"Ok," he says, eyeballing me. "I'll be watching from there," he says pointing at the camera as he exits the room.
"Lane, please leave," she quietly says.
"No."
"Fine. I'll leave then. Let your friends or family know they can come back. The room is non-refundable, and another dancer will be in soon," she says and quickly walks out the door.
Fuck her. I follow behind, livid. She will not dismiss me like that! Not knowing which way she went, I decide to wait in the hallway. Several minutes pass before she appears and my jaw drops in disbelief. She’s cradling a tiny baby dressed in pink, and my heart stops.
My feet take off on their own. I find myself running toward her, and I’m quickly by her side.
"You have a baby?" I question sadly. She has another man's baby?
"Yes," she says as tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
"I'm glad I came here tonight then. I’ve fantasized about the time I would see you again since we parted ways. To apologize for my behavior, I’d hoped you were enjoying college. Clearly you were," I say, throwing a hand suggestively towards her infant daughter in disgust.
"That's him isn't it?" A girl who looks similar to Mallory comes running towards me. "You fucking asshole. She's finally in a good place. She's doing what she needs to do because you're a fucking deadbeat. You don't get to judge." She has her finger waving in my face, which distracts me for a moment from deciphering what it is exactly that she's saying. I did hear deadbeat, and the pieces of what she's trying to say start to fall into place.
"That's not my kid," I start to defend myself with a weak voice.
"God. You make me sick! Have you looked at her?" she says, turning Mallory around so I can see the baby. What the fuck? This tiny little girl has dark black hair lying softly on her forehead, framing her perfect little face. She's curled into Mallory so I can't see all of her, but I can see enough.
"Mallory?" I question, needing confirmation to what my heart already knows. Mallory Carter is holding my daughter.
"Look, she's mine. I don't expect anything from you. We’re doing fine, and we don't need you," she says glaring at me, and I completely lose it.
"Give me my daughter! Now!" I demand, feeling my anger rise in time with my voice. Surprisingly she does.
"Just quickly. Say goodbye," she says with a nervous tone.
"Fuck you! My daughter is coming home with me. You kept her from me! Fuck you!" I scream angrily. The tiny baby squirms in my arms, starting to whimper at the angry sound of my voice.
"No, fuck YOU! Give me my baby NOW or I'm calling the police," Mallory screams, walking toward me. Any other time, I would have been intimidated by the rage I see in her eyes. In any other situation, that fiery passion I see darkening her eyes would be sexy but not now. I'm past the point of mad; I’m livid.
"Call them! No, wait. Let me get them," I say, glaring at Mallory as I rip out my cell and text Eli and Gavin to come to the hallway. Moments later I hear Gavin and Eli approach with my brothers a few steps behind.
"What's going on?" Gavin demands.
"He's kidnapping my baby," Mallory insists, her red face displaying the anxiety and fear she’s clearly feeling.
"Oh, just like you kept her from me you fucking bitch!"
"Wait? Lane what's going on?" Eli questions me, trying to figure out what the hell is going on.
"I'm a father! I didn't even know she was pregnant. I'm taking my daughter home with me."
"Lane, you can't just take her," Eli says, calmly trying to diffuse the situation.
"Watch me," I say turning around. Landon steps in front of me, blocking my path.
"Lane, give me the baby." Landon says calmly and I only do what he asks because I'm not done with Mallory.
"Lane, lets go. We can call uncle Evan and find out your rights, but you can't leave here with that baby," Gavin says. His words enrage me and I throw a punch that lands square on his jaw with a loud pop.
"You son of a bitch!" Gavin says shoving me against the wall. We both start throwing punches and the fight quickly moves to the ground as I sweep his legs, causing us both to tumble to the floor.
I hear someone calling my dad and telling him to get to the strip club and I can't help but laugh a little. Even in this moment of rage, I see humor in the fact that someone is calling my daddy. “Fuck!” I grunt as Gavin lands a solid punch to my kidneys.
"Would you two stop?" Eli says nonchalantly, adding his plea so that he can say he at least tried but I can tell he is in no rush to stop us. It's a good thing; I'd be kicking his ass too.
We throw a few more punches and although I know I'm going to hurt tomorrow, that's ok with me. Something will need to distract me from the pain that is inevitable, at least for a little while. With that in mind, I keeping swinging for God knows how long.
"Enough!" I hear my uncle Evan shout, but Gavin and I continue to fight. "For fuck’s sake! Stop it you assholes!" Finally, each of our punches stop connecting as we are pulled apart from opposite directions.
"Lane? What the hell is going on?" my dad questions, walking into the hallway and I hang my head shamefully. My father has always been proud of me, and I know I'm about to disappoint the hell out of him. "Son, what's going on here?" he asks again, demanding an explanation.
"I'm a father," I say, my voice thick with emotion and disbelief. I'm barely holding it together and I risk looking at him. To my relief, I don't see anger or disappointment. I see compassion although it seems mixed with a lot of confusion.
"What? When? How?” he asks, and I know he is trying to wrap his mind around this situation. “And you felt the need to fight with your cousin?" he questions.
"They won't let me take her. She's mine! I didn't know about her!" I say through a clenched jaw, anger once again making my blood boil.
"Is the mother here?" he asks.
I look around the hallway and realize I don't see her.
"Where is she?" I demand angrily. "Where is my daughter?"
"Relax, Lane. Landon took her and the baby into another room to calm down," Uncle Evan says.
"Where?" I demand as he points to the room.
When I walk in, I'm heartbroken, pissed, and now terrified that I have no rights to my daughter. How could she do this to me?
Mallory is in the corner crying, and her sister is holding my daughter as she sits on a leather couch. I don't feel even the slightest bit of guilt. She knows she's about to lose custody. No one can win against my uncle Evan. I turn to him and start talking, knowing she can hear every word. "How long before I can get custody of my daughter?"
"Lane, it could be a while. We have to do a DNA test; the mother would have to be deemed unfit. This doesn't all just magically happen overnight."
"Well, obviously she's unfit. I mean my daughter is in a strip club. And her mother is a fucking whore," I try to reason. If that isn't unfit, I don't know what is.
I hear Mallory's sister shout, "Mallory! No!" And turn just in time to catch a surprise right hook to the eye that jerks my head around. Immediately feeling my heartbeat in my face I turn, expecting to see my cousin back for round two, and am shocked when I see a side of Mallory I never knew existed.
Standing before me was not the little meek Mallory everyone knew. Standing before me is a force to be reckoned with. Rage has contorted her beautiful face into a red, tear streaked mess. She is standing as close to me as humanly possible without actually making contact with me and the fire in those eyes is blazing more than ever.
"Let's get one thing clear, Mr. Stone," she spits my name through clenched teeth. "YOU fucked me and told me to NEVER contact you again. To forget you ever existed. I did as you asked. And I was left pregnant, scared, and alone. I CHOSE to have my baby. I CHOSE to raise her on my own. You treated me like a used whore even AFTER you took my fucking virginity!" Mallory screams at me, her face mere inches from mine.
"Mallory?" I hear my dad question, as he walks into the room. How the hell does my father k
now Mallory?
"Noah? What are you doing here?" she asks, the rage draining from her face. She's clearly just as confused as I am.
"My son, Lane," my dad says and points to me. The color leaves her face as a deep sob shakes her body. She falls to her knees on the floor, a devastated mess of tears.
"I'm going to lose her. Please don't take her. Please. I nurse her Lane. Please."
I watch as my dad walks over and kneels next to Mallory. "Hey! No one is going to take Annie from you." Annie? She named my daughter after my grandma? But how did she know? She breaks down into my father's arms, crying harder.
"Everyone clear out. Lane and Mallory need a little time," my dad commands, and then looks back to Mallory smiling warmly at her. "I'm going to take Annie with me. Your sister can stay with us if that will make you feel safer. Ok?"
Mallory nods and then my dad looks at me with disappointment, and for the first time in a long time I know I’ve let him down. With a stern tone, he speaks to me low and serious. "She is the mother of your child. Do not EVER disrespect her again in front of me. If you want your daughter to know you, you'll hear her out. By the way, you owe me twenty-grand." And with that, he takes my restless daughter out of the room.
I turn back to Mallory and see her crumpled and crying in the corner. I start pacing the floor, trying to calm myself as I feel the bruise spreading around my eye from Mallory's little reality check earlier. Unsure of what to say or how to say it, I stop at the leather couch and sit. My face in my hands, I silently try to come up with a solution to this fucked up mess.
Chapter
12
Mallory
I'm fighting to breathe on the floor in one of the back rooms of the club and Lane is here, he’s undeniably pissed. Hell, if he’s not his eye sure is. It’s turning a grisly shade of purple, and I find myself wondering if that was my handiwork or that of the guy he was after a little while ago. I don't understand why he's so upset; I did what I was told to do. He said to leave him alone afterwards; he told me to forget all about him. I tried doing just that, but it isn't possible for me. So, I had his daughter without him, but he can't take her from me. He won't take her from me.
"Lane?" I whisper and he stares at me with eyes full of rage but he doesn’t speak. The silence is deafening. "I thought I was doing the right thing," I try to explain as he closes his eyes, I watch his broad shoulders rise and fall as he takes a few deep breaths before he starts to speak.
"How in the hell is keeping my daughter from me the right thing? Please explain."
"I wanted to tell you. I drove by your apartment repeatedly. At least once a week. One time I even walked to the stairs. But every time I thought I could face you, I heard your voice in my ear telling me to forget where you live and to never come back."
"That's no excuse, Mallory. I had the right to know I was going to be a father," he says without ever breaking his direct glare into my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Lane. I was scared to death. You didn't want anything to do with me and you made that pretty clear. I was alone and afraid. Afraid if I did tell you I was pregnant, you would want me to get rid of her. I couldn't handle hearing that."
"I would’ve never asked you to do that."
"How was I supposed to know?" I question. I decide to let him do the talking, that way I have at least a moment to get my own emotions in check.
"I don't know Mallory. But I know I'm fighting for custody. Full custody. My daughter will not be raised in a strip club," he spits his words hatefully as he thrusts his hand at the cheap purple balloon back couch that has most definitely seen better days. I can feel tears filling my eyes and they’re threatening to run down my cheeks but I can't tell if it's anger or hurt causing them. I feel my face getting red and I can feel that my temper is about to turn his other eye the same angry shade of purple when a knock echoes through the room. It's Noah. I knew he looked familiar, I’d seen him in the stands at the high school football games watching Lane coach. The two of them look just alike.
"She's hungry," Noah announces as he walks towards me carrying my obviously unhappy, extremely wiggly baby. I take her from his arms and pull her close to me so that I can kiss her tiny, sweet forehead. He touches my arm and whispers softly to me, "Everything will work out.” He winks at me and smiles warmly before turning back towards the door. I pray he’s right.
The moment the door closes, I sit on the couch and pull my top to the side to place Annie to my breast. She immediately latches on, suckling with greed. She needs me; I keep finding myself back at this terrifying statement. He can’t take her from me because she needs me... and I need her. I have no idea what our future holds, but one thing is for damn sure. I’ll never leave my daughter.
Lane
I’m pacing the glitter-infested floor like a caged animal as Mallory nurses my tiny daughter. I have so much more to say but I want Annie to feed peacefully so I bide my time walking circles around the dimly lit room. As I’m walking, I pass by a mirror and notice that my eye is already pretty fucking black. Between Mallory and Gavin, my poor face never had a chance. This has got to be the worst night of my life. I'm pulled from my thoughts by the soft, sweet lullaby Mallory is singing softly to Annie. I walk over to the couch and stare down at Annie nestled comfortably to her mother's breast, getting her tiny belly full. How is it possible that one little baby girl has changed me so completely in just a moment? In this instance, I start to understand why fathers clean guns on their daughter's first date. I'd do anything for her.
"Mallory, I don't know where we go from here."
"Me either.... but don't try to take her from me. Please. She’s my everything. You can see her as much as you want." Mallory is trembling and I can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for her, regardless of the circumstances.
"Did you give her my last name?" I ask.
"No, I didn't," she says.
"Can we change that on Monday?"
"If that's what you want," she says, and I exhale my relief. I’m glad she’s not being difficult "She's done if you want to hold her." I watch as Mallory gently pulls Annie's mouth from her breast and dabs her chin dry before she covers herself.
"I do," I reply.
I sit beside Mallory and gently take Annie from her. Sitting here and holding my daughter, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she deserves to have both of her parents in her life. How can I make this work? I want my daughter with me all the time, but I know it can't happen under one roof. After her hiding my daughter from me, I can't trust Mallory anymore.
"Can I see her tomorrow?" I ask, rocking Annie softly.
"Sure. I work again tomorrow night. I could drop her off to you around eight? She really is a good baby. You can keep her all night if you want. I have plenty of breast milk stored so you can feed her. Plus, she’s a great sleeper," Mallory gushes all of these things that I should already know about my daughter. My daughter.....
It doesn’t take long for my mind to drift back to the thought of Mallory dancing against that pole the way she was tonight. The mother of my child will not be a fucking stripper, over my dead body.
"You’re not working here," I bark out, gesturing once again to the dingy room we’re standing in.
"Lane, it's good money. When I go back to school in the fall, I need to be able to pay for childcare."
"I'll watch my daughter," I snap at her.
"You can’t, you work long hours and your weekends are full until after football season." Fuck, she's right.
"Then I’ll pay for childcare."
"I told you I don't want anything from you. Just being in Annie's life is more than I ever could’ve hoped for," she says with a genuine smile on her face as she looks back down at our now sleepy baby.
"Mallory, I'm taking care of my daughter."
"Our daughter, and I'm taking care of her too. It’s not just your responsibility.”
We have so much we need to work through but I don't know what to do first. I'm confused, pissed, and hurt.
Curious as to how to ask, I just go ahead with it: "how do you know my father?"
"He delivered Annie. I was his last patient before he retired." Oh my God! That was Mallory! I've heard my parents talk about her and my daughter for weeks now! They couldn't seem to let it go. They were really worried about her. Fuck, they even said they were worried one of us had knocked her up. In a strange way, I feel a little relief. If I couldn't be there, I'm happy my parents could be.
"Mallory can we meet for lunch tomorrow with Annie?" I ask hopefully.
"Of course. Where?"
"Do you like pizza?"
"Who doesn't like pizza?" She says with a giggle, trying to lighten the mood.
"My Aunt Kerrigan bought a pizza place on Clarke Street, It's called Stones Pizza and Deli."
"Oh I know that place. I've heard it's great. So, I'll see you tomorrow? Noon?"
"Sounds good." I say, and I kiss my daughter’s forehead before handing her over to Mallory. The child I didn't know I wanted so badly until I found out she existed… But where do we go from here?
Chapter 13
Mallory
"His family seems nice," my sister says to me before adding, "even if he's not," under her breath.
"Amy, I didn't tell him. He has every right in the world to be upset with me,” I remind her, after all, it’s true.
"Well, he's an asshole. You just shouldn’t trust him so easily," Amy says with that endearing, motherly tone to her voice that reminds me of Mom and the good old days. I’ve been lucky to have my older sister. We gave up on our mother a long time ago. In return, we’ve learned to parent each other from time to time.
"I won't. I promise," I reply with a half-hearted smile. I hug Amy quickly and sling the diaper bag over my shoulder as I pick up the car seat my daughter is sleeping so soundly in.
Walking out the front door, I'm a nervous wreck. I don't want Lane to hate me forever. I hope for Annie's sake she has parents who can at least tolerate each other, even if just for her. I lean into the car and place Annie's seat into the base, hearing the safety latch click, I lean back out of the car and shut the door. As I turn around to go back to the driver’s side, I bump into someone who’s standing closely behind me. Without thinking, I say quickly, "Oh, sorry!" but when I see who it is, my skin starts to crawl.
Lane (Made From Stone Book 1) Page 10