and the section is probably already free.

  “Thanks, get in touch with the rest of the girls for me? I have to make some arrangements with Slade and Cole.”

  “You got it.” She cuts the call and I continue to work on the plans to not only keep my family safe, but do some celebrating. Ryker is going to Brea’s this weekend, so we are good as far as he goes, but I still want someone on their house as well as at the club. As soon as everything is arranged with Slade, I call Brea. She answers with a panic. “Is everything all right?”

  “Relax. Everything is fine. I wanted to let you know that when we drop Ryker off tomorrow, Cole will be there to watch over your place. Eli isn’t thrilled with how things went in court today, but his loss is our victory, and Sky and the girls are going to Club Thrive with Shelly to celebrate. I have Slade going with them and Cole will be with you guys.”

  “Sounds good. She could use a night out. She works so hard, and with all this stress, it’s a good way for her to let go a little.” She sounds sad.

  “I agree. We’ll be there around six with Ryker and Cole. Is that cool?” I ask.

  She agrees and I cut the call.

  I need to go check on him. He’s such a good kid…he hasn’t peeked in here once since I left to come into my office. I look at the clock and note Shelly will be home soon. When I take a seat next to him, he instantly switches positions to snuggle into my side and it makes me smile. Man, I love this kid, and would do anything to see him happy, and though it’s great to be holding him, I can’t stop thinking about Shelly and what she must be going through, so I decide to shoot her a text.

  Mikey: It’s good news. I’ll fill you in when you get home.

  Shelly: Thank you. Leaving here shortly.

  Mikey: See you soon.

  I need to preheat the oven and get the stuffed roasted chicken I have in the fridge going. I look down to see Ryker’s eyes are droopy, but it’s too late in the day for him to sleep. I want him to go to bed early so I can have some quality time with Shelly. “Hey, bud. I have to get dinner going. Do you want to help?” There really isn’t much to do, but he needs to wake up. He nods his head. “Okay, come preheat the oven for me.” I pick him up and carry him to the kitchen. He pushes the buttons on the oven and a yawn escapes him. “What do you say we give you a bath now, so after dinner you can lay down in your room with a movie? Then if you want to sleep, you can.” He nods again. “Okay, go pick some clean pajamas and I’ll get the tub going.” I put him down and he runs off. This poor kid hasn’t been sleeping too well, and I’m hoping when I give him and Shelly the good news, they’ll both be happy and sleep a little better. Ryker comes into the bathroom with his brand new Lego pajamas and a clean pair of Paw Patrol underwear. He puts them on the counter and takes off his dirty clothes, placing them into the laundry basket and then climbs into the tub.

  “You all right, little man?”

  He nods. “Sleepy.”

  “Okay, well, let’s get you washed and you’ll feel better.” I grab the cup that Shelly leaves in here for washing his hair and get busy wetting it. He puts his head back and I run water through his adorable curls. I make quick work of shampooing his hair, and then give him the washcloth with soap on it for him to do his body. Shelly has started to teach him to make sure he gets all his parts. It’s actually cute because she rambles off the part she wants him to wash and he does it. “Legs,” I tell him. He stands and washes his legs. I continue on until his entire body is clean, and then I give him his bath toys to play with. “I’ll be right back.” I run to the kitchen, put the chicken in the oven, and then hurry back to make sure I don’t leave him alone too long. He’s a good boy, but I get nervous when it comes to small kids and water.

  We hear Shelly come walking through the door. “I’m in the bathroom with Ryker.” She comes in to find Ryker still in the tub and me on the floor. His fingers are pruned because I’ve let him play far longer than she usually does, but we were having fun and it was a great distraction to keep him up.

  “Well, it looks like you two are having a good time.”

  “We are,” Ryker announces, continuing to play.

  “Wow, check out those wrinkled fingers. I
think it’s time we get out.”

  He pouts. “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, because I have some news to share with you and Mommy.”

  “Okay.” He stands, pressing the drain on the tub to let the water out. I grab the hooded towel that he loves, wrap him all up in it, and pick him up out of the tub.

  “Shelly, why don’t you get comfortable, and when you’re done, I’ll tell you both the news.” She literally runs off to our room to change out of her clothes. “I think Mommy is excited to hear the news.”

  “Me too,” he giggles.

  “Well, okay then. We better get you dressed.” He quickly puts on his clothes and I run a brush through his hair. As soon as I’m done he bee lines it for the couch. He likes to sit in the middle when it’s the three of us.

  I take a seat next to him, and when Shelly takes her seat on the other side, she says, “Okay, we’re all here.”

  “Well, I spoke to Jerry today and he said the case has been postponed because of another trial.” Shelly looks thrilled and Ryker looks confused, which I expected. “Ryker, that means you don’t have to see your dad anytime soon.”

  A huge grin spreads across his face. He jumps into my lap and squeezes me tight. “Thank you, Mikey.”

  “Awww, you’re welcome, little man. We all know you don’t want to see him and we understand why. Your mom and I will do everything we can to make sure you never have to see him again.” I rub my hands up and down his little back.

  “I love you, Mikey. I want you to be my daddy.”

  My eyes instantly well with tears and my throat tightens. I can’t even speak. “I know, little man. I know.” I whisper past the huge lump in my throat. “I love you too.” When I look over I see Shelly wiping the tears from her eyes. I lean in to Ryker’s ear, “I think Mommy needs a hug too.”

  He walks across the couch to his mom, and when he sees her crying, he says, “Don’t cry, Mommy. I love you too.” His voice so innocent.

  “I know, buddy. Mommy is crying because I’m so happy.” He leaps at her and wraps her in a huge hug.