"Always am."
"No," he says quietly. "You're not. You're like Mom that way."
The comparison hits like a slap. Our mother, who loved the wrong man so completely it killed her.
"I'm nothing like her," I whisper.
"I hope not, baby sister. I really hope not."
He hangs up, and I sit there in the dark, claimed by a stranger, suspected by my brother, wanted by a doctor who represents everything safe.
I choose the stranger anyway.
Because apparently, I am exactly like my mother.
Chapter fourteen
Claiming Words
Zane
Candy's pregnancy lie would have been funny if I wasn't obsessed with an angel who commits healthcare fraud with magnetic signs.
It's Sunday afternoon at the clubhouse, and I'm trying to focus on inventory sheets while my mind replays last night's texts. She let another man kiss her. She didn't kiss back. She's mine whether she admits it or not.
"Z!" Ghost's voice cuts through my thoughts. "Got a minute?"
Before I can answer, Candy appears in the doorway like a discount soap opera villain, complete with tears that look about as real as her tits.
"I need to talk to you," she announces loudly enough for the entire club to hear. "About our baby."
The room goes silent. Every Iron Talon in the building turns to stare.
Our baby?
After Ghost shut her down last week, Candy's apparently moved to her backup plan—me. Like I'm dumb enough to fall for the same trick she tried on my President.
"Candy," I say carefully, standing up. "We need to—"
"You can't ignore this!" Her voice rises to performance levels. "I'm pregnant with your child!"
Joker starts laughing immediately, the sound bouncing off the walls. "Can't get pregnant from rejection, sweetheart!"
"We've never touched," I state clearly, for the benefit of our audience. "Never. Not once."
"That night—" she starts.
"What night? Name it. Date, time, location. Because I can account for every night, and none of them include you."
Ghost stands up, his expression unreadable. "Candy. Outside. Now."
She deflates like punctured silicone, the tears stopping as quickly as they started. "He's lying—"
"Outside. Now."
She storms out, and Ghost follows, but not before giving me a look that says we'll be discussing this later. The thing about fake pregnancy claims in MC culture—they're not just about the woman. They're about respect, territory, honor. Candy just tried to claim me, and that kind of lie has consequences.
My phone buzzes.
