by E. C. Land
“Ain’t that the truth of it, but you don’t have to worry about me doing anything to that woman. I love Raven and finally decided to accept it,” I state as I straddle my bike, ready to go get this shit over with. I’m goin’ to demand a rush order to be put on it and have the results back tomorrow. I don’t want to wait a week.
The lab had been expecting me when I’d walked in earlier, evidently Dixie had been in there this morning before coming to the clubhouse. I paid for them to put a rush on it. I didn’t mind doing it. It’s not like I don’t have the money.
I may not be one to spend what I have, preferring to live simple, only buying what I need and leaving the money in the bank gaining interest. No reason to spend it on frivolous things when I don’t need it.
“Now that we have that done and we’ll be waiting for the results to come back, what do we want to do with Dixie?” Ranger asks.
“I say kick her ass back out on the street,” Tracker grumbles.
“Can’t do that until the results come back negative,” I mutter.
“What if they come back positive?” Stoney asks.
“They won’t,” I say instantly
“How do you know? I mean Dixie was right about one thing, condoms are not always fool proof,” Ranger states using the tone he’d have used with a patient.
“You heard Raven, that child isn’t mine.” They will probably think what I’m saying is nuts.
“Yeah we heard her, but you can’t go off a gut feeling,” Ranger says, furrowing his brow.
“Brother, it’s not a gut feeling. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve seen it. Raven’s special. Just wait and see. That’s the only way I think you’ll all understand.” I can’t make them understand something I wouldn’t have until they see it for themselves.
“Raven’s gifted like her momma?” Tracker asks.
Meeting his gaze, I nod my head. “Yeah she is. I don’t know to what extent. But before we even got into the clubhouse, she knew something bad was waiting inside. She could feel the deception pouring off of Dixie. Way I see it, if Fury and the rest of the Inferno’s Clutch MC listen to Ela, Raven’s mom, then I’ll listen to Raven.”
“I agree with you. Chains has mentioned Ela when he’s updated me about Tiny,” Tracker says, his brow furrowing. “Did you all notice anything about Tiny before she left? Like that she would get up and clean in the middle of the night.”
“What? No, is that what she’s doing?” Stoney demands.
“Yeah, Chain spoke with her last night about it. Said she has insomnia and figured she’d clean while everyone was asleep,” Tiny may have been recognized as a clubwhore in the beginning but when she came to Stoney, Tracker, and I about the truth of her being there, we’d taken her in as a little sister. So, the three of us are all protective of her and the fact she’s so far away it’s like having three big brothers unable to protect their sibling when she needs it most.
“I hope he put a stop to it,” Ranger mutters. “Tiny’s not a maid to clean up after everyone.”
“You got that fuckin’ right. She’s family and doesn’t do that bullshit,” I grumble.
“Agreed. Now let’s get the fuck out of here and back to the clubhouse. I hope our ol’ ladies haven’t done anything stupid,” Stoney growls.
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “Did you see your ol’ lady’s face Prez? Rach was just as pissed as Raven and I’m sure Vi was too.”
“Rachel is more than pissed. She’d texted me after we left the clubhouse informing me she was changing some shit around where the clubwhores are concerned. She despises all of them and if she had her way, there wouldn’t be any. As it stands, she’s putting some strict rules in place for the ones at the clubhouse. Testing, drug and pregnancy. Chores, schedules and so on. Those bitches are gonna learn their place with her.”
“You two work everything out about the thing with Boss?” Tracker asks.
Prez and the Prez of the Iron Vex MC, Boss, had fucked a while back and now he believes she’s had his kid without telling him. He’s refused to talk about it, but we all see the confliction in his eyes whenever anyone mentions the topic.
“I’ve reached out to Boss. She’s agreed to meet up with the two of us so that I can meet my daughter. Destiny, that’s her name. Boss finally told me the truth after I asked. When I demanded to meet my daughter, she was reluctant. Wanted me to come alone, but that shit won’t happenin’ I’m not about to leave my ol’ lady here where she’ll let shit into her head. Rach already feels inferior to Boss and I’m not about to let that happen. Rach will be a part of this child’s life because she’s my wife and the mother to my children. Luca and Corrine are mine just as much as Destiny is. Along with Horse and Sebastian.”
The day Stoney met his ol’ lady he took her kids on like they were his and now they officially are his. He’d adopted Luca and Corrine. Luca is a little badass toddler always watching over his twin sister. Corrine now she’s the princess of the club, all of the guys including myself, I’ll admit, are wrapped around her little finger.
Probably because she’s been through hell without even realizing it. She’s not allowed out of sight. If Corrine isn’t in the playroom at the clubhouse or near Stoney one of the prospects are close by.
Sometimes being around the little girl gives me closure for losing Laura then again no one will ever replace my baby.
She’ll forever be my angel and if Raven ever wants children then I know Laura will be watching over them.
Fuck when did I get all sappy and shit?
When you opened your fuckin’ heart asshole.
Oh yeah, for Raven and only her.
7
Raven
“How are you being so calm about this situation Raven?” Rachel asks as she sits in the chair next to Vicky across from me, a few minutes after the guys left.
“Because I know she’s lying,” I state nonchalantly. I love Rachel. She's an amazing person. She might not be like me or Vicky, but she’d been willing to leave her children with her cousin in order to go kill the man ready to sell his own daughter.
“I wish I were able to have the strength to believe in someone so much,” Rachel murmurs as she glances toward the door while playing with the baby monitor in her hand.
“What do you mean?” I ask. I know Rachel’s had a lot on her mind. I could read her easily and she’s constantly got love, confusion, and hurt wrapped around her.
Instead of answering right away, Rachel shakes her head vigorously. “I’m sorry. It’s been one hell of a year and I’m not at my best right now. Seeing that skank here doesn’t help,” she says and I can tell she’s on the verge of tears.
“Rach, let it out,” Vicky says, grabbing her hand and supporting her softly as I nod in agreement.
“What’s going on?” Momma B demands as she takes a seat on the other side of me. If there were any women out there that I’d be scared of she’d be one.
“You’ve missed quite a bit Momma B,” Vi states.
“Let me guess, this has something to do with that skank sitting on the other side of the room. She claimed to be pregnant by one of your guys,” Momma B snarks.
“Yep, Blaze,” I mutter.
“Of course, she’d go after Blaze, and I can see his balls finally dropped and he claimed your ass,” Momma B says, causing my mouth to drop and Rachel and Vicky to giggle.
“Great, now I’m the butt of y’alls jokes,” I grumble. “How about we return back to the subject of what’s going on with Rachel.”
“We’ll get to that in a minute,” Vicky declares waving a hand in the air. “I want to know how the hell this happened.”
Groaning, I tilt my head back and stare at the ceiling. “I honestly don't know how it all happened. I guess you can say I was pretty trashed last night. It started with going on a date and Blaze intervening yet again. I’d intended to finally get laid. Didn’t matter to me that he wasn’t the one I really wanted. I just needed to forget. Anyways, I was out at a bar when Blaze
stepped in. Somehow, we ended up married, me tattooed with his name. When I woke up this morning Blaze was wrapped around me.”
“Well damn, that’s like some Hangover shit right there,” Rachel says.
“You got that right. Then again Ela called me this morning telling me to be here. Said you were going to need me. Now explain that shit.” God, I love my best friend. She doesn’t hold shit back from anyone. How everyone thought she was this meek woman is beyond me. Then again Victoria can be a very good actress when she wants to be.
“I don’t know what she knows. I haven’t spoken to her in a few days,” I mutter.
“Now that you’re a married woman what are you going to do?” Momma B smirks.
“Ugh, same as always. But I must admit something about Blaze has always had a way of bringing a sense of calm around me,” I say glancing at my best friend. Seeing her give a slight nod, I know she understands what I mean.
“I get what you mean. Bear is the person who keeps me grounded. Back when I first met him, I guess you could say I was a wild child,” Momma B states.
“And you’re not still a wild child raising hell and causing mayhem?” We all laugh at Rachel’s remark.
“So what, I’m still wild at heart. Only now I know the difference between crossing the line and not. The night I met Bear I’d been with a bunch of my friends and saw him standing with a few of his brothers. Feeling bold I waltzed right up to him, snatched his beer out of his hand as he lifted it to his mouth and put it to mine, all while holding his gaze.” That’s one hell of a way to approach one of these men.
“What happened?” Vicky asks.
“I’d told Bear I was gonna be his, wrapped my arms around him and kissed him thoroughly. From that day on no matter what has happened between us we’ve been together. He’d said anyone who had the balls to approach him the way I did was a woman he could love.
“We married two days after meeting and I’ll tell you all now, marriage isn’t easy. You have to work for what you want. Fight for it. There’s been times I wanted to give up, thought I couldn’t handle the clubwhores constantly trying to gain my ol’ man’s attention. But he never gave up on me. He didn’t want anyone else. The day Rage was born he stood by my side the same as the day my daughter was born. God rest her soul. When Jane died, we held each other because it’s like losing a piece of yourself.” Momma B stops to wipe her eyes. Strength is pouring off of her as she pushes away the sadness at the mention of her daughter.
“Bear is a lucky man,” Rachel says reaching over to grab Momma B’s hand.
“I know I’m a lucky man.” The sound of Bear’s voice startles all of us. I hadn’t even known he’d approached our table; I was so in tune with Momma B’s emotions.
“What are you doing here?” Momma B demands.
“Checking on you,” he smirks leaning down to kiss his ol’ lady. For an older man he’s hot as hell with his salt and pepper colored hair. I can appreciate what Momma B sees in him. He’s the type of man I’ve always been attracted to. Same as Blaze.
They are the type of men who carry their strengths with them wherever they go.
“I’m fine. We were all just chatting. Did you need anything?” she asks when he lifts his head.
“Nope. I figured I’d sit with you all while I wait for the guys to get back,” Bear states as he plucks Momma B out of her chair and sits her back in his lap. “Don’t mind me. You all continue your conversation. I’ve got what I wanted.”
Giggling the four of us shake our heads at the man.
“Where were we? Oh yeah we were moving away from my drama onto Rachel’s,” I declare ready to stop talking about me and Blaze for the moment.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” she sighs.
“Try starting with one thing then move to the other,” I offer.
“I guess you can say, I’m conflicted. I love Stoney more than anything. He’s the other half of me. It’s just this whole mess with Boss. Our kids are around the same age. I don’t want to sound like a whining bitch, but it scares the hell out of me that he’ll wake up one day and want to leave me and convince her to be with him,” she murmurs.
“What the hell woman?” Bear demands.
“Hey, I thought you weren’t gonna talk,” Momma B remarks as she slaps his arm.
“I wasn’t but Rachel should hear this. Stoney would never and I mean never leave you. The man is a goner over you. I know what that dickhead did to you and how he made you feel but don’t let what he did to you cloud your judgement with your ol’ man,” Bear states.
“I have to agree with Bear. I may not know what happened, but I can sense just how much that man loves you. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize losing you. Every time I’ve been around him any time your name is mentioned or when you’re around a wave of warmth rolls off of him and I know that you two were meant to be together. He’s your soul just as you are his.” I bite my cheek to keep from saying anything further as four sets of eyes look at me.
Shit now they’re all going to think I’m a freak. Well besides Vicky.
Good going Raven.
8
Blaze
If this day gets any worse, I’m going to end up killing someone. That’s no joke. It all started out great. I’d woken up to the woman who holds my heart only to have it turn to shit because of a fuckin’ clubwhore.
I don’t know what game she’s trying to play claiming I’m the father of her child. If that were the case, she’d have come to me a hell of a lot sooner. Granted I’d still deny the shit out of it. Instead Dixie waits until she’s showing and weeks from popping to come to the club to stir up trouble.
On top of all this shit I still have to make sure the shipment that’s to go to Hammer’s club is ready to go by the weekend. Neither of our clubs want or need trouble so making sure everything is accounted for is a top priority right now.
I need my head in the game right now and not worrying about if I’m the father of some bitch’s kid. That’s why I’m believing in Raven’s gift. She’s certain as hell that I’m not the father of Dixie’s child.
Pulling up to the clubhouse, I park my bike next to Tracker’s as he and Stoney do the same and shut the motor off.
“You think Dixie’s still alive in there?” Tracker grins, still sitting as I swing my leg over to stand next to my bike.
“Shit, I didn’t even think of that,” Stoney chuckles. “Maybe your ol’ lady will have taken care of your problem while we were gone.”
Throwing my head back I laugh for the first time since this morning when I’d been in bed with Raven. “Yeah, I’m sure if the bitch wasn’t pregnant, she’d be dead already. My ol’ lady wouldn’t want to harm a child no matter how much she wants the mother’s head.”
“These women are scary as hell. I still can’t get over how we all thought Victoria was this sweet, shy, stick to herself kind of woman,” Ranger chortles.
“Don’t even remind me of that shit,” Tracker grumbles.
Shaking my head, still grinning, I head for the door ready to see Raven. Unlike Tracker’s ol’ lady Raven never played down who she really was. Sure, her secrets were well kept and still are. I’ll find out everything there is to know about her one day. But that’s what being married is about. Being with the one person you want to know everything about yet find out something new every day about them as well.
Might make me sound like a fuckin’ pussy but I honestly don’t give a fuck. For once I’m going to go for what the hell I want and not give a damn about the repercussions.
I’d done the right thing once and was burned in the end. Maybe what they say about Raven’s mom is right and she can heal a person’s soul. It just took me a while to realize it and finally pull my head out of my ass where my woman is concerned.
Now it’s only a matter of fighting to keep her as mine when she goes to flee. My Little Bird is like the very raven she’s named for. Sleek, smart, all seeing. Only difference is she’s more beautiful with her ma
jestic eyes.
Opening the door to the clubhouse, I step inside and scan the room for my woman as I inwardly slap myself. Time to stop with the puppy love bullshit going around in my head. Right now, isn’t the time to act all sappy.
No, it’s time to be the man I was named for, Blaze.
Spotting Raven sitting at a table with Tracker and Stoney’s ol’ ladies, I head in her direction. Dixie intercepts me by stepping in front of me.
“Blaze, please believe me. This baby is yours,” she says with tears in her eyes as she grabs my hand and places it against her stomach right as there’s movement.
Motherfucker.
Wrenching my hand away, I narrow my gaze on Dixie. “Don’t ever touch me again bitch. Until the test proves otherwise that kid ain’t mine. Even if it were, you’d be in for a fight. There’s no way I’d let a clubwhore raise my kid. Now get the fuck away from me.”
“But Blaze, please,” she whines.
“Didn’t you just hear my husband tell you to back off,” Raven snaps from behind Dixie causing the woman to turn toward her.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with you bitch,” Dixie sneers stepping backward.
“Seriously, this again,” Raven says, crossing her arms over her chest. “Didn’t we establish earlier that if it has to do with my husband it has to do with me?”
Damn my Little Bird is starting to get pissed if the color of her cheeks is anything to go by.
“You may be his wife, but I’m carrying his child. And that bitch, is between him and myself,” Dixie declares as she steps back even further until she’s pressing herself against my side.
Annoyed by this, I step aside and move to wrap my arms around Raven. Tilting my head, I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Hey, Little Bird.”
“Hey sweetheart,” my woman says sweetly. Only when she tilts her head up to meet my gaze, I can see the turmoil of emotions.
