Andre

 

Sweat pours down my back and soaks into my shirt. My heart pounds in my ears, and my biceps strain with effort. I breathe deeply, slowly, and each inhale is harder than the last. My fingers are locked around a metal bar above my head, and I use that bar to pull myself up until my chin is above it. It’s taken years, but I’ve worked myself up to 100 chin ups a day. Next in my work out routine are the pushups.

 

As I drop down from the bar after the hundreth chin up, I hear a knock on the door. I turned toward it and splash some bottled water on my face before wiping it away with a fresh towel. It’s around 10 p.m., and everyone is either at the club above me or out. I assume it’s either Will or Grant.

 

“Come on in.” The door opens, and Kristel steps in. My head tilts, but I give her a smile. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

 

She gives me a worried smile and shrugs. “I talked to my parents and this is the soonest I could get away from them. We came up with a solution about the baby, but I don’t think you’re going to like it. I know I don’t.” One of her hands takes mine when she reaches me, and her lips brush across mine. “Let’s sit.”

 

“Uh oh…” My voice is drenched with sarcasm as I lead her over to the bench press and sit down on the bench. She straddles it so she can face me and takes both of my hands.

 

“This is serious, Andre.I’m serious. But if you think this is all just one big joke…”

 

I lean back from her and shrug. “I’m just trying to brace myself for whatever news is coming. How big is the storm?”

 

She nibbles on her bottom lip and rubs her thumbs across the backs of my hands. “I’m going to move in with them as soon as possible. It’ll be at their new place. I’ll have my own room, but it’ll be hard to sneak out. I don’t know how I’m going to talk to you or any of the Black Knights without them knowing about it. And as paranoid as my dad is, I’ll bet you anything he’s going to bug my phone. He did the same thing before I moved out and went to the college dorms”

 

“Fuck…” My eyes narrow. “Are you kidding?”

 

“I wish I was, but listen to me. I’m pregnant, so I won’t rouse too much suspicion if I back off from the club for a little while. Just until I get settled at home. Maybe we can work this to our advantage. I could keep an eye on dad and make sure he’s not honin- in on the Black Knights.”

 

She’s right. This can be an advantage, as long as it’s steered away from absolute disaster. After a few moments of thought, I nod. “Okay… here’s what we’re going to do: I’m going to give you a phone with a secure line. Don’t let your parents see it. You’ll use it to contact me, and that way they won’t have any idea that you’re talking to me. I’m assuming I don’t exist as far as they’re concerned.” I reach into one of the many pockets in my leather jacket and hand her a very simple, but very reliable phone.

 

Kristel gives me a nod and takes it; she slides it into her bra. “I can hide it under my pillow or something. And the college study room by the library is open 24/7. It won’t be hard to make some excuse that I need to go study so I can get out of the house. But really I’ll be visiting you.” She smiles and kisses the corner of my mouth.

 

“And the baby?” I let my hands drop from her own and watch her carefully.

 

“I… don’t know yet. But I have some appointments coming up. One of them is an ultrasound to see whether or not the baby is a boy or a girl.” She swallowed audibly. “And considering the circumstances, I don’t think you should come to any of the appointments. I know you said you wanted to come, but…my parents are so nosy, and my dad has access to things you wouldn’t believe. Trying to explain who you are and why you’re there… it could get really complicated and blow everything.”

 

I feel a strange pang in my chest, and before I can stop the words, I say, “Could I at least get a picture of the ultrasound?”

 

She nods and kisses me. Her expression is drawn, almost regretful. “Of course. And you know I’d bring you if things were different.”

 

“I know. Just keep me updated, okay? And I can contribute financially if you need it, too. I’ll give you cash, just in case your dad decides to dig for whatever reason. I’ve never met him, but he sounds like a really thorough guy.”

 

“No, Andre… I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve given me enough already, with the club and the weekend. And your commitment.”

 

That same pang flares in my chest again, and I swallow my feelings down; they won’t serve any purpose here. I’m still in the process of wrapping my mind around everything, which includes not seeing other women. How do people even do that?

 

“I’m serious. I don’t want to be one of those jerks who refuse to pay to support their child… or the mother of that child. It’s no big deal, just give me a budget and I’ll pay a portion of it. No one except for us has to know. I won’t even tell Will.” I give her a reassuring smile and stroke my fingers through her hair. “I want to help.”

 

“You’re weirding me out right now, but… okay, fine. I’ll get you some numbers in a few days.”

 

I tilt my head. “Funny. I was under the impression I’ve been weirding you out this whole time. Though I prefer the word ‘charming’, but whatever works for you. I’m not picky.” I play my fingers through her hair and twist some of the curls at the end.

 

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “For a biker guy and criminal, you’re far too charming for your own good. But I have to go. It’s late and I just dropped by to touch base with you. It’s going to be really busy over the next few days with the move, but I’ll keep you in the loop as much as I can.”

 

“You just got here.” I press a kiss to her jaw and nibble my way to her earlobe. She’s still the best tasting woman I’ve ever had. “Why don’t you relax… stay a while?”

 

“Andre, I can’t. I have to get back to my dorm and start packing.” The smile she flashes me makes the cock in my pants throb. “I promise you’ll be fine without me. Don’t be a baby.”

 

“You’re just so amazingly hot. I can’t help myself.”

 

I can’t hide my disappointment as she stands up, but I don’t get up with her. She kisses me softly on the mouth, and I try to grab her hips to drag her closer, but she wiggles away. With a low sigh, I reluctantly watch her turn around and walk out. The only plus side is the fact that I get to watch that beautiful rear of hers in action.

 

“I’m not a baby,” I mutter. With a low snort, I shake my head and draw myself to my feet. I may as well get on that cell phone now before she gets back, but there’s some business I need to take care of first.

 

“How are the books doing, Will?” He’s sitting at a desk that’s piled high with paperwork. “Last I checked we were pulling in a few million, but how long has it been since we checked all the loop holes? The cops are getting worse every year, and I can tell you right now that they’ll be cracking down on us hard if we don’t get our act together. What happened to that little gift shop I told you to let go of last month? From what I can see here, it’s still in our records. Why? And what about that Greek restaurant we were supposed to purchase to launder money from the fighting ring?”

 

Will slides fingers through his hair and closes his eyes. We’re in one of the Road Devil’s many safe houses that are scattered throughout the city. This one is close to down town and therefore more vulnerable when it comes to cops sniffing around.

 

“Shit. Itold Jeremy to take care of that gift shop, what the fuck? Are you sure it’s still in the book?”

 

I raise both eyebrows at him and toss the book his way. It’s actually one of many massive binders where all of our business information is written. There are other binders in a shelf next to my desk that are full of plans, financial management, information on club members, potential recruits, and a whole lot of other things that are needed to run a criminal biker club like the Black Knights. Like my father, I prefer paper over computers; anyone can take our information if I put it in a machine.

 

Will catches the binder and runs his finger along the spreadsheet. He mutters names to himself, then finally spots the gift shop. With a furrowed brow, he runs his finger across to its status. It says ‘Active’ as opposed to ‘Closed’. “Aw man. How did this happen? I told Jeremy this was a priority. Look…” He looks at me and closes the book. “I’ll go take care of this right now. I promise. It’ll get done today.”

 

With my arms folded across my chest, I watch Will. My mind is going in a number of different directions, but my friend’s words help me figure out the best one to take. I smile. “No, no. I will. Is Jeremy around tonight?”

 

“Dude, I really don’t like that smile. But yeah, he’s in the sorting room.”

 

That smile still on my mouth, I head to the door. “Keep looking for mistakes and things we can cut out or bring in, Will. I’ll be back… maybe.”

 

It takes about 30 seconds to get from my office to what we call the sorting room. It’s a large space that looks a lot like a shipping and receiving area, and there are always trucks coming and going. None of the trucks are ever larger than a standard pick up, and all of them are driven by legal drivers. The room is huge and made of concrete with heavy bay doors, one of which is open. There are bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling, and they shine down on about a dozen men and women. All of them are either pulling items out of the trucks or they’re sorting those items according to size and value. Usually the trucks come from black markets or fighting rings; none of the items here have been obtained legally.

 

“Jeremy Sanders?” The sound of my voice alone stops everyone in their tracks. They all look at me, but a young, scruffy looking man in his early 20s steps toward me.

 

“Yes, sir?” he says.

 

“You’re going to come with me.” Without another word, I turn on my heel and walk out of the sorting room. As I stride down the hallway, I can hear Jeremy’s hurried footsteps behind me. I don’t look back, and when I reach a door that’s across from my office, I step inside. When Jeremy follows me in, I close the door behind us.

 

“I’m sorry! Shit, I’m sorry, Mr. Zelnick, please don’t kill me!” His face is twisted in terror as I turn to look at him.

 

“Give me one reason why I would kill you? It’s messy and would make me and the rest of the club vulnerable. What I will do, however, is ruin your life. Because your loyalty obvious lies elsewhere, and I can’t afford to have that kind of risk in the family.”

 

“No! No, it’s not like that!”

 

“Then tell me what itis like.”

 

When the young man says nothing, I frown in disappointment. “You make the bed; you have to sleep in it every night. So,here’s what’s going to happen: I’m going to have the gift shop in question transferred over to your name. And when it goes down… you’ll fall with it.” I take a small step closer to him. “By the way, if you choose not to sign for ownership or if you expose me in any way…then I will kill you. Now get the fuck out of my sight.”

 

His face pales, and he nods so fast I’m almost afraid his head will fall off. He shakes visibly as he backs over to the door, opens it, and skitters out.