Page 33 of Viper (The Dark Angel’s MC #4)

Epilogue

Viper – Two Months Later

“Okay, okay, quiet down, let’s get church started,” Blade says as he bangs the gavel on the table, trying not to laugh, and I shake my head at Medic and Venom.

Medic is grinning while Venom looks ready to kill him, which is fucking hilarious.

Apparently, Raya kissed him. I’m not quite sure of the whole dynamics, but she did indeed kiss him, and now Medic is gloating.

“I swear to fuck, Medic, I’m not opposed to violence,” Venom threatens, making the brothers around the table try to hold in their laughter while Glock just snorts.

“Son, you have a woman claiming to be pregnant,” he reminds him, trying to save Medic's ass, and I wince at the hard glare he sends his dad.

“She’s refusing a blood test or even a scan, we all know she’s not pregnant, and that fucker kissing Raya was out of line!” he snaps.

“You have a guy on her brother?” Blade confirms, trying to distract him, and he grunts, running a hand frustratedly through his hair as he continues to glare at a grinning Medic who has confirmed Raya is a good kisser and Venom is an idiot for not locking her down.

Venom admits, “Yeah, Trent. He does this job right, then I think he’ll be ready to be voted in.”

I tilt my head and ask, “Has he caught her with anyone yet?”

Venom nods, confirming, “Four men at the strip club, and each time they leave the room, they moan about her wanting to go gloveless, and only one had agreed.”

Fucking bitch is trying to get knocked up, she has to be because if Venom did knock her up, she wouldn't be going to all this trouble.

She'll claim the baby is his, and then he can kiss goodbye to any form of a relationship with Raya.

“And your mama?” Psycho asks with a tick in his jaw, not that I blame him.

“Bitch is still in town,” Glock cuts in, “I went to confront her and she called the fucking feds.”

I shake my head. Clara showing up isn’t a good sign, fuck, it stressed Venom out so much he fucked a stripper he usually went to, and now she’s causing all sorts of shit for him and Raya. The same Raya he’s finally seen in a new light after my girls' revelations, but wants fuck all to do with him.

I sigh. We paid off Clara’s debts with the Hyenas, so they couldn’t take Ivy like she originally planned with them. Hayden demanded she give Huddy to Psycho without telling him she’s his mama, and because of all that shit, he and Ivy nearly didn’t happen.

“Get a prospect on her, I don’t trust her, especially not with Hudson,” Blade states, and Psycho nods, replying, “Already got it done, Prez.”

He nods, then looks around the table and opens his mouth, but before he can get into the finances, there’s a knock on the door. We look as a prospect opens it before Gregory walks in wearing a suit and tie, looking all professional, and Venom sits up straighter, making me smirk.

Gregory winces, seeing we’re in the middle of church, before holding up some papers and says, “Sorry to interrupt, boys, but I thought you’d want these in your hands, the contracts signed, so you can now expand Dark Angel’s Girls.”

“Fucking perfect,” I state as I rub my hands together because now I can get a bigger fucking office where my girl can be comfortable.

The brothers laugh while Gregory shakes his head and places the papers on the table before Venom asks, “How’s Raya?” and Medic snorts, making him scowl while I grin.

Gregory raises a brow at Venom and asks, “Why do you want to know?”

Idiot confronted Gregory after Lake mentioned the connection to Raya, upset that he never mentioned it to us. While Blade and the rest of us brothers understood why, Gregory just shrugged and stated, “You shouldn’t have been a jackass because then maybe she would have told you.”

I look back at Venom along with everyone else who swallows, his throat bobbing before he lies, “I just haven’t seen her in a while, is all.”

“You mean since she kissed me this morning to piss you off?” Medic mumbles quietly, and I bite my bottom lip to hold in my laughter along with everyone else while Gregory admits, “Venom, I spoke to my wife, I know what happened this morning, so cut the shit, yeah. You spent years treating my daughter like shit, but have now suddenly opened your eyes and want her. You expect her to come running when you should just be grateful I don’t own a shotgun. ”

“Daughter?” Brick questions with a smirk and raised brow, and Gregory winces before admitting, “I see her as mine, but I know that’s a touchy subject for her; she was a daddy’s girl after all, just uh, don’t tell her I claimed her, she’ll kill me.”

I half smile. Gregory is a good man, one of the best, especially after taking on a depressed teen because he wanted her mother.

The man has been working for the club for as long as I can remember and not once mentioned his wife or stepdaughter and when my wife decided to give Venom a hard truth about Raya’s homelife, Gregory admitted Raya didn’t want anyone to know he was her stepfather.

Mostly piss off Venom when he did find out, which worked.

“Where is she?!” he demands, no longer trying to get information out of the man, and Gregory grins and admits, “At work.”

“I thought she didn’t work?” I ask with confusion, and Gregory smirks.

I raise a brow and open my mouth as confusion fills not just me but the room, but the church door opens again without a knock, and the prospect, I still can’t remember the name of, gasps, “Raya just called, Lake’s at the hospital and is in labor!”

“Shit!” my dad mutters as my eyes widen in shock and I sit forward in my chair.

“S-She can’t be, she’s still got three weeks left,” I choke with panic, and the prospect rolls his eyes and snaps, “Well she is, so get moving!”

Oh fuck.

I jump from my seat, Raya working no longer mattering, and I rush to the door, the woman looking at me with confusion until Blade announces, “Lake’s in labor, Mama, go get Randy!”

I hear a lot of gasps, but I ignore them all and rush to my bike, my heart in my throat.

Fuck, I’m about to become a dad.

“Where is she?” I demand as I rush into the hospital through the ER, ten minutes later, my dad right behind me. “Where is my wife?!” I snap when no one answers me before I hear, “Viper,” and I turn, locking eyes with Raya, but my mouth parts in shock at her outfit.

Is she…?

“Raya are you a firefighter?” my dad chokes in shock but she ignores his question and states, “I was coming off a job when I noticed Lake’s truck parked nearby and got the guys to pull over, she was trying to call an ambulance because she knew you were in church and didn’t have your phone on you.”

Fuck, I forgot to tell her I’d have my phone during church each time until she gave birth.

“Where is she?” I demand, knowing I’ll question her over her job later, and she nods to the brown doors and replies, “They didn’t have time to take her to OB, she’s through there, I said I’d wait for you out here, but Viper, she's scared.”

I nod as I hear, “Raya? What the fuck?” and I give her a salute as she groans, dropping her chin to her chest, hearing Venom’s voice.

It doesn’t take a scientist to know why she became a firefighter, but what is confusing is why she never told anyone.

Or do Lake and the girls know?

Shaking my head, I rush through the doors, ignoring the nurse calling for me to come back before I hear my girl's sobs, “Please, she’s early, it’s too soon, I-I need my husband, where’s my husband…”

I pick up my pace following her cries before storming into the room.

“Hey, you can’t be in here!” the nurse who was calling for me snaps, but I ignore her as my eyes lock with my girl’s scared ones.

“Jaylen,” she cries and I quickly rush to her, grabbing her hand she’s holding out to me before I run my other through her hair while I take in her scared, tearstained face.

I know her thoughts won’t come back. She hasn’t thought of cutting for a good month, but it still scares me, and fear is piercing through her right now.

“I-I’m not ready, what if she hates me because I wanted to give her up for adoption or because I put her at risk?” Lake cries, and I fucking melt as I lean over her, kissing her sweaty forehead.

“Our daughter will love you unconditionally, shorty, you can do this, I promise you can,” I whisper, and her body shakes with her sobs before she tenses and the doctor demands, “Okay, Lake, push for me.”

I encourage her, “You’ve got this, bring our daughter into the world, make us a family,” and she groans as she does as asked and pushes, her chin going to her chest. I quickly wrap her thigh over my arm and lift it higher to help her.

Her breathing quickens and she bears down before falling backwards and sobs, “I-I can’t...”

“Yes, you can,” I encourage as the doctor snaps, “Nurse Yawn, can I help you?”

I look to see the nurse looking at me with awe, and I raise a brow and she quickly shakes her head before leaving, and Lake groans again, gaining everyone’s attention, and I encourage, “Come on, shorty, bring our daughter into the world…” and she nods and places her chin to her chest.

***

“She’s perfect,” Lake whispers in awe, and I smile as I gently rub my hand over our daughter's head while she nurses from her mama. She was a fucking trooper.

It took forty more minutes of pushing before Grace blessed us with her presence.

She’s our saving Grace, bringing us even closer, hence her name, though if Raya’s mama hears it, she’ll claim we named her after her, being Grace as well.

The doctors have left, stating they’ll move us upstairs soon, but hopefully, with both mama and baby healthy, we should be discharged quickly.

“We definitely make an amazing baby,” I murmur and kiss Lake’s head, inhaling her smell as I close my eyes, feeling at ease.

“I never could have done it, could I?” she whispers, and I smile, already knowing what she’s asking and confirm, “No, shorty, you wouldn’t have been able to let her go.”

Lake has struggled the last two months with guilt, but with the help of her therapist, we’ve managed to get her to ease that guilt, and honestly, I was worried how she’d react seeing her. The only blessing is she’s not crying.

I fucking hate it when she cries.

“Thank you for not letting me give up, Jaylen,” she whispers as she gently lifts our daughter and places her over her shoulder, then gently rubs her back, and I hum as I help put her button-down shirt – mine, of course – back on, closing the button so no fucker can see her tits.

They are mine – well, mine and our daughters now, but still mine.

“You’re my life, Lake, I’d never let you give up,” I murmur as I gently trace our daughter's nose over her shoulder, light blonde tuffs of hair in view.

A part of me hopes it turns red like her mama’s, but the other half, well, he doesn’t want any fucker eyeing his daughter.

“You and me forever?” she confirms as she looks my way.

I grin and confirm, “Forever and ever.” before I press my lips against hers, meaning every word.

I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the mistakes I made, while also ensuring she gets through school and her residency, becoming the best ER doctor in the state, and filling her life with at least four more of my babies, building our family.

Lake bumping into me was the best fucking thing to ever happen, and I’ll never take it for granted again.