“You want me to make my brownies?” Pam’s gaze cuts to me and I nod. The woman can be a bit scary and right now I’m in no mood to spar with her. “All right. But next time you two plan a lunch date I better be invited.” She rounds the couch and squeezes herself in-between us. “What’s the skinny on the nursey? I wanna see what you are planning.”

  I hand my phone over to her. “We’re going to update the paint. New furniture. Crib, changing table, rocking chair. Basic stuff.”

  “God you two are so boring. No wonder you’re friends. I want the juicy stuff. Come on its girl time no men. No offense, Jasper. What’s the latest on that cunt Lynn?”

  “Rude,” Jules hisses.

  “It’s fine. She’s completely crazy and won’t leave East alone. She calls and texts him every single day. Pops up wherever he is. I’m just ready for her to have the baby so we can arrange the DNA test and be done or move on. Whatever.”

  “You make up with your mom yet?”

  “How do you know about that?”

  “Please. Alexa and I go to the same salon.”

  “Nope. Haven’t talked to her and I don’t plan on it. What’s she saying?”

  “Well I heard from Taylor who heard your mom say that she’s worried that you were gonna end up like her. Well I gotta say your mom’s always a damn mess but you seem to have your shit together so I wouldn’t pay that shit no mind. The real problem is getting rid of Lynn. So, what’s your plan?”

  “There is no plan.”

  “Jules, tell her she needs a plan. This shit is serious.”

  “What would you do?”

  “For starters you keeping your man wore out, you know giving it to him on the regular.”

  “Well yeah. We have sex a lot.”

  “Of course you do.” Pam pats my knee. “How skillful is he? Now don’t get mad or offended, I’m happy with Link, but I’m just saying East is hella sexy, and I’ve always wondered what he’d be like as a lover.” She smirks and nudges me with her knee. My face heats ten shades of red. “Share with the class. We’re all friends here. I’ll tell you about Link.”

  I don’t want to hurt Pam’s feelings but the last thing I want to know about Link is how good he is in bed. The dude like his wife is scary. “East is phenomenal. He always makes sure I get mine before he gets his.”

  “Is he your first?”

  “Pam, stop interrogating the poor girl.”

  “You’re right, little sister. I’m sorry, Wylla Mae, but you know you can still tell me if you want to.” The way she looks at me when she says it makes me laugh. She looks so serious.

  Jasper starts wailing from his swing. “He’s probably hungry.”

  “Let me feed him.” Pam jumps up.

  “Go for it.”

  “I should probably get going. I need to see to some grocery shopping, and I have no idea what to get East for Christmas still.”

  “That’s easy,” Pam says. “Stuff he doesn’t buy for himself. Socks, underwear, new t-shirts, money to spend on his bike. A blow job. Anal.” She shrugs and Jules starts laughing.

  “Well thank you for that. I’m going to go unless you guys want to hit the mall with me?”

  “Take Jules with you and I’ll take the baby home with me.”

  “You always want to take him.” Jules grins. “I just need to stop downstairs and tell Roane my plans.”

  I say goodbye to crazy ass Pam. While Jules goes to the tattoo shop to talk to Roane, I start up my jeep to let it warm up and call East. “Hey, honey,” I greet him as soon as he answers. “I’m calling to see what you want for dinner tonight and to let you know I’m headed to the mall with Jules.”

  “Whatever you want is okay with me. Buy some of those sexy panties with the strings on them.”

  “Any other request?”

  “Just have a good time. I’ll see you tonight.” East ends the call and I lay my cell phone in my lap debating on texting Andi to see if she wants to come over tomorrow and help me decorate for Christmas. The passenger side and rear driver’s side doors open at the same time and two masked men enter my vehicle.

  My finger hovers over the call button to redial East. “Don’t be stupid.” The man in the passenger side grabs my cell phone before I can make a move. The man behind me presses something to the back of my head that I can merely guess is a gun. Pulse hammering in my ears I struggle to breathe.

  “Drive to your mother’s house,” the second man instructs.

  I am too scared to ask questions or to attempt to run.

  Chapter 25

  As I’m driving the man in the passenger seat calls someone. “Yeah, I’ve got her. We’ll be there soon.”

  What the serious fuck. Did my mother put them up to this? What the hell is happening? I want to ask questions but I’m afraid one wrong word or move could set these fuckers off. The drive to my mom’s house is short. I put the jeep in park and shut off the engine. The dude in the back exits the vehicle and opens the driver’s side door. “Don’t try anything stupid. I will shoot you. Get out and walk to the front door. I mean it. You run and you’ll die.” Tears threaten to fall but I bite them back. I have to be strong for my baby. For East.

  I get out and act as I’m told. Both men walk on either side of me, escorting me to the front door. The man to my right doesn’t knock he opens the door and pulls me through. I gasp, putting a palm to my mouth when I see my mother on her knees bound at the wrists behind her back and gagged with Lynn standing over her holding a gun.

  “Oh good. Look, Alexa. Your cunt daughter made it after all. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree did it. Both of you fucking men who didn’t belong to you.”

  “You’re crazy.” The moment the words leave my mouth a large hand slaps me across the face with a deafening thwack that cracks through the room. My head whips to the side and I taste blood on my lips.

  “No one told you to speak,” a feral voice growls in my ear.

  “Tie her up. Just like the mom,” Lynn demands.

  “When do we get our money. We already offed that other guy for you.”

  “When the job is done. Now shut up and do what I’m paying you for.”

  Oh. My. God. They’re going to kill us.

  “We want half now.”

  “I will get it to you once you finish the job.”

  “We need to see the money.”

  “You messed that up didn’t you. Nickel almost told East about the baby,” she hisses. “Now execute this and don’t fuck it up this time, and I’ll give you that bonus we talked about.”

  “East will never forgive you if you hurt the baby I’m carrying.”

  “I thought I told you to gag the bitch,” Lynn whines.

  One of the men grabs my jaw with more force than necessary and squeezes. I press my lips together as he goes to shove his fingers into my mouth, and I bite down clamping my teeth on his skin as hard as I can refusing to let go even when I taste blood. I pray he isn’t diseased, but I can’t worry about that right now. A fist connects with my middle and I open my mouth dropping to my knees, holding my stomach.

  “Fuck this.” I look up and the other man has his gun trained on me.

  “No, you fool. Not yet. We need it to look like her mother killed her then herself.”

  “Why the hell would she do that?”

  “Because Alexa had East first and she’s jealous that he’s with Wylla Mae. And when they’re gone and out of my way, he’ll move on with me and my baby.”

  They start arguing. “Thought this bitch is a problem for that other lady.”

  “She is but this gets them both out of the way.”

  I look to my mom and notice she’s doing some weird thing with her arms and the pointy corner on the end table. I fell when I was three and cut my eyebrow on that table. Mom spits the gag out quietly. I cut my gaze back to the men as one of them grabs me and starts binding my hands together with duct tape.

  “You aren’t doing it tight enough.” Lynn lays the handgun she was holding on the couch and my mom makes her move. With her hands free she grabs the gun and points the weapon at Lynn and the men.

  “Step away from my daughter or I’ll shoot.”

  “You might get one of us before I get you,” one of the men snarls.

  My mom says nothing, instead she opts for shooting right away, going for the man holding the gun. The shot hits him in the leg and he drops his gun. I go to grab it but I’m not as fast as the other man. He gets to it before I can. I determine the only thing that will give me a chance at survival is to make a run for it. I run for the door.

  Two shots fire behind me. Lynn’s blood curdling scream sounds through the room. The other man shoves past me, knocking me to the ground and darts out the front of the house.

  Pushing up from the floor I look back and my heart sinks to my feet. Lynn has been shot in the chest and my mother has a gunshot wound to her abdomen. I get to the phone in the kitchen and dial 911. The other man my mother shot in the leg is trying to drag himself out the front door leaving a trail of blood behind him while I’m on the phone with the emergency services operator giving her as many details as I can through my tears. My mother somehow manages to sit up like a total badass and fire another round. This time she shoots him in the back, and he collapses.

  “Ma’am what’s happening? That sounded like another gunshot. Are you there?”

  “I’m here.” I clutch the cordless phone and drop to my knees at my mother’s side. “Her face is pale, and blood is seeping quickly through her shirt. What should I do?”

  “Put pressure over the wound until help arrives.”

  Bile rises in my throat and I grab the throw blanket off the back of the couch pressing it to her stomach. “I’m so sorry, Mom. I’m sorry.”

  “Shh. It’s okay, Sweetpea.” She strokes my cheek starting to fade in and out.

  “Stay with me. Help’s coming. Don’t close your eyes. Please, Mom, don’t die. I’m sorry. I love you.”

  Sirens sound in the distance growing closer with each passing second.

  “Ma’am is the front door accessible in the home?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Okay, there are police arriving now you should see them coming through the door.”

  “I do.”

  “I’m going to hang up now. You’re safe.”

  “Th-thank you.” I drop the phone as four police officers enter my childhood home.

  “We’ve got a victim down, appears to have a gunshot to the back,” an officer speaks into his radio. “Female victim gunshot to the chest and she’s pregnant.” His gaze meets mine. “Female victim gunshot wound to the stomach.”

  “House is clear, sir.” I glance up at the same detective who showed up the night Nickel got shot.

  EMT’s rush into the house loading Lynn up and then my mother. The man is dead.

  “You’ll need to get checked out at the hospital but I’m going to need you to tell me what happened here today, Mrs. Reed.”

  “Can I call my husband?” The second I ask East comes rushing through the door with my father at his back.

  “Baby.” An officer puts a hand to his chest.

  “This is a crime scene. You can’t be in here.”

  “That’s my wife.” East shoves him away and comes to me wrapping his arms around me. “Christ, I thought the worst. What happened?”

  “Lynn. There was two men with guns, and she had Mom tied up. I thought they were going to kill me. They said they killed Nickel for her.”

  “Who’s Lynn?” The detective questions.

  “The pregnant woman.”

  “There’s only one man here.”

  “The other guy ran when Mom shot at his partner. She got free and took one of the guns. She saved my life. Lynn said she wanted to make it look like a murder suicide between Mom and me. She’s sick.”

  “We got a suspect on the loose. Armed and dangerous. Canvas the neighborhood,” the detective talks into a radio. “Put an officer on the pregnant woman. She’s an accomplice.”

  “Fucking hell,” Murder says. “I’m going to the hospital to see about Alexa.”

  “We’ll be behind you. I want Wylla Mae to get checked out.”

  “I’m okay. He punched me in the stomach but I’m sure I’m fine.”

  East scoops me up into his arms. “You’re getting checked out now. Any other questions, Detective, you can ask her later. She’s pregnant and needs to see a doctor.”

  The man says something, but East is already carrying me to his truck.

  “I can walk.”

  “Nope, not until you’ve been looked at.”

  “I’m fine. I’m worried about Mom. She saved my life, East.”

  “Alexa’s a fighter. She’s going to be okay.” He gets me in the truck and buckles me in.

  “You don’t know that.” I frown as he closes my door and races to the other side to get in.

  **

  East drove like a bat of hell to the hospital. The moment he told them that I’m pregnant and had recently been attacked they took us straight to an exam room. I had an ultrasound, and everything looks good. We even got to hear the baby’s heartbeat. I’m waiting to be released. East went to see how my mother is doing. I hate the not knowing. What if she dies? She was so damn fearless, and I was scared shitless. I should have done something. I just don’t know what.

  East was already looking for me when they heard the call about gunshots fired at my mom’s. Pam, Roane, and Jules had called to ask him if I were okay because I took off without a word. He knew something was up since I had just called and told him I was going shopping with Jules.

  The curtain is drawn back slightly. “Can we talk?”

  I stare at my father and don’t have the energy to send him away. Right now, I’m pretty damn thankful to be alive. “Sure.”

  “I know I fucked up. With your mom and with you. I just want you to know I’m going to do whatever I can to make this shit right.”

  “You don’t owe me anything. As for my mom that’s between you and her if she makes it.”

  “I’m here if you need me.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  East returns and him and Murder share a look that I can’t describe but it’s like they are having a whole conversation with that one expression.

  “How’s my mom?”

  “She in surgery to remove the bullet but nothing major was hit. The biggest thing will be her recovery.”

  “See you around, Cupcake.”

  I roll my eyes, but he’s already gone.

  “What was that about?”

  “What?”

  “That exchange you guys just had?”

  “Club business.”

  “Right. Any word on Lynn?”

  “Nope. They had to take the baby. He’s fine.”

  “How are you feeling about everything?”

  “Just thankful you’re okay.”

  “I get it if you worried about her baby, or even her, East.”

  “Christ, Lady. She tried to kill you and your mom. I don’t give a damn about her. And I’ll have you know that kid ain’t mine.”

  “How can you know that?”

  “Because I saw him and he’s black.”

  “You couldn’t have led with that first?” I can’t help but smile. “Who do you suspect the father is?”

  “Fuck if I know. Not my problem.”

  “Guess not.”

  East leans down, dropping his mouth to mine. “Gimme’ that mouth, baby.”

  I kiss my husband and peace like I’ve never felt before washes over me.

  I know I’m always safe with him.

  Epilogue 1

  Murder

  “How you doing, pretty girl?” I push Alexa’s blonde hair back from her face as she starts to stir.

  Her eyes blink once, twice, three times before finally opening. “What are you doing here? What time is it?”

  “It’s late, sweetheart, but I wanted to see you.”

  She shifts in the hospital bed.

  “Don’t move too much, you had surgery, remember?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Don’t you argue with me. You know you never win.” I chuckle and she rolls those pretty green eyes at me. “Scared the hell outta me.”

  “Like you’d care. You’d probably throw a party instead of a wake.”

  “Take that shit back.”

  She snorts. “Go home. I’m sure Ruthie is waiting up for you.”

  “About that. We need to talk.”

  “There is no about anything. We stopped having anything to talk about the day my daughter turned eighteen.”

  “Lex.”

  “I don’t want to hear it, James. I’m tired.”

  “I fucked up. I know that. I was too caught up with the politics of the club and appearances. Seeing East and Wylla Mae and how it is between them...I have a fuck of a lot of regrets. I know we can’t go back. I hated myself for wanting you. Nearly destroyed me doing what I did back then.” I squeeze her hand.

  “And yet you kept doing it.” One thick teardrop rolls down her cheek. I go to wipe it away. “Get out.”

  “Lex, baby.”

  “Don’t. You don’t get to come here nearly twenty years too late and say you care about me. You strung me along for years. All I ever wanted was to be good enough for you. It took me a long time to see that it was the other way around. I was so damn blind. So addicted to you. But not anymore. I’m done with that. I’ve wasted too much time chasing the wrong men hoping to experience an ounce of what I felt when I was with you. You’re the one not good enough for me.”

  “Darlin’, I never wanted to hurt you. I was a selfish bastard who couldn’t let you go.”

  “Then do it now. Let me go. Cut me loose.”

  I move in, getting close to her face. Her breath fans over my lips. She holds my gaze. “Things will never be over between us, Lex. You’ll see. Things are different now.”

  “Oh yeah. What makes them so damn different?”

  “I almost lost you. I knew you’d never leave me. You’d always be there until the other day when I saw you loaded up in that ambulance and regret swept over me so hard and heavy, I thought I was drowning.”