Bad Boy's Baby: Wicked Angels MC (8 page)

Tristan

The first night passed pretty uneventfully. Phin had picked the loft room, of course, and Jenny made up a bed on the couch in the same room. I knew she was scared, but she was doing a great job of not letting on to Phin.

We’d had dinner together. Jenny had taken charge and raided my kitchen. I could tell she was shocked I had more on hand that the standard bachelor staples. She thawed some chicken and roasted in it in the oven, serving a side of macaroni and cheese and green peas.

“This is yummy,” Phin said shyly. He looked up at me and then looked away when I returned his gaze. Even though he was shy, he was incredibly intelligent for an eight-year-old.

“Thank your mother,” I said smoothly. “I didn’t do any of this.”

Jenny blushed. She looked away when I caught her gaze. “Eat your dinner,” she instructed Phin. “And then we’ll go work on your homework.”

“Do I have to go to school tomorrow?” Phin looked expectantly from me to his mother.

“No,” I said at the same time Jenny said, “Yes.”

Jenny frowned. “Tristan, this isn’t up to you,” she said smoothly. “Phin can’t fall behind in his studies.”

I chuckled. “He’s, what, in third grade? Don’t you just spend all day playing?”

Phin looked at me with wide eyes. “I have homework,” he said proudly. “We’re learning our multiplication tables.”

“Wow,” I said, feigning seriousness. “That does seem like a lot of work.”

Jenny shot me a sarcastic glance before I could say anything else. “Things are different than they were when we were kids,” she said softly. “Phin has a lot of work at school. He even has a book report next week.”

“Oh, man, book reports,” I said, pushing my plate in front of me. “I remember what a pain in the ass those were.”

Phin burst out laughing and Jenny shot me a stern look. “Don’t curse,” she said softly. “I don’t want him talking like that.”

Phin opened his eyes wide and stared at his mother. “Mom, they’re just words,” he whined. “Why can’t I say them?”

“Because they’re not nice,” Jenny said primly. “Now, to your room. Homework time! I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

As soon as Phin had left the room, Jenny’s face grew more serious. “You can’t want to pull him out of school,” she said. “He’ll be safe there. They’re very good at taking care of their kids.”

I shook my head. “I don’t want him leaving the house,” I said flatly. “He’s going to be in danger as soon as he’s out of reach, I can assure you.”

Jenny glared at me. “He’s my son and I call the shots on this,” she said hotly. Suddenly, I knew she wasn’t going to back down. I didn’t like it, but she had a point.

“Fine,” I snapped. “He can go to school. But you’re taking off work and staying around here. I need to keep an eye on you.” Jenny opened her mouth to protest but I held up a hand before she could say anything. “And don’t tell me you can take care of yourself. Remember what happened with those assholes the other day?”

Jenny nodded. A flush spread over her cheeks. I knew she didn’t want to rehash the same argument, but if she fought with me on this, I’d keep bringing it up until she gave in.

“I’m not pleased about this,” Jenny said through gritted teeth. “I just want to make sure you’re aware of that little fact.”

“I know,” I said. “I really do. I understand.”

“No, you don’t,” Jenny said bitterly. “You don’t get it at all. I’m so sick of being controlled by people and by things I don’t understand. Every time I think my life is getting a degree of autonomy, the same shit crops up and I’m reminded that I’m not actually in control after all.”

“I’m sorry about that,” I told her. “I really am. But it’s for your own safety right now. I promise, after this all dies down, you don’t have to worry about me controlling your life.”

Hurt flashed across Jenny’s face. I wondered if I’d said the wrong thing. After all, she was the one who had wanted me to leave her alone. I wondered if that had changed in the short amount of time that she’d been staying with me.
Forget it,
I thought.
Nothing is ever going to be the same as it was between us. You know that, she knows that, and it would be better for everyone involved if you just dropped it
.

“Fine,” she said. She pushed her chair away from the table and stood up, grabbing her half-eaten plate of food and bringing it into the kitchen. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” I said sarcastically. “Anything else?”

Jenny glared at me. “I have to call my manager and go help Phin,” she said. “Don’t you have some kind of business you need to attend to right now?”

I chuckled drily. “I do,” I said. “I’m actually posting one of my men to the house. His name is Rod; he’ll be here if you have any trouble. He’s a good watchman.”

Jenny’s cheeks colored and I could tell that she wanted to protest, but she didn’t. Instead, she turned on her heel and walked into the bowels of the house. I watched her ass swing from side to side and suppressed the urge to chase her, grab her, and make her mine. The pull between our bodies was too much, it called to me and tortured me.

“I gotta get out of here,” I said under my breath. “This shit is starting to get to me.”

Rod came over as soon as I called. I could tell he was dying to ask what was going on, but I just told him Jenny was a friend and we needed to protect her and Phin.

“This is an unusual job, boss,” Rod said. He winked at me. “You sure there’s nothing you forgot to tell me?”

“Just do your job,” I shot back. “I have to head to the police department.”

Rod settled in at the kitchen table with a gun, a book, and a mug of coffee. He looked content, perfectly so. I hoped that Darius wouldn’t show up while I was gone, but I knew Rod would give his life for Jenny and her son. That was the beauty of the Wicked Angels’ brotherhood: we trusted each other. We’d do anything for each other, and this was just one of many times Rod had stepped in to save my ass. As I climbed on my bike, I felt a swell of affection for him. He was a good guy. All of my guys were good guys. But Rod in particular, well, he’d really done a lot to prove himself to me over the years.

The wind whipped at my hair and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation on my face. It felt like it had been ages since I’d really gotten out by myself. My whole brain was wrapped up in this shit with Jenny and Darius, and I had no idea when things would finally return to any semblance of normal.

It was funny that Jenny hadn’t recognized Darius’s name. Maybe she’d really forgotten more about the past than I expected. The thought was painful, but not surprising. After all, she had a life with a kid now. How much of the past could she really remember?

It was after dark by the time I pulled up to Centreville Police Department. I hadn’t been there in a few months. Last time Darius pulled some shit, they called me in for questioning. I’d been evasive, but honest. They’d let me go and I hadn’t heard a peep since then. But everyone in the office knew who I was, Tristan Mayer, leader of the Wicked Angels. The cops had been swarming a little too close for comfort ever since the shooting, and I knew I had to take action if I wanted to get them off my back. The last thing I needed to worry about was being pursued for something I didn’t even do.

“Evening, sweetheart,” I greeted the young cop on duty. She was a slim blonde with a pert nose and sincere blue eyes. She and I had yet to really tangle—I had a feeling her superiors had warned her about me.

“Hi,” she said, without looking up. “Can I help you?”

I cleared my throat and she finally looked up. When she realized who I was, her cheeks flushed.

“What can I do for you, Tristan?”

“I was hoping we could chat a little bit about that shootout with the Russians.” I flashed her a charming smile and leaned with my elbows on the counter. “After all, I might be able to help y’all out.”

“I don’t think so,” she said curtly. “We’ve got our best and brightest on it.”

I leaned back and rocked on the balls of my feet. “What’s your name?”

She looked up at me again. There was a trace of fear in her light blue eyes. “It’s Amy,” she said softly. “What do you want?”

“I just want to help out, Amy,” I told her. “How about letting me take a look at some of that evidence from the scene?”

She laughed and shook her head. “No way,” she said quickly. “You bikers think you’re all so damn charming, but it isn’t gonna work on me.”

I smiled widely at her and she froze for a minute. I could tell that my grin had the intended effect; she looked completely disarmed. She wasn’t Jenny, but she was still cute. And my magic still worked on her.

“C’mon,” I said. “I’m not going to mess anything up. Hey, why don’t you come with me?” I grinned at her again. “Keep an eye on me, make sure I don’t tamper with anything.”

She sighed. “I’m really not supposed to do that,” she said. “I could get in a lot of trouble.”

“I promise I won’t give them any reason to be pissed at you,” I said. “In fact, you don’t even have to tell them. Our little secret.”

She bit her lower lip. “Fine,” she said. “Come with me.”

Amy walked in front of me, leading me to the back of the station. Almost everyone else had left for the day—the offices were locked and dark. She took a ring of keys from her belt and unlocked a heavy metal door.

“Everything is in here,” she said. I followed her to a back cabinet. “We weren’t able to pull a ton from the scene, but there’s a gun here and some bloodied handkerchiefs.”

My blood ran cold when I recognized the gun. “That belongs to Darius,” I said. “You see that metal design on the side?” The gun was emblazoned with a set of iron fangs, in copper. “His MC is the Iron Fangs,” I explained. “Someone gave him that gun when he was promoted to president.”

Amy looked at me with her mouth open. I felt triumphant, like I’d just saved the day.

“Anything else?” She was still gaping.

“Nope,” I said smugly. “I think that’ll do just perfectly.”

Jenny

By late evening, I was dying to leave. Phin had finished his homework and gone to sleep hours ago, and I was feeling more restless than ever. Normally, I’d never leave Phin alone. But with Rod around, I felt pretty safe. I just had to distract him and then I’d be able to leave. I couldn’t wait to be alone with my own thoughts. Even though Tristan hadn’t returned home yet, I felt crowded by his presence. The whole house screamed “Tristan.” Every room smelled like his delicious, intoxicating scent. I could practically feel the grip of his strong hands on my body as I wandered from room to room, looking in but not really snooping.

The whole house was spotlessly clean. I wondered if Tristan paid for a cleaning service, or if maybe he was just a neat freak. I remembered that when we’d been kids, he’d always been embarrassed about the condition of his mother’s house. He’d never allowed me inside. We’d dated for a year, but he’d still never let me see his childhood bedroom.

“Hey, Rod,” I called from the bathroom after I’d closed the door behind me. “You around?”

There was the sound of footsteps and a gun clicking into place. I sighed. Sure enough, his voice boomed back.

“Jenny? Are you okay?”

I looked down and sighed. “I’m fine, but I forgot something from home.”

“I can’t let you leave.” Rod’s voice was loud from the other side of the door. “I’m sorry, Jenny. It’s Tristan’s orders.”

“I got my period,” I said loudly. “I need to go buy some tampons.”

“Can’t you just wait in the bathroom?” Rod sounded clueless. If I hadn’t been desperate to break out of the house, I would have laughed.

“No,” I said in an exasperated voice. “I can’t. It’s uncomfortable, Rod. Besides, when is Tristan coming home?”

“No idea,” Rod said. “Do you want me to call him?”

“No,” I said.
Think, Jenny. Think
. “You know what, I think I’ll be okay,” I said. “I’m going to take a bath and relax. When Tristan gets home, I’ll ask him to take me to the store.”

Rod shifted his weight from foot to foot outside the door. “Okay, Jenny,” he said. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

I held my breath until I heard him lumber back down the hallway.
Score!
Quickly, I dashed over to the bathroom window and flung it open. It would be a squeeze, but I could still slip outside. After a few minutes of wriggling and holding my breath, I fell the short distance onto the damp ground. Crickets were chirping but I instantly felt better. I decided I’d just take a little walk and then return. No need to freak Rod out if he discovered that I was gone.

Even though I was wearing jeans and a light sweater, there was a chill in the dark air. I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. There was a little park not too far from here, I thought I’d go and sit on the swings for a few minutes until I’d managed to collect my thoughts. I already felt better now that I wasn’t around the house anymore.

“Hey, lady,” a voice said in the dark. I jumped high in the air. “Remember me?”

“No,” I said, backing away. Randy and Steve walked towards me out of the darkness, grinning like hyenas. “Help!” I yelled, my voice sounding shrill and scared. “Help! Tristan! Rod! Help me!”

“Baby, it’s gonna be better if you don’t fight,” Steve said. He leaned down and glared at me. “Grab her,” he said quickly to Randy. My body froze in panic and they came at me with astounding speed for their overweight bodies. Before I could even let out another shriek, Randy had grabbed me forcefully. I kicked out and he stumbled but he didn’t drop me. Steve grabbed my legs and they started carrying me over to their bikes.

“Help!” I managed to scream before Randy clapped his hand over my mouth. I bit him but he slapped me hard and I was reduced to whimpering. A trickle of blood crept into my mouth and I tried to spit it out against his fingers.

I was fighting hard to keep my eyes open and get Randy and Steve off of me when, suddenly, Randy dropped to the ground.

“Fuck!” he howled.

“What happened?” Steve was still holding onto my legs as I crashed onto the asphalt, landing hard. Before he could move, a pair of hands grabbed onto his arms and dragged him away.

“Stay the fuck away from her,” a familiar voice growled. I shivered and finally looked up. Tristan was standing there, at my feet, glaring down at me. Without warning he wound up and punched Randy hard in the mouth. Randy went down on the ground without a cry and Tristan stood over his prone body, kicking and punching him.

“What the fuck did I tell you assholes,” Tristan hissed. He got in Steve’s face and swung, hitting him hard. Steve went down and Tristan kicked him so hard in the stomach that I saw his body jerk and pulse off the ground. “Leave her the fuck alone! If you ever come back, I’ll kill you,” he added in a gruff voice. Spitting on Randy and Steve’s prone bodies, Tristan walked over and pulled me off the ground.

He cupped my chin with his hand and looked deeply into my eyes. I could feel that my lip was bloodied. When I leaned up to kiss him, it hurt, but I didn’t care. I kept my mouth pressed to Tristan’s until his arms wrapped around me and carried me back to his bike.

We didn’t talk on the ride home. I knew he was serious, that he wasn’t fooling. That everything he’d told me had been right. And I’d been the stupid one for not believing him.

“Tristan, I’m sorry,” I said softly after he’d let us into the foyer of his house. “I—”

“Don’t talk right now,” Tristan said. He held up a hand to silence me. The air between us was thick with tension. Our eyes were locked on each other’s. I could feel his gaze on me like a hot brand.

“Come here,” I said softly. Tristan stepped closer and I wrapped my body around his. The electricity jumped from his skin to mine, sending bolts of arousal and lust through my body. As our kiss deepened, I felt myself start to get wet until my panties were soaked. Tristan ran his hands down my back and scooped me up. He threw me over his shoulder and carried me down the hallway. Before I could even process where he was taking me, he was throwing me down on a soft bed and tugging at my jeans. They slid off and instantly, Tristan was between my legs, licking and sucking and nuzzling. I screamed with pleasure when his tongue hit my clit, not caring about Rod or Phin or anyone who could hear us.

“I need you,” Tristan growled. He crawled on top of my body and whipped his belt off, kicking his jeans down to his ankles. When he was clad only in boxers, he pressed his groin against mine. His erection was huge and stiff and I moaned softly as he slipped his hand up my sweater and yanked it over my head. The cool air in Tristan’s bedroom felt delicious on my body and I shivered as he lowered his head to my breasts and began to suck and lick on my nipples. His teeth were just enough to send bolts of pleasure shooting through my body and I tangled my hands in his soft brown hair, desperate for more, desperate for him.

Reaching down, I slid Tristan’s boxers down his legs. He kicked them off and slapped the insides of my thighs. I spread my legs obediently and pulled him closer. When he was almost inside of me, I looked into his eyes. They were the same dark blue they’d always been, but now I was seeing him nakedly in a way that I never had before. I felt so exposed, so intimate, that I couldn’t stand it.

“I need you,” I whispered softly. Tristan grabbed a hold of my hips and plunged inside of me. The feel of his cock sent me into spasms of pleasure and I arched my back and shrieked until his mouth came down on my nipples again, biting and tugging harder this time. The hot pulsing feeling in my lower belly started to build and build and I closed my eyes and screwed up my face. He felt so amazing, so encompassing, that I couldn’t believe we’d ever parted from each other. We belonged together, our bodies fit like magnets.

Tristan started thrusting his hips faster and harder against me. Sweat was beading on his forehead and as he looked into my eyes, a drop landed from his skin against mine. I felt my orgasm build and build, until I was thrashing below him and screaming his name.

“Jenny,” Tristan grunted into my neck. The intensity of his voice surprised me and I felt my eyes well up with unexpected tears. Being with Tristan again was like coming home, like I’d never been apart from his side. The years melted as he slammed his body against mine until we were both hoarse and crying out from pleasure. His skin was so hot against mine than I felt like I was being burned.

When it was over, Tristan and I stayed locked together for a few heavy seconds. I had no idea what had just happened. I had no idea if I wanted it to happen again. But right there, in the moment, everything felt right in a way that it hadn’t felt for years.

I love you
. I didn’t dare say it, but as I looked at Tristan’s sweaty body on top of mine, I hoped he knew.