by Sophia Gray
I hold my breath after the last word leaves my lips. The whole room is quiet except for the sound of my parents breathing across from me. They both look hurt.
“You really feel that way?” My mother speaks first. She reaches out and takes one of my hands. “We just want you safe.” She looks down toward the table. “Maybe we take things too far sometimes, but parenting doesn’t come with a manual.”
When my father doesn’t say anything, I keep my eyes on my mom. “I know. Neither does being a kid. But I do know that I messed up. I’m fully aware of that. What Idon’t know is whether I have your guys’ support. Are we going to just keep taking this in circles or can we move past the whole ‘Kristel had a one night stand and got pregnant’ stage?”
My father finally speaks. “I think Kristel’s right. We need to move past what we know and get to a solution.”
I look at my father as though he’s completely lost his mind. “Wait. You’re actually agreeing with me?” This has happened maybe three times in my entire life. He’s always been the know-it-all sort of man who hates to lose.
“Yes, I am. No gain ever came from lingering on the problem.”
My mother nods and continues to hold onto my hand. “Okay. Now that that’s over with… the baby. You said you want to keep it, right? How are you going to do that, sweetie? You’re just starting college and you don’t have a job. You live in dorms.”
Okay, I think. Now we’re actually getting somewhere.
“I know. Which is why I came here to ask for your help. I was hoping you would agree to help me with the baby, at least until I graduate. You’re moving into a house that isn’t that far from the college dorms, so I could visit all the time. And my student loans are actually more than I need. I could contribute financially, at least a little bit.” I hold my breath and look at the two of them. My teeth bite into my lower lip and hold it.
“That’s a huge commitment, Kristel.” Robert rubs a hand along his jaw. “What about the father of this baby? Are you going to try and track him down?”
“Yes. And maybe you could help me with that, too. I know it’s a personal matter, but…”
He rumbles softly, and his brow furrows. “It’s possible.” With a heavy sigh, he turns to my mother. “Sherri? What do you think?”
“I think it would be absolutely wonderful to have a baby in the house again.” She finally lets go of my hand and turns to her husband. Her hand closes around his arm, and she smiles at him. “Don’t you remember how wonderful it was? And all the photo albums we have of us together? We could make a new one for Kristel and her baby. We’ll be grandparents!”
“Please, Dad?” I give him my most hopeful smile and hold my breath.
“All right. But on one condition.” He looks right at me.
“Thank you! And no problem, name it.”
“You find out who the father is or, barring that, find a nice young man to help raise the baby when you finish college. That gives you four years.” He holds up his hands. “I know you don’t think you need a man in your life, but raising a child is a lot of work. Two people are definitely better than just one, and hiring a nanny is just one more thing to add to the cost of the child.”
I wrinkle my nose, but nod. “All right. Deal!” Suddenly finding myself with a grin on my face, I get up to hug both my parents. They squeeze me back in return, and my mother kisses my cheek.
“Oh, this is so exciting! And there’s so much work to do! Have you set up any appointments yet? When do you get an ultrasound of the baby? Have you bought your vitamins yet? What about blood tests? Have you –”
“Mom!” I laugh and cover my face with my hands. “Mom, calm down.” My hands slide down my face, and I hug her again. I’m so relieved that I can barely think straight, let alone figure out what needs to be done next. Andre pops into my mind, and my whole being feels full of relief. He will be safe, and so will the rest of the club. More than that, I might actually still have a chance with him. “There’s still a ton to do, I know, but can we just hold off on all the details for now?”
“Sure, hon.” My father kisses the top of my head and squeezes my shoulder. It’s the most affectionate and agreeable he has been in a very long time, and I almost wonder if he knows something. He should be arguing with us both about keeping the baby and yelling at me for being so careless.
“Dad? Is something going on?”
“A lot is going on.” He raises both eyebrows. “But aside from this, it’s just been a very long day. I had to shoot someone.”
My mother gasps and grips his arm. “Robert… I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you say anything?”
I stare at him in disbelief, my jaw slack. With a swallow, I hug him as tight as I can. My parents are overbearing and protective, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love them most of the time. “What happened, Dad?”
His arms are around the both of us as he sits again. We pull up chairs so we can sit on either side of him. He pulls his arms away and clasps his hands on the table, all of his weight on them. With a deep breath, his gaze on his hands, he doesn’t say anything for a long time. When he does, his voice is quiet.
“I can’t really say a lot. But there was an incident at one of the local grocery stores where a woman pulled a gun on a little boy. I didn’t have a lot of time to think when I saw what was happening, so I just pulled my gun and fired.”
The silence is palpable, and I grip his arm tightly. “Is…”
“No. She’s not okay. I shouldn’t even be saying anything, but… no. She passed away on the way to the hospital.”
“And the boy? Is he okay?”
Robert nodded. “He’s okay. Thank God.”
I have a million questions, but I don’t ask them. Instead, I lean against my father and look across at my mother. She gives me a weak smile and nods, and I return the nod. I have no idea how, but this visit has turned out to be one of the best in my memory. It’s like we’re actually a real family. I don’t feel the need to run or hide from them. And I definitely don’t feel the need to rebel against them.
“In light of that story…” My mother sits up and looks at us both. “I really think you should just move in with us, Kristel. You can still walk to college and you can be here for the baby all the time when you aren’t at class. If anything happens during your pregnancy, someone will be here to help you. There’s a lot of room at the new place, too. We’ll set you up with your own room.”
Before I can say a word, my father nods. “I think that’s a good idea actually. It’s not exactly safe out there.”
“But… no. You guys, I’ll be fine at the college dorms.” There goes that great family moment.
“I’m sure you would be. But think of all the money you’d save living with us, too? It costs a lot to live in the dorms, doesn’t it? That money could be used for other things, or you could start a savings account.”
I fight the groan of frustration that wants to leave my throat. As I look between my parents, I recognize the determined looks on their faces; they aren’t going to take no for an answer. I am officially doomed. “I really don’t think it’s necessary, but fine. Not forever though. Just for a little while.”
“Just until you can get on your feet.” My mother gives me a bright smile and kisses my cheek.
This is an absolute disaster. What am I going to tell Andre?
Chapter Seventeen
Andre
Sweat pours down my back and soaks into my shirt. My heart pounds in my ears, and my biceps strain with effort. I breathe deeply, slowly, and each inhale is harder than the last. My fingers are locked around a metal bar above my head, and I use that bar to pull myself up until my chin is above it. It’s taken years, but I’ve worked myself up to 100 chin ups a day. Next in my work out routine are the pushups.
As I drop down from the bar after the hundreth chin up, I hear a knock on the door. I turned toward it and splash some bottled water on my face before wiping it away with a fresh towel. It’s around 10 p.m., an
d everyone is either at the club above me or out. I assume it’s either Will or Grant.
“Come on in.” The door opens, and Kristel steps in. My head tilts, but I give her a smile. “Hey. What are you doing here?”
She gives me a worried smile and shrugs. “I talked to my parents and this is the soonest I could get away from them. We came up with a solution about the baby, but I don’t think you’re going to like it. I know I don’t.” One of her hands takes mine when she reaches me, and her lips brush across mine. “Let’s sit.”
“Uh oh…” My voice is drenched with sarcasm as I lead her over to the bench press and sit down on the bench. She straddles it so she can face me and takes both of my hands.
“This is serious, Andre.I’m serious. But if you think this is all just one big joke…”
I lean back from her and shrug. “I’m just trying to brace myself for whatever news is coming. How big is the storm?”
She nibbles on her bottom lip and rubs her thumbs across the backs of my hands. “I’m going to move in with them as soon as possible. It’ll be at their new place. I’ll have my own room, but it’ll be hard to sneak out. I don’t know how I’m going to talk to you or any of the Black Knights without them knowing about it. And as paranoid as my dad is, I’ll bet you anything he’s going to bug my phone. He did the same thing before I moved out and went to the college dorms”
“Fuck…” My eyes narrow. “Are you kidding?”
“I wish I was, but listen to me. I’m pregnant, so I won’t rouse too much suspicion if I back off from the club for a little while. Just until I get settled at home. Maybe we can work this to our advantage. I could keep an eye on dad and make sure he’s not honin- in on the Black Knights.”
She’s right. This can be an advantage, as long as it’s steered away from absolute disaster. After a few moments of thought, I nod. “Okay… here’s what we’re going to do: I’m going to give you a phone with a secure line. Don’t let your parents see it. You’ll use it to contact me, and that way they won’t have any idea that you’re talking to me. I’m assuming I don’t exist as far as they’re concerned.” I reach into one of the many pockets in my leather jacket and hand her a very simple, but very reliable phone.
Kristel gives me a nod and takes it; she slides it into her bra. “I can hide it under my pillow or something. And the college study room by the library is open 24/7. It won’t be hard to make some excuse that I need to go study so I can get out of the house. But really I’ll be visiting you.” She smiles and kisses the corner of my mouth.
“And the baby?” I let my hands drop from her own and watch her carefully.
“I… don’t know yet. But I have some appointments coming up. One of them is an ultrasound to see whether or not the baby is a boy or a girl.” She swallowed audibly. “And considering the circumstances, I don’t think you should come to any of the appointments. I know you said you wanted to come, but…my parents are so nosy, and my dad has access to things you wouldn’t believe. Trying to explain who you are and why you’re there… it could get really complicated and blow everything.”
I feel a strange pang in my chest, and before I can stop the words, I say, “Could I at least get a picture of the ultrasound?”
She nods and kisses me. Her expression is drawn, almost regretful. “Of course. And you know I’d bring you if things were different.”
“I know. Just keep me updated, okay? And I can contribute financially if you need it, too. I’ll give you cash, just in case your dad decides to dig for whatever reason. I’ve never met him, but he sounds like a really thorough guy.”
“No, Andre… I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve given me enough already, with the club and the weekend. And your commitment.”
That same pang flares in my chest again, and I swallow my feelings down; they won’t serve any purpose here. I’m still in the process of wrapping my mind around everything, which includes not seeing other women. How do people even do that?
“I’m serious. I don’t want to be one of those jerks who refuse to pay to support their child… or the mother of that child. It’s no big deal, just give me a budget and I’ll pay a portion of it. No one except for us has to know. I won’t even tell Will.” I give her a reassuring smile and stroke my fingers through her hair. “I want to help.”
“You’re weirding me out right now, but… okay, fine. I’ll get you some numbers in a few days.”
I tilt my head. “Funny. I was under the impression I’ve been weirding you out this whole time. Though I prefer the word ‘charming’, but whatever works for you. I’m not picky.” I play my fingers through her hair and twist some of the curls at the end.
She laughs and rolls her eyes. “For a biker guy and criminal, you’re far too charming for your own good. But I have to go. It’s late and I just dropped by to touch base with you. It’s going to be really busy over the next few days with the move, but I’ll keep you in the loop as much as I can.”
“You just got here.” I press a kiss to her jaw and nibble my way to her earlobe. She’s still the best tasting woman I’ve ever had. “Why don’t you relax… stay a while?”
“Andre, I can’t. I have to get back to my dorm and start packing.” The smile she flashes me makes the cock in my pants throb. “I promise you’ll be fine without me. Don’t be a baby.”
“You’re just so amazingly hot. I can’t help myself.”
I can’t hide my disappointment as she stands up, but I don’t get up with her. She kisses me softly on the mouth, and I try to grab her hips to drag her closer, but she wiggles away. With a low sigh, I reluctantly watch her turn around and walk out. The only plus side is the fact that I get to watch that beautiful rear of hers in action.
“I’m not a baby,” I mutter. With a low snort, I shake my head and draw myself to my feet. I may as well get on that cell phone now before she gets back, but there’s some business I need to take care of first.
“How are the books doing, Will?” He’s sitting at a desk that’s piled high with paperwork. “Last I checked we were pulling in a few million, but how long has it been since we checked all the loop holes? The cops are getting worse every year, and I can tell you right now that they’ll be cracking down on us hard if we don’t get our act together. What happened to that little gift shop I told you to let go of last month? From what I can see here, it’s still in our records. Why? And what about that Greek restaurant we were supposed to purchase to launder money from the fighting ring?”
Will slides fingers through his hair and closes his eyes. We’re in one of the Road Devil’s many safe houses that are scattered throughout the city. This one is close to down town and therefore more vulnerable when it comes to cops sniffing around.
“Shit. Itold Jeremy to take care of that gift shop, what the fuck? Are you sure it’s still in the book?”
I raise both eyebrows at him and toss the book his way. It’s actually one of many massive binders where all of our business information is written. There are other binders in a shelf next to my desk that are full of plans, financial management, information on club members, potential recruits, and a whole lot of other things that are needed to run a criminal biker club like the Black Knights. Like my father, I prefer paper over computers; anyone can take our information if I put it in a machine.
Will catches the binder and runs his finger along the spreadsheet. He mutters names to himself, then finally spots the gift shop. With a furrowed brow, he runs his finger across to its status. It says ‘Active’ as opposed to ‘Closed’. “Aw man. How did this happen? I told Jeremy this was a priority. Look…” He looks at me and closes the book. “I’ll go take care of this right now. I promise. It’ll get done today.”
With my arms folded across my chest, I watch Will. My mind is going in a number of different directions, but my friend’s words help me figure out the best one to take. I smile. “No, no. I will. Is Jeremy around tonight?”
“Dude, I really don’t like that smile. But yeah, he’s
in the sorting room.”
That smile still on my mouth, I head to the door. “Keep looking for mistakes and things we can cut out or bring in, Will. I’ll be back… maybe.”
It takes about 30 seconds to get from my office to what we call the sorting room. It’s a large space that looks a lot like a shipping and receiving area, and there are always trucks coming and going. None of the trucks are ever larger than a standard pick up, and all of them are driven by legal drivers. The room is huge and made of concrete with heavy bay doors, one of which is open. There are bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling, and they shine down on about a dozen men and women. All of them are either pulling items out of the trucks or they’re sorting those items according to size and value. Usually the trucks come from black markets or fighting rings; none of the items here have been obtained legally.