For Her Honor (24 page)

What had she gotten herself into?
No, what had Preston gotten her into? This wasn’t Taz’s fault in the least. But if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have had anyone to turn to. One thing was for certain, she’d pulled through the ordeal on her own. She’d kept her cool, taken Tanner’s gun and had known what had to be done. Taz had helped with the gun lessons, but it was all her in the end. No one had to swoop in and champion her. But whatever the aftermath was, she knew Taz was right in the thick of it. There was a dark side to this devilish man who had charmingly stolen her heart and planted a seed in her belly. She’d seen it tonight when he dug his foot into Mallory’s throat, then bent down to whisper something to him, then sent her home while he remained behind to no doubt make that man pay for what he’d done.

This was the life Taz led – one of an outlaw wi
th no regard for rules other than the ones he and his club followed. One of secrecy and illegal business veiled by an up-and-up job he kept in the body shop. This was what she was getting into. This was what she was going to bring their child into. All she could think of was Eva and Kelly and whether or not they pondered the same issue. There was much she still needed to understand.

But for t
he first time in Karen’s life, she felt free to make a decision without caring what others thought. Purchasing her condo, keeping her managerial position – those were more about spite than to prove something. Here, she risked alienating the family left behind for one that had enveloped her – one that came with its own set of risks. All she knew was that falling in love with Taz had snuck up without her realizing it. The way he’d come for her, the gentle care he’d taken, the tender kiss he’d given her and the air of protectiveness which oozed from him told her this man would indeed sacrifice himself for her. She had never known such unconditional commitment and love.

It was ten
-thirty when her body really began to feel the effects of the ordeal as well as her condition, though very early stages. First thing she needed to do was to find an ob-gyn and make an appointment for an official test and check up. Right now she fought to keep her eyes open as she lay on the couch, the television off, the house so soaked in quiet that all she heard were the end-of-summer crickets. She should get into the cool bedroom, but she didn’t want to move until Taz got home. She had a feeling he’d need her.

~~~***~~

It was almost eleven when Taz pulled in, his body and mind still fighting a war between exhaustion and an adrenaline rush. He opened the saddlebag and pulled out the gun Ben had given him earlier for Karen. He’d never gotten a chance to give it to her. The day had taken quite a turn after that.

Entering
the little cottage that had quietly become his permanent home with Karen was a test. To see if he could leave his outside life on the doorstep. To be able to embrace normal after what he had just done. He couldn’t walk away from it. He didn’t want to. He loved Karen and a part of him – them – was growing inside of her. Now was the time to man up, take his ma’s advice and put fifteen years of dicking around to rest. She was the very reason he’d done what he had tonight. It wasn’t because of Adamo’s order or taking a bullet. It was for Karen. For her honor. Granted, the little lady had held her own and put that bullet in Mallory. But after hearing from Charles how rough Mallory was with her, pulling her up by the neck, a gun stuck in her side that could’ve accidentally gone off, it was a no-brainer that he would commence the payback.

Inside
he found the house hot and dark except for the light over the stove. He spotted Karen stretched out on the couch, fast asleep. Why the hell wasn’t she in bed where it was cool and comfortable? He felt that familiar pull in his chest he’d been experiencing lately. A pull which pulled him away from the club whores and to this house every night. To know what it felt like to have contentment with one woman was foreign to him, yet he was drawn here like a magnet.

He frowned at the
bag of corn on the coffee table then further winced when he realized what it was for. Placing the gun down, he popped the bag back in the freezer, then went back over to the couch. “Karen? Sweetheart? Hey. I’m home.”

He didn’t want to wake her, but didn’t want to scare her either.
He had no idea what to expect from a woman in this condition, especially so early. Last Saturday in the hotel shower was the only time they hadn’t used a condom. It wasn’t even a baby yet, but those sticks confirmed a life nonetheless. “Karen?”

“Mmm.”
She groaned then turned as her focus came in. Realizing it was him, she sat herself up quickly and threw her arms around him. “You’re home. Thank God.”

He smiled against her hair at her hearty welcome.
“Yeah, I am.” He began to crush her to him, but remembered the baby. “Shit, Kar. Sorry.” He released his hold, then sat next to her. “I mean, the baby.”

He saw her body first tense up, then relax.
“Yeah. You wanna talk about that now?”

“Nothin’ to talk about, sweetheart.
It happened. It’s a done deal.” He took a deep breath. “We’re gonna have a baby.”

“You’re okay with it?”

Over the last five weeks he’d found himself at ease with things which normally would’ve flipped him out – this especially. But he was alright with it. He felt confident. Settled. Even after what had just happened several hours ago. He looked at her questioningly. “Are you?”

“I’m…..scared.”
She paused for a bit. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. You and I weren’t supposed to happen. I wouldn’t even be here if I had just stood up for myself back then and put my foot down on the whole ‘moving away’ thing.”

Taz flashed his charming smile
, if only to bring some levity to the conversation. “And look what you would’ve missed out on if you did that?”

It worked and she laughed.
Even in the glow of only the stove light, those pale green eyes danced with something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. And then she moved close to circle her arms around his neck and kiss him. “I love you, Gabriel Morrell,” she whispered afterwards. “I really do.”

He struggled to contain himself as he lifted her hand, planting his lips inside her palm.
“Do you, now? Cuz if you did, you wouldn’t call me that.”

“It’s your given name.
It’s part of you.” She took his hand and placed it on her belly. “Just like this is.”

“Fuck, Karen.” He
let her name out with a breath, pressing his forehead to hers as the emotion of the situation swept through him. “I’m a little scared too.”

“Eva’s six months pregnant and told me she still is.
She said you’re never really ready, even if you’re planning, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

“I guess.”

“Taz?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened?”

Now it was his turn to tense.
He’d known this was coming and hoped all the baby talk would’ve dissuaded it. That man he’d left on the other side of the door had to step inside a bit. “Do you really want to know?”

She bristled, looked down and shook her head.
“I’m not sure. I’m guessing I don’t have to worry about this Mallory guy coming after me again.”

Even if Mallory wanted to, he wouldn’
t have been able. Not with four missing limbs.

Taz wanted it to be psychologically as well as physically painful, but inventive.
With Conti and his goon looking on, Big Ben had held Mallory down, but able to see Taz go through his careful ministrations. After securing tourniquets right below Mallory’s elbows and knees, Taz used a blowtorch to heat the blade of an ax to an angry, flaming red. One by one, he had brought the ax down below the tourniquet, cauterizing the amputation in the process. Even with his mouth stuffed with cloth, Mallory’s guttural scream made Conti’s bodyguard wince.

But not Taz.
Not one bit. This was months and months of satisfying an itch that even slicing up Jackie Jones hadn’t scratched. And he wanted to go all out. At first he thought his plan was a bit overboard, but considering what Mallory had done, he deserved it. He’d tried to run a mafia transport off the road in order to rob it because he’d run up a twenty-five thousand dollar gambling debt with them. He’d killed an Owens employee before setting fire to the place and had had John Owens’ house ransacked. He’d shot him and Tanner. What he’d done to Karen was just icing on the cake to justify how far he was going.

Bodily pain wasn’t enough for Mallory as far as Taz was concerned.
He wanted to fuck with his head in the worst way possible. The liquid nitrogen provided the means without the mess, which Ben was no doubt thankful for. After the first arm came off, Taz held it by the fingers then carefully dipped it into the substance, freezing it up to the wrist on contact. Then, with Mallory still in unspeakable agony, Taz walked the hardened limb over to the whirring wood chipper, making sure Ben was holding Mallory’s head up in order to watch his arm being fed into the machine.

By the time Mallory only had a leg left, Conti had turned peaked and his guinea gorilla had emptied his stomach. It was the reaction Taz
had hoped for. He’d wanted to make an impression in the presence of the Caprese family consigliere. He’d wanted to be sure this little demonstration got back to Adamo to further cement not only the Skulls’ loyalty to them, but also to show that they weren’t pushovers. You didn’t have to be the head of the most powerful crime family on the east coast to be feared. What Taz had done to Mallory was his way of sending a message of his own – that the Mountain Skulls of Tippitt, West Virginia didn’t play around when their own was harmed. That message of fear went both ways.

Mallory was a mass of singed stumps and
barely conscious thanks to Big Ben shoving a bottle of ammonia under his nose to jolt him out of his pain-induced stupor. When Taz was satisfied, Mallory was wrapped in a tarp and deposited into the trunk of Conti’s car, still alive, as Adamo had ordered. He and Ben stayed behind to clean up while waiting for Zippy to show up to do the dirty work of emptying and sanitizing the wood chipper then disposing of its contents.

Maybe one day he’d be able to relay that scenario to Karen.
But not now. It wasn’t necessary. “You guessed right, sweetheart. He won’t. That’s all you need to know.” She looked as if she didn’t want to know more, her thoughts being elsewhere. He was glad for it and happily switched the subject back. “So. I suppose I should make an honest woman out of you.”

Again, she laughed. “
You’re laying that charm on a little thick.”

“I mean it, Kar
. Plus, my ma would kill me if her grandchild was a bastard.”

“That’s something
my
mother would think.” She then looked worried. “Shit, my mother.”

“Thought you didn’t give a shit what she thought.”

She shook her head. “I don’t. But, she has to know. They all do.”

“Here.”
He leaned forward and finally presented her with her gun. “You’ll need this.”

Chapter Twenty Three

There was no way Karen was going into the bank today with this grapefruit on the side of her head. At least it
had felt that big when she’d put her hand up to it as soon as she woke. Her eye hadn’t discolored, so she was grateful for that.

The hum of the air conditioner and the warmth of the man sleeping next
to her was enough to lull her back for a few more hours. They hadn’t gotten to bed until well after midnight, and as much as she sensed he needed her, he wouldn’t touch her. Not until she had a full checkup and they knew that the baby was safe after the ordeal. She contented herself to just lie there and watch him sleep, admiring every damn inch of his gorgeous body. Her finger hovered over his knotted thumb ring attached to the shredded bracelet by a chain. It was an odd piece of jewelry for a man, but Taz’s tastes were unconventional. She found his look, his piercings and his ink highly erotic. It was what made him ‘Taz’ and not ‘Gabriel’, though she loved them both.

And he wanted to marry her.
Yeah, it had taken her addled brain a bit to realize that
making an honest woman out of her
was his way of proposing. Just like Eva’s story of how Ben had come home on Christmas Eve, put a ring on her finger and called a minister over. There wasn’t time to think or process. She’d done too much of that. Perhaps what she needed was to just jump in with both feet and figure it out afterwards. The old Karen would have needed to plan every detail in her day planner and then run it by Betsy for her seal of social approval. Not this Karen. Not with this man.

Jesus, her mother.
It was not going to go over well. She knew Taz had been kidding when he told her to take her gun, but Karen wondered if she’d need to bring the National Guard with her. Yes,
with
her as this wasn’t a conversation to have over the phone. She’d have to make the three hour trip to Cincinnati to deliver the news in person.

Not needing to dwell on it any further, she decided to get up.
If she stayed in bed any longer she’d be tempted to wake Taz up by straddling him. She’d heard about pregnant women being extra horny, although she thought it still might be too soon. Still, she didn’t need to be pregnant to want this man. He was completely, utterly and devilishly sexy as hell.

Quietly drawing the sheet back, she got up, careful not to rouse him.
His breathing was deep and even, yet not quite a snore. He was
that
exhausted. She didn’t ask for details, nor did he offer them, but whatever had happened last night had taken a toll on him.

She made coffee
, then opened her laptop to search for physicians. She should just ask Eva for a referral to her doctor, but she wanted to compile her own list just in case. A little after nine, she phoned the bank and called in sick. She hated doing so after only on the job a month, but she didn’t want to explain her face. It was Friday and she’d have today and the weekend for the swelling to go down. When she hung up she heard the bedroom door open. Taz walked out naked and gloriously erect, by which he seemed unaffected. “You okay?”

She tried to keep her eyes away from the obvious.
“Fine. Looking for doctors. Called in sick, too.” She pointed to her face.

He just nodded
, then headed to the bathroom. When she heard the shower turn on, she hopped up and pulled stuff out of the fridge to make breakfast. Now that she had the entire day to do…..nothing, she needed to do something. She cracked five eggs into a bowl and began to scramble them before her stomach turned. And then she felt a wave of dizziness and a heavy ringing between her ears. The fork fell from her hand as she caught the edge of the counter, taking the dish of eggs with her as she slid to the floor.

The next thing she heard was Taz’s
voice as he knelt over her, gently tapping her cheek to make her come to. “Karen? Karen? C’mon, sweetheart. Open those pretty green eyes.”

Slowly, she did, finding herself on the floor and everything
unfocused and spinning. She clutched his shoulder, mindless that he was soaking wet and still very naked. The shower. He must’ve heard the dish shatter on the floor and bolted out of the shower. “Taz. My head. I..I feel….”

She leaned over and heaved stringy bile into the splattered eggs.
When she was done, he picked her up and put her on the couch, where she began to weave in and out. Taz grabbed his phone. “Hold on, sweetheart.”

She didn’t.
She was out again.”

~~~***~~~

Keep her awake and alert. That was what his ma had told him after he called her, before she showed up to ride with them to Weirton Medical Center. The blow to the head probably caused a concussion that she’d had no symptoms of the night before. Fuck Adamo Caprese. Taz should’ve chopped Mallory’s head off for the grand finale.

He called the club on the ride down to fill them in and to make sure Wes and Zi
ppy had the body shop covered while Janice made sure the her head baker opened for Tina. Together, the three of them pulled into WMC and up to the ER entrance. Janice got out and went through the double doors and came out with a wheelchair. “I got her.” His ma opened the passenger door and helped Karen out and into the chair. “Go park and get back.”

“Ma, if they ask….”

“Got it covered. I know what to say.”

He sp
ed away and wound up circling the parking lot three times to find a spot. He made a fourth pass and still no spot. Fuck it. He decided to make one as he squeezed Karen’s Focus on the end of a row. If they ticketed him, he’d just make Wes fix it online. He ran towards the entrance where, less than a month ago, he had come here for his ma following the Jackie Jones incident. The irony that he was here again after what he’d done last night was thick. There was no sign of Karen or his ma in the waiting room, meaning Janice had played the tough bitch card to get Karen in back immediately to be looked at. Thankfully the pinched puss wasn’t at the desk again, and Taz coasted right by administration and towards the triage area. He found his ma, who flagged him down. Karen was already in a bed with a nurse administering IV fluids through a vein in her arm. “Anything?”

“They’re just getting her hydrated.”
She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Relax, Taz. Let me do the talking.”

He gritted his teeth at what his ma meant.
A woman brought in with a swollen face plus a guy who looked like him equaled domestic violence counselors ready to swoop down on them. His ma was a buffer, not to mention well ingrained in the club. Taz had filled her in on what had actually happened to Karen, which, of course, had to be kept quiet.

A male doctor around Taz’s age c
ame over and introduced himself after checking the chart the nurse had quickly written up. “I’m Dr. Swann.”

“Janice Morrell.
My son, Gabriel.”

Dr. Swann gave Taz a quick once
-over from his cut to his face, raising a curious brow at the end. He walked over to Karen, who was conscious but groggy. He looked at the swollen mass on the side of her head and frowned. “Want to tell me what happened here?”

Taz felt his ma hold him back at the doctor’s question laced with insinuation
, and approached the other side of Karen’s bed. “We think she has a concussion. It happened yesterday.” Janice’s voice cracked. “It’s all my fault. She came to visit me at my bakery in Tippitt and snuck back to say hi. I didn’t see her when she came around the corner and smacked her when I opened the freezer door.” Janice was laying the drama on thick and the doctor was getting sucked in. Damn, Taz loved that broad. “I immediately put ice on it, and she said she felt fine, just a headache. But this morning….”

Looking convinced, Dr. Swann bent over Karen.
“Miss Hanson? Is that what happened?”

Fucking douchebag, Taz thought.
No, it wasn’t what had happened, but he hadn’t laid a finger on her, either. He stood at the foot of Karen’s bed and caught Karen’s eye. She then looked towards his ma and then to the doctor. Finally, she nodded. “Yes. I got nauseous and dizzy this morning. I…,” she was slurry now, “I thought it was the baby.”

That
got Janice’s attention, and she swung her head to Taz. “We’ll talk later, ma,” he told her, then regarded the doctor. “She’s pregnant. About a week. Needs to be checked out.”

“And you are?” Dr. Swann asked.

“Her fiancé.”

Janice was about to get whiplash.
“Guess we
do
have to talk later.”

“Okay, l
et’s get you checked for a concussion, then we’ll administer a pregnancy test and ultrasound.”

Karen nodded
, as did Janice and Taz. Dr. Swann then leaned over. “Are you sure there’s nothing else you want to tell me?”

Before Taz could clench his fists, Janice practically leapt over the bed.
“Hey. Whatever the hell you’re thinking about my son you better put it out of your mind, Dr. Dimwit.”

“Okay.” Dr. Swann raised his hands.
“No need for…”

“I have
every
need. Assume it one more time and I’ll have you run out of this facility.”

Dr. Swann relented and got an ER nurse
to set up the tests. About twenty minutes later, Karen was wheeled out for tests. Taz and his ma followed and waited in the adjoining room. He had never really processed all that had happened last night. He usually never did. He just performed and….that was it. There was never anything to come down from. Not like Big Ben, who administered the kills after Taz had his sadistic fun. By this time he’d have been chin deep in pussy to work off his adrenaline high. But things had changed. He had changed. The woman he’d done it all for last night had changed him. But it was the woman sitting next to him who had molded him from the start. Yeah, outside he was Taz. But inside, he’d always be Gabriel. That was the man he was now, as he sat there flooded with worry for the woman he loved.

“Want to have that talk now?” Janice asked.

Speaking of which.

But Taz wasn’t in the mood to be chatty – for once.
He just squeezed his ma’s hand and gave her his most charming smile. “Karen’s knocked up and I’m marryin’ her.”

Janice didn’t miss a beat.
“Halle-fucking-lujah.”

~~~***~~~

“I’m sorry. What?”

Even though
tests showed no visible sign of a concussion, Karen had to make sure she’d heard right. The ob-gyn performing a transvaginal ultrasound cast a sympathetic look as she continued to move the wand inside Karen. “It looks like your uterus is empty.”

Karen crushed Taz’s hand with her own as he looked as confused as she was.
“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

The doctor
turned off the monitor. “I’m sorry. I know it’s still early, but I’m not picking up an embryo. I did see a small mass in your fallopian tubes, which is very likely that. It’s called an ectopic pregnancy, or a tubal pregnancy. The embryo winds up getting stuck in the fallopian tube en route to planting itself in the uterus.”

“How do you un-stick it?” Taz asked.

The doctor sighed. “I’m afraid there isn’t a procedure for that. Ectopic pregnancies don’t survive. Now, again, it’s early, so if you want to wait a few weeks and come back for another look to be sure, we can do it. However, if you wait too long, and it is an ectopic, then the growing embryo can rupture your tube and cause you to hemorrhage.”

Karen was positively heartbroken.
The excitement which had begun to grow after her initial worry had been sucked out of her. “But….but my pregnancy test was positive.”

“T
hat’s correct. You
are
pregnant, Karen. It’s just the embryo is in the wrong place.”

Taz sat back, never letting go of Karen’s hand.
“What caused it? I mean, could some kind of trauma or somethin’ do this?”

The doctor
shook her head. “No. It isn’t due a fault of the mother or outside circumstances. However, there is a chance that Karen could have some scar tissue in her tubes that may be hindering the embryo’s path.”

“So….what do I do now?”

“You’ll have to have surgery to remove the embryo from your tubes.”

“You mean…..an abortion?”

“No, not an abortion. The embryo isn’t viable. It won’t survive and it will put you at risk if you rupture. Now, as I said, if you want to wait a few weeks and take another look before you decide.”

Karen shook her head, wanting to bust out into tears.
She then looked at Taz. “What do I do?”

He picked up her hand and kissed it.
“I dunno, sweetheart. Don’t wanna jump the gun, but don’t want you to get hurt, either.” He then looked at the doctor. “Can she still have kids after this?”

“Of course.
However, you do run the risk of having another ectopic. If that’s what this is, which I believe it is, when we go in we can clean out any scar tissue to make the path a little clearer, so to speak. The choice is yours.”

“Let’s wait and see……”

“No.” Karen cut Taz off. “Do the surgery now.” She turned to look at him. “I don’t want to go home and wait, getting false hopes up, only to come back and find it isn’t…..viable.” She said that word with disgust before she looked at the doctor. “If you’re sure I can still have children and that getting rid of any scar tissue will decrease my chances of another, then let’s do this. Today.”