by Khloe Wren
“Hey, babe. You okay?”
I waved off his concern. “Yeah, just having an emotional moment with Donna.”
Scout leaned down and I tilted my face up to accept his kiss, instantly feeling better as his scent washed over me.
“Our boy’s doing good. And he has his big sister firmly wrapped around his little finger already.”
“I see that. Take a photo of her for me?”
Mac stepped up, pulling his phone out to snap a few shots while Ariel was still lost in her own world.
“I took some of her and Scout with Joey, too.” He moved forward to hand me his phone to look through his photos. “Congratulations, Marie. He’s a gorgeous boy.”
“Thanks, Mac.”
I scrolled through the photos, trying to not start crying all over again. The three of them were so sweet together.
“Enough already! Let me through.” Zara all but shoved Scout off the side of the bed and took his place to give me a tight hug. “He’s soo beautiful, Marie. Congratulations!”
With a smile, I locked my gaze with Scout’s over Zara’s shoulder. Life was pretty damn good. I had my dream man, a daughter and now a son. I just needed to get the hell out of this damn hospital bed so I could go enjoy it.
Chapter 10
Scout
My boy was just three days old when my phone rang and destroyed the little bubble of peace I’d been happily living in. I knew it was going to happen, but this past week had been nice. Just me, my girls and Joey. Even though Marie and Joey were still in hospital, it was still good. Especially now that Marie was able to get up and move around some, she could come down to the NICU and hold Joey. That seemed to help bring her out of her funk. She tried to hide it, but I knew she was struggling.
I would never forget the first time the nurses had me strip my shirt off so I could hold my son skin on skin. They told me it was good for Joey to have the contact. I didn’t doubt it, considering it did wonders for me too. Just like I knew Marie loved holding him against her chest. She’d get the sweetest smile and her eyes would glaze over with tears every time. I’d never tire of watching them together.
But reality was here and I stepped out of the NICU to take the call that I knew was going to force me away.
“Hey, prez. I hate to interrupt your family time, but have you reached Parrish yet?”
“I’ve tried twice now, but it went to voicemail both times. I’ll come down to the clubhouse now and try again.”
“Did you want one of us to put the call through so you can stay there?”
“Nah, it should be me who calls him. And if he doesn’t answer again, we’ll work something else out. We need to get moving on dealing with this shit.”
Jack Parrish was a good man, fucking nuts, but under that crazy, he was solid. He was the president of the Satan’s Knights MC, and this issue with the Ice Riders was fucking serious, so the call needed to come from me as president. Rubbing my face, I returned to the NICU as I slipped my phone away. Before I could even say a word, Marie spoke up.
“You need to go in, right? It’s okay, Scout. I understand and you’ve not dealt with the club for over a week now. They need you, and I need you to go deal with whatever caused those men to come into my cafe before Joey gets out of here.”
My woman was one in a million. For real.
Fortunately, there was only one other baby in the NICU so there wasn’t a heap of staff and other people hanging around to overhear us. Moving up close to Marie, I dropped down to my knees in front of her and gently stroked my fingers down Joey’s head and back. His skin was so damn soft. His little face screwed up for a moment before he settled back to sleep on his mommy’s chest.
“He’s so beautiful, just like his mom.”
She cupped my face in the hand not holding our son and tilted it up until my gaze caught hers.
“I love you, Charlie. And I know you’d rather stay here with us, but you have more than just us relying on you. I know who I married. Go and make sure those bastards can’t ever hurt any of our family again.”
My woman was so fucking gorgeous, it made my eyes water. Standing up, I leaned down and took her mouth with mine, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck to hold her still for me while I kissed her deeply. Arousal ripped through me, leaving my cock throbbing for her. With a groan, I tore my lips from hers, resting my forehead against hers as I glanced down at our sleeping boy. I needed to go do this. For Marie, for Joey and Ariel. For all my Charon family.
I stood up before I spoke again.
“Okay, I’m going. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Bring Ariel with you?”
Ariel was spending the day with Rose, Bulldog’s wife.
I gave her a nod. “Yeah, I’ll make sure I’m in time to bring her in. You ready to come home?”
I knew she was torn about being discharged before Joey was. I felt the same damn way every time I had to leave the hospital without either of them. She wanted to stay with Joey, but she wanted to come home with me and Ariel at the same time.
“I’m going to miss him. And I hate that he can’t come home with us.”
“Yet. He’s strong and doing well. It won’t be long before he’s ready to come home with us.”
My heart ached when a tear slipped from her eye. I wiped it from her cheek before lowering to give her one last kiss, all the while wishing like hell I could give her what we both wanted—Joey well enough that he could come home.
“I know this isn’t how we planned for things to go, but it’s what we’ve been dealt. And I swear to you, Marie, it’ll all work out. We’ll have our boy home with us before you know it.”
My phone ringing again had me growling at the thing.
“Okay, I really gotta go.”
I gave Joey a light kiss to the top of his head, before giving Marie a final peck to her lips, then I turned and left them. It gutted me to walk away and I knew I was leaving my fucking heart behind with them. I wished I could stay there with them, but shit needed to be done. For them. To keep them safe and to seek vengeance and justice against those who’d forced my son to be born early and robbed my old lady of her dream of being able to bring him into the world naturally, and take him home with us, healthy, a few days later.
By the time I made it to my office, Arrow, Mac and Tiny had joined me.
“How’re Marie and Joey doing?”
Typically, Arrow got straight to the point.
“Good. Marie’s coming home later today. Joey’s doing well, but the doctor wants him in the incubator for a while longer yet. It’s killing Marie to not be able to bring him home.”
Arrow leveled his all too seeing gaze on me. “She’s not the only one it’s hurting.”
I sighed and scrubbed my palms over my face. “It’s a fucking mess, brother. My old lady’s miserable and trying to hide it from me. Ariel freaked the fuck out that her brother is living in a plastic box. Poor kid thought he was being hurt with all the wires. And Joey’s still in that damn thing. So yeah, I’m hurting. But there ain’t a fucking thing I can do about any of that, so I’m gonna work on what I can do—making those fucking assholes pay for coming after what’s mine.”
I didn’t want to talk about it. Once Arrow got going, he could talk a man’s ear off. I slid my phone out and cursed when I saw the missed call from earlier was from Parrish. At least that hopefully meant he was around to answer my call this time. I pulled up his contact details and hit send. Holding the phone to my ear, I mentally begged the man to fucking pick up. I really didn’t want to send my men up there with nowhere for them to land.
“Parrish.”
Relief coursed through me at the growled word and I leaned back in my seat.
“Hey, Parrish. Scout from the Charon MC down in Texas. How’s things?”
“They’re completely fucked.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
Nerves had me leaning forward to rest my elbows on my desk. I held Arrow’s gaze. I wasn’t sure w
hat the hell we were gonna do if Parrish’s plate was already full and he couldn’t help us at all.
“It is what it is. Seems like you’ve been doing your damnedest to get in touch with me. While I appreciate the gesture, I gotta wonder why.”
Stroking my beard for a moment I tried to figure out how to best ask for his help, without giving away too much over an open phone line, but saying enough to get him on board.
“Ten days ago my old lady’s cafe was attacked. She and two other of the club’s women were working when two enforcers from a club up in Boston came storming in. Two of our fucking kids were in there too, not that the fuckers cared. They came in with guns out, ready to start a fucking war.”
Parrish growled but didn’t say anything, so I continued.
“Our kids are good, snuck out the back and got to safety. The women are fine now. Zara got a few cuts and bruises, Mercedes went into shock. My woman was thirty-three weeks pregnant and ended up going into early labor. They stopped it but it didn’t hold and our son was born last Wednesday. He’s doing okay, still in the hospital, but he’s looking good.”
“Sorry to hear that, brother, but I gotta be straight with you. I don’t get why you’re calling me with this. I’m not exactly your neighbor.”
“Ever heard of the Ice Riders MC? They got a charter up in Boston.”
“Name rings a bell. Never had any dealings with them, though. You telling me they’re the ones who came after your women?”
“Yeah, they did. We’ve taken care of the two that came down here, but we want to end this shit permanently, if you get my drift.”
“I hear you loud and clear, Scout. Thing is, I’m not sure what I can do to help. I’m up to my ears in my own shit. My old lady was in a car wreck that left her in a coma. She woke up a few days ago with traumatic amnesia. I’m shuffling between the hospital and taking care of our son.”
I winced and shook my head. Fuck, what a mess.
“Fuck, I’m sorry to hear that, Parrish. I hope she makes a full recovery, and quickly too. Fuck. You thinking accident or set up?”
He was quiet for a moment, not responding at all, which was all the response I needed. He either knew or at least suspected it wasn’t an accident.
“Look, here’s where I’m at. I can’t leave Marie and my boy at the moment, so I wanna send up four of my men. At this point, all I’m asking for is you give them a place to land when they get in. Arrow will fill you in on the rest of what’s going on once they get there and maybe we can find a way to help each other out of all this shit, yeah?”
“Yeah, sounds good. Give me names. Who you sending me?”
“Mac and Tiny, it was their women in the cafe. Arrow, my club treasurer, and a prospect, Bash. I’ll sort out their plane tickets now and I’ll let you know when they’re due to land.”
“Have them fly into Newark and I’ll have a man pick ‘em up. They’ll stay with me, at my place, until my wife is released. If they’re still here when that happens, I’ll figure out arrangements for them.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Sounds good. Appreciate it, Parrish.”
“I got you, brother.”
We ended the call and I turned to Arrow.
“Book the tickets for you four, as soon as you can. Parrish said to fly in to Newark and he’ll send someone to pick you up. Let me know what time and I’ll pass it on to him. Mac, Tiny? You two best go tell your women you’ll be out of town for a while. No fucking clue how long this shit will take to handle. I’ll go find Bash and tell him the good news. Oh, and Mac? I want you to take the keys out of the NY Mob and Ice Rider ledgers with you. I’ll get Silk to sign forms giving you her authority for the boxes. Just in case.”
With the way life was going lately, it was better he have those keys and be able to go to the safety deposit boxes John left for Silk. It would give him the physical copies of the ledgers, cash and maybe an extra weapon or two. Things they’ll no doubt need, because the Ice Riders might have started this fucking war, but we would be ending it.
Marie
It felt like I was missing a limb or something. Sure, I was glad to be home and out of hospital but without Joey here too, it didn’t feel right. Ariel was clearly ecstatic to have me back home. She’d danced her way through her night-time routine and had nearly glowed with happiness when I’d read her two bedtime stories. I suspect Scout hadn’t caught onto the fact our little girl loved getting a bonus story each night. I knew he’d tried hard to keep up with everything I normally did with Ariel, but little things like the second story each night he hadn’t known about without me around, and Ariel had been too shy to ask him for.
But now she was tucked in for the night and I found myself standing outside Joey’s room, staring at the crib and changing table. The rocking chair Scout had bought and put together for me. The bassinet that we’d move to our room for the first month or so, once he come home. I stepped inside the room and went over to the table, raising my hand to run my fingers over the stack of tiny diapers and the super soft towel with the little blue bunnies on it that Ariel had picked out for her brother.
“Babe? What are you doing in here?”
Scout’s strong arms snaked around my middle as he’d spoken, and with a sigh I leaned back against him.
“I miss him.”
He turned me in his arms then pressed a kiss to my temple, his beard tickling my face and making me smile a little as I reached up to run my fingers through the soft hair to smooth it down.
“Me, too, love. It was worse when you weren’t here, either. The place just felt empty. And it won’t feel complete until we bring Joey home where he’s meant to be.” He tightened his arms around me. “But don’t worry, it won’t be long. The doctor and all the nurses are confident he’s going to be discharged soon.”
I nodded as I snuggled in against him, tangling my fingers in his shirt as I inhaled the scent that was Scout. From what the doctor had last told us, Joey was mostly being kept in as a precaution at this stage. The rule of thumb was that preemie babies stayed in hospital until their due date, but I was hoping they’d ease up on that particular rule and let us bring him home early. Of course, I wasn’t going to push the issue. If Joey needed another week or two in the incubator to make sure his lungs were fully developed and functioning correctly, then that’s what he’d get. As much as I wanted him home, I refused to risk his long-term health for it.
“C’mon, love. Let’s go to bed. We both could use a good night’s sleep, I’m sure.”
With a nod, I let him guide me out of Joey’s room and up the hallway to ours. I stalled out again when I gripped the bottom of my shirt to lift over my head. Scout hadn’t seen my scar yet, and my tummy was still swollen. I watched as he stripped off his shirt, revealing all his glorious muscles that were as toned now as they’d always been. Swallowing my nerves, I tightened my grip on the material as Scout twisted to toss his shirt into the hamper. As he flicked open his belt and fly, he turned and his gaze ran over me before with a frown, he strode over toward me.
“Marie? What’s wrong, love? Are you in pain? Can I get you something?”
Tears pricked my eyes at how sweet this man always was with me. On one level, I knew how stupid it was to even question how he felt about me. But I couldn’t help it. My own view on my body had changed, so why wouldn’t his too?
“I’m different.”
His frown deepened. “I’m not sure I get what you mean.”
“They cut Joey out of me.”
His gaze lowered to where I had my hands splayed over my shirt, pressing the material against the scar. After a moment of silence, his expression softened and he wrapped his fingers around mine, peeling them away. Staying silent, he lifted my shirt up and off before he dropped to his knees. My body stiffened and my breath caught at him being so close to the ugly, healing wound. He slowly lowered my pants, leaving my underwear with the thick pad in it behind. He lifted each foot and stripped them away, leaving me feeling co
mpletely exposed in just my nursing bra and panties. It wasn’t just my body on display in that moment, but my heart and soul too.
Goose bumps rose on my skin when he ran his large, rough palms up my legs. Wrapping them around my hips, he held me in place as he looked up, locking his gaze with mine.
“Marie, babe, I love every single inch of you. Inside and out. There is nothing, and I mean nothing at all that could change how I feel about you. Least of all a scar you earned by bringing our boy safely into this world.”
He leaned forward and pressed the lightest of kisses to the edge of the scar and my tears broke free as a sob wracked my body. He was too much, too perfect, and I wasn’t.
“Ah, love. It’s okay. Everything’s gonna be just fine.”
He stood and wrapped one arm behind my knees and the other around my back, lifting me up against him. Rolling into his body, I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in against his soft beard. I clung to him as he moved across the room. When my back was against our bed, he peeled my hands from around his neck and stood straight.
“Give me a minute to strip off, love.”
Snuffling as I tried to stop crying, I watched him peel his jeans down, then tug off his socks. The full frontal view I got when he came back to bed was good enough it had me sighing, which made him smirk and take his thick erection in his hand.
“You want this, babe? ‘Cause I fucking want you more than I want to breathe, but we gotta wait. I won’t risk hurting you, love. Doc says six weeks. It’s gonna be a long, fucking six weeks, but we’ll do it.”
He was crazy, but I appreciated his lightening the mood. With a smile, I lifted my arms up, beckoning him to me.
“We can still cuddle, and you can still kiss me whenever you want.”
