Chapter ThirteenReese
Near the Scorpions’ clubhouse, Ainsley waved at me to pull over and blew her horn when I ignored her and blazed on by. She was out of her fucking mind if she believed I’d trust her with Nova.
I couldn’t react upon hearing Boom Boom beat Ainsley. I wasn’t well acquainted with the latest crop of prospects. We opened our ranks every two years. Sooner if motherfuckers wiped out, turned in their patch, went to prison, or got out bad. Razor firmly believed the more members, the more money, but last time we had prospects, three of them decided against joining within six months.
The dude who came after Nova could report every fucking thing to Razor. I didn’t know if he feared Prez or respected him. Either way, it boded ill for me.
When Ainsley stopped her car at the gate, I gunned to the dead end and circled back, slowing my ride to make sure she hadn’t turned in. Nova was just opening the passenger side door and getting her bitchy ass out of Ainsley’s car. Satisfied, I road to the intersection and idled my bike until she paused her car beside me.
She rolled down her window and flicked on the light. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
Obviously. It was insane to be in enemy territory and alone with only my holstered guns, my knives in my boots, and my questionable wits. “It’s dark, Ainsley.” I couldn’t admit the truth and panic her any more than she already sounded. “They can’t see my cut.”
“Reese—”
“Let’s get the fuck away from the clubhouse,” I told her. She looked ready to chastise me for the next hour. “I’ll escort you home.”
“ Reese —”
Ignoring her, I rode off. I took care with my speed. I didn’t trust Ainsley not to put the pedal to the metal to keep up with me. City driving was so fucking different than the open road with nothing but the wind in my hair and miles of freedom ahead of me.
Once or twice, she tried to swerve around me, but I sped up and jumped ahead of her. If she kept that shit up, I’d spank her ass for endangering herself. And the baby.
Fuck. The baby. My baby. I was still trying to wrap my head around that news.
When we finally reached her neighborhood, I thought she was shitting me. It was a quiet tree-lined street with nice houses in a well-kept area, fit for families with moms, dads, and two point five kids. Not bikers with blood on their hands. But it was where she lived because she turned into the driveway of a charming home that blended a traditional style with modern touches. The exterior soft beige brick and light gray siding gave it a welcoming feel and brought me back to another time in my life, when I hadn’t been a biker but a regular kid with parents and siblings.
The memory of my little sister running around a neatly manicured front lawn with patches of green grass that stretched up to the porch like this one, swarmed me. A large oak tree stood off to one side, its branches spreading wide, dripping leaves in autumnal colors.
A neatly paved pathway led from the sidewalk to the front door, framed by a pair of symmetrical bushes, perfectly pruned and trimmed. Near the porch, my little sister would’ve loved the wood and iron bench sitting under the tree.
Ainsley killed the engine and exited her car. Outdoor lights illuminated her, the paved driveway that led to a two-car garage and the pathway to the front door. Right before I turned in behind her, she ran into the middle of the fucking street, forcing me past her, so I wouldn’t run her over. Apparently, that’s what she wanted because she hurried to the curb, three houses down.
“Roman has cameras,” she said frantically. “He hasn’t asked me about my comings and goings. Either he’s too busy to check footage or he hasn’t seen anything alarming.”
“Let’s go to your apartment.”
“I don’t have it anymore. I moved back home to take care of my brother.”
I released a frustrated sigh.
“Whatever you want to say, tell me now.”
I didn’t want to say anything. I wanted to protect her. Unease sat like a stone in my fucking gut. Besides, I wanted to question her and I couldn’t do it in the middle of a fucking street. I’d camp close by and keep watch on her house. Tomorrow, I’d take her to breakfast and figure something out.
Her phone began ringing and her lips turned down. “That’s Roman. I have to get inside, so I’ll see you around, Reese.”Spinning, she answered her phone and sprinted away from me. “I’m going inside now, Ro. You won’t believe…”
The rest of the words were lost to me because of the space she’d put between us. I rode the short distance to her house, watching as she slammed the car door and disappeared into the residence without looking back, though she must’ve heard my Harley pipes.
She was pissed with me. That much was clear. Not that I blamed her, since I’d thrown in her face a woman I had absolutely no interest in. Frankly, it shocked me how easily she gave herself to me again.
Maybe , the baby had her hormones out of control and she needed a fuck. She’d given into me because she felt a certain attachment to me. When I saw headlights coming toward me, I realized I was in the middle of the fucking road, so I steered my bike across the street from Ainsley’s house.
Lighting a smoke, I wondered how many cameras Roman had installed around the house. Normally, they were pointed at entryways and installed on doorbells. I could understand if he felt the need for more. Fuck, this was a job for Wave, our tech guy, but he’d probably tell Bolt. I didn’t want to alert Razor, Jester, or Warrior to Ainsley’s vulnerability. I didn’t trust them not to scoop her up to make her pay for my perceived crimes or her brother’s.
Either way, it wasn’t good for her. She’d pay for the sins of Roman and me, when her only crime was loving him and sleeping with me.
I flicked my cigarette away, wishing I’d brought my fucking flask. I was just debating on if I wanted to go back to the clubhouse for a couple supplies when Ainsley’s door cracked open and she peeped outside. Apparently satisfied, she opened it fully and walked out, carrying an overnight bag and running to her car.
“Ainsley?” I called.
Startled, she looked in my direction, remaining still until I reached her.
“Where are you going?”
“To a motel,” she responded. “I don’t want to stay here alone.”
I tried to grab her bag but she tightened her hold.
“What did Roman say to you?”
“None of your business. Please, get out of my way, go back to your girlfriend, and let me handle my own business.”
“What motel are you going to?”
“Refer to my previous answer,” she gritted.
I needed to talk to Razor, convince him of my loyalty and that Ainsley wasn’t a threat.
She tried to shove me, but I didn’t move. She was no match for my muscles.
“I’m going to shoot you if you don’t fucking move, Reese.”
“Shoot me?” I asked skeptically.
She pushed her jacket aside to reveal a holstered gun at her side. Was that a fucking .357 Magnum?
“You don’t think my brother wouldn’t teach me how to defend myself, do you?” She shoved her hand through her hair. “I just hope I don’t have to use it.”
“Did Roman tell you to leave?”
She glowered at me.
“At least tell me that.”
“For future reference, take a page out of my book and listen to these instructions. Don’t volunteer information I don’t want to know and don’t ask questions that won’t be answered. You’ll make my life easier.”
“You’re not going to shoot me, Ainsley,” I said with confidence. “I’m not a threat and you wouldn’t fire that gun in cold blood, which it would be if you retaliated just because I won’t allow you to leave until you answer me.”
“Reese, I’m not going to allow you to control my life at your whim. I’m tired and hungry. That’s the only reason I’m giving in. During my conversation with my brother, I overheard Boom Boom...” Her voice trailed off and she shivered. “I’d prefer…” Shaking her head, she stopped again as if she couldn’t bear to continue. She closed her eyes for a second, then looked at me and forced a smile. “If any of his brothers come around, Roman will call me.”
“Not if he doesn’t know you’re gone.” I glanced at the garage and the bright light shining on us. “A camera is there?”
She flushed. “I may have embellished the number of cameras we currently have,” she mumbled. “There is a doorbell camera. After I moved out, he was rarely here. He thought about selling the place. He also hated the exorbitant fees of the monitoring service so he was in the process of installing another type of system.”
My Ainsley was back. Ask her one thing and she’d tell everything.
“Let me bring you somewhere safe.”
She pursed her lips. “No.” One word full of defiance and steel. “Go away, Reese.”
“Ainsley, just trust me, please.”
“Nope, jackass. You led me to believe our one-night stand could be the beginning of a friendship if nothing else. Then, you snuck away, all up in your feelings, without even giving me a chance to explain. Old news. More recently, you fucked me and then told me you’d ask your girlfriend for recommendations for an OB.”
“I didn’t say girlfriend.”
“Semantics, fuckhead.”
“I want to talk to you,” I said, desperation creeping into my tone. I never had a woman deny me especially when I asked so sweetly. “In private.”
She made an arc of her hand. “We’re in private. Only you and I and the sky are outside right now.”
“Suppose one of the Scorpions sees you or recognizes your car, Ainsley? You’ll be alone and vulnerable.”
She touched her side, where the gun was. “I can defend myself.”
“You don’t have only you to think about now.”
“I can defend us . Better?”
I tried a different tact. “Have you ever killed a man, sweetheart? Your first kill can fuck with you if you have a conscience. You’re pregnant. You don’t need that stress.”
“You’re so fucking unfair,” she whispered, but this time when I went for her bag, she allowed me to take it.
I took her hand and started toward my bike. Of course, she resisted and forced me to stop.
“If you’re taking me to your girlfriend’s, I will fucking kill you.”
Unable to stop myself, I caressed her jaw. “You have a very low opinion of me if you think I’d do that to you.”
“I’m not your girlfriend, so you’re doing it to her if you’re sneaking around with me.”
“I don’t have a goddamn girlfriend.”
She huffed. “I’m tired and I’m hungry,” she reminded me. “As long as it isn’t your woman friend , can we just go to wherever? I’ll talk to you if you swear to leave me alone afterwards.”
“We’re having a baby together.”
“Listen up, motherfucker,” she said, losing her temper. “You’re not fucking with my emotions. We were having a baby together earlier too when you reverted to dickheadedness, so fuck you.”
“If I had a hundred bucks every time you said ‘fuck you’, I’d be rich.”
“By the time my baby’s eighteen, that’ll probably reach billionaire status because you’re you.”
“Can you just give in?”
“Gave in twice. Not doing it again.”
She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Smiling, I pulled her into my embrace, but she held herself stiffly. I considered throwing her over my shoulder like Louisiana did to Jinx earlier. Not wanting to injure her or the baby, I dismissed the idea. She’d fight me every step of the way and she was strapped.
I applauded Roman for his foresight and Ainsley for her self-preservation. Some chicks would refuse to carry for any number of reasons. While I respected their decision, this life wasn’t for the weak and faint of heart.
Despite Ainsley standing like a statue, I tightened my arms around her. “Does it matter if I have one woman or twenty? You’re having my baby.”
“I’m not putting myself through baby mama drama.”
I laughed. “You’re the baby mama.”
She pulled away from me and thumped my shoulder. “Exactly. The baby and me would get the short end of the stick. Your girlfriend is your primary concern. If she told you to forget about your baby or she was bouncing, you’d throw it aside.”
Ainsley dropped her guard for a moment and I saw her vulnerability. I hurt her. Regret welled inside me. I wasn’t a man used to giving in to women. Normally, I didn’t have to. They fell into my bed with a snap of my finger or a winsome smile.
“Some chicks see it as a challenge when a man tells them they’re involved with another woman.”
“Good for them. I’m not one of those chicks, which I’m sure you know. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have told me about her. I’m not involving myself in other woman drama.”
Fuck, I might’ve played myself. “Suppose I told you I embellished the truth about another woman?”
“Then I’d call you a stupid, immature fuck face, not worth my goddamn time if you’d resort to those games. Instead of manning up and saying I don’t want to be involved in the pregnancy, you resort to throwing another girl in my face. You’re not jerking my emotions around like that, Reese. I deserve better.”
She did, and her words shamed me. “Am I ever going to win an argument with you?”
“Not if I can help it.”
I grinned. “Thought so,” I murmured, more than happy to take up her challenge.