Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Serena

Iprobably shouldn’t be riding on the back of Smoke’s motorcycle after everything I’ve been through, but I find that’s the only place I want to be. While our club cleans up the mess they made rescuing me, Smoke puts me on the back of his bike, and we hit the road. I don’t care if it’s raining cats and dogs, or that the road is wet. Compared to what happened today, riding in the rain is a breeze. I cling to Smoke, realizing he’s all I really need to be happy.

Once we’re well clear of the area, he stops and gets us a hotel room. It’s a good idea, since I’m mentally and physically exhausted and the ride home would take another couple of hours at least. Once we’re inside he starts a shower for me and grumbles one more time about my refusal to get checked over by a doctor. I don’t want that, don’t feel like I need it.

“Come on, sweetness. Let’s get you cleaned up,” he says as he begins helping me out of my clothes.

I don’t realize how much of my abductor’s blood landed on me until I see my clothing on the floor. I can imagine how much ended up on Smoke’s dark suit, he’ll have to fork out a small fortune to get that dry cleaned. At that thought, I start laughing.

“What?” Smoke asks.

I shake my head, “Nothing, I think everything is getting to me.”

He walks over and wraps his arms around me, gives me a soft kiss on my forehead and steers me toward the bathroom. Standing in the shower with the warm water flowing over my tired body feels like heaven. I let Smoke soap me as I enter some kind of twilight phase where I’m awake but not alert enough to reciprocate.

The next thing I know, I’m clean and dry. Smoke is drying my hair with a fresh towel and then finger combing the tangles out. He scoops me up into his arm and carries me to the bed. I barely protest as he slides me between the sheets and covers me up. Finally, he presses a cup of water to my lips.

“Drink up. You’ll think me for this later.”

I drink as much as I can in one go and shove his hand aside. “Why do I feel worse now than when we were fighting those assholes.”

“The adrenaline rush is wearing off,” he responds quietly.

I vaguely remember learning about how when your faced with a life-or-death situation your body releases adrenaline to help give you energy and focus. My therapist explained this to me when I sought treatment for my panic attacks as a teen. Panic attacks were the body doing the fight or flight response without a true threat. I guess tonight my body worked just as it should do and saved me, and now the threat was over I felt at peace, in what seemed like the first time in forever.

I snuggle down under the blankets and sleep claims me before I can tell if Smoke is going to join me. My dreams are dark and filled with danger. There are shadowy figures, monsters chasing me. The faster I run, the slower I get, with the monsters always just nipping at my heels. I’m running to get away from them, but also trying to warn Smoke that they’re coming for him too. Suddenly, I’m teetering on a bridge. I glance over my shoulder to see a river with fast moving rapids. If I fall in, I’m dead. And the monsters are still coming for me. I try to step away from the edge of the bridge, but my feet won’t move. It’s as if they’re glued in place. I stumble and realize that for some reason in this messed up dream, I can only step toward the edge. A gust of wind blows me forward and right before I topple over the edge, someone grabs me and pulls me back. It’s Smoke. He saved me. But he doesn’t know the monsters wearing human faces are closing in on us. I try to tell him to run, but only garbled words come out. I take a big breath and scream with all my might, “Run Smoke. Run!”

Instead of running, he’s shaking me. “Serena, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

I bolt upright and look around the room. Smoke is dressed in jeans and button up black shirt. I’m still naked under the covers but there’s a stack of clothing on the bed that looks like they’re for me. I can smell coffee and food, maybe breakfast.

Pulling the blankets up to my chest, I croak out, “How long. How long have been sleeping?”

Smoke takes the lid off a bottle of water and hands it to me. “All night. It’s nine in the morning. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

“I thought you’d say that,” Smoke replies. He reaches over and picks up a box of Tylenol and takes out two. Handing them to me, he says, “Here, take these and when you’re ready, I have food for you.”

I stop for a moment, wondering if I should take them, I haven’t told Smoke I’m pregnant yet, and I’m trying to find the right time. Then I remember when my sister, Nicole, was pregnant the doctors said these were okay, so I swallow the two tablets and then drink a few extra mouthfuls of water.

“Want me to help you get dressed?” He asks with a concerned look on his face.”

I must look like absolute garbage for him to be so worried. Brushing my hair out of my face, I reply, “No. Just shove the clothes over to me and I’ll dress myself.”

He does as I ask, and steps away to give me privacy. I can tell that Smoke always wants to do more for me than I let him. The thing is, I’m an independent woman and I won’t let any man take that away from me. I find a pair of black leggings and a sweater that looks soft and warm. Everything still has tags attached, so I know he did a shop while I slept. I pull on a pair of socks and walk over to the small table where Smoke is setting out food for us. When I get that first sip of coffee it does a lot to right my world. I let Smoke put food on my plate. The bacon, eggs, and toast look and smell so good it makes my stomach growl. It reminds me that I haven’t eaten in roughly twenty-four hours.

I take a few bites and then slow down. Smoke is cutting up fruit and putting it into a little bowl. “Aren’t you going to eat?” I ask.

“Already did. My stomach was in knots. I gave it some food so it would have something to do besides worry me to death.” He glances up briefly with a sly smile that alerts me he’s trying to use humor to ease the way, like I’ve done in the past.

“You’re a funny guy when you want to be,” I say with a tired smile.

“You feeling better now that you got some food and coffee down?”

“Yeah. I am still a little numb from everything that happened over the last twenty-four hours. I know this sounds crazy but almost feels like it that happened to someone else.”

Smoke stops cutting the fruit and shoves the bowls over to me. “I’ve heard that before. Some of our club brothers described their war trauma that way. Your therapist specializes in trauma, so this is something else to add to the pile. In addition to talking to her, you know I’m always ready to listen if you need to talk.”

“I guess I do need to talk. What I need to talk about, the therapist can’t help me with.” Maybe now is the time to tell him he’s going to be a father?

Smokes puts down the knife he was clearly intending to cut more fruit with and wipes his hands. “Ask me anything.”

Putting down my fork I take another sip of coffee to soothe my still dry throat. I chicken out, and instead ask, “How did you find me?”

Smoke responds to the question without hesitation. “It was Evan, he and Gordon were keeping an eye on you. We didn’t tell you, as I didn’t want you being reminded all the time that someone was out to get you. I wanted you to have those alone walks to the coffee shop like any regular person.”

“So Evan being chatty, that was all just to watch over me?” I ask.

“No, that was all Evan. It was lucky he’d stopped for a chat, he and Gordon were about to head to the courthouse to meet you there, when he saw what was happening. They were too far away to do anything, and a couple of unarmed kids would be no match for a professional team. Instead, he livestreamed the video of it on his cell phone and alerted us straight away. That kid is gonna be an awesome brother once he’s old enough to get patched in.”

I swallow thickly remembering how it all happened. “It was weird how the van stopped on a crosswalk even though there was no red light. I felt uncomfortable with the van being so close and tried to step back. That’s when the door slid open and the guy with tattoos pulled me inside. I was so shocked that it took me a second to respond. I tried to fight him off, but he threw me down like I was rag doll and zip tied me so I couldn’t escape.”

“I’m so angry that happened to you, princess. I should have put everything else on hold and stayed right by your side until we caught the bastard.”

“It’s not your fault that I allowed myself to be manipulated into a relationship with a sociopath. He was such a nice, considerate person when we first met. I knew he had some weird obsession with proving he had a superior intellect, but that was more something he did in court. Once I moved in, things turned ugly fast.”

“He was a degenerate asshole who got what he deserved. It’s over now. We can sleep well knowing he can never hurt anyone again.”

“About Evan,” I start.

Smoke cuts me off. “That boy worked his ass off to help find you. We need to do something nice to thank him.”

I just shake my head, truly bewildered by why they let him be involved. “Evan’s too young to be involved in things like this.”

Smoke sighs. “We tried to keep him away, but he’s a determined kid. We thought that giving him the job to keep an eye on you would be a way to let him be involved in club business, but keep him safe. We were wrong. Unfortunately, he’s had to grow up fast and it’s hard to get him to think and act like a kid now.”

My eyes flash up to him. “Those men were cold blooded killers, Smoke. I know Evan is a kid who grew up too fast, but can’t we at least try to give him some of his childhood back?”

My hot biker shifts in his seat. I know I’m making him uncomfortable after he just risked his life to rescue me, but this was important. “Please, just try, for me.”

Finally, he reluctantly agrees to my request. “I’ll talk to him about the joys of being a teen for a while before he runs headlong into adulthood. Once he gets his learner’s permit it’s gonna be hard to stop him, though.”

“I don’t want to see him end up hurt, and I want to live his best life.”

“At least the danger is over for now. We just need to make sure he doesn’t end up in a similar situation.”

We both knew this particular situation was far from over. Three men were dead, we had a whole private duty security team that knew we were responsible for their employer’s death, and we still didn’t know the full extent of what Stan was into.

As for myself, I killed in self-defense yesterday and I watched Smoke shoot one man in the face and then gun Stan down. “So much has happened, it’s a lot to deal with.”

“Want to talk about what happened in the attic or is it too soon?” Smoke asks.

Relief surges through my body. Shoving my plate aside, I nod. “Talking might help.”

Smoke immediately reassures me, “You did a good job staying tough and protecting yourself, Serena.”

I feel my chest tighten as I remember how it all went down. “When he first came into the attic, I was worried because I knew he wasn’t supposed to be there. The tattooed guy told him specifically to stay away from me.”

“That was probably because he knew his partner couldn’t be trusted.”

“When he untied me, I thought they had fought off an attack by the Legion and were going to take me back down to the basement. But instead of taking me downstairs he tried to touch me.”

“I’m assuming you objected.”

“You’re damn right I did. I clawed him in the face and made a run for the hatch door. Unfortunately, the attic was stuffed full of junk and the second I tripped, he grabbed me by the foot and tried to drag me back away from the door. I remember groping for something to hang onto, but nothing worked. Eventually, my hand landed on the baseball bat.”

Smoke’s eyebrows shoot up. “That’s when you turned the tables on him, right?”

I nodded, feeling stronger, now that I remembered how it felt to beat him off me. “I remember he ripped at my clothing and tried to get on top of me. He was taunting me, saying evil shit that didn’t really make sense.”

“You don’t have to repeat it. We’re supposed to be purging trauma here not generating more of it.”

“It’s okay. “I just fought like a wildcat, shoving him, and then kicking him off me. The minute he was far enough away for me to swing the bat, it was game over for him. I was so terrified, once I started swinging it, I couldn’t stop, I was desperate to keep him off me. Am I a bad person?”

He comes up out of his seat, leans over the table, wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. When we part, he says, “I think the sick fucker got exactly what he deserved. Getting taken out by the woman he was trying to abuse is the icing on the cake for me.”

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. As they begin wetting my cheeks, he wipes them away with his thumb. “No crying over these assholes. They don’t deserve a moment of your thoughts, much less your precious tears. You’re safe now. We’re not going to less these degenerate fucks live rent free in our heads.”

I lean forward and claim the kiss he’s so obviously offering me by still being so close. When we pull back, I tell him, “I love you, baby. I think I always have.”

He plants a kiss on my forehead and sits back down. “I think I’ve been in love with you since you graduated from high school. When I saw you at your father’s funeral, I knew for sure. But I never suspected you saw me as anything other than your older brother’s friend.”

“Would it surprise you to know that my father thought you were the right man for me?”

The shock registered immediately on his face. “What?” he gasps. “Did Claw tell you that? Because the message I got loud and clear was stay the hell away from daughter.”

I do my best to explain what I remember. “When my old man finally realized he couldn’t keep me from going off to college in San Francisco, he did his best to warn me how things were different in the big city and how trouble can find you even when you’re minding your own business. He told me that if I ever got into trouble to come running to you. He said you were intelligent, loyal and I could trust you no matter what I got myself tangled up in. Back then I don’t think he was trying to set us up together, but maybe he knew in the future we would find one another.”

His expression closes down. “Is that why you came back to Las Salinas? So, I could protect you.”

Something about the chill in his voice worries me, and I wonder if he’s getting the wrong idea and thinks I was using him. “If you’ll remember, I came back and stayed with my brother. I did that to make a clean break with Stan, not because I thought he’d come after me. I was planning on getting my own place.”

“But you came to me, asked for a ride on the back of my bike and tried your best to ride my cock.”

Now he was pissing me off. “Yeah, because I’ve been infatuated with you for the better part of my adult life, not because I needed your protection. I didn’t even realize I needed protecting until you pointed it out.”

Smoke’s head jerks to the side and he closes his eyes for a brief moment. “You’re right about all that. I’m so busy fucking up the relationship I waited so long to get, that I’m not thinking correctly.”

“Better get your head in the game. You’re going to be a father soon.”

His head comes up so fast, I almost laugh. Damn. Out of all the ways I had been rehearsing in my head, that was not the way I wanted to tell him he was gonna be a dad.

“Say that again. I’m not quite sure I understood what you just said.”

I repeat it for him a second time. “I’m going to have your child. I’ve been trying to think of the best way to tell you, I was scared you’d think I’d gotten pregnant deliberately.”

He moves closer, and just like in my dreams he comes over and slides to his knees. Pushing up my shirt he smiles as he spreads his hand over my belly. “Your waist is thicker but you’re not thicker anywhere else.”

He bends down and reverently kisses my stomach. Instead of pulling back I feel his lips moving against my skin. He’s whispering to our child, telling them that they are loved and wanted so much. It makes me tear up a little, how things have gone from horrible to perfect in the space of a day.

Gazing up at me, he states, “This is why my mother has been hovering over you, right?”

“Your mom? She told you then?” I say in surprise.

Smoke looks up at me and smiles, “Yes, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”

I nod, blushing a little. “I didn’t like keeping it a secret, but she wanted to tell you in her own way, I hope you’re not angry?”

He smothers back a smile, “I could never be angry with you. I love you so much, princess. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m never giving you up.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I plan for us to walk down the aisle when my belly is huge. You up for a blatant display of your baby making prowess?”

His expression turns confused. “Are you proposing to me? Because it feels like you are.”

I tilt his face up to look more fully into his eyes. “Don’t worry, babe, when we share the news, I’ll let you tell it your way. Couldn’t have the MC thinking your old lady has you by the balls.” I pause for a moment and lift my eyebrow teasingly, a brush with death and finally revealing my big secret has made me bold. “Maybe I should check those balls out, after the trauma of yesterday? It’s just what the doctor order to make me feel safe and remind me all the good things life has to offer.”

A slow grin comes across his face as he reaches for my hand to take me back to the bed.