Chapter 18

18

Aurora – One Week Later

I rush into the room, happy its unlocked while hoping not to get caught, and look around. I haven't been in here yet, and I'm not sure how, but I managed to give the prospect who was watching me, Timmy, the slip.

I was hoping Doc would be in here, but the room's empty.

It's weird because it looks like a hospital room with white walls, hospital beds, and all the equipment you'd find in the ER, yet if you walk out the door, you are back in the rustic clubhouse with oak walls and different kind of brown furniture, pictures of the growing club on the walls, a memorial wall in the common room behind the oak bar, and a pool table.

I swear this place keeps shocking me with how big it is.

The basement has a makeshift gym and boxing ring, while the ground floor has the common room, council brothers' rooms, and the offices for the president, V.P., treasurer, and Road Captain, which is Theo.

I discovered he's also the club's secretary, so he has two offices here. Apparently, he's giving the position to Pitbull, his best friend, because Theo prefers the Road Captain position, but Pitbull doesn't know yet, or so I'm told by Brook and Sarah, Snake's old lady.

The ground floor also has a very large kitchen that is a chef's dream, and rooms for the clubwhores. The second floor is for the prospects and first-year brothers, and the third and fourth floors are for the rest of the brothers.

Apparently, every two brothers have a shared bathroom between their rooms, only the council members have their own bathrooms.

Sarah mentioned that some brothers live here, and some just stay during club parties, while the council brothers all have their own property on club land near their parents, like the Huntsmen MC.

And then you have the backyard, which is a child's dream. It has a massive play area, benches, and two large BBQ sets on the patio for family days.

Doc's medical room is right in the middle of the clubwhores' rooms, which, yeah, I'm not too happy about. Those women, except for Crystal, hate me because, apparently, I took the last standing council member, even though he's the one who took me.

He lied for Christ's sake, so it's not like I trapped him for his flipping patch, which currently hangs in the walk-in closet at home—I mean at Theo's.

Dammit!

I bite my lip, twisting my fingers together, my eyes going round the empty room. My plan is not going well, and I'm now thinking of Theo's place as home, which my daughter also sees as her home, which just proves I know this is the right thing to do, even if I am scared.

I look around the room again. Should I just leave and go sit back in the common room, or should I wait?

But Timmy may be angry, and he's nice, despite wanting to be a part of a club.

"You know he won't want you much longer before he runs straight back to me where he belongs," a whiny, high-pitched voice says, making me turn.

A woman who is clearly a clubwhore, her bra and G-string proof of that. Obviously, she doesn't care that it's only afternoon. I purse my lips as she looks at me with distain, her pink hair down and straight, which doesn't match her complexion.

She has jealous patch chaser written all over her.

I raise a brow at her, and taunt, "Let me guess, you were his regular fuck until about a year and a half ago?" She freezes, shocked that not only did I answer back but also that I called her out on her shit. I smirk. "Yeah, that's when he met me." I take a step forward, not knowing where this side of me is coming from after so long. I state, "You see, he made me fall in love with him before I even knew he was a brother. He lied to me, married me, adopted my daughter—" She sucks in a breath. I smile sweetly, "—and then purposely knocked me up." Her nostrils flare. "I think you're in coo-coo land, so I suggest you turn your skinny, plastic ass around and leave, before I rearrange that fake nose of yours."

Her breathing picks up, and she takes a step forward. Instantly, I brace myself, hoping she tries to attack me, my fists itching to hit her, especially knowing this is the kind of woman he went for, but my wishes of hitting her hard are dashed when a tatted hand grips her arm and pulls her back.

The woman gasps and stutters, "Doc, I-I…."

He narrows his eyes and commands, "Please tell me, Juicy, you were not about to fucking attack an old lady, a pregnant one to boot, over a brother who only used you as a hole?"

My brows hit my hairline, but Doc subtly shakes his head, and the woman, Juicy, breathes hard before shaking her head, knowing she can't disrespect a patched brother, a council one at that, without losing the roof over her head.

He nods and shoves her hard, causing her to stumble a little before she runs away. He looks my way, and I tilt my head at him and state, "I'm not his old lady," ignoring how he treated her. The Huntsmen were the same. If they treat them like they are fragile, they instantly think they have you wrapped around their finger, and then the drama begins.

They know what they are, and they hope for more. Some because they want protection from the hard knocks of life, but others want the patch, the money, and the power it gives them. Then, some love sex, like Crystal. She's in part-time college like me, but she's getting a business degree, and she wants to use it to help the club…while also getting laid.

She loves sex but also likes to wind up some brothers, like Pitbull. She says he's like a brother and never slept with him.

Doc chuckles, walking into the room, his dark green eyes sparkling with silent laughter, and he comments, "You don't seem bothered by how I just treated a clubwhore." He tilts his head. "I'm beginning to think you've grown up around an MC, Rory."

I lick my bottom lip, and then bite it, knowing he's caught me, before admitting, "My grandfather, my mother's father, was a brother in the Huntsmen MC before he was killed. I never met him; he died before I was born, but my parents remained with the brothers. My father is friends with Steel the V.P., even after my mom died when I was a teen—hit and run."

He nods, leaning against the bed frame, and asks, "Is that why you hate MCs? You blame them for your mother's death?"

God, if only.

I give him a sad smile but shake my head. "No. I saw them as family, even after mom died. It wasn't club-related, her death. It was just an idiot teenager trying to steal from the grocery store. Mom was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He hums. "If that's the case, then why the hatred? Sweetheart, I can see the love you have for Sniper. He consumes you the way my Kennedy consumes me."

I swallow hard and look around the room again before whispering, "I didn't come here to speak about my past…."

I look his way to see him studying me, and he states, "Then why did you, Rory? Because if you've snuck away from Timmy, who, by the way, asked for my help to find you…." I wince, and he smirks, continuing, "If you've snuck away hoping I'd perform the abortion, then you've got another think coming. You'll regret ending the pregnancy, darling, and you know it."

I flinch at the word "darling," his voice hitting my ears, and I squeeze my eyes shut, whispering, "I-I…I need you not to call me darling, anything but that…."

He's quiet for a few moments, causing me to look at him. He's studying me again, his eyes flashing. I can see when the realization hits him, causing my eyes to tear up as I silently beg him not to ask.

He nods, crossing his arms over his chest, and asks instead, "What can I do for you, sweetheart?"

I give him a small smile, grateful, before admitting, "I haven't had a check-up since early on in the pregnancy." His eyes widen, and I shrug. "I was kind of busy being held hostage by my husband to book a check-up." He chuckles, and I continue, "I'm supposed to be roughly fourteen weeks, but," I look down at my stomach, "as you can see, I'm much larger than I should be." I look at him. "Or this is just one very large baby because my husband's a giant?"

He laughs. "Alright, climb on the bed, I'll do an ultrasound."

I raise a brow. "And how exactly did you get that kind of machine?"

He shrugs. "I just had it lying around…."

I hum and nod, knowing he most likely ‘borrowed' it from the hospital. His smirk confirms my thoughts. Shaking my head, I walk over to the bed and lay down, lifting my shirt.

He brings the machine over, squirting some gel on my bump, hovering the doppler over my stomach before looking at me.

He raises a brow. "Do you want to me call Sniper?"

I swallow hard. I want him here, but I need to know what's happening first. Something just isn't right with my size. Besides, I've been threatening an abortion because my fear took over, my past clouding my judgment.

His momma has been talking nonstop in my ear for weeks, and she doesn't know it, but she and Emily have helped bring me out of my head.

The woman has slowly worked her way into my life and heart. She's become like a mother to me, but my guilt is building, and I can't have Theo here. Not right now.

I shake my head and whisper, "I need to know everything is okay first. I-I need to know I didn't curse myself with bad karma for thinking abortion was the way to go, for letting my fears take over…."

His eyes soften, but he nods, placing the doppler on my stomach, then he presses a few buttons on the machine. Instantly, my baby's heartbeat echoes through the room, and my tears fall. Realization hits me hard, and I sob, Doc grabbing my hand in support as guilt outweighs everything.

I was going to abort a baby who has a really strong heartbeat.

Another heartbeat echoes along with the first one, and I freeze.

"Holy…." Doc rasps, and I whisper, "Please tell me that's my heartbeat with my baby's?"

He clears his throat and says, "You know it's not, Rory…."

I nod. I do know it. I'm a vet nurse in training; ultrasounds aren't that much different between human and animal.

More tears fall as I look at the screen and see not one but two babies.

Two.

Twins….

Everything in me bubbles up. My past, my present, my future.

How can I bring these two innocent babies into the world when I'm still drowning in my trauma despite the sessions with Emily?

I sniffle. They deserve better than me.

Doc moves the wand around and supplies, "They're not identical twins, and you are fourteen weeks and three days, to be exact."

Oh my….

I see an arm move on one baby, then the leg of the other, and Doc takes the measurements. Eternal love fills me, making me sob again as I realize I love them, just like I love Autumn.

Oh God, what was I thinking!

"Doc…." I whisper, full of guilt, and he looks at me. My tears fall, and I beg, "Call Theo, please…."

He furrows his brows before his eyes widen. I'm not sure what he sees, but he grabs his phone and presses a number before putting it away, confusing me.

He smiles, seeing my confusion, and admits, "Number five sends an SOS text to him. I'm number six. Tech's doing."

I nod and look at the monitor again. It feels like hours, but it's only minutes before Theo rushes into the medical room. His eyes go from me to the monitor, and then to Doc, and there is pure panic in his gaze. I know I should console him because he thinks something is wrong, but seriously, this is his fault….

Twins… twins!

"You absolute tool!" I snap, causing his gaze to dart to me, and Doc to chuckle. I shriek, "Not only did you purposely impregnate me, but now, because of you, not only do I have to push one baby out, but two! Flipping two , Theo!"

His eyes widen, his mouth open a little as his eyes go to the monitor, and he whispers, "Fuck…."

I mimic him, "Yeah, fuck ."

Doc laughs, wiping the gel off my belly, and then helping me sit up as I look at a frozen Theo. His face has gone pale, and I snort because, yeah, at least it's not just me scared shitless right now.

Autumn was hard enough, and she was only one baby; this is two babies !

He blinks a few times, and I look down, my eyes going to my bump, which is covered by a T-shirt— Theo's black shirt, to be precise.

My eyes tear up, and I know I have to tell him the truth, especially if what Breaker has said is true and I'm on missing posters. It's easy running with Autumn, but I can't run with three kids, and I don't want to. I've made a home here with Theo, even if he is still on my shit list.

Taking a deep breath, I whisper, "A man I thought was a friend, a man who was a cousin to two men I saw as big brothers, raped me." The room tenses, but I don't look up as my tears fall, even when I hear movement. Through a throat choked with emotion, I continue, "He's part of the Huntsmen MC, an MC I grew up around. Their prez, Steel, is like an uncle to me."

I look up and see both Doc and Theo standing at the end of the bed, faces stoic, fists tightening, knuckles white. I finish it. "I was seventeen, a virgin, and he raped me, then held me captive, using my body day in and day out, however he pleased."

Bile rises; I'm telling the love of my life about my past. He's going to be disgusted. Panic slams into me. My tears fall hard, and I make eye contact with the ones I love, but their eyes shine back at me full of rage and anguish, and I utter the words I know he's praying he won't hear, words I know he's been thinking for a few months now, words that pain me to say out loud.

"Autumn was conceived through rape…."