More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel) (15 page)

Y
esterday I woke up sick to my stomach.

I’m not stupid. The first thing I thought of was pregnancy. I’ve been on the pill for a while now. I try to be meticulous about taking it, but obviously I fucked up.

If there is a ’+’ in the Result window when the line in the Control window appears, your result is “Pregnant.”

Yup. That’s a plus sign.

Same as yesterday.

I’m alone in my brother’s apartment. I thought he’d never leave this morning, so I could take the test in peace.

He and Axel are at the clubhouse. I plan to go up there right after I finish freaking out.

I slide down to the floor and tip over, resting my cheek against the cold tile.

What the fuck am I going to do?

My brother will kill me.

No, first he’ll kill Axel, then me.

Murphy. I can’t even think of him right now.

Maybe my boyfriend—
the father of my baby
—is getting patched in to the club right now. That would make things a lot easier. My brother can’t kill him if he’s a member of the club.

My brother will be so disappointed in me.

He expects me to finish school. He’s worked so hard to provide for me. How could I let him down like this?

You don’t have to have the baby.

I don’t have to tell anyone at all.

There’s a clinic near school.

I always thought if this happened, that’s exactly what I’d do. Was one hundred percent positive that’s what I’d do.

Now, I don’t know.

Tears roll down my cheeks, dripping onto the floor and soaking into my hair. My stomach lurches, and I can’t catch my breath.

Shooting into a sitting position, I slap my hand over my chest and take several deep, wheezy breaths.

The tears fall harder.

My life’s over. I’ve never had a job. I’ve just barely started college. If I even make it through this semester, I have three more left before I can get my associate’s degree. How?

How am I going to do all of that with a baby?

Will Axel freak out or be happy when I tell him? Will he leave me to do this on my own?

I’ve been sitting on the floor for a long time now.

I’m so scared.

Church has a different vibe to it this week. After we sit down and go through regular club business, Rock points at Wrath.

“Tell me what went down with Sway and my wife while I was away.”

Wrath frowns in confusion then glances my way. I give him a subtle shrug and his gaze skips to Z before answering. “Nothing. He was just a dick. Murphy was ready to kill him.”

“We took care of it,” Z explains. “He was bent because he wanted to know if, with you out of the picture, we were still against running guns.”

Rock nods slowly. “Fucking prick.”

“Pretty much,” I agree.

“Oh, he was also surprised none of us were fucking her while you were away,” Wrath adds, grinning and shifting away in anticipation of a kick from Rock.

“He say that to her?” Rock asks.

“No. Just us,” Z says.

Rock nods, but I don’t think the matter is completely closed yet. He runs his gaze over the rest of us. “Hoot and Birch, what are we doing about them?”

“Let’s take a vote. They’re both ready,” Ravage says.

“We’ve waited long enough since Hoot’s last vote,” Stash agrees. Hoot hadn’t been quite ready but he’d dedicated himself to the club since then and I agree with Stash that it’s time.

Wrath glances at Rock. “Why don’t we vote on Axel, too?”

“Fuck that,” I snap. “He ain’t been here long enough.”

Dex elbows me. “He stepped up a lot over the summer, prez. Not a bad idea to see where we’re at with him.”

Rock smirks at me. “I think we already know.”

I glance at Teller to see where he’s at, but he’s completely blank. Rock’s still watching me and I nod at him. “I’m cool.”

“Bring ‘em in.”

All three prospects stride in the door, all wearing uncertain faces. Hoot probably looks the most nervous since he’s done this once before. Birch runs his hand over his bushy beard, then slips his game face on.

“Thanks for being here,” Rock says to the prospects. “And thank you for everything you do around the club. I know we give you a ton of shit, but your hard work and loyalty is appreciated.”

Hoot and Birch stand up a little straighter. I think they realize what’s about to happen. Axel, on the other hand, seems confused. Or bored. It’s hard to tell.

“I think it’s time we take a vote and see if you three are fit to wear the Lost Kings’ patch,” Rock says.

Axel’s eyebrows shoot up. Yeah, even he knows it’s way too early to be voting on him. Not sure what Prez is thinking.

Hoot’s up first and everyone votes yes. Z gets up and presents him with his full three-piece patch.

Birch is also thumbs up and gets a patch.

Then it’s time for Axel.

Murphy will be the reason I don’t get voted into the club. I know it. I can feel his hatred from here.

Why I’m getting voted on so soon mystifies me. Hoot and Birch have been here way longer. In a way, it’s a relief.

Doesn’t mean I won’t use it as an excuse to give Murphy a dose of reality.

For some reason, Rock starts the voting with Teller instead of Z this time.

“Yay,” Teller says. I’m surprised. While I know Murphy will be a big fat
no
, I suspected Heidi’s brother might also say no.

Rock points at Murphy next and I brace myself.

I’ll give Murphy credit. He’s not a coward. He looks me straight in the eye when he says, “No.”

Even though I expected it, I’m pissed. I swallow, stare back at him, and sneer. “Let it go. Heidi isn’t picking you. It’s done.”

Murphy jumps out of his chair and narrows his eyes at me. “Fuck you. You don’t know shit.”

“The fuck I don’t,” comes out of my mouth. Low, but loud enough that everyone at the table heard it.

At the head of the table, Rock slams his fist down. “Enough. Everyone out, except my officers and Axel.”

They all file out fast. Hoot and Birch throw me a look like they don’t envy me right now.

Can’t say I blame them.

This needs to happen, though. And however it turns out, I’m fine with it. This trouble has been brewing since the day I signed up to be a prospect. Something I never would have done if it weren’t for Heidi. I know in my heart, I’m not meant for this lifestyle. Murphy’s doing me a favor, really.

Still pisses me off when I’ve busted my ass for the club for almost two years now. Even if I never patched in, I’d hoped to leave on good terms—for Heidi’s sake. After this, I don’t see how that’s possible.

As soon as everyone leaves, I face Murphy. “If you think I don’t know you tried to nail my girl before her birthday party, you’re dumber than I thought.”

The room absolutely explodes. Except for Murphy. He’s got nothing. No comment. And no shame either, apparently. He crosses his arms over his chest and stares me down, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Teller, on the other hand, has plenty to say. He brushes against my arm, bumping me out of the way to face his best friend. “Tell me that’s not true, bro.”

Before Murphy answers, I open my big, stupid mouth. “Oh, it’s true. Asshole was trying to plant his flag first. Got a little pissed when he realized I’d already set up camp.”

Was that an epically douchey thing to say?

Yup.

Do I care?

Nope.

Will it come back to bite me in the ass later?

Probably.

Teller jabs a finger at me. “You, shut the fuck up.”

Yeah, I definitely shouldn’t have said that in front of Heidi’s brother.

Wrath and Z watch the scene unfold with the barest of interest. Okay, they both look like they’re trying hard not to laugh. Rock, on the other hand, seems ready to murder someone. I just don’t think he’s decided who needs to die yet.

“For fuck’s sake, Murphy. We talked about this and you went behind my back anyway?”

This is news to me.

Murphy finally shows some remorse. “This was before our talk,” he answers quietly.

“I’ve known you my whole life. How could you?” Teller’s low voice really seems to shame Murphy, because he looks away.

Rock pushes out of his chair and grabs Teller’s attention. “Simmer down. This is between the three of them.”

Teller must be more enraged than anyone realizes, because he turns on Rock. Gets right up in his face. “Like fuck it is. Save that femi-nazi bullshit your ol’ lady’s been feeding you for someone else. This is between me and Blake—”

His tirade’s cut off by Rock’s hand around his throat, slamming him into the wall. Oh, Christ, I don’t want to be the one responsible for getting Heidi’s brother killed.

“Let’s set aside the fact that I’m your president and speaking to me that way is grounds for me to beat the ever-loving fuck out of you. What I
will not
fucking tolerate is you talking about Hope—your
president’s ol’ lady
—with such disrespect when she’s done nothing but try to help you and your sister out since the day she met your sorry ass. Are we clear?”

Teller’s turning a bit blue in the face, but he manages to nod.

“Good.” Rock releases Teller’s neck. Teller staggers to the side, coughing and shaking his head.

Sitting back down, Rock pinches the bridge of his nose. “Jesus fuck, I don’t even know where to start.”

“It’s Wrath’s job to administer the beatdowns,” Z throws out with a snarky grin. The reality that I might not survive a beating from Wrath settles into my skin, and I have to fight the urge to run from the room.

Wrath slowly turns his head and fixes Z with an
are-you-out-of-your-mind
face before speaking. “I’m not sure where to start, either. Murphy for fucking around with another brother’s girl—”

“He ain’t a fucking brother,” Murphy interrupts.

Wrath continues as if Murphy hadn’t even spoken. “And disrespecting a fellow brother by fucking around with his sister. Or Teller for disrespecting the prez and his ol’ lady.” His scary-as-fuck eyes swing to me. “Or
you
.”

“Why me? I didn’t do anything.” Even to my own ears, I sound like a little bitch.

“I don’t know. I just feel like kicking your ass all of a sudden. It was probably the
setting up camp
comment,” he adds without a trace of amusement.

See, I knew that would bite me in the ass.

Even though Wrath terrifies the fuck out of me, I keep my feet firmly planted where they are. He seems to respect that and nods before turning back to Teller and Murphy.

“Given I might
accidentally
kill one of you, it’s probably better that Z dole out the beatings you two assholes have coming.”

It takes a second to comprehend Wrath’s threat. I wonder if he’s referring to his girlfriend’s past relationship with those two jackasses. Personally, I’ve always thought that whole situation was pretty fucked.

Until I found myself in a similar situation.

Then I understood it a whole lot better.