Jet nodded, as if he knew exactly what I was talking about. “When? Where?” I told him the time and that I had to go to the hospital for the scan. He nodded again and stepped back. “Okay.”
That was all he said before he turned and walked back toward the bar. Okay. Not ‘I’ll see you there’ or even ‘go fuck yourself, Flick’. Just okay. Feeling defeated—because what had I really been expecting from him anyway? —I put the Jeep in gear and headed home.
Jet
Pregnant.
She was fucking pregnant.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or punch a hole through the wall. I’d spent the last week doing both. One minute I was laughing—the kind of laugh you expect a lunatic to have right before he tortured some helpless bastard to death. Then the laugh would turn into a genuine one, because in all honesty I was kind of happy about Flick being pregnant. It gave me that tie to her that I’d been fighting myself over for so many damn years it was ridiculous. I wasn’t proud of myself for having wanted my baby sister’s best friend since she’d turned sixteen. I’d nearly beaten a man to death when he’d told me he’d felt the same way about my sister. How did that make me any better?
Thinking of Bash Reid only pissed me off. I didn’t know if I was angrier with myself, or Bash, who had left town as soon as he could. Myself. Yeah, myself. Bash had his demons to face, I knew that. He wouldn’t have just left my sister without a good reason. The fucker had taken the beating like a man, making me respect the motherfucker for it. It had shown me just how much he loved Raven. No, he wouldn’t have left without a good reason.
I was pissed off at myself because I hadn’t had the balls to tell Flick that I loved her. Every time I thought of what a pussy I’d been, pushing her away to avoid my own feelings, I put my fist through a wall. It was keeping Uncle Chaz and his construction boys in business, constantly having to patch up the holes I was making at home, work, even the damn clubhouse. No one gave me shit about it though. I figured they knew better than to ask why I was putting my fist through a solid wall. No doubt they realized that I wouldn’t think twice about putting that same bruised and bloodied fist through the back of their heads.
Flick’s appointment had been the day before, and I hadn’t gone. No. That was a lie. I’d gone. Sat in the hospital parking lot and watched as Flick had walked inside for her scan. I’d stayed in my car as I waited for her to come out forty-seven minutes later and hadn’t moved until I’d seen her drive away. Even from where I’d been parked, well away from Flick so she wouldn’t see me practically stalking her, I’d seen the smile on her beautiful face as she’d stared down at a shiny piece of paper.
Was that a picture of our baby? Was that bittersweet smile for our kid? Did she love it already?
Muttering a curse as those same questions drifted through my head yet again, I picked up a bottle of Jameson from behind the bar and opened it as I took a seat on one of the stools in front of the bar top. The place was empty and would stay that way for a few more hours. My brothers and Raven wouldn’t even be in for another two hours to get the place ready for Church that night. I figured I’d be good and drunk by then and wouldn’t be tempted to put my fist through another wall before then.
I was a third of the way through the bottle when I heard the door behind me open. Turning, I found Uncle Jack, Razor, and Uncle Chaz entering the bar with my best friend and VP, Westcliffe. I didn’t want company—especially Westcliffe’s—right then. He was the one who had told me I should end it with Flick in the first place. He’d gotten into my head, made me think that I was no good for her.
It was probably the truth, but fucking hell, I didn’t want it to be.
With a good buzz going right then, I wanted to put my fist through his face. What the fuck had I been thinking, letting Flick go in the first place. I loved that female. Fucking loved her. Shit, I was a pussy. I needed to tell her that I loved her…
Uncle Jack grabbed my bottle of Jameson and headed back to the Originals’ booth in the back. The others followed him and after a few minutes of sitting there, mentally screaming at myself for not telling Flick I loved her, I finally stood and went back to see what the old fuckers wanted. Jack, Chaz, and Razor didn’t just show up without a reason. Not when there would be Church to attend in a few hours.
Gritting my teeth, I pulled a chair from a nearby table and took my place with them. Four pairs of eyes narrowed on me, but no one spoke a word, waiting for me to do the talking. I dragged a hand over my face, feeling the scruff of a week’s worth of beard on my jaw.
“I knocked Flick up,” I muttered, admitting my sin.
There was a long pause from the three old men, as if they were sizing me up for the first time since I’d stepped into my father’s shoes as the Angel’s Halo MC president. Westcliffe sat up a little straighter, his narrowed eyes turning colder. What the fuck was his deal anyway? I was getting sick and tired of his shit where Flick was concerned lately. He was the only one who had even known that I was sneaking around with Flick. I’d thought I could trust him with that, but he’d done nothing but bust my balls and give me shit over it from the second I’d told him.
Ignoring the VP, I turned my gaze to Uncle Jack. He’d been like a second father to me all my life. My father’s best friend and the Club’s VP up until Mad Max Hannigan had met the Angel of Death. He should have been the one to take the president’s spot, but he’d wanted a younger generation to take over the running of the Club.
Uncle Jack’s whiskey-brown eyes were a mixture of disapproval and amusement. A strange combination to see in anyone’s eyes, anyone but Uncle Jack’s. “So wife her.”
“Yeah, fuckhead. Wife that female.” Razor picked up the bottle of Jameson and chugged it long and deep before slamming the bottle back on the table. “Or I’m gonna fuck you up. Clear?”
I blinked, not sure if I was hearing him right with my buzz still going strong. Marry Flick? I hadn’t thought of that. Marriage had been the furthest thing from my mind. Sure, I loved that female, but did I really want to get married? I could make her my ol’ lady without making her my wife, damn it.
Uncle Chaz lifted his hands, placing them flat on the table as he glared at me. “Flick’s a good girl, boy. You make this right. Or we bring the enforcer in on this.”
I reached for the bottle of whiskey and took a long swallow as I contemplated what the old fucker had just said. Not even as the Club’s president was I exempt from the enforcer. It kept the president from getting too big of a head. Since Bash had left, a new one had been appointed. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that they wouldn’t bring Spider into this, but that didn’t mean I was going to jump up and go ask Flick to marry me right then and there. It might seem a little extreme to bring an enforcer in on this, but I knew they cared about Flick and wanted what was best for her. She didn’t have a father figure to look out for her like I looked out for Raven.
“I will,” I assured the three Originals. “Just give me some time.”
Uncle Jack nodded. “Sure, boy. Take your time. But you best have your ring on the girl’s finger before she has that kid, or you’re gonna meet your kid for the first time in a body cast.”
Felicity
Three weeks. I hadn’t seen Jet in three weeks. I figured I wouldn’t see him for longer than that. It was okay, though. I was okay. I didn’t need him to help with the baby. We’d be just fine without him.
Didn’t mean I wasn’t hurting over his lack of interest in his own kid. Didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed at his not even showing up for the scan I’d had two weeks before. I hadn’t gone looking for him though, and I wasn’t going to. He wasn’t worth my time anymore. I’d done my duty, told him about the baby. That was all he got from me.
My morning sickness was thankfully starting to fade. I’d spent the majority of the last three weeks with my head in a toilet, either at home or at school. Those were the only places I went these days, the only places I knew I wouldn’t chance running into Jet. Now that the morning si
ckness had eased up, I was able to concentrate on what needed getting done. I’d fallen behind in some of my classes because of it, and needed to spend several extra hours after each of my classes catching up, or risk failing the semester.
I was late getting out of my English class tonight because I’d had two papers that needed some extra research before I could turn them in. My mother didn’t have internet at our house, and since I was only living off of my scholarship I couldn’t afford it for myself. Whenever I needed to do anything on a computer I always had to do it at school.
It was dark as I left the building and headed for my Jeep. The parking lot was nearly empty except for my Jeep and two other cars… And the hog parked right in front of my Jeep.
Seeing Jet leaning against his bike with his arms crossed over his wide chest, looking bored and slightly amused, had my heart jumping in my chest. He was obviously waiting on me and I had to wonder how long he’d been waiting. Jet knew my schedule and would have known I was supposed to get out of my last class at five. It was now after nine. Telling myself I didn’t care that he was there, or even why he was there, I pulled my keys from my backpack and walked around the bike. Ignoring him completely.
A deep chuckle from the direction of the powerful motorcycle sent a shiver of delicious anticipation down my spine, but I clenched my thighs together and opened the driver’s side door. Tossing my backpack into the passenger’s seat I finally turned to face the man I still stupidly loved.
“What do you want, Jet?”
“How are you?” he asked instead of answering my question. His eyes were narrowed on me and I wondered if he was seeing that I’d lost weight over the last three weeks…and if he liked the changes.
“I’m fine. How are you?” I asked with polite stiffness.
“You don’t look fine,” he assured me as his eyes raked over me from head to toe and then back up. Everywhere his green gaze touched I felt like he’d physically skimmed his hands over me. My nipples tightened and my panties became instantly damp. Crossing my arms over my chest to hide the fact that I was turned on from something as simple as him raking his eyes over me, I lifted a brow at him. “Don’t you eat anymore, Flick? You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight.”
The tone of his voice told me he didn’t like the weight loss. I didn’t know if I should take it as a compliment or an insult. Jet’s usual type was stick-thin. Lord only knew I’d never be that small. I had curves in all the right places, but I also had a good twenty pounds of extra weight on me, too. Well, five extra pounds now. I’d lost the rest over the last three weeks because I hadn’t been able to keep anything down. Had Jet liked me with the extra weight?
I wasn’t even going to try to figure him out right then. It would only give me a headache. “Morning sickness isn’t fun, Jet. It’s just now starting to get to where I can eat without throwing it back up.”
“Oh,” he muttered and thrust his hands into his pockets, making his cut tighten over his shoulders. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
Unable to stop myself, I rolled my eyes. “Thanks.” I turned back to the open Jeep door, ready to go home and get some sleep. I’d been at school all day and I just wanted a few hours of sleep. That wasn’t asking too much, was it?
“Wait,” he snapped when he saw that I was leaving. “We should talk.”
I paused with my hand on the door and turned my head to look at him. “Yeah? I figured we’d already said all we needed to. Since I haven’t seen you since I told you about the baby, I was pretty sure you’d made up your mind where your kid stood in your life.”
His jaw tightened and he dragged his hands over his face before stepping closer to me. “I’ve been dealing with some Club shit, Flick. I’m sorry I haven’t been around, but that needed my attention.”
“What kind of Club shit?” I hadn’t heard anything about something going on within the Club and I would have been one of the first to know. My mother told me everything she heard at the clubhouse. If there was something going on and she didn’t know, then it was some heavy shit.
If it was so secret, I knew that Jet probably wouldn’t tell me. Club business stayed Club business. No one shared anything with anyone outside of the Club. It was safer that way for everyone, especially when government agencies like the DEA and ATF came knocking at their doors. So I was surprised when he finally spoke. “Westcliffe has been causing some trouble. I don’t know what his problem is. Ever since I started seeing you, he’s had a stick up his ass, but it’s more than just that. I’ve been so distracted with you that I hadn’t really noticed until now…” He broke off and I figured that was all he would tell me about what Westcliffe had been up to. Jet shrugged again. “None of the other Club brothers have even seen him in the last two weeks, or so they say. There are a few I’m willing to beat information out of to find his ass. Spider is pissed because Westcliffe has been bothering the girls at Paradise City. He’s on everyone’s shit-list right now, babe.”
I wasn’t going to say I was surprised to find out Westcliffe was acting shady. He’d always given me the creeps, but I’d had to put up with him over the years. As VP, he was into everyone’s business who was associated with the Club. There were even a few times I’d found him looking at me with the oddest expressions on his not-so-handsome face. It was a mixture of cold hatred and lust. I had no idea why he would feel that way with me. I’d never encouraged him, but I’d always tried to be nice. I was nice to everyone.
Shaking the thought away, I turned back to Jet. “What does that have to do with you being here now?”
His hands went back to his pockets and I got the feeling that he was almost vulnerable right then. Which was funny, because Jet Hannigan didn’t do vulnerable. “I think it’s time we settled this thing between us. About the baby and all.”
“Okay.” So he was going to man up and take responsibility for the baby. That was good. Even though I was prepared to take care of this kid on my own, I hadn’t wanted it to grow up without knowing its father. My heart actually lifted a little as I looked up at him. “I think if you get the baby on Sunday and Mondays, that will be a great idea. That will give you time to bond with him.” Those were his off days from the bar, so I knew he would have the time to watch his child…if he really wanted to.
“Him?” Jet’s voice came out rough.
I shrugged. “That’s what I’m hoping for, but I’ll be happy with either as long as the baby is healthy. Still, I like to think it’s a boy.” I’d daydreamed about the baby that was growing safely under my heart. How he would look so much like his father, have his blond hair and green eyes. His stubbornness. Maybe Raven’s temper. But mostly, I hoped he had my heart.
“So you don’t know yet?” I shook my head and he shrugged. “I don’t care what the baby is, as long as it’s healthy.”
“So far so good,” I assured him. The scan had shown that the baby was growing as expected, had a strong heartbeat, and was nestled safely in a good position.
“But this Sunday and Monday bullshit isn’t going to work. I think we should get married, Flick.”
I was so surprised by what had just left his mouth, all I could do was stand there and blink up at him for the longest time. After several minutes, a laugh escaped me as I watched his eyes. “You can’t be serious.” There was no way. No. Way.
“I am. It’s the right thing to do, babe. I want to be a part of our kid’s life…and yours, too.”
He sounded so sure of it too. Not. He couldn’t even meet my gaze when he said the last part. This was ridiculous. “I’ve known you my entire life, Jet Hannigan. I’m pretty sure that marriage has never entered your mind once. I’m not going to lie to myself by thinking I have somehow become the exception to that.” Realization hit me in the head like a physical blow and my chin snapped up. “Ahhh, the uncles.”
There was no other way to explain it. Uncle Jack, Uncle Chaz, Uncle George, Uncle Ox, even Razor. They had always been my honorary uncles. They were old, yeah, but still s
cary as hell to the younger generation. I was one of the few outside of the Club who called them Uncle. They loved me just as much as they did Raven.
They must have found out I was pregnant and were forcing Jet to marry me. Those men wouldn’t be happy with Jet just making me his ol’ lady. They would want him to wife me. The look on Jet’s face right then told me all I needed to know. The laugh that bubbled up right then held very little humor and was full of all the hurt I wanted to hide from him—and myself.
“Figures,” I muttered to myself and shook my head at the man standing before me. “Let’s get this straight right now, Jet. Any chance that I wanted to marry you flew out the window about six weeks ago. Right now, I can’t even look at you. I don’t know how you’re still the MC’s president.” Pissed off to my very soul, I got into the Jeep and slammed the door. Starting the engine, I rolled down the window to glare at him. “I think you’ve left your balls in Bubbles’ mouth, babe. Might want to go find them.”
~*~
I was still mad when I pulled into my driveway. Mad didn’t begin to express what I was feeling right at that moment. I was so pissed off I was shaking, but I was hurt to my core too. Jet had finally cracked something deep inside of me and I knew if I didn’t stop it soon I’d end up in a broken pile after all.
Blinking back tears, I grabbed my backpack from the passenger seat and headed inside.
The first thing that should have alerted me that something was off was that Toby wasn’t barking. He wasn’t waiting for me at the door to jump up on me and give me slobbery kisses. The huge dog had been a gift from Jet the year before and it had been soon after that when our affair had started. But I was so distracted from the pain in my heart and the jumbled, angry mess that was my head that I didn’t notice.