Daredevil
D are had a few more runs for Riggs, and then, he was going to pick up Vixen at her shop. It had become their little routine since she practically moved in with him four months back.
She had agreed to have someone working with her at all times, and Dare agreed that was a good compromise to let her safely go back to work. None of the guys had even heard from Wyatt for months now, and he wondered if they were finally free from him stalking Vixen, or if that was just wishful thinking. Either way, he wasn’t letting her out of his site. Hell, if he had his way, she’d move in with him permanently and eventually would agree to marry him.
When he finally got to the store, he found Banshee standing next to Vixen as she sat at the register, crying. “What the fuck happened?” he asked, running into the front of the store.
“Um, I think that’s my cue to leave,” Banshee insisted. “I’ll see you at the club later?” she asked. Tonight was the Harlot’s night to use the clubhouse, and he was looking forward to bartending for them again. He liked that they went into Savage Hell together. It had become one of his favorite things to do on a night out with Vixen.
“I’m not sure. Let me see how the rest of today goes, and I’ll let you know. You won’t tell anyone about this, right Banshee?” Vixen asked. Dare wanted to protest and demand that they tell him what they are talking about. Was it really big enough for Vixen to ask Banshee to keep it a secret from the rest of the Harlots?
“You have my word,” Banshee agreed. “I won’t tell a soul.” She mimicked zipping her lips shut, making Vixen laugh as she pulled her in for a hug. Banshee looked up at Dare and winked. “Go easy on her.” He nodded and watched as Banshee left through the back door and he took a deep breath, knowing that he might actually need it.
“I’m sorry about all that,” Vixen whispered.
“How about you tell me what’s going on before you start apologizing for what’s happened?” he asked.
“I’m afraid that after I tell you, you’ll need that apology from me, Dare,” she insisted.
“Now I’m starting to worry. What’s going on, Vixen?” he asked again.
She took a deep breath and let it back out. “I’m pregnant,” she almost shouted. “God, sorry, I didn’t mean for it to be so loud. I guess I’m more nervous about telling you than I thought I would be.”
“Pregnant?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m pregnant,” she said again.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes, that’s what I was talking about with Vixen. She had a few pregnancy tests delivered because I told her that I was a few weeks late. I thought that she was crazy for insisting that I take one, and when it turned out to be positive, I took a few more. They are back in the bathroom if you want to see for yourself.” Dare felt like he was running on auto pilot as he walked back to the employee bathroom and checked over all the tests. Sure enough, they were all positive.
“Shit,” he whispered to himself, not knowing that Vixen was standing in the bathroom doorway.
“If you’re not okay with this, I’d understand. I can do this on my own, Dare,” she spat. Vixen walked back out into the store, leaving him standing there with all the pregnancy tests and a good amount of guilt for how he had handled things.
He followed her out into the shop and grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her. “Wait,” he ordered. “I’m fucking this all up, I know. But I’m just as shocked about this as you are, and you’ve had some time to digest the news. Give me a second to catch up, honey.”
“I meant what I said, Dare. I don’t need you to take care of me or anything like that. We haven’t heard from Wyatt in months, so maybe it’s time that I went back to my place. That way, you’ll have the time and space to think about what you want to do about our little problem.”
“The baby isn’t a little problem,” he insisted. “And the last thing I want you to do is to move out of my place. In fact, on the way over here, I was thinking that we should make our living arrangements more permanent. I was going to ask you to move in with me and let your place go,” he admitted.
She looked him over as if trying to decide if she believed him. “You were?” she asked.
“I was, and I’d still like to ask you to move in with me if that’s something that you want too, Vixen,” he said.
“Even with the baby?” she asked.
“Yes, even with the baby. Unless you plan on keeping him or her in a separate apartment,” he teased. “Listen, I know that my place isn’t big enough for the three of us, but we can work on getting something bigger when the time is right. How about you at least think about it,” she said.
“I can’t think about living with you if you don’t want the baby,” she said, cupping her tummy. The idea of there actually being a baby in there—his and Vixen’s baby, choked him up. He more than wanted the baby and there was no question that he wanted Vixen. He just needed to convince her of that.
“I want you both, honey,” he said. “I’m sorry for my reaction, but seeing the pregnancy tests put it all into perspective for me. I knew that I wanted a future with you, and I hoped that future would involve kids. We’re just starting that future sooner than I thought we would, but I’m ready for all of this, honey. The question is, are you ready?”
She smiled up at him, swiping away the tears that spilled down her face and nodded. “I think that I am,” she breathed.
“Well, then, it looks like we’re having a baby,” he said, pulling her into his arms and pressing his lips to hers.
“Looks like we’re having a baby,” she whispered against his lips. Dare felt like he might be the luckiest man on the planet, but one dark cloud still loomed over them—Wyatt. It didn’t seem to matter to him that Wyatt hadn’t been around in months, but Dare couldn’t take the chance that he could still come after Vixen. He was going to have to come up with a solution to make sure that asshole never got close to Vixen and his baby again. Dare had a pretty good idea of how to do just that too—he’d have to meet with Wyatt.
Dare knew that running out to meet Wyatt wasn’t his best idea, but when he reached out, Wyatt agreed to meet with him. He said that he had something he needed Dare to do, and then, he’d forget about Vixen. Dare worried that he was getting in over his head, but what choice did he have? He told Wyatt that they needed to wait until Monday, when he had his next shift, to give him an excuse to leave Vixen and not have her be suspicious. If she thought that he was up to something as stupid as meeting Wyatt, she would do everything in her power to stop him, and that was the last thing that they needed.
He knew that the only way that Vixen wouldn’t follow him was to make her mad enough to stay home. Dare hated playing on her pregnancy hormones to piss her off, but if meeting with Wyatt was the only way to save his new little family, he’d do it.
Dare found her in the kitchen, and he knew that it was now or never. He was getting ready for work and today was the day that he was meeting Wyatt. “We need to talk,” he breathed.
Vixen shut off the stovetop and turned to face him. “Isn’t that something that you say to someone when you’re breaking up with them?” she asked.
“Um, yeah, but that’s not what I’m doing here,” he insisted. He just wanted to piss her off, not break up with her, because hopefully, when this whole mess was over, he hoped to God that she’d take him back.
“Okay, what are you doing here then, Dare?” she asked.
“I’ve been thinking,” he started. He had rehearsed his whole speech in his head, hoping that it wouldn’t seem too robotic. He was never any good at this kind of thing—he just hoped that Vixen didn’t notice.
“Maybe we should sit,” she interrupted.
“No, I’d like to do this standing,” he insisted. “I’ve been thinking about you and Wyatt,” he said.
“And I’ve told you repeatedly that there is no me and Wyatt,” she reminded. He knew that she would never lie to him. That’s why this next part was going to be so hard for him. Dare was going to have to call her a liar and stick with it if he wanted her to stay put for his meeting with Wyatt.
“Right, but why would he have become so attached to you after only one night?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, do you want to ask me that again?” she spat. “Because it sounded to me like you just accused me of lying about how much time I’ve spent with Wyatt.” Yeah, that was exactly what he was doing, and she wasn’t going to take any of it sitting down.
“Well, it’s a valid question,” he insisted.
“No, it isn’t. I’ve told you everything, Dare. Wyatt and I spent one stupid night together because I was trying to make you jealous. I regret everything that happened that night and wish that I could take it back, but I can’t. Just like I don’t think that you can take back what you just said to me.” He couldn’t, and he knew it too. He wouldn’t take the words back even if he could because Vixen believed that he was a complete ass and that was what he needed to get to his meeting on time.
“I’m not trying to stir the pot,” he insisted.
“Yes, you are,” she shouted. “Do you believe that I’ve been lying to you this whole time?” she asked.
Dare shrugged as though he couldn’t make up his mind, but it was already set. His mind was shouting at him to take it all back and tell her that he was an idiot, but he couldn’t. He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her that he loved her, but she wouldn’t have that right now, judging by the hurt he saw in her eyes.
“I think that you should leave,” she insisted.
“I have to go to work anyway,” he said.
“No, I mean, I think that you and I need to take a timeout. I need you to find someplace else to sleep since I no longer have my apartment,” she explained.
“How long do you want this timeout to last?” he asked.
“As long as it takes for me not to hate you for accusing me of lying. I can’t look at you right now, Dare. I’m so angry,” she spat. Mission accomplished—but that didn’t make him feel any better. In fact, he felt worse, but he needed to grab his stuff and get out of there before he lost his nerve.
“Got it,” he breathed. He walked past her, grabbed his jacket and lunch that she had made him on the way out of his apartment, and slammed the door for good measure when he left. He wasn’t sure if hurting Vixen that way was worth it, or if she would ever forgive him, but he had to do it—for her and the baby’s sake.
Dare met Wyatt at the address that he had texted him. It was an old warehouse that looked as though it had been empty for decades. “This can’t be the right place,” he whispered to himself as he parked his truck behind the building, just as Wyatt instructed. This whole meeting was beginning to feel like a big mistake—almost like a setup. Dare was about to hightail it out of there when he spotted movement out of his rearview mirror. His cop skills came in handy when he needed them and being alert and observant were two of his best learned expertise.
He stayed in his truck, waiting for whoever was out there to come to him. Things were too open and if Wyatt had lured him there to ambush him, he needed to stay hidden. He watched as the person moving in the darkness made his way up the perimeter and his cellphone rang, scaring the bejesus out of him. He nearly jumped right out of his pickup.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” Wyatt said when Dare answered the call. “I just wanted to make sure that it was you.”
“It’s me,” Dare grumbled. “What the fuck, man?” he asked.
“I can’t be too careful. There are eyes and ears everywhere and we need to do this privately,” Wyatt insisted. He wasn’t sure what needed to be private about their meeting, but he was sure that he was about to find out.
He stepped out of his truck, ending the call with Wyatt. The guy walked out of the woods and made his way over to Dare. “You can’t be too careful about what?” Dare asked.
“I can’t be too careful about what I’m going to ask you to do,” Wyatt admitted.
“What are you going to ask me to do, Wyatt?”
“I need a favor,” Wyatt said.
“And why would I do you a favor after everything that you put Vixen through?” Dare asked.
“Because I’ve learned my lesson,” Wyatt insisted. Dare barked out his laugh. There was no way that a guy like Wyatt learned his lesson after a few months. “What’s that for?” Wyatt asked.
“There’s no way that you’ve learned any lesson in any of this,” Dare insisted.
“Well, if you believe that, then why did you ask to meet with me?” Wyatt questioned.
“I came here to ask you for something,” Dare admitted. “I need you to leave Vixen alone—permanently. We can’t be looking over our shoulders all the time, waiting for you to start following her again. If you can give me your word, as a Royal Bastard, then I can help you out with your favor,” he said.
Now it was Wyatt’s turn to laugh. “You don’t even know what my favor is,” he reminded.
“No, I don’t, but Vixen is worth anything you’re going to ask me to do. Do we have a deal?” Dare asked, holding out his hand to Wyatt. He knew that he might be making a deal with the devil—especially if Wyatt was working for the Ghosts, but he had to try for Vixen and his baby’s sake.
“So, what’s the favor you need from me?” Dare asked Wyatt.
“I need you to come to work with me at the Ghosts,” he said as though it was no big deal that he was asking Dare to work for one of the biggest drug syndicates in Alabama.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Dare drawled. “Why would I work for the Ghosts?”
“Because I need someone to have my back,” Wyatt admitted. “And I’ve burned my bridges with the other guys down at Savage Hell.”
“You don’t think that you’ve burned your bridge with me?” Dare challenged. “You came after my girl.”
“Right, and I didn’t know that she was your girl at first, or I guess you could say that I didn’t believe it,” Wyatt explained. Dare had to give it to him—he shouldn’t have believed that he and Vixen were a couple. They put on a decent show, but once she officially agreed to be his, all bets were off.
“Why should I do this?” Dare asked. “Not to sound petty, but helping you isn’t high on my priority list right now.”
Wyatt grimaced and Dare knew that he wasn’t going to like his answer before he even gave it. “Because Vixen is on the Ghosts’ radar.”
“You want to say that again?” Dare shouted.
“Shh, keep it down,” Wyatt insisted. “I can’t risk anyone else hearing us. I might have told some of the guys in the Ghosts about Vixen being my girl.” Dare took a menacing step toward Wyatt, and he held up his hands in defense. “It was back after I slept with her, and I thought that she was going to be my girl. Now, I want out of the Ghosts, they don’t want to let that happen, so they’ve threatened to go after Vixen.”
“Fuck,” Dare spat. “You’re an asshole, Wyatt. You know that, right?”
He had the good sense to agree with Dare. “I am,” he breathed, “and that’s why I need your help. If you can just work for them for a few months, I’m sure that I can get them to believe that you’re on the up and up and that Vixen isn’t in the picture anymore. I just need someone who has my back, man.” Dare didn’t trust the guy as far as he could throw him, but if this was the only way to keep Vixen safe, he really had no choice.
“I’m in,” he growled.
“Great, thank you,” Wyatt said. “Oh, there’s one more caveat,” he said.
“What’s that?” Dare asked.
“You can’t go back home to Vixen while you’re working for the Ghosts. They’ll know something is up and the last thing we need is for them to become suspicious.” He hated that Wyatt was right, but he was. Going back home to Vixen would only put her in more danger than she already was. No, he wasn’t going to be able to trust Wyatt, and that was something that he needed to remember going forward. One thing was for sure—he wasn’t just going to be watching Wyatt’s back, he’d be watching his own, too.