3
Dante
I stopped in Minneapolis to fuel up and grab a bite to eat. Fuck, it was freezing. My nuts practically jumped into my ass to escape the arctic cold. It appeared I wasn’t acclimated to sub-zero temps anymore after spending so much time in the sweltering desert.
After blasting the heater and warming myself for several minutes after filling up my gas tank, I called my cousin Ray. Someone needed to know I was coming. I was only a couple of hours from the compound and feeling a little guilty for not giving my family a heads up.
Plus, I wanted to find out if my parents and sisters would be around. It would suck if they weren’t home when I got there.
“Hey, cuz,” Raymond answered on the first ring. “What’s it been? A year?”
“Something like that. How’ve you been?” Man, I felt like a shitty cousin. If I recalled correctly, it’d been over a year since I’d last talked to him and my buddies, Chase and Max. Time flew at light speed during missions. Hell, the past six years were a blur to me.
“Been better, that’s for sure. Can’t wait to see you next month.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, then reached for a lollipop as if it would soothe me like a pacifier. “Actually, you’ll get to see me much sooner.”
“Why’s that? Thought you had to fulfill your contract completely.”
“That’s usually how it works, but I got cut loose. Are my parents around?”
“I don’t know. I assume they are. Why’d you get cut loose?”
I sucked on my candy as I watched cars pull in and out of the parking lot. “You assume my parents are around? Either you know or don’t.”
“I’m not in town. I’m in The Cities.”
“No, shit? So am I. Where are you? Maybe we could grab a beer before going to Bastion.” This would be perfect. I could tell Ray what went down and get his reaction before I told my parents.
“Really? I’m… Um…” His voice trailed and there was a long pause. “Watching someone.”
“Who? Is it club business?” Why did he sound weird? Like he was doing something wrong and hoped he wouldn’t get caught?
“Not exactly. I’m down for a beer once I know what’s going on.” Ray had always been mysterious and broody for as long as I’d known him. My dad had told me he had trauma from being held captive, but I hadn’t questioned him further.
Why wouldn’t he tell me who he was watching if it wasn’t club business? “When will that be?”
“Hopefully not long. I’ve been sitting out here for over an hour already.”
“Well, I’ll come meet you. We can keep watch together.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, cuz.”
“Why not? I won’t tell what you’ve been up to.”
Ray sighed into the phone like he was considering it. “I’ll send you the address. Just be discreet. Don’t want Birdie or Ember to see you.” He ended the call before I could ask why the fuck he was watching them.
The address came through and it was a medical clinic. Was one of the girls sick? My chest tightened as I pulled out of the parking lot. Birdie’s pretty face flashed behind my eyes, then Ember’s. I didn’t want either of them to be ill. But part of me hoped it was Birdie and not Ember.
A bitter taste of betrayal tainted the sweet candy on my tongue. I shouldn’t wish that my best friend was sick, so that Ember would be okay. What a shitty way to think.
Birdie and Ember were both okay. I refused to believe anything less.
But I still threw up a prayer for them, just in case.
Twenty minutes later, I spotted Ray’s truck and parked a few spots behind him and went over. When he saw me, he jerked his chin and unlocked the door.
“Hey.” I hopped in and closed the door. “They still inside?”
“Yeah.” He grabbed my bicep and shook me. “Good to see you, cuz.” His words didn’t match his expression. He looked fucking worried, with a deep crease between his eyebrows.
Raymond was almost thirty-five and single. The only women I’d seen him with were the club’s kittens. He’d been promoted to VP last summer after his older brother, Track, retired. It seemed the Montez men were the best vice presidents, but I had no desire to be VP. I wanted to be an enforcer and Maddox knew it.
“What do you know?” I nodded toward the building.
“Not much. The girls are inside with Tara. It could be she’s the one with the appointment. I should’ve had Grizz look into it, but I wanted to avoid questions.”
“I don’t get it. Why would he question you? You’re the VP.”
“Because I’m confident it’s not Tara and I wouldn’t be nosing around if it were Ember.” He avoided my gaze. Nothing more needed to be said. His concern was for Birdie, not Ember.
“I’ll go do some recon.” I pulled out my beanie from my coat pocket and put my sunglasses on.
“No. They might see you.”
“Dude. Nobody will see me. This is my job. Be back in ten.” I opened and shut the door. Stalking toward the building, I slowed my pace in case Ray called me back. He didn’t, which told me he wanted answers about as bad as me.
I entered the building and went straight for the directory on the wall. It was clear this clinic catered to women’s issues.
A familiar giggle made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. Birdie. I froze and kept facing the board. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the three girls coming in my direction. Dammit, I prayed they didn’t notice me.
“Well, it’s done now and there’s no turning back,” Birdie said.
“Yup,” Ember replied.
“I need a drink and cheese curds. I can’t believe what I just witnessed.” Tara laughed nervously. “My nerves are freaking out.”
“Mine were too, during the procedure. We could’ve done it at home instead of here.” Birdie giggled again, which reminded me of her mom, Maddy. “But peace came over me the second it was over with. If it’s meant to be, it will happen.”
Where the fuck was Birdie talking about? What did she do? What procedure?
The trio strolled behind me and left the building. I went in the direction they’d come from and removed my sunglasses. Several women were seated in the waiting area.
Ray would probably be pissed, but I had to know who had an appointment.
“Can I help you?” the lady at the desk asked.
“I’m looking for my friends. They were here for an appointment, and I was late. Two redheads and a brunette.”
“Oh, yes. They just left.”
“Dang it.” I slumped against the desk like a disappointed pussy. “I hope everything went well for her. Can’t believe I missed it.”
The woman studied me with a suspicious glint in her blue eyes. “I’m sure she’ll understand. It can take a few times, so you can be at the next appointment to support her. You can probably catch them in the parking lot if you hurry.” She gave me nothing. No name or idea who had a procedure done and what kind.
“Thanks. Have a good day.” I waved and rushed out, ticked off.
Christ! I didn’t want to throw out names in case I said the wrong one. Either way, someone had something done to them.
“Excuse me?” A woman’s voice came from behind me.
I slowed and turned around to find a woman waddling toward me. Her hands rested on her pregnant belly.
“Don’t listen to her.” She pointed back at the receptionist I’d spoken to. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard her say insemination can take a few times. She’s not wrong, but it worked the first time for me.” She rubbed her bump.
What the fuck? Who got inseminated?
“Wow, that’s great for you. It was my friend’s first time.” Or I assumed it was.
“Well, it really depends on each person. But she looks young and healthy.”
“She is. Did she look upset at all? I don’t want her being angry with me for missing it.”
The pregnant woman smiled. “She was nervous before getting called back but was smiling when she came out.”
Still no idea who she meant. “That’s great. Good luck to you.” I pointed at her belly and rushed out to Ray’s truck and jumped into the cab.
“What the fuck were you? They left a minute ago.”
“Trying to find out which of them had the appointment.”
“And?”
“And I don’t know. Sounds like it was Birdie or Ember, and not Tara.”
“Why not Tara?”
“Because someone was artificially inseminated.”
“What?” Ray’s voice boomed. “You’re fucking lying, and I don’t find it funny.”
“Nope. Not lying.”
Ray hit his forehead on the steering wheel over and over, gripping it firmly until his knuckles turned white. I’d never seen him like this before.
“Dude, what’s going on? You seem bent out of shape over Birdie. Do you have a thing for her?” Since Birdie’s sweet sixteen party, I’d known she had been crushing on Ray. But he was twelve years older than us and never showed interest in Birdie beyond music. He’d treated her like a family friend, which had been exactly what she was to him. Plus, nobody would ever mess with Storm’s daughter. That would be a death wish.
He stopped and glared at me. “No.”
“Liar. But even if you did, you might be too late. She could be pregnant.” My immediate thought was, or Ember could be. Jesus, I would lose it if Ember got pumped full of another man’s sperm. Like why would either of them do that?
I could see Birdie doing it to piss off Ray. He’d kept her at a distance, and it couldn’t have been because he couldn’t tell she was crazy about him.
If I had to guess, his behavior was because of his trauma and the servant girl he’d fallen for during his captivity. Again, I didn’t know all the details. Raymond never talked about it, but everyone knew he had deep scars, including Birdie.
As I was considering things further, she would never get pregnant to hurt him. So then, it had to be Ember. Fuck!
Ray grabbed his phone and checked his tracker app.
“You have a tracker on Birdie?”
“Yes.”
“Damn, cuz.”
“Better keep your mouth shut about it, too. If they’re headed back home, we can leave.”
“And if they’re not?”
“We’ll follow them.”
“Why?”
He cut his narrowed gaze at me. “Did you question your CO this much? Is that why you were cut loose early?”
“Asshole,” I hissed, shaking my head. “My CO thinks I fucked his underaged daughter. I didn’t.”
“That’s messed up.”
“Yup. Don’t tell anyone until I talk to my parents.”
“I won’t.” He turned back to his phone. Ray was the strong silent type, unless he was singing. I trusted him with my life and to keep his mouth shut. “Doesn’t look like they’re leaving town.”
“I’ll follow you then.”
“K.”
Not long after we left the clinic, we parked in front of a restaurant. It was almost three and it would get dark soon. I was surprised Storm and Hero would let their girls go out alone. Driving during winter and at night wasn’t safe. The country roads got icy, and deer came out after dusk. They could hit one or end up in a ditch. Why would they let them leave the compound without a prospect? Things sure had changed since I left.
Raymond got out of his truck and waved for me to follow. I turned off my Jeep, got out, and trotted toward him.
“What are we doing?” I asked.
“Getting a beer.”
“But they’ll see us.” I sensed he wanted them to, which surprised me.
“Yup.”
“Okay.”
We entered the establishment and were met with a Seat Yourself sign. I searched for the girls and found them in a half-circle booth. Before I could point them out, Ray took off toward them. I trailed several feet behind him, my stomach tightening with each step I took. This was not how I’d planned to see Ember for the first time.
“What are you doing here?” Birdie asked him, surprise in her voice.
“Came in for a beer. What are you doing here?” He threw her question back at her gruffly.
“Doesn’t matter, does it?” I stepped forward to reveal myself. “Hey, ladies. I’m home.”
“Dante!” Birdie flew out of the booth and lobbed herself into my arms. “We weren’t expecting you for five more weeks.”
“It’s good to see you.” I hugged her tightly, noting my cousin’s snarl. He didn’t need to worry. My feelings for Birdie had changed and touching her now proved there was nothing there anymore.
She pulled away. “Join us!”
“We are,” Ray said through gritted teeth. He directed her to get into the booth and sat next to her.
“Jeez, who’s grumpy? Ray, as usual.” Birdie rolled her eyes.
I couldn’t help but laugh, but my amusement vanished as my gaze connected with Ember’s. She hadn’t gotten out of the booth to greet me, only Tara had.
“It’s so wonderful to see you, Dante. Your mom didn’t mention you coming home today.” Tara hugged me like any auntie would.
“My parents don’t know. I wanted to surprise them.” I released her and she returned to the booth, sliding closer to Ember to make room for me.
“They will definitely be surprised,” Tara replied.
“How’s it going, Ember?” My stomach twisted into a knot as I sat and forced myself not to look at her stomach.
Damn, she was gorgeous. A goddess with red hair and pouty lips. I wished Tara wasn’t between us so I could hug her, but I felt an icy chill floating around Ember.
But if I could get her alone, I was sure there would be sparks between us. Whether good or bad ones, I’d take what I could get.
Ember blinked her big brown eyes as if staring at a ghost, then sighed and lifted her menu in front of her face like a shield.
Tara and Birdie stared at each other with unreadable expressions.
“Okay, you can ignore me.” I picked up my menu and checked it over. I wasn’t hungry, but would order a beer like I’d planned with Ray.
“So… Are you following me?” Birdie’s question came out of left field. Her laser blue eyes were fixed on Raymond. Annoyance rolled off her in giant waves.
Some things never changed. Birdie had always been direct while we were growing up. She’d said everything on her mind, except for admitting her feelings about my cousin to the world. After I had found her crying during her sweet sixteen party, she’d acted like Raymond didn’t exist. I’d actually believed she’d put him in the friend zone. But she hadn’t. The more I had paid attention to her, I’d catch her quick glances at him and the hurt in her eyes when he’d be with a kitten. Raymond had treated her like family, which had made sense given how much older he was. At least that was what I’d thought until today…
My cuz didn’t even flinch. “Nope.”
I held back a smirk. Lucky for Raymond our server arrived to take our orders or Birdie might have pressured him into answering her. Not that I believed Raymond would’ve caved, but stranger things had happened today.
After the middle-aged server left, an awkward silence filled the air. The girls acted like they had a secret, and Raymond was on his phone, avoiding Birdie. I couldn’t deny they looked good seated next to each other. Didn’t “they” say age was only a number? Birdie wasn’t a teenager. She was a legal adult and turning twenty-three soon. As much as her dad Storm tried to control her and scare off men, I was confident all he wanted for his princess was for her to be happy. And for someone to worship, protect, and love her the way he did Angel. Raymond could be all that and more if he’d just let his guard down.
I drank my water and stared at Ember over the rim of the glass. Now that her shield had been removed, I could see all of her beautiful face. Her big brown eyes and dark lashes. Petite turned-up nose and full pink lips. One word came to mind: gorgeous.
Occasionally she’d look my way, then quickly divert her gaze. I hated not being able to read her expressions. She seemed a lot more closed off than the last time I’d seen her.
You’re such an idiot.
Why wouldn’t she have her walls up? Not once had I called or texted her. And then there was my suspicion that it was she who’d been inseminated.
Why would she choose to get pregnant artificially?
When would I get the chance to corner her and ask?
And maybe kiss her…
Why hadn’t I communicated with her in the last six years? A brief phone call. An email. A three-word text saying, How’s it going?
Because you’re an idiot.