21. Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-one
There’s a bunch of bikers in town for the annual Kings of Anarchy MC rally. Clubs from all over the United States make the journey every June.
There’s RV’s, bikes, and tents all over Big Daddy’s property and he’s loving every minute of it.
It’s two weeks of endless partying, rides to benefit local charities, and motorcycle shows where the guys get to showcase their rides. Big Daddy is like a kid in a candy store. These guys go all out. Burnout contest, nude all women mud wrestling, tattoos. Lots of silly games like bobbing for dildos instead of apples. Wet t-shirt contests. Every night there are live bands, beer flowing freely, and food on the grills.
It’s a lot to take in and even more to enjoy.
Everyone wants a piece of Big Daddy, being he’s the true king of it all.
As I watch him from one of our bedroom windows making his rounds visiting with the various other club presidents, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride.
Some guys even traveled all the way from West Virginia to deliver cases of moonshine from another club in Kentucky. A gift for Hero and Ophelia’s upcoming wedding.
I should be down there with him, but tonight I’m babysitting for Lucie. She deserves a night of fun, but I do hope she doesn’t use this as an excuse to backslide and fall back into her bad habits.
Not only is Lucie a recovering drug addict, but she was addicted to sex. There’s a lot of sexy biker temptation to be found down there. I hope she thinks with her head and not with her vagina.
She seems determined to stay on track. She’s been putting in the work and making progress. She attends weekly meetings and counseling sessions for her addictions. Naturally, she’s slipped up a few times, but that’s expected of anyone on their recovery journey. I’m really glad that she’s so dedicated to getting better and to being a mom to her son.
The baby is fast asleep in the crib we keep in the corner of our room, his chest rising and falling rhythmically with every breath he takes. I watch over him as I sip on a nonalcoholic beer. We keep them around for Lucie and I’ve switched to them too, in case I was to get pregnant.
Big Daddy and I have been trying for a baby of our own, but I don’t have my hopes for it happening. I’m trying to make my peace with it and enjoy the perks of being auntie to baby Liam.
A knock interrupts my thoughts, and I’m met with the sight of Big Daddy standing in the doorway, a wide grin on his face. Damn, my man is fine.
“I thought you were enjoying the party.”
“I was. But then I realized that something was missing.” His eyes crinkle at the corners as he steps into the room and heads straight for Liam’s crib.
“Don’t you dare wake him up,” I warn.
“Relax. I’m taking him to Sissy’s room. She agreed to watch him so you can come enjoy the party with the rest of this. You did a lot of planning, babe. You should reap the rewards.”
“I’m not even dressed.”
“You think anyone cares what you’re wearing?” He scoops Liam up from his crib. “You’ve got five minutes to meet me at the bottom of the stairs or I’m coming back for you.”
“You going to set a timer?” I sass, but I’m already moving for the closet to find something to wear that says biker bitch.
I’m seated around one of the fire pits chatting with some of the other ol’ ladies from the different clubs when Kidd runs up to me.
“Hey. Big Daddy sent me to fetch you. There’s someone at the gate for you.”
“For me?” my brows knit in confusion, but I excuse myself and jog to keep up with his fast pace. “What’s going on, Kidd?”
“Cecilia’s here and well, you need to see it for yourself.”
I see Cecilia’s car is parked near the front of the house, but I don’t see her. “This way,” a biker by the name of Woods tells me. He’s the president from one of the chapters out of Arkansas. I was just talking to his sister, Low. Short for Willow.
I follow him inside the house and back up the stairs to Big Daddy’s office. What the hell is going on?
“They’re in here,” Woods tells me. “You should prepare yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your girl is in rough shape.”
Shit. I rush past him and find Cecilia sitting next to Jessika on one of the couches as my man paces the length of the room looking like he wants to kill someone.
“What’s going on?” Jessika and Cecilia look at me at the same time. Jessika’s face is badly bruised, and her bottom lip looks like it needs stitches.
“Oh, honey.” I drop to my knees and crouch in front of her, taking her scratched up hands in mine.
“I found her running down the road barefoot,” Cecilia tells me. “I didn’t know what to do. She refused to go to the hospital or to report it, so I brought her here.”
“You did the right thing. We’ll take care of her.”
“Should have killed that fucker when I had the chance,” Big Daddy grumbles.
“You don’t know that this was Thad,” I tell him, but my gut instinct knows better. “Who hurt you? Was it Thad?”
Jessika shakes her head, but we all know she’s probably lying to protect him.
“We’ll worry about the who later. Right now, why don’t we get you cleaned up in my room? Just you, me, and Cecilia.”
“I’ve got Doc Stevens coming to take a look at that lip and to see if she needs treated for rape,” Big Daddy says and my beautifully broken friend bursts into tears.
“No one raped me.” Jessika sobs, her voice choked with tears and raw emotion. She clings to my hand, her grip tight with fear. “He was angry, and he hit me.”
“Shh, it’s alright,” I soothe, brushing a strand of hair back from her grief-stricken face. Her weeping increases, her body trembling as she clings to me. “You’re safe here. We’re going to take care of you.”
Cecilia takes her other hand, squeezing it gently. “That’s right. You’re not in this mess alone.”
“I-I need to tell you something,” Jessika stammers between sobs. “I need to t-tell you what he’s planning.”
“Don’t force it,” I tell her softly. “You don’t have to talk about it until you’re ready.”
“No, I n-need to. It’s important.” She swallows hard and wipes at her tears. Her gaze shifts to Big Daddy. “Thad…he came home drunk tonight, and he was talking about the club and how he hates all of you. Said the town would be better off if he got rid of you. I told him he was talking nonsense, but he said he made a deal with some guy. Hector something.”
“Son of a bitch,” Big Daddy snarls, his hands curling into fists at his sides.
“He said that he’s going to cut you out of a big deal,” Jessika continues, her voice shaking. “He was assaying all sorts of things about funneling drugs through the furniture business.”
“Fuck. She doesn’t leave your sight,” he tells me, then storms out of the room, and the anger evident on his face and the rage boiling in his blood scares me.
“Jessika,” I urge gently, squeezing her hand. Her eyes are red rimmed from crying, but she meets my gaze. “Thank you for telling us.”
“You’ve been such a good friend to me. I don’t understand why he’d want to hurt any of you. When I grabbed my phone to text you about what he was saying, he attacked me. I’d never seen him so angry. I mean, he’s pushed me around here and there, but nothing like this. I thought he was going to kill me.”
“He won’t get the chance.”
Doc Steven shows up to stitch up Jessika’s lip and check her for internal injuries, but she seems to be okay. I don’t know where Big Daddy took off to, but that guy Woods has been keeping a close eye on Jessika. I’m not sure whether it’s out of concern or on Big Daddy’s orders.
I stare at the burned remains of what was Thad’s furniture store, on the tv and I know Big Daddy and the club are responsible.
“Your friend isn’t safe here,” he tells me and clicks off the news program that’s reporting on the fire.
“What do you mean?”
“Here in Anarchy. Thad’s skipped town, but that doesn’t mean he won’t come looking for her or send someone after her for ruining his big plans.”
“So what do we do?”
“Already taken care of. She’s gone.”
The hair on my arms rises. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
“Fuck, Gwynee. No one hurt her if that’s where your thoughts went. I sent her to Arkansas with Woods. They left this morning.”
“Oh. I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
“And I’m sorry for that, but don’t worry. Once it’s safe, Woods will contact me and the two of you will get to talk.”
I sniffle. I don’t know why I’m so emotional.
“Hey, Gwynee. Do you have any tampons?” Sissy interrupts.
“Um. I’m not sure. Maybe. Check my bathroom.” I try to recall the last time I bought any.
“What’s with that look?” Big Daddy questions as I frown.
“Nothing. I just don’t remember when I last had my period.”
“Yeah?” His face lights up.
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
“Baby, stop for a minute and think about what that could mean.”
My heart skips a beat. “You think.” I can’t bring myself to say the words.
“There’s some test in the storage closet if you want to find out.”
“I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of knowing. Of disappointment. How you’ll react.”
“Gwynee.” He cups my chin between his hands. “You’re everything to me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m all in with you, baby.”
“I can’t look. You do it.”
“You sure?” my man stares at me with nothing but love.
I don’t know why I’m freaking out so hard. It’s only that I’ve been so sure it wasn’t going to happen for me and now that the possibility could be staring me in the face, I’m terrified. “Please.” I’m on the verge of throwing up or passing out. I can’t take the anticipation.
“Either way. Nothing is changing between us,” he reassures.
I cover my eyes, peeking at him between the open spaces between my fingers. His face is void of any emotion as he picks the stick up off the sink.
“Don’t tell me yet,” I murmur.
“Breathe, Gwynee. You’re just having my baby,” he says and my heart drops to the floor.
“Wait what?”“C’mere.” He pulls me up from where I sit on the side of the tub and close to him. “See for yourself.”
“I’m having your baby,” I whisper.
“That’s not all, Gwynee. What do you say we make this official?”
“Please don’t tell me you are trying to propose because we found out I’m pregnant.”
“Sure, that factors in, but I’m asking because I love you. So what do you say?”
“How romantic. What every girl wants is to be proposed to in a bathroom,” I tease him. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“She said yes,” Big Daddy calls out and I look past him into our bedroom to see Sissy and Lucie running in wearing big shit-eating smiles.
“Were they in on this?”
“I kind of noticed how you were being picky about certain foods and complaining about smells that no one else was picking up on,” Lucie tells me. “So I told BD my suspicions, and we got Sissy to ask you about tampons to get you thinking.”
“You guys are sneaky.” I dab at my eyes, trying not to cry.
“Like it or not, you’re a part of this fucked up family,” Sissy says and she and Lucie both come in for a hug.
My man smiles at me, and I know he’s happy to have all his girls getting along at the same time.
“If this kid is a girl, I may kick Lucie out of the guesthouse and move in with Liam,” he jokes.
“You’d miss me.”
“Maybe a little. All right, you two clear out. I want to celebrate with my woman.”
“Let me find my earplugs first,” Sissy says, scrunching her nose up at us.
“Ha. Ha,” I call after her as Big Daddy closes the door behind them.
“Now where were we?”
“I think I was about to take a nap.” I let out a fake yawn.
“Get naked, Gwynee. I’m going to show you what it means to truly be mine.”