Chapter Fourteen
DRUNK IN LOVE
Two Weeks Later
The sound of Knox’s Harley approaching has my mouth watering. Not even two minutes later, he’s walking into my office carrying a pink box with a polka-dot bow.
“You’re my favorite person,” I tease. I dance in my chair as he carefully places it on my desk. Taking a deep breath, I savor the aroma of cinnamon and sugar. Cookies!
I wonder if this is how Pavlov’s Dog felt every time he heard a bell ringing. I rub my belly when the babies give a sharp kick. I’m not the only one who gets excited when Knox brings treats.
“How are you feeling, little momma?”
“I’m exhausted. My sleep is all messed up. I think I need one of those Pregnancy Pillows.”
“Do I even want to know what that is?” I snicker at the confused, uncomfortable look on his face.
“It looks like a big U, and you lay in the center of it. It hugs your body and supports the bump,” I tell him, shoving a cookie in my mouth and pointing at my baby bump.
“Knock, knock!” We both look up as G steps inside my office. She looks about as tired as I feel.
“Hey, girl. I didn’t expect to see you today,” I admit.
Knox watches her like a hawk as she moves to sit beside him on the loveseat.
Effortlessly and without thought, he lifts his arm and wraps it around her shoulders.
He kisses the top of her head like a lover would.
He raises a brow when he catches me staring before rolling his eyes at the smirk on my face.
He has it bad. The two of them need to stop dancing around each other.
Ever since she moved out of the clubhouse and Rock left, she’s been different.
I see the way she watches Knox when he’s not looking, and she can deny it all she wants, but she’s curious about him.
“I was hoping that you’d come with me to Target. I got my first bonus and need to pick up a few things,” she says, settling into Knox’s side. Just friends, my ass. The way she closes her eyes as she leans into him says something else entirely.
“Let me run out into the bay and tell Sparrow we’re leaving.” I heave myself out of my chair and shove the metal door open. I look around the bay but don’t see him anywhere. “Babe!” I shout.
“Out here, baby!” he yells back. I walk through the bay and peek around the overhead door and find him leaning against the brick wall, talking to Wrath and Legend.
“Hey, guys,” I greet them, sliding in next to Braxton when he holds his arm up. I tilt my head way back and offer my lips when he swoops down for a kiss.
“I’m going to head out in a few minutes with G.” I watch his expression as he thinks about it.
“Where are you guys going?”
“Target. G needs to get some stuff, and I was going to see if I can find one of those pillows.”
“Alright. Give me twenty minutes to get Tigger over here so he can follow you guys.”
“What? No! I don’t need a babysitter, Braxton.”
“Sierra,” he warns. Shit! I know he means well, but I hate how highhanded he can sometimes be.
“Fine.” I pout.
“Love you, baby.”
“Love you too.” I smile when the guys start teasing him.
Thirty-eight minutes later, we’re pulling into Target’s parking lot with Tigger following close behind. I may or may not have asked G to take a detour when I saw that the hot light was on. What can I say? I love hot donuts, and I make no apologies about it. It’s kind of my and Kierra’s thing.
“That was so good.” Licking my thumb, I climb out of the truck. Before I make it two steps, Tigg is bringing me a cart from the return.
“Thanks,” I say as I fasten the safety belt around my purse strap.
“No problem.” He grins, trying not to laugh as I waddle inside.
“Dollar spot,” G and I both say at the same time before bursting out laughing. I find a couple of fun, twisty straws that Nash and Mila will love and toss them into the cart. G snags some dish towels for a bargain and pitches them in too.
“So, what’s going on with you and Knox now that Rock is gone?” G and I have become good friends, and I think it’s time we talk about the predicament she finds herself in. What I like to refer to as “The Love Triangle.”
“I don’t even know. Shit. I guess I can tell you since I’m not a part of the club anymore.” She may think she’s not a part of the club anymore, but we’re all family.
As we follow the stork stickers on the floor to the baby section, G blows my mind. “I never slept with Rock.”
“Hold the phones. Did you just say you never slept with Rock?”
“Yes. We never slept together. I knew what was expected of me, but I agreed to it anyway. I thought it was the only way to protect myself. Rock, being Rock, called dibs. He took me up to his room and told me to strip. When he saw the scars on my body.” Shaking her head, G halts in her tracks as she remembers the memory.
“The look on his face scared the shit out of me. I sort of freaked out after that. I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t move. He knew immediately something was very wrong and took care of me until I finally calmed down.
He was sweet.” She smiles, clearly the only one in on whatever secrets they share.
“He wanted me to tell the club, but I begged him to let it go. He made me a deal I couldn’t refuse.
Literally.” She laughs. “If I told him everything, he would keep me safe. So, being the smart woman I am, I told him everything. Somehow, we became really good friends.”
“I’ve seen how he treated you, G. That’s not how friends treat each other,” I tell her gently.
“What you have to understand is he still had a role to play if he was going to keep my secret. Which he did by being the asshole he is. When I realized that everyone was starting to hate him . . . I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I told Viper everything.
That’s the real reason he sent Rock to New York. ”
Holy. Shit.
“Wow. You guys really fooled everyone.”
“It was never my intention to hurt anyone. Rock’s either, for that matter. I was in a bad place when I came to Miami, and Rock helped by giving me time to heal in a place that felt safe.” I hadn’t thought of it like that. I feel bad for wanting to castrate him for being an asshole to my friend now.
“What about Knox?” I ask as I grab the last Pregnancy Pillow on the shelf.
Score!
“I knew you weren’t going to let this go,” she sighs.
“Is that Sadie?” I ask. G and I turn our carts around, and sure enough, there’s Sadie with her own cart full of moving boxes and tissue paper.
“Are you moving?” G asks, nodding to the stuff in her cart.
“Yeah. I decided last night, actually. I’m transferring to Rochester. They have a good medical school.” Sadie sniffles. When I look closer, I see that she looks like she’s been crying.
“Are you okay, Sadie?” I ask, giving my new niece a hug when she shakes her head and starts to cry. Sadie’s sob turns to a laugh when G joins in on our public display of affection.
“I’ll be okay. I really gotta go, though. It was good seeing you both.” Wiping her eyes, she fakes a smile and leaves.
“Let’s get the rest of our stuff and get out of here. I need to find out what’s going on.” I send Kierra a text to meet us at G’s apartment in a half hour and get a thumbs-up emoji in response.
“There’s your sister,” G says, pointing to Kierra’s Suburban as we pull into G’s parking spot. As soon as we climb out, we can hear Kierra fussing about being a prisoner and not needing a guard following her around.
“Can you believe this shit?” she asks. G and I both start laughing and point to Tigger.
“I don’t know what y’all are laughing about. You’re both getting a full-time shadow, too. Shit has hit the fan,” she announces, narrowing her eyes at Easy.
Full-time? I pull out my phone and see several missed calls from Braxton. I hit call and wait for it to connect.
“Where the fuck are you?” he growls. I can hear the panic in his voice.
“We just got to G’s. What’s going on? Why does Kierra have a guard?”
“Kierra’s with you?” he asks, sounding shocked.
“Yeah. She has Easy with her. What’s going on, Braxton? You’re scaring me.”
“Fuck! Viper told her to stay put. Look, shit is going down. Don’t leave G’s apartment until I come to get you. The kids are safe. Dexter went and got them from daycare, and now, they’re down in the lair playing games with George.” Grabbing the last of G’s bags, I hurry inside her apartment.
“What aren’t you telling me, Braxton?” I ask, watching Easy lock the door and peek out the blinds.
“Not over the phone, Birdie. Stay put until I come for you.” He hangs up. Looking down at my phone, I wonder for the second time today exactly what in the hell is going on.
“How come you didn’t tell me about Sadie moving?” I ask Kierra as I plop down on the couch, open my Twizzlers, and try to get comfy.
Kicking off her boots, she lays down next to me and rests her head on my lap.
“Your babies just kicked me in the face. This would be an easier conversation to stomach with some tequila,” she murmurs.
Thoughtfully, G walks into the kitchen, grabs a bottle of Patrón from her freezer, and shakes it in question.
“As much as I would love to chug that whole bottle. I can’t have it.” She pouts, stealing my bag of red licorice.
“We won’t tell.” I laugh as she viciously takes a bite. Absentmindedly, I twirl her hair around my finger when she suddenly starts to cry.
I open my mouth to ask her what’s wrong when she shouts, “I’m pregnant! With twins! We just found out this morning.”
“Oh, shit. We’re in so much fucking trouble,” Easy blurts out, staring at Kierra accusingly. She shrugs her shoulders and eats another Twizzler as the tears fall.
“Let me guess. Viper told her to stay inside the clubhouse. She told him she would, and now, you two are on the lam,” G asks.
“I’m never going to get my patch,” Easy whines with his face in his hands.
“You’re totally fucked,” Tigger agrees.
G throws her head back and laughs when Kierra rolls her eyes and waves them both off.