Ally sighed. “Ireally need to tell him. Don’t I?”
“Yeah, you reallydo. Lord is a good man. He told me to take care of his boy and that’s all I’vebeen doing.” Betty looked ahead. “I didn’t imagine for a second we’d be wherewe’re at today. I love him so much. I adore the life we’ve built, but we did ittogether. Talk to Lord. He wants you.”
“How can you be sosure?”
“He snuck onto ourland to have his way with you. That guy is pussy whipped.”
There was a suddenwhimper.
“That’s my call. I’llbe back. Think about it.” Betty patted her knee and then got up.
Ally watched her go.
Leaning back onthe sofa, she put her hands on her stomach. “Did you hear that? Lord is pussywhipped. Your daddy wants me. Well, I hope he does. Either way, I’m going tolove you enough.”
Her nerves were gettingthe better of her.
She rubbed herstomach, wondering when she’d really start to show. The sudden urge for somehot chocolate overcame her, and she got to her feet, making her way toward thekitchen.
Making herself athome inside their ranch was hard.
She grabbed twomugs from the cupboard before opening the fridge. She poured out two mugs ofmilk and then put it into the saucepan. Next, she had the pan on the stove,heating up.
She went through eachcupboard, looking for some chocolate mix. The moment she found it, she smiled.
Score.
Just as she was sprinklingthe powder into the milk, Ally paused as she heard the unmistakable sound of bikesentering the front yard.
Turning off theburner, she put the packet on the counter and rushed toward the front door. Herheart raced and she couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.
Without looking,she opened it up and stepped onto the porch, only to come to a stop.
It was dark andthe floodlight had turned on as the bikes arrived.
The insignia wasn’tLord’s.
She recognized itas the Skull Nation MC.
Before she had a chanceto react, Betty was there, already thinking ahead.
“Fuck. Shit. Fuck.”Betty slammed the locks closed.
“Mommy?”
The bikes andlights must have woken the kids.
“Go and hide, baby.Do as I’ve told you. All of you. Go and hide. Now!”
Bullets raineddown on the house, shattering glass.
Betty grabbed her hand,and together, they ran upstairs. She expected them to go to the children, butthey ran to her bedroom.
Ally didn’t knowwhat the hell she was doing.
“Call Rancher.”
“I don’t have a cellphone.”
“Open the fucking window and yell. He’s in the barn. Just keep on yelling.”Betty had pulled a box out from under the bed. It had a lock on it and she wassurprised how Betty was able to get into it. The woman’s hands shook.
Rushing to the backwindow, she pushed it up and yelled Rancher’s name at the top of her lungs. Shedid this over and over again until the sound of a door slamming open interruptedher.
Ally looked towardBetty.
Her gun was loaded,and she grabbed Ally’s hand. They ran through to the bathroom. She closed thedoor and snapped the lock into place.
“What do we do?”Ally asked.
“We stay silent.”
“What about thekids?”
Betty shook herhead. “This is what Rancher’s been training us for. They know what to do andthey play the game how to stay quiet. They all have to be so silent that no onewill ever know they’re there. He’s the one who adapted this house.”
“Betty, they’rethe Skull Nation.”
“I know.”
“They’re going to killus.” She’d never get to tell Lord she was pregnant. Holy crap,had she and Lord gotten Betty, Rancher, and their kids killed?
“Rancher willcome. He always promised to protect me. He’ll be here.” Betty held the gun upand aimed at the door.
“But … what if hedoesn’t?” Ally asked.
Betty opened hermouth, closed it. “He won’t let me down. He never has. I trust him. He’s coming.”
Ally covered her mouthwith her hand as they heard the loud footsteps of the men coming up the oldwooden stairs.
If Rancher came, wouldhe be able to take on the men alone? She saw at least three, but there could havebeen more.
All she wanted wasLord.
She didn’t have agun and as the bathroom door slammed open, Betty fired.
Ally screamed asone of the men grabbed Betty and threw her hard against the wall. The gun she’dbeen holding dropped to the floor. As Betty tried to attack, struggling wildly,she got slapped in the mouth and Ally finally saw red.
She screamed,charging at the man. His jacket claimed him to be the President of the SkullNation club.
Jumping on hisback, she brought her arm across his neck, hoping her weight would do somethingto stop him.
He slammed her backagainst the wall, the impact winding her.
Within seconds, hehad his hands wrapped around her neck as he smiled at her. “I knew I’d findyou.”
Chapter Twelve
Lord cut off the guy’sdick, then nodded to Brick. As soon as he stepped away from the howling pieceof shit, his VP put a bullet between his eyes.
“We ride out now,”he said.
This was the reasonhe’d sent Ally to stay with Rancher. He didn’t trust the Skull Nation to use heragainst him. Now he wasn’t sure if the VP had been fuckingwith him or telling the truth. What if they’d found out where Ally was staying?
She’d begged himto keep her at the club, and he was starting to believe it may have been thebest choice. At least his compound was heavily fortified and protected by armedmen. Rancher’s place may be off the grid, but it wasn’t a fort, and there wasonly one man guarding it. Rancher was a tough son of a bitch,but he wasn’t invincible.
It wasn’t supposedto go down this way.
He was certain he’dmade the best choice. There was no way the Skull Nation could have found outwhat he’d done with Ally. As far as they were concerned, she was at homewaiting for him.
Should he