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  A short blonde woman comes up to our table, smiling a little too widely at Kade. “What can I get for ya, pumpkin?”

  Fuck if I’m going to let him respond to her. I place my arm on his leg, very close to his cock so she can tell that my man is taken. “He’ll have a land and sea, well-done steak with mashed potatoes and green beans, and he wants a broccoli cheddar soup. I, on the other hand, would love a barbeque bison burger with caramelized onions, well-done, with curly fries. Thanks.” I plaster on the fakest smile I can muster up.

  “I’ll just get what she ordered,” Fist chuckles out, handing his menu over to the blonde bimbo. She walks away without even taking our drink order, further pissing me off.

  “I wonder if she’s new on the job,” I grumble out, staring at her walking back into the kitchen and out of our side.

  “Could be, sure didn’t ask for our drinks or any of that. But you were kinda bitchy to her,” Kade laughs.

  “I was not. She was doing what bitches do and I wasn’t gonna put up with it,” I grumble out, keeping my eyes peeled out for this bitch. I’ve really started to become super angry as of late. Out of nowhere, I just want to choke people. It must be the pregnancy hormones, but I’m still getting used to them.

  “I’m gonna run to the bathroom. I’ll be right back,” Kade says to his father and I. He scoots out of the booth and leaves me alone with Fist.

  “So, we’re finally alone,” Fist says, slowly grazing his eyes over me. “I was going to wait and talk to you about this, given everything that’s going on, but since we’re alone it seems fitting to talk to you now.”

  “Talk to me about what?”

  “I wanted to apologize for acting the way I have been these last few weeks. It’s been fucked up, and I shouldn’t have treated you like this. I’m ashamed of the way I’ve acted and I hope that you and I can work on building up our relationship.”

  I’m in complete shock at his words, not quite sure where he’s coming from when a bout of nausea takes over me. I didn’t see where the bathrooms were, so I slide out of the booth and dart straight for the front door, shoving it open and upchuck on the sidewalk. In the summer months, this is normally where the restaurant has some plants or greenery growing, but not in the frigid temperatures like this.

  The swinging of the door opens behind me while I continue to throw up and I feel my hair being held up in a bun on the back of my head. “You alright?” Much to my surprise, it’s not Kade’s voice, but his father’s that greets me.

  “Yeah, I . . . I’m pregnant.” I say, putting my hands on my knees, breathing in and out a few times before.

  “Oh, uh, how far along are you?” Something in his voice makes me feel like he might’ve already known. I thought I’d been discreet when I’ve had nausea hit me while in the club, but obviously that can’t be the case.

  I stand up straight and turn around to him. “Nine and a half weeks or so. Sorry, we can get back inside. This happens sometimes and I have mints in my clutch. I could really use one right now.” I chuckle at the end, trying to be a little bit humorous.

  Fist opens the door for me and we both walk back to the booth we were just sitting at a few minutes ago. Kade is back at the table, sitting with drinks in front of him. I see something yellow and am praying to God that it’s lemonade. I could kill a bitch for some lemonade right now.

  Walking up to him, I slide into the booth and sit on the outside. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I reply, offering a small smile. I reach over him and grab my purse, open it and pop a couple of mints in my mouth.

  “Ivy told me the good news, that she’s nine weeks pregnant.” Yet again, there’s something in the way that Fist talks which makes me feel a bit weird. He must’ve known I was pregnant. I guess I’m not very discreet when it comes to my morning sickness or nausea. “Are you two still thinking of moving down to Vegas?”

  Fist’s question catches me off guard. Since Kade and I found out, we haven’t talked about changing our plans, but having a child changes everything. “I think we need to talk about it a bit more,” I say quickly, looking to Kade. “Things are different now with the baby and all.”

  “Yeah, we need to talk about it,” Kade agrees, rubbing his hand on the back of my shoulder.

  We chat a little bit longer about some small, minuscule things and I feel like I can finally see the light that’s at the end of the tunnel. I thought Fist was literally driving Kade and I away from Montana, and even though this is the start of forming a relationship with one another, I’m going to be optimistic. I really don’t think we can go wrong from here. Apologies have been made and we’re putting our best foot forward, if you ask me.

  “Hey, guys! Here’s your food.” The blonde girl comes back, sitting the boys’ food down first and brings me back some sort of egg burger.

  “Uh, is that what you ordered babe?” Kade asks, looking down at the Texas toast style burger that has a scrambled egg, cheddar cheese, and meat.

  I decide not to let this get to me and eat the burger. “It’s fine, I’ll just eat this one,” I say, smiling.

  “Weird how you managed to bring me out the correct burger when I ordered what my daughter-in-law did, missy,” Fist says to the girl, who doesn’t fret at all.

  “It’s fine guys, really. Not a big deal at all. It is cooked well-done, correct?”

  “It sure is, honey!”

  “Awesome. Thanks,” I say, and the woman starts to walk off as I take my first bite. The second I pull the burger away from my face, I see the pinkest flesh I’ve ever seen and know this burger is fucking rare. I spit my food out onto my plate and decide enough is enough. “I’m over this shit.” I hiss under my breath and grab a chunk of burger with my right hand, get up from the booth and march straight over to her.

  “Oh shit,” slips from Kade’s mouth as I walk away.

  “Hey, hun. I think you got a little confused,” I say to her as she turns around and right as she starts to talk, I take my right hand and shove the burger in her stupid fuckin’ mouth. “You see, I just asked you if it was well-done and this is the rarest meat I’ve ever eaten. Here’s the thing, I’m pregnant, bitch, and do you know what raw meat can do to a baby? Do you?” I grab her by the back of the head and slam her into the bartop, not giving a fuck as the bartender’s mouth goes into an ‘O’.

  “Babe. I think she gets the point,” Kade says from behind me.

  “I don’t know if she has. She still seems like a pretty arrogant bitch if you ask me, honey.”

  She coughs, spitting out the burger meat onto the ground and starts to crawl behind the bar. “I get it! I’m so sorry!”

  I’m not the same Ivy who went through a world full of shit. I’m different now because I’ve found my strength and I will never allow anyone else to walk all over me ever again.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I was quiet, but I was not blind

  ~ Unknown

  Kade

  It’s been three hours since dinner, and an uncanny feeling washes over me. It’s been far too quiet since all the shit with Connor, and my gut is telling me something is wrong. Dad calling church out of the blue just affirms my feelings.

  All of us pour into church, taking our assigned seats and wait for the moment he slams the gavel down onto the wood. “I wish I had better news, but I don’t. Our fight is far from over, even with Connor’s death. Grizzly has been stirring shit up and he’s back to making threats.”

  “What kind of threats can he possibly make? He has nothing,” Zane says.

  “That’s where you’re wrong. Grizzly has information that I wasn’t aware he had. Machk, forgive me for airing your personal business to everyone but I can’t keep your past hidden. Grizzly has made threats against your son, Austin. He knows we grabbed Connor and since he hasn’t heard from him, he’s offering a trade, an eye for an eye.”

  “What do you mean he has Austin?” Machk asks my father. Austin is the first born child between Cora and Machk,
Ivy’s older brother, but I’m not sure that everyone else knows that.

  “Wait. Can someone fill me in here? Since when has Machk had a son named Austin?” Bull asks the room, focusing his eyes in on Machk. My dad could answer, but it’ll be a hell of a lot easier if Machk does.

  Machk looks around the room focusing in on every single one of us. It’s as if he’s trying to find the right words to say, but the moment he tells everyone this, they’re automatically going to assume he’s Ivy’s biological father. At this point, I firmly believe he is, but the club will accept it once he admits he’s had a child with Cora before.

  “When I was a kid, Cora and I were in a relationship. She got pregnant really young and we decided to put the baby up for adoption. That child is Austin, our son. It was an open adoption so we met him numerous times and have had somewhat of a relationship with him, but he’s never been involved in this lifestyle.”

  Zane crosses his arms. “So, the rumors about you being Ivy’s dad aren’t bullshit?”

  Machk shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. “No, they’re not. Ivy could be my daughter but I have no way of knowing for another week or so.” I ended up getting my dad a few strands of Ivy’s hair, so he must’ve spoken to Machk and took the strands for analysis at a local lab.

  “What’s happening in a week?” Blackjack asks.

  “Fist organized a DNA test. Should have the results back in a week, maybe a little longer,” Machk responds back. Looks like my hunch was correct.

  “Now that we’ve gone over that, here’s your proof,” Dad says, sliding his cell phone across the table and Machk picks it up as soon as its within reach. Looking over the screen his expression grows worrisome. “We obviously can’t trade Connor,” Machk says.

  Dad chuckles like a smartass. “No shit. It’s why we need to come up with a plan, here and now. We’re going to get Austin back from Grizzly without a hair harmed on his head. The only problem is we’re gonna need a dummy to stand in for Connor. I need someone who’s around the same build and frame.”

  My dad looks around the room and his eyes land on both Zane and I. “He’s only a little smaller than the two of you are. Either one of you up to the task?”

  Zane and I share a look, “Neither of us have blonde hair,” I tell him.

  “No, and I can’t say that I’m gonna put a damn bag over your head. Whichever of the two of you decides to do this, will need to bleach your hair. I figure I’ll have you kneeling on the ground with your face down when we meet for the trade.”

  “I’ll do it,” I volunteer myself, knowing far too well that there’s no way Zane will ever do jack shit with his hair. I figure if I get out of this alive, I can dye it purple or blue afterward like I’ve always wanted.

  Dad narrows his eyes in on me. “You sure you’re up to the task, son?”

  “I think I’m most qualified to bring shit down like this. Grizzly has fucked with my woman and I plan on getting some vengeance. It’s about high time this fucker comes down. Now, please tell me that we’re going to ax the entire Bears MC while we do this shit.”

  “That’s the plan, but how often does anything ever go according to plan?”

  “Hardly ever,” Zorro responds for the group of us.

  “Exactly, which means every single one of us here need to be prepared for shit hitting the fan. Bull, I have the meet scheduled for tomorrow night. I want you, Axel, Grim, and Zorro to stay here and defend the homefront. I highly doubt they’ll try to come down this far and fuck with our club, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

  “You got it, Prez.” Bull nods, accepting his job.

  “What’s happened to his parents, they live on the farm together, correct?” Machk asks in the direction of my father.

  A bleak expression spreads across his face, telling us all that whatever happened isn’t good. “They’re both dead. Along with that photograph, I was sent a video of both of them being shot in the back of the head execution style. Austin had to watch the entire thing happen.”

  “Those slimy sons of bitches!” Blackjack roars out, rising from his chair, his anger getting the best of him.

  “Austin only lives a few towns over, about thirty miles east of here. We’re supposed to meet Grizzly at sunset tomorrow on Austin’s family farm. I’m gonna tell all of you to pack heavy, but don’t look like you are. Hide extra glocks under your jackets, pack holsters on your body wherever you can conceal them, and make sure you have a good knife or two. If my gut is right, we’re going to get a good bit of blood on our hands.”

  “About damn time,” Zane says to the group of brothers who grumble out in agreement with him. It just goes to show me that he’s fit to lead, and more importantly, it makes me feel like I’m right in deciding that it’s time I should leave.

  I know Ivy thought the baby might change my mind, but it doesn’t. The baby gives us both more of a reason to go down to Las Vegas and start a new life for the two of us. We’ll need a fresh start after all the bullshit we’ve both been through, especially her. A new city with some strange faces might be just what we need.

  I look out onto the group of brothers in the room with me and say what I know they must be thinking, “Nothing ever happens easy, and I doubt that this will. Something is bound to go wrong, and we all know it. Shit never goes smoothly for us when it comes to our enemies.”

  “Kade is right. We must expect the unexpected. Dawn is coming early, so everyone get to bed. I expect everyone to be awake and alert at four am. Meet me in the clubhouse living area and we’ll go over the plan before we head out.” Dad tosses me a box of something just as he finishes talking. “Kade, you might want to have your sister help you bleach your hair. The last thing I want is for Ivy to get sick from the fumes. I don’t even know if pregnant chicks can be around that shit anyway.”

  A series of gasps breaks out and I swear I’m filled in a room with women. “Ivy’s pregnant?” Bull chuckles, slapping me on the back with all his might.

  “Yeah, she sure is,” I confirm.

  “Ivy is my daughter-in-law, and we’ll make sure that we’re treating her with the respect she deserves. I already apologized to her for treating her the way I was. I thought I was doing the right thing by being standoff-ish with her and doubting her every move, but I was being a fuckin’ tool. No part of the way I was actin’ was right, and I expect those of you who were following my lead to straighten up as well.”

  Agreements come out across the room. “Now, get some shut-eye before your asses are cranky as fuck in the morning.”

  I glance down at the bottle of bleach in my hand and know I’ll be asking my sister for help in just a few minutes.

  The group of us pour out of church and break off, doing whatever needs to be done before we head out in the morning. For the most part, everyone is headed straight for bed. Within a couple hours, I should be getting some shut-eye as well, hopefully.

  I decide to go back to my and Ivy’s bedroom and let her know what’s going on. I’d hate it if she woke up in the morning, saw me gone and freaked out. Opening the door, the glimmer of light from the hallway illuminates the bed. Just enough that she shields her eyes from the rays, “Oh goodness, shut the door!”

  Following her orders, I get inside our room and shut the door behind me. “Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

  “You didn’t, this child is. You want to know how many times I’ve thrown up in the last hour?”

  “No, not really,” I admit, chuckling. I can’t see her for shit since our bedroom is basically a cave. This is why her nickname is Vampy after all.

  “I’m going to tell you anyway since you did this to me. Seven. I’ve vomited my guts out seven times and I smell and I’m tired. Oh, am I so freaking tired!”

  “I hate to tell you, but I’m not the only one who took part in creating our little nugget, babe.”

  “You’re not supposed to be mean, you’re supposed to take my crap and agree with me!” Her voice starts out strong but in t
he middle of her sentence she chokes on her words and I can tell she’s about five seconds from crying. I’ve learned a lot about hormones over the last few days and my most important lesson is this— everything can change in a split second. You just have to roll with the punches.

  “You’re right, I’m sorry. That was very insensitive of me,” I tell her, knowing that if I don’t say this shit, she’ll have my balls on a platter sooner or later. “I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow. I’ll be gone really early in the morning.”

  “Okay, what for?” I was hoping she wouldn’t ask, because I have no doubt that all she’ll do is worry the entire time we’re gone.

  “Grizzly is making threats, he has . . .” I try to think of the easiest way to explain who Austin is, but there’s no getting around it. “He has your mom and Machk’s son. Apparently, Machk knocked her up when she was a teenager and they gave the baby up for adoption. Grizzly found out and threatened us, saying he wants an eye for an eye. He’s expecting to get Connor back.”

  “But that’s impossible. Connor is dead,” Ivy points out.

  “Yeah, but he doesn’t know that. Ashley is going to bleach my hair blonde so they won’t be able to tell from afar and I’ll play the dummy.”

  “Uh. . . I don’t like that. I don’t think it’s a very good idea.” Ivy is right to be concerned, but most of the club will be there. I’ll be perfectly fine.

  “You have nothing to worry about. This will be handled.”

  “Does this mean Machk is really my father? I know assumptions were made . . . but this changes things.”