Chapter Fourteen
“Girl, you got that glow about you,” Gina sighs as she approaches the nurses’ desk.
“What glow might that be?” I ask without thinking.
“The ‘I’m sufficiently’ laid glow. It’s not fair.”
One of the other nurses laughs softly as she walks by.
I check the area, making sure no families are near us before looking back at her and hiss, “Gina, we’re at work.”
“Please, we work in labor and delivery. Everyone here knows what fucking is and has done it. It’s not shameful. You should know this. You have a crotch goblin of your own,” she says, making me roll my eyes.
“You know Farrah hates it when you call her that.”
“Is she being nicer to you yet?”
“No,” I mutter.
“Then I’m going to keep calling her a crotch goblin.” She shrugs, unapologetically.
The alert for room four goes off.
“Want help?” Gina asks, finally remembering we’re at work.
“Do I? No, but you can come with me,” I tell her as I round the desk.
“I always love tagging along with you. Seeing you in action,” she teases.
“Don’t you have patients of your own?” I tease her back.
“Nope. Not right now at least.”
We head down the hall to room four.
“Hey, Mama, how are you doing?” I ask as I hold my hand under the hand sanitizer dispenser.
“I’m uncomfortable,” she pants.
I nod as I slip on a pair of latex gloves. My eyes dart over to the machine that tracks contractions.
“I get that. Would you be okay if I checked you out to see if you’ve dilated any further?”
“Go ahead,” she sighs when the contraction stops.
I help her adjust and move the blanket. Without prompting, she drops her knees, giving me access.
“Sorry, you might feel a little pressure,” I murmur as I place my fingers at her entrance.
After going through the motions, I pull back, placing the blanket back over her.
“Good news, Mama, you’ve progressed from a three to a six. Unfortunately, you have to make it to ten, but if you keep going the way you are, you’ll make it in no time.” I wink as I take off the gloves.
“Really?” she says breathlessly.
“Really. Now, I know your records said that you don’t want an epidural or anything, but I know things can change. Is that still your plan?”
“I want to try and do this naturally,” she says, her eyes darting down.
“No judgment, Mama, but if you change your mind, it’s going to have to be soon. We have a small window to do it before it gets really intense.”
“Thank you.”
Before she can say anything else the door opens.
“Halle?” a man says.
“In here,” she sighs.
Gina and I step back, letting the man in.
“This is my brother,” she says, looking between Gina and me.
“Nice to meet you.” I smile at him.
“Thank you for taking care of her,” he says as he takes her hand.
“Of course. Page us if you need us.” I smile.
Gina and I leave the room and head back to the desk.
“It never gets old watching you work. You’re so good with them.”
“You’re good with them too.”
She rolls her eyes. “I know I am, but just take the compliment for what it is.”
“Thank you,” I say quietly.
“Did you bring lunch or do you want to order something?”
Before I can say anything, someone calls out my name.
“You have a visitor,” Rebecca says, looking uneasy.
I wince. I doubt it’s someone I want it to be.
“I’ll go out with you,” Gina tells me.
I nod, exiting the labor and delivery area.
“Samantha,” my ex says loudly.
Shutting my eyes, I groan.
“Oh look, it’s the wicked dick of the west. Did you forget that this isn’t a place for harassment?” Gina quips.
He glares over at my best friend. “As pleasant as always, Gina.”
Before they can start arguing, I cut in.
“Billy, you know you aren’t welcome here. This is my job,” I tell him quietly.
“We need to talk,” he says.
I put my pen in the pocket of my scrubs before I cross my arms. I hate how defensive it makes me feel, but fuck if I can help it.
“I swear to God, Billy, we’ve talked more since we divorced than we did in our entire relationship. Whatever you’re here to tell me, I’m not interested.”
I go to move past him, but he catches my arm.
“Let her go,” Gina demands.
“Did you know that the last president of the club your boyfriend is in was killed? Bodies dropped like flies?”
My body tenses. “Seriously? Do you not know when to stop?”
“I also found out that the branch in Las Vegas also has issues. The mayor of Vegas is trying to take them out. Clean house and make the city clean again. Just think, that’s the kind of men you want to be around. Have our daughter around,” he spews.
“This is bullshit. I’m calling security,” Gina mutters, pulling out her hospital-issued phone.
“Billy, I know you think this is going to change my mind, but it won’t.
If anything, it’s going to push me further into his arms,” I tell him honestly as I rip my arm from his grasp.
“Now, may I remind you, my place of work is off-limits. This is a place for families bringing babies into the world. You need to leave. I will be reporting this to the courts. I’ll request a restraining order if I have to. ”
“Is there a problem here?” Gus, one of the security guards, asks.
“You need to pull your head out of your ass, Sami. I’m not letting you ruin our daughter’s future because of a booty call. You need to decide: your little boy toy or our daughter. I won’t wait long,” he hisses.
“Sir…” Gus says sternly.
“I was just leaving.” Billy steps back, glaring at me. “Remember what I said, Sami. The clock is ticking.”
I watch as he turns, and only when he walks out the door do I take a deep breath.
“Jesus, he’s a dick. Are you okay?” Gina asks as she comes up.
“I’m fine,” I lie as she rubs my back.
Thankfully she doesn’t call me on my bullshit.
I knew he was a controlling ass, but this is something else. It almost feels as if he has something planned and a bomb is about to drop.
I hope that Loyal and I will make it through it, unscathed.
I just start the load of laundry when my phone rings.
“What’s up?” I ask as I walk out of the laundry room.
“You need to get here, man,” Tiny hisses, setting me on edge.
“What’s wrong?”
“Cops are here and shit’s hitting the fan,” he mutters.
“I’m on my way.” I hang up on him and grab my jacket as I head out the door.
I make the fifteen-minute drive in six.
The prospect manning the gate lets me roll through, and I come to a stop next to the other bikes. There are ten cop cars, and people are roaming around the grounds.
What the fuck?
Happy’s leaning against the clubhouse, ankles crossed like nothing is wrong.
“What the hell is happening?”
“Raid,” he says cheerfully.
I shake my head. “Dude, you know that’s not a good thing, right?”
“It will pass.”
I rub my hand over my face. “Why are they here?”
“They got a report that minors are on the premises and consuming alcohol,” Dex says as he steps out of the building.
“That’s bullshit,” I hiss.
The serving alcohol part. Yeah, we have minors who come and go, but they are kids of brothers, and they are only here when their parents are. Not just random kids.
“I agree,” Dex says.
“Any idea who called it in?”
“A disgruntled ex is what Officer Martin told me.” Dex raises a brow.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He doesn’t have to spell it out for me. I already know.
Billy Abrahams.
Sure, it could be one of the guys’ ex-girlfriends trying to cause trouble, but I just know it’s him. Dude doesn’t know when to stop.
After two hours the cops start to clear out, pissed off after finding nothing.
“Church,” Savage snaps when the gate closes.
We all filter into the chapel and take our respective seats.
“What the fuck was that?” he asks, simmering in anger.
Dex clears his throat. “Officer Martin pulled me aside. He said that it was a disgruntled ex trying to cause problems. They knew it would be bullshit before they even left the station, but they wanted to use it as a chance to search.”
“How long has he been on our payroll?”
“Two years,” Dex tells him.
“Which one of you assholes pissed a woman off enough to start this shit?” Tiny asks.
“Not me,” Quick says, raising his hands in surrender.
“You know it wasn’t me,” Fang says.
Savage scans the room until he stops on me.
“I’m not sure, but I think it was my girl’s ex,” I tell him.
“Explain.”
“She’s got an ex-husband who doesn’t understand what ‘divorced’ means.
He recently found out about us dating. Her daughter doesn’t seem to like us dating either and is on the ex’s side.
I know she mentioned he brought up my past last week.
I can’t say for sure, but I would put money on it being him,” I admit.
“Jesus fuck. You just had to fucking step in it,” Savage mutters, rubbing his face.
“Hey, I didn’t do it intentionally.”
Savage glares at me, and I raise my hands.
“So what do we do? Clearly this fucker needs to realize who he’s fucking with,” Fang says.
“The first thing we need to know is…” Tiny trails off until I look at him. “Is she worth it?”
“She’s mine,” I say without hesitation.
Tiny raises a brow. “You claiming her?”
“When the time is right, yes. We still have the daughter thing to work through, but even if she doesn’t accept, she will always be mine.”
“Son of a bitch,” Savage mutters. “Okay. What do we know about this guy? Anything?”
“He is an investment banker. Never had much time for her or the kid when they were married but made sure to ham it up to them when he did make it home. Daughter thinks he hung the moon. Sami felt different. Finally got the nerve up to divorce him. He’s been harassing her ever since.
I did a basic background on him and found nothing. ”
“He sounds obsessed,” Quick says.
“Understatement,” I confirm.
“I’ll start looking into him when I get back to my office,” Dex says, before looking at me. “You should have told me sooner. I’d already have a file on him.”
He’s not wrong. I told him the ex wasn’t in the picture anymore. Not in an important way. I didn’t want the club deciding he needed eliminating when I know Sami would be upset. Not because she loves him, but because that’s the father of her child and it would hurt Farrah.
“That’s good and all, but I feel like someone needs to point out the obvious,” Tiny says, making us all look his way. “Men like him don’t go quietly. They need to be put down.”
“You’re not wrong. How would Sami feel about that?” Savage asks.
I think it over for a moment and respond slowly.
“I don’t think she would like to know he is gone.
She spent a long time married to him, and even if there is no love lost now, she at one point cared for him.
She would move on if it was only her, but Farrah is part of the equation.
She thinks her father is an upstanding guy.
That her mother broke their family up for no good reason.
She would be crushed if he disappeared. That would, in turn, crush Sami.
Especially since Farrah would likely blame her for it. ”
“Do you think he’s influencing her, or is she just a daddy’s girl?” Happy asks.
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never seen them together, and Sami hasn’t said either way.
I know that the way their relationship has changed since the divorce bothers her, but that’s about it.
I offer support when I can, but I try to be respectful of the situation.
I won’t push where she isn’t ready for me to be,” I tell him.
“Interesting…” Savage says.
“He could be holding something over her. It doesn’t sound like she is acting like a normal seventeen-year-old. More like a child,” Dex says.
“Not necessarily. I did some research, and this can happen with children of divorce. Especially when the divorce isn’t amicable and both sides are not doing what is best for the child.
The child will tend to take sides, usually with the parent they feel closer to,” I say, running a hand through my hair.
“You think she was closer to the dad? Could there be any history of abuse there?” Happy squeezes his fists closed at the thought.
“I honestly don’t know. I think her mother is the authoritarian in the dynamics, and Billy might be letting her get her way.
Or maybe it does run deeper. We don’t know because Farrah refuses to have a civil conversation these days.
” I rub my hand down my face. “She wants us to break up. Sami hasn’t given in yet, but I’m worried she might. I wouldn’t even blame her.”
“Hang in there,” Savage says, making us all fall silent for a minute.
“Okay, Dex, you run your shit and see what you can find. I want to know the darkest corners of the web that man goes to. I want to know everything. In the meantime, Loyal, try to tread lightly. This guy already has it out for you. Do not give him a single thing to use against you.”
“Already minding my p’s and q’s, boss.” I nod.
“Bring the girl around more. Really introduce her to the club. We can throw a family day. I want Toker and his brood here. Maybe a couple of the others with some older kids. Spread the word. We want this girl educated on the club. We don’t want to scare her, but we also want her to know what it’s about.
Maybe see if we can sway her away from pencil-dick Billy,” he grumbles.
“I’ll make the call,” Fang says.
“Good. Tiny, get with Officer Martin, see if he knows anything and what the talk of the department is,” Savage demands.
“Ten-four,” Tiny confirms.
“Good. Now let’s get the fuck out of here.” Savage slaps his hand on the table and stands.
As everyone leaves the room, I stay in my seat.
Shit’s hitting the fan, and I hate being the center of it. One thing’s for sure, though. She’s worth it.