Kayla

I shouldn’t have been a chickenshit and run out like that, but I hadn’t thought Preacher would want me to stick around. Weren’t bikers the fuck-and-leave type? At least when it came to random women like me. He’d needed comforting, and I’d offered it, but that didn’t mean he wanted to hang around and cuddle afterward. If anything, I’d imagine he’d be fucked in the head each time he slept with a woman who wasn’t his wife. So, I’d given him the space he likely needed, and since he hadn’t exactly come after me, I was probably right to leave.

I felt the stickiness between my legs and tried to fight down the panic rising inside me. He’d put on a condom. I distinctly remembered him doing that, but something must have happened to it. I knew condoms weren’t foolproof, but… Butterflies rioted in my stomach as I thought about the possible consequences I’d face. Surely I wouldn’t get pregnant the first time I had sex, right? That shit only happened in books and movies.

The walk home was long, and I hunched my shoulders, trying to disappear as I walked down the broken sidewalks of my neighborhood. Once upon a time, it had been a nice place to live. A really fucking long time ago. Ever since my parents were kids, it had been crackhead and prostitute central for our small town. I think that was a large part of why Johnny had left, and I couldn’t really blame him. He deserved a shot at a better life. If he’d stayed, he’d likely have been dealing drugs on the corner, or have been killed in a drive-by. I knew the life he’d chosen wasn’t exactly safe, but at least he had a group of guys to watch his back. He wouldn’t have had that around here.

The dilapidated house I shared with my mom and her latest boyfriend was just up ahead, and I quickened my pace. It wasn’t safe to be out here dressed like this, especially since I’d lost my panties tonight. Guys in this part of town thought they could have whatever they wanted, and anyone who cried rape usually paid the price. I’d been lucky that nothing bad had happened to me so far. I knew a lot of that had to do with Johnny. He’d kept me safe all my life, even when my mom’s latest and greatest would get handsy with me. But I was on my own now, which meant I had to be smart.

When I got into the house, I locked the front door and paused, listening for any sounds. I could hear my mom and her current boyfriend going at it in her room, the smell of pot heavy in the air. The living room was littered with beer bottles, and I knew they were likely drunk too. Bad things happened when Ray was high and drunk. I quickly walked straight back to my bedroom, trying not to make a damn sound to alert anyone of my presence.

Johnny had installed two deadbolts on my door, and a chain, and I locked all three every time I was in my room. The first time I’d woken to one of my mother’s boyfriends looming over me in the middle of the night, jerking his cock off as he leered at me, I’d freaked the fuck out, and then Johnny had beat the shit out of the guy. I’d found all three locks on my door when I’d gotten home from school that day. Johnny had skipped class to make sure I was taken care of, but then he was always doing things like that for me.

I stripped out of my clothes and pulled on my pajamas. As much as I would have loved a bath or shower, no way I was chancing it tonight. If Ray had consumed as much beer as I thought he had, and if pot was thrown in to the mix, then I wasn’t safe outside my room. He was one of the worst of all the guys Mom had brought home over the years. He didn’t even hide the fact he wanted me, rubbing his cock in front of my mom as he stared at me. I didn’t trust him, and sadly, I didn’t trust my mother either. If Ray gave her an ultimatum, like he got to do whatever the fuck he wanted to me or he was walking out, she’d hand me over on a silver platter. He supplied all her drugs and booze, and no way was she giving that up.

The cheap cell phone Johnny had given me started ringing, and I quickly answered. He was the only one who ever called me, and I needed to hear his voice. I’d gone to the compound tonight, needing my brother, but I hadn’t even stuck around long enough to find him. Not after…

“Why the fuck were you here tonight, Kayla?” he barked into the phone.

“I needed to see you.”

He got quiet a moment. “Everything okay? Did Ray… he didn’t touch you, did he?”

“No. Not for lack of trying on his part.”

“Kayla, you can’t just show up unannounced at the compound. You could get me into serious trouble, you know that? This is the best thing I’ve got going for me, and I don’t want to screw it up.”

Tears pricked my eyes at his harsh tone. “I’m sorry.”

“If it’s not Ray, then why the hell were you here? I’ve told you this isn’t the place for you to party.”

“You think I was there to party?” I asked, my heart feeling heavy. Did Johnny not know me as well as I’d thought he had? We were twins, two halves of a whole, and yet… “I’ve never been a party girl, and you know it, Johnny.”

“Are you safe?” he asked.

I glanced at the locks on the door. “For now.”

“If you weren’t here to party, and it’s not Ray, then why did you need me?”

“It’s Joe.”

The silence on the other end lasted so long I’d thought for a moment he’d hung up.

“Joe-motherfucking-Banner?”

“Um, yeah. He’s been recruiting pretty heavy around here.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. You’re not joining his stable, Kayla.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I muttered. “But… he said if I don’t, then he’ll find a way to make me. I’m scared, Johnny. You know what he did to Vera. He fucked her up so bad she doesn’t even look the same anymore, and before she was even healed all the way, he had her working the streets.”

“I’m on my way. Pack a bag, something small with just the essentials.”

Pack a bag? Where the hell did he think I was going? It wasn’t like he could let me stay at the compound with him. He’d already told me there were only two types of women there. Old ladies, or club sluts. And since I wasn’t one of the first, and had no intention of becoming the second, there was no place for me there. Even if the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen did flash in my mind for a moment. No way Preacher would ever lay claim to me. He was still married to his dead wife, and just because we’d fucked didn’t mean anything. I knew I was just convenient for him tonight, and that was fine. At least my first time with a guy had been on my terms.

“Kayla, did you hear me?” Johnny asked, and I realized I hadn’t said anything.

“Yeah. I’ll get some stuff together.”

“I’ll tap on your window when I get there. Don’t leave that fucking house.”

He hung up, and I stared around my room. I didn’t have much, but I still had my backpack from high school. I pulled it out and dumped a handful of clothes inside. Three outfits and the other important stuff like panties and such. My brush was on the dresser, and I shoved that into the bag too. My hand paused on the locks to my door, and I listened to make sure Ray was still occupied before I crept into the hall bathroom to retrieve my small bag of makeup and my toothbrush. I grabbed the box of tampons I kept under the sink too.

After my bag was stuffed as full as I could get it, I changed into something comfortable, and then sat on the bed to wait for Johnny. I heard his motorcycle roar into the driveway, and my body tensed. It didn’t take but another minute before he was tapping on my window. I lifted it and stared out at my twin, the only person who had ever been there for me my entire life. He held out his hand, and I gave him my backpack, then he helped me climb out the window.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I’m putting you on a bus,” he said. “You’re getting the fuck out of this town before it ruins your life.”

I froze mid-step. “Leave?”

He turned to face me. “Kayla, I can’t protect you all the time anymore, and you’re obviously not safe living at home. Mom doesn’t give a shit what happens to you, never has and never will. And I’m sorry, but you’re just not tough enough to live here without ending up spreading your legs for Johns or dead in a ditch.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“You’re my baby sister… “

“By like two minutes.”

“Whatever. The point is that I don’t know how else to protect you. So I’m sending you away. I have enough money for a bus ticket out of here and then hopefully enough to get you established in a new place. I made some calls. A buddy of mine has a studio apartment over the garage where he works. He’s going to let you rent it for three hundred a month, utilities and trash included.”

“I don’t have three hundred dollars, Johnny.”

He pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and stuffed it into the front of my backpack before zipping it. “Now you do. There’s about seven hundred there, but it should hold you until you can find a job. I’ll take care of the bus ticket when we get to the station. And Kayla… whatever you do, don’t come back.”

My eyes burned as I fought hard not to cry. “Does that mean I won’t see you anymore?”

“Not for a while. I’ll try to come visit when I get a chance, okay? But you need to do this. This is your chance to change your life.”

He took me by the hand and led me over to his bike. After he swung his leg over the seat, I climbed on behind him, slinging the backpack over my shoulders. I didn’t know where I was going, or what I’d do when I got there, but I knew he was right. I needed to get away from this place. I’d been lucky so far, but eventually that luck would run out.

But you know what they say about running from your past? It always catches up to you…

* * *

Kayla

Two Months Later

The money my brother had given me was long gone, and I’d found a job working nights at the local diner. It was hard work, on my feet for sometimes ten or twelve hours day, but the tips were decent. I had a feeling that had more to do with the fact my shirts were fitting a little snugger across my breasts than usual. I’d gone up at least a cup size, and they hurt like hell. At first, I’d thought it was my period finally coming, since the damn thing was several weeks late. But nothing had happened.

One of the girls I worked with, a single mom who was two years younger than me, suggested I might be pregnant when the smell from the grill had sent me running to the bathroom to puke my guts up. I’d laughed it off, until I’d really thought about it. I was late, my boobs were getting huge, and I was throwing up because of a smell? Yeah. I’d gone straight to the pharmacy after that shift and bought every kind of pregnancy test they had. Every last one had come back positive.

It had scared the shit out of me, and I hadn’t known what to do. Preacher had a right to know he was going to be a father, but I wasn’t certain if he’d even want to know. A guy like that, still hung up on his dead wife? I couldn’t imagine my news being welcome. So I’d kept it to myself. My frequent bouts of nausea had triggered some questions at work, and I’d finally had to tell the manager I wasn’t sick with the flu, but I was pregnant. He’d shrugged and gone back to his paperwork, just happy to know I wasn’t spreading germs to all our customers.

My shift was ending, and my back felt like it was damn well breaking. I’d worked a double when someone had called in sick, and now I was going to pay the price. Yeah, the tips were welcome because who didn’t need extra money? But my body was protesting. I knew I’d go home, shower, and likely crash before I’d even had a chance to eat. We ate for free while we were working, so I’d had two meals since I’d come on shift, but my stomach was already growling again. I was either constantly wanting to stuff my face, or I was hugging the toilet.

I clocked out and gathered my things before heading back to my tiny apartment. It wasn’t anything special, but it was mine. My brother’s friend, Jeremy, was actually a really great guy. He hadn’t hit on me once, had always been polite, and he checked on me periodically to make sure I didn’t need anything. I hated to admit that Johnny had been right to send me away. Now I had a chance at a good life, and even if I had to work my ass off, this baby would have the kind of home I’d never had. At least my place was clean, even if the furniture was threadbare.

Climbing the metal stairs that ran up the side of the garage, I could feel the fatigue pulling at me. I put one foot in front of the other, practically dragging myself up the next step by pulling on the handrail. My keys were already clutched in my hand, and I unlocked the two deadbolts before I pushed the door open. The scent of the lemon cleanser I’d used that morning teased my nose, and I reached inside to flip on the light. I’d no sooner cleared the door than something heavy slammed into my back, sending me sprawling on the floor.

A weight covered my body, and a hand slammed over my mouth. Panic welled inside me. My heart started racing, and I wished like hell I’d paid more attention to my surroundings. How the fuck had he managed to get up the stairs behind me without making any noise?

“Thought you could get away from me?” he asked, his lips near my ear.

My eyes went wide as I recognized who was on top of me. And I knew in that moment, I was completely screwed. I didn’t know how he’d found me, or why he’d bothered, but all those lewd looks I’d dealt with were going to become something much, much worse.

His hand skimmed up my thigh, shoving under the skirt I’d worn to work. I started thrashing on the floor, kicking my feet, and trying to bite the hand over my mouth. This isn’t happening!

“That’s it. I like it when they struggle.”

I could feel the bulge in his pants press against me, and then he was kicking my legs apart. I fought harder, slamming my hands on the floor, and doing anything that might draw attention to what was happening. I didn’t know if Jeremy was still downstairs, but there were times he’d slept in his office. I hoped like hell this was one of those times. I managed to kick over the table near the door and heard the crappy wood splinter on contact.

Carter started to unzip his pants, and tears streamed down my cheeks. I never stopped fighting, never stopped trying to break free. Even when he tore my panties, I still fought. But just as suddenly as he’d attacked me, his weight was lifted off my body, and I heard something slam into a wall. Gulping in huge breaths and crawling as far away as I could, I finally turned and saw Jeremy beating the shit out of Carter.

The Dixie Reapers Prospect fell to the floor, his face a bloody mess and one of his eyes swelling shut. Jeremy kicked him in the ribs while he was down, then sent a knee into the asshole’s nose, not only breaking it, but knocking Carter the fuck out. He slumped to the floor, and Jeremy made his way over to me.

He knelt and slowly reached out a hand, almost as if he were afraid to scare me more. “Please tell me I fucking got up here fast enough.”

“You did,” I said, wiping the tears away. “He was just about to… but he didn’t.”

Jeremy nodded. “I’m taking you home. When we get to town, I’ll call your brother, and he can meet us somewhere.”

“You’re throwing me out?” I asked.

“I’m sending you home, where you belong,” he corrected. “Johnny has always been your knight in shining armor, and I don’t know why he stopped now. But I think you need your brother right now, maybe more than ever before.”

“I can come back?”

He smiled a little. “I’ll leave the apartment vacant for a week or two, to see if you come back here. But I think you need to pack your things. Once Johnny hears what happened, he’s not going to want you to be quite so far away anymore. And Kayla… you should tell him about the baby.”

My eyes went wide. “How… “

“You didn’t tie off your trash very well. Some of the sticks fell out in the dumpster. Saw them when I hauled out the garage trash. I figured if you wanted me to know, you’d say something. Just tell me that you want this baby and some asshole didn’t force himself on you.”

“It was consensual,” I said. “But he doesn’t know. I’m not sure I can ever tell him.”

“That’s your call to make. But your brother needs to know everything, all right? He can’t protect you if he doesn’t know the entire story. And not just what happened now, but about that baby.”

“All right. Just let me get cleaned up, and I’ll pack my things.”

“I’ll wait here and make some calls. I’ll get one of the mechanics to open for me tomorrow.”

I went into the small bathroom and splashed water on my face before I started packing. I’d been so excited about having a real shot at a decent life, and now I was going back? I didn’t understand why Jeremy thought I wouldn’t be safe here. Yeah, Carter had found me, and he’d almost… I shivered. But that could have happened no matter where I was living. I’d seen the look in Carter’s eyes often enough to know something like this might happen one day. I’d tried to tell Johnny, but he’d blown me off, saying Carter was like a brother to him and would never hurt me.

After I packed the last of my things, and looked around the apartment one last time, I let Jeremy lead me down to his truck. My hometown was only about two hours away. Johnny had made sure I was close enough that he could easily visit whenever he had time, but maybe if I’d gone farther, Carter wouldn’t have come after me. I didn’t regret the past two months because I’d grown a lot during that time. And now I knew that I could make it on my own.

The two-hour trip flew by, and soon we were pulling into the parking lot of an all-night diner a few miles from the Dixie Reapers’ compound. Jeremy sent me inside with some cash and orders to get a slice of pie. I dragged my tired body into the diner and claimed a seat at a booth in the window. Jeremy had his phone pressed to his ear, and I knew he was talking to Johnny. When he finally came inside, I couldn’t tell if the conversation had gone well or not, but that question was answered soon enough when Johnny came roaring into the parking lot on his Harley.

It was good to see him, but the fierce look on his face told me this wasn’t going to be a pleasant reunion. And so I waited patiently for him to come in, to have a seat, and then I started telling him everything. From the night I spent at the clubhouse, and what happened with Preacher, to Carter trying to rape me. And lastly, I told him I was pregnant. He looked a little shell-shocked at that last part, and beyond furious over what happened with Carter. I spared him the details, but the anguish in his eyes was enough to tear me apart. Whatever I’d thought of my brother since he’d joined the Dixie Reapers, it was obvious that he loved me.

“Where’s Carter now?” he asked.

“I arranged for someone to contain him,” Jeremy said. “Figured the Dixie Reapers would want to take care of him.”

Johnny nodded before focusing on me again. “I think it’s time for you to meet the President of the Dixie Reapers. I’m not set up for company since I share my space with the other prospects, but Torch will probably find a spot for you. And he needs to know about Carter.”

“All right,” I said softly.

His gaze dropped to my belly. “And Preacher needs to know about that kid. I know you think he won’t want anything to do with either of you, but I think you’re wrong.”

I could tell there was something he wasn’t saying, but I didn’t want to press him. I rode with Jeremy to the compound, and as we pulled through the gate, my palms started to sweat and nausea welled in my throat. I knew I was seconds away from puking and nearly dove out of the truck when it came to a stop.

Johnny rubbed my back as I threw up the slice of pie, then he curled an arm around my waist and led me into the clubhouse. I didn’t know what to expect when we went inside, but it wasn’t for Preacher to nearly lose it and attack my brother.