by Jenika Snow
He saw Clara rounding the corner and immediately started in with the questions.
“How is she? Is the baby okay? She fell?” Payne asked the questions in rapid succession.
“She’s fine, but the doctors won’t let anyone back, or tell us anything. I’m in the dark as much as you are. Although since you’re the father I’m sure they’ll update you soon.” Tears filled her eyes, and she looked completely lost.
He nodded. “She needs me.”
Before he could say anything else, the doctor calling his name interrupted him.
“How is she?” he asked right away. “How’s the baby?”
“Vicky and the baby are fine. She’s had a shock, and it could have been quite serious. She was right to get to the hospital. There was some vaginal bleeding, so we’re keeping her in overnight to observe her and monitor the baby for distress.”
Payne let out a breath. “Can I go and see her?”
“Certainly. It can only be you, I’m afraid. She needs her rest.”
“No problem.”
He followed the doctor back to Vicky’s room. She was lying in a hospital bed and looking so damn fragile. She had an IV in her arm, a monitor on her finger, cords under her hospital gown, and an elastic belt-looking thing wrapped around her belly.
“Can you hear him, Payne?” she asked, pointing at another machine. “That’s our little boy.”
He took a seat, and held onto her hand as he stared at the machine monitoring their son’s strong heartbeat.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“Don’t, baby. This is not your fault.”
“I needed to use the toilet, and I couldn’t even keep my balance, it seemed.”
“Shhh, don’t stress. Shit happens.”
She closed her eyes and sighed.
Payne couldn’t hold back his pain, and knew it painted his face. “I can’t lose you. I love you too much. Being without you is not a pain I can live with.”
She stroked his cheek and smiled. “We’re a right pair right now.”
He pressed a kiss to her lips, and the machine connected to her beeped faster. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. My heart rate just increased.” She smiled. “It always happens when I’m around you. You turn me into mush.”
He chuckled, stroking the hair back from her eyes.
“Clara call you?” she asked.
“Of course she did. Gave me a fucking heart attack.”
“I hope rushing here didn’t have you risking anything with the club.”
He shook his head.
“Listen to me, Payne. I know you love me, and I also know you’ll do whatever it takes to make sure me and baby are fine. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid that will risk your life? I mean it, Payne. I’m bringing our son into this world, and I won’t be able to stand it if something happened to you.”
He nodded. “I won’t. I’ll do what I can to come home to you every single night. It’s you and I, Vicky, and soon this little boy. You two are my life.”
17
One week later
Vicky had been released from the hospital six days ago. After being in observation overnight, and making sure the baby was okay, she’d been discharged. She was happy to be home, but was taking it easy. She still had a couple of months left before she was full-term, and although falling had been an accident, her OBGYN was making her come in every two weeks instead of the monthly visits that she had been doing.
She lay in the bed she shared with Payne, rubbed her belly, and stared at the TV that was muted. Ever since she was discharged Payne was overly protective—even more so than normal. The thing was she loved that about him, but she also knew he had to get his head back in the game. His life was in the MC, as well, and if he wasn’t focused on that, he’d end up getting hurt, or worse, killed.
She’d even had to push him to go into the MC today. He’d been so worried about her and the Braxton Hicks contractions she’d had. Even if Vicky had assured him that was normal, women had them, and it didn’t mean something was wrong. Hell, she’d gone to the doctor just to make sure, too.
Her cell rang, and she saw Payne’s number flash across the screen. Smiling to herself, she answered it, knowing he was worried. He’d been texting her all day, and in a way it was sweet and cute.
“I’m fine,” she said as soon as the call connected.
Payne breathed out, but then chuckled. “You know me well.”
She smiled. “You’ve been checking up on me for the last two hours.”
“I worry about you and the baby.”
Her heart swelled at the thought.
“You should be focusing on work. It’s important.”
“You’re important,” he said without missing a beat.
“Careful or the other patches might see that as a weakness.” She grew warm at the idea.
“Fuck them if they think loving a woman is a weakness.”
God, she loved this man.
“But you’re good, really?” he asked, all seriousness in his voice.
“I’m good. In fact, I can’t wait until you get home so I can show you how much I miss you.” The growl that came through sounded animalistic, and she got wet instantly.
“Woman,” he said in a harsh growl. “You’ll be the death of me.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. Truth was he’d be the death of her, too.
Ever since Vicky had gotten out of the hospital Payne had been even more protective of her. He didn’t want her straining herself, and didn’t want any undue stress put on the little guy she carried either.
“You with us, Prez?”
He glanced at Grim, who’d spoken. He looked at Grim’s twin, Reaper. Both men seemed a little on edge—more than usually—and that had everyone else on edge, too.
“I’m here.” Payne cleared his throat and tried to focus. “Let’s get down to the gritty details of the run.”
They’d be transporting a shipment of handguns to an MC in the next state over. They’d just secured a treaty deal with the club, while the other MC would be in the works in getting the Grit Chapter a handle on some semi-automatics. Payne and the crew would then trade those semiautomatics with another Soldiers charter, and so on and so forth. They’d get income from the MC, make connections, and have allies between several new groups.
“We’ll be going out tomorrow night to do the drop off,” Grim said, gesturing to his brother Reaper, and also to Pike.
Payne nodded. “Sounds good. I want an update when you get there, and I’ll let the brother charter know when you’re heading back.”
Grim nodded.
“Any other business?” Payne asked.
“No,” they all said in unison.
“Good, because I want to get back to my old lady.”
Damn, he was so in love with Vicky it was insane, but hell no would he change anything about it.
18
It was time.
Vicky stared down at the floor where her water had just broken, and instead of panicking, she really wanted to clean up the mess that she had created. She reached out for the phone, knowing she didn’t have long to get to the hospital. The timing was all off. Payne had left her two nights ago to do one of his runs, and she had insisted on him going. Now, she wished she hadn’t told him to go, but to stay.
“Damn.”
She grabbed her phone, and quickly dialed Payne. When she got his voicemail she cursed again and called Clara’s number.
“Hello,” Clara said.
“Hey, babe,” she tried to sound clam. “I’ve got a problem.”
“You haven’t fallen down again, have you?” There was urgency in Clara’s voice.
“No. I’ve not fallen down.” She heard Clara sigh in relief. “My water just broke.”
“What?”
Vicky listened as Clara seemed to go crazy, clearly trying not to freak out.
“Calm down.”
“I can’t calm down. Your water has b
roken. That is a huge deal. Fuck! Have you called Payne?”
“I tried. He didn’t answer. I’ll try calling him again once I’m finished with you.” She chuckled as she heard Clara constantly cursing. “I take it you’ll be here soon.”
“Yes. Fuck yes.”
Hanging up the phone, she was still smiling as she put a call through to Payne, and finally got through to him. So far there hadn’t been any contractions, which was a good thing, but she supposed it would come soon enough.
“Hey, babe. I’m missing you,” he said, the smile in his voice.
“I miss you too. Um, something important has come up.”
“What?” Payne asked, nervousness starting to coat his voice.
“My water has broken. Clara’s on her way, and I don’t know where you are—”
“Wait, your water has broken, as in the baby is coming?”
“Yes. Our son is ready to come out, I guess. I wanted to let you know I’m heading toward the hospital. Or I will be when Clara gets here.” The pain started to build inside her, and she rested her hand against the wall. “Oh,” she moaned softly.
“Vicky, babe, fuck, I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“I didn’t know I was going to be this close to giving birth.”
“I shouldn’t have gone,” he said.
“Stop it right now. Oh God…” She couldn’t finish as the pain just seemed to increase. “I’ve got to go, Payne.”
She hung up after saying a quick goodbye, and gripped the wall, trying to fight through the pain.
Clara burst through the door about ten minutes later. “We’ve got to go,” she said frantically.
Bridget was beside her, and together, the two women helped her into the car, easing her into the backseat.
Bridget climbed in the back as Clara shot away from the house.
“I didn’t clean up the mess.”
“Payne can clean it,” Clara said. “We’ve got to get you to the hospital.”
“Just breathe,” Bridget said.
“That’s not helping.” Vicky took a deep breath, and suddenly felt the need to push. “I’ve got to push.”
“No fucking pushing!” Bridget said. “I’m not designed to bring a baby into this world, and you will not push. Not yet.”
“Payne needs to be here.” Vicky wanted him close when she gave birth to their son.
“He will be. You just keep that baby inside you, okay?” Clara said.
“I will.”
“That’s right.”
She closed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and tried to stay calm even as her body was fighting against her. She didn’t know how much more she could hold inside. The baby inside her wanted out, and she really wanted to push.
“What name did you decide?”
“I don’t know. We didn’t. We couldn’t decide.” She kept taking deep breaths.
“We’re almost there, Vicky. Don’t panic.”
She wasn’t panicking. “I’m going to be a mom. That is crazy. Don’t you think that is crazy? I’m going to be a mom, and Payne’s going to be a daddy. He’ll be a good daddy.”
“He will,” Bridget agreed. “He’ll be surrounded by all of his loving uncles and aunties.”
“He’ll be spoiled,” Clara said.
Vicky nodded. “I can handle that. The whole club will be there for our son.” She pressed a hand to her stomach and stroked over the rounded bump. “You hear that, sweetie? You’re going to be so loved, and everyone is going to love you so much. No one is going to know what to do without you.”
They pulled up outside of the hospital, and everything became a blur.
Payne rode like a mad man. There was no way he was going to make it with this fucking traffic. All of his men were following him as he sped. He shouldn’t have left his woman. He missed her already, and he knew he wasn’t going to get there in time to witness the birth of his little boy.
Come on, Payne. Get there.
He broke the speed limit, and finally he was there, pulling up outside of the hospital. Rushing through, he saw Bridget was waiting for him, and without directing him, she simply turned and started walking.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Down a long corridor, and up a flight of stairs, a left, then a right turn. He was frantic.
“Is she okay?”
Before Bridget answered, she stopped at a door, and turned to smile at him. “Why don’t you go and see for yourself?”
He paused, suddenly feeling sick.
“Payne?” Vicky said.
All it took was her voice, and he turned toward her. She looked exhausted but so fucking beautiful, radiant. In her arms was a little bundle. A blue blanket covering his son.
Their son.
“Come and meet our son,” she said.
He stepped into the room, and tears filled his eyes as he stared down at what they had created together. So perfect, so beautiful, and he felt this overwhelming love suddenly consume him.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “You came back to me in one piece. That’s all I wanted.”
“We stayed with her,” Clara said. “Bridget and I. We wouldn’t leave her side. We both knew you’d want someone with her while you were getting here.”
He looked up at Clara and nodded. “I owe you both.”
“No, you don’t. We love Vicky and the baby.” She patted his arm and smiled at them. “Congratulations.”
He kissed Vicky’s head and ran the tip of his finger down his son’s cheek. This was what living was all about. He’d been missing out on so much.
19
One week later
They’d gone back to their place after she was discharged from the hospital, and although everyone from the MC had wanted to see them, they’d stayed cooped up, just enjoying the time with their little man.
Ryan Cooper.
Their son.
A little bit of both of them.
“He’s gorgeous,” Payne said, and she looked over at her man. Ryan looked just like his father, or he would to a T once he was full grown. But he had Payne’s features, and that made her smile.
“He is. He looks like you.”
Payne grinned, looking all proud, and leaned over to kiss her. “We can’t avoid them for much longer. They are chomping at the bit to see him.”
She nodded. “I know. Let’s go and say hi. Ryan should see where he’ll probably be hanging out a lot when he’s older.”
Payne chuckled. “My boy has to learn the ropes of the MC at an early age.” He kissed her once more and took Ryan from her arms.
Once they had him in the carseat and both of them were in the SUV—a new one Payne had gone out and bought after Ryan was born because of the safety features—they headed to the MC.
It was a short drive, and with Payne driving like he was eighty years old, Vicky couldn’t help but smile. He was extra cautious, overprotective, and she loved him even more for it. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, to have more children, to be his wife. Yes, she was his old lady, and in the MC world that was even more coveted than being legally married. But call her old fashioned … she wanted that little piece of paper. Even if it never happened, because truth was they never actually talked about that aspect of it all, she was deliriously happy, and knew Payne would never let her down.
She’d been afraid in the beginning, and running hadn’t been the best course of action. He’d missed out on the first months of her pregnancy. After it was clear he wanted this just as much as she did, Vicky knew things would work out perfectly.
They were meant to be together.
They’d arrived at the MC about half an hour ago, and Payne couldn’t get his focus off Vicky and how vibrant she looked. Everyone was cooing over their son, and although these men were in leather, sported tattoos, and had badass personalities, they were gentle with Ryan.
Beast was now holding the little guy, but
when Ryan started wailing Beast looked scared as fuck and handed him off to King. Surprisingly, King was able to calm Ryan down enough so that he only whimpered. He cooed down at the baby, stroked his cheek, and looked totally in love. King then looked over at his old lady and smiled, and there was some exchange going on there, something private and special.
“You did good, man,” Smalls said as he walked up to him.
Payne grunted. “You don’t have to tell me, brother.” He looked over at Vicky. “I’m one lucky fucker.”
“You sure are. I swear, it’s one after the other with the patches finding old ladies and settling down.”
He looked over at the other man. “You want to settle down?”
Smalls seemed to think about it for a second, then shook his head. “What the fuck would I do with an old lady?”
Payne heard this strange emotion in Smalls’ voice.
“Although I’m starting to think something is up with the twins.”
Payne glanced at Grim and Reaper. They were off to the corner, looking scared as fuck as they looked at Ryan.
“You see how they were acting in the meeting?”
Payne nodded. “Could be anything. You know how those two work.”
“Nah, I think it’s something else. I think they might want something more than what they’ve had.”
Payne looked at Smalls again. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Smalls just shrugged.
The other man ended up walking away after a little while, and Payne went back to looking at Vicky. She was holding Ryan now, and the old ladies were around her. He saw the love in his woman’s eyes as she looked down at their son. And when she looked at him he felt his heart jerk in his chest. He mouthed, “I love you,” and the smile on her face could have sent him to his knees.
God, he was one lucky bastard.
20
It took Payne three months before he went back to dealing with club business. Vicky was more than happy to deal with Ryan. He was such a sweet and charming boy. Payne didn’t like being away, and she did miss him at night. She was determined to prove to him that she could do all of this on her own. It wasn’t that she wanted to do it on her own, only that she could.