by LeAnn Ashers
She changed me the moment I saw her.
She hid her face, hiding her smile, trying to blend in with her surroundings, but little did she know that she could never hide from me, because that’s when my life began.
You don’t know what is truly missing until you find the missing link—and that was my heart, which is this small woman.
“Look!” Joslyn touches my shoulder and motions to the cribs.
“Come on, sweet girl.” I lead her to the crib sets, and she goes straight to a black wooden crib. “This would be so pretty with gray paint.”
Joslyn
We picked out the crib, the bedding, the changing table, and the bassinet, which I will have in the bedroom with me and Wilder until the baby is older. It will make it easier for me in the first months.
Wilder spots the car seats and inspects every single one of them, finding the one with the most safety features.
“I need a base for my vehicle.” Darla puts an extra base in the cart. She is planning on babysitting any time she can.
Walker grabs one for himself, and I laugh at them. We could have just moved one from vehicle to vehicle.
“Oh look!” Darla motions to a baby swing that moves like a mother does. Wilder picks it up and puts it in the buggy. “You need one of these too.” She throws in one of those pillows that wraps around you to help hold the baby. “Look at this stroller!” She points to one that matches the bedroom suite we picked out. Walker puts it in his buggy; we have three rolling around right now. Darla has one, and Wilder and Walker each have one.
For the next two hours Darla insists, “you need this” and puts it in the buggy. I am loving seeing her enjoying herself so much.
I stare in shock at the price of everything. I knew babies weren’t cheap, but we haven’t even gotten to the baby clothes, wipes, and diapers. That is something that can wait for another time.
“Next we plan your baby shower,” Darla whispers, and I look at Wilder, who is just amused about everything going down.
I want to breastfeed if it’s possible, which is why I’ve skipped the bottles so far, but I will get some in case I can’t. I also saw a formula dispenser that I want to get.
Ringing up all of this stuff, I am once more reminded of how blessed I am with the family I have.
“Wilder, want to get some greasy diner food after this?” I ask hopefully and he laughs.
“Sure.”
I look at Walker and Darla. “You guys want to eat with us?”
“Sure, I am starving.” Walker does that man-nod thing they all seem to have down pat.
My phone rings, and I see it’s Brittany. “Hey girl.”
“Joslyn, I need help.”
I smack Wilder’s arm, and he snaps to attention. “What’s wrong, Brittany?”
“The cartel is following me.”
“Here is Wilder.” I hand the phone over, and Darla grips me, her face pale. Walker is basically standing on top of me and Darla, ready for anything.
“Call the guys and tell them she is heading straight for the club. Three loads of cars are following her, numbers unknown.”
Darla grips me tightly, her whole body shaking. “Come on.” Wilder motions for us, and he pulls Darla and me close to him as we follow Walker, who is still talking on his phone.
“Wilder, you need to be there. I got the girls,” Walker informs him. Wilder looks at me, undecided. “She needs her brother.”
Wilder helps me into Walker’s truck, while Walker loads everything up. “Go to my house and lock everything down.” Wilder kisses me deeply, and I want to grab him and not let him out of my sight.
I can’t be selfish, no matter how much I want to be. He needs to be there for Brittany. “Where is she, Wilder?” I ask him, breaking the kiss.
“She is twenty minutes out. She was coming from Raleigh. Derek should be meeting her right about now. She wasn’t supposed to go out alone, she fucking knows better. Love you, sweet girl.” He kisses me one last time; then he walks away.
Taking my heart with him.
18
Wilder
I pull up to the club. The doors are open, waiting for Brittany to come back safely. The cartel has been quiet, and now they are targeting the women again.
“She is two minutes out!” Caleb yells.
“Arm yourself!” Lane yells, and I pull out my pistol. The Originals Konrad and Maverick both have shotguns. Daniel and Case are holding pistols. Travis is standing beside me, and Tristan and Butcher are inside with the women.
They won’t get past us, but we always like to be extra cautious. Butcher probably has Shaylin tied down because she wants to be a part of the action. Smiley has been fighting her for years. Shaylin has driven him crazy from the moment she was born, and now Butcher has his job.
Tires squeal. I see Brittany in her Camaro, and Derek is right behind her in his truck. Three SUVs are on their ass.
Brittany drives past us with Derek following her. He jumps out, pulls her from her vehicle, and brings her into the clubhouse. She glares at him the whole time, but she just slams the door shut and joins us.
The three vehicles have pulled to a stop outside the gates, and men in suits climb out. One is in the lead. “I need to speak to the president!” he yells.
Lane steps forward, and we all follow him. He is not to be alone; he is our president and to be protected at all costs.
“Ahh, how is your beautiful Amelia?”
The guy is just asking to die. “Well, wouldn’t you like to know.” It seems to happen in slow motion: the guy hits the ground with a bullet in the middle of his forehead.
Konrad moves forward, his shotgun blasting into the air, driving everyone into motion. The cartel men scramble to their vehicles, and I fire my pistol. They hit the ground left and right, and a few make it to their vehicles. They take off, leaving some of their companions behind.
“Don’t kill!” Lane roars, and Maverick jumps over the bodies and knocks them out with the butt of his shotgun. He grabs both men by their hair and drags them toward the clubhouse. He goes to the side of the building, where the women won’t be able to see them.
Daniel, Case, and the others begin dumping the bodies in the back of a van. They will be doused in acid and dumped into a pond.
We all walk into the building, where some of the guys are checking on their women and families. The entire building is reinforced with metal, and the windows are unbreakable.
Brittany runs over to me, her eyes filled with tears. This has to be the first time since I have met her that I’ve seen her cry. “I am so sorry, bubby!” She wraps her arms around me.
“It’s not your fault.” These guys have been waiting for an opening, and it just happened to be Brittany.
“Why the fuck is she crying?” Derek asks.
“I put everyone in danger.” She lets me go. “I want to hurt them. Let me at them.” She is not sad anymore, just straight-up pissed off.
That’s more like Brittany.
Derek raises his eyebrows. “You will have to ask Lane.”
She marches off to Lane, who is next to his family. She waves him over, and her hands move in the air while she tells him everything.
“Brittany?” My dad runs into the room; he sees her and his knees buckle. My dad is a tough son of a bitch, but he is weak when it comes to his girls. She runs over to him in those fucking heels, and he crushes her into a hug. “Dad, I get to fuck them up.”
I need to tell Joslyn, so I shoot out a text.
Me: It’s over. Brittany is fine and everyone is okay.
Joslyn: Good, now hurry home to me. ;)
Forget the cartel; this woman will be the one who kills me in the end.
Lane whistles, and we all follow him to the room where shit goes down. Three men hang from the ceiling. We have to get answers, and the only way to do that is to cut it out of them.
Believe it or not Brittany is the first one in the room, looking out of place. She is in fucking heels, about
to beat the shit out of someone.
Brittany had it rough growing up, so she is tough as nails and isn’t afraid to bust someone’s nose if they fuck with her. When she first came to live with us, Travis told her a joke and she thought he was making fun of her, so she just walked over and punched him square in the face.
To this day Travis will joke with her and run off; that punch scarred him for life.
“Brittany, you don’t have to be here.”
“She is only here to get her revenge,” Lane informs my father, who is relieved.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” the guy on the right asks.
She smiles at him. “I am here to kick your ass.”
He laughs loudly. “You? You can’t be.” He doesn’t get anything else out before her fist hits his mouth.
I laugh at his shocked face, and he shuts up really quick. Brittany winks at Lane and goes to the wall where the tools are hanging. These tools have been used to get information out of everyone. She takes a bat that belongs to Derek off the wall. She would fucking choose that one.
Derek grins happily, see what I mean? My sister deserves to be happy and I hate to admit it, but he would be good for her and she for him.
Brittany walks back to the men, swinging the bat. “I am not here to interrogate you, I am just here to kick your ass.” She swings her bat, nailing the one in the middle right on the kneecap. He screams bloody murder.
“Quit being such a pussy! You pretended to be a badass earlier.” She swings again, hitting the one on the right in the mouth and kneecap; then she swings upward, shattering his jaw.
“Damn, Brit.” My dad looks at her in shock.
Brittany has a major temper, a side to her that my dad has never seen. Well, until now that is. I laugh, watching her hit the one on the far left, knocking him out cold.
“Leave one of them with a working mouth, Brit,” Lane says.
She salutes him, and I cover my mouth because he is the president and not many people dare to do that. My father looks at Lane, who just tries to hide his smile.
Brittany is the second girl to ever come into the interrogation room; Shaylin was the first. Some guy was bullying her at school, and he wanted to be a member of the club. She lured him to the club and into the room, where she beat the shit out of him. She didn’t like him picking on her, and she wanted to get revenge.
Smiley let it happen because nobody gets away with messing with Shaylin. We were all pissed when we found out he’d pushed her into lockers, tripped her, and put gum in her hair.
I am surprised she didn’t kill him, but I know she wanted to send a message. She was not the only girl having to deal with him and wanted it to end.
“Stop!” the one in the middle screams, and she rolls her eyes then hits his hand, breaking his fingers. Then she stomps on his feet in those fucking heels.
She has stepped on my feet before by accident, and I just can’t imagine it happening on purpose. Derek winces beside me; I bet she has stomped on his feet a couple of times.
“Alright, I’m done.” She throws the bat at Derek’s feet and walks out of the room.
Derek picks the bat up off the ground, spinning it in his hands. “Let’s get this show on the road.” Lane rubs his hands together, ready to get everything out of them.
In the end we don’t get much besides they are coming for us again, this time everyone is a target, and they are hitting us again soon.
* * *
Joslyn
Travis walks through the front door with Tristan behind him.
I sit up on the couch. “Where? Red Lobster?” I ask hopefully.
“Anything you want,” Travis tells me.
I jump off the couch and run to the door, slipping on my shoes. I am craving crab legs something fierce.
Wilder laughs at me and gets off the couch, grabbing his keys off the coffee table. “You guys riding with me?”
They nod and look at me, like I am the answer to everything.
“Let’s go!” I open the door and motion for them to walk out. “I’m starving.”
Tristan and Travis walk in front of me, and Wilder is at my back. He holds on to me. He does this every time I am faced with walking down the stairs. He won’t let me carry anything over a few pounds; you’ve got to love him for it.
We get onto the main highway and, somehow, I have ended up in the middle of the truck between Travis and Wilder, who is driving. Tristan is in the back behind me.
“Wilder, I wonder if you can buy the cheddar biscuits by the dozen and bring them home?” I ask, and he grins at me. “I will ask, Baby.”
The moment he looks back at the road, I do too. Two vehicles are driving right toward us. Travis pushes a button on the roof of the truck. Wilder slams on his brakes and unsnaps my seatbelt. Tristan puts me in the backseat and lies on top of me.
SMASH.
I scream, my whole body jarred from the impact. I wrap my arms around my middle, protecting my baby. Tristan grunts on top of me, and I look up to see Wilder lying against the window, blood running down his face.
“Wilder!” I scream. Tristan sits up, and I look at Travis to see he is conscious, staring at something through the broken windshield.
I stand up, touch Wilder’s face, and sob loudly. “Wilder,” I beg, “please wake up.”
His eyes open, staring into mine, and he jumps to attention. My hand drags down the side of this face, feeling a knot on the side of his head.
“Tristan!” Travis roars.
My door is open and I’m pulled out of the truck. Tristan grabs my hand, and they pull him out along with me. Travis and Wilder jump out.
“Get in the fucking vehicle or I will kill her now.” I hear a click; then something cold is pressed against the side of my head.
The sight of Wilder’s face will forever haunt me. He looks like he is in so much pain, and I know that pain isn’t from the wound—it’s from his heart. I feel the same way. Having seen him unconscious will forever haunt me: the lifeless look on his bloody face.
One by one, they all get into the vehicle. Once they are in the truck, they push me inside and I land on my knees. Wilder picks me up and puts me behind him. The door slams shut, and Wilder runs his hands over my body. “You okay?” he whispers, his eyes probing mine.
“I am fine, Tristan protected me in the truck.”
Wilder looks at Tristan. “Thank you, man.” I can hear the emotion in his voice that he is trying to hide. Wilder puts his palm on my stomach, and our baby chooses that second to kick.
“They are fucking stupid.” Travis laughs.
Wilder touches his side and pulls out his gun. “I don’t have a good feeling about this,” I whisper.
The car stops suddenly, hard. Wilder and Tristan have to grab me to keep me from falling onto the floor. The door is whipped open, and guns are in our faces.
“We are playing a little game. You have a five-minute head start, until we track you down. Take off your cuts first.” He cackles, stepping away from the van.
Wilder steps out first, pulling me with him. He, Travis, and Tristan take off their cuts. We look beside us to see around fifty cartel members. Fear shoots through me for the very first time. Wilder pulls me along, running straight toward the woods.
“Don’t be afraid, sweet girl,” Wilder whispers while running with me, and Tristan grabs my other hand.
Guns go off behind us, and we duck behind a tree. Wilder presses me against the tree, his body directly in front of mine. I wrap my arms around his middle, just hugging him. All I want right now is to lie in bed with him, hold him. I almost lost him today, and now they are trying to kill us.
“Help me!” a woman screams, and my eyes widen at the sound of my mother’s voice. Oh my goodness, what do I do? I shake my head side-to-side—maybe that didn’t happen? “Please help me.” She sobs, and my heart breaks a little. I look at Wilder, who is staring at me.
“It’s a trick, sweet girl.”
Gunshots ring out aga
in, and Wilder pulls me close. We run again, with Travis and Tristan behind us.
The sun has almost set; soon we will be in complete darkness. I can hear a thunder of feet running behind us. “Will the MC find us?” I ask, my voice shaking with fear. Wilder kisses the top of my head before looking at his surroundings, on alert.
“We need to find something to take shelter in tonight. It’s going to rain,” Tristan whispers, and we huddle behind a wall of bushes.
We stand up again, our heads bent down, trying to blend into our surroundings. I just cannot believe this is happening. I just wanted Red Lobster; then these stupid people tried to plow us off the road. They made the guys throw down their vests. Their vests, which have trackers in them.
Which is a big wrench in getting rescued.
It’s just us four against around fifty cartel members who are armed and want us dead. There is a loud scrambling noise right in front of us.
My mother is crawling across the ground. She looks at me, her face dirty. “Joslyn, come here! Help me!” She screams way too loudly.
“Mom!” I hiss, walking toward her. She is going to get us killed!
She stands up, and I watch in utter horror as she points a gun at me.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, my heart pounding. I hear Wilder moving, his anger thick in the air. I hold my hand open, signaling him to stand still.
“Come on out, boys!” she screams in a sing-song voice that sends chills up my spine.
One by one, men pop out of the trees, surrounding us. We are so screwed. “Oh no, we found you.” One of them gloats, I stand completely still and look over my shoulder at Wilder to see him glaring at everyone. “We can make a deal,” the leader says. He looks at me, smiling. “You give her to us, and you leave town. Then I will give her back. Easy right? Or you all die.”
I cannot allow them to die. I would rather be killed than allow harm to come to Wilder, but the most painful part is I’m pregnant.
“Over my dead fucking body,” Wilder says harshly, and he moves closer to me.
