29. Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Aleko

I can’t sleep. My eyes are wide open, staring at the ceiling, mind whirring and impossible to stop. Beside me, Mackenzie is sleeping like the dead. And I don’t use that adage lightly, considering our past. Any day now, she’s due to have our little nugget, and as terrifying as that sounds, it’s also the most exciting time in our lives. Then there’s the issue of my little nickname for him. She says it’s not gonna happen but she’s just gonna have to get over it. “Baby Psycho” has stuck.

Even though the imminent arrival of our kid takes up the majority of space in my brain, the other significant reason has everything to do with the Beauforts and that motherfucker, Ryan. I still don’t fully understand the link between the two but from the intel we’ve got, it has to do with the smiley drugs that hit Rockford like a category five hurricane. Beyond that, we can’t find out how they fit together. Is Ryan just a low ranking dealer? I mean, sure, in my eyes, he’s a prime douchebag but, come on, how bad can a fireman be? He was so adamant about “saving Mackenzie from the big bad biker” that I can’t wrap my head around him selling deadly pills to the young kids in our town.

What worries me the most, however, is the fact that even with the police looking out for Ryan’s license plates, they aren’t getting any hits. That tells me he’s not on the roads unless he’s driving someone else’s car, which means we’re fucked. Thank fuck Glitch was able to get his hands on the camera surveillance systems from Jed’s place. Deputy Shipman assured us they were actively working with the New Bern police to find the guy who set fire to the warehouse. To her benefit, she could have asked why we are so interested, but she hasn’t. What she did say is that our little arrangement is feeling more like a one way street than a mutually beneficial pact.

Then there’s the question of Emily. These past few months she and Mackenzie have grown close. Not Mac-and-Spencer close but enough that they see each other on the regular. Do I like it? Nope. But even I can admit that, so far, she hasn’t shown any signs of being a Machiavellian cunt. If anything, she’s been helpful, especially when it comes to my Cherry’s new racing club.

It’s not like I leave Mackenzie alone for long periods of time. I’m just not capable of doing it. And when business calls, I make sure the brothers are here to band together around her. It drives her crazy, but unlike last year, we’re communicating and making sure we’re not acting hot headed.

Okay, so she’s not acting hot headed but I still have my moments.

One thing I can say, Emily has been keeping my wife busy and happy so I can’t really hate her for that but it doesn’t mean I trust her completely. To be fair, I trust no one outside of Mackenzie and the club. Well, maybe the Reapers since they went to war with us. What’s keeping me up at night is this feeling that nothing is in my control. Not Cherry’s choice in friends—and I’ve tried to dictate but she’s not having it—not club business where our warehouses are burning down with strange fucking notes on the wall, and definitely not with the assholes responsible for all of this shit.

I mean, who the fuck puts dangerous drugs out on the streets, for profit, developing some sort of antidote they can sell to all of the fucking medical providers to offset said drug? For fucking profit. Who does that? Risus Pharmaceuticals, apparently. Glitch was able to put two and two together when the numbers he ran from Rockford Beach matched the New York City numbers. The common denominator is Harrison Beaufort and we do not believe in coincidences.

A small snore gets my attention and as I turn my head to check on my Cherry, I notice the small pinch in her brow. These last few weeks, sleeping hasn’t been easy on her and the many trips to the bathroom have made her cranky as fuck. Or maybe it’s the fact that I can’t help but chuckle every time she grumbles and moans about having to heft her way up and over to the toilet. It’s cute.

With the moon giving me just enough light to admire the soft slope of her nose, the deep arch of her brow, and the full flesh of her lips, I roll to my side and just watch her.

I watch her sleep as Baby Psycho gets ready to meet us.

I watch her breathe, a steady rhythm that soothes and relaxes me.

I watch her…be. Beautiful, strong, healthy, and brave. Most importantly, mine.

Placing my hand over her round belly, I spread my fingers wide so I can cover as much of her as I possibly can. Within seconds, I feel my tiny Psycho pushing against my palm and the sheer pride I feel inside is like nothing else in this world.

“Hey, little buddy. You ready to come out?” My words are whisper soft, no doubt only I can hear them, but it doesn’t matter. I love talking to him or her or whatever…it doesn’t matter. Our baby is loved and I want my words to reflect it. Another push against my hand makes me grin as I watch what looks to be a tiny foot or hand pressing against me. Fuck, my heart is so full.

Dragging my gaze from my hand, up over Cherry’s belly, and to her rising and falling chest, I land on her slightly parted lips and smile. Life is perfect.

Except the peaceful moment is broken like glass on a cement floor as Cherry takes a deep breath and sits upright, eyes wide open and a loud, guttural yell pouring from her mouth. In the same instant, I’m on my feet, looking around the room, half expecting to see some kind of heinous monster and ready to slay it for her.

Needless to say, we’re the only two in the room and it takes me a minute to realize we may be dealing with real labor and not the Braxton Hicks she’s been having the past few days, on and off.

“Oh my fucking God! Make it stooooop!” I’m pretty sure everyone on the fucking compound just heard my wife screaming at the top of her lungs. Any other time, I’d be smirking, flexing my sexual prowess to the brothers, but this is not that and I’m convinced they might come in here thinking I’m legit hurting her.

“I can’t…what can I do? What do you need? Who do I call?” Fuck, I should know all of this. We’ve talked about all of this.

“I swear to fuck, Aleko, I’m about to push your fucking baby out of my vagina. If you don’t call the midwife right fucking now, I will tie your balls together and play rapid fire ping pong with them.” Holy shit, my flinch is full bodied. I think I even step back for a second, afraid she might actually make good on her threat.

“Ah, midwife. Right. Okay.” Scooping the phone off the bedside table, I reach for her hand so she can squeeze it when necessary. By the time the midwife answers—it’s fuck off o’clock in the morning so kudos to her—Cherry is less murderous and trying to get up. Because I like my junk right where it is, I don’t comment on how difficult that simple move is for her. She knows without me pointing it out.

“Hey, Lilah, I’m pretty sure it’s time for Mackenzie to pop one out.” I recoil as Cherry whips her head around and shoots me with her laser-sharp glare. “I mean…she’s having contractions.” Cherry grins, and for a second, I think she might be fucking with me. Do I ask her? Fuck no. If she wants to play with my emotions as she’s bringing our baby into the world, more power to her. I’ll hand her the whip for her to slash me.

With the understanding that when this is all over, she’ll be begging for me to punish her.

I grin, she narrows her eyes then blushes. Oh yeah, we’re on the same page.

Our suite door flies open just as I’m hanging up with Lilah, our midwife, and in comes my mother-in-law, completely ignoring the fact I’m in my briefs and Mackenzie is in her underwear and a t-shirt that barely covers her belly.

Fuck, she’s beautiful. I’m going to miss seeing her pregnant, but also, I can’t wait to see her back on a bike doing what she loves most.

“Is it time, baby? Come on, put on some pajama shorts and let’s walk around the compound.” Darlene is more lucid than I am. We’ve talked about this, about walking off the contractions, ice chips paired with lots of fluids, and letting gravity do the work. But, fuck me, this whole thing is sucking out my brain power one panicked cell at a time. Before long, Baby Psycho will be born but I’ll be too catatonic to appreciate it.

“Lilah is on her way, baby.” Ignoring everything else around me, I stalk up to Cherry, sink my fingers into her hair, and slam my lips to hers. They’re cold with a hint of sleep since she’s just woken up and hasn’t brushed her teeth, not that I give a fuck. Our tongues meet and our breaths combine for a brief second. I think we both forget our lives are about to flip upside down for the better, if not harder but more beautiful.

“Let’s do this, baby.” My whisper is for her only. From the corner of my eye, I can see Darlene looking away, giving us this final moment where it’s just the two of us, before we are transformed from a couple to a family.

And I can’t fucking wait.

“Yeah,” Mackenzie’s scoff is playful but firm. “By ‘us’, you mean ‘me’, right?”

Trapping her bottom lip with my teeth, I pull it until I have to release it. “Be nice.”

My wife grins just before she doubles over and screams like someone’s just sliced her open. Fuck me, I wish I could protect her from this pain and I hate that I have zero control over any of this.

“Breathe, sweetheart, breathe deep.” Darlene’s voice is soothing and sure, knowing exactly what her daughter is going through, contrary to me.

“I’ll go grab ice.” Darlene nods at me and that small gesture makes me feel like I’m finally useful.

As soon as I open the door to our suite, it’s like the entire fucking compound is there and I don’t know why that sight is the one that gets me. The one that makes this all feel real.

“Is it out?”

“Is she okay?”

“Boy or girl?”

I have no idea who is speaking but they’re all brothers so I answer them all with a grin.

“She’s having contractions, midwife is on the way, I’m getting ice.”

“Well fuck, too early for Champagne, then.” I recognize that voice and I’m not surprised Grinder is already thinking of celebrating before the baby is even born.

“Yeah, let’s give it a few hours, you fuckwit.” I laugh, he frowns.

“I’m opening it as a good luck charm. Pre-birth tailgate party!” For just a second, I stare at him, then realize my wife needs ice more than he needs attention.

“Knock yourself out, Brother. I’m staying sober or else she’ll have my balls.”

I don’t walk, I run to the kitchen downstairs and fill up a bucket with ice chips, and just as I’m closing the freezer door, I hear Bear.

“Lilah’s here!” From under his arm, I see the dark, messy, bun of our midwife’s hair. She’s in sweat shorts and a long-sleeve shirt that looks a lot like the women’s national soccer team jersey. I’d ask if she’s a fan or a player but, honestly, I don’t give a fuck at this time.

“Life saver! Come on, I’ll take you up.” Again, I try to run back to Mackenzie but I’m distracted by Bear’s voice.

“It’s fine, man. I’ll take her up, you run with the ice chips.” I whip around so fucking fast, I think I lose eyesight for nanosecond. My glare is scathing when I get Bear’s attention.

That motherfucker just grins at me, Lilah at his side with the top of her head barely reaching his pecs. I know what he’s thinking and I swear to fuck, if he distracts her from her job, I will chokehold him until he passes out.

To be fair, I’d probably need help.

“Go, you fool. She’s fine.” Fuck, my wife is more important than whatever he’s trying to do here. And I thought he and Flower had a thing going on.

“I’m gonna need you to grab the pups.” And by that, I mean Ninja and Bandit.

“Yeah, man, of course. Go!” Fuck, I love this guy.

“Thanks, Bear. Oh and by the way?” I call out over my shoulder as I jog away. “You’re the Nugget’s godfather.” I don’t need to look at him to know I’ve made him happy.

“You fucker. Of course, I am. Who else would it be?” I don’t respond, it’s a done deal and we both know it. There was never any other choice.

When I reach the top of the stairs, I make a turn for my suite when I hear her scream again. She’s in the hall but I can’t see her because every-fucking-one living here is standing around her. Goddamn it, she’s not a circus attraction. I get it, we’ve never had a baby in this compound and this is all new and feels like a future for our club but fuck, man.

“All y’all need to get the fuck away from my wife. Now!” To my satisfaction, they all scatter like mice caught between a rock and a hungry tomcat.

Run, bitches, run.

The look Mackenzie gives me is everything. Gratitude and love and a certainty that she’s made the right choice in giving me her heart.

Damn straight.

“Here, take some ice.” I hand her a couple of chips, which she takes without hesitation.

“Listen to me.” I lean in, hoping she’s not about to break my heart. “Screaming helps me, okay? I’m not holding back, I’m letting it go so I can handle the pain.” Her tone is sure and steady so I nod because who the fuck am I to give her any kind of advice?

“Howya doin’, Macky girl?” I roll my eyes at Lilah’s nickname for Mackenzie. I swear to fuck everyone wants a cute name for her.

“I’m good, hanging in there.” My brave girl talks around the ice chip and in real time I see her face contort, her mouth open and her eyes close. Then she screams, the sound like an alarm inside the halls of the compound. All the while she’s trying to walk and nobody thinks this is weird. Or dangerous? Am I the only one freaked out right now?

“Okay, so we’ve talked about this the last few days. You’ve been in early labor and judging by the time between your last contractions, this is probably active labor. How far apart are they now?” Darlene answers Lilah but I’m too busy looking at Mackenzie, who doesn’t seem worried. In pain? Sure, when she’s having contractions, but otherwise, she looks great. As stunning as ever.

From that moment on, I pull my strength and courage from my wife.

Her bravery guides me when we go to the birthing room we’ve all set up for the occasion. It’s small, but it’s got everything she needs. And who knows? Maybe we’ll have more babies coming in the future. It used to be a communal shower back in the days of the psychiatric hospital and we’ve been using it as storage. These last few months, though, we’ve put up a wall and half the room is now decked out with new paint, a large bathtub, a queen sized bed, and a couple of dressers with whatever candles Mackenzie wanted to use to soothe her. Cherries was my first thought but she vetoed that. Apparently, cherries make her think of sex. I’m okay with that.

For six hours, Mackenzie goes from bathing to walking to screaming to cursing me before starting all over again. The whole time, I’m at her side. Lilah comes and goes, giving us some private time until the contractions started getting more serious, close and closer and clearly more painful. Did I almost pass out when her water broke? I’ll never admit to that but holy fuck, the earth moved beneath my feet at the sight.

Everything begins to move so fucking fast, I wish I could pause just so I can appreciate how fucking amazing my Cherry Pie is.

“Here we go…” Lilah's voice is gentle, sure and reassuring. She and Mackenzie previously decided they’d set multiple scenarios up. Mackenzie didn’t know if she’d rather the bed, the tub, or the crouching position for the birthing process. In the heat of the moment, I don’t think she’s even really thinking about it as she lowers herself onto the mattress set up at the foot of the bed.

A warrior cry like I’ve never heard before rips from her throat while I stand beside her, one of my hands on her neck holding a cold towel and the other squeezing her hand. Or more like, allowing her to squeeze mine.

“You’re doing so good, Macky girl, nearly there.” Lilah’s calm and gentle tone does nothing to dull my girl’s screams as she pushes and pants…until I hear the most beautiful sound of my life.

“Hey, baby, welcome to the world.” Lilah lifts and places our baby onto Cherry’s chest, a serene smile on her face before she then turns to me. “Do you want the honors?” She holds up a pair of the strangest scissors I’ve ever seen in my life and points to the baby’s umbilical cord.

It’s spongier than I imagined when I cut the cord before handing the scissors back to Lilah.

“Oh, Aleko. Look at our baby.” This right here, this is the moment I’m gonna remember forever.

“Okay, Macky girl, you need to breathe, and when your body tells you, I want you to push again. That placenta is going to need a little help.” I like Lilah, but I swear to fuck I did not need to hear those words.

I’m imagining the worst, obviously. Movies love to make us think it’s a catastrophic thing happening. Like a gushing river of blood flowing everywhere.

It’s not fun to watch, but it’s a fucking relief when I physically feel Mackenzie’s body lose its stress. It’s like the pain and discomfort leaves her body for a moment.

“I just need to check baby over for a second.” Lilah gently takes our baby from Mackenzie’s arms, and I swear she’s already pining.

“You did good, Cherry Pie. So fucking good.” I can do nothing but kiss my warrior of a wife. She’s beautiful with her damp hair sticking to her forehead, her skin glistening and glowing, and her sleepy eyes full of love.

“Well, you had two names picked out. So, I present you…Gryffin Kastellanos.” At Lilah’s words, Mackenzie gasps and I swear to fuck I have tears in my eyes. Neither of us had even thought to check when he first came out, just happy we had a healthy baby. “Here you go, congratulations. I’ve just checked him and he’s all good. Especially the lungs.”

I’m not gonna lie. I’m scared as shit right now, but Mackenzie? Fuck, she takes our Baby Psycho and kisses him on the forehead then looks over at me, tired eyes and bright smiles. “Hey, Gryffin. Come meet your dad.”

I barely register the moment Lilah leaves the room because all I can see is my son. All I can see is his trembling lips and his unfocused eyes as he moves his head to the side like he can smell food in his mother’s breast.

“Hey, Nugget. I’m so fuc—happy you’re here.” Lifting him from Mackenzie’s arms, I raise his forehead to my lips and linger there, inhaling his scent. I’ve heard of the baby smell but until now I thought it was all made up shit.

It really isn’t. And just like that, I have a new addiction.

“Are you in love?” Darting my gaze to my Cherry Pie, I grin wider than I ever have, it seems.

“Oh, Cherry Baby, love feels like a fraction of what I’m feeling.” When Gryff starts stirring, I deduce he’s hungry and I can do fuck all about that so I hand him right over to his mama. “Time to eat, little Nugget.”

Just like that, my world grew from us two to us three, the trifecta, the perfect geometrical figure. The mother, the father, and Baby Psycho.

“I know what you’re thinking and Baby Psycho is not a thing, Aleko.”

Yeah, that’s what she thought about Cherry Pie.