Untitled Book 2 (31 page)

“I'm going to be a father,” I say out loud, testing the words on my tongue.

Me, a father.

I kiss her head again.

Yes, I'm still terrified, but I'm going to be here.

Right where I belong, with my family.

“I
DIDN'T
know if you'd be angry that I told him about the baby or not,” Faye says, taking a sip of her juice. “He needed to know, but it wasn't my place, but then Sin got involved and they were all ganging up on me.”

I smile at her as she explains what happened that day.

“I'm not angry you told him, Faye,” I say, wincing slightly when I admit, “I'm kind of glad it wasn't me who had to tell him. If I was there to see how he reacted, I don't know if I'd have been able to forgive him.”

“I totally understand,” she says, nodding. “He was being a dick, but I'm so happy the two of you managed to work things out. I love Vinnie, and I want him to be happy, and it was so frustrating to see that what would make him happy was right in front of him, everyone could see it, but he couldn't. I had to shake some sense into the man.”

“Thank you for talking to him,” I tell her earnestly. “Your and Arrow's words made him realize he could be a good father, that it's all about his choices, not his past.”

“I'm so happy for the two of you,” she says, beaming and looking at the restaurant menu. “And now we'll have another baby in the house. So exciting!”

The waitress asks us what we'd like, so we place our orders.

“Imagine you with a big baby bump,” she says, her hazel eyes amused. “You're so tiny, you'll probably fall over.”

I laugh and unconsciously touch my stomach. “I guess we'll soon find out. For now I just have to deal with the morning sickness. Luckily today it stopped before lunchtime, or I'd be running to the bathroom right now.”

“Morning sickness sucks ass,” she agrees ever so eloquently. “So did you and Vinnie decide where you'll be living when the baby comes? I know he said he wants to stay in the clubhouse, but I think you'll both find it's nice to have your own private retreat when things get hectic.”

“One thing at a time,” I tell her, making her laugh. “He's just getting used to the baby, so I think I'll wait and let him bring up the living situation. I don't want him to think I'm trying to push him, you know? I'm fine with not getting married, to be honest, but yeah I think I'd like a house. Talon gave me the house that I stayed in the other night, he said it's mine to do with as I please, but I don't think Vinnie will want to live there.”

“I wish I had a cousin who gave me houses,” Faye says, sighing longingly.

“I know that Vinnie has his own house and land, so I'm not sure why he bought it if he never intends to move into it,” I say, stomach rumbling as I look at the people next to us, who are currently getting served their food.

“All the men have investments,” Faye explains to me. “And
stocks, and land. They're all well set-up. Another reason why so many women want them. Good-looking, badass, and they're well off.”

“I can see the appeal,” I admit. “I never thought I'd end up with a biker though. Vinnie literally came to my doorstep and just changed everything for me.”

“Yeah, I remember when Sin told me he was bringing his marker home,” she says, laughing. “You should have seen my face. I've never seen Vinnie really pay attention to a woman, except once, but he was young and she's dead, so it doesn't count.”

My eyes widen at that.

Faye cringes. “Long story, don't ask. But yeah, I was surprised, and very intrigued. It's funny, watching the men fall in love, one by one, and seeing what kind of women they end up with. I have to say, they've all chosen well. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't like one of their women.”

“Not teach her how to throw knives?”

“Definitely not.”

We share a smile.

Our food arrives, and we stuff our faces like the two hungry, pregnant women we are.

*  *  *

When I see Vinnie lying in bed, reading a pregnancy book, my heart melts. He's trying, and that's all I ask. I think he'll be a great father, I really do, he just needs to feel more confident about himself and his future parenting skills.

“Interesting book?” I ask, smiling and crawling under the sheets with him.

“Did you know your cervix will stretch to ten centimeters?” he asks, eyes going double their size. “I hope you decide to have some kind of drugs, maybe an epidural?”

I peer over his shoulder at the page he's reading. “Jesus.”

“I know.”

“I think I should read this book after you. Everyone's just telling me how amazing everything is going to be, no one mentioned ten centimeters. Although it does explain how the baby gets out. I always thought it sounded like pushing a watermelon out of a tap.”

Vinnie winces and mutters “Ouch” under his breath.

“Tell me about it. I'm going to let future me worry about the pain of the delivery though. I have a lot more time to go before that.”

“True. We have a doctor's appointment in an hour, so we can ask him any questions we want to know. How was lunch?”

“Food was amazing, company was even better,” I say, snuggling up to him. “We ate more than any one person should, and then Faye wanted to go look at new throwing knives.”

“Typical day with Faye, then,” he says, turning the page over, which shows a woman with her legs apart, the baby's head crowning. I slam the book shut. Vinnie laughs. I don't.

“I'll just ask Faye how her labor with Clover went,” I say, not wanting to see that book ever again. “I'm sure she'll have plenty of advice.”

Vinnie starts laughing so hard, and I have no idea why, so I jump on him and demand that he explains.

“Do not ask Faye about her labor story,” he says, then starts laughing again.

“Why not?”

“Because I've
heard what she has to say, and it's something no pregnant woman should ever hear,” he explains.

Well that decides it.

Now I can't not ask her.

*  *  *

“Just imagine getting stabbed in the stomach, repeatedly,” she says, rather cheerfully, considering. “Just as the pain from one knife ebbs, another fresh one pierces you right in the gut, and then it starts to happen more regularly and more painfully. That's what contractions feel like.”

I open my mouth, then slam it shut.

“All while your man, who got you pregnant in the first place, stands by, just watching, pain-free. You wish some of the knives will point in his direction, but no, they're aimed only at you. He just gets to stand there and pretend he knows what you're going through, probably thinking, ‘Oh, it can't hurt that much, it's part of nature' or some other stupid shit men say. Then, when you think nothing could be more painful, you have to start pushing the baby out of your vagina, because it doesn't come out by itself, no, you have to do all the work. Your vag is stretching, you're being yelled at to push, it kind of feels like you need to go to the toilet. It's all very traumatic.”

Vinnie walks into the kitchen and sees my expression. He looks between Faye and me, then says, “You asked her, didn't you?”

I give him a look that clearly says to shut up, but instead he starts laughing. Sin comes in and asks what the fuck is so funny.

“Faye is telling Shay Clover's birth story. I told her not to ask.” He smirks, throwing me a smug look.

Sin chuckles, kissing the top of Faye's head. “Looking forward to doing all of that again, are you?”

Faye's eyes narrow. “Ready to take my abuse again?”

“Yep,” Sin replies instantly, taking the seat next to her. “It's the least I can do, right? You take the pain, I take your abuse.”

“I'm sure I'll come up with some excellent insults to throw at you this time around. My vocabulary has grown since Clover was born.”

“I'm sure you will,” Sin says in a dry tone, then throws Vinnie a look that clearly says,
Good luck. Pregnant women are fuckin' crazy
.

“Don't let her take her throwing knives with her,” I suggest, wincing. “She might decide to make you share the pain.”

Faye grins, kissing Sin on his jawline. “Now why didn't I think of that?”

*  *  *

“We need to talk about something,” Vinnie says, rubbing the back of his neck. “You're pregnant, and I don't want to stress you out, but you need to know that the Kings know you're alive.”

“How?” I ask, standing up from our bed. “How do they know?”

“Talon has a mole,” he says, looking pissed off. “Whoever he told in his MC is involved with the Kings and told them shit. Now we have to deal with this shit again, because the Wild Men don't know fuck about loyalty.”

Harsh words, but I can't even defend them. Who would betray Talon? I think about what we could do now, and only one thing comes to mind. However, it's going to involve me having a little explaining to do.

“I could go to the feds,” I blurt out, looking Vinnie in the eye.

“The fuckin' feds? How would that help?” he asks, narrowing his brown eyes.

I remain silent, not knowing how to start this conversation.

“Shay?”

I cringe and sit back down. “The feds were in contact with me. Well, they tried to be in contact with me, but I'd been avoiding them. When they called, I'd send it to voice mail. Remember that day in the jewelry store when I went to buy Faye's present? The woman I was speaking to was a federal agent. She cornered me, wanting me to go with her to talk, but I said no. I didn't want to work with them or have anything to do with them. I didn't think they could help in the situation, but maybe they can now?”

I don't trust the feds, mainly because I knew my father was working with them, and look what happened to him. I just don't see another way out of this now though.

Vinnie searches my eyes, then says, “How can they help, Shay?”

I swallow hard. “I think I might know where the ledger is. I mean, I know of a place where my father kept some of his important documents. I've been thinking, racking my brain, and if it is anywhere, it has to be the place where he left it. It's worth the shot, don't you think?”

His expression hardens. “And you didn't think this is something that I should know?”

I stand up and walk to him, resting my hand on his chest. “I didn't lie or betray you in any way, Vinnie, and I would never. I just didn't want to be involved in all of this, I didn't want the
feds contacting me, or coming here. I don't physically have anything. I didn't touch it or look at it, I just know where it is.”

“We need to get it, now,” Vinnie says, pacing up and down his room. “Tell me, Shay.”

So I tell him exactly where the ledger is. My father hid it in one of the investment properties he owned, in the attic, in a locked chest. He told me about it before he went to prison, just in case. The only issue is, the property is rented out, so tenants are living there. We'll need to wait until they're not home, then break in to retrieve it.

I just hope this is the right move.

*  *  *

“Where did you even get that outfit from?” Vinnie asks Faye, grimacing. Sin brought Faye with him for the retrieval, apparently she's good at improvising in difficult situations. What we didn't expect though, is her showing up dressed like a nun.

Yes, a nun.

“I like to dress up now and again,” she says, turning to Sin and winking. “And come on, everyone likes nuns. They can't not let me in their house.”

“Hopefully no one's home,” I mutter, rubbing my forehead with my palm. We park around the corner, and Faye gets out, holding a Bible in her hand.

“I'll go suss out the situation, then I'll message you,” she says to Sin, kissing him on the lips. “Let's do this, team!”

She walks off, leaving us all looking after her.

“What the fuck is the plan again?” Vinnie asks, turning to Sin with a quizzical expression on his face.

“Faye is gonna see if anyone is home, and if they are, she's
going to distract them while you break in,” Sin says calmly, like he does this shit every day.

“What am I doing?” I ask, looking between the two men, realizing that Sin just said
while
you
break in
, not
while
we
break in
.

“You're going to come with me,” Vinnie says. “You know what this fuckin' ledger looks like, right?”

“I'm going to sit here and wait for you guys to jump in and speed the fuck away,” Sin says, gripping the wheel. His phone beeps. He reads the message, then turns to Vinnie. “There's a woman home. Faye is having tea with her in the kitchen, she said she left the front door unlocked, so run in, turn left then go up the stairs.”