I pulled him into the shelter of my arms and held him tight. “Sweetheart, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. On paper, I’m technically your mother because I adopted you, so if you feel like you want to call me Mom or Auntie, or Brina, it’s absolutely up to you. I love you no matter what.” I laid my hand on my belly. “And this baby is going to be so lucky to have you as their big brother.”
“Yes,” he hissed, pumping his fist in the air. “Thanks, Mom.”
He slid off my lap and hugged Stoney.
“Love you, bud,” he said.
“Love you, Dad. Can I play Super Smash Bros before dinner?”
“Is your homework done?” I asked.
“Yep,” he said. “Dad helped me.”
I smiled. “Okay, go.”
He made a run for the stairs and I shifted so I was facing Stoney, taking his arms. “Hi.”
“Hey, baby.”
“I haven’t been feeling so great,” I explained.
“Yeah, I knew you weren’t feelin’ well.”
“Right. So, I called my doctor and she had a cancelation today, so I decided to drop in before I came home. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to needlessly worry.”
“Next time tell me you’re going to the doctor, even if you think I’ll ‘needlessly worry.’”
“Okay, honey.” I smiled. “Anyway, she had me take a pregnancy test. Newsflash. That’s why I’ve been feeling so crappy.”
“Holy shit.” He dragged his hands through his hair. “When?”
“About seven months from now. She thinks I’m about eight weeks, but she’ll know more when I have an ultrasound. We can do one as early as next week.”
“Will we find out what we’re havin’?”
“Not this soon. But in a couple of months, definitely.”
He stood, pulling me up with him and wrapping his arms around me. “Baby, I’m so proud of you.”
I looped my arms around his neck. “Proud of you, too, Noah. More than you will ever fully know.”
Stoney had worked hard over the past year to make amends with my brother. After he’d handed the Los Psychos biker over to my brother, they’d started to work toward a more amicable relationship, but once Luca had made his bones with the information Maria had left, Luca had calmed down quite a bit. There was enough evidence to send six very bad men away for life, and Luca got multiple commendations and a promotion for his work.
Luca had let me watch the video message. Well, he let me watch theeditedmessage. He’d removed a lot of the stuff pertaining to the case, leaving in the personal stuff Maria said about us and why she did what she did. She’d been at some dinner party with a man she’d been dating and overheard a conversation about trafficking women and children. These people had decided to branch out from drugs since they were losing ground in Monument. She decided to watch and listen, occasionally recording conversations and taking pictures of paperwork when she felt it was safe. The problem was, she’d been found out, which is why she’d stashed the evidence with me. It took these men a long time to catch on that I might have what they wanted, hence the kidnapping and sale of Felix. They weren’t expecting that act would bring down the Howlers’ on them, as well as my brother.
Luca had discovered that Felix’s teacher’s aide was being blackmailed by Los Psychos. Luca didn’t disclose what the blackmail entailed, but she had evidence that earned her a reduced sentence on the kidnapping charge, which I wasn’t happy about, but it got Luca an additional ‘big fish,’ so I’d had to let it go.
Sunday dinners had grown into a blood thirsty, but good-natured, game night, complete with Stoney’s sister, Marlowe, who’d been accepted into the fold and there was rarely a week she missed dinner. Even Stoney’s mom, Carla, came on occasion, but was still taking a little time for her to warm up to me. Felix, though, was all over his new grandmother, and thankfully, Carla was madly in love with him as well.
I could tell my parents were finally released of their guilt. The fact their daughter hadn’t fallen off the wagon had somehow made her death much easier to accept. It certainly had for me.
Not that Maria’s death was any less sad, but knowing she hadn’t done it to herself meant we could move forward in a more clear way. The guilt wasn’t there anymore.
Our wedding had been a glorious celebration of our love. We’d walked down the aisle at our church, then partied at the club, and my new biker family had lovingly folded my parents into the group, although, they were still leery of Luca.
He was on his best behavior at the wedding and reception, but hadn’t darkened the doors of the compound since, and probably wouldn’t again unless he was forced.
“I want you to sit here and relax while I finish dinner,” Stoney said, kissing me gently, then heading into the kitchen. “I’ll get you some water.”
