“I think so. She finally turned her phone back on and I tracked her at the new house she bought. Viper and Count are on their way there now to check on her,” I answer my sister as she whips her head toward me in shock.
“What? Tally bought a new house?” she questions me as Tim starts wiping her forehead with a cool cloth.
“She did. Just bought it with a cash payment,” I inform her as another contraction hits and she starts panting and holds back a scream of pain.
“The little bitch! She never told me she was even looking for a house of her own again. The last I saw her, she had just gotten the call about her house selling and she cried,” Elara informs me when she can finally talk again.
“You can take that up with her when you’re not in labor, Lar. For now, I’m gonna go back out to the waitin’ room. I’ll let you know when Viper or Count call me. I don’t need to see any of this shit,” I tell my sister as I turn to leave the room.
“Love you, Rex. Even if you’re a big baby about this stuff. I bet you’ll be in the waiting room when your wife has your babies,” my sister calls out as I leave her room. I simply walk away shaking my head because only my sister would be in full blown labor and get pissed at Tally because she didn’t share the news of her buying a new house before roasting me as I leave her hospital room. She can be a little crazy.
Taking my seat once again, I pull my laptop back out and continue searching up for any new evidence against TJ and his parents. It’s my main priority since there’s really not too much going on with the club that needs my attention. We have a run coming up that I’ll be heading out of town for and then I’ll be sending Viper and Count to keep an eye on Taleah and Elara. Tim can’t get time off of work to stay with my sister and the kids this time so she’ll need the help. I have no doubt Taleah will help my sister with whatever she needs.
I go through each of my programs and search for any new information on TJ. So far there’s nothing as I pull out my phone and call the hacker I’m friends with.
“What’s going on, Master?” she answers the phone on the first ring.
“Need your help. I’m tryin’ to find new information on a guy named TJ Bond and his parents. He’s on the verge of gettin’ out of jail when he should remain locked up. He attacked someone in her own store and has caused a lot of issues,” I say, hating that I have to get help from someone else in this situation.
“This girl is important to ya. I’ll put it as my top priority,” she responds without hesitation as I shake my head in response.
“She’s very important to me. Her name is Taleah and I’ve known her a very long time,” I tell her so she doesn’t feel as if I’m hiding anything from her.
“Give me a few hours and I’ll be back with ya. I’ll send whatever I find to the same email address as normal,” she tells me, hanging up the phone as I slide mine back in my pocket and go back to searching on my own.
Before I can get into my work, Viper calls me.
“Did you find her? Is she okay?” I answer the call, my heart pounding in my chest as I wait for his response.
“She’s okay. Taleah’s at the new house and she was in the middle of gettin’ her new furniture delivered. Count is talkin’ to her right now because of her stuff bein’ held at the compound. She doesn’t want any of the furniture and told us to do what we have to with it. The second the delivery men leave, she’ll be headin’ to the hospital. She’s upset that she didn’t get any of Elara’s calls. Showed us her phone and they never went through,” he informs me as I wonder what the hell is going on.
“That’s not right. I’m gonna have to check her phone when she gets here to make sure someone hasn’t fucked with it. They can clone it so the calls go to them instead. Let me know when you’re on your way here. I’m guessin’ you’ll be stayin’ there until she’s ready to leave?” I ask him, already knowing Count won’t be going anywhere until she does.
“Yeah. We’re gonna help them unload everythin’ so it takes less time. Your girl is impatient and ready to get there with Elara,” he says with laughter filling his voice.
“I can bet she is. I’ll see ya soon,” I say before hanging up my phone and slipping it back in my pocket.
Taleah made it to the hospital about an hour after I talked to Viper. She was in a foul mood and ready to kick someone’s ass. I could see it written on her face. Today she’s wearing one of her brother’s old tee-shirts under his football zip-up hoodie and a pair of black leggings. Her hair has been thrown up in a messy bun and I can tell it’s about to fall out. Taleah won’t let everyone else work for her, she’ll be right there with them putting furniture together and working hard. Count let me know one of the deliverymen was hitting on her non-stop and refused to take no for an answer. Viper, Count, and Manic had to hold me back from leaving and tearing the fucker apart limb from limb. No one disrespects my girl like that and gets away with it. I’ll find out who it was and get to him eventually. She hasn’t beenout of the room since entering and I know she won’t leave until the baby is born and announced as healthy. Even then, she won’t leave my sister’s side until the absolute last second. That’s just who Taleah is.
My sister ends up being in labor most of the day before my new nephew comes screaming into the world. Tim comes out to get me once they’re both cleaned up and ready for me to come visit them for a few minutes. I head in the room and find Taleah holding my nephew in her arms. She’s looking down at him with a soft smile on her face. I’ve never witnessed her looking as beautiful as she does right now and my mind begins to fill with images of her holding our baby. It’s always been my dream to have a family with her and I plan on making that particular dream a reality as soon as she’ll let me. The hoodie is resting on the back of the chair and I can see she’s not wearing a bra today. Fuck my life!
I take my nephew, Logan, from her arms and I’ll admit I’m terrified. This is the first of my sister’s kids I’ve been able to hold when they were first born and he’s so damn small. Taleah stays close to my side and adjusts my hold on him before fixing his blanket. By the time they come to tell us it’s time for Elara to nurse her son, I’m ready to head back to the clubhouse and check my email and try to make sure TJ remains behind bars. Taleah walks out with us after reassuring my sister she’ll be back first thing in the morning. Count walks on the other side of her and I listen as the two of them have an easy conversation about when she wants her things moved to the new house. I’ll be there that day because I want to go through and make sure everything is secure for her before we get a chance to install a security system. The two of them make arrangements for the next day and I know I’ll have time to be there. My night just got a lotbetter than it was from meeting Logan and seeing my sister so happy and in love with her new son.
Chapter Twenty
Taleah
I’VE BEEN AT the hospital with Elara and her new son since visiting hours started this morning. I’m exhausted and ready for bed. It’s only early afternoon and yet it feels as if I’ve already been awake for almost a full day. Moving is hard work. When I got home last night, I worked on getting the furniture exactly as I wanted it in each room and then collapsed in bed after a quick shower and pizza that was delivered while I was working. I still have to put my bed against the wall in the bedroom, but I painted the wall before I moved any more furniture in that room. My dresser is currently in the hallway and I didn’t sleep in there. I took the couch and slept like a baby when I finally collapsed in the middle of the night. It’s tedious painting and I remembered really quickly why I hate doing it. Before I always had help from my dad but they’re still out of town and I wasn’t about to call Rex or anyone else from the club to come help me. Count offered to help with anything I need.
The wall my bed will be on is a dark gray and the baseboards are white. Every other wall in my room will be painted light blue so the room isn’t completely dark. I just wanted an accent wall in this room because I’ve never had one before. It’s something new just for me and I really like how the room turned out. Now, I just have to finish moving in my bedroom furniture and the room will be finished. Well, it will be once I get my clothes and other belongings from the compound.
“So, why didn’t you answer any of my calls or messages?” Elara asks me when Tim goes down to grab us some shakes from the cafeteria.
“I never got them,” I tell her, pulling out my phone and showing her everything. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I thought it was weird you weren’t calling me. We talk every single day. I kept telling myself I’d call, but I’ve been busy packing my stuff from my parents’ house and going to buy new furniture for the house. I don’t want a single thing TJ touched to taint the new space I’ll have,” I tell her as I hold Logan in my arms and stare down at him.
“Have Rex look at your phone. He’s talked in the past about cell phones being cloned. If that happened to you, you might have to get a new phone. Don’t do anything until he checks it out,” she says as if I talk to her brother like that these days.
“Unfortunately, I believe you’re right. He’s the only person I know who will be able to tell if someone has done something to my phone. I don’t want to talk to him, but I might not have a choice in the matter,” I respond as Logan begins to wake up but doesn’t really cry. He tends to whimper when he wakes up. Other than when he was first born, I have yet to hear him cry or scream. Logan will be an easy baby if things remain the same as they are now. I envy my best friend.
