by Sam Crescent
“In fact, I’ve been wondering if you’d seen this woman lately?” O’Klaren produced a picture and thrust it beneath her face.
She stared down at Milly. “I’ve seen her. That’s Milly.” Preacher had told her not to lie. Not to pretend she’d never seen anyone unless he’d given her instructions. Everyone in town knew Milly had been part of the club. “I haven’t seen her recently. I don’t know where she is.”
“I’m looking for her. I want to talk to her.”
“I can’t help you.”
“Who is the father of your baby?” he asked.
“How do you know I’m pregnant?”
“I have my ways.”
She stared at him, wondering if he was reaching or if there was possibly a rat in the club. There was no way Randall would have said anything to him. She didn’t believe it.
“I don’t know how I can help you.”
“You’re going to protect him?”
“Bishop’s my father’s baby. It’s why we got married.”
“That’s mighty convenient, wouldn’t you say?”
“What are you trying to say?” she asked. With every passing second, she was trying not to freak out, but she didn’t know how not to freak out if he was asking all of these questions. They were personal, and they shouldn’t have left the clubhouse unless he really was reaching, hoping to stump her to make a mistake. She wouldn’t ever be an ally to this man.
“Well, it just makes me wonder. You see, I have it on good authority that you and Bishop were always together but not really together in the biblical sense.”
She stared at him. “On good authority?”
“Yes.”
“What’s that? A couple of girls who go to this school?” She stared at O’Klaren waiting to see what he’d say. “Because if you’ve got it on good authority from the girls here, then you really don’t know me and Bishop.”
“He sleeps around.”
“Don’t all men?” she asked.
“And you don’t care.”
“I’m the girl wearing the wedding band. It doesn’t matter who he sleeps with, does it? I’m the one he picked at the end of the day, and if I asked, he’d stop. I don’t mind him sleeping around. One day he’ll settle down, and when he does, I’ll be there. Are we done here?” She got to her feet and walked toward the door.
“If I find out that baby you’re carrying is anyone else’s I will make their lives a misery.”
She stopped to look at him. This was a warning, clear as anything. O’Klaren had a way of finding stuff out, and she didn’t want to know exactly how, just that he did, which meant there was a rat in the club.
She didn’t say anything as she opened the door.
Preacher stood toe to toe with Arnold.
The moment he saw her, he relaxed a little but immediately tensed up when O’Klaren appeared.
“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.”
“You do know she’s only seventeen.”
“Ah, yes, I know.”
“You should have had an adult present,” Preacher said.
“No harm done. I’ll be seeing you, Robin, and congratulations on the baby.”
He went to touch her stomach, but she pulled away, not wanting him anywhere near her child.
She was already very protective of her stomach, and having random strangers touch her was not what she wanted to experience. Without looking at the principal, she moved toward Bishop, playing the part.
“Can I go home? I don’t feel well.”
Her stomach was spiraling.
Bishop took her hand, leading her out of the school with Preacher following.
“I need you to go and talk to Tom again,” Preacher said.
“He needs to take me home,” Robin said, looking at Preacher. “I don’t know how it happened, but he suspects Bishop isn’t the father. He could be watching us.”
“Okay, Bishop, take her home. I’ll meet you there.”
She got into Bishop’s car. Since she’d been pregnant, he had no choice but to take the car rather than his bike. She knew he missed riding it to school.
The first time he got his bike, he called it a babe magnet. She couldn’t believe she was married to him.
When they were only best friends, it made sense for her to hear about all the crap he’d say, the girls he’d slept with. Once they started making out, everything had changed. Pushing those doubts aside, she looked at Preacher as Bishop pulled out of the parking lot.
He smiled at her, and in a weird way, that one single smile actually gave her comfort. She wasn’t alone.
He was there.
She could handle this.
No matter what O’Klaren tried to do or even the kids at school, she could handle whatever was thrown her way. She’d dealt with worst and would probably keep on having to deal with worst.
“You okay?” Bishop asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for staying with me.”
“You think there’s a rat in the club?”
“I have no idea. He seemed to know stuff. He asked about Milly. Do you think he was sleeping with her and knows about it?”
“What, Milly sleeping with O’Klaren? He’s barely been here. I doubt she’d have had the time.”
“Do you care if she had?”
“What are you trying to ask me, Robin?”
“Did you have feelings for her?”
Bishop burst out laughing. “Hell, no. I knew what Milly was. She means nothing to me. Put it this way, if she had a thing for O’Klaren it’s a good thing she’s gone and dead now.”
“Dead?”
“You don’t think Dad would let her live after what she did, did you?”
“Milly planned what happened. What if she told O’Klaren? He seemed to question the baby’s paternity.” She didn’t know if to call her baby, she, he, or it. The baby seemed like the safest of all options. Her life had gotten way too complicated of late, and she actually didn’t have a clue what to do.
“I don’t know. Sounds a reach to me.”
“Unless she wanted Preacher out of the way.”
“Not going to happen. You need to get it out of your head. In fact, I demand you get all of that negative shit out of your head. You don’t need it. It’s completely unnecessary, and seeing as I’m your husband, you’ll do as you’re told.”
They arrived at Preacher’s house, and she looked up at the large home. It was a nice place, spacious.
“Speaking of husbandly things, I was thinking, maybe we could … make it official.”
“You want to have sex?”
“I’m just thinking, you know, you’ve had it. Dad took care of that, and it won’t hurt with me.”
She was … speechless.
“I think right now I just want to go in and study.”
“Ugh, what’s with you? It’s not like you don’t know what is going to happen. You’ve already done it with my dad.”
“Done it with your dad. Do you even hear yourself right now? I didn’t have a choice. The woman who had a thing for you, took it out on me. That’s the reality. I didn’t choose this.”
“Well you could be making the fucking most of it, but instead, you’re only seeing the bullshit.”
She felt the tears building up. Opening the car door, she slammed it closed behind her.
“Where the fuck are you going?” he asked.
“I’m going inside to study. I’m sorry that I’m not in the mood to screw my selfish husband!” She yelled the last bit.
“Fine. I can have whoever I want.”
With the key in hand, she turned toward him. “Go, Bishop. Just freaking go. I don’t care.”
He pulled out of the driveway as she slammed the door closed.
Collapsing against it, she tried to gain her composure, but nothing seemed to be working. “Why did it have to get so messed up?”
Removing her jacket and bag, she made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water before going into t
he dining room.
She sat down, ignoring the fact she had so much homework.
It didn’t take long for Preacher to arrive.
He entered the dining room, keys in hand. “Where’s Bishop?”
“He took off.”
“From the look on your face, did you two get into a fight?”
She burst out laughing. “When are we not fighting these days?”
“It was a tough one?”
“Yeah, real tough.” She took a sip of her water, wondering if she should tell the father of her husband and current baby that his son wanted sex?
“Anything I can help you with?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“Try me. I could surprise you.”
She snorted. “Okay, my husband wants his rights in the bedroom.” She didn’t know a more delicate way of putting it.
“He wants to fuck.”
“Yeah.” She looked down at her stomach. There was something there, a roundness, but that was about it. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“You and him not done anything before or after?”
“Nothing.” Her cheeks heated. “I better do some homework.” She got to her feet and paused. “What happened to Milly?”
Preacher looked at her. “Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
“Be aware, Robin, somethings in life, you don’t want to have the answers to.”
She thought about Milly. “You know, I thought she was being nice. That she was being my friend. I had no idea how much she hated me. How can anyone hate you so much without even knowing them?” She sniffled. “She was so spiteful, and she thought it was funny what she did. I don’t … I need to know what happened to her.”
Preacher took her bottle of water and drank half of it.
“I killed her. I tore her apart. I sliced her up, made her hurt, and then, I buried her in a secure location. She hurt a lot before she met her end.”
“She was alive when you buried her?”
“Yes.”
She felt a little sick. Putting a hand to her stomach, she tried to keep her food down, but it wasn’t happening.
Rushing toward the downstairs toilet she only just made it as she began to throw up everything she’d eaten that day.
Preacher came, holding her hair back as she was sick.
Only when she was done, she collapsed on the floor, feeling even worse than before.
“Are you done?”
“Yes, I think so.”
She expected him to leave, but instead he sat down beside the toilet. Tears filled her eyes.
“You shouldn’t have asked.”
“I know.”
“You can’t keep getting sick. It’s not good for you or the baby.”
“I know.” She rested her face on her hands, staring up at him. “You’re my baby’s father.”
“Are you still trying to get your head around that?”
“I don’t know what to think or feel right now. I feel sick.”
“Are you going to throw up again?”
“No. I want to be afraid of you, but I know, you didn’t know. It’s all messed up.” She sniffled. “I didn’t want to have sex. I don’t … even remember it.”
“I was drunk.”
“I woke up next to you. You had your arm wrapped around me, and I was so scared what would happen if you woke up. I … I panicked.”
“I wish you had woken me up. I could have helped you deal with all of this.”
“Do you mean by getting rid of the baby? That seems to be everyone’s big idea about it.”
“No, not get rid of it. Just to deal with the fallout. You shouldn’t have gone through that alone.”
She wiped her eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop.
“I wish it hadn’t happened,” she said. “Bishop and I, we always had our problems, but we worked through them. Now, he just messed up. He wants everything I can’t give him, and I feel so horrible. It’s not like I’m a virgin anymore.”
“You’ve a right to deny him, Robin. You do what makes you feel comfortable. No one else.”
“Do you want to keep it?”
“Yes.” He reached out. His hand was so close, but he never touched her. He pulled away. “Yes, I do.”
She didn’t ask him why he didn’t hold her hand. She knew.
****
“Is there a reason you’re tearing apart all of Milly’s bedroom?” Bear asked.
“I’m looking for something, any clue that might suggest she was screwing O’Klaren.”
“That’s a stretch isn’t it?”
“This is coming after he has a private talk with Robin in Arnold’s office asking her specific questions. I’m not taking any chances. He knows something, and who better to tell him the little secrets than the woman who started it all?” He threw the latest drawer into a pile.
“We know him to be clean of all the drugs and shit, so why would he even think to be near a woman who was aligned with us?”
“Helping each other out, to get me out of the picture.”
“How is my daughter lately?” Bear asked.
Preacher paused and turned toward his friend. He and Bear had always gotten on well. He considered him a friend, a close friend.
“She’s fine. Why don’t you go and ask her?”
“Here’s the thing, she’s keeping up appearances, and I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her. To even say two words to her. Tell me how I’m supposed to fucking feel.”
“Again, I don’t have a fucking clue,” Preacher said. “You and Rebecca are welcome to come to my place any time to see her. I’m not holding her hostage. I’m dealing with damage control right now. You think I wanted this?”
“I don’t know what it is you want.”
“I’ve got a kid on the way. I know it’s with your kid, but I didn’t manipulate this shit. You can be pissed at me for a long time, but you’ve got to get over it. I have.”
“Do you like my kid?” Bear asked.
“I’m not a pervert, Bear.” Preacher burst out laughing. “You know, I look at Robin, and she is handling everything really fucking well, but there are times, a few, not a lot, where I feel so fucking sick to my stomach by what happened. Do you think this is easy for me? I can go in and out of my day without a single care in the world, is that what you think?”
“You tell me.”
“I asked about her, Bear. I didn’t even know who she was, but I thought about her. I talked to you about her and fuck! You think this is easy? It fucking sucks. My kid can’t even handle what the fuck is going on. He’s up and down. All over the place. One day soon, he’s going to snap, and I’ve got to be in the right place when it happens because if I’m not we’re all screwed.” He didn’t show weakness, but knowing Robin carried his kid, it was hard. So far, she hadn’t freaked out or tried to do something stupid. She was keeping her shit together.
Bishop wasn’t.
From the look on Bear’s face, he wasn’t.
“I’m sorry,” Bear said.
“You don’t owe me an apology.”
“I just, I feel like I fucking failed her, Preacher. I love that girl so much. I haven’t always been the best dad, but when it comes to her, I try to do my best. Even Rebecca, some shit has changed, I don’t know what. We sit in that empty house, and I’ve gone home to have dinner more than once in the past couple of weeks. I’m going to be a granddaddy to your baby.” Bear shook his head. “I’m torn between wanting to put you in the fucking ground, and hugging you. I know this shit happened to you too. You thought we’d given you a woman, and we hadn’t.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I just need to know everything Milly had on O’Klaren. She wasn’t stupid.”
“Then you’d be best off looking in Bishop’s room. In case something like this ever happened, I imagine she’d hide it there,” Bear said.
“Did you even like her?”
“Milly?”
“
Yeah.”
He left the mess to the girls to clean up. This wasn’t his problem. It would be someone else’s.
“She was okay. She always had her own agenda, but I don’t think that’s different from every other woman. You know. They always have a way and means of dealing with shit. She was no different.”
Entering Bishop’s room, he paused when he caught sight of one of Robin’s shirts. It shouldn’t matter and while Bear was in his company, he ignored it.
Opening drawers, he stared at his son’s clothes, not really feeling anything.
It was all a fucking mess. Checking through everything, he finally moved to the small closet. He turned the light on, and as he did, a box fell down, spewing out loads of photographs. He bent down, picking them up.
Pictures of Robin and Bishop together.
He looked over each one, smiling. They were good together. Their friendship had always been strong, and it was even more so now.
“What you got?”
“Just some pictures.”
He quickly put them away.
“It amazes me how fast they grow up. I remember when Robin was first born. She was so small, and I often wondered to myself how I was going to protect her, love her, be there for her when she needed me the most, you know.”
“You didn’t fail her, Bear.”
“Come on, let’s find whatever it is you think you’re looking for.”
Preacher tilted the light, and between a couple of boxes, he saw a file. Pulling it out, he opened it up, and inside was exactly what he was looking for.
Stepping out of the closet, he stared at a picture he knew from reality.
Robin, naked, only her back was showing.
“Milly took a picture of her on my bed.”
He flicked through a few of the other pictures and notes.
When he got to the last page, he paused. “She was going to try and attempt to blackmail me.”
The greedy bitch had wanted a couple of million dollars for her silence and for the evidence to go away.
“This doesn’t prove anything,” Bear said.
“No, but what it does prove is Milly knew what she was doing, and I wouldn’t doubt for a single second, she whispered the right words of doubt into mister asshole’s ear.” He snapped the file closed.
He walked outside, and it had already started to get dark. One of the trash bins was already alight, and the other club brothers moved out of his way.