ZODIAC
The clinic was waiting for me. I filled out paperwork and got my cheek swabbed in less than twenty minutes. Leaving the clinic, I told Exile to take me somewhere to eat.
“You and I need to talk,” I grumbled before starting my motorcycle.
Exile took the lead, guiding me to a pizza place not far from the Sleepy Eye Community, where Elle and her people lived.
Inside, we ordered a pizza with all the fixings and a pitcher of soda. Once settled at a table, I sized up my VP.
Dan “Exile” Shaw had caught my eye as soon as he entered our clubhouse with York. They weren’t looking to join the Black Rainbow. York’s uncle had been a member until he took a bullet while riding down the highway. There was some bad blood between York’s family and our old club president, Wrecker.
York had returned to Baton Rouge still fucked up from his time in the Marines. A bomb nearly tore his head off. He would always wear the scars of that attack, but he was still solid in all the ways his uncle had been.
Exile went by Dan back then. He had a stick up his ass and didn’t wear his cowboy hat yet. Exile felt like an unfinished person, but I saw potential.
For one thing, he never flinched in the face of danger. When Wrecker’s guys hassled him, he always held steady. Hell, he didn’t even recoil when I acted like a psycho to test him.
Despite York’s misgivings about Wrecker, I was able to bring him and Exile into the fold. They were my most loyal guys, yet one of them had been keeping secrets.
“How long have you known?” I asked Exile as we sat in the quiet restaurant.
With his cowboy hat shadowing his brown eyes, he admitted, “For a while.”
“And you didn’t think to give me a heads up?”
“Lula said a lot of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Didn’t seem smart to spark drama over something that might not stick.”
Leaning back, I smiled at Exile. “We both know you’re full of shit. If our roles were reversed, you’d want me to tell you.”
“Sure, but we aren’t the same. I’m a guy who takes shit too seriously, and you’re a guy who rarely takes anything seriously. Personal things, anyway. You never fuck around when it comes to the club.”
Giving him a snarly smile, I replied, “You’ve hurt my precious feelings by being so wrong.”
“How am I wrong exactly? You’ve never seemed seriously interested in Elle.”
“I told you that her pussy was special.”
Adjusting his damn hat, Exile muttered, “When I met Lula, I felt a strong attraction, sure. But I also cared about her as a person. I always got the sense that Elle’s pussy was special to you, but she wasn’t.”
“I don’t want to make you cry by pointing this out, but you’re stupid, Exile. Like, maybe you have a low IQ.”
“Oh, really? And why would you think that?”
“Elle’s pussy is only special because she’s special. You couldn’t really think it was all about her actual pussy. I didn’t even know what it felt like to have her pussy wrapped around my dick when I said it was special.”
“So, you want her like I want Lula?”
“Is that a trick question? Am I supposed to move here now and follow Elle around like an obedient dog?”
Exile ignored my dig at him and studied me. “If it makes you feel better, I suffered guilt over keeping the secret from you.”
“Aww, well, if you felt deep shame, everything is okay now.”
Exile frowned. “Do you want the truth?”
“Always. I thought you knew that about me.”
“Fine. I thought you’d flip out about the pregnancy and try to bully her into getting rid of it.”
“And you based that worry on what?”
“You don’t do attachments.”
“No, I don’t, but if anyone was going to have my bastard, I’d want it to be Elle Reed.”
Exile stared at me, confused by my words. I smiled at how my behavior threw him for such a loop. He was a great guy, but he had very specific views on the world. When something didn’t fit inside a neat little box, he shut down and refused to engage with a new idea.
“Elle Reed does something to me,” I explained. “I’ve decided to be happy that she’s carrying my kid. I’m choosing to want a piece of me in the world.”
“Is that why you didn’t use a condom that night with Elle?”
“No, I just wanted to feel her in a way I couldn’t with a condom. Did you strap up with Lula?”
“No, but we talked about stuff first.”
“Well, Elle ran too fast for me to have any real conversations with her. But I knew she was clean, and I knew I was clean. I made a choice. Now, I have a little critter growing inside a woman who will raise it with care.”
Exile shook his head. “I did not see any of this coming from you.”
“Because you think I have no heart,” I said and smiled at his scowling face. “Not caring about most people in the world doesn’t mean I’m incapable of caring about some people in the world.”
“No, I know you care about our club brothers, and you’ve been protective of Nova and the girls. I just didn’t think you were capable of getting silly and soft over a woman.”
“Well, I’m a complicated man. This is me acting goofy with the love bug,” I said and leaned back in the chair. “Are you impressed?”
“Your reaction has been both gross and charming.”
Chuckling at his bullshit, I considered Elle’s rounder than usual belly. My kid was growing inside that sexy woman.
“What happens now?” I asked after the pizza arrived at the table. “Am I supposed to ride back to Baton Rouge and wait for the results?”
“Clint paid for the test to be expedited. It should come back in a day or two.”
“Then, I’ll stick around here and wait. I want that dinner with Elle before I return home.”
“I’ll see if Rowdy will play host,” Exile said and texted his Little Memphis people.
Watching him, I marveled at the way he took to his new role as Lula’s guard dog. For years, Exile was an unfun bitch. The only time he wasn’t a robotic grump was when he spent time with his sister and her kids.
These days, Exile bounced around like an excited puppy with a backyard full of new toys.
“Rowdy can’t do it right now. He’s with Rock down in Little Rock. Clint will find someone else for you to bunk with.”
“Or I can stay at your place.”
Exile narrowed his gaze. “No.”
“Because I might charm your woman?”
“I’m more worried about you teaching the girls more bad habits. Not to mention, you might wander over to Elle’s place and stir up trouble.”
Glaring at him, I grumbled, “Well, aren’t you a fucking Boy Scout?”
“You wanted an alliance with the Crimson Guard, and that comes with hoops to jump through.”
“Sure. So, are you planning to squirt a critter into your lawyer love?” I asked and sank my teeth into the hot pizza.
“We want to get married before we consider kids.”
“Is that a crack at the mother of my critter?”
“No, and I heard Elle’s planning to name the baby either Charlotte or Wilbur.”
“We’re having a boy, and it won’t be named Wilbur.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“About which part?”
“Either one.”
“Nothing in my life has come easily. That’s why I know it’ll be a boy. I’d prefer a girl. Your nieces are easy. But I’ll get a boy, and he’ll probably try to kill me one day. The only question is, will I let him?”
“Well, Elle’s older boy isn’t the murdering type. I don’t know why her new one would be more violent.”
“Because he’ll be mine.”
“Well, you’re forty, and your kid probably won’t have the balls to kill you until he’s at least twenty. Did you have big plans for life past sixty?”
Grinning at his point, I shrugged. “Getting old was never in my future. My boy can kill me and take over the club. I’ll die knowing it won’t end up back in the hands of any of Wrecker’s kin.”
Exile and I chuckled at how our former president hadn’t given up the club without a fight. He still tried to undercut my power in Baton Rouge. Staying away from town for more than a few days tempted trouble. I also worried about the Void making a move while I was away.
However, I refused to leave Little Memphis until I got my dinner with Elle and her family. I figured the hot blonde would have more trouble running from me if we were in her house.