by Smith, T. O.
I put a hand up to his face. He shoved it away from his face, but he kept scanning my features, trying to figure out what had bothered me so suddenly. "Hi, can I speak to Dr. Charles?" I asked the receptionist that answered the phone.
"Sure. Give me one moment while I direct your call."
"Amelia, what the fuck is going on?" Cole demanded.
I shot him a pointed look, telling him to shut up for a moment. "Dr. Charles speaking. How may I help you?"
"Dr. Charles, it's Amelia Johnson." I told him. "I just saw you today."
"Ah, Amelia. Is everything okay?" He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
I sighed and ran a hand through my bangs. "Actually, this just came to my mind and it has me a little worried. I'm three months pregnant and I've been drinking most of those days. How will that affect my pregnancy and my baby?"
He sighed at the same time Cole squeezed my thigh and sat next to me. "Okay, I'll tell you what we'll do.” Dr. Charles said. “Do you think that you can come in tomorrow?"
I nodded, though I knew he couldn't see me. "Of course, I can." I told him. If it meant making sure my child was okay, I would go to the ends of the fucking world tomorrow.
"Okay, I want you to come in at nine in the morning and we're going to do an ultrasound to look for any defects. We'll also keep check throughout your entire pregnancy, but we won't know how the alcohol consumption will affect your child's brain until it has been born."
I sighed. I had probably already fucked my child up and it wasn’t even that old yet. "Okay. I'll see you at nine. Thank you." I murmured.
I hung up the phone and looked down at my hand that Cole was holding. He sighed, making me look up at him. "We'll deal with it, baby." He said gently. "I'm glad you thought about the alcohol, though. I never would have."
"Cole, I'm such a bad mom." I whispered, looking down at my lap.
He gripped my chin in his hand, shaking his head. "Amelia, you're not a bad mother. You didn't even know you were pregnant. Don't beat yourself up over it. Just take care of yourself so that your body can take care of our baby, okay?" He leaned forward and kissed me, his hand sliding along the back of my neck. I arched myself into his touch, sighing. Cole always turned me on, no matter what. "You need to take a nap. From the research that I’ve done since we found out about your pregnancy, rest is good for both of you."
I sighed. I felt weak for what I was about to ask, but I didn't want him to leave me. I wanted him to hold me while I slept. "Will you stay with me?" I asked softly.
He smirked. "Do you want me that bad, babe?"
I glared at him, clenching my jaw. For once, I let him see the more vulnerable side of me, and he goes and says some stupid shit like that. "Never mind. Go fuck yourself." I snapped.
He sighed. "Baby, I'm sorry. I'll stay with you, okay?"
I ignored him and laid down, turning my back to him. A few moments later, I felt Cole's arms wrap around my waist and he pulled me against his shirtless body. "Go to sleep, baby. I won't leave without telling you."
I smiled to myself.
Even if it took me getting knocked up, Cole had admitted that he cared about me. It was a relief for me to know that my feelings weren't just one-sided. I’d had feelings for Cole for a very long time. As much as I hated it, this baby would be the one thing that would bring us together.
~*~*~
Cole's POV
I groaned when someone knocked on the door. "What?" I whispered harshly. Fuck, I was finally getting some decent sleep and somebody had to come fucking ruin it. If they ended up waking Amelia up, I would make sure they would face my fucking wrath.
Lorenzo stepped into the room. "Cole, we've got some random blonde bitch standing in the middle of the club house ranting some stupid shit about you promising her something."
I sighed. Of course, the one bitch that I wished to never see again would remember that I promised her out of the life that she was currently in. This one wouldn't be much better for her. It wasn’t like she would be my old lady. I was sure it was pretty clear that Amelia was my old lady, even if it wasn't official yet between us.
"I'll be out there in a minute. Be prepared for some," I paused for a moment, trying to find the right word to use, "drama."
He looked at Amelia sleeping and smirked. "I'll grab a beer while we're waiting. Should I make some popcorn?" He asked sarcastically, grinning.
I chuckled and rolled my eyes, shaking my head. He stepped out of the room and I gently shook Amelia. She groaned. "What?" She mumbled.
"There's a girl I made a promise to a couple of years ago in the bar room. I need to go deal with it. Do you want to come out there with me or do you want to continue to sleep? I told you I wouldn't leave without letting you know first." I reminded her.
She rolled onto her back and stretched. I groaned at the sight. Man, I would love to fuck her senseless. She looked so unbelievably sexy when she stretched.
I got out of bed before I put off dealing with the shit out in the bar room and instead fuck Amelia senseless. I slid my shirt back on and put my shoes on, shrugging on my cut. She finally rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. "I'll be out in the bar room, babe." I told her.
She nodded and I left the room. When I got to the bar room, the blonde girl was sitting at one of the tables, drinking what looked to be a soda. She looked up when I walked in. "Cole!" She exclaimed.
Before I could do register what was happening, she was jumping into my arms and kissing me. When I finally managed to pry her away, I shoved her away from me. "Tammi, what do you want?" I asked her, getting straight to the point, clenching my jaw.
"Cole, I want you." She murmured, trailing her red manicured fingernail down my chest. "I've always wanted you, baby."
"Too bad, bitch. He's taken." Amelia said as she walked past us, knocking Tammi’s hand off of my chest, and heading to the bar. "Peanut, get me a . . . " She trailed off, sighing. "Fucking pregnancy." She muttered. "Get me a goddamn glass of fucking water."
He nodded quickly and scampered off to get her some water, obviously sensing her foul mood. Despite her bad mood, Amelia still looked so fucking sexy. She was wearing her normal attire of jeans, boots, black shirt, leather jacket, and her cut, and she still had that air of bad-assness surrounding her. I gazed down at her stomach. She wasn't really showing yet, but I knew I would love it when she would.
"Who the fuck are you?" Tammi spat at Amelia.
Amelia looked over at her, annoyance flashing in her eyes. "Take it from me, sweetheart. Don't roll up in here thinking you know how shit works. You're nothing to me; therefore, I'll take pleasure in strangling you and burying you somewhere deep in the woods, okay?"
"I know how shit works, you club whore.” Tammi snapped. I clenched my jaw. I fucking hated when people thought Amelia was some random club whore. “Cole and I have been together a long time."
I snorted, dragged out a chair and sitting down. I wasn't going to get caught in the middle of this shit. Tammi was digging her own hole, and I wasn’t helping her out of this one.
"Did you just call me a club whore, but yet claimed to know how shit works around here?" Amelia rolled her eyes, scoffing. "If you knew how shit works, you wouldn't have called me a club whore when I'm wearing a cut. One, club whores – as you put it – don’t wear cuts. Two, you're looking at the motherfucking VP, sweetheart."
Tammi sauntered up to Amelia in her high heels. Amelia stood her ground, not even blinking at Tammi. "You don't know who you're fucking with-." Tammi started, but Amelia cut her off.
She cocked her head to the side, a puzzled expression crossing her face. "I know you from somewhere. Where the fuck have I seen you before?"
"On the back of Cole's bike?" Tammi asked, smirking.
All of a sudden, Amelia had her hands wrapped around Tammi's throat. I jumped up from my chair at the same time Amelia slammed her against the counter, practically breaking Tammi’s back with the force. "You bitch!" Amelia screamed, tightening
her grip. "I should fucking kill you for what you fucking did to me, do you understand that? You helped that fucking bitch in jail, fucking held me down while she beat the fuck out of me." She sneered.
Amelia released her, clenching her fists at her sides. I took my place behind Amelia, placing my hand on her lower back. Amelia was breathing hard, clenching and unclenching her fists by her side. I could practically feel her need for blood to be shed.
Tammi stared at me and Amelia with wide eyes as she rubbed her neck. Suddenly, Amelia smirked, and it was the most insincere, twisted look I had ever seen on her face. "Oh, sweetheart, it'll be so much fun with you here. Since I can't ride anymore or blow up anything, I get the pleasure of staying here and making your life a living hell for everything you helped that stupid bitch with." Amelia paused, cocking her head to the side. "Tell me, what did you owe her?"
Tammi glared at her, despite her face paling at the thought of what Amelia had just said to her. "She'll kill me if I say anything."
"I'll kill you myself for helping the woman who hurt Amelia." I ground out through clenched teeth. Fuck promises. Nothing, not a fucking thing came before my woman. "You better start talking or I'll make your death very fucking slow." I warned her.
Amelia turned to me. "Cole, I can handle myself."
I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her tight against me. She was my weakness. Everyone knew that. I wasn't ashamed of her being my weakness. Because Amelia was my weakness, I would kill anybody that fucked with her.
"Baby, I know you can, but you're mine.” I reminded her. “Anything that happened to you, I will get revenge for it. I don't give a damn what kind of promises I may have made to that person. You come first; you will always come first."
Amelia sighed and turned back around to face Tammi with my arm still around her. I splayed my hand over her belly, noticing how Amelia instantly relaxed back into me. "Speak, blondie." Amelia snapped.
"My name is Tammi." She ground out, aggravated.
Amelia sighed in frustration. "Does it look like I care what your fucking name is? I'll call you what I please. Now speak, bitch."
I forced myself not to smile at the irony of Amelia calling Tammi a bitch and telling her to speak. Sometimes, Amelia never failed to amuse me.
"I'm not telling you anything." Tammi snapped at Amelia.
Amelia pulled her gun out and stepped away from me, shoving it against Tammi's forehead. Tammi visibly paled, and I thought she was going to vomit. "Now, whore, tell me what she did for you." Amelia snapped, her tone cold and void of any emotion.
"She killed the man who owned me." Tammi whispered. "It's how I was able to get free. I got out of jail because they found me innocent. Jamie pleaded guilty, effectively releasing me and adding more charges to her sentence."
"Ah, so she's your knight in shining armor?" Amelia asked, putting her gun back at the small of her back.
Tammi snatched up a knife and I grabbed her wrist, bending it backwards and applying pressure on her pressure point before she could stab Amelia. I was seething with anger. She cried out in pain, but I only tightened my grip, shooting her a look holding a thousand promises of pain. "It looks like you're still trying to do Jamie's work outside of jail." I looked at Lorenzo, shoving Tammi towards him. "Get her out of here. Lock her up somewhere. She is never to be left alone. I don't give a damn if she's pissing or taking a shower. An eye will always be on her."
He nodded and looked down at Tammi, smirking. She cringed, her eyes filled with fear. "Love," Amelia flinched at the name and rubbed her belly subconsciously, "you better be glad we're all against rape here, or I'd take you without your consent."
"Lorenzo." I snapped. Fuck, I swear, sometimes I just wanted to punch these men in the fucking face for their thoughtlessness.
He cursed and looked at Amelia. "Forgive me?" He asked her, pouting.
Amelia rolled her eyes at him, sighing. "As much as I hate the bitch, no one deserves that kind of torture. I forgive you, though." She assured him.
He smiled and pulled Tammi after him as he walked away. My dad walked over. "We've got a problem. FBI agents just rode into the lot, demanding to search the place. They've got warrants."
"Let them search.” I told him. “We've got nothing here and we're all licensed to carry concealed." I told him.
Amelia moved away from me and walked outside. I followed behind her, knowing how she could get with her temper. "Oh, it's the old bastard." She snapped, glaring at an older man as he stepped out of the car. "Are you going to fart around or do something productive?" She asked him.
"It's such a pity they released you." He told her, shooting her a glare. "You would have been safer there. We all know you're heading down a road that will only get you killed."
Amelia rolled her eyes and glared at a black haired man. I grabbed her arm before she could storm over to him. The last thing I needed was for her to land her ass back in jail. "You!" She yelled, her body shaking from the anger she was feeling. "You fucking bastard.” She seethed. “What you did to me was fucking illegal!"
"Don't forget you're only out on bail." He reminded her, a sick, twisted smirk on his face.
I put my hand over her mouth before something that could send her back to jail flew out of it. "You need to calm down." I growled into her ear. "You don't need to get sent back to jail because your temper got the best of you."
The black haired FBI agent walked up. I tensed. It was taking a lot for me to not knock him on his ass, but I needed the FBI away from here, and we needed off of their radar. "Cole, is it?" He asked me.
"Yeah." I shook his hand, forcing myself to be pleasant. I just had to play nice while they searched the club house. “What's yours, agent?"
"Agent Blake." He smirked. "You've got a feisty one on your hands." He said, gesturing to Amelia.
I looked over at her as she walked away and looked back at him. "What do you have against her?" I asked him.
"You'd love to know, wouldn't you?" He asked.
He walked away and into the club house. Amelia sat on the ground against the building. Her face was pale and she had her head between her knees. I knelt next to her. "Baby, are you okay?" I asked gently.
Before she could answer, she leaned away from me and threw up on the ground. "Water." She muttered. "Get me some water."
I got up and jogged into the club house. I shoved past Peanut and got Amelia a glass of water. When I came back outside, an agent was holding a bottle of water to Amelia's lips. "Morning sickness sucks, doesn't it?" The woman asked her. "I never would have survived my pregnancy without a ton of water and any kind of crackers. How far along are you?"
"Thirteen weeks. I didn't start throwing up until a couple of days ago." Amelia muttered, taking another gulp of water from the bottle.
I watched from a distance as the woman sat beside Amelia, letting her keep the water bottle. "You know, I didn't start throwing up until I was probably about sixteen weeks into my pregnancy. I was absolutely miserable. My boyfriend was busy a lot. He wanted to be there for me, but he couldn't. He had to do what his president wanted."
Amelia jerked back, staring at her with wide eyes. "Who the fuck are you?" Amelia demanded.
The agent sighed and leaned her head back against the building. "I'm Lisa Gray – an FBI agent. I was sixteen when I got pregnant with my daughter."
"You were involved with bikers?" Amelia asked incredulously.
She handed Amelia her card when she saw the agents coming out of the club house. "Give me a call and I'll come out here and talk to you. I know how hard this life can get. Trust me, I'm an ally, not an enemy."
Amelia took her card slowly, watching as Lisa got up and walked to her car. Amelia turned her head to me, her eyes wide with alarm. I shrugged and walked over to her. "If I were you, I'd give her a call, babe. She just gave you some shit to blackmail her with. If that's not a statement that clearly says, 'you can trust me', I don't know what is."
"Cole, she's the fucking FBI." Amelia
sneered, the thought of any member of the law being an ally obviously pissing her off and making her wary.
I tucked her hair behind her ear. "You know, not all cops are enemies, babe. The best allies are made when you give someone a chance."
She glanced at the card and then back up at me. "If this backfires, I'll shoot you in your foot. I don't want to go back to jail, and that’s all that’s ever happened in the past.”
Fourteen
I twisted the business card between my fingers, sighing. I really didn't want to call this agent. Honestly, what proof had she given me that she really did used to be involved with bikers? Was it even true that she had a kid?
I huffed and tossed the card onto my desk. Fuck Cole for wanting me to do this. Making an ally out of an FBI agent would only end badly. Nothing good ever came out of being friends with a cop. They would fucking stab you in your back in a heartbeat. I knew from experience. Sadly, Cole and the rest of the club still had yet to learn.
"Are you going to call her?" Cole asked as he came into my room.
"No." I told him while still glaring at the card. "What proof do I have that what she says is the truth?"
"Babe, we could use an alliance with the FBI." He told me, sighing heavily.
I switched my glare over to him. "The last time I trusted a cop, my ass got sent to jail for five months and it was hell. I don't want to make the same mistake again."
Cole's eyebrows scrunched together. "You went to jail because of a deal with a cop?"
I sighed and nodded. I had forgotten Cole didn’t know my reason for going to jail. "Travis asked me to make a deal for the Black Skulls. Shit was going great until I found out he had alliances with the ATL, and all of a sudden I'm being slammed onto the ground and my wrists are being cuffed behind my back."
"So, you went to jail because of my fucking dad?" He asked, that muscle in his jaw ticking furiously. "For fuck's sake, Amelia, how much other shit have you done for the club that has back-fired and everyone else let you take the fall?"
I shrugged. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "Hey, didn't you go to the doctors this morning?" He asked suddenly.