by G. Bailey
“I know she isn’t a child,” he says with a sigh and comes over to me. My dad picks me up into a large hug and then lets go.
“Right . . . if you get pregnant again, I want to know. Now, who the hell is the giant by the door?” he asks, pointing at Harley.
Harley walks over and offers his hand to shake. “Harley King.”
“Jerald Fox,” my dad says and shakes his hand. When Harley lets go and takes my hand in his, I’m a little surprised by his touch, but I don’t comment on it.
“You the dad?” he asks.
“Yes. I met Tilly in France when Izzy told me her friend lived near,” he says, repeating the lie we came up with to tell my family. I can’t tell them the whole truth, and this is just easier.
“You cheated on poor Daniel?” my dad asks with a disappointed look.
“That’s private, Mr. Fox,” Harley says, and my dad turns his glare on him.
“Why don’t we say hello to our grandchild? You can go and have a look around,” mum says, breaking the tension a little, but dad doesn’t look happy. His gaze seems to soften when he sees my mum pick up my baby girl from her pram, and he rubs his face with his hands.
“Go on, then, I have a baby to meet,” he says, and I quickly walk away with Harley.
“Okay, I’ve been in a lot of fights and met people that are huge and fucking scary, but your dad is . . .,” Harley whispers, making me laugh.
“Yeah, I know, imagine getting told off by him as a kid,” I laugh, and Harley gives me a gentle smile.
“I would have preferred that over my father.”
“I guess I understand that,” I respond, as we walk around the bottom half of the house, seeing no one. The house is huge with two lounges and a big kitchen. A much bigger house than we ever had, and I briefly wonder where they got the money for a house like this before Harley speaks.
“My dad liked to beat the shit out of my brothers and me, training us to fight in the Cage for him. I don’t know if Izzy told you all that, but yeah, he got us into fighting to start with,” he says quietly, and I tug on his hand to stop him from walking up the stairs we find in the middle of the corridor we come into.
“I’m sorry, I never realised he trained you. I should have guessed,” I say, and he smiles at me.
“I never felt sorry for myself, but I did for my brothers. I tried to protect them, and I would have done anything to,” he says. “Tilly, I wish you would listen to me.”
“Listen to what?” I ask gently.
“When I say I’m no good for you, I mean it. I fucked and fought to protect my brothers, I’m not a good man. I don’t get why you keep fighting for me, for us Tilly,” he says, moving closer to me. I take a step back, my back hitting the wall, and he moves to stand in front of me.
“What if I don’t want a good man? What if I want you?” I ask.
He lowers his face close to mine before he whispers, “That would be a bad idea, Siren.”
“It wouldn’t,” I reply and lean up, brushing my lips against his and not caring about what he says. Harley King may think he isn’t good for me, but I know he is worth fighting for. He resists me for only a second before he takes control of the kiss and is pushing his hard body into mine.
“Fuck . . . not what I expected to see this early in the morning,” my youngest brother’s voice comes from near us, and we break away from the kiss. I turn to see Ace standing at the bottom of the stairs, his black hair is everywhere, and his blue eyes look tired. He has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, a leather jacket on and jeans.
“Are you smoking?”
“Says you, who got pregnant and ran away. Sis . . . I think you’re winning the title for the most irresponsible one out of us, no?” he asks, and I glare at him.
“You’re such a rude, little shit, Ace,” I comment, and he laughs.
“Missed you, too, Till’s,” he says and walks past us both, looking at Harley for a second.
“You fight in that Cage? I saw the odds for the one coming up. Don’t die, yeah?” he says and then turns, walking out of the corridor.
“How did your brother see the odds?” Harley asks me, and I have no idea.
“What are the odds?” I ask Harley.
“You don’t want to know, Siren,” he tells me and then walks away from me before I can ask him anything else.
Chapter 18
Harley
“What happened?” I ask Blake when he shuts the kitchen door behind him with a tired sigh and not the happy grin I expected to see. Sebastian and Elliot look over as they stop what they were doing. I stop cooking the pasta I was making for us all to celebrate Izzy’s and Blake’s engagement, as they got back from their weekend away. The poor dude has taken her on five dates now to propose, and every one of them has gone wrong. I seriously didn’t think this one could go wrong, but the look on his face says something did.
“I went to ask when I realised how much of an idiot I am. I left the damn ring box in the car. The car the valet drove away,” he says, and I mentally sigh.
“That’s unlucky, man,” Sebastian says, trying not to laugh, and I whack him on the arm.
“Just plan something else, or just ask randomly. I mean you could tell her all the fucking romantic things you tried to plan,” Elliot says.
“Coming from the guy who would ask Allie to marry him on his bike,” Blake responds drily with a stressed look.
“What’s wrong with that idea?” Elliot asks, and none of us answer him. There is so much wrong with that idea, and I doubt Allie would be happy.
“Let’s dish up and have a nice meal, anyway, but sorry, Blake, you just seem to have the worst luck,” I comment.
“I got lucky when I met Izzy, so I knew the universe had to mess with me, somehow,” Blake says with a laugh.
“How long until the fight?” Blake asks me, causing the kitchen to go suddenly silent.
“Two weeks.”
“Fuck, I didn’t know it was that soon,” Blake says, and my brothers look away. They have given up trying to convince me not to do this. That we should all run from here and leave this village in our past. I know they would get up and leave everything, with their girlfriends and children following, but I couldn’t expect them to do that. They know there isn’t any way of getting out of it because we would be looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. This is a chance to actually escape. We all finish sorting the food out, hearing the girls laughing in the living room and knowing that Tilly is really settling in with our family. I don’t know when it became hers as much as mine, but I know I wouldn’t be able to let her out of my life.
“Is it strange having a baby in the house that isn’t yours?” Elliot asks me, as we carry food into the dining room.
“No. I don’t see her like that, but I wish Tilly would name her. Calling her ‘baby girl’ for the last two weeks hasn’t been easy.”
“I bet,” Elliot replies but doesn’t look at me. “Dude . . . maybe you should ask her to move into her parents. I don’t get why she is staying here now they have moved here. They have a massive house, and she should be with family,” Elliot adds, but I don’t look at him as Tilly stops in the doorway, hearing every word. Her hurt-filled eyes meet mine, and she turns around, walking out.
“Tilly, wait!” I shout at her back as she walks away, and I glare at Elliot who holds his hands up, before following her through the house. She stops inside the conservatory that no one goes into and watches the pouring down rain outside. I close the door behind me, looking her over. Tilly has jeans and a white top on that shows how she doesn’t look like she had a baby at all. Her long, red hair is loose and wavy, making it seem like it’s begging me to touch.
“Do you want me to move out?” she asks quietly, but her voice echoes around the conservatory.
“No,” I reply with one word, but it means everything, watching as she turns to look at me. I don’t move as she walks over, placing both her hands on my chest and looking up at me. Tilly raises h
er hand and pushes a bit of my hair behind my ear before grazing her finger across my cheek. Only the sound of our heavy breathing is in the room.
“When are you going to stop pushing me away?” she asks.
“I’m not good for you Tilly, but I can’t let you go,” I reply and lean down to kiss her. I can’t resist her, anymore. Tilly moans as she relaxes into the kiss, and her hands go into my hair. I pull her up to me, kissing her harder and loving the way she moves her body against mine.
“I can’t, not yet,” she says, breaking away, and I know she means because it’s not long after her labour and not that she doesn’t want to be with me.
“I’m sorry, I’m fucking sorry I’ve been avoiding this, us. Not anymore, Tilly,” I say, watching as her blue eyes watch me. “You’re mine now, and I’m not pushing you away anymore. You’re the reason I’m going to win that fight in two weeks.”
“You’re still fighting? And, it’s in two weeks?” she asks, her voice nervous, and I hate that I have to fight. That I can’t just walk away from it all. I can’t do that to my brothers.
“I don’t have a choice, Tilly,” I reply. There’s a knock on the door behind me, and I open it to Maisy, who smiles.
“Sorry, but the food is ready, and everyone is waiting,” she says. Maisy has a huge bump now, and there is a planned birth for two weeks’ time. It’s the day after the fight, and I can’t wait to be able to see their baby when I win.
“Where’s Jake?” I ask her, knowing I forgot to ask earlier.
“With my dad. He popped over and Jake was napping. I didn’t want to wake him up as he was up all night with a new tooth coming through,” Maisy responds as I shut the door behind Tilly.
“Are you excited for the baby to come?” I ask her about the planned birth as we walk down the corridor, and I don’t let go of Tilly’s hand. I’m not hiding anything or how I feel about her anymore.
“Very,” she says, rubbing a hand over her bump. We walk into the dining room to see everyone is seated and Izzy hands the baby monitor to Tilly before sitting down. I lean over and kiss Tilly gently on the lips before I sit next to her, and I’m aware of how silent the room has gone as I look at her blushed cheeks.
“About time,” Sebastian mutters, and I look over to see them all staring at us.
“When did this happen, and how did I not realise?” Izzy asks.
“Just now, and I don’t know,” Tilly answers with a smile.
“Damn . . . I owe you fifty now,” Elliot says to Luke, who laughs.
“Me, too,” Sebastian nods.
“Why wasn’t I included in this bet?” Izzy asks, making us all laugh. Allie comes into the room with two drinks and takes the seat next to Elliot.
“So . . . what did I miss?” she asks.
“Those two are together,” Elliot waves a hand at us as he speaks.
“Dammit. Fifty quid went,” Allie mutters, and I can’t help but laugh at her.
“Best bet I ever made,” Luke says, but goes silent as Emilia walks into the room. Emilia is one of Izzy, Blake, and Allie’s roommates, and there’s something weird going on between her and Luke. Everyone has mentioned it, but if you ask them, they won’t talk about each other. Emilia sits next to Tilly.
“You dyed your hair black, it looks really nice,” Tilly comments, and Emilia smiles.
“Wanted a change,” she shrugs.
“Like the new tattoos, too?” Allie responds as I get some pasta for my plate. We all start helping ourselves to the food as Emilia talks.
“Only one or two,” she comments, her cheeks going a little red.
“Why didn’t you come to me? I would have done them for you,” Luke says.
“I didn’t want to, but thanks,” she responds, her tone curt and short with him.
“Why not?” he asks, his tone is downright pissed off, and I raise my eyebrows at Tilly as she gives me a wide-eyed look.
“Because despite what you think, Luke, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” Emilia snaps.
“Guys,” Izzy tries to break up the argument, but it doesn’t work.
“I never said it did, only offered to help you,” he comments.
“I don’t need your damn help,” Emilia says and stands up, walking out of the room. Luke pushes his chair out and follows her out.
“Who wants to make a bet that they will be with each other soon?” Elliot asks, breaking the tension.
“I’m in,” Tilly responds, and I laugh.
“Yeah, me, too,” I agree. There’s something there between them.
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Sebastian says, shaking his head.
“Why?” I ask.
“They argue too much, and they are both so young,” Sebastian says, and he has a point. Out of all of us, Luke is the youngest, but then, I saw the way he looked at Emilia.
“So? We met younger than them,” Maisy answers.
“True, but I don’t know,” Sebastian shakes his head.
“I totally think they have already done it,” Allie says.
“Why?” Izzy responds.
“Just something she said once,” Allie shrugs, and then, the baby monitor starts beeping before the sound of the baby crying comes through. Tilly goes to get up, and I stop her by placing my hand on her shoulder.
“I’ll go,” I say, knowing that Tilly has been up half the night with the baby. I tried to help, but she only seemed to want her mum.
“Thank you,” Tilly says, and I get up, walking out of the room. I go straight upstairs and into Tilly’s room. The bad smell hits me straight away, and I know what the problem is. Once I change the baby’s nappy, I sit in the nursing chair and rock her in my arms. I look down at her cute, little nose and her little strands of red hair. She looks every bit like her mother. I rock the baby until she falls asleep on my chest and lean my head back on the chair. She might not be my daughter, but it’s starting to feel like I would do anything to protect both her and her mum.
Chapter 19
Tilly
"Is this your way of distracting me from tonight?” I ask Izzy who nervously laughs as she pushes her long, blonde hair over her shoulder, looking away from me.
“No, of course not,” she says, proving my point that it is.
“I know Harley is fighting tonight, and I know you think distracting me by taking me out shopping for baby clothes is going to stop me worrying or something, but it’s not going to work. I can’t stop thinking about tonight, and every part of me just wants to tie my giant to a chair,” I tell her, and she gives me a worried look as we walk through the shop.
“Don’t you think I worry?” Izzy comments.
“I know you do, it’s just . . . I can’t lose him,” I say when we get outside the shop, and Izzy puts an arm around me.
“I feel the same every time one of them fights, but this is the Kings. Since I met them, I know they are strong, and they walk out of that Cage every . . . damn . . . time. This is the last one, Tilly, and then, they are all free of their past, and Harley finally has someone waiting for him,” she tells me, and her eyes, so much like Harley’s, watch me with concern. Izzy looks as tired as I do, with dark eyes and even her clothes look like she didn’t spend time ironing them this morning, much like mine. I woke up to find Harley in the gym, beating the crap out of a punching bag. He didn’t even notice me there, not as I looked at the scars on his back that looked like knife cuts and the way his muscular back almost hides the scars. I never interrupted him because I didn’t know what to say. Watching him fight a punching bag like that made me realise how he has to fight tonight.
“I just didn’t expect to finally be happy with an amazing guy and have to watch him do something that could kill him,” I say.
“I know, Tilly. I wish I could tell you not to worry and that you’re going to get your happy ending, but I can’t. I’m just as scared as you,” she says. A woman walks past with her baby in a pushchair, and I smile. My mum and dad have my baby for the day, and I’ve still no
t been able to come up with a name for her. I actually have to before the six-week deadline to register her birth, and yet, here I am, not choosing her name and calling her ‘baby girl’. My parents have actually said ‘baby girl’ suits her, so I know I need to change it before my poor daughter gets stuck with that nickname for the rest of her life. That would not be a good nickname when she is a teenager. Baby girl has the whole family in love with her, well make that two families. She has the Fox’s and King’s wrapped around her tiny fingers. Even my brothers take turns holding her, and I actually saw Ace kissing her forehead yesterday when I took her over to see them.
"I just think you could use some girl time, and also I want to hear about how you and my brother– Well actually, no I don’t," she says, shuddering a little.
"You want to know how we got together?" I ask, laughing a little but getting what she is asking me.
"Yes, exactly," she says, thankful for my save.
"I think it’s just because I get him. There isn’t anything else to it. And, for your information, we haven’t done anything but kiss,” I say, though, not for my lack of trying. I know Harley doesn’t want to take things further than a kiss, but it’s teasing to have all these kisses, and nothing else.
“Really?” Izzy asks, with a little bit of shock.
“He doesn’t want to be with me and then hurt me if he doesn’t return from the cage. He still kisses me, but we don’t share a bed. It’s so frustrating as he is so–”
“Brother, remember?” she says with a scrunched-up face. "No, I kind of get why he hasn’t taken things further with you. To him, you mean more than just sex," she says. “But, no more talk about Harley like that. I see him as a dad figure.” We walk around a few more of the shops, and I buy some new baby clothes and some boots.
“Should we get some lunch?” Izzy asks, nodding her head towards the café on the other side of the shopping centre. There are plants lined down the middle, and it says the local school children have been planting them. For everything, this village has hidden, like the Cage, and the way Harley told me the police act around here, there are good things. I guess the motto that the good comes with the bad applies to this place.