Sure it would.
Everything would be just fine.
Sig spun on his boot heel when the door to the waiting room opened. He expected it to be Red, but it was a tall, leggy blonde wearing a white coat, instead.
“Are you the doc?”
She nodded as she approached. She jutted out her hand. “Dr. Carly Bryson.”
Sig only stared at her outstretched hand, trying not to sneer at that last name. “Bryson?”
She dropped her offered hand, not seeming to take offense. “Are you willing to step into my office and have a few words? Autumn gave her consent to allow me to talk to you... about her... And the baby.”
“Are you callin’ the cops?”
Her eyebrows shot up her forehead. “What? No. I need more information first. That’s why I need to talk to you. I’m not sure what...” She rubbed at her forehead, clearly agitated. “I need more answers than what I’m getting from her.”
They all did.
“Your fuckin’ last name is Bryson. Only Brysons I know are all... All wearin’ badges.”
Her lips curved up slightly but that small smile didn’t reach her green eyes. “Yes, it seems to be a common theme in this town.” Those lips fell flat. “Please, come this way.” She opened the door into the back and held out a hand, encouraging him to step through.
He followed and they both took a quick right turn down a short hallway and through another door into a small office. Once he stepped inside, she shut the door and settled behind the desk in a high-backed leather chair. “Please sit. Autumn is getting dressed. One of my physician assistants will escort her to the waiting area when she’s done.”
“Can’t leave her alone, Doc.”
“Why?”
“She’ll run.”
“In her condition?”
“Yeah. Trust me.”
The doc pursed her lips and then pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. She quickly texted someone. “Okay, I’ll have my PA keep her in the examining room until we’re done.”
“Someone needs to guard the door to the room she’s in. She might try to sneak out.”
“What?”
“Again, just trust me. She runs, it could be bad.”
The doc’s open mouth snapped shut. She sent another quick text, then set her phone down on the desk, concern etched on her face. “Talk to me. What the hell happened to her? Who got her pregnant? Do the police need to be involved? She’s all bruised up. She’s underweight. The pregnancy is much farther along than her size makes it appear. What the hell is going on?”
The last came out more of a demand than a question. The woman was no-nonsense and sounded like she could be pretty damn dominant if she wanted to be.
Sig sucked in a breath and said to the doctor sitting across from him, “I tell you everythin,’ you don’t go to the fuckin’ cops, you get me? It’s safer for her if you don’t.”
“Is it the mob or something?”
“No. Not the mob. Kinda worse, kinda not.”
She shook her head. “Now I’m confused.”
“And so is Red.”
“Red?”
“Autumn,” he corrected. But that name didn’t sound right on his tongue. That was someone else’s name for her. Not his. To him she was Red and always would be.
The doc’s eyebrows dropped low. “Okay, so talk.”
“Gotta promise me no cops.”
“My husband is one so I don’t know if I can do that if there was a crime involved. Which is what it sounds like.”
Godfuckindamnit. “Fuckin’ figures.”
The doc lifted a hand. He supposed it was to soothe his worry. It didn’t.
She spoke quickly. “It seems like Autumn wants nothing to do with this baby, so I talked to her about the option of adoption. It’s a good solution for an unwanted child and she seemed open to it. Maybe my husband and I would be interested. The timing is finally right for us and we’ve been on a waiting list for a while now. Autumn doesn’t have insurance and she needs a lot of care right now since Stella said she’s had no prenatal care at all... And with the way she looks, I’m sure that’s true. We...” The doc spread her hands flat on her desk. “We could help. Make this easier on her and us. It’s a win-win. Especially if the baby is born with medical issues from being underweight since I’m a doctor. And, if she wanted, it could be an open adoption. We’re not opposed to that.”
Sig sat back in his chair and studied the doctor who had just spilled a lot of shit he needed to wrap his head around. He wasn’t surprised Red didn’t want to keep the baby. She called it a fucking seed. What woman did that?
He knew that answer.
One whose mind wouldn’t allow it to admit to what it really was. Whose mind didn’t want her to become attached to the result of trauma. Whose mind didn’t want to admit to everything that happened to her.
She probably needed a crazy doctor in addition to a baby doctor.
No probably about it.
The woman had more issues than only being pregnant because of a rape. She might have permanent scarring of her mind.
All of this was over his head. He could quickly drown in it all. And he had enough of his own issues to deal with to try to take on Red’s, too.
But, for fuck’s sake, did a doctor and a local pig really want a baby sired by a Shirley? A Bryson pig, more than anyone, knew what those Shirleys were like and how fucked up they were.
That baby might never be normal and Sig had no clue how fucked up that kid could end up. It would have Shirley blood and wasn’t even given a fighting chance to survive with the way Red looked. Skin and bones, beaten up, most likely forced to live like an animal. Her mental status questionable.
Sig’s fingers curled against his thighs, his nails digging sharply into the denim of his jeans.
This whole thing was just plain fucked up. Why the fuck was he getting involved? Why didn’t he just hand Red over to the doc to take care of? Let her husband deal with the Shirleys. Let them protect her and find her a safe place to stay until the kid was born.
It wasn’t his kid, so he shouldn’t care one fucking bit about it.
So, why was he taking any of this on his shoulders?
Why the fuck did he even care at all?
It was some fucked in the head woman who had a baby from some inbred motherfucker planted inside her. There was nothing even remotely normal about the whole thing.
He did not need this shit. Not at all.
He needed to concentrate on getting what was owed him and then getting the fuck out of town. He should be only looking out for himself. That was it.
Because if he took on Red’s situation... He couldn’t roll out any time soon.
He’d be stuck in this goddamn town for the next few months. Long enough to protect Red until her “seed” was born. Long enough to help her find a safe place to land afterward.
Damn, he did not need this shit.
He did not need this shit.
Goddamn it.
“Might rethink that fuckin’ offer, Doc, once I tell you what I know. And believe me, I don’t know everythin’ yet. I’m sure it’s much fuckin’ worse than what little I do know.”
Carly also sat back, pushed her glasses to the top of her head and crossed her arms over her very generous chest. “If you knew my husband, you’d know I can handle a lot of shit. So, fucking lay it on me.”
Damn.
So, he did.
Sig stepped outside his apartment and watched as his brother and his woman hoofed it up the steps. He had one arm wrapped around his ribs because they were aching like fuck right now. He’d been doing too much shit and not giving them a chance to heal properly.
“Inside?” Trip asked as he jerked his chin toward the closed door behind Sig.
“She’s sleepin’.” She had been for the past couple of hours.
“How is she?” Stella asked and leaned her ass against the metal railing at the top of the steps.
The landing was a larg
e rectangle, big enough to include both Sig and Judge’s doors, but not to where it reached the large picture windows at the “front” of their apartments, which actually faced the fields behind the barn and bunkhouse. Trip had it designed that way for security reasons.
Both Sig and Judge agreed it was a good idea. Just like their front doors being metal, windowless and including a heavy-duty deadbolt.
“She’s exhausted just from that trip to the doctor.”
“Probably doesn’t take much being that malnourished and pregnant at the same time,” Stella murmured. “I always felt tired when I was pregnant.”
“Say what?” Sig asked, his eyes automatically going to Stella’s stomach. That was the first he’d heard of Stella having a kid. He wondered what happened to it.
“That’s not what we’re here to discuss,” Trip said firmly, before Sig could ask.
His eyes slid to his brother’s, picking up what Trip was putting down. “Right.”
“Baby good?” Stella asked.
“For the most part. But even after that appointment, the kid’s still an ‘it’ or ‘the seed’ to her.”
Stella frowned, her eyes troubled as she nodded. “Might take a while for her to see it differently. Pregnancy messes with a woman’s mind sometimes, but the way she got pregnant—if we’re right in our assumptions—probably really screwed with her big time.”
“No shit,” Sig whispered.
“We need to decide what the fuck to do with her, Sig,” Trip said. “She isn’t ours. I still don’t think it’s a good idea we keep her here.”
“We can move her to the house,” Stella suggested.
Sig tried not to grin at Stella misunderstanding her ol’ man on purpose.
“That’s not what I fuckin’ meant, Stel.”
Stella shot Trip a look Sig was glad wasn’t directed at him. “Where can she go? She has nowhere.”
“That’s not our fuckin’ problem. She’s not carryin’ Sig’s kid. She’s not Fury blood. She’s nothin’ to us.”
Sig avoided Stella’s stare when she finally did look at him. “Speak for yourself,” she whispered.
“She’s better off stayin’ in my apartment than the house, Stella. Got Judge next door with Jury, who’d scare the shit outta anyone. Got Deke downstairs with Justice. Both those dogs are protective when needed. Judge would kick anyone’s ass who tried to break in here. There are more eyes and bodies at The Barn and bunkhouse than up at your place. ‘Specially when you’re at the bar and Trip’s out doin’ a repo or at the bar with you, or even at The Grove Inn checkin’ in with Ozzy. She’d be alone. And I’m not just worried about them snaggin’ her back, I’m worried about her runnin’.”
“She’d be crazy to run,” Trip said.
True, but... “You just said the reason she’d run.”
“Because she’s crazy?” Trip asked.
“Think shit’s really broken up here.” Sig tapped his temple. “It’ll be awhile ‘til she gets over it.”
“If ever,” Stella added. “We don’t even know everything she went through, yet.”
“And may never. Which is another reason maybe it’s not best to keep her here. Hand her over to the pigs.”
Jesus fuck, what was with his brother being such a fucking dick about it? “And then that opens up the possibility of the Shirleys gettin’ her back. Might put her on those hillbillies’ radar when the fuckin’ pigs get their emergency response team, with all their big-ass military-grade toys and hard dicks, rushin’ up that mountain to make a fuckin’ arrest. It’s better to take care of them quietly.”
Judge’s door opened and the big man stepped out, his American Bulldog by his side. “Go on,” he commanded the dog, jerking his hand toward the stairs. “Go pop a squat and get the fuck back here.” With a loud, excited bark, Jury rushed down the steps, her tail raised and waving like a flag, as she headed toward the field. As Judge kept an eye on his girl, he asked, “We havin’ a fuckin’ meetin’ out here?” to the rest of them.
“Nope,” Trip answered.
“Sure as fuck sounds like it. Any decisions made about us gettin’ involved with that woman in Sig’s bed needs to be brought to the table.”
“Yeah,” Trip agreed. “It’s gonna have to happen since Sig won’t see reason.”
Sig’s jaw tightened. “Didn’t know you were such a cold fuckin’ bastard, brother.”
“And you’re not?”
“Would also help to know the whole goddamn story before any of us vote on it,” Judge added.
“But you might not get that for a while,” Stella admitted. “You all might need to decide with only what we know at this point. And then decide on how much you all want to get involved. Trip’s right. She doesn’t belong to the Fury. She’s not from Fury blood. We have no ties to her. There’s no good reason for us to take her on. None.” She lifted her hand to stop anyone else from talking. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t. She’s fucking alone, boys. Alone. If it was me? I’d be really fucking grateful for some heroes to step in right about now. Especially since she’s struggling in more ways than one. Don’t I remember you boys all wanting to be super heroes with capes growing up? Now,” Stella turned her attention to Sig. “What happened at the doctor’s? Let’s at least hear that first.”
Damn, the woman had some cojones. Not as big as Judge’s but close. Sig bit back a grin. While that was amusing, what he was about to say wasn’t. “Said the kid could come out with all kinds of birth defects. And not just ‘cause he’d be related to a Shirley.”
“He?” Stella asked.
“Yep. Red didn’t want to know, but I asked. From what the doc could see, even though the kid’s smaller than it should be, it’s a boy.”
Trip closed his eyes. “Damn.”
“Don’t even think about it, Trip,” Stella warned.
“They might want the kid,” Sig stated.
“Who?”
“The doc and her pig hubby,” Sig answered his brother.
“What?” Trip almost shouted.
“Yeah, said they’ve been lookin’ to adopt. Needs to run it by her rotten half first and, of course, Red would need to sign the kid over. She said she would.”
“Autumn’s willing to give up the baby?” Stella whispered.
“You really surprised?” Judge asked her. “Gotta be hard to keep a baby created from rape or... worse.”
“But still...” Stella whispered again, her hand pressed to her lower belly. She shook her head. “I get what you’re saying and it makes sense, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it.”
“She don’t see it as a baby, Stel,” Trip reminded her. “It’s just a thing that she was forced to carry. For them. She probably has it in her head the kid wouldn’t be hers afterward, anyway. Put yourself in her shoes. Would you get attached to a baby knowin’ it’s gonna be stolen from you the second it was born? Fuck no. You’d separate yourself from it. Not get attached.”
Sig frowned at his brother. He was making too much fucking sense. And what he said did make sense and was a good reason why Red called the baby a “seed.”
“Anyway,” Sig said, “if Red will agree with the adoption and the doc’s pig hubby also agrees, she wants Red to come stay with them ‘til the kid’s born. Then they’d pay to send her wherever she wants to go from here. They’d help her get far away from that mountain and those inbred sister fuckers. But you all know what I fuckin’ think about her goin’ anywhere right now.”
Judge pulled at his long beard and tilted his head. “Adoption’s a damn good option, though. What’s to avoid those brother fuckers from snaggin’ the kid after he’s born?”
Sig shrugged. “He’d have their last name. Doc said their names could be on the birth certificate. Everyone in town knows they’re waitin’ on a kid to adopt. Them gettin’ one wouldn’t cause a stir. It’s kinda perfect. Also might help that the father on record’s a fuckin’ pig.”
“Will the Brysons want the kid if he’s b
orn,” Stella glanced at Sig’s closed door and lowered her voice, “with problems?”
“If he’s half Shirley, he’s gonna have fuckin’ problems,” Trip muttered, then grinned. Until Stella whacked him in the stomach. The grin was long gone as he winced and rubbed his gut.
Sig continued, “She also stated that if Red eats right, keeps her stress low, takes the vitamins she gave us, the kid could be okay. If she refuses to do better and remains in the condition she’s in, both could die when the kid’s born. She needs to get her strength up.”
“So, the Brysons want to take her in and make sure she’s taken care of,” Judge said simply.
Jury galloped back up the steps, her tongue hanging out and her tail wagging as she shoved her nose into everyone’s junk—like she always did—before sitting by Judge’s side, staring up at him like the sun rose and set on that giant motherfucker.
Judge always was spouting that dogs were more loyal than bitches. And Deacon always busted his balls by reminding his cousin, Jury was a bitch. Just of the four-legged variety.
“Yeah,” Sig finally answered the big man, after double checking to make sure all his junk was still intact after being molested by the dog.
“Autumn want that?” Trip asked, looking way too hopeful.
Sig assumed Trip was referring to Red moving in with the doc. “Didn’t ask her. I told the doc no.”
“Fuckin’ A,” Trip muttered. “Not likin’ this, Sig.”
His blood pressure was beginning to spike at this bullshit of them wanting Red to go stay somewhere else. “What fuckin’ part of she’s stayin’ on this fuckin’ farm don’t you understand? She can stay on my fuckin’ half.”
“Don’t work like that, Sig—”
“Sure as fuck does ‘cause I’m makin’ it work like that.” His fists clenched and unclenched as he tried to keep his shit packed tight. “Also told the fuckin’ doc we’d be better at protectin’ her and why.”
“I’m sure she liked hearing that since her husband is a Bryson,” Stella said dryly.
“She agreed.”
Stella’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
Blood & Bones: Sig (Blood Fury MC Book 2) Page 10