by Marla Monroe
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just stiff. I’ll be fine once I move around.”
Shane climbed off the bed then helped her down. He waited while she walked into the bathroom. She was glad he hadn’t followed her in. She didn’t feel comfortable enough around him to share bathroom time.
Once she had freshened up, she opened the door to find both he and Allen standing there waiting on her. She swallowed and offered them a tentative smile.
“Hungry?” Allen asked.
“A little.”
“It’s just soup and sandwiches. Nothing fancy.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
They followed her downstairs and into the kitchen. Allen served her, and then he and Shane got theirs.
“Um, when we finish eating, we need to go see Cole and Zack. They’re the leaders of our gang.”
“Oh, well, I’ll leave right after lunch, then. You should have woken me earlier. I didn’t mean to cause a problem.”
“We want you to go with us, Parker. It concerns you. We need to let him know what is going on, because by our claiming the baby as ours, it’s going to put us in the spotlight which will bleed over to the gang.”
“Oh. Oh! I’m so sorry. If you want to keep this secret, I’ll do my best to do that. I wasn’t thinking.” She set down her spoon and leaned back in the chair. “I hadn’t thought about how it could affect your job.”
She noticed Shane and Allen exchanged glances. They seemed to communicate without talking half the time. She waited to see what they were going to say.
“Baby, we’re not going to keep this a secret. We’re proud you’re having our baby. It’s not your fault. We used protection, but accidents happen, Parker. We’re in this together.” Allen reached across the bar and squeezed her hand. “Now eat up. You’re eating for two.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not that hungry yet.”
“Have you had morning sickness?”
“Not really. I guess I’ve been lucky so far. I feel bad in the mornings, but I don’t actually get sick.”
They finished the soup and sandwiches in relative silence after that. Parker was relieved that it wasn’t a stressful silence. She was nervous about meeting their bosses and having her dirty laundry aired. They had a right to know what to expect, though, and it was all because of who she was. It had never really bothered her before. Now that she had someone else to think about, it did.
Do we need to go in your car, Parker, or can you ride on back of the bike?” Allen asked when they were cleaning up the kitchen.
“I can ride. I don’t have a belly yet, but I should probably take my car so I can leave after that.”
“We want you to come back home with us and stay tonight so we can talk,” Shane said.
“Stay?”
“Yeah. We have a lot to talk about, Parker.”
“I suppose we do, but I could come back tomorrow.” She was sure staying would be a bad idea.
“Stay tonight. No pressure, Parker, just talk and sleep.”
She looked over at Allen who had a bland expression on his face. He was obviously trying to look neutral about how he felt. It meant he expected her to say no. She should say no.
“Okay. I’ll stay.”
Allen smiled and wrapped his arms around her. She hoped she wasn’t making a bad decision already in their relationship.
Ten minutes later, they were leaving the house headed for Zack and Cole’s place. Evidently it wasn’t that far away. Allen had told her that all of the gang lived in the same general area of Dallas. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled into the drive of a stunning two-story home. She’d ridden over on back with Allen. It was Shane who helped her off and escorted her to the door.
The door opened before they had even reached it. A tall, dark-haired man stood in the doorway with a slightly surprised expression on his face. He held the security door open for them to come in.
“Parker, this is Cole, and over there is Zack. They’re our leaders. Cole, Zack, this is Parker Montgomery.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Cole shook her hand. Zack walked over and shook it as well. They both turned and looked at Shane expectantly.
“Um, can we sit down?”
“Sure. Come on in.” Zack led them to the living room.
Shane, Parker, and Allen sat on the couch with Parker in the middle. She felt very uncomfortable sitting between the two men across from their bosses, especially when she was going to be the cause of problems.
“Parker is pregnant.” Shane said.
Zack and Cole’s mouths twitched.
“I think it’s her dad you have to ask permission to marry her, not us, guys.” Zack obviously couldn’t hold it in.
“Oh, we’re not getting married.” Parker was quick to correct them.
“Not yet, anyway,” Allen said.
“Why not?” Cole asked with a puzzled expression on his face.
Parker could not believe these guys were so old fashioned.
“It’s complicated. The thing is, she’s the heiress of Montgomery Oil, so she’s going to be in the spotlight over being pregnant. That means we will.” Shane spoke up.
“And that means the gang will get some news time,” Cole continued.
“Right.”
“I’m really sorry. I wouldn’t cause you any trouble for the world. I’d keep it quiet, but they don’t want to stay in the background.”
“Of course not. It’s their baby, too.” Cole stood up and walked over to a pile of newspapers and picked up one. He brought it back over and flipped through it.
Parker’s heart sank. He had seen the picture and recognized her. Sure enough, he handed the article over to Shane.
“I thought I recognized you when you walked up to the door,” Cole said.
“Hell!” Allen had pulled the paper out of Shane’s hands and was reading it. “It says here they are speculating between that Greek tycoon, Papadopoulos, and Michael Humphrey.”
“The way I see it, you need to get out in the public pretty damn quick to stop any nasty rumors,” Cole said.
“Michael has already threatened to have a dozen guys come out of the woodwork to claim paternity if she doesn’t marry him.” Allen handed the paper back to Shane.
“Why? What is his angle?” Zack asked.
“He needs her money,” Shane said.
“You’ve been looking into him.” Parker frowned.
Parker should have realized they would. They’d had plenty of time while she had been sleeping.
“They’re going to make you two out to be gold diggers,” Cole said.
“I could care less. We know we’re not. That’s all that matters,” Allen assured him.
“Do you need us to quit so this won’t spread over into the gang too much?” Shane asked.
“What? No! You can’t quit because of me.” Parker couldn’t believe they would actually give up their jobs.
“No, there’s no need to do that,” Cole assured them. “We’ve weathered worse.”
“Our way of life might come to light,” Shane persisted.
“I’m not worried about it. But if you are, I’ll talk to everyone else and see what they think.”
“Way of life? I don’t understand.” Parker frowned.
“She doesn’t know?” Zack asked.
“We haven’t gotten that far,” Shane said.
“Just how fucking long have you know each other?” Cole asked with a sigh.
“Twenty-four hours almost eight weeks ago,” Shane told them.
“Fuck.”
“I think we need to have a gang meeting tomorrow night. We’ll have it at your place. How about at six? We’ll eat before we come,” Cole said.
“Sounds like a good idea.” Shane looked over at Parker. “You’ll need to be there.”
“I seem to be spending a lot of time there all of a sudden.”
“You know how I feel about it.” Allen finally spoke up again.
“How is Tina doing?” Shane ask
ed.
“She’s fine. She’s working tonight, or I would introduce her to you, Parker.”
“Is she your wife?”
“Yep, mine and Zack’s”
“Excuse me?” She wasn’t sure she heard him right.
“We are both married to her. That’s our way of life here, Parker. Two men marry one woman.”
“I see.” She really wasn’t sure that she did see, but that was their business, not hers.
Cole chuckled. “I don’t think you do, but you will.” He stood up and ushered them out of the living room back to the hall. “We’ll see you tomorrow. We’ve got some phone calls to make.”
“Thanks, Cole. Bye, Zack.” Shane wrapped a hand around Parker’s wrist and guided her outside toward the bikes.
They mounted up, after putting on their helmets, and rode off. When they pulled into the garage, Parker expected them to head on in the house. Instead, Shane held out his hand.
“What?”
“Keys to your car, please. We’re going to your place to pick up a change of clothes for you. You’re staying with us for a few days while we get everything settled.”
“I’m not moving in with you, Shane.”
He smiled. “I know, Parker. Just a couple of nights until we have everything situated.”
Parker reached into her purse and pulled out her keys. She dropped them into Shane’s hand and followed him to the car. Allen opened the door of the Escalade for her and helped her inside before climbing in the back. They made the trip to her condo in silence. She kept thinking about Cole’s revelation that they lived in ménage relationships in their gang. That meant that Shane and Allen would want that as well.
Well, weren’t you thinking about that before everything blew up? Things were different now. She had a child to consider.
When they walked into her condo, her phone began to ring. She realized she had left it at home and never even missed it. She reached for it only to have Shane grab it.
“Don’t tell anyone where you’re going yet. We need to give our gang the chance to make a decision before the shit hits the fan.”
“I understand.” She took the phone and answered without looking at who it was. She wouldn’t do that again.
“Hello?”
“Where in the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to find you all fucking day.”
“None of your business. What do you want, Michael?” She lifted her eyebrows at Shane.
He leaned in to listen as she talked to him.
“We need to talk. Have you made up your mind?”
“I told you that I wouldn’t marry you.”’
“Think those two bozos of yours are going to believe that brat is theirs once all your past lovers start showing up?”
Parker’s stomach dropped, and she nearly dropped the phone. How had he found out?”
Shane put his hand over the phone and whispered in her ear.
“Tell him that you don’t give a fuck, and that you’re not marrying him.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I’m not marrying you. Good-bye, Michael.” She disconnected and laid the phone back on the counter. It immediately began ringing again.
“Ignore it. He’s been following you, or having you followed.”
“I’m sorry. I led him right to you.” She wrapped her arms around herself to try and control the shivering.
“Easy, baby. It was going to happen anyway. We still have time to talk to the gang tomorrow before he starts anything.”
Tears slipped from her eyes. Damn pregnancy hormones. She couldn’t stop them or the shaking. Allen walked over and pulled her into his arms. He rubbed her back and whispered in her ear.
Shane walked toward the back of the condo where her bedroom was. She pulled out of Allen’s arms to follow Shane. She needed to pack and get them out of there.
“Where is your suitcase, baby?” Shane asked when she walked in the bedroom behind him.
“Top of the closet.” She began gathering a couple of changes of clothes when he brought her large suitcase and laid it open on the bed. “I don’t need the large one. The small one would be just fine.”
“I want you to have enough clothes in case we have to go out of town for a few days. I’m not leaving you with Michael acting like a dick. I don’t trust him.”
“Fine. I’ll use this suitcase.” She wasn’t going to argue with him. She had a headache. Too much had happened in a short period of time.
By the time she had everything packed, the large suitcase was full. She’d made sure to add her Kindle and the picture of her parents before her mother died. Why she wanted that, she didn’t know, but it made her feel a little better to have it close to her. She closed the suitcase and started to lift it off the bed.
“Uh-uh. You don’t lift anything heavier than your purse,” Allen said, taking the suitcase from her.
“I’m not going to complain about that,” she said with a grin.
They loaded up the suitcase and headed back to their house. She noticed that Shane and Allen both kept looking in the rearview mirror. She turned around but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She certainly didn’t see Michael’s car behind them.
“Are we being followed?” she finally asked.
“I can’t tell it if we are. I haven’t seen the same car behind us for more than a few blocks at a time.”
“I’m nothing but trouble. I know you wish you had turned me down back at that bar.” Parker let her head fall back against the seat.
“I wouldn’t have done a thing different, except for maybe not letting you go,” Allen said.
Parker didn’t know what to say to that. She guessed that she wouldn’t have changed anything either, except that she might have asked to see them again. Where did that leave her now, though?
Chapter Nine
It was close to five when they pulled back into their drive. They rearranged the bikes and pulled her car into the garage so they could close the door. Then they had her unpack the suitcase and stowed it in the walk-in closet that was achingly bare of clothes. She sat the picture of her parents on the bedside table and stared at it for several long seconds. She missed her parents. Times like this, she could have used her mom’s careful thoughts on what she needed to do.
Parker drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She was on her own with this. Well, maybe that wasn’t quite fair. The guys were offering their support in more ways than one. She had to give them credit. It wouldn’t work, though. She didn’t see how it possibly could.
“Parker?” Shane stepped back into the room with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you okay, baby?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
“Allen is cooking us dinner. Do you have any preferences? Is there anything you don’t like?”
“I’m really not that picky. I’ll eat most anything.”
“Allen was worried that there might be something that would upset your stomach now.”
“Oh.” She was surprised they had thought of that. “So far, I haven’t been sick, really. Just tired, mostly.”
“It will be close to an hour before it’s ready. Why don’t you take a nap? Do you want me to rub your back while you relax?”
Parker blinked at him. Did he just offer to rub her back? She didn’t know what to say. He stood waiting for her to answer him and she was at a loss.
“Parker?”
“I–I think I’ll lie down for a little while. You don’t have to rub my back though if you don’t want to. I’m fine.”
“Let’s get you comfortable then.” He led her over to the bed and had her sit down while he knelt at her feet and removed her boots. Then he went to work on her jeans.
“I don’t have to get naked to take a quick nap, Shane.” She smiled and shook her head.
“You’ll feel better without anything constricting your breathing.”
“So getting me naked isn’t for your benefit at all.”
“Well, I’ll admit to a certain fascination w
ith your body, but it really is so you will rest better.” He winked at her and continued removing her jeans. He left her panties on but removed her blouse one button at a time.
Once he had her blouse off, he lifted his eyebrows and nodded at her bra. He was right, she would rest better without the bra, but did she really want to leave herself that vulnerable with him?
“Lose the bra, baby. I promise not to molest you, unless of course you ask me to.”
Parker sighed and unfastened the front closure before slipping out of the constricting material. Ever since she had found out she was pregnant, her bras had felt a size too small. It had to be her imagination, right?
“Lie down on your stomach for me, Parker. I’ll rub your back until you go to sleep.”
She climbed back on the bed, rolling over on her stomach and waited to see what liberties Shane would take. To her surprise, he only rubbed her shoulders and back to the tops of her panties. He didn’t delve lower or slip around to her breasts. After a few minutes, she found herself drifting in and out of awareness.
Almost immediately, it seemed Allen’s soft voice in her ear was telling her it was time to wake up.
“Dinner is ready, baby. Are you hungry?”
“Allen?” She looked up into his eyes and saw the awareness there that she was basically naked, but he looked at her face and not her breasts.
“Time to get up, Sleeping Beauty.”
“Mmm.” She stretched and started to sit up.
Allen immediately stood up from where he had been perched on the edge of the bed. He reached down and held her hand to help her sit up. Then he reached toward the foot of the bed and handed her a robe.
She looked at it and realized it was one of theirs. It smelled of male bodywash and them. He helped her into it then pulled the lapels closed and belted it for her.
“Think you’ll be comfortable enough in that to eat?”
“Thanks, yes. This will be fine.” Why did she feel so nervous around them? They’d been all over each other almost eight weeks ago. What was different now other than the baby?
She followed Allen downstairs to the kitchen where they had the table set for three. She started to sit down, but Allen moved her to the head of the table so that they each sat on one side of her.
