“We do not have time for this, guys. Y’all can have your…” Mac pauses for a second as she searches for the right phrase, “…marital fall out back at the club.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you guys.” I stand firm next to my car. I’m not getting mixed up in whatever shitstorm they just caused. I need to get back inside and finish my shift.
“Yes, you are,” they both say in unison.
“No, I’m not.”
“I’ll take you kicking and screaming, Julie. I’m not fucking around about this.”
Mac lets out a frustrated breath. “Quit the shit both of you.” She turns to me and gives me a stern look. “I’m going to be straight with you, Julie. That Burnout dipshit in there has a hard-on for you, and it just got a whole lot harder when he found out that you mean something to one of us.”
“Us?”
“Yeah, the Ghost Riders, we’re kind of at war with them. We just went there and stirred up some shit, so until we get this shit unstirred, your ass needs to be at our clubhouse so you’re safe. They might come for you out of revenge because they’ll do anything to try to hurt Savage. That’s what Burnout’s going to want to do after what just happened in there. Those fuckers got egos like you wouldn't believe.”
I pause for a second, trying to figure out what to do. I look at Abe and search his eyes. “Is that true?”
“Yeah, shortcake. I need to make sure you're safe.”
I want to roll my eyes at him. Now he cares what happens to me? This isn’t just about me anymore, and if I’m in danger, that means…
“Oh God! I have to get my baby! If I don’t show up in the morning to pick him up, my mom will call the cops looking for me.”
“You have a baby?” Abe’s voice is softer than I’ve heard it in a long time. His eyes are suddenly filled with concern, and that small kindness makes me feel somewhat better. It’s been years since I saw that look of compassion.
“Yeah, a boy.” Who looks just like you. But I don’t say that last part out loud.
“Is his father in his life?” I see a sliver of hope in his eyes.
“No. Seems I can’t keep a man.” I let the bitterness roll off my words, and I don’t care that it’s directed at Abe. He may be hurting, but I’ve hurt twice as much as he has.
“Julie, you’ve always had me, and I was a fool to let you go. I’ve barely survived leaving you, and I can’t do it again. Please, just come with me, and I’ll make things right,” he pleads with me as he rips up the divorce papers in his hands, and puts the tags in his pocket.
Suddenly, dropping down to his knees in front of me, his big hands engulf my hips as he leans his forehead against my belly. “Please, shortcake, we’ll go get your baby in the morning, and we can all be together. I don't care that he’s not mine, he’s yours and that’s all that matters. I’ve been so fucking stupid. Please, please don’t leave me.”
I look over at Mac, and she just stares at us, but I can see in her eyes the pain she feels for him. It’s the same pain that’s pulling at me. He’s a broken man who has sabotaged his own happiness, and we both see it. God, I love Abe. I never stopped loving him, but the hurt is just too much.
“He’s yours,” I say simply. Maybe calling him a baby was a stretch, but I always call him my baby even though he’s two now. He’ll always be my baby. “I didn’t want to keep him from you, Abe, and I wasn’t trying to hide him, but I’ve been protecting him from you doing to him what you did to me. He doesn’t deserve empty promises, to be left one day because you decide it’s too much. Besides, I tried to tell you about him, but you…”
My words trail off because I don’t want to say them. To remember all the times I showed up and was made to leave like I was nobody is too painful. Now isn’t the time to go into this, and I’ve got to think about my priorities. “Right this second, all I’m worried about is protecting him from this mess you’ve just made.”
Chapter Twenty-One
SAVAGE
I think if a truck came by and ran over me, I’d be less shocked than I am right now. It would probably hurt a fuck ton less too.
“Is he at your parents’ house right now?”
Hearing Vincent’s voice has us all turning in shock.
“You just had to follow me, didn’t you, Shield?” Casper looks just as surprised as the rest of us that her FBI agent boyfriend is here.
“Any good agent would have followed you. But a concerned old man would have tracked you, waited just inside the strip club to see if there was trouble, overheard everything you said, and then shown up to save the day.”