“Dad…”
Fuck. She wants something. “Yeah?” I close my eyes, expecting something much worse than what she brings up.
“Me and Shadow… uh… can—”
Oh, thank fuck. I was thinking she was pregnant, or hell, I don’t know what I thought she was going to say, but this is a much better kind of shock.
“It’s fine, Tea baby. With the way you’ve been acting about all this kink shit, and worrying the living shit out of me… It’s a breath of fresh air knowin’ you two are gonna try. And to be honest with ya, I hope the shit works out, because I know the kid.”
I’m actually pleading deep inside for these two to get their shit together. I can’t handle having another fucking prick hurt my daughter like before when she was off learning this shit on her own.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” she says in disbelief and I chuckle.
“I am.”
Tatiana hugs me, kisses me on the cheek, and thanks me before she leaves with a sad smile on her face.
I eased some of her concern, but not all of it. We still have to worry about Winter and her pregnancy and all the other shit.
Now I have to go find my lady because she isn’t going to work tonight.
***
Winter
“I can’t talk about this!” I scream at my husband. My hands shake as I lay in this hospital bed, knowing that even walking more than twenty feet will put my unborn child at risk. That is how serious my case of placenta previa is.
Braxxon wants me to talk about my feelings and what we need to do about our situation. There isn’t anything to discuss. It is what it is. I’m on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. The next four and half months will be difficult. Our child’s life depends on my following instructions to the letter. And he has forced me to break one of the items on the list by stressing me out and making me yell at him.
“Angel—”
I hold up one of my shaky hands to halt his pleading. “Stop, Braxx. We have enough to worry about, and even the smallest of stresses can end this.” I finish with a whisper.
With a huff, my husband sits down on the doctor’s rolling chair. I understand that he is frustrated, angry, and a whole lot of other emotions. I am experiencing the exact same thing.
I’m beyond angry. I am enraged, but all that isn’t going to help my situation any.
“I’m thirty-one-years old, Angel, and most days, it’s as if I’m in my fifties.”
Listening to my big bad husband break down in a hushed, exhausted whisper is like a knife to the heart.
Not only do we have this to worry about, we have the Russians, Alec, and any other club shit that comes up. It is always one thing after another, and we can’t catch a break.
“Do you want to stay at the live-in, or would you like to rest at home? I could post guards at the house.”
I grin at Braxx for the first time in over twenty-four hours, and that is a lot of time to pass without smiling at my husband.
“The live-in is fine. That way I won’t stress by seeing guards, and you won’t stress leaving me at home when you have club business.”
He drops his head and shakes it back and forth. “I’m tired, baby.”
A whimper escapes my lips at his announcement. For Braxx to admit he is defeated out loud is not something to be taken lightly.
“Come here.” I pat the small hospital bed.
He stands, takes off his wallet chain, and sets it on the tray beside me. When his boots drop to the floor, he climbs into bed with me. I press my forehead against his as his head hits the pillow beside mine. I look into his eyes as I softly speak my next words. “I think you’re stressed because, not only do you have all your brothers to protect, you have all the girls, and you have your family with me, too.”
His right hand comes up to my cheek and cups it. “Are you scared?”
That’s the million dollar question. “I am, but by being with you, and going through everything I have in my life, I know when things are beyond my control. This is one of those things, babe. All I can do… all we can do, is follow the instructions we have been given.”
His other hand moves to rest on the small swell of my stomach, his thumb brushing back and forth across it.
“The salons are going to have to wait, Angel—”
I silence him with my lips. It’s a small peck, but it is enough for him to know that I understand. We have too much stress to be worrying about opening other businesses at the moment. On the bright side, I’ll be on bed rest for the rest of my pregnancy. I can use that time to plan, design, and do something creative and not stressful. It’ll be my own personal outlet.
He sighs and shuts his eyes. “I love you.”
God, those words coming from him always melt my heart. “I love you, too.”
***
Chapter Twenty-One
Shadow
Alec didn’t heed our Prez’s advice, of course, so Smokey, Sniper, Pyro, and I stand outside of Euphoria mere days later. Due to the Prez stressing over Winter and the baby, the lucky fucker even got a couple extra days. We couldn’t give him any longer because we have a point to prove.
“How many guards inside?” Sniper asks, as he climbs off of his lady, drags his rifle out of his side bag, and puts it together.
That motherfucker is scary as shit. I mean, he carries a rifle in pieces on his bike, for fucks sake.
“It’s not open right now, so two,” I answer as I take the safety off of my gun.
“Can we even get in?” Smokey asks.
I dig the keys to the club out of my pocket. “I pay for a room here, so I have complete access. It may be closed, but there are always a few guards.”
Having keys to the building is an advantage of paying for a separate room. The only part we can’t access when the building is closed is the dungeon, but I never use it, so I don’t give a shit.
“Sniper, seriously, be on watch, man. We got these Russians that we ain’t never seen until the other day. Who knows if that was all of them?” Pyro states.
We walk up to the door, and when I open it, we see the first guard. He looks down at my right wrist and then back at me. He recognizes the brothers and me immediately and backs away, not wanting to take part in what is about to happen. The doorman eyes the guns, and instead of following us inside, he leaves. Sniper sneers that he was a smart man as we walk through the corridor of the building in long strides.
I unsnap the clasp on my side knife holster. If circumstances deem it necessary, I will use all the force I have.
We spot the Russians and Alec drinking shots at the bar. None of them senses us as we move to take quick action. We break apart, and when we stand behind them, all at the same time, we cock our guns. Their glasses halt when they hear the sound everyone hates to hear. The cocking is enough to make any man piss himself with cowardice.
“Now, Alec, did you think our Prez was playin’ around when he gave you that flawless, serious ultimatum?” I growl as I press the barrel into the base of his neck and his back stiffens.
“Are you fucking kidding me? You’re going to come into my club and put a barrel to the back of my neck like a fucking pussy!”
Pyro chuckles as he presses his gun into the Russian he has on point.
With one hand holding my gun in place, I drag my knife out, and with as much force as I can muster with my left hand, I slam it into his hand that rests on the bar top. The bones in his hand crush as my knife nails it into the wood of the counter. His scream is one a chick would be proud of, and we laugh at the scared little pussy.
“You were the one that thought you’d get reinforcement from the Russians. You dumb fuck, you didn’t even bring enough of them. If you want to come close to being even with us in a war, you’d better get more than these three little bitches!” I hiss as I move the barrel of my gun away from his neck. I nod to Pyro who is beside me to watch him as I move around the bar.
Once I am in front of Alec, I point my gun between hi
s eyes.
The Russians speak to each other in their own language. We don’t give a shit what they say, only that they understand our goddamn point.
“You and your little bitches have until tomorrow to clear the fuck out. This ain’t a joke anymore. This club is no longer yours. It is ours. If you want anything you have here, you best get it before the clock hits nine pm. We’ll be back by then.”
Alec uses his free hand to move the knife sticking out of his other, and my mouth tilts up in that smartass smile that I do best.
“Hurts like a bitch, right? Well think, tomorrow you’ll suffer far greater than this if you don’t get your ass out of here by the cutoff time. We’re done playin’ nice. The time for that is over. That man right there,” I tip my head towards Pyro, “is our VP, and he has permission to splatter your blood if you don’t listen to your last and final warning.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Feather in the corner, shaking in fear. Shit.
“Feather, come,” I order her, my voice loud, my words demanding.
She hesitates only for a moment, and then walks towards me on very shaky legs.
“What are you doin’ here, darlin’?” I ask, as I tug her closely to my side. She is leaving with me so that Alec doesn’t hurt her to get back at me.
When she realizes she is safe at my side, she answers with a quiet tone. “The club is opening soon, and the guard wasn’t at the front door, so I walked in and saw this.”
Shit. I look down at my watch. No wonder she is here. People will start coming in any minute.
“We gotta wrap this up, brother,” Pyro growls, “but first, we need to prove something to this fucker. Darlin’, close those beautiful eyes,” he says to Feather.
I peer down at her to make sure she has followed my VP’s command, and give him a flick of my head to let him know.
The explosive clamor of Pyro’s SWAT-K Mini submachine gun fire reverberates through the club as the bullet rips into the nose of one of the Russians. His brains disperse all over the floor behind his slumped body.
The other two recoil in an uproar, and Sniper and Smokey wedge their guns further into the Russians’ bodies to stop them from pulling weapons on us.
“So, you see here, Alec, we’re not fuckin’ playin’ around anymore,” I growl as I press my pistol to his forehead and squeeze Feather closer into me. I don’t want her in harm’s way because of us. “This isn’t a goddamn game, man. Give this shit up, and go somewhere else to start a new club before you lose your chance.”
I will not be able to keep the club from killing him if he doesn’t leave. I’ll even be the one to pull the trigger because he has pissed me off. We have given him all the chances he is going to get.
“Why the fuck do you even want my club?” Alec tries to yell, but I press my Glock against his throat so it muffles the sound.
How could he be so fucking clueless?
“You aren’t taking care of it. You let an unexperienced Sadist harm one of the brother’s daughters, you idiot. And you aren’t screening motherfuckers properly.”
I don’t even know why I’m giving him a response. He doesn’t deserve one. He lost that right when he didn’t take our warning.
“You’re still buggin’ about that, man! Seriously,” he cries.
I lean towards him and yank my knife out of his hand. He cries out again as I drag it up his arm, slicing deep into the muscle. I would shoot him if we weren’t trying to be nice and giving him until tomorrow. This will have to do.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!” he screams, and Sniper sighs and smacks his gun upside Alec’s head. It knocks him out cold.
“I was tired of his excessive whining. How the fuck you were even friends with that, I’ll never know,” Sniper says.
I question myself on that, too. This guy is a wimpy ass little shithead.
“Feather, we got these guys under control.” I motion to the two guys left. “Go and get me some tape out of the maintenance room. I know there’s some in there.”
She pulls away, backs up, turns around, and then flees.
“You tapped that, didn’t ya?” Smokey chuckles.
My lips tilt up to the side to reveal my answer. The thought of Tatiana finding out how many times I have slept with this girl makes me cringe.
“Here you go,” Feather says in a small voice as she comes up and hands me the duct tape.
“Thank you, babe,” Pyro says.
I’m too busy thinking of the guilt churning in my stomach. I wonder why that is though. I have nothing to be ashamed of. We haven’t committed to one another, and now, that thought repeats itself over in my head and is the only thing I can think.
“Sorry,” I mumble as Sniper takes the roll to tape up the guy. He has to be tired of holding his gun on him, and here I am all spaced out.
After they are secured, and we’re satisfied with the way we’re leaving things here, we trudge outside to our bikes.
“You got anywhere to stay for a few weeks?” our VP asks Feather as we straddle the seats of our ladies.
“I do. I’ll go to my sister’s. Shadow, you have my number. Call when it’s safe for me to come home, please.”
I reach up and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I will, darlin’. No worries.”
We watch as she walks to her car. We don’t start our bikes until she safely pulls out of the lot.
***
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shadow
When we get back to the compound, our Prez doesn’t even give us a second to calm down before he calls us into the chapel. It isn’t a meeting. It’s a follow up to what happened. Piper takes all of our guns and puts them in the safe before we can enter and sit down.
Pyro lights a joint, takes a few hits, and passes it around the table as our Prez takes a seat.
“So what happened?”
Pyro, being VP, goes on about what went down and what we should expect.
“He really didn’t think we were fuckin’ serious?” Prez asks in disbelief.
I puff on the joint before I pass it along. “Nope. He was in shock that we’re still pissed off about what happened to Tatiana.”
Prez grumbles under his breath before speaking. “Well fuck, I wanted no blood shed. Winter can lose the baby if we don’t keep the stress level down. And she is set on staying here until the pregnancy is over.”
Well, that complicates things. We need to keep the blood away from the compound, and the club is where we have the high ground. We can only hope we will be able to hit him at Euphoria tomorrow night before he hits us here. That is, if he has the balls to do that in the first place.
“Thanks, brothers. Go do your thing. I got a wife to attend to. Be well rested for tomorrow. I don’t need any sleep deprived motherfuckers when we hit him hard.”
We stand at the same time and let the Prez leave before we follow suit. I already know where I am going.
Tatiana. She is the only thing that crosses my mind tonight. I am finished thinking about all this other bullshit, and what better way to disconnect myself from it all than to bury myself deep inside of her and forget everything.
I walk through the clubhouse, out to the parking lot, and into the live-in building. I let the door slam shut behind me and walk towards the stairs. I don’t dare stop to greet anyone lingering around. I am done with pleasantries and threats. My demons and I are going to forget for a while.
***
I knock on her door. I don’t wait for her to answer, but I do give her the courtesy of knowing someone is about to enter. When I shut the door behind me, I stand there and watch her. She is lying on her stomach, earbuds in as her foot bounces up and down to whatever she’s listening to. She looks at peace, carefree even. I decide I’ll wait until morning to tell her everything that is going down tomorrow.
Before I came to her room, I did stop at mine to grab my new pinwheel. I have been itching to use one on her ever since I fucked her tight little asshole.
I want to drag it across her body, prick, and scratch at her skin until it almost bleeds. I want to tear the first layer of that beautiful, flawless, tanned, toned body until she screams for me to stop.
So, I do what I have been craving to do. I take the pinwheel, press it against her foot, and drag it up her leg. She pulls the earbuds out of her ears, lets out a screech, and her body flies around.
“SHADOW!”
I chuckle at her, bring a finger to my mouth, and shush her quiet. She obeys and lays down on her back.
“We aren’t going to do a scene, but I’m going to provide pain and pleasure,” I growl while I drag the wheel up her leg and tease the apex of her thighs. “I’m going to make your skin sore before I fuck your pussy raw.”
Tatiana bites her lip so hard that when her teeth free that plump juiciness, the pressure she applied leaves a strong crimson color in its wake.
“Nervous?” I laugh as I press the wheel hard against her center, and she whispers no.
“Good, because tonight, I don’t want you scared.”
Tatiana has a long way to go before I can truly scene with her. I’ll be patient because she shows genuine interest in learning the lifestyle. She handled me exceptionally well the first time.
“We’re going to take this slow. Not this,” I tease, indicating tonight, “but us, learning one another. I’m a confusing person, babe. I don’t do the slave/submissive type of shit. I’m a Dom who loves to top. It’s as easy as that. I don’t do switches, so if you ever try to control me, it’ll end with you tied up and at my mercy.”
As the words come out of my mouth, I almost want to challenge her to do that. I love having her tied up. It is such a beautiful sight. She makes a good little bottom.
“You’re serious.” She beams at me.
Shadowing Me (Breakneck Series, Book Three) Page 14