Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
All I could do was pull her into a tight embrace, resting my head against hers as we rocked on the spot. My fingers brushed through her hair as she gripped at the back of my shirt, not wanting to let go. I could’ve held her forever.
“Cameron is right,” I finally said.
Aisling pulled back slightly to peer up at me, relief flooding across her face.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I shook my head.
“Thank you,” I told her before pressing my lips against her forehead. What she did for us… there was no amount of gratitude that existed that could cover how we felt.
I released her to Bradley, Chris, Claude, and Hayden, who swarmed her with affection and praise. With a small smile on my face, I took a moment to just enjoy the moment and not worry about everything else going on in the world. Moments like these made all the bad parts worth it.
When the storm rolled in, I hoped that I would remember this moment and be reminded that there was always hope.
There was always something to come home to, and I planned to enjoy every single day I had left when I came home to the sight of Aisling’s bright smile.
Chapter 17
Bradley
My eyes lingered on Aisling as she soundly napped in her bed, sleeping through the late afternoon like she had been doing a lot lately.
She was eight months pregnant now, and it was taking a toll on her. She was sore, tired, and ready to hurry up and give birth.
Unfortunately, she had to wait just a little while longer and endure the whole slew of terrible pregnancy symptoms that she dealt with on a daily basis.
I couldn’t imagine being in her shoes, dealing with all of the aches and nausea and discomfort. It was awful seeing her go through it all. Shit, at this point, I was rooting for the baby to hurry up and come out for her.
Plus, I was excited to meet my son. My son. I couldn’t believe I got to say that.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Cameron asked.
I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to look at Cameron as he approached me.
“Her and our son that we finally get to meet soon,” I replied with a small shrug. “What I always think about.”
Cameron smiled a little, but it was faint for some reason. He motioned for me to follow him.
“Close the door. We’re having a meeting,” he said.
I frowned and narrowed my eyes, wondering why he seemed so grim. Usually, we all chatted about Aisling and the baby in high spirits, but he could barely smile, which was odd for Cameron.
Everyone here had lost someone or gone through something tough, which led a lot of us to find the club for support and structure.
Cameron came to us after he lost his wife to illness. They were a young couple with their whole lives ahead of them, but it was all cut short. It devastated him, and I remembered barely seeing him smile.
Over the years, his grief didn’t overtake his entire life. He got out more. Talked more. Smiled more. But I had to say that when Aisling came along, he started smiling a lot more. Even cracking jokes. It was good to see, but it felt like I was talking to the old Cameron now.
Something was wrong.
I quietly shut Aisling’s door so that we wouldn’t wake her before joining the others near the bar.
“Alright, what’s going on?” I demanded.
“Waiting on him to tell us,” Lincoln replied as he gestured to Cameron. “It’s something bad, isn’t it?”
“Spit it out, Cam,” Kai said with narrowed eyes.
Cameron put his hands up to calm everyone down.
“I have an old friend who knows a guy in the Hornets. They’re not close or anything like that, but he runs in the same circles as this Hornet. He told me that the woman who was bearing the Hornets’ heir fled the city after finding out she was having a girl.”
“And the Hornets want a boy,” Auden finished, prompting Cameron to nod.
“Well, isn’t that good news? We have an heir on the way, and they just lost theirs,” Chris asked, cocking his head in confusion.
A grave look filled Kai’s face as he shook his head.
“Listen to your last sentence. We have something that they just lost,” he replied, tense silence ringing throughout the clubhouse.
“Fuck,” I said, cutting through the silence. “They might look for someone to replace the woman who just ran away.”
“Aisling,” Lincoln murmured as his eyes widened.
“Absolutely fucking not,” Auden bit out as his fingers formed fists. “They’re not coming within a mile of her.”
Kai glared at the ground for a few seconds as he shook his head.
“We have to double up her security. I want someone to keep an eye on her 24/7,” he demanded. “She’s getting close to giving birth. I don’t know if they’ll go after her while she’s still pregnant or if they’ll try to steal the baby.”