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CHAPTER TWELVE

HENDRIX

A nna clung to me like she was hanging on for dear life. I could sense her fear, and fuck me, if a feeling of panic didn’t grip my chest. The walk that usually took just minutes seemed to take hours, and through it, I tried to push down the overwhelming feeling of helplessness that threatened to overwhelm me.

Seeing the baby on the screen that morning had affected me on a base level, and I knew without a doubt I was gonna do everything in my power to keep him safe. The core of me knew I held everything that mattered in my arms, and I’d do anything to protect them.

I conveyed all the reassurance to Anna I could, though it was probably an attempt to calm my own ass down as much as hers. “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re gonna be okay. Just hold on to me. I’ve got ya.”

Her face was ashen, the tiny laughter lines around her eyes creasing with distress as she stared up at me, her expression raw. “What if I’m losing?—”

Wildfire burned through my chest. “No! Don’t say it. Don’t even fuckin’ think it.”

A look of pure dread flashed across her face, then she straightened out her features and nodded. “You’re right.”

The footpath became less dense, allowing me to speed up slightly. “It’s gonna be fine, Anna. We’ve got two doctors on hand. You’ll be okay.”

“Yeah,” she breathed, her hand loosening from my nape to slide across her rounded belly. “But hurry, Jamie. Please.”

I turned a corner and breathed a sigh of relief as the hotel finally came into view. Diablo, Trick, and Fletcher stood outside talking to another brother, K9, who was surrounded by four yapping puppies.

“Boys,” I bellowed at the top of my lungs.

Their stares snapped toward me.

“Get Bones and Freya,” I ordered through clenched teeth. “There’s something wrong with Anna.”

Curses filled the air, and the boys leaped into action.

Trick and K9 ran into the hotel while Diablo caught hold of the door to hold it open for me.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded as I swept past him into reception, his forehead wrinkling with concern.

“She’s getting cramps,” I cut out. “Started a few minutes ago.”

Anna let out a whimper, and I held her closer, trying to transfer my warmth to her. “I need to get her to the med wing.”

He ran ahead of me to the set of doors leading off reception that took us down to our trauma room. “All set,” he muttered, throwing them open for me to hurry through, craning his neck as the sound of pounding boots filled the air.

“Prez,” Bones called, hurrying to catch up. “What’s happened?”

“Her stomach’s cramping. Said she felt off then it started getting worse. The pain seemed to come on quickly after that.”

“Take her back into the room we were in earlier,” he ordered. “The ultrasound machine’s still set up, and we need to take another look.”

“Where’s Freya?” Anna called over my shoulder, her voice small.

“She took off somewhere with Tristan,” he replied kindly. “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’ve sent Trick to find them.”

Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

“It’s okay, baby,” I assured her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Her eyes lifted to meet mine, and my heart jerked at the anguish in them. “Anna,” I breathed. “It’s gonna be okay.”

She winced, and I felt her muscles tighten as she moaned quietly in obvious pain.

Usually, I was a problem solver, a man who could work through a problem using logic and common sense, but right then, I felt helpless because there was nothing I could do to ease her pain or her fear. I didn’t have the words she needed, especially since I was worried sick myself.

Diablo reached the medical room first and swung the door open, standing back while I carried Anna inside and gently laid her on the bed. He murmured that he’d wait outside, but I hardly registered the words.

“Can you take your pants off please?” Bones asked matter-of-factly, already the professional doctor, as he plugged the machine in and pulled it toward the bed.

Anna pushed the stretchy waistband of her jeans over her stomach and wriggled them down over her hips.

Gently, I pulled them off, quickly covering her with the sheet and taking the seat beside her, watching Bones shrug on his doctor’s coat, load a tray with equipment, and hook his stethoscope around his neck.

“Any bleeding?” he asked, his concern evident in his tone.

“I don’t think so,” Anna replied, her face paling even more.

“I’m going to examine you,” he stated. “Is that okay?”

She nodded, her eyes drifting to mine.

I took her hand, leaned toward her, and smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “That’s good, right?”

Bones carried out his examination and pulled the sheet back over Anna’s body. “Yeah, it’s a good sign. Everything with the baby feels normal, but I’m going to do another quick ultrasound to see how baby’s doing.”

“Is that safe?” I asked. “She just had one a few hours ago.”

Bones pushed the sheet back down and squeezed gel on Anna’s belly. “Two sonograms in one day is generally considered okay. There’s always a slight risk with any procedure, but in this case, the benefits far outweigh them. I’m not worried, and I’d rather take a look and see what’s going on in there than have to guess. Plus, I’m sure you and Anna want your minds put at rest, too.” He snapped a pair of medical gloves on and sterilized the wand with an antiseptic wipe before gently rolling it over Anna’s stomach, his eyes glued intently to the screen.

My stare went to the monitor, and I held my breath.

“There,” Bones announced, his finger pointing out a tiny pulsing mass. “Heartbeat’s nice and strong. Your boy’s moving around normally. Everything looks good.”

All air left my lungs, and my shoulders slumped.

“I can still feel the cramps,” Anna murmured. “Can you detect them on screen?”

Bones shook his head. “The ultrasound takes images of organs, not sensations; it’s not strong enough to pick them up, but the baby’s moving around, and the heartbeat’s strong; plus, you’re not bleeding. Your cramps don’t indicate they’re related to the pregnancy.”

“You think she’s sick?” I asked.

“Maybe you’ve picked up a stomach virus or some kind of sickness bug,” he suggested.

Suddenly, I felt Anna’s entire body still. My eyes snapped to hers. “What is it?”

“Oh my God, I should’ve known,” she cried softly. “I’m so sorry for worrying everybody. I haven’t felt this way in so long. I forgot the symptoms, and with being pregnant and all, I panicked.” She sighed, then muttered, “I knew that bread tasted too good to be true.”

A realization hit me, and the tables suddenly turned because right then, it was my gut clenching like a motherfucker. “You’ve eaten gluten?”

Anna’s face fell. “She told me it was gluten-free and that Carina made it fresh, so she knew it would be okay. I should’ve known, but it’s been years since I’ve eaten it. I just thought Carina was a magical being who could make gluten-free bread taste good.”

“Who?” I barked, breathing through the burn razing through my chest. “Who gave it to ya?”

Her gaze lowered.

“Anna! Who?” I barked again,

“Your girl,” she snapped, her eyes flying up to meet mine again, full of accusation. “ Daisy .”

“Ohhh shit,” Bones muttered under his breath.

I shot him a death glare before turning back to Anna. “Let me get this straight. Daisy gave you bread and told you it was gluten-free when it wasn’t?”

Her lips pursed, and she nodded.

“She clearly told you it was gluten-free,” I reiterated, more of a statement than a question.

“Jesus, Hendrix,” she grated out. “I’m not lying. She told me there was gluten-free bread there because Carina made it for one of the brothers. Tristan was there too. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

“Picasso’s gluten-free,” Bones interjected. “Carina makes him some kind of special flatbread.”

“Thank you!” Anna muttered in a resigned tone.

I heaved out a breath. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just can’t fathom why Daisy would do that shit.”

Bones’ eyebrows shot up.

“Right,” Anna murmured flatly. “Of course. Look, I’m gonna try to get some rest and ride this out.” She pulled the sheet up and turned over, giving me her back and her cold shoulder.

My jaw hardened, and I scraped my hand down my face.

What the fuck?

One minute, she held onto me as if her life depended on it. The next, she’d turned so frosty that I could almost feel a chill in my balls.

I turned to Bones. “Are pregnant women always this fucking hormonal?”

Anna let out an angry snort and snapped, “My hormones aren’t really your concern.” She glanced over her shoulder, flashing me a look of fury. “Haven’t you got whores to fuck?”

My head reared back in surprise at her outburst. “The fuck you say?”

“Get. Out.” She enunciated the words like I was touched in the head.

Bones’ lips thinned, and he jerked his chin toward the door.

With a shrug, I stood and sauntered toward the exit. To the world around me, I must have seemed uncaring and unbothered, except underneath the bravado, I was in turmoil.

What the fuck just happened? Anna got sick and I jumped into action because I was genuinely worried for her and the baby. After seeing the sonogram, I started to get used to the thought of a little nipper running around the place, so the moment she complained of stomach pains, I genuinely shit bricks.

Maybe my reaction to Anna’s accusation was off, but I didn’t mean to question her over it. I was shocked somebody in my club would go out of their way to purposefully hurt a pregnant woman, especially my pregnant woman.

Also, I’d just almost had a goddamned conniption thinking there was something wrong with the baby and, in turn, Anna herself. If anything had happened to either of them, I would’ve lost my damned mind.

Bones followed me outside to the hallway and closed the door behind us with a soft click. His accusing stare bore down on me like a lead weight, and he whisper-shouted, “With all due respect, Prez, are you fuckin’ crazy?”

My eyes bugged out at him. “What?”

He stared up at the heavens and heaved out an exasperated breath before lowering his eyes again. “You never tell a pregnant woman about her hormones, you dick. It just makes them react worse. It’s bad enough you flapped your gums at all, but to do it after insinuating Anna was lying about Daisy—when we both know that bitch would poison her own grandmother if it suited her agenda—was fucked-up.”

I felt a sinking sensation in my gut. “I was just stunned, is all.”

“About what?” he challenged. “The fact that Daisy’s a snake with tits? If you’re stunned about that, Prez, then you haven’t been payin’ attention, and I know you don’t miss shit.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw as a realization dawned. “Okay, so I fucked up again, you happy now?”

“I know,” Bones drawled. “You got scared ‘cause you’re still hung up over something that happened fucking years ago.” He leaned forward. “You need to start being honest.”

A stab of pain jabbed my chest.

Bones knew everything about me. He was my doctor, after all. “I made it my mission to deal with everything screwing with my head over the last few years. When I was with Anna, my pride got in the way, along with my ego. I felt less than a man, and I couldn’t deal with her seeing me the same way, but now everything’s changed. I’ve got a second chance, so I gotta open up to her if I want a different result to last time.”

“Then go get your fuckin’ girl, Jameson.”

My gut tightened. “Won’t be easy, dude. I screwed up bad.”

“No shit,” he muttered. “But I know you, brother. When you want somethin’, nothing will stand in your way.”

“There’s no question I’m claiming Anna, but I dunno how I’m gonna convince her to get with the program.”

“Start with Daisy,” he advised. “God knows it’s about time you put that bitch in her place. She effectively poisoned a pregnant woman. You wanna count your blessings that Anna’s just intolerant and not allergic. It could’ve been fatal.”

The thought made my blood curdle, and my fingers itched with the need to choke the fuck outta Daisy, but not in a way she’d enjoy.

She’d effectively annihilated any respect I had for her. What we had was physical, not emotional, at least for me, but I’d always admired her quick wit and smarts. Daisy hadn’t had it easy, which may have explained why she attached herself to me. As warped as it was, fucking the prez gave her a sense of worth.

However, the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that Bones was right. Daisy had carried out a targeted attack—a clear warning—and she’d done it despite knowing what Anna meant to me. All the other women—Daisy included—were easy pussy, an attempt for me to move on, though I was beginning to see the error of my ways, especially as those errors were coming back to bite me—and now Anna—in the ass.

Daisy’s fuck-up was something bigger, though, because she’d done the one thing I’d never forgive, something I’d recently killed a man for.

She’d hurt my woman.

And that was a big mistake.

—————

“I’ve been feeling off about Daisy for a while,” Blade admitted, leaning toward me across my desk. “But no fucker took me seriously. She’s been acting like the queen of the castle for a while, and it’s left a bad taste in my mouth. I booted Sara out last night when you were in Philly playing judge, jury, and executioner, and I did it quietly, but I think we should make an example of Daisy. The message obviously needs to get through to the other girls. Their catty bullshit is unacceptable. They don’t rule our dicks, and they don’t rule our club. End of.”

“I’ve felt it for a while too,” I agreed. “But Daisy didn’t do anything to warrant getting kicked out. Now she has, so she’s gone.” I pulled open my desk drawer and rooted around for some Tylenol. “Did you tell the boys not to touch her?”

An evil smile curved Blade’s mouth. “She’s down the cave, secured to a chair, but nobody’s fucked with her, well, not physically anyway.”

I threw three pills down my throat and took a gulp of water. “This shit’s stressin’ me out, and I’m runnin’ on five hours of sleep in three days.”

“The sitch with Anna can’t have helped,” he pointed out. “I can’t imagine the worry you felt about the baby. I still can’t get my head around the fact Daisy did that shit to her. It’s fuckin’ evil. I’m starting to wonder if easy pussy’s worth all the headaches that come with it.”

I let out a snort. “We’d have a revolt on our hands if we took away the boys’ fun. A lot of ‘em need the act of sex to function. Could you imagine how stir-crazy they’d be if they couldn’t fuck their demons outta their system?”

Blade nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right, but personally, I’m done with the club girls. I’m too old to be fucking a different hole every night. I need to look for a decent woman and settle my ass down.”

“Like Carina?” I asked knowingly.

His face blanked. “Too young for me.”

I stared at him like he’d gone loopy. “The woman’s nearly thirty years old.”

Blade’s hand went to the top of his fake leg, and he scratched his wound, something he did when he felt uncomfortable. “Carrie and Gigi deserve better than an old vet with life-altering war injuries who’s past his prime.”

“She’ll do exactly that one day, Nate. I’m speaking from experience when I tell you to be careful what you wish for. I’d hate to see you lose precious time because of hang-ups that, in the great scheme of things, don’t matter. If you like her, go for it, but if you don’t, let her go so she can find what she needs somewhere else.”

He stared me down for a few seconds before nodding sharply.

“Right,” I muttered, relieved that finally that shit was out of the way. “Shall we go deal with Breadgate?”

“It’d be laughable if it wasn’t so fuckin’ dangerous,” Blade retorted, shaking his head.

“Tell me about it,” I replied. “Every time I think about it, I wanna wring Daisy’s scrawny fuckin’ neck. All I see is Anna’s face, white as a sheet and full of fear that she was losing the baby.” My lungs began to squeeze painfully at the thought of what my woman must’ve gone through. “All to prove a point that didn’t need to be proven. Daisy’s not my ol’ lady. Never was.”

Blade’s lips set in a line. “Same with Sara. Fucked her a total of three times. Then suddenly, she thinks she owns my dick.”

“We need to think about reiterating the rules,” I said, pushing up from my chair.

Blade did the same and fell into step with me as I made for the door. “No time like the present.”

We walked into reception and then hit the steps down to the basement. Our underground space was vast and contained a state-of-the-art gym along with the pool the men used for hydrotherapy.

The cave and HQ were located behind the gym and hidden behind a false wall. HQ was the name we’d christened the lab where we stored our cash, weapons, and high-tech equipment and the place from where we operated our drone (Hawk). The cave was a concrete enclosure where we carried out our beatdowns and took suspects for questioning.

The fact that I’d ordered Diablo to bring Daisy down to the cave was a statement I apparently needed to make. If she was comfortable enough to try to hurt Anna and the baby right under my nose, thinking there’d be no recriminations, it told me the club girls had gotten complacent and had begun to get ideas above their station.

That shit needed to be shut down with a short, sharp shock, and it needed to be done publicly.

We walked past the gym and the pool, toward the far side of the basement where we approached the back of the hallway. Blade reached up toward the light switch on the wall and pressed it three times. The false back wall swished open, and we stepped through and then tapped another button to close the wall behind us. I approached the door on the right and keyed in another code sequence, waiting for the locks to disengage before pushing open the thick, heavy steel with my shoulder.

The dim light inside the room came from one solitary naked bulb hanging from the fitment in the ceiling, casting the shadows of the three people who occupied the space.

Colt stood with his back to a wall, his arms folded across his chest and one knee bent. Diablo sat at a table wearing jeans, boots, and a black wife beater while he sharpened a large KA-BAR. The last occupant was also seated, but she was tied to a chair in just a tee and panties. Her red hair was plastered against her sweat-slicked face, and small whimpers escaped her throat.

I should have felt bad for her, guilty even for restraining her in that way, but the only emotion coursing through my blood was satisfaction that she was experiencing something even remotely as frightening as what she’d put Anna through. We had no intention of hurting her, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t frighten her ass to the point where she’d run for her life.

The moment I came into view, Daisy’s eyes lifted to meet mine, and she let out a small cry. “I’m sorry, Hendrix. Please make them untie me. I promise I’ll never do anything like that again. It was just a joke. I didn’t know how sick Anna would get. I’m so, so sorry. Please tell them to let me go.”

Approaching the woman, I lowered to my haunches next to the chair and studied her face. “Why did ya do it?”

She gave me big, tearful eyes and whispered, “I don’t know.”

Diablo flew from where he sat with a loud snarl, then lifted his arm high and stabbed the knife down on the arm of the chair, just centimeters away from Daisy’s fingers. “Answer your prez, or I’ll cut your fucking fingers off!”

“I-I was jealous, alright,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, but I was pissed she’d come back pregnant and ruined everything.”

Diablo stepped back.

“You did it to hurt the baby?” I bit out.

“No!” Daisy cried. “It wasn’t like that. I just thought she’d just suffer with gas or something and humiliate herself. I didn’t know she’d get so sick. I swear to God.”

“You can swear all you want,” I retorted. “But your word doesn’t mean shit to me. What you did was fuckin’ sick, Daisy. You knew as soon as you heard her name who Anna was, didn’t you?”

She stared up at me, wide-eyed, her throat working with a nervous gulp.

“Didn’t you?” I roared.

She nodded, a single tear tracking down her face.

“What did you think, bitch?” I demanded. “That you owned me? That we were goin’ steady?”

Her gaze lowered, and she whispered, “I liked you.”

I let out an incredulous snort. “Jesus, woman, it’s all bullshit. You liked me so much that you fucked every one of my brothers whenever they crooked a finger in your direction. The only thing you liked was using what little status you thought you had to shirk your responsibilities.”

Her face flushed, and her stare hit her bare toes. “That’s what I was here for. I could hardly say no to them.”

“Liar!” I spat. “Never once have you been forced to fuck anyone.” I jerked my thumb in the direction of the bar. “Every girl out there knows full well they can say no whenever they want. You’re not paid to fuck men, Daisy; you’re paid to keep house. The sex is somethin’ you do on your own time. You’ve always had a choice. Every girl here does. If you’re not feelin’ it, you abstain. Nobody forced or paid you to spread your legs, and you know it.”

“You would’ve thrown me out eventually,” she said accusingly.

“No, I wouldn’t,” I argued. “I would’ve come to you and asked if you wanted to stay and work, not stay and fuck. Sara initially worked here as a bartender. Her job role only changed because she asked for it. What does that tell you?”

Daisy glared at me reproachfully.

I leaned toward her. “And now you’re out.”

Her face blanked.

“You’re gonna get escorted to your room, you’re gonna get dressed and pack your shit, then you’re gonna publicly apologize to my woman before you turn your ass around and get the fuck gone.”

“You think?” she sassed.

I held her eyes. “Believe me, I know. If you don’t, the consequences will be worse for you.” Standing to my full height, I walked over to Colt, ordering, “Tell her.”

His stare fell on her face, and his lip curled. “Checked you out, Daisy, and honestly, there wasn’t much to find. You’re in the system but you lay low. You gotta bank account, and your credit rating’s okay, not amazing, but not bad. Father unknown, mother passed, no family to speak of. Everything about your life is nondescript, but at least you have a life.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“I can make every trace of you disappear,” he told her, his tone dripping with ice. “You wouldn’t be able to get a job, an apartment, a passport, or even a driver’s license. I’d wipe you clean; it would be like Daisy Wells was never alive. I can take your entire existence away.”

Her eyes swung to me accusingly. “You’d do that to me?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I confirmed. “But only as a last resort. Do as I say and leave quietly and with dignity, and we’ll allow you to get the fuck outta here and start again somewhere else. I’ll even give you severance pay to help set you up in an apartment. All you gotta do is leave town quietly and don’t come back.”

“I don’t believe you,” she whispered, her eyes wounded. “You wouldn’t do that to me after everything we had.”

“We had sex, Daisy,” I stated. “Nothing more.”

“I gave you what you needed,” she reasoned. “I made you happy.”

“Yeah, by letting me pretend you were Anna, but I got the real thing back now. Don’t need a poor imitation.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t mean that. I know you felt something for me.”

My stare flicked over her face, studying her defiant expression. She was so convinced I wouldn’t hurt her, and I wondered why.

Something pinged in my brain, and warning bells began to chime.

Daisy believed with everything she had that I had feelings for her, and I had no idea how she got it past me.

On the surface, she came across as being pretty astute. We had fun together in and out of bed. We laughed and bantered, not as a daily occurrence, but we had a friendship of sorts.

But in that moment, all I saw in the back of her eyes was delusion, and delusional people were dangerous. Even more so in Daisy’s case because with her life the way it was, she didn’t have much to lose.

And that didn’t bode well for anyone.