Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
SKULL
Abel and I both lunge for Ivy as she falls to the floor.
“You motherfucker,” I growl as I take her from him and cradle her to my chest.
“Get the feckin door,” I stomp my way up the stairs and kick the top door open to a startled Simone.
“You’re going to scare my pussies!” She hisses as the cats run in and out between her legs.
“I heard Pussy,” Nova comes up behind her with a grin wider than any I’ve ever seen.
“Yes, this fecker here upset Ivy to the point she passed out. I need to get her to my clinic.” I watch as Simone looks from Ivy’s pale face with concern to her man standing wearing my kilt.
“What the fuck? You’re a cross-dresser now? Really, Maddox, how many more kinks are you hiding from me?” She frowns at him.
“Take my kilt off and get me your keys. Abel, you’re driving. Let’s move.” I walk into the living room.
As soon as Whip and Jester see me, they are on their feet and moving.
“Go ahead and clear a path for us. The damage has been done. He knows she’s here. We’re going into lockdown.” Abel says to the room as he types on his phone.
“Um, Pops is VP now. You’re retired old man.” Mayhem slaps his uncle on the shoulder, who frowns and rubs the hit afterward.
“You see him here? No. I am cause you fuckers would be lost without me. Now, do I need to call him, or are you two gonna behave? Remember, I changed both your fucking diapers and seniority fucking rules. Retired or not.” Abel gets into Mayhem’s face, but the bigger man doesn’t back down.
“For fucks sake! This isn’t the bloody time for dick-measuring contests. Get the feckin keys! I want my woman checked out NOW!” I growl as I pass by the idiots trying to pull rank.
“Sorry, Skull, this way. You can take Simone’s Volvo.” Nova opens the garage and leads us over to the small sedan.
“Feckin cage. Gonna need one of these for her and the bairn soon.” I get in the back carefully so I don’t hit her head or jam my knees.
“Consider it a wedding gift. It’s being delivered in three months. I had it customized with bulletproof glass and armored siding. Just as a precaution.” Abel tosses his phone on the dash and fixes his mirrors before backing us out and heading to the clubhouse.
“On a scale of one to ten, how fucked are we with this mafia prick?” Abel laughs.
“Ivan? He ain’t shit. A four, maybe. It’s Wills you need to worry about. That motherfucker doesn’t register on your scale. Ivy knows too much. She was never supposed to live, and if he finds out she’s pregnant?” He stops talking, and I look down at my beautiful Hen’s face.
“She won’t,” I finish his statement.
We get to the clubhouse, and Seer meets us at the door.
“We got another problem.” I raise an eyebrow as I walk past him and straight to the infirmary.
“What the bloody hell happened?” I curse when I find Cowboy with a cut above his left eyebrow and Whip holding his wrist.
I lay Ivy down on the hospital bed and quickly check out the guys. When I’m done cleaning Cowboy up and stitching him, I turn to check on Ivy, only to find Abel hooking up the heart monitor to her belly.
“Feckin hell! Do you have any boundaries?” I stomp over to check his work and can’t find one thing wrong with it.
“Calm down, Braveheart. I have multiple doctorates, one of which is medicine.” Abel lifts the paper coming out of the machine and frowns.
“Careful, ya not VP anymore,” I remind him, ready to smack him hard enough to send him flying.
“Big words, Scotty. The baby’s heart rate is steady, but she’s having mild contractions. That’s way too early.” I snatch the paper from his hands and shove him out.
“CHRIST. Outta my infirmary, the lot of you.” I wave my hand at Cowboy and Whip.
“I need a splint, at least!” Whip argues, so I stomp over to the cabinet, pull one out, and throw it at his head.
“OUT!” I shout as I slam the doors closed behind them.
I pull the elastic off my bun and pull at my hair.
“Wow, it’s getting so long.” Ivy’s voice jars me.
I spin around to face her, and her smile warms my heart.
“Ya gave me a fright, Lass. How are ya feelin’?” I sit on the side of the bed and cup her face.
“Silly, scared, mortified. Who saw me faint?” I click my tongue at her.
“Nonsense. Pregnant women faint all the time for no good reason. Your body produces double the blood, and it sometimes rushes to your head. Stress is not recommended, so we’ll just keep you away from Abel.” Ivy giggles as I lean in and kiss her.
“He knows. I need to run,” I shake my head and place my finger over her lips to stop her from talking.
“If you run, know you’ll be running forever. It may seem easy at the moment, but in a few months, when the wee bairn is here, running isn’t going to be an option. We stand our ground and handle the threat here.” I nod at her so she sees my seriousness.
“But Abel said -” I growl at the mention of the man’s name.
“Contrary to popular belief that arsehole doesn’t know everything!” A throat clears behind me, and I know it’s him without turning around.
“Dylan would agree with you. However, I am capable of admitting when I’m wrong, unlike some royal bastards I know.” My eyes close slowly.
“Hamish is with him, isn’t he?” I whisper at Ivy, but I don’t open my eyes until I turn to look myself.
“Milly, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry, Ivy.” Nope, not today.
“Apologize when the threat is over. Why are you involved in this? I made it very clear when you found out that you were to stay out of all royal business.” I growled at Abel.
“That was before you took on your role, making it possible to stop Vice President Wills.” I frown and look at my brother.
“Are we involved with that scum?” He looks sheepish and shrugs.
“The crown is so unfortunately, yes. However, we have cards on the table and haven’t played them yet.” I cross my arms and look at both of them.
“Which are?” I glare at Abel and the smirk on his face.
He pulls a Bible out of his back pocket and waves it around.
“You marry, and that baby is the next Earl of Kent,” Hamish says proudly.
I turn to look at Ivy to see what she thinks.
“Would that make me royal, too?” I nod.
“In title only, your Grace.” I bow to her, and she lets out a small hysterical laugh.
“This is insane.” I smile.
“Bloody crazy, but half this lot have married for worse. Remind me to tell you Mayhem and Rae’s story.” I take her hands in mine.
“This might not stop him. Men like Wills don’t care about titles, murders, or the wars they may cause.” She shivers and closes her eyes.
“We can divorce after it’s over.”
What?