22. Trick

Ifeel as if I’m suffocating as I take in the scene in front of me. Heidi is standing on the other side of the room, her body turned to the side to shield my daughter from the gun clutched in Desmond Richardson’s hand. That sense I had that something was wrong was clearly spot-on. The problem is, I don’t know how to fix this. My only priority is to keep that gun away from the two most important people in my life until help can arrive.

They’re not going to make it in time.

I try not to focus on the terror dancing in Heidi’s eyes as she finds mine across the room. Richardson is an unhinged piece of shit, and I have no doubt he will hurt them both to make me suffer.

As I stand in front of him, the gun swinging towards my head, I know I should be afraid, but all I feel is relief that he is no longer focused on them.

The wild look in his eyes is matched by the trembling of his gun. Whatever he is planning here, I have to stop it. My life has only just begun to have meaning again.

But all my demons and past sins are coming home to roost. For a long time, I have lived in this bubble, believing the terrible things I did would never catch up with me, not truly. And yet, my crimes are about to be brought to account.

I swallow the lump in my throat, keeping my hands loose at my sides so he doesn’t have a reason to fire the gun.

Sophia is fussy, her little cries hitting me in the gut like a wrecking ball. I want desperately to go to her, but I can’t risk moving.

“Why the fuck would I let them go? Having them here keeps you in line,” Richardson says.

There are huge bags under his eyes, and the wired look he has tells me the man is not sleeping much.

Angry and exhausted… that is a dangerous combination.

“This is between you and me. I’ll go wherever the fuck you want me to go, but they are not a part of this.”

“It’s interesting to me that you think you have any right to negotiate in this situation.”

I hear the gunshot before the pain registers in my shoulder. White-hot agony spreads from my collarbone all the way down my arm and spine. My legs fail, driving me to my knees as stars spill in front of my eyes. The pain is intense, but all I can focus on is the scream Heidi lets out at the same time as the shot is fired.

Logically, my brain knows she has not been injured. The gun was trained on me, not her, but my gaze snaps to her, checking she is in one piece still. That terror in her eyes has morphed into something beyond that, and I hate seeing her fear. She was meant to be safe here. They both were, and now, I’m scared Richardson is going to torture me by slowly killing them.

“Shut up,” Richardson says.

“Everything’s gonna be okay.” I say this to Heidi, even as I keep my eyes locked on Richardson.

I hope she trusts me enough to get us out of this situation, because there is no way in hell I’m letting anything happen to her or my child.

“That’s an interesting promise to make,” Richardson says, “considering you have zero power in this situation.”

I press my hand against my shoulder, feeling warm blood pool beneath my palm. I can’t tell how badly I’m hurt, other than the pain, but I can’t waste too much time. The longer I’m bleeding, the weaker I will become, and I need all my strength to protect my family.

I glance at Bobby, who seems uninjured though clearly angry at the situation he finds himself in. His gaze finds mine and I see apology in it. I don’t need his sorries. I need him to help me get us out of this fucking disaster.

His hand moves slightly, and I follow it, seeing a hint of metal clutched in his palm. A knife maybe. Attacking Richardson with so many people in one space is never going to have a good outcome. There’s too much risk of the gun going off and hitting Heidi or Sophia.

But I also understand that we are in a terrible situation.

“Just tell me what you fucking want.” I glare up at him, blood trickling between my fingers from the wound to my shoulder.

“I’ll admit, the way you killed my men had a certain artistic flair to it. If I didn’t want you dead, I would’ve offered you a position in my organisation.”

“That’s an interesting proposition to make,” I mirror back his early words. “But I’ll pass. You’re going to die in this room, Desmond. There is no way in hell you get to walk out of here in one piece.” It’s a bold assertion to make, considering I am the one on my knees bleeding and he’s the one with the gun.

He throws his head back, cackling like a madman.

“No one is leaving this room alive.”

I ignore the tremor that works through me at those words. “Everything that has happened is your fault. You started this war, and you killed people who didn’t deserve to die.”

“We both know your hands aren’t clean either, so don’t pretend like you’re some kind of fucking saint.”

I glance at Heidi and try to communicate with her to move towards the patio door. If she can get into the garden, I can distract this lunatic long enough for her to run.

She shakes her head minutely, and I want to scream. Now is not the time for her to show loyalty to me. I need her safe. I need my daughter safe.

But despite her reluctance to leave me, she does edge ever so slightly towards the door.

“I’ve never professed to be a fucking saint,” I fire back, trying to keep his attention on me. “You killed my pregnant wife. Did you really think I was going to sit by and let that slide without any form of retribution?”

He waves a hand in the air. “Collateral damage. It happens in war. She was never the target.”

There is a roaring in my ears as he says those words, and I want to pound his teeth down his fucking throat. “Collateral damage? My daughter is without her mother and that’s collateral fucking damage?”

“What about all the men you’ve killed? They had families too. There were people waiting for them to come home, and instead, they had to bury what you left of them. So, don’t talk to me about losing people. You’re not the only one who has lost everything. Your fucking club stole my child from me.”

Is this guy for real?“Your men tried to cut your daughter’s stomach open and kill her baby. Why would you even think she would want to be around you?”

The ripple of pain that works across his face tells me he’s not as okay with Skye betraying him as he makes out. “I never ordered that to happen. I wanted my daughter to come home.”

Heidi inches closer to the door, her arms wrapped tightly around Sophia as she takes tentative steps away from the danger.

“Come home to what? You have no intention of building bridges with her. All you want is to dole out punishment.”

He points the gun at me again, and I brace for another hit. It doesn’t come, though. “You took everything from me, so now, I’m going to take everything from you. And then I’m gonna kill you and the rest of your club.”

He swings his arm towards Heidi and my daughter. My heart stops in my chest and everything seems to slow to a crawl. Without thinking, I stumble to my feet and plaster my body in front of them, willing to take whatever bullets are meant for them.

Heidi feels so small and vulnerable as I wrap myself around her defensively, my daughter pressed between us.

“Don’t… please.” I don’t want to beg, but I will. For them, I will do whatever it takes.

“Did my men beg when you were flaying the skin off their backs?” Fuck. Memories of the blood I spilled fills my mind. “Did my men beg when you were stabbing holes in them over and over just to watch them bleed out? Did my men?—”

Bobby moves so fast, surging to his feet in a smooth motion that barely registers for Richardson.

That glint of metal in his hand finds its way into the side of that fucker’s neck. Blood spurts as Bobby twists the knife, creating a bigger wound. Richardson’s mouth opens in a silent scream, his eyes wide as blood trails down his chin.

The gun fires—a reflex maybe—and I pull Heidi and my daughter onto the floor beneath me, shielding them with my body.

Bobby doesn’t hesitate. The kid might only be eighteen, but there is no fear in him as he pulls the knife from Richardson’s neck and, in rapid succession, stabs it into his gut over and over. It’s so violent, so aggressive, and completely fatal.

The gurgling sounds of him choking on his own body fluids is a fucking symphony to me, and although I wish I had been the one to stick that knife into him, I still feel the satisfaction of watching the river of red run down his throat as his eyes bug out his head.

I can tell the moment he realises he’s done. There is disbelief and panic in his face before he sags forward onto his knees and crashes onto my kitchen floor.

Blood instantly pools around his body, staining the tiles beneath him and filling the air with its iron scent.

Bobby straightens, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he stares down at Richardson’s body. The kid isn’t even patched in, and yet he has put an end to the club’s worst enemy.

When his eyes find mine, all the crazy drains out of them and he lowers his knife to his side, blood dripping off the blade. Crimson is spattered over his face and hands, so when he gives me a broad grin, he looks completely demented. “Fucker talked too much.”

“Thank you, Bobby.” I breathe out the words before giving my attention to Heidi and Sophia.

Carefully, I lift off them both as Bobby retrieves Richardson’s gun, slipping it down the back of his jeans.

Heidi unfurls from around Sophia, checking her for injuries.

“Is she okay?” I ask, my voice trembling as I pull her arms away from her body to search for blood. But other than being upset, my daughter appears to be fine.

“I think so,” Heidi says, her voice trembling. “Is he…” Her eyes slide over to Richardson’s body.

“I don’t care about him. Are you hurt?”

When she doesn’t answer immediately, I cup her face with my hands, leaving bloodied smears on her cheeks. I’m so fucking grateful that blood is mine and not hers.

“I don’t… I don’t think so.” Her hand moves to her stomach, and I don’t miss the frightened look in her eyes.

Fear surges inside me as I quickly lift her T-shirt to see if there’s any damage, but all I see is her smooth skin.

“What’s wrong?” Her throat bobs as she swallows, and my fear intensifies. “Heidi? Talk to me.”

She lifts her gaze, and the look in her eyes is something I have never seen before. It’s a mix of so many emotions, I can’t pinpoint a single one.

“I made an appointment with the doctor.” That fear again ripples through me. “I haven’t been yet, but I threw up this morning. I don’t know how it happened, Trick. I didn’t do it on purpose, but I guess with everything going on, I just?—”

I grab her face between my hands again, bringing her attention to me. “What are you talking about?”

“I took a pregnancy test. It was positive.”

There is a ringing in my ears as those words settle around me. She took a pregnancy test and it was positive. Heidi is pregnant with my child.

I thought I felt protective before, but the wave that rises through me is so much more intense. Now, I have three people to keep safe. The world around me that felt so small suddenly feels too big, but a sense of peace spreads through me as I realise I’m going to be a dad for a second time.

And this time, I will not miss a single second of this child’s life.

“I’m sorry,” she rambles. “I messed up getting my shot. With everything happening, I just… please don’t think I did this on purpose. If you don’t want the baby, I understand, but?—”

“I want the baby,” I cut across her rambling. “I want you, and I want this baby.”

Her brows come together. Why the fuck would she think I wouldn’t want this kid?

“You do?”

“Yeah, I do.” I kiss her gently, as if I’m afraid I might break her.

She kisses me back, Sophia between us, as I show her with actions everything I can’t say with words. My adrenaline is leaving my body as I realise we’re safe, and with it, the pain in my shoulder makes itself known, but I don’t let her go.

This woman in front of me has given me everything. I thought my life was over. I thought I could never experience a single moment of happiness ever again, but she pulled me out of the abyss I was drowning in. She gave me purpose. She showed me how to be a father, and now, she is going to give me that gift once more. “I fucking love you, Heidi.”

Tears stand in her eyes. “You’re not mad?”

“No, I’m not. I’m fucking grateful.”

And as I hold the two most important things in my life, this shit with the Pioneers done, I finally believe I can have a future again.