by Nicole Fox
“Well, we all make mistakes.”
“Oh, I know, Danny. But, did he really have to make one this serious?”
“I guess not. But, it's what we've got to deal with, Mom.”
“God, if your father had been here, he would've tanned that boy's hide.”
Danny shook his head and began to draw out the Fallen Knights emblem on the table top with his finger. “Or, he wouldn't have told me to go get him.”
“Don't say that,” she replied. “He loved you boys, you know that.”
“He had a funny fucking way of showing it, then,” he said.
“Still sore about this whole trust thing?”
He snorted. “The old man was an asshole. It's something I came to terms with a long time ago.”
“Still your father, though.”
“I know. But, Goddamn, if I ever have a son, I don't want to be anything like him.”
She laughed. “Yeah? What would you do different? Kiss his boo-boos for him when he falls off his bike? Not get upset with them over dismantling your bike in the middle of the night, then not knowing how to put it back together.”
He laughed. He'd forgotten about that one. Man, their dad had given him and Jed a whooping on that one. “We deserved that one,” he admitted.
“Well, whatever the man's faults, he raised two strong, capable boys, didn't he? Sure, one fell off the beaten path and got lost along the way. But who doesn't every now and then? He's back now, and that's what’s important.”
Danny nodded, content to not carry the conversation any further, and to let his mom just work in peace.
Finally, the groceries put away, she came and sat down at the kitchen table with him. “Now, speaking of baby boys,” she said as she pulled out her chair and took a seat. “How's that Sara Taylor of yours doing?”
He didn't want to explain everything to her, not yet. Maybe not ever. He looked away and stared at the wall. “She's alright, I guess. Saw her last night.”
“Any closer on having that baby you're trying for?” she asked, trying to be as nonchalant about the question as possible.
He frowned and shook his head. “Mom, I don't want to talk about this.”
“What else are we going to talk about, then? You, me, and Jed are in this house for the next week, Danny.”
“Well, first of all, it's not any of your business.”
“You think a grandbaby isn't any of my business?” she asked with a laugh. “That doesn't make any sense.”
“Drop it, Mom. Or I'm just going to get up and walk away.”
She waved him off. “Fine, fine. I didn't really want to hear about any of your personal life's details, anyways. Just want you to be careful, and all. She's little Ms. Hoity-Toity, that one. I just got one son back, I don't want another dragged away.”
“Believe me,” Danny said as he reached out and patted her frail, bird-like hand, “that's not going to happen. My family is you guys and the Fallen Knights. I'm with you till the end.”
“Oh, don't talk about the end,” she said with a grim smile. “I'm already close, and I don't want to think about it.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sara
“It's time,” Danny said, holding up a plastic bag from the drugstore. He stood in the doorway to her apartment, leaning again the frame.
A week or so had passed since they'd last seen each other and, now that Jed was well into recovery, Danny finally had an opportunity to see her. And, damned if he didn't look good. Sure, he was a little tired looking, but she felt like she was on fire as soon as she saw him framed in her doorway.
The memory of his touch, of the way he'd felt inside her, of how his strong arms held her close and pressed her body to his. All her wants and needs came back in an almost-tactile rush.
“Time for what?” she asked as she stepped out of the way and ushered him inside.
“The test,” he said as he stepped past. “I went by and picked up one. I figured, we've been at this baby-making thing long enough, we might be able to see how we're doing. Not that I'm expecting you to be pregnant, or anything. But, we can at least check.”
“It's not even time for my period, yet,” Sara said, taking the offered bag from him. She dug into the parcel and pulled out the box. “But, sure, why not? I haven't peed on a stick all week.”
Danny chuckled.
“You wanna, like, wait out here while I go to the bathroom?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he replied and took a seat on her couch.
She took the box and the bag with her into the bathroom. She didn't real have to pee, but she'd had enough coffee that morning to go if she had to. She closed the door behind her and pulled down her pants and underwear. She sat down on the toilet and began to unbox the test and read the instructions.
She set the box aside and pulled off the cap and sat there, waiting.
As she did, though, her mind began to race. What if she actually was pregnant already? What did that mean? She might have a small life growing inside her. A small life that was owed to the rough biker guy sitting on her living room couch, just outside her bathroom door. Of course, there was the money, too. Five hundred grand to start a new life, for her and the baby.
But is that what she wanted? A new life, far from here? What about Danny, then? What about the father of her child? The relationship, if she could even call it that, would be over between them. No more mind-bending sex, no one to hold her tight at night, no strong hands running over her body.
She found herself not wanting to be pregnant. Not yet, at least. If she was, all this might be over. She would have held up her end of the bargain, and he could start to take care of her as just another financial burden. Where would she be, then?
She shook her head as she felt the urge to pee coming. Five seconds, the box said. No more than five seconds in the stream. Got it. She dipped the tip in, counting Mississippis in her head. She pulled the stick out after five, held it tip down as she took care of everything.
Danny was waiting for her in the hallway. “Well?” he asked as she came out.
“I haven't looked,” she said. “I thought we should, you know, together.”
He smiled a tight smile, one Sara couldn't discern the meaning of, as he joined her in her small bathroom.
Sara sucked in a breath as she held the stick up to the light.
“Does that . . .?” Danny asked.
She nodded.
There was a blue cross, a positive symbol, on the indicator. Just like she'd feared.
“Well,” she said with a sigh, “there you go. You've got your baby now. Happy?”
# # #
Danny
Suddenly, he felt like he'd been living in the attic, or a dank basement, for the last couple weeks, and someone had just come in and turned the light on over his head. But, instead of an overhanging light, the bulb had been a simple little test that Sara taken. The thought that he was going to be a father just shot right through his chest and punctured his heart.
He was going to be a father. A pops, just like his old man had been. Maybe not exactly like him, of course. But, shit, he was going to be a dad.
“I . . . I . . .” he mumbled, unable to get any real words out his mouth.
“Well?” she pressed. “Aren't you happy about getting your inheritance, at least?”
He realized, as she asked her question that, honestly, he didn't really give a shit about the money. The inheritance was important for helping his mom, of course. But, in the grand scheme of things? No, the cash and assets didn't really matter. What mattered was his blood, and that his and Sara's child grew up to be healthy and strong.
Danny shook his head.
“Well, what then?” she asked again, concern in her voice. “Tell me, Danny.”
“You're having my baby,” he said, a smile slowly growing on his face. “I mean, I'm going to be a dad.” He turned to her slowly, to that beautiful heart-shaped face of hers. He reached up a hand, touched her cheek. “Yes. I'm ha
ppy.”
She smiled wanly at him. “So, what does this mean for us?”
A flash of memories surged in his mind suddenly. An image of the big Free Jackals member looming over him, baseball bat in hand. That guy, whoever he was, he was out there, still. And, this was personal. A moment of doubt entered his mind. He needed to keep Sara, and their child, away from this guy. Safe from him.
“Well, our agreement was that you'd get to keep the baby,” he said, surprising even himself as the words left his mouth. “I don't get a say in it, do I?”
“Of course you get a say in it. This thing takes two, doesn't it?”
He shrugged, continuing with his line of thinking. “That wasn't the agreement. In fact, the agreement was for us to have a baby, and then that be it.”
“So, you want to stick with it, then? And not stick with me?”
“No, that's not what I'm saying.”
She paused, pressed her lips together, and glared up at him. “What's going on? What aren't you telling me?”
Danny looked away. “I'm just worried, that's all. I still have to go after the Free Jackals, for what they did to Jed. One of them, one I saw in the apartment where we found my brother, I think he's got it in for me.”
“What do you mean? What does that have to do with us?”
“I mean, I don't know if I can protect you from them. From him.”
“You got Jed back,” she pointed out, her voice getting more exasperated. “What more do you need to do?”
“Look,” he said, begrudgingly telling her about the MC's business, “we think we found where the guy is, the guy who got Jed hooked on smack.”
“What?” she nearly yelled, then turned and went into the living room.
“We've got these guys right where we want them, now. I mean, this could all be over soon.”
“You're going to be a fucking father, Danny,” Sara yelled. “And you want to go traipsing around, chasing after bikers?”
“These guys have it out for me, out for us. We need to show them we can't be pushed around.”
She gritted her teeth and turned away from him for a second. When she looked back, her eyes were on fire. “I want to go with you, then.”
“What?” Danny asked, his head almost snapping back in surprise. “Fuck no. This ain't women's business. You can't just show up and expect to do this kind of thing. What if you got hurt?”
“What if I got hurt?” she yelled. “What if you got hurt?”
“You know what,” he said, pushing past her to get to the door. “I'm going. I'll talk to you later.”
He was out the door, slamming it shut behind him before she could finish her yelling.
Danny was halfway to his bike when she threw open the door. “Screw you, Danny Reynolds!”
The last time they'd slept together, he'd felt like they'd connected, like she understood who he was, and what he sometimes had to do. But now, with this and the way she was acting, he realized that maybe he was wrong. Maybe Sara didn't understand him, and maybe she never would. He just kept walking.
He'd be damned if she tried to tie him down, or pull him away, like Brittney had to Jed. And this was how shit like that always started. “Don't go with your friends. Don't have that beer. Do you think you need that piece of fried chicken?”
Relationships kept you away from what really mattered. Their arrangement, and the way they had things before, was the way to go. He'd had the right idea from the beginning.
Of course, if that was true . . . why did he care so damn much about her, and their child growing inside her?
He pushed the thought aside and climbed on to his bike. He kicked his hog alive, and sped off to meet the rest of the Fallen Knights.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Danny
He pulled up on the little dirt road about thirty minutes later. Karl, Thorn, and Tyke were all waiting for him, and Thorn pointedly checked his watch as he approached and brought his bike up next to the small group. He killed the engine.
Down below, through a dense thicket of trees, a small, rundown compound of sorts stretched out over a piece of leveled land. Most of the buildings were steel sheds, but one in the back, closest to them, was mostly wood-frame construction.
The turnoff for the road had been nearly completely covered by trees, and he'd missed the gravel the first go round. He cussed himself for letting his thoughts of Sara cloud his mind like they had, but it was the honest truth as to what had happened. He was too focused on her, and he needed to keep his head in the game.
Of course, she was carrying his child. His own little piece of the future. His legacy, like his dad had wanted. Shit, this was just too fucking complicated. What was the right answer?
But, he knew the answer to that question. This wasn't a multiple choice test, where you just filled in a bubble. Where, even if you had no clue what the answer was, you still had a 25% chance of getting the solution right. This was his life, Sara's life, and the baby's life.
His head was a jumble, though, and so he did what he always did: he shoved his worries aside, and focused on the Fallen Knights, and the business at hand.
“You're late,” Thorn said in his gravelly voice. He had a pair of binoculars in one hand.
“Started to worry you weren't gonna show, buddy,” Tyke added.
“I know,” Danny said, feeling exasperated. He knew that, between Jed and Sara, he hadn't been around much for the last few weeks. Damn her and her trying to keep him from his brothers out here. “I'm sorry, okay?”
Thorn just looked at him and gave a little nod of understanding. “Okay,” he simply said. He could tell Danny knew he'd fucked up. That was enough.
“That the place?” Danny asked as he dismounted from his bike and crept up to the road's edge.
“That's the place,” Thorn replied as he handed over the binoculars to Danny.
He pressed the binoculars to his eyes and checked the compound out. There were a bunch of bikes out front of their clubhouse, but not their full compliment. “Think we can get in and out?”
“Yep, see that down there,” Thorn said, as he touched his shoulder and pointed at a little gate near the back of the compound. “That leads up to this main road. Too rough a trail for us to get our bikes down, but it should be plenty easy for us to get in and out on foot.”
“Plus,” Karl added, “they won't be able to follow us out on their bikes, neither. They'll have to take the long way around to try and catch us at the highway.”
“Exactly,” Tyke said from over near his bike. He pulled something out of his saddle bag, a big, glass liquor bottle and a white handkerchief. “We toss this bad boy at that back wooden building, then see who comes out.”
Danny saw the logic. “Like kicking over an ant pile.” Maybe, that big bastard from the apartment would be coming out to see what all the ruckus was. Maybe. Then, Danny would be able to get a better look at him and see if that jogged any of his memories.
“Well,” Thorn drawled in that gravelly voice of his, “we got a few hours to kill till sundown. Then a couple after that. We should probably come up this way a little early, so they don't see our headlights coming along this back road.”
“Good idea,” Danny agreed.
“Meet up at he Crow?” Tyke asked everyone.
“Sounds good,” Thorn agreed.
All four of them climbed back on their bikes, and, in no time, were riding back the way they'd come.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Danny
They rode back that night in pairs, with Tyke on the back of Danny's motorcycle, and Karl on the back of Thorn's. There was a cloud cover that hung low and blocked the moon, which was good for what they had planned, but not so much for riding without the headlamp on. The cadre of raiders got down from their bikes and crept along the road, just like earlier in the day, towards the cutoff that would lead them down to the rear of the compound.
The compound itself was barely lit, with just a few bare-bulb fixtures hanging over
the entryways, and one set of lights lit near the main entrance. As long as they didn't go through the middle of the area, Danny figured, they'd be fine getting in and out.
Regardless, Danny's nerves were shot. This was either a great plan, or a horrendously stupid one. But what else did they have? He just had to find out who that guy was, and why he'd come gunning for him and his family. He wouldn't be able to sleep at night until he found out and was able to mete out a little of his own kind of justice.
Karl had the bolt cutters in hand, and Danny was in charge of the Molotov cocktail that Tyke had thrown together. Danny gripped the bottle tight, the handkerchief hanging loose down the side and down the bottle.