TANGLED

by Simone Elise

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  JOSH

  “Leave now before I fuck you up.” I gripped Ryan by the shoulder, forcing him to look at me. “Mother fucker I don’t give a fuck, I’ll take you down now. Leave.” If he had any idea how frustrated and furious I was he would take my warning and leave. He and Soph might have had a fling, but it was over. Cause she was mine.

  And I was done with letting her be with other men.

  Ryan whacked my arm away. “Fuck off, Vice. I’m not here on club business.”

  “Yeah, I know. You somehow found out Soph was here and I’m telling you to piss off.”

  I had already told Bax he was a dead man if he showed up here.

  Ryan opened his mouth, but the doctor rounded the corner at the same time. “Ryan, are you ready to see her?”

  My eyes widened. How the hell did he manage to get in to see her?

  “He isn’t her fiance and she sure as fuck isn’t married to him.” I informed the doctor rather abruptly. I wasn’t letting Ryan near her. Her relationship with him was over to. In fact, her relationship with every man was over.

  I was so stupid to let it go on as long as it did. I knew I had feelings for her. Yet I let her do what she wanted. I should have told her how I felt. Then at least there would have been a small chance that the baby was mine.

  “He isn’t the father either. I am.” I added quickly, just in case he knew she could be pregnant.

  The doctor frowned, his eyes going to Ryan. “You are family correct? Ryan Butcher?”

  “Family!” I scoffed. Ha, that was a good line to use. “He isn’t related to her.”

  The doctor looked down at her notes. “You’re listed as her brother?” Her eyes went from Ryan to me.

  Wait, he was listed? Now I was confused.

  “Yeah, because I am her brother.” Ryan threw me a dirty look. “Our parents can’t fly out. They informed you of this?”

  “Yes.” The doctor nodded her head. “Come through, Ryan, you can see her and we can explain her condition.”

  Ryan nodded his head and the doctor turned, walking up the ward. His eyes went to me. “If she is pregnant and it is yours, I’ll fucking kill you.” And with that threat said, he walked off, following the doctor.

  I didn’t know what to say. How the hell didn’t I know about this And? why was I finding it hard to believe that it was true? Not once had anyone in Soph’s family mention Ryan Butcher. Not once.

  Which was making me think that maybe he was lying. That somehow he had got his hands on her information and put himself down.

  I walked back into the waiting room. If there was one person who might know the answer, it was my dipshit of a brother.

  “Kyle, does Soph have a brother?”

  Kyle looked up at me from the chair he was sitting in, looking guilty and sick to his stomach.

  “Yeah, she does.” Kyle sighed. “But he disappeared as soon as he turned eighteen. He was her adopted brother. Doesn’t like to talk about him.” Kyle ran his hand through his hair. “We should call her uncle. Kane might be a drunk, but when it comes to Soph he cares and sobers up for her. And I have a feeling that’s the only way we are going to get any information.”

  So it was true. Ryan was Soph’s brother. It sent a wave of relief followed by nausea. It meant she wasn’t sleeping with him, but he could be dragging her into his dirty drug business.

  “No need,” I said as I watched Kyle get his phone out. “Her brother is here.”

  And just like that I had the attention of the room.

  Waiting… Wasn’t my favourite thing to do, but I was good at it. I could wait for an enemy to break. If you ask me, it is the waiting that is the most painful of any experience. And I was getting a good dose of it now.

  Hours turned into days and I still hadn’t left. Unlike Kyle, I didn’t answer to my parents. He had to piss off to rest. I stayed. I was craving a smoke, but I knew there was a chance if I went for one I could miss my chance to see her. So I stayed.

  Didn’t realize how much I depended on my cigarettes until now.

  I didn’t know if she was ok. I didn’t even fucking know if she was breathing. For all I knew Ryan was planning her funeral or had discharged her and taken her back to his place.

  These facts were getting louder in my head just when the waiting room door swung open. My eyes landrf on Ryan.

  “Didn’t know you had one, Vice.”

  I frowned. “What?”

  “A heart.”

  I really wanted to get my hands around his throat. Yeah. I had showed my cards. I was known for being careless. Well, I was anything but careless when it came to Soph.

  “How is she?” That’s what I wanted to know. He could throw as many lines at me, taking down my character later. “She ok?”

  “You know I never put two and two together.” Ryan walked towards me. “You and her, never made the connection.”

  “Yeah, well that goes both ways,” I gritted out, why couldn’t he answer my fucking question!

  “The Vice I know I can’t stand and I don’t want anywhere near my sister.” He crossed his arms, looking at me determined. “But the Josh that Soph would gush about… well, that guy I wouldn’t mind to get to know.”

  I frowned. Soph had mentioned me? To her brother?

  “She’s fine by the way. Though when I mentioned you were still in the waiting room she was threatening to have me killed.” He sighed. “Her room twenty six. I need a smoke anyway.”

  He reminded me of my need for a cigarette, but my need to see Soph was stronger.

  I got up and was heading for the door when I stopped, turning to look back at Ryan.

  “So it’s Bax’s baby then?” I hadn’t really given it much more thought. But now the answer was obvious.

  “Does that change how you feel about her?”

  Did it matter if she was carrying Bax’s baby? Would my love change for her? I loved her, didn’t I? Ryan was waiting for an answer.

  “No it doesn’t.” I don’t know why it took me so long to answer him. Fuck, why did I even have to think about it? “As far as I’m concerned, the baby is mine. And that’s that.” I was going to make sure Bax wasn’t in the picture.

  Soph needed a man that would stand by her, not a man that would fuck anything that walked while she was at home caring for his child. But at the end of the day, it didn’t matter if Bax was going to be the best dad ever. He still wouldn’t get the chance.

  Cause Soph was mine. And that baby was mine as well.

  “Well, Vice, you surprise me again.” He looked at me rather impressed. “Soph may have been more right about your character than I was.”

  I wanted to know so badly what Soph thought of me, what she had told Ryan about me, but from what I could understand, whatever she said had Ryan questioning me and who I was completely.

  I turned and left, heading up the ward. Finally I was going to see her. I don’t think I’ll take an easy breath until I see her. I was getting more nervous as I looked at the room numbers going up and then I was at her door.

  What if she didn’t want to see me? That was possible after what Kyle had done. Ok. Time to man up, and I pushed the door open. Worse case she threw something at me, or yelled at me for what Kyle said to her.

  “Josh?”

  My head snapped up, I had been a coward and was looking at the ground, before getting the guts to look at her, now my eyes were locked with hers.

  “Fuck Soph.” My voice cracked seeing the bruises across her face, the swollen lip, and deep dark eye that looked like she had taken a right punch.

  “It isn’t that bad. Just some bruises.” She brushed it off like she wasn’t looking like a victim of family violence. “Have you really been here since I came in?”

  I didn’t know what to say. How can she just be brushing off what she went through? I managed to nod my head when she kept staring at me for an answer.

  She huffed. “Bloody Ryan being a dick. I swear he can be sel
fish sometimes.”

  “He knew who I was, so I don’t blame him.”

  Her eyes narrowed on me. “No. I know who you are. He knows the front you put up.”

  I cracked a small smile and walked towards her. “Who said it was a front?”

  She started to move over on the bed and I didn’t know what she was doing it for, then I realized she was making space for me. God she was so bloody sweet.

  I gingerly sat down, and then took her hand carefully as it had an IV in it.

  “You scared me Soph.” My eyes were on her hand, that was bruised and the needle in it, giving her body fluids. Then I felt her other hand on my cheek, causing me to look at her. Into those beautiful eyes. I swallowed sharply, she was making me speechless.

  What would someone like her, so beautiful so flawless, see in me?

  “Josh?”

  I couldn’t pull my eyes from hers. Then she moved, closer to me. Her hand still on my cheek. “Umm?” I managed to get out, while watching her get closer. Those plumb red lips getting closer. Fuck she needed to stop cause I barely had will power to not act and not kiss her.

  “I just wanted to say, what you said out the front of your house—”

  “Don’t.” I cut her off. “Don’t say thank you, Soph. I meant it. I’ll be the father to your child. I don’t care if Bax is the father. He is out of your life now, Soph.” I put my other hand over hers, which was on my cheek. Now was time to tell her. “I love—”

  “Don’t, Josh. I’m not pregnant, so you don’t have to pretend you love me.” She took a staggered breath in. “I don’t need you to be with me out of pity. I’m not pregnant. So…” She sighed. “You can stop.”

  Before she could say another word, or before I did, I kissed her. It was soft and short. I needed to make a message clear to her. “No more Bax, you understand?” I was going to ease her into realizing she was mine now. But I wasn’t about to tell her that directly now, I was going to earn her love.

  I knew I loved her, but her love for me. I wasn’t sure of that.

  Her lips were slightly parted and she slowly nodded her head. “No more Bax.”

  “Or any other guy?”

  Her lips twitched up slightly. “Well, there is another guy, and he might be hard to get rid of.”

  I wanted to scoff. A few minutes with my fists and he would be gone. “Name him, I’ll personally tell him to piss off.”

  A full smile spread across her face, and she leaned in her lips nearly touching mine. “He goes by the name Vice.” And then she was the one to kiss me.

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