“That’s what all our ole’ ladies do to us, brother,” King said. “We need to move. Clean-up crew is outside.”
Two months later...
“Bekkett?” she called. She forced herself to get out of bed. The pillow next to hers felt cold. She couldn’t hear Viking moving around in the ensuite like a grumpy bear who’d gotten up before the alarm. He hated waking up before his scheduled time, she’d learned. Bekkett liked his things in order. If shit went out of whack, he tended to get cranky. Of course, he didn’t consider club business to be out of his regimented order. No, that he said was different.There were different rules for the club. She didn’t ask questions about his thought process. The man simply defied any box one could put him in. He could put a five-thousand-dollar suit on and face off with a judge in a courtroom without flinching, or as she’d witnessed firsthand, battle a knife-wielding badman and come out the winner.
She took a long, cleansing breath. It was Valentine’s Day. She had a lot to do to prepare for the surprise she’d planned for Viking.
Blair listened closely as she moved through the house, trying to see if Viking was in any part of it. It wasn’t like him to leave without letting her know. In the kitchen, propped up near the coffee pot, she spied a little card. Her heart swelled at the familiar scrawl with her name.
“Hi, Vakker. I had to run out for a bit. I’ll be back this afternoon. Rest and pamper yourself this morning and be ready for some loving. V”
She rolled her eyes, loving him so damn much. Making herself a cup of coffee, she went back to the ensuite to start a bath. A long soak and pamper would go a long way to soothing her. Her hand went to her lower abdomen. “Okay, little bean. We’ll break it toyour daddy tonight and pray he doesn’t freak the fuck out.”
During the entire mess of the past few months, she’d spaced out and forgotten to get the birth control shot. In her move to Santa Clarita, her calendar reminder didn’t get put back up. A month ago, she’d started spotting. She’d spiraled, thinking her body was trying to rebel after the turmoil. And then she’d lost her breakfast after Bekkett left two weeks ago. After confiding her fears to Ayesha, they’d gotten a home test that confirmed what she’d known.
She was pregnant. Would Viking demand she leave or get rid of her child? He’d lost his daughter and had only recently started to come out of the depression. Could he accept another child?
“I will love you enough for both of us if he doesn’t want to be a part of your life.” Blair sniffed. She kept her tears at bay as she got out of the bath. Tonight, she’d tell him how much she loved him. She’d tell him about the baby, and if he didn’t want to be a father...she’d walk away.
VIKING ENTERED THEoffice King used on the upper level of the clubhouse. He watched the video feed of the Clemens’ bodies being pulled from the water. The Mercedes they’d driven appeared as a charred piece of metal with extensive front-end damage. The reporter came onto the screen.
“As you can see behind me, the wreckage of the Mercedes is of the Missing Hilaria Clemens. Our preliminary report indicates it contains a couple of sets of remains. Hilaria Clemens and her son Benjamin Clemons have been missing for several months, and from the reports I’m getting, they believe the bodies inside are those of Mrs. Clemens and her son. While it’s not what many had hoped for, it at least gives the family and friends a sense of peace, knowing they were together. Mrs. Clemons' husband’s body was found a week after Christmas from a stroke and subsequent fall at the family home. Sadly, he wasn’t discovered until staff returned after the holidays. We’ll know more once forensics comes back with DNA analysis.”
King hit mute, turning around in the chair to stare at Viking. “Such a sad turn of events. They must’ve run into a fireball or something,” he mused.
Viking nodded. “Tragic indeed. So, what else do you have for me?”
“Two things. Your woman can relax. I know she’s been nervous thinking there’d be blowback from their deaths. No matter how much we reassured her, she couldn’t stop worrying. Now, this discovery should settle her. Second, I’ve heard she’s got an eye for sussing out fakes when it comes to high-end items. We could use her when we’re offloading products we acquire. For many of the items we resell, we assume the numbers are good. I don’t think we’re getting fucked over, but—”
“She comes from money. It would be easy for her to immerse herself in researching the items. I think she’d like that. Especially if she knows she’s taking from sick fucks and giving to the needy.” Viking sat back and grinned. “She said she could tap the metal on a Hermes bag and tell by the way it tinged if it was real or fake. I didn’t have a clue what the fuck she was talking about. The next day, Cosmo showed up with two of these leather purses that looked identical to me. He placed them in front of her, asking her to show him which one was real and which was fake.”
King nodded. “That’s when I started thinking about asking her to work for us. I needed to clear it with Duke and see what Ayesha thought. Watching her select the correct bag and show Cosmo which was the fake could’ve been a fluke. Luckily, Cosmo brought ten other bags. That fucker has way too much money to burn.”
“I think she’ll be happy to work with us. Tonight, I plan to take her on an overnight trip down to Cosmo’s beach property. He’s been generous and agreed to lend me the place for the weekend. His staff helped me set up the place for my proposal. They were all in on helping with the preparations for a romantic evening with dinner. Their offer to come back while I took Jinx out for a walk on the beach was welcome since I hope we’ll be busy celebrating afterward. You know, all the things to woo my woman. If I’m lucky, she’ll be wearing my ring by this time tomorrow. When we return, I’ll have her give you a call so you can discuss it with her.”
King stood and held out his hand across the table. “Best of luck, brother. Let me know if you need anything.”
“All I need is for her to say yes.”
Viking turned and strode for the door, tossing his hand up in a wave of goodbye to King. He stared straight ahead. His mind was already on what the evening plans were. Three months had gone by since he’d met and fallen hard for Blair. She’d been hiding from her family for close to ten years. All he’d had to do was barrel into her life, gut her worthless brother, feed her egg donor some of her own medicine like she’d given his brother Coal in a double dose straight to her heart, and boom, the rest fell into place. He didn’t feel the least bit guilty.
A few hours later, he and Jinx entered the lavish waterfront property Cosmo owned.
“Wow, this is spectacular.” Blair entered the foyer. She spun in a circle. Her eyes were sparkling brighter than the sun behind her.
“Mmm, you’re the spectacular one.” He walked toward her, knowing his voice sounded gruff.
“You know, when I first saw you, I thought I should run for the hills. I’m glad I’m not much of a runner.” Her voice was quiet, almost as though she was worried he’d say she should’ve run or didn’t know how he’d respond.
He pulled her into his arms, stopping her retreat right there in the entry. Staring down at her beautiful face, he let her see his love. She looked stunning. Golden skin with a dusting of freckles, thanks to time spent outside with him and the other women. Her blonde hair flowed down her back in loose curls, making him want to fist it in his hand while he fucked her, and her green eyes looked back at him with the same emotion he felt. Her skin flushed as his unruly cock swelled between them.
“Ignore him,” he rumbled.
“It’s kind of hard—”
There was laughter in her eyes, telling Viking she understood the double meaning. “Keep it up, and I’ll show you hard.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat?”
