Chas's Fervor: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 3) (44 page)

It took Chas
three days before he went to Addie’s apartment to return her key and retrieve his. He had half hoped she would’ve called him, but she hadn’t—not one word from her. The prospect had traced Ian to another hotel in Pinewood Springs, but Ian had checked out four days before. Chas’s heart sunk when the prospect updated him, and Chas was pissed that he cared so much.

If only he’d known Ian had come back to town, he’d have taken care of the asshole and no one would’ve been the wiser. But because everything had been quiet after Ian had left several weeks before, Banger didn’t want to use the prospect to keep tailing Addie. Banger and the other club members thought the jerk had given up and gone back to Chicago. Chas also had a false sense of security when time passed and there was no sight or communication from Ian or Snake.
The sneaky bastard.
Ian knew all along what he was doing, and he executed his plan to perfection.

Chas still couldn’t believe Ian had won Addie over, but he was done trying to figure it out. He didn’t chase after women. If she wanted it over, it was over. Chas would move on and go back to easy pussy without entanglements. It was Jack who was having a hard time. His big eyes searching for Addie each time he entered the library, or asking his dad why she’d left them, cut Chas to the core. The bitch could’ve at least given Jack some warning. She pretended to care about Jack, but in the end, the only one she cared about was herself.
Selfish woman
.

As he climbed up the steps to her apartment, Chas cursed under his breath. Even though she’d played him, he hoped she was in the apartment so he could see her. Her twinkling green eyes and thick, red mane were beautiful. Chas always marveled at how creamy and soft her skin was under his calloused fingers. After all she’d done, he missed her. How pathetic did that make him? He hated himself for still craving her. Before Chas could erase her from his mind, he needed Addie—without Ian around—to look him straight in the eyes and tell him she was finished with him and had never felt anything for him. If she could tell him that, he’d walk away forever.

Figuring she wouldn’t open the door if he knocked, he used his key. Chas entered the apartment and an eerie silence enveloped him. Darting his eyes around the room, he noticed Addie’s favorite afghan throw—the one her mother had knit for her when she was in college—was missing from the back of her couch. As he walked around the room and headed into the kitchen, it felt as though the life Addie had exuded in her living space had been sucked out.

Chas opened a couple of kitchen cabinets. They were bare. Banging the others open, he sucked in his breath when he saw they were all empty. Dashing into her bedroom, a ball of dread formed in the pit of his stomach. All of the perfumes, hairbrush set, makeup, and jewelry on her vanity were gone. Inside her closet, empty hangers greeted his prying eyes.

Chas went over to the bed—the one he and Addie had shared so many times—sat on the edge of it, and covered his face with his hands.
She’s gone. The only woman I ever loved is gone. Fuck it.
Deep sorrow grabbed him like a vise, squeezing hard.
Fuck her.
For a long time, he sat like that until children’s laughter from outside pierced through his veil of hurt and anger. Sighing, he rose to his feet and went over to the small desk by the window. Opening the right-hand drawer, he placed the key inside. As he began to close the drawer, he saw Addie’s black daily journal calendar. Surprised she hadn’t taken it—it was her lifeline—he held it in his hands.

Chas flipped through the pages, and a smile whispered on his lips as he noticed all the color-coded entries. Despite his hurt, seeing all her neat notations comforted him. He’d teased Addie many times about how she was ultra-organized. Turning to the month of September, he saw an entry she made the day they met. Addie wrote, “Met Jack’s dad. Damn, is he hot, but I can’t go there. He’s my student’s dad. Too bad.” Chas flipped through the pages over the past few months: “Happy today. Saw Chas and we made incredible love. I’ve fallen for this man.” There were numerous comments on how much she cared about Jack and what a wonderful child he was. Addie also drew a big heart on one of the days. Under the heart, it said, “Day I fell in love with Chas.”

Chas skimmed the pages until he came to the time when Ian called him, and Addie realized he knew where she was. Chas noticed her writing was fraught with more trepidation, more fear, and gloom. One notation read, “So happy I haven’t heard from Ian anymore. I hope he’s moved on. I know I’ll never go back to Ian. I’d rather go to prison than be with him.”

Reading the entry from four days before, it said, “Going to see Chas tonight, and I’m beyond thrilled.” The whole situation didn’t sit right; Addie with Ian, Addie gone—none of it made sense. Staring at pastel-colored entries in the month, an appointment caught his eye—“Dr. Singleton at 12:30 p.m.” The appointment had been set for the past week. Chas racked his brain, trying to remember if Addie had mentioned she was sick or had a doctor’s appointment. She hadn’t. After dialing the phone number, he waited for someone to pick up.

“Rocky Mountain OB/GYN. May I help you?”

Startled, Chas sputtered, “I… uh… I’m calling about a patient?”

“What’s the patient’s name?”

“Addie O’Leary.”

“Are you authorized to obtain information regarding her?”

“What?”

“We can’t give medical information about a person unless she has authorized you to get it, or if you are a spouse.”

“Yeah, I’m her husband.”

“What’s your name, sir?”

“Chas… uh… Chas O’Leary.” He felt like a fucking fool using her last name, but he had to know if the sinking feeling in his stomach was justified.

“Okay. I’ll put you through to Dr. Singleton’s nurse.”

Before he could say anything, he was placed on hold and Jimmy Buffet was crooning “Margaritaville” to him.

“This is Patty, may I help you?”

“Yeah, uh… this is Addie O’Leary’s husband, and I want to know if I need to bring my wife back in for an appointment.”

“Oh, I thought Dr. Singleton went over this with your wife. No matter. Yes, she’ll have to schedule another appointment in about three weeks. We want to make sure she is tolerating the prenatal vitamins and supplements the doctor prescribed.”

Prenatal? Fuck!
“How far along is she?”

Chuckling, the nurse said, “She really was out of it at her appointment, wasn’t she? I remember she was shocked to learn she was pregnant. Your wife is six weeks along.”

Hearing what he’d suspected the moment the receptionist answered the phone rendered him speechless. Addie was pregnant. Was he the father? Making a quick calculation, he figured she got pregnant before Ian showed up in Pinewood Springs
. Fuck, I’m the father
.
When the fuck was she gonna tell me, or was she ever
gonna
tell me?
She’d known about it for a week, and she never brought it up. Her emotional seesawing for the past few weeks began to make sense to Chas.

“Sir, do you have any more questions?”

“Uh… no. Thanks.”

He hung up and sat on the desk chair, staring at the falling snow clinging to the bare trees spattered around the neighborhood. It was a heavy snowfall, and the streets and sidewalks shared the same stark white color. The fucking bitch carried his baby and she hadn’t even told him. How had he been so wrong about her? Addie had betrayed him in the worst way possible—keeping his baby from him. Chas had to find her. If she wanted to stay with her bastard husband that was her business, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let a fucking hitman raise his kid. Chas becoming a father changed
everything
.

One week later

S
unlight struggled through
the dense, gray clouds above as the wind howled and ice-white dust swirled. Addie watched as the snow hugged the pine trees, a glimmer of green among all the white. The snowstorm was beautiful in its intensity, was a contrast to the ugliness she felt whenever she remember Chas’s pained eyes when she’d told him she loved Ian. Each time Ian touched her, her skin crawled, even though it was just a brush of his fingers on her. When she pushed him away, Ian had told her he’d give her some time to get on track with him, but he also warned in his threatening way that he wasn’t going to wait too long to make love to her. The thought of Ian’s hands and lips on the places Chas had touched made her stomach lurch. In her mind, Chas was the only one who could have her body, her heart, and her soul. Addie wasn’t sure how she could keep stalling.

It sickened her to be at her parents’ cabin with Ian—the man who took her family away from her. She hated him, but in order to save Chas and Jack’s life, she had to pretend interest and willingness. Addie was afraid she wasn’t doing a very good job at it. Ian knew her thoughts and heart were back with Chas; it angered him, and his icy rage was what frightened Addie the most.

When the power in the cabin winked out, Addie turned away from the window, her face illuminated by the spitting fire in the fireplace. Ian’s figure appeared, holding a flashlight.

“Lights went out. I’ll see if I can trip them back on. Where’s the fuse box in this damn cabin?”

“In the basement, next to the water heater,” she said, detached.

“I can’t wait to go back to civilization.”

Addie heard the stairs creak as his heavy footsteps descended.

Fifteen minutes later, the warm glow of lights lit up the cabin. Ian stalked into the family room and sat in the chair nearest to the fireplace. “I don’t trust the outlaw won’t try and find you. How many times has he called you this week?”

Addie shrugged.

“I suggest you get out of whatever funk you’re in and fucking check your phone. Now.”

Without any expression, she checked her “missed calls” data. “Eight times since the night he came over. He won’t call anymore—he’s probably moved on.” When she said that, her heart tightened.

“I don’t care what you think. You’ve proven you’re not too bright,
sweetheart
. Anyway, the biker’s in love with you. I saw it the night he came to your apartment.” He leaned over and stoked the fire with the poker. “I also can’t trust you.”

“I’m here with you, aren’t I? I broke his heart and mine. How can you say you don’t trust me?”

“If he found you, you’d go back to him faster than it would take the bullet to kill me. I know he’ll kill me if he finds you.” Ian settled back into the plush chair. “Do you know why I know he’ll kill me?”

Addie sighed and shook her head.

“Because that’s what I would do. You see, he and I aren’t so different after all.”

With narrowed eyes, she said, “Don’t even begin to compare yourself with Chas. You aren’t even one percent the man he is. If he
did
kill you, it would be to make sure I stayed safe forever. Chas and his club don’t kill for money or for fun, they kill only when all other options have been explored.”

Calmly, Ian looked at Addie and stated, “You’ve made my point. You still love him, and I’m sure he still loves you, even if he’s denying it to his club. That’s exactly why I don’t trust either of you.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“The outlaw has to be eliminated.”

Ian’s words ripped through her like bullets from a high-powered shotgun. Outside, the howling wind sounded as desolate as Addie felt. The whole reason she came with Ian was to avoid Chas being hurt. She loved him too much to let him come in contact with Ian’s evilness.

“It’s over for me. I made the decision to come with you. You’re the one who dragged me to the cabin. After the storm, let’s head down the mountain and get back to Chicago so we can start our life again.” She forced sincerity in her voice.

Ian cocked his head sideways and stared at her through narrowed eyes. “I don’t believe one word you just said. You love the biker. I know this because you agreed to go with me so I wouldn’t kill him.” He leapt up from the chair and rushed over to her. The couch dipped when he sat down. “I want you to love me like that. You used to.” He grabbed her shoulders then tried to kiss her.

Addie twisted away and pushed him back. “Believe me, I’ve
never
loved you the way I love Chas.”

On her feet, she started to walk off when Ian grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back like a slingshot. She cried out in pain.

Brushing his thin lips across her neck, he hissed, “You’re never going to see your lover again. The only man you’re going to please and love is me.”

Her skin withered under his touch as she trembled. “Leave me alone.” She wriggled out of his grasp.

Without warning, Ian struck Addie hard across the face. As she staggered back in surprise, he struck again with precision. Blood trickled down from her nose to her mouth, its metallic taste coating her tongue. Before she could react, Ian shoved her backward and she lost her balance, crashing onto the glass-topped coffee table—glass shattering everywhere. A scream escaped through her pale lips.

On the floor, her back sticking on the shards from the broken table top, he bent down, straddled her then pummeled her face and chest. Addie sobbed as she tried to stop the assault. Her feeble attempts enraged Ian more, and his fists rained down harder on her.

When his fists lowered to her belly, she screamed out, “Stop it! I’m having a baby.” The minute she said the words, she regretted them, especially when Ian’s calm face turned evil, his eyes brimming with jealous rage.

“You’re pregnant?” he boomed.

Nodding, she pushed at his thighs as she tried to break free from him.

Ian yanked Addie up with him as he stood up. “It’s the fucking biker’s bastard, isn’t it?”

She stared out the window, watching the darkness slink in, swallowing up the snow’s brightness.

“Isn’t it?” He loomed over her, appearing larger than life.

Slowly, she met his piercing gaze and nodded.

“You really are a slut, aren’t you? And a stupid one at that.” He punched her in the stomach with one hard, swift thud.

She bent over gasping, trying to catch her breath.