by Erin Osborne
“Capone, we need to talk,” she says, stopping in front of me.
“No, we don’t. There’s nothin’ I need to say to you or hear from you. The only thing I want is to get to work. Take your shit somewhere else,” I tell her, going to step around her.
“We really need to talk. I’d rather talk in your room, but here is fine if you want our shit aired out in public,” she taunts, knowing I like my privacy.
Looking around, I notice everyone in the common room. We’re all heading out for the day so Satan and Torch can do their thing today. Even the house bunnies will be out for the day. NeNe still isn’t off probation, but she can’t be here, so she’s leaving the clubhouse with the other women for a day of shopping or whatever else they do to be ready for the men.
“Say what you gotta say so I can get out of here,” I growl out in frustration.
“I’m pregnant and the baby’s yours,” she announces, louder than she needs to.
“The fuck? You’re not pregnant. And if you are, you have no clue it’s my baby,” I tell her, looking around the suddenly silent room.
“I am pregnant,” she says, thrusting something into my hand. “And I know the baby’s yours because I haven’t been fucking any of the other guys lately. For over two months actually.”
Looking down at the stick in my hand, I am completely lost. I have no clue what I’m looking at or what it’s supposed to mean to me. I look back at NeNe and I see a satisfied smirk on her face. This bitch thinks she has me right where she wants me. She doesn’t. Not at all.
The rest of the men in the club begin to file outside. They don’t want to be around for the shitshow that’s about to take place. The only two men remaining inside are Satan and Torch, who flank me and glare at NeNe.
“I always use a fuckin’ condom and you’re supposed to be on birth control so this shit doesn’t happen,” I tell her.
“And nothing is a hundred percent effective,” NeNe says, her confidence starting to wane a little. “You know I’m pregnant now, the baby’s yours, and I’m keeping it.”
“I want a paternity test done as soon as possible. For now, I’ll pay for your medical bills and go to the appointments with you. You’ll never have me, NeNe. You won’t ever be my ol’ lady and I won’t ever wife you. To me, you’ll just be my baby mama, if the baby’s even mine,” I tell her.
As I turn from the bitch, my chest tightens with the realization of my current situation. I’m going to have to let Hollie know and it’s going to kill any chance I have with her. Not because I’m about to become a dad, but because the baby will be NeNe’s. After the skank went after Hollie, I know she won’t have anything to do with me because of this. Her heart won’t be able to handle me having to see NeNe on a regular basis.
How the fuck has my life become so damn complicated?
Instead of going to Blazing Babes, I turn and head upstairs. Satan stops me with a hand on my arm and I just look at him.
“I won’t be in your way. You won’t even know I’m here. I just need to figure shit out. Can’t do that at the strip club. I won’t look at anythin’ while you’re workin’,” I tell him.
“Don’t give a fuck about that. You’re my VP and you can damn well know where the fuck everythin’ is. I’m worried about you and what’s goin’ to happen now,” Satan tells me. “If you need me, I’m here. Raine too.”
“Thanks. Can’t talk about somethin’ I don’t know what I’m goin’ to do about yet. I’ll never abandon my kid, but there’s so much other shit in the air and I need to figure a lot of it out. There’s a chance we’ll be havin’ a talk sooner or later anyway. If this shit is true, I may want to go Nomad for a while. Won’t be able to stay here when I can’t have Hollie. This will fuckin’ gut her,” I tell him honestly.
“You’re not goin’ Nomad. We’ll figure this shit out. For now, go take a load off and we’ll talk later today,” Satan says as I continue to make my way up to my room.
Slamming my door shut behind me, I let the anger I’m feeling take over. I always make sure I wrap my dick with a fucking condom. And I regularly check the fucking dates and all that shit to make sure they’re not expired. If the date’s even close, they get tossed and I buy new. Yeah, I’m not stupid enough to think condoms are foolproof, but the house bunnies are also supposed to be on birth control of some form to help make sure nothing like this happens.
Fuck! I slam the stick still in my hand down on my nightstand. Sitting on the bed, I pull out my phone and get into my pictures. I’ve got several of Hollie she has no clue I’ve taken since being around her . Scrolling through, I look to find my favorite one before clicking on it.
It’s a black and white photo of her standing in her old room at the house. The sun is coming in the window behind her. Even in black and white, you can see the shine of her hair, the smile reaching her eyes, and an innocence about her some assholes tried to take from her. Her eyes are crinkling because of her smile and her small nose is scrunched up. There’s a strength in her not many people see.
Leaning back against the bed, I hold the phone in my hand and stare at the picture of Hollie. My thoughts drift to what I want to do with her. Not just how I want to fuck her, and trust me, there’s a lot I want to do to her body, but how I want to share all her secrets, all my secrets, know her deepest fantasies and what makes her the woman she is. I want to have her in my bed, on my bike, and fill her belly with my babies. I want my ring on her finger and to tie her to me every way possible.
Now, I have to figure out what I’m going to do about this situation with NeNe. If the baby is mine, there’s no way in hell I’m not going to be a part of my kid’s life. I know what it feels like to not have a parent around. It’s not something I’ll ever subject a child of mine to.
Before I turned two years old, my mom split. She decided she didn’t want to be tied to a man any longer and she didn’t want me. My parents got married when they were young, just out of high school. Mom was pregnant and they tried to do the right thing. Dad got a job right out of school instead of going to college and Mom started taking night classes.
My older brother was young when he died. They said he got sick and whatever was attacking his little body couldn’t be cured. I’m not sure they ever found out what was wrong with him. Anyway, from what I’ve heard, Mom kind of lost her shit after his death. She cheated on my dad, dropped out of school, started drinking and doing other drugs, and eventually got pregnant with me. To this day, I’m not even sure if my dad is my biological father. I love him and we made it through life together, so I don’t give a shit— he’s my dad.
Dad did the best he could as I was growing up. I had a roof over my head, clothes, and food to eat. We didn’t have much money at all, so I didn’t get to do everything other kids my age got to do. Especially when I had to start working just to help my dad pay the bills and make sure we kept the basic necessities in the house.
I didn’t get to play sports like the rest of the kids or go out on dates. When I wasn’t in school, I was working. By the time I was in high school, I had started stealing shit and selling it to whoever needed it. Not the proudest time in my life, but my dad got sick and couldn’t work anymore. He wasn’t getting any help because he was trying to go through the process. It was one of the hardest times in my life.
However, it also brought me to the best family I’ve ever had. One day, I was trying to steal a car. It was an old car, a real beauty, and I thought I could make enough to help my dad and I out for a few months. The owner caught me and held a gun to me. He asked what I was doing and I broke down like a little bitch.
I told him about our struggles and how my dad was sick, that I was just trying to earn money to pay the bills and make sure we had our home and utilities. I needed to get his medicine and make sure we had food to eat. The man looked at me with sympathy in his eyes and instead of shooting me, he lowered the gun and gave me a job.
That man was Angel, President of the Blazing Outlaws MC. He was in his p
rime then and I started working for a garage the club used to own. The guys helped at my house, making sure the lawn was cut, anything that needed fixing was, and my dad was taken care of too. The club stepped in when I couldn’t be what my dad needed me to be. I was sixteen at the time.
Angel’s only stipulation was I had to graduate high school and then I could become a Prospect with the club. I upheld my end of the bargain because this man didn’t have to step in and help me. He could’ve killed me or had me arrested. Angel was the man by my side when my dad passed away and he made sure I was brought into the club. I had a room, food, and I was a Prospect.
I’m lost in thought as I look down at my nightstand. There’s a pile of condoms sitting there and I grab one off the stand and hold it in my hands. I feel something on the wrappers so I bring it closer to my face to look at it. There’s holes in the condom wrapper. What the fucking hell?
I toss the condom on my bed and grab the pile. Each and every condom has holes poked in it. This is how NeNe got pregnant. My anger level reaches new heights as I realize I’ve been played. And if it’s been done to me, how many others has it been done to?
Standing up, I make my way from the room and go in search of Satan and Torch. They need to know what the fuck is going on so this doesn’t happen to anyone else in the club. My life is completely altered now and I have decisions to make based on what the paternity test shows. This is not a fucking good thing at all.
“Satan!” I yell out when I don’t find them.
“In here,” I hear coming from his office.
Making my way in there, I toss the handful of condoms on his desk as he and Torch look down at the pile.
“What’s this?” Satan asks.
“Someone poked holes in the condoms. You all know how I am about my shit and I check them on a regular basis. These were fuckin’ tampered with and I want to fuckin’ know who did it,” I yell out.
“I’ll get Raine in here and we’ll figure this shit out. Torch, let everyone know to get back here and check the condoms they have in their rooms. Don’t let the house bunnies know. Send Steve out to buy a shitton more and get them to the guys without anyone knowin’ about it,” Satan says.
I make my way back into my room. I’m not going to work tonight. For the rest of the night, I need to think about this and stay away from everyone. Including Hollie.
Chapter Ten
Hollie
SATAN CALLED ME last night to tell me he wants me at the clubhouse this morning. Something about going over the books for one of their businesses. I’m not sure what’s going on, but if I messed something up, then I’ll be there to fix it. I don’t want anything messed up, so I’ll take care of the problem the best I can.
I’m just getting out of the shower when there’s a knock on my door. Axel should be here and I’m sure he’s waiting on breakfast. He’s started coming in more and not sitting outside alone, so I’m happy about that. There’s even been times he’s sat with me in the office while I’m working just to get a glimpse of what I do.
I don’t give a shit what Capone thinks of Axel spending time in my house. It’s not his concern. He’s doing his thing and I’m going to do mine. No, I’m not going to run right out and fuck any random man, but if I meet someone, I’m not going to hold back because I’m pining after him.
Answering the door, I see Axel standing there. He’s got a smile on his face as I open the door in my robe. His eyes take me in as I stand before him. It’s a little unnerving because it’s Axel and I don’t see him like that. I see him as more of a friend or a brother. I’m not about to tell him that though.
“We headin’ to the clubhouse?” he asks.
“Yeah. Let me get dressed and I’ll be ready to head out,” I answer.
“Okay. I’ll wait on my bike,” he says as I begin to close the door so I can get dressed.
After putting on a pair of jeans and a tank top, I brush out my hair and leave it down to fall against my back. I forgo putting make-up on because I’m not going there to impress anyone. I’m going there to find out what’s going on with the books. And if I’ve messed something up, I’ll fix it, but I don’t know what I would’ve messed up. I went off all the paperwork I got and input the data in the ledgers.
I walk through the house and check all the windows and doors on my way to the garage. It’s becoming a habit of mine since I live alone. I’m not about to make getting in my house easy on anyone. I want to feel safe here and I’m not going to take any chances with that.
Getting in my truck, I make sure everything is hooked up and open the garage door. I put on Believe by Staind and open my windows. I’m not going to be able to ride around with the windows open much longer as it starts to get cold outside.
We make the short trip to the clubhouse and I take a minute as I roll the windows up to try to calm my nerves down. This is really bothering me that I may have messed up after they put their trust in me. The club doesn’t trust a lot of people and I am among the few they do. I don’t want to break that trust or seem disloyal to them.
As soon as I get inside, I see several of the house bunnies sitting around the common room. They light up when they see Axel, but they glare at me. Yeah, I’m sure they all got a skewed version of what happened with NeNe and are blaming me for the shit that happened to her. It’s not my fault she wanted to run her mouth or got put in her place by Satan and then my sister. I’m not the only one she was talking shit about.
Ignoring them, I make my way to Satan’s office and knock on the door. He hollers out for me to come in and I open the door to find papers scattered across his desk and him running a hand down his face in frustration. Now my nerves are really hitting an all-time high. If he’s this frustrated, then I really fucked something up.
“Satan, whatever is wrong, I’m sorry. I’ll fix it and make sure I don’t make a mistake again,” I say, not bothering to close the door behind me.
“You didn’t do anythin’ wrong, Holls. Quite the opposite in fact,” he says, walking to the door and closing it before saying another word.
“How do you mean?”
“Well, you’ve been workin’ on the books for a little while now. And you’ve shown a pattern none of us noticed until you started highlighting things and putting information in based on weeks instead of months,” he says. “Someone’s been skimmin’ money from not one but two businesses. I’d like your help tryin’ to figure out when it began. So, I’ve gotten all the paperwork from storage and I’ve been tryin’ to follow how you do it.”
“Oh. Well, if you have everything, I can get started. I’m sure you have more important things to deal with. Just give me everything and I’ll take it home to work on. I’ll go back over the ledgers for every business and make sure nothing is amiss with the other one too,” I tell him, releasing the breath I was holding in.
“I’d rather you stay here so we can help you out. Axel is goin’ to help you sort everythin’ and after I have a meetin’ with Capone and Torch, I’ll come out and help you some more,” Satan says. “I don’t want anyone knowin’ about this just yet. Capone, Torch, Tags, and I are the only ones who know right now.”
“Oh, okay,” I murmur as Satan picks up a stack of papers and hands them to me.
I grab the rest of the papers from his desk, along with the ledgers, and make my way out to the common room. Axel is already sitting at a table with a plate of food in front of him and another plate in front of the empty chair next to him. I set the papers down while I take my chair next to him and we begin to eat. Axel looks at the papers next to me and then down on the floor. There’s several boxes labeled by year. We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us.
After quickly eating the sandwich and chips, I drink some of the soda Axel got me, then set it aside and grab a stack of papers to start going through. Axel and I work for an hour when Capone walks through the room. All the house bunnies watch him but keep quiet until he’s locked in Satan’s office with him. He’s the last one to ent
er the room behind Torch and Tags. I’m sure they’re talking about what I’ve accidently discovered while doing my job.
“I can’t believe Capone and NeNe are gonna have a baby,” one of the house bunnies says.
“I know. I’m not sure what he’s gonna do. I heard he said he’s not going to wife her or make her his ol’ lady. She won’t let him have anything to do with the baby if he doesn’t. NeNe told me she’s not accepting anything less than being his ol’ lady,” another one says.
“Girl has her work cut out for her. I’m sure she’ll use the baby as a bargaining chip to get what she wants,” the first one says.
I focus more of my attention on the task at hand. At the same time, my heart breaks with the knowledge Capone is about to become a dad. This is something I anticipated he and I would do together. One of my happily-ever-after thoughts was of having a little boy who looked just like Capone and a little girl who looked like me. Looks like that’s not going to happen after all. NeNe gets the man and I’m sure they’ll be happy and good parents.
“You okay?” Axel asks low enough so only I can hear.
“Oh, um, I’ll be okay. Just hard to hear,” I answer just as low.
“What’s hard to hear?” Satan asks, stopping next to me.
“Um, nothing. Just something we heard being talked about. It’s nothing really,” I answer, not wanting to get anyone in trouble.
“Hollie, tell me what you heard,” he says, bringing my attention to him.
Capone, Torch, and Tags are also surrounding the table. They’re all looking at me with anticipation. I really don’t want to discuss this shit right now. Maybe if I can talk to Satan alone.
“Nope, you’re not getting out of it,” he murmurs, sitting down next to me.
“I just heard Capone’s news. Congratulations,” I say, looking at him.
Capone remains standing. He’s looking down at me as he towers over me in the chair. A look of pain crosses his face and I know he didn’t want me to find out his news. Even if he’s the one who told me.