Bella got the meaning of the comment right away.
“Please… please tell me you are not leaving college and going to San Francisco.”
“I have to,” Carrie said.
“You don’t have to do anything,” Bella replied.
“Trust me,” Carrie said. “I really need to do this. If Mum or Dad make you call me about anything at the college… just lie that you did it and everything is fine.”
“I’m not lying to them,” Bella almost squealed.
“Come on,” Carrie appealed. “Help me out here. You more than anyone know how I feel about him. I can’t afford Dad hunting me down again.”
“You’re a complete idiot,” Bella said. “You know that, don’t you? As far as I understand it from Dad, you went down there and Carl fucked off and left you. How do you know he won’t just do the same thing again? How do you even know he’ll be there?”
The questions being put into words were those that were in Carrie’s mind, and it was scary to hear them being said out loud.
“I know it’s stupid,” she conceded. “But if I don’t do this, I’ll end up regretting it forever.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Bella commented.
“Just don’t say a word,” Carrie begged.
“Look, I’m not going to promise you anything,” Bella replied. “But I know I can’t stop you, so just be careful and keep in touch.”
“Don’t worry,” Carrie said. “Everything will be fine and I’ll give you a call in a couple of days.”
Her words brought the conversation to an end and she hung up the call. She’d tried to make herself sound confident when she said everything would be fine, but she wasn’t sure she quite believed herself.
“You didn’t tell her you were pregnant,” Darlene commented.
“I didn’t want her to worry,” Carrie replied. “I just wanted her to know I was leaving college again in case she called and didn’t get me on my phone. That would make her go through the college switchboard, which was my undoing the last time.”
“Just leave your phone on then,” Darlene said.
“Then my parents can get me.”
“Yeah, but they don’t know where you are just by calling you,” Darlene pointed out.
“Have you ever tried lying to an army staff sergeant?” Carrie asked.
“No,” Darlene conceded. “But you just asked your sister to.”
The grimace flashed across Carrie’s face. She knew she was putting Bella in an awkward position and felt guilty about it, but couldn’t think of any other way. Leaving college and saying nothing might have resulted in Bella calling and finding she wasn’t there. That would likely end up with her father coming after her, which was the last thing she needed when she was with Crash. That was if he was there when she turned up.
“Well, it’s packed,” Darlene said and held up the bag.
“Thanks,” Carrie said.
“Are you going to say anything to your counselor before you leave?”
Carrie shook her head.
“I just want to go,” she said and went to get her coat.
She then got the bag from her friend and they walked to the door of the room.
“Do you want me to come with you to the bus station?” Darlene asked.
“No, you’ve done enough for me already,” Carrie replied. “Thanks for your help.”
They hugged each other before leaving the room and making their way down to the front of the dorm building.
“Let me know what happens,” Darlene said.
“I will,” Carrie said.
She walked away without so much as a glance over her shoulder and made her way to the station. After buying the San Francisco ticket for the next service, she went in search of the correct stand and saw the bus already waiting.
“Everything will be fine,” she muttered under her breath as she got on board, but she knew that she was heading towards the unknown.
There was no shaking off the feeling that the next few days were likely to be the most important of her life.
Chapter 14
Crash let out a curse when he picked up the packet from the kitchen table and opened it to see nothing inside. He crushed it then threw it down as the urge to keep smoking played on his mind, and in the end he knew he would need to go to the store. Puffing on a cigarillo was the only thing keeping him calm since Carrie’s phone call that morning, and he’d been chain smoking them ever since. Two packs were already gone, but he now needed more, so he got to his feet then walked towards the door.
“Shit,” he let out as he realized his gun was still on the table. “You’re going to get yourself killed.”
He shook his head as he went to retrieve it then walked out of the kitchen to get his leather jacket. Slipping the weapon in his pocket, he opened the door to check there was no one in the hallway before stepping out to it, and he remained wary as he went down the stairs. His eyes darted around when he got to the sidewalk, but there was no one acting suspiciously as far as he could tell. He was starting to think the threat of revenge from the Mob was all in his mind and brought out his phone from his pocket to dial a number as he walked in the direction of the store.
“Hello,” Six said when he picked up the call.
“Hi, it’s Crash,” he replied. “Is everything alright with you?”
“Sure,” Six answered.
“No sign of any Mob guys?” Crash went on.
“No,” Six told him. “I don’t think it’s anything we need to be overly concerned about. Just be as careful as you normally are and things should be fine.”
“What about Patch?”
“He’s here at the Roadrunners’ building with me,” Six answered. “Will you be coming in here today?”
“I was planning to,” Crash said. “I wanted to finish the work on the truck, but something came up I need to deal with.”
“Is it anything you need help with?” Six asked.
The thought of Carrie came in Crash’s head and he couldn’t stop the grim smile spreading across his face. He really could do with some help when it came to her, but shook his head to clear the thought away.
“No,” he answered the question. “This is something I need to deal with myself. I’ll probably see you tomorrow.”
“Sure thing,” Six replied.
It brought the call to an end and Crash pulled the phone from his ear. He stopped when he got to the store and took a quick glance over his shoulder. As far as he could make out, there was no one watching or following him.
“You’re getting paranoid,” he muttered under his breath. “Nothing is going to happen.”
Stepping inside the store, he walked over to the counter and acknowledged the greeting of the woman behind it.
“Two packs of cigarillos,” he said and pointed out the brand he wanted from the display of tobacco products on the wall behind the counter.
The woman got them and handed them over. Crash then passed her the money and waited for his change.
“Enjoy the rest of the day,” the woman said as she handed it over.
“You too,” Crash replied.
Enjoying the day was the last thing he expected to do. He remained vigilant on the short walk home, but his mind returned to Carrie when he stepped inside the door of his apartment. The fact that she called him didn’t come as a huge surprise, although the last bit of news she passed on did.
“A dad,” he said for what seemed like the hundredth time since her call as he sat down and opened a packet of cigarillos.
He got one out to light it and greedily sucked in the smoke. Being a father and a family man was something he definitely wanted in his life, although the circumstances under which it appeared to be happening were hardly ideal. He really hadn’t wanted Carrie to travel down that day. That was as much to do with giving himself a chance to think things through and come to a decision as it was with the dangerous situation of potential Mob vengeance. His impulse had been to call her straight bac
k after she hung up that morning, but he knew it would be a waste of time. She wasn’t going to be swayed by anything he said, and there was no likelihood that she would listen to him and not make the trip.
He never intended to stay at the apartment that day, but Carrie’s impending visit meant that there was no choice in the matter and he continued chain smoking as he waited. When the sound of the knocking came to him, he froze for an instant as the crazy thought to ignore it flashed through his mind. He shook off the idea straight away then stood up to walk to the door. When he got to it, he inhaled deeply to try and compose himself.
“Why didn’t you come home?” Carrie complained the second he opened the door.
Crash was slightly taken aback by the directness of the question and let out a sigh.
“I couldn’t,” he answered. “I…”
“You couldn’t… or didn’t want to because of me?” she interrupted him.
“Things got complicated,” he replied. “Look, come in and we can talk.”
He moved aside to let her walk in and took the bag from her after closing the door. They moved through to the lounge and Crash placed the bag beside the armchair he sat down on. Carrie went to the sofa and just stared at him as she waited for an explanation. The intense, cute look on her face made him smile without even realizing he was doing it.
“Do you think this is amusing?” she asked.
Crash shook his head as he wiped the expression from his face.
“No,” he said. “This is as shit serious as it can get.”
“So…?” she encouraged him. “Tell me what happened for a start.”
“Things went wrong with the job I was on,” he told her.
“In what way?” she asked.
“You really don’t want to know,” Crash went on. “But the fall out from things getting fucked up meant I couldn’t return to San Francisco straight away. I only just returned.”
“You could have called,” Carrie told him.
“I did try,” Crash replied. “I called in the small hours of the morning on the day the job went bad. You didn’t answer it or weren’t here.”
Carrie glanced around and remembered standing in the room staring at the ringing phone. She now wished she’d picked it up.
“I was here,” she told him quietly. “I was scared to pick up the phone in case it was someone looking for me. Why didn’t you call again?”
Crash shrugged his shoulders.
“I thought about things and decided it was better that you just got away from me,” he told her. “I’m no good for you, and the life I lead isn’t either.”
“Can’t you let me be the judge of that?” she asked.
“And what about your family… your father?” Crash pointed out. “They won’t exactly be happy.”
“So what?” Carrie let out. “They’ll just have to accept it. I’m not planning to live my life just to make my family happy.”
“Come on, Carrie,” Crash said as the doubts surfaced in his mind. “It’s completely crazy to even think about us getting together.”
“And what about the baby?” she threw at him.
“You’re sure you are pregnant?” he replied in a calm voice he wasn’t exactly feeling.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” she told him. “A college friend bought me a test kit this morning and the result was positive. I did it twice and they both showed that I’m expecting a baby… your baby.”
“Shit,” Crash said without thinking and saw the crestfallen expression on Carrie’s face. “I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately. “I didn’t mean that. It’s just… well, it’s just come as something of a shock.”
“For me too,” Carrie replied. “I didn’t plan this and I’m not trying to trap you.”
“I know,” he said. “But…”
“But what?” Carrie asked after a few seconds of silence.
“I don’t know,” Crash let out. “Getting told I’m going to be a father out of the blue like that. I don’t know what to think.”
She could see the uncertainty on his face and remained quiet for a short while before going on.
“I want to have the baby,” Carrie told him. “I want to be with you… so you need to make up your mind.”
Crash wasn’t sure what to say in reply and the silence in the room wasn’t comfortable.
“Don’t you want to have kids and a happy family life?” Carrie went on.
“Yes,” Crash said.
“Well, you can have them with me,” Carrie told him as she got to her feet. “You know how much I love you, and even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself, I know you feel the same.”
She moved across the room to drop down on his lap and waited to see what happened. He didn’t try to make her get up and it allowed her to settle in place and get comfortable.
“You sound so sure,” he said.
“I am,” Carrie told him. “You’ve wanted me since I was a bratty little teenager teasing you, and don’t try to pretend otherwise. You might fight it, but you know you really want me. Well, here I am. You can have me for the rest of your life and the babies.”
“Babies?” he let out.
“Sure,” she said and grabbed his hand to put it on her belly. “You want more than one, don’t you? I’ll give them to you and we’ll live life as a happy family.”
The smile flashed across her pretty face as she deliberately squirmed around in his lap and it got her the reaction she wanted.
“See?” she said and giggled. “You can’t resist me. All I have to do is sit in your lap and you can’t control yourself.”
“Fuck,” Crash let out through clenched teeth.
He was unable to stop himself getting excited and his erection grew stiffer as Carrie continued to wriggle in his lap. The way her butt was rubbing against his cock through the denim of his jeans was bringing it to life, and he closed his eyes when she stopped moving.
“Don’t push me away,” she said.
He opened his eyes to meet her gaze and in that moment knew he wasn’t going to.
“I won’t,” he told her.
She clasped her hands at the nape of his neck to pull his head down and the kiss was gentle. They stared at each other when their lips parted and suddenly the kisses became more urgent as they found themselves unable to contain their passion for each other. They were both breathing heavily when their heads moved apart.
“Are you sure it’s…” Crash started.
Carrie put her finger to his mouth to stop his words.
“I want this more than ever,” she said and let out a quiet laugh as she squirmed to make her butt rub on hard cock. “I think you do too.”
“Are you always going to be a tease?”
“Oh yeah,” she responded. “It’s a benefit of being with a younger woman, so you’ll just have to live with it.”
She unclasped her fingers from around his neck and scrambled to get to her feet. Reaching out a hand, she waited for Crash to take it and helped him stand. Their bodies came together and she could make out the hardness pressing on her belly.
“This is what got us in trouble in the first place,” Crash said.
“But I’m pregnant now,” Carrie replied cheekily. “So we don’t need to worry about protection.”
She moved away from him and pulled on his hand to make him follow as she led the way out of the lounge. They walked towards the bedroom, but she suddenly stopped halfway along the hallway.
“Did you buy me a leather jacket?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Crash replied.
“This one will have to do then,” she said and pulled his jacket down from the hook on the wall.
“Hey,” Crash protested.
“Shut up,” she told him and resumed walking in the direction of the bedroom.
She released her grip on his hand once they were inside and walked in the direction of the bathroom. Closing the door of the small room to block his view of her, she quickly stripped off the clothes she was we
aring. The leather was cool against her naked skin and it made her shiver as she put the jacket on. The large size swamped her small frame and she looked down to see the hem halfway down her thighs. It covered that she was completely nude when she did up the zip and she was quick to open the bathroom door.
“How do I look?” she asked and smiled as she leaned against the doorframe in a seductive pose.
Club Property: Adults Only Motorcycle Club Romance: Roadrunners MC Page 14