Road to Destiny (Scorpio Stinger MC Book 5) (16 page)

Eva chuckled. “He’s so protective of us, but I think it’s charming.”

A great idea popped into my head. “Well it doesn’t stop us from shopping online. I’ve outgrown most of my clothes and I really need something to wear during the last few months. I look and feel like a whale.”

Eva placed a hand on my arm. “You’re gorgeous, babe. Don’t be so hard on yourself. When I came into the room this morning and saw you sitting there so deeply in thought and rubbing your belly, I couldn’t help thinking how beautiful you looked.”

I laughed. “Thank you. Funny I was thinking the same about you. Well, you’re better for me than a mirror. It seems as if my tummy is getting bigger every day now I’m in the third trimester.”

“That’s totally natural. The babies are all formed, so all they need to do is grow until they’re ready to come into our world. It’s so exciting. I lay awake at night wondering what my and Harrison’s child will look like. It’s silly, but I’m hoping for a boy who looks just like his handsome daddy.”

“As long as he doesn’t have his father’s moody temperament!” I loved my brother, but he could be an asshole if given the chance.

Eva laughed. “Do you think you’ll have more kids after the twins?”

I scrunched up my face. “I really can’t answer that question right now.” I rubbed at my chest just over my heart to soothe the ache that had settled there. “It all depends on Ryder. If he becomes president of the club, that will put a whole different spin on our relationship. Why does this have to be so damn complicated?”

Eva bit into her second muffin. How did she remain so small with such a voracious appetite? It wasn’t fair. I just
looked
at carbs and my ass grew wider.

As we finished our breakfast, Eva cleared the table and stacked the dirty dished back onto the tray. “After your shower come down to my study and we’ll do some online shopping,” she said with a playful wink as she left.

The other thing about being away from Ryder was taking care of my voracious libido. Luckily I’d packed my vibrator because I definitely needed a workout with BOB before getting clean. I found the pleasure giving toy at the bottom of my bag and smiled as I took off my clothes and lay back on the bed.

Closing my eyes, I could imagine Ryder right there with me. His face inches from mine, his lips and tongue exploring my body. I pinched a nipple between my thumb and index finger, rolling it until it became hard and then stretching it enough so I’d feel a jolt of pleasure sweep through me. But it wasn’t the same as when Ryder did it.

Determined not to be put off, I found the tub of coconut oil I kept in the bathroom and massaged it into my breasts and stomach, and then finally between my legs all while conjuring up memories of the dirty words Ryder usually spoke to me.

I miss him. So fucking much.

With one hand I kept stimulating my breasts while finger fucking myself, but I needed more. So much more. I grabbed one end of the hot pink vibrator and turned it on, letting it dance over my clit. I gasped as the pulse quickened and sent shockwaves through my body. It wasn’t long until I was moaning softly, bucking my hips as I imagined Ryder driving into me over and over while manipulating the throbbing stick to hit the right spots inside me.

An intense orgasm hit my core and spasms ripped through me. Although it sated my immediate needs, it couldn’t compare to the real thing. Ryder inside me, grunting and groaning as he too reached his climax, staring into my eyes and my soul, the warmth of his touch and his breath as he uttered dirty commands and sweet words of love.

“E
va!” I cried out, my whole body covered in sweat and racked with pain. We’d spent the afternoon on our laptops shopping online and when that became tedious, we both decided to go for a nap.

Something wasn’t right. A sharp pain shot through my abdomen and left me breathless. I curled into a ball, pulling my knees up to relieve the agony, but it didn’t help.

“Eva,” I cried out again, this time sounding like a wounded lioness, hoping she could hear me. I closed my eyes as the next wave of pain hit me, fear gripping my heart with icy fingers as panic flooded my brain. From everything I’d been told, this wasn’t normal. Something was happening to my body and I had no control over it, even when I tried to breathe through the next assault.

I reached for my phone to call 911, but in my state of alarm, I knocked the instrument off the table onto the floor. Oh, God!

“Jade, are you okay? I thought I heard you calling me?” Footsteps pounded down the hallway as she rushed to my bedroom and I shot up a prayer of gratitude.

I turned toward her, screwing up my face as another sharp pain tore through me.

“Eva—” My voice was barely above a whisper and I tasted the saltiness of my tears as I tried to sit up, but failed.

“Don’t move, Jade. I’ll call an ambulance.” Her eyes were wide and her hand shook as she picked up my phone from the floor.

The anxiety in her voice as she spoke to the person on the other end was palpable.

“Her waters must have broken. The whole bed is wet.” Eva’s voice drifted to me through a fog and it took me a few seconds to understand the implications of what she was saying.

My babies. No. Not yet. Please God, it’s too early.

Because I was sweating profusely I hadn’t realized that I was lying on a huge wet warm patch. Tears streamed down the side of my face and into my hair.

Everything is wet. This is wrong. So wrong.

What the hell was happening to me?

Eva came to the side of the bed and gripped my hand. “Don’t worry, honey, help is on the way. Just breathe, okay?”

She squeezed my hand. Her eyes were dark and filled with fear that she couldn’t hide from me.

I licked my dry lips and fought for breath through the pain.

“Ryder. Call Ryder.” My voice sounded shrill and alien, like it belonged to some crazy person.

Was this my punishment for leaving?

I’d take it all back in a heartbeat if my babies were okay.
They have to survive.

“I’ll call Harrison. He said Ryder would be with him today.”

Ryder was with Harrison?

But Eva had said that Harrison was on a mission . . .

Oh, my God! They were out to get Cobra’s attackers. Their mutual enemy. I’d been around Harrison and Ryder long enough to know that was how it worked.

I screwed my eyes shut but the tears still squeezed through and drenched my scalp.

I was going to lose our babies . . . lose Ryder, maybe even Harrison. It took everything in me not to be overcome by hysteria.

Time slowed down and the only thing I was aware of was my body. I whispered to the babies to hang in there, to stay calm because help was on the way. I couldn’t let them sense my fear and in turn distress them. While Eva held on to my hand, I simply breathed and prayed.

Breathed and prayed.

Breathed and prayed.

Until I heard a siren and then unfamiliar voices drifted to me through the haze before I sank into another dimension and mercifully it all faded to black.

S
ummers waved me over. His face was deadpan as he placed his phone back into his pocket.

“Yeah?” I asked, expecting him to have news about our target. We’d been waiting for two hours for our enemies to show up. According to info from Summers’ informants they should’ve arrived an hour ago and the waiting had me on edge. I was ready for some fucking action.

This is the day somebody dies.
The day we clean up the scum who tried to kill Cobra. I couldn’t believe how pumped I was at the prospect. Adrenaline coursed through my body. Some things never changed. Revenge always tasted sweet and those fuckers had it coming to them. 

“That was Eva,” Summers said, a frown scrunching his forehead.

“Hey, I know you got it bad for Eva, but we’re working here,” Savage barked. “We’ve got some assholes to bring to justice, so can we focus on that?”

I gave him a piercing look before turning to Summers. “Is Jade okay?” I didn’t know why I thought of her first. She’d call me if something was wrong. At least that’s what I hoped. “And Eva?” I added, praying she was okay too.

My stomach made a loop as I waited for his reply.

He shook his head, his jaw clenched tightly.
Fuck.

Raking a hand through my hair, I tried my best to stay calm. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Jade or the babies?” I croaked, my mouth dry. My feet filled with lead, heavy, fixing me to the spot.

“I’m not sure exactly what happened but she’s in an ambulance on her way to the hospital.” He drew in a sharp breath. “Eva sounds worried. Jade’s waters broke and she’s in a lot of pain.”

My insides grew cold and I pulled my leather jacket tighter to my body.

“Doesn’t sound good. I think you better get there as soon as possible.” Savage gave me a sympathetic look and a slap on the back. I nodded.

Nothing would keep me away.

“I’m going. I’ve got to get to Jade.” I clenched my jaw as my fucking eye started its relentless warning. This wasn’t how I wanted the day to turn out.

The babies aren’t ready to be born.

It was still seven full weeks to go. They needed their mother’s womb to grow stronger. Their survival rate was so much higher if they did.

I had no fucking clue why something had gone wrong and I couldn’t help blaming myself for not being with Jade when she needed me most.
Again
. I hated that I was always away from her at times like these. I couldn’t blame Jade if she was mad at me for failing her and our twins. I seemed to be making a bad fucking habit of not being there for her and it was killing me.

At that exact moment, something inside me clicked.

What the fuck had I been thinking? Nothing under the sun meant more to me than my woman. She was first in my mind and my heart. I’d never put her second to anything or anyone. Something lifted in my mind and I saw with clarity the path I needed to take.

It was simple really, yet I’d complicated it with my overzealous pride and sense of responsibility. I wasn’t being the man Jade needed me to be and I hoped like fuck I wasn’t too late to fix that.

Sometimes my stubbornness and deep-seated need to be right jeopardized everything I really wanted. I was my own fucking enemy. Worse than cocksuckers with guns or random bullets coming at me.

Why hadn’t I seen it sooner? When would I finally learn the fucking lesson and why did it have to take something like this before I recognized the road to my true destiny?

Even though my legs were weak and shaky, I quickened my pace as I left the building we’d been hiding in and rounded the corner to where I’d left my bike parked on the gravel under a thick bush.

Revenge wasn’t that high on the agenda any longer.

It felt as if eyes were watching me, but I shrugged the sensation off and mounted my bike. If anyone tried to get in my way or stop me, they’d regret it for the rest of their lives.

I kicked the bike into action and the wheels screeched on the road as I took off in the direction of LA.

Déjà fucking vu
. I’d done this shit before and it wasn’t any easier this time.

With a pounding heart, I weaved through the traffic. Why the fuck was it that there were so many lanes and each one of them was jam packed? A few drivers honked at me as I squeezed between two cars, but I didn’t give a fuck.

All that mattered was that I got to Jade as soon as possible. I’d been a fucking idiot to let her leave in the first place and I berated myself for letting it come to this.

Grateful that Eva was there to help Jade, I realized that this complication with the pregnancy would probably have happened anyway, regardless of if I was with Jade or not. It didn’t make the worry any less.

Near the hospital I changed lanes to get to the exit, overtaking a truck even though I couldn’t see what was on the other side. Too late I saw the slow moving heavy duty vehicle in my path. Christ. Death was taunting me.

Opening the throttle to full power, I steered the Harley to the left, missing the two trucks with inches to spare. This was getting too dangerous. If I was becoming a father I had to stop risking my fucking life on my bike.

What’s happening to me? I’d never taken it easy on my Harley, but now I didn’t want to take the same risks I’d taken all my life.

Fuckit! My family needs me.
Jade needs me
. I had to get there fast. It would crush my soul if I wasn’t there for my woman.

I laughed out loud, the sound drowned by the roar of the Harley as I picked up speed and rode like a fucking maniac with a death wish.

W
hen I awoke the first thing I became aware of was Ryder. I sensed his presence even though I hadn’t opened my eyes. Maybe it was his singular scent as he hovered over me. Maybe it was his voice calling my name. Or maybe his touch as he caressed my face.

The pain had gone and I was floating on a cloud.

My hand moved to my belly in search of the bump.

“It’s okay, Princess. You’re going to be fine and the babies too.”

Relief flooded my body and I went limp. I wanted to believe Ryder more than anything. He’d never lie to me, not even when things were bad.

I reached up to touch his cheek, becoming aware of tubes stuck into my veins and restricting my movement. As if Ryder sensed what I was trying to do, he moved his face closer to mine so that I could feel his warm breath on my skin. His lips touched my forehead and then brushed over my mouth.

“I’m not leaving your side.” The warmth in his voice filled my heart with love. “Fuck, I missed you so much.”

My eyes misted up as our gazes locked.

“I missed you too.”

How did I ever think I could live without him? Ryder was part of me as much as every cell in my body, every breath I inhaled into my lungs. I needed him to survive.

“Sylvia is on her way. She managed to get an emergency flight and should land back home soon.”

I looked over to where Eva stood, a look of relief on her face. She smiled and took a step closer to the bed.