Iron Cross: The Dartmouth Cobras #6 (48 page)

“Understood. Sleep well, Pischlar.”

“I’m gonna pass out as soon as I get to my bed. Couldn’t say that earlier,” Pischlar said. “G’night, guys.”

Tyler said goodnight, or tried to anyway, but he wasn’t sure Pischlar had heard him. But he believed that Pischlar was okay. Which made all good in the world. And passing out was an awesome idea.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to talk right now,
zlato moje
?”

Tyler shrugged. “If you want to. That was awesome. He’s okay. Think he needs to talk to White, but that’s not my business. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with shit like that. We all know where we stand.”

Holding Tyler close, Raif spoke quietly. “‘We’?”

“Me, you, Chicklet, and Laura. If things weren’t stable, playing with other people would…well, make things worse. But that don’t happen. Not to say I never get jealous about the scenes they do without me, but I get it now. We all have our own fun.”

“That would be ideal.”

Tyler smiled, hearing a bit more of Raif’s accent in his tone and sure that he was too worn out to say anything in the proper tense. “That
is
ideal” was what he’d meant to say. And he was right. Laura constantly used the word “perfect” to describe how things should be, and Tyler usually found it funny, but now he could relate.

Life was
perfect
. He had no complaints.

Especially when Raif kissed his temple and whispered, “I do love you.”

And he didn’t have to think for a second before he said, “I know.”

N
onstop buzzing and a deep stinging sensation as the needle passed over Luke’s shoulder blade. Getting a tattoo on a Saturday night in Minnesota had turned out to be a good way to celebrate the Cobras afternoon game win over the Wild. A few of the guys had gone out for drinks, but he wasn’t going home to his girl with a hangover. He rested his forehead on his arm, holding his phone to his ear, careful not to disturb the tattoo artist while answering Jami’s call.

“Hey, boo! How you doing?” Fuck, he probably sounded like he was getting sucked off. The dull pain was incredibly erotic. He couldn’t wait to go home tomorrow and see his girl.

Who hadn’t answered yet. He could hear a woman—sounded like Silver—speaking softly in the background.

He frowned and held up his hand for the tattoo guy to give him a minute. After the needle was clear of his skin, he sat up. “Boo? Is everything all right?”

She sniffled, then laughed. “Yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing?”

“Getting a tattoo, but don’t say you’re fine when I can tell you’re not. What happened?”

Across the room, reclined on a dentist style chair, Pischlar—who was getting yet another tattoo—caught his eye, concern on his face. The buzzing stopped completely when the girl working on Tyler’s first tattoo shut her machine off, rolling her eyes as Tyler jumped off his chair and came to stand beside Luke.

“Don’t panic, it’s nothing… Look, I just had to talk to you before you see Sam tomorrow. She has something to tell you. Seb’s making her, but you have to understand why she did what she did so you don’t completely lose it on her.” Jami took a deep breath, continuing before he had a chance to demand what Sam had done this time. “We wanted to give her time to give you the news herself. I shouldn’t say anything—”

“Jami, I love you, but all I’m hearing is she’s got a whole lot to say to me. If she upset you in any way—and I have a feeling that’s what you’re leading up to—then I’m finished with her.” Damn it, why had he left Jami alone with Sam? He knew Jami had a big heart and there were so many ways Sam could use that to her advantage.

Jami let out the little growling sound she made when he was irritating her. Was usually hot as hell, but right now only proved she was gearing up to defend his sister. “Luke, you can’t be finished with her! She needs you!”

Tyler met Luke’s eye, mouthing “You good?”

Luke nodded and watched Tyler head to the water cooler to get a can of soda. He tried to find a nice way to tell Jami exactly how he felt about Sam needing him, but came up blank. So he went with the truth. “Too fucking bad.”

“You don’t understand!”

“No, you know what? I don’t.” His eyes narrowed as Tyler hesitated by his side. He wasn’t really annoyed with Tyler. He got that his buddy had his back no matter what, but he didn’t need the support while he was talking to his girl. He
did
need Jami and Seb on his side instead of always sticking up for his damn sister though. He waved Tyler away, trying to keep his tone level. “Please explain why she gets a free pass for everything, because this whole situation is getting ridiculous.”

With a noisy exhale, Jami said something too quietly for him to hear.

He shook his head, moving to the front of the tattoo parlor where the buzzing and chatter wasn’t so loud. “Say again?”

“She’s pregnant.”

Rubbing his hand over his lips, he nodded slowly. His brain wasn’t sure what to do with the information. He couldn’t quite process
the punk
as a young woman who could do…well, what you had to do to
get
pregnant. He’d always thought she’d look real good in an orange jumpsuit, imagined a few years behind bars might be good for her, but having a baby?

“I’m in trouble, Luke.”

Yeah, she certainly was. And whoever had knocked her up obviously wasn’t in the picture or she wouldn’t have shown up at Luke’s door. She’d probably confided in Jami right away, which explained why Jami had been working on getting him to let his sister back into his life.

And Seb…Seb didn’t like secrets. He would have used whatever method necessary to find out what kind of issues his household would be dealing with. But wouldn’t he have told Luke if he knew, since he was so big on honesty?

Sam’s secret to tell, not Seb’s and not Jami’s.

Until bringing up the baby could work in Sam’s favor. Because she’d screwed over Jami somehow.

There might not even
be
a baby. Sam might be manipulating them both.

Not that he’d been given a chance to warn them since they’d been keeping this from him. He inhaled slowly. “You still there?”

“Yeah, I just figured you needed a minute,” Jami said softly. “This probably caught you off guard.”

“Ya think? How long have you and Seb known about this?”

“Since the morning after she showed up—but please don’t be angry. You were sick and she wanted to wait for the right time… You didn’t need this news before a game.”

He realized he was nodding slowly, not sure what to say or how to feel. Whatever his sister had done would have to be pretty bad for him to get pissed when he knew she was… “How do you know she’s really pregnant?”

“I went with her to the doctor. And I told Seb because she’s not on Medicare and doesn’t have insurance, so there were some bills and vitamins and I don’t have the money—”

“She’s
my
sister. Seb shouldn’t be the one supporting her.” He hadn’t seen his sister as his responsibility, but there was no way he’d let Seb take her on. Luke wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Sam being around long-term though. “But you won’t tell me what happened, will you?”

“No. Seb thinks coming clean will help her make this all right.”

“Good for Seb.” Luke consciously relaxed his tone. He wasn’t mad at Jami. With how bad she wanted a baby of their own it was natural for her to be protective. Her emotions were all mixed up in this. But Seb didn’t have that excuse. “Look, I want to get this done so I can head back to the hotel and get some sleep. The flight’s crazy early, but I’m glad because I fucking miss you so much.”

“I miss you too. Does this mean we’re all right?” Jami sounded hopeful, like she’d called him expecting the worst. “Me, you, and Sebastian?”

Mad as he was, he couldn’t stand the idea of her worrying that his sister’s drama could possibly tear them apart. “We’ll be all right. I can’t say I’m cool with how you guys handled this situation with my sister, but we’re a family and we’ll work it out. I’ll yell at Seb, he’ll probably gag me, and then I’ll come home and congratulate my sister. Having a baby is great. I propose we keep it.”

“We can’t just keep him, Luke.” Jami laughed. Much nicer to hear than all that worry.

The “him” was unexpected though. He went back to lie on the table to the tattoo guy’s obvious relief. “How can they tell already?”

“She’s four months pregnant. The doctor did an ultrasound.”

“Four months…hell, don’t you get all big and round when you’re that pregnant?” Buzzing and fresh pain. Felt real good. He tried to lie still even though the news was finally sinking in and he was pretty damn thrilled to be getting a nephew. He’d done all the tea parties and playing with the Ken doll and girly stuff with Casey. Would do them with Amia in a few years. Sure, Casey played hockey, but she was so delicate he had to be careful with her. A nephew would be different. He could teach the kid how to take a check and catch a football and—

“She’s got a little bump, but the baby is healthy and the doctor’s sure he’ll have a growth spurt in the next couple months. Seeing him was amazing! I wish you’d been there!”

“Me too.” But that was his own fault. If he wanted to be involved in his nephew’s life, he’d have to find a way to repair his relationship with his sister. Jami was right; they couldn’t just keep the baby.

Would be a lot simpler though.

“Okay, I’m gonna let you go, but I can’t wait to see you. I love you so much and I’m happy you’re being reasonable. She’s going through a rough time, and she really does need you.” Jami paused. “Umm…what tattoo are you getting this time?”

The last time had been music notes on his neck from Jami’s favorite musical. This one was more elaborate. He closed his eyes as he described the dark horse rising in the moonlight, a concept he’d come up with from Jami and Seb’s pet name for him and some awesome memories of nights they’d shared. He’d talked to Pischlar this morning, originally planning on a stallion, but going with the dark horse when Pischlar explained the symbolism. The Cobras were a huge part of his life, and the team wasn’t considered a real contender against the others in the league. He couldn’t wait until he and the boys could prove them wrong.

Pischlar had drawn a rough sketch that was absolutely perfect and worked out the details with the tattoo artist when they’d come to the shop. They’d both been surprised when Tyler decided to join them, but he’d said both Raif and Chicklet were cool with him getting ink, so they let him tag along.

“I can’t wait to see it. It sounds beautiful.” Luke smiled at Jami’s dreamy sigh before they exchanged goodnights and ended the call.

A couple hours later and all three of their tattoos were done. Luke went over to check out the other guys’ tattoos. Pischlar had a nice big anchor on his inner forearm with a scroll loosely wrapped around the middle part with the words “You cannot discover new oceans unless you are willing to lose sight of the shore.”

Tyler’s tattoo went from his shoulder almost to his elbow. St. Michael, a fierce warrior angel in black and white with sword and shield slaying demons. The artwork was incredible—Luke could imagine the tattoo as a painting hanging in a museum somewhere. What he couldn’t figure out was why Tyler, who was a big wimp with pain, would choose this as his first tattoo.

Moving like he was in agony, Tyler met Luke’s eyes after he asked. “A lot of cops get this tattoo, right? Well, Laura hates needles, so I don’t see her getting one. What she does is important and I can’t protect her… I don’t know, I’ve never been real religious, but I kind of feel like having him around would be good. He can watch over her.”

Luke had no idea who this guy was. He stared at the young man who was one of his closest friends and grinned. “That’s deep and freakin’ awesome. She’s a lucky girl, Tyler. Come here, I’m feeling all emotional and shit.” Luke reached out to hug him.

Pischlar stopped him and pointed at the tattoo as the tattoo chick covered it in plastic wrap. “Sensitive. Do not jump on him.” Then Pischlar reached out and ruffled Tyler’s hair. “You’ve got a great setup, kid. People used to say the relationship couldn’t be serious, but I’ve seen how Chicklet looks at you. And now Raif. With Laura, I think the four of you even out. I’m happy for you.”

Tyler’s cheeks reddened and he ducked his head. “Thanks. I’m happy. And I’m happy for you too, Luke! Congratulations, ‘Daddy’!”

“Thanks!” Luke flashed a broad smile as he paid for his tattoo and left a big tip. He stopped halfway to the door as he considered what Tyler had just said.
Holy fuck, does he think—
Tyler and Pischlar were already outside. He ran to catch up. “You keep your mouth shut, angel boy. It’s not what you think.”

“Sure. My lips are sealed.”

“I’m not having a baby.”

“I know how these things work.”

Pischlar unlocked the doors to his rental car and looked at Luke as they all climbed in, Luke in the passenger seat beside him. “He won’t say a word. Not his secret to tell.”

That sobered Luke. He stared out the window on the drive, thinking about all that he’d just learned. The baby was Sam’s secret. One that had probably made her whole life uncertain and scary. So he wouldn’t get angry. He’d listen to her, then decide what he could do to help.

But most importantly, he’d find a way to forgive her.

* * * *

Sitting at the kitchen table in Silver’s house, Scott glanced over at Cort, stifling a laugh as Jami distractedly placed Amia in the big man’s arms. She was in a hurry to meet Luke as soon as the Cobras’ flight landed and didn’t seem to notice Cort’s eyes widening as he shook his head and tried to give the baby back to her.

“Not happening, Jami.” Cort followed Jami to the counter where she was fixing a bottle for Amia. “I’m not here to babysit, I’m here to…damn it, take this before I break it!”

Jami laughed and planted a light kiss on Amia’s forehead. “She is not an ‘it.’ Don’t let Landon hear you talk about his little girl like that. You’ll be fine, Scott’s here.”

“Demmy is really good with Amia, Cort. And I can help!” Casey bounced beside Cort, flashing him a smile that even the big tough guy couldn’t resist. She swung the naked doll she was holding by the arm up to her chest. “Hold her like this and pat her back, she likes that.”

Cort nodded, his lips curving in a forced smile as he gingerly repositioned Amia. Then he followed Jami into the living room. “You really need to bring her with you.”

This was going to be interesting. Becky had gone to the Forum with Silver to deal with a press release for the sports section in tomorrow’s newspaper. They wanted to get the fans excited about the Cobras being one win away from clinching a spot in the playoffs. Scott wished he’d been there for the last three wins, but he was in a much better place emotionally after spending a few days with Becky and Casey. He and Becky had discussed the situation with Zach in depth, and they were waiting for him to come home so they could confront him. Sure, Scott had tried on his own, as had Becky, but now they would do so as a united front. And neither would back down until they got some answers.