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“Good. Call me when it’s done,” he snaps, hanging up without another word and I toss the phone down on the counter before turning and hurling my glass of water at the wall. It shatters and the baby next door screams harder but I don’t even care anymore. Our boss is, hands down, the scariest motherfucker I’ve ever met in my entire life and I will do whatever it takes to stay on his good side.

Spinning around, I yank the freezer open and pull out the bottle of vodka I keep stashed there. As I unscrew the cap and drop it on the floor, I walk back over to the table and throw my body into the chair. Dragging the photos in front of me, I raise the bottle to my lips and chug the liquor as my mind spins. If I can’t get to Izzy in the compound, then I will just have to draw her out. She’ll have her sentry with her, which is unfortunate for him, because this is a fight for survival and I’m sure as hell not going to lose.

It’s Izzy’s life or mine and I’m playing to win.

Chapter Sixteen

Diego

I glance up at the time on the oven and whisper a curse as I slap Hazel’s file closed and stand up from the dining room table. Storm called me earlier and said everyone was getting together down at the clubhouse to grill some food and hang out before insisting that I bring Izzy down. I suspect his wife was the driving force behind the invitation but I don’t really care. I’ll take any chance I can get to show her off like she’s mine even if that’s not true… yet.

“Iz?” I call. Silence greets me and my stomach does a little flip but I force myself to calm down. We are on the compound, behind a giant goddamn wall with all sorts of added security so there is no way someone got onto the property and took her without me or anyone else knowing. I check the bedroom first, thinking maybe she laid down to take a nap but my bed is empty, ramping up my paranoia as I take the stairs to the second floor two at a time. When I built this house, there was a part of me that was holding out hope that I would find a woman and settle down, start a family with her, but as time went by and that seemed less and less likely, I couldn’t even stand to be up here. Two of the three bedrooms are empty, without a single piece of furniture, and the office I set up for myself when I first moved in is mostly used for storage now.

I can’t imagine that Izzy would come up here but I check the rooms anyway, my worry growing with each empty one I find. “Izzy?”

My heart hammers as I run back downstairs and once again, a haunting silence surrounds me. Fuck. Where is she? Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I scroll to her name in my contacts as I walk to the back door and reach to yank it open, stopping short. Izzy is sitting out on one of the Adirondack chairs in the corner of the deck, her hair falling in waves behind her as she leans her head back toward the sky, her eyes closed and a sweet smile on her face. The sun beats down on her, making her tan skin almost glow and her belly looks bigger today, popping out in her tank top as she rests her hand on the bump. She’s so goddamn beautiful and I can’t fucking move, can’t breathe as I take her in. This is the dream - the one I had as I built this house, hoping that one day my family would be able to call this place home, hoping that the walls would be filled with love, laughter, and life. It’s Izzy. She looks like this is where she belongs and I can’t imagine how I ever lived in this house before she came to stay with me or how I’ll survive if she leaves.

Holy shit…

Do I love her?

Have I gone and fallen in love with Izzy?

I can’t help but laugh because of course I would go and fall for the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met in my life, the one who vehemently doesn’t want all the things I’m dying to give her because why would I ever make it easy on myself? I never have before and it seems I’m not going to start now. Truth be told, I couldn’t pin down the exact moment that I started developing real feelings for her and as far as I know, it happened six months ago as we locked ourselves away in her house and got lost in each other. It doesn’t really matter though, because getting her to feel the same and freely admit it is going to be the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced.

Almost like she can feel my gaze, she glances up and when she sees me watching her, she flashes me a brilliant smile. But because she’s Izzy, she also rolls her eyes and waves me out to her. Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I pull open the sliding door and step outside as she leans her head back again with a sigh.

“How long have you been standing there like a creeper, watching me?”

I scoff. “Just a couple seconds. We have to get going for the barbecue.”

“So, you don’t deny that you were watching me like a creeper?” she asks, peeking open an eye as she turns her head to the side to meet my gaze with a grin. God, I love that smile and the challenge in her expression. One thing is for sure, if I manage to convince this woman to be mine, life will never be boring. I shake my head.

“No. Just didn’t see the point of arguing with you.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hums, turning to face the sun again as she lets out a contented sigh and I can’t help but watch her, my gaze falling to her belly. I sit on the edge of the chair next to her and lean forward to press my hand to the bump.

“Little man is making his presence known today.”

She laughs, turning to me again and meeting my gaze. “Tell me about it. He’s currently kicking the shit out of my organs.”

“Want me to have a chat with him?” I ask and her eyes shimmer with amusement and she sinks her teeth into her bottom lip as she shakes her head.

“He’s a baby so I don’t think it would do much good.”

I grunt my protest as I slink out of my chair and kneel next to her, putting both of my hands on her belly. “Listen here, young man…”

“Diego,” she murmurs, giggling as she threads her fingers through my hair and I decide it’s my new favorite sound in the world. If I could just hear that sweet, unassuming giggle every single day for the rest of my life, I’d die a completely happy man.

“You are hurting your mother and around here, we do not tolerate this kind of behavior,” I tell her belly, grinning when I feel a foot under one of my hands. I’m sure we make one hell of a picture right now - a biker, covered in tattoos, kneeling in front of his woman, and talking to her belly but it feels so fucking right that I can’t question it.

“Holy shit,” she whispers and I glance up at her as she shifts in her seat. “That actually worked.”

Flashing her a grin, I wink and move back to my seat. “Told you.”

“Don’t get cocky, Rodriguez.”

I grab her hand, pull her out of her chair, and into my lap as she gasps. “I thought you liked it when I get cocky.”