Chapter 13
Van
“Why don’t we just kill them all?” I ask as we sit around the table, talking about a new MC who has been moving into the area.
“You need blood?” Mask laughs as he looks at me. I shrug.
“I just don’t think gettin’ into a war with them makes sense when we can handle them ahead of time. Kill the motherfuckers now, and that’s that,” I tell him. Make chuckles and shakes his head.
“They haven’t done shit to us,” he reminds me.
“Doesn’t matter. They will. Every MC who’s tried to move in on us has fuckin’ stayed quiet at first and then tried to strike later,” I remind him. We’ve been here before. We’ve dealt with other MCs who have tried to move into our territory, and we won. We remain on top here, too. We need to handle them before they move on us.
“I think you’re still drunk,” Pike chimes in. I flip him off and light a cigarette, pulling nicotine into my lungs.
“No smokin’, remember?”
“We’re in church. No kids in here,” I remind his ass as he tries to get after mine. I smile at him as I glance around the room to make my point.
“Fuck. Okay. Back on track,” he says, looking around the table. “What are we lookin’ at?” his question is directed to Free.
“Not many are movin’ in as far as we can tell. Maybe seven guys,” he says.
“Seven guys? What the fuck kind of club is that?” I ask as I smoke.
“Not a big one or just a few of them comin’ to town. Either way, I don’t like it,” Mask adds.
“You scared of seven guys?” I tease.
“Fuck no. It just doesn’t make sense to move seven guys in. What’s the plan?”
“Why don’t we set up a meeting with them? See what we can find out.”
“We could do that. Can’t hurt,” I say. Mask nods his head, agreeing with me. It can’t hurt to have a sit down with them. It might ease some of the tension we feel right now.
“Then let’s do that. Let’s set up a meeting with them and see what the fuck is goin’ on. We don’t need a war with seven fuckin’ guys,” Mask says, addressing the room. We all agree, and church is ended. The guys file out and back into the main room as I linger with my cigarette.
“You two good now?” Mask asks, wanting to know about Chy and me.
“We’re somethin’.”
“You fuckin’ did all that over a woman?”
“She’s different, Mask.”
“She’s also pregnant. You didn’t want kids,” he reminds me.
“I know. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, yeah?”
“Is that you, Van Macintosh, that I hear sayin’ it might not be that bad?” he laughs. I know it was never me. I never wanted this, but things change.
“Yeah, that’s me. I want her, and she comes with a kid. What can I do but accept it?”
“You know it’s not gonna be that easy.”
“Nothin’ good is ever easy, yeah?”
“You might be right there. You think you’re ready to be someone’s stepdad, though?” he asks me. I shrug my shoulders and grab the beer sitting in front of me, bringing it to my lips. I take a long pull before sitting back in my seat.
“Can’t be that hard, right?”
“What the fuck do you mean it can’t be that hard? It’s raisin’ a kid, Van. It’s teachin’ a kid right from wrong. It’s showin’ a kid how to be a man.”
“Exactly. Not that hard,” I repeat. He laughs.
“You’re fuckin’ insane,” he tells me. I laugh this time.
“I want his mom. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Say I can’t deal with the kid?”
“No. You can’t do that. They come as a package, but are you ready for that?”
“I will be.”
“When?”
“When he gets here. I’ve been thinkin’ about this shit, Mask. I really want to be with her. I like her.”
“Then you better man up and handle that shit. She’s gonna depend on you, Van, and that’s not somethin’ you can just walk away from.”
“I know. I’ve thought about that too,” I tell him.
“Have you or have you been thinkin’ with your cock?” he asks. I get it. I get why he thinks that way, but I’ve actually thought about this. I’ve thought it over, and I know what I need to do. If I want Chy, I need to man the fuck up and accept what this is and what it’s going to entail.
“I got this, Prez. I promise,” I tell him.
“You better because the girls are gettin’ attached to her and want to keep her around,” he says.
“No shit?”
“No shit. They like havin’ her, and I think they’re excited about the baby, too,” he adds. I bet they are. They love having babies around here.
“I got this, Prez.”
“Good. Now get the fuck outta here so I can make phone calls,” he says, nodding toward the door. I chuckle as I stand and leave church. That’s where I find Chy with Nicole near the bar. She smiles, and it lights up the goddamn room. She’s happy, or at least she looks happy. The smile on her face is bright as she turns and looks at me. Nicole says something, and she laughs again, making my heart leap. I want her happy. I want her to stay happy. I walk over and throw my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into my side.
“What’s got you smilin’ like that?”
“Just having a good day.”
“Oh yeah? I’m glad.”
“You feel better today?” she asks me. I nod my head.
“Yeah, baby. I do. Sorry about the other night,” I tell her. I didn’t mean for her to see me like that.
“It’s okay. I get it.”
“No, you don’t. I shouldn’t have done that,” I tell her. She nods once and snuggles into my arms, her belly pressed against me. That’s when I feel the baby move. I step back and place my hand on her stomach, feeling the little guy kick and squirm around inside her.
“That doesn’t hurt?” I ask her. She shakes her head.
“No. It just feels weird.”
“That’s …” I don’t know what to say. It’s amazing. It’s not something I would have sat back and thought about before, but now … it’s amazing. I keep my hand on her stomach, feeling the little guy move around inside her, and I can’t stop the smile from crossing my face.
“It’s crazy, right?” she asks me. I drag my gaze from her stomach to her face and nod.
“I’ve never thought about it. I mean, yeah, I was there with my sister’s when they were pregnant, but I never really sat back and thought about it,” I tell her. I watch the smile cross her face as she looks up at me.
“Me and Nicole are going shopping.”
“What more do you need?” I ask her.
“Don’t you dare. You’re not paying for anything else. I have to work after that, so she’s going to drop me off,” she tells me. I nod my head, although I don’t like the idea of her being out alone. I want to be there. I want to protect her, but I know she needs her space too.
“Okay. You need anything? Money?”
“I said no, Van. You’ve already done so much for us. I can’t even thank you for all that,” she tells me.
“I just want him to have everything he needs,” I tell her.
“Van, you haven’t let me pay for anything. He has plenty of things. I just need a few smaller sleepers, and that’s it.”
“Okay. You’re the boss,” I tell her, causing her to laugh.
“Oh, am I?”
“Yeah, baby, you are.” I pull her into me and lean down to kiss her, pressing my lips to hers. I kiss her gently at first, but she wants more. I can feel it. So I give her whatever the hell she wants from me.
“If you two are done, we need to go.” Nicole interrupts us. I pull back and brush Chy’s hair away from her face as she grins up at me.
“You’re so sweet when you want to be.”
“You like that?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s the side of you I’m slowly falling for, Van.” Her words hit me hard. She’s falling for me? I don’t know how to respond to that.
“Go before I change my mind. I’ll pick you up from work,” I tell her before pressing one last kiss to her lips. She turns to Nicole and grabs her hand, leading her toward the door. I watch her go before disappearing out the door with her best friend.
I don’t really like the idea of them being out alone. I don’t know what Derrick would do if he saw her out on her own after the last time we had a run-in with him.
“You good?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What’s wrong?” Free asks.
“I just don’t like her bein’ out there on her own,” I tell him.
“Think the ex might try somethin’?”
“I don’t know, brother. He was an ass the last time we saw him when we were out. Didn’t really wanna back down,” I tell him.
“She’ll be fine. Nicole is a scrappy bitch,” he laughs.
“True.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” he adds this time.
“Yeah. We need to worry about the meetin’ Mask is settin’ up.”
“Why is that?”
“Seven of them? We each take a shot, and they’re handled,” I tell him. Free laughs as he slaps a hand on my shoulder.
“You really do need to get your hands dirty, yeah? You are itchin’ to get some blood on your hands.”
“I just don’t see the point in talkin’. We know what they’re doin’. It’s the same thing every other MC has tried when they moved on our territory.”