Page 22 of Slayin Villain (Royal Bastards MC: Nashville, TN #11)

Rachel

I sat in the back corner of Royal Road’s bar, longing for the sharp burn of cheap bourbon tracing my throat like punishment I deserved. But I couldn’t drink. I was pregnant. I sipped a diet soda.

The club was quieter than usual. Like the storm that ripped through all of us left debris no one wanted to clean up.

Including me.

I hadn’t planned to show up again, not after everything. But something about sitting alone in my trailer, half a pint of cookie dough ice cream melting in my lap, crying at the sound of Villain’s name echoing in my own mind. It drove me here.

Back to the chaos. Back to the pain. Back to the goddamn beginning.

“You look like hell,” a voice drawled beside me.

I didn’t have to look up. That southern accent was all sass and spice.

“Nice to see you too, Eve,” I muttered.

Eve slid onto the barstool next to me, her long legs in skintight leather pants that could start a bar brawl just by walking past the wrong guy.

She wore her ‘Property of Kingpin’ patch proud, glitter eyeliner sparkling like she wasn’t carrying the weight of the MC world on her shoulders and in her baby bump.

“Girl, you’re not even hiding it. You got that look. That I let a biker break me, but I still miss the way he says my name look,” she said.

I exhaled. “Because that’s exactly what happened.”

Eve waved the bartender over and ordered me a protein shake, “You ready to talk about it?”

I stared down into the thick liquid. “What’s there to say? I gave Villain everything. My heart. My body. Hell, I gave him grace when he didn’t deserve it. And he gave his dick to someone else.”

Eve leaned closer. “Is he the baby’s daddy?”

“Yeah,” I croaked. “But he doesn’t know what to do with that. I told him, and he thought I was trying to trap him. Like I’m some club bunny lying about a piss stick to get a patch.”

“That’s bullshit. You’re not just any girl around here.”

I looked up. “Ain’t I?”

“No.” Her tone turned sharp. “You’re the only woman that man lets close enough to hurt him. That counts for something, even if he’s too damn stupid to see it.”

I laughed bitterly. “Or he does see it, and that’s why he keeps running.”

Eve slid her water away. “So what now? You gonna wait around until he figures his shit out?”

“No,” I said, firmer than I expected.

“No?”

“I’m not gonna raise a baby hoping some man grows into a father. I’m not doing that to myself. Or to my kid.”

Eve nodded, serious now. “You thinking about leaving?”

I looked around the bar, the same walls that had once made me feel invincible. Now they just made me feel stuck.

“I’m thinking about telling Kingpin first.”

Eve blinked. “You sure? You know he might flip.”

“He deserves to know. I’ve kept this quiet long enough. Those are the rules. The rules Villain had a hand in writing. A member has to take care of his obligations.”

Eve didn’t argue. Just nodded like she respected the hell out of that.

I found Kingpin in his office, counting stacks of cash with a cigar burning in the ashtray like some kind of outlaw CEO. He glanced up when I knocked, then did a double take when he saw my face.

Yeah, I’d been crying hard.

“Well, hell. Rachel.”

I stepped inside and shut the door behind me. My palms were sweating. My heart thumped like a war drum.

“I need five minutes. No bullshit.”

He leaned back, eyebrow raised. “You in trouble?”

“Depends on how you look at it.”

He gestured to the chair across from him. “Sit.”

I did. And for a second, I thought about chickening out. About walking back out and letting time just run its course.

But then I thought about the baby.

And I thought about Villain still standing in the middle of two women and doing nothing about it.

“I’m pregnant,” I said.

Kingpin didn’t flinch. “Yours?”

“Yeah,” I laughed. “Of course.”

He smiled. He’d been trying to lighten the mood. “Villain’s?”

I nodded.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the desk. “He know?”

“I told him. He didn’t believe me. He’s got Ember in his bed, too, and now she’s pregnant too. But she doesn’t know if it’s his or some other bastard’s.”

“Jesus Christ.”

I swallowed. “I’m not asking you to do anything about it. I just thought you deserved to know, especially after everything I kept quiet for y’all.”

His eyes narrowed. “You think I don’t already know more than I let on?”

I frowned.

“Ember’s been a mess since the minute she started sniffing around this place again. Rome’s been whining, Villain’s been spiraling, and you’ve been trying to keep your dignity while that boy eats himself alive.” He leaned back, exhaling hard. “I appreciate you coming to me. Really.”

I nodded. “I don’t want drama, Kingpin. I want a life. For me and my baby.”

He nodded once. “You got my protection, if you want it. Club girl or not. Villain will pay.”

“He’s not in any trouble?”.

“Child support, I mean. Not yet. Unless he did something you’re not telling me. You don’t wear his brand?”

“No, I mean, he didn’t even cheat on me. I knew we were in an open relationship. Still, hurts. I just know I can’t sue him for child support.”

“I appreciate it. The club appreciates it. He’ll be a good father. I’ll see to it.”

Tears stung the corners of my eyes. “Thank you. I just want a life with my child.”

He pointed a finger. “But you’re gonna have to choose what that life looks like. Are you ready to fight for a man who ain’t figured out how to love without bleeding first.”

I stood. “I don’t know what I want yet.”

He grunted. “Well, figure it out quick. This place doesn’t wait on heartbreak.”

That night, I stood in front of the mirror in my little trailer, staring at my reflection. My hair was a mess. I had dark circles under my eyes. My tank top didn’t fit quite right anymore.

My stomach? It was rounding out, soft and low. No more guessing. No more denying.

There’s a baby growing inside me.

And I had to protect them.

No matter what it cost.