by E. C. Land
Refusing to listen to all of her excuses, I’d held Lincoln in my arms and threatened to call the police on her. Emilia begged me not to and said she’d do anything. She didn’t want to give up her son. But I demanded that she sign her rights over to me.
That had been five months ago. Being a parent scares the crap out of me, I didn’t have the best role models growing up. It was always Emilia and me. Now it’s only Lincoln and me facing the unknown together.
Two months into being Lincoln’s guardian, Emilia came over to the house drunk off her ass crying about who she’d called Isaac, wanting to make things right. This confused me. For the longest time she’d been upset he’d left her and all of a sudden, she is calling his number seems strange to me. Not that I knew he had the same number. He and I never spoke to each other.
Emilia begged me that night to give her Lincoln back. She claimed to want to do better to be a good mother to him. I’d told her to go sober up and we’d discuss it the next day. She never showed. And in the past three months, I haven’t seen her or heard from her.
Guess she didn’t want him as much as she claimed.
Then yesterday, out of the blue, I received a call from her asking to see Lincoln. I’d been apprehensive about it but I wanted to make sure she was okay. So I told her to meet us at a local Mexican restaurant. When she showed, she didn’t look to be herself and she kept begging to hold Lincoln and in the state she’d been in, I didn’t trust her. Her gaze flashed and she leaned forward and snapped at me, “You can’t keep the one thing from me that connects me to the man who I love.”
I didn’t know what to do at the time but I knew now what I needed to do. Lincoln needed his dad and I couldn’t wait any longer. It was time to move.
Sighing, I pull out more of his clothes and put them in the duffel bag. We need to get out of here and as much as I’d love to keep Lincoln to myself, I really need to find Isaac. He has a right to know about Lincoln. I never thought it fair Emilia kept this little boy a secret. Then again, I can believe it. She’d been furious with Isaac for leaving her.
Four Years Ago
I’m standing to the side of the room, listening to the two of them argue. They’d been doing this a lot lately. I want to side with my best friend, I really do, but Isaac’s right. Emilia is getting out of hand with her wild child antics. It’s time for her to grow up. I know she loves to party and go out clubbing, doesn’t matter to her if we’re only nineteen. She’s all about the good times. And, of course, I go along to keep an eye on her.
Isaac, on the other hand, is one you don’t not listen too. He’s in the military and, though I see the love he has for Emilia, you can tell it’s really pissing him off. Emilia and Isaac have been together for a year now and through this time, I’ve kept myself in the background to keep my own feelings hidden.
Emilia is the type of woman who when she sees something she likes, she goes for it. Me on the other hand, nope, I’m shy and can barely say two words to a guy without jumbling my words. This is the reason I stay in the background. That and Emilia is my best friend, I couldn’t hurt her feelings by trying to get attention from the man she says she loves. I’m not one for confrontation.
“Emilia, I’m not gonna tell you again. I’m over the fuckin’ bullshit. I don’t know how many times I’ve told you; I’m not playing fuckin’ games with you. I’m done. I’m about to deploy for a minimum of twelve months and I don’t need the headache,” Isaac growls, raking a hand through his close-cropped hair.
“You can’t be serious; I’ve done nothing wrong. You know I’m only playing,” Emilia quips, batting her lashes in the way she does when she’s trying to get her way with him.
“The hell if you are. You call hitting on my brother okay? I don’t think so. If Whip didn’t come to me and tell me what he’d seen you do, I wouldn’t have known shit all about it. How many others have you done that shit with?”
If he only knew how many times Emilia has played her tricks on men she meets, flirting and such. The only good thing is she’s yet to allow any of those men to screw her. I’ve caught her making out with one or two of them and when I threatened to tell Isaac about it, she’s cried, begged, and pleaded with me not to.
Of course, with her being my best friend and the only family I have, I agree to keep it a secret.
“Isaac, baby, you know what I do is harmless. I don’t want anyone but you,” she coos, and I have to turn away.
This is the same thing she’s done every time she gets in trouble with him. And this is my cue to leave the room.
“Don’t care if it’s harmless or not woman, you do anymore of your crazy ass bullshit again, we’re through. Actually, let me go ahead and make it better for the both of us, because we know you can’t do as you’re told. And I’m leaving, I don’t know if I can trust you to keep your pussy locked tight.” Those words stop me in my tracks. I should feel a sense of anger toward him for the way he’s speaking to Emilia but I don’t. She deserves what he’s saying.
“Please, baby, you can’t do that. I promise not to do anything while you’re gone. I swear it,” Emilia cries. I don’t know if those tears are fake or not but she’s definitely putting on a good show for him.
“Quit the crying, Emilia, it’s not going to work this time. I’m out of here,” he mutters. “Have a great life fuckin’ whoever the fuck you want.”
I lift my gaze from the floor at the harshness of his tone just in time for him to catch my eye on his way out the door. It’s the same look I always get from him. Blank. Nothing, no emotion. I’m invisible to him. I always have been. The only reason he knows I exist is because of Emilia.
Shaking my head, I blink back the tears. I can’t believe how much has changed since that day. For a while after that she’d gone on a rampage, and then when she found out she’d been pregnant, she changed. During the three years of Lincoln’s life, I thought everything had been going great for her. She seemed to love her son. I don’t know what set her off. She’d lost it and in doing so I stepped in to protect Isaac’s son.
And here, in a few short days, I’ll be on Isaac’s doorstep with Lincoln. I hope he will listen to me this time.
See, I’ve known where he is this entire time. I remember him telling Emilia about his family, the men he called his brothers back in Virginia. I couldn’t forget anything that has to do with Isaac’s life because it was a part of who he is. So to find him, I’d done my research and found where the clubhouse is located. I could simply go there but I didn’t want to have this confrontation in front of a bunch of people. With the town’s name, I searched up, hoping with luck I would find an address with his name on it. I didn’t but I did find Whip’s. I knew if I showed up at Whip’s he might possibly help me find Isaac.
It’s just a matter of making the trip up there before something happens. I don’t know why but I get the sense Emilia might try to do something to get Lincoln back, and in the state I’ve seen her in, I don’t trust her.
God, I need to stop being so paranoid. She’s not going to do anything. Emilia isn’t some psycho.
My nerves are making me a mess right now. I want nothing more than to run in the other direction than to face a man I want for myself but never could. Isaac doesn’t even know I exist. I’m a shadow compared to the women who would try to get his attention. Even Emilia got his attention within seconds of her approaching him. She’d charmed him with her beautiful smile.
I finish putting all of Lincoln’s clothes in a duffel and start putting mine in another. I don’t really have a lot to pack which is good considering I have no intention of coming back here. Nope, Lincoln and I will be starting anew. Whether Isaac accepts Lincoln as his or not, I’ll be sure the little boy will be happy.
One way or another, life from here on out is going to get better.
With clothes packed, I place them by the door. I then move on to packing up Lincoln’s toys. I make sure to leave his stuffed snake out and blanket. It’s funny really, that he’d become attached to something lik
e a stuffed snake rather than a bear. Especially, since his father is called Venom.
Chapter Two
Venom
Sitting on the barstool facing the room, I grin. It’s not often I do but fuck it. It’s a Friday night and the club’s having a party. Clubwhores are scattered throughout the room. It’s been tense over the last several months. We needed tonight to let off some steam. That night when we rescued Parker from Chigger, we’d found Lyrica, a woman who belongs to a member of the Inferno’s Clutch MC.
Shocked the hell out of me. Sad part is, she’s in bad shape still. We’re having to keep a close eye on her and keep her locked up in her room. Those assholes had injected her with that shit they’d given Harlow. With those sensations and the fact she’s still healing from the damage they’d done to her, Tinsley, with the help of Doctor Alvarez, has been keeping her sedated. Them and Connors, when she’s here, are the only ones who go into her room. To make matters worse, one of the men knocked her up.
None of us want to scare her more than she already is. Or hear her beg to be fucked. It’s ridiculous the affect the drug Heavenly Rose has on the woman’s body. Harlow’s even admit to still getting the overwhelming need to Ranger, and it’s been a while since that shit was injected into her system. Fucked up part of it all is Harlow didn’t even get as much of it as this woman or the others.
Shit, those women, we’d ended up calling in a group of men who are associated with Twister’s charter to come in and assist in getting the women the help they need. Jackson and his men came up and took them all back down to Franklin to get them the medical treatment they need without bringing suspicion to them. They had someone they could use.
Scanning the room, I notice Harley sitting with Neo at a table. I thought what she went through would set her back but she’s determined not to let it happen. With her, at the table, is Raven and Victoria. She’s still nervous around women but after giving Victoria a chance to explain some things she’d been dealing with, Harley forgave her.
Luna has yet to fix things between them, most likely this is due to her not coming around very much. She’s embarrassed by the way she acted. We all know this and are leaving the women’s bullshit drama between them.
“Brother, you gonna sit there and sip that beer all night, or you gonna get in on some of the action?” Whip chuckles, pulling me from my thoughts.
Lifting my beer to my mouth, I shrug while downing the rest of the contents.
“Naw, I’m not in the mood to be getting my dick wet by anyone here,” I mutter. I’m not trying to take the chance of yet another selfish bitch trying to sink their claws in me. I’ve dealt with that already and I don’t want to even think about her. I thought I’d been in love with Emilia, she’d been a wild child, great in the fuckin’ bed and enjoyed me playing with her body any way I wanted to. If I wanted her to suck me off while I ate her out, she’d been down for it. If I wanted her ass, she would be on all fours in a hot minute ready for me to take her. Being with her had been amazing at least until the end when I realized what a self-absorbed bitch she really is.
If it hadn’t been for Whip seeing her out at a bar when I’d been on duty one night, I’d never have known. What hurt worse was losing Amaya in my life as well. She’d been the shy quirky one who always made me laugh.
“I hear ya, brother, wanna get out of here? We got shit to do tomorrow.” Yeah, we’ve got shit to do tomorrow. A run that we’ll need to leave bright and fuckin’ early for to be at the Franklin Charter when they get back from the docks. We’ll be taking the shipment off their hands and dispersing it between Hammer’s and Blow’s clubs.
“Yeah.” I nod and turn on the stool, place the empty bottle on the bar top, and stand to my feet. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I clench my teeth as I pull it out hoping it’s not the number I keep getting calls from.
I want nothing to do with her.
Glancing at the screen, I frown at K-9’s name popping up.
I tap on answer and bring the phone to my ear. “Fucker, we’re gonna see you in the morning. What are you calling me for?”
“Got a call from Jennings,” he says, mentioning our sergeant from before we got out.
“What did he have to say?” I ask.
“Wanted to inform me of Terson’s death. They found his body three days ago.” Oh fuck. Terson had been one of the five who reenlisted after our last deployment. Hearing he’d died is fuckin’ hard. Worse than that, the man just lost his wife to a freak accident where she ran off the road hitting a tree. She’d died on impact. The guys from our unit went down for the funeral to show our support.
“Did he say how?” I mutter the question while looking to Whip and holding a hand up motioning for him to stop.
“Yeah, he’d been murdered. Jennings said the coroner’s report stated he’d died with PCP in his system, but that’s not what killed him. Fuck, brother, someone slit his throat while he’d been in bed asleep,” K-9 rasps.
My stomach drops at his words and I stagger back a step like there’d been a blow to my chest. Someone murdered Terson in his sleep.
“His little girl?” I ask.
“She’d been staying at the grandmother’s house for a week since Terson was supposed to be on nights.” I close my eyes and lower my head. This is completely fucked up. Who would want to kill a man like Terson?
Shit.
“Alright, thanks for letting me know, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I mutter quietly.
“Yeah, see ya tomorrow. Tell Whip for me. I told Jennings I’d make the rest of the phone calls to give a heads up. Evidently, it’s all over the news down there and he didn’t want us to find out second hand,” K-9 grumbles.
“Appreciated, Whip’s standing right here, I’ll fill him in,” I state, pulling the phone from my ear and hanging up.
Lifting my gaze, I meet Whip’s.
“What happened and who?” he demands through clenched teeth.
Glancing around the room, I notice the music had been turned down, and our brothers were gathered close.
“Terson was found murdered in his bed,” I say, closing my eyes and reaching a hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why him? Who the hell would want to kill Terson? He didn’t do shit to anyone. Shit. Now his daughter is left without a parent. It was bad enough she’d lost her mom now she’s lost her dad too. Motherfucker.” Whip snarls, the words ripping straight from his chest.
I know the feeling. When you spend so much time with the men in your unit you become connected in many ways and he’d been family.
Shaking my head, I take a deep breath and open my eyes.
“Sorry to hear about your brother,” Stoney is the first to speak up. “We’re here for you all if you need anything,” he says, stepping forward and clasps his hand on my shoulder.
“Thanks, Prez,” I mutter with a nod. “I’m just gonna head out, clear my head.”
“Don’t go it alone, brother,” Stoney states in a commanding tone.
“I’m not, we got a run tomorrow. I need to clear my head beforehand,” I grunt.
Nodding, Stoney steps back and I head for the door. I need to ride.
On the road, I think of the times we’d been overseas. Terson and the others would share the pictures they received in the mail from their wives and girlfriends. I didn’t hold the shit against them. I’d been pissed during the last deployment though. Mail came in and I received two different letters every time, I remember opening the one from Emilia begging me to forgive her and to take her back, how she promised to do better when I got home as long as I came back to her.
The other letter, I never bothered to open. I didn’t need her best friend defending her actions. Hell, it was probably just another letter from Emilia. Either way, I didn’t give a fuck. I wasn’t gonna read anything from the woman.
Amaya was always trying to keep Emilia from doing stupid shit, and I’m willing to bet each of the letters I received from her were all the same. Final
ly, they stopped coming ten months into the deployment.
I couldn’t be more thankful for that shit. Each letter she sent, I chucked it right to Whip telling him to burn it with his lighter. If he did, I’ll never know.
After taking the long way home, I pull into the driveway. Parking my bike, I cut the engine, climb off, and head for the front door. Whip follows right behind. At the front door, my phone rings again, sighing I pull it out and glance at the screen. I narrow my gaze and clench my teeth as I hit the ignore button. I’m going to have to ask Nerd to block the stupid bitch’s number. I’m tired of seeing her name pop up.
I don’t need her shit. Not now. Not ever.
Chapter Three
Amaya
Two days into the trip and I’m more than happy to see we make it over the state line into Virginia. I’d decided for Lincoln’s sake and maybe my sanity to split the trip into more than a day. I didn’t want Lincoln in a car seat for too long. So I’d driven as long as I could the first day then stopped around dinner time.
We got a motel room and I’d made sure to secure the door by putting something in front of it. I guess it’s my paranoia. I’d seen it on the news about the man who’d been killed and I guess it scared me after what Emilia said.
I know I shouldn’t be scared but the man had a daughter who’d been left without each parent. It had me worried. What if something happens to Emilia or even Isaac, Lincoln’s then left with me. Or what happens if I don’t get this little boy to his daddy and something happens to me. I don’t want to see him go back to Emilia. Not until she gets the help she needs.
During the second day of our trip, I made sure Lincoln had enough to keep him occupied during the time we were in the car. There was nothing fun about being stuck in a car for over twenty plus hours. It’s why I pull off in South Hill shortly after getting into Virginia. I pull into a motel parking lot and figure we can finish the last bit of the journey tomorrow. Lincoln and I have both had enough with being in the car for two days. Tomorrow, we’ll sleep in a bit and then have lunch before getting on the road. It should only take me about three hours to get there. I’m not a hundred percent sure since I’m not using GPS.