Chapter Eight

Soul

WHEELS CALLED ME from work to have Brooklyn and I meet him in the common room of the clubhouse and to tell me that he's on his way home from work even though it's barely lunch time. I have no clue what the fuck is going on right now, but I do know he said they were going to try to pull in the SUV and go over everything with it today. Even if he had to stay after the shop closed they were going to find out exactly what's been done to it and get a hold of Darren depending on what he found out. Knowing Wheels as well as I do, I don't bother arguing with him and assure him we'll be at the clubhouse when he returns from work. Brooklyn didn't fight me either. She's been quiet and more reserved the last few days and I'm not sure what the fuck is going on, but it's obviously something she needs to work through before she comes to Wheels and myself about the situation she's got going on.

We walk to the clubhouse in silence with Brooklyn's hand in mine. It's a nice day outside, but she didn't want to sit out and enjoy it for some reason. Hell, this morning, she didn't even go over to hang out with Nanny like she does every other morning and has since she could move around without her body being filled with pain. That tells me all I need to know about how she's feeling because our girl enjoys her routines and doesn't miss a damn part of her day if she doesn't have to. I've noticed her rushing to the bathroom more often than not these past few days too. I'm pretty sure I know what's going on, but I don't want to make assumptions and think shit's going on that isn't.

Brooklyn and I enter the clubhouse through the back door. We have to walk down the hallway where the offices and church are located to get to the common room. Before we can fully pass by Hulk's room, he opens the door as if he was watching us walk his way.

"How are you doin' today, Brooklyn?" Hulk asks her, a small smile on his face as we stop and look at him.

"I've been better, Hulk. I haven't been feeling the best the last few days," Brooklyn answers him and I take a closer look at her to find her pale as hell and looking rough.

I didn't realize when we left the house how pale Brooklyn truly is right now. Her skin is almost translucent and there's a few red patches on her face and neck as if she's got a fever or something going on. Brooklyn's hair is thrown up in a messy knot on the top of her head as if she didn't have the energy to run a brush or comb through it before we left the house. She's wearing a baggy pair of sweatpants that more than likely belong to Wheels or myself and one of my tee-shirts that's baggy as fuck on her and makes her look even smaller than usual.

"Do you need me to call Doc and get him here to examine you? Maybe you've got the flu or somethin' and shouldn't be here in the clubhouse," I ask her, not sure what to do or think right now as worry and fear start to fill my body knowing something's wrong with her.

"I'm okay, Soul. I know what's wrong with me and I'll be okay. I promise," she says, resting her hand on my arm in a gesture of comfort as I pull her into my arms and hold her close without hesitation.

Brooklyn lets me hold her and doesn't shy away from my touch in front of Hulk. Something very deep and primal stands up and takes notice of this and cheers because it's one of the few times Wheels or I have touched her in a possessive manner in front of anyone else and Brooklyn isn't pushing me away or running scared. I'm so fucking proud of her and hope this is the result of our relationship moving forward and progressing because she trusts us and wants us in her life. We're slowly proving to her that we're not Bennett and she does have a voice in our relationship. We won't do anything without her consent after what he's done to her for two years of her life. This is Brooklyn's world and we're just along for the ride as she grows and learns who she is without fear of punishment.

"Brooklyn, do you mind if I talk to Soul for a few minutes?" Hulk asks her, his voice gentle as if he's afraid of scaring or intimidating her if he talks above a certain level.

"Of course not. I think I'll go lay down on one of the couches in the common room as long as no one else is on them already. Otherwise, I'll find a table to sit at," she answers him before leaning up on her tiptoes to press her lips against my cheek.

I turn my face so our lips brush against one another. Pulling back after taking that risk, I watch as Brooklyn's face turns crimson. It doesn't stop her from pulling my head down to press her lips against mine again and deepening the kiss after sliding her tongue along the seam of my mouth. When we pull apart, I'm breathless as I open my eyes and take in the lust filling Brooklyn's gaze as she tries to catch her breath.

"I'll see you soon," she says, leaving my embrace and heading for the common room as I stare at her until she turns the corner and disappears from my sight.

"You've got it fuckin' bad, Soul. Wheels does too. You two are so fucked and don't even realize it," Hulk says, laughter filling his voice as he enters his room once again and I follow him, closing the door behind me.

"I realize that I love that woman who just left us, Hulk. She means the fuckin' world to me and I don't give a fuck who witnesses us together. Well, in that way. No one will ever see more of her than that if I have anythin' to say about it. Wheels doesn't give a fuck either. When you find your woman, you'll do anythin' for her and not think twice about it. Our relationship is based on the pace she wants it to go and we're happy to wait. Today was a big step for her and Wheels is gonna hate missin' out on it," I tell Hulk as he scowls at me while I'm talking.

"No woman will ever get me to look like a fuckin' fool, Soul. None will ever own me or get me to do their biddin'," Hulk returns as I start laughing my ass off while bracing myself on the corner of his desk.

"Famous last words, Hulk. The woman you claim as yours is gonna fuckin' own you worse than any of us in the club. She'll carry your balls around in her damn purse and you'll gladly hand them over to her," I manage to get out between my laughter as I look at him glaring in my direction.

"Whatever, Soul. You'll see I'm the one who won't ever settle down. I'm not like the rest of you. Anyway, the reason I called you in here is because I made these for Brooklyn. I've got some for all the ol' ladies. They'll have a set of earrings with their birthstone in them. Each set has a tracking device installed in them so small no one will ever fuckin' see it. Make sure Brooklyn wears them each day and never takes them off. We don't know when Bennett will make a move, but I want to be as prepared as possible," Hulk tells me, handing over a small box with a black ribbon wrapped around it.

"Thank you. This will make us feel better if she has to leave the clubhouse without one of us," I tell him honestly, instantly sobering from the laughter filling me a few seconds ago.

"You're welcome. But you don't gotta thank me for keepin' the women of the club safe, Soul," Hulk states, ducking his head as if he's embarrassed from the praise I've given him.

"I will always thank you for what you've done to help out. Every single one of us will," I state as I turn to leave him alone in his room once again.

I head out to the common room to find Wheels entering as we look around for Brooklyn. Making my way over to the couches, I find her laying down with her eyes closed as Cricket and Fee sit close enough to her if she needs them, but far enough away to give her the illusion of privacy. Wheels and I walk around the couch and take a seat with her as she opens her eyes and gives us both a smile I've noticed is saved for the two of us and no one else.

"You feelin' okay, Little Warrior?" Wheels asks her, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of her face and letting his hand linger against her skin.

"I'll be okay, Wheels. What's going on that you wanted to meet here in the clubhouse?" she asks as she tries to sit up with us.

"Don't sit up. You lay down and we'll sit with you," I tell her as neither one of us moves to let her up.

"I went through your SUV today. It's not good, Brooklyn. I saw where they cut your brake lines and you have no fluid left at all. Two of your tires have been damaged. The front driver's side has a small hole enough to let air out slowly but not enough to be noticeable if you didn't realize somethin' was wrong. Your back tire has the point of a fuckin' blade stickin' out of it. Theo found that one and sliced his palm on the damn thing," Wheels says, his voice full of anger as he looks between Brooklyn and me. "There were two more trackers on the SUV, Little Warrior. One in the undercarriage and a smaller one by the back license plate. I called in Darren, our friend on the police force. He's rendered the SUV a crime scene for now and took it from our garage to the police station so they can go through it and make a report of what's been done. He also wants to see if he can get fingerprints from anythin' that don't belong to us."

"Really?" she asks, tears filling her eyes as she looks between the two of us.

"I'm sorry, Little Warrior. This isn't somethin' I'd lie about. Darren has your SUV and for now, we would prefer you not to leave the compound for any reason. I know we can't ask you to stay home from work though. You want to earn your own money and Soul and I respect that decision as much as we can," my best friend tells her, as he leans over and presses his lips to hers while using his finger to wipe away the stray tear she didn't manage to hold back.

"It's not your fault. Both of you have done nothing but take care of me from the second I walked into Cricket's that night. You've both made me start to fall in love with you and I don't want to ever leave you. For now, if you both feel I should stay home from work, then it's something I'll think about doing. Because I have something to tell you both and I'm sure you'll both have something to say about me working once you hear the news," she returns, her voice wavering with emotion as she continues to look between the two of us.

"Before you share your news with us, Love, I have somethin' for you. Hulk made these earrings for you and they have a trackin' device in them. Would you please wear them in case somethin' happens?" I ask her, holding out the small box that Hulk handed me.

"Of course I will. If Bennett or my parents manage to get their hands on me, I want to have as many ways for you to get to me as possible. This isn't something I'll ever fight you on," she says, watching as I lift the lid from the box to find a small pair of sapphire earrings nestled against a black cushion. "Those are beautiful. If one of you will put them in for me, I won't have to move. I don't want to rush to the bathroom right now."

I hand the box to Wheels who gently removes one earring and places it in her ear, bending over her more to place the back of the earring in place. He repeats the process with the second one and then sits back to look at her closer.

"Fuckin' stunnin'," he whispers as I nod in agreement.

"I'll look at them soon," she says, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes once again. "So, I'm not sick per se. I have morning sickness. When Cricket, Ophelia and I were having our girls' day, they noticed I didn't look very good and had to put a sandwich down really quick. We ended up going to the local clinic and I had a pregnancy test done. It came back positive. Guys, I'm pregnant."

For a minute, Wheels and I sit in stunned silence as we try to process what Brooklyn's just told us. The first emotion to fill me is excitement. It's closely followed by fear because at the end of the day the decision to have this baby or not is Brooklyn's. Wheels and I will stand by whatever decision she makes right now because I can see in her eyes that she's unsure of how she feels.

"That makes a lot of sense, Little Warrior. The way you've been runnin' to the bathroom all the time, how you've barely been eatin' first thing in the day, and a few other things I've noticed," Wheels says, trying to hold his hope down because he's already feeling the same way I am—excited but knowing Brooklyn may not be ready to be a mom yet.

"I don't know how I feel about things yet, guys. Right now, the doctor at the clinic believes I'm a little over two weeks pregnant. I have to find an obstetrician to get an appointment and then they can do an ultrasound to give us a closer date of when I conceived. I haven't made that call yet because I'm not sure who to go to. I'm guessin' the ol' ladies have one they all use," Brooklyn says, as she grabs our hands the best she can with the way we're sitting on the couch near her.

"It's okay not to know how you feel about it yet, Love. Just know when we told you we'd be at your side for every step of this, Wheels and I meant it. We're not gonna leave you on your own to deal with this. Every appointment you have, we'll be right at your side. We'll also support whatever decision you make. You tell us once you know and we'll figure out the rest together," I promise her, worry filling me as she starts to cry and there's no stopping the tears this time.

"Don't cry, Little Warrior. I can't stand to see you cry," Wheels says, trying to wipe the tears from her face to no avail.

"I want this baby, guys. I'm scared as hell knowing Bennett and my parents are still out there and we don't know what's coming at us, but I want our baby," she says, still crying as we both look at her.

"Don't say that because you feel Wheels and I want the baby, Brooklyn. If you're not sure, that's okay. Take some time to think about what you want to do and we'll go from there. I don't want you to make a decision when you just said you didn't know how you felt," I tell her, trying to keep my voice as gentle as possible while looking down at her.

"The only reason I'm not sure about this pregnancy is because of Bennett and my family. They'll do anything to hurt me and we all know that. You guys are doing everything in your power to keep me safe, but that's not enough anymore. We have to think of the baby and what any scenario they might put me in will cause. I don't want anyone to know yet. Cricket and Ophelia know, but they've promised to keep it a secret. The less people who know, the longer we'll be able to keep this secret and we won't have to worry as much about that asshole and my parents finding out," she says, the tears slowing down but not stopping all the way yet.

"Okay. We'll keep it between the three of us for now. Ask Cricket and Fee who they use and make an appointment with them. We need to get you to the doctor soon, Love. Why don't we go to the cabin and you can take a nap while Wheels and I make dinner?" I ask her, knowing she'd rather be in her bed instead of this couch.

"That sounds good. I already can't keep my eyes open," she says, a large yawn emerging that she doesn't bother trying to stop.

Wheels and I stand up and I watch as my best friend lifts our girl into his arms. He carries her from the clubhouse and out to his truck that's been pulled out of the barn where we store our vehicles until we move into our homes farther back on the property. No one stops us to talk or gets in our way as we head to the cabin and walk in to put Brooklyn to bed. When we're cooking maybe Wheels and I can talk about things so we're on the same page and can be there as much as possible for our girl and baby. Fuck! Brooklyn's pregnant and that's not what I was expecting to hear today. Though I'm not upset about the news. We'll see what happens moving forward and take it a day at a time.