I was exhausted but I wouldn’t let myself go to sleep because I didn’t want to miss a thing. I rested my hand against her belly, careful not to disturb her.
“Hey, kid, it’s your dad,” I said, feeling a little like a jackass, wondering if Pea could even hear me. And if he could, he didn’t have any clue who I was—that was just downright wrong.
I felt something push against my palm.
No way.
“Pea is that you?” I asked, glancing back at Lauren, looking for her to confirm I had just felt our kid kick her, but she was out cold. Too much sex. See you next week, Kitten. I chuckled to myself and then I felt it again, stronger this time, I moved my hand to stare at Lauren’s stomach, and sure enough, saw movement.
I quickly put my hand back to where Pea was kicking a field goal.
“Whoa, you’re a strong one aren’t you?” I asked, gently rubbing the area he continued to kick. “Take after your mama, that’s for sure,” I said, smiling as I pressed my lips to her forehead.
I closed my eyes and finally let myself fall asleep with my family in my arms. I don’t know how long we stayed like that before the devil awakened us, and by the devil, I meant the pain in the ass soldier, Jack.
I untangled myself from Kitten and climbed out of bed to search for my pants and grab my phone.
“Hello?”
“Where the fuck are you?” he growled into the phone.
Great, I wasn’t in the mood for some bullshit, not when I had Lauren stirring awake, probably ready to go another round.
“I need all hands on deck, Blackie got into some trouble last night,” he hissed angrily into the phone.
“What kind of trouble?” I asked, running my fingers roughly through my hair.
“The kind that involves a fucking lawyer. Not going to say it again, get your ass to the Dog Pound,” he ordered, disconnecting the call, leaving no room for argument.
I turned around and Kitten was busy covering herself up with the blanket.
“Hey,” I said softly, walking over to her side of the bed. “I’ve got to run to the clubhouse but I want you to stay,” I requested, sitting on the edge of the bed.
She looked at me warily.
“We’ll talk when I get back, figure everything out,” I said reassuringly.
“Okay,” she replied after a moment.
I pressed my lips to hers, letting them linger for a moment before pulling back.
“Go back to bed. I won’t be too long,” I promised, before pulling my clothes on, grabbing my gun and my phone and heading out. The quicker I got my ass to the compound, the quicker I can get back home to Lauren.
I didn’t know what exactly I had intended to tell her when I got back. Could I just forget the reasons we were apart in the first place? The more I thought about it the more I knew I needed to get my hands on Wu, take him out and take back my family.
The MC will get over it.
Or they wouldn’t.
But Kitten and Pea would be safe.
And I’d be the one who made them safe.
The clubhouse was packed when I stepped inside but Jack stood from his chair and stalked over to me immediately.
“What’s the big emergency?” I questioned, ticked off that I had been summoned here in the first place.
“Blackie got arrested last night,” Jack ground out.
“For what?” I asked incredulously. Shit, he probably got a DUI.
“Brantley arrested him. It’s not good,” Jack said, swiping his hand across his face. “The kid he beat up is nearly dead.”
“The kid…” I said, recalling the guy with Lacey.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“Yeah, Riggs, the kid that nearly raped Lacey in the parking lot,” Jack said, through clenched teeth.
“Blackie was leaving and caught Lacey struggling in the parking lot. He beat the fuck out of him. Brantley showed up and slapped cuffs on him. If that piece of shit dies, Blackie is looking at murder,” Jack explained, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I pray that little shit lives,” he grunted. “He lives, I’ll cut his little dick off but at least then Blackie is looking at assault in the first degree and attempted manslaughter. With his priors he’ll serve about five years.”
“And that’s the best case scenario?”
Jack nodded.
“Blackie’s doing time, either way, let’s just hope it’s five years and not twenty to life,” he sighed.
“Christ. I had no idea man, everything was cool when I left,” I paused. “How’s Lacey?”
“Stryker took her to my house. She was shaken up but she’s blaming herself for all this shit,” he paused.
“You’re probably going to think I’m crazy but I’ve got this feeling…” he said, as he reached around and cupped the back of his neck. “…I think Lacey has a crush or something on Blackie.”
Ah, fuck this.
Why me?
I shrugged my shoulders and tried my best to act clueless.
“Why, because she feels bad? I’d fucking feel bad too if Blackie saved my ass and got arrested for it,” I said, shoving my hands into my pockets.
“Right,” Jack agreed warily. “So, you didn’t see anything strange between the two of them at the bar?”
“I saw Lacey on a date with some douchebag and Blackie being Blackie at the bar wallowing in his shit. They didn’t even acknowledge each other and when I waved at Lacey she stared daggers at me.”
It was somewhat true.
“I’ve got to go to the courthouse. Bones is staying with Lacey and Reina at my house, think you can swing by the hospital and get an update on the kid?”
I sighed.
“Yeah,” I said, deciding I’d make a quick stop at the hospital then head straight home. Unfortunately, I’d have to wait to discuss a plan for Wu with Jack. If he didn’t give me the answers I needed, a solid course of action to bring this motherfucker to his knees, I was taking things into my own hands.
I felt my kid kick for the first time today.
I missed months of that.
I wasn’t going to miss one goddamn moment once he was born.
So this war? It had to end before Lauren gave birth.
Either I would end it.
Or the Satan’s Knights would.
But Wu’s days were numbered. I wasn’t letting that stupid fuck rob me the chance of being a good dad. He got his fucking money, that should’ve been enough but he was a sick fuck who would fight until he got whatever satisfaction it was he was searching for.
Not on my fucking watch.
I quickly dressed, gathered my belongings and tried to make a beeline out the door before Riggs came back. He wanted me to wait, said we’d talk but that was hours ago. One call from Jack, God only knows what happened this time, but whatever it was it took Riggs away from me again.
He’d come back.
But I wasn’t sure which man would be back. The one from last night, or the Knight cloaked in leather. I wanted so badly for him to come home and make things right for our little family but I couldn’t stand anymore heartache.
I shouldn’t have come here last night.
I shouldn’t have given into my desires.
I shouldn’t have let the dreams we shared get the best of me.
And I most definitely shouldn’t have looked for hope in a hopeless situation.
I stopped in front of the closed door next to our room, the room we were going to make Pea’s room. I curiously put my hand on the doorknob, wondering why he kept it closed but stopped myself from opening it. I didn’t need to know what was behind that door.
It didn’t matter.
I walked to the front door and did what I did best, gave Riggs an out and spared myself the words he’d come back and tell me.
Or maybe I gave him too much credit. He probably wouldn’t come back at all and send either Bones or my brother to remove me from his life.
I opened the front door, glancing ov
er my shoulder at the apartment one last time.
Don’t worry, Tiger. I’ll be gone before you have the chance.
I shut the door, both the physical one and the one to my heart.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I was twenty-eight weeks pregnant, just starting my seventh month, finally in the home stretch. I feel like I had been pregnant for a year—it’s been the longest seven months of my life—I keep reminding myself it will all be worth it soon enough. Soon enough I’ll get to meet Pea.
I even began to think of names. I’m torn between Ashley and Aubree, everyone I tell them to hates both equally. I remember Riggs telling me his real name was Robert and tried thinking of similar names that I could name our daughter, However, I’m not willing to call my daughter Berta.
After I left his apartment last month he didn’t come looking for me. He sent me a text message thanking me, actually. He claimed I did him a favor by walking away.
My guess is that I saved him the hassle of doing the walking himself.
For the past four weeks I’ve been struggling not to overthink our situation or look for some fictional light at the end of the tunnel. I’m pushing forward, you might think I’m not as I just finished telling you I was contemplating naming Pea after him but I just want her to have something of him.
I know he loves her despite his actions.
Riggs doesn’t have a phony bone in his body. He’s not a man that has a filter either. He says and does what he wants and makes no apologies for it.
I saw how he was with me that night, how amazed he was by our baby growing inside of me. There was nothing fake about that.
It’s just sad, the whole thing is just so sad.
But there’s no time to cry.
Time to move forward. I found the path I was meant to be on, the one that included Pea. Now I needed to prepare for that road.
“What about this one?” my mother asked, as she began to push a stroller. “It’s light and rides nice. See if it closes easily. When Luca was a baby Adrianna bought one of those fancy strollers and needed to google directions on how to close it.”
I took the stroller from my mother and started to wheel it around the store. She insisted we take a trip to Babies R Us and make a list of things we needed for Pea.
“I like the other one better,” I said, pointing to the gray one. My mother zapped it with some little gadget the store gave us to help create a list. One thing down, twelve thousand to go. A baby needed a ton of things, things I didn’t even know existed. What the hell was a diaper genie anyway? Or a wipe warmer? I’m pretty sure my mother didn’t warm my wipes before she wiped my ass and I survived.
“Did you give anymore thought about what we talked about?” my mother asked nonchalantly, as we strolled down the bottle aisle.
My mother also suggested a week ago that I should speak with an attorney. She argued that the baby would be here before I knew it and I needed to decide if I was going to give Riggs any legal rights to Pea. She also mentioned that he is responsible for child support and I shouldn’t let him get away with that. I needed to protect my baby and stop worrying about my pride. Her words not mine.
She had a point.
I texted him this morning asking him if we could meet up to talk about Pea. He didn’t respond right away but when he did he said he was on a run and would be back at the clubhouse this afternoon. So after this shopping excursion I was going to head over to the clubhouse and ask him what he wanted to do.
“Yes,” I finally said to my mother. “I’m meeting up with him after here to discuss it.”
“Good, girl,” she said. “Even if he doesn’t want to be a full-time dad, he should still have to support that baby,” she added with a scowl.
A part of me wondered if she was projecting all the hatred she had for my father onto Riggs. They weren’t the same people, my dad turned his back on us and never looked back. Riggs turned his back and kept looking over his shoulder.
There I went being hopeful again.
I was fucking beat by the time I pulled up to the Dog Pound, being on the road ten days will do that to you. Jack ordered me to ride up north with Wolf to secure our connections with the Corrupt Bastards MC. They usually dealt with Blackie but with him at Ryker’s waiting for trial, they’d be dealing with me from now on. The kid Blackie pummeled into the asphalt survived so they weren’t charging him with murder but they had a solid case against him. The surveillance from the club aiding in their mission to declare Blackie a maniac. He’s looking at five years, best case scenario, and that’s with all the club’s money backing a fancy hotshot lawyer from Manhattan.
I smoothed things over with the Corrupt Bastards and even scored a potential deal with them that I would bring up at Church.
“Well it’s about time you two bitches came home,” Pipe called, walking across the parking lot toward us. “Just in the nick of time too, you can help unload the trucks.”
“What trucks?” Wolf asked.
“While you two were off riding the wind, I got a maintenance job, restoring all the Atlantic Express tour buses,” he grinned proudly. “The yard is full with buses and I had no room for the parts I had to order so I had them shipped here,” he glanced down at his watch.
“They should’ve been here already.”
“I need a shower before I do anything,” I said, removing my helmet.
“Showers going to have to wait,” Pipe said, tipping his chin across the lot to where Lauren was parked in her mother’s car.
“She been here long?” I asked, hanging my helmet on one of the handlebars.
“About ten minutes or so,” he replied. “Asked her if she wanted to come in but she said she’d wait out here for you,” he added.
“She alone?”
“Afraid mommy dearest is with her?” Pipe smiled before he howled with a hearty laugh. “Relax, Riggs, she’s all by her lonesome,” he assured.
I was relieved to know that Lauren was on her own. I watched as she opened the driver’s door and stepped out. At the same time the rusty gates opened and the prospect guarding the gate hollered over his shoulder.
“Incoming!”
I slapped Pipe’s back and grinned. “Looks like your shipment is here. You guys can handle this can’t you?” I laughed.
“Fuck you,” Pipe said, turning to Wolf. “And where do you think you’re going?”
“To take a fucking piss. Your goddamn parts can wait, my dick can’t,” Wolf snickered.
I laughed to myself as the two of them exchanged insults. In that moment, I lifted my head and locked eyes with Lauren. I raised my hand to my chest rubbing that ache that instantly came every time I looked into those eyes, the familiar sense of longing washed over me as it always did when she was around.
Around.
But just out of my reach.
She was my goddamn unicorn.
A mystical creature I could never capture.
But that was only because I didn’t allow myself to.
Because in my head I thought loving her from afar was better for the both of us.
Loving her.
I loved Lauren.
That was the ache in my chest knowing I was in love with her and not being with her, not telling her how I felt, how she took a reckless biker and made him a man.
She gave me purpose and my purpose was to love her.
She brought me back to a place where I believed in dreams.
Because fuck me, she was a dream come true.
She was my Kitten.
My Kitten that was giving me a little Pea.
Dreams.
They were real and they were wrapped in the blue-eyed girl who came charging into my life. I thought she was a detour, that we were a detour, but we weren’t, we were one another’s path. The only path that existed.
We were Kitten and Tiger.
I smiled at her, watching as she pushed her glasses further up her nose and stared back at me.
Smile at me.
&
nbsp; Give me something.
Tell me it’s not too late.
She took another step away from the car, tucking her hair behind her ears and then smiled back at me.
I love you, Kitten.
Gonna show you just how much.
It’s me and you against all this shit.
You just need to give me one last chance.
“Park the truck over here,” Pipe hollered to the driver. “Over here!” He demanded. “What the fuck, are you assholes deaf? Park the fucking truck over here,” he shouted
Life was too short to live it running scared. It was too fucking precious to live in the shadows of a threat. I gave Wu too much power over me. It was time to own my love, my heart and take back what was mine. I’d hang on tight and never let anyone take my family from me.
My family.
Wow.
“Shit! Get down,” Pipe shouted.
Lauren’s eyes widened and I followed them to where Pipe was shouting, waving his hands and shaking his head.
Everything went silent.
I didn’t hear the shouting.
I didn’t hear the gunfire.
I watched as the back of the truck lifted open and the Red Dragons appeared firing machine guns. The guns they took from us. They shot at us with our own fucking guns. I reached for my gun as the rest of the Knights appeared from the clubhouse and we started shooting back.
“Lauren, get down!” I screamed over my shoulder.
“Riggs!” She shrieked.
“Get down,” I yelled, as I ran backward, shooting my way toward her.
“Get your girl,” ordered Jack, coming up beside me and firing his AK-47 at the targets I was aiming for.
I turned around to where Lauren was but I didn’t see her. I frantically searched the lot and saw her running toward the clubhouse.
“No!” I screamed, the shrill sound of my cries vibrating through my ears as I watched the bullet fly through the air, headed straight for her.
The Tempted Series: Collectors Edition Page 116
