“No, stay for a second, Adam,” Hope says.
The grim set of her mouth flickers into a quick, brave smile and she pats the seat next to her. “Inga’s back,” she says in an almost teasing way.
I take the chair next to her and she reaches over to squeeze my hand before addressing her friend. “Adam, you read this already?”
“I glanced at it. When I realized who it involved,” he flicks his gaze my way, “—I called you.” He gives me another look I don’t care for. “This woman claims she had a long-term relationship with you.” His lip curls in contempt. “As well as several of your bros and one of you fathered her child,” he finishes while staring me down. One thing I’ve always respected about Adam, he’s not a coward. And since his irritation with me seems to stem from the false belief that I cheated on his friend, I allow his disrespectful attitude a pass.
For now.
“Jesus Christ,” I hold out my hand for the petition and Hope doesn’t hesitate to hand it over.
It’s all legalese, but the gist of it is exactly what Adam said. The dates and time frame are way off for me to be the father of Inga’s kid and I breathe out a sigh of relief. Hope and I had just gotten engaged when this child was conceived. My dick hadn’t been anywhere near Inga in well over a year. “It’s not—”
“I know,” Hope answers, squeezing my leg. She lifts her gaze to Adam. “It’s not Rock’s child. And I highly doubt it’s any of his brothers’.”
Christ, the love I have for this woman. Emotion burns the back of my throat at the way she doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t even question me or have a doubt in her mind about my fidelity.
That emotion turns to anger. Anger that once again my past behavior is tainting her life. At a time when I want her to have the least stress possible this utter fucking bullshit has to happen.
Busy with my internal struggle, I miss most of their conversation.
“I think that’s best too. Okay, Rock?” Hope asks.
“I’m sorry, baby doll.”
She pats my leg again. “It’s okay, we’ll discuss it on the way home.” She struggles to stand and I jump up to help her.
“Are you all right, Hope?” Adam says.
“I’m fine.”
Adam’s glare is a little less intense as I wrap my arm around Hope’s waist, but he still doesn’t shake my hand on our way out.
Once we’re back inside the truck, Hope turns to face me. “What’s going on in your head, Rock?”
“That I’ve never wanted to hurt a woman in my life, but if Inga was in front of me right now, I’d probably kill her.”
“I figured.” She turns serious. “Listen, as galling as this is, I think it’s best that we just take the test, prove her wrong and move on.”
We. God, I love her. “Hope, I’m so sorry.”
She snorts. “It’s not your fault she’s nuts.”
Yeah, it is because I never should’ve been involved with Inga in the first place. Fuck, if I’d known Hope was in my future I would’ve lived like a fuckin’ monk my whole damn life.
“Rock,” she says, settling her hand over mine. “I read the dates. I’m not worried the child is yours. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
“And if for some reason, addition and subtraction aren’t Inga’s strong suit, I’d fight like hell to make sure we were involved in your child’s life. Nothing changes how I feel about you.”
Someone who didn’t know her might think she’s subtly trying to say if there’s a possibility I cheated on her, she forgives me. But that’s not what I take from her words at all. No, my woman would definitely slice off my nuts if I cheated on her. Considering how many women I’ve known over the years before Hope, I appreciate the sentiment. I’m probably lucky I haven’t been slapped with one of these petitions earlier, and I almost think that’s what she’s trying to tell me. It wouldn’t matter to her.
Unconditional love. That’s my Hope.
“Now,” she says in a brisker changing-the-topic tone. “How do we explain this to the rest of the guys? Poor Wrath. His head is going to explode. I don’t think he liked Inga very much.”
I huff out a laugh, amused that Wrath’s state of mind is her first concern. “I’ll take care of it. I don’t want you answering the petition. I’m fucking livid she sent it to you in the first place. She knew damn well Glassman represents Crystal Ball.”
“How?”
Fuck me. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut? “She sued for unemployment after she got out of rehab.”
Hope snorts. “She did? I wouldn’t think dancers are covered?”
“Some are. She wasn’t because she only appeared there on a semi-regular basis. It’s why she lost.”
“Huh. I’m starting to wonder if her kid’s even real.”
“You and me both.” I turn, tracing my fingers over her cheek so she meets my eyes. “Now more than ever, I don’t want you off the property without one of the guys.”
“Trinity’s pretty badass.”
“I’m aware.”
“Inga’s all the way in California.”
“I know, but this really bugs me.”
She grabs my hand, kissing the back. “Okay. I won’t go anywhere without one of the guys with me.”
“Thank you. I’ll tell them today.”
“Boy, they’re really going hate me,” she mutters.
“You know that’s not true. There’s not one brother who wouldn’t drop what they’re doing to help you out. You’ve earned everyone’s respect, Hope. Not just because you’re the president’s wife.”
“I know,” she says quietly. “I was kidding.”
“I’ll call Glassman when we get home.”
“No,” she says. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch her vigorous head-shake. “Fuck that and fuck her.” I don’t even have a second to laugh or tease her for the language. “I will not let her think she rattled me or give her crazy little brain a chance to concoct some story that you’re hiding this from me. She doesn’t get to think she won or that she wormed her skinny little body between us in any way. I’ll be the one to handle it.”
“Hope. I love you for saying that, but you have more important things to worry about right now.” I reach over and settle my hand over her the curve of her stomach and barely choke out the next words. “I can’t have you upset. Not now.”
“Rock,” she says, mimicking my patient tone. “The only thing upsetting me right now, is knowing how much this upsets you, because you’re worried about me. See what a vicious cycle we’re spinning in here?” She rests her hand over mine. “Just let me handle it.”
“Christ, what a mess. I’m so sorry.”
Her soft laughter actually reassures me more than you’d think. “Oh, come on. We were due for a little extra excitement in our lives, don’t you think?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Church should be fun today.
On the way home, I call Wrath and tell him to get everyone ready to meet. Not an unheard-of request in the middle of the day, but unusual enough that Wrath’s immediately suspicious.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to discuss it over the phone, but it’s important. Everyone needs to be there.”
He hesitates for a second. “You okay, Rock?”
“I’m fine.”
“All right. Well, Z’s at Crystal Ball.”
“I’m not far from there. I’ll stop and talk to him.”
After we hang up, I turn to Hope. “You mind making a quick stop?”
“Nope. I’d like to say hi to Willow anyway.”
“Thanks.”
Z’s busy supervising a bunch of contractors working to expand the stage.
“Didn’t you just finish a bunch of renovations?” Hope asks as he leans down to give her a peck on the cheek.
He winks at her. “I have some special events coming up.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
Z glances my way. “What’s up? You neve
r come visit anymore.”
“Let’s talk in your office.”
His expression hardens and he puts his hands on his hips. “What’s going on?”
“I’m calling everyone up to the club for church, but I need to speak to you now.”
“Rock, I’m in the middle of—”
The hard stare I give him stops him cold. “Yeah, all right.”
We follow him into the office, which has changed quite a bit since the last time I was here. “Things look good, Z.”
“Thanks. You didn’t come down here and you sure as fuck didn’t drag Hope here to give me a pat on the head, so what’s going on?”
I’m not quite sure how to say it and Hope’s waiting for me to speak first. The moment of hesitation makes Z frown.
“Is everything okay?” He glances at Hope and a more concerned expression darkens his face. “With the baby? Are you all right?”
“The baby’s fine,” she assures him. “It’s not about the baby. Well, not mine, anyway.”
Z starts shaking his head. “What are you—”
“Inga’s suing the club. For child support. She’s requested a paternity test from a bunch of us, including you.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” He jumps out of his chair and paces behind the desk a few times before stopping dead. “Oh fuck me.”
“What?” Hope asks.
“She called not that long ago.” He lifts his chin at me. “Looking for you.”
“Jesus Christ, why? What the fuck for?”
“I don’t know. But Willow ended up talking to her.”
“Get her down here,” I say.
Z picks up the phone and a few minutes later a there’s a hesitant knock on the door.
“What’s up, Z?”
She smiles when she sees us and closes the door behind her. “Hi, Hope!”
Hope gives her a patient smile and Willow’s happy expression falters. “What’s going on?”
“You talk to Inga when she called?” Z asks.
“Yeah, I told you I did.” She turns her head my way. “She wouldn’t stop asking about you. I told her you and Hope were really happy and having a baby, so she needed to get over it and move on.” He gaze skitters between the two of us. “Was that wrong?”
I open my mouth to say, “Yes” but Hope pats my hand and speaks first.
“No, Willow. That’s fine.”
“Is she causing trouble now? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start anything. It’s just been so long, you know?”
“It’s okay.”
Z lifts his chin. “Thanks, hon. Go on.”
After Willow shuts the door, Hope sits back and closes her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Z says. “I’ll talk to her about blabbing about personal shit.”
“It’s not her fault,” Hope says.
“I—”
“Rock,” Hope says, cutting me off. “Inga would’ve done this one way or another. She would’ve found out eventually. Yes, I would prefer that Willow leave me out of all future discussion with your exes, but it’s not her fault.”
Z seems relieved Hope doesn’t want Willow’s head on a stick. “Let me finish up with the contractors and I’ll be there for church.”
I stand and help Hope up. “Don’t take too long.”
He gives Hope a hug. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. You shouldn’t have to put up with this. Not now. Not ever.”
His words and body language are all brotherly affection, but it still pushes my buttons. A short growl bursts out of me.
“Easy, caveman.” He laughs. “I’ll see you guys in a few.”
“Was that necessary?” Hope teases on our way out.
“Yes.”
She squints at me. “Don’t take this out on the guys.”
“Why not? I swear to fuck if this kid belongs to one of them, I’m gonna straight up murder—”
In a swift move, she covers my mouth with her hand. “Please don’t tell me about future crimes you plan to commit.”
“How can you keep your sense of humor?”
“What do you want me to do, Rock? Cry? Get mad? She’s not worth it. She doesn’t deserve my energy. Or yours. Let’s just get this done, over with and move on.”
“That’s the problem, though. When do we get to finally move on? When is it enough and these things stop happening?”
She shrugs. “That’s life. We don’t get the one we want, we get the one we’re given. The only thing we can control is how we react to things out of our control.” She grabs a fistful of my shirt and yanks me closer. “I’m not letting anyone steal my joy. Or yours. We’ll get through this.”
I’m so stunned by her passionate words that I can’t find any of my own.
“Let’s get home so you can talk to the guys. Then when you’re done I’m going to call this quack and we’ll find a lab to get the tests done as soon as possible.”
“Jesus,” I breathe out, utterly awed by how calm and rational she’s being, when I’m feeling the exact opposite.
“It should be a simple cheek swab,” she continues. “Nothing too invasive. But I want a reliable place. Everyone needs to go in personally and have the lab take the sample so the chain of custody is clear and can’t be contested. That little bitch isn’t going to keep coming at us. I want to slap her down now. Hard and fast so she doesn’t know what hit her.”
“I don’t know what’s hotter, when you’re all sweet and soft or pissed and passionate.”
“Well good thing you’ve got all of me for the rest of your life to figure it out.” She takes my hand and leads me toward the car. “Come on. Let’s get this first part over with.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Everyone’s here. You gonna tell me what this is all about now?” Wrath says as soon as we walk in the front door of the clubhouse.
“Inga’s suing him,” Hope says in a way-too-chipper-for-the-situation voice. “Rock will give you all the glorious details.”
Wrath slides his confused gaze between the two of us. “What?”
Hope turns to me. “I’m exhausted,” she says in a lower voice. “I’m going to go upstairs and take nap—”
“Go home and—”
“No. I want to make that phone call today. If the guys have any questions, have them stick around and I’ll answer the best I can.”
She reaches up on tiptoes and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “An hour enough time? I’m going to set my alarm.”
“Give me an hour and a half.”
“You got it.” She pats Wrath’s arm on the way upstairs.
“What the hell is she talking about?” Wrath asks. “Why are we even talking about Inga?”
The basement door opens. Sparky and Stash stumble into the living room, clearly high-as-fuck. I’m irrationally irritated with Sparky, since it’s his stoner ass that’s responsible for Willow visiting the clubhouse and getting chummy with my wife.
“Can’t you go a day without getting fucked up?” I snap at him.
The smile slides off his face. “What’s wrong, boss?”
“Church, now.”
“Yeah, we heard,” Stash says. “That’s why we’re here. We’re testing the new—”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Rock,” Wrath says. “What crawled up your ass?”
“Where is everyone?”
“On their way.”
“Get ’em in here.”
Twenty minutes later all the brothers are seated around the table. I’m still furious, but I set it aside.
“Hope received some legal papers today. Inga’s suing us for child support.”
“Whoa!” Ravage practically jumps out of his chair. “What the fuck?”
“How pissed is Hope that Inga’s dragging your ass into family court?” Dex asks. “Poor girl doesn’t need this right now.”
I sit up and fling the envelope with all the legal papers at him. “I ain’t goin’ alone, brother.”
I tip back in my chai
r, cover my face with my hands, and laugh. “Fuck, at the moment I think Hope’s amused more than pissed.”
Dex passes the papers to Wrath, who explodes when he gets to the part of the summons with his name. “I never fucked that bitch. Why the fuck is she draggin’ me into this bullshit?”
“Probably to get at me. Or she genuinely doesn’t remember who she fucked.”
“Wrath’s kinda hard to forget,” Sparky says.
“Uh, not just you, brother,” Dex points out. “She’s dragging Z, Teller, Stash, Ravage, Sparky, and me in too.”
“Holy fuck.” Stash whistles. “Way to let the whole world know you’re a whore. Why now?”
“Who the fuck knows? She probably ran out of money and can’t do porn anymore,” Dex says.
I glare at Z, who leans forward to explain.
“Uh, actually Rock and I solved that mystery earlier.” He turns to look down the table so he can see Sparky. “Your girl Willow had to brag to Inga all about Hope being pregnant. Inga musta gotten her panties in a twist.”
“Willow ain’t my girl and she wouldn’t…” Sparky trails off. “She’s been into planning all the girly baby shower shit with Trinity and Swan, so yeah. Maybe.”
“She flat out said she did,” Z informs him.
“This isn’t helping,” Dex says. “Doesn’t matter why. What the fuck do we do about it?”
“Track her down and kill her?” Ravage suggests.
“Don’t think I didn’t consider it,” I grumble.
“Rock, you actually fucked her. Over a long period of time,” Bricks says.
I snarl his way. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“What are you gonna do if the kid’s yours? How’s Hope gonna feel ’bout that?” Bricks asks.
“I’ve asked myself that all afternoon.” I mumble from behind my hands, deciding to keep my conversation with my wife private. “If Inga’s telling the truth, her timeline doesn’t add up for me to be the father. I hadn’t been near her for more than year at the time she’s saying she got pregnant.” Setting my hands on the table, I toss a smirk at the rest of my brothers. “If it’s a baby King, it’s one of yours.”
Wrath shakes his head. “Jesus Christ. You know how much Trinity hates Inga? How am I supposed to explain this fuckery to her?”
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