Jessica: He is in jail with a five-hundred-thousand-dollar bond. Hopefully, he stays there.
Me: I hope so, girl, that man is nuts.
Jessica: Chase hasn’t left my side.
I can almost see her grinning from ear to ear right now.
Me: Oh girl!
I see Sydney sent me a text, so I open that one next.
Hey, girl. I’m fine, but I think I’m going to lay low for a while, spend time with my kid and Kane. I need to wrap my head around everything that has happened. Love you, girl. xoxo.
Me: Love you too. <3
Then I see a text from Chase:
Will you stop by Jessica’s and get the car seat and diaper bag? Could you be a peach and pack up all her shit and dump it at my place?
I laugh as I read the last bit, because it looks like Jessica is screwed now.
“What is it?” Ethan asks and rolls over, wrapping an arm around my waist.
Handing him my phone, I show him the text. He reads and starts laughing too. “Well, we gotta do what the man says.”
Rolling my eyes, I crawl out of bed and go straight to Liam’s room. We need him to help getting everything packed up. I don’t like Jessica at her apartment anyway; it’s in a very bad neighborhood. Gang members hang out right by her building.
I knock on his door and hear him yell, “Come in.” He’s sitting up in bed. “Will you help us pack up Jessica’s stuff and maybe get some of your MC buddies to bring trucks?”
He nods and picks up his phone. “Thanks, Liam.”
“Welcome, sis.”
I get all gooey inside. He is too sweet. I head back to the bedroom to slip on some shorts and a tank, knowing I’m going to be doing manual labor all day long.
“Baby, I will handle all the packing stuff. I’ll drop you off at the hospital, okay?” Ethan tells me and kisses the back of my neck.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, baby. Be with Jessica and Emily today. Isaac is still with her and needs to be relieved.”
I nod, “Okay.” I turn around and wrap my arms around his neck, realizing once more how thankful I am for this man.
“I love you, Ethan.” I kiss his chest, considering that’s all I can reach.
“I love you too, Angel.” Both of his hands squeeze my butt cheeks.
Laughing, I smack his chest and back out of his arms. “Liam is getting some of his MC buddies to help you.”
“Thanks, babe.”
Grabbing my mascara wand, I put on a light layer and call it quits, not feeling up to anything else. Then I brush my teeth. When I’m done, I pick up my pair of flip-flops and my keys off the top of the dresser by the door. Jessica gave me a key to her house.
“What time you want the guys to be there?” Liam yells from down the hallway.
I peek in the bathroom at Ethan and ask, “An hour? That will give you time to take me there and drop me back off.”
“That’s fine.” He goes back to brushing his teeth.
“An hour, Liam!” I yell and walk downstairs with Ethan following behind me.
“I’ll be there in an hour as well, Liam,” Ethan tells Liam, who is walking out of his room with jeans and his prospect cut on. Awww. I smile at him. He narrows his eyes at me, knowing what I am thinking. Ethan leads me out to his truck and we drive into town.
We drive to the east side of the city. Raleigh, Texas, is a slightly bigger town, but has small town values, and in the past ten years, it’s boomed and got bigger. Gangs started popping up on the east side of town, and the MC moved in five years ago.
We pull up in front of Jessica’s apartment. Looking around the area, I spot some bad-looking men leaning against her building. They look at me through the car window. I duck out of view, grimacing.
Ethan takes his gun out of the console and puts it in his hip holster, then covers it with his shirt. “Wait for me to come get you.”
Nodding, I grab the car keys and phone off the seat. No way would I argue. I don’t know how Jessica can live here. I know she doesn’t have money issues; she makes almost as much as me.
Ethan walks around the truck and stares down the men against the wall. They cockily cross their arms, while he opens my door and I step out. He shuts the door and clicks the clicker before he tucks me into his side and we walk up the sidewalk.
As we pass the men, they whistle at me. I stiffen and grab ahold of Ethan’s shirt, gripping it tightly. “Come over here, baby, and I’ll show you a real man,” one of them taunts me and then grabs his dick for good measure.
Ethan starts to pull away from me. I know he is going to go and beat the crap out of that man. “It’s not worth it,” I whisper to him.
“Baby, they are disrespecting you, and I can’t let that shit slide.” He pulls my hands away from his shirt and thunders over to them. One of the men spots him and elbows the man who was taunting me.
I wring my hands nervously as Ethan towers over the men.
“Listen here, cocksuckers. If I hear one sexual thing said to her, I will personally chop off your dick and feed it to you. You hear me, fucker?” Ethan’s voice is hard and full of rage.
The two guys look like they are about to crap their pants. The one who didn’t taunt me is the one who answers him. “We didn’t mean any trouble, man,” his voice stutters.
“That’s the right answer. Go apologize to the lady. NOW!” he roars the last part, and his voice flares.
They both hurry over to me. I brace myself. “Sorry,” they both mutter then go back to leaning against the wall.
Ethan stalks back over to me and leads me up to Jessica’s apartment. “Ethan, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did, baby. No fucking asshole is going to disrespect you, let alone in front of me.” His voice is still hard with anger.
Sighing, I take out my keys and unlock the door. I push it open and see the whole house barren. It looks like nobody really lives in it. There are two rooms down the hallway. I push open the first door to see Jessica’s bedroom. The only things personal are pictures on the dresser and clothes in the closet.
I check the last room, the baby’s room. It’s decorated in grays and whites. It’s beautiful. Spotting the diaper bag, I grab it and the boppy pillow, because she is breastfeeding. Ethan grabs the car seat in the corner of the room still in the box.
Next to the diaper bag is a pack of swaddle blankets. I push that in the diaper bag. Remembering Jessica had her bag also in her closet, I walk into her room and get it.
“You ready?” Ethan yells from the living room.
“Yeah!” I call back and walk out of the room.
Then I hear the thunder of motorcycles outside of the apartment. Ethan walks out in front of me. I see Torch, Liam, and some other guys, who look meaner than hell.
Ethan sets the car seat in the back of the truck, while I lag behind at the railing so I can give them the keys.
“Come suck my dick, bitch!” The man from earlier stupidly taunts me again. I see one of the MC guys punch him in the face, knocking him straight out. His head hits the ground with a smack. The other guy takes off running.
This guy is probably 6’6 and two hundred-fifty pounds of muscle; he’s huge. It says ‘Enforcer’ on his cut.
Ethan walks over to him and does the man handshake thing. “Thanks, man.”
He nods and takes the key from my hand, then goes up to Jessica’s apartment. Liam follows behind him. Ethan comes over and takes the two diaper bags and sets them in the backseat.
On our way back home, we pass the guy who took off running; he is still running. Unable to stop myself, I roll down my window and yell. “Run, Forrest, run!”
Ethan throws his head back and laughs holding his stomach. Joining him, I rest my head against the back of the seat. “Love you, Angel.” He kisses the top of my head and takes my hand in his.
~*~
When we walk into Jessica’s hospital room, I see Chase is sitting in a chair, holding Hunter against his chest, while Jessica is sound asleep, curled into a ball.
Chase’s eyes shoot open at hearing us enter. Ethan sets the car seat by the bathroom door, and I set the diaper bag onto the window seat together with the boppy pillow.
“Chase,” Ethan says and motions him to come outside with him. I motion with my hands toward Hunter until Chase warily sets the baby in my arms and gives me the rundown on how to hold him, making sure I support his head.
Once Ethan and Chase leave the room, I sit down in Chase’s seat and hold Hunter. His little face is all scrunched up in his sleep. I stick my fingertip in his little hand, and he squeezes. “Awww,” I say under my breath. He is too darn cute!
“I like the look of a baby in your arms,” Ethan says, scaring me to death. Jumping, I look up at him and meet his heated eyes.
“Stop the birth control, because you are getting knocked up,” he says with a growl, then he bends down and kisses me before he leaves without waiting for my answer.
“Well, I guess you’re getting knocked up,” Jessica says sleepily.
I shrug. “Guess so.”
I wouldn’t mind being pregnant. I love kids and I love Ethan. We are getting married. I knew we would have babies eventually, but sooner doesn’t make a difference.
“Give me my baby back,” Chase tells me.
My eyes widen and I look at Jessica, shocked. She sighs and buries her head under the blanket.
“What do you mean?” I ask him as he takes the baby from me.
“I signed the birth certificate,” he says calmly. Too calmly. I’m sure I’m close to resembling a fish out of water.
“What do you mean?” I ask again, completely and utterly confused.
“What it means is, he convinced me it’s the best idea in case my ex gets out and tries to say Hunter is his. Chase being on the birth certificate may stop him,” Jessica says tiredly.
Chase just sucked Jessica in! Unable to help myself, I burst out laughing. Chase shoots me a knowing grin. Oh man, he’s good.
“What’s the matter?” Jessica asks and narrows her eyes at me.
“Oh, nothing!” I sing and stand up.
“Yes, there is!” her voice shrills.
“What it means is, Hunter is my kid and you are my woman. You’re tied to me forever.” Chase grins from ear to ear while swaying back and forth with Hunter in his arms.
“You mean you fucking tricked me?” Her voice has a deadly tinge to it.
Oh boy.
“Yeah.” He laughs and lays Hunter down in his little bed, pulling off the blanket and grabbing a diaper out of the carrier by the bed.
“Once I have my strength back, I’m going to fucking kill you,” she grinds out. Chase leaves the baby in the bed and stalks over to Jessica. He grabs her face in his hands and pulls her close to his face so she is looking at him, then slams his mouth down onto hers.
Holy shit, Batman.
Once he’s done devouring her mouth, he pulls away and returns to the baby. Jessica stares into space in shock.
“Chase, here are some more swaddling blankets and clothes.” I pick up the diaper bag and set it at the foot of the bed so he can reach whatever he needs.
“Here is your bag, Jessica.” I motion to her bag and then hand her the boppy pillow.
“Oh, I see the boppy!” She reaches her hand out for it. I hand it to her. She wraps it around her belly gently.
Chase lifts Hunter out of the little bed. He’s wearing a onesie that says ‘Daddy’s boy’ on the back. Oh God, this is great. Turning my head, I silently laugh.
“Where did you get that?” she shrills again.
“I have my ways.”
He hands her Hunter, who is getting fussy. Jessica lays him on top of the boppy with one arm wrapped around him. She reaches inside of her hospital gown and whips out her tit. Hunter latches on.
I take out one of the blankets in the diaper bag and hold it toward Chase. He doesn’t take it. He’s staring at Jessica’s tit like the guy he is. Her tit is larger than normal because it’s heavy with milk. I roll my eyes then I cover Hunter up myself so he doesn’t get cold.
“Braelyn?” Someone calls from the door. Chase moves so he is standing in front of Jessica, making sure no one can see her breast-feeding.
Isaac is standing at the door. “Yeah?”
“Want to come see Emily for a bit?”
I nod. “Sure.” I look back at Jessica and Chase. “I will be back later.”
Isaac walks me to the second floor to Emily. I stop him just before he is about to enter the room. “How is she doing?”
He sighs and looks inside the room. “She’s doing a lot better. She’s still scared, but I think she will be okay. She has nightmares about the whippings and the man who did it to her.”
“Where is she going to go? The center?”
His expression turns thunderous. “Fuck no, she’s coming home with me.”
“Okay. Just asking.” I walk inside the room. Emily is sitting up without her back touching the back of the bed.
She smiles slightly when she’s sees me come into the room. I return her smile and sit down in the chair by the bed. “How are you feeling, honey?”