5
EVERLY
I don’t know why I thought today was a good day to do this, but I did. Here I am, in the baby section of the store, and I don’t even know where to begin.
I didn’t even know that there were this many baby things to begin with. Why are there twenty different types of bottles and ten different types of pacifiers? Don’t they all do the same thing?
I look down at my empty cart and sigh. I have to buy something today. I’m getting way too close to my due date to keep slacking on baby supplies.
I push my cart further down the aisle towards the clothing section.
Baby clothes are adorable, so I have to be able to find something there, right?
Wrong. I walk through the clothes and don’t find anything to buy.
Yes, everything is adorable, but it just makes me realize that I should have found out the baby’s gender by now.
I see the diapers up ahead and walk that way. Diapers are universal for boys and girls, so this is perfect. Except there are literally dozens of types and sizes of diapers and now I’m panicking.
What kind of mom am I going to be if I can’t even choose the best diapers for my kid? I can’t decide on anything. I start to breathe heavily and decide it’s best if I leave the store for now, even if I’m leaving empty handed.
My mind races as I push through the front of the store and out into the parking lot. Tears fill my vision as I get closer to my car. I push the cart into the cart return and wipe my eyes, but when I turn around, I stop in my tracks.
Something is sitting on the hood of my Telluride. My breath catches and my eyes dart around the parking lot. It’s full of vehicles and people are weaving in and out of cars, but I don’t see anything suspicious.
I force my feet to move forward. One time was a coincidence; twice is a threat. My breathing picks up as I get to my vehicle and move so I can see what it is. A teddy bear. I furrow my brow and reach out to grab it before looking around again. With no one nearby, I look more closely at the bear.
It’s brown and soft and is dressed in a white t-shirt. It looks inconspicuous enough, until I see what’s written on the t-shirt.
Daddy’s little thief
I squeal and drop the teddy bear like it burned me, backing away from it quickly.
I hear feet pounding on pavement and turn to see a Sovereign Sons member running towards me.
“Are you okay? What happened?” He asks in a rush.
He looks young, like he’s in his early twenties. He has black hair and shockingly blue eyes, and he stands tall, about a foot above me. I look at his vest and realize that he’s a prospect, not a fully-fledged member of the club, but still, I know that the Sovereign Sons are safe.
I can’t form any words, so I just point at the bear and watch as he kneels down to grab it. His eyes rake over the shirt and he curses before pulling out his phone.
“Pres, we have an incident down at Walmart,” he speaks clearly into the phone. “Yeah, I think you need to send someone. Okay, bye.” He hangs up and puts his phone back in his pocket before facing me. “Do you want to go back inside where it’s cooler until someone gets here?”
What does he mean? Why is someone coming here? He was talking to his president, does that mean that Grayson is coming here? I don’t know what Grayson is going to do about any of this. I guess I’m lost in my own thoughts, because the prospect puts his hand on my shoulder, making me jump.
“Sorry, ma’am,” he says with a wince. “My name is Levi and you’re going to be okay, but it’s really hot out here, would you like to wait inside?”
“Ma’am? What am I, fifty?” I grumble, making him laugh. “I don’t want to go back inside, but what are we waiting for? I don’t understand what anyone from your club is going to do, Levi.”
“Don’t worry about all of that,” he assures me. “We know how to handle a threat, and that’s what this is.”
“A threat?” I rasp. “You’re sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“What if it’s not the first threat I’ve gotten?” I ask softly.
“What do you mean?” He asks as he steps forward. “You’ve had other threats than this one?”
“Just one,” I reply. “A note.”
“What did it say?” He asks, his face showing his concern.
“Something about me paying for his sins,” I whisper as my breathing becomes more rapid.
“Shit,” Levi mutters, swiping his hand through his hair.
“Why would someone do this? Are they going to come after my baby?”
“I don’t know,” Levi murmurs softly before he steps forward and wraps his arm around my shoulders to try to comfort me. “I need you to take big breaths, though. You’re panicking and I don’t want you to pass out. He’ll kill me if you pass out.”
I try to take a deep breath and fail. He talks me through my breathing, and it finally starts to even out. What was he even talking about when he said, “he’ll kill me if you pass out?” Who?
Before I can even ask, the rumble of motorcycles fill the air. My stomach drops for a moment, thinking it could be the Devil’s Knights, until I remember that Levi called someone to come over.
I look up and find two motorcycles entering the lot. They weave their way through the vehicles until they find us. They park their bikes and climb off, removing their helmets before they stride toward us.
My breathing picks up again when I make eye contact with Rowan, and he looks pissed.