Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
L arissa had to swallow back the lump of fear at the back of throat as she watched Moon drive away.
“Are you all right?” Fat Louise asked sympathetically.
“Yes. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have stopped to have lunch. If I hadn’t, I would have been at The Last Riders’, and he would have at least known I was going to tell him,” she said numbly.
Sex Piston scowled. “It wouldn’t have made a difference to that dick,” she said heatedly. “He would just find something else to hassle you about.”
“I should have come outside to talk to him alone.”
“Why? So he really could lay into you without anyone hearing? Girl, do you know how many women end up dead when they’ve been knocked up? He might be a Last Rider, but I don’t know shit about him personally, do you?”
Sex Piston was piling on more to worry on about.
“No, I don’t, other than when I’ve seen him in town and at The Last Riders’.”
“He doesn’t have a record,” Killyama told them, easing the fear she had made a baby with a career felon. “Moon served in the Navy for fifteen years. When he got out, he went to work for The Last Riders.”
The longer Killyama talked, the more she felt the fear coming back. Nothing she was revealing would give her a justifiable reason not to let Moon be involved in her child’s life, other than him living in a motorcycle club. If he did buy a house, like he said he would, that would be yet another point in his favor.
Why hadn’t she listened to her instincts and continued on to Treepoint from Bowling Green instead of stopping for lunch with Killyama and Sex Piston? Beth walked out of the restaurant while placing her wallet back in her purse. Should she ask her about Moon? Maybe she knew something Killyama didn’t. Trepidation held her back; she was a hairsbreadth away from driving back to Bowling Green.
Larissa felt Stud’s eyes on her.
“Where are you staying?”
“I was on my way back to Treepoint to live with my sisters again. I was staying with a friend of mine in Bowling Green until I decided what to do. To be honest, Moon’s anger toward me is understandable, but I witnessed it at The Last Riders as well. It terrified me. I’m concerned about my child being exposed to that type of behavior. I left Treepoint when he said he never wanted to see me again, and I didn’t look for another job because I had every intention of returning to Treepoint and telling him I was pregnant before the baby came despite my family’s concerns and my own misgivings. I even got in an argument with my mother about it. She wanted us to move to Aruba. We argued, and that’s why when my friend asked me to stay with her, I agreed; her place is across the street from my mom’s.”
Her voice grew frustrated. “I was in Blowing Green, trying to come to a decision about wanting to give Moon the benefit of the doubt that he’s not obnoxious, rude, and overbearing when my friend Taya wakes me up to call the police because she saw a man hiding in her next-door neighbor’s yard. I called the police while she showed me where he was hiding from the window. You know who it was?”
“Moon?” Stud hazarded the guess with an embarrassed expression.
“Yes!” Larissa practically yelled in irritation. “I should have let the police come and arrest him. Instead, I told them it was a mistake. The big idiot sat there for days. And you know what he did?” Her shrill voice made the listening men flinch.
Larissa could see from Stud’s expression that even wild horses wouldn’t make him ask.
“What?” Killyama asked with strangled laughter.
“He broke into my mother’s house!”
“I would have called the police on his ass!” Sex Piston vented.
Larissa’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “I didn’t want to get him in trouble. I decided to come back to Treepoint and ask to meet him so we could talk. I wanted to talk to my sisters first and try to ease their concerns. Killyama had been calling me, wanting me to come back, so I texted and told her, and she wanted me to stop for lunch on the way to Treepoint, that I would be able to see Sex Piston and the rest of them, so I thought, what’s a couple of hours ?” She made a self-deprecating face at herself. “I can’t seem to do anything right where he is concerned.”
Stud gestured toward the other men. Bikes started then drove out of the parking lot. Turning his gaze back to her, he said, “You could have explained this to him here.”
Larissa shifted on her feet awkwardly. “He freaks me out when he talks to me. I’m scared of him. When he came to my office to talk to me, he punched a hole in the wall,” she explained.
Stud’s hardened expression relaxed. “I wouldn’t head back to Treepoint just yet. Wait until you and Moon can talk. When you’re feeling more comfortable, go live with your sisters. The brothers and I can keep an eye on you in case he decides to throw any more punches at walls.”
Larissa shook her head. “I don’t have a place to live here. I don’t have a job here—”
“Don’t worry about a place to stay,” Sex Piston interrupted. “My parents have a spare room; you can stay with them for as long as you want.”
“I couldn’t impose—”
“Girl.” Sex Piston waved away her protest. “Sizzle will love the company. So will Pop. You could still work with your sisters. Women in Jamestown have babies, too.”
“I still want you to be my midwife.” Killyama used her pregnant belly to move Sex Piston out of the way. “We got you, girl. That motherfucker comes here to throw his weight around, I’ll kick his ass.”
Larissa gave a shaky laugh. “I’m not normally a wimp … or at least I don’t think I am. I’m just not a very confrontational person.”
“ Pfft ,” Killyama sounded. “Don’t worry about it. None of us have that problem.”
Stud gave her a wry smile. “I can vouch for that.”
Larissa watched as he got off his bike and took out his cell phone. Curious, she turned to Sex Piston.
“Knowing my husband, he’s giving Viper a heads-up that you’re under the Destructors’ protection.”
“That’s only going to make Moon angrier.” Worriedly, she started to move toward him.
Beth, who had remained silent until then, placed a hand on her arm. “Let Stud talk to him. Viper is reasonable, and he’s used to dealing with Moon.”
“I don’t want to make the situation worse. I’ve already messed it up bad enough.”
“You made some bad decisions,” Beth told her frankly. “But so did we. We snuck everyone into the club when we shouldn’t have. None of us were exactly eager to confess, either, because we didn’t want them to know we broke the rules. I’m not great at confrontations, either,” she admitted, giving her a comforting squeeze on the arm. “And my sister is even worse. The Last Riders are overwhelming at first, but once you get to know them, you’ll find none of them would actually physically hurt a woman. I do believe Moon hitting Ginny was an accident.
“Stay with Sex Piston’s parents for a few days. Viper will talk to him. I can, too. Give him the information he wants and show him you’re willing to meet him halfway where the baby is concerned. He is the baby’s father; you’re going to have to learn to get along with him, whether you want to or not.”
Beth’s sensible advice was what she had desperately needed.
“I can do that.” Larissa felt herself grow more confident. How on earth was she capable of being calm and collected when a mother and child’s life depended on her capabilities, yet she became a complete basket case when it had something to do with Moon?
“Good.” Beth gave her an encouraging grin. “Their bark is really worse than their bite.”
Stud, who had moved from behind Beth, heard what she said. His expression was comical as he resumed his seat on his motorcycle.
“I talked to Viper. He’s going to do what he can to slow Moon’s roll down, but he doesn’t have high hopes. I made the Destructors’ positions clear—you’re under our protection.” He started his bike. “I told him to keep Moon on a short leash, or I will.”
Sex Piston glided toward him in her high-spiked boots. “That’s my man.”
Looking away at the passionate kiss Sex Piston gave Stud, Larissa caught Jet staring at her. She started talking to Killyama until Sex Piston came back.
“Let’s get you set up at your new place.”
“Are you sure your parents won’t mind?”
Sex Piston swung an arm around her shoulders. “Trust me; this is going to make their day.”
She followed Sex Piston’s car in hers; the drive took only ten minutes before she was pulling into a driveway in front of a modest home.
Before she got out of the car, she typed out the address of Sex Piston’s parents’ home, the date and time of her appointment, and the information he would need for his insurance. Her finger hovered over the send button. She was about to take the first step into allowing Moon into their baby’s life, and trepidation filled her. However, she was going to override the fear she was feeling and give him the chance to prove that he wasn’t the short-tempered, volatile, and obnoxious man he had shown himself to be. Just as importantly, she promised herself to be more open in regards to the baby and stop being so afraid of him. That was easier said than done.
Holding her breath, she pushed send . Why did she feel as if she had just placed her life under Moon’s thumb? He would either flick her away like a bug, squash her, or let her move around freely. She didn’t have high hopes for the latter and just wanted to survive the other options.
A fluttering of movements made her hand go to where her child was tossing and kicking.
“You’re a boy, aren’t you?” she speculated. “Sit tight. Something tells me this is going to be a rocky journey.”