That's Not My Baby

by Erosa Knowles

  “Got it,” Max said. “You think you’re the father of Adele’s child?”

  “How do you know her?” Chip asked glancing at Brock’s gun.

  “Jose, my brother, teammate, she was his wife.”

  “Was?” Bernard asked.

  “He died… and asked us to look after her.” Max pointed to Brock who’s pistol remained on Chip.

  “I didn’t know. She never mentioned you or told me her deceased husband’s name, just that she was widowed.”

  “Did you tell her you were married?” Brock asked.

  “Yes, of course. I explained things about Viola and myself. She was okay with it. Is that why he’s pointing the gun at me? He thinks I trapped Adele? We both knew what we were getting into. I’m not the only man she sees. According to her he’s out of town a lot and she never saw both of us at the same time.”

  Max’s brow rose. Maria said Adele hadn’t known.

  “What do you intend to do about this? She’s having that baby, her choice and we intend to support her decision,” Max asked instead of discussing the gun.

  Chip exhaled. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I need another perspective from someone… who knows about stuff?”

  “Stuff?” Max said trying to follow. It was obvious Chip was embarrassed, but he needed to speak clearly for them to have a discussion.

  “Since I found out I’m shooting live ammo, I tried to contact her to explain what happened but can’t reach her. Maybe she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me and I’m going about this all wrong.”

  “Why talk to me about it?”

  Chip’s cheek reddened, but he clenched his jaw and met Max’s gaze. “Man, this would be my first and only child. When I married Viola, I accepted a life with no kids, but… this changes things.”

  Surprise raced through Max at the path the conversation took. “You could lose your commission, your wife, everything you’ve worked for,” Max said, unsure Chip thought things through.

  Chip nodded and looked at his hands. “True, but… you have a son… what would you do if this was you? Would you tell me it’s worth it to give up everything to be with my child or ignore his existence and allow someone else to claim him as their own?”

  The question slammed into Max. He understood the dilemma and thanked God he never had to make such a choice. Kevin’s mother had been his girlfriend and cheating on girlfriends didn’t count in the military. In all honesty he didn’t have an answer. Tamara, the only woman he ever loved, would leave him if another woman turned up pregnant while they were together. He knew she’d walk like he knew his name. But to choose between the love of your life and your child who needs you… Max didn’t know what he would do.

  Brock re-holstered his weapon but remained standing. “Are you considering being a part of your child’s life?”

  Max caught Brock’s look and understood the importance of this question.

  “Yes, I’m considering it. As long as she wasn’t going to have the child that wasn’t a question. But now… now that she’s going through with it, I can’t stop thinking what it’d be like to have a kid around, know what I mean?”

  Max nodded.

  “Didn’t she plan to have the child all along?” Max asked surprised to hear abortion had ever been an issue.

  “Not at first. I gave her the money she asked for and thought the matter was solved. Later she said she couldn’t. Adele never thought she’d be able to have children and this was her only shot. What could I say? It was her decision. I reminded her about my vasectomy and she said it had to be mine, but it didn’t matter, she didn’t want anything from me.”

  Max nodded. The Chip he knew would give money to the woman he’d been involved with to have an abortion, even if he didn’t believe the child was his.

  “To answer your question Brock, that’s what I wanted to talk out. The pros and cons of this situation. I need cool heads to work this out in my mind before I talk to my wife or Adele.”

  “In your heart of hearts do you want a child?” Max asked. No need to bring up Adele’s situation now. Maybe another time.

  Chip pursed his lips and shook his head slowly while staring at a point above Max’s shoulder. “Yes… I believe I do. Haven’t given the impossible much thought before… but now that she’s having the child, I want to have a part in his or her life.” With slow movements he lowered his gaze until he met Max’s. Chip’s eyes were watery but filled with light.

  “What about your wife? What will Viola do?” Max asked.

  “I love my wife, we’re a good match. She’ll be pissed,” Chip said. “Not over the adultery,” he corrected. “But because another woman is doing something she refused to do.”

  “Will she divorce you?” Max asked, surprised Chip didn’t seem too upset.

  “Maybe. Who knows with Viola? She may want to negotiate visitation as well as child support payments or scream her head off. Just depends on how she’s feeling when I tell her.” Chip dropped his forehead into his palm. “If I lose my job…” He turned to look at Bernard. “Dad’ll get his way and I’ll put that degree to use in the family business.”

  Bernard clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about that right now. First, make a decision on what you want to do. Then talk to the two women in your life who can make or break your world. It’s not in either woman’s best interest to discuss the adultery, but if they choose to make waves… like I said, it’s not the end of the world. You can retire early, move into your house and visit your kid.”

  Max glanced at Brock who nodded, releasing Chip from their suspect list.

  “Did you talk to anyone else about this situation?” Brock asked.

  “No. Just my brother. He’s been keeping an eye on Viola and made sure I received the doctor’s report. Once I discovered the truth, I called in some favors to start my assignment here earlier.”

  Max wanted to ask why he’d been searching for Franks and Southern but needed to talk to Brock first to determine how much information they planned to share with Chip. They suspected the father of the child to be behind the threats and assault, but that theory just fizzled. Looking at Chip, Max saw a man in the midst of crisis, the ending of his marriage and career, and the beginning of fatherhood. That’s if Adele didn’t run.

  Chapter 21.

  “You didn’t tell him?” Tamara asked lying in bed next to Max. “Why not? What if he knows something about her attacker?” She leaned up on her elbow to look down at him. His head rested on his arms as he met her curious gaze.

  “Chip doesn’t know about the assault, he was out of town and got the news he could father a child while overseas. He never thought the child was his, until now.”

  “Hmm, did he get checked because of Adele? Or was there another reason?” She asked.

  “Adele. She’d been adamant the child was his, regardless of what he said. Bernard told Chip of cases where women got pregnant from men with vasectomies, especially older operations like his. Seems it happens a bit. So he scheduled a check-up right after he testified on behalf of the general.” Max snorted at the irony. Both men were adulterers; in the eyes of the military they committed crimes which could strip them of their livelihood. And one gave credence to the good character of the other.

  “Bernard? He told him to get it checked?”

  Max’s brow rose at her incredulous tone. “Yeah, he’s an attorney and is advising his brother on how to handle this legally. I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t making plans for Chip to leave the military and work in the family business. I never knew Chip attended law school and passed the bar.”

  “I thought something was going on between Bernard and Viola. That day I met you at the house, she contacted me asking if he was with me.”

  “Why would she ask that?” He turned on his side and pulled her next to him.

  “He had stopped by the office to ask me out. I suppose she knew and sounded snippy about it until I told her he left. Plus, when we were looking at h
ouses he mentioned good school districts, she gave him a stink eye.”

  Max smiled. “Stink eye? What’s that?”

  She glared at him with one eyelid half closed.

  “Ah, the stink eye?” He touched her nose with his fingertip.

  “Yeah, then she said something about it not being important.”

  “For her, good schools aren’t important. She told Chip before they married, no kids. He agreed. Bernard knew that, so his mention of schools was probably to get a rise out of her.”

  Tamara frowned. “But why would he do that? I got the impression those two really liked each other. Is that a show? They’re acting for my benefit?”

  “I don’t know.” Max yawned. “In the office, he said some things, made it sound like he didn’t care for her. Chip stopped him a couple of times. Seems Viola for all her beauty and grace is a cold wife. Chip mentioned he hadn’t slept in the same room with his wife in years. The vasectomy allowed them to keep their agreement of no children, and allowed him to have sex with other women without making them pregnant. To date, no woman ever accused him of fathering their kid.”

  “If you told me from the outset that you had a vasectomy, I wouldn’t tell you about a pregnancy either, unless you were the only man I’d been screwing.”

  Max placed his fingertips on her cheek and turned her toward him. “One day, I want you to have my baby. Will that be a problem?”

  Her eyes widened and then filled. “No, not really. But I told you, I tried for years to have a child in my first marriage and it never happened. If we get pregnant, it’d make me happy.”

  He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Me too. We’ll work on that later, for now you need to get some rest. I’ve worked you over pretty good tonight.” His fingertips ran down her stomach and rested on her mound.

  “You were extra feisty tonight.” She placed her hand over his.

  “Are you complaining? Or bragging about what you do to me?”

  She smiled and he had to kiss her. Leaning forward, he brushed his lips across hers in a gentle caress. Her arms circled his neck, and pulled him closer.

  “Tingles ran through my body a long time after you finished pounding your long, thick, and hard, cock into my… well you know. I never get enough of what you do to me.” His heart raced at the huskiness of her voice. Her voice softened. This woman seduced him in ways no one ever had.

  “The taste of your dick, the smell of your body when you’re aroused, wanting me. The way your eyes turn two shades darker or the way your big hands feel stroking me… like you’re doing now.”

  “Can’t help it, when you talk dirty like that… it turns me inside out.”

  She chuckled, the sound wrapped its tentacles into his soul. “Dirty? No baby. I’m just telling you the truth. When you fuck me… make love to me… I’m lost and totally enthralled with you.” She winked and ran her thumb across his lip. “I love you, and I love what you do to me, stud.”

  Unable to resist her siren’s call, Max rolled on top of her and kissed her taut nipples in greeting. “Stud? Should I get busy then? I don’t ever want you to leave my bed hungry for more. My job and pleasure is to make sure all your needs are met.” He took hold of her hands and held them on the bed above her head.

  She wiggled and opened her legs wider. He rested between them and rolled his hips, making sure the tip of his penis brushed against her opening. She winced. The small movement stopped him cold. They had gone to bed three hours ago, and most of that time he’d either been inside her with his cock or his tongue.

  Max went to move.

  Her hand held him in place. “Where are you going?”

  “I just remembered I needed to check in with Skinny about Adele.”

  Her brow rose. “Just now? Right this minute? In the middle of sex?”

  He rolled over and held his cock for her inspection. “Look at this.”

  She leaned forward. “What?”

  “I’m chafed. Hurts a bit, I think I overdid it.”

  Her face morphed into one of concern. “Oh baby, I’m sorry. We have been at it for a while, but your dick’s addictive. The more I get, the more I want. From now on, we’ll be smart about this.” She placed a kiss on his cock and lay back on her pillow stifling a yawn.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He left the bed, grabbed his phone and headed for the family room. Skinny picked up on the second ring.

  “Chief.”

  “How’s everything going?”

  “Good. She’s calmer with Sergei here. When Charlene showed up with dinner, he insisted on serving Adele. She came to the table, sat, ate and talked for a little while. She’s slowly returning to her uppity self.”

  Max smiled at Skinny’s assessment. “Sergei hasn’t given you any trouble?”

  “No. Quite the opposite. He assessed security, claimed it was decent and then added a few of his own tricks. Even Brock was impressed.”

  Ouch. Max could imagine Brock’s initial reaction that someone called his security measures decent. “Good. I just wanted to check on things before calling it a night. See you tomorrow. Maybe Adele will be up to answering questions.”

  “She should, Sir. Like I said, she acts like the Adele everyone knew before.”

  Max clicked off and headed to bed.

  “Everything ok?” Tamara asked as he lay beside her, and pulled her close.

  “Seems like Adele is her old self again. Skinny’s words, not mine.”

  “Because of Sergei?”

  “I guess.”

  “She loves him?”

  Max snorted. Although he felt bad for the things that happened to the woman, he didn’t care for her at all. Never did. “Adele loves Adele. Hopefully she’ll open her heart to her child as well.”

  “Yes, let’s hope so.”

  Chapter 22.

  Max pulled up to the safe house, parked and walked inside. Skinny met him in the kitchen and updated him.

  “Been quiet. Serge’s cooked and taken over her care. Everything goes through him to her. She came out the room earlier, looked a lot better, sat at the table and ate. He helped her back into the room, came back out and cleaned the kitchen. They’ve been in her room since.”

  Max grabbed an apple from the bowl, rubbed it against his jacket and took a bite. “Thanks.” He clasped Skinny on the shoulder in silent camaraderie.

  “Any news on who did this?”

  “Not yet, we’re following some leads. Jace ran into a wall on the pins and Brock’s checking out a few things. Crystal told Greg and Jimmie I needed to talk with them. When I leave here, I’ll head to Reclamation. They see everything that happens at the club. I’m wondering if someone had been hanging around and we missed it.”

  Skinny nodded. “Good idea. They been around a long time and might recognize that pin, too.”

  Max hadn’t thought of that. “I’ll show them a picture.” He would also ask them about the sleepers to see if they had any information. The two men lived in the woods and came around a few times a week when the weather was decent and camped on the patio of the club. Harmless in his opinion but not everyone shared Max’s views and had been less than cordial to the men. They didn’t come to the club as often anymore.

  Max headed toward the bedroom and tapped the door a few times. “Adele?”

  Sergei opened the door and stepped out. He waved Max down the hall away from the door. “How long will you be here today?”

  Max glanced at the closed door and then met Sergei’s gaze. “As long as I need to. Why?”

  “In my haste to find her, I did not prepare properly and need to take care of a few things. I need an hour, two at the most. But I will only leave her with you or Brock.”

  Max did a mental checklist of his schedule and nodded. “No problem. I can stay for two hours, if you need more time than that, Brock will trade places with me.” At least he hoped Brock could slip away. Based on their earlier conversation, his partner had a full day planned.

  “T
hank you. I will explain things to Adele.” Sergei turned to leave.

  “One second, I need to talk to you.”

  Sergei nodded and followed Max out the front door. “Over here.” They walked to Max’s car and leaned against it. “Maria, Adele’s best friend wants to see her.”

  “No. Not until the threat is neutralized. No one comes here other than those approved by you or me,” Sergei said in a hard tone.

  “What are your plans for Adele?”

  “I plan to take care of her and the child.”

  Max nodded. “She agreed?”

  “Not yet.” Sergei released a sigh. “She’s in between realities. One moment she sees today for what it is, the next she’s walking into high school. I’m concerned for her.”

  “Should she see a therapist?”

  “Maybe, after all of this is over. She should be straight by now, the medication isn’t strong, not for her fading in and out. Something else may be going on.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “Not yet, I’m working on it. I need to get going so I can return.” Sergei walked off. Max followed and remained in the living areas talking with the guys until Sergei left. The movie Die Hard started, he and Skinny watched the action until Adele entered the living room looking around. Bruce Willis had entered the building when Adele caught his eye, exhaled and nodded.

  Max nodded, pleasantly surprised at how well she appeared. Her hair hung in a long braid down her back, her face had lost the long drawn sallow look, hints of pick showed. The light pink and white jogging suit complimented her freshly scrubbed look and highlighted her baby bump.

  “Can I talk to you?” she asked surprising him.

  “Sure.” He gave the movie one last glance, stood and followed her to the kitchen where they could have some privacy.

  Adele fidgeted in her chair a few moments before speaking. “I keep getting things mixed up.” She tapped her head and looked away. “Some things seem so real, like yesterday, and others… I don’t know. It’s frustrating not remembering everything.” She held up her bruised arm. “I keep thinking I know who did this.”