Cole (The Ride Series) Read online

  Cole turned to me and stooped slightly to meet my eyes, his hands cupping the sides of my face. “Stay here, listen to Sal. Once all’s clear someone will take you home if I’m not able to.”

  A calm resolve came over me as I nodded. I knew with crushing clarity that he needed me to be strong and to accept his directive with no question. If I was going to stand beside him as I wanted to with all my heart, than at times like this I needed to be a source of strength for him rather than a drain on his reserves.

  Wes stalked over and grabbed the back of my neck with surprising force. “Take care of Connie, okay?” We both looked over and it was clear that Connie was falling to pieces. “You’re not even shakin’,” he muttered. It was obvious that the last thing he wanted to do was leave. Giving me the responsibility of taking care of her wasn’t done lightly, and I didn’t take it for granted.

  “I promise,” I nodded, meeting his fierce gaze. Kat looked better than Connie but not by much. It was clear that I needed to step it up and I fell into my role with ease.

  I gave Cole an assuring look to let him now I had it under control, and I walked off toward my girls offering beers and a promise of a rom-com marathon.

  “She’s got this,” I heard Wes rumble with confidence as they grabbed their jackets and made a rapid exit.

  “She does,” I heard Cole reply as they strode out the door, his tone filled with fierce adoration and a confidence that I was determined not to betray.

  After two movies and more chocolate ice cream than beers, the three of us started to drift off. Sal and Axel had taken their job as protectors extremely seriously and they stayed discretely armed and took frequent laps of the small property. Sal had shown an unusual amount of affection toward Kat, clearly worried about her. When he wasn’t walking the property or talking on the phone outside of hearing range, he had an arm around his girl. Despite the evening’s events I was glad to see it.

  “Scarlet,” a deep voice rumbled waking me from my uncomfortable slumber on the leather couch. “Time to go home.”

  I woke up and groggily peered up to see Wes hunched down over me. “Where’s Cole?” I asked, my voice raspy with sleep.

  “He’ll be a little while longer,” he answered, and I knew he didn’t plan to elaborate. I also knew not to ask any more questions and I rose silently to follow him to his bike.

  “Connie’s okay,” I told him quietly when we’d parked at the curb in front of Cole’s house.

  “Thank you,” he answered gruffly. Despite his rough demeanor his gratitude was undoubtedly sincere.

  I’d grown to really like Wes.

  He did a very thorough walk-through of Cole’s place before gesturing for me to go inside. It occurred to me that I wished we had a guard dog at times like this so I wouldn’t have to be alone. But in the end, I was too tired to be worried and I fell into a deep sleep soon after Wes left the house to park himself out front until Cole got home.

  What felt like minutes later, but could have been hours, I woke up to tingles shooting straight to my toes and an arch in my back. Cole was settled between my legs and I moaned coming fully awake as his tongue worked magic at my core. He brought me nearly to the brink before he moved up and sunk fully inside of me.

  “Cole,” I breathed as he pulled out and glided back in. This wasn’t his typical punishing rhythm. It was slow and sweet. “Love you, Cole,” I moaned, feeling the momentum build inside of me.

  He kissed my neck and brought his lips to my ear. “Unpack, babe,” his voice was low and full of promise.

  “Cole…” my voice trailed off.

  “Life’s too short, babe. Unpack,” he demanded, holding himself still inside of me when I desperately wanted him to move. “And I’m not talking about for a few weeks. I’m talking permanently,” he added.

  “This is sexual coercion,” I argued breathlessly.

  He reared up, his arms braced at either side of my head. His eyes glimmered with intensity as they stared down into mine. “Scarlet, I love you. I want us to share a roof. Unpack,” he said again.

  “Okay,” I agreed finally. There just wasn’t any arguing with him, not that I truly wanted to anyway.

  “Okay,” he whispered, pressing his lips to mine. I didn’t know what happened that night, but something sinister had transpired. I could see it in his face and in his clear need to keep me close. He began to move once more, this time faster and with more determination. It wasn’t long before we were both moaning out our release.

  He rolled off of me but pulled me close into the crook of his arm. “You can’t take it back you know,” he pointed out, his tone mildly teasing.

  I laughed softly. “I don’t want to,” I said as I shook my head, feeling satiated and relieved he was home safe. “I was wondering though…” I trailed off.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Can we maybe get a dog? I was thinking tonight that it would have been nice to have a guard dog or something,” I told him while biting my lip. “More for company than anything else,” I mumbled. Before I could stop myself I continued. “And it would have to be a dog that would be good with kids too, you know just in case we, you know, someday.” I was rambling now.

  “Yeah, we can do that babe.” He squeezed me, his tone surprisingly pleasing.

  “Is Mack okay?” I asked worriedly.

  “He’s fine,” he assured me. “Just a flesh wound. He’ll be released tomorrow.”

  “You okay?” I asked quietly.

  “Yeah, babe. But I’m wiped, let’s get some sleep,” he replied not welcoming further conversation. I’d let him have that for now. I didn’t want to push him and I trusted him to tell me what I needed to know, while sparing me the details of what I might not.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I slipped soundlessly out of bed the next morning, leaving Cole deeply asleep. I made coffee and started to unpack a few of my kitchen boxes. I knew it would please Cole, and truth be told I was ready to have my things intermingled with his. I was nearly done when he emerged wearing only his boxers. I’d never tire of looking at his body-- his sculpted chest and stomach. He reminded me of a lion with his lithe physique that held a promise of shear power underneath its grace. His beautiful eyes swept over me and they grew warm when he saw what I was doing.

  “Coffee?” I offered.

  “Yeah, coffee would be good,” he said with a small smile on his lips. I’d totally been caught ogling him.

  I rolled my eyes at him and handed him his cup.

  I let him drink his coffee as I whipped up some pancakes and bacon. It wasn’t until he’d eaten half of it that I looked at him expectantly from my place in front of the stove.

  “Victor’s dead,” he answered my unspoken question with brutal honestly.

  I had promised myself that I’d be calm despite anything he might tell me, and hoped that I successfully kept my face clear of the shock that his admission sent through me.

  “How?” I asked simply, leaning a hip against the counter.

  He sighed. “Do you really want to know? I’ll tell you if you do,” he answered, his eyes piercing mine.

  Did I really want to know? I thought about it for a few beats before I shook my head. “No I don’t want to know,” I answered him.

  “And Jake?” I asked.

  “In the wind,” he answered, sounding aggravated.

  “Henry made Benny his new lieutenant. Do you know him?” he asked me as he shoveled the last of his breakfast in his mouth.

  “Yeah, I know Benny,” I answered quietly.

  Benny had always been kind to me in a gruff sort of way. He was older than me – mid 40s with a tough old lady named Darla. He’d always been loyal to my father and I wasn’t surprised that Henry had chosen him.

  “He’s in town for a while, his chief directive from Henry is to take Jake down. He rode out with us last night,” he explained.

  “Is Jake working alone at this point or does he still have help?” I asked while taking a much needed si
p of my coffee.

  The fact that Victor had been killed by someone close to me, maybe even by Cole, had me rattled. I didn’t like the fact that my past was forcing blood to be spilled. Even after everything Victor had done to me, it didn’t sit comfortably that he died more or less because of me.

  “Seems to be alone, especially after what went down last night. No one would be stupid enough to partner with that crazy mother fucker at this point,” Cole grumbled.

  I nodded in full agreement. “Victor was the brains behind the operation. Jake is just crazy.” I sighed. “I don’t know if that makes me feel safer or not,” I mused.

  “He won’t fucking touch you,” Cole growled.

  “I know, babe,” I assured him. “Is Henry coming back into town? I should cook him up some of my ribs. Benny, too.” I said, in need of a subject change. Now that the relationship had improved between the clubs, I was anxious to do my part to encourage that however I could.

  Cole’s eyebrows rose and I was gratified to see his mood lighten. “You been holdin’ out on me?”

  I blushed slightly. “Not intentionally. I don’t make them often. But Henry loves them,” I said.

  “Pop’s been talking about having a barbeque for both clubs. I’ll ask him about it,” he told me as he rose from his seat to put his plate in the dishwasher. He came to stand behind me, put his arms around my belly and kissed my neck. “He also mentioned that he still has the photos of your dad to show you.”

  “Yeah, I’d like that,” I murmured. With all the craziness of the last few weeks I hadn’t had the chance to sit down with Cal for a trip down memory lane. Part of me was probably avoiding it to some extent. There was only so much emotional baggage I could strap on at one time.

  “Glad you’re movin’ in, babe,” he murmured in my ear, creating tingles down my spine.

  “Yeah, me too.” I molded my body to his. “I need to tell Kat. I feel a little guilty, I don’t want to leave her in the lurch,” I muttered.

  “She’s never there anyway, is she? Every time I go to Sal’s place she’s there,” Cole replied.

  He was right about that. Kat spent the majority of her nights at Sal’s place, but she’d still need half of the rent paid. I shared this with Cole.

  He shrugged. “If she’s never there than it shouldn’t matter much who it is.”

  “Yeah, but she’s not entirely sure how solid things are with Sal,” I informed him before I could stop myself.

  “What? Why not?” he asked, surprised.

  I shrugged. “He’s just not that affectionate or vocal about his feelings toward her,” I shared.

  “That’s just Sal,” Cole waved his hand dismissively. “Trust me. He’s a goner.”

  “I’m glad to hear it, but he could probably work on making that more clear to Kat,” I said. “He could learn a few tricks from you,” I said and smiled suggestively.

  Cole chuckled. “Sorry, babe. I’m not having a talk with Sal about his love life. Not gonna happen.”

  “Dammit,” I muttered, knowing he’d say as much.

  “I gotta head to the club, check in with Pop. What’s your schedule?” he asked. I realized this was something he’d always want to know regardless of my safety. It was just how he operated.

  “Unpacking, gym, hospital, and work,” I answered simply.

  “Hospital?” he asked with a creased brow.

  “Yeah, gotta see Mack,” I answered with a shrug.

  I saw Cole’s eyes warm until they were liquid. “I didn’t tell you how well you handled yourself last night. I was proud,” he said seriously.

  I shrugged again feigning indifference, though his words thrilled me. “No use falling apart over things you can’t control. I learned that a long time ago.”

  “Now’s not the time to discuss it, but if I did decide to fill my father’s shoes it’s nice to know my woman can handle the job that comes with that,” he told me, his eyes full of pride and love.

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him, watching as he gathered his things to head out for the day. I had never thought I’d want to be back in the life, but with a man like Cole I’d want to do just about anything.

  “And babe, shit obviously got stepped up last night. I don’t want to argue, but we need to have a serious talk about your work schedule until this shit blows over. Working the late shift puts you and my guys on the line,” he said firmly.

  “I’ll talk to Pete today,” I promised without delay.

  My instant compliance clearly surprised him and his eyebrows rose. I rolled my eyes. “Of course I don’t want to put anyone in danger, Cole. I’ll just work the day shift for now.”

  He kissed my forehead tenderly. “Thanks, babe.”

  I started unpacking my things as soon as Cole left. Despite my earlier reservations, now that I’d agreed I was anxious to do so. I started in the kitchen, moved to the bedroom, and finished in the bathroom. I was just thinking how quickly I’d completed the job when I unearthed a box of tampons from one of the boxes. My heart immediately stopped beating and then started back up again, double time. How long had it been since I needed those? I knew the answer--too long. With everything that had been going on I hadn’t been keeping track. I didn’t even notice that I missed a period.

  It’s not possible, I told myself. I was religious about taking my pills. Except for maybe my stay in the hospital, and maybe when I went to Idaho...and Connie’s place. Fuck!

  I called Kat immediately, my hands shaking as I held the phone to my ear. “I need you to bring a pregnancy test over here, now,” I told her without a hello or a greeting of any kind.

  “Be there in ten,” she answered without question. See, this is why she was my best friend.

  Twenty minutes later we were sitting on my new bathroom counter watching the little blue stick create two blue lines.

  “No,” I breathed feeling like I might pass out.

  “Let’s take another one, I bought like five of them,” she suggested, her tone calm, though I could tell she was far from it.

  I nodded woodenly.

  Now we were staring at three different pregnancy tests all in various states of “you are pregnant!” Did I really need the digital version and the lines to confirm it? Really, it was just like throwing it in my face at that point.

  “Shit,” I said dumbfounded as we continued to stare at the tests.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. There wasn’t much else to say at the moment.

  “What are you going to do?” she asked quietly.

  “I’m going to stare at them for about ten more minutes,” I answered through barely moving lips.

  “Okay,” she agreed instantly.

  I finally pulled myself together and we left the bathroom to go sit on the couch in the living room.

  “Well, let’s get you in to see the doctor,” Kat stated. I so appreciated her taking control in this moment because I was completely unable to. I was still reeling from the shock of my life. I didn’t feel pregnant. Weren’t you supposed to be throwing up or something? I just felt like me, sans period.

  My OB could fit me in that day, in just an hour, so we continued to sit on the couch talking about the possibilities.

  “Would you keep it?” she asked tentatively.

  “Yeah,” I answered without hesitation.

  “How do you think Cole will feel when you tell him?”

  “I have absolutely no idea,” I answered truthfully. “We’ve been together three months, if that,” I added with a bit of panic in my voice.

  “Well, we’ll just cross that bridge,” she assured me.

  “Yeah, well, for now your steering because I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing,” I admitted.

  “Deal,” she agreed.

  Like a best friend would, she drove me to my appointment. Hank had tailed us but we hadn’t given him any details other than it being a “lady doctor” appointment. Unsurprisingly, after that, he didn’t ask for more details. It would have been comical if I wasn�
�t so freaked out. Kat came in with me as the doctor confirmed that I was indeed pregnant, though very early on.

  “I see you were on several different antibiotics,” he noted while reviewing my chart.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. They’d been prescribed after my not so little brush with the concrete via one Victor Friggin Cross.

  “They told you that could interfere with your birth control?” he asked.

  Well, if I’d allowed them to check me out they probably would have.

  “I wasn’t aware of that,” I answered evasively. “But I skipped a few pills as well,” I admitted.

  “It was probably more likely to be the medication unless you missed a lot of pills,” he told me.

  Well, at least it wasn’t all my fault. That didn’t really help my current freak out that I was suddenly six weeks pregnant.

  “What the fuck am I going to do,” I lamented as we sat parked in front of my new home. The home I had just moved into with my brand new boyfriend. God, this was bad. Very, very bad.

  “You’re going to tell the guy who loves you that you’re going to have his baby, a bit earlier than expected,” she answered.

  The prospect of telling Cole felt so surreal, I couldn’t even get my head around it.

  “This would have happened anyway Scar, you two are made for each other. You’re just a bit ahead of schedule,” she soothed.

  “Yeah, like years ahead,” I scoffed.

  She patted my leg sympathetically. “I get to be an auntie.” She let out her first small burst of excitement at the news.

  I grinned despite myself. “Yeah, you do.”

  “He or she is going to be so freaking cute, I mean look at you two!” she exclaimed.

  I allowed myself to picture it for the first time, though it still hadn’t truly sunk in. “Yeah, we’ll make a beautiful baby,” I sighed.

  “The most beautiful,” she emphasized.

  I smiled at her. “Thank you. As always, you’re the best.”

  “You’d do the same for me,” she said.

  “I would,” I agreed.

  “When are you going to tell him?” she wanted to know.