Chapter 2
Avery
We park in the back of the Women’s Clinic next to the employees’ vehicles like usual. I should’ve known my appointment excuse wasn’t going to work on Ares. The club usually pays the doctor and a nurse privately—with cash. That way they’re on call twenty-four-seven whenever someone needs something, and there isn’t any medical evidence left behind.
One of the Nomads, Nightmare, was bitten by a freaking lion on a run. Could you imagine trying to explain that if the cops came looking into things? Just thinking of that story gives me cold chills, and it was all in the name of hunting down my friend—Nikoli’s sister. I wouldn’t even know that story if it wasn’t for my old man being the VP of the club and 2 giving the Nomads info on contacts.
It used to drive me crazy when I first came around the club, not being told anything. I’m a naturally nosey person, so to refrain from asking questions was huge for me. Ares and 2 kept quiet in the beginning but now they fill me in on some of the club’s business. Not too much, but they say it may keep me safer if I do know some stuff, versus being left in the dark.
“You call Sadie yet?” 2 questions.
“Why do I need to call your sister?”
“’Cause she has Cyle. She’ll know about all this stuff.”
“It’s not stuff, Silas; it’s our child.”
“I know that,” he grumbles as Ares speaks to a nurse at the employee entrance, letting them know that we’re here.
The back door closes for a few brief second after the nurse nods to Air. The lady’s most likely questioning our doctor before doling out the welcome mat to some scary looking bikers accompanying a sick looking woman.
Eventually, the same door is opened widely, letting us come inside out of the heat. The nurse shows us to a private room a few doors down from where Sadie had to come for her pregnancy checkups.
It’s a little nerve-racking being here, knowing that these rooms are used not only for exams but for labor and delivery as well. The clinic’s connected to the main hospital so they can take patients in either building. It’s supposed to be convenient for midwives and doctors going back and forth when someone suddenly goes into labor or whatever.
I’d prefer to be over in the big hospital when I shoot this kid out and surrounded by doctors with all the equipment they could possibly require. It’ll be stressful enough having 2 Piece and Ares freaking out over the process; I need to make sure there’s enough doctors to sedate them if need be.
This could be my room when it’s time to have my own baby. I hope not. Glancing around, I’m happy to see everything is organized and sterile looking.
The nurse sends me a small smile and closes the door on her way out. 2 immediately begins going through cabinets and drawers, stuffing random medical supplies in his pocket that we don’t have at the club. I hope the doctor doesn’t come in and see him doing it. I’d hate for them to kick us out because Silas decided to help himself to souvenirs.
Ares takes a seat, spreading his long legs out in front of him and tucks his arms behind his head as he leans it against the wall behind him. He’s relaxed enough; he could probably take a nap while my heart beats a million miles a minute.
“Silas!” I whisper shout.
“Hmm?”
“Stop it!”
“Hmm,” he mumbles, ignoring me by stuffing something else into his back pocket.
There’s a short rap on the door, then the heavy metal swings in, the doctor entering with a friendly smile and a twinkle in his blue eyes.
2 keeps searching through a large cabinet, completely ignoring the doc’s presence. He’s in his little bubble, on a mission to retain needed supplies.
Ares folds his arms across his chest and stares down the preppy looking older gentleman. Most likely not too keen on the smile the doc’s shooting me. Jealous ass.
“Miss…” He glances at the small piece of paper that looks to be ripped out from a notebook. “Ave-ry?”
“Yes, sir; that’s me,” I respond politely and take a seat on the cold exam table. The paper doesn’t do shit for added warmth, just crinkles loudly in the quiet room.
“How can I help you, young lady?” His eyes run over me quickly in an assessment. It’s purely medical; he doesn’t appear the slightest bit interested. It’s more like a glance he’d give his daughter, and it makes me instantly like him.
“I took five pregnancy tests today, and they’ve all come back positive. I’ve been sick for the past four days. Initially, I believed it was the flu, but no other symptoms appeared besides puking. Oh, and my nipples have a brownish ring around them.”
Ares lets out a choking sound, his eyes wide at my admission. 2 continues rummaging through a drawer, but I see him pause, so I know he’s listening to everything going on.
“Sounds like the first trimester is in full effect. Would you like a sonogram and also see if we can hear the heartbeat? There may not be much to actually see if you’re newly pregnant, but it’ll give us a good idea of when to expect the little one. Unless…Well, are you here to abort?”
“Fuck no!” Ares growls, suddenly seeming much bigger in the small room as he sits up on the edge of the seat, ready to chop anyone into pieces who even thinks of offering me an abortion.
“Okay then, sonogram it is,” the doctor continues unfazed.
He must deal with a bunch of overprotective men in his line of work, or the club pays him well to ignore the gruffness.
Surprisingly the sonogram process goes by quickly, ending with an image of our baby on a fuzzy screen.
“So that’s him, huh?” 2 Piece gestures to the screen, while Ares stares in a trance at the tiny blip in the bubble on the monitor.
“Yes, sir; that’s the baby right here.” The doc points, touching the screen. “Looks exactly as it should too.”
Ares grunts, “Not it, doc. Kid’s a boy.”
“A son?” I interrupt. “You’re so sure?”
2 Piece nods at Ares, and then they both look at me.
So I do what I can, which consists of throwing my hands up and declaring it a boy as well. No use in fighting them on it. If it ends up being a little girl, she’d be put in jeans and biker boots anyhow; her dads would make sure of it.
We get some printouts of our dot and then hear the super-fast heartbeat. It’s surreal knowing there’s a tiny heart inside my stomach right now.
After measuring the little dot and estimating a due date, the doc prescribes some prenatal vitamins and then sends me on my way. It was easy and painless—not that I expected it to hurt with the guys there.
Hell, I never would have let them know anyhow or else we’d be burying a body right now. My old man, the Butcher, has quite the temper when it comes to someone upsetting me and wouldn’t hesitate to slice and dice them.
The best part of all, the kind doctor never asked me who the father is. That could’ve been awkward.
Finding out I was fourteen weeks pregnant was surprising. It must be why the tests were so damn obvious. I thought I was barely prego when clearly that’s not the case.
And forty weeks of this?
Good God, that’s a long time to be puking. The doctor swears it won’t be that bad, but he’s a man. What does he know? He hasn’t been upchucking for the past four days; I have.
Ares grins. “Well, momma, looks like we’ve got some planning and building to do,” he proclaims and slaps me on the ass as we head back to 2’s truck.
“Umm, what exactly does that mean?”
“We gotta get a house on the compound for you and the kid first of all, and then everything else you need when you have a kid.”
I don’t respond and just load up in the middle of the bench seat, staring at the trees and grass as 2 Piece quietly drives back to the club. The radio’s off, and it’s just weird now. My chest’s tight, like when you have anxiety, only that’s not it. It’s clamping down because I want to cry.
Ares wants to build a house. Most women would swoon if a man told them that, but I want to run away. Not because of the structure, but because he said it was for the kid and me.
I knew it wasn’t going to go over smoothly. Does this mean he and Silas will stay together in our room we have now? Will they continue to live in the club while I’m cast out to take care of the baby?
How could I be so damn stupid to think things were going to be okay when we were making love earlier? I thought they had both been excited about the prospect of being fathers, but now this. They don’t want to live with me any longer?
He was completely against getting rid of the child earlier. Yet, he doesn’t want to be around us either? Does 2 feel this way also? I’m sure he does. Damn it.
I’m supposed to be the free bird. Me.
Am I selfish enough to leave them with the baby and just disappear? No. Should I leave them and keep the baby? No. I don’t think I can live without them in my life.
“You’re quiet, Shorty,” 2 mumbles when we get back to the compound, and I climb out of his truck. It has to be odd, considering I tend to be a bit of a chatterbox with them.
“Yep,” I reply. I wanted to respond with ‘no shit, Sherlock,’ but I can’t be ugly with him. He didn’t come up with the plan to kick me out of our room; Ares did.
I’m taking the dog with me. If I’m being banned, then Lily will be coming with me. She’s more of mine than theirs. 2 gave her to me as a promise of his commitment. I don’t care how much she loves Ares; my baby will need her love more than he does.
My baby. Fuck my life; what have I gotten myself into?
“You want something to eat, Angel?” Ares asks once we get inside.
“No thanks; I think I’ll take a nap.”
“All right, babe.” He grins, his eyes happy. He kisses me chastely on the forehead and veers off to the kitchen.
“You need anything, Shorty?” 2 turns to me.
“I’m okay. Go eat with Air; I know you’re hungry too.”
He nods, softly brushing his lips against mine, and then I’m left alone in the hallway outside our bedroom door.
The thoughts to flee bombard my mind, whispering to leave and show them exactly how it is if they toss me to the side. How dare they knock me up and then think it’s okay to put me away in a house not to be bothered with, assuming I’ll just sit quietly and be a good little woman. Yeah, fucking right. If anything, being around the two of them has made me even more headstrong and stubborn.
Yanking my phone free, I dial the one female I can always count on to have my back—London.
“Hey, chica!”
“Hey. Got room for one more for a little while?”
“Oh shit, come on over. Jameson just fell asleep for his nap, and we’ll be able to talk.”
“Thank you.” Holding my tears at bay, I grab 2 Piece’s spare truck key and head to London’s house.
It wouldn’t be the first time that one of us took off with one of the guy’s vehicles, and it won’t be the last, either.
Ares
“Those sandwiches were almost as good as Angel makes them.” Chuckling, I finish off the Coke I had with my lunch.
“No way. She makes them way better. Speaking of that, we need to start taking care of her more. We should be fixin’ her lunches and shit, not the other way around.”
“I’m not a cook; I’m a mechanic.”
“Fine. I’ll make her lunch from now on, but don’t let her lift anything heavy or bend over a lot.”
“Why can’t she bend over?” I’ve never heard any of the women say anything about it before.”
“I don’t know.” 2 shrugs. “I just don’t want her to.”
Rolling my eyes, I grin. “Brother, if you’re like this the entire pregnancy, she’s going to junk punch you. Don’t smother her; I want to keep her knocked up for the next few years.”
“Yeah right; she won’t go for that. She’s like me. She enjoys being able to get up and go when she wants.”
“Not anymore. We have a kid on the way. Time to lock that shit down—you included.”
“She seems happy with us, and what needs to change with me?”
“We need to get a decent house built on the property. With Prez losing his shit, I’m going to be getting voted up here pretty quick. I need to have y’all set up. I don’t want her worrying about shit when that baby comes along. With a house here, we can both be close whenever she needs us. I’m not trying to be here all day. I’d rather be at the house with you both and be able to come over here if the brothers need me.”
“Makes sense.”
“And as far as locking you down, I want you to get my ink.”
“I already have the patch on my cut that shows I’m taken.”
“My ink, Silas. I’m tired of waiting. Avery has it; now you.”
He takes a deep breath, glancing at the table for a brief second, and then meets my gaze. “Bet, but it goes both ways. If Spin marks me up, he’s doing you too.”
“Consider it done.”
“You think we should bring Shorty some food anyway? She’s hella pregnant and needs to feed the kid.”
Shrugging, I toss my paper plate in the trash. “She said no; let’s just leave her be. I don’t want her thinking we’re taking over everything already.”
“But we are,” he states.
“Yeah, but she doesn’t need to know that shit.”
“You’re fuckin’ smart, A. So you think we outta be pushy, but pretend like we aren’t by not messin’ with the little shit?”
“Exactly.”
“Bet.” He smiles and fist bumps my knuckles.
“I need to take Lily out for a walk; I’m sure Angel’s napping and I don’t want her worrying about it.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I’m not fucking you behind the shed again, 2. You want my cock, it’ll be after the pup gets some exercise.”
“You said that last time too.” One of his dimples show up, effectively quieting any reply I may conjure up.
Letting lose a huff, I leave the kitchen. Trekking through the long hall lined with multiple closed doors, I aim for one in particular: our room. 2 Piece silently follows along in case Avery’s asleep.
She’s grouchy as fuck if she gets woken up. At least now we know why she likes her sleep so damn much. Bitch can fucking snore too. I’ll stop bugging her from now on. She needs the extra rest.
The doc suggested increasing her sleep routine, so I’m going to do my best to make things easy on her. No more riding on the back of my bike for a while either, which blows, but her safety’s even more important now. I have to remain vigilant because I couldn’t imagine losing her. Or 2 Piece, for that matter.
I’m still flipping my shit with my testosterone thundering through my veins from seeing my baby on the screen at the clinic today. Who knew a tiny dot could make you feel as if you’ve conquered the entire fucking world inside? That’s the best way for me to describe it, anyhow.
I thought I loved her and 2 Piece before, but seeing the baby today, flat out stole my breath and put them on a whole new level with me. Seeing the grainy picture basically crushed my voice box, making anything that I could’ve possibly conjured up, just disappear in awe.
Witnessing that blip, my son, in her belly, was so fucking life altering. I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. To be sharing it with both of them leaves me fucking speechless.