by James, Marie
I choke and sputter on the sip of coffee I attempt to take.
Kincaid’s eyes close, and his jaw ticks, muscles flexing as he clenches his teeth.
I ignore the taunt, praying it’s the right direction. Most people would deny, but even though through omission, I’ve lied enough to the men of this club. The man sitting in front of me will be a part of my life for the foreseeable future, and I don’t want to ruin that so early on.
“How did the doctor’s appointment go yesterday?”
I look up at Kincaid. “It went well.”
Do not think about the blowjob in the family restroom. Do. Not.
“Well?” He raises an eyebrow at me. “That’s all I get?”
“Dr. Davison seems nice, knowledgeable. She confirmed that Gigi is nine weeks. She says her morning sickness should start to fade after she hits the second trimester.”
“Her next appointment?”
I look from Shadow to Kid wondering why they’re even here for this but then consider Kincaid may need them if I say anything that makes him want to jump across the table and choke the life out of me.
“In a month,” I repeat from what I remember the receptionist telling her yesterday. “She’s covered by your insurance.”
He nods.
“I’d like to take that over.”
Kid leans in but doesn’t say a word, and I wonder if this is it. If requesting to take care of his daughter, asking her parents to give up that final hold on her is what will make him snap. Kincaid, however, doesn’t look upset but contemplative.
“What does Georgia say about it?”
“I didn’t ask.”
Kincaid huffs a laugh. “That child—”
“Woman,” I correct.
He rolls his bottom lip between his teeth before speaking again. “That woman has been bucking any type of authority, any person who makes decisions for her long before she ever hit puberty. What makes you think you can just do something like take over her health insurance?”
Because she’s mine, and I’ll spank her ass if she gives me any shit about it.
“It’s a simple thing,” I counter.
“For me it’s simple. For you it’s simple. For Georgia,” he tilts his head, and I already know his train of thought.
“It’s enough to make her run,” I finish for him.
“Exactly,” he confirms.
“Even still. I want that responsibility.”
“Responsibility?” I hate the snark in Shadow’s tone. “Now you want to be responsible?”
“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” If he even mentions the alley back in Dallas, I’ll bust his fucking nose.
“Didn’t get it right the first time you knocked up a chick in high school? Want a second stab at abandoning your responsibility?”
Izzy.
“There’s more to the story than the information you think you have.”
“I sure as fuck hope so,” Shadow spits.
Annoyed, I cross my arms over my chest and sit back in my chair. Kincaid just looks on, not saying a word but I can tell he’s curious about the rest of the story as well.
“You seem a little too invested, Shadow.” His eyes narrow and I forget he’s the club VP. I’ve got three ranks above his ass where it counts, seventeen years in the Corps compared to his four. “Upset Gigi is with a man that’s not you?”
Kincaid is on his feet, rough palms against his best friend’s chest as Shadow, furious, tries to push him out of the way to attack.
“She’s like my daughter you piece of shit.”
“Enough,” Kincaid hisses, but Shadow only calms slightly. “Go.”
Kid, already on his feet mumbles, “I’m sure as fuck glad I only have one son. Girls are too much fucking trouble.”
“You wouldn’t understand what it’s like to take care of a child, yours or not,” Shadow spits before he raises his hands in surrender. Kincaid, still between us, removes his hands. “She sure as fuck deserves better than you.”
I nod because it’s the truth. Gigi deserves to be worshipped, deserves to have everything laid at her feet. She sure as hell doesn’t deserve to have her ass beat in the darkness and her mouth fucked in restrooms.
“I was out of line,” I concede because all I see is protective fire and love in his eyes, not jealousy or his own sense of sexual ownership.
Shadow joins Kid who has been hovering at the entrance to the kitchen, and they leave. The front door slams, and it seems to bring Kincaid back to his senses.
“Has making friends always been hard for you?” He takes his seat, and I follow his actions.
“I usually do better on my own,” I answer.
“We’re a fucking team here, Hound. Pissing off your VP, sleeping with the President’s daughter, getting her pregnant isn’t winning you any awards in the club right now.”
“I know.” What else can I say?
“Tell me about Isabella Montoya.” It’s not a question. I knew the truth would come out. I never planned to hide it deliberately from him, but the fewer people who knew about my daughter, the easier it was to keep her safe.
I spend the next twenty minutes explaining all of the same things I confessed to Gigi just days ago. He nods at some parts, jaw clenching at others, but he never interrupts me.
By the time I’m done, my eyes are glistening with the renewed loss of Izzy, the pain always just under the surface.
“We, as a club, can help you fight for custody,” he says when I sit back in my chair emotionally exhausted.
I shake my head. “She’ll be eighteen next summer. Then she can make her own decisions.”
“That stepdad of hers seems like a complete asshole.”
I chuckle. “He fucking hates me that’s for sure, but he’s good to her. I think he despises me more because Gabby wouldn’t let him adopt her. Izzy doesn’t have my last name, but at least she doesn’t have his.”
“A small consolation for missing out on your child’s entire life. I couldn’t even fucking imagine.” He twists the cold cup of coffee on the table in front of him. “I hated being away from the girls, even for short-term missions. It’s why we expanded and brought new guys in.”
“It was easier when I was overseas fighting. I could push missing her out of my mind. I could focus on the job.”
“So much for juice and crackers.”
We both snap our heads up at Gigi walking into the kitchen. I clear my throat, a natural response to the sway of her tits under her thin dress. She’s rumpled, sexy as fuck, and it’s clear she fell back asleep after I left the room.
“Hey, Dad.” She gives him a quick wave before walking over to the coffee pot.
“Let me help you,” I say standing from my seat. I pull crackers from the cabinet and hand them to her with a quick kiss on the forehead. “Take a seat. I’ll grab you some juice.”
“Ginger ale,” she specifies. “I’ve already gotten sick.”
“How are you feeling, sweetheart,” Kincaid asks as she joins him at the table.
“Sore,” she says with a chuckle as she sits.
I hold my breath, waiting for her to taunt her dad with our activities from last night.
“Getting sick every morning is like an ab workout for people training for a damn triathlon,” she adds.
She winks at me when I hand her the ginger ale. See? Even Gigi can make adult decisions.
Chapter 30
Gigi
I roll my eyes at my mom when she gasps, clutching at the base of her neck like I’ve ruined her delicate sensibilities.
“What else was I supposed to do?”
Misty busies herself with pouring another glass of wine for my mom.
“You can always come home,” Mom answers.
“I’m here, unmarried and pregnant.”
“And if Hound didn’t sweep you off the sidewalk? You think you would’ve walked into that clinic and just… ended things?”
“That’s what I was there for,” I mutter. T
he thought of aborting my baby less than a week after I had made that final decision makes me sick to my stomach now.
“You would’ve changed your mind,” Misty says as she sits beside me at the dining room table. “I did.”
“What?” My eyes snap in her direction.
“I was in the room, sitting on the table talking with a nurse about my options before I realized it wasn’t what I really wanted.”
“Griffin?”
She nods, swallowing, her throat working under the effort.
“I thought I had no way out, no other choice.”
“But you did have a choice.”
Just as I had.
“I did,” she agrees. “I thought adoption was better. The baby would have a chance to thrive, have someone who loved him, put him first when I wasn’t capable.”
“Adoption?” I’m confused. This is the first time she’s ever said anything about any of this. Griffin is a few years older than us, and he’s always just been around. I don’t have a single childhood memory without him, Josephine, Samson, and Delilah in it. I know Samson and Delilah were adopted, but I don’t recall when they came to live with Jaxon and Rob.
I laugh at the thought. “So Shadow found out and made you change your mind?”
“I wish,” she mutters.
“Even though I’d already found a wonderful adoptive couple, the moment I held Griffin for the first time, I knew there was no way I could give him to someone else. I snuck out of the hospital and came here.”
I smile, imagining Shadow welcoming her with open arms. He’s one of the most loving men I know aside from Dad and Uncle Dom.
“I bet he was excited. A son and you. All of you together.”
My mom laughs. Well, it’s more of an incredulous snort.
“Hardly,” Mom says.
“Shadow welcomed Griff with open arms. He made Misty fight and claw for his attention, for his love.” She shakes her head. “It was pretty tense around the clubhouse for months.”
I look back to Misty to see her smiling. “He finally came around.”
“What made him?”
Her lips form a flat line, and I can tell she doesn’t want to tell me exactly what pushed him into action. Misty looks at Mom who just tilts her head as if saying, “You started the story, might as well finish it.”
“I left. I packed mine and Griff’s things while he was away. When he came home, he found out we’d left. Showed up at my new apartment like he owned me and demanded I come back.”
I lean in closer and grin when she shrugs.
“What did you do?”
“Within twenty-four hours, she and Griffin were back at the clubhouse. They were madly in love and inseparable,” Mom says.
Misty chuckles. “We didn’t fall in love overnight. It was growing for months. He was a stubborn ass and just wouldn’t consider it.”
“It took you leaving for him to come to terms with it.” I look past my mom at nothing in particular as I let the information soak in.
“I know that look,” Misty says as she touches my arm. I look at her, a small smile playing on my lips. “What worked for us may not work for you.”
“What?” I recoil, my head pulling back a few inches. “I’m not going to run to make Jameson fall in love with me.”
“But you want him to?” Mom asks.
“I don’t want to raise this baby alone,” I tell her. “But love doesn’t necessarily play into that, I guess.”
“Do you love him?” Misty asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I really like him, but I don’t have much dating experience, so I don’t really know.”
I crave him. My body needs his. But my heart? Who the hell knows?
“It may be too soon just yet. You’ll know when you do. You won’t be able to think of anything else. It’ll consume you until that’s all there is.” Mom has this faraway look in her eyes, and I know how much she loves my dad. I want that. One day I want to look exactly like her, so in love with another person, that joy is all I feel when I think about them.
“Sounds like prison,” I mutter, not ready to let anyone know what my heart desires.
They both laugh.
“Just you wait,” Misty says with a pat on the top of my hand. “It’s all-consuming. It’s not like prison at all. More like a cocoon. There’s nothing better than waking up every morning knowing half of your soul is lying right next to you.”
I picture waking up this morning in Jameson’s arms. All consuming is right. It was unbelievable, but it wasn’t my heart that was clenching with love, it was my clit throbbing in need. I may be young, but I know there’s a difference between lust and love.
I’m totally in lust with Jameson Rawley.
“Your birthday is in a week and a half,” Mom reminds me as she stands to grab the bottle of wine off the counter.
I watch, not saying a word as she tops both her and Misty’s glasses off.
“Planning a kegger?” I finally ask.
“Hardly,” Misty laughs.
“I’ll be twenty-one.”
“Then we’ll let you buy the alcohol for the party,” Mom teases.
“Savage,” I mutter, even though it doesn’t really upset me. I always preferred coke over booze anyway, even though the hangovers were pretty fucking similar.
“So you’re okay with a small party in the clubhouse?” I roll my eyes again.
“Or no party,” I murmur.
“We have to do something,” she insists. “I just didn’t know if you were planning on hanging out with your friends.”
“Really? I don’t have any friends left in town,” I remind her. “Is Ivy coming home?”
“She can’t. Has some internship she signed up for.”
I frown. I’m always in Ivy’s shadow, but the thought of spending our first birthday apart makes me sad. I blame it on fluctuating hormones, and plaster a fake smile on my face.
“Can you make it earlier than usual? The thought of having to be awake past ten entertaining people makes me exhausted just thinking about it.”
“I remember those days.” Misty stands from the table and carries her empty wine glass to the sink. “I was tired the entire time I was pregnant with both boys.”
“Speaking of your son, where is Cannon? I haven’t even heard him mentioned since I’ve been back.”
Misty looks down at her watch as if she expects him any minute. “He’s still at school.”
I may be the only one from Cerberus that never had any intentions of college. Cannon is in San Diego at college.
“Is he doing well?”
Cannon was almost as wild as I was in high school, but the same rules didn’t apply to him since he has a dick. The double standard was always a subject of contention for me.
“He’s struggling,” Misty says. “College is just one party after another for him. He’s missing class, failing most subjects. Shadow has spoken with him, and things get better for a while, but I suspect they’ll kick him out soon.”
Mom rubs a hand over Misty’s back, but she only looks down into her wine glass as if it holds the answers for her son’s future.
“And Samson?” Changing the subject is all I can think to do. I have no advice to give on Cannon.
“Still in Denver working some sort of internship with Ian Hale,” she advises. “He should be home for Thanksgiving.”
“I’ve missed so much.” She gives me a weak smile.
“But you’re home now.” She kisses my forehead before walking toward the door. “That’s what counts. See you ladies later. Shadow is going to want dinner shortly.”
“See ya,” I say as Mom says, “Later.”
“I guess Khloe is at school also?”
Mom stands at the sink, handwashing both wine glasses.
“Yeah. Kid is losing his mind because she’s been moved up to advanced placement English.”
“Why would that bother Kid?”
Mom laughs as if she’s remembering some inside jo
ke. “Well, it seems some of the high school boys find her attractive.”
I nod my head with a smile. “I can see that. She’s beautiful.”
“She is,” Mom agrees. “Kid is spitting nails, doing his best not to get arrested for beating up children at school.”
“Geez,” I huff. “Dad, Kid, Shadow…every one of them are like alpha Rambos.”
Mom laughs hard. “Don’t think for one minute that Hound isn’t exactly the same way.”
My thighs clench at the memories of just how controlling Jameson is.
Chapter 31
Hound
“He’s trying to keep us apart,” Gigi mutters from the bed as I grab clothes out of the dresser and shove them into my rucksack.
“It’s just work,” I counter. “I have to work.”
“He knows my birthday is in a week, and he’s making sure you’re not here.”
Her brow crinkles, and damn if she isn’t adorable.
“You want to celebrate your birthday with me?”
She gives me a small, sad smile. “I just don’t want to spend any time apart from you.”
Her confession makes my pulse thrum in my ears.
“Not tired of me yet?” I stuff the last of my clothes in the bag and pull the cord to close it. “You’ll miss me?”
Her head tilts, and she looks at me as if I’m an idiot.
“I’ll miss your cock,” she teases a few seconds later.
“Really?” I prowl toward her, arms on either side of her crossed legs. “You know I can deny you my cock even if I’m here.”
Her breathing slows, growing erratic. “But you won’t.”
I nip at her bottom lip. “You know better than to challenge me.”
Her delicate, pink tongue sweeps out to the injured flesh of her lip. “You know I like everything you give me.”
The tips of her fingers run down my chest, still naked from our shower not long ago, to the button on my jeans.
“I think you cause trouble just so I’ll spank your ass.”
She smiles, soft and knowing. “You’re a very smart man.”
We’ve spent the better part of the last two weeks barricaded in my room, only leaving every once in a while to ‘date.’
Her dad hasn’t cornered me, but he still has that look on his face, as if he’s tasting something nasty, when he sees us together. Shadow’s attitude from the kitchen has disappeared, so I’m certain Kincaid has told him the story about Gabby and her parents and the true reasons I’m not a father to my daughter.