by Khloe Wren
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and pressed my ear to her chest so I could hear her heartbeat as she kept stroking my hair.
Chapter 4
Marie
Staring at the IV in my arm, my thoughts swirled while my stomach churned. The drugs they’d given me had stopped the contractions before I’d gone too far into labor but I would now have to spend the remainder of my pregnancy in the hospital on bed rest. All the while getting fed drugs to speed up my boy’s growth because apparently, my baby boy was coming early.
Another chime on Scout’s phone had me lifting my gaze to him. He paced the room, running his hands through his hair. I didn’t doubt he was wishing he still wore the bandana he used to always wear and constantly adjust. I was grateful when he’d ditched it after he’d discovered I liked to run my fingers through his hair, which I couldn’t do if he had that dirty old thing on. Right now it wasn’t an old piece of cloth that was bugging me, it was his phone that was constantly going off. He seemed unaware of it, which was impossible with how often the thing was dinging.
“Babe? You gonna check that?”
He jolted, like he’d been in a trance or something, then rushed to my side. “Sorry, what? Where does it hurt? What do you need?”
I reached up and stroked my fingers over his cheek and through his beard as I smiled up at my man. He was a gorgeous beast. I knew he’d move heaven and earth to keep me safe and the fact someone got to me today was killing him inside. We’d only been together for a short time but I’d known this man for over two decades. I knew him. Knew that he wanted to be out there dealing with this threat to us, rather than being stuck in a hospital room, unable to do a damn thing. And to be honest, I could use a little alone time to process.
“Everything will be fine, babe. The doctor has it handled as much as he can. I’m in the best place I can be. And even if our son comes today, it’s only a little early. Babies born at thirty-three weeks have a ninety-eight percent chance of survival, at thirty-four weeks, it’s ninety-nine percent. He’s gonna be fine. So, please, for all our sakes, answer your damn phone before whoever it is blowing it up decides to come in here to yell at you for not answering the damn thing.”
With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he leaned in and kissed me before standing up straight.
“No idea how you know that shit off the top of your head, babe. And if I see any one of the texts coming in, I’ll have to go deal with whatever it is about. I don’t want to leave you.”
I didn’t want to tell him how much Googling I’d been doing since becoming pregnant. I didn’t want to give him ideas.
“How about you just have a quick look to see if there’s anything about Ariel?”
His jaw clenched for a split second before he had his phone out and unlocked. With everything that had happened, our poor little angel had to be struggling. Back at the cafe, I’d heard Nitro say he and Cindy would take her, so I knew she was safe, but I wasn’t so sure about how she’d be coping mentally with what happened today. We didn’t have time to tell her where we were going, or that we were coming back. Since Sarah’s death, Ariel had issues with people leaving. Poor little love was simply too young to understand everything that had happened in her life. Really, she did quite well but there were a few things she didn’t handle easily, and not knowing where Scout and I were and when we were going to return was one of them.
“Ah, shit.”
Before I could ask what was going on, he had the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Nitro. Got your message. Marie’s doing good, they stopped the labor for now. How’s my girl?”
Lifting my hand I chewed on my thumbnail when Scout winced and rubbed his eyes.
“Fuck. Yeah, bring her in. We’re in room three in the maternity ward.”
He ended the call and came back to sit in the chair next to the bed.
“Ariel freaked the fuck out. Thought we’d abandoned her. Fuck. I didn’t even think to stop for a minute and explain what was going on to her.”
I reached out and took his hand in mine. “Neither of us did, Charlie. And honestly, we didn’t have the time. Baby boy wanted out and we needed to get here as quickly as possible. We’re about to add another child to our family, there are going to be times when one needs our attention over the other. This isn’t going to be the last time this happens. We just need to make sure Ariel understands we love her and nothing is going to change that, nothing is ever going to make us abandon her.”
My man looked so lost, like he’d failed somehow. I was feeling a little the same way, despite what I’d just told him.
“She crawled in behind a clothing rack and curled up in the shadows. Wouldn’t come out to Cindy. Woman had to go in after her.”
My eyes stung at both Ariel’s level of distress and how beautiful Cindy was for putting the effort in to go crawling in behind racks for our daughter. Releasing his hand, I cupped his face, turning him until his gaze was on mine.
“Babe, she’s going to be just fine. I hope Cindy managed to get through to her. Once she gets more confident in her place with us, she’ll realize she has the whole Charon family at her back. That she won’t ever be left alone. She just needs some more time, you’ll see.”
He leaned in and kissed me, holding my face in his palms as he made love to my mouth with his. When he pulled back, I was a little breathless. But I wasn’t stressing about the baby or Ariel anymore. Nope, I was thinking maybe he could go lock the door and come back here.
“Love you so fucking much, Marie. Today scared the hell out of me.”
And just like that, all thoughts of locking the door fled. Today had terrified me. For as long as I lived, I would never forget how it felt to have a gun muzzle pressed up against my stomach, against my unborn child.
“Who does that? Threaten an unborn baby? I was so scared, Charlie. I knew you’d come for us, but I had no idea how quickly.”
I blinked back tears.
“I will always come for you, Marie. Always.”
“I love you.”
His gaze softened at my words, then he leaned in and kissed me again, only pulling away when the door opened and Nitro’s laugh echoed around the room.
“I’d tell you two to get a room, but you already have one.”
“Shut up, already.”
Scout was already halfway across the room, heading for Cindy, who had Ariel in her arms.
“Hey, sweet angel, I’m sorry we left you like we did, but we had to get to the hospital to make sure your little brother was going to be okay. I knew you’d be safe with Nitro and Cindy. I never would have left you if I hadn’t known you’d be safe and well cared for.”
My fingers itched with the need to hold my girl. I know technically she was Sarah’s daughter, but she was Scout’s and mine, too. And the little boy in my belly would be her baby brother.
Her sniffle was loud in the room and she continued to cling to Cindy for a few seconds before lifting her face to look toward first Scout, then over to me. The color drained from her face as her eyes peeled wide. Of course she’d panic at seeing me like this. In a hospital bed, just like her mother before she’d died.
“I’m fine, Ariel. I’m going to be perfectly okay. All these machines are just to keep track of your brother’s heartbeat and mine. Looks like he’s a little impatient and wants to be born early.”
Cindy handed her over to Scout, who cuddled her close as he strode over toward me. Times like this it was handy she was so small for her age. She fit in Scout’s arms perfectly.
“That’s right, we’re all okay. No one’s going anywhere, Ariel.”
Scout tried to sit down with her but she twisted around, reaching for me. I carefully shifted over on the bed, making as much room as I could for her.
“Hold on, angel, let me help you.”
He placed her next to me on the bed and she instantly clung to me.
“I’m so sorry we scared you, sweet girl. You were so brave this morning. You saved Cleo and yourself—then by tell
ing Cindy, you saved me, Zara and Mercedes. I’m so very proud of you.”
“We all are, Ariel. Everyone is extremely grateful for what you did today.”
I wrapped my arm around her and with a sniffle, she cuddled in against me, relaxing when she closed her eyes and drifted off. Poor kid had had a rough damn day so far.
Scout
Hearing my phone chime again, I knew I couldn’t put off dealing with the Ice Rider bullshit any longer. I didn’t want to leave. Marie was being overly calm but I knew there was a storm brewing under her surface. She clearly didn’t want to discuss it yet, so I’d leave her be for now. I ran my gaze over both my girls as I stood.
“Unfortunately, I’ve gotta head out and deal with all this shit. I’ll be back later. Do you want me to take Ariel with me?”
I wasn’t sure what the fuck I’d do with her if she did come with me, but if Marie needed a little alone time, I’d work something out.
“Nah, leave her here. She’ll probably sleep for a while. She’s had a rough morning.”
With a nod, I pressed a kiss to Ariel’s head before pressing my lips to Marie’s.
“Love you, babe.”
“Love you too, Scout. Stay safe.”
“Always.”
It’d be so much easier to keep myself and everyone else safe if these bastards would quit coming after us. I followed Nitro and Cindy out of the room and toward the front entrance.
“Your bike’s back at the clubhouse, I’ll take you back there. Just need to drop Cindy off at the shop on our way.”
“Good deal.”
As he drove, I went through my phone, checking all the messages that had rolled in while I’d been with Marie. I responded to Bulldog, saying I was on my way in with Nitro. The others were mainly everyone wanting an update on Marie and the baby, so I shot off a group text to them all, letting them know the drill. Then I sat back and, taking a deep breath, attempted to push all the personal stuff aside. I needed to be the president of the Charon MC when I walked into the clubhouse, not the concerned husband and father who’d thought his world was going to end earlier this morning.
I gave Cindy a nod goodbye when she hopped from the cage, then we were off to the clubhouse.
“Cin did a good job on that fucker. Tank, the one she hit, hasn’t woken up since. Taz doesn’t think he will. His jaw is fucked from the bat and he shattered his nose on the table when he went down.”
I still couldn’t believe Cindy pulled that shit. I huffed out a laugh. “Remind me not to fuck with your woman. Damn.”
“What can I say? Roller derby girls kick ass.”
Apparently they did.
“What about the other guy? Rumble. He talking?”
“No one’s tried talking to him yet. But he is at least conscious. Taz patched up his shoulder from Mac’s bullet, then we tossed him down into the cell to wait for you. Figured you’d want the pleasure of dealing with him.”
“You put them together?”
“Nah, kept them separate. Figured you could use Tank against Rumble if he doesn’t know his buddy’s already as good as dead.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Guess Mac and Tiny are gonna want front row seats for dealing with these fuckers.”
“Yeah. Mercedes took it hard, poor girl. I think Tiny’s still with her up in their room at the clubhouse. Hopefully, she’ll snap out of it soon.”
Mercedes was a lot like Ariel. Raised within a fucking cult, she had warped concepts of how the world worked. But unlike Ariel, Mercedes was a grown fucking woman so had the maturity to understand more. She also had Tiny, who worshiped the fucking ground she walked on. I knew she’d be fine, it might just take a little while to get her there.
“Tiny’ll get her sorted.”
We pulled up and I glanced at the lineup of bikes, happy to see mine at the front of them, shiny and sparkling in the sun. Prospects were doing good, keeping our rides clean. Feeling the heat of the Texas summer sun had me looking up at the sky for a moment after I got out of the vehicle.
“How the fuck has so much shit happened already today? It’s barely past lunch time, for fuck’s sake.”
“Tell me about it, brother.”
He clapped me on the shoulder and we both made our way inside. Bulldog was waiting for me at the bar, shoving a glass in my hand before I could say a word. “Fucker can wait another ten minutes while you take a breath, brother.”
He was right, of course, and after draining the whiskey in one go, I slid onto the stool beside him and knocked the empty glass on the bar. Keg was fast on the refill and I took another mouthful before Bulldog spoke again.
“Marie and the baby doing okay now?”
I ran a hand through my hair, missing my bandana as I sighed.
“Technically, yes. Doc said they’re just holding off labor for as long as they can to give my boy the best chance of survival. He’s going to be born early, no question. Doc’s hoping they can hold the birth off for at least a week so they can keep Marie on the drugs to speed up his lung development and other shit. I can tell Marie’s already hating this whole bed rest thing. But because she’s high risk, they don’t want her going home and possibly going into labor again.”
Bulldog nodded. “Sounds like the hospital is the best place for her. Because, brother, we both know that woman wouldn’t rest up if she were at home.”
I tossed back my second drink, enjoying the burn. “Ain’t that the truth? Okay. Let’s go see if we can get this fucker to sing. Figure out what the fuck we’re dealing with. Wanna grab Tiny and Mac for me? I assume they’re both here somewhere.”
“I’ll head up and grab them.”
I gave Nitro a nod and he jogged up the stairs.
“Zara’s doing okay. Mac’s got her and Cleo up in his room. She took her meds, so she’ll be fine on her own with Cleo. Hopefully Tiny’s gotten Mercedes to take the sleeping pill Donna gave him for her. Guessing the shit this morning hit all sorts of triggers for her.”
I nodded to Keg. Like Bash, he’d earned his top rocker time and again, but we hadn’t had the time to bring it to church to vote either of them in. Thinking about the club’s women, I shook my head. Even our women had demons. But that was okay, the Charon MC was family and we took care of our own, no matter how big the demon they had biting at their heels.
Certain Mac and Tiny weren’t far away, I rose from my stool and started toward the back, where the hidden stairs were located. I wasn’t sure Rumble would have anything new to tell me, considering the fact he didn’t seem to have known much when he spoke earlier, but it was worth a shot. And fuck, I had some stress to work out and there was nothing better than tormenting an asshole who’d come after what was mine to relieve it.
By the time I hit the bottom of the stairs, Bulldog, Mac and Tiny had joined me.
“Your women doing okay?”
Tiny nodded. “Yeah, got her to take the pill Donna gave me, so she’s thankfully fast asleep. She’s torn up because she didn’t do anything to help. She froze in panic and couldn’t act. It brought back the shit that happened with her mom. She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Zara’s good. She cut her face when she fell against a chair, but it looked worse than it was. Didn’t even need stitches. She’s taken her meds and is her usual self now. Well, she’s worrying herself sick over Marie and the baby, but aside from that, she’s good.”
I was relieved to hear that they’d both made it out of the morning without any long-term effects.
“Excellent. Let her know Marie’s doing okay. Our boy’s going to be coming early, but the doc’s got the labor stopped for now. Why don’t you take Zara in to see her later? Ease both their minds, since I know Marie’s worried about her, too.” I paused to blow out a breath. “Okay, let’s get this shit done with so we can all go back to our women, yeah?”
I couldn’t help but smirk at the way Tiny cracked his knuckles while Mac rolled his neck. Yep, they were with me on this one. This fucker messed with the wrong da
mn club.
Bulldog unlocked the door, and I slammed it open hard and fast, the sound of the thing hitting the wall echoing loudly around us. I took three steps in, then stood staring at the piece of shit tied to a chair in front of me. He didn’t look so tough now, not stripped down to his jeans. The red bleeding through the center of the white bandage Taz had put over his wounded shoulder stood out against his skin.
“Just in case you forgot who the fuck I am, I’m the motherfucking president of the Charon MC. And it was my pregnant old lady you threatened this morning. Sent her into early fucking labor with your bullshit. So, I’d recommend not testing me anymore and just answer my fucking questions because I’m all out of patience for your shit.”
“Or what? I’m not a fool. I know I ain’t walking out of here no matter what I say, or don’t say. So why would I give you a fucking thing?”
“More than one way to kill a man. Mac, here, served a few tours in the Middle East, learned some things. And it was his old lady who you left bleeding on the fucking floor this morning-”
His face paled. “No one was supposed to get hurt. The plan was to just hold the women, so when we called, you’d take us seriously.”
Tiny moved to stand behind him, wrapping a hand around his injured shoulder, squeezing the bullet wound. “Yeah? How’d that work out for you?”
“Enough.” Tiny released his grip at my command and Rumble groaned as his body sagged in the chair. “Who are you, exactly, and why’d you come into my town?”
“I’m an enforcer for the Ice Riders MC. My president sent me down here with Tank to get that ledger from you, and anything else of ours you received from John Bennett.”
“How’d your president find out about the ledger in the first place?”
“Some mobster from L.A. told him. Club’s been having issues with one of the cartels in New York. Chains got word this guy, Sabella, in L.A., might have some dirt we could use on them. Sabella told Chains that when we got our stuff from you, it would include a key to a safe deposit box. As soon as he got that key, he’d give Chains what we need to deal with the cartel.”