by Sam Crescent
From where she was standing, she knew that Pea was still up for another fight. He looked really disappointed, which only made her smile.
“I’ll be right back,” Penny said.
She nodded, and watched as her sister headed toward Rage. Shaking her head, Mel sipped at her juice, and turned to watch the fighting. Pea always turned her on when he fought. He was so fearless. Nothing could ever stop him. There was a determination within him. Something that made him keep on going even when he was exhausted. He wouldn’t give up, nor would he give in. When he was loyal to a cause, he was the kind of guy you wanted on your side.
It was one of the things she loved about him.
“He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
Mel turned to her left to see Tara, one of the club whores, standing beside her. Mel wasn’t stupid, and knew Pea had fucked this woman a couple of times. Damn it, she’d even listened to him tell her stuff about this woman. There hadn’t been any jealousy then. If she was honest with herself, she wasn’t jealous now because she knew that Tara wanted her husband.
That same loyalty she’d thought about a second ago meant that she could trust him. He’d not been near Tara since they’d pledged to be faithful to one another.
“He certainly is.”
She stood watching, aware that Tara was glaring at her.
“You know, you’re not fooling anyone. Why don’t you let him go back to fucking us? He wants us, and he doesn’t want your washed-up old pussy.”
Mel burst out laughing, and finally turned to Tara. “You do realize you mean nothing to him. You’re not an old lady. You’re a pussy for the club.”
“I’ve had a pussy that Pea’s been fucking for a long time.”
“Yeah, he’s been with you twice.” Mel held up her hand with her wedding band on before smoothing it down the leather cut. “I’ve got the man, the ring, and the cut. You’re nothing to him, so I suggest you back the fuck off before I stop being nice.”
“He doesn’t want you. You’re fucking boring and a slut. Pea deserves better than you and your fat ass.”
Tara raised her hand, intent on slapping her.
Mel had tried to be a lady. She’d tried to be nice, and let this woman back off. Grabbing Tara’s hand, she slapped her around the face, not caring that the people were turning toward them.
She held onto Tara’s wrist tightly.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?” Mel asked, shoving Tara away.
“He’s mine!”
It’s official, Tara is fucking crazy.
As Tara rushed her, Mel tensed up as the other woman’s body collided with hers. They both fell to the ground, and she lost focus as she fell hard.
Tara scratched her face, and had her hands around her throat. Reaching up, Mel tugged Tara’s hair before grabbing her wrists and jerking her back.
“Get the fuck off!” Mel jerked hard, turning them so that she was the one straddling Tara.
Pulling her fist back, she was about to hit Tara hard when someone grabbed her from behind, pulling her away.
“He’s mine. Fucking mine!” Tara was ranting, trying to get to her.
“You’ve got to make her stop,” Penny said, coming into sight.
Rage had hold of her, and she was trying to fight him off.
“Let me the fuck go, Rage. I want to teach her a fucking lesson once and for all,” Mel said.
If this bitch thought for a second that she’d won, she had another think coming.
His hands loosened, and she was about to make a run for it.
“Rage, hold onto her.”
He held her tightly. “She really wants at the slut, Penny.”
She fought him hard, about to sink her teeth into his arm.
“She’s pregnant!”
The words silenced everyone, and Mel stopped, looking at Pea, who was suddenly there at her side.
Her fight with Tara had stopped the fight, and now there was a circle around them.
She saw Big Ricky watching. Saint, Willy, Zeus, Rage, all of them. They were staring at her, but she was looking at Pea.
“Is it true?” he asked. “You’re pregnant?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to lie. One look at him, and she knew she couldn’t do it.”
“Yes.”
This was not the way she’d wanted to tell him. Far from it.
****
Later that night Saint was standing in his office with Rage, Fly, and Shorty. While he’d been at the fight with Rage, and many of his other men, Fly and Shorty had been at Big Ricky’s place.
“Anything?” Saint asked.
“There’s a girl there. She was playing her music pretty loudly, and didn’t hear us enter,” Fly said. “Shorty cut the power for a few minutes, but he activated it so if he asks, everyone got a sudden power surge for a couple of minutes.”
Saint nodded. “How did you not alarm the girl?”
“She had headphones on, and was listening to music from one of those device things.”
“Okay. What did you find?” Saint asked.
“Big Ricky has a vault in his office, and on his desk was Autumn’s file.”
Saint frowned. “Okay?”
“I think he’s hiding her here for a reason,” Fly said. “Something didn’t bode well.”
“Why go to the trouble of keeping her safe only to leave her at home alone?” Saint asked.
“She wasn’t alone. There were six different guards at any one point. We got in through a window that had been left open,” Fly said.
“You don’t think that’s strange?”
Short shrugged. “We got in and out undetected. That’s what you wanted us to do. I wasn’t going to come back here with a fail. I don’t like this man in my town. It stinks. All of it does. Something else is going on, and I think we’re being used as cover.”
“Pea’s said similar things.” Saint stood and looked out of his office window. When Big Ricky had first turned up, he’d been fine with it. Of course, he’d been away on his honeymoon, and while he’d been basking in the sunshine with his wife Natasha, it had also helped him to think.
No one suddenly stayed in town to keep relations good.
Whatever this shit was, it had to do with Autumn, and he was going to get to the bottom of it fast.
His wife, his sister, his club, all of their lives depended on him. The last thing he was was a fucking idiot. The warning signs with Big Ricky’s arrival had been going off inside his head, and they wouldn’t go away.
The last thing he wanted was a fucking mafia street war on Sinners’ Corner streets. Big Ricky may think his bosses had all the control. In Sinners’ Corner, Saint owned those fucking streets. This town lived and breathed because he let it, and no one was going to use his turf without him knowing about it.
It was time to find out exactly what Big Ricky and the Lorenzo family were hiding in his town.
Chapter Five
“You’re pregnant?” Pea asked.
Mel entered their home, flicking on the lights. She glanced at the clock as it was blinking with no time showing.
Checking her cell phone’s time, she went to the clock and began to change it for the right time. After that, she walked through to all the electrical clocks with Pea following behind her.
“Yes, I’m pregnant.”
“And you think starting a fight was a good thing.”
She whirled around. “That bitch is fucking crazy. She came at me, and was going to slap me. I defended myself, and you know what? I got pissed. Being pregnant your emotions go haywire. Instead of standing there crying, I got mad, I got angry, and I lashed out.” She played with buttons, beginning to lose her temper. Why did she think for a second it was a good idea to put digital, electrical powered clocks in rooms? She’d change them.
Once she’d done the hallway, sitting room, and dining room, she entered the kitchen, and growled. The stove’s clock was glowing.
Refusing to do that one, she opened the fridge, grabb
ing a bottle of water and a beer. She opened the beer for Pea, and took the water for herself.
The last place she wanted to have this conversation was her kitchen. She’d spent the entire day making it sparkle, finding dust everywhere.
According to Penny, she was nesting as if she was some kind of animal as she cleaned up her home.
“You’re getting ready for the baby to come.”
“Mel, you’re not listening to me.”
“I know. I zoned out when you started talking about the fact I shouldn’t have been fighting. Did you want me to just stand there while she hit me, huh? Would that have made you feel better?”
“Of course it fucking wouldn’t. Tara’s crazy.”
“Yeah, and she’s pissed that you won’t go back and use her skank pussy.”
“Are we going to do this now? I’ve not touched her since I told you I wanted to be exclusive with you,” he said.
She turned on the stairs and glared at him. “I wasn’t getting at that, Pea. Believe it or not, I actually trust you. You said to me that you’re not fucking every girl that walks by. I believe you. Over the years, one of the things I’ve noticed about you is the fact you keep your word. You’re loyal. Others don’t see that, and you try to hide it from them as if it’s some kind of deadly secret. I get it, Pea. You want to be with me just like I want to be with you. We’re good together.”
“We’re more than fucking good together, and you know it, Mel. We’ve made this marriage work when no one else thought it was possible.”
No one knew that Pea had offered to be exclusive first. That was her secret. He’d told her that he’d loved variety in his life, but he was ready to commit to her.
All along, she’d been the one who hadn’t wanted that.
Pea had taken the blame as if all of this had been his idea. It hadn’t been.
When he’d offered marriage, she’d thought he was joking. He hadn’t been, and then she didn’t want to be one of those women waiting at home for her husband, so she’d told him what she wanted, and he’d said if that was what she wished, fine.
Moving toward their room, she stood in the center, looking at their bed. The reality of everything came crashing down around her. As she sat on the edge of the bed, tears filled her eyes. They weren’t fake. She was afraid.
Wrapping her arms around her body, she stared up at him. “It’s yours if that was what you were curious about.”
Pea went straight for her. He climbed on the bed so that he was behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her close.
“I wasn’t going to ask you anything like that. I know that kid is mine. You wouldn’t have kept it a secret, and told me straight away. You’re not like that, Mel. I know you, and I know you’ve not been with anyone else for a long time.”
The tears fell. “We are so fucked up.”
“We’re not. I think we’re quite normal.”
“Tonight I went completely crazy on one of your exes, Pea. That’s not normal.”
“I did the same on the guy that thought he could put a hand on you.” Councilman Wallace had wanted her to leave her husband. He’d been the last man she was with. The thought of leaving Pea had scared her. She loved Pea, and that had given her cause to think about the past few years.
She’d put this divide between them. They’d been married and seeing other people, and it had been all her fault.
“Is that why you’ve been looking pale and sick? You’ve stopped your coffee, and your wine?” he asked, kissing her neck.
“Yes. The scent of coffee drives me nuts. It sends me to the toilet faster than anything. I hate salted crackers, but they’re the only things that keep my stomach at bay.”
He chuckled. “I saw my stash of salted crackers had been raided.”
“I was going to replace them when I went to the store. I hate shopping.”
“That’s not like a woman to hate shopping. I think I need to get a doctor to examine your head. Clearly something is wrong.”
“Yeah, it’s wrong, all right. I’m weird. That’s the problem.”
He kissed her head, and his fingers teased over her stomach. “That explains the sore tits, and why you tensed up whenever I kissed your stomach.”
“I was worried that if you found out, you’d be angry.”
“Why would I be angry?”
“We’ve been married a long time, but we’ve never talked about kids, Pea. This is really alarming news.”
She heard him sigh. He didn’t let her go. “It’s not alarming news. We’re going to have to babyproof this place. I’ll make some adjustments to the spare bedroom, and we can begin planning a nursery. I’ll get a crib for the days we spend at the clubhouse. All of these changes are minimal. You’re not alone in this.”
Tears fell down her cheeks, and she glanced down at his hands, holding her stomach. “What if I’m a bad mother? What if I screw up and our kid becomes a murderer, or I’m too selfish? I nearly destroyed my relationship with Penny. We’re talking about a baby, Pea. An innocent little life.”
He held her even tighter, and then suddenly, he moved.
She watched through blurry vision as he removed his leather cut, and began to strip down naked.
Pea didn’t say anything, and neither did she, waiting for him to do whatever he was going to do. He left the bedroom, and next she heard the bath water running. Seconds later he came back as the bath was filling. He took her hands, and stripped off her clothes, getting her naked.
He knelt down on the ground, and watched as he placed a hand over her stomach, pressing a kiss to it.
No words were spoken as he stood up, and took her back toward the bathroom. The tears had stopped, and he climbed into the tub, still holding her hand as he waited for her to join him.
She sat down, and he was at her back.
“I read in one of those fancy magazines you like to read that a nice warm bath is similar to chocolate or flowers,” he said, wrapping his arms around her. “You’ve got a bruise on your face from Tara hitting you, and there’s a scratch.”
She reached up to touch her face.
“Don’t worry about it. It makes you look like a badass bitch. When our kid goes to school, keep the bitch fighting to a minimum. I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m beating you in my spare time.”
Mel burst out laughing. The idea of Pea hitting her was ridiculous. He’d never hurt her. It made it even harder for her because she’d hit him, and she hated that she had.
“What’s going to happen to Tara?” she asked.
“Her ass is going to get kicked out of the club. No one wants her, least of all me. She was causing trouble.” He took her hand, locking their fingers together.
“We’re going to be parents, Pea.”
“I know. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for the kid, or tell him or her that they’re in for a treat.”
She glanced up at him. “You think we’re going to be good parents?”
“I don’t know why you think we won’t be. You’ve got this notion that we’re bad people.”
“Our marriage—”
“Is the way we wanted it to be. I don’t give a fuck what anyone else says. It’s none of their business.”
“Why did you always take the blame for the way we were? You never told Penny that you were willing to be faithful.”
“Don’t make me sound like a hero, Mel. I’m not. Why tell your sister what she’d never understand? That’s the difference. We get each other. I’m not a saint, baby. I’m a sinner. Always have been, always will be. The difference is, I’ll be sinning with you for the rest of our lives. You’re going to be an amazing mom. I just know it. Our kid will hate you at times, but that’s kids in general. We’ll go from being the most loved to the most hated.”
“It sounds like we’re going to be in for a crazy ride.”
“We’ll handle it together, just like we have everything else.”
****
He was going to be a dadd
y.
Pea couldn’t get his head around that kind of shit. He was going to be a father. Mel had long since fallen asleep, and he stared at her sleeping face. Her head was resting on his arm. Her mouth was open a little, and her hands were on her stomach. There was no sign of her pregnancy yet, but there would be.
He knew there would.
Placing a hand over hers, he marveled at what the possibilities were.
For a long time, they’d been together now. They spent holidays together, and vacations.
On the day of their wedding, he could still see her smiling face as she walked down the aisle. Some of the club whores had been pissed that an outsider had taken one of the club. To him, Mel wasn’t an outsider. She’d intrigued him for a long time. The first time he’d seen her at the club having a good time, she’d captivated him.
She’d been in the middle of the dance floor, oblivious to the stares as she danced with abandon.
Out of all of the women, she’d not been begging for attention. Her gaze hadn’t lingered on a single brother or old lady. She wasn’t trying to worm her way into the club on the good graces of anyone else.
All Mel had been trying to do was have a good time. A really good time.
After watching her dance for an hour straight, his cock had been so fucking hard that he’d not been able to resist. He’d gone right up to her and banded his arm around her waist.
She didn’t put up a fight. Instead, she’d laughed as he’d dry humped her ass, and she’d wriggled against him.
The sex that night had been the best of his life.
From that moment on, he was always on the lookout for Mel. Whenever she turned up, he’d make sure he was the brother by her side. The night would end with her in his bed, with him fucking her harder than ever before.
He wanted to make her remember him. When she was with another man, he wanted them to fall short when compared with him.
Then of course, he’d found out the truth about Mel. She’d become guardian to her sister after her parents died.
For a long time, he’d tried not to be that kind of guy who followed his girl around, panting after her. Neither of them was committed to the other, but after nearly two weeks of not seeing her, he’d caved.