Page 44 of His Flawed Ride (Sons of Lost Souls MC #16)

Chapter Forty-Two

Annie

H e said he’d come back in the morning to pick me up.

It’s just gone ten and he still hasn’t shown his face.

I rang the hospital, and he hasn’t been by to see the baby.

He would’ve stayed in his old room over in the bar last night after leaving here.

I checked at four this morning that his bike was still here, and it was.

He wants me to leave but it’s not going to happen.

I’m going to fix this mess and he’s going to fall in love with me.

He has no choice. Slipping my shoes on, I grab my jacket and purse and head out.

It’s quiet and I don’t see anyone as I walk around to the bar.

Shane’s bike and truck are still parked up and I head inside.

The prospect is mopping the floor but there isn’t a brother in sight.

“Have you seen Shane?”

He nods. “He’s in the back room. They all are.”

“Thanks.”

He’ll have no choice but to talk to me when he comes out. He won’t want a scene in front of the club. I settle in on one of the couches.

“How long have they been in there?” I ask the prospect.

His eyes narrow slightly. “Can’t say. It’s not your business.”

Of course. Club secrets and all that.

I dig out my phone from my purse and bring up the pictures of Wolf. He’s so small but still so perfect. I see Shane all over him. His eyes are Shane. His cute nose is Shane. His lips are his fathers. We created perfection just like I knew we would.

Shane believes I’m crazy, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth. I just know what I want and like Shane and the club, I too will go as far as I need to get what I want. And most importantly, what I deserve.

I deserve to be Shane’s old lady, to be looked after by him and loved. I just need him to be as obsessed with me as I am with him.

I should never have lied to him but how was I to know he still would’ve been a gentleman.

Though anxiety is coursing through me like electricity, I know it’s going to work out. He’s had the night to calm down, he’ll see today that we’re meant to be and that I’m perfect for him.

A shadow falls over me and I tear my gaze away from the backroom doors to find a whore stood in front of me.

“I didn’t think you were planning on sticking around after the kid was born.”

Stevie, one of the Shane’s old whores.

“That kid is my son. And I’m still here because of Shane.”

“Really? Shane didn’t look too happy last night.”

My jaw tenses but I try not to let her see she’s getting to me. Bitches like her can sniff out weakness from a mile away.

“He’s not your business so I don’t see why you’re so concerned.”

“I’m just saying, normally when one of the guys have just had a kid, they’re all over family time. But not Shane. He was up till three this morning drinking his sorrows away.”

“You don’t know shit about his sorrows.” I snap. “What he does isn’t anything to do with you.”

“He’s a friend and I’ve known him a long time. Whatever is going on, it’s getting to him and eventually it’ll end in a mess.”

“Again, you know nothing.”

“Don’t act like you’re the first girl he’s ever been with or spoken to, you’re the one who knows nothing.”

“As fun as this is, I need you to fuck off.”

Her laughter ignites my rage, but I can’t afford to let it free.

“Honey,” she huffs amusedly. “You don’t need to worry about me being around cause I have a good feeling you’re not gonna be.”

“Why? What did Shane say?”

The second she smirks, I know I’ve played into her hands.

“Oh, he didn’t say shit, though he was tempted by me, but like I said, I know him well. He didn’t have to say a word.”

She walks off and the sound of her heels clicking against the floor is like a clock ticking down until I blow.

She’s lying. Shane wouldn’t be tempted with trash like her when he has me at home. Even fighting, I’m worth a thousand more than her. The day I’m not, is the day I unleash and take everyone down with me.

From the doorway, she turns and smiles. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep him warm on all the lonely nights when you’re gone.”

“I’m not going anywhere, and if I see you around Shane again, I’ll make sure you never flutter those eyelids at anyone ever again.”

Her smile drops and she disappears outside. Like I knew, I’m worth many more than her, but I will quite happily slice her eyelids off if I catch her even looking at Shane in the future. I can’t help that he lowered himself to be with her before I came into his life, but I will control his future.

The backroom doors open, and I pull myself up from the couch. Shane is one of the last brothers out and sadness radiates from him. He doesn’t see me and slopes off toward the bar. When I stand beside him, he sighs and keeps his face forward.

“Please, babe. Look at me.”

He ignores me. When I reach across and try moving his face my way, he leans back and avoids my touch like it’s the plague.

I change tactics. “You said you were going to pick me up and get business sorted and see Wolf.”

“Yeah, well, I had club business to attend to.”

Hearing his voice calms me.

“We could leave now. We’d be with him in half an hour.”

He finally graces me with his attention, and I step back when his coldness latches onto me.

“You lying destroyed anything I could have ever felt for you. Agree to sign over Wolf to me, then leave.”

“Please!”

“You have twenty-fours.”

He was supposed to calm down over night. If anything, he’s even angrier. Colder.

He walks out and I try to quickly follow. “Or what?”

He huffs. “You don’t want to find out.”

Brothers begin to venture outside and eye me warily. Ignoring them, I watch on as Shane mounts his bike. He says something to Leo and then rides out of the club. I’m still stood there after the gates are closed and Leo disappears into the bar.

He didn’t drag me to a lawyer’s office so that has to show he wasn’t serious about me signing over custody.

I take Shane’s truck and drive to the hospital. He can’t shout or threaten me in front of the doctors. I take advantage and push through the door after sanitizing my hands.

Shane knows I’m here, but he doesn’t turn away from Wolf’s cot. I begin gently, “How’s he doing this morning?”

“You would know if you had called like I did at the crack of dawn.”

I sigh. I need to find the right words to get through to him before it’s too late.

“I realised something while I’ve been sitting here. You don’t give a shit about Wolf. He was just a means to get to me. So as of now, you don’t have a son.”

My stomach tightens. “But he is my son and I’m not leaving him.”

Keeping his back to me, he continues, “I don’t trust what you’d do to him.”

“I love you, Shane,” I sob.

“See, even now, you’ve not even looked at him since you got here, you just want me.”

“I want you both.”

“Fuck you and fuck your love. I don’t fuckin’ need or want it.”

There’s an empty void in his eyes that has my heart shattering into a thousand pieces. There is nothing to say that will get through to him. I leave and quietly close the door behind me.

I don’t remember much of leaving the hospital or sitting on the bench under the biggest oak tree I’ve ever seen.

I take my phone out of my purse and scroll through my contacts until I hit the last one I thought I’d call.

It rings and I prepare to leave a message when my call is answered.

“Annie? Thank God. Where are you?”

“Uncle Cain, I need your help,” I cry.