Chapter 19
NINETEEN
If she didn’t have to get work done, she’d have stayed in bed for another two days but, alas, she was a goddamn grown up, and she’d signed contracts for work she needed to complete, so she was headed home to be responsible and shit.
Red had gotten a call from Frost that morning, commanding him to come to the clubhouse, and because Val was curious…and wasn’t quite ready to leave his side, she’d ridden over with him—at his request—to spend time in the clubhouse. She’d only met Cilla, Nadia, and Stephie a few nights ago, but they’d fallen into a strangely comfortable friendship, their knowing smirks and curious expressions telling Val that she was in for an inquisition she actually didn’t mind participating in. The club women, however…Kiki, Marci, and Sarah, Val kept her distance from them, not wanting to deal with the drama she saw percolating behind their eyes.
Ignoring them was easy once she sat down with the old ladies, sipping coffee, and spilling the tea about her weekend with Redtube. Before she knew it, two hours had passed. She knew Red was busy doing shit for work, and she had her own shit to do, so she shot him a text and headed out.
Just as she reached her car door, Cilla called out behind her, “Val! It was so great to meet you!” The woman’s smile lit up her whole face.
“It was great to meet you, too, Cilla—and you too, Nadia!” Honestly, she’d never had so much fun with other women before…not that she’d ever really been good at making friends at all. Hanging out with the old ladies was a whole experience, one she never wanted to take for granted. “Keep those men of yours in line,” she called back, winking at a blushing Cilla. God, that woman was so easy to rile up.
Snickering, Val turned back to her car, opened the door, climbed in, and headed home.
Not for a single moment over the last several months did she ever think she’d spend an entire weekend in with @RedDevilDog—in bed, snuggling on the couch, meeting and hanging out with his club brothers, and just getting to know him without the barrier of a computer screen. And he hadn’t left her for a single moment, wanting to touch her, watch her, silently prove his remorse and commitment to her through his actions. And it was a heady thought that he was doing all of that for her. Valentina Ivanova, computer geek, chubby chick, scarred freak…. Yes, she realized there was a bit of idol worship there, but—come on—the dude had hundreds of thousands of followers, most of them women, but he’d spent the last three days with her , worshiping her , telling her he loved her, promising commitment, a future…and…God, could she really believe that he was going to give up his thirst trap empire? For her?
…I’ll do anything to prove to you, my Daisy, that you are everything to me….
Fuck…if he meant it, who was she to tell him no. Yeah, she loved that she had what so many other woman wanted, but she didn’t like that so many other woman got to appreciate him…and send him all sorts of filthy shit in his DMs.
That first morning after their first night together, he’d given her access to his social media accounts. The first thing she’d done—like any normal OTT woman—was look through his private chats. Could she have hacked them at any time over the last year? Yes, but she respected people’s privacy.
Diving into his DMs…had been eye opening.
Suddenly, in her car headed home, she was craving marshmallows, Goldfish crackers, and peppermint mocha creamer. Also, she needed another box of Q-tips. She sighed, annoyed by her own anxiety-driven quirk.
Leaving the Unchained compound, she pointed her car to the nearest grocery store, pondering how fast she could get in and out so she could get home in time to get to work on her newest assignment. Usually, she’d get so immersed in her work, she’d basically ghost Red for days. This time, however, the man had a key to her house, and he told her he’d be coming over—with an overnight bag—to spend time with her.
“I’ll happily sit on your couch and watch you work. I’ll even be your slave boy; bringing you snacks and making you take breaks once every few hours.” He didn’t have to tell her twice.
Parking, she headed into the grocery store, making quick work of loading her cart and checking out.
It took fifteen minutes to get home, but she was more than ready to get the fuck on with her day…once she brewed some coffee and put some of that peppermint mocha creamer in it. There was never a wrong time for caffeine…and creamy minty chocolatey goodness.
She was so busy grabbing the grocery bags from her back seat she didn’t notice the shadow at first.
“So you’re the one who tricked him into tattooing your name to his dick,” a shrill voice snarled from behind her.
Immediately dropping the bags on the ground, Val spun on her heel and backed up into the side of the car, her gaze landing on a heavily pregnant woman who was glaring at her.
“Who the fuck are you?” Val demanded, though she had a feeling what the woman would say.
And just when I was about to have a fabulous fucking day….
The woman lifted her chin and glowered down her nose at Val, who crossed her arms and tensed. Whatever this woman wanted to say was going to hurt. Bad.
“What the hell do you have that makes him stay, huh?” the stranger sneered, crossing her arms over her bump.
God, please don’t say what I’m scared you’re going to say…. “When you say him ?—”
“I mean Redtube…the father of my baby.”
Val’s heart, lungs, and stomach dropped into her feet, making her knees wobble. Redtube…was going to be a father? He’d gotten one of his casual fucks pregnant? She couldn’t drag in enough air, and her vision started getting spotty.
“What?” she barely forced out through a throat that wouldn’t work. It couldn’t be true; Redtube was hers, and they were going to have a family. If he got another woman pregnant…what would that mean for her?
This…this is what happens when you fall in love with a man who fucks everything that moves!
The woman smirked evilly. “That’s right; Redtube is the father of my baby.”
Val stared down at the woman’s belly. She was obviously months along…which meant Red had to have known about it. And was keeping it from her.
But…that wasn’t Redtube, right? She’d thought she knew Redtube, inside and out, and after their weekend together, she’d learned even more. And what she knew about him told her that he wasn't the type of man who’d have a pregnant woman on the side.
The evidence was right there, though, in her face. Sneering at her.
Swallowing down the bile and fighting back the tears, Val squared her shoulders and asked, “What does your baby have to do with me? You can’t just ambush me at my house.”
She snickered. “This isn’t an ambush, this is just me being a good citizen, woman to woman, letting you know that the man you’re fucking is also fucking me, and we’re having a child together. So, once whatever hold you have over him is done, he’ll come back to me and our baby—his family.” The woman, her soul-killer, laughed, the sound discordant. “You honestly thought he would stay with you—fat, ugly, no friends, no family. You don’t even compare to me let alone all the other women he’s fucked and forgotten. What do you think will happen now; he’ll get bored with you, fuck another of his thirst trap women, and you’ll be just another notch on his bedpost.”
…bedpost….
Like those goddamn hair ties.
Was this woman one of them, the ones he fucked off camera?
Val scrutinized the woman’s features…. No. She wasn’t one of the hair ties, but that didn’t mean she was lying about fucking Red.
She says she’s still fucking him….
No! She was talking shit! Red was an honorable man, a loyal one, one who took his duties seriously. If the kid was his, and he knew about it, he would have been there for the child…and he would have told Val about it.
Right?
“So…you’re okay with your baby daddy fucking other women, as long as he comes back to you?”
The woman’s face turned red, her eyes narrowing. “He’s only doing that until he’s ready to settle down. Once he’s ready, he’ll come to me, marry me, make me his old lady, and take care of me and our son.”
Val’s heart tripped at the picture the woman was painting, but…something didn’t sit right with this woman…and the look in her eye.
Suddenly feeling less hurt and more wary, Val tried to remember if she shoved the pepper spray in her bra that morning.
“So…what’s your plan? Warn me off then wait around for Redtube to get all his wild out, then he settles down with you to play happy family?” Val inquired, a hint of snark in her voice.
Dropping her arms from her belly, the woman took a step closer, and Val slid along the side of her car, toward the front door of her house, keeping distance between them. No, she wouldn’t want to hurt a pregnant woman, but she would if it came down to it.
“You mentioned the tattoo of my name by his dick,” Val prodded, cocking her head, “those are permanent , ya know?”
Sputtering, the woman, sneered, “It’s fake; it’ll come off in the next few days, just in time for him to move on from you.”
Uh…yeah…this woman is noodles! Val felt both relief and alarm in one fell swoop.
Taking a step back toward her door and the safety on the other side, not taking her eyes from the crazy person, Val knew she couldn’t reason with the woman. She needed to get her cell out of her pocket and call the cops.
Call Red!
Yeah, that last thing she needed was to trigger the crazy by bringing Red there. She needed to get the woman out of there so she could call Red…and see if the fathered a psycho’s baby.
“Okay…so, I’m warned off,” she said, “you can go now.”
Switch. Flipped.
The woman growled, reaching out to try and grab Val’s arm.
“You can’t get rid of me! You’re just a homewrecking slut who thinks her fat, ugly ass can keep a man like Redtube! But I’m the mother of his son, and I’m the one he wants a future with, and I’m going to be his old lady.”
With every word, Val felt a mix of emotions; hurt, fear, disbelief, confusion, and doubt. But the disbelief…the doubt…they weren’t about what she thought they’d be. No, she was hearing the looney toon was saying, but…she didn’t believe a word of it.
And Redtube was why. What he’d given her that weekend was why.
What a fucking mess.
“Okay, lady, I think I’ve heard enough. It’s time for you to leave before I call the cops,” Val commanded, her voice loud and hard. She was tired of the day already, and her peppermint mocha creamer was getting warm sitting on the ground like that!
“You don’t believe me, you think I’m lying, but you’re wrong! Red loves me, he wants to be with me,” the woman shrilled.
“Okay,” Val said flatly, unblinkingly.
That only made the woman madder, her body vibrating with anger.
“He chose me, he’ll always choose me. It’s me he wants.”
“Sure,” Val replied.
Again, the woman growled, but instead of launching herself at Val like Val thought she would, the woman began slapping herself. In the face. Hard.
Stunned, it took a moment for Val to cry out, “What the hell are you doing?”
The woman, panting, stopped mid-strike to snarl, “I’m going to prove to you that it’s me he wants.”
“By hurting yourself? What the fuck, woman! You’re fucking crazy!” This was not happening! Across the street, Mrs. Aimes was standing in her doorway, staring at Val, her eyes wide in shock and concern. No doubt, the older woman had already called the cops.
“Call him,” the psycho demanded. “Call him and tell him to come—you’ll see. I’ll tell him you hurt me, that you’re trying to hurt his baby, and he’ll kill you.”
Okay, she’s more than crazy—she’s dangerous! Where the fuck was her pepper spray?
After hanging up with Malo, one of the Bone Dogz patch overs who was working on starting his own tattoo shop in town, Red nearly threw his phone against the wall when it began ringing.
Again.
This was the tenth unknown caller call in the last twelve hours, and he knew who it was. He’d just, stupidly, hoped that she’d get the fucking message. He hit ignore then went to put the phone in his pocket so he could get the fuck out of there, go home, pack his overnight bag, then pamper and pleasure his woman as she worked on her latest white hat assignment.
The phone pinged with a text…and something, very much like dread, made him swipe down to see what it said.
Unknown: I saw you with her. Does she know about the baby?
What the fuck?
Unknown: Does she know you were fucking me just six weeks ago?
Shannon Scanlon. Motherfucking bitch! What the hell was she talking about— saw you with her ? Had she been following him? Was she stalking him and Valentina?
Unknown: Your sweet Valentina…hope she doesn’t mind being called a homewrecking slut.
He growled, rage filling his gaze with crimson. How dare that bitch threaten Valentina?
Unknown: Don’t worry. I see her right now. That fatty is always getting food! I’ll tell her about the baby for you.
Seized with panic and urgency, Red hurried from his office, ignoring Locust who called out to him from the bar, and hurrying to his bike. He needed to get to Valentina before Shannon did; he had no idea what crazy shit Shannon would tell Val, and he definitely didn’t want the psycho to tell Val that her baby was his.
Goddamn it!
He’d just gotten Val to commit to being with him, he’d just come off the best weekend of his life with the woman he loved—he’d be damned if Shannon’s bullshit made Val rabbit. She was still skittish, still wary, and she’d already admitted her problem with being confronted by Red’s past in public. And there was Shannon, spying, stalking, and now crazy talking about making Val the homewrecker.
Mounting his bike, he pulled his phone out to check Val’s location. Yeah, he’d planted tracking software in her phone, but the cyber genius she was would find it, and she could easily disable the signal. If she wanted.
There. It was live and strong.
She was at a grocery store not even five miles away. With Shannon.
Shit!
Holy fuck, he hoped he got there in time…. If he lost Val because of the mistake he made in fucking Shannon, his life was over.