by Mallory Funk
Chapter Twenty-Two
Bullet
I hear hushed voices and a beeping sound that leaves me confused.
I slowly open my eyes and wince at the bright light.
Someone must have been watching me because I hear someone talk in a low whisper, “turn the light off and we will turn on the other one behind his bed. That way, the light won’t hurt his eyes. He probably has a nasty headache.”
It takes a second to realize that it’s Krista talking.
The lights are switched, and Krista sounds closer. “Okay baby, you can open your eyes now,” she says softly.
I slowly open my eyes and Krista is sitting on the edge of the bed side me. She has one hand in mine and the other softly caressing my cheek.
Damn, she is a beautiful sight to wake up to.
“W-water,” I rasp out, my throat feeling completely dry.
She brings a cup to my lips with a straw. “Just small sips and then we will get your doctor,” she says softly.
“Pyro was right,” I say.
Krista looks at me quizzically.
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“You are a beautiful sight to wake up to,” I say with a slight smile. I can’t manage the energy to grin at her, but I hear Pyro chuckle.
“Even shot and hopped up on painkillers, you are still trying to charm her,” he says with a smile.
“Damn, I can’t believe I was shot again,” I rasp out.
Krista laughs. “Well, your name isn’t ‘Bullet’ for nothing.”
I shake my head and wince. Damn my head hurts, not to mention my side.
“I’ll go get the doctor,” Pyro says leaving the room.
“How long have I been out?” I ask Krista.
“About eighteen hours,” she says, and I see tears well in her eyes.
“Hey now…” I say wiping a tear that falls. “What’s this about? I’m fine.”
Her chin wobbles. “I know, but I was so scared. When I got the call to come to the hospital and we were in the waiting room for hours, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever see you again.”
“Come here, babe,” I say softly.
She gently gives me a hug. I feel tears at my neck where she’s resting her head.
“I’m okay, babe. I’m right here,” I say while rubbing her back.
Minutes later, the doctor comes in and I tell him that it’s okay for Pyro and Krista to hear what he has to say. I don’t have any secrets from them. They might as well hear so that I don’t have to repeat it.
“Krista, it’s good to see you. I’ll leave the instructions for his care. We would like to keep him for a couple more days, but I’m sure that he will be in good hands when he goes home with you,” he tells her, and she nods her head.
“I’ll take care of him,” she says softly.
He nods his head and leaves the room.
I’m glad that I only have to be here for a couple more days because I hate hospitals but, really, who likes them? It’s probably because Krista is a nurse and knows what kind of care I need that I am able to leave the hospital as quickly as I am.
I don’t stay awake much longer. I feel exhausted. Krista sits beside the bed with Pyro but never lets my hand go.
It’s only seconds before I’m asleep.
Krista
I’m glad that Blake finally woke up. It was the longest eighteen hours of my life. I could barely get any rest. I wasn’t too comfortable sleeping on Declan’s lap and I’m sure that he wasn’t very comfortable either.
Once Blake falls back asleep, Declan tries to tell me that we should go home and rest. I start to shake my head when Sophie and Trigger sneak into the room.
“You two need some rest. You guys are walking zombies. Go get something to eat and then go home and take a nap. Bullet will probably sleep the whole time that you are gone anyway,” Trigger says.
I nod my head reluctantly.
“Okay, only for a few hours,” I say looking at Blake. I really don’t want to leave him, but I’m dead on my feet and starving.
Declan stops at a drive thru on our way back. We eat as soon as we get home and we both collapse on the bed afterwards. He has me in his arms and we are both asleep within seconds.
When I wake up, I realize that we both slept the day away. It’s evening now and Declan is softly snoring beside me.
I slowly get up and head to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and start the shower. I don’t want to waste any time getting back to Blake.
Declan must have heard the shower because he comes into the bathroom as soon as I’m getting in.
“I’ll join you in a second, babe,” he says. He brushes his teeth before joining me in the shower.
We clean each other up, but there’s nothing sexual about it; however, it still feels intimate in ways that sex doesn’t.
I brush my hair and throw it in a ponytail. There is no point in doing my makeup if I’m just going to the hospital. I just want to be with Blake again.
When we get downstairs, Declan’s phone rings. “Yeah. Alright, let me drop Krista off at the hospital and I’ll be right there.”
I look at him when he hangs up until he speaks. “That was Steal. He said that there was Church. You can stay with Bullet while I head over to the clubhouse. We’ve got shit to deal with.”
I nod my head. There isn’t much that I can really say because I know that Church has to deal with whatever happened when they found Cutter.
I know better than to ask about club business, and I know that my man will take care of me. “I’ll be fine with Blake. Do what you’ve got to do,” I say softly.
He nods his head and kisses me hard before we are out the door.
I walk to Bullet’s room. Sophie is sitting by Blake’s bed and a prospect is just outside of his door in the hall.
“Hey darling,” I say as she looks up from her phone.
“Hey,” she says with a soft smile.
“How is he?” I ask.
“He’s fine. He has been sleeping the whole time just like I thought he would. Trigger just left for Church as soon as a prospect came to guard the door,” she says. I sit down next to her grabbing Blake’s hand.
“Well thank you for coming. I know that you have been busy with your bakery lately and it is probably difficult that, with the club being on lockdown, you haven’t been able to be there,” I say.
She nods. “Yeah, but hopefully I will be able to go in the next couple days. I trust my staff to take care of it but, still, I need to bake. The brothers eat everything so fast that it feels like I just take it out of the oven by the time it’s gone,” she says with a laugh.
I nod my head. “Yeah, they are greedy for your cooking.”
We both laugh and make small talk until Blake wakes up.
Pyro
I walk into Church with all the brothers already there.
I know that this meeting has to do with what we found out when we went to get Cutter. We haven’t been able to meet about it until Tech had grabbed and sorted out all the information that he could.
“Alright, let’s start. What we found was fucking shocking. These guys ran this plan deep. We didn’t realize it until we went to that house, but what we found was not at all comforting. It looks like they had a man planted in every club. As you know, Cutter has been a part of the club for years and we had no idea that he was leading a double life. That’s what they all did with minimal communication. They were able to dig up a crazy amount of information from each club. We killed most of them, but three were left alive; one of which was Cutter. We will each get a chance to show him what it’s like to betray the club. They may think of the Vicious Snakes as pussies, but we are about to show them that we are anything but,” Prez says and I nod my head. I stumbled on the information when I went in to kill anyone in that house.
We didn’t know how deep these guys got until we found all this shit.
“I’ll be contacting the other presidents after Church to discuss the informatio
n that we found. We need to do everything we can to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. The first way that we will do this is by making an example out of Cutter. Every brother is going to know what happens when you betray the Vicious Snakes,” he says, and there are a lot of grunts of agreement.
“The lockdown is officially over. We can send the women home. We don’t need them to see or hear what is about to happen next.”
The men with Old Ladies and kids in the club head out to send them home so that there are only brothers in the club.
We feel that it’s safe enough for our women to be home while we teach Cutter a lesson.
The prospect that was with Sophie and Krista heads back to the club too. It’s important that everyone sees what kind of example we will make of a traitor.
Within an hour, the main room is full of brothers. Cutter and two other men are tied to chairs. We moved shit about so that we can make them scream.
“For the prospects that don’t know, this here is Cutter. He pretended to be a brother while planning to kidnap not only our princess, but also several friendly clubs’ princesses as well. All while working for the Devil’s Souls. I’m sure you all know the new woman that I have taken under my protection, Camilla. She was dating this traitor, and he had sold her to the Devil’s Souls where she was held for months with unspeakable things being done to her.”
The rage builds around the room, and every brother is looking at Cutter with complete and utter disgust.
I crack my knuckles thinking of the damage I could do to him. He doesn’t deserve to suffer an easy death.
He’s glaring at everyone and not showing a hint of fear, but that will change very soon.
The prospects all watch as every one of our members takes a turn on the three men. As much as we would love to hear them keep screaming, we have to gag them because it was getting ridiculously loud. I’m sure that they would be begging for death right about now if it wasn’t for the gags.
Once we are done playing with them, we have their bodies disposed of.
I have a hot shower before I go see Krista. She may know what club life is like, but there is no reason that she needs to see me covered with blood.
We need to concentrate on getting Bullet better and moving both his and Krista’s stuff into my house. Now that the lockdown is over, we can make plans to do that. We need to make the house into our home, not just mine.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Krista
Four weeks later.
I’m pacing the bathroom back and forth. It’s a good thing that it’s big because I have plenty of room to do just that.
Right after Blake got released from the hospital, Declan made plans with a few brothers to grab the rest of our stuff. Blake was going to take a few weeks to heal, so he had some Wicked Dragons pack up our stuff while the Vicious Snakes rented a truck to grab it.
Once we were officially moved in, I could finally make the place a home. I was going to do my best to decorate it to reflect a complete mix of all three of us.
It really felt like home. I spent my time taking care of Blake. I had plans to head to the hospital to ask for my job back, but I wanted to wait until I knew that Blake was better before then.
I was able to get so much closer to everyone in the meantime since I knew that I wasn’t going back home.
Camilla went back home after the lockdown was called off and Cutter was caught. I made sure that she had my number to call me if she needed anything.
She only lived a town over, so she wasn’t far if she ever wanted to hang out or needed me or the club.
After that, I watched as Torch withdrew more. I had no doubt that he was still healing from Stacey’s death. He only came home to help while the club was in need, so I heavily believed that it was only a matter of time before he left again.
Stacey’s death really fucked him up, and to see him go from the fun-loving guy to a man who tries to find happiness at the bottom of a bottle is not a sight that is easy to take in.
I was only a part of this club long enough to see a glimpse of them together, but watching a strong man break that way indicates to me just how much he loved her.
My men were both at the club making sure that there wasn’t any fall back on the club from the events that had occurred.
I had grabbed the pregnancy test that I had bought that morning and waited for the guys to leave.
I knew that they would love for me to get pregnant, so I would hate to get their hopes up. I didn’t bother telling anyone. When Olivia, Ella, and the other Old Ladies had exchanged stories on their pregnancies, it dawned on me that it had been awhile since I had my period.
Why do the three minutes after you pee on a stick feel like they last forever?
I hear the buzzer of the timer I set go off and I freeze.
Okay, this is it.
I close my eyes tightly.
I can do this.
Damn it, just look.
I look and the digital display looking back at me says “pregnant.”
I put a hand to my mouth. Tears well in my eyes and I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
My other hand flies to my stomach, and I look in the mirror.
I can’t believe this. I’m going to be a mom.
I don’t even think about my next move. I grab the test and race down the stairs.
I throw open the front door closing it behind me. I honestly don’t know if I locked it because I make my way to the clubhouse as fast as I can. I barely remember driving because I’m shaking so badly.
I put the test in my pocket and walk inside.
The men seem to be done Church now and are just shooting the shit.
Pyro and Bullet are laughing and having a beer with Trigger and Stitch.
Once the sound of the front door closes, the room quiets and all eyes turn to me.
Pyro’s and Bullet’s eyes find mine.
I run at them with excitement in my eyes and a smile spreads on my face.
“I’m pregnant!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
I watch as both of their jaws drop.
I pull out the stick and show them.
I’m standing in front of them pretty much bouncing on my toes.
Pyro snaps out of it.
He pulls me in for a hard hug. “Holy shit, baby, that’s amazing!” he says with enthusiasm.
When he pulls away, he has a big smile spread across his face.
Bullet pulls me into his arms. “Fucking awesome!” he exclaims.
I knew that they would both be happy since they both expressed how they couldn’t wait until I was pregnant.
We also discussed that we would rather not know who the father is. They told me that it didn’t matter to them, and it didn’t matter to me either. I knew that they would both raise our kids as their own.
We are all going to be a little family.
I can’t wait to tell my dad.
As that thought enters my mind, I pull out my phone to call him.
It only rings once before he answers.
“Krista, how is my baby girl doing?” he asks, and I don’t have to see his face to know he’s smiling.
“Great daddy. I have some news,” I say, unable to keep the excitement from my voice.
“What’s going on?” he asks suspiciously.
“You’re going to be a grandpa!” I squeal.
There is silence on the other end for a few minutes, and I’m about to ask if he’s still there, when I hear him yell in the distance.
“Krista’s pregnant!” he yells. I hear loud cheering and can’t help but laugh. I’m smiling so hard that it hurts.
I’m finally getting my happily ever after.
I don’t have to look on with envy anymore. I got more than I wished for, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Epilogue
Pyro
We are at our monthly BBQ. We are celebrating Bullet’s recovery and Krista’s pregnancy. It is long overdue, but everyone is here to s
upport us.
It makes me glad that my brothers didn’t blink an eye when it came to us three. I could be with them without judgement from my brothers.
Krista is only six weeks along, but you can tell that she is happier than ever. The morning sickness doesn’t get her down at all.
It’s fucking amazing to know that I’m a part of the reason why she’s so happy.
She’s currently sitting with Sophie, and Katy who has become a lot closer to the women. Danielle went back to visit her father. She had made a call to her mother and made it clear that she wasn’t ready to talk to her. She decided to get to know her father.
I hope that everything works out for her while she makes up for everything that she’s missed.
Camilla came in for the BBQ and constantly talks to the women; however, this is the first time that she has been here in weeks.
Camilla’s eyes automatically looked for Torch. She’s definitely stronger and in a better place since she left. The question is whether she’s strong enough to help Torch find happiness again. That’s going to be a rough road to take. I sure hope that she knows what she’s getting herself into.
Torch came for a couple hours, but it was like as soon as Camilla walked in the door, he left. He looked at her with guilt and turned and walked out the door. I can’t help but wonder what that’s all about. I have a feeling that we are all about to find out.
I was surprised to see that he didn’t leave after Cutter was taken care of. He has been drinking like crazy and usually held up in his home. His home was a place that he didn’t step into until last month, and I have no doubt that he’s reliving a lot of memories. I would love to help, but I have no idea how to bring my brother out of it.
I watch as Sophie runs into the bushes and pukes. I can’t help but grimace.
That does not look good.
Trigger comes to her side immediately followed by Bear.
For some reason I can’t look away.
Something in my gut says that something is about to go down.
Sophie rinses out her mouth with a bottle of water that Trigger hands her and looks at her uncle.