Chapter 21
21
Steal
“Where’s Medic?” I ask as I storm into the common room, my arm throbbing.
The brothers look at me, some wide-eyed, not actually believing my girl shot me, others with laughter, knowing I deserved it.
Fuckers.
“He’s, uh, still passed out,” Canine mutters, amusement lacing his voice, something I didn’t expect to see after Medic helped Canine’s wife end her life.
Canine left for a little while, needing to get his head straight. It was her wish, but we all know he feels guilty when he shouldn’t. She was struggling with her condition and had lost mobility on her left side, then struggled to even walk.
She felt like a burden to her husband and had lost herself….
I sigh and ask, “Can you bandage this shit up for me then? I have a certain future sister-in-law to confront, and,” I swallow hard and look around the room, all eyes on me, “and a daughter to collect.”
Laughter and amusement disappear as every brother stands in shock, and even the clubwhores’ jaws hit the floor.
“Cassidy had your child?” Bulldozer growls. “A-fucking-lone?”
I nod once. “That day I dragged her out by her hair, held a gun to her head so Bull couldn’t fucking shoot her over killing Brute to protect herself…. She went to the hospital, and they told her she was pregnant and was at high risk for miscarriage because of the trauma she suffered by that fucker.”
The room grows tense.
Every brother in this room came to Cassidy’s defense when I held a gun to her head, just like I had hoped they would, but they never stopped her from leaving because a brother was dead, and unfortunately, Bull had sway within the club, something my father managed to let happen; something he regrets.
“I’ll check your arm, Prez,” Cannon states, and I nod before looking over to the bar. “Killian, take two brothers with you and take Cass to our home and lock her in.” I wince. “You may have to tie her up as a precaution, especially when she realizes her phone is in my pocket.”
Killian groans, breaking the ice in the room, and the brothers laugh at the poor fool, knowing Cass is going to chew him out.
“I really need to put a vote in for his patch,” I mumble as Killian goes toward my room. Canine grabs my arm, inspecting it, while Cannon grabs the med kit.
He hums. “Yeah, Killian’ll be a brilliant brother.” Canine furrows his brows. “It’s a through-and-through.”
I nod. “Cass said it was. I just need it wrapped so it doesn’t drip blood. I’ll have Medic or Cass stitch it later.”
Canine snorts as he grabs the bandage from Cannon, and states, “She’ll probably stab you with the needle; I’d go to Medic,” causing Cannon to chuckle as he grabs the adhesive tape.
“Maybe you're right,” I agree, remembering her remorselessness when she shot me.
Twenty minutes later, with anger coursing through me, I storm into Acid’s yard.
Perrie, who is sitting on Acid's lap, winces when she notices me, and I can see from here the guilt that shines in her eyes, knowing exactly what this is about.
Acid has most likely filled her in, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why.
I narrow my eyes at her until she blurts out, “I’m pregnant,” and I freeze in shock while Acid’s head shoots up, and he breathes out, “What?”
Ah crap, this has to be the first time he’s heard the news.
She doesn’t answer Acid, keeping her eyes connected with mine as her tears fall, and she states, “It’s a head fuck as it is. No amount of therapist visits is going to get my head around the fact I aborted a baby because I knew I couldn’t carry my rapist’s child, and now I’m pregnant with my husband’s, and I still feel a little broken inside, and I’m petrified I’ll hurt my baby.”
Ah, damn….
My anger evaporates at the fear overtaking her features, and I can’t help but melt.
When the Aldo brothers raped her, they didn’t use protection, and she fell pregnant. Having her rapist’s child wasn’t an option for her, and she aborted the baby, then went into survival mode.
Fighting became her way to cope and her way to ensure she wasn’t cutting like she used to after her dad died.
Slowly, I walk over to the patio, kneel before her, and grab her shaking hands.
“Darling,” I whisper with pain.
“You held a gun to her head,” Perrie sobs, and I cringe, hating that I did that, even if it was to protect her, something I know Pez doesn’t know. “She didn’t know then, but it’s not the point. You held a gun to her head after dragging her by the hair, listening to your fuck buddy.” I notice Acid flinch, but I don’t. Instead, I squeeze Perrie’s hands and allow her to continue. “You never asked her what happened—even I don’t know, but it was enough to shake her. You told her you’d kill her if she returned, so if she’d had come to your door and said, ‘I’m having your baby,’ would you have listened?”
It doesn’t surprise me that Cassidy didn’t tell Perrie exactly what happened that day but what does surprise me is the shock on Acid’s face.
She didn’t tell her husband about their niece, a niece whose name I still don’t know.
Damn, that realization is a kick in the teeth.
“Did she have the baby, Perrie?” Acid asks, confirming my thoughts, and she looks at him with teary eyes.
“She did,” she admits before she looks at me and says, “You need to beg, you need to plead, not be angry. You threatened to kill her! You can’t be mad that she kept Moira from you, for protecting her child from the man who said he loved her and then held a gun to her head.”
Holy….
“Moira,” I whisper, and Perrie’s eyes soften.
“Yeah, after your mom.” She sighs. “You need to worship the ground she walks, Steal, if you want anything to do with your daughter, and you need to ensure that bitch doesn’t go near her.”
My jaw ticks, and I snap, “And what about Cass, huh? What if I want her as well?”
Perrie flinches. “I don’t know. You hurt her, and the fact you kept Faith around….”
Anger courses through me. Everyone seems to have it in their heads that I’ve been fucking Faith for years, and honestly, I’m fed up with it.
I cut her off and state, “I haven’t touched Faith in years!” Acid raises a skeptical brow, and I sigh. “I haven’t touched any girl in years.” Perrie blinks at me in shock while Acid’s mouth hangs open. I admit, “Faith wanted to suck me off that day, and as punishment to Cass, for one second, I allowed her to get on her knees before I realized why I was so mad, and before her hands could even pull my jeans down, I shoved her away and threatened her.” I lock eyes with Perrie. “Your sister is the last person I slept with, Perrie, but I guess she won’t be able to say the same with the man hanging around her though, right?”
The same man that leaves her apartment every time she comes home from work.
Perrie winces but says, “I don’t know who the man is, Steal, but again, you were the one who held a gun to her head. If she has moved on, you’ve only got yourself to blame, but in my honest opinion, I don’t think he means anything to her other than a friend.”
Not believing it, I nod and mumble, “How the fuck did I come here to tear you a new one, only to be put in my place instead?” I lean forward and whisper, “This baby is going to love the shit outta you, and just remember, you lose your way, you have a full club behind you to get you back on track.”
Tears fall as Perrie nods, and I look at Acid to see him looking at me with a raised brow. I sigh, knowing I should have called before storming into his home. I mutter, “I’ll see you in the ring in the morning, brother.”
He nods and I stand and walk to the gate but before I can walk out, Perrie asks, “Where is my sister?”
I smirk to hide the pain I’m feeling right now, and tell her, “At my home where she belongs, and so will our daughter when we pick her up from daycare. I’m not letting them go, and don’t worry, your mom won’t have any access to them….”
I saw their mom yesterday; she tried to speak to me, but that bitch can fuck off, and no, it did not escape me that Cass left through the entrance just to bypass the woman at the hospital yesterday.
Andrea is dead, Canine shot her after Perrie revealed the pregnancy was fake by pulling off the fake bump. The fake baby was Trudy’s way of getting money from Acid, through Andrea, and we all know she’ll try and use my daughter to get to Cassidy, which is never going to fucking happen.
Over my dead body….
Perrie nods and says, “Well, that’s a start, but remember. she can fight.”
I chuckle and say, “Yeah, but so can I,” and I walk out of their yard, knowing Perrie has much explaining to do to her husband.
Half an hour later, I swallow hard, looking at the small two-bed bungalow on Checker Street.
Okay, so when I told Perrie I’m picking my daughter up from daycare with Cass, I actually meant I’d pick her up from the fucker who thinks he can have my family. And I also meant alone.
He knows I’m coming, though he believes Cass sent the message.
Yesterday, I put a child’s bed up in the room next to the master. I’m hoping Cass will decorate the room. If I have it my way, it’ll be a nursery for our next child after Moira goes into the room two doors down from the master.
Fuck, Moira….
It just shows how much Cassidy adores my family, my mom, to name our daughter after her. The woman steals my heart daily and doesn’t even realize it.
Swallowing hard, I climb out of the truck and walk over to the small light blue bungalow.
The door opens before I can knock, and I come face to face with the fucker that I’d love to hit right about now.
“She fell asleep on the couch; I’ll grab her,” he says with narrow eyes.
I raise a brow at him but nod, not willing to start shit when I’m about to see my daughter up close for the first time, and he turns back inside.
Three of the longest minutes of my life pass before he shows up again, and my eyes tear up at the little girl in his arms, her head on his shoulder, her arms dangling as she snoozes. Gently, he hands her over to me, and I hold her close as her head lays on my shoulder. Her strawberry scent hits my nostrils and my heart pounds.
My daughter, I’m holding my daughter….
“She’s allergic to pineapple,” the fucker says, and I look at him. His demeanor softens seeing my emotions, and he says, “She loves strawberries on pancakes for breakfast.”
I nod and rasp, “Like her momma,” and his eyes soften as he nods back. “Thank you,” I whisper before I turn and head to the truck without another word.
I gently open the passenger door, place my little girl into the car seat I picked up this morning, and strap her in. She doesn’t stir, and I slowly trace her nose and the freckles lacing it.
“Let’s get you home, little red,” I whisper and shut the door quietly before I climb into the driver’s seat and start the truck. Putting it in drive, I leave the fucker’s house with my right hand holding my daughter’s while she sleeps.
Forty minutes later, between traffic and my extremely slow driving, I carry my precious daughter into her new home, a home she’ll be safe in—they both will be.
The house is two-story, with six bedrooms and eight baths.
It’s a home I envisioned building a family in with Cassidy, and now bringing my daughter inside is such a bittersweet moment.
We should have brought her home together, after she was born—the birth, the sleepless nights, her first words, first time crawling, I missed it all, and I know it’s my own fault….
I gently shut the door behind me and walk into the living area. I smile a little when I see Cass asleep on the light gray couch, wearing one of my shirts.
“Now, that is a sight I can get used to coming home to…” I mumble as I take in her bare legs.
Fuck, she’s beautiful….
Moira’s small breaths puff against my neck, and I hold her tighter to me before taking one last look at her mother, then walk up the staircase, my eyes going to the walls that are littered with photos of Cass and me, and my family, along with Perrie, and knowing my girl, Moira’s baby photos will be added in the coming weeks, because she is not going back to that apartment to live. Instead, she’ll be packing her stuff up and moving where she belongs—here with me.
Gently, I lay Moira in her new bed and put her pink blanket over her. She doesn’t even move, and I can’t help but smile.
She is so much like her mother….
Speaking of her mother.
I carefully kiss my daughter’s head before turning on the star nightlight, and leaving the adjoining door to the master bedroom ajar, before locking the main door as a precaution, just in case she wakes and gets scared.
I walk into the master and quickly shut the drapes, pull the duvet back, before I hang my cut, remove my shirt, boots, and jeans, and leave only my boxers on.
My eyes go to the picture on my bedside table, and I chew my bottom lip. Cass and I are grinning at each other, her legs wrapped around my waist.
Fuck, I want that back; I need it back, and I will get her back.
With a deep breath, I head downstairs. My eyes land on Cass instantly, and I lick my bottom lip, wondering if she’s going to cut my dick off in my sleep, especially when she realizes that I couldn’t be bothered to see if Medic woke from his little catnap to have my arm stitched.
I don’t want to miss a second of her or our daughter.
Quickly, I lock the front door and turn off the electric fire and lights, before I carefully pick her up. Her nose instantly goes into the neck like it used to, and I smile as I slowly walk up the stairs, then down the long hallway to the master bedroom, enjoying her in my arms again.
I place my girl on the king-sized bed and carefully cover her with the dark blue duvet, before going to the adjoining room. I check on a still-conked-out Moira and grin, finally feeling at peace, having not just my girl under my roof but also my daughter, a daughter I always wanted with Cassidy.
Fear hits me. Fuck, I need to make sure I don’t lose this.
Keeping the door ajar, I walk to the bed and carefully climb in before slowly pushing my arm underneath Cassidy’s head. I wrap my other arm over her waist, pulling her body close to mine so there’s no space between us.
Cass sighs in her sleep, and I smile, putting my face into her hair. I inhale, my body relaxing; I finally feel at home for the first time in years.
I won’t lose this feeling; I won’t lose my family. I did what I had to at the time, and if I could redo it, I would. I’d hand in my patch and tell my dad I’m sorry, but I was young, and all I wanted to do was make my dad proud.
Now, I need to show Cass that she and our daughter come before everything and everyone else—they’re my world.