Torn (19 page)

A small hand shook my shoulder, waking me.
“Brody, get up. It’s seven a.m.”

Squinting to shield my eyes from the
treacherously bright rays that filled my office, I saw Sara. “What
are you doing here? It’s Sunday morning.”

“Good morning to you too, sunshine. I told
you yesterday I was going to stop in this morning to do a couple of
things, remember?”

“You need a vacation,” I muttered. “I can’t
believe you came in on a Saturday to help me out and then again
today. God, what would I do without you?”

“You’d walk through broken glass on sticky
floors and probably not settle as many deals as you do now, but
you’d be okay.” Sara grabbed the Concord files from my desk as it
dawned on me that I forgot to clean up the mess from the tantrum,
as Leila would’ve called it.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I had…some issues come up
last night,” I was embarrassed to admit the truth. My head pounded
as a reminder of my scotch-filled bender.

“Boss, you don’t have to apologize to me.
It’s your crystal, not mine. How about I grab you a cup of coffee
while you go splash some water on your face?” Not bothering to wait
for an answer, Sara strolled out of the office.

Sitting up from my awkward position on the
couch, I stretched my arms above my head and turned my neck until
it cracked. I stood, crossed the office, and pulled the frosted
glass door open. The full bathroom was extremely useful on days
like today. After brushing my teeth, I threw some cold water on my
face and grabbed a fresh shirt from the closet. I ran my hands
through my hair, trying to tame it some.

When I opened the door Sara was just walking
back out to her desk. “Coffee’s on the desk and Kai just called.
He’s coming in.”

“Thanks, Sara.” I walked toward the desk, my
eyes locked on the fresh cup of coffee.

A short time later my head of security
arrived. Ikaika gave me a rundown on all of the night’s events and
assured me yet again that Lei was perfectly fine. I decided to keep
two guys on Leila at all times. Just until all of the dust settled.
There were too many unknown elements right now.

Drew called later and gave me a brief rundown
on what was happening with Jaxon, insisting that his cover was not
blown. I hoped like hell that he was right. The urge to kick down
the front door and kidnap Leila myself was getting to be
overwhelming.

If she were with me, then I would know she’d
be safe. As much as I hated to admit it, I’d come to understand
that she and I wouldn’t be a couple again, but I couldn’t help but
want to keep her safe.

Chapter Twenty-four

Leila

Tuesday morning I went to the OB’s office
with Jaxon and Brody in tow.
Oh and Kai, how could
I forget my very own personal bodyguard
. I had fought Brody
tooth and nail over his extremism regarding my safety. He kept
insisting that being with Jaxon made me a target. While I conceded
that the whole situation with Drill was due to Jaxon’s involvement
with the MC, that didn’t mean I needed a bodyguard.

Somehow the moon, stars, sun, and planets
aligned just right and Jaxon agreed with Brody. There were still
the buyers that Drill was working with, and they would eventually
come looking for the money we learned he owed them. Also, the final
tally of stolen MC money was over $245,000, plus he owed the buyers
around $200,000.

Jaxon, Drew, and DHS seemed to think that the
buyers would go after the club, not one particular person. This, of
course, caused me to renew my desire for Jaxon to get out for good.
That’s when the fighting started.

I accepted that this was who he was. It was
his job and he loved it. I loved him and I wanted him to be happy,
but I also wanted to watch my daughter grow up and not have to
worry about being kidnapped, shot at, or for me to ever see Jaxon
in the ER again. I just wanted a normal, happy life for all of
us.

“Leila Matthews?” the round nurse called from
the door, reminding me I’d been zoning while waiting for my OB
appointment.

“Yes.” Using one of the chair’s arms, I
attempted to stand up. Brody and Jaxon both popped right up out of
their seats. It made me hate them.
Fucking agile
bastards
.

“Let us help you.” Brody held his hand out,
while Jaxon just started walking toward the door back to the exam
rooms.

“Why? Am I too fat to get out of the chair on
my own now, Brody?” Glaring at him, I waited for his answer.

“No. That’s not… I mean… I just was trying to
help you up,” he stuttered and stumbled over his words and looked
to Jaxon with wide eyes, like he was begging for help.

“Oh…okay.” Grabbing his hand, I let him help
me up. “And you, why are you smiling?”

Jaxon’s grin got bigger. “Just lookin’ at
you, baby girl.”

Brody believed that about as much as I did
because he cough-muttered, “Bullshit.”

The nurse led us back to the exam room and
handed me a sheet. “Undress from the waist down. The doctor will
probably want to check your cervix to see if you’re dilated or
effaced, since you’re thirty-eight weeks now.”

“Thanks.” I took the sheet and waited until
she was out of the room to step behind the curtain where I wrapped
the sheet around my waist and worked my way out of my capris.

I sat on the exam table, while Jaxon leaned
against the prep counter and Brody sat in one of the most
uncomfortable-looking chairs invented. The nurse returned, used the
Doppler to check the baby’s heart rate, then took my vitals. “The
doctor is running behind about twenty minutes, but she’ll be in as
soon as she can. If you need anything just pop your head out.”

Great, I hated waiting with these two. It was
like standing next to an active volcano: You never knew when it was
going to erupt, but you knew eventually it would.

“So I may have to travel to New York soon,”
Brody said after the nurse left.

Groaning, I rolled my eyes. I knew that bitch
Jenifer was trying to get her acrylic claws back into him. I
couldn’t stand her. The thought of him anywhere near her made the
lioness inside me stand up and take notice. Sure, he wasn’t mine
anymore, but I would do anything in my power to make sure she never
got close enough to mess with him again. “What’s wrong this
time?”

“Jenifer’s dead,” he said flatly.

My jaw dropped. “What? How? When?”

Brody was in the middle of the whole tragic
story when the doctor finally came in. God, I felt so horrible.
Here I was mentally bashing a dead woman.

“Hi, Leila.” Dr. Rogers nodded to the guys in
acknowledgment.

“Hey, Dr. Rogers, how are you?”

“I’m good. How have you been feeling? Any
contractions?” Setting my chart down and opening it, she sat on the
black rolling stool.

“So far, so good.”

“That was the best job so far today at not
directly answering my question,” she chuckled. “Any
contractions?”

“Mostly just Braxton-Hicks.” I played it off
and waited for the tirade from the dads.

“Well, let’s check you to see if you are
dilated.” Turning around, Dr. Rogers grabbed a sterile pair of
gloves and put one on. “You know the drill.” I winced at the name
but she thought otherwise. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you.” She
looked me over. “By the way, I could take those stitches out if
you’d like. It’s time. Are you sore or experiencing any headaches?
”

“I’m okay, you just caught me off guard a
little.”

“All right, well…” She poked around in my
vagina, bumping my cervix, which was sore. “You’re definitely
thinning and about two centimeters dilated. Baby’s head is down and
in good position.” She gently withdrew and continued. “Even though
you’re thirty-eight weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was any
day now. Everything looks good. If I were you I’d get as much sleep
as you can between now and then.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that.” I smiled,
beaming ear to ear at the thought of seeing my baby any day now.
She grabbed a pair of scissors, pointed to my head, and I nodded.
In less than a minute, she snipped the sutures out. “Thank you.” I
touched my forehead.

“Go ahead and get dressed. Stop in at the
front desk and make sure you have another appointment scheduled for
next Tuesday, but honestly, I doubt you will make it ’til then.”
She entered a few notes into her tablet then headed out the room.
“See y’all soon,” she called over her shoulder.

“Thanks,” both men chimed in.

I got dressed and made the appointment for
next week, praying I didn’t need to keep it. I would have been fine
delivering tomorrow.

Jaxon had to make a few stops and agreed to
let Brody and Kai take me home. Of course, we stopped and had lunch
along the way.

“Kai, why don’t you sit and eat with us?” I
asked as he stood behind me in his soldier pose.

“Thank you, Miss Leila, but if I’m eating I
can’t very well be watching your back.”

Brody had picked East Bay Deli, which was
still one of my favorites. I got a grilled chicken Caesar salad,
while Brody got his usual Reuben.

“I will probably have to make a lot of trips
back and forth to New York after the baby is born. Robert and
Whitney are, as you would expect, devastated.”

“I just can’t imagine. I pray we are never in
their shoes.” My nose tingled as tears pooled in my eyes.

“I hope we never have to deal with any of the
bullshit they’ve had to deal with because of their daughter’s
decisions.” He shoved a huge bite of sandwich in his mouth.

When I was staying with Brody, while Jaxon
was doing his—at the time—clandestine undercover thing, Brody had
told me all about Jenifer, her parents, and their friendship with
his parents.

“How about we order a huge piece of
cheesecake and see if I can make myself so full I go into labor?” I
teased him.

“You know I’d give you the world if you’d let
me,” Brody spoke softly.

“I’d settle for a piece of that Carnegie Deli
Cheesecake from New York.” Practically salivating, I nodded to the
counter then bounced my eyebrows a few times.

“You know you crack me up right?” He
snickered before getting up from the table to buy me a piece of the
best cheesecake in all of Charleston.

“You want a bite?” Offering him a forkful of
the rich deliciousness, I heard Kai ahem.

“Mr. Davis.” Kai nodded toward the door where
Jaxon, Viper, and a few of the other brothers stood.

“It’s fine, Kai, they’re friends.” I got up
and met Jaxon at the counter. “Hey, baby.”

Leaning down, he gave me a chaste kiss. “What
are you doin’ here? I thought you were goin’ home.”

“I was, but I got hungry so Brody and Kai
stopped here so I could eat. Is that a problem?” I asked sweetly,
not wanting to pick a fight in the middle of the crowded café.

“Nope, no problem. I actually stopped in to
get a sandwich and get you a salad. When I mentioned it in church a
few of the brothers thought it was good idea so they followed. You
almost done?”

“No, I just got a piece of cheesecake, so it
might be a little while,” I looked back over at the table. “Brody
and Kai will drop me off. Go have lunch with the guys.”

He hesitated. “You sure, babe?”

“Positive.” Giving him a quick kiss, I turned
and went back to the table where Brody and Kai watched me like a
hawk.

“Everything okay?” Brody asked, wiping his
mouth.

“Yep,” I answered before shoving in a
scrumptious mouthful of cheesecake. “Mmmm, this is so good. Are you
sure you don’t want a bite?”

Brody was swiping up and down his cell phone
screen, clearly distracted. “Huh?”

“Cheesecake? Do you want any?”

“Uhh…no.” His eyes never left the phone.

“How about a cookie or some yummy
dessert?”

“No thanks.” He was still preoccupied with
his cell.

“What if I was dessert?” I asked with a
sultry, come-fuck-me voice.

“Uhh, no. I’m good,” he answered, as monotone
as the teacher from
Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off
.

“Now I know you aren’t paying attention to a
word I say. I just offered my naked body up on a silver platter and
all you could say was ‘
Uhh no, I’m good
.’”
I used a horrible excuse for a pretend man’s voice.

“What?” He finally looked up from his
phone.

“I said you’re not paying attention.”

“I most certainly am. You kept asking if I
wanted dessert,” he said arrogantly.

“I asked once about dessert, then I asked if
you’d like
me
for dessert, to which you
promptly said, ‘No I’m good.’ You are such a jackass.” Out of the
corner of my eye I could see Kai’s whole body trembling, fighting
back the laughter.

“You did not say that,” he asserted. “She
didn’t say that, right?” He looked to the big man for confirmation,
then back to me. “You didn’t say that?”

That’s when the dam burst and out flew the
laughter. Kai nodded his head affirmatively while his whole body
shook. “You just kept playin’ on your phone, man. You never even
flinched.”

Brody shook his head and smirked. Jaxon
strolled up to the table with his pack of bikers pulling up the
rear. “I’m headin’ out, babe. I’ll see ya at home in just a little
while.”

Tipping my head back as Jaxon bent down, he
kissed me and it wasn’t a little see-you-later kiss. Nope. This was
an I’m-staking-my-claim, she’s-mine kind of devouring kiss. The
type of kiss your seventh grade health teacher warned you about.
Yep, that was definitely an I-wanna-make-babies-with-you kiss.

Jaxon straightened to his full magnificence
and left me sitting there with my head still back, mouth open, eyes
closed and panties wet. The lioness purred in satisfaction. Then
Brody had to go and ruin my scorching-red-hot fantasy of table sex
with Jaxon by answering his phone all loud and shit.