CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ky
I’m just finishing the waffles for breakfast, the kids have asked to watch cartoons while they wait to eat, and they’d just sat down in the living room when I hear Sera’s feet on the hardwood floors.
“Mommy,” our little girl calls out, and my heart stutters at the thought. A year ago, I would have never thought I’d have one child, let alone two of the same age. I shake my head and chuckle. Minutes later, Sera’s in the kitchen, and I can immediately tell she’s not happy. Her hair’s a mess, and the body I worshipped all night last night is covered by a silky robe.
More’s the pity.
I scowl and stalk toward her, my bare torso attracting her gaze, which turns my scowl into a cocky grin. I’m only wearing a pair of sweats, and with her looking at me that way, my cock hardens, and I just hope none of the kids walk into the kitchen until I can get myself under control. But being next to Sera, it’s almost an impossible task.
“What’s happened?” I demand.
“You broke your promise,” she replies in a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
“You weren’t there when I woke up.” She tries to sidestep me, but I grab her wrist and pull her toward me, wrapping my arms around her. Looking over her head at the kids, making sure their attention is on the TV, which it is, thank fuck.
I can’t help but slide them down to her ass, kneading the delicious globes, and if we’d been alone, I’d bend her over the kitchen counter right now and fuck her senseless.
“Did you miss me?” I ask, nuzzling her neck and tickling her with my beard, well aware that she’s enjoying the little demonstration if the full body shiver is anything to go by.
“What are you doing?” she hisses, her cheeks reddening. Before she has time to make another protest, I lower my mouth to hers and capture her lips in a searing kiss. It was hard to keep it PG, but I force myself to pull back.
Her breath tastes minty, telling me she’d prepared for this kiss by brushing her teeth already this morning.
“Mmm, you taste good, baby.” Her blush deepens, and I stop teasing her. With an arm wrapped around her waist, I led her to the kitchen table, helping her to sit down. Kissing the top of her head, I finish setting the table, feeling her eyes on me as she watched me closely.
“Kiddos, breakfast,” I call out and hear two pairs of little feet come running.
“What did Mom say yesterday about no running?” I ask, deliberately sitting down next to Sera, putting my hand on her dressing gown covered thigh, and grinning when she tenses.
“Not to run upstairs,” Willow calls out, sitting down in the chair as I put a waffle each on their plates.
I chuckle at my little sassy pants. I just know she’s going to grow up to be just like her mom, as Sera watches me interact with the children, a look of wonderment on her face, and I feel ten feet tall. The clatter of forks and spoons against plates fills the air as we all sit down to breakfast, and for the next ten minutes, I soak in the comforting feeling of my family's presence.
Sera and my two kids, there's nothing in the world that could compare.
Sera puts down her fork and is laser focused on her daughter.
“Sweet pea, how would you feel if Ky were your daddy? That would make Finn your brother.” I freeze on the spot, almost choking on the sip of coffee. My eyes move between Finn and Willow; Willow’s lips turn up in a bright smile, squealing, she claps happily. But it’s the frown that overcomes Finn’s face that worries me. He pushes off the chair, which scrapes loudly on the wood floor, and I wince. His little arms crossed over his chest, and his lips turn up in a pout.
“She’s not my mommy. I already have one,” he states, his eyes swimming with unshed tears. “And I never wanted a sister.” He cries as he tries to take off, but I catch him before he’s able to, holding him still as he tries to squirm away.
“Finn.” I use my deep, gravelly father’s voice, which I’ve perfected over the months when talking to my son.
“You know I love you, and Sera will never take the place of your mom, believe me. But she is Willow’s mom, which means she and Willow will be in our lives for a very long time.”
He sniffles and pouts but doesn’t say anything. “Now, Willow is my daughter, like you are my son. I want you both to continue to get along like you did before you knew you were brother and sister. Having a sibling is a blessing, I want you two to hug it out and go outside and play.”
The little boy turns his nose up for a second, but I give him a warning look, and he turns to Willow, reluctantly wrapping his arms around her. They both leave the table, the breakfast only half finished.
“I’ve really messed that up, haven’t I? I’m sorry, I didn’t consult with you first before blurting it out like that. I just got caught up in the thought of family, I guess. And I’ve kept you two apart for so long already.”
I smile wide at her. Squeezing her hand in mine. “I love that you wanted to do that. And I’m grateful.” Checking the time on my phone, I get to my feet. “Hopefully they’ll be alright from now on. If not, I’ll have another talk with him when I get home. I have some club business to attend to right now. I shouldn’t be gone longer than a few hours. Please don’t go anywhere out of the club compound. If you’re wanting company, get Zoe to come over, or you can go to her place.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, lifting those beauties up, my attention is taken by them, and she drawls.
“My eyes are up here, asshole.” I’m fully prepared for the spray, telling me I can’t order her around and she’ll go wherever she pleases. But she’s got a small smile on her face. “I’ll be here, no need to worry about me,” she says.
My eyes stray to the backyard, checking on the kids. So far, they’re playing peacefully. Let’s hope it stays that way.
“You go on ahead, I’ll clean up the dishes,” Sera replies.
Hating to leave when things are still so up in the air, but having no other choice.
“I wish you could join me in the shower, sweetness,” I growl against her lips as I kiss her tenderly.
“I wish I could, too. But there will be other opportunities for that,” she promises, as I reluctantly break away from her and head upstairs for a quick shower.
Returning downstairs dressed in jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt, with my cut over the top, my damp hair tied back from my face. One final kiss for my girls and my boy, I leave for the clubhouse.
Mariah’s fate was going to be sealed today.
It didn’t take me long to get to the clubhouse, and when I did, most of the brothers were already there, including my father.
“Good of you to join us. An hour late?” my pops calls out, an old timer, he wears a wide leather cuff type watch he got from Everleigh, something he has never taken off. A smile spreads slowly on his face when he sees me.
“You and Sera got jiggy with it.”
My eyebrows rose above my hairline. “Really, you’re going there?”
“Are you telling me you haven’t?”
I shake my head, refusing to answer, especially with Ink and the rest of my brothers standing there.
“Come on,” I say instead. “We have work to do.”
“We actually don’t,” he says to me.
“What do you mean?” I reply, confused.
“Kon’s coming soon. He wants to take Mariah back with him.”
“Excuse me, what? Since when was this decided?”
“He has a stable of women he thinks Mariah will fit in nicely with.”
His words silence me for a beat. “And you agreed with this?”
“Are you okay with killing her and Finn growing up and asking what happened to his mother? And you telling him she’s dead?”
“At least our problems with her will be over.”
“Well, I’m not okay with that for you,” he replies resolutely.
“So, you went behind my back and called Kon? Un-fucking-believable.” I shake my head, pacing the floor.
“Yeah, I did. I am still the fucking president of this club, or have you forgotten that?” My father bellows. “And if I believe a decision I make is the best one for my club brother, who is also my son, then I will do it.”
“So, what, he’s going to put her to work in his brothel?” I shake my head.
“Why does this bother you so much? You wanted to kill the bitch, and now you’re worried about her working in a brothel?”
It bothers me, but I don’t know why.
“You do know that was her job when she was with Angelo, right?” A voice I recognize as Kon speaks behind me.
I turn around to look at the new arrival and narrow my gaze at him.
“What are you talking about?” I demand.
“Good to see you too, nephew of mine,” he drawls. Striding confidently into the room, flanked by his security team of two. But these two looked like they could do the job of ten men.
“I’m talking about the bitch you have in your basement.”
“What about her?”
Kon looks to his brother, my father. Pointing to me, he says, “Is he being deliberately facetious?” Taking a deep breath, he faces me. Wearing a midnight blue suit with a red tie, he looks like something out of a GQ magazine, even with his mussed-up hair and dark ink covering his large hands. On me, no one would bat an eye, but because it’s Kon, his status makes him all the more dangerous.
He looks at me in disbelief, and I have the urge to wipe that look off his face with my fist.
“Let’s take this somewhere more private, where one of the women won’t walk in and hear you,” my father speaks gruffly, sending a silent warning to both me and his brother. We follow, and he slams the door shut. Taking our seats around the table, we wait for him to speak.
“Mariah Ackerman has been Angelo Bianchi’s gold star whore. He uses her for a variety of jobs, like infiltrating motorcycle clubs and getting its members to fall for her,” he explains, his eyes never leaving me as he speaks.
“Fuck you, Uncle, ” I spat, snarling back at him. But he ignores me completely and continues. The news that the woman I once loved and had a child with was a whore working a game makes me ill.
“He’s even used her to infiltrate my business. She’s had her claws in one of my most trusted men, and now I had to get rid of him, which was a damn shame. I’m going to take her back with me. Get her to work in one of my brothels. She’s caused a lot of shit for me over the years, and I intend to collect on all of it from her. So she’ll be working for me from now on. And Angelo can kiss my ass. He’s been a thorn in my side for years now.”
I see there’s no point in arguing with the man when he wants something; he gets it.
“Fine, you win,” I concede, as a slow, cocky smile lifts his lips.
Kon’s identical eyes to my father's gleam. “I always do, you should know that by now, nephew.”
“I’m realizing that,” I mutter under my breath.
Pops calls a prospect to bring the bitch upstairs. After a few minutes, the prospect is back with Mariah, she’s filthy, her blonde hair hanging in dirty strands, after being down in the basement for the last few weeks. But the defiance in her eyes is still there.
When she sees Kon, her eyes widen in surprise. “I was expecting A-Angelo,” she stammers nervously.
“Of course you were,” I drawl, shaking my head. “Angelo’s not gonna save you now.”
“What are you talking about?” she asks, her voice trembling slightly, unable to mask that she’s worried.
“You belong to me now. I’m taking you back to Dallas,” Kon tells her, her hopeless situation sinking in.
“No!” she cries.
“Would you prefer we kill you, then?” my father growls, getting to his feet, stalking toward her as she slinks inside herself. “That can be arranged.”
She stares back at my father; her face clearing of all emotion as she stands to her full height.
“What about my son?” she asks.
“What about him?” I demand. “You drugged him so that he wouldn’t be in the way while you kidnap Sera and my daughter Willow, for Angelo. You lost all rights to him.”
Her eyes go wide, and she gasps, “Her kid is yours?” She whispers,
That’s the first thing she asks, instead of finding out the wellbeing of her child? Typical.
“Seems Angelo didn’t share that nugget of information, did he?” I drawl. “It’s a good deal, I suggest you take it. Or I can end things right now, like I’d originally planned to do. Your choice.”
Her jaw tightens and her eyes narrow. I can’t believe I thought I ever loved this woman.
“Fine,” she spats. “I’ll take the deal.”
“I knew you’d see reason,” I drawl.
“Asshole!” She throws a final barb at me, as we adjourn Church and I get to my feet.
“Get this bitch out of my sight,” I growl, walking out of the room before Kon’s two men, each take a hold of her arms. Their noses turn up, and I can’t help but chuckle. That’s going to be an interesting trip back to Dallas.
Back in the main clubhouse, I sidle up to the bar and order a whiskey neat from the prospect who’s manning it. It’s still relatively early, but I need something stronger than a soda after today’s turn of events.
It’s when I throw back the finger of whiskey that I hear the almost blood-curdling scream, and I know instinctively that it’s Sera.
We burst from the clubhouse, a brotherhood united, only to find my woman in distress, her tears streaming as she collapses on the gravel, ignoring the pain of her knees, and unleashing another anguished cry.
“Sweetness, what’s happened?” I demand, dropping to my knees in front of her. I lift her chin so that she would look at me, the anguish in her eyes was heartbreaking.
“He’s taken them both,” she cries, holding on for dear life to my hands with her own.
“What do you mean, he’s taken them both?” My throat goes dry, and I feel a wave of unease wash over me as I demand to know what was going on.
Fearing the worst.
“Finn and Willow,” she wails. “I left them playing in the yard, then suddenly they were gone.” That’s when she shows me the piece of paper.