CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Everyone’s here. You gonna tell me what this is all about now?” Wrath says as soon as we walk in the front door of the clubhouse.
“Inga’s suing him,” Hope says in a way-too-chipper-for-the-situation voice. “Rock will give you all the glorious details.”
Wrath slides his confused gaze between the two of us. “What?”
Hope turns to me. “I’m exhausted,” she says in a lower voice. “I’m going to go upstairs and take nap—”
“Go home and—”
“No. I want to make that phone call today. If the guys have any questions, have them stick around and I’ll answer the best I can.”
She reaches up on tiptoes and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. “An hour enough time? I’m going to set my alarm.”
“Give me an hour and a half.”
“You got it.” She pats Wrath’s arm on the way upstairs.
“What the hell is she talking about?” Wrath asks. “Why are we even talking about Inga?”
The basement door opens. Sparky and Stash stumble into the living room, clearly high-as-fuck. I’m irrationally irritated with Sparky, since it’s his stoner ass that’s responsible for Willow visiting the clubhouse and getting chummy with my wife.
“Can’t you go a day without getting fucked up?” I snap at him.
The smile slides off his face. “What’s wrong, boss?”
“Church, now.”
“Yeah, we heard,” Stash says. “That’s why we’re here. We’re testing the new—”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Rock,” Wrath says. “What crawled up your ass?”
“On their way.”
“Get ’em in here.”
Twenty minutes later all the brothers are seated around the table. I’m still furious, but I set it aside.
“Hope received some legal papers today. Inga’s suing us for child support.”
“Whoa!” Ravage practically jumps out of his chair. “What the fuck?”
“How pissed is Hope that Inga’s dragging your ass into family court?” Dex asks. “Poor girl doesn’t need this right now.”
I sit up and fling the envelope with all the legal papers at him. “I ain’t goin’ alone, brother.”
I tip back in my chair, cover my face with my hands, and laugh. “Fuck, at the moment I think Hope’s amused more than pissed.”
Dex passes the papers to Wrath, who explodes when he gets to the part of the summons with his name. “I never fucked that bitch. Why the fuck is she draggin’ me into this bullshit?”
“Probably to get at me. Or she genuinely doesn’t remember who she fucked.”
“Wrath’s kinda hard to forget,” Sparky says.
“Uh, not just you, brother,” Dex points out. “She’s dragging Z, Teller, Stash, Ravage, Sparky, and me in too.”
“Holy fuck.” Stash whistles. “Way to let the whole world know you’re a whore. Why now?”
“Who the fuck knows? She probably ran out of money and can’t do porn anymore,” Dex says.
I glare at Z, who leans forward to explain.
“Uh, actually Rock and I solved that mystery earlier.” He turns to look down the table so he can see Sparky. “Your girl Willow had to brag to Inga all about Hope being pregnant. Inga musta gotten her panties in a twist.”
“Willow ain’t my girl and she wouldn’t…” Sparky trails off. “She’s been into planning all the girly baby shower shit with Trinity and Swan, so yeah. Maybe.”
“She flat out said she did,” Z informs him.
“This isn’t helping,” Dex says. “Doesn’t matter why. What the fuck do we do about it?”
“Track her down and kill her?” Ravage suggests.
“Don’t think I didn’t consider it,” I grumble.
“Rock, you actually fucked her. Over a long period of time,” Bricks says.
I snarl his way. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“What are you gonna do if the kid’s yours? How’s Hope gonna feel ’bout that?” Bricks asks.
“I’ve asked myself that all afternoon.” I mumble from behind my hands, deciding to keep my conversation with my wife private. “If Inga’s telling the truth, her timeline doesn’t add up for me to be the father. I hadn’t been near her for more than year at the time she’s saying she got pregnant.” Setting my hands on the table, I toss a smirk at the rest of my brothers. “If it’s a baby King, it’s one of yours.”
Wrath shakes his head. “Jesus Christ. You know how much Trinity hates Inga? How am I supposed to explain this fuckery to her?”
“Don’t,” Z says.
Wrath glances at me. “Yeah, ’cause Hope’s gonna keep that one to herself. It’s not like I’m gonna turn her in for breaching client confidentiality.”
Z snickers. “Look at you with the big words today.”
“Fuck you. What about you? You’ve stuck your dick in every bitch down at CB.”
“That’s not true, asshole.”
Wrath stares Z down and Z shakes his head. “I fucked her friend Peach. Never touched Inga.” He glances at me. “Didn’t seem right.”
“Your observance of bro code warms my heart.” I sneer.
Z doesn’t laugh at my sarcasm.
Hell, no one’s laughing.
“Couple times. Sorry, Prez,” Dex admits.
Sparky taps his fingers on the table, then raises his hand. “I did. Sorry, boss.”
“It’s fine.” Like I give two fucks.
Teller squirms in his seat. “I don’t think I did, but I was pretty wasted that one night she was up here.”
Sparky snickers. “You didn’t do her in any way that would necessitate a paternity test, Teller.”
“Thanks for the visual, Sparky,” Dex says.
He shrugs. “Tryin’ to be helpful.”
All of us turn to look at Murphy. “How the fuck did you get left out?” Wrath asks.
“Well, one I never touched her. And two, I don’t think she remembers me that well. I didn’t spend a lot of time at CB when she worked there.”
“Maybe she doesn’t fuck gingers,” Ravage says.
Murphy flips him off. “Bricks got left out too.”
“Yeah, I’m okay with that,” Bricks assures us. “Never touched her.”
“Maybe she doesn’t do Mexicans,” Ravage jokes.
“I’m Puerto Rican, you fucking moron.”
Rav raises his hand. “Not even gonna try to lie. I totally stormed her pink fortress.”
After we finish laughing, he continues, “Kid better not be mine. I’ll be fuckin’ pissed as fuck if I missed out on the first couple years of my kid’s life.”
All of us stop and stare at him. Not exactly something we expect to come out of Rav’s big mouth.
“Fuckin’ A,” Z mutters. “That’s fuckin’ bullshit. She better hope whoever the dad is doesn’t fuckin’ kill her when he finds out.”
Now that’s something we expect out of Z and no one so much as lifts an eyebrow.
“Can we fight this?” Wrath asks.
“Hope says yes. But it’ll be easier to just take the fucking test and be done with it.”
“Wow. Brave woman, right there,” Dex says with a lot of admiration in his voice.
“She must believe you, Prez,” Ravage says.
I’m not really interested in my brothers dissecting my marriage for me.
Z glances across the table at Wrath. “Maybe have Hope talk to Trinity for you?”
Wrath doesn’t bitch Z out. Instead, he nods at me. “Yeah. Whatever.”
Teller raises his hand. “Uh, anyone want to help me explain this to Charlotte?”
“Doesn’t she do family law? I think she knows how the process works,” Z snarks.
“That’s not helpful, asshat.”
“Anyone else in the organization she coulda been with? If the kid really is one of ours, we take care of our own,” I say, shifting my gaze around the table to stare at each one of my brothers. “I honestly don’t give two fucks. She was never my ol’ lady, so don’t be shy. You’re not gonna hurt my feelings.”
“Nah, we were prospects,” Birch says, elbowing Hoot in the side. “Wrath barely let us in the clubhouse, let alone in the Champagne Room.”
“You’re welcome,” Wrath says.
I snort and shake my head. “What a clusterfuck. I can’t believe this shit.”
“Fuck her, she’s doing this to be a spiteful bitch. Kid could belong to anyone from here to fuckin’ California.”
“Simmer down,” I growl at Wrath, then turn to the rest of the club. “I’ll have Hope set the testing up. She wants it done at a court-approved testing facility. Don’t give her any bullshit. When she gives you your appointment time, you get your fucking ass there and do what she says. Are we clear?”
“Wait a minute.” Dex holds up a hand. “You’re making Hope represent us on this, Rock?”
I glare at him until he sits back. “I’m not making her do anything. I’d honestly rather not have her involved at all. But Inga sent the papers to Hope—”
Stash snaps his fingers twice. “Now, that’s a cunt move right there.”
I finish without acknowledging Stash’s interruption. “She knows damn well Glassman represents Crystal Ball, but yeah, she did it to be spiteful. Hope insists on handling the case and not backing down.” I swallow hard, thinking of Hope’s fierce determination to stand by me no matter what.
“Damn, brother,” Dex breathes out.
“She wants to face this fuckery head-on, so Inga doesn’t keep coming at us.”
Someone whistles a swift, high-pitched sound of approval. “That’s some woman, Prez.”
Underneath my fury, guilt also stirs inside me. “Let’s get this done and out of the way. I feel responsible here—”
“Actually, it’s my fault,” Wrath interrupts, quieter than I’d expect considering how pissed he is. “I’m the one who allowed her to come up here.” He flicks his gaze at Z and Dex. “Encouraged it, really.”
“Aw, see, and now you love Hope, almost as much as your own ol’ lady,” Sparky says with a ridiculous grin on his face. He may spend every waking moment high on his own product, but even he’s aware Wrath only invited Inga up here hoping it would scare Hope away.
Wrath just snorts. “Whatever. We’ll beat this and move on.” The corner of his mouth turns up. “We know if it’s a boy? Maybe he and Alexa—”
“Don’t you finish that sentence,” Murphy says.
Teller cocks his head. “What the fuck’s wrong with you? What if it’s my kid, you asshole?”
Sparky clears his throat. “Seriously, bro, you can’t knock a chick up—”
“All right,” I snap. “Enough with the biology lessons. Let’s move on.”
Before I end the meeting, I give everyone a hard look. “I have a favor to ask. Except for this bullshit with Inga.” Fuck, I even hate saying her fucking name. “Hope’s closing out her cases and stepping back from practicing.”
“She okay?” Dex asks.
“Yeah, she just wants to concentrate on the baby. I’m going to ask the club to look after her if I’m not here.”
“You know we will,” Sparky says, almost sounding like I hurt his tender feelings.
“Thank you. All right now. Hope will be around if you have any questions for her about the case. Be honest with her. She’s seen and heard all of you doing something disgusting at one time or another. Nothing surprises her anymore.”
“Real quick,” Z says, holding up his hand.
“Sway has those dates scheduled, and he really wants us there to make sure the set is secure.”
Wrath glares across the table at Z.
“Not you,” Z says. “Sway doesn’t want to scare the poor girl.”
“I volunteer as tribute!” Ravage says, jumping out of his chair.
“He also doesn’t want someone who’s gonna hit on her.”
A slow smirk spreads over Murphy’s face. “Well, then Wrath should definitely do it, he hates porn stars.”
“I don’t hate… never mind. Yes, I do.”
Z turns his please-be-reasonable eyes my way. “He really wants you on this. At least the first time.”
“Fuck, how many times is she gonna be doing this?”
I really need to reevaluate my life. There’s way too many porn stars in it.
“Don’t know. She travels a lot, though. If Sway can’t go with her, he asked if that’s something—”
“No.”
“He knows you won’t,” Z finishes.
I glance at Teller and Murphy, who suddenly find the floor fascinating. “What’s with you two? Couple years ago you woulda been jumping at this.”
Z raises his hand. “I told Sway I’d do it.”
“Oh, come on!” Stash bitches. “Why does Z always get the hot chicks?”
“Because I’m better looking than you,” Z says without turning Stash’s way.
“Anything else?” I ask, looking around the table.
“You still going out to Stump’s to chat with DeLova?” Dex asks.
“Fuck me. Yeah. Not for a few more weeks, though.” Shit. I don’t want to be taking any long trips toward the end of Hope’s pregnancy.
Wrath seems to sense my hesitation. “I’ll go with you. It’ll be like old times.”
“You worried about DeLova?”
“Don’t like that I wasn’t there last time. Fucker needs to remember—”
“Trust me, no one forgets your scary ass,” Z quips.
“All right.” I take a breath and consider my next words. Fuck it, I don’t really care what they think. “After that run, I’m done for a bit. I don’t want to be on the road when Hope goes into labor and I sure as fuck don’t want to be away—”
“Gotcha, Prez,” Z says. “Don’t blame you.”
“I’m not dropping anything else, I’m just saying long runs are out for a bit.”
“Prez, I’m just messing around. I’ll go wherever you need me to,” Ravage offers in the most serious tone he’s used all day. Hell, maybe all year.
Teller glances at me. “You’ve always been fair about giving each of us a break when we need it. You deserve the same. I’m up for whatever you need.”
“Aw, is Charlotte gonna unbox your balls and let you have them back?” Ravage asks.
Wrath cracks up.
“Fuck off,” Teller says.
Wrath lifts his chin at Murphy. “You got a lot going on, plus I need you here to help with Furious.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Murphy glances at me. “Unless you really need me to.”
“No, you got plenty of shit here to keep you busy.”
The guys laugh and I end our meeting.
The war room erupts into lots of loud discussions, everyone bitching about Inga.
I cock my head at Wrath. “Why are you still here?”
Z answers before Wrath has a chance to open his mouth. “He’s afraid to tell Trinity he might have fathered Inga’s spawn.”
Wrath throws a scowl at him. “I’m not afraid of anything and there’s no way her kid is mine.”
When we walk out of the room, Hope and Trinity are waiting for us. Trinity’s wearing one hell of a pissed-off expression, but she rushes over to hug Wrath as soon as she sees him. “Hope told me what’s going on. I can’t believe she’s trying to hurt the club like this.”
I don’t miss the relief on Wrath’s face. I grip his shoulder briefly, then take a seat next to my wife. “How’d it go?” she asks.
“Well, there’re fewer possibilities than I expected,” I answer.
She chuckles and shakes her head. “Poor Inga.”
“Poor Inga, my ass,” Wrath says, dropping down next to Hope and pulling Trin into his lap. He glares at Ravage and Teller. “It better not be one of yours. Or yours,” he says, pointing at Dex. “I’m liable to kick your asses for bringing her back into our lives.”
Teller grinds his teeth and won’t meet any of our eyes.
“So, I take it you narrowed it down to you three?” Hope says, nodding at the guys.
“And Sparky,” Wrath adds helpfully.
“Go Sparky,” Hope mutters, then snickers.
“You’re finding my brothers’ struggles awful amusing, baby doll.”
“Oh, I know.” She presses her hand against her chest and pouts. “Banging porn stars. What a struggle.”
Ravage busts up laughing. “Fuck, you’re funny, Hope.” Then he glances at me. “She would’ve made a great porn star. She has that nice, classy girl-next-door thing going on.”
I think my wife senses I’m about to choke the fuck out of Ravage, because wraps her fingers around my wrist. “I doubt it. I barely knew what a blow job was before I met Rock.”
Wrath chokes on his laughter. “Jesus Christ, Cinderella. I’ve heard you say some funny fucked-up shit, but that has the be—”
“The worst,” Teller finishes.
“Uh, yeah.” Murphy points to himself and Teller. “We prefer to pretend Mom and Dad don’t do that stuff.”
I push some hair off her shoulder and kiss her cheek. “You do just fine, baby doll.”
She slants a look at me through her lashes. “Thank you, Mr. President.”
“Don’t start,” Wrath warns.
“Oh God. Aren’t pregnant women horny all the time?” Ravage asks. “Are you going to go at it right here?”
“Anyway, so that’s it? No one else?” She settles her questioning eyes on Murphy.
“Nope.” Murphy grins at her. “Guess I’m not as disgusting as you thought.” He seems like he’s joking, but I sense he honestly wants her approval.
“I’ve never thought you were disgusting, Murphy.” She tilts her head and her lips twitch. “Generous with your time and attention—”
“Generous with his dick,” Ravage adds.
“That’s ’cause mine’s so generous in size,” Murphy taunts, punching Ravage’s arm.
Hope rolls her eyes. “I’m going to try to set the four of you up first, so we can find out as soon as possible.” She settles her hand on my leg. “Actually, I want you to go first.”
Fuck, I hate that I’m putting her through this.
“You’re the one she’s gunning for,” she reminds me.
Sparky taps Murphy’s arm. “You really never fucked Inga?”
Murphy’s clearly not amused by the question. “Not that I know of, dick.”
“This is some fucked-up shit,” Dex says, staring at the ceiling.
“This is karma.” Sparky flails his arms in the air. “We don’t treat bitches right, and now we’re all gonna pay.”
“Speak for yourself, you little stoner-fuck,” Dex snarls. “I was always nice to her. Treated her well.”
“Guys, seriously, relax,” Hope says. “It’s going to be fine. If it turns out the child belongs to one of you, we’ll handle it.”
“That’s it,” I say, standing up and offering Hope my hand. “I’ve had enough for today. I need my wife.”
“Sounds like Hope’s going home to practice her oral skills,” Trinity teases.
Hope leans over and playfully shoves Trin, knocking her out of Wrath’s lap.
Outside, Teller and Murphy catch up to us.
“What?” I ask.
Murphy elbows Teller. “Go on. Tell Dad your problem.” He snickers while Teller throws a punch at him.
“Knock it off with the dad shit.”
Teller stops me with a hand on my arm. “Can we not tell my sister—”
“What? That you’re degenerate prick?” Murphy asks, laughing so hard, we barely understand him.
“Fuck you, assclown.”
Hope’s not stupid. She knows Teller’s really asking her not to say anything to Heidi.
“Of course not, Teller.” She takes a step closer and wraps him up in a motherly—although I’d never say that to her—hug. “It’s going to be fine. One way or another. Try not to stress too much, please?”
Her words seem to lift some of the weight off him. “I will. I just hate the idea of having a kid out there I don’t know about.” His gaze strays my way. “All of us do, I guess.”