Chapter 4
Raya – Age Twenty Four
I chuckle as Hudson, a miracle baby that holds my heart, squeals as he grips my hair tightly while trying to balance on his two chubby legs to keep him standing up.
Hudson Grayson, eight months old, but at the size of a five-month-old baby born twenty weeks early, and should not have survived.
He’s a standing, babbling little angel and a spitting image of his father, Psycho.
I look up, feeling eyes on me, and see Ivy leaning against the archway between the kitchen and living area, watching us with a grin and I soften at the peace that surrounds her, the guilt she carried for not opening up sooner finally gone.
Ivy and Psycho have been through a roller coaster.
From her agreeing to marry a man who wants me dead to save her nasty, lying Mama to nearly losing both her son and her love after a crazy clubwhore tried to shoot her. Psycho ended up pushing her out of the way, getting shot instead, and having memory loss after months in a coma.
She’s been through a lot, and now, finally, after so long, she’s getting her happily ever after married to the love of her life, bringing their miracle baby up together like it always should have been.
“You’re good with him,” she mentions, and I grin as I look back at Hudson, who's now trying to grab my daughter chain, his eyes fixated on it.
After nearly six months in neonatal care, the little babe has blossomed since coming home, and I try to spend as much time with him as possible, even though I really shouldn’t be touching him, not with my tainted hands.
Three days ago, I killed a Hyena in the alley where I was nearly killed, stabbing him in the neck.
Blood enters my vision, but I blink it away.
Slowly over the years, I’ve been killing them one by one, only for Hayden Gillies to add more men to his little gang, but as of three days ago, instead of having eight, the only number he can get his little gang up to, there’s only seven, and even if it kills me, that number will go down to zero.
“He makes it easy,” I admit, trying to ignore my thoughts before I blow a raspberry on Hudson’s little hand, then bounce him a little, making him giggle, taking his attention off my chain, which I never take off.
Well, once it was taken off, but as soon as I woke up, Mama gave it back to me.
I technically shouldn’t be alive, not after my ordeal. Several broken ribs, a punctured lung, severe head injury, a black eye, broken nose, broken arm, several internal tears on my vaginal walls from when he tore my virginity from me, a fractured kneecap, and then there’s my back…
I swallow hard and smile at Hudson, the ragged, raised scar never too far from my mind, a scar no one has seen, not even Mama.
Over forty stitches were needed to put the skin back together after the guy had torn it with a knife, forever a memory of what happened to me.
I changed that day. I became harder, while my crush, my love for Venom, began to diminish.
I didn’t feel worthy of him at first after seeing him again for the first time in months, since my ‘appendix’ surgery, the lie Ivy told everyone, and then he began putting me down.
He kept accusing me of using Ivy to make my daddy mad to my face, declaring that Ivy and I won’t be friends much longer, that I’ll be alone.
He’s managed to make me hate him more and more each day, which is sad, really, considering I wanted forever with that man, but I’m now preaching it was a teenage crush, nothing more, even if I have to lie to myself.
Hudson babbles again, and I chuckle as I lift him into my arms and hold him close.
“How’s work going?” Ivy asks as she takes a seat next to me, and I shrug a little and admit, “Fine, though getting called out during a lesson was not so fine.”
I smile a little, the look on my professor's face when I told him it was my fire beeper for a job after he demanded it when it went off in class while I was busy packing my stuff up.
“Did you get in trouble?” Ivy giggles, and I shake my head and deny, “Nah, not after I explained why I had it and that I needed to go.”
I blow a raspberry at Hudson, making him squeal again, before I ask, “Have you heard from Lake lately?”
Ivy sighs, and I look at her as she shakes her head and admits, “No, and Randy’s also concerned. She’s been really down since finding out Viper was a brother, lost a lot of weight, and is barely in contact with us.”
I twitch my nose and reply, “I don’t think it’s the fact he’s a brother that’s the problem, I mean, I know the brothers were,” I side eye Huddy then spell, “j-a-c-k-a-s-s-e-s,” making Ivy snort, “But she knew the brothers have a weird phobia about women wanting their patches. I think her problem was his reaction and instant blaming and accusing her of being with him to get his cut all because she was friends with us. I mean they were together for a while so he knew her heart, knew she loved him…”
Ivy nods and agrees, “I think you’re right,” then huffs, “we need to bang their heads together.”
I chuckle. Lake has grown up with a label she didn’t deserve – patch chaser and whore – all because of who birthed her despite her dad being the one to raise her and every brother has stood clear of her even though they didn’t even know what she looked like because Randy kept her away from the club and homeschooled her but someone how, while on shift as an EMT, she bumped into Viper who didn’t have his cut on.
For months they were dating and she admitted she spoke about us to him but never mentioned names.
So when she accidentally bumped into him not long ago in the local café while dancing with Huddy, it was a shock to both of them and now, each time they see each other they fling insults, not as bad as me and Venom, I mean, I kneed him between his legs a few weeks ago when he mentioned my daddy yet again.
Still, their insults are mean-spirited and long-lasting.
“They’ll come back together again,” I call it instantly because those two belong together, and their reason for breaking up was just stupid, and Ivy nods in agreement.
“So how is school going then?” Ivy asks, and I grin at Hudson as I reply, “Okay, not failing just yet, so that is a bonus.”
“And Gregory?” she asks, and I look her way to see her brow raised, and I roll my eyes.
“Still isn’t aware of what school I’m attending and won’t until graduation, I want to surprise him to show him how grateful I am for taking on an angry teen,” I murmur and I look at Ivy and admit, “I see him as my dad, he’ll never replace Daddy but in my heart of hearts he’s my dad.”
Ivy grins widely with pride, making me chuckle, and I look back at Hudson, who's trying to grab my chain again.
The boy looks so adorable in his little overalls.
“Mama tried to call me again,” Ivy admits, and I sigh as I look at her with a raised brow and ask, “Did you tell Glock?” She shakes her head, “Venom?” Another shake as she gives me a wince, and I huff, “Ivy!”
“I know, I know, I just, she left you know, without a word after nearly selling me, everything was peaceful,” she grumbles, and I give her a sad smile as I hold her son close to me.
“Ivy, you need to speak to Psycho at least. You two, you’ve come so far, especially with communication, and if you don’t tell him about this, you’ll lose his trust again,” I say carefully, and she sighs as she drops her chin to her chest and agrees, “You’re right.”
I nod because I know I am. As I said, they’ve been through a lot since she broke his trust badly.
They were best friends at one point, and instead of confiding in him, knowing he’d help her, she kept him in the dark about Clara, and nearly married Hayden Gillies, expecting him to stop the wedding.
Thankfully he did, but she also didn’t tell him she was pregnant with their son.
It took a lot for Psycho to forgive her, especially when he was struggling with memory loss after waking from a coma.
She doesn’t tell him, she’ll lose him.
Shaking her head she promises, “I’ll tell him as soon as he’s home from the run, I promise,” and I nod, giving her smile. I’m proud at how far she’s come before she tilts her head at me, giving me one of her looks that she gets before she brings something up that I don’t want to talk about.
Venom or the Hyena’s.
“Any uh, anymore run-ins with the Hyenas?” Ivy asks carefully, and I tense.
Hyenas it is...
No one knows I’ve been on a killing spree with them and not one killing has been made aware on the news because of why they’re in that alleyway to begin with.
Though as of last week, it changed but I know I can’t tell Ivy, she’d freak and not because I’m killing them, it’s the fact she found me being raped at fifteen, dying because of my revenge.
I clear my throat to get ready to lie to her, but Hudson squeals louder as the foyer door opens and heavy boot steps echo. I tense even further as my body tingles and my stomach tightens.
Dammit!
“Hey, Cale, I uh thought you had a club run?” Ivy says this with caution, her eyes fixed on me.
Honestly, I don’t know who I hate more at the moment: my father's side of the family, who continue to pop up like unwanted daisies for my father’s money, or Venom.
I blink for a second before Venom's voice rushes through me, sending my heart rate up as he says, “It got cancelled, the Carnage MC had something come up,” before he says, “Oh, look, kitten finally comes out of her hiding spot again to try and piss off her daddy.”
Ivy groans, “Cale!” while my jaw ticks.
Venom, I hate Venom more.
Though at least he managed to get me out of lying to Ivy.
Hudson murmurs to get Venom's attention as he squeezes his fists towards him, and I say, “Alright, little buddy, I’m going to hand you to your Uncle Meanie and leave you before I hurt him, okay?”
He giggles like I’ve said the funniest thing in the world, and I stand with him in my arms before I turn and face the man I used to dream about.
A dark blue t-shirt stretched across his muscular chest, showcasing some of his tattoos on his collarbone, paired with dark blue jeans, biker boots, and his cut.
The man is a walking work of art, his dark green eyes piercing into mine.
He smirks that stupid smirk that I used to want to kiss, but now want to punch, and I narrow my eyes before I bend down and kiss Ivy’s cheek, then mumble, “I’ll message you soon,” and she nods, but I don’t miss the sadness surrounding her.
I haven’t been the best of friends to my girls lately.
Smiling at her, I straighten and walk over to Venom, his eyes following me before I gently kiss Hudson’s head, then lift him over to him, who gets excited as Venom takes him from me, his fingers brushing mine, causing electric sparks to shoot up my arm.
I swallow the gasp that wants to come out and turn to walk out. I’ve got to get ready for a shift anyway before I follow Hayden Gillies around at two in the morning.
I’ve got his routine down to a T, which will come in handy when I kill him.
Just as I get out the front door, anger courses through me as Venom shouts, “Off to spend more of daddy’s money?”
I fist my hands as my breathing quickens before I hear Hudson’s squeal, and I know he still has hold of him, so I take a deep breath before I go back in there and kill him, and I stomp towards my car, his laughter that I used to love following me.
Don’t kill Hudson’s uncle, I repeat, don’t kill his uncle!
How on earth can you go from loving someone to hating them?
Guess nearly dying and seeing shit in a new light will do that to you because being happy isn’t in my future, revenge is.