“Hey, baby,” she purred, her voice sickly sweet. Maybe the morning sickness was finally kicking in because hearing her trying to lure Johnny into something made me want to vomit.
Opal lowered her voice and whispered something in Johnny’s ear I couldn’t hear. He shook his head and moved her hand from his leg.
“No, thank you.”
“Oh, come on, baby.”
“Opal, he said no,” I warned. She glared at me and walked off to the other side of the room to sit with Jenna.
“The girls back home aren’t like the ones here,” Johnny said.
“What do you mean?”
“They aren’t aggressive. They get along with the old ladies and actually help out around the clubhouse. We only have two now,” he explained. “We lost two in the first attack, and one took off with a brother in the Golden Skulls. She’s an old lady now.”
I glanced at the two women across the room and said, “Please don’t let them hear that. They are already relentless.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Brian chuckled behind the bar, and I smiled. I liked Brian; he was a good kid. I laughed to myself. Brian was in his mid-twenties, only a few years younger than me, but he seemed almost innocent.
I’d been innocent once. Mostly, anyway. As a child of a mobster, you were never really innocent, even when you didn’t live with him, you learned things you shouldn’t.
Then there was growing up in Rosewood with the Sons of Hell. Growing up around bikers, even if you weren’t directly connected to them, taught you things—things that, at a young age, you had no business learning.
I placed a hand over my stomach and thought about the men here. If I did choose to stay, my child would grow up in the clubhouse. Around the swearing and the sex. The fighting and everything that came with being part of an outlaw club.
It was something I hadn’t taken into account the first time I was pregnant. I’d married Jude when he asked without hesitation. Without a single doubt that everything would work out.
It was something I needed to remember. That it didn’t matter how you felt, how in love you were. My child had to come first. That was a decision my parents had made. My safety and well-being trumped what either of them wanted.
I felt the air in the room shift and closed my eyes. Jude stepped in close behind me and kissed the side of my head. His hands caged me in against the bar.
“Morning, baby.”
“Good morning, Jude.”
“Whatever you need today is yours. You tell the guys to move, they’ll move.”
Brian nodded as he heard Jude speak, affirming that the club brothers would do whatever I asked.
“Thank you.”
I spun around and he stepped back. I took my coffee with me and left the room, heading to the kitchen. My mother smiled when I walked in.
“I thought you were still in bed.” She looked at my clothes and frowned.
I shook my head and reminded her, “Don’t. It can wait.”
She huffed and turned back to the stove. She loved cooking for everyone, but this morning we had almost twice as many guests. The rest of the women trickled in, and I was surprised to see Misty and Sandy enter with an offer to help.
They were still dressed in skimpy clothes, but at least the important parts were covered. I took it for what it was. Respect. For Jude, if not for me.
We all worked together getting breakfast ready and finishing the last-minute items for dinner. The Macy’s parade was playing on the TV in the background. My mother had insisted on it, and Maureen and Freyja backed her up.
When it was time to sit down, everyone grabbed a chair. King and Grace sat at a table with Blade and Beck, Popeye, Snoopy, and Johnny. My dad sat with Aunt Caity, Uncle Declan, and his men.
The club brothers scattered around the room, and my mom sat at a table with Jude and Zombie, Smokey sitting beside her. I looked over at Darcy, who eyed each table warily, as her son waited behind her for her to make a choice.
