Biker's Little Secret: Carolina Devils MC Page 16

  Micah was sounding more and more freaked out as he talked and I busted out laughing. What he was telling me, it was something that might have had me pissed off enough to start a war a year ago, back when I was a different kind of man. Now I couldn't see anything about it that wasn't good. Whether the Kids had been the ones to kill Lilian or not, it was years ago. I wouldn't ever pretend that it didn't hurt, wouldn't say I didn't think about it and wonder what I could have done differently to keep her safe, but I was done letting that death define me. I could hold onto the grudge against the Kids, could do it pretty fucking easily if I had wanted to, but I couldn't see the point anymore. It would only keep everyone involved with the Carolina Devils and everyone associated with a member right in the path of danger, and I was done with that. I wanted everyone I cared about to be safe. I wanted my family close and accounted for.

  “Micah, you don’t need to worry, man. I’m not going to do anything.”

  “You’re not?”

  “Nope. Not a damn thing. I get why you’re worried about it, but I’m a changed man. I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m actually glad you told me. Notonly that, I’m glad it happened. It’s time, right? It’s time for us to put that shit to rest.”

  “Shit yeah, brother. Can’t say I disagree with you there. And everything’s good with Fawn? Everything’s good with the baby?”

  "Sure, they're both great. I'm pretty sure Fawn is about as uncomfortable as a person can get, and she says just about every day that she's ready for the baby to get out and join the real world, but other than that everything is really good."

  “We’re going to spoil the shit out of that baby. You know that, right?”

  "Oh, I know. Look, man, I have to go. I promised Fawn I'd help her hand some shit up in the nursery."

  “Well then what are you talking to me for? Go do it! Can’t leave the old lady waiting, right? That’s not how you keep a chick happy!”

  I hung up the phone, shaking my head and laughing at how strange Micah could be. He was right, though. I needed to get to work if I was going to meet my goal. It was a goal I had set for myself and hadn't told anyone else, but that didn't mean it wasn't important. Its secrecy was part of what made it so important to me. This secret promise that I was never going to let Fawn want for anything, never let her feel like she was taken for granted. I was never going to forget the things Fawn had told me about her asshole ex and the way he had left her. I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure she never felt anything close to that way again.

  “Hey, Dax?”

  "Yeah, babe!" I called up the stairs, already headed towards the room designated as the nursery, "I'm coming. Don't worry; I didn't forget. Handyman, decorator extraordinaire, at your service."

  “Yeah, thanks, babe, but that’s not really going to work right now.”

  “Not going to work? What do you mean it’s not going to work? I thought the nursery was what you wanted me to tackle today. Is this some kind of a test or something? Because I’ve never been great with tests. You know this about me.”

  “No, not a test. What do they say? This is not a drill?”

  “Who’s they? I mean yes, people say that, but who are we talking about?”

  “I don’t know. How about this, then? My water just broke.”

  “What? Holy shit! Are you sure?!”

  "Um, pretty sure," she answered with wide eyes as she appeared at the top of the stairs, "first of all, there's kind of a mess upstairs that proves it. Secondly, I'm a nurse, remember? I know what it looks like when somebody is going into labor. And this is it."

  “Jesus! Okay. Okay, okay, okay, we’ve got this. Get the keys and get into the car. Will you do that? I’m going to get the stuff.”

  “Okay, Dax, but you need to hurry. Like, no phone calls or anything like that. Now is not the time. You can call my dad when we get to the hospital but not now. Promise.”

  “I promise, Fawn, just go! I’m gonna get your hospital bag out of the bedroom. Get in the ar, for Christ’s sake, so we can get the hell out of here as soon as I’ve got your stuff!”

  “Okay,” she laughed shakily, making her way carefully down the stairs and meeting me on my way up, “I’m going. But babe?”

  “What? What’s wrong? Is everything okay? Is everything going to be okay?”

  “Yes, Dax,” she answered with a calmness that was astonishing coming from a woman about to have a baby, “that’s what I want to make sure you understand. Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to be great, actually. This is going to be the start of our very own family. You just have to promise me that you won’t get us killed on the drive over.”

  “Deal. Now go.”

  I kissed her, fast and deep, and slapped her ass to send her on her way. I took the stairs two at a time, working hard to get everything in order by the time Fawn was in the car. I grabbed her bag and looked around the room, desperate to make sure I didn't forget anything. The last place I checked was my pocket, and that was a place I checked three or four times, just to be sure. There was no need, though. The little velvet box I'd been carrying around with me for days was exactly where it was supposed to be. The plan had been to propose before she actually had the baby, but now it was looking like that wasn't going to be possible. Not that it really mattered. In the timeline of our relationship, nothing had ever gone in a way a person could describe as normal. Why should this be any different? The proposal would come. The baby would come and then the proposal and then we'd build our life together. For the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid at all.

  THE END

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  DIRTY KINGSMEN

  Chapter 1

  Possible Verses Probable

  Alina looked out over her classroom. All the students had their heads bent dutifully over their papers, clearly absorbed in taking today’s pop quiz. All of them with the exception of one. Jaden was slouched back in his chair, flipping his number two pencil back and forth on his jean clad knee. His gaze was clearly riveted on something out the window. Standing slightly, Alina leaned over her desk to get a look at what he found so captivating.

  Holy crap, two boys were alone in the yard and engaged in an all-out brawl. One was punching the other squarely in the jaw repeatedly. She jerked to attention, realizing she would never make it across the courtyard in time to be helpful. Pulling out her cell phone, she called the principal.

  As she quietly reported the boys, Jaden’s expression brightened. He made a little fist pump in the air, as the smaller boy began kicking the larger one in the ribs. What in God’s name was wrong with that child? She watched as several staff members pulled the children apart. The smaller one was incensed and struggled against the adults to get back to the larger one, whom she was now coming to think of as the victim. A tiny smile played across Jaden’s lips, and he shifted his attention back to the classroom.

  The adults outside, hauled the boys back into the building. Alina was startled when bell rang, ending class. Each student walked by, laying their quiz face down on the corner of her desk. As Jaden ambled past, she spoke quietly.

  “Jaden, would you please wait a moment. I’d like to speak to you.”

  “Sure, teach. What’s up?”

  Glancing up at her brightest student, she wasn’t sure quite what to make of him. The ten-year-old looked like a mini-version of the man who picked him up from school every day. His faded jeans were old and ripped and he wore a white t-shirt under his black leather vest. His tiny black leather vest and steel toed boots would be cute if not for what it represented. His bright green eyes and shaggy brown hair heralded the handsomeness that was sure to follow him as he grew into manhood. He looked so much like his larger twin that it made her heart ache. Yet, he was so smart and polite. She found herself desperately wanting more for him than the life of an outlaw.

/>   She slid out the quiz he had just taken and quickly looked it over, before writing A+ on the top. Handing him the back quiz she couldn’t help but ask. “Was that quiz even a challenge for you?”

  “Not really. I’m sure you’ll do better next time.”

  She had to smile because there wasn’t an ounce of guile in his words. He honestly thought he had done well because her quiz was too easy. She glanced at her watch.

  “When is your ride coming?”

  “Any minute.”

  “I’ll get right to the point then. I noticed you watching the fight taking place outside. You didn’t seem particularly upset that human beings were harming each other.”

  He shook his head. “No mam, sometimes things like that happen.”

  “From now on, do you think that it might be possible for you to report incidents of aggression? Just so no one gets hurt.”

  “Umm…possible yes.”

  “Good. Then we understand each other.”

  The look on his face told her, he didn’t think they had anything close to an understanding. She watched as he shuffled out of the room. Her best friend poked her head into the room as she gathering up her personal effects.

  “Alina, were you the one who reported that fight?”

  “Afraid so. They were pretty brutal with each other to be so young.”

  “Kids these days are getting more aggressive in general. Probably all the violence on television and in video games.”

  “Seems like their parents would throw the breaks on hitting others. It’s no way to get your point across.”

  “Don’t make the mistake of assuming that parents are actually parenting.”

  Alina laughed. “So young and yet so jaded. How’d than happen to such a small town girl?”

  “You just blew into town. I’ve been here since I was a kid. Just because Pine Heights is located in the ass end of the universe doesn’t mean we don’t see our share of problems.”

  Alina held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not stereotyping.”

  “You so were, but I forgive you. Want to grab something to eat on the way home?”

  “Beats cooking and then having to clean the dishes. Are any of the restaurants in town serving remotely healthy food?”

  “Well, we don’t have raw food eateries or juice bars but Roxanne’s has a buffet. You’ll have to hunt to find something healthy on it.” Dianne leaned on the door facing, tapping her fingernails on her chin. “I think I once saw a spinach leaf used as garnish on there somewhere.”

  “You’re hilarious. Let’s get out of here. I have a metric ton of papers to grade when we get home.”

  They both headed out of the building in time to hear the throaty roar of a motorcycle as it pulled up to the curb. The women stop short watching Jaden approach the intimidating man. The big brute handed the kid a helmet as he scanned the area suspiciously. He looked slightly perturbed. The sea green eyes and shaggy brown hair were simply a more masculine version of Jaden’s. Huge hands gripped the handlebars, squeezing every now and then, in a nonverbal cue that he was anxious to get on the road again.

  Alina couldn’t help but stare at him. Strangely attractive tattoos crawled up both arms and peaked out around the neckline of his black t-shirt. She saw his muscles flex. Her eyes jumped to his face, only to find him staring right back at her. It was enough to make her take a half step backwards.

  His eyes raked over her slight form, taking in everything, from her long blonde hair, to the swell of her breasts, waste line and hips under her buttoned up pants suit. His eyes landed right on the place where her thighs met, making her bud tingle. Though his behavior was typical of what she had come to expect from his ilk, her own response left her confused, embarrassed and her feeling like she needed some sort of armor to protect her from his gaze.

  She shifted her legs together as her eyes narrowed on him. It was a purely defensive response and she couldn’t have controlled it if she’d wanted to. He jerked his gaze back to her face, just as her hand moved up to adjust her glasses.

  Clearly he took the gesture to mean she was checking him out because he growled at her. “Like the sled or the rider?” He barked out the words in a clipped and irritated tone, as he continued to stare her down. It was considerate of him to leave off the word bitch, though it was clearly stamped on the end of his sentence.

  Jaden leaned forward and whispered something in the man’s ear. His chin jerked in understanding as his eyes slid from her. Good thing Jaden intervened. If she’d been forced to reply to his question, the answer would have been both.

  Once the handsome stranger turned his attention elsewhere, Alina felt all but forgotten by him. Being cast so easily aside in his thoughts made her feel something. What that something was, she couldn’t say. As she stood watching him ride away, she saw a huge skull emblem on the back of his leather vest. Half the face was transposed with a stylized playing card…a king of spades. In scripted lettering at the bottom it read Dirty Kingsmen MC. Just seeing the image sent a shiver down her spine.

  Her friend’s voice held a note of warning. “Don’t even look at that sexy bastard, Alina. I’m serious. They’re a dangerous bunch.”

  Alina laughed breathlessly. “I’m not quite that desperate, my friend. Maybe, when I see my first gray hair, I’ll consider hooking up with an outlaw, but I’m not quite there yet.”

  “Oh keep on laughing. It’s all fun and games till someone gets knifed in the eye.”

  “Don’t you mean poked in the eye?”

  “You mean like the three stooges? Trust me, those guys don’t poke people in the eye. They might poke women in the…”

  “Dianne Dabroski, don’t even go there. I mean it.”

  “Just a subtle warning from your friendly small town girl.”

  “If that’s subtle, I’d like to see blatant. Let’s get a move on. Does Roxane’s sell mixed drinks?”

  “Nope. We’ve got a sports bar though.”

  “I’ll follow you. Falling into a supersize mudslide will wash that sexy bastard right out of my mind.”

  “You better hope so. That’s one rough ride, I’d doubt you’d survive.”

  “No truer words were ever spoken, my friend.”

  Both women chuckled as they headed out.

  Chapter 2

  Learning To Be A Man

  Hammer wrapped his son’s small hands, making sure it was solid without cutting off the blood circulation. Jaden, as always, was quiet, serious and cooperative. They both enjoyed their training time. It was the perfect way to stay fit, relax, and clear the air as problems arose.

  “How was school today?”

  “Fine, sir.”

  “Nothing interesting?”

  “Trevor beat the hell out of Craig.”

  “Craig’s that bully, right?”

  “Yep. I told Trevor what to do and did it. You should have seen him, dad. It was great.”

  Hammer frowned. “Rule number one is to take it someplace private. If Trevor took your advice, how did you see it?”

  “He waited until everyone was in class and they took it to the far side of the yard. I knew where they were going to be, so I watched. Trevor took out his knee with a kick, elbowed him in the back of the head, and once he was stunned tore his face up. Craig was never all that good looking but from now on he’s going to be one ugly…”

  “Serves him right.”

  “Yes, it does. Ever since Craig hit that little second grader in the face, every guy in school has been out to get him.”

  “How’s the little lady doing?”

  “Better, but still scared. We take turns walking her to class and sitting near her at lunch.”

  “Just keep doing the right thing. She’ll come around.”

  “You are never going to believe what my teach had to say.”

  “The cute blonde?”

  Jaden nodded.

  “She looks pretty tame. Let me guess. She said kids shouldn’t fight at school.”
/>
  “Yep. Said ‘human beings’ shouldn’t be hurting each other. I get the feeling she doesn’t approve of fighting outside of school either.”

  “Sounds a little gullible.”

  “Gullible but nice.”

  “That’s a winning combination in my book.”