Chapter Thirteen
Hack
The sound of crying coming from the next room has Pru pulling her lips from mine. Her hands that have snaked their way around my middle slowly release their hold. Only as the crying rises an octave does she step away from me.
Pru’s face is flushed when she says, “I need to go check on Scarlett.”
She’s right, but letting her walk out of the room is the last thing I want. In fact, right now, I want to strip her bare and bury myself deep inside her. I’d take her hard the first time and maybe the next. At some point, I’d give it to her slow and easy just the way she likes it.
“Do what you’ve gotta do,” I growl, adjusting my hard cock. “But, we’re gonna finish this later.”
Her face grows even brighter as she whispers, “Hack, I just had a baby a month ago. Sorry, but I’m not quite sure I’m up to finishing anything.”
How the fuck could I have forgotten about her giving birth four weeks ago? I may not know a hell of a lot about female shit, but I know having a baby isn’t easy on a body. She is gonna need more time to heal before I can do what I want to do to her. My cock is just gonna have to calm the fuck down.
“That’s okay.” I close my eyes and pull in a deep breath. “Long as I go to sleep with you in my arms, I’ll be a happy man.”
A shy smile spreads across her lips as she rushes out of the room. I wait a few more minutes, giving my dick time to go down, then follow her out the door. I stop by the nursery and place a quick kiss on the top of Scarlett’s head then head down to my office.
I’ve already given Boz the information he asked for. Well, at least, he’s got the information about club-owned property. I also found everything owned by the officers, but it’s gonna take some time to get information about all the members. I have to figure out the names of all their members before I even start looking for their property.
Tapping away at the keyboard, I watch the screen fill up with information. It only takes me a minute to find the Saints mentioned on social media. From there, I start back-tracking, making a list of everyone connected to the club. More than twenty names have been added to my list within ten minutes.
I can’t believe what these fuckers are posting online. There are pictures taken at their clubhouse, and it’s easy to see most were taken during parties. The ignorant ass fuckers didn’t even bother to put the drugs away before posing for the camera. There is even a video of one asshole running his hands over a chick who is out cold. It ends just as he starts to undo her jeans. How that shit didn’t get reported is beyond me.
It’s like these assholes want to bring the law down on their club. The Grim Bastards have a rule about never posting shit online. Seeing all this shit, I decide to shoot off a text to Boz, telling him to remind the members to stay the fuck off social media. My hand quits its descent toward my phone when I notice a picture posted on one of the Saints’ Facebook page that has me taking a second look.
A mumbled fuck slips from my lips as I look at the picture of Pru’s mother sitting in the lap of a Saints MC member. The guy has his hands between her legs, giving the person taking the picture a view of her panties. Another member is sitting beside them, with one of his hands covering one of her tits. All three of them are smiling huge at the camera. Judging by the lack of lines on the bitch’s face, the picture has to be close to twenty years old. It’s labeled in capital letters ‘BACK IN THE DAY’.
I start clicking through and find four more pictures of the woman that has treated Pru like shit her entire life. Three are just more of the same, but one was taken within the last year. She looks so fucking drunk that she isn’t even aware a camera is being pointed at her.
I quickly click over to a different profile, finding another Saints member. I am scanning through his pictures, not finding anymore of Pru’s mom, when someone knocks on the door. I close down my screens, not wanting anyone to see this shit until I can figure out what in the fuck is going on.
Trix pops her head in and asks, “You got a minute to talk?”
“I can spare a few minutes,” I reply, scooting back from my seat and stretching my legs out in front of me. Even though my brain is running in a million different directions, I do my best to appear calm.
Trix walks in, closing the door behind her. She grabs the folded-up chair I keep in the corner and takes a seat. She fidgets for a minute as if she can’t get comfortable. Then, her foot starts tapping on the floor. For some reason, she’s nervous as hell. She’s usually strong-willed and says what she’s thinking, so something is definitely up.
“What’s got you on edge, Trix?” I ask, leaning back in my chair and lacing my fingers behind my head.
She looks up at me, sucking on her bottom lip. “First, let me say, I think Pru is a nice person, and Scarlett is absolutely adorable.”
“She’s the prettiest baby I’ve ever seen.” A smile tips up the corner of my lips as I think about my two girls. “And I’m glad you’re getting along with Pru. She doesn’t have many friends, and I can’t think of a better one to have than you.”
“Uh huh.” Again, she starts sucking on her bottom lip. “I really like her.”
Trix goes quiet, so I nod, letting her know to continue. “You met her while you were away, stayed with her until the day you came home, right?”
“Yeah.” I have no idea where this is going, but I’m sure I’m not gonna like it. “What are you getting at?”
“Pru said you were together for about three months,” she says, giving me a pointed look before adding, “You’ve been home for about six months.”
I’m starting to lose my patience. “Again, what the fuck are you getting at?”
“The two of you were together for about three months, you’ve been home for six months, and Pru told us Scarlett turned a month old today.” She pulls in a deep breath then finishes in a whisper. “Even if she got pregnant when the two of you first got together, there’s a month missing there somewhere. Are you sure Scarlett is your daughter?”
My stomach flips over as her words ricochet through my mind. “She wouldn’t lie to me, especially not about something like this.”
With that, she gets up and walks to me. Her hand rests on my shoulder as she says, “I’m not saying Pru’s lying to you about the baby. Scarlett is really small; she could’ve come early. For your sake, you need to find out.”
“Scarlett is my daughter. I have no doubt about that.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, my mind starts doing its own calculations, something that I should’ve done a long fucking time ago.
“Then, that’s that,” she says with a genuine smile, giving my shoulder a tight squeeze. “It won’t be mentioned again.”
When Trix says something is done, it’s DONE. Still, that doesn’t mean I won’t be hearing this shit from someone else. If she’s already started counting the months, then so are the other old ladies. My brothers won’t be far behind them. Unlike Trix, they won’t be nervous when they come to me about their suspicions.
“If someone else mentions it…” I start, but Trix finishes for me.
“I’ll put a stop to it before it even leaves their mouths. Scarlett is yours, end of story.”
She rushes out before I can say anything else, shutting the door behind her. My mind instantly goes back to the first time I laid eyes on Pru. She was working at some greasy spoon. Her light brown hair was pulled back in a messy pony tail, her makeup was smeared from sweat, and she was wearing an ugly ass yellow uniform. Still, I wanted her from the second she smiled at me. Then, I think of the first time we had sex. Calculating quickly, I realize that there isn’t a month missing. There’s damn near six weeks.
I’ve always trusted Pru. It just came naturally. I held stuff back from her, but it was never an issue of trust. It was more about me wanting to be someone else when I was with her. The thought that Pru could have lied to me feels like a kick to the nuts.