by T. O. Smith
"What's wrong?" Ink demanded as he squatted in front of me, his hands covering mine on my belly.
I moved my hands so his were now resting on my belly and placed my hands over his. "The baby kicked." I informed him with a small smile.
Ink snapped his eyes up to mine, shock shining in their depths. "What?" He breathed.
The baby kicked lightly right against his hand. Ink sucked in a sharp breath of air as he looked back down at my belly, a grin stretching his lips as he rubbed my belly adoringly.
He pressed a tender kiss to my belly before he stood back up to his full height. My heart swelled in my chest. I knew this baby wasn’t his, but it didn’t matter to Ink. I knew he would love anything that was a part of me.
He nodded once at Jessa in greeting before he squeezed Izzy's shoulder. "Don't worry about cooking." He told her. "It's a lot of people to cook for."
She laughed slightly and shook her head at him. "I'll be fine, Ink. This isn't my first rodeo, remember?"
"I can help you." I told her.
She smiled at me. "You really wouldn't mind?" She asked.
I shook my head at her. "It'll give me something to do. Everyone is too wound up to go to bed anytime soon." I said. "Let's go make food. Maybe food will settle everyone down enough for everyone to get some rest."
Jessa sighed as she watched my brother from across the room. "Your brother is dreamy." She informed me as she turned back to prepping the salad.
I made a fake gagging sound. "That's gross. He's my brother." I said with a laugh.
She shrugged. "Your brother doesn't want a woman who's damaged goods anyway, Reina." She told me.
"Any man that doesn't want you is a fucking dumb ass." Izzy said from where she was mixing the huge pot of spaghetti on the stove. "You're beautiful. Sure, you come with baggage, but come on, what fucking woman doesn't?" She asked. "Besides, it's hypocritical of any man out there wearing that cut to judge any woman on baggage when they carry more shit on their shoulders than the three of us sitting in this room combined."
It was silent for a moment before I spoke up. "I wish I could remember why the Angels of Hell sound so familiar." I grumbled. It had been bugging me since the name was mentioned.
"Jordan was friends with the president." Jessa spoke up, looking at me. "The president was the guy with the long grey hair and beard that Jordan let come down into the cells sometimes." She said, her voice breaking at the word cells.
"What?" Hatchet snapped as he stepped into the kitchen. "You mean to fucking tell me that the goddamn Angels of Hell were involved with fucking Jordan?" He looked at me, and I flinched back at the rage in his eyes. "Fuck." He snarled.
He turned on his heel and stormed out of the kitchen. I'm guessing he told the men the news because the next minute, I heard Ink shout a string of fucks at the top of his lungs and a table crash to the floor in the same moment.
"Cross's ass is mine!" Ink roared.
"Lock it up, Ink!" Sabotage shouted at his Road Captain.
"He's fucking scary when he's pissed." Jessa whispered as she kept her eyes trained on the kitchen counter in front of her, not daring to look up from what she was doing.
"I know there's a lot you don't understand, Jessa," Izzy said soothingly, "but know that Ink will never hurt any of us, you got that?"
"Reina!" Ink's voice boomed through the clubhouse.
I stepped out of the kitchen, watching as Ink stormed over to me. "Did he touch you?" Ink demanded, his fists clenched at his sides.
I swallowed thickly but nodded my head, knowing that Ink was the one person I could never lie to. He always saw right through me.
I reached forward and grabbed his upper arm before he could break something else. His bicep flexed under my touch, but he relaxed slightly, his nostrils flaring as he looked down at me with those beautiful, raging blue eyes.
"I'm going to fucking kill him." He snarled quietly.
"Okay, Ink." I said softly. "But Sabotage is right. You need to keep your cool."
He drew me into his arms, burying his face in my hair. I felt his muscles relax under my touch as I slid my hands under his cut, feeling the strong muscles of his back flex under my touch.
"You're mine." Ink grumbled.
"I'm yours." I confirmed quietly, tightening my own arms around him.
I slowly slid out of bed, being careful not to wake Reina. It was my turn to stand guard for the next few hours. It was currently midnight; all I wanted was to stay wrapped around my woman, but fucking club business calls.
I slid on my jeans and a long sleeve black shirt, grabbing my cut off the end of the bed. After sliding my feet into my scuffed-up boots, I stepped out of the room and headed down the stairs, already finding Scorpion in the bar room, two cups of steaming hot coffee in his hands. He handed me one of the cups. "Izzy set the coffee maker to brew some coffee for us." He informed me as we walked outside to go relieve Hatchet and Grave.
"Thank fuck." I grumbled.
Grave gave me his earpiece once I reached him. "Grim and Bullet are already in position at the back of the property." He handed me the club phone that had a view of the side of the property. "Grim and Bullet are in charge of the other side." He told me. "You guys good?"
I nodded, downing the rest of my coffee and handing him my cup. "Mind taking this in?" I asked him.
He nodded. With a clap on the back, he slid back through the gates, Hatchet following behind him. I pulled out my cigarettes and took one out of the pack, lighting it up. "I'm going to finish this fucking pack before the goddamn night is over." I grumbled.
Scorpion snorted. "You smoke more than Grim, and that's a fucking lot, Ink." Scorpion commented. "You ain't thought of cutting back with Reina having that baby on the way?"
I shrugged. "I don't really smoke when I'm with her." I informed him. "So, I've kind of cut back. Quitting is pretty much going to be impossible, though. I've been smoking since I was thirteen."
Scorpion regarded me for a moment. I arched my eyebrow at him. "What?" I asked.
"How do you feel about her having your brother's kid?" He asked me.
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter whose DNA that kid carries." I told him honestly. "I'm the one raising it with her – that kid is mine as far as I'm fucking concerned." I told him honestly.
She was mine. And I would love any part of her – that included her baby.
Scorpion nodded at me. "Got a new respect for you now, man, you know that?" He asked. "I know Sabotage and Blink are the only men in this club that know what happened to me, but I come from some fucked up shit." He admitted. "And finally my ma met a man that treated me like his own kid. Fucking put clothes on my back – food in my stomach." He looked over at me. "Not many men can say they're willing to do that, brother."
I nodded my head towards the club house. "That woman in there means the fucking world to me, Scorpion. I'd do just about any fucking thing for her."
Scorpion grinned. "You fucking love her."
I choked on the smoke I had just inhaled, spluttering out coughs as I tried to breathe again. Scorpion quietly laughed at me as I finally regained my fucking breath.
"You two ain't said the big fucking words yet?" Scorpion asked. "Honestly, man, I'm fucking shocked. You done claimed her as your old lady."
I shrugged at him. "Scared to, man. Sometimes I can still practically feel the eggshells cracking under my feet when I'm around her. She's been through a fuck ton of shit, and the last man that claimed to love her fucking destroyed her. I don’t want her to feel like I’m going to do the same thing.”
"But you do love her." Scorpion stated.
I nodded. "I've always loved her, brother."
He nodded. "Figured as much. She the reason you fucking 'bout lost your mind when you were still a prospect?" He asked.
I grunted in answer. He shook his head with a small laugh. "Guess what they say about love is true."
"And what's that?" I asked gruffly, lighting up another cigarette after barely f
inishing my last one.
Yep – that pack would definitely be done by the time I went back into the clubhouse.
"It has the power to destroy you and make you whole all at once."
I nodded once. I knew from firsthand experience what it was like to be in love with someone – that someone being Reina. I had fallen hard for her when she was still that geeky girl two years below me. I could still picture her beautiful dark eyes framed with those blue rimmed glasses, her face buried in one of her teenage romance novels.
But because of my reputation, Ghost had always warned me away from her, so I stayed away. Besides, someone as innocent as Reina didn't need someone as fucked up as me tainting her life.
But then my fucking dick of a brother met her when he had to come to pick me up one day because my bike was in the fucking shop.
It was over from there. I never let on that I had feelings for her – left everything strictly platonic, locking my feelings for her away. I tried warning her away from Jordan over and over. My older brother had been in and out of juvie since he was twelve, and his track record wasn't getting any better.
But then when she asked him about it, he always denied it, making me out to be jealous of what he had with her. Which, don’t get me wrong, I was definitely fucking jealous, but I wasn’t trying to separate them because of that.
I was trying to keep her from setting herself up for failure with him.
Then, three months after them being together, Jordan got arrested and spent three years in fucking prison. I thought it was over – thought he'd forgotten about her.
But then he fucking came home. As soon as he went after her – told her his sob story of him having to leave because of family issues, saying that them being together was causing a rift between me and him, that he left to try to calm the waters between me and him.
She fucking blamed me for everything. I'll never forget her storming onto the club house grounds when I was busy cleaning Sabotage's bike for him. She had slapped me, shouting at me that everything was my fucking fault – that I was stupid and jealous – that her and I would never have what her and my brother had and that I needed to get over myself.
She had also proceeded to yell at me that I would never be half the man my brother was and that I was joining the fucking Savage Crows to make up for what I lacked otherwise – that I was the fucking criminal, not Jordan.
And then she informed me that she was leaving with him.
He was waiting for her at the edge of the gates, not daring to come on club house grounds because he knew what the Savage Crows would do to him if he did. On these grounds, we were the fucking royalty, and what we say goes.
Which meant if I wanted to kill my brother, I could have if he had stepped foot on the clubhouse grounds.
I had self-destructed when I watched her ride off with him. I destroyed Sabotage's bike, not giving a fuck that I was probably about to get my Prospect cut ripped away from me and get my ass kicked. It was the first time Sabotage and I had fought, but shockingly, he wasn't pissed about his bike.
Instead he let me fight with him until I had the majority of my rage out of my system. Afterward, he and Blink took me into the club garage to talk to me about what had set me off.
Blink handed me my new cut with the official club member patch on it that day, welcoming me in as an official member of the club.
Funny how five years later, the reason I fucking tried beating Sabotage's ass again was because of the same fucking woman.
At six the next morning, Sabotage and Blink came out to relieve me and Scorpion. I was so fucking exhausted, and like I had predicted, I'd finished my entire pack of cigarettes.
I managed to make into my old apartment upstairs before I collapsed face down on the bed, falling asleep almost instantly, not even bothering to kick my boots off or take my cut off.
A few hours later, I vaguely registered my shoes coming off and a blanket being pulled over me. A small smile tilted my lips as I felt Reina's gentle touch push some of my hair back out of my face as she whispered something about me needing a damned haircut.
I love you, sweet girl. I silently told her.
Two weeks later, and the club was no closer to ending this situation than they were when they found out who was behind bombing my SUV. Ink refused to leave the club house even though we were no longer on lock down. He claimed it was the safest place for us right now, especially since it was our house in particular that had been targeted.
In fact, all of the men had taken to staying at the club house. Even Blink had forced his wife and kids to stay here. I was ready to get the hell out of this clubhouse, and all of the men being in one building together for this long was making them all a bit pissy and on edge with each other. Hell, even I was getting sick of all of the testosterone.
I sighed as I helped Izzy finish making breakfast for all of the men. Izzy looked over at me. "You're looking a little worse for wear, Reina." She commented, concern lacing her voice. "You okay?"
I rubbed my hand over my belly where the baby was kicking furiously. Because I was still on the small side, it was actually kind of painful. I was already getting stretch marks from my body having to grow so fast to accommodate the little one.
"I'm just a little tired - that's all." I assured her. "The baby is moving more and more. Between the baby moving and my belly getting bigger by the day, it's making it really hard to get any kind of decent rest." I looked out to where Ink was in deep conversation with Sabotage and Grim. "And it doesn't help that everyone is on edge and stressed."
I moved over to the fridge, and as soon as I moved to open the door, I felt a cramp in my belly. I instantly grabbed my belly. "Izzy?" I called, my voice laced with fear. Cramping like this wasn’t normal.
"Reina, what's wrong?" She demanded as she rushed over to me, turning the stove off.
I felt another cramp, and tears filled my eyes. I was terrified. I didn't want to lose this baby.
"Ink!" Izzy shouted.
I felt something warm trickle down my leg, and I squeezed my eyes shut, tears tracking down my face. Panic was squeezing the air from my lungs, beginning to make it hard to breathe. "Izzy, am I bleeding?" I asked in a small voice.
"Oh, God." She whispered. "Ink!" She screeched at the top of her lungs.
Ink burst into the kitchen, the rest of the club men following in behind him. "Reina, baby, look at me." Ink commanded gently. I opened my eyes, his face blurry through my tears. "Sweet girl, I need you to be strong, okay? We're going to get you to the hospital.” He soothed.
I nodded weakly. Ink leaned down and gently lifted me into his arms. "Grim, Thor, Hatchet, let's fucking go!" Sabotage roared. "Fucking get a goddamn move on!"
I vaguely registered the four men following us out of the door as Ink strode over to the club's black Escalade. He eased me into the passenger seat before he rushed over to the driver's seat. Thor slid into the back seat right before Ink drove towards the gates.
I whimpered as I got another cramp, squeezing my eyes shut as I desperately tried to breathe. Ink reached over and squeezed my thigh gently. "Reina, focus on me, okay? Don't go into your head right now, sweet girl. What do you want to have?"
"I don't want to think about that." I sobbed. "What if -"
"No, baby. No what ifs." He placed his hand on my belly, and I cried harder as I felt my baby nudge his hand. "See? Still kicking and hitting – strong as hell. Come on. What do you want to have?"
"I want a little boy." I told him honestly. "His name will be Elijah Benjamin Yeller."
Ink smiled over at me - a real, genuine smile. "My last name?" He asked me as he made a turn.
I nodded. "You will be his father, after all." I reminded him.
"I can't wait." Ink breathed.
He pulled to a stop in front of the emergency room entrance to the hospital and jumped out, leaving the SUV running. I unbuckled my seatbelt, whimpering as another cramp hit me, feeling like it was twisting my insides.
Ink
yanked open the passenger side door and lifted me out of the passenger seat. When he carried me into the hospital, Sabotage was already waiting on us. Hatchet and Grim followed us inside as Thor went to park the SUV. "We have a gurney." A nurse said as she rushed down the hallway towards us.
Ink laid me down on the hospital gurney and followed the nurses as they took me over to an elevator. Once I was in a room, the panic began to set back in, making it a bit hard to breathe. Ink kept talking to me about anything under the sun as he helped me undress and put on the hospital gown. And when they began to check my cervix, he whispered soothing words to me to try to keep my calm and keep my focus on something other than the pain.
