My struggle must have been on my face, because his brown eyes softened. “The press will be having a field day by now, looking for the leak to the political story of the decade. You should lie low for a while until this passes, Kelli.”
“That’s my plan,” I assured him.
“Come with me. I’ll take care of you. You know I have the resources to keep anything from touching you.”
His voice was so soothing, so tempting, that I found myself actually taking a step toward him.
Colt’s hand tightened on my hip. The bat in his other hand hit the ground, and he grabbed me with that one too, lifting me off the ground and tossing me over his shoulder. “Fuck that shit,” he snarled as he marched across the street to my car. “You’re not going anywhere, especially with that old motherfucker.”
I landed with a thump in the passenger’s seat just as the door slammed in my face. “What are you doing?” I yelled, opening the door and trying to get out. “I need to talk to him!”
He pushed me back in and thrust his face in close to mine. “For once in your life, keep your goddamn ass in that seat and don’t move.” Stepping back, he slammed the door again, hitting the lock on my key fob every time I tried to open it until he was behind the wheel.
“I’m taking her back to the clubhouse,” Colt called to the others. “Get rid of him.”
I didn’t have time to try to escape as he started the car and left skid marks getting us out of there. I sat in the passenger’s seat, fuming as he drove. “You had no right to take me away from that conversation. He’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to a father figure in my life. He would have helped me out. I trust him.”
“Do you really?” he sounded skeptical. And pissed. Very, very pissed. “Because not five minutes ago, you were about to piss your pants when you realized who was in that SUV.”
“He’s fine if you don’t get on his bad side,” I tried to explain.
“So is the devil.” His fingers flexed around the wheel. “Is he really your uncle?”
“No. He hooked up with my mom for a while when I was a kid. He took good care of us. I took it rougher than Mom when they broke up.”
“Why did they break up?”
My lips twisted. “No clue. Mom called it off. Hank left. The next day, Calvin was back.” And I cried myself to sleep for a week. Because with Hank gone and Mom not so much as blinking unless Calvin said it was okay, I was once again left all alone. “My guess is she was paying Calvin back for something. He must have really pissed her off for her to find a new lover for nearly a year.”
“Who the hell is he, Kell?” He reached for my hand, and I didn’t fight him when he brought it to his lips, his voice softening but still thick with hurt as he asked the next question. “And why the fuck would you go with him when you won’t even think about staying with me?”
My heart gave a small, violent jolt at the pain I read in his green eyes. Ever since he said those three words I was sure he couldn’t possibly mean, my heart had started acting stupidly. Like melting. And making me question if maybe staying with him was an option, after all.
No.
I couldn’t stay. I couldn’t let him have that kind of control over me. Just because he said he loved me didn’t mean it was the truth.
Actions spoke louder than words, and I couldn’t let my walls down just because he was good at saying “I love you.”
Ignoring his second question, I focused on the first. “Hank is the guy you go to when you need something taken care of. Or, more to the point, someone taken care of.”
“He’s a hit man,” Colt assumed.
“Kind of.”
“How are you ‘kind of’ a hit man?” he asked with lifted brows.
“He doesn’t always kill them.” I shivered at the memory I’d kept buried for over a decade. “Sometimes he just makes them wish they were dead. Which is worse.”
“And you wanted to go with him?” Colt slammed on the brakes right outside the compound gates, making me jerk forward. His hand came out to block me from hitting the dashboard because neither one of us had on our seat belts. “You were going to leave me to go with a fucking psycho like that?”
I twisted around to face him. “You’re going to judge him after everything you’ve done?”
His eyes darkened. “What have I done?”
“Please. I’m not an idiot. That wasn’t deer blood I smelled back in that cabin, Colt.”
“Are we still on that whole thing?” He groaned in frustration. “I never would have hurt you, Kelli.”
“Well, you did. Maybe not physically, but you hurt me plenty right here.” I touched my fisted hand to my chest, knowing I was going to regret confessing this to him, but too upset to stop the words from flowing out. “You decimated my heart. Playing with my emotions is a hell of a lot worse than anything you could ever do to me physically. So yeah, I would have gone with Hank in a heartbeat. I still might.”
“The fuck you will!” he roared, his face turning savage. “You’re going to stay right here with me and the rest of our family.”
“Family,” I snorted…then paused. Something Jet said earlier came back to me. “Why did Jet call me his sister-in-law?”
His shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. “Because you are. Or you will be. And soon.”
“If that’s your way of proposing, it sucks balls. The answer is a big ‘Fuck no,’ by the way.” I opened the door now that we were stopped. The gate to the compound was already open, and I walked through, leaving him to park the car or abandon it to block the only entrance to the clubhouse.
I didn’t care which. All I wanted was to be away from him, away from everyone, so I could get a small hold on my emotions before I lost my mind.
It was all too much. Mom dying. Having to worry about looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life now that I’d destroyed everything Calvin held dear. Seeing Hank again. Now, this bullshit with Colt and his throwing it out there that I was going to be Jet’s sister-in-law someday.
How was I supposed to think or react—fucking deal—when my head was nothing but chaos?
In the clubhouse, I weaved through the normal crowd of people spread throughout the building. If someone said my name, I ignored them and kept walking. I bypassed Colt’s room and headed for the one Quinn shared with Raider. I hoped she wasn’t there, that neither one of them was using the room. I wanted to hide from Colt and the rest of the world, and Quinn’s room was the only place I could think of to do that in this damn place.
I knocked twice, listening to make sure that my friend and her boyfriend weren’t doing anything I didn’t want to walk in on. There was no reply and, thankfully, no porno noises coming from the other side of the door. Turning the knob, I was grateful it was unlocked, and I pushed my way inside.
The room was tidy and clean. I flipped the lock and pressed my back to the door. Slowly, I slid down until I was sitting on the floor, and I pulled my knees up to my chest. The first tear fell just as I pressed my forehead to my legs and swallowed back a sob.
I hated that I was losing it for the second time in as many days. Hated that my mother’s death had crippled me emotionally and now I had no control over my own tear ducts.
And I fucking hated that, despite how shitty Colt’s proposal was, I had wanted to say yes.
Chapter 22
Willa
The sound of someone crying pulled me from a sleep that was anything but restful. Beside me, Lexa shifted fitfully, moaning in discomfort as she twisted around to wrap her arms around my stomach.
“Is someone sad?” she asked sleepily.
I kissed the top of my precious niece’s head, thankful she was still here for me to snuggle with. Between Raven and Spider, Lexa and I were officially locked in this room with orders to rest as much as possible. If there weren’t three little lives depending on me to make sure the four of us got to the finish line safe and healthy, I would have torn my husband’s he
ad off for tossing out orders like he was lately.
Having Lexa with me made it a little easier to bear, but I would rather have been left all alone and let her run around like a carefree little girl, than have her keeping me company because she was healing from a gunshot wound to the arm.
“I don’t know, precious,” I told her honestly. “Someone is just having a little cry. They will be okay.”
I hoped.
Whoever was crying sounded like their heart was breaking, and my own ached for them. Grabbing the remote off the nightstand, I switched on the television and turned up the volume of the cartoon channel it was still on from the night before.
Seeing that her favorite show was on, Lexa set up in bed and watched avidly as some blue cat went to school with his adopted fish brother. I tried to keep up, but some of those other characters were just too weird for my mind to follow. Instead, I pulled one of the new books Flick had given me from the nightstand.
Now that I was confined to this room and bed for the foreseeable future, I could at least catch up on some reading.
A quick tap on the door was the only notice I got before it opened and Raven walked in with Max on her hip.
“How are you feeling?” she asked as she placed her son beside her daughter.
Max immediately started jumping up and down on the bed, but a look from his mother had him flopping on his diapered bottom and then flipping onto his stomach to watch cartoons with his sister.
“I’m fine,” I assured her. “You and James can calm down anytime now. Trust me, it will make the next seven-plus months so much easier.”
She grinned. “Tell that to Spider, I dare you. If I were you, I would just accept it. He’s going to be a mess until those three are here and you’re all healthy again.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled.
She laughed then turned her full attention to Lexa. “Are you in any pain, baby?” she asked softly as she gave Lexa a kiss on the nose.
Seeing this softer, more gentle side to Raven always made my head spin, but it was when she was like this with her kids that I saw just how human she really was.
“I’m okay, Mommy,” Lexa told her with a small smile. “It doesn’t hurt as bad today.”
“Good. If it starts hurting too much, though, you tell Aunt Willa.” She carefully lifted the girl’s arm, checking to see if the stitched wound had heat to it and ensuring the stitches were still holding strong. “Looks good, kiddo. Give me some sugar. Momma’s got to get back to work. Are you hungry?” Lexa gave her a kiss then shook her head. “Willa?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
A pounding on a door outside my room caught everyone’s attention, including Max’s. He hopped down off the bed, and his mother followed him over to open the door and stick her head out to see what was going on.
“Raider, what are you doing?” she demanded.
“Someone’s in my room. I swear, Rave, if it’s Whitney in there causing more trouble, I’m gonna kill the bitch.”
“Watch your language,” she snapped at him.
“I don’t think it’s Whitney,” I called out to them.
Raven glanced back at me. “How do you know? Have you been getting out of bed? Spider is going to lose his mind if you keep running around, woman.”
“No. Lexa and I heard someone crying earlier. I don’t think it was Whitney.”
“Use your key,” Raven advised her brother.
“I did. There’s something leaning against the door. At first, I thought it was Quinn being pissed at me again, so I didn’t want to chance hurting her. But I just got a text from her asking what I wanted for lunch.”
Leaving my door open, Raven walked out into the hall. Moments later, I heard her knocking on Raider’s bedroom door. “Who’s in there?” she called out.
Lexa started to move off the bed to investigate, but I caught her, shaking my head. “Stay with me. Mommy can take care of this on her own.”
Her bottom lip pouted but she nodded, turning her attention to the TV set but glancing toward the door every few seconds.
Heavy footsteps sounded down the hall, and my heart gave a little lurch because I recognized the sound of his walk. I saw his big frame move past our door just as his voice reached my ears. “What’s going on?”
“Someone’s in my room,” Raider told him. “Whoever is in there pushed something against the door.”
“Maybe it’s Kelli. Colt is looking for her.”
“Damn it,” Raider sighed heavily. “I guess I’ll let her stay in there for a little longer. Quinn will cut off my balls if I mess with her right now. She told me what happened to Kelli’s mom.”
What happened to Kelli’s mom?
I was clueless as to what was going on outside the bedroom walls that were currently my prison cell. Spider didn’t keep me up to date on what was happening in the rest of the clubhouse, and Raven was so busy she didn’t have time to gossip with me about the affairs of everyone else. And since no one other than Raven and my husband knew about my pregnancy so far, the others assumed I had something contagious and steered clear of my room.
Raider stomped off down the hall, and Raven came back into the bedroom with Spider. “What happened to Kelli’s mom?” I asked them as soon as the door was closed behind them.
Raven glanced at Lexa for a moment before replying. “She passed away yesterday.”
My heart clenched in pain for the other woman as the memory of losing my own mother brought tears to my eyes. Damn it. I had absolutely no control over my own emotions these days, and I hated it.
As it always did, seeing my tears made Spider a little insane. “Babe, what’s wrong?” His voice was like gravel as he sat on the edge of the bed beside me and pulled me into his arms. “Why are you crying?”
“Just thinking of my own mom,” I explained, and his arms tightened around me.
“Babe,” he groaned, kissing my forehead gently. “How are you feeling? Any dizziness?”
“James, I’m fine.” I wiped my damp cheeks on his shirt under his cut. “Please relax. You have other things to worry about without adding me to the list.”
His huge hands cupped each side of my face, making me feel small and cherished. “You’re at the top of my list every day. You and those brats in there need to stay healthy, and then I’ll relax. Deal?”
Even when he was being all pushy and tender, I wanted to roll my eyes at him. Doing so got me a wink from him. Kissing my lips sweetly, he stood. “I’ve got to go out again, baby. If you need anything, tell Raven. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Again? When did you leave the first time?” I pouted.
“Had to go down to Jenks’s office earlier. Brought back a new friend.” Christ, I was missing everything. Now there were strangers in the clubhouse? I didn’t like the idea of that, not after what happened to Tanner and Warden. “Don’t worry, Willa. They won’t be staying long. But I think we can trust these guys.”
Knowing he trusted whoever the newcomers were helped me relax a little. “Just be careful wherever you’re going.” I touched a hand to my stomach. “You got me into this mess, you better stick around and help me out of it.”
The lines around his eyes softened. “I’ll always be beside you, baby.”
Chapter 23
Kelli
I wasn’t sure how long I sat there against the door before my phone started vibrating. It felt like hours had passed since Raider tried to get in. A glance at the clock on my phone’s screen told me it was after eight in the evening, so more than a few hours had gone by.
The number flashing on my screen was familiar to me. Though I was prepared for the backlash of what I’d done earlier, I didn’t know if I was ready to speak to Calvin now. My emotions were too close to the surface. Staying calm and rational wasn’t something I had faith in my ability to accomplish. Not with that man.
Closing my eyes, I swiped my thumb over the screen and lifted it to my
ear, praying for patience and the strength I needed to do this without giving him what he wanted. “What?”
“Come out of your little hiding hole, you fucking whore.”
“You didn’t honestly think I would let you do that to Mom and allow you walk away unscathed, did you?” I pinched the bridge of my nose, wishing for a few Excedrin for the throbbing tension headache that was on its way to turning into a migraine. “You should have just taken me out and never even thought about Mom. The norm for you, you gutless motherfucker.”
“You’ve destroyed everything I’ve worked for my entire life, you little bitch. Everything! I have to resign now. There is no coming back from this.” He sounded menacingly hysterical, and despite everything else swarming around in my head, his distress brought a genuine smile to my lips.
His suffering pleased me to the point that it was almost exhilarating. Almost. I could imagine his gold-digger wife packing her bags even now. On the phone with her divorce attorney, discussing how much alimony she could get now that the world had proof he cheated and their prenuptial agreement was null and void.
“Good. I hope you have plenty of money in all those offshore accounts. Venessa is probably already cleaning out your legit bank accounts. Enjoy the rest of your pathetic new life, Calvin.” I hung up to his cursing violently in my ear.
Seconds later, it rang again. I sent it straight to voice mail, but it only started ringing again. Five more times, I sent it to voice mail. Five more times, he called back. It was easy to see where I got my stubbornness from.
Fuck, I hated that we shared anything in common.
Standing up, I walked into the bathroom and searched in the medicine cabinet for something for my headache. All I found was aspirin, and I downed three of them, hoping they would take care of this headache before it got any worse but figuring the only thing they would do was tear up my stomach for the next few hours.
That was exactly how life was.
Angel's Halo: Avenged Page 14
