Chapter Twelve
Eric
I hauled the box off the truck and walked it over to the pallet I was stacking, my eyes straying to my watch as they had been for the past few hours. Today was the day that I would go see Amy and our kid for the first time, and I still couldn’t believe she had invited me along.
She had no idea what she had done to me the previous night, when her simple text had come through. I wasn’t a crier by any means, but as I fired back a text to her stating I would be there, a tear had rolled down my cheek. I was going to be a father with the most awesome woman on earth.
If only we could get this shit past us so that we could be together.
Walking back over to the truck, I picked up the next box. I hadn’t spoken to my father in over a week, doing nothing but going from work to home and back to work, picking up extra hours when I could, just to avoid anything that to do with the Brotherhood or the club. I had even ceased my texting to Amy, needing some time to sort out my life and my feelings toward everyone. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know how to even get myself there without hurting someone along the way.
Well, I doubted my father would be hurt. It would be more like rage that I hadn’t chosen him in the end, and for that I would suffer.
And if I suffered, Amy would be a byproduct of that suffering and I couldn’t allow that.
Placing the box on the pallet, I looked down at my watch before stripping off my gloves. It was time for me to get off and head to the doctor’s office. I clocked out and walked out to my bike, my elation dying quickly as I saw my father standing beside it, leaning against his own bike.
“Eric.”
I gave him a nod, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“What is it? I have somewhere I have to be.”
He chuckled, shaking his head.
“I wanted to let you know that I apologize for last week. Had I known you were all wrapped up in that chick, I would have gone after her old man instead.”
I didn’t believe him one bit. He could have stopped it at any point in time, but instead he had got one of the Brotherhood members to knock me out and still gone after her.
“But that’s one of the reasons I’m here,” he continued on, clearly not picking up on my distrust. “Richard wants you back in the Brotherhood. There’s work to be done.”
I crossed my own arms over my chest.
“I don’t work for the fucking Brotherhood.”
He looked at me.
“Fine, you don’t. I want you back at my side, then. I need someone I can trust, and I don’t trust those assholes as far as I could throw them. This war… it’s just getting started.”
I swallowed hard, half tempted to tell him to go fuck himself. I had lost my trust in him, going after an innocent person, but he was still my father, and without me he would likely get himself killed by the Brotherhood once it was all said and done. His numbers from the Horsemen were dwindling rapidly, many of them killed in the last shootout and a few running for their lives, afraid that the Horsemen’s sharpshooter would have them in his sights next. My father didn’t have many allies left.
“Fine, what do you need?”
“That’s my son,” he grinned, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll make you a promise. No more going after family. I will set my sights on Grant and his minions only.”
“And no dirty work for the Brotherhood,” I threw in.
“No,” he announced, his expression growing somber. “This is about me and the Horsemen. I am only using the Brotherhood for their strength. Richard won’t know what hit him once I gain control of the Horsemen and am calling the shots.”
That would mean Grant Travis would have to be dead. My stomach rolled at the thought of what Amy would do, what she would feel if her father died, and how she would feel toward me once she learned who my father was.
Either way, I was going to lose in the end.
Shaking off the sinking feeling, I climbed on my bike.
“I have to go. Text me and let me know when and where, as long as it doesn’t deal with killing innocent people.”
“It won’t,” he promised as I fired up the bike and took off toward the office.
I still didn’t believe him, but what choice did I have? He was my father, the man I had grown up hoping I would meet one day and wanted to follow in his footsteps. I couldn’t let him just be killed by the Brotherhood or by Grant Travis, though I wasn’t willing to fight his battles for him. He had made the decision to break off from the Horsemen and make them his enemy, not me.
It didn’t take me long to get to the doctor’s office, and I pulled around back, away from the main parking lot. I had scoped out the location that morning before work, knowing how important it was for me not to be spotted by whoever was guarding Amy. I didn’t want the word to get out before she was ready to tell anyone, or the fact that someone might put me and my father together and tell her.
I just wanted this to be between us, something special that wouldn’t be ruined by the reality that was around us.
Pulling out the cap from my saddlebags, I slid it on and walked around the side, noting the biker who was picking his teeth with his knife near his own bike. Amy’s car sat not too far away, and I was glad she hadn’t entrusted her life with that asshole today.
I opened the door and walked into the office, feeling the eyes follow me as I walked up to the receptionist at the desk. My hands were sweaty, and I tried to give her a smile, receiving only a frown in return.
“I’m here for Amy Travis.”
“And you are?” she asked haughtily, giving me a once over.
“I’m the father,” I said softly. “Which room?”
She clearly didn’t like my tone but pointed down the hall anyway.
“Second door to your right.”
“Thanks,” I answered, not wasting any time getting down the hall, counting the doors.
My heart was racing as I reached the door and blew out a slow breath. Hell, I had been in more fights than I could count, been shot, and beaten nearly to within an inch of my life, but this… this was worse than all of them combined. After today, that kid would become a reality for both of us, and I would be hanging on for dear life not to screw this up.
Opening the door, I walked in to find Amy sitting on the table, dressed in a gown, her eyes wide as she saw me.
“You came.”
I shut the door behind me, feeling a bit sheepish about being here.
“I even wore the ball cap.”
She laughed, and it was like music to my ears.
“A blind man could see you coming a mile away.”
I gave her a grin.
“But your guard out there didn’t. He’s currently flossing his teeth with his knife.”
“Oh god,” she said, shaking her head. “He smelled so bad I made him ride his bike while I took the car.”
I pushed away from the door and came to sit on the chair beside the bed, fighting the urge to kiss the hell out of her. She looked no worse for wear, a sparkle in her eyes that I hadn’t seen since this shit started.
“How are you feeling?”
She looked down at her lap.
“I’m fine. Nothing lingering from the fire if that’s what you mean.”
“Good,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’m sorry I had to bolt that night.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but just then the door opened and a woman in scrubs came in, a chart in her hand.
“Amy Travis?”
“Yes,” Amy said as the woman busied herself with the large machine beside the bed. “That’s me.”
The woman smiled.
“I’m Lisa, your ultrasound tech. I’ll be getting the images of your baby today. I’m assuming this is the father?”
Amy looked at me, her expression softening, and I felt my heart squeeze in my chest.
“Yeah, this is the father.”
Shit! She could blow me away with those words.
“Alright then,” Lisa answered, handing her a sheet. “If you want to drape this over your legs, we will get started.”
I watched as the woman brought out a wand-looking thing, sliding a condom over it expertly.
“What the hell is that?”
Lisa looked over at me.
“This is the wand that will get the pictures.”
I was confused, looking from her to Amy’s stomach.
“But, what about those things you slide over the stomach?”
Surely, they weren’t going to shove that in her.
“Later,” Lisa laughed as she positioned herself. “We can’t do that until later.”
Well, hell! Who would have thought that? I watched in part horror, part fascination, as she slid it under the sheet and an image lit up the screen, nearly taking my breath away. There, in the middle, was a peanut of a baby.
Wow! I didn’t have words for what I was seeing.
Lisa went on to explain to us what we were seeing, giving us various angles of the little peanut.
“We won’t be able to tell the gender for a few weeks,” she offered, pulling out the wand. “But I’ve printed some photos for you to share.”
“Thanks,” Amy said quietly, reaching for my hand.
I took hers, feeling her tremble under my touch. This made it real and there was no going back from it.
“You can get dressed now,” Lisa smiled as she headed to the door. “Dad, you want to give her some privacy?”
I swallowed and squeezed her hand before stepping outside of the room, my knees a bit weak at what I had just witnessed. That was my kid in there, floating around in his or her own fluid, relying on us to keep the shit safe out here until they arrived. No one had ever depended on me before, but now I had the biggest fucking job on the planet.
I was going to be a father.
Rubbing a hand over my face, I thought about what the next steps needed to be. Amy was safe with her family for now, but she and I needed some time together, to make some plans.
Not only that, I owed her an explanation that I wasn’t ready to give.
“So,” Amy said as she stepped out. “It’s real then.”
I reached for her hand, intertwining our fingers together.
“It’s real, and I will be here every step of the way.”
She sucked in a breath and looked away, but not before I saw the tears in her eyes.
“I-I don’t know what to do. I’m not ready to be a mom.”
I chuckled and pulled her close, hugging her.
“Hell, I’m not ready to be a dad either, but we will figure it out together, alright? Why don’t we start with supper at my place, tonight?”
She pulled back, wiping her eyes.
“I-I can’t ditch the body guard. My dad will have a freaking stroke.”
I thought for a moment.
“Can’t one of your friends vouch for you? I can pick you up from their house and take you back before anyone finds out.”
Amy bit her lower lip, and I felt it all the way to my groin. Hell, my emotions were on overdrive, and my possession of her had just kicked it up a few notches. This was the woman who was carrying my kid. I would protect her to my dying breath.
“Alright.”
I grinned.
“It’s going to be a piece of cake.”
She eyed me.
“You better hope so.”