Page 70 of Fox (Road Rebels MC 4)
“Mom, I’m really sorry, but you gave me no notice, and I have no choice. Maybe I can meet him another time. I really have to go now, mom. I need to get ready for the party,” I said, and before she could add anything to that, I’d ended the call.
I was guilty and nervous and feeling too warm for comfort. These days, since I found out about my pregnancy, I was waking up at night in cold sweats, gushing down liters of water just to cool myself. Even though I didn’t want to admit it to myself, the truth was that I was scared.
I was afraid of being a single mother, of doing a bad job as a parent, of something going wrong with my baby. I stroked my belly and swayed on the spot, trying to calm myself but I couldn’t…I was all alone. The man I should have been with had rejected me. He had broken up with me, just hours after making me happy.
I hadn’t seen or heard from Tank in two months, and I had no idea how he was or how he was doing…if his wound had healed if he had found other women to fuck if he had got shot again. Every time I thought about Tank, and the night we had shared together, I was filled with feelings of contentment. This child was going to be a reminder of him, of how happy I was that night.
And other times, I felt nothing but regret and foolish. For sleeping with a man, for trusting someone who was bound to break my heart, to leave me. He had said it himself, that I wouldn’t understand him and that we belonged to two different worlds. He had warned me already that this could never work, and yet, I had tumbled deeper and deeper into his web. I had fallen for him, and I couldn’t resist his body. It was all my fault.
I walked around the apartment, holding my belly. Despite how I had gotten myself into this situation, and how scared I was, a small part me was excited. I had always wanted to be a mother, and even though this wasn’t the most ideal circumstances, I was still given a chance.
In the bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror.
“It’s just you and me, kid,” I said aloud, with a small smile on my lips.
Did I even look the same anymore? My hair looked limp, I didn’t bother with makeup these days, and there was a pinkish glow on my cheeks now. Very soon, I wouldn’t be able to fit into my clothes anymore, and that was when I would have to figure out what to do after the baby was born. Would I be able to afford some kind of day care? I knew for a fact that my parents would refuse to help me, out of shame.
I wished I could speak to Tank. I could still feel his arms around me, holding me close to his chest, his fingers weaving in my hair. I still remembered the way he had looked at me adoringly when I had woken up beside him in the morning. Had that all been an act?
What would I tell my baby about their father? I guess that the best thing would be if Tank never found out and if the baby never found out either. That way, we could all live our lives separately.
Even though I wished he was here with me, that I had him to lean on…I did wish him well. I hoped that he was safe and happy, doing what he loved doing. And whatever happened, I was going to love his child and try and give it the best life that I could.
CHAPTER 15
Tank
We were sitting around our usual table at the Rusty Pelican. Gunner, Glock, Sniper, Hunter and I had just returned from overseeing another shipment of weapons that had come in, and we were downing a well-deserved round of drinks, or two.
Ever since the shootout two months ago, when I got shot, we were more careful about an ambush and always on high alert. We also had some of the men working towards gathering intel about the Dragon Knights and their progress.
“I heard from Blade, from The New Wolves, that they’ve started working with Four Skulls,” Glock told us, as he dangled his fourth bottle beer from his hand. The New Wolves were a newer motorcycle club in the area. We had formed somewhat of an understanding with one another, and we kept out of their business, as long as they kept out of ours.
“Four Skulls? That low life street gang?” Sniper asked, and Gunner and I exchanged looks. Glock always seemed to have new information, but it wasn’t always reliable. Too many times it had been just rumors rather than hard facts. Every time he told us something we didn’t know, Gunner or I had to go and confirm the intel through other sources first before taking action.
“What do you mean they’re working with Four Skulls now?” Gunner asked, and Glock shrugged his shoulders. He was pleased with himself for knowing something we didn’t know. In a lot of ways, Glock was still a kid.
“They’re trying to work with weapons. Now that their prostitution ring has gone to shit, they’re trying to build up a stockpile of weapons, just like us,” he explained, and Gunner exchanged looks with me again.
“So, there is no intel that they are trying to reorganize their prostitution ring again?” I asked, and he shrugged his shoulders again.
“Not that I’ve heard,” he replied, but Hunter spoke up.
“What I’ve been hearing is that they’re still trying to get prostitution back on the cards,” Hunter said, and I could sense Gunner shift uncomfortably in his seat. His old lady had been rescued from the DK’s in the nick of time, and it was still a sore topic of conversation with him, for a good reason.
“Where is this coming from?” I asked Hunter, and he took a big sip of his beer.
“My guys have noticed women, leaving and entering the warehouse. Beaten up chicks with bruises. The same sort of pattern we’d noticed the last time we busted them,” Hunter explained and I stared at Gunner who had started clenching his fists.
Several months ago, we had busted the prostitution ring that the Dragon Knights were running, we rescued the girls and tried rehabilitating them. A lot of the old lady’s of the older members had come in to help. The Bad Disciples, as an MC, had a firm belief in not harming women or children at the same time as running our business. That was the code that all MCs were supposed to run by, and yet, the Dragon Knights had broken the code in their attempt to make even more money. There was a lot of money in the flesh trade.
“How is that possible?” Glock asked, growing angry.
“What are you talking about, Glock? There are still women around who are vulnerable and can be used for the trade,” Gunner was growing even more enraged by the minute. This conversation was a reminder of what he had rescued Brooklyn from.
“We don’t know anything for certain yet. So it could just be a rumor,” I tried to intervene before Gunner’s rage was started to get out of control.
“My guys have seen these women themselves, hanging around the warehouses that the DKs run. It’s not just a rumor. They could be starting something new,” Hunter went on, not aware that Gunner was stewing in his own rage beside me.
“But we busted them. We destroyed them. They wouldn’t have the balls to start another one, knowing that we could get them again!” Glock was barking now, too proud to admit that we might not have successfully and completely obliterated the Dragon Knights and their flesh trade.
“They might have grown a pair since they started working with the Four Skulls. They have added support now!” Hunter was barking too, defensive of his intel and I banged a fist on the table.
“Shut the fuck up, the both of you. Until we can confirm what we know…about the Four Skulls and the prostitution, there is no need for us to assume anything,” I growled, and Glock and Hunter both seemed to slink back into their chairs.
Axel had assigned me to be the leader of this mission of taking care of our first strike back against the Dragon Knights. So, Glock and Hunter both knew that any ideas would have to first be run by me.
Gunner stood up from his chair, and I watched him walk to the bar counter for more beers. I threw warning looks at the other guys, hoping that they would understand they needed to be more sensitive about the subject around Gunner. Then I stood up and followed Gunner to the bar.
“You okay, brother?” I asked him, and he turned to me with bloodshot eyes.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just happen to know, what getting involved in prostitution and working with
the DKs can do to a woman,” he hissed and took large gulps of his beer.
“Brooklyn,” I said, and Gunner clenched his jaws.
“Some days I think that she’s still not fully recovered. She has nightmares of being holed up by them. She’s afraid that they’ll find her some day and make her pay for being with a member of the Bad Disciples, for causing them to be attacked by us,” Gunner continued. And even though he was staring blankly at the wall in front of us, I knew that he was thinking about Brooklyn and how much he wanted to protect her.
Before I’d met Noelle, I might not have understood what he was feeling, but now I knew. Those were the exact feelings I had for Noelle too. Whatever was going on with the Dragon Knights, I was just glad that she was nowhere near all this. I was keeping her safe.
I hadn’t seen or heard from her in over two months, and every night that I laid in bed, I thought about that morning I had woken up beside her. How she’d asked me to make love to her, and how amazing that had been.
It was only after I’d dumped her, that I realized how hard I’d fallen for that woman and forcing myself to stay away from her, was probably the hardest thing I’d done.
“She has our protection, brother. We’re all going to work together to make sure that the Dragon Knights never get near her again,” I reassured Gunner, who nodded his head, still in a daze.
