Road to Destiny (Scorpio Stinger MC Book 5) (3 page)

Cobra let out a deep sigh. We sat silent for a beat, raucous laughter drifting to us from the clubroom and sounding absurd. “There’s a contract out on me. From both Daemon and Don Pedro.” He hung his head and stared at the ground. My intestines grew cold. “I’m doubly fucked.”

Unblinking, he lifted his head and met my gaze. His eyes were blazing.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure yet, but I think they’re gunning for you and Razor too. It’s not confirmed, but I wouldn’t be surprised. And Hammer isn’t safe either. None of us are. This is fucked up, Ryder.”

I sucked in a deep breath and held it. “Fuck,” I said on a long outward breath, trying to digest his revelation. The room felt hot and stuffy and I needed fresh air.

We should’ve seen this coming, but I’d been too blinded by my own life, with my focus on Jade and our new family. Retribution for lives taken had always been the norm in the underworld. The dark side had reared its ugly head, and the enormity of Cobra’s disclosure hit me in the gut. The truth was that once a contract was out there was very little that could be done to stop it.

“I’ve put Hammer on it to get the facts. I’m sorry, brother, but the chances are that they’re coming after you and Razor. As soon as I know for certain, I’ll have to tell Razor too. But for now I want only the three of us knowing.”

My stomach churned, and as bile rose to my throat, I had to swallow hard to push it down and not get sick.

Fuck
. Like a movie my life flashed by in my mind’s eye. The highs. The lows. The good and the bad. I wouldn’t have cared if I died a few years ago but now I had every reason to want to live.

All I could think about was Jade and our babies. This wasn’t fair to any of them.

I jumped up and paced the room, my mind going into a spin.

“Why in fuck’s name didn’t you tell me sooner? We’re brothers, Cobra. Brothers tell one another shit like this.” My voice was harsh, echoing through the room and bouncing off the walls.

Cobra licked his lips. “You’re in the happiest place you’ve ever been in your life. I didn’t want to burden you with this crap until I was certain. I wanted to see you enjoy your woman because you deserve happiness.” He shrugged as he ran a hand over his shaved head. “I thought I could handle this on my own if they were only after me.”

Silence fell between us as he sucked in a deep breath. I sank back into the chair, my shoulders slumped as I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. My mind went blank and my body limp. I struggled to breathe.

I’m too afraid to think of what could happen.

Cobra’s voice drifted to me as if he were a thousand miles away. I opened my eyes and focused my gaze on his pale face. His lips moved as if in slow motion but his eyes were wild.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m scared shitless. Not so much for myself—hell, we’re all going to die—but for Mia, and the kids, for you and my brother, and for the club. I haven’t slept since I found out, and Mia is on to me. Like you, she knows me too well, and she’s asking questions I don’t know how to answer.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Don’t you think you owe her the truth? Mia has been with you every step of the way. She gave up her life for you, Cobra. The least you can do is to be honest with her and tell her what’s going on.”

How was I going to keep this from Jade?
I’d have a fucking hard time not telling her because sure as hell this was going to gnaw at me. But more than that, I hated having secrets between us. What happened to one of us affected the other just as much. That’s what being in a relationship was all about.

Cobra’s jaw tightened, and his eyes went hard. “No. Mia has been through enough. She doesn’t need any more shit. I don’t want her worrying about me, looking over my shoulder all day long, waiting, wondering when it will happen . . . living in fear. I won’t do that to her.”

I shifted in my seat. “I understand better than you think. We all try to protect those we love. But if something happens to you and Mia never knew you were in danger or had a chance to say goodbye, don’t you think that would be worse? And Jade—I don’t know if I can keep this from her. Fuck, I can’t not tell her the truth.”

I hated having to talk about death, but there was no avoiding the subject. A contract meant a hitman. A hitman meant a bullet with Cobra’s name on it. There was no pussyfooting around the topic. And if Cobra was right, there was a tombstone waiting to be engraved with my name too. And Razor’s.

He didn’t hesitate for a beat. “I’ve given this a lot of thought. In fact, I haven’t stopped thinking about it for five solid days. There’s only one option, and that is to rally everyone together. I’ve got to call in all the Scorpio Stinger brothers from around the country. This is war and our enemies are out to attack us. We’re stronger when we aren’t scattered.” His gaze locked with mine. “That includes you, Ryder, as well as Jade. I’m sorry—I know you were enjoying your freedom, but this is a matter of life and death.” He threw back his head and laughed. It rang out loud, yet it sounded hollow. “
My
death. And maybe
yours
too.”

B
efore I got to do too much damage to the credit card, Eva and I finished shopping. We had a long, slow lunch, and I was too tired to continue our shopping spree.

“How about I treat you to a full-body massage before our bellies are too big? I know this place that does amazing Chinese reflexology as well. Sound good?” I hoped Eva would agree, because putting my feet up was exactly what I needed.

Eva smiled. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all day . . . since my stomach is full anyway. Let’s do it.”

I hauled my phone from my purse and made a quick call. I spoke to Suzi, explaining what services we needed while Eva texted on her phone. She giggled a few times when a new message pinged in and messaged back right away, totally engrossed in her conversation. She was clearly having fun and I had a suspicion she was getting naughty messages from my brother because her cheeks were rosy and her eyes glittered as she licked over her full lips. Only a woman in love glowed like that.

“Thanks, Suzi, I appreciate that. See you soon,” I said as I turned to Eva. “They can fit us in if we go immediately. Apparently a few customers cancelled today, which is lucky for us.”

Eva finished her text and casually dropped her phone back into her bag, but the mischievous grin stayed on her pretty face.

“Oh yay. I can’t wait to get my shoes off.” She laughed. “Are your feet as swollen as mine?”

“Hell yeah. I just have flats left to wear that don’t squeeze the crap out of my toes,” I said grimacing. At least I wasn’t the only one with puffy feet and fingers.

“Next time we’ll go shoe shopping and get some cute outfits for our baby bellies, too. What do you think?” Eva said, eyeing my feet and then her own.

Funny how women always had to compare themselves to other women; good or bad. In spite of her growing belly Eva looked gorgeous and as elegant as ever. I felt frumpy standing next to her and I was glad she was Ryder’s sister and we weren’t competing for the same man. But I couldn’t hate Eva even if I was a little jealous that her bump was small and round in the front only compared to mine that seemed to have spread to my hips and ass.

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” I agreed, swallowing my envy. Ryder told me every day how sexy he thought I was as my breasts got heavier and my clothes got tighter and I was determined to hold on to his words for all it was worth. He wouldn’t lie to me and the way his eyes gleamed with lust while he stared at me whenever I was naked was proof enough for me.

“It’s a deal then. Next week is all about shopping for
us
.” Eva turned her head to appraise her reflection in the shop window as we walked to my car. “God, I feel so fat and nearly nothing in my closet fits me anymore. I need a whole new wardrobe.”

“You and me both, hon,” I said, looking forward to our plans for the following week.

I loved how well Eva and I got along. Harrison was damn lucky to have found a woman like her. Nobody else would have put up with his crap the way she did, nor taken the time to really get to know him and not judge him too harshly for sometimes being an asshole. For as much as I loved my brother, he wasn’t always easy to like. It took a woman like Eva to tame the man who’d been tormented by his past and I admired her guts and strength of character, but above all I appreciated that she hadn’t given up on him when so many other people would have.

Since Ryder and I and were planning our wedding to take place soon after Eva and Harrison’s it was another great thing we had in common. We were kind of going through the same things at the same time and it was fabulous to have a friend I could confide in and who understood exactly where I was coming from.

Beep beep.
The car’s lights flashed twice and the doors clicked open. I placed my parcels in the trunk alongside Eva’s.

“We didn’t do too badly today,” she laughed as the space quickly filled, “and we haven’t even started looking at wedding dresses yet.”

I blew a strand of hair off my face as I closed the trunk and slid behind the steering wheel. I couldn’t even imagine shopping for a wedding dress with that stomach.

“I’ll have to wait until after the babies are born,” I wailed while pulling a face. “Right now it’s kinda the last thing I want to think about because I’ve been eating for three and God only knows how I’m going to fit into that skinny dress.”

Eva rubbed a hand over my belly. “You’re not nearly as big as you think you are, Jade. And you haven’t picked up much weight either.” Her voice was warm and sincere. “You’ll be fine.”

I stifled a giggle. If only she knew how much her brother and I fucked, she’d know I was getting a damn good workout every day.

“I certainly hope so. I have a good idea of what I want and Mom said she’d help me pick a dress. I’d love if you came along to help me decide too and then you can see if there’s something you like too. We can make it a girl’s day out, how does that sound?” I said, wondering if Eva missed her mother at times like these.

As if she read my mind, she smiled sweetly at me. “Thanks, I’d love that. I miss my mom and it’ll be fun with you and Sylvia.”

“Mom will love it.” I turned the key and started the engine, then waited for the oncoming traffic to pass before pulling away from the curb. “She’s so excited about being a grandmother and both her kids getting married. It’s like she won the jackpot.”

Eva chuckled. “I know, right? Who would’ve guessed that Sylvia was getting her wish from both her kids at the same time? She took me aside the last time we went over for lunch and showed me Harrison’s baby pictures. He was so damn cute!”

I nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think my mother thought she’d ever see Harrison get hitched, never mind having a family. After the incident years ago, I think she gave up on him, especially since he lived only for his career. I’m so happy you got through to him, Eva.”

Eva gave me a wry smile. “Me too.”

“Anyway, planning a wedding at the same time as being pregnant is damn hard work. I don’t think men realize how much effort it takes and Ryder isn’t particularly interested in all the details.” I quirked an eyebrow. “I’m guessing Harrison is the same?”

“Of course he is,” Eva said with humor in her voice. “Our alpha guys just want to arrive on the big day and get married. Harrison said he’d rather whisk me off to a remote island than have a lavish wedding. He wants it just to be the two of us, but I told him that this is one day in a girl’s life she calls the shots.”

I put on my flashers and changed lanes before turning into another street. “Exactly! I’ve always dreamed of a beautiful wedding since I was a little girl. Every girl should have her dream day, especially if it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”

“Oh honey, this is definitely it for me. I don’t think either of us would ever want any other man than the one’s we’re marrying.” She fell silent for a few beats. “Isn’t it ironic how we all met? But I wouldn’t change it for the world.  Everything is exactly as it’s meant to be.”

I laughed out loud. “Yeah, never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d fall for a biker. I just wasn’t into that type of man.” My stomach did a flip as I remembered how Ryder had made me feel. “But Ryder, oh God, from the first moment I laid eyes on him something in me just went wild.”

I smiled at the memory of him standing in Uncle Eric’s real estate office and demanding to rent the house we were now going to live in for the rest of our lives. “I’ve given up on the white picket fence I always imagined having, but the house in Beverley Hills isn’t too shabby and I know we’ll be happy there. It’s a great house to raise kids and I especially love the gardens. So much has happened in the last two years. Things I never imagined.”

“You’re telling me! I didn’t even know I had a half-brother. And how strange that fate would have that the woman Ryder falls for has a damaged and broken brother who’s exactly the type of man I can’t resist.”

Eva squeezed my hand. “I’m glad we’re going to be family, Jade. I just hope our guys settle down and can become friends too. Life is too short for drama and hatred. I’d love it if we were all one big happy family.”

I shrugged. “I guess it’s up to us women to keep the harmony. Both our brothers are stubborn assholes sometimes and we’re just going to have to keep them in check.”

Finding the salon, I parked the car and killed the engine. I was ready to get pampered for the rest of the afternoon. Eva and I undid our seatbelts at the same time.

“Don’t you just love that the guys think
they
are the ones in control?” Eva had a naughty glint in her eyes. “If only they knew the truth.”

“Haha, our alpha males would definitely disagree with you, but you’re so right. Ryder and Harrison would do anything for us and I love that they want us to be happy.”

Eva’s expression turned serious. “Those are the important things in life. Raising happy families. I want our kids to play together while we watch over them. I’ve never been this content and looking forward to something as much as I am to marrying Harrison.” She rubbed over her stomach, a small frown between her brows while she chewed the inside of her cheek.