Chapter 32
Trooper
The second William reached his vehicle, I hopped out of my truck and rushed him. I punched his pussy ass right in the throat and he doubled over, dropping everything and gasping for air.
Before he could recover, my hand circled his neck and his back hit the concrete wall we were parked in front of. I squeezed with one hand while I used the other to press my gun into his forehead.
William’s eyes grew wide as he circled my wrist with both of his hands, attempting to free himself from my hold. There was no hope. He was only five-nine at best, and about fifty pounds lighter than me. He was in decent shape, but his age didn’t help him. He was no match for me or my strength.
The fear in his eyes made my dick hard.
“Are you scared? You look like you’re scared.” A smirk spread across my face as I questioned him.
“Why would I be?”
“Because unlike you, I’m not afraid to take a life.”
“You’re not going to kill me.”
I laughed arrogantly. He didn’t know me very well. “Do you know how many lives I’ve taken?”
“No, why would I?”
“Neither do I,” I said with a smug grin. “Because taking a life don’t mean shit to me. I kill as easily as you breathe. Do you know how many breaths you take in a day?”
“What’s the point of all this?”
“The point is this. Sophie is an innocent victim of your bullshit. She doesn’t deserve to be caught up in it and I won’t let her. I’ll kill you first. Stop fucking with her.”
He looked at me and laughed. This muthafucker was truly crazy or in denial.
“She’s ungrateful. I’m teaching her respect. Why would I let her choose that gotdamn criminal over me and still allow her to have the privileges that my name carries?”
I tightened my grip on his neck, causing him to gasp and claw at my hands even more. I felt my finger squeezing the trigger as I spoke.
“Your name don’t mean shit. Not to me, but it does to Sophie.
Not because she gives a fuck about you, because she doesn’t, but that company means something to her.
If I had my choice, I’d burn that muthafucker down and sleep like a baby that same night.
It’s important to her, so it’s important to me.
“You’re going to let her have what she earned and stay the fuck out of her way. If you keep fucking with her, I’ll keep fucking with you. I don’t have to kill you to make you suffer. Trust me, I will fuck up your entire world and you’ll never see it coming.”
I looked him right in the eyes long and hard before I let him go and punched the shit out of him. I hit his ass so gotdamn hard I felt the bones in his face crack under my fist.
Without another word, I walked away. I meant what I said. He either needed to leave her alone or I would make him regret the day he ever met me.
When I was back in my truck and pulling out of the parking garage, I called Sophie to see what she was up to. She had no idea I went to see William and I wanted to see if his pussy ass would run straight to her.
“Hey you,” she sang into the phone as soon as she answered, bringing a smile to my face. It had only been a few months, but Sophie had managed to do something to me. I was in a weird space when it came to her because she made me feel things I didn’t know how to handle.
“You sound happy. How did lunch with your mother go?”
“Can we not talk about that?” Her entire mood did a one eighty.
“What’s up, Sophie? Did something go wrong?”
“Wrong?” She laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, you could say that, but I don’t want to talk about it now. Can it wait until later?”
“Where are you?”
“With Maddie, why?”
“Because I want to see you. You sound upset.”
“Trooper, I’m fine. I know you’re supposed to meet Carlos at the gym, and I’m with Maddie, so don’t change your plans for me. I’ll meet you at your place later. I’m fine, I promise.”
See, this was what I meant about being in a weird space.
Everything in me felt like I needed to drop everything and see about her, but then again, I didn’t want to be wrapped up in a situation where everything about me centered around her needs.
I know that sounded fucked up, but given how my life was before Sophie, it made perfect sense.
“You sure? I can just swing by there real quick. I have time.” I glanced at my dash to check the time. Los wouldn’t really give a shit if I was late.
“Trooper, do what you need to do. We can talk later.”
“She’s in good hands, Trooper. I got her covered. You can take over later,” Maddie yelled in the background.
I chuckled. “Aight, cool, but call me if you need me and I’m there. You know I got you, and tell Maddie I said what’s up and she better take care of my baby.”
Sophie was quiet and I felt her smiling through the phone before she spoke. “I will. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Aight, bet.”
I ended the call and hooked a sharp left toward the gym. If Sophie was good, I was good, but I planned to pamper her later. No matter how much I fought against it, her happiness was a priority for me. I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to.
After five games with Los, and losing ten grand, I was tired as hell and ready to head home. I was off my shit today for some reason, but it was cool. I would get it back the next time we played and the money wasn’t shit.
We only bet because both of us liked to talk trash and money on the line made it that much more interesting.
When I made it to my place, I smelled Sophie’s perfume lingering in the air which meant she hadn’t been there long. Her purse and a few bags on the counter confirmed it for me.
Seeing traces of her at my place made me smile. I couldn’t deny I loved that feeling. Little did I know, shit was about to change drastically and challenge that for me.
After I made it to my bedroom, I went straight to the bathroom door which was shut and locked. Sophie hardly ever closed doors, so something was up.
My closed fist rapped on the door and Sophie’s nervous voice rang out.
“Umm, hold on. Give me a second.”
“Ay, you alright in there?” I questioned with a frown.
“Yes, I’m fine. Just give me a minute, please.”
I sat at the foot of my bed, pulled off my hat, and tossed it on the dresser. Sophie exited the bathroom a few minutes later looking pale and flushed.
“What’s wrong, Sophie? You look sick or something. You don’t feel good?”
“No, but I’m not sick. I’m pregnant.” She held up the plastic stick in her hand I had totally overlooked because I was focused on her face.
“You’re…” I paused, unable to repeat her words.
“Pregnant. My cycle was late, but I thought it was because I was stressed with everything going on. It made sense. It’s happened to me plenty of times before.
When I get stressed, I skip it, so I didn’t really pay much attention.
But then, when I was on the way home from Maddie’s, I picked up dinner and the smell…
” She scrunched her face then continued.
“It hit me like a ton of bricks. I had to stop and pull over. I threw up the second I opened my car door. I had to throw the food out because I couldn’t ride with it in the car. ”
I sat there staring at her, trying to process what she said. Pregnant, that meant a baby, my baby. How the fuck had that happened? Shit, I knew how it’d happened, but it wasn’t supposed to.
“I don’t have to keep it if you don’t…”
“Whoa, I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t say anything, but you look like you’re upset,” she said softly, adjusting her weight while she stared at me.
“You just caught me off guard. I mean, have you been sick or feeling like you were pregnant? Those tests aren’t always right.”
“No, I haven’t, but I’m not sick, and food never had that effect on me. I took three tests, Trooper, and they all say the same thing. But don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”
I watched the disappointed look on her face as she marched past me and left the room. I should have gone after her, but I couldn’t move. Something had me stuck and my mind went blank until I heard my front door slam.
“Fuck,” I mumbled before my hand moved down my face.
I was feeling Sophie, no question about that, but I didn’t know shit about being a parent.
I never had parents. Parents were supposed to love their children, mold and protect them.
I didn’t know shit about any of that except protecting.
How do you love when you’ve never been loved?
Can I be a parent and love a child if I don’t know what that shit is?
“Fuck!” I yelled.
I needed to find Sophie and talk to her but I just couldn’t right now. I had a lot of shit to process and I couldn’t do that if I was around her.