Page 26 of Oz (Marked Skulls MC 4)
There weren’t many of them in there so it didn’t take us long to scan the perimeter. Rodeo and Lewis debated over whether they should take a couple of their guys as hostages, but we decided against it. Ultimately, we didn’t want to stoop to their level and, besides, we knew that wouldn’t do the trick.
They didn’t give a shit about their own men, not the way we did about our own. The raid was fruitless. Dash was still nowhere in sight. Girth sent some of the prospects out to look for intel again. We needed to figure out where they were holding Dash, and get to him before they had a chance to do anything. I just hoped they would keep him alive.
After the raid, I walked around the warehouse, just to get my mind off things. There was a lot going on and I had no idea how I was going to start dealing with everything. Just an hour ago, I’d found out I was going to be a dad. I was giddy with excitement and scared for the first time.
Eventually, Abe found me having a smoke by myself in the dark. I had my gun out and pointed at him first before he laughed and I slipped it back in again.
“You’re on edge,” he said, coming up to me. I offered him a cigarette and we smoked together.
“Today was a shitstorm,” I said and Abe nodded.
“Yes, it was, but despite what happened with Dash—you handled things well. For a minute there, we were all convinced you were about to give our shit to them,” Abe said.
I pulled in a mouthful of smoke and blew it out again.
“I was just trying to keep them engaged in conversation and bide time. Counting down the minutes till the rest of the MC showed up,” I said.
Abe was smiling at me proudly.
“We’ve all been singing your praises to Lewis, and he wants to go ahead with making you in-charge of the Cuban deal.”
“If we even have a Cuban deal,” I remarked and Abe thumped my back.
“Things are going to work out. We’re going to figure this shit out with Dash and the Dark Legions are going to climb back into whichever black hole they emerged from,” Abe said.
I was still thinking about Kaya and the baby; my mind wasn’t fully in the conversation and it seemed like Abe could sense that too.
“Your girl is brave,” he commented, and I snapped my head up to look at him.
“Yeah, she went through a lot today,” I said and he nodded.
“And she held her own. Her friend was brave, too. I hope she’s going to be okay,” he continued.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine.”
We stood in silence for a minute longer before I broke. I was going to have to tell somebody and without Dash here, it was going to be Abe. Even though I knew he would tell my sister straight away.
“She’s pregnant,” I said. Abe threw his burning cigarette to the ground.
“What did you just say?”
“Kaya, she’s pregnant. The kid is mine.”
Abe stared at me for a few moments before he yelled joyfully and threw his arms around me in a bear hug.
“You’re going to be a dad! I’m going to be an uncle! What the actual fuck!”
I laughed at Abe’s complete and utter joy.
“We have to tell Alexis!”
“You can have the honor of telling her, and calming her down before I have to speak to her,” I said, shaking my head. If this was Abe’s reaction, I couldn’t even imagine what my sister’s was going to be.
“When did you find out?”
“Today. It’s still pretty early.”
“Is she okay?”
“She seems fine, but I’m going to force her to go see a doctor first thing tomorrow.”
Abe was still grinning happily.
“Then what are you still doing here? Go be with your woman, Oz!”
“We need to find Dash first. That’s what she wants too,” I said, but Abe was shaking his head.
“We got bad intel on this place. We have no idea where they’re holding him. Until we get some news on that, there is nothing you or I can do. Dash is their only leverage right now. He’s a strong kid, and he’ll be fine. You’re just wasting precious time away from your family by hanging around with me.”
Abe thumped my back again.
Family.
I’d never used that word before. Not even with Alexis. Well, she was the only family I had until now, but it was never like this. I was never responsible for my sister. She never relied on me.
And now I had Kaya—the most beautiful woman in the world—and a baby she was carrying. Two people who were mine, and mine alone. I knew I would do anything to protect them, to make them happy. Nothing would ever be more important.
“Keep me posted,” I said to Abe as I rushed back towards the car.
I was worried about Dash, but I was worried about Kaya more. I knew she would need me tonight. And I needed her, too.
When I walked into the diner that day, I was hungry. I never thought I would meet a woman who was going to change my life. And now I couldn’t imagine a life without her.
***
I went to the hospital first to check on Kaya, but she wasn’t there, so I drove to her apartment. When she opened the door, there was a sparkle in her large green eyes.
“First things first, we should exchange phone numbers,” I said, as I stepped into her apartment and she laughed. I gave my phone to her and she typed in her number and I sent her a text so she had mine.
“That is probably one of the first things we should have done when we met,” she said and I followed her to the kitchen.
Kaya fetched a can of beer from her fridge and she handed it to me.
“How is Melody?” I asked and she shrugged her shoulders.
“The doctors said her surgery was successful but they won’t let me see her till tomorrow. I didn’t know what else I could do, so I came back home,” she told me.
I followed her to her couch, the one we had sex on last night. I sat down beside her and she swung her legs up on my lap and sat back. If this was what having a family was supposed to feel like—I was loving it already.
“How’s Dash?” she asked and there was a streak of worry on her face.
“We haven’t found him yet.”
Kaya gulped nervously.
“What do you think is going to happen to him?”
“They’re going to use him as leverage.”
“Are they going to hurt him?” she said, and her voice was shaky.
“They’re not going to kill him,” I replied firmly. “Because they know they can use him to get what they want from us.”
I rubbed her feet gently and she smiled weakly.
“I really like Dash, he’s a good guy. And he looks up to you. He made me feel safe today, and he did everything he could to stop those men from hurting me,” she continued. I massaged her feet harder and she drew in a deep breath.
“Yes, he’s a great guy. I trust him, I’d trust him with your life, and I’m going to do everything I can to get him back to safety,” I said. Kaya nodded her head.
“I know it’ll be fine. You will find him and save him, just like you saved me.”
I bent my head low so I could kiss the soft skin on her left knee. She purred like a cat, and I took a long swig of my beer.
“Today must have been very scary for you,” I said and Kaya breathed softly.
“I was scared, yes, but I also knew the whole time that you were coming for me.”
“What changed your mind? The last time we spoke in the morning, I was sure that you wanted me gone from your life.”
Kaya smiled softly and looked me strongly in the eye.
“I was fooling myself. I thought I could go on without you, that in a few months’ time, I would forget you. But that was never going to happen.”
I rubbed her feet more and she purred again softly.
“And then I found out I was pregnant and everything changed. I knew, and Melody helped me realize, that it wasn’t worth it. Living away from you was never justifiable. The only way I’d ever be happy was by being wi
th you.”
She moved over closer to me and I threw an arm around her.
