Chapter 12
Khloe Wren
K hloe Wren
Alessandra (Alex)
Tucked safely in the rear seat of the truck between Braxton and Granny, I ignore the tension filling the cab and focus inward, processing everything I’ve learned in the past twenty-four hours.
Even ignoring the whole being snatched from my bed in the middle of the night while my childhood home burned, it had been a day.
My uncle wanted me dead. Not in some hypothetical way, but in a “hire a crew to shoot up a public place” way. Those hired guns hadn’t known which female I was, so they’d been trying to kill every woman from the law firm that was at the hospital. That was what the conversation we’d overheard in the parking lot was about. I’d assumed they’d meant the bikers when one had asked if they’d “got them all” but it hadn’t been that at all. It had been about the elves, about me.
It is my fault my co-workers and boss are now dead.
Clenching my jaw, I mentally shake the thought aside. No. I am not at fault. My piece-of-shit Uncle Carlo is. He is the one who’d ordered the hit; he is the one who didn’t send through a picture of me, instead just arranging for several women to be gunned down without a second thought to all the lives he will destroy. Anger flares bright inside me, burning away any guilt I feel. Carlo needs to pay for what he’s done.
It looks as though Carlo hasn’t consulted his sons, not even Dante, the one he is trying to promote into being next in line to be the head of the family with this harebrained plan to do me in. I have to admit, as much as my uncle’s betrayal hurts, it would have been a whole lot more devastating if my cousins, especially Enzo, were in on it. But they contacted the club for help, bringing Goliath in. The few moments of embarrassment at Enzo hearing me call out Goliath’s name in my sleep were well worth it since that is what brought us back together. As much as I am happy with Goliath being a part of my life, the biker world isn’t so different from the mafia one I’ve tried too hard to leave behind. I’ve changed my name and moved across a thousand damn miles in order to get away from that life. Now I have this rage at Carlo, burning deep in my gut, I know I’ve made a mistake. I’m my father’s daughter, and I need vengeance for what has been done.
I can’t be the one to run off, guns blazing. I have to be smart because not only will my uncle be keeping his most trusted close now, his plan has failed, and it isn’t only my life at risk. I rest a palm over my still-flat tummy. Where our baby rests. Braxton’s beard tickles against my neck a moment before he presses a kiss there as his hand slides over mine, covering my hand and our baby under his much larger palm.
“I got you, baby. Both of you. Nothin’ will ever fucking get near you again.”
Shaking my head, I turn to look into his gaze. “I left New York, changed my name, to get away from that life because I want to be a lawyer, not live a life where I need one on speed dial. But what Carlo has done?” I shake my head. “He’s gotta pay for that. He killed all those women at the hospital for no fucking reason. He needs to be held accountable.”
Braxton nods, “And he will, Alex. We will make them all pay: Carlo, Wash, Dawg, Rabbit, and any other fucker stupid enough to work with them.”
With fury in my gaze, I make myself as clear as I can. I know Braxton wants me safely tucked away with his Granny while he runs off with his club to save the day, but that isn’t who I am, even if I am pregnant.
“I have to be part of this. I thought I wanted out, and I still want to be a lawyer someday, but right now? Today? I need to be Alessandra Allegrini , Lorenzo Allegrini’s daughter and future head of the family. I will not cower away and hide from this threat. You know as well as I do, as well as Miller does, that the fastest and easiest way to flush out my uncle, along with his cronies, is to use me as bait. If we do it now, before he realizes I know he’s behind everything, it’ll work. If we wait, even twenty-four hours, it’ll be too risky.”
Reaching up, I cup his face between both of my palms. “Please, Braxton, don’t take this from me. You and your club will be there to back me up, to keep me safe. So will my cousins. Hell, let my dad know, and he’ll be there with his most trusted men too. We can do this, get it over with so we can move on and focus on what’s important.” His gaze lowers to where his hand still rests over my belly. “I want to enjoy this pregnancy as much as I can with all the puking, and I want to make a home with you somewhere, settle in, and do all the new mom shit pregnant women are supposed to do. I want to tell my mother she’s going to be a grandma and hug her when she cries in joy. I want to be able to focus on all those good moments and not be watching over my damn shoulder, waiting for Carlo or one of his goons to gun us all down!”
Goliath
Fuck me, but my woman is a force of fucking nature when she gets riled up. I know she’ll be putting herself in danger to take down her bastard of an uncle. The look in Miller’s eyes made it clear when she’d first suggested it.
Fuck my life. I just want to keep her safe, is it too much to ask that she help with that? But no, I have to fall for a warrior woman who is gonna send the rest of my hair gray by Christmas the way she is going.
At least Granny hasn’t interrupted the conversation; I’d worried she would. And I honestly hadn’t known who she’d back up. Maybe that’s why she stayed silent. She didn’t know who the hell to back, either. I have no doubt she’ll do anything to keep her great-grandbaby alive and safe, but she is all for women taking care of business too.
As soon as Drake kills the engine of the truck, I have the door open and am all but dragging Alex across the parking lot toward the clubhouse’s front door. The prospect manning it sees me coming and opens it up for me.
“Braxton! Slow down, dammit.”
I spin to face her as soon as we are safely inside the building and scoop her up bridal style before I stride for the back of the main room, heading straight for my bedroom.
“Doctor said you need to rest. Hate that I had to drag you and Granny away from the house at all, but since I was left with no fucking choice, I need to know you’re both safe. This is where we’re at.”
Reaching my room, I shift my hold so I can dig out my keys and open things up. As soon as we’re inside, I kick the door shut, shove the keys back in my pocket, and lower my woman to her feet. Before she can catch her breath, I have her sexy-as-sin body pressing against the wood of the door, and my mouth is on hers.
She’s an addiction I can’t shake. Don’t want to shake. Nipping her lower lip, she opens up, and I thrust my tongue into her mouth, sliding it against hers and wishing like hell I had the time to fuck her.
“Braxton…” she whimpers my name between kisses, and my cock throbs with how much I wanna get inside her.
With a low growl I break the kiss. “Fuck, baby. I wish I could take care of us both, but I don’t have time. I gotta get my ass into church or they’ll start without me. Probably lock the damn door on me just to be ornery.”
My warrior woman winks up at me with a sexy smile on her lush lips, “Well, better get moving then. Don’t want all the youngin’s having all the fun.”
Frowning, I growl again. “That’s it. Drake’s banned from being anywhere near you. I am not that fucking old. Certainly not a motherfucking grandpa .”
Pushing up onto her toes, she presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth, the action so sweet it has my heart skipping a damn beat. “Of course you’re not. Daddy .”
Fuck. Me.
I’m gonna be a daddy.
My cock fucking aches with how much I need to claim what is mine, but I hadn’t been joking about Miller starting church without me.
“Hurry up with your meeting or church. Whatever the fuck you want to call it. I’ll be here waiting for you to come play Naughty or Nice with me when you’re done, Santa Daddy.”
She has me chuckling even as all the remaining blood in my body rushes to my dick. “You aren’t gonna let me forget I was playing Santa when I knocked you up, are you?”
She shrugs before she ducks under my arm and moves across the room. “Guess you’ll just have to wait and see. I might be able to be convinced to forget that part.”
I groan and adjust myself, “Gonna be the fastest church session in history, knowing you’re up here, wet and waiting on me to satisfy you, baby.”
I catch her gaze, turning serious. “Do not leave this room for any reason ‘til I get back. There will be two prospects in the hall to make sure no one comes in, but you keep that fucking door locked and don’t answer it for no one but me or Miller, understand?”
She gives me a nod, “I might be all independent woman most of the time, but I don’t have a death wish. I won’t be opening the door for anyone but you, Granny, my father, or Enzo. Miller might be your bestie, but I don’t know the man.”
“We’ve been friends since we were kids, baby. And he’s the president, you can trust him to take care of you.”
She shrugs, “Time will tell. Braxton, I know what to do. I will never do anything to risk our baby. You can go to your meeting.”
That gets me growling again. This woman . “Or you. You don’t ever fucking endanger you or our kids, got me?”
“Possessive bastard… Yes, I’ll keep me and junior safe. Now shoo,” she pauses to flick her hands at me like I’m a puppy nipping at her heels. “Go play with your friends, and I’ll see if I can find something to do here to keep myself occupied while I wait for your return.”
The sight of her ass while she moves toward my bed has me cursing as it takes every bit of willpower I have to turn away and leave the room.
Miller better be ready to start church the second I get there, because as much as I was deadly serious about taking out the threat to my woman, I was even more serious about taking care of her and my needs.