Bronze (Blackwings MC - Devil Springs Book 5)

by Teagan Brooks

  “You’re already inside?”

  “Yes, and you’re going in my pocket again.”

  “No! Don’t pocket me!”

  I hurried toward the back of the house, freezing when my eyes landed on several boxes in one of the bedrooms. They were lined up beside each other on the floor with a single box haphazardly closed sitting in the middle of the room.

  “I have to. I need both hands.” Then, I kicked it into high gear and started opening the four boxes along the wall. The first three were full of books. The last one had books too, but it also had three photo albums on top. Grabbing the albums, I peeked into the box in the middle of the room. Since it was filled with random items and wasn’t very heavy, I put the photo albums in the box, picked up my load, and hauled ass back to my car.

  Falling into the driver’s seat, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and started to get the hell out of there. “Shit,” I cursed. “I forgot to close the front door.”

  “Fuck the front door, you batshit crazy demon. You just committed a felony. Go!”

  “But there’re books in there,” I argued.

  “Sloane!”

  “Fine,” I huffed and drove away.

  “I’m going to need you to turn your location services on. My anxiety can’t handle any more of your shenanigans right now.”

  “My anxiety can’t handle any more either,” I admitted and gasped when it finally hit me. “I just broke into a house!”

  “And stole things! What were you thinking?”

  “I don’t know!” I shouted.

  “Okay, we can figure out what to do about that part later. Right now, we need to get you home safely. Everything else can wait.”

  “You’re right. I should probably get off the phone and concentrate on driving.”

  “I’ll let you go if you promise to call me before you stop anywhere.”

  “I’m only stopping if I have to get gas, and I shouldn’t need to because I have a full tank. But I promise to call if I do.”

  With that, we ended the call, and I used the long drive to process the newest turn of events. By the time I pulled through the gates of my mother’s estate and the locks clinked closed behind me, I was mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.

  After parking in the garage and turning off the ignition, I realized I wouldn’t be able to take a nap or do anything else until I at least looked through the box and flipped through the photo albums, even after the epic adrenaline rush wore off.

  With my purse, my bag of essentials, and my stolen goods, I went straight to my bedroom after relocking the garage door and setting the alarm. The only thing I didn’t like about my mother’s estate was how sprawled out it was. If someone broke into the house, there were a million places for them to hide.

  The house was luxurious, to say the least. It was exactly what one would expect a wealthy, pissed off wife to get. My mother did not have any issues spending my father’s money, and because she opted to quietly live somewhere else and let him conduct his life however he saw fit, he let her spend however much she wanted to—within reason, though their “reason” was much different than most people’s.

  “I thought you were out of town for work,” Tiernan said from the doorway to my bedroom, causing me to let out a startled scream, which opened the floodgates. I burst into tears from the weight of the events from the last few days.

  I was wrapped in my older brother’s arms before I could get one good choking sob out. “Whose ass do I need to kick?” he rumbled like the overprotective older sibling he was.

  I sniffled and inhaled deeply, trying to get my emotions under control. I hadn’t told him or my other brothers about the possibility of us having a sister out there. I thought it would be better to meet her and tell her about our existence before I shared the news of her with them. However, fate intervened, and the best I would ever be able to do was tell them that we had a sister. But, I decided to keep everything to myself until I had more information to share—preferably a DNA test confirming her relationship to us, though I had no idea how I was going to get one of those.

  “No one’s,” I mumbled against his chest. “I came home as soon as I realized the research I was doing turned out to be a waste of time. I’m just tired and frustrated,” I told him—none of which was completely a lie, or the truth for that matter.

  “You wouldn’t be lying to me, would you, Sloaney Bologna?”

  I pulled back and slapped his chest, lightly giggling through my tears. “I hate when you call me that.”

  “Judging by that laugh, it doesn’t sound like you hate it all that much,” he laughed.

  “What’re you doing here anyway?” I asked. Even though it was technically half Tiernan’s, he wasn’t there most of the time. However, he usually let me know when he was coming since I was the only one living there full time. My oldest two brothers, Kian and Declan, never lived with us at Mom’s house. They were both adults and living on their own when Mom moved into her own place.

  I had a closer relationship with Tiernan than I did my other two brothers—partially because he was only two years older than me and partially because our personalities meshed well together. He usually spent his time traveling, though I wasn’t one-hundred-percent sure exactly what he did. Growing up as an O’Shea, I knew not to ask questions about information that wasn’t readily offered. In other words, if Tiernan hadn’t told me what he was doing on his frequent travels, it was none of my business, and I was better off not knowing anything about his activities.

  “Sorry about not giving you a call this time. I had an unexpected business meeting pop up,” he said and paused as an excited smile appeared upon his face. “If the meeting goes well, I’ll be in town a lot more over the next few months. Is it going to be a problem for you if I stay here?”

  I rolled my eyes at my brother’s ridiculous question. “You own half of the property and have your own wing, Tiernan. As long as you don’t have a massive party or diddle your dates in the main dining room, I doubt I’ll even know you’re here, especially when I’m deep in the throes of writing another masterpiece,” I returned with a wink.

  He reached out and ruffled the hair on top of my head. “Have I told you how damn proud I am of you lately? Saying fuck you to the world and going after your dreams. Not only going after them but achieving your dreams like a boss.”

  I felt my cheeks heat in embarrassment. I was nothing if not modest about my career. “Oh, stop. You act like writing a couple of stories is a big deal.”

  “It is a big deal, Sloane,” he said in exasperation, gearing up for the same argument we’d had on more than one occasion. “You didn’t just write a couple of stories. You wrote a book. A book. Published it all by yourself—without telling anyone—and made it onto a best-seller list.”

  “I’m not doing this again with you,” I said firmly. “We’re going to have to agree to disagree and leave it at that.”

  He huffed and shook his head. “For now,” he replied and turned to leave the room. “You sure you’re okay?” At my nod, he added, “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

  I smiled softly. “I do, Turnip,” I replied, using the nickname I gave him when I first started talking and couldn’t pronounce Tiernan correctly. “Love you.”

  He grinned. “Mean it.”

  With that, he left the room, leaving me alone to finally look through the contents of the box and photo albums. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Hopping onto my bed and crossing my legs underneath me, I opened the flaps to the box and looked inside.

  The box was filled with a variety of random items, perhaps ones that were collected during a final walk-through of the house—hair accessories, makeup, a set of keys, a small wooden jewelry box, a few pieces of mail, and a number of other things that were irrelevant as best I could tell.

  I immediately reached for the jewelry box and opened it, gasping at what I saw. While the few bracelets, earrings, and rings stored inside were br
eathtaking, it was the contents of a small velvet bag that had me shouting with glee and promptly slapping my hand over my mouth hoping that Tiernan didn’t hear me.

  Inside the dark green, drawstring pouch was a tooth. A whole, intact molar. It was creepy as fuck but also incredibly lucky because it was filled with testable DNA. Or so I hoped. I needed to do a little research to be sure. But that wouldn’t be a problem. What concerned me was figuring out who the tooth belonged to.

  When I finished with the box, I turned to the photo albums to see what treasures they held inside. Once again, I was amazed as I turned page after page of nothing but photos of Heidi and Paige spanning what had to be at least five years, if not more, of their lives.

  “Hot damn!” I breathed when my eyes landed on a picture of Paige in bed with a compress held to her cheek and gauze hanging out of her mouth. Finally! I had something to go on.

  12

  After we were discharged from the hospital, I planned on taking Blue to the clubhouse and figuring things out from there. However, Leigh had other plans. When my parents died, Copper inherited our grandparents’ house, and I inherited our parents’ house, which was less than a mile from Leigh's home. “What are you doing?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Hush, and don't ruin the surprise,” she playfully scolded from the front seat.

  When she pulled into the driveway, she didn't say a word until she was opening the car door to help me with Blue. “I know you’re planning on taking her home to the clubhouse, but the Old Ladies and I have a surprise to show you first.”

  With that, I followed her inside to find my parents’ house—my home—partially redecorated.

  “Anything we replaced or removed from the house is in storage at the clubhouse. I didn't want to accidentally do away with something you wanted to keep. Same thing with the paint. We have colors picked out, but I wanted to get your approval on that.” She held up one finger to hold my response at Bay. “But first, the big surprise.”

  She led me down the hallway to what used to be the office. “Copper said we should use this room. If that's not okay, everything can be put back the way it was.” She nervously opened the door to reveal a perfect nursery for a newborn baby girl.

  “It’s perfect,” I managed to say, struggling with the emotions clogging my throat. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said and wrapped her arm around my waist. “I’m not overly emotional, and neither are you. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

  I squeezed her shoulder and took a few moments before I cleared my throat and agreed with her. “Deal.”

  She spent the next few hours showing me where everything was and helping us get settled. Of course, Copper and Layla arrived less than half an hour after we did, and the rest of the club and Old Ladies trickled in to visit throughout the day.

  Leigh stayed until Blue went down for the night. Before she left, I turned to her and admitted the truth. “I’m terrified for you to leave. I don’t know what I’m doing, Leigh. What if I mess up?”

  She pulled me into her arms just like a mother would, even though I’d outgrown her years ago. “You’ll be just fine. I’m right down the road, and you can call me if you need me. Don’t forget, you were raised by a wonderful mother. If you’re ever unsure of what to do, think about Goldie and how she would’ve handled the situation. We all make mistakes. All you can do is love your child and do what you think’s best for them. The rest will work itself out. Now, go get some sleep while she’s sleeping, because that’s the only sleep you’re gonna get for a few months.”

  “You’re supposed to leave on a positive note,” I grumbled.

  “Your mother would be more than proud of the man you’ve become. Now go in there and keep making her proud.”

  “That’s what I needed to hear,” I confessed and dropped a kiss on the top of her head before reluctantly letting her go.

  Fuck me. I was completely alone with my daughter for the first time, and I wanted to run out the front door screaming into the night. Instead, I opened the door because there was yet another knock on it.

  Thinking Leigh forgot something, I yanked it open, surprised to see Lana Dunk standing there. “Hey, Lana. I wasn’t expecting you. Come on in,” I said and held the door open for her.

  Officer Dunk cleared her throat. “Thanks, but I just came by to drop these off. I meant to get by here earlier, but I got held up at the station,” she explained and held out a sealed envelope to me. “These are unofficial, off-the-record copies of some papers that were found folded under the pillowcase on what we presume to be Heidi’s bed. I thought it was something you should read. And I trust those copies will disappear when you’re finished with them.”

  “Of course,” I agreed and took the envelope from her. “Thank you.”

  “Take care, Bronze. Kiss that cute baby girl for me.”

  With that, she left, and I returned to my bedroom with the envelope practically burning my hands. I couldn’t begin to imagine what was inside, but I hoped the words I was about to read would be the words Blue and I would need to get through the tough road ahead of us.

  To The Person Reading This,

  Sorry. Dear Diary seemed silly, but I felt like it needed some kind of salutation even though you’re probably a stranger. Sorry again. I’m stalling because I don’t want to write what I’m about to write. I’m going to do it anyway because it needs to be done, but I don’t want to. Okay, enough of that. Here we go.

  I have a bad feeling about the delivery. I don’t know if it’s because of the situation Paige has put us in or if my feelings about something bad happening are valid. If something happens and I die during childbirth, I hope Bronze finds out about the baby. It was never my intention to keep my pregnancy from him. I hope he doesn’t hold anything against Paige. I know it was the news of my pregnancy that sent her over the edge, and I highly suspect she hasn’t been taking any of her medications for a while. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to her bottles and can’t count the pills like I used to when this happened. She refuses to talk to me about anything related to her mental health.

  Anyway, if something happens to me, I want Bronze to raise the baby. I don’t know if it’s a boy or girl. If it’s a boy, I want to name him after his father. If it’s a girl, I want her to have her father’s middle name, Talon. Other than that, I hope the baby has his beautiful blue eyes.

  I can’t believe Paige did this. It’s killing me that he doesn’t know he’s about to become a father. I was on my way to tell him when she did all this.

  Every time I try to talk some sense into Paige, she flies off the handle. She insists I’m going to leave her for Bronze once the baby is born because “he can give you something I can’t.” I guess she means children. I have no plans to leave her for Bronze or anyone else, but I also plan to allow Bronze to participate in the baby’s life if he wants to. And I know he would want to if he knew.

  If I’m being honest, I’m really pissed at Paige about her jealousy over Bronze. She is the one who wanted to invite him into our bed because she wanted to watch me have sex with him. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but it was all her idea. So how in the hell can she be pissed at me for something that happened because of what she wanted? She knew pregnancy was a risk. We talked about it in depth before our first adventure with bringing a man into our bed. I was already on birth control, and we agreed that the man would have to wear a condom. The chances of me getting pregnant were next to zero, and she agreed to proceed with the caveat that we would sit down and discuss what to do if a pregnancy occurred. But when it came down to it, she went back on her word. There was no discussion about our future. I told her as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I was scared and completely freaked out, and what did she do? She told me she needed time to process the news and that we would discuss it when I got off work. But when I got home, she was gone. As in, she packed up all of her belongings and moved out while I was working a double shift at Precious Metals.
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  The only thing she left was a note on the coffee table breaking up with me. I couldn’t believe that’s how she’d end it after seven years together. I wished I’d seen that for the red flag it was. She wasn’t really breaking up with me. Not in her mind. She simply created a reason for her to be away for however long she needed to be ready to put her plan into motion.

  I still don’t completely know what her plan is. She hasn’t let me see a doctor since I’ve been here, but she’s been taking some classes online and ordering whatever she needs to make sure me and the baby are healthy. She even learned how to draw blood so she could send mine in for testing. I don’t have a clue how she’s managed to arrange the tests or order the medical equipment she’s ordered, but she has. So far, everything is okay with me and the baby. I didn’t believe her at first, but she showed me the results mailed from the lab and let me open the sealed envelope each time they arrived thereafter.

  Even though I know the pregnancy is going smoothly, I still can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen. And I don’t care what Paige says, it’s not because I’m scared of having a baby without an epidural. Not that she ever asked me, but I wanted to deliver any children I had naturally, maybe even at home or at one of those birthing centers with the huge bathtubs. So, I don’t think that’s the reason for my anxiety.

  Whatever it is, I’ve felt it from the day Paige tricked me into coming over to her new house to talk and subsequently locked me in the basement. The feeling never goes away, and it gradually grows stronger as time passes. I hope I’m wrong, and Paige is right that it’s about the pain of childbirth. I’m too scared to think of what it might mean if she’s wrong and I’m right.

  Whatever happens, I hope my baby is safe, healthy, and knows how much I love him or her. And if he or she can’t be with me, I hope they’re with Bronze. He’s going to make a great father.

  Heidi

  Motherfucker.