“Wow. My ol’ lady is gonna have a baby.”
He smirked. “Yeah, she is.”
“Hey,” I asked, a little uncertain, “Would you keep it between us for now? I don’t want anyone else to know until we’re ready.”
“You got it, brother.”
He left me alone to think over the news and I sat next to Sasha, brushing my fingers across her cheek, mesmerized by the love I felt for her and the knowledge that we were going to share a child together. If anyone asked me a year ago if I thought I would be getting married, having a baby, and fall in love I would have laughed and flipped them off.
My heart swelled with the peace I felt when I thought about how right this was – me, her, the engagement, and the pregnancy. I’d never been so happy in my entire fucking life.
Sasha was mine to keep. Mine to claim. Chamuco didn’t know what shit storm he started by taking my ol’ lady. I was going to fuck him up, take my vengeance, and then come home and make plans with Sasha to start our life together.
“HE’S NOT HERE,” CINDI announced, sitting next to my side when I woke up. Dazed, it took a few minutes to realize I was back at the Crossroads and to remember the accident and subsequent chase through Tonopah.
“What do you mean? Where’s Bodie?”
“They went to take care of club business.” She shrugged, tilting her head to the side. “How do you feel?”
My stomach was in knots. My head ached. It was awful.
I sat up and a bit of vertigo took hold, the contents of my stomach sloshing around inside and burning with the need to rise. Bile hit the back of my throat and I jumped up, running for the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet in time, spewing up everything in there and then dry heaving for several minutes.
“Oh,” I groaned, wiping across my mouth. “I feel like total and complete shit.”
She shook her head. “You have the same problem I do.”
Huh? “Did you hit your head?”
She laughed, a light and carefree sound that I couldn’t help responding with a giggle. “That was great. Seriously, honey. When was your last period?”
Blinking, I saw not reason to ask that question. “What?”
She helped me up and over to the sink. I rinsed out my mouth and brushed my teeth, running a brush through the tangles in my hair. I caught my reflection and frowned. I looked like hell.
“Want a shower?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll hang out in here in case you feel lightheaded or dizzy. Go ahead and hop in.”
I turned on the water and stripped down, stepping inside once the water was warm enough. Cindi didn’t say anything until I was done, handing over a couple of fluffy towels. Once I was dried off and dressed, she returned with a bottle of water and a box of saltines.
“There’s only two reasons to throw up like. Well, maybe three.”
“Okay?”
“Stomach flu or eating bad food. A concussion.”
“Obviously, that’s my issue.”
She leaned forward, passing a box into my hand. “Or pregnancy.”
I stared down stupidly at the words written in bold type. Pregnancy Test.
My eyes widened.
“How long has it been?” she asked again.
“I think I’m late.”
She nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll wait in the room.”
I followed the directions and used the test, washing my hands when I was done. Staring down at the window I kept waiting for the results to pop up. When two clear blue lines showed up, I nearly freaked out.
“Holy shit!” I blurted and Cindi ran in, glancing at the test.
“You’re pregnant, Sasha!”
Wow. I sat down on the toilet seat after flipping the lid down. “This is crazy.”
Cindi laughed. “Finally, I can tell someone else. I’m pregnant too!”
That explained why she had an extra test.
“I wonder what Bodie is going to think.”
“He’s going to be thrilled. That man is so in love with you. We’ve got two of the best.” She reached in and gave me a hug. “Come on. You need rest.”
I let her drag me back to bed and I climbed under the covers.
“The Crossroads is on lockdown until they take care of the threat against the club. No one leaves. Ol’ ladies, families, kids, everyone stays here. It’s for our protection.”
I understood. She didn’t have to tell me all of that.
Nervously, I chewed on my bottom lip. “I hope they come back soon.”
This news was too big to keep secret for long.
“This is it,” Patriot announced, pulling over to a stop.
Grim was the first to stand. “Salazar sends his apologies for locating a decoy and not the real Chamuco.”
“Right.” Motherfucker led us astray on purpose. He would never admit it but Angel was also a distraction. Our enemies were growing bolder and the club had some serious shit to think over.
“Why the fuck are we at a cemetery?”
“What?” Wraith teased, “Afraid of seeing a few ghosts?”
He was teasing Exorcist. Ex always complained about weird or freaky shit. It was hilarious to the rest of us because we were fucking Reapers. What was scarier than that?
“You’re a goddamn Reaper, Ex,” Rael complained. “Act like it.”
Ex rose up off his seat, moved in and stared Rael down, then leaned forward and smashed his forehead into Rael’s. The SAA fell backward over his bike and landed on his ass with a grunt.
“Fucking hell, Ex.”
“Don’t fuck with me, Rael. I won’t hesitate to kick your ass.”
Rael sighed and scrambled to his feet. “Yeah, yeah. Okay. I had that coming.”
“Fuck yeah you did,” I added, slapping him on the back. “You run your mouth too goddamn much.”
Wraith and Lucky burst out laughing.
Grim shook his head. “It’s like a fuckin’ daycare for adults around here sometimes.”
Patriot snorted. “Trust me. Marines are just as bad.”
I didn’t doubt it.
“Bandanas up, brothers,” Grim ordered and we lifted the skeleton printed material up over our faces to hide the true nature of our Reapers as long as possible.
The graveyard was
