Page 17 of Rebel (The Royal Harlots MC #7)

The snow was coming down fast and furiously.

The guy on the only radio station that her car picked up said that it was “Whiteout conditions,” not that she knew what that meant.

All she knew was that the snow was trying to bury her alive, and if she stopped her car for any reason, it would probably succeed.

The baby felt as though he was doing somersaults inside of her, and she loved that he was so active.

She worried that this trip might have been too stressful for both of them, but not telling Jace about their son wasn’t an option.

Her car had other ideas, though, and when it slid off the road into a ditch, she knew that she wasn’t going to find Jace any time soon.

“Crap,” she said, rubbing her belly. “What are we going to do now?” she asked. The only person she had programmed into her cell phone was Rebel, and calling Jace’s sister just felt wrong, but she had no other choice.

She pulled out her cell and unbuckled her seatbelt, giving herself a quick once-over to make sure that she and the baby were both fine. Luckily, she didn’t seem any worse for wear, and the baby still felt as though he was playing soccer inside of her, so she assumed he was okay, too.

She called Rebel and said a little prayer that her friend would answer the phone. “Hey,” Rebel said.

“Um, hi,” Winter breathed. “I’m in a little bit of trouble, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Okay, what kind of trouble?” Rebel asked. “Do you need me to come over?”

“No, I’m not home,” Winter admitted.

“Where are you then? I can come to you,” Rebel offered.

“I’m in Minnesota,” Winter admitted. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Don’t be mad, but I overheard you and Bolt talking at Savage Hell, and I figured I’d drive up here to try to find Jace. I just didn’t count on this storm.”

“Oh, God,” Rebel breathed. “Jace called and told me that it’s bad up there.”

“Yeah, and that’s kind of why I’m calling. I slid off the road, and I need someone to come get me. Do you think that you can get Jace to come find me?” she asked.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “Send me a pin and I’ll figure out how close you are to my brother’s cabin,” Rebel ordered before she could answer her question. Winter held the phone away from her ear and did as her friend asked, thankful for technology.

“Done,” Winter said.

“Oh, you’re only a quarter of a mile from Jace,” Rebel said excitedly. “Do you think that you can walk it? His cell phone is spotty at best out there. I’m surprised that you got a signal.”

“In this storm?” Winter asked. She looked out of the windshield that had quickly been covered with snow, and then to the backseat where she had tossed her coat and boots.

“I think that I can,” she agreed. “I have everything that I need to get through this snow. Can you send me his address, and I’ll GPS it while I walk. The snow is really coming down out there,” she said, shivering at the thought of how cold it was going to be.

“I’ll try to reach my brother, and you start walking. Hopefully, I’ll get through, and Jace will come to pick you up. Be careful, and please let me know when you find his cabin,” Rebel ordered. She smiled at how bossy her friend was and agreed to all her terms and conditions, ending the call.

As soon as she was bundled up, Rebel’s text with Jace’s address came through, and she set up her GPS.

“You ready for this, kid?” she asked her belly.

She wasn’t sure if she was waiting for him to answer or delaying the inevitability of having to brave the snowstorm.

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Here we go,” she said, opening her car door.

The winter wind hit her in the face, practically taking her breath away as she stepped into the shin-deep snow.

She knew that a quarter of a mile was going to feel as though it was a few states away, but she needed to get to Jace—her little one was depending on her to do so.

Finding the cabin proved nearly impossible, and when she stumbled upon it, she thanked her guardian angel, or whoever had her back.

Practically falling into Jace’s cabin wasn’t part of the plan, but he had taken her by surprise, and now, she was pretty sure that she was going to do the same to him with her news.

When he insisted that she change into his clothes, she wanted to tell him that she was good in her sopping wet ones.

But he was right—she needed to get out of them if she was ever going to warm up, and right now, that was all she wanted.

Walking through the storm had really taken it out of her.

Winter felt as though her skin was on fire from the wet, cold clothing that she pulled off her body, and God, she felt as though she could sleep for years.

She smoothed her hands over her belly, checking herself out in the gray sweats that Jace had let her borrow.

There was no hiding her baby bump in them, and she worried that springing all this on him might be too much.

But there was no turning back now. She was there, and her baby would be joining them in just a few months.

She couldn’t hide him from the rest of the world anymore.

Winter slowly walked out of the bedroom to find Jace in the kitchen, making her some tea. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten that day yet, and she protectively rubbed her belly. “Would you mind making me something to eat, too? I haven’t had anything all day.”

Jace nodded his head, not looking up from the tea kettle as he poured her a cup of hot tea.

He was so cute, concentrating on making her something to warm her up, but she knew from experience that he didn’t like anyone to call him that—not even his sister.

For a biker, being called cute was the kiss of death.

And for some reason, being a big, tough biker along with an FBI agent made it even worse.

“Why did you leave?” she almost whispered. When Jace didn’t respond, Winter cleared her throat to make sure that he had heard her. “After our night together, why did you leave?” she repeated.

He shrugged, still not looking at her as he swirled her tea back in the hot water. “You know what I do for a living, Winter,” he said, as though that would explain everything to her.

“I do, but that doesn’t explain why you left,” she insisted.

“I left because I’m being hunted. The same men who came after Rebel and Bolt are coming for me, too.

I had no choice but to take off, otherwise I’d risk putting everyone that I cared about in danger—including you.

” She was sure that he didn’t mean to just tell her that he cared about her.

Sure, they had circled each other for weeks at Savage Hell, but they never really talked.

Not until the night that they agreed to spend together. The night that she had gotten pregnant.

“Jace, I’m going to need you to look at me,” she said.

He hesitated, and she thought for sure that he wasn’t going to give in to her demand, but he did.

He looked her over from head to toe, and she could tell the exact moment that he noticed her belly.

His eyes rested on her bump as she gently rubbed it.

“What is that?” he asked.

“Well, this is my belly, and inside, there is a baby. Tell me that you’ve seen a pregnant woman before, Jace,” she teased. Her go-to move for uncomfortable situations was to use humor—and right now, this was the most uncomfortable situation that Winter had ever been in.

“Of course, I’ve seen a pregnant woman before, Winter.

I just didn’t think that you’d be, well, you know, pregnant.

” Jace handed her the cup of hot tea, and she thanked him.

“I guess I should say congratulations.” Yeah, he was taking his time getting to the realization that he was the baby’s father, but she was pretty sure that once the shock wore off, he’d figure it out.

Winter crossed the room to sit on the sofa, feeling more fatigued than ever once she started to warm up. “How far along are you?” he asked, sitting down next to her.

“About six months,” she whispered. This was the part that she had dreaded and dreamed about for months now. She was going to have to spell it out for him, though, and she wasn’t sure how to do that.

He stilled next to her on the sofa, and she nodded her head. “It’s why I’ve come all this way, Jace,” she breathed. Now it was her turn to avoid eye contact with him. “I’m pregnant and the baby is yours.”

He took her hot tea from her and set it on the coffee table. She worried what he might do next, but she hadn’t figured on him pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” he whispered against her neck. “I could have helped you.”

“I didn’t really need any help. Besides, I didn’t know where you were, and when I finally got up the nerve to ask Rebel, she said that she couldn’t tell me. I figured that you just didn’t want to see me again and left it at that.”

“Rebel said that you asked about me, but she never said that you’re pregnant. I’m pretty sure that I’d remember her telling me that,” he said.

“She doesn’t know about the baby. I hid him under my baggy clothing. If someone asked about my weight gain, I told them that I have a sweet tooth. It’s not a lie—all this kid wants is sweets.”

“Did you just call the baby a him?” Jace asked. Winter thought back over what she had just said to him and nodded.

“Yes,” she said. “We are having a boy.” She shifted off his lap, back onto the sofa, needing to say this next part without him touching her.

“I don’t expect you to be involved in either of our lives, Jace.

I just wanted you to know about him.” She rubbed her hands over her belly, smiling when the baby kicked her.

“He’s kicking,” she whispered. “Do you want to feel?” Jace nodded, and she took his hand and placed it on her belly. The baby seemed to take that as his cue to kick his father’s hand, and Jace’s expression was pure magic.

“That’s so fucking cool,” he whispered, as though saying it too loudly would scare the baby off.

“Yeah, it took some getting used to. Especially at night when he kicks me so much that I can’t sleep,” she admitted.

“What if I want to be a part of the baby’s life, Winter?” he asked, not taking his hand off her belly. “What if I want to be a part of both of your lives?” Hearing him say those words to her was almost too much.

She swiped at the hot tears that spilled down her face. “Stupid hormones,” she said, blaming her emotional outburst on something other than the kind words that Jace had just said to her was the easy way out. Winter hated mushy love declarations, not that Jace was making one right now.

“I think that we’d both like to have you in our lives,” she admitted.

It was more than she could have hoped for, but at the same time, it scared her to death.

She had never been in a relationship that lasted more than a night or two, and she never called them relationships.

But for some reason, Winter dared to hope that was what Jace was offering her.

Winter was going to get her Christmas miracle, and for a goth girl from the wrong side of the tracks, that was the best gift of all.

Ho-Ho Hell (Royal Harlots: Huntsville Chapter Book 8-Not Your Typical Feel-Good Christmas Story!) Universal Link->

Love a Halloween story, mixed with MC, a bit of chaos, and it’s Why Choose? Then, you won’t want to miss what’s coming next from K.L. Ramsey! Monster’s Madhouse (31 Days of Trick or Treat Collab) is coming October 2025! Here’s a sneak peek!