Chapter 12 #4
“And that right there, Kylie, is why I’m looking for houses in another town.
And I’ll tell you what should be as obvious as the nose on your face: I don’t want Darren.
I never did. I would like for us to be friends or at least get along for the baby, but I see that staying here in Redemption and having to deal with this bullshit every day isn’t going to work for me.
” She joined Kylie at the door and pulled it open farther, the implied “get the fuck out of my house” implied.
She waited for Kylie to leave, then closed and locked the door.
The idea of moving out of town was sounding better and better.
The only thing that could make this day better was if she ran into Jed tonight and he called her a whore.
* * *
Race
Race kicked back in his desk chair and clasped his hands over his stomach.
He listened as Jed reported about finding the asshole who was selling EZ Lay on a corner near their old property in town.
The owner had called to give them a heads up, and Jed, Tuck, and Darren had rolled out to deal with it.
“Same story as the last one. No one knows who the main supplier is, and by the time the drug makes it to the street, it’s passed through so many hands, no one knows who the original supplier is,” Jed told him.
“The one thing the sellers dealing around our old clubhouse agree on is that they thought they were selling for us,” Darren added.
“Fucking Tinker.” Race growled. He was so beyond done having to deal with that son of a bitch, he could barely breathe.
It felt like it was always one problem after another.
Some days, he wondered if it was really worth all the effort.
Then he’d see one of his brothers smiling at his old lady like she was the breath that kept him alive, or one of the kids playing in their new rec center, and he knew it was.
As long as he was breathing, he would always guard this family they’d created with everything he had.
Some days were harder than others, but that was fucking life, wasn’t it?
“Knock. Knock.” Kylie peeked around the doorframe. “Is it okay to come in?”
“Sure, sweetheart.” He waved her forward.
As soon as she was within touching distance, Darren grabbed her hand and pulled her into his lap, being careful of her pregnant belly.
See, that right there was one of the biggest reasons he still did what he did.
They had a lot of old ladies carrying the next generation of Sons, and they needed to be kept safe.
“Where’ve you been, baby?” Darren settled his arms around Kylie’s waist.
“I,” she stopped when Race’s phone started ringing. He fished his phone out of his pocket and frowned as he checked the caller ID. “Hey, Sadie girl. What can I do for you?”
“Hi, Race. I was calling to see if you’ve heard any news from the realtor selling my house.”
“Not recently.” He frowned, watching Kylie stiffen in Darren’s lap.
“I’m sure you know by now that I’m pregnant.”
“I’ve heard.” He kept his tone light, not wanting her to shut down. He had a feeling she had something important to say and didn’t want her to change her mind about calling him.
“As you can guess, I need the money. Can you talk to the realtor and see about dropping the price? I know it means less profit, but I don’t care. I just need it to sell. Fast.”
“Why the rush? I thought Darren told you that you still have insurance with us.”
“He did, and I appreciate it more than you know, but it doesn’t sit well with me. It feels like I’m taking advantage of your generosity.”
“Sadie, you’re not taking advantage of anything.” He watched Kylie’s cheeks turn pink as she fiddled with the zipper on her coat.
“Really?” she countered. “I’m already living in your apartment rent-free, and your men are having to provide around-the-clock protection for me. Surely, they have better things to do than babysit me? And you’re helping me sell my house in Taos. I owe your club too much already.”
And that was the crux of it all, wasn’t it?
She didn’t want to be indebted to a biker club.
Her past experiences with the Phantoms left her with too many negative experiences.
Unfortunately, that mistrust now fell on the Sons, deserved or not.
He glanced at Kylie and noticed the way she avoided making eye contact with any of them.
Did she have anything to do with Sadie’s sudden rush to sell her house? He hoped not.
“Can I ask what caused the sudden rush to sell your house?” Race had a feeling he wasn’t going to like her answer.
“Besides babies being expensive,” she paused, then let out a whoosh of breath as she said in a rush, “I’m seriously considering moving out of Redemption.”
He was right. He didn’t like what she had to say.
It would make it more difficult to keep protection on her, and Darren would be hurt by this.
“Why do you want to move out of Redemption? I thought you and Oliver were doing well, putting down roots.” He watched Kylie stiffen even more in Darren’s arms, convincing him she knew something about Sadie’s sudden rush to leave town.
Kylie’s action didn’t go unnoticed by the big man either, if the way he was frowning at her was anything to go by.
“I’ll call the realtor and see what I can do.” There was no point arguing further with Sadie. She’d made up her mind, and now he needed to find a workaround that she couldn’t shoot down. The woman needed help, and she was going to get it one way or the other, damn it.
“I appreciate it. Thank you, Race.”
“I’ll let you know what I find out, darlin’.” They said their goodbyes, and he hung up, his eyes going straight to Kylie. He could only imagine what she’d done.
Kylie patted Darren’s arm. “I need up.”
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Need to pee.” He helped her to her feet, then disappeared down the hall.
“Why does Sadie want to move out of Redemption?” Jed leaned forward in his seat.
“She said she doesn’t want to throw her pregnancy in Kylie’s face every time they see each other in town,” Darren explained.
“I tried to tell her she didn’t need to worry about Kylie, but she didn’t sound convinced.
When I left, she agreed to hold off on the idea of moving for a little while.
” His eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Jed.
“You’re another reason she wants to leave. ”
“Me?” Jed’s head jerked back, his eyes widening.
“Yeah. You. Because you were such a total dick to her when she found out she was pregnant, she would rather leave town to avoid you than take a chance she might have to deal with your shit later down the road.”
Jed held his hand up, facing Darren. “I haven’t seen or talked to Sadie since that day, so her moving isn’t on me.”
“There has to be more going on than what Sadie’s saying,” Tuck spoke up.
“She could stay in Redemption and just move to the other side of town if she wanted to avoid Jed. As for Kylie, once the baby’s born, there are going to be times when it will be unavoidable for her not to run into Kylie.
You guys will be sharing custody, so it’s inevitable. ”
“I was telling her the same thing about moving across town. I thought she was seriously considering it.” Darren ran his hands over his face.
“How does Kylie feel about Sadie carrying your baby?” Race asked, drawing everyone’s attention to him.
Darren leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “She swears she’s okay with it. She even wants me to be a part of all of Sadie’s doctor appointments and the delivery.”
“Are you sure she’s okay with it? The three of you have been through a lot lately. No one could fault her for being upset or a little jealous.” Race watched as Darren and Tuck shared a look.
“No. She wouldn’t, would she?” Darren asked Tuck.
“Only one way to find out.” Tuck rose from the couch and disappeared down the hall. He came back with Kylie in hand. Darren was already standing when they returned. “Babe, we need to ask you some questions.”
Kylie looked at each of them, Race and Jed included, before settling on Tuck. “Okay?”
“Where did you go while we were gone?” Her sudden tensing and the flush of her cheeks told them they’d struck onto something.
“Baby, we know you went somewhere while we were gone because your car wasn’t here when we got back.
” Darren reached for her hand and tugged on it until he had her attention.
“I promise you that whatever you say, it changes nothing between us.”
“Why would you say that?” Kylie frowned.
“Because I need you to tell me if you went by Sadie’s while we were out.” He squeezed her hand.
She sucked in her bottom lip before she finally said, “Yes. I went to see Sadie.”
“Why?” Darren asked.
“After you came home earlier and told me you’d been to see her and that she wasn’t sure I would like you going to the doctor appointments and stuff, I went to tell her I was cool with it.
What?” She leaned back, putting minimal space between them so she could look at him.
“I thought maybe hearing it straight from me would help ease her mind. I thought it would help make things easier for you.”
“Okay. That doesn’t sound too bad.” Tuck stood to her side, his hands in his pockets. “What else did you do or say?”
“Well, I, uh,” Kylie hedged.
Where Darren had a soft spot for his woman, Race had no problem putting Kylie on the spot. He had a feeling she knew a lot more than she’d told them. “What is it, Kylie?”
“She didn’t look too happy to see me on her doorstep.”
Race could only imagine Sadie’s reaction to Kylie at her door. He was a little surprised she let her in.
“She let me in, then excused herself to get her nephew out of the bathtub. While she was doing that, I might have done a little snooping around her computer.”
“Kylie Jo,” Tuck scolded her.
“What? I found a list of places she was looking to rent or buy in towns surrounding Redemption. When she returned, I confronted her about what I’d found, and she said she was leaving because it would be better for me. I wouldn’t have to see her or the baby around town.”
“Why would you do that?” Darren’s hands went to the top of his head in shock and disappointment. “I told you she was thinking of leaving because she was afraid of your reaction to seeing her with the baby.” His mouth turned down, clearly upset with Kylie.
“You talked her out of it, right?” Jed seemed equally upset.
Why was that when he was the one who ended things with her?
Did he still have feelings for her? He never admitted to feelings for her, but it was obvious to anyone watching them together.
Jed cared for her a great deal before everything went to shit.
“Um. Probably not. I think I might have made things worse.” Kylie nibbled her lip and rubbed her belly.
“What?!” Darren’s eyes widened. “How did you make things worse?”
She held her hands up in front of her. “I went there with the best intentions. I swear. As I said, I told her I wanted you to be a part of everything and that I was okay with it. I don’t think she believes me.”
Trust didn’t come easily to Sadie. Hell, he bet she felt a piece of her soul was being ripped from her body just from calling and asking him for help just now.
“And?” Darren used a knuckle under her chin to raise her head so he could see her eyes.
“And as I was leaving, I may have told her that if she made a play for you, I would be her worst enemy.” Kylie’s gaze dropped. She knew she fucked up and might’ve jeopardized Darren’s chances of being a part of his kid’s life.
Race understood where she was coming from. She’d been through a hell of a lot with Darren and Tuck, almost losing each of them in different ways.
“Kylie!” Darren stepped away, his hands clasping on top of his head. “Baby, why would you do that? I already told you, it’s not like that with Sadie.” He took her by the shoulders and bent to her level. “I love you and only you.”
“I know. I really do. I don’t know why I said it.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m hormonal and feeling threatened, or…
” she shrugged her shoulders, tears pooling in her eyes.
“I’m sorry. We’ve been through so much, and I know how you are.
If I told you I still had these thoughts from time to time, you’d blame yourself, and it’s not your fault. It’s the fucking Phantoms' fault!”
“Shhhh, baby. Shhhh. Don’t get yourself worked up. It’s okay. We’re okay.” He dropped a kiss on her lips and pulled her close, pushing her head against his chest.
“How did she react to what you said?” Race asked.
Kylie snorted and laughed. “The woman doesn’t take any shit. She said that right there was why she was looking at houses in different towns. She said staying here in Redemption and having to deal with this bullshit every day doesn’t work for her.”
Jed smiled at that.
Again, Race wondered if things between him and Sadie were truly over.
He leaned back in his chair, and ran a finger across his bottom lip as he contemplated what to do next.
He was going to have to stall on the sale of her house, at least for the time being.
More repairs needed to be made before they could actually put it on the market.
He’d tell her that the realtor said no houses were selling around the holidays.
Then he’d tell her winter wasn’t so good either.
If he kicked the can down the road long enough, they could get the house ready to sell, and maybe she’d change her mind about staying in Redemption.
He would do whatever he had to do to ensure his club brothers got what they needed.