Cash: The Black Cobras MC #2

by Rylan, Savannah

So, this was it.

  My hopes of having a future with Cash were coming to a crashing end. He didn’t want me. I was never going to see him again.

  I was going to turn away from him, but he stepped up to me abruptly. I nearly gasped. I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead he enveloped me in a tight bear hug. I allowed myself to just melt into him. I had no other choice but to give in, even though I knew exactly how much this was going to hurt me in the long run.

  It felt good to be in his arms like this for the last time. To feel his warmth and his energy.

  “I’m glad I got to meet you, Vivian, no matter the shitty circumstances,” he said and stepped back. There was so much I wanted to say to him. For starters that I was in love with him!

  “Same here,” was the only thing I could manage. And then I was walking away, and he didn’t stop me from leaving. I should never have expected him to.

  39

  Cash

  Six months later

  No idea which bar I was in tonight. Every night it was the same story but in a different joint. Ever since Vivian left, which was exactly six months ago now, my life had been one long murky daze fueled by alcohol and hangovers.

  I’d turned into a loner. I rarely ever trimmed my beard these days or took care of myself in any way. I’d lost interest in maintaining a standard of living of any kind. It didn’t matter to me anymore.

  The only thing that mattered was keeping the club going, and things had been going smoothly enough these past months. I was doing my job and that was that.

  The Sons of Satan were keeping their heads down and hadn’t threatened or attacked us since the night Lynch shook Grimm’s hand. The rest of the club seemed to think that we’d overcome dangerous territory, but I was always looking over my shoulder. I wasn’t so sure they would have given up so easily unless they had plans for something else. I was always on high alert.

  I didn’t know what that was going to be or when they would strike next but strike they would. And making sure that the Sons of Satan never took it too far was my only job. Nothing else mattered now that she was gone.

  I took another sip of my whisky on the rocks. Which number was this?

  I generally avoided hanging out with the others from the club these days. Even though I knew Patch was worried about me. He always wanted to find the right opportunity to have a chat and I was always ditching him.

  I couldn’t even begin to explain to him what I was feeling because I couldn’t explain it to myself.

  It didn’t matter anyway.

  I was sure she was safe back home. The Sons of Satan had made no indication they wanted her or that her life was in danger. So, it was all good.

  I banged the whisky down on the counter and wiped my wet mouth with the back of my hand. Just like every other night, the scene around me was a haze. I couldn’t really focus on anything. All I knew; I was in a loud bar, people were drinking, falling over each other and getting drunk.

  I preferred it this way so I could remain anonymous. So, nobody came over and tried to have a fucking conversation with me.

  I was about to order another drink, but my solitude was interrupted by this sexy girl with a big bubble butt who came and sat down beside me, stretching herself drunkenly over the bar counter.

  “And what are you doing here all by your lonesome?” she asked in a drawing seductive voice as she turned her gaze to me. She had blond curly hair and was wearing a tight blood-red cocktail dress that rode up her chunky thighs. There was no denying this chick was hot, with all the curves in the right places.

  On any other night seven months ago, I would have already pounced on her. I would have noticed her before she even clapped her eyes on me. Tonight though, it was a different story.

  I mumbled into my glass as I sucked on the remaining ice and then held my hand up for the bartender to get me another.

  The girl leaned towards me now, biting down on her big red lip.

  “I like men like you…the strong silent types. You’re usually really intense in bed,” she continued and ran her tongue all over that lip. She couldn’t have made herself more clear right now. She wanted to be drilled in the toilet stalls in the back of this bar. And I wasn’t ready to do that yet.

  I hadn’t been ready to do that since the first time I met Vivian. She’d fucked up everything for me. In a way that even Laura hadn’t ten years ago.

  I was thinking about Vivian again, while this chick with the blond curls continued to throw herself at me. Eventually, I couldn’t even hear what she was saying. She could have been talking to a brick wall for all I knew or cared.

  I wasn’t interested in her or any other woman. Not while I was still fucking hung up on Vivian. I kept picturing her beautiful body wrapped up with mine that night before she left. I kept imagining her blushing smile. The way she melted in my arms when I hugged her.

  “Nothing else will do, will it?”

  A voice seemed to crack through my thoughts. I recognized that voice and I blinked to adjust my gaze.

  A man with a ginger beard and in a leather jacket. Standing out from the rest of the crowd here like a sore thumb. Just like I was. I knew who he was. He was the one who threatened Vivian all those months ago. I would have recognized him anywhere.

  “Motherfucker!” I growled, jumping off my bar stool and grabbing him by his collar. He was following me again!

  The guy was smirking, just like last time. My violent reaction didn’t seem to faze him. He kept his hands up to indicate he wasn’t reaching for his weapon.

  “Just making a simple observation, man. Nothing else will do when you’ve got your brain stuck on a hot mama, huh?”

  I released my grip on his collar.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” I barked at him, narrowing my eyes. The guy straightened his jacket and dusted down his shirt like it made it difference.

  “You don’t know? She didn’t tell ya?”

  I glared at him while he shrugged his shoulder.

  “Consider it a favor. I just did you one,” he said and bumped my shoulder as he walked past me.

  What the fuck was that about?

  What favor?

  What was he even trying to fucking tell me?

  That he knew something about Vivian that I didn’t?

  That he was still watching and spying on her?

  Fuck me. I should have known.

  40

  Vivian

  I woke up in my old bed that morning, the bed I’d slept in since I was a kid, in the small room I’d occupied in my parents’ home since I was born, and it was used as my nursery. This morning, like all the mornings these past six months, made me feel like nothing had changed about my life. I was stuck here, in a rut, and who knew when I would be able to get out.

  My hand rose up to my belly protectively.

  I was seven months pregnant now, which meant that I could feel the baby kicking and moving around in my belly clearly. I knew I was having a girl, and I spoke to her in a gentle voice.

  “Did you have a good sleep baby?” I asked her. She liked to kick around the first thing when I woke up, and she was doing it now as I hauled myself up in bed and slowly started to stand up.

  Despite the dreariness of my life back here in this miserable town, knowing that my baby was safe and growing and healthy always brought a smile to my face. I couldn’t wait to meet her. I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms.

  Was she going to look like her daddy? Would she have his dark hair and his sparkling dark eyes? Would her smile light me up and brighten up my every day? I knew it would.

  Because of my daughter, I was going to carry a part of Cash with me everywhere I went. There was no escaping it. Cash was going to be a part of my life forever.

  I went to the bathroom slowly and stared at myself in the mirror. My cheeks glowed, my hair was even more luscious now…pregnancy brought out that glow in me, but I didn’t feel beautiful. I didn’t feel like celebrating myself because I knew I would ha
ve to do it all alone.

  I was afraid of the day I was going to give birth to her. I was afraid of how I was going to bring her up on my own. Nothing about the journey ahead was going to be easy, but at least we were safe.

  At least we wouldn’t have to worry about the Sons of Satan anymore.

  I had just brushed my teeth and splashed my face with water when there was a loud banging on the bathroom door.

  “Don’t hog the thing, Vivian! C’mon!” It was my father’s voice. I’d barely been in here for a few minutes and he was already bringing down the house. It made me miserable to know I had unsupportive parents. I’d now given them one more reason to hate on me.

  * * *

  I’d served dad his lunch and now I was helping mom clear up the table, while he continued to sit at the head of it and belch loudly. Just hearing him do that made me feel sick. When I left this place and went to LA, I thought I was giving all this up and I would never have to return, but here I was now, back to the same place with the same people.

  “It’s your turn to do the dishes, Vivian,” mom complained as I stacked all of it up on the side of the sink.

  “Yes, I know, I was just about to start,” I told her, and she nodded her head like she was glad I hadn’t forgotten the rules.

  Six months ago, when I showed up at their doorstep after having been away from home for nearly a year—the only reason my parents were happy to see me was because they could say ‘I told you so’. When I revealed to them that evening that I was pregnant; they declared they were not surprised.

  Neither of them were interested in my story; what I’d been doing for all that time in LA, who the father was or anything else about my life. The only thing they wanted to know was how I was going to support myself now that I was back to living with them.

  I broke into tears that day in the living room, while the television remained switched on in the background. Dad just looked at me with anger and shook his head.

  “We told you it was a stupid idea. Nothing good was going to come of it. Moving to the big city. Thinking you could be a big shot model or something,” he muttered and started flipping through the channels. Mom didn’t come over to console me either.

  “You want to stay here? In this house? The whole neighborhood is going to find out you’re pregnant in a few months when you start showing. What then?” she snapped and shook her head too.

  I didn’t want to beg, but what other choice did I have? This was the only place I could live for free, at least for the duration of my pregnancy while I couldn’t work.

  “I’m sorry about everything. I just want to get through the next few months in peace, give birth and then I’ll be out of your hair,” I said to them. Dad snorted at that.

  “You’ve been nothing but trouble to us, Vivian. And that’s all you’re capable of. This is just one example,” he remarked while the tears pooled around my eyes. I turned to my mother for some support, but she was looking down her nose at me too.

  “This is not some big flashy city, Vivian. You’re an unmarried single girl, pregnant and living at home, we’ll be the center of scandal all over this town!” she continued to snap, and I covered my face with my hands in frustration.

  When were they going to stop? I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt sick to my stomach, I was miserable and heartbroken and worried for the baby…but eventually, after all their badgering, they agreed to let me stay. Just till the baby was a few months old and then I would have to move out and get a job and a place of my own.

  I agreed to that too because I had no other choice, and now, after six months of living here; I wished I hadn’t come back in the first place. I would have been better off anywhere else, maybe a women’s shelter even…

  “You’re not doing it properly, Vivian! You need to scrub the pot harder!” mom complained while I stood at the sink doing the dishes mechanically. I said nothing to her because I knew I couldn’t snap back. All I could do was just scrub the pot harder.

  * * *

  After lunch, dad liked to take his afternoon siesta, while mom stayed in the living room watching her daytime soaps.

  It was practically the only time of the day when I had some time to myself when my parents weren’t nagging me or trying to get me to do more chores around the house.

  I still had a fresh load of laundry to hang up on the lines in the backyard, but after that I planned on sitting on the grass with my legs stretched out and just giving my aching back a break.

  I carried the bucket of washed clothes out into the backyard. I couldn’t walk too fast now, my belly was bigger and made my thighs and back ache. But every time I felt frustrated with my body, I reminded myself I was growing a baby. A beautiful baby girl who I couldn’t wait to meet.

  Outside, the sun was beating down, it was a hot afternoon, which meant that the clothes were going to dry quickly. I couldn’t help but be amazed by the stark contrast in the kind of work I was doing now, to the glamorous work I was doing in LA. It felt like a completely different world, like it had all been a dream I’d suddenly woken from.

  I put the bucket down and started picking out the clothes one by one to throw over the lines. The bending down made my back ache, but it wasn’t one of the chores I hated most. My parents left me alone for this one, and I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the afternoon.

  I was just hanging up some pillowcases and starting to hum a tune to myself when my gaze drifted off to the far corner of the picket fence.

  I was startled by Cash. He was just standing there in his leather cut, his hands dug deep in its pockets. He was staring at me, watching me. Even from this distance I knew it was him. He was unmistakable. And now he was staring directly at my rounded belly.

  41

  Cash

  What the actual fuck.

  It wasn’t easy finding Vivian. This town wasn’t exactly a striking presence on the map, and it hadn’t been helped by the fact that neither of us had shared a lot of personal information with each other.

  Which meant that the only way I could find out where Vivian had gone was by paying her roommate a visit. The girl I’d seen her with on several occasions when I was watching her. Nora.

  After what the ginger guy at the bar told me, I knew I had to personally pay a visit to Vivian and make sure she was doing fine. Why were they still watching her? Was her life still in danger? The only way I could put my mind at ease was by seeing her in person.

  And now she was right here in front of me. Stretching herself on her tippy toes to hang the laundry up on the line. She looked just as magically beautiful as ever, in fact, even more beautiful now. Her hair was luscious and dark and blowing in the light breeze, her cheeks were apple red and bright, her curves were even more pronounced now and she had a big belly threatening to burst out of the dress she was wearing.

  There was no denying the fact that she was carrying a child. Vivian was pregnant. This was what the man meant when he referred to her as ‘hot mama’!

  Was it mine? Who else could have been the father?

  I didn’t want to make any presumptions, but it seemed most likely that the baby was mine.

  Either way, she’d seen me now. I was staring at her. The cigarette I was smoking had fallen from my mouth on the ground. I was still in shock. I knew seeing her again was going to have some kind of physical and mental effect on me, but this was not what I was expecting.

  I crossed my arms over my chest, making it clear to her now that I expected her to come over and speak with me. I wasn’t going anywhere until she did that. I wanted answers. She had to have known when she was leaving LA that she was pregnant. Maybe that was what that hurried visit to the doctor’s clinic had been about too.

  She looked like she was too far along in her pregnancy to not have known back then.

  Slowly, Vivian started to put down the clothes that were there in her hands and now she was walking towards me to the edge of the fence. I stepped in her direction too. The closer she got, the clearer her face wa
s to me…the more I was filled with that anxious desire to have her.

  She was mine. I never should have let her go. I should have kept her with me.

  * * *

  “Cash, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?” Those were her first words. There was a worried look in her eyes and my first instinct was to take her into my arms and wipe that worry away. Didn’t she know by now that I would never let any harm come to her?

  “You tell me,” I replied as stoically as possible, keeping my arms crossed over my chest. She was looking up at me nervously. She knew exactly what I was talking about. She’d kept something very crucial hidden from me, and it should have made me very very mad.

  Vivian stroked her stomach instinctively, protectively.

  “Everything is fine here. I’ve not had any trouble,” she said, looking about her, even trying to force a small smile. There was a fence separating us, but I stalked towards her. There was barely any distance between us now. I was towering over her.

  “Is that my baby?” I growled, glaring at her bulging stomach.

  I couldn’t keep the urgency out of my voice. I needed to know, now. Too much time had passed and been wasted already.

  She looked up at me sharply, like she didn’t appreciate being accused that way. What choice did I have? She’d kept a secret from me.

  “Who the father of my child is, is a personal matter. I don’t need to tell you anything,” she said, her voice sizzling and I made a grab for her before she could turn and walk away from me. My hand clutched her arm, not too hard but just enough to keep her there. Vivian wasn’t even struggling to go.

  “Why would you keep something like that from me? How could you just leave LA without telling me? It’s been six fucking months, Vivian! Did you plan on ever letting me know?” I was hissing the words out, but she kept her chin up, meeting my eyes confidently as I growled at her.