Rumblin' Knights Boxed Set

by Bella Jewel

  Lucy owes me now.

  Damn her.

  She’s lucky I love her.

  “What are you getting for dinner?” Curt asks, yes his name is Curt, after finally shutting up from his life story.

  “I’m not all that hungry,” I say, even though I am, I’m so damned hungry.

  But no, screw him, I’m bailing out of this one. One way or another.

  “Me either, maybe we’ll have some more drinks and talk some more? I like you, Erin, you’re a great girl.”

  He doesn’t even know me. Hell, I haven’t said more than ten words.

  “One more drink sounds good,” I say, holding his eyes, refusing to budge. I am not going and buying another drink, he can man the hell up and go and get us one.

  “I have to go to the bathroom if you want to grab drinks, and maybe some of those fries? I’ll be back soon.”

  He stands and walks towards the restroom, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. He can’t be serious? He cannot be serious? Did he just get up and leave me to get the drinks again? And had the nerve to order food? Well played. I must admit, I’ve not seen a man so smart in a while. He knows exactly what he’s doing. My guess, it has worked for him in the past.

  Well, that was until he met Erin.

  I flag down a waitress, and she stops at our table. I smile sweetly and say, “We have about ten friends coming, so I was wondering if you could make a heap of martinis and bring them over? Thank you so much.”

  “No problem,” she tells me, writing it down.

  “Oh,” I say to her. “The name is Curt, for the bill.”

  She smiles. “I’ll be right back with those. Can I get you any fries, or something to eat, too?”

  “Actually, now you mention it, me and Curt were eyeing off those delicious loaded fries. Can we get enough of them to cover ten people, too?”

  “Of course. I’ll put the order in now!”

  “Thanks so much.”

  She walks off, and I gather up my things and wait for Curt to come out of the bathroom, acting all fucking innocent. He looks around, seeing the table is empty, and says, “Oh, aren’t our drinks here yet? I’m thirsty.”

  Dick bag.

  “No, not yet, but I’ve ordered them. I’m just going to go to the bathroom, too. I’ll be back soon.”

  He grins at me. “Of course! I promise not to eat all our dinner on you.”

  I walk off toward the bathroom and take a sharp turn and go around the back of the booths toward the front door. As if I’m going to stay here. Still, I really want to see the look on Curt’s face when he gets all those drinks and food and has to pay for them. Screw him. Maybe he might learn that when you take a woman out, you take a woman out! You do not expect her to pay.

  I hope he learns something from this.

  “That was fuckin’ nasty, Erin.”

  I flinch and turn just as I reach the front door to see Finn walking behind me. What the hell?

  “Are you following me?” I ask, rushing out the front door before Curt sees me. Once we’re on the sidewalk, I turn to Finn.

  “Yes,” he says, simply, crossing his arms.

  “What the hell for?”

  “You didn’t think I was goin’ to let you go on a date, meet another man, and keep ignorin’ me, did you?”

  “Yes, actually, I did.”

  “Well, it wasn’t goin’ to happen.”

  “I made it pretty clear how I felt, Finn.”

  “Yep, you did, you also didn’t let me speak,” his voice dips low, and he leans in close, “and I like bein’ heard.”

  “I’m sure you do. Now, I have to go, before Curt realizes I’m gone and what I’ve done. Please, don’t follow me.”

  I start walking to my car, and Finn, of course, follows me.

  “Is there something wrong with you?” I snap, spinning around and glaring at him. “How did you even find me?”

  “I made Lucy tell me.”

  “How did you know Lucy set it up?”

  “I made Shania tell me.”

  “For crying out loud, there most certainly is something wrong with you.”

  Finn shrugs. “Whatever you say. I just saw what you did to that poor bastard in there. Maybe there is somethin’ wrong with you.”

  I exhale angrily and growl, “Don’t push me, Finn. I’m starving, I’m grumpy, and that asshole deserved what I did to him in there.”

  Finn reaches over to my hand and snatches out my keys.

  “What are you doing?” I cry.

  “Takin’ you for somethin’ to eat, then I’m takin’ you home to fuck you for the rest of the evenin’.”

  “You are not!” I huff, shaking my head and trying to snatch my keys back.

  “Yeah, I fuckin’ am. Now, do you really want to make a big scene out here, and let your little boyfriend know you’re gone, or do you want to let me feed you, in more ways than one, and enjoy the rest of your night?”

  “You’re disgusting!”

  He grins. “Don’t doubt it. Let’s go.”

  I exhale, and I really am starving.

  Or I wouldn’t go.

  I wouldn’t.

  I swear.

  11

  FINN

  I watch her from the corner of my eye as we walk.

  Fuck she’s gorgeous. Can’t deny that.

  Wearing a pair of tight, black jeans that grab her ass in ways that make my dick hard thinking about what I could do with them, a shirt that hugs her tits, and that hair, long and thick, flowing down around her shoulders. That dick bag back there didn’t deserve a date with her. Sat and watched him talk about himself for that long I considered leaving just so I didn’t have to hear any more.

  But there was no way I was leaving her there.

  No fucking way.

  She’s mine, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

  Don’t know what it is about her, maybe I never will, all I know is not having her around sucks. I miss her like fucking crazy, I need her more than I’ve ever needed any fucking woman. I haven’t thought of another girl, haven’t wanted to fuck anyone else but her. That’s got to be something. For a man like me, I’ll take whatever it is that doesn’t make me feel like shit.

  And Erin makes me feel fucking great.

  So she’s mine, for the minute, even if she doesn’t want it.

  “You know it’s weird you were watching me on a date, right?” Erin says, as we walk toward a little burger joint a few blocks down.

  “Not fuckin’ weird at all. Didn’t like it. Was makin’ sure you were doin’ nothin’ but drinkin’ and eatin’. He so much as considered steppin’ out that door with you, I was rollin’ in.’

  She turns to me, eyes wide, lips parted slightly. Fuck, I want her. So fucking bad it burns. “You can’t be serious, right?”

  “Do I look like I’m jokin’?”

  I stare at her, face blank, know it’s fucking blank, because I’m not fucking joking. She’s mine. End of fucking story.

  “Last time I checked, you and your baby momma had shit to worry about. I told you I was done. The end.”

  “Yeah, you told me you were done. Didn’t fuckin’ let me speak. I took it, let you have your say, now I’m havin’ mine. I want you. I’m goin’ to have you. That’s the end of it.”

  She laughs, shaking her head. “You’ve lost your mind. Are you taking something?”

  She stops and turns, leaning in close, squinting her eyes and studying me. “What is it? It’s not ice, is it? That shit is bad for you, Finn. Really really bad.”

  “Fuck me, it’s not drugs. Feel somethin’ when I’m with you, somethin’ I haven’t felt before. Like it. Want to feel more of it. So, I’m goin’ to. End of story.”

  “Look, buddy, I understand that you haven’t done relationships before, but you do know you can’t just tell someone that you’re having them, and expect that they’ll just go along with it, right?”

  “Can, and will,” I mutter, pulling out my phone and glancing down at
the blank screen.

  No call from Brody.

  Fuck me, where is he?

  Been gone since I got home, Damon said he went to do a couple of other fights to fill in the time, but now he ain’t here, and I don’t fucking like it. Something is off, I just don’t know what, because he won’t fucking answer his calls.

  “Finn,” Erin says, snapping me back to reality. “Indi is pregnant.”

  “Says she’s pregnant,” I mutter, hating even fucking thinking of that. Had a feeling Indi was bad news, should have kept my dick in my fucking pants when it came to her. She’s done nothing but cause problems ever since. “Not stupid enough to just assume. Told her to piss on a stick, right in front of me, wouldn’t do it. Said she would get stage fright. Big red flag for me right there. Think she’s havin’ me on.”

  Erin frowns. “That is a little strange, but all the same, it’s your drama. And honestly, the way you spoke to me, I have some self-respect. I have to know that I’m not going to sit around and put up with being spoken to like that, you know?”

  “Fuck, I was angry. Didn’t mean it. You gotta imagine how it felt being told a chick thought she was pregnant to me, and my only fuckin’ friend in the world knew. Hurt, you hear? Fuckin’ hurt.”

  “I’m fairly certain I’m not your only friend, Finn Knight.”

  She’s wrong.

  She is my only friend.

  Sure, I’ve got people I hang out with, people I’d go and drink and party with, and of course I have my brothers, even Brody, but a friend, someone that’s just mine, that I can trust, that I can talk to about anything in the world? No. I don’t have one of those.

  It’s in this moment that I realize why I’m so drawn to Erin. Because I trust her, because I can talk to her, because she’s the first friend I’ve had in a fucking long time that I can just be myself with. I didn’t honestly realize how much I needed her, until this very moment.

  Erin is what I’ve been missing, and I’m not going to let her go. She can argue all she wants, but truth is, when you find a fucking person you can trust, talk to and rely on, you gotta suck it up and let go of your past, and do anything you can to keep them.

  “Finn?” Erin asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “You can think what you want, but I don’t have friends, I don’t talk to people, and I don’t trust anyone. But you, I do. There is somethin’ about you that I trust, and it draws me closer.”

  Erin goes silent for a moment, then says, “I’m sorry, then. I didn’t mean to keep anything from you. I just didn’t want anything to do with it, but I understand now that you saw it differently and will remember that for next time. I still didn’t appreciate your treatment of me, please understand that.”

  “Hear you, and it won’t happen again.”

  “As for the rest of it … Finn, I thought we were both clear on what we are?”

  “Yeah,” I say, grabbing her hand and continuing our walk. “Things change.”

  “You told me you don’t do relationships because of your sex problems …”

  “Erin,” I growl, stopping and spinning her toward me, hands on her shoulders, fuck I want her, want her so damned bad it aches. “Can we just forget what was said and done, and just go with this? See what happens? Why does everything in life have to be so scheduled and laid out? Can’t we just take the wild fuckin’ road for once?”

  She studies me, then grins. “Sounds good to me, but, Finn, my original word stands. If you can’t be with just me, or you want to sleep with other women, please give me the respect of letting me know so I can move on.”

  “Clear,” I say, tugging her so we’re walking again.

  She doesn’t know it yet, but there will be no other women.

  Don’t think there could be, after Erin.

  She’s one in a million, and I’ve lived too long hiding away from the good.

  Time to start changing things up.

  “Finn?” Erin asks, still holding my hand.

  Fucked if it doesn’t feel amazing.

  It does. Really does.

  “Yeah?” I ask her.

  “What about Indi?”

  “Leave Indi to me.”

  She’s done enough damage.

  I’ll deal with her once and for all, it’s up to her what she does after that.

  Getting in my way ain’t part of the plan.

  ~*~*~*~

  “It’s our baby,” Indi says, thrusting a black and white picture at me, a tiny little dot in the middle of what seems like a big fucking ocean, barely recognizable.

  “How do I know this is legit, Indi?” I ask her, staring at the picture.

  “It’s our baby! Look at the top. It has dates and everything.”

  I stare at the top of the picture, it has the hospital name, how many weeks along she is, but her name isn’t there. Isn’t her name supposed to be at the top of these? Maybe not. I don’t fucking know. I’ve never had a damned baby, I never wanted kids, at least not fucking now anyway. I know nothing about it.

  Indi could use that, because she knows damn well I know nothing about it.

  Or she could be legit.

  Hard to fucking know.

  “Okay, well, if this is real, when can I come to the doctor and confirm?” I ask her, keeping the picture in my hand.

  She stares at me. “How much more confirmation do you need, Finn?”

  Her voice is snappy, laced with anger.

  If it wasn’t an issue, why in the hell wouldn’t she just take me to the doctor and be done with it?

  “To hear the fuckin’ doctor tell me it’s real, you’re pregnant, and this isn’t a fuckin’ set up. You wouldn’t pee on the fuckin’ stick to show me, so what the fuck else will you have me believe?”

  “You want me to pee on a damned stick?” she snaps, throwing her hands up in the air. “Fine, let’s go.”

  I shrug, not giving in to her pathetic little tantrums, and follow her down the hall. She goes to the bathroom, opens the cupboard and pulls out a pregnancy test. She shoves it in my face, showing me it’s blank, then demands, “Get out. I’ll pee on it, but I’m not going to stand here and do it in front of you, we’re not even together, Finn.”

  “Okay, fine,” I say, putting my hands up and stepping back.

  I wait outside the toilet for what seems like fucking forever. She finally opens the door and shoves the stick at me. Looks to be the same one, and it has a little plus symbol on it.

  I stare at it for a few minutes, fucking numb.

  I don’t want a baby.

  Hell, I’m only just entering in my first fucking relationship.

  This fucking ruins everything.

  Dammit.

  “Okay,” I mutter, voice bland and dead, my body numb and yet at the same time, swarming with so many thoughts. “What are you going to do about it?”

  She blinks at me. “What do you mean what am I going to do about it?”

  “You can’t just have a baby without fuckin’ discussin’ it with me, Indi. It’s my life, too. We’re not together. It’s not planned. If I’m being honest, I’m not interested in bein’ a father right now, hell, probably not for a fuckin’ long time. So, it isn’t just about you, it’s about both of us.”

  “Are you saying you want me to get an abortion?” she gasps, her eyes wide with horror. “How could you? This is a child.”

  I growl, low, “Never fuckin’ said you have to do anythin’, but I also think it’s somethin’ we need to talk about.”

  “I’m keeping it, Finn!”

  “What if that’s not what I want?” I snap.

  “It’s not up to you! You should have taken more care!”

  “Fuck you, this isn’t just on me.”

  “You’re a horrible man. This is your child! What is wrong with you?”

  I exhale, searching for calm.

  This isn’t about the child.

  This is about me.

  My broken fuckin’ history.

  My broken fuckin’
brain.

  My broken fuckin’ life.

  I can’t be a father, I don’t want to be a father.

  It seems entirely unfair that she thinks she can push that on me, without so much as a discussion.

  “If you wish to keep it, I’d never force you to do anythin’ else,” I say, trying to keep my voice calm, “but I think I should have a say, too.”

  “Fine, Finn, what’s your opinion?”

  “I don’t want to be a father, Indi. Not interested at all. Not in a good place to be a father. I’m useless enough as it is, got so much shit goin’ on in my life. I don’t think it’s fair to bring a child into this world to a father that is not fully committed to it. It’s not right. Every child deserves love, affection, and time. I don’t have any of those.”

  “Then I’ll do it myself,” she pouts, dropping her bottom lip like a fucking child.

  Shows me even more that she is hardly mature enough to handle a baby, either.

  “Stop actin’ like that,” I growl. “This isn’t some sort of pissin’ contest. This isn’t about tossin’ shit back and forth. This is a child we’re talkin’ about. An actual life. Do you stop and even think about that, or are you so fuckin’ trapped in worryin’ about yourself? I’ll give you time, to think, to really fuckin’ think. Not about yourself for once, but about the life of an unborn child and what’s best for it. You let me know when you make your choice. I’ll support you either way, financially, but I can’t promise I’m goin’ to be involved if you keep it, Indi. Call me an asshole, maybe I fuckin’ am, but I’m not a father, not me, and that’s harsh, but it’s true.”

  I turn and walk out, not giving her the chance to say anything else.

  I get into my truck, turn it on, and lean my head against the backrest, exhaling.

  Fuck me.

  This isn’t going how I wanted it to go.

  Things were just picking up.

  Should have known it was too good to be true.

  12

  ERIN

  “Wait, so Finn said he wants you and that’s that?” Saskia says, crossing her legs and leaning forward. “Girl, what did you do to him?”

  I sip my drink after a long day at the bakery. Ellie invited me to the clubhouse, and I agreed, needing a break and loving how awesome all these ladies are. Scarlett is back out on tour, I’ve been watching her shows live, she’s fucking amazing. I still can’t believe I have the privilege of calling her a friend. That’s incredible. Chantelle had a beautiful baby boy, Tatem, just yesterday. I went and visited her in the hospital this morning. He’s so freaking adorable. Just like Boston.