by LeAnn Ashers
“What are you thinking of naming her?” he asks, still lying on my belly.
“Cassandra.”
He thinks for a moment. “Cassandra, I like it.” He smiles and I return it.
Nothing could get better than this.
Chapter Seven
Chrystal
One Month Later
Today I am going to see my dad. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him and I’m nervous.
I’m almost nine months pregnant. I have two weeks to go before my due date, and Kyle has made it his mission to not allow me to lift a finger.
The last month has been all about me and Kyle adjusting to our life together. I haven’t stayed in my apartment downstairs since before he left to kill my husband. I am now a widow. They found Joshua’s body and someone called to sadly inform me of my husband’s death. There are no leads as to what actually killed him. I played the grieving wife, and now I am a very rich woman. I know exactly what I want to do with the money.
I want to open a center for women and men who are in violent relationships. I want to give them a safe haven so they can escape from that horrible situation and get their lives started. I will need houses for them, but I can’t do it alone and I think I want the MC to be involved because they protected me. They can help keep the center safe.
But right now I am going to concentrate on seeing my father. Kyle is driving me to his house. My father already has a place to live, which I’m sure Kyle had a huge play in. He is a fucking badass. I witnessed it firsthand when I accidentally walked in on him getting some information from someone who was trying to sell drugs in town. Not that I ever doubted it. He killed my ex-husband. But seeing it firsthand, and seeing his face, made it real.
He is the president of an MC, but I am not scared of him. He handles me with such tenderness. I am in awe of how he is with me compared to his behavior around others.
We pull up outside a cute white house. A truck is parked outside, and my dad is sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair.
Kyle gets out of the truck and practically lifts me out, because it’s hard for me to get out. My dad moves to the edge of the small porch, watching us, and my nose burns with unshed tears because he looks so good. He looks healthy. He looks like the dad I knew when I was little. I walk straight up to him and hug him. He smells the same, but he looks so much better.
“Dad, I missed you,” I whisper, and I close my eyes and enjoy the moment. I am so happy that Kyle brought him home, even though I don’t have a relationship with him, and it makes me feel better that he has a chance now.
“I missed you too, baby girl.” He kisses the top of my head, and we stand in silence together, just taking in the moment. Kyle is right behind me, his hand on the small of my back. He is always ready to protect me, ready to jump at my every need.
“Come on in, I have some dinner ready.” He lets me go, smoothing my hair out of my face, smiling at me then at Kyle. Wow, the happiness coming from him is something that I never thought I’d see. I can’t tell you the last time I saw him with a smile that reaches his eyes.
Kyle’s hand is still on the small of my back, leading me inside behind my dad. I look around his kitchen. It’s clean and the house is a total bachelor pad. We sit down and my dad sets out a huge platter of grilled chicken and a salad.
“Looks great, Dad.”
He beams at me happily, and he sits down and starts to fill my plate with way too much food. I laugh, looking at him. “Dad, I think that may be a bit too much.”
He shakes his head. “You’re carrying my grandbaby, you need to be healthy.” With that he adds another bit of salad. Then his smile falls. “If you want me to be a part of her life.”
I have thought about this. Should I let him in my life? Should I let him in my baby’s? I think I just need to keep my guard up. He was not as horrible as Mom, but he didn’t protect me as he should have. That will always be in the back of my mind. “We will see how it plays out, Dad.” I smile as nicely as possible.
He nods and smiles at me, cutting up his chicken.
Kyle reaches under the table, his hand curling around my thigh. I lean over and kiss him on the cheek, enjoying this moment.
Life can change in a heartbeat. I wish I could have told myself to have faith, that nothing lasts forever and that one day it will get better.
Once we have finished dinner, we all sit on the front porch together, watching the sun go down. “You have a small slice of heaven here, Dad.” He has a huge open field of beautiful green grass.
“I would like to see your place,” Dad says.
I look at Kyle and he nods. “Come on, it’s right down the road.” I motion for Dad to follow us. Kyle keeps a tight grip on my hand as he leads me down the small steps. Kyle has this fear that, at any second, I’m going to fall and the baby will fall out of me. The second part is absolutely ridiculous.
Kyle allows Dad to help me inside the truck, but he never leaves my side. Kyle doesn’t trust my dad, but I think it’s because he’s very unforgiving when it comes to me because he is so protective.
Dad sits in the back, looking out the window. His place is the first house on the turnoff, but it’s not right by the road. “Who all lives in these houses?” Dad asks.
“They all belong to members of the club. We all wanted to be close to each other. So I bought a ton of land, and all the guys started building.” I love that. I love that everyone in the club is so close to each other. These guys are badass and they have a dark side, but I’ve never seen that side of them.
Kyle puts in the code to the gate and it opens, leading down the huge driveway to our house. I look at Kyle, his arms flexing as he drives. My heart is happy. He makes me happy. Every day, life just gets better being around him.
“Wow,” Dad whispers behind me. I love that Cassandra is going to be able to grow up in a great environment. Kyle parks and we walk inside the house. I take Dad upstairs to her nursery. The walls are white, and the room is decorated with light pink flowers. Kyle spent hours putting everything together. He went over every detail in the room, making sure it was ready for her.
Dad walks around the room studying everything. I sit down in the rocking chair and hold one of her stuffed animals in my lap. Dad leans against the crib, thinking. “Did you inherit the money?” he asks out of the blue.
“What?” I never expected him to ask that—plus how did he know Joshua was dead? I guess he could have connected the dots.
He looks to the door to make sure no one is there, and he takes a step closer to me and leans in. “Did you get the money?” he asks again, his voice more urgent.
I blink in shock, “Why are you asking that?”
“Your mother is broke, honey,” he whispers. “She needs money, and I think once she has that, she will be better again.”
It hits me like a ton of bricks. He has betrayed me in the worst way. This was all a ruse for him to get money from me. In the beginning he may have been trying to do the right thing, but now he is here for the wrong reason. He is standing here in my daughter’s bedroom, and I will not let it be defiled by this shit.
I’m hurt; all I ever wanted was for my dad to want me and to be a part of my life, but he just wants her. “Is this the only reason you came here in the first place?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. His face falls, and I know that he lied to all of us. They fooled us and it cuts deep. “Get out,” I say softly.
His eyes widen in shock. “Baby girl, you can’t do that. Please try to understand.”
“Get out,” I demand more loudly. He reaches out and tries to touch my hand, but Kyle stops him.
“You heard her,” Kyle growls, twisting my dad’s arm behind his back. I hear them fighting all the way out of the house. I stare at the now-empty room, crushed but also feeling foolish because I allowed them to hurt me. My own parents never wanted me except as a pawn to use in their games. Money. That’s all they ever saw in me. Now I think my father did have a part in giving me away so they coul
d live a better life.
The door slams loudly. I flinch at the sound and wait for Kyle to come to me. I don’t look up from the floor. I’m ashamed because Kyle helped him.
Kyle kisses the back of my head before he sits in front of me. He cups my cheeks. “Angel,” he says softly and I look at him—that causes the dam to break. I cry. I cry for the small child that wanted her daddy. The eighteen-year-old girl who was forced to marry a monster to benefit them. They threw me to the wolves, and yet I still had hope.
Kyle holds me and allows me to let go of all the pain and heartache and to finally grieve the suffering I have been dealt and grieve for the old me that never once had her parents truly want her. I thought my dad was going to change his life, not for me but for himself, although there was no hope for her. But he isn’t going to do that. He was here trying to get in my good graces just because of money.
“I am so sorry, baby,” Kyle whispers, kissing my forehead. My cheek is pressed against his chest, which is shaking.
I sniff, wiping the tears from my face. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.” I sit back in the chair and hold onto the stuffed animal like it’s going to keep me grounded. “It’s my fault for even entertaining the idea that my dad was going to change his life and want to be a part of mine,” I whisper, staring into space.
He shakes harder and cups my face. “You’re not to blame for this, don’t ever fucking do that. Your dad is a piece of shit.” He looks away, his jaw clenched.
I nod. “I know, but it makes me sad. He did this in her room. It makes me feel like he defiled it in a way,” I whisper, closing my eyes, sadness overflowing again at the thought of my daughter.
“It doesn’t matter, baby. You have me and you have the guys. We are your family. I will always take care of you, no matter what.” He rubs my back.
I nod, letting out a deep breath, calming myself. “I feel better now.” I smile and Kyle’s whole body visibly relaxes. He helps me out of the chair and walks with me downstairs to the living room.
“I think I want some chocolate,” I tell Kyle, rubbing my belly. He laughs and we head toward the kitchen. I stop dead in my tracks seeing my mother standing right in the middle of our kitchen with Dad right beside her. I freeze as I see a small pistol in her hand.
Both of them have been digging in my purse, which is on the bar. They look at me and then at Kyle, who picks me up and ducks out of the room. I gasp as the bullet hits the wall where we were standing. She just shot at us!
Kyle runs with me up the stairs into his bedroom, slams the door, and locks it. He pulls up a tablet and presses a button, and a door slides open inside the closet. Kyle takes my hand, dragging me across the room. “You stay in here until I get you or one of the guys comes to get you. I love you, angel.” He pushes a button, locking me inside.
“Wait, stay with me!” I yell through the door, which clicks as it locks. A screen on the wall allows me to see all around the house. Kyle is standing in the bedroom, staring at the wall. I touch the screen where he is standing. I’m scared for him.
He closes his eyes for a second and, right before my eyes, his expression fully changes. Gone is the sweet man I know, replaced with the president of the Devil Souls MC.
He walks out of the bedroom, making sure to lock the door behind him as an extra precaution. I hold my stomach, sitting down on the small chair resting in the corner, my eyes glued to the screen. That’s when I remember I have my cell phone. I text the guys, letting them know there’s trouble.
Kyle
Rage.
That is all I feel, seeing both of them digging through her purse, trying to find whatever they can.
It makes me fucking sick. I’m disgusted by both of them. Her dad had me fucking fooled, or maybe I wanted him to be good to her so badly because she wanted it.
Her crying broke my heart into a million little pieces, and I wanted to rip him into shreds. Then seeing her mother waiting in the kitchen and shooting at us?
That just signed their death warrant.
I walk down the stairs, not even bothering to try to hide. I look down at my phone, and I know exactly where they are.
They’re hiding in the fucking pantry.
What the fuck do they think that will accomplish? Then I see that they have Chrystal’s purse in there with them, trying to salvage whatever they can.
This shit is absolutely ridiculous. I walk over to the pantry, hearing them talking inside. “Look in the side pocket!” her mother hisses. I lock the door so they can’t get out. They run into the door, trying to break it down. I laugh and put a chair under the doorknob as an extra precaution. I hear my brothers outside, so I walk to the front door and wait for them to run up the stairs.
“You okay?” Torch asks as he reaches me, his hands flexing, ready for a fight. I shake my head in anger at what the fuck just happened in our house, a place where Chrystal is supposed to feel safe. Now there’s a bullet hole in the wall in our kitchen where her own mother tried to hurt her and, worst of all, her father betrayed her.
“I’m fine, I need to get to Chrystal. Take them to the club.” I give Torch a pointed look and he nods. “They’re in the pantry, locked in.”
They laugh and walk into the kitchen, and I make my way upstairs to get Chrystal. I unlock the doors, and she is standing there with tears in her eyes. “Baby,” I say softly, and she splits the distance between us and crashes into me. I pick her up and carry her to the bed. “You need to rest, baby.” I smooth her hair out of her face. This stress can’t be good for her or the baby.
“I know, I’m just shocked at everything that has happened.” She closes her eyes, and I run my hand down her side. She’s shaking as she rubs her eyes.
“I know, honey, but it’s over, and you will never see either of them again.” I kiss her forehead. Little by little her breathing evens out as exhaustion takes over. I pull the blanket up to her neck. I take out my phone and text Torch, telling him to deal with it because, at this point, I am way over both of them. I don’t care what happens to them as long as they never step foot in her life again.
Chapter Eight
Chrystal
The Next Morning
I wake up to pain. I groan and look at the clock on the nightstand. It reads 6:00 a.m. and I clench my eyes closed as the contraction ends.
Kyle wakes up and puts his hand on my stomach. “What’s the matter?”
I sit up slightly. “I think I just had a contraction.” I let out a deep breath, rubbing my stomach, feeling Cassandra kicking.
“Do I need to call the doctor?” He scoots off the bed and walks around to my side.
“I think it’s just Braxton Hicks. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”
He takes my hand and helps me out of bed, and he helps me into the bathroom. Right before I reach the toilet, a gush of liquid flows down my legs. I eye the floor as a puddle pools around my feet. Kyle pales and I’m freaking out too, because it hits us both that my water just broke.
“I think we need to go to the hospital.”
Kyle picks me up and sets me on the toilet, and he runs as fast as he can to the baby’s room, grabbing everything that we have packed. I walk into the bedroom and change my clothes and clean up. I’m trying not to think that this could be it. I could be giving birth to my angel soon.
Kyle walks into the bedroom and stops dead in his tracks when he sees me. “Chrystal! Why are you standing there?” he asks and practically lifts me onto the bed.
I laugh, but that’s cut short when I have another contraction. “OUCH!” I hiss and rest my head against his stomach. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Kyle repeats over and over, his whole body stiff, until the contraction ends. Why do I feel like he’s going to have a harder time with this than I will?
He rubs my back until I’m ready to move again. “Come on, honey, we need to go to the hospital.” He picks me up and carries me outside to the truck then comes back and gets our things.
We sit in silence on the way to
the hospital. He holds my hand and constantly kisses the back then the front, trying to soothe me. The nerves are already kicking in, especially once I see the hospital come into view.
I am taken to my room, and the nurse puts monitors on me and starts an IV. I’m shaking as everything around me is a whirlwind. I’m ready to be a mom but, at this moment, I am completely scared. I don’t know what could happen and how much pain I am going to experience. There are so many unknowns.
“Alright, sweetheart, relax for me.” The nurse pulls up the blanket, and I focus on Kyle.
“The baby was breech at the last doctor’s appointment, and we aren’t sure if she has turned yet,” Kyle tells her. I completely forgot about that.
“You’re dilated to a three,” the nurse informs me and walks across the room to grab an ultrasound machine.
Please, God, let her be turned, I pray.
Kyle and I both eagerly watch the screen, and a few minutes later the nurse finally speaks. “She is still breech.” Oh no. That means that most likely I’m going to have to have a C-section. Kyle kisses my forehead, and I close my eyes as the reality sets in.
Hours later I’m prepped for surgery. Kyle is getting ready too, since he’s going to be in there with me. I can’t imagine doing this alone.
I’m wheeled into the operation room; then I’m given a spinal tap to numb me from the waist down. I wish I had a huge-ass Xanax right now so I was so doped up that I wouldn’t be aware that I’m about to be cut open. The anticipation is what is scaring me.
The door opens and I hold out my hand for Kyle to take as he sits right beside me. They put up a sheet so neither of us can see what’s going on.
Kyle rests his forehead against mine, and I put my hand on the back of his head as I hear shuffling all around me. “You may feel some pressure,” my doctor tells me, and I tighten my hand on the back of Kyle’s head.