The Baby Bump_Black Knights MC

by Sophia Gray

  As I look down at Henry, I realize my attempt at getting him to say ‘dada’ on video has been thwarted because he’s fast asleep. A soft sigh parts my lips, and I turn the video off, but leave the phone where it is. Still holding him close to me, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep myself.

  The sound of a door closing startles me awake, and I open my eyes with a shallow gasp. I look around, but when I don’t see anyone, I start to stand. Then, in the doorway of the kitchen, I see Kristel with her arms folded loosely around her waist. She’s got a big smile on her face and my phone in her hands. It’s obvious that she’s been taking pictures.

  “Hey… how long was I out?”

  She shrugs, still smiling. “An hour since I’ve been back maybe? I couldn’t wake you. You two were just so adorable.”

  “Hey, I’m not adorable. He’s not, either. Look at that face, he’s a tough little man.”

  “Yeah, okay. Sure.” She rolls her eyes and chuckles. “You can’t claim that after what I heard on your video. You’re very sweet when you want to be, which is rather shocking. And scary. Maybe not a terrifying biker after all?”

  My eyes narrow. “I’d come get you if I wasn’t holding Henry.”

  “Uh huh, sure.” She turns around and walks into the kitchen, now out of sight. As she does, I hear my voice on the video as I talk to our son. A low groan rolls from my throat.

  “Why did you record this anyway? Seems a little odd, babe.”

  I shrug as best I can with the baby in my arms. “He spoke to me so I wanted to get it on video. He fell asleep before I could get it again, though.”

  Kristel immediately appears in the doorway and stares at me. “He what? What did he say?”

  “He said ‘dada.’ Twice. Once when I changed him and once after I rambled on about something. I figured he liked the sound of my voice, so I rambled on about something else to see if he’d say it again. I guess I was too boring.”

  “That’s amazing! Oh my God…” She comes over to the couch and sits next to me. One of her hands rests on my knee. “Henry’s first word is ‘dada.’I find that very fitting, considering how much you’ve done for us.” As she leans in, she kisses me soundly. “Saving my life…taking me in… loving me… should I go on?”

  “Nah. You don’t need to.” I press my forehead to hers and smile. “I get it. But why are you using such flattery, hmm? What do you want?”

  “Dada.”

  Before Kristel can answer me, Henry says it again. My eyes widen, and I laugh. “There! Did you hear him? He said it!” I can’t ever remember being this excited about something, and I surprise myself with my enthusiasm. Normally I’m far more reserved.

  “Yes!” Kristel’s reaction, on the other hand, doesn’t surprise me at all. “He actually said it. You weren’t kidding! Henry, can you say it again? Say ‘dada?’ Yeah? Can you say ‘dada’ again?” She takes him gently from my arms, her eyes bright and her face practically glowing. As she cuddles him against her chest, she looks at me and gives me a wide smile.

  “Da…da….da…” Henry tries to grab Kristel’s nose as he speaks, then looks at me and points.

  My jaw slackens, and I draw in a shallow breath. Not only has he said ‘dada,’he also seems to know exactly who I am. I stand from the couch and go to my little family, an arm wrapping around Kristel while I kiss Henry’s forehead. Kristel’s jaw is just as slack, and I can’t ever remember seeing her so happy.

  “He knows you.” She kisses the corner of my mouth and hugs he tight. “That’s amazing. I read about things like this, but…”

  “It’s better than you thought it would be?”

  “Yeah. Way better.” As she lays her head on my shoulder and watches our son, I kiss her temple. There’s just one more thing I need to do before everything is in its proper place.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Kristel

  Henry won’t stop crying. As I hold him in my arms, I pace back and forth while I coo and try to soothe him with my voice. His eyes are clenched shut, and his little fingers grip the edges of his blanket. He is the most miserable baby I have ever seen. I have tried to feed him, bathe him, change him, play with him, read to him, and sing to him, but thus far nothing has worked.

  “Henry… hey, come on now. Come on, stop crying. You’re okay, you’re safe.” I let out a quiet sigh of frustration and hold him closer. My brow is wrinkled with concern, and I check his forehead for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes. He doesn’t have a fever. “You have to tell me what’s wrong, little guy. What’s wrong?”

  He cries even harder when I stop pacing, so I keep going. Where is Andre? He and the rest of the group were supposed to be here ten minutes ago. He invited me to the main safe house about an hour ago, but wouldn’t tell me what was happening. Maybe my own anxiousness is getting to Henry.

  When I hear a car pull up outside, I skirt over to the window and peek through. It’s not like I can hide too well with an upset baby in my arms, though.

  “Shhh, please be quiet,” I whisper. “You’re okay. I wish you would tell me what’s wrong.” As I speak, I spot Andre getting out of a truck, along with five other men, including Grant. My eyes widen. I haven’t seen Grant since the incident with my father more than a year ago. Last I heard, he was hiding from the police even though I don’t think anyone saw his face. Better safe than sorry, though, I suppose.

  I open the door and step out, Henry still crying. “Grant! I haven’t seen you in forever!”

  “Hey, Kristel.” He flashes me a smile, but doesn’t come too close. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full there. You coming inside?”

  “Yeah… pretty soon.” I don’t even try to keep the confusion from my voice as he gives me a nod and walks into the safe house. The others follow him, save Andre. Andre steps over to me and gently takes our son from my arms. He stops crying almost immediately.

  My jaw drops, and I shake my head in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? He’s been crying since I left the house.”

  Andre laughs and kisses my cheek. “Come on, I have a surprise for you inside.”

  I shake my head and let out a huff before I follow him inside. Unbelievable.

  He takes me into a large room that’s been cleared out. There are a few chairs along the walls, but otherwise there is nothing in sight. I look around, still confused, then settle my gaze on Andre. “What’s going on here?”

  “An initiation.”

  “For who, exactly?”

  “You.” Andre smiles.

  “Um… okay.” My arms fold across my chest, and I raise an eyebrow.

  “I need a new lieutenant, and since my last one betrayed us all, I want you to have the position.”

  The confusion leaves in a hurry, replaced by shock. “Me? But, I’ve been here the shortest time. Grant is-”

  “A better advisor,” he interrupts me. “Everyone here has a job except for you. And they’ve all agreed that you’re the best person for the job. Hands fucking down. Besides which, you’re also my wife, which means it just makes sense.

  “But…” I look around at everyone and suddenly feel like a deer in the headlights. It’s not a feeling I have often, and I struggle to regain my composure.

  “Just say yes, Kristel. You’ve cut ties with your old family, and we’re your new one. Little Henry included. And after you say yes, all you have to do is come with us for a ride. I’ve set up a little carrier for Henry so he can hang out in the back. I think he’ll love being out on the road.”

  My heart pounds in my chest, and I draw in several long, deep breaths to steady myself. “I… yes.” I mean the word when I say it, my brain still trying to catch up. “Yes, I’ll be your lieutenant.”

  The room erupts into cheers and whoops and laughter. Andre hugs me with one arm and kisses me deeply, our baby held safely between us. I laugh into the kiss and return the embrace. It feels like the grin on my face is permanent. There just one thing missing now: Danielle. I’ve touched base with her here a
nd there over the last couple of months, but a few weeks after Henry was born, she left on a trip around the world. I hope she’ll be back soon so I can tell her the news.

  “This is… amazing. Thank you, Andre, for trusting me. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

  “I do trust you. I trust you with my life and with theirs. Besides, I think you’ve got a great head for business. Look at everything you’ve done. You’re tough and resilient and able to take a beating even when you’re down. You could probably run this whole damn show without me.”

  I snicker. “Okay, you’re laying it on a little thick.”

  “What? I’m excited! And to think, on the same day I make you lieutenant, Henry says his first word.”

  “Henry said his first word?” Grant steps closer and looks at him. “What’s the little roadster have to say?”

  “Dada,” I tell him.

  “Dada.” I gasp softly, and so does Andre, as Henry says it.

  “Well I’ll be damned.” Grant chuckles and shakes his head. “My first word was ‘pan’ or something to that extent.”

  “Mine was ‘cat.’” I shake my head and smile. “But I think someone loves his dad already. He hasn’t said ‘momma’ or whatever his version of it is yet. And I know he understand who is who because earlier he pointed at Andre when he said ‘dada.’”

  “That just warms the heart.” Grant squeezes my shoulders and kisses my cheek. “So in celebration, why don’t we go out and warm up some engines?”

  “Yep, let’s go!” Andre claps his hands and leads us out of the room and into a large indoor garage. Inside are 12 bikes. On the wall by the door is a large box made of glass, inside are all the keys. He opens the box with a key from his pocket, then tosses keys from the box at everyone. Then he takes one for himself and gestures to me to follow him. Henry is still in his arms.

  Almost giddy with excitement, I follow him over to his bike. It’s black and chrome, and it shines as though it’s never been used. I’ve never seen it before, or any of the bikes in here. We’ve all been too busy either running from the law or running from my parents or dealing with the baby or all three. In the front is a make shift child seat, and he slides Henry into it before strapping him in. Once he’s secured, he gets on and I hop on behind him. My arms slide around his waist, and I press my cheek against his back, that smile still on my face. We put our helmets on, his with a dark visor and mine without.

  “I love you, Andre,” I whisper, just loud enough for him to hear me.

  As he turned the bike on, it rumbles throughout the whole garage, louder than the others. The door opens with an automatic button, and the daylight shines in.

  “I love you, too, Kristel. More than anything.”

  Behind me, as the bike rolls forward, I don’t hear our son crying. I look ahead and swear I can hear our son laughing even over the engines. My arms tighten harder around Andre as the bike rolls out, and the air rushes against us. I feel apprehensive, as I’ve never been on a bike before, but my heart pounds wildly with excitement. As we head out onto the open road and pick up speed, I swear I’ve never felt this kind of freedom in my life. With Andre in my arms and our son up at the front of the magnificent bike, I know everything will be okay. We are the Black Knights, and we are family to the end.

  THE END

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  THE BABY VOW: The Angel’s Keepers MC

  By Sophia Gray

  I PROMISED THE PRINCESS I’D GIVE HER AN EXTRA SPECIAL GIFT.

  But it’ll be nine months until my treat gets delivered.

  She came where she shouldn’t have come to do stuff she shouldn’t be doing.

  No wonder things went wrong.

  She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

  But I was born to fight, f**k, and drink.

  So when she steps into my bar with adventure on her mind, she better get ready…

  Things are about to get messy.

  Because there’s no one to protect her here.

  Especially not her politician daddy.

  I’m gonna take her again and again until I accomplish what I came for:

  Putting my baby in her womb.

  To hell with what comes next.

  Her father can try to hurt me all he wants.

  He’ll never have what I have:

  His daughter’s V-card in my pocket and my baby in her belly.

  I swear one thing to you, my little angel:

  You’re going to be sore tomorrow.

  Chapter 1

  Amelia

  Amelia turned on a smile and took a sip of her champagne. She needed both to get through the evening ahead of her.

  “So, hesaidit was a yacht,” Lauren went on. “But, it was the smallest boat I’ve ever seen.”

  Katie giggled, sweeping another three glasses of champagne off of a passing server’s tray. “Did he think you wouldn’t know?” she asked, handing the crystal flutes around. “Youare a Dorfman. He has to know your father has a fleet of his own.”

  Lauren shrugged. “I don’t know what he thought, but I certainly didn’t sail off into the sunset with him on his pathetic little skiff.”

  Amelia laughed because she knew Lauren expected it. The Dorfmans were big political supporters and even bigger donors. And Lauren was spoiled rotten. She’d already complained about the champagne, the venue, and the waiter who’d taken too long to get to her with the tray of hors d'oeuvres. Amelia hadn’t seen that particular waiter again, which meant Daddy Dorfman had taken care of it for his little girl. She pushed her annoyance down before it could show. Her father had been in politics since she was three; she knew how to arrange a poker face by now.

  “At least your father lets you out of the house,” Katie said with a resentful sigh.

  Lauren laughed, “Sweetie, I don’t ask.”

  “My parents have decided I need to go to college this fall and they haven’t let me out of their sight since,” Katie went on, looking envious of the other young woman.

  “What are you going to study?” Amelia asked, leaning forward in interest. She had loved her college years. The freedom had been part of it, but the sense of purpose had been even more important. She couldn’t believe she’d managed to land right back where she started.

  Katie Martin only shrugged. “They haven't decided yet.”

  Lauren sighed heavily. “You need to get your parents in line. I wasn’t nearly that bad when I was your age.”

  Amelia smiled reluctantly. She and Lauren were closer in age than the senator’s daughter who stood with them, and Lauren had had her parents wrapped around her little finger since she was old enough to give orders.

  “Well, not all of us have an investment portfolio of our own to fall back on if our parents disown us,” Katie snapped.

  Lauren’s eyes widened for just a moment and then a cold, indifferent look settled on her sharply pretty face. “I think you’ve mistaken me for someone who’s interested in your problems,” Lauren said. “Why don’t you run along back to Mommy and Daddy, little girl? It must be getting close to your bedtime.”

  Katie’s face flushed bright red and she cast a glance at Amelia. Amelia looked down into her glass. The Martin family didn’t donate to her father’s Taylorpaign. The Dorfman family did. She hated that that was a factor, but speaking up now wouldn’t do her father’s struggling Taylorpaign any good. Katie slammed her champagne glass down onto the nearest table and stalked away, her black Prada dress swishing with every angry movement.

  Lauren laughed, but the amusement didn’t reach her hazel eyes. She was watching Katie with a narrow gaze that promised retribution.

  “She’s just a kid,” Amelia said cautiously. She’d seen Lauren destroy other girl’s reputatio
ns before for slights both real and imagined. It was early in life for Katie to have to worry about that kind of thing. She was barely eighteen.

  “A kid who needs to learn some manners.”

  The accusation had struck home, Amelia could tell. The straw-colored liquid in Lauren’s glass was sloshing ever so slightly as her hand trembled.