Epilogue One
Alejandro
A FEW MONTHS LATER
Elaina had always been a spitfire, and now that she was safe and taken care of, she was even more outspoken.
She ran Joey and I around by the balls, and all of Joey’s men and my men worshiped the ground she walked on.
Everyone doted on her and did everything they could to make life as easy as possible for her.
She barely had to lift a finger, whether she was at the clubhouse or in Mexico with me.
But today, everyone was giving her a wide berth.
She was irritable and moody. Joey and I had noticed her mood sinking the past couple of days, but today, she even had me on edge.
I didn’t want to do something to tip her over the edge, so it was like treading on eggshells around her, something a man like me was not used to doing.
I looked up from my laptop when Elaina huffed and tossed down the hand towel she’d been using to dry glasses.
“I don’t understand why there’s so many dirty dishes,” Elaina snapped.
Joey shot me a look from across the table, both of us a bit alarmed.
She really wasn’t the type to complain. Usually, she loved helping out, and no one ever asked her to do anything. She just did it.
“Sweet girl, you don’t have to do the dishes,” Joey said, his voice low and soothing.
She glared at him, her blue eyes throwing daggers in his direction.
Clearly, that’d been the wrong thing to say, but Joey didn’t falter because he was used to women coming at him sideways for something that wasn’t even his fault.
Was it okay? No. He should have never had to deal with something like that, but it prepared him for whatever the fuck was happening now.
“Well, who the fuck else will do it if I don’t?” Elaina demanded. “You sister is sick, Joey.”
Jessie was sick, yes. The flu had her bedridden and unable to keep anything down.
Elaina had sent her to bed two nights ago, and we’d barely seen her since.
Ink was constantly checking on her, and I could tell Joey wasn’t all that comfortable with it, but he was determined to let his sister make her own choices and be with whoever she wanted.
If she even wanted him. The poor woman kept pushing Ink away. She would let him close, then would clam up and throw up her walls against him.
“I’ll do them,” Joey said, pushing back from the table where he’d been working on the club books.
“You’re busy. Don’t you dare stop what you’re doing just because I’m bitching.
The club books are important. People are relying on you to pay them, and—” Her breath hitched in her throat, and suddenly, she burst into tears.
Sobs wracked her chest, and she sort of curled into herself, one hand coming up to cover her face like she was ashamed of whatever the hell she was going through.
I was on my feet in a split second, and I was right behind Joey as we rushed around the counter to comfort her. She dissolved into even more tears when we hugged her between us, and I looked at Joey, truly freaked out.
Elaina was not a crier. This was completely out of character for her.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she blubbered, sniffling loudly.
Whiler entered the room, but at her tears, he shot us wide, alarmed eyes, then quickly turned on his heel and went back to his room, no doubt wanting to avoid whatever this was.
“I’ve been such an emotional mess, and I don’t know what’s wrong! ”
“Okay, pequena luchadora,” I murmured. “Let’s get you to our room first, okay?
” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head, and Joey released her, motioning for me to take her.
I frowned at him, but he just grabbed his phone from his pocket and wiggled it at me before heading for the clubhouse doors.
Biting back a sigh at his shit communication skills, I led Elaina to our room.
Once we were inside, we laid on the bed, and I curled around her. “Just let it out,” I coaxed.
It took a while for her tears to stop, and when they did, she fell asleep in my arms, soft snores leaving her lips. No doubt, she was exhausted from crying and whatever had her so emotionally drained the past few days.
Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I slid it open to find a text from Joey. So, that was why he’d waved his phone at me. I sighed. I was not a mind reader. He was going to have to be better at communicating, but we’d work on it.
Joey
Headed to the store. She may be pregnant. The condom broke that one time, remember?
I did remember. Elaina was on birth control by her own wishes, and we always used condoms just for the double protection.
But the one time the condom had broken, she’d been feeling down and was taking over the counter cold medicine.
I knew enough about birth control to know it wasn’t one hundred percent effective when taken with other meds.
Fuck.
She may very well be pregnant with my kid. Dios.
* * *
Joey arrived back about fifteen minutes later. He was holding a small bag from the drug store in town in his right hand and his cell phone in the other. He arched a brow at me and waggled the phone in my direction. “Heard of this?” he asked.
“That would be a phone,” I replied like a smartass just because he was annoyed.
He rolled his eyes and set it on the dresser. “Yes, it is. Don’t leave me on read.”
I arched a brow at him, not in the mood for his shit when he’d left without at least saying check your phone.
“Then don’t just leave without properly communicating with me first,” I retorted.
He sighed and waved a hand toward the sleeping blonde in my arms. “I didn’t want to alarm her.” Rolling his shoulders, he pulled the pregnancy test out of the bag. “Wake her up. She needs to take this.”
“Joey…” I warned. I didn’t like waking her when she was resting. He knew that. She needed to sleep after the rough few days she’d been having.
He huffed, and I barely kept my lips from twitching with a smile. Around everyone else, Joey was a hard ass. A president that ruled with an iron fist. An overprotective brother who’d vowed to never fail his sister again. But around me, he was just a tiny bit of a brat. I was in love with it.
His brattiness meant he knew he was safe with me. Free.
“I can’t live with the suspense, Garcia.”
Blowing out a harsh breath, I nodded, then gently shook Elaina. She groaned and tilted her head back, looking at me with sleepy eyes. “What?” she grumbled.
“I need you to take this,” Joey said, holding the box over the two of us.
She blinked, then reached up to rub her eyes before staring at the box in horror, as if she was realizing it really was what she thought it was.
Her face paled a tiny bit. “I know it’s terrifying,” he said quietly. “But we need to know, sweet girl.”
She swallowed thickly, then pushed herself into a sitting position.
After taking the box from him, she scooted to the edge of the bed, then silently padded barefoot to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Joey sank onto the edge of the bed and rubbed his hands together, staring nervously at the closed bathroom door.
Sitting up, I wrapped my arms around him from behind, resting my chin on his shoulder. “Breathe,” I said quietly. “If she’s pregnant, we can discuss her options. See what she wants to do. I will never make her carry a child she does not want, Joey.”
Joey grunted. “I know.” He rubbed his thumb over the palm of his other hand. “I’m more worried about her.”
I couldn’t fault him. If that test showed a positive, she would either be eerily calm about it or absolutely freak. There would be no in-between.
After a couple of minutes, the door opened, and Elaina stepped out just the tiniest bit. In her right hand was the pregnancy test, and it was trembling. She drew in a shaky breath, her blue eyes watery as she croaked, “I’m pregnant.”
Joey held his breath. I squeezed him as I continued staring at her. “How do you feel about that?” I asked.
She licked her lips nervously before looking between the two of us. “I’m scared of what you two are thinking.”
“No matter what you choose,” Joey rasped, “we will support you, sweet girl.” I squeezed my arms around him. I knew this drudged up a lot of memories for him. He’d confessed to us a few weeks ago that Adelaide had once been pregnant with his baby, but they’d lost it.
“If you don’t want this baby,” Joey continued, “we’ll discuss your options and help you do whichever you choose, whether it be abortion or adoption. And if you want to be a mom, then we’ll be more than happy to be fathers.”
A tear ran down her cheek, and something akin to hope glimmered in her eyes. “Really?” she croaked.
I nodded. How could she expect us to do anything but fully support her? She owned us, after all.
“Really, pequena luchadora.”
She sobbed, then rushed over to us. We caught her in our arms, and then, she was kissing Joey all while her hand cupped my cheek. And then, when she turned her head to catch my lips with hers, she whispered, “I want the baby.”
“Good,” I growled. Then, I quickly—and gently—flipped us so she was laid out on the bed where Joey and I could take very good care of her.