by S. Nelson
Other than her eyes, she appeared okay, even though I knew she wasn’t. “What are you doin’ here?”
“I need to talk to you.”
Looking at Rachel now, I realized I’d never loved her. She was simply someone I’d fucked and had a good laugh with on occasion.
“What could you possibly have to talk to me about? I haven’t seen you in over a year. What could be so damn important that you just show up here out of the blue?” I backed up and turned away from her, fully intending on hightailing it back inside the security of the clubhouse to bark orders at someone to make sure she left without further incident. But I didn’t make it that far. The next words out of her mouth froze me to my spot, disabling any thoughts from forming, let alone allowing my body to flee as I’d initially intended.
“Your son.”
I whipped around so fast I was surprised I didn’t fall over. The weight of her words crushed me. No way. It wasn’t true. She wasn’t pregnant when I left her. Or was she? I had no idea, but then again why would I have even bothered to ask? She’d cheated, and the guy I’d found her with probably wasn’t the first. If she’d popped out a kid, what were the chances that he was mine? Slim. The chances just had to be slim. Otherwise, I had no idea what I was gonna do.
Instead of confronting Rachel with her ridiculous allegation, I sought out Reece. I didn’t have to look too far, seeing as how she was standing next to Sully, the look on her face utter disbelief. We’d just started our relationship; how would she handle me having a son all of a sudden? That was a lot to ask of someone. I clearly had deep feelings for her if I was more concerned about what she thought than what I was goin’ through.
Striding toward the woman who’d taken over my entire world, I reached for her but she simply shook her head and stepped back. I could hear Rachel shouting something behind me, but all of my focus was on Reece. The look in her eyes told me she was confused and . . . was that embarrassment?
“Reece.” Her name was the only word I could form. I had no idea what to say, but I knew damn well I needed her to talk to me, to tell me what was goin’ through that head of hers. I could only imagine, but I refused to give in to my own paranoia. Maybe it wasn’t that bad . . . or maybe it was worse.
As I opened my mouth to say God knew what, she turned on her heel and fled toward the clubhouse, rushing inside and disappearing as my world fell down around me. For the first time in my life I was happy, genuinely happy. It figured my contentment with life wouldn’t fuckin’ last.
All because that bitch at the gate decided she wanted to swoop in and ruin everything. Anger tore through me as I finally lost my temper and hauled ass toward Rachel.
“Open the fuckin’ gates!” I roared, shoving past whoever stood in my way. “Now!” The creak of the steel fueled my rage, the match to ignite the inferno swirling around inside me. Once I stepped foot on the other side I came face-to-face with her.
“Tripp!” I heard Stone shout, but my name was muffled. My only focus right then was ripping the truth from her filthy, lying mouth if it was the last thing I did.
“You better tell me right now that you’re lying,” I seethed as I towered over her. Rachel was selfish, proving it when she fucked around on me. She didn’t care about me then and she sure as hell didn’t care about me now. Rachel was only there because she didn’t have anywhere else to go, no one else she could think of who’d help her. If the kid turned out to be mine then I’d have no choice but to step up, but if I found out this was just a ploy of hers to wriggle back into my life, she was gonna regret it for sure.
Her shoulders shook. Her body trembled. Her eyes filled with tears, though I highly doubted they were genuine. Rachel had always been good at playing upset to get my attention. I’d fallen for it in the past, but not anymore.
“I’m not lyin’,” she muttered. “He’s your son.”
My eyes scoured the length of her. She didn’t look like she’d had a baby, but then again she had always been conscious of everything that passed her lips—with the exception of dick, of course. My fury heightened and it wasn’t from the memory of her fuckin’ someone else. I didn’t care about that. I didn’t care about her. I cared that she was messin’ with my relationship with Reece by just being there.
“Where is he?”
She remained silent and pointed toward the back door. The muscles of my jaw ached from clenching so hard, but my expression was enough to make her move out of my way as I reached for the handle.
As soon as I ripped the door open, I saw a tiny baby sitting in a car seat, his eyes wide and staring right back at me. His lower lip quivered, so before he started wailing, I looked behind me to search for someone I could trust to help. I didn’t want to touch the little guy for fear my anger would transfer to him and scare him more than I was sure he already was. But I needed to see him up close, and I sure as shit didn’t want Rachel handing him to me.
I caught Sully’s attention and motioned for her to come over with a simple jerk of my head. Marek released her hand but he didn’t look happy about it. Rachel never objected as Sully brushed past her. She knew I’d shut her down or make her leave before I’d even seen my so-called son.
Sully silently reached inside the car and pulled the baby from his seat. The infant wasn’t even strapped in, nor was the car seat securely in place. Careless bitch.
Cradling the baby in her arms, Sully held him out to me. Still Rachel said nothing. All she could do was fidget next to me.
“I can’t.” I just wanted to look at him up close, but under the illumination of the security light I couldn’t determine if he truly belonged to me or not. All goddamn babies looked the same at that age.
Speaking of which, I asked, “How old is he?”
“Three months.”
“Three months? How in the world can you possibly say he’s mine? You got knocked up months after I left you.” I took a step to the side and stood so close I pinned her against the car. “Did you think I couldn’t add? That I was so fuckin’ stupid I’d think this kid was mine when there is no humanly way possible he could be? Unless you saved my cum and had someone inject it inside you months after I took off. Is that what you did?” Before she opened her mouth to lie, I yelled over to Adelaide, interrupting her conversation with Stone. “Addy, how long is cum good for?”
“What?” she shouted back, confusion written all over her face. She started toward me, Stone hot on her heels.
When she was near, I repeated, “How long is cum good for?”
“If you’re asking how long semen is viable, the answer depends on what’s being done with it.”
“Stop it,” Rachel shouted, slapping my chest with both her hands. I didn’t move. She’d always hated when I intimidated her by standing so close, but I’d only acted that way whenever we really went at it. I’d never laid my hands on her, my presence enough to shatter whatever shit she’d tried to lay at my feet. Whether it was coming home drunk dressed like some kind of whore, smelling like men’s cologne, or high as a kite, stumbling into our place in a daze I thought she’d never come down from. I excused her behavior and I think deep down I knew not to trust her. When I caught her cheating, it was more of a shot to my ego than anything else, but I took the opportunity for what it was and finally walked away. And what happened afterward set the direction of my future. I couldn’t blame Rachel solely for me getting piss drunk, jumped by the Reapers, and shot to all hell, but I held her partly responsible.
“Stop what?” I shouted right back.
“I have nowhere to go,” she cried, a few dramatic tears escaping and falling down her cheeks. “I can’t take care of him by myself. It’s too much.”
“It’s only too much because you’re still addicted to that shit.” It was an open-ended statement. ‘That shit’ could be anything. She’d tried it all, her dilated pupils and sunken skin proving she’d engaged the devil just hours prior. Cocaine was her favorite, though. No doubt if I searched her purse there’d be a vial in there.
“I’m tryin’,” she lied.
“You’re not,” I countered. “And now I want you to take your kid and get the hell out of here.” Lowering my face to hers, I said, “And if you ever come back, you will regret it.”
“Please,” she begged. “Please just take him.” Whatever light had been hidden somewhere inside her had been completely blown out. Her blank stare worried me, not so much for her safety but that of her kid.
“I’m not takin’ care of your son, and I sure as hell ain’t raisin’ some other fucker’s kid.” I turned my back on her, the sight of her sniveling pissing me off. She had no right to just show up out of the blue, claim the kid was mine, when he clearly wasn’t, disrupt my night, let alone my relationship with Reece, and then beg me to take her baby off her hands.
What the hell is wrong with her?
Selfishness.
Drugs.
That’s what’s wrong with her.
The baby started crying, all of the commotion happening around him finally tipping him over the edge. Sully held him close, whispering something to him while rocking him back and forth. He seemed to have calmed in her arms, and while I didn’t want to take him from her, he had to go back to his mother. I used that term loosely because I could already predict what kind of life this poor kid would have—a mother chasing whatever high she craved, caring only for herself and putting her kid second.
When I turned around to reach for the baby, Rachel made her move. She jumped back into her car and kicked over the engine.
“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” I shouted, racing toward the car as she hauled ass in reverse. “Rachel!” I yelled. “Get back here!” The bald tires squealed as she whipped the car around and took off, kicking up rocks and dust in her haste to escape.
What the fuck just happened?
Reece
Staring into the mirror, I tried to get a handle on everything that’d just happened outside. Some woman showing up claiming Tripp was the father of her baby. What the hell? I knew the other shoe was gonna drop, so why was I surprised? Because for once in my dreaded life I thought I’d finally get my happily ever after.
Did he know she was pregnant when he left her? He told me briefly about their relationship and how she’d cheated on him. Tripp never seemed torn up about it, though, telling me he never really loved her, although he may have thought so at the time.
What if the baby if his? What will I do? Continue our relationship, or allow him to try and work it out with her in an effort to give his sudden family a chance? I guess I won’t find out until I leave the bathroom I’ve been holed up in for the past ten minutes.
Slowly turning the handle, I reentered the common space inside the club. Kena and Braylen, who I’d met earlier that day, were standing close together in the far corner. Kena’s hands were going a mile a minute, her sister trying her best to interrupt her at every turn. Tripp had told me about Kena’s condition soon after I’d met her, explaining that she wasn’t deaf but that she simply couldn’t speak.
I needed to see Tripp, to talk to him and try to figure out where we stood. Before I reached the door, it flung open and a crowd of people barreled inside. As soon as Tripp saw me he rushed forward and pulled me into a hug. His embrace was strong, borderline suffocating, but I relished the feel of his arms around me.
“I’m so sorry, Reece. I had no idea. I never expected to see her ever again.” He stroked my back in reassurance, but all I wanted was answers. I pulled away from him so I could look into his eyes when I asked my question.
“Is it true, then?” I held my breath until he answered, which thankfully didn’t take but a millisecond.
“No. The kid is too young to be mine. I have no idea what the hell she was thinking.” He vigorously shook his head. “That’s a lie. Yes I do. She’s so far gone she actually thought I’d buy into her bullshit. Hell, she was high when she came here.”
Looking around the room I saw the baby, but no Rachel. “Where is she?”
“She took off.” He raked his fingers through his dark hair. “She fuckin’ took off and left her kid here. And now I gotta deal with it.”
I parted my lips to tell him I would help him when he squeezed my hand before walking toward Sully, who’d been coddling the infant.
I walked behind him and stood next to Adelaide, who was on the other side of Sully. I felt so out of place, but I didn’t want to add to Tripp’s stress by letting him know as much.
“He’s adorable,” I said, reaching over to touch his tiny hand. He had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen on a baby, although to be honest I hadn’t seen many infants up close.
“He sure is,” Sully whispered, nuzzling him close when he started to fuss.
“What the hell am I gonna do with a baby?” Tripp asked no one in particular. I gave him his space, continuing to stand next to Adelaide and Sully while he tried to work it out. I searched the rest of the room and saw Kena next to Jagger. They looked content, although she still looked frustrated, something definitely weighing heavy on her mind. She smiled at her man, but worry halted the expression from reaching her eyes. Next I saw Braylen standing next to Ryder, his arm slung over her shoulder while she rested her head on his chest. They were silent, watching everything unfold in front of them.
“Can you take him? Until I find Rachel?”
“Who the hell are you talkin’ to?” Stone asked, looking over his shoulder as if there were someone standing behind him Tripp had been speaking to.
“Come on, brother. You already have one. How hard is it to take care of another one?”
“Are you kiddin’ me right now? You have no idea how hard it is to raise a kid. I love my daughter more than life itself, but she requires constant attention. We hardly get any sleep, and forget about sex. No, we can’t do it. You’re gonna have to take him until you find that bitch. We just can’t take care of two kids,” Stone argued.
“Well, you better get used to it, sweetheart,” Adelaide yelled over her shoulder, turning her attention back to Sully and the infant. “And that bullshit about no sex is a lie. How else did I get pregnant again?” She smiled, waiting for realization to dawn on her soon-to-be husband.
Tripp
“Come on, Addy. I don’t wanna hear that shit,” Trigger yelled from across the room. He was behind the bar serving some of the guys a drink. That was gonna be my next stop for sure. I could definitely use a stiff one.
Stone mumbled something before crushing the small distance between him and his woman, reaching her in only a few strides. “What did you say?” The look on his face was priceless, and I had to stop myself from busting out laughing at his astonishment.
“You heard me.” Adelaide kissed him before placing his hand on her belly. “Riley is gonna be a big sister.” The light in her eyes filled me with warmth. I knew how much shit she’d gone through not that long ago, and to be able to have another kid was definitely a blessing for them both. Stone nodded before finally smiling. He pulled her close and kissed her, all the while remaining silent. He was obviously shocked. Shit, we all were.
“We can take him,” Sully blurted, diverting the conversation and suddenly looking desperate to keep the baby in her arms. “I can watch over him while you try and find her.” She looked over at her husband who was sitting at the bar, the pleading look in her eyes pulling at my heartstrings.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, baby,” Marek answered, sorrow laced deep in the lines of his face. He tipped his shot glass and swallowed the contents before rising to his feet.
“Please. I know it’s not permanent. I promise I won’t get attached to him.” Sully looked down into the infant’s face and smiled, the baby’s tiny hand wrapping around her finger.
“You’re already attached,” Marek said, coming to stand next to her.
Deciding to add in my two cents, I said, “Come on, Prez. I promise I’ll find her as soon as possible. I could really use your help.” I rested my hand on his shoulder for emphasis.
“Fine. But you better find that bitch soon, Tripp. I mean it,” he admonished. Even though he appeared put out by the request, his eyes filled with something akin to pride when he gazed at his wife holding the little one.
“I will. First thing tomorrow, I’m on it.” Giving him a quick nod, I turned my attention to Reece. “Any time you wanna leave, just say the word. I know it’s been one helluva day, and I don’t blame you at all if you just wanna get outta here.”
Whatever tension she’d been holding onto dissipated as soon as I wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m okay to stay a little while longer.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.” Pulling back, she rested her hands on my chest and looked up at me, the thrum of my heart picking up speed from her simple touch. “Go talk to your friends. I’ll be on the couch with my new favorite badass.” Looking over her shoulder, I saw Sully and Adelaide had moved to the sofa, huddled together and fawning over the baby.
“I think I can take her,” I teased, winking at Adelaide when she briefly looked over at me.
“I don’t think so.” Reece laughed. “You’re no match for that woman.”
“You might be right about that.” Leaning down, I pressed my mouth to hers, the softness of her lips conjuring up all sorts of sordid images. Before I became a slave to what my body wanted, however, I ended our kiss. “I won’t be long.” I lightly smacked her ass before sauntering toward the bar to join some of the men. Marek occupied the corner seat, nursing his drink, while Stone was surprisingly engaged in conversation with Trigger. As I neared I could hear them discussing the VP’s future child. Words such as ‘karma’ and ‘hope you have another daughter’ flew from Trigger’s mouth, a smirk lifting the corners of his lips as Stone’s face turned ashen.
