Rage

WE’VE BEEN BACK IN CLIFTON Falls for a few days. So far Kasey has kept our secret. It’s getting hard to hide Keegan getting so sick on a regular basis. People are starting to notice. Well, the girls are starting to notice that she runs off on a regular basis. I think we need to have a talk and start letting people know what’s going on.

“Rage, we need to talk,” Whitney says, storming up to me.

“Okay. What’s up?”

“I want to know what’s going on with my cousin, and I want to know right fucking now!”

“What are you talkin’ about?” I ask, deciding to play dumb.

“She’s always running off to the bathroom. Then she’s taking naps after the fact. If I didn’t know any better, I would say she’s pregnant,” Whitney tells me, concern lacing her voice.

“Well, Whitney,” Keegan says coming up behind her. “I am pregnant. We didn’t want anyone to know just yet, so that’s why we didn’t tell you.”

“Oh my! Are you serious?”

“I am. I just found out. Now, are you gonna keep this to yourself or am I gonna beat your ass?” my girl asks.

“I’ll keep my mouth shut. I swear Keegan. Now, why is everyone calling you firefly?”

“Ask Wood,” I growl out, still not liking the fact that Wood gave my girl a nickname.

Whitney looks between Keegan and me for a few minutes. Then, she shrugs her shoulders and starts to go in search of Irish. I take my girl by the hand and lead her to my room. I can tell from the look on her face that she thinks we’re going to be talking. That’s not what’s going to go down right now. And she sees my intent as soon as I kick the door shut and throw the lock.

“Need you now,” I tell her, leading her into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

“I’m here when you need me Rage,” she answers.

“I want to hear my name come off your lips,” I tell her, needing to hear my real name in her melodic voice. “It’s Aiden.”

“Aiden,” she says shyly.

I groan in approval. My name has never sounded as sweet as it does coming from Keegan’s mouth. My mother is the only other one to call me that and I want to hear it from Keegan when we’re together. I have this need to hear it coming from her now. Keegan smiles up at me after groaning and starts removing her clothes. So, I check the temperature of the water before I undress.

“Aiden, I’m getting in now. You can join me when you get out of your head,” she tells me, bringing me back to the present.

I hurry up removing the rest of my clothes and about bash my head on the sink. So, I take a minute to take in all that is Keegan standing under the water. Her long chestnut hair is plastered to her back as she smooths it away from her face. The water is cascading down her body and I want to lick and catch every drop. Finally, I can’t stand it anymore, so I hop in the shower behind her and wrap my arms around her, pulling her body up against mine.

“Keegan, I need you to bend over and grab your ankles,” I tell her, running my hands up and down her body.

There’s no hesitation on her part. My girl bends over and grabs her ankles. I take her hair in my hand and move it off to the side so it’s not falling in her face. Then, I run my fingers through her folds to see if she’s wet enough for me to enter her. I can’t wait to get inside her, and thankfully she’s wet enough.

Sliding into her, I grab onto her hips so that she doesn’t feel like she’s going to fall forward. I never want her to feel anything but safe with me. Even when I’m pushing her limit’s, I want her to know I’ll never hurt her intentionally.

“Harder, Aiden,” she moans out.

Not wanting to disappoint my girl, I give it to her harder. Keegan is always going to push me to my limit’s, and I’m going to do the same to her. My grip on her hips gets tighter, and I push in and out faster and harder. Her moans get louder, and I don’t care if anyone else hears her. I’m the only one that gets to see her, that gets to know what she likes and doesn’t like. Things I’m still enjoying figuring out.

“Aiden, please, I need to cum,” she moans out.

“Get it firefly,” I tell her.

Keegan releases one of her ankles and moves her hand up to her clit. She plays with herself and pushes back against me even harder. I wish I could see what she’s doing right now, see the look on her face. But, I don’t want to change positions and make her lose being so close to her release. Hell, I’m close to finding my own.

Before I can manage more than a few more thrusts in and out, I feel Keegan’s muscles clench around me. It feels better and better. Now, I know that I’m not going to last much longer. So, I take her hand away from her clit and move it back down towards her ankle to hang on. As soon as I know that she’s back to holding on, I pound into her harder and faster than ever before. Honestly, I’m worried that I’m hurting her, but if the moans and gasps coming from her are anything to go by, I’d say my girl is enjoying it.

“Keegan!” I yell out as my release crashes through me.

After a few more gentle thrusts, I slump over her. I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms. But, we’re in the shower and I know we need to clean up before heading to bed. It might not be bedtime just yet, but Keegan has been going to bed a little bit earlier than normal. She gets really tired most days and I’m more than happy to lay with her until she falls asleep. Especially knowing that she has a hard time falling asleep if I’m not in bed next to her. Then I’ll get up and spend some time with Kasey before putting her back to bed. Our days are settling into a nice routine and I wouldn’t change it for the world. Well, there’s one thing I’d change. Us living in a house and not in my rooms at the clubhouse for the most part.

Keegan refuses to stay at Skylar’s with us. She thinks that by doing that, we’ll be bringing her dad and that asshat to their front door. Her main concern is the kids, but in reality, it’s all of them. So, we stay at the clubhouse for now. I’ve already started making plans for our own home. It will be built close to Whitney’s so that she’s always near her cousin.

“Alright firefly, you get in bed and I’ll be right there,” I tell her after I dry her off.

I don’t know if it’s normal for her to be so tired all the time. I’ve seen the women go through their pregnancies and the only ones I saw that tired were Skylar and Maddie. The others were tired, but not like my girl. It’s to the point that I’m getting really concerned and I’m going to have to call Doctor Sanchez to find out.

“Okay. You know, you don’t have to get in bed with me,” she tells me, already heading for the bed.

“Yeah, I do. I know you don’t sleep good if I’m not in bed with you. Kasey knows what’s goin’ on and she likes that I make sure you’re asleep before I go to her. The only thing she said that would make it better were if we were to tuck her into bed together.”

“Well, then I’ll stay up so we can do that,” she says, going over to get dressed.

“No. Get in bed and I’ll be right there. You’ll get there, baby.”

Keegan finally gets in bed and I’m thankful to see her almost asleep as soon as her head hit’s the pillow. Before I call the doctor, I think I’ll talk to Skylar and Maddie. Kasey is with them right now. Then, I’ll take care of Kasey and play with her before finding something for Keegan to eat when she wakes up. Whitney told me to get her crackers and to try dry toast. She said it helped her so it’s worth a shot for my girl.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Kasey calls out, rounding the corner from the main room. “You gotta come with me.”

Kasey is so excited about something and I can’t help but wonder what it is. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her this worked up over anything. So, I’m practically jogging as I follow my daughter to the main room. Once we get there, I see everyone moving around in quick order.

“Come on daddy! You’re too slow!” Kasey calls out again.

She leads me to the door and what I see steals my breath away. I knew it was getting cold outside, but it’s now snowing. I’m not talking about a few flurries floating down, it’s almost a whiteout right now. So, I run out to help put the bikes in the garage. We added on to it so that we could store our bikes in the cold weather.

“It’s been so long since it’s snowed here,” Skylar says, walking outside. “We typically get some but not this early.”

“Are they sayin’ anythin’ on the news or radio?” Grim asks no one in particular.

“Not much. I guess it’s a surprise for everyone,” Glock answers. “I’ll keep it on so we know what we’re in for.”

“Guess it’s a good thing we just went shopping,” Bailey says, joining us outside.

As soon as the bikes are all put up, we head back in to see everyone watching the snow fall. I have to admit that it’s amazing to watch it cover everything in a blanket of pure white. It’s almost as if it’s cleansing everything so that we can all start over. Especially when the ground is already covered and it’s sticking to everything else. We might have to go out tomorrow to get whatever we need to clear it out of the parking lot and make sure everyone can get to their houses.

“Tomorrow, Rage, Tank, and Joker I want you to go out and buy every shovel you can find. We’re gonna need all hands-on deck to get this cleaned up. Glock, I want you to price some four wheelers or something like that so we can be better prepared next time this happens. We’re gonna need to make sure there’s enough winter wear for everyone here. Including the Phantom Bastards,” Grim tells everyone. “You got anythin’ else Slim?”

“Nope. I think if people are leaving the clubhouse then we need to make sure that they watch everythin’ surroundin’ them. We don’t know when this asshole is goin’ to make a move, and he might choose now to do so. He’ll think we’re panicked and try somethin’.”

“Good point. Firefly is to stay in someone’s eye sight at all times,” Grim says, looking directly at me.

“Um,” Keegan says, coming out of the hallway. “I need to go to the pharmacy tomorrow. They didn’t have enough to fill my script, so I need to pick the rest up. The one in Benton Falls called here once I explained the situation I find myself in.”

“I don’t like it,” I tell her. “I’ll pick it up for you.”

“You can’t. They need my insurance card and for me to sign. After tomorrow you can go for me, but I’m new here, so I have to go.”

I run my hands over my face because her going out in this shit is the last thing I want. Who knows what idiot drivers are going to be like with snow covered roads. They’re bad enough when it’s dry out. But, I’ll give her this and make sure that I’m driving her. No one else is going to have my girl and my baby’s life in their hands but me. That I won’t allow to happen.

“Alright firefly. We’ll go right after you eat breakfast.”

She nods her head and I watch the girls surround her to find out what’s going on. Whitney knows, and I see her hanging back. This is going to be a hard secret for her to keep, I can already tell. I can just imagine what Keegan is telling them to get them to back off for right now. I’ll have to ask her when we’re alone so that I know what she said if I’m asked.

“Firefly,” I call out. “Come here babe.”

Keegan walks over to me and I can tell the moment she starts to feel like she’s going to be sick. So, I watch her sit down for a minute and let her body relax as much as possible. Whitney is heading her way and I’m trying to remain calm so no one else asks questions. I see Whitney block them so that she can discreetly hand her a few crackers to munch on. I nod over to Summer and she grabs a bottle of water to bring my girl.

Once I reach her, I kneel down so that I can get her what she needs. She just looks at me while she slowly eats her food and sips her water. Between Whitney and I, we’re shielding her as much as we can. Looking over my shoulder, I can see the rest of the girls are waiting to get over here. Thankfully, their men are keeping them busy so that Keegan can do what she needs to do.

“You feelin’ any better baby?” I ask her.

“Starting to. Thank you both,” she says, relaxing even further back into the chair.

“Now, why did you get up to begin with firefly?” I ask, wanting to know what woke her up.

“Nothing really. I had to go to the bathroom and then I heard all the excitement out here. So, I decided to come see what was going on.”

“Okay. Well, you want to help me put sweet pea to bed and then we’ll go back to bed?”

“Yeah. I think that’s the best idea,”

“Why don’t you go get Kasey and I’ll meet you in her room?” I ask, wanting to talk to Whitney for a second.

Keegan grabs my daughter and I watch them disappear down the hallway. Once I think that it’s safe to talk, I sit down. This is going to be hard to ask because I don’t know how to word it.

“Should she be like this?” I ask. “She’s so tired all the time. It’s like the littlest thing wears her out.”

“I was tired in the beginning and the end. But, not like she is.”

“Should I be more worried than I am right now?”

“Well, I think you need to talk to her doctor. She might have to do some tests or something.”

“Fuck!” I call out, gaining unwanted attention.

“Don’t get worked up. We’ll take it a day at a time and see if she improves at all. Otherwise, you’ll have to mention it to the doctor when she goes back. Rage, we’ll all keep an eye on her, but I think you need to let people know so that they can help you. You’re not going to be any good if you’re worn down from worry and everything else.”

“I’ll talk to her. Now, I’m goin’ to tuck my girl into bed with her and then get her back in bed.”

Leaving Whitney, I take in what she’s told me. I’ll be keeping an eye on her and I think that we need to let the others know now too. At least those closest to us. Then, we can let everyone else know what’s going on at another point in time. Hopefully she’ll agree to that.

I walk into the room connected to mine and see Keegan kneeling down on the floor next to Kasey. My daughter is already in bed, covered up to her chin, with Keegan reading her a good night story to her. It’s one of her princess stories that I’ve read countless times. Kasey has her favorites and I know that my girl has read this story to her while she’s been at her house during the day.

Since I want to silently watch the interaction between my girl and daughter, I lean against the door frame, cross my arms over my chest, and cross my ankles. Keegan is reading the story and not paying attention to anything around her. I know I’ve made a noise or two while I was settling in, she hasn’t looked up or paused in her story-telling. My sweet pea has her full attention and I love that more than anything. As I’m watching, I see Kasey’s eyes starting to droop, so I know I don’t have that much time before she’s out for the night. Making my way in her room, I lean over Kasey and gently kiss her cheek as I check the blankets surrounding her.

As I’m making sure my daughter knows I was in here, Keegan doesn’t miss a beat. She continues reading to Kasey. So, I sit behind her and pull her into my lap. My girl continues to read and is totally submersed into the story. She doesn’t seem to realize anything that’s going on around her. While she’s safe in the clubhouse, I don’t want to hear about her being like this when she’s outside the walls.

“Firefly, I think she’s asleep. Want to go to bed?” I ask her, lifting the book from her hands and setting on the stand by Kasey’s bed.

“Yeah. Let’s go babe.”

Walking into our room, I watch my girl undress again before climbing into bed. She scoots over to the inside and waits for me to follow her. Keegan is looking up at me with wide eyes as I start undressing. I’ve finally gotten her to the point that she’ll sleep naked next to me. Even though we had sex earlier, I’m ready to go again. I just don’t want to push her and make her even sicker or anything like that.

“You keep watchin’ me like that and you’re gonna be in trouble,” I tell her, stalking towards the bed.

“Maybe I want your kind of trouble,” she answers, pulling the blankets back so I can climb in.

“Not tonight. Tonight, I’m goin’ to hold you in my arms and we’re goin’ to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us.”

“I can’t wait. I want to have a snowball fight,” she tells me, snuggling down in next to me.

“You sure about that firefly?” I ask, not liking the idea of her being involved in that.

“I am. A little snow isn’t going to hurt me babe. If I get cold or anything else, I’ll come back inside. I promise.”

Keegan finally finishes burrowing into my side. Her arm wraps around me and she winds a leg between mine. This is how we normally sleep now. I love that she’s comfortable enough to wrap her around me. However, I also know that as this pregnancy progresses, this won’t be the way we’re sleeping. So, I’m going to love it while I get it and wait patiently until I can have it back.

Keegan

This morning, waking up was the same as it has been. Getting up and rushing into the bathroom to get sick. Rage is instantly at my side and doing what he can to help me. Then, he hands me some ginger ale and crackers or dry toast. As soon as I know that I’m not going to get sick right away again, I take my medicine and wait for it to kick in.

“You get ready to go and I’ll get Kasey her breakfast so she can hang here,” Rage tells me.

“Okay babe.”

I head back into the bathroom to complete my morning routine. Once I’m done, I head out in search of Rage and whoever else is going to be going with us today. I know that we’re going to have an escort and make multiple stops. So, I make sure that I’ve packed up my crackers and a bottle of ginger ale.

Rage and Kasey are in the kitchen. She’s eating eggs, toast, and bacon. The sight of the eggs makes me want to run to the bathroom, but I’m trying my hardest not to. Instead, I turn away from them and talk to Sami.

“How are you doing Sami?” I ask, sitting next to her.

“I’m okay. Trying to understand everything going on. But, I’m getting it. I think.”

“What are you trying to understand?” I ask her, confused.

“How Goose acts here. He’s a little different. I mean, he treats me the same way as he always does. But, the club girls are all over him.”

“Oh honey,” I begin. “I’m sorry you have to see that. But, it’s a part of the life. Is he letting them make advances on him?”

“No. He makes sure that they know we’re together. They give me evil looks and still try to tempt him to go be with them.”

“Sami, he’s not letting what they’re doing get to him. So, watch and see what happens. As long as he stays true to you, you have nothing to worry about. And from what I’ve seen from the way he treats you, the way he watches you, and the way he looks at you, you have nothing to worry about. He is so in love with you,” I tell her, making sure that she’s truly hearing what I’m saying to her.

“I know he is. I just can’t give him what they can. We’re still going to wait until I turn eighteen to take our relationship to that level.”

“If he wanted them, he wouldn’t be with you. He’d be single, so he could be with them. Now, don’t you think this is exactly what he was thinking when he told you to date boys your own age?”

“I know. And I love that he wanted to do that for me. But, I know that this is different.”

“Not really. It’s the same thing.”

I leave Sami to sit and think about what we’ve talked about. She needs to make up her mind now whether or not she can handle Goose being around the club girls. I’ve seen him push them off of him whenever they try to push up on him. He’s all about Sami and being with her. Sami needs to make her mind up one way or another before one of them gets hurt and it’s not repairable.

Seeing that Kasey is done eating, I make my way over there. Rage pulls me in for a kiss and I can taste the coffee on his breath. It turns my stomach, but I can keep it under control. We’ll have to talk about that later. He’s telling Kasey that she needs to go in and get dressed for the day so she can spend it with Skylar and the rest of the kids. That gets her running down to her room, so she can get to the kids quicker.

“Are you ready to go firefly?” he asks me.

“Yeah. Just waiting on you sexy.”

“Let me see who all is goin’ and then we’ll be off. I’ll be right back,” he tells me. “Do you have somethin’ warm to wear?”

“Nope. The only time I needed a winter coat was when I lived with Riley. She has it now.”

Rage stares at me for a minute and then shakes his head. Before heading towards Grim, he takes off down the hallway. I’m not sure what he’s doing right now, so I take a seat on one of the couches. It’s not long before Goose is joining me.

“I saw you talkin’ to Sami earlier,” he says.

“Yep.”

“Everythin’ good with her?”

“You need to talk to her. There’s things you need to get out in the open. One of them being the club girls. Instead of sitting here with me, go find your girl and make sure she knows her place in your life.”

Goose smiles at me before taking off in search of his girl. They are so cute together. Once they get their communication skills better, they’ll make it just fine. The two of them have a love that’s pure. She’s still innocent in many ways and he wants to protect that with everything he is. At the same time, she wants to protect him and do what she has to do to make sure he’s happy.

Finally, I see Rage walking back towards the common room. He’s got something over his arm and I can’t wait to see what it is. I’ll have to wait though because he makes his way over to Grim first. There’s a small group of men standing there and I’m sure that they’re the ones that are going to be going with us on our outing.

“Firefly, come here,” Rage says.

Making my way over there, he holds out a hoodie and another coat to me. I guess he’s making sure that I’m going to be warm. I’m surprised he’s not wrapping me in blankets and everything else to make sure I’m toasty warm and don’t get cold at all. If I voice that thought aloud, I’m sure that will be his next step. So, we’ll keep that to myself.

We all walk out to the SUV’s and pile in. Rage is driving one and I notice that Wood and Boy Scout are with us. This is probably Rage’s idea because they’ve been with me the last few weeks and he’s seen the way they protect me. I’m thankful that it’s them so if I do happen to get sick, I’m not going to have to explain it to anyone else riding with us. It’s bad enough that Whitney knows. Which, I’m guessing means that Irish also knows.

“Where else are we going besides the pharmacy?” I ask.

“We have to go get shovels and winter clothes for everyone. There’s not enough to go around, so Grim wants us to pick enough up for both clubs. Especially the kids. We all know it’s just a matter of time before they want to head outside and play.”

“Sounds good. Anything else we need?”

“Not right now. But, who knows if someone will call and give us a list of other things to get.”

We’ve been out for hours now. Rage is getting frustrated because he doesn’t want me out here still. But, Grim called with a list of groceries that we had to pick up. That was after scouring every stored in Clifton Falls for shovels, gloves, hats, coats, scarves, and a long list of other items. Two of the SUV’s are already filled. Ours will be getting piled to the brim with groceries that we need.

As we’re walking through the grocery store, I can’t help but feeling like someone is watching us. I’m not sure that they’re following us throughout the store, but I’m getting a little panicked. Rage can feel it, but he’s not saying anything. He’s following my cues and letting me tell him what’s going on with me. I know this is only going to last so long before he starts demanding answers.

“Rage, I feel like we’re being watched,” I tell him finally.

“I figured that’s what it was. I’ve been getting the feeling off and on too.”

“Can we hurry up and head back to the clubhouse please?” I ask, wanting nothing more than to hurry up and get the hell out of here.

Rage is already typing away on his phone. I’m guessing that he’s messaging the others to let them know that we’re going to be getting out of here as quick as possible. He speeds up as we walk up and down the aisles, grabbing what we need for the clubhouse. We only make it down two aisles before Wood and Boy Scout are meeting us. Our carts are overflowing, and I know that we’re going to need at least another cart once the groceries are put in bags. So, I go to make my way over to grab one until my man stops me. instead he sends Boy Scout over to get one.

As soon as we’re done paying for everything, we make our way out to the SUV with four full carts. Wood realized that no one grabbed drinks and he ran back to get a cart filled with soda and drinks for the kids. He even managed to grab a few gallons of milk without any of us reminding him that we needed it. I’m not sure where all this food is going, but we’ll make it fit somewhere in the amazing kitchen at the clubhouse.

“Firefly, get in the truck while we unload these carts please,” Rage tells me.

I know he’s worried as hell since we’re both getting the feeling of being watched. He doesn’t want anything to happen to me, so he’s going to make sure that I’m sheltered and protected at all costs. Just as I go to get in the SUV, a car comes careening out of nowhere and just misses hitting the carts, the guys, and the SUV. I’m shocked and jarred from my position at the front door. It’s slippery out and I almost fall to the ground. Thankfully, Rage was close by and caught me before anything happened.

“What the fuck?” he yells out. “Where the fuck did that car come from?”

“I don’t know man,” Wood says, coming closer to us.

Before Rage can say another word, the rest of the guys that were with us are surrounding us. They didn’t go in the store with us so that someone was out watching the SUV we’re in. Rage told me that it was necessary in case Sam or my dad tried to do anything to it while no one was around. If they tried, they wouldn’t know that anyone else was really watching it since the rest of the guys parked away from where we did.

“Did any of you see anythin’?” Wood asks as Rage is continuing to check me over.

“No. Before we saw anythin’, the car was almost to you guys. The only thing that Killer said was that it looked like the person was lookin’ for a parkin’ space. I didn’t see the car before you guys came out,” Playboy tells the men.

“Where’s Killer now?” Rage asks Playboy.

“He went to try to catch up with whoever just tried to hit you guys. We’re gonna have packed SUV’s. Killer isn’t comin’ back here. He’s goin’ to look for them and then head back to the clubhouse. Now, let’s get this shit loaded up so that we can get on the road.”

I climb in the passenger side door as the guys unload the carts. It doesn’t take long with everyone working together so that we can get out of here and back to the safety of the clubhouse. I can feel the tension and anger radiating off the men riding with us. It’s causing me to become even more panicked. This isn’t going to be good for anyone involved. And, it’s making me want to either run out and hide or use myself as bait to lure these assholes out in the open. The sooner this is done, the sooner everyone involved can get back to their normal lives.

However, I know that Rage and Whitney won’t allow me to go out as bait. They’ll want me to stay put and protect the baby and myself. I want to protect the baby with everything in me. The only way to do that is to end this shit with my dad and Sam. We’ll never be safe until they’re gone.

Walking back into the clubhouse, I see that there’s more commotion going on. More than when it started to snow out. I can’t help but wonder what’s going on, until I see Grim come out of his office and look directly at me.

“Rage and firefly, need you to come here,” he calls out. “Now!”

We look at one another and head towards his office. I can’t think of any reason that he’d want to talk to us in his office. If it’s regarding the situation at the store, I don’t know why I’d be involved in this conversation. I’d assume it would be between the men of the club’s. That way they could figure out if it was some random incident or something involving the asswipes after me.

“We got a situation and I don’t know what to do about it,” Grim tells us as he opens the door.

As soon as I walk through the door, my eyes almost pop out of my head. Sitting in front of Grim’s desk is Riley. I never thought I’d see her again and now that she’s here, I need to know what’s going on with her. If she’s in trouble, we need to know. Or, did my dad and Sam find her and get their hooks in her? Is she here on behalf of them? I can’t help but be suspicious of her motives and I’ve never done that before.

“Riley!” I call, and she turns her head towards me. “What are you doing here?”

“Keegan! You’re really here? They didn’t find you?” she asks, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“No, they don’t have me. What’s going on? Why are you here?” I ask, letting the concern and suspicion come out full force.

“I had to find you. I got a letter in the mail from your dad. He said that they found you and were in the process of taking you from the men who kidnapped you. This man here, has been trying to tell me you’re not kidnapped. That you’re here of your own free will.”

“I’m not kidnapped,” I tell her, not understanding what’s going on still.

“Who the fuck sent you here?” Rage bellows out. He’s not holding his anger back.

“N-n-no one sent me here. I came to check on my best friend. This man has kept me in his office until you guys got back. Can I spend time with her please?”

“Not until I know that you’re not lyin’ to us. I’m protectin’ my girl at all costs. Even from you!” he tells her, and I burrow into him further for his loving ways.

“Why would I lie? I have nothing to gain by causing her harm. Keegan, you know I love you and I don’t want them to find you. Please, tell them that,” Riley pleads with me.

“I really want to believe you Riley. I’m so hurt right now at my doubt. But, after today and the letters that I’ve been getting, I can’t trust anyone. I need to know that they haven’t gotten to you,” I tell her, not being able to hold back my emotions any longer.

“I know you’re trying to protect yourself. You’ll see that I’m telling you the truth,” Riley tells me standing up.

Before anyone can react, she’s whipping her shirt off and standing before us with nothing more than bandages covering her. I want to tell her to stop, not to show us what’s under those bandages, but I know it’s useless. Riley makes sure to keep herself covered as much as she can, but, pulling the bandages off, I begin to see three words carved into her once flawless skin. The first word is ‘Whore’, the second one is ‘Liar’, and the third word is ‘Traitor.’

“I don’t understand why you have the word traitor carved into you,” I begin, too confused to comprehend what it means.

“Sam got to me before I met you. He knew you’d be coming through my town. I was supposed to meet you, get to know you, and then make sure you stayed where you were. Sam was going to come get you from me,” Riley begins. “As soon as I met you though, I couldn’t go through with it. There was no way I was going to hand you over to that animal.”

I stand there, and shock takes over. There’s no way that Riley was working for Sam. What the fuck? Everything I’ve ever thought about my friendship with her is now being brought into question. Was anything she ever said to me true? Could she really be working for them still? Is there any way that she’s going to be truthful now? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. On one hand, I want to trust in Riley and protect her. On the other hand, I don’t know if I can ever trust her again.

“Firefly, are you okay?” Rage asks me. “I don’t know what to do here.”

“I don’t know. Riley, I wish I could trust you still. Right now, I need to think about everything and I’ll let you know as soon as I figure it out.”

“I get it,” she tells me. “Please know that I got these marks I’ll have for the rest of my life because I refused to give you up to those animals. When I first agreed, I wasn’t in a good place. You know what I’ve been through. As soon as I took one look at you, I knew that Sam was lying to me. That’s why I couldn’t turn you over to them. You became my best friend and the sister I never had. Trust in that Keegan.”

There’s no way that I can stay in here any longer. Taking one more look at Riley, I see the tears falling down her cheeks and the agony running through her. I look up to my man and let him know without words that I want her kept here, but that I need some time and space. Heading out to the common room, I look at all the controlled chaos going on to get everything put away and keep everyone organized while the men start cleaning up the snow. It’s still falling, but at a much slower rate.

“Are you okay?” Whitney asks me, appearing out of nowhere.

“I don’t know right now. Everything I thought I knew about Riley was a lie. Right now, I want to believe her, but I can’t.”

“I know you’re upset, but was everything really a lie when she got carved up like me? And, she is here now, telling you all the truth,” Whitney begins. “I’m sure the guys will get the rest of the story from her. But, she’s here now wanting to make sure that you’re okay and weren’t kidnapped like she was led to believe.”

I nod to my cousin to make sure she knows that I’m listening to what she’s saying. Right now, I just need some alone time. It’s going to take time to process not only what Riley dropped on me, but what Whitney told me too. As usual, my cousin makes sense. I’m just so heartbroken that my friendship for the first time in my life started out as a lie. A way for Riley to get out of trouble and to possibly hand me over to the men that I was running from in the first place.

While Rage is still in the office, I make my way to the room we’re staying in. I need to put my medicine up so that I can go help everyone get things done. There’s groceries to be put away, snow gear to organize, and Kasey wanted to play outside. She was adamant that we were going to have a snowball fight. So, I wasn’t going to disappoint her. If that’s what she wanted to do, then that’s what we were going to do. It would probably help take my mind off everything with Riley too.

We’ve been working for what seems like hours. Everything is finally put away and the men have been out working on clearing away the snow. Skylar has been in the kitchen non-stop making hot cocoa and coffee for the men as they come in to warm up. I’ve been in and out helping her. Everyone has a job to do and we all do it without complaint or too much chaos.

During the entire time, my mind keeps drifting back to Riley. I want to go see her, but I know that now isn’t the time to do that. I’m still too confused and I want to talk to Rage before I go in there with her. The only thing I’ve heard is that they’ve put her in a room by herself and one of the prospects is standing guard. Tank’s the one that told me that. I think he wanted to make sure that I had some sort of peace of mind as I went about my day.

“Keegan!” Kasey hollers, running up to me. “Keegan!”

“What’s up sweet pea?” I ask, using Rage’s nickname for her.

Kasey giggles at my use of it. I love hearing her little girl giggle and I try my hardest to hear it every day I’m with her. It reminds me of when Whitney and I were younger and carefree. We used to laugh and play with no regard for the things we would soon have to deal with because of our dad’s.

“It’s almost time for our snowball fight. Daddy said that I need to get warmer clothes on and then we’ll be heading out. Are you coming with us?” Kasey asks, excitement making her words almost run into one another. I’m surprised she got it all out in one breath.

“Is that right? Are you sure you want me to go out with you? I mean, I might throw like a girl,” I tell her, trying to make her giggle again.

“It’s okay if you throw like a girl. We’ll just get really close to daddy, so we hit him,” she whispers loudly to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rage standing there. He’s trying his hardest not to laugh at his daughter. I can tell that he doesn’t want her to know that he overheard her plan to get close to him and attack. Currently, he’s leaning against the wall, his ankles crossed, holding clothes for Kasey to bundle up in. The man always looks sexy as fuck, but when he’s with is daughter or doing something for her, he’s at his sexiest. Kasey becomes his entire center and nothing, and no one, else matters to him.

“Well, then I think we should go get ready to go outside then. What about you?”

“Yay!” Kasey hollers and spins to go in search of her dad.

I watch as Kasey squirms and continues moving while Rage tries to dress her in warm clothes. When we were shopping, I picked her out a coat, snow pants, a hat, gloves, and a scarf. They’re in pinks and purples which are her favorite colors. Her eyes popped out and the smile that graced her face was a moment that I’ll always treasure. It was like we gave her the world instead of clothes to stay warm.

In the meantime, I put my own jacket and gloves on. I forgot to get myself a hat while we were out, so I’ll have to wear a hoodie and hope that I stay warm enough. Otherwise, I already know that Rage won’t let me stay outside for long. Hell, I’m surprised that he’s letting me out to play at all.

“Firefly, we’re ready,” Rage tells me, coming up to me. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

“Where’s your hat?” he asks.

“I forgot to get one,” I answer honestly.

My man takes the hat off his head and places it on mine. Then he pulls the hood of his hoodie up like I was going to do. Once he makes sure that we’re all dressed warm, he leads us outside. I’m surprised at how many others are already out here. It looks like we’re getting separated into teams. Kasey and I end up on the same team while Rage ends up with most of the guys.

We all start making snowballs before the actual fight begins. I’m helping Kasey and stockpiling as many as I can. I see Jameson is helping Zoey and sticking close to her. Even while he’s doing that, he’s still watching all the kids. Most of the little boys are doing the same thing. It’s cute to watch them go all protective like the men of the club.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Slim calls out.

Everyone screams their response before Slim does a countdown. Kasey is trying to sneak up closer to Rage while the rest of us are paying attention to the countdown. All of the adults are trying to contain their laughter at her antics. Especially since Rage is acting like he doesn’t see her approaching him. I fall in love with this man more every day.

We’re all poised to start launching snowballs at one another. Kasey, in all her excitement, wants to gain an edge on her daddy so bad that she lets her snowball fly early and hit’s him right in the stomach. He pretends that he was mortally wounded while we all laugh hysterically at their antics. This is what we needed today. What I needed to distract me from all thoughts of Riley and the mess she just brought here.

“Daddy! I got you!” Kasey yells out.

“Yes, you did sweet pea,” Rage answers. “Now, I’m gonna get you?”

“No! Daddy, no!” Kasey screams out, running to hide behind me.

I can see the sparkle in Rage’s eyes as he plays with his daughter. To him, it doesn’t matter that there’s a crowd around them. The club members and anyone else around are a witness at any given moment to the love and laughter Rage and Kasey share. This is how it should be between a dad and his daughter. There should always be laughter, love, and the feeling of being safe. When it comes to the two that hold my heart, there is no doubt to anyone in the world that Kasey is loved and everything else that she needs.

As I’m standing here daydreaming, the snowball fight is going on around me. I guess I better get my head in the game, before I end up getting hit and Rage gets pissed. Just as I go to take aim at my man, my stomach revolts and I need to run inside. This is not good. But, I should’ve known it was bound to happen. We’ve been having fun and I didn’t really eat lunch today. So, I take off towards the bathroom. Rage is behind me, I can hear him calling for me, but I can’t slow down. If I do, I won’t make it.

Once I’m done in the bathroom, we walk out to see all the girls in the hallway. They’re waiting for me and I know that my time to keep this secret has run out. The only thing I want to do is go take a nap, but if I’ve learned anything since being around the club, it’s that these girls won’t stop until you let them know what they want to know.

“Alright, we know that Whitney knows what’s going on with you,” Bailey starts. “We’re a group of old ladies and we stick together. So, now, someone is going to fill the rest of us in on what’s going on with you Keegan.”

I look back to Rage and see him nod his head at me. He knows that this is what I have to do. In fact, I’m sure it was only a matter of time before he came to me about telling certain people. It’s just a matter of being scared because I was beaten to the point I had a miscarriage before. I don’t want anything to happen to this baby.

“Let’s go in the kitchen and I’ll make us some hot cocoa,” Skylar begins. “Then you can tell us what’s going on. Fill us in on the story that you want to hide. We’ll figure it out honey.”

Rage leaves me to go with the rest of the girls. I’m sure that he’s going to make his way back out to Kasey and the snowball fight. He’ll make sure that she’s distracted while we’re talking. This is going to hurt her since we told her that she could be the one to break the news about the baby. I’ll let them know so that they can act surprised when we make the announcement.

As Skylar’s working on making hot cocoa for everyone, the rest of us sit down and get comfortable. I want to wait until she’s over here, but from the looks I’m getting, I don’t think that’s going to be possible.

“We know why you left,” Maddie begins. “Now, we want to know what’s happened since you’ve been gone. There hasn’t been time to catch up properly.”

“Well, I found out when I was in Benton Falls that I am pregnant,” I tell them.

The girls sit there in stunned silence for a few minutes. I’m not sure what they’re waiting for, but the looks on their faces are pretty comical. They range from stun, surprise, shock, and understanding. Finally, Skylar lets out a squeal of happiness and runs over to hug me. The rest of them quickly follow suit and I’m engulfed in them all trying to hug me at the same time. At least until we hear someone clearing their throat from the doorway.

“Everythin’ okay in here?” Irish asks, walking up to Whitney.

“More than okay,” Bailey answers, she looks at me silently asking if we can let him know.

I shake my head so that he is kept in the dark. Kasey needs to be the one to break the news to everyone else. We promised her that and I’m going to make sure we keep that promise. Bailey respects my wishes and quickly ushers Irish out of the kitchen. I’m guessing that everyone is going to be heading back inside, so maybe I should talk to Rage about making the announcement.

Making my excuses, I make my way out to find my man and Kasey. As long as we’re all going to be here, we might as well tell everyone now what’s going on. I’m sure that Kasey has been waiting and waiting to be able to let everyone know she’s going to be a big sister. I find them sitting at a table with Grim and Glock. Once Rage sees me, he looks to make sure I’m okay. I nod my head to let him know I’m good.

“I think it’s time,” I tell him, sitting down between him and Glock.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Let her have her moment now. People are starting to wonder and we’re not going to be able to hide it much longer.”

“Sweet pea, are you ready to share our news?” Rage asks Kasey.

“Yes!” she yells out excitedly.

Rage walks Kasey over to the bar and stands her on top of it. He gets everyone’s attention and waits until the common room goes deadly silent. Whispering to his daughter, I see the excitement shining from her eyes.

“We gots some news!” Kasey begins, talking loudly and excitedly. “I’m gonna be a big sister! My Keegan’s gonna have a baby!”

There’s no movement or noise in the clubhouse for a minute. Finally, everyone starts talking and congratulating us all at once. It’s chaos at it’s best and I’m so glad that I’m back with the people that are truly my family. These people have made me the happiest I’ve ever been, and I will never be able to thank them for accepting me into their fold with no questions asked. Other than what I was running and hiding from.

Rage brings Kasey down from the bar top and she hugs us both. It’s been her and her dad for so long that she’s can’t wait to meet the new baby. We’ve had talks about it. There’s a whole list of things that she already wants to do with the baby. And, she keeps telling me that she’s even going to help change the dirty, stinky diapers.

“You happy soon to be mama?” Rage asks, pulling me into his side.

“I am. What more could we ask for? We’ve got friends by our side, family, playing out in the snow, and the holidays are fast approaching,” I tell him, snuggling in even closer.

“I could think of a few things.”

“Like what?” I ask, wanting to know what he’s talking about.

“Well, for starters, your dad and that asswipe bein’ out of the equation. Then, havin’ a home of our own.”

“You want to have a house with me?” I ask astonished. I mean I didn’t think we’d stay at the clubhouse permanently. But, I didn’t think he’d want to get a house with me already.

“Of course. I’ve already started it. See, I listen when you talk firefly. I know what you want and what you don’t want.”

“Are you serious? When can I see it?” I ask, the excitement building the more I think about sharing a home with this family.

“I’ll see what kind of progress gets made this week and then I’ll show it to you. Right now, it’s not much to look at.”

Without hesitation, I reach up and pull Rage down to meet my lips. Before it can get too heated, I hear a muffled ‘ew’ coming from Kasey. This leads to everyone surrounding us laughing like crazy. Yeah, we might have forgotten we had an audience.

“We’ll continue this later on. After Kasey has gone to bed,” Rage tells me, slapping my ass before walking over to join some of the guys.