30. Vex

30

VEX

T he clubhouse is busy with people actually doing their fucking jobs for a change when I get back, and nobody mentions the decision I face.

To stay or to go.

Niro is working with Martin, his replacement as treasurer, as they work to close the annual books out. Bates and Spark are doing an inventory of all the weapons we have. They've been to our underground storage unit and are now tallying things here.

Halo is doing a mandatory bike inspection with Clutch. Everyone's bike is going through the garage. Any repairs are being dealt with immediately.

Saint is doing an inventory of the bar, as he's taken over the liquor ordering, combining it with the inventory he does for the strip club to get a better deal on volume.

King is on the phone with our contacts in Ukraine. We've had our share of good luck with the bonus income we stole from the Righteous Brotherhood. And one of our brothers in the Austin Chapter is Ukrainian. So, we're organizing a weapons run to help his family's village.

It's not like what happened before I left on the ride has been forgotten. Each brother greeted me when they saw me. It's simply they are giving me space to make a decision.

I decide to do what I always do when I'm tired or worried about something. I put my headphones on and get busy on my laptop.

Avery's investments are all doing well, with the exception of the airline stock. But she's up overall, and I can't wait to see her little face when I tell her.

Then, I review Switch's portfolio. I sell some stock I think might be close to peaking and invest it into a fund I've had my eye on.

I text Sophia because King gave her the go-ahead to take over management of the Outlaws' real estate portfolio, but he asked me to work with her to set up the systems she needs to do it properly.

Like she does for the Sicilians, we're gonna make our real estate arm a legal entity from the start.

Which leads me to check over the traps I placed on all the Sicilian laptops.

Someone has run up against my code, but my sense is they realized it and shut down their machine before the code could do what I wanted it to. Only someone with highly sensitive software and a highly trained eye would notice it.

This is no amateur they're up against.

I run a few more tests to see if there is a way to go over, under, and around what they tried to identify if they left a useful trace.

But there is absolutely nothing.

This person is a pro, and I can't help but think it's Calista.

I need to ask her straight out.

Shit, I need to ask her a lot of things.

Like, where we stand, and does she want me to go with her to California?

And I should probably tell her I'm in love with her too.

My phone rings, and Calista's name pops up on the screen, as if she knew I was thinking about her.

"Hey, babe," I say, removing my glasses and rubbing the bridge of my nose. "What's up?"

"Umm. Is Spark with you?" she says.

"You okay?" I lean back on my chair to see out of the door. "And yeah, I can see him in the kitchen."

"Can you tell him to turn his phone on, or could you take your phone to him?"

It's then that I hear a long groan. "You're scaring me. What's going on?"

"Umm. Well, we're in Rae's truck with Iris, who is in labor and can't get ahold of her husband."

"Fuck. One sec." I'm up and running, even though it's not that far. "Babe, here's Spark."

"I'll put Iris on," she says.

Spark looks down at the phone I'm offering him. "What's going on?"

I shove the phone at him. He should hear the news from Iris. "Just take it."

He puts it to his ear. "Hello?"

There's a pause, and I swear I have never seen more reactions pass over a man's face in the five seconds Iris talks to him.

Joy, excitement, and abject terror. He grabs his phone out of his pocket, but with one shaking hand, he can't turn it on. I take it from him and do it myself.

"Little chick," he says finally. "Breathe. Fuck. I'm on my way. Tell Rae to drive safe. We'll track you, catch up to you, and follow you, yeah?"

There's a pause.

"Don't start bitching at me now for being too protective. Keep driving, and the bikes will pull up around you."

Another pause.

"Shit. Does it hurt, baby?"

This time, I hear the groan. "Just meet us there," Iris shouts.

Not sure I ever heard the woman yell like that.

"Fine. We can meet you there," Spark says, tugging at his hair. "Be safe. I fucking love you. More than my life, yeah?"

I don't hear what Iris says in response, but I'm wondering how and why Calista is with them.

Then, I remember Rae asking where to find Calista.

"Yeah, I'll figure out what's going on with my phone," Spark says. "I'm with Bates and Vex. Call them if there's a problem. Fine! Yes! I'm leaving now."

He hands me my phone back, and then, with a look of complete awe on his face, he says, "My son's on his way."

Bates whoops and slaps his back. "What are we waiting for? Let's go."

We gather up the others as we move through the club. And before we know it, there's a fleet of nine bikes headed for the hospital that Spark and Iris decided to have the baby at.

The girls get there before us, and we meet Rae, who has parked her truck. King sweeps her up and kisses her soundly. "A baby Outlaw is being born right fucking now," he says.

Spark is already at a run. Saint chases after him. Bates chases after Saint. And then, there's a chain of us, all jogging through the hospital.

Switch and I pull up the rear, but you can hear the laughter and whooping all the way down the corridors. Staff look in disbelief as a metric ton of leather-clad bikers cheerfully rush through.

The hospital learns fast what it means when a next-generation Iron Outlaws baby is born. Because their mild attempts to restrict us to only four guests are completely ignored. As is the stronger request by hospital security.

But King makes a promise to them all. That he, as president, will make sure we stay in line.

Niro pulls out his phone. "I'm prepared."

"For what?" Halo says, tugging Ari onto his lap and kissing her soundly.

"This could be up to forty-eight hours long, right?" he says.

"If she's lucky, it will be a lot less," Vi says, then looks at Briar. "Did they say how dilated she is?"

"She's been in labor a while. Seven and a half centimeters, they said," Briar replies.

"That's a really tiny fucking baby," Clutch says, using his finger and thumb to decide how big it is.

Gwen laughs. "It's not the size of the baby, it's how big her…opening… is right now in readiness for the baby to come out."

Clutch's expression morphs into one of horror. "Your pussy opens up to the size of a small black hole when you give birth?"

"Ten centimeters before you can push," Vi says.

Clutch uses his fingers again to gesture ten centimeters, then looks at Gwen. "Jesus Christ, babe. No wonder you don't want kids yet. Can't say I want to see that. I need to worship that pussy of mine some more before you give birth to my kid."

Gwen slaps Clutch's chest with the back of her hand. "If I have to physically do it, you need to witness it. And yes, to the worship."

Bates sits on the floor, his back against a wall, Vi between his legs, resting back against him. His hands rub lazily over her bump. "I can't fucking wait to experience it."

"You weren't there when Avery was born?" Calista asks.

Bates shakes his head. "No. But I'll be there for this one and won't love them any more or less than I do Avery."

I take Calista's hand and tug her close enough to whisper in her ear. "They weren't together when she gave birth. Only found each other again last year."

"Shit," she whispers. She turns to Bates and Vi. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked that."

Bates turns Vi's face so he can kiss her. "It's all good. I don't blame Vi."

Vi returns his kiss. "If you miss this one, it might be another story, though."

"Anyway, back to my baby planning," Niro says. "I got a pool. Well, I have two. The first is, I'm gonna set a timer, once we've all decided our bets, on how long it's gonna take for the baby to arrive. The second one's the weight. The winner is the one closest. And then, the final game is guessing the name. Each bet is fifty bucks. Half the money goes to the winner of each bet, and half goes to the little one."

Clutch is the first to unroll cash. "I'll take seven hours and seventeen minutes."

"Given you weren't aware how they came out of a ten-centimeter pussy, can't wait to see how much you think they weigh when they arrive," Switch says.

"I'll be honest, I'm a little bit terrified by that new bit of information," Sophia says.

"Best leave looking up details until there's one in there," Switch says. "What goes in must come out, right?"

Sophia laughs. "Says the guy whose contribution will be a solid ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" King asks.

"She's being reductive for the point of humor," Switch says.

"Sure, Jan," Saint says.

And everyone laughs as the ribbing and betting continues.

I don't know how I can leave this behind. The camaraderie. The utterly unwavering support. We're a room full of bikers and old ladies, sitting this out for however long Spark and Iris do.

Minutes turn into hours. Hours turn into a huge food delivery. Someone finds whiskey to wet the baby's head. Spark pops out twice to update us. The first time freaks us all out when he explains how big the epidural needle is.

The second time, he walks to Saint, his best friend. He hugs him and says something that makes Saint hug him tighter and whisper something back in his ear.

That was six hours ago.

Niro and Cat went and sweet talked some nurses into giving us some blankets. Vi is asleep with her head on Bates's lap; Halo is asleep in his chair, Ari asleep on his lap. Rae is on a chair, King on the floor between her legs as she massages his shoulders. And I have my arm around Calista as she dozes against me.

The only ones missing are Avery who is sleeping over at a friend's and Lola who is with a sitter at home.

This is family.

Being there when it matters.

I hate the idea that I might not be here when Bates goes through this with Vi.

"That was a big sigh," Calista says.

"Just tired."

She sits up. "Really?"

"Don't ever want to lie to you, so let's just say we need to talk, but now isn't the time."

Calista stands. "Come take a walk with me."

I glance to Switch. "Call me if there's news, yeah?"

He nods, and I grab our coats from the chair before I take Calista's hand and lead her out of the waiting area.

Neither of us says anything until we step outside into a small hospital courtyard garden. I hold her thick coat while she slips her arms into it, then put on my own.

"How come you were out with the girls today?"

"Rae. She stopped by and gave me some things to think about."

I pull her close to me as her cheeks turn pink in the cold. "Yeah, what was that?"

She looks up at me. "You first. You were sighing in there. Why?"

"Truth?"

"Always."

"King gave me permission to leave the Outlaws. Long story. It means I could follow you to California. But I don't know how I leave everyone in that room for good. They've become my family. And I don't like the idea of leaving Mom and Dad as they're getting older and will need me more. Or my siblings and their kids. I can't reconcile the two pieces of me. The side that is so fucking happy you and I found each other. And the side that will feel like a piece of my heart got ripped out and left behind."

Calista places her hand over my heart. "You'd leave the Outlaws for me?" Her voice is soft, slightly in awe that I think so much of her that I'd do that.

"Got me thinking the other night when we were talking about it ending. I don't want it to end, Calista. You and me."

Calista steps up onto her toes and kisses me softly. "What kind of partner would I be if I made you leave your heart behind?"

My heart crashes around in my chest. "If the other option is losing you, I'll do it."

"You want to know what Rae said to me?"

It stings a little that she lets my bold comment slide. "Sure."

"I'm paraphrasing a little, but she said that a time would come where I'm your old lady and I'd regret not being with them if I didn't go wedding dress shopping with her."

I huff at that. "Sounds like Rae. She's a romantic."

Calista takes my hand and places it over her heart. "But she also said one day you'd be able to explain why me being your old lady was so important to you. Would you explain it to me now?"

I glance up at the sky. "A man's only as good as the world he creates for himself, the way he loves and protects and serves his family, the way he honors his friends, the way he takes care of them all. ‘Property' might be an old-school way of expressing it, but as my old lady, you'd be the most important person I'd have the honor of taking care of. And this world can be dangerous, but I know every single man in there would take a bullet to protect you too. I fucking love you, Calista. I'll take you any way I can get you. And if that means I can't have this version of the life I've built for myself, I'll build another. You might need to give me time to adjust. But you'll have all of me, I promise."

"You want to know what else Rae said?"

"No, I fucking don't. Because I just laid out my fucking heart to you and told you I love you. Don't dismiss it."

"I'm not, but you do want to hear what else Rae said. Trust me. There's a point to it all. She said I'm probably the smartest old lady, which, honestly, I'd have a hard time arguing with. But only when it comes to business building, because I'd argue Rae is smarter in the way she understands people and Catalina is more lethal."

"Babe," I say, putting my hand around her throat, rubbing my thumb up and down her neck. "Can you get to your fucking point?"

She smiles up at me, eyes wide. "She said she'd imagine I would consider expansion. Two offices. East and west. And that given that I have the experience of building a business from the ground up, I would have to promote the brightest and sharpest of my existing people to run the west and report to me."

Hope tentatively flickers in my chest. I don't want to assume what I think she's saying. "You'll stay?"

"I replied that we weren't ready to expand."

That flicker is doused. "Oh."

"Do you want to know what else Rae said?"

"Fuck, no. If I wanted to know what Rae said, I would have brought her out with us. I want to know what you said. If you fucking love me too?"

"Rae asked if the company wasn't ready, or I wasn't. And it was me. I wasn't ready. It felt like too big a step. Too scary, maybe, to give up a piece of my baby, my heart, that I built from the ground up. The business that has been my life and my everything. But the truth is, the business is ready. And I'm ready. I'm going to stay here, with you, if that's okay. I mean, I'll have to travel back to the?—"

I crush my lips to hers. "Yes."

"Wait, but there's?—"

Another kiss.

She shoves her hands against my chest. "Vex, but we?—"

Another kiss.

And another.

"You're my fucking everything, Calista. Whatever it takes for you to be here, we'll make it work."

"I'll have to go back every month for a week or so."

She feels so fucking good in my arms that she could say she was going to the fucking moon, and I'd be fine with it. "We'll time it to when I go on runs, if we can."

"Should I find my own place when I move so we can?—?"

"Shut up, Calista. For a smart girl, you can be really dumb sometimes. You'll move in with me."

She grins. "What if things change with Mom? I just hired an amazing live-in carer to help, but there may be times when Mom needs to live with us."

"That's just life, babe. Rough with the smooth. Could be my folks too. We deal with it together. That's the only thing I care about." I glance around the courtyard. "One last question. The truth is safe with me. Are you attempting to hack the Cosa Nostra?"

The look of genuine confusion on her face reassures me. "God. No. Who wants a horse's head in their bed? Wait, why are you asking?"

"Don't get mad, but I heard about a problem they were having. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't you."

"Be kinda funny if I were, though," she says.

I shake my head. "No. It would not."

"As it stands, the stalker situation has made me realize I don't need to take the same kinds of risks anymore." Calista laughs. "It's probably time I hung up my hacking habits."

"Maybe we just make sure we have such a fucking good life you don't miss it."

"I'll hold you to that," Calista says. "This could be the most successful merger I ever negotiated."

I smooth my hand over her hair. "You're giving up a lot for me."

"I could let you think that. But the truth is, I'm excited at the potential of who I could be if I do this. I need to know I face a life here that balances our relationship with the work I want to pursue and who I am as a person. I might need to see what not being a workaholic looks like."

And that actually makes me feel better about the whole thing. "That's healthy. Glad you're staying for more reasons than me. Although, I'm the biggest reason, right?"

She glances briefly in the vicinity of my cock. "Definitely."

Her eyes on me like that make my cock sit up and take notice, but there's one last thing I need to say. "I need a promise from you, Cal."

"Anything."

"What we went through? I'm not saying we could have avoided it by talking about it, because I know threats were made to each of our lives. But we need to not let misunderstandings get in our way again. I want us to promise that we'll always talk to each other. No matter how hard the conversation."

Calista puts her hand on my cheek. "I promise you, I'll never run again. And I promise I'll always talk to you. Even if you're the reason I'm mad."

Her smile warms me from the inside. "I promise you the same. I'll always talk to you first. I'll never walk out of a conversation, and I'll try not to assume I understand your reasoning before acting."

" Try not to assume?"

My smile matches hers. "I'm a work in progress, Cal. I'm bound to fuck up. But I trust you to call me on it if I do. It's in my nature to want to take over and to solve."

She steps up onto her toes and kisses me. I wrap my arms around her and hold her close as a light flurry of snow swirls around us.

Happiness flows unbounded in my veins.

And it's all because of her.

My phone rings and it's Switch. "He's here, brother."

"This could be the best fucking day of my life," I say to Calista. "Thank you."

"Oh, and yes, I didn't say it yet, but love you too."

Calista cups my cheeks and kisses me until my knees are weak and I wish we were anywhere other than a frigid hospital courtyard.

We hurry back to the waiting area where Spark is standing unashamedly with the track marks of tears down his face and a baby swaddled in a blanket in his arms.

"Vex," Spark says. "Quick. Meet Archer Draymond Hyatt."

The little man has a screwed-up wrinkly face, and he's making it known to everyone around us that he wasn't a fan of the whole "sliding out of the birth canal" thing.

"Hey, sweetheart," Calista says softly to Archer, and his face softens a little.

"How's Iris?" I ask as the little guy spreads his tiny fingers over my thumb.

He shakes his head and sighs. "Little chick has the strength of a fucking lion. Never loved her more than seeing her bring Archer into the world. She's just taking a minute while I brought him out here. Gotta go back," he says. When he gets to the door, he turns. "Thanks, all of you, for sticking around." His voice is ripe with emotions that are hard to name, and we all feel them.

I pop my arm around Calista's shoulder. "You think you might want a couple of those?"

She sighs wistfully. "I always thought no, given my relationship with Mom and my career."

"But now?"

She looks up at me with the kind of smile a guy would die for. "I think yes, because we'd make some pretty wonderful babies."