17
17
Liam
“I know this is bad timing, but I waited until I was sure you were done and had time to dress,” Tex said.
I ran a hand over my face. What the fuck had I just done? I could still smell her on my beard, and, dammit, my cock was getting stiff again. I had to wash her scent off me.
“Sounded like you decided against the not-fucking-her plan,” he was amused.
“It was a mistake,” I snarled.
“The floor shaking and the cursing, shouting, and screaming didn’t sound like a mistake. I was close to needing to rub one off, listening to her.”
The instant fury that unleashed inside me was the slap in the face I needed. I didn’t like that he’d heard her. He didn’t need to know what she sounded like when she was fucking. It made me want to rip his head off, and that was a problem. Because having any kind of reaction to her, other than just making sure her needs were met because she was carrying my child, was bad.
That woman was not my future. She wasn’t what I needed or wanted. I was ready for someone stable, with a level head, a little older, successful. Someone like her sister, which wouldn’t be happening. I’d already decided it probably wasn’t going to before I found out I had knocked up Liberty, but it was a definite no now.
“I was drunk and weak. Yes, she’s got a hot body, and you put that shit in my head about not needing a condom with her. I snapped. Won’t happen again,” I told him. “Now, what is it that you came in here for?”
He nodded his head toward the door. “Police are here. Diamond was found dead in her apartment about an hour ago. To make matters worse, Whisper was the one who found her. She hadn’t been answering her phone, and she was supposed to cover her shift here tonight. Anyway”—he shook his head and winced—“it’s bad. They did some fucked-up shit to her. Even fucked her with a knife.”
Jesus Christ. A sick knot settled in my stomach as I stood up, no longer having to worry about a hard-on. That had taken care of it.
“Do they any leads?” I asked, walking around my desk that had moved forward at least five inches since I’d come in here.
“They have a witness, a neighbor, saying a man came out of her place around five this morning. They described the Viper she had been with, and we can’t find him. She’d claimed he was a guy she’d met at a bar the night before. All the information she had on him—name, number, car—none of it is legit. So, she either lied to cover for him or he lied to her.”
Fucking hell, these women and dating gang thugs. What was their problem? Had none of them learned from the mistakes of the past? I’d already had one of them shot dead in my club due to a damn gang.
I started for the door.
“You should probably know that it’s Harrison and Millow. Due to our relationship with them, they were following me up the stairs when we heard things. They might have heard more than you’d have liked before Drifter took them back inside the main room.”
A burning in my chest that I didn’t recognize or like started up, and my hands fisted. I had to get her somewhere that wasn’t near me. I didn’t trust myself with her. Not if this was how I was going to react to shit like this. Harrison and Millow had walked in on me getting head before, and I’d taken my time finishing, blowing my load in front of them—that was how much I hadn’t cared.
Knowing they had heard Liberty, I cared. I cared so much that I wanted to put my fist through a wall. Which meant she had to go.
Three hours later, I’d given the detectives all the information I had, made some calls, and let Tex and Drifter know I’d be back late tonight.
Liberty’s suitcases were by the door when I opened it. I looked across the room to find her curled up on the bed, asleep, wearing some new shorts and a top and a pair of Converse. I’d expected her to start yelling at me the moment I walked in since I’d sent her in here and said I’d be with her shortly.
When she was sleeping, she looked so damn sweet that it was hard to think any of the shit I knew about her was true.
The night I’d spent with her in her motel room, I had stood over her, watching her sleep for a hell of a lot longer than I should have. I hadn’t wanted to leave. Maybe years ago, when I had been younger and didn’t have grandsons and a daughter who was in her mid-twenties, I could have taken this ride with her. Jumped in, knowing full well that she was a bucketload of red flags, and fucked her until I had my fill. Soaked in those killer eyes of hers and plump lips. Listened to her laugh and smiled at the sound of it. But not now.
I was well past that stage in my life where messed-up girls like her were fun. She was having my baby. I’d share a kid with her. A kid who was going to need me because its momma couldn’t be trusted to do right by it. We hadn’t talked about if she even wanted to raise a kid. As far as I knew, she’d hand it over to me and walk away.
That right there was why I was doing this. Getting her somewhere safe and far away from me. The Judgment Sanctuary was our club compound in Miami, and it was surrounded by security gates. She could go out to the pool there, freely roam around outside, and I would be hours away. I’d show up for doctor’s appointments, then come back to Ocala. She wouldn’t be alone. She’d have Nina and Goldie, who were both a little too fucking giddy about this. Leave it to the ole ladies of two of my original members to think me knocking up a woman was a good thing. They’d baby the fuck out of her.
I walked over to her and shoved all doubts about my decision away before touching her shoulder. “Liberty.”
She blinked a few times, then looked up at me.
Damn that woman and her eyes.
Space. Lots of fucking space. This was the right thing.
“Time to go,” I told her and turned to walk over to the luggage.
I heard her yawn, and then her feet hit the ground.
“Where are we going?” she asked in a raspy voice.
“Miami,” I told her and started walking, carrying one of her suitcases in each hand.
“Miami?” she repeated.
“Yeah. The Judgment Sanctuary is there. Big compound, nice pool, some women you’ll like.”
She followed me down the stairs, not saying anything else. When we got outside, I unlocked the doors to my Charger so she could get inside, then went and put her suitcases in the back. If the traffic wasn’t terrible, I should return before closing time.
I climbed into the driver’s seat and started it up.
“How long will we be there?” she asked.
“You will be there your entire pregnancy. I’ll get you set up with an OB-GYN tomorrow and come back for the appointments.”
“You are leaving me there? With people I don’t know? Why can’t I stay here? I’ll get a job and an apartment.”
The panic in her tone was not going to get to me. This was the right thing to do. She just didn’t realize it yet.
“You’re pregnant with my baby, Liberty. Because of me, you lost your job. I am going to take care of you and the baby. We will address where you want to live and what you want to do once the baby is born. But while you’re pregnant, you need somewhere safe to live. You can’t live upstairs at a strip club. This is the best option.”
She didn’t say anything, and after a few minutes, I thought we were done talking, so I reached for the radio to turn it on. I sure as hell didn’t want to discuss what had happened in my office.
“So, that’s it. We fucked, and now, you are shipping me off. To get me away from you so, what, that you won’t fuck me again or because you think I’ll be clingy? Because rest assured, as much as I obviously enjoy what you do with your mouth and cock, I do not stay where I am not wanted.”
Guessed I wasn’t so lucky. She was going to talk about it, and the more she said fuck and cock , the harder said cock was going to get.
“I was drunk, and you weren’t wearing a bra. I got carried away. That’s a mistake. We aren’t going to be a couple. We are in two different eras in our life. But we are having a kid together. We need to get along. Accept it. Work together. Fucking will add shit we don’t need. When the baby gets here, we need to have a common ground. Not a lot of messed-up shit that will hinder us working together.”
“I didn’t ask you to take care of me. I’m not a charity case.”
“I know you didn’t ask. But I got you pregnant, and now, your needs are my responsibility. The way you were overworking yourself wasn’t safe for the baby. You’ll have a much healthier pregnancy with me taking care of things. No stress.”
It sounded better, the more I talked about it. I glanced at her to see her hands fisted tightly in her lap and her bottom lip between her teeth.
Fuck, was she about to cry? God, I hoped not. I didn’t know what to do with an emotional woman. Another thing Nina and Goldie would be better at. I wasn’t cut out for any of this shit. She was fucking lucky.