“We’re going to have to leave town for a bit. My boss was in on all this, and he reminded me that the Vipers won’t forgive my getting involved in their human trafficking business or the Bastards taking you back,” Reacher said.
She shivered in his arms, and he wished that he could take away every horrible thing that those assholes had put her through over the past week.
“Yonkers bought me,” she whispered. “They put me on a stage wearing this.” He looked down at her body to see that they had put her in cut-off jean shorts and a tank top that did nothing to hide the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“They showed me off as though I was an animal that they were selling to the highest bidder. It was humiliating.”
“I know that it was, honey, but you’re safe now, and we’re going to head down south to make sure that you stay safe,” Reacher insisted.
“We’ll be up here working to bring down the Vipers, but for now, you both will be safe down at our Huntsville Chapter. Their Prez has found you a safe house and will make sure that you have everything that you need. Plus, Yonkers or I will check in weekly to give you updates.” Hurricane offered.
“We’d appreciate that,” Reacher said.
“Don’t think that this gets you out of what I asked from you,” Hurricane said, winking at Reacher. He wasn’t sure how the hell he was supposed to be Hurricane’s Vice Prez while he was in Huntsville, but he was sure that Hurricane had a plan. He always did.
“What did he ask of you?” Brandi asked.
“We can talk about it later,” he said, kissing her forehead. “Right now, we need to get you some clothes and get on Ryder’s plane,” Reacher said.
“What about our things?” she asked. “And who will care for Gloria? I can’t just leave here.”
“You’re going to have to,” Yonkers insisted. “If something happened to either of you, it would kill my mother. She’ll understand, and Wren has agreed to take care of her until we can find her a nurse that she likes.”
“And as for your stuff,” Hurricane said, “Savage has taken care of it. You’ll have everything that you need.
You two going back to Reacher’s house is just too dangerous.
The Vipers are probably already looking for you, Brandi.
” She nodded her agreement, but he could tell that she didn’t agree with anything that Yonkers or Hurricane was saying to her.
He had to admit that a part of him wanted to go back to his place and visit Gloria before heading down to Huntsville, but the guys were right. It just wasn’t safe.
“What about my cat?” she sobbed.
Yonkers stepped behind the bar and came back out holding up a pet carrier with Mr. Cuddles Worth in it.
“I figured that you wouldn’t want to leave him behind.
I have a bag with his stuff and even a clean litter box for the road.
He wasn’t easy to catch, and getting him into this cage was a bitch.
Are you sure that he’s a cat and not a wolverine? ” he joked.
Brandi ran over to Yonkers, hugging him around the neck before she took her cat from him.
“Thank you so much. I’m sorry that he gave you trouble.
I hope that you weren’t seriously hurt,” she said.
He shook his head and Brandi let out her breath.
“Good,” she said, “can you tell your mom that I’m going to miss her? ” she asked.
“Of course,” Yonkers agreed.
Reacher cleared his throat, “We can Facetime Gloria once we get settled in Alabama,” he promised.
“He’s right,” Yonkers said, “my mother will understand. I’ll fill her in on what’s happening.”
“Thank you,” Brandi whispered. “I’m not feeling so good. I think that I need to sit down.” Reacher took the pet carrier from her and helped her over to the closest chair and his poor girl looked green.
“You don’t look so good either,” he said.
“Gee, thanks,” Brandi grumbled.
“We have a guy named Butcher who’s a doctor. I can get him in here in ten minutes to check you over,” Hurricane said.
“Wait you have a doctor named Butcher?” Brandi asked. Reacher couldn’t help his laugh.
“It’s okay, honey,” he promised, “I’ll be right there with you. Butcher is a good guy.”
“If you say he is, then I trust you,” she agreed.
Yonkers handed Brandi a stack of clothing and smiled. “Wren sent these over for you. She said that you two are about the same size.”
“Thank you,” she said, “tell Wren that I’ll get these back to her.”
Yonkers smiled and nodded, “No rush. She’s pregnant again, so I’m pretty sure that she won’t need those clothes for at least a year, but don’t tell her that I said that.”
Brandi weakly giggled and nodded, “She won’t hear anything from me.”
Butcher came running in through the back of the bar. “What the fuck is up with the 911, Hurricane? I was working my shift in the ER and had to leave,” he said. “What happened? Is one of the guys hurt?”
“Not really,” Hurricane said. “One of the guy’s Ol’lady is. She was taken by the Vipers to be sold at auction. They kept her in a cage for a week, and she doesn’t feel so great.”
“You’re lucky that the hospital is right around the corner, Hurricane. Can I use your office to check her out?” Butcher asked.
“Of course,” Hurricane agreed. “Brandi, this is Butcher. She’s Reacher’s woman, so he’d like to be back there with you.”
“No problem,” Butcher said, nodding at Reacher. They followed Butcher back to Hurricane’s office and pointed to the couch. “Sit,” he said to Brandi. Reacher knew that he was a no-nonsense kind of guy, but he was being pretty gruff with his woman.
“You okay, man?” Reacher asked.
“Yeah, it’s just been a shit day. I lost a patient this morning,” he admitted. “I’m sorry if I seem a little out of sorts.”
“I’m sorry,” Brandi whispered. “I’m a home care nurse, but I had to do a rotation in the ER. It was rough.”
“Well, for some reason, I decided that the emergency room was the place for me, and there are some days that decision haunts me,” Butcher admitted. “And, I’ve got to get back there, so let’s take a look at you, Brandi,” he said.
She looked at Reacher and back to Butcher, “What do you need me to do?” she asked. He pulled his medical bag open, got out a blood pressure machine, and took her pressure.
“It’s 118/78,” Butcher said. Now it was Reacher’s turn to look at Brandi.
She smiled up at him and smiled. “That’s good,” she explained. He took her pulse and asked her a few questions, and when he got to the one about Brandi’s last cycle, she had trouble answering.
“Um, I’m sure I’ve had a period in the past month,” she insisted. “If I had my phone, I’d be able to look at my calendar and tell you for sure, but the Vipers took my phone.”
“Well, lucky for you, Wren just took a pregnancy test here at the bar and gave me the extra tests that weren’t used.
I can give you one to take, to be on the safe side.
Other than that, you seem good. You’re probably a bit dehydrated, so you need to drink some electrolytes and get a good meal in you. ”
“A pregnancy test,” Brandi repeated. Reacher could tell that she was in shock because he felt the same way. The difference was, that he didn’t think he could form words, let alone a sentence right now.
“Yes,” Butcher said, “since you aren’t sure if you’re pregnant or not, it’s better to be safe than sorry. If I was examining you in the ER, you’d be given a pregnancy blood test before we’d administer any medications.”
“I know,” Brandi said. She stood and held her hand out to Butcher, waiting for him to give her the test. Reacher felt his heart sink as she went into Hurricane’s bathroom and shut the door. Butcher paced the floor in front of him, and Reacher told him to sit the hell down.
Butcher did as he ordered and chuckled. “I take it that if she’s pregnant, you’re the father,” he assessed.
“Yes,” Reacher said. They had only been together for a few months now, and if Brandi was pregnant, would she be happy or would she blame him? He should have worn condoms, but he knew that she was on the pill, so why bother?
She came out of the bathroom, holding up the pregnancy test, and crying. He knew what she was going to say before she even said it. “I’m pregnant,” she whispered, handing Reacher the test as proof.
“Well, that explains the dizziness, and feeling sick to your stomach. I’m going to give you some fluids before I leave, just to make sure that you’re not dehydrated.
Then, you two should be good to go. I have an IV and fluids in my truck.
I’ll be right back,” Butcher said. Reacher wanted to tell him to take his time, but he also knew that they didn’t have much time before Ryder would want to get back down to Alabama.
He had a wife and kids—God, kids. How was he going to be with his own kid?
He wasn’t sure if he’d be a good father or not, but he hoped like hell that he’d get the chance to find out.
“Say something,” Brandi begged. She sat down next to him, and he pulled her into his body.
“I was just thinking that I hope that I get the chance to see if I’m a good father or not,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t you get the chance to find out if you’ll be a good dad, Reacher? And before you answer that question, I think that you are going to be a fantastic father,” Brandi insisted.
“Does that mean that you want to keep the baby?” he asked.
She nodded, her eyes watery from unshed tears. “Is that okay?” she asked.
“It’s more than okay, honey,” he assured. “But I do have another question.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Do you think that I’ll make a good husband, too?” he asked.
“A good husband,” Brandi repeated.
“Yeah, I need to know how you feel about me being a good husband. I mean, you’ve already said that I’ll be a good father, so will I also make a good husband?”
“Are you asking me to marry you, Reacher?” she asked. Her voice sounded shaky, and he felt like an ass for putting her through more than she was ready for.
“I am, honey,” he admitted, “will you marry me?” Brandi nodded and crawled into his lap just as Butcher walked back into the small office.
“We’re getting married,” she practically shouted at him.
Butcher chuckled, “Well, you do work fast, Reacher, but I can’t blame you. I think Brandi is the perfect woman, and if he fucks things up, you just call me, and I’ll come on down to Huntsville and bring you home.”
“Shut the fuck up, man,” Reacher said.
“You know I’m just kidding,” Butcher said, “congratulations to both of you.” Brandi thanked him as he got to work putting her IV in her arm and giving her fluids. She looked so much better once she finished receiving the fluids.
“I feel better,” she admitted.
“You look better,” Reacher agreed.
“Again, gee, thanks,” she sassed.
“How about we get out of here?” Reacher asked.
“Yeah, I need to get back to the office,” Butcher joked. He gathered his stuff and headed out. Reacher thanked him more than a few times, and when he and Brandi joined the rest of the guys who were waiting in the bar, they all congratulated them.
“How the hell did you know that Brandi’s pregnant?” Reacher asked.
“Because Butcher has a big mouth,” Yonkers said, “and he told us that you’re getting hitched.”
“We are,” Brandi gushed.
Hurricane walked across the room and picked Brandi up in a big bear hug. “Put her down,” Reacher insisted. “She’s pregnant and just went through hell.”
“It’s okay, I like Hurricane’s hugs,” Brandi teased.
“Well, it’s good that we’re leaving tonight to go to Alabama so that you can forget all about Hurricane’s hugs,” Reacher said, making all the guys laugh.
“We better get going, guys,” Ryder said.
“We’re going to miss you guys,” Yonkers said, hugging Brandi and shaking Ryder’s hand. “We’ll check in soon, to make sure that you guys are settled down south.”
“Thanks, and tell Gloria how sorry I am that I’m abandoning her,” Brandi said, her voice catching on the last word out of her mouth.
“I’ll set her up on Facetime and you two can talk all you want,” Yonkers offered. Brandi nodded and walked over to the door to give Reacher time to say goodbye to his family. That’s what they were to him—family, and there was no way that he’d tell them goodbye. That was too final.
“I’ll see you later, man,” Hurricane said, shaking his hand. He pulled Reacher in for a quick man hug and released him. “Don’t worry, Reacher, this won’t be forever.” He just hoped that Hurricane wasn’t making him a promise he wouldn’t be able to keep.
He walked over to where Brandi was waiting for him and took her hand into his own. “Ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” she assured. They walked out of the bar, not looking back at the guys—he’d see them soon enough. Right now, he was only looking forward to his future with his fiancée and baby—two things that he never thought he wanted but was so happy that he found.