Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“A baby?” Faith asked.
He’d been so focused on Nikki and then on Road, he’d not seen Faith open her eyes. He got to his feet and walked toward her.
“You’re awake.”
“What happened?” she asked, frowning.
“There was a drive-by.”
“I got shot?”
“Yes.”
“Why am I in the hospital?” she asked, and then tried to sit up. She let out a wince.
Brute helped her as best he could. The nurses came in, trying to talk to her, take her blood pressure, look at the machines. He saw it was exhausting Faith, and very firmly he told them to leave, to give her a minute.
Once they were gone, he expected twenty questions, but Faith lifted her arm and pressed her fingers to her temple. It was the arm that hadn’t been shot at.
“A baby? You were talking about a baby.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, being careful not to jar her or cause her any more pain. Taking her hand within his, he pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist.
“You’re pregnant, Faith.”
“Oh,” she said.
She opened and closed her mouth, glancing down at where he held her hands.
“And you don’t want the baby?” Faith asked.
“I…” He’d never been at a loss for words.
“Is it because of me?”
He saw the tears in her eyes and he hated them.
“No, it’s not because of you.” He cupped her face, stroking her cheek. “It’s not. A baby complicates things.”
“But, what do we do, because if you don’t want a baby…?”
“We’ll deal with it.”
She gasped. “I … I don’t want to … kill it. I can’t do that. I know our situation is messed up and that you don’t love me, and this is all just a bit of fun to you. I will take care of it.”
“Faith, stop,” he said.
“I know I’m not good enough.”
He pressed his head toward her, leaning over her. All he wanted to do was get her to stop, to calm down, to not worry. The panic was making the machines beep faster and the nurses were waiting outside.
“I’m not going to let you get rid of our baby,” he said. “There is a lot we need to talk about, but you’ve got to heal. We’re going to let the nurses do what they need to do, and then we can talk about this, can’t we? Everything else can wait.”
He needed her to calm down, and he needed some time to think. A baby changed everything.
Chapter Fourteen
Faith knew Brute was avoiding her.
She’d stayed at the hospital for a few days and then she’d been given the all-clear. The club had a doctor willing to keep an eye on her bandages, so Road and Tank had been there to pick her up at the hospital. The nurses had given her a bunch of leaflets about pregnancy and what to do and how to handle it. Faith had read them all at the hospital.
She wasn’t suffering with morning sickness. One of the nurses had told her to count herself lucky. Pregnancy was different for every woman, she might get cravings, she might get the sickness. The journey would be hers to take.
And she still hadn’t seen Brute.
Arriving at the clubhouse, several of the guys welcomed her, as did a few of the women. They had visited her in the hospital as well. She had enjoyed their company, but none of them would tell her what Brute was doing. She missed him.
Tank didn’t allow her to get too friendly as he urged her away from their hugs and their concerns.
He led the way, taking her toward the main rooms, but he didn’t lead her to Brute’s room. He took her to one of the bedrooms on the top floor. Entering the room, she saw it had been decorated pink and purple—two of her favorite colors—and it surprised her. The main clubhouse was quite dark and the rooms she’d been inside were all a mixture of dark colors.
Whenever she asked the guys about a spot of color, they complained, told her they had their domains and she was to keep her womanness out of the equation.
She hadn’t changed a thing. All she did was wash and clean for them, and kept everything else looking the same. This room was all feminine.
“Wow,” she said, stepping into the room. “This is … did you guys do this?”
“We figured you would need a place to relax, to call your own. Seeing as you’re part of us now, there is no other place for you to be.”
“Not while my grandfather is alive.”
“Not while the Golubev is alive,” he said.
Faith frowned. “But you’re able to live. They don’t come after you all the time.”
Tank threw his head back and laughed. “Sweetheart, you’ve got no fucking clue, have you?” He took her bags from her, placing them in the corner of the room. “We all live with a target on our backs. That’s how I was taken. I let down my guard for just a second and they got me. The club, this part of the city, is our only safe haven. They can’t get us while we’re in here. Only when we go out there, and if we’re not together, we’re at risk.”