Hades (BLP Motorcycle Clubs #2)

Chapter 1

Harley lived for the moments of relief after a baby’s first cry, but then her triggering thoughts would creep in and ruin the moment. It never failed.

I wonder if my mother loved me enough to cry when she first held me?

Was my father there when I was born, or was he with his beloved Black Mark Motorcycle Club?

Where was Cati while Mom was in the hospital with me? I hope she wasn’t with Dad…

Oh, Cati…

“It’s a girl,” Harley announced, shaking the thoughts from her head. It was a practice she was all too familiar with as she beamed at Shayla and handed her crying daughter over before looking at Wade. “Do you want to cut the umbilical cord, dad?”

He grinned with tears in his eyes, which always made Harley choke up. She was a sucker for a father who clearly fell in love with their child at first sight.

With shaky hands, he stepped forward and grabbed the medical grade scissors she held out to him. She clamped the umbilical cord and directed him on where to cut. The look of pride after he did it always choked her up too.

Being a midwife really wasn’t the ideal job for someone so sensitive. Harley fought every single day to remain professional and keep her tears in check.

“Thank you, Harley. Thank you so much,” Shayla murmured while keeping her eyes on her daughter.

Harley took her gloves off and quickly washed her hands as the nurse she had working with her took her position to deliver the placenta and stitch Shayla up. She had a small tear after delivering such a healthy and beautiful baby girl.

Harley loved working at this birthing center because they understood her practice. She was a trained doula and a midwife, which meant she took special care to make sure mom and baby were physically okay as well as mentally and emotionally. While she was completely capable of delivering the placenta and stitching her patients up, she would much rather check in with the mother and then run the standard tests on the baby.

“How are we over here?” Harley asked, giving the newly growing family space to marvel at their baby while still making her support known.

Wade glanced up first and grinned at her. “Perfect. You did so well with her. With both of my girls.”

The compliment brought a fresh wave of tears to Harley’s eyes, but she blinked them away and offered him a warm smile instead before giving her attention to Shayla. “Shay, how are you, sweetie?”

“Tired, but I don’t think I ever want to sleep again,” she responded as she stared lovingly down at her baby.

Harley’s laugh was a warm one, and the creases of her eyes crinkled as she inched closer, getting a better look at the baby. “What are we thinking? Does she look like a Leah?”

Shayla tore her eyes from the baby and looked up at her husband. He nodded, his smile permanently etched on his face, before she finally gave Harley her attention. “She does. Leah Unique Allington.”

“I’ll write it on the board and let the staff know so they can come with the birth certificate paperwork in a little while. Mind if I take her to make sure she has all her fingers and toes?” Harley joked.

The new parents knew it was a joke too; otherwise, she wouldn’t have made it. She took the comfortability of her patients very seriously. She had done plenty of ultrasounds for them, and they knew Leah was a healthy baby with all her limbs, fingers, and toes.

“Okay, but hurry back with her,” Shayla said begrudgingly.

“I will, sweetie. You need to focus on pushing out that placenta, and dad, remember what we talked about? Skin to skin. As soon as I’m finished with her, you both need to be ready for that. We’ll see if baby Leah here will latch on and eat too. You guys ready for all that?”

They both nodded while Shayla focused on the nurse to push out the placenta, and Wade removed his shirt and sat in the rocking chair next to Shayla’s hospital bed, leaving Harley to tend to Leah.

“Hey, little one.” She cooed her words in a singsong voice as she laid her down on the soft table basinet and cleaned her off before performing the standard tests every newborn should get. “I know, honey. I know. It’s a new world, and it can seem big and scary.” Her voice was light and airy as she smiled down at the fussing baby. “But stay strong, little one. Don’t let the cruelty of the world get you, okay? Promise me.”

She smiled when Leah let out a big yawn before scrunching her little face and wailing as the cold stethoscope hit her chest. Harley talked her through every test, even the pricking of her heel, before she swaddled her in a newborn blanket she bought for all her clients.

By the time she walked back over to the parents, the placenta had been delivered, and they were eagerly waiting for their little girl. She handed her to Shayla and then coached her on how to get Leah to breastfeed. Harley beamed when baby girl latched on easily.

“After you finish breastfeeding, hand her on over to Wade. I think he’s going to explode if he doesn’t get to hold his daughter soon,” Harley mentioned, giving Wade a wink.

Often, fathers were lost in the sauce when it came to birthing a baby, but Harley always planted the seed to the moms that had a man with them that they had help. They didn’t have to do everything on their own, nor was it fair for them to hog the baby. The fathers deserved some time with their children, too, especially the good ones.

Actually, only the good ones.

“Thank you, Harley. You have to go now?” The panic in Shayla’s voice caused Harley’s insides to warm.

She loved it when her clients depended on her. It made her feel like she was doing her job.

Harley squeezed her hand. “I would stay longer, but Ms. Leah here managed to snag the same birthday as my best friend. Call me if you need anything, though, okay? The doctors and nurses here are more than capable of taking care of you, but if you need me, I’ll be here.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Wade said. “Enjoy your night.”

“You too. I know it’s hard, but try to sleep. Get her on a schedule like we talked about.” Harley waved and then exited the room, feeling fulfilled for the day.

Shayla was her last client set to give birth this month, and her calendar was clear, as long as those babies stayed in their places all warm and cozy, for the next couple of months. She needed to get some more patients to fill in the gap so she didn’t have as much downtime. For now, all she had to do was keep up with her patients checkups, charts, and birthing plans—all things she loved to do anyway.

When she got to the nursing station, she scrubbed her hands before going toward her locker and grabbing her purse and duffel bag. She had already told her best friend, Blair, that she might have to miss her birthday celebration. When the birthing center called and let her know that Shayla had been admitted, she called Blair right away to give her a heads up. Luckily, her best friends were really understanding of her job, but she knew they both, especially Blair, would be glad she could make it.

Once her phone was in hand, she realized she had a bunch of missed calls and texts from her ex-boyfriend, Drew. They had dated for five years, but she broke it off with him a year ago because he couldn’t stay faithful. He ran the streets and, apparently, was a big deal. Harley wouldn’t know because she really stayed to herself, but he found the need to remind her every chance he got since they broke up that any woman would be happy to be on his arm. The issue was, most women had been on his arm. She didn’t want a man that was for everyone. He taught her that.

He was her first boyfriend and the first and only man she had sex with. She lost her virginity late in life, and she hated that she allowed Drew, of all people, to take something so precious of hers. Now, he thought she belonged to him and wouldn’t leave her alone. He popped up on her whenever he felt like it, and when she went to get a restraining order on him, the police laughed at her. Apparently, Drew had them on lock. Luckily, she never really thought he would hurt her. She just wanted him to leave her alone.

With a sigh, she ignored all the calls and texts from him and dialed Blair’s number as she walked through the halls and toward the elevator.

“Did that girl have that baby?” Blair asked, causing Harley to giggle.

“Yes, Shalya had her baby. I’m going home quick to change, and then I’ll be there.”

“She’s coming!” Blair shouted, no doubt to their other best friend, Sage, causing Harley to pull the phone away from her ear as she stepped onto the elevator.

When she put it back, she heard Blair say, “We’re pre-gaming at my house. Come here when you’re ready.”

Harley’s face scrunched up. “Pre-gaming to go to dinner?”

Blair was the bougiest of bougie , and she had booked a table at Prime & Ember months ago for this occasion. It was the fanciest steakhouse in Ellwood, and only the elite could get reservations, or people with a lot of money. Blair made a good income as a wedding planner, but she was neither considered one of the elites or rolling in cash. How she got those reservations, Harley didn’t want to know.

Blair snorted. “Duh, Lady Bug. Bring your ass.”

The line disconnected as Harley smiled fondly at the nickname.

She had met Blair and Sage ten years ago when she started working at a hospital as part of the admin staff. She was working her way through school, and Blair and Sage were doing the same thing. They all worked the same shift but for different departments. Sage and Blair had been best friends since high school, and Harley still didn’t understand how.

They were completely opposite of each other, and Harley landed somewhere right in the middle of them. Where Blair loved a life of luxury, sometimes living beyond her means, Sage lived a minimalistic life. In fact, her sole job was a podcast dedicated to living a minimalistic life. Ironically, the podcast made good money, but she rarely spent it. She lived in an apartment and didn’t even own a microwave. Her savings was massive, though, and she always said she would spend it when the right time came. Harley didn’t believe there would be a right time, but it wasn’t her money, and she didn’t make it a habit of counting other people’s pockets, so she minded her business.

Harley, on the other hand, lived a quiet life. She had lost touch with her family years ago, and until Blair and Sage entered her life, she had been somewhat of a loner. She still considered herself an introvert, but her two best friends could pull her out of that any time, because for them, she would do whatever to make them smile.

When she got off the elevator, her face frowned up at the sound of elevated voices. She rounded the corner and froze at the sight of a large and imposing man shouting at Kat, the receptionist. He wasn’t large as in fat. He was large as in muscular and intimidating. The tattoos peeking out from his black leather jacket and up his neck toward the side of his head made him look even more menacing. But that voice. Oh, that voice. It had so much bass it rattled the surrounding area.

Harley spotted a clearly pregnant and in labor woman walk in with who looked to be her mother. She breathed deeply and looked terrified by the scene in the lobby area. Harley’s heart constricted. This was not how any mother should feel walking into the place she would birth her child.

Quickly, Harley moved to grab one of the wheelchairs off to the side and brought it to the woman. “Here, honey. Sit. I’ll get you checked in.”

After the woman sat, her mother pushed her timidly to the front of the desk. The man glared at her, and Harley glared at him as she moved behind the desk and woke up one of the computers, doing her best to ignore Kat, who seemed to tremble next to her.

As quickly as she could, she paged a nurse and then entered the woman into the system after asking for her name, secretly thanking God for her previous reception work when she was in high school and her admin work at a hospital following that. Though she wasn’t familiar with this system, she knew enough to get the poor girl checked in.

A nurse came quickly and whisked them away, and Harley turned her gaze on the man, who had been shouting about Tiffany, one of the midwives that worked at this birthing center from time to time. As midwives, they could bounce around from birthing centers and homes, depending on their clients’ needs, and they all knew each other.

“Sir, what seems to be the problem?”

His glare turned on her, and his tone turned calm but deadly as he spoke, keeping eye contact the entire time. “All I know is someone better either find me Tiffany or find me someone else who can deliver my sister’s baby. That Tiffany bitch isn’t answering the phone, and I?—”

“Sir!” Kat cried out in horror. Harley didn’t blame her. She had never seen someone so enraged before, and to call a woman a bitch just because she wasn’t answering her phone on his demand… Harley was appalled.

“Get me Tiffany!” he barked, causing them both to jump.

“Sir, what is your name?” Harley asked calmly. On the inside, she was terrified. This man had no idea how badly he was triggering her at that moment. He reminded her of her father, which was not a compliment. Be clear. He didn’t look like her father, but the way he seemed to bully people… yeah. That was all Knox Cruz.

“Hades.” His black eyes landed back on her, and the way he said his name with a sinister grin caused chills to run up her spine. Hades? That can’t be his real name. There’s no way his mama named him that . “And if you don’t get me someone?—”

“I can help. Where is your sister?”

Hades peered at Harley, his eyes traveling from the top of her head and down to her waist. She was sure he would have gone down to her toes, but the desk obscured his view. From that angle, all he could see were her pink bunny rabbit scrubs and her long, dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.

“You deliver babies, Tink?”

Harley swallowed the fear rising in her throat as she wondered who Tink was. Something about this man felt very unsafe and unstable. Already, she could tell she would never know what he was about to say or do next, but she had a really big issue with telling people no, especially people in need. “My name is Harley, and yes, I do.”

He glared at her for a second longer before reaching over the desk and gripping her arm. He tugged her from around the desk, and she yelped.

“Harley–”

Hades glared at Kat, cutting her off before looking down at Harley. “You’re coming with me.”

Harley’s body shook with fear, but she looked back at Kat and said, “I’m okay, Kat. I’ll call when I’m finished to let you know I’m sa?—”

“Let’s go.” Hades pulled her through the lobby and out the front door. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the black Harley Davidson motorcycle with pops of blue. Hades was written along the side, and she knew her fate before he could confirm it for her. He stopped when she did and glared down at her. “Come on.”

“I… I can’t?—”

He looked at her, and then the bike, before he smirked. If she didn’t know any better, she would think he got off on her fear. He leaned in close to her, his long beard almost touching her face as he spoke. “You’re afraid of the bike, Tink?”

She had been on many bikes before, but she associated them with bad people. She couldn’t get her father out of her head as she nodded, tears threatening to fall. “Please… I can drive?—”

“Get on.” He tugged her again, damn near yanking her arm off, before he picked her up and set her right on the bike, causing her to stiffen. He got on the front and started the motorcycle before revving it up. “Better hang on.”

She just barely wrapped her arms around his solid torso before he took off, and she couldn’t even think about her fear or her father or her childhood. All she could do was pray they made it to their destination in one piece, especially since neither of them wore a helmet.