Page 24 of Kraken (Hades Abyss MC #4: Mississippi Chapter)

Phoebe

My stomach knotted as I heard the front door shut, but I tried to take a calming breath.

Then another. I knew this wasn’t the first time he’d gone out on club business, and it wouldn’t be the last. I’d been around bikers long enough to know they did what they wanted when they wanted, and followed their own code.

Even though the Hades Abyss weren’t monsters like the Sadistic Saints, I figured some things would remain the same.

Like the club whores. Except the ones here weren’t forced into that way of life and came of their own free will.

Didn’t mean I wouldn’t try to kick their asses if they touched Kraken. He was mine, and hands off. I knew Blake wouldn’t encourage them, but he hadn’t exactly seemed inclined to shove them away either. I’d have to learn to trust he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.

Just like I had to believe he’d come home in one piece tomorrow.

In such a short time, he’d become everything to me.

I’d thought my parents loved me. I knew better now.

There was no way they’d cared even a little if they’d been willing to give me away for a large chunk of cash.

Which meant other than Ember, the only person who had ever loved me was Blake.

I’d gladly given him my heart, and it would be his until I drew my last breath.

My phone rang, and I hurried to answer before it could wake up Ember. Titan . My stomach clenched. Had something happened to Blake?

“Hello,” I said, my voice not as steady as I’d have liked.

“I’ve knocked twice. You going to open the door?” he asked.

I scrambled to the front of the house and pulled open the door.

Sure enough, the club Pres was on the doorstep.

I hung up the call and stared, not quite sure why he was here.

Kraken hadn’t been gone that long. I knew accidents happened anywhere, but Titan had a smile on his face, which eased my worries.

“Kraken insisted you didn’t want company tonight, but I had a feeling you were here pacing the floor.”

“Not quite pacing, but… I don’t like the idea of him going after my parents. Not because I care what happens to those monsters, but because I don’t want him to get hurt.”

Titan nodded. “Figured as much. Just so you know, that man of yours can handle himself. Now let me in. We have some movies to binge-watch. I even brought popcorn.”

I glanced down and saw the sack in his hand with the box peeking out of the top, along with what looked like a few different types of candy.

I backed up and let him into the house, then shut and locked the door.

Titan made himself comfortable in the living room while I grabbed two sodas from the fridge.

When I returned to the living room, he’d already found an action movie.

“Come sit,” he said, patting the couch next to him.

I plopped down next to him. “You know, this is probably the strangest thing I’ve experienced in the last year or so.”

“Strange?” he asked, opening a package of Twizzlers and handing me one.

“The President of the Hades Abyss is in my living room, offering to watch TV with me, and is feeding me candy. Aren’t you supposed to be throwing back beers with the rest of your club and chasing women right now?”

His eyebrows rose. “And forgo the pleasure of your company? Never.”

I snorted and opened my soda, taking a gulp before setting it aside.

At the Sadistic Saints, I’d feared their President.

Deuce had made my life hell. He’d abused me.

Hurt me the worst way a man could harm a woman.

Done everything in his power to knock me down.

Titan felt more like the older brother I’d never had, but I didn’t for a second think he was a fluffy cute bunny.

I had no doubt he’d gladly make his enemies bleed, but I also felt safe with him.

“Thank you,” I said.

He just smiled and kicked his feet up on the table.

I eyed his boots and he slowly dropped his feet back to the floor.

I wondered if I should tell Aurelia he was trainable.

Maybe it would make her more accepting of his lifestyle.

If he put the seat down and had good aim, there would be a line of women waiting to be claimed by him.

Titan and the others were far from ugly.

Of course, Pretty Boy looked like he’d stepped off the cover of a magazine, but the others could hold their own.

“Did Kraken tell you the news?” I asked.

“News?” He shifted to face me.

“I’m pregnant.”

He yanked the candy from my hand and pulled my soda out of my reach. “No, he didn’t. If he had, I’d have brought you a salad and bottled water.”

“Did you seriously just take candy from a pregnant woman?”

“Not my first rodeo. I know you aren’t supposed to have a lot of sugar or caffeine.” He stood, gathering the goodies and carrying them to the kitchen.

I followed, wondering what he was doing. When he handed me a banana and pulled out the gallon of milk, my jaw dropped. He didn’t really mean to… He took down a glass and filled it, then slid it over to me. Yep, he really did.

“You took away my candy and soda and gave me a banana and milk,” I said, staring at the items in my hands. “I feel like a kid being punished.”

“Eating for two now,” he said. “Need to keep a nutritious diet for the little one growing inside you.”

“Ember turned out fine,” I pointed out, and I’d been damn lucky to get much of anything to eat or drink when I’d been pregnant with her. It was a miracle I hadn’t lost her with Deuce’s treatment of me.

He leaned against the counter and stared me down. “Kraken is my Sergeant-at-Arms. You’re his woman, which makes you part of my club. Know what my job is as President?”

“To be a big bossy pants who takes candy from women?”

“It’s to ensure the well-being of those in this club.

I make sure we prosper. Help keep everyone safe.

And right now, that means making sure the only old lady this club has eats something healthy for the first Hades Abyss baby born in my chapter.

We adopted Ember when Kraken did, but this little one will be here from the very beginning. ”

I peeled the banana, then savagely bit into it.

He winced and shifted, which made me smirk.

Served him right. I finished it off before I drained the milk.

I had to admit, he was probably right about it being better for the baby.

I hadn’t had a clue what I was doing with Ember, and I still didn’t know much about the right and wrong things to do during a pregnancy.

“Bones came earlier to check on me,” I said. “But I think I need a special doctor. Think he could recommend an OB-GYN to me?”

“Do I look like I know anything about lady doctors?” he asked.

I waved to the now empty glass. “You know something about pregnant women. So, yeah. I’m going to assume that means you know about lady doctors, as you put it.”

“Ask Aurelia who she recommends. I’ll see about getting some insurance for you, but the club will cover any medical costs. That baby is going to have lots of uncles.”

“I feel sorry for Ember,” I said. “I can see it now. Her date will show up at the gates and be met with a line of armed bikers.”

Titan nodded. “Exactly right. And if they hurt our girl, we’ll bury them six feet under.”

“Well, this conversation got dark fast.”

“Come on.” Titan came closer, then hooked his arm around my shoulders, dragging me along with him. “We’ll finish the movie, then you can pick the next one. But if it’s one of those sappy things, you better not breathe a word to the club about me watching it. Have to maintain my image as a badass.”

“You’re still a badass,” I assured him. “You just have a mushy center you don’t let too many people see.”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

I pretended to zip my lips. “Your secret is safe with me.”

“You’re such a dork.”

“Takes one to know one.”

He froze and looked down at me. “You didn’t just say that. Are you twelve?”

“For Kraken’s sake, you better hope not.”

He groaned and reclaimed his seat on the couch. I wished Aurelia could see him like this. I didn’t know what the two of them were like when they were alone, but if she saw this sweet, funny side of Titan, I knew she’d fall for him. Any lady would be lucky to have him.

“What are we watching anyway?” I asked as I sat down again. “And what made you think I wanted to see anything that seems to involve car racing?”

“You’re no fun.” He tossed me the remote. “Go ahead. Put on that romantic shit women like. Just don’t start yelling at me if my snoring bothers you.”

I smacked his shoulder before flipping through the movies.

Just because he’d taunted me, I did indeed put on a romantic comedy.

Titan gave me the side-eye, but didn’t so much as grumble.

Even more surprising, he didn’t fall asleep either.

Although, I decided not to torture him with a second one when the first movie went off.

Instead, I compromised on an old favorite -- Top Gun .

“Thought you liked the romantic movies,” he said.

“It has romance,” I pointed out. “Not to mention shirtless military men. What’s not to like?”

He pretended to gag, but grinned at me. “Don’t let Kraken catch you gawking at halfway naked men on TV or in person. I bet he’d spank your ass.”

He was most likely right. But Kraken wasn’t here right now, and I needed a distraction. I leaned against Titan and put my head on his shoulder. He tensed for the briefest of moments before putting his arm around me.

“Thanks for coming. If I’d been here alone, I probably would have worried myself to death. I know he’ll be gone like this again, but it’s the first time and…” I shrugged, not really knowing how to explain everything I felt.

“Kraken can handle himself, but I called in reinforcements. They’ll let him run the show and only step in if needed,” Titan said. “And your sister is going to live with the Devil’s Fury. Their President tends to take in stray girls. He’s got two living with him right now.”

“Stray girls?” I asked, not sure I liked the sound of that.

“Grizzly lost his wife a while back. They never had kids, so he tends to take in teen girls who have nowhere else to go. He gives them a stable home, a chance to improve their lives, and spoils the hell out of them. Two of his adopted daughters married men in his club. One is off running wild right now, and the latest two are still in high school so they’re still at home. ”

“He sounds nice,” I said.

Titan shook with silent laughter. “Don’t say that to his face, but yeah. When it comes to women and kids, he’s a big softie. Wouldn’t know it to look at him.”

“I don’t know. You and Kraken look pretty badass and intimidating, but you’re both really sweet to me.

My father is a preacher, an upstanding member of the community, and someone people look up to.

He looks like a kind man, never has a harsh word for anyone, and look what he did to me.

The way someone looks doesn’t mean anything.

I will never again judge someone based off their appearance. ”

“You’re pretty smart for someone so young,” Titan said.

“I learned the hard way.”

He nodded. “That you did. You also discovered you’re tough as hell and a survivor, which means the next time Kraken leaves and says he has to be gone for a day or a night, you’re not going to freak out. I know this time it’s different. He’s going after your family.”

“No. Not my family. Not anymore.”

“The point I’m trying to make is this time it’s personal for you.

When I send him out on a run that has nothing to do with you or your children, it won’t bother you as much.

Yes, he could still get hurt, but nothing has taken that man out yet and I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

He was in the military and they trained him well.

Kraken knows what he can and can’t handle on his own. ”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him, or you.

I know you and this club would protect me with your lives.

Some of you already have. I’m sure part of it is just me being overly emotional right now.

The other part… my relationship with Kraken is still new.

I guess we’re in the honeymoon phase, as they call it, and I really don’t like being separated from him for very long. It makes me anxious.”

Titan gave me a slight squeeze. “You’ll be fine, Phoebe.

You’ll settle in more over the upcoming months, get to know everyone here better.

You already know how a club works, somewhat.

I know the Sadistic Saints were rotten to the core, but the politics are basically the same.

Far as Kraken is concerned, you’re the perfect old lady for him, and I have to agree.

You need to find your groove, your place here at the compound. ”

I knew he was right.

He pointed to the screen as Tom Cruise took off in a jet from the deck of a ship. “That right there is what your man used to do. He was a Naval aviator.”

Looked like I’d married my very own superhero.

I’d watched this movie once at a friend’s house my freshman year of high school.

My parents never would have let me see anything like this, and I’d only been allowed over that day because my parents wanted to go to some retreat a few towns over.

My sister had spent the day with one of her friends too.

It was the only taste of freedom I’d had while living at home.

“I don’t think I can picture him in the military,” I said. “Kraken without a beard?”

Titan laughed. “Yeah, guess that is hard for you to picture. If you ever ask him to shave it, make sure you film that shit. His reaction will be priceless.”

I tipped my head to look at him. “Are you on drugs? Why the hell would I want him to shave it?”

He shook his head and we went back to watching the movie.

Having Titan here eased my worry a little, and he helped keep my mind off things.

I had to wonder if this was what friendship actually felt like.

If it was, then I’d never truly experienced it before.

And that was even sadder than my father selling me to Deuce.