Chapter Twenty-OneReeseAinsley
We arrived in Wichita much later than normal, and that meant we’d probably stay an extra day. Right before I started prospecting, the Kansas City chapter brought in the few remaining members from Topeka after the Bloody Scorpions struck and took out most of their members. I knew none of the older guys agreed with not rebuilding the ranks. It seemed like those motherfuckers had won. Besides Kansas City, we only had two other chapters left in the state—Wichita and Elkhart, which was a stone’s throw from Oklahoma and Colorado.
I always liked the idea of a Dodge City chapter and another one near the Nebraska border, but what the fuck did I know? There was a reason National didn’t pursue more chapters in our state and I trusted them.
As the smaller chapter, Wichita earned extra money by helping us with distribution. We did monthly runs for checks and balances, pickups and payouts, unless the boys were particularly profitable, in which case we paid an extra visit to them.
Once I grabbed some grub and a couple of beers, I texted Ainsley to let her know I’d be out of pocket for the next day or two. I would’ve preferred to call her and hear her voice, but she had a couple hours left until six and she told me she had her phone off at work.
Sitting at the bar in the Wichita chapter, I enjoyed the spectacle of the girls, brought out to entertain us. Usually, I fucked two or three, but each time one of them brushed up against me, I sent her on her way.
My phone vibrated in my top pocket. When I took it in hand, I saw that Louisiana had sent me a message.
Nova just called me. I need to talk to you immediately.
Unable to believe the audacity of either of those motherfuckers, I stared at the words. He’d claimed to want a second chance with Jinx and he was still entertaining that bitch?
I picked up the phone to shove it in my pocket when his name flashed across my screen with an incoming call.
“What?” I got to my feet and stormed outside so I could hear myself curse his ass to hell and back. “Are you out of your fucking mind? If you’re calling me to ask for my help, the answer is—”
“Reese, shut the fuck up and listen to me,” Louisiana growled in low tones. Obviously, he didn’t want Jinx to overhear. “It isn’t what you think. Nova texted me but I ignored it, so she called me. I knew she wouldn’t relent until I answered and I’m only grateful Jinx was in a praline shop.”
“Get on with the fucking story, Louisiana,” I snapped.
“They’re going after Ainsley.”
I froze and my heart almost stopped.
“Tonight, Reese. Nova called because she feels guilty that she was mad enough to put Ainsley in this predicament and thought you and I could save her.”
“I’m three hours away,” I pushed out, my mind racing as fast as my heart. “Why should we believe Nova? It could be a set-up.”
“I know,” Louisiana said in a strained voice, no longer whispering. “But if it isn’t, Ainsley’s dead. If we were there, we could at least watch her from afar until we got a bead on the situation.”
A shudder went through me. At least Ainsley would be at the hotel. They wouldn’t find her at the house. Still, I needed information. “Did she say who’s behind it?”
“Boom Boom intends to sell her and it pissed off some members. Particularly Kite and Wizard. They ordered the hit. She thinks they’re going to blame us for Ainsley’s death.”
Bolt peeped out the door and beckoned me. “Come on, Reese. We’re about to do roll call.”
I tightened my grip on the phone and turned. “Bolt, we have a problem.”
Around three, morning sickness hit me so fiercely, I spent the next hour in the bathroom, vomiting. Tess, the owner of the nursery, was waiting for me when I staggered out. She was an older woman with dusky skin and close-cropped natural hair. If my mom were alive, she would’ve been the same age as Tess. Maybe, that’s why I’d taken such a liking to her. I wasn’t sure when I planned to tell her about the baby, but I definitely hadn’t wanted her to find out the way she did. Nor was I sure of her reaction.
She was a church-going woman who believed in the sanctity of marriage and often complained about the wildness of young people. She’d tell me and the other four girls who worked there that if she’d been blessed with children, they would’ve been God-fearing and respectful.
Seeing her pacing outside the bathroom door made me pause. She halted, folded her arms, and narrowed her eyes. Heat swarmed my cheeks. For a moment, I felt light-headed enough to faint. She crooked her finger at me, turned on her heels, and glided to her office. Feeling chastised to the nth degree without her saying a word, I followed her. She waited until I walked into her office before she slammed the door.
“Sit down, Ainsley.”
Even if I’d wanted to stand, I felt to weak to do so. I plopped into one of the miserably uncomfortable chairs in front of her desk.
“Does Big Poppa have to pull out his shotgun and march someone down the aisle?”
I chewed on my lower lip. It always cracked me up that she referred to her husband as Big Poppa. I couldn’t listen to Biggie’s song anymore without going into hysterics.
“Well?”
Mr. Montgomery going after Reese with a shotgun wouldn’t work out well. I shook my head.
She craned her neck, then wiggled her fingers. “Hands.”
Sighing, I lifted my hands. “I don’t have a ring.”
“Then Big Poppa needs his 12-gauge to fire some buckshot into some body’s behind.”
I lifted my brows.
“How far along are you?”
“10 weeks.” In four days, I’d be eleven weeks.
“Have you seen a doctor? Do you take your vitamins regularly?” She snatched her notebook from her two-tiered file holder and grabbed a pen from the middle drawer. “And I want that boy’s contact information.”
“I wouldn’t exactly describe Reese as a boy,” I mumbled.
“How old is that irresponsible fool?”
“Thirty-one.”
Laying her pen down, she leaned back in her seat and rubbed her temples. “You’re about to send my blood pressure through the roof, Ainsley.”
“I’m fine,” I rushed to reassure her. “Except morning sickness hits me at any time during the day.” I slid to the edge of my seat and raised my hands in supplication. “Don’t fire me. I need my job now more than ever.”
“Fire you?” She gasped. “Ainsley Valois, if you know nothing else about me, you know I live by Christian tenets. It would be against everything I believe in to turn my back on you and the pickle you’re in.”
Nova called the baby an enemy and Tess saw it as a pickle.
I lifted my chin. “If it’s a girl, I’ll name her Reesette. A boy will be Reese.”
She squinted at me. “The daddy’s name is Reese?”
“Reese Sinclair.” She wouldn’t know him from Adam.
“And he approved of that stupid name for a girl?”
“He doesn’t know. I just thought of it.”
“Well, think again. ‘Cause Reese is good for a girl or boy. It’s a unisex name, although I prefer Aislynn for a girl.”
“I like that name, too.”
She snatched her pen again and nodded to the door. “Go home, child. Rest. Unplug for the rest of the evening. Let me make a few phone calls and get you in to a doctor.”
“You don’t—”
She gave me an under eyed look. “I do. Now, get.”
My head was hurting and I feared another bout of throwing up hitting me. Roman’s house was ten minutes away from the daycare whereas the hotel was almost twice that.
I’d go there and crash and not even turn on my phone until later. It would mitigate my expectations of my brother calling, when I knew he wouldn’t. I’d hoped showing up at the house would entice him to contact me, but nothing. A nap would help me, then I’d head to the hotel and call Reese on the way there.
“Why are you still here, Ainsley?”
I smiled. “I’ll return bright and early tomorrow.”
“Come back bright and early Monday .”
“As much as I appreciate that, I need the money.”
“Trifling man, I swear. Just plain trifling.”
“Reese isn’t trifling. It’s just complicated.”
She snorted. “I’ll advance your pay with a little extra. Pamper yourself for the next few days.”
Hopefully, Reese wouldn’t be opposed to returning to the cabin. Before I left, Tess squeezed me tightly and promised me it would all work out now that she was on the case.