by Ali Parker
They wouldn’t just come in and have burgers and ask a few questions about the guy I was seeing.
Or would they?
“Pull it together, Holly,” I mumbled to myself. “You’re getting worked up over something that might be nothing. Jax will know what to do.”
Just then the door to the break room flew open, and Talon marched in. “You’re still on the clock. Get your ass back out there and finish with your tables. I didn’t say you could take a break.”
I took another greedy gulp from my water bottle. “I had a table that frightened me, Talon. You can afford to give me a minute to get my bearings and have some water.”
He scowled at me and crossed his arms. “Get on the floor, now.”
I paused with the cap half screwed on my water bottle. “Fine.” I took the top off and marched forward, my lips peeling off my teeth in an angry snarl as I lifted the water bottle and shook it violently at Talon.
The water splashed out, soaking his entire front. He yelped and looked up at me, horrified. I tossed the now empty bottle over my shoulder.
“Stop treating your staff like we’re less than you, Talon. Or mark my words, I’m bringing some of my friends here to set you straight. I’m tired of your bullshit. You own a family restaurant, not a high-class hotel.”
Talon coughed and sputtered as I headed out the door back to the floor.
The table of four goons was now empty, and when I went to collect their dishes, I found a tip waiting for me. Two fresh hundred-dollar bills had been tucked under one of the plates, and wrapped around it was a sticky note with slanted handwriting scribbled across it.
“Thanks for the service, doll face. You’re a real charmer. Jax doesn’t
deserve you.
-TJ”
Chapter 23
Jax
It was early when my phone started ringing. I mumbled under my breath as I rolled over on to my stomach, reaching across the bed to my vibrating phone on the nightstand. I knocked over a glass half full of water, swore under my breath, and finally grabbed hold of the phone.
“Hello?” I said, my voice hoarse and dry.
“Hey,” Holly said into the phone. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”
“Yes, but don’t be sorry. It’s a nice way to wake up. Everything all right?”
“Oh, yes.” She was quiet for a minute, and I could hear her fidgeting with something. “Actually, no. No, it’s not.”
I sat up, my blankets falling down around my waist. “What’s the matter?”
I listened to her breathing into the phone and waited for her to speak. She was nervous, anxious, and I didn’t want to push her. Finally, she started speaking. “Four guys came into my restaurant yesterday. They asked about you, Jax. They didn’t look like the kind of guys I would want to mess around with. Big. One was bald. They all wore rings and had tattoos. The bald one had a scar on his throat. They gave me the creeps.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Fuck. Some of the Black Hearts members had tracked my girl down. “Did they threaten you?”
“No. I don’t think so. But they told me I should stay away from you.”
“Did you tell them you knew me?”
“Yes. I thought about lying, but then, I decided they wouldn’t have come into the restaurant to see me if they didn’t already know. I told the truth. At least, I told them enough that I thought they would believe. I told them we’re friends from high school, and you’ve been helping me settle back into living in New York City.”
“Good. That’s good, Holly. Quick thinking.”
“Thanks,” she said, and her voice sounded weak.
“Do you have to work today?”
“I’m supposed to start at four.”
“Call your boss and tell him you’re not coming in. Tell him you won’t be there for the next few days. I want you to stay at Kim’s place until I tell you otherwise. Can you do that?” I knew I was asking for a lot. I knew this could cost her job, and I also knew how much she depended on the income from the restaurant and her plans to get her and Luke an apartment of their own as soon as possible. What I was asking could compromise all of that.
“I don’t think Talon will like that.”
“Talon can go fuck himself. If he gives you a hard time, I’ll handle him too.”
“What are you going to do, Jax? I don’t want you getting yourself into trouble because these guys tried to scare me. It was probably nothing, right? Just some assholes getting their kicks?”
I wanted to tell her she was probably right, but I knew better. The message hadn’t been for her. It had been for me. The Black Hearts were letting me know they could get to my girl, and they could do it easily.
“Maybe. But I want to be sure. No harm in being safe, baby.”
Holly sighed on the other end. “Okay. I’ll call Talon and tell him.”
“I don’t want to alarm you, but I think Kim should try to stay in with you too.”
“Her job isn’t going to let her take a big chunk of time off, Jax. I don’t see how—”
“She needs to lie, then,” I said simply. “She has food poisoning or the flu. I don’t care what she says, but she needs to be home with you.”
“Okay. I’ll tell her. And Jax?”
“Yeah?”
“There was a note too. Signed from TJ. I think he was the bald one.”
I raked my fingers through my hair and checked the time on the phone before lifting it back to my ear. “Okay. Thanks for calling and telling me, baby girl. I have to handle this, but I’ll call you back as soon as I can, okay? You promise you’ll stay in with Luke today?”
“I promise.”
“Good. Lock the door. Don’t open it for anyone, you hear me?”
“I hear you,” she said, her voice trembling.
Guilt tore at my insides. This was the exact fucking reason I had been so hesitant to pursue Holly since she moved back from Philadelphia. My lifestyle always had a way of getting in the middle of shit and fucking it royally.
“Holly. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just be careful, all right?”
“Careful?” I chuckled, hoping her hearing me laugh might ease her mind a bit. “Honey. Those fuckers who scared you are the ones who should be careful. I’ll call you later today.”
“Okay,” she said softly, and it took all the willpower I had to end the call.
I sat in my bed staring at the wall for a couple of minutes and let the rage course through my veins.
How dare those bastards frighten my woman? She didn’t deserve that. She had a boy to watch out for. Her mind was probably reeling, and all I wanted was to be able to go to her and comfort her and tell her everything would be okay—like how a man might in a normal relationship.
But I wasn’t so lucky. It was on me to fix this.
I called Ryder and told him to meet me at the shop. Then, I called Sabian and Axel, both of whom cursed me out for calling so early. I assured them it was important, and they agreed to meet up with Ryder and me at the shop.
I didn’t bother with breakfast. I had more important things to do.
I was on my bike shortly after getting out of bed and speeding to the shop, anger pulsing at the back of my skull, mind racing with thoughts of what I would do to TJ when I got my hands on him.
I hopped off my bike at the shop to find Ryder, Axel, and Sabian already there, as well as Derek and Hyde. We went into the office and sat down on the couches. They all turned to face me, and I told them what had happened to Holly at The Roost.
“These bastards are getting bolder with every move they make. How long are we going to keep sitting around and waiting for them to get closer, Ryder? I’m sick of this shit. They need to be reminded who the fuck we are.”
Ryder stroked his chin and considered what I was saying. “I suppose the truce has already been broken.”
“Suppose?” I barked. “It’s been broken for weeks, and we’re still sitting around with our dicks in our han
ds, acting like a bunch of pussies, while those fuckers run all over the city doing whatever the fuck they please.”
“Chill, man,” Sabian warned, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “We’ll handle it. We just have to be smart about it.”
“Being smart about it wouldn’t have landed us here,” I growled.
Ryder shot me a dark look. “Better watch yourself, Jax. You’re pissed. I get it. They dragged Holly into this. If it were Dani …” He shook his head. “You’re right. It’s time to take action. I’ll set up a meeting with the Black Hearts leader as soon as possible, and we’ll remind him who we are.”
“Call me when you have a time and place,” I said.
“Same here.” Sabian nodded.
“I’m in, too,” Axel said.
Ryder shook his head. “No, you have Hanna to worry about, Axel. No more running into the wolf’s den for you, my friend.”
Axel’s eyebrows drew together in a scowl. “I can help.”
“I know,” Ryder said, clapping his friend on the back, “but family comes first. Always has, always will. That little girl needs her dad to be there for her. I won’t be the reason she ever loses that.” Ryder turned to the rest of us. “Keep your phones with you. I’ll call as soon as the meeting is set up and pass on the information. Jax, if I were you, I’d keep Holly at a distance for now.”
I nodded. “I will.”
“It’s for her own good, brother,” Sabian said.
“Believe me,” I said, “I know it is.”
“You have us too,” Derek piped up. He nodded at Hyde. “We can step in for Axel.”
Ryder looked back and forth between them. “I’ll consider it. But if things go south with the Black Hearts I have to make sure we still have members to fill vacant positions.”
Hyde frowned. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Doesn’t matter if you do,” Ryder said. “If I need you I’ll call you. Otherwise keep your head down. Let the others know to do the same. Let’s keep this between us for the time being. No need to rattle the cages.”
We locked up the shop and went out to our bikes on the gravel driveway. The others all drove away, and I took my phone out of my pocket and called Holly.
When she answered, she sounded distressed like she’d been crying. My heart ached for her, and I wished more than anything else that I could go to her and hold her and promise everything would be just fine.
“Hey,” I said softly, “How are you holding up over there?”
“I’m okay,” she said, her voice nasally. She’d been crying. Fuck.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure. But I …” She paused and took a deep breath. “I really need to see you, Jax.”
“I know, baby girl. I want to see you too. But we need to give it some time. I have to keep my distance from you until everything with these guys is settled. The price of being in the MC, I’m afraid.”
“How much time?”
“As long as it takes. Ryder doesn’t want to fuck around, so hopefully only a few days. You can do a few days, can’t you?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered, and her voice cracked.
“Holly. I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted any of this to go down, but for right now, it’s out of our hands. I’m going to do everything I can to get back to you as soon as possible. I swear it.”
“Okay. But you can’t come by just for a bit? Please?”
I hung my head and kicked at the loose gravel of the driveway in frustration. “No, baby girl. I can’t.”
She sighed into the phone and sniffled. “Okay.”
“I’ll call you when I can.”
She didn’t answer, and she didn’t need to. She was breaking down, and I suspected if she tried to speak, she would only cry. Guilt clawed at my gut again, and I lowered the phone from my ear and ended the call. It hurt my soul to do so.
I should never have gotten her involved in this mess in the first place. I knew this was the kind of thing that would happen. It always did. It was never sunshine and daisies and happy endings, not for men like me.
I singlehandedly dragged the woman I loved into the middle of a turf war between two motorcycle gangs.
I paused with my key in the ignition of my bike.
The woman I loved.
All the guilt and the anger was replaced, fleetingly, with an overwhelming warmth. I was in love with Holly Whitton.
“Fuck me fucking sideways,” I growled, starting the bike up and pulling out onto the street, the engine roaring furiously.
Chapter 24
Holly
I just needed to see him for fifteen minutes. I needed to tell him what had happened. We had both fucked up, and now, we were going to have to atone for our mistakes.
Something I thought would be a blessing was quickly turning into a burden.
I stared down at the plastic stick in my hands. The screen with two red lines practically screamed the results in my head.
Pregnant. I was fucking pregnant.
I sighed and tossed the pregnancy test in the garbage can before leaning forward with my elbows on my knees.
How could I have been so reckless? We should have been more careful. I should have seen this coming.
I took a shaky breath and looked at the door.
Kim and Luke were in the living room. Kim had knocked on the bathroom door several times to check in on me, and I had lied and said I wasn’t feeling well. She wouldn’t give me much time before she forced herself in and demanded I tell her what was going on. That was a conversation I was definitely not ready for.
I had to find the energy to stand up and slap on a happy face. I had to act normal. For now.
I found myself wondering if things would feel different if everything with the guys at The Roost hadn’t happened yesterday. Would I be excited? Would Jax be?
There was a big part of me that was certain he would be. But right now he was tied up in MC business, which made my heart clench with fear. I wasn’t stupid. He would be going after the men who had come to see me at work. He and Ryder and whoever else they could gather would be preparing for a confrontation while I sat holed up in my sister’s apartment like someone in witness protection.
I dragged my hands down my face and counted to three in my head. Then, I stood up and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
My eyes were pink and glassy from crying. My cheeks were flushed, my hair was a mess, and my lips were dry. I splashed some cold water on my face and applied some Chapstick. Feeling a little more human but still just as tired and weak and sad, I emerged from the bathroom and made my way into the living room to find Kim and Luke curled up on the sofa watching cartoons.
I could do this. I had to do this.
I took a seat on the sofa and ignored the way Kim’s eyes fell on me. She was worried. She had to be. I was acting out of sorts, and she knew me better than anyone. Almost anyone.
She didn’t wait long before she reached over and tapped my hand that was draped over the back of the sofa. “You okay?” she mouthed silently, her eyes flicking to Luke.
I shook my head.
Kim got up and adjusted her sweater before nodding to the kitchen. “Luke, your mom and I are going to make popcorn. Want some?”
“Sure,” Luke said, his eyes never leaving the television screen.
Kim pulled me into the kitchen, and as soon as I was out of view of my son, I buried my face in my hands and started crying.
Kim grabbed my wrists and tried to pull my hands away from my face. “Holly? Holly, what’s the matter? Please talk to me. You’re scaring me.”
I shook my head and worked to get a hold of myself.
“Is this about Jax?”
“No—kind of.”
Kim rubbed my shoulders. “You can tell me. Get it out. You’ll feel better. I can help you.”
I rubbed my eyes and blew out an exasperated breath. “I messed up, Kim.”
“What did you do?”
&
nbsp; “I’m pregnant.”
Kim froze. I was afraid to look up into her face. I didn’t want to see the thoughts etched on her face. Judgment. Confusion. Disappointment.
“Holly, this isn’t something to be so upset about. Isn’t this a good thing?”
“How is this a good thing?” I said, forcing myself not to scream. I didn’t want Luke to hear. He couldn’t see me breaking down like this. He needed me to be strong.
“You and Jax having a baby? I don’t know, but it’s not as bad as it feels right now. I know you’re scared, and you’re worried about him, but you have to remember he does this kind of thing all the time. He knows what he’s doing. You have to trust him.”
“I do trust him,” I said. “I just don’t trust the men he’s up against.”
“You can’t control that, Holly. No one can.”
“I know,” I said, my words sharp as I tried to hold in a sob. “I know I can’t, but this,” I gestured around the kitchen, “Just sitting here waiting for him is killing me. How long do I wait? How long does he expect me to wait?”
Kim shook my shoulders. “Holly. I know you don’t want to hear this right now but you have to get a hold of yourself. Jax is out there doing his job. Now you need to do yours here. You need to keep it together. This won’t help anyone, and I hate to say it, but you should try to stay calm for, you know,” she glanced down at my stomach.
I groaned and looked up at the ceiling. “How could I have been so reckless?”
“You’re in love,” Kim shrugged. “Shit happens.”
“I—” I stared at her.
“What?” she asked. “Was I wrong? Do you not love him?”
“No. I do. I do love him.”
“Exactly,” Kim said. “Listen to me. This is a good thing. This could help Jax in the long run. Calm him down. Tether him to reality and maybe get him to take half a step back from the MC so he doesn’t get himself into such crazy situations.”
