Chapter One
Knuckles
Seven and a half months later
W ALKING INTO THE clubhouse after working at the gym all day, the last person I expected to see was Janessa sitting at a table in a back corner with Rooster, Marie, and one of our Prospects Seth.
Janessa’s back is to me as I take in her long dark brown hair.
With the overhead lights of the common room shining down on her, the red highlights shine bright.
Her shoulders are shaking with laughter as I stand just inside the door of the clubhouse and watch her.
I haven’t seen her since we were together that night in Down ‘n Dirty. I’ve either been at work or on a run when she’s been here.
Not that it’s been often, but I’ve heard from others about her stopping in due to Rooster or Marie inviting her or one of the guys getting in trouble in one way or another.
For the first time in my life, I can’t get a woman out of my head.
Since the night we were together, Janessa has been in my head and I’ve barely touched another woman.
I can still taste her and remember the softness of her skin as I ran my hands over her lush body.
I’ve never been with a woman with as many curves as Janessa, but now it’s all I want.
The girls who hang around the clubhouse and flock to me at bars or wherever else I go, don’t get my cock hard any longer.
Everyone has been making comments about me not being with the Slayer Slits or taking one of the random girls when we’re out to fuck somewhere.
Now, she’s sitting here as if nothing has changed in her world when everything in mine has.
“Knuckles, what the fuck are ya doin’?” Tease asks me, walking in behind me and placing a hand on my shoulder.
“Why’s she here?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Janessa as Rooster looks up at me from across the room and a slow smile spreads across his face.
“Janessa? From what I hear, Seth got in some trouble when he tried to save his sister from bein’ raped at a party. Janessa is dealin’ with his case and they’ve been meetin’ over the last week since it happened,” my best friend answers me, as I watch Rooster wave me over to their table.
I don’t hesitate to move across the room as anger fills me with the thought of Janessa living her life and forgetting all about the night we shared.
This shit doesn’t happen to me. Ever. There’s no way in hell I’m about to let this woman play me for a fucking fool or act as if we didn’t have the best night of our lives almost eight months ago.
Stepping up to the table next to Janessa, I watch as the smile disappears from her face and her cornflower blue eyes look up into mine. Today, with the light shining down on her, there’s a hint of purple as I watch her move her hands to cover her stomach. Her very round and large stomach.
“What the fuck?” I blurt out before I can stop myself. “You’re fuckin’ pregnant?”
“Knuckles, why the fuck are you yellin’ at Janessa?” Marie questions me, her voice hard and cold as she stands from her seat and stares me down.
“You jumped right from fuckin’ me to someone else. Didn’t think you were like that, Janessa,” I state, my voice hard and cold, almost deadly with how low it’s gone as Rooster and Seth stand from the table and move to stand closer to the woman I haven’t been able to forget.
“I’m not like that, Knuckles. The baby is yours.
It’s not as if you’ve been around for me to tell.
Don’t worry, I’m not expecting anything from you.
It was my choice to fuck you that night and my choice to keep the baby,” she says simply as tears fill her eyes and one slides down her cheek.
“If you knew anything about me, you’d know I’m not a slut and don’t jump from one man’s bed to another.
For you to accuse me of that shit is uncalled for.
Seth, we’ll meet in my office tomorrow. I don’t want to come here for our meetings any longer.
Rooster, I’ll always help the club out, but I won’t come here again.
And I won’t represent Knuckles for anything. Seth, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“That’s fine, Janessa. Go home and get some rest. I’ll come check on you later. You really don’t need to be upset or stressed in your current condition,” Rooster says, his voice softer than I’ve heard in a long time.
“Keep him away from me, Rooster. Please,” she begs before Seth and Rooster help her from the chair and she avoids looking at me.
Janessa leaves the clubhouse with Seth at her side as they talk quietly together.
Rage rushes through my veins as I can’t tear my eyes from the pair as they disappear through the door of the clubhouse and I can’t see them any longer.
Tease places a hand on my shoulder when I go to step away from the table with Rooster and Marie.
“What the fuck is your problem, Knuckles?” Tease questions me, his voice harder than normal as he glares at me.
“Janessa didn’t deserve any of the shit you just threw her way.
She’s one of the best women any of us has ever met and you know that shit.
You obviously fucked her and that’s fuckin’ with your head.
We’ve all seen a change in you over the last almost eight months.
Now you turn into a fuckin’ asswipe to Janessa. This isn’t you, Micah.”
“That’s not my kid, Tease. I always use condoms and you know this shit.
We’ve shared enough in the past for you to know I don’t ever fuck without a condom.
Hell, I don’t get a blowjob without havin’ a condom on.
Janessa is tryin’ to fuckin’ play me and all of you fuckin’ believe her,” I state, glaring at Tease as he steps closer in my space.
“Shit happens, Knuckles. If Janessa is sayin’ the baby’s yours, I believe her. She’s a good girl and there’s no way in fuck she’d lie about bein’ pregnant with your baby,” Rooster states simply as Omen and Homicide walk up to our group.
“The fuck is goin’ on here?” Omen questions, crossing his arms over his chest and looking between all of us.
“You’ve all seen Janessa and know she’s pregnant.
Heavily pregnant,” Marie begins, glaring at me and letting me know without words how pissed at me she is.
“Well, she finally told us who the dad is today and it’s this stupid fuck, Knuckles.
He made her feel like a whore and she’s refused to ever come back here again because of him.
Cut the meeting with Seth short and won’t meet with him again until tomorrow at her office. ”
“What the fuck?” Omen questions me, uncrossing his arms as I watch his fists clench at his side. “Janessa has never done a damn thing wrong to you or any of us here. For you to treat her like a Slayer Slit is fuckin’ ridiculous! The fuck are you gonna do about that?”
“Nothin’. The baby isn’t mine and I’m not about to have Janessa try to pawn off some other man’s kid on me.
All she sees is dollar signs and wants to bleed me dry,” I state, not giving a fuck about the tension surrounding me as Seth walks back in the clubhouse and heads for the bar to get back to work.
“You’re stupid as fuck,” Homicide speaks up, shaking his head at me in disbelief.
“If Janessa is sayin’ the baby is yours, then I believe her.
And as for the condoms, you know shit happens and condoms aren’t always a hundred percent effective.
You’re the only one here who doesn’t believe Janessa.
If she’s sayin’ the baby is yours, it’s yours.
And you better make this shit up to her.
She’s a damn good lawyer and if she leaves us because of your shit, you’re gonna have a lot of pissed off men against you. ”
“I’m not stupid. You can all believe Janessa if you want, but I’m not fallin’ for her bullshit.
You want her as your lawyer, keep her the fuck away from me.
I’m not about to be sucked in by some gold-digger who’s only lookin’ for a payout from me,” I tell the group with me before disappearing and heading up to my room.
No one follows me as I think back to the night I spent with Janessa.
When I took the condom off, it was broken.
Janessa vanished so quickly, I wasn’t able to let her know about it.
However, I didn’t believe she’d be reckless enough not to have some other form of birth control.
Janessa is trying to trap me with this baby she claims is mine and I’m not having it.
She’s just one more in the line of women who have played this same game with me and other guys in the club.
If everyone thinks I’m stupid enough to fall for it, they can think again.
Walking in my room after unlocking the door, I find it as I left it with one exception.
The drawer on the stand next to my bed is partially open.
I never leave it open. Not only is it where all of my condoms are, but I’ve got other stuff in there and I know it was shut when I grabbed the condom I had in my wallet.
Instead of heading to my bathroom to shower, I head straight for my stand and pull the drawer open even more.
There’s a stack of condoms out of the box and that’s not how I left them.
Picking them up, I carefully inspect the packages.
If I weren’t looking for anything specific, I wouldn’t see the holes poked in the wrapper.
“Fuck!” I call out, my voice hoarse as I drop the condoms to the floor at my feet and sink down onto my bed.
“What’s up?” Carbon asks, stopping in my doorway and leaning against the frame.