Born Into Destiny: A Forsaken Sinners MC Series Novella (5 page)

Chapter 8

33 Weeks Pregnant

Zane

This week has been hell, that’s for sure.

When I went to pick Dani up at the shop last week, I walked in to see her cuddled up with some fucking guy. They were sitting on the couch; laughing, holding hands, and looking too fucking happy together.

When I hauled him up by his shirt and had my fist an inch from his face, Dani jumped up and yelled, “STOP!” It gave me enough pause that she was able to worm her way between us.

“Zane, stop. This isn’t what it looks like. He’s a friend—of both of us.” That had me even more confused since I didn’t know the fucker standing in front of me wearing that smug smile.

I let go of his shirt and pushed him back with a little too much force, which made his smile slip and mine grow. “The fuck he’s a friend of mine,” I said, looking at him and not Dani. I didn’t want to take my eyes of the fucker in case he did something stupid.

“Zane, its Jax. You remember him—from high school? He played football with you,” Dani says, starting to get attitude.

“Jaxon Reynolds?” I ask, the name vaguely ringing a bell. If I remember correctly, he was a year younger than me. He’s also one of the guys I told to stay the fuck away from Dani. Okay, I lied. I actually told every guy in the school to stay away from her. Looks like someone didn’t fucking listen.

Jaxon walks forward with his hand held out. “That’s me, brother. Long time no see. How the hell have ya been?” he says. I stared at his hand with no intention of shaking it until Dani slapped my shoulder. When I looked down at her, she was glaring at me.

Sighing, I shook his hand. “Yeah, not fucking long enough,” I said, which garnered another glare from Dani. Sorry, Baby Girl, you’re just gonna have to deal with it.

Dani and Jaxon made plans to meet up the next day before we went home. The ride was silent and every time I looked over at her, she had a big smile on her face. Why the hell is she so fucking happy about this guy? I haven’t seen her smile like that in months.

After we got home, we talked for a long time; how she and Jaxon became friends, how he was there for her when she needed someone, and how much she’s missed him since coming here. She looked so sad when she told me she regretted leaving Texas and not telling him where she was going, but that she needed a new start. And now seeing how happy she is, how the fuck can I be mad about that? I can’t, but I sure as fuck can tell him to keep his hands to himself from now on, otherwise he’ll be missing a limb or two.

The last couple of days, Jaxon has been coming over a lot to help Dani with last minute baby shit. I was pissed at first, because that should be me doing that stuff with her, not him, but then I figured at least she’s happy and safe. That has to count for something, right? I don’t have to be one-hundred-percent happy about it, but it is what it is.

Tonight he’s supposed to be coming over for dinner; I guess they both have something they want to talk to me about. What the fuck it is, I have no idea, but it has me on edge and pissed off. Not sure why I’m pissed, but ever since he’s been around, that’s been my mood more so than not, so fucking sue me.

Walking into the house, I can hear them laughing in the kitchen. Great, he’s already here.

I don’t even bother taking my shoes off, I just want to get in there and see my girl. What I see surprises the hell outta me. Dani is sitting at the kitchen table with her feet up on the chair next to her and Jaxon is cooking. I’m stunned. I know she’s been tired lately and her feet have been hurting but I never thought he’d do something like this. I hate it, but it makes me have to like him even more, taking care of my girl like that.

“Hey, Baby Girl, how you feeling today?” I ask as I walk up behind her, then lay a kiss on the top of her head. When Jaxon looks at me over his shoulder, I nod my head in greeting. He gives me a look that says, “See, I’m not a bad guy.” As much as I hate to admit it, he’s really not. Over the last week, I’ve seen how close they are and it really is like a brother-sister relationship. Even though I still don’t like it when he touches her in any way, I can see that he means nothing by it and she’s never looked at him the way she looks at me. Maybe I should put this shit behind me. Seems like he’s here to stay, so I don’t really have much choice unless I want to cause problems with Dani and me, and that’s something I will do anything to avoid.

“I’m tired, my feet are swollen and sore, and I’m fucking huge and uncomfortable. Other than that, I guess I’m okay,” she says with a smirk. I know she’s telling the truth, but she’s trying not to be a bitch about it.

“Soon, babe, soon our son or daughter will be here and you’ll forget all about how you feel right now.” Fuck, I hope that’s true. It’s what I’ve read in books anyway.

She laughs and playfully shoves me away. “Whatever, fucker. You carry a baby around for nine months, have your body change in ways that shouldn’t be possible, and then tell me that you can forget how you felt.” I laugh with her, then grab her face and kiss her hard on the mouth.

“I may not be able to understand how you feel, but I can tell you that I love you and you look more beautiful every day.” Maybe that’s cheesy and a pussy thing to say, but she’s my girl and it’s the truth. She’s fucking sexy carrying my child, and I’m not ashamed to say it or that I fucking love her.

“Kiss ass,” she whispers with a smile on her face.

Standing up and walking over to the fridge, I take out two beers. I pop the tops on both, then hand one to Jaxon. “Need any help, man?” I ask, feeling a little bad that he’s in my house, cooking for me and my woman.

“Nah, I’m good. It’s about done anyway,” he says as he stirs what looks like some sort of stir fry. Damn, that smells good!

Setting my beer down, I grab plates and set them around the table. Not being able to resist, I drop another lingering kiss on Dani’s lips, but we’re interrupted by Jaxon clearing his throat. “All right, you two, that’s enough. Wouldn’t want me puking in the food, would ya?” Dani and I both laugh, and I’m suddenly reminded how things used to be with Dani, Zeke, and me. I wonder, if he never would have died, if we would still be here right now, but maybe minus Jaxon.

“Ha-ha, Jax.” Dani laughs, making me shake my head to clear those thoughts. Zeke is gone and that’s not gonna change. No use wondering what could have been.

Jaxon brings over the food and we all dig in. He and Dani talk about the tattoo he wants while I listen in. I love it when she talks about her work. She’s so passionate; you can tell just by looking at her when she’s talking about drawing or tattooing. I’m so grateful she was able to find Mack. Not just because she was safe and found a family in him and the club, but she was able to find what she truly loves to do. He did that for her. I’ll never be able to repay him for what he’s done for her, and ultimately, me.

When we’re done eating, I stand to clear the table. Jaxon stands to help, but I wave him off. “I got it, man. You cooked so I’ll clean up.” I don’t wait for him to answer, I just clear the table and put all the dishes in the dishwasher.

Sitting back down, it looks like Dani and Jaxon are having a silent conversation. Waiting a couple of moments, I wait to see if they’re going to tell me what’s going on, but when they don’t, I ask, “What’s going on?”

Dani gives Jaxon one last encouraging look before he looks at me. “Well, Dani was telling me about the company you’re starting. Security, right?” he asks. Not sure where this is going and why he’s interested, I just nod my head. “I’m not sure if you know this, but I came here for a temporary job. In security. I’ve been doing some work with private companies and some work with people who are in the media a lot.” I still don’t say anything, but I think I know where this is going. “Was wondering if you needed any help or were hiring,” he says, leaving the last part hanging.

I make a show of thinking about it, but really, there’s nothing to think about. I’m pretty much doing this by myself, but some of the brothers at the club have offered to do some jobs if needed. It’d be nice to have someone work with me that isn’t a part of the club, that way if shit happens, I’ll have someone on the outside that would always be available. “You got references?” I ask, not really caring either way. I’ve seen the way he is around Dani and can tell he’d be good at the job.

“Yeah, I can print out my resume and give it to you tomorrow if you’d like.”

I shake my head. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Why don’t you come in next week and you can fill out some paperwork. I should have the office done by then,” I say, looking over at Dani, who is smiling broadly at me.

“Yeah, sure thing. When do you think work will start?”

Thinking about everything that needs finished at the office, I answer, “Well, office won’t be completely finished and ready to open till next month I’d guess, but we’ve already got some jobs lined up. If you’re okay with it, I can contact them and we can start end of next week. Take on a few jobs before we actually open up.” The more I think about it, the more I like the sound of that. With me doing all the work in the office myself, with a little help from the brothers, I haven’t been able to do any jobs yet, telling them they’ll have to wait till we open. But if Jaxon is game, then we can get started sooner than I thought.

“Yeah, I’m good with that,” he says, then we spend the next fifteen minutes going over details while Dani just listens intently, offering a smile when we look over to her.

Chapter 9

34 Weeks Pregnant

Dani

Waking up, the first thing I notice is I’m alone in bed. Not like that is an odd occurrence lately, but I thought since things have been going well the past week maybe he’d be home more. Guess not.

Second thing I notice is my back is killing me. Well, more so than usual. Figuring I slept weird last night, I get out of bed and decide a long hot shower is in order.

Grabbing a pair of capri yoga pants and one of Zane’s t-shirts, I head into the bathroom. I take my time washing my hair, then lather my loofah with my body wash and scrub my body. After that’s all done, I wash my face then stand under the spray. I keep turning the knob every time the water starts getting colder, and don’t get out till all the hot water is gone. Zane better hope he doesn’t come home anytime soon for a shower ’cause he’ll be shit outta luck.

Once out of the shower, I towel myself off and get dressed, then put some moisturizer on my face. Not wanting to take the time to dry my hair, I just braid it off to the side and I’m good to go. Slipping on a pair of flip-flops, since my feet are too swollen to wear anything else, I head downstairs to grab a water and orange for the road.

This will be my last week in the shop before I take the rest of my pregnancy off to get ready for the baby. Even though I pretty much have everything I need, I still want to go through everything, clean the house, and just prepare myself mentally. I never thought I’d be a mother, or at least have a baby without having my Gram around to help me. Maybe I should talk to Zane about having his mother come to visit. We used to be close; maybe she’d be able to help me get more comfortable with the idea and duties of being a mom. But Zane hasn’t really talked much about his parents and I don’t want to bring up bad memories if there’s a reason he hasn’t.

When I get in my truck, I realize I’m going to be early getting to the shop, but figure it will give me time to look at all the books and start getting things together and ready for when I’m gone. Mack said he’d stop by to make sure everything is going the way it should, and I know Louie and Sara will be fine on their own, but I still worry. In a way, that shop has been like my baby. Odd, I know, but it’s the truth. I’ve put everything I am into that shop and I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have it anymore.

Just as I pull into my parking space in the back, I feel my phone vibrate next to me. Unlocking it, I see it’s a text message from Jax.

Jax: Hey, Dani Girl. What you got planned for today?

Smiling at his use of the nickname some of the brothers use for me, I reply.

Me: Just getting some things done in the shop, getting ready to take my leave before the baby gets here. You?

Getting out of my truck, I make a mental note to talk to Zane about getting a new vehicle. I love my truck, but I think getting an SUV will be better with the baby. I’m still gonna keep my truck, but will only drive it when I’m by myself.

Unlocking the door to the shop, I step inside and then lock it again behind me so I don’t get interrupted while doing some much-needed paperwork. I don’t have any clients scheduled today and I think Louie has a pretty slow day as well. Actually, I don’t think he’s even scheduled to come in until later today. Either way, Sara and he both have a key, so when they get here, they’ll be able to get in.

Sitting down at the front desk, I grab the schedule book and order book, then get up to head into my office. We’ve started getting everything transferred over to a computer system, but I still like having a paper copy of the schedules. Pisses Sara off to no end, but sometimes old school is the best way to do things. At least doing it like this, I know things won’t get lost or deleted.

Once I’m in my office and sitting down, I hear my phone vibrate on the desk.

Jax: Heading to meet your boy now, then nothing. May stop by the shop to see ya. What ya think about getting lunch?

I start to type out my response, but I’m stopped suddenly by a sharp pain ripping through my stomach. What the hell was that? Breathing through the pain, I set my phone down to rub circles on my belly. Maybe the baby is just trying to get comfortable. It has to be getting pretty tight in there by now.

When the pain doesn’t stop, only lessening a little, I try getting up and walking around my office. I’ve heard that sometimes if you walk around, it will lull the baby to sleep or at least settle them. But when I take my third step, another sharp pain brings me to my knees, tears instantly streaming down my face and a small cry slipping past my lips. Shit, this cannot be good. This can’t be normal, can it? It’s too fucking painful to be normal. Something is wrong. Something is really fucking wrong.

I try to stand to get to my phone and call Zane or the hospital, but when I make it to my feet, I can do nothing more than to fall back down when I feel a loud pop. Seconds later, I feel a gush of fluid soak through my pants and pool around me on the floor. Hearing my phone vibrate, I try to take deep breaths so I don’t freak out any more than I am already. I need to calm down so I can get to my phone, but when I look down and see nothing but blood, I can do nothing but scream. There’s so much blood. It’s so thick and dark that it looks black. And the smell! It smells like wet rust and leaves a weird taste in my mouth.

Knowing I need to get someone here to help me, I try with everything I have to get up to grab my phone, but I’m dizzy and hurting. I don’t even make it halfway to my feet before I’m falling. Before I can even try to catch myself to cushion my fall, my eyes close involuntarily and I can do nothing but just let it happen. There’s nothing but numbness overtaking my body and darkness. At least here in the nothingness, there’s no pain.

***

Jax

After a couple minutes with no reply from Dani, I decide to text her again. She could just be busy, but knowing how far along she is, I don’t like it when she doesn’t answer me.

Me: Dani Girl, you there?

There, simple and to the point. Zane and I have talked quite a bit since last week. He told me about the time Dani didn’t answer her phone and he thought the worst. Turns out, she was just with a customer, but he said after that day, she knows to always answer her phone or text messages so we all know she’s okay. May piss her off to no end and we may be in for it when we
do
hear from her, but I’ll take that any day instead of not knowing if she’s all right.

A few minutes later, there’s still no response, so I call her. I’m already in my car and heading to the shop, but I’m getting a bad feeling. Speeding up to get to the shop faster, I dial her number.

Her phone rings four times, then it goes right to voice mail. I don’t leave a message, but instead re-dial and pray that she’s just on the phone or with someone.
Just answer the phone, Danielle. Let me know you’re okay.
I say this over and over while I listen to her phone ring and ring before going to voice mail again. Fuck! Something is wrong, I just know it.

Stepping on the gas, I swerve around cars and people walking the streets, now only a few blocks away from the shop. As soon as I get there, I park in the front and don’t even bother to turn my car off.

Running up to the door, I try the handle but it’s locked. “Fuck!” I yell and start to bang on the door. “Dani! Dani, open up!” I quit banging for a second and try to see if I can hear her inside, but I get nothing.

Not knowing what else to do, I kick the door in. “Dani! Where are you, honey?” I yell out, running through every room in the shop, but still not finding her.

Coming up to the last door in the back, I take a deep breath before opening the door. The sight in front of me has my heart stopping. Dani’s lying on the floor, unconscious, and there is so much blood surrounding her body. And it’s coming from between her legs. Dear God, please let her and the baby be okay. That’s the only thought I have as I lift her up and run with her out to my car. “It’s gonna be all right, Danielle. I’ve got you…I’ve got you,” I whisper as tears roll down my face. Once I have her in the car, I hightail it toward the hospital.