Chapter Sixteen
The next few days were busy. Cole and I kept missing each other since I was working days and he was busy at night with club business. There just hadn’t been a good time to tell him about the baby. Admittedly, I could have probably found the time, but I was nervous about it and wanted the timing to be right. I knew it would come completely out of left field to him. Hell, it had shocked the shit out of me. It was unfair to keep it from him, but I just wasn’t ready to tell him yet.
I also hadn’t shared with Cole what Kat told me about her and Sal. I knew Cole didn’t want to be in the middle of her relationship drama. And at the end of the day, he couldn’t do anything to change the way his friend behaved. But I knew she was struggling and I wanted to support her, so I spent a lot of my evenings with her, longing for the cocktails that I couldn’t have anymore.
I collapsed in bed on Thursday night after a ten hour day on my feet. I’d been working longer shifts to try to make up for missing out on the night shifts. It wasn’t working, but I’d never tell Cole that. Cole was at a meet with his pop, Benny, and Henry. Friday night we’d planned a big get-together with both clubs and yes, my ribs. Now that the negative elements of my old club life had been removed, I was excited to see the guys and their old ladies.
I was just drifting off when Chief started to growl. That was the first I’d ever heard him exhibit such behavior, and my hackles rose along with his.
“What is it?” I asked him stupidly, as though he’d respond. Axel was supposed to be posted out front and I jumped for my phone to call him. No answer. Shit.
Chief continued to growl and I called Cole. No answer. Double shit. I’d set the alarm, I knew I had, but of course I started to question myself. I called Kat, and thankfully she at least picked up.
“Chief is acting really weird. He’s growling and I can’t get a hold of anyone.” I whispered.
“Shit!” she exclaimed. “Sal’s with Cole,” she told me unnecessarily. Almost all the guys were in that meeting except for Axel.
I went with my intuition. “I think you better go get Cole, something’s wrong,” I told her.
“Done,” she answered without question. Gotta love my girl.
I sat in the dark bedroom hearing nothing but my heart pounding out of my chest and Chief restlessly pacing and growling. Should I call the police? It would bring so many questions up if I did that. What if it was just a false alarm? All of a sudden the bedroom door burst open and Jake stood wild eyed and huge, towering in the doorway. Well, too late to call the police anyway and what the hell had happened to the alarm?
“You have got to be fucking joking!” I exclaimed, surprised by my anger. I was so sick of this nutcase jerking me around.
“When the cat’s away…” he leered suggestively.
“Do you seriously want to die?” I demanded. “That must be it,” I bit out, clutching the bed sheets around myself. I wasn’t wearing anything terribly revealing, but I didn’t want him to see any part of my skin if I could help it.
Chief was barking now and growling loudly, practically frothing at the mouth. He looked now like the ferocious dog I had first thought him to be, and I was glad for it. Jake hadn’t been expecting a dog and was clearly a bit more hesitant with a ninety pound snarling monster blocking his path.
“Call the dog off,” he demanded.
“Like hell I will,” I scoffed. “Get the fuck out of my house.”
“I’ll shoot him,” he threatened.
My blood ran cold. “Don’t,” I said, hating how much it sounded like a plea. If I showed any weakness with Jake it would be bad news, and I was determined not to give him the satisfaction.
“Call him off,” he said again.
“I don’t know if I can,” I answered honestly. “He’s pretty pissed.”
“Try,” he glared.
“What did you do to Axel? And how’d you get passed the alarm?” I asked suddenly. Axel would never just leave me unattended. All the guys took their jobs extremely seriously.
Jake snorted. “That was too easy. That
mother fucker was completely distracted reading a magazine. Now he’s taking a
nice little nap. I took a few classes in security, the alarm was no thing.” He
shrugged. “Really Rosie, they should have you better protected,” he sneered.
“Don’t call me that,” I said sharply. Only my father or Henry got to call me
that.
“Whatever you say,” he said as he laughed.
I mentally calculated what kind of time I had. I had just hung up with Kat and I inwardly cringed at realizing how long it would take her to get all the way to the clubhouse and then for Cole to get here. I was on my own. I had to keep Jake talking. I had questions anyway.
“What happened to my father, Jacob?” I demanded.
His brows rose in amusement. “Oh, so I’m Jacob now?” He laughed. “You really want to know?” he asked as he leaned in the doorway like he owned the place. He looked casually at his fingernails and I hated how familiar the gesture was. He’d always done it when he was considering something. I hated knowing anything intimate about him.
I swallowed. “Yes, I really want to know.”
Chief had calmed some, but he had backed his way to the bed and was clearly guarding me while a low growl continued to emanate from his throat.
Jake shrugged. “He wouldn’t give me you, he wouldn’t give me the club, didn’t think I was worthy,” he sneered.
That’s because you aren’t. I thought.
“So he had to be removed,” he explained callously.
“So you killed him,” I stated, surprised I could even say the words.
“Well, technically his bike did.” He grinned.
“You are fucking sick,” I hissed. “You killed him and you never had the club, and you’ll never have me. It was for nothing. You killed him for nothing!” I shrieked.
“Oh, I’ll fucking have you,” he swore, advancing into the room. Chief started barking again as Jake tried to get at me, and it looked as though Jake was going for his weapon. It wasn’t just me I had to protect anymore, and the thought of him doing anything to injure my unborn child made me that much more determined to protect myself.
Chief didn’t hesitate and jumped on him, tearing at his clothes, growling and barking so loudly I could barely think. Jake immediately backpedaled, swearing as Chief went after him. He managed to get past the dog for long enough to haul me into him and drag me out of the room, but I fought for all I was worth, knocking over furniture as we went.
Please don’t hurt the baby, please, I mentally pleaded, close to tears.
“Fuck!” he bellowed trying to get a grasp on me.
“Get out!” I screamed back as we slammed into the bookshelf in the living room. I was struggling for all I was worth. Chief was following trying to get a bite out of Jake. It was utter chaos.
He pulled my hair back painfully. “This isn’t over, it’ll never be over,” he swore to me, kissing my neck wetly. I shivered in revulsion as he let me go and exited abruptly out of the backdoor.
I don’t know how long I stood in the middle of the living room, furniture toppled over and shaking when Cole, Wes, and Sal burst in through the front door. Chief again took guard and stood in front of me barking ferociously at them.
“Fuck!” I heard Cole explode upon seeing me and the obvious state of a struggle. “Babe…Scarlet. You alright?” he demanded over Chief’s loud barking.
I managed to nod still trying to collect myself.
“Call the dog off,” Wes commanded.
“I don’t know how,” I admitted.
“You don’t need to command him, just tell him it’s okay. Let him know you’re okay,” Wes told me.
I took in his words and nodded. It took me a minute and a few deep breaths before I knelt down to Chief and wrapped my arms around his large body. “I’m okay buddy. You can calm down now. You did a good job,” I murmured. And miraculously, it worked. Chief immediately cooled down and stopped barking. He was still clearly on alert, but he let the guys get further into the room.
“Is Axel alright?” I asked immediately.
Sal nodded. “Knocked on the head pretty good but he’ll be okay. He’s more upset than anything that he let the fucker sneak up on him.”
I nodded, relieved that he was okay.
“What happened?” Cole demanded, clearly seething.
I gave a brief recount of the story and saw three sets of eyes turn black with anger.
“Far as I’m concerned that dog can have a gold plated dish,” Cole bit out.
“I don’t think he’d care too much about that,” I answered dumbly. I was still in quite a daze, standing in my living room wearing very little clothing. I was starting to feel a little light headed.
After ascertaining that I wasn’t seriously hurt, Sal and Wes took their cue to leave and went to attend to Axel.
Cole came across the room ignoring Chief’s low rumble and took me in his strong arms. “I’m so sorry, babe. I thought you were being looked out for,” he choked. The emotion rippled off his body in waves.
I interrupted him by grasping his forearm. “I think I need to lay down or…” I wasn’t able to finish the sentence. I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I was laying on the bed with Cole looking down at me worriedly.
“Baby, should we go have you checked out?” he asked, his eyes bright with concern.
I felt completely rung out and not quite lucid. “Cole,” I began, my voice somewhat hoarse. “Honey, I’m pregnant,” I told him.
I didn’t register his reaction or his expression. All I knew was that he lifted me and carried me to his truck. I didn’t ask questions as he deposited me gently in the passenger seat. I just let him take charge as we drove through the night.
He carried me in through the emergency room exit and the next thing I knew I was hooked up to every machine imaginable. Cole sat vigilant at my side with his large hand over mine.
When the baby’s heartbeat echoed loud and overwhelming in its vitality throughout the room, my breath caught. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. Cole’s hand clenched in mine and I looked over to see raw emotion painted on his beautiful face.
“I didn’t know how to tell you,” I choked out. “It was my fault, the medication the hospital gave me interfered with my pills,” I babbled.
“Shhh, darlin’, let me hear our baby,” he whispered, his ear turned to the sound.
We sat and listened to the rhythmic sound for a few moments before the nurse pulled the receptors off my belly. “Everything sounds great,” she said as she smiled reassuringly. “Baby looks great.”
“Good,” I sighed, relieved.
“She fainted though,” Cole interjected. He was clearly worried and not just about me.
“The doctor on staff can speak to you about that, but the baby sounds fine,” she assured us. “I’ll just get this out of your way and Dr. Epstein will be in shortly.”
I watched her from my place on the exam table as she wheeled the ultrasound equipment out of the room. It felt deathly quiet once she was gone.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cole asked quietly.
I cringed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know how and I was afraid that you’d feel trapped or something…” I trailed off.
“How long have you known?”
“About a week,” I admitted while looking up at the ceiling. We were in one of the urgent care rooms, with a curtain separating the beds. Luckily no one occupied the next bed, but the room felt huge and off-putting, especially given all that had happened that night.
“I just feel so overwhelmed,” I admitted, my voice choked as my eyes flooded. “My life has completely turned upside down in the past three months,” I said, the tears breaking free and sliding down my face. “Before you I had everything so controlled. I had a grasp on every feeling, every step I made. Then I met you and my world just exploded with emotion and people and life,” I breathed. “And I don’t know how to trust the happiness and safety that I feel with you, I’ve never had anything like it. Anything close has been ripped away,” I said hoarsely. I felt Cole’s hand clench in mine and felt the confidence to continue. “I almost expected something to happen like this, it was too good to be true that I could just move on without retribution,” I lamented. “But tonight was something different,” I whispered. “I have this life I’m responsible for,” I said reverently, my hand grazing my belly. “I’ve never felt such a ferocity in my life,” I told him. “It was like I would stop at nothing to protect this baby. And I know it’s so soon and I know we didn’t discuss it, but I want this, Cole,” I told him, turning with tear filled eyes to face him. “But the last thing I want is for you to feel trapped. I only want you to be with me, be with us, if it’s what you really want, too,” I whispered.
He stared down at me with an unfathomable expression. “Baby, where else would I ever want to be? It is fast, everything about us has been. It’s only fitting that you’d get knocked up quickly, too,” he said as he chuckled.
“Right,” I muttered, not amused as the doctor strode into the room reviewing my chart.
“Well I see congratulations are in order,” he said with a kind smile, wheeling over on a small stool to my bedside. “What brings you here to us this evening?”
“She fainted,” Cole answered for me. It didn’t need to be said that we’d be leaving the other details of the evening out.
“Oh?” the doctor cocked his head to the side. “Well that can certainly happen during pregnancy, blood flow gets to the brain a bit slower. You need to be careful when you stand up suddenly. Another cause can be anxiety or high stress. I see here that your blood pressure is slightly elevated, have you been under undue stress?” he asked. His question was almost comical, but Cole’s expression confirmed that he found the situation anything but funny.
“A bit,” I allowed vaguely.
“Well my advice would be to do whatever you can to remove or reduce that stress for the health of you and your baby,” he advised.
“Okay,” I answered, though I didn’t really see how I had any control over Jake and his insanity.
“Any other questions?”
I looked at Cole who shook his head. “No I think we’re good, thank you.”
“Sure thing. Take care and congratulations again,” he said as he smiled.
He left us to it and I rose from the bed to get dressed more than eager to get the hell out of the hospital.
Cole was quiet as we drove home, and though I was concerned about what was going on in his head, I was too tired to give it much thought. I worked a full shift, was attacked, and spent the remainder of the night in the ER. That was about the extent of what I could deal with at the moment. I even went so far as to fall asleep on the drive home, even though it was a short distance from our house.
I woke up when Cole lifted me and carried me inside. I heard Chief’s claws clack on the hardwood as he followed us through the dark house. I didn’t want to open my eyes to see the overturned furniture or any other proof of my earlier ordeal. Instead, I wanted to slide into oblivion--which is exactly what I did when Cole placed me into bed.
When I woke up, sunlight was streaming through the blinds and I discovered it was after 11 am when I looked at the clock. Well, it had been a very late night. I could hear Cole’s deep voice and I realized that was probably what had woken me. He sounded pissed and I couldn’t resist the urge to open our door to try to eavesdrop a bit.
“Endangering not only my woman but also my fucking child!” he was saying. “Whatever we’ve been doing needs to be stepped up tenfold, and that needed to happen yesterday,” he ordered.
Well, I guess we were telling people we’re expecting. I rolled my eyes a bit at that.
“I hear you, son,” Cal’s deep voice replied. “How is she?”
“I don’t know, freaked probably,” Cole answered sharply. “A maniac broke into our house where she thought she was safe, attacked her, and threatened her. She was scared about the baby,” Cole’s voice broke a bit with emotion and my heart lurched for him. “But she handled herself well, like she always does.” And I could hear the pride in his voice.
“How are you, Bud?” Cal asked, his tone gentle. I felt bad for eavesdropping but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
“I’m thrilled as hell I knocked her up,” he said as he chuckled. “I think she’s freaked about that, too, worried about how I really feel about it, probably getting used to the idea herself, but we’ll be fine.” He sighed, sounding tired. He had to be, it’d been a long night for him, too.
I moved back into the bedroom and curled up on the bed to give them the privacy I should have granted them all along. It wasn’t long before I heard the front door close and a Harley roar to life out front.
Cole peeked his head in the room and smiled when he saw I was awake. He was just in his boxers and my eyes traveled his body hungrily. “Come lay down with me,” I requested quietly.
He strode into the room with Chief at his heels. “You and Chief friends again?” I asked with an amused smile.
“It would appear so,” he nodded while climbing up onto the bed and pulling me into his reassuring warmth.
“How are you?” he asked quietly, his fingers moving through my hair.
I shrugged. “Okay I guess, though I don’t feel like anything has really set in yet. I kind of feel like I’m living someone else’s life at the moment or something,” I tried to explain.
“There’s a lot that needs to sink in,” he agreed quietly as his fingers traced over my belly. He’d done that several times since he’d learned the news, and I found the gesture to be incredibly sweet and comforting.
“What if we went away for a few days?” I asked shifting my body to meet his eyes. “Just you and me.”
His brows rose at the suggestion before he turned contemplative. “We could do that, it’s a great idea actually. Any particular place you want to go?”
“Surprise me,” I invited.
“I know just the place,” he replied, nuzzling in my neck.
Cole and I spent the whole day together, wanting to be close, whether we were watching TV on the sofa or reading side by side. I wasn’t sure if it was the incident with Jake or the pregnancy, but either way I welcomed the contact. I felt more connected to Cole than ever.
We were seated side by side on the couch as he worked on his laptop and I watched some guilty pleasure reality TV. “What are you looking at?” I asked and laughed when I looked over and noticed a picture of a baby on his laptop screen.
“Just doing some research,” he said with a bashful grin.
“Oh?” I quirked my brow at him.
“Yeah, did you know right now the baby is the size of blueberry?” he asked seriously.
“I didn’t know that,” I answered, trying to keep a straight face. The sight of my formidable biker pouring over pregnancy websites was beyond adorable.
“You need to be taking folic acid. Are you?” he asked.
“Yeah, babe,” I assured him. “I did some research of my own and talked to the doctor when I first went in. I’ve got it covered,” I assured him as I patted his thigh.
“I want to go to every appointment from here on in,” he told me sternly. He clearly wasn’t happy that he missed the first one.
“Deal,” I agreed softly as he wrapped an arm around me and hauled me into his body to look at some pictures of what our blueberry might look like.
Later that evening I was just finishing up getting ready in the bedroom. It had taken some convincing, but I’d been firm with Cole that I still intended to go to the barbeque. As much as I enjoyed our cocoon, I wanted to see everyone.
“Babe, we gotta roll!” Cole’s voice hollered from the living room
“Two minutes!” I hollered back. Really, I meant at least five if not ten, but he didn’t need to know that.
I couldn’t explain exactly why, but looking my best mattered a lot to me tonight. Perhaps it gave me a sense of control, maybe I wanted to assure Benny and Henry that I was okay. Whatever the reason, I was obsessing about my outfit despite it needing to be simple for a casual barbeque. I finally decided on my jean shorts that showed off my toned legs, paired with a kick ass brown belt. I threw on my white V-neck blouse that flattered my chest, and I left my long, red hair down and wild, the way Cole liked it. I completed the look with cowboy boots and light makeup.
Cole let out a low whistle when I finally appeared in the living room.
I blushed.
“Ready?” he asked, pulling me into an embrace and kissing me soundly.
“Ready.”
We took the truck so that Chief could come with us, and we had about a cow’s worth of ribs to bring. I bought all the ingredients earlier in the day and they’d been marinating to what I hoped was perfection for hours.
Chief had become a regular at the clubhouse and all the guys loved him, now even more so after learning what he’d done for me. He loved being around everyone and I wouldn’t dream of leaving him at home.
“Babe, let’s not tell everyone about the baby okay?” I asked after we hit the road.
“Why not?” he asked, clearly disappointed. If I knew my man, he would hire a blimp to scream the news across the sky if he could.
“Because it’s really early,” I replied turning to face him. “We should wait until we’re out of the first trimester. And with everything that’s going on, I just want to keep this between us for now,” I explained.
“I already told my pop,” he admitted, telling me something I already knew.
“That’s okay, obviously Kat already knows, too. I don’t mind if Sal and Wes know either since they’re so close to us, but that’s it okay?”
He put his hand on my thigh intertwining our fingers and squeezed lightly. “Okay, darlin’,” he agreed.
A few hours into the evening I was feeling content lounging on a folding chair by the fire pit with Connie. I kept a plastic cup filled with water in my hand so no one would suspect why I wasn’t drinking. Chief lay contentedly at my feet. My ribs had been consumed with vigor, and though I was glad they were so well received, I feared that I was now on the hook to provide them at every get-together.
Despite the recent drama, all the guys seemed ready to relax and have a good time. The vibe was a positive one and I soaked it in.
“Where’s Kat?” Connie asked as she plopped down next to me.
“She’ll be here later, Sal is picking her up from work,” I replied.
“How are things between those two?” she asked.
I shrugged not wanting to divulge much. Not much had changed as far as I could tell. Kat loved him, but she still felt like she wasn’t getting what she needed from him. I wasn’t sure what would hurdle them in one direction or the other, but something was going to have to give.
“Rosie, can we talk for a few?” Henry’s deep voice rumbled through the night air as he and Benny stood as a formidable pair over us. We’d already exchanged pleasantries, but I knew there would be more of a talk to come.
“I’ll go find Wes,” Connie excused herself with a “good luck” smile toward me.
“Having fun darlin’?” Henry asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a smile as they both sat across from me. Benny had greeted me warmly despite us not having known each other well when my father was alive. He was in his mid-50s with a shaved head and a goatee. He was on the shorter side but no less menacing than Henry when he wanted to be.
“How you holdin’ up?” Henry asked, concern darkening his gray eyes.
I shrugged. “Doing the best I can.” I didn’t know what else to say about it.
“We’re doing everything we can to find that fucker. He’s a slippery little weasel,” Benny grumbled.
“I know you are,” I assured him.
“Rosie,” Henry started, “now that those fucks are long gone from the club you could come home you know,” he offered, surprising me. That was the last thing I’d been expecting. “I know you left because of them. I don’t know all the details, but what I do know makes me want to kill him even more now,” he added. I didn’t doubt that was true. “But they’re gone,” he said quietly. “You always loved the club and we all love you. I just want you to know there’s always a place for you with us even though your daddy’s gone,” he said sincerely.
“I appreciate that, guys. But my place is with Cole now,” I said softly as both men’s eyes lifted to look up over my head and I felt a firm grip on my shoulder.
I looked up to meet Cole’s warm blue eyes. “Trying to steal my girl fellas?” Cole asked in a light tone, though there was an undertone of threat to it.
“Nah, man. Just want her to know she can always come home,” Henry explained.
“She is home,” Cole replied without hesitation.
I looked up at him with a slow smile as we exchanged a knowing look. Not only was I home, but we were building a family. In that moment any trepidation I’d had about the pregnancy evaporated under his reverent stare. I knew I could do this, I could do anything as long as we were together.
“Yeah, I am home,” I agreed, beaming.