“My eyes,” I hear Tommy mutter from somewhere in the distance as Killer begins to pull away from me.
I laugh out loud and see the kitchen is now full of members standing with their women. Tommy is the lone man out as he stands just off to my side.
“Tommy, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. I’m not the same scared little girl you’re used to seeing,” I state, letting my sassy side show.
“I know you’re not. I’m so very proud of you, Gwen. You’re thriving more than I ever thought possible. It’s taken the love of your family and a good man to let the true you shine through,” he tells me, making tears spill over my lashes. “I’m starving. What are we eating?”
“Dinner will be served in about five minutes. Just waiting on the garlic bread to finish cooking. You guys head out and get your seats while we put the finishing touches on everything,” Shy informs the room.
I stand up and walk over to grab the plates and utensils we’ll need. As I turn around, I run smack into a warm, hard chest. Killer is standing in front of me with his arms wrapped around me. Looking up, I see his eyes go soft as he makes sure I’m steady on my feet. He takes the things I’m carrying before turning around and making his way to the common room. I want to stomp my foot in frustration because it was only paper plates and plastic utensils. We tend to use that more than anything else for gatherings. Makes cleaning up easier for everyone.
Turning around, I look at the women and give them a ‘see what I mean’ look. Each one, except my sister, has experienced this same shit with their men while they were pregnant. Our men don’t want us to do anything they think we don’t belong doing. Including everyday tasks. I still can’t even take a shower alone. That won’t change until I deliver our babies. That’s about the only thing I’m sure of right now. Eventually, I’ll be having words with Killer as he needs to understand I’m fine, and more than capable, to do most things on my own.
We all grab things that need to go out to the common room. Since I know Killer will have a fit, I grab the different bottles of dressing to place on the tables. It’s the lightest thing I can carry out. When I walk into the common room, one of the house bunnies is sitting practically on top of Killer. He’s ignoring her and trying to move his chair further away from her. She doesn’t take the hint and keeps moving closer to him. That’s not gonna fly with me.
Walking up to them, I slam the bottles of dressing on the table. Killer looks up at me, along with the rest of the men. The house bunny keeps her attention locked on my man.
“Excuse me,” I say, loud enough she can’t miss me talking to her. “You’re in my seat.”
“Get the hell out of here. I’m trying to have a conversation with Killer,” she retorts, only taking her eyes off him long enough to glare at me for a second.
“My man clearly wants nothing to do with you as he keeps trying to move away from you. He hasn’t touched you in forever and you know he’s with me. I suggest you go find someone who actually wants to fuck a pussy so loose it feels as if they’re fucking air before I get really pissed off,” I tell her.
“What do you think you’re gonna do about it?” she questions me, getting out of her chair and looking up and down me. “You’re nothing I’m worried about.”
After a second, the house bunny proceeds to raise her hand to me. That’s not a wise decision as Killer stops her hand midair. She turns her head to look at him with a smirk on her face as if he’s going to defend her. That’s not what’s about to happen. I can see the anger filling my man’s eyes and face.
“You were seriously gonna hit my ol’ lady? Who’s pregnant?” he questions her.
Still, the woman doesn’t realize her mistake. She’s more concerned with Killer touching her as she flashes me a triumphant smile.
“You’re done,” Slim booms out. “You’re the lowest on the totem pole here and you haven’t been respectin’ the ol’ ladies in the last few weeks you’ve been here. The men who aren’t single don’t step out on their women. Not only that, but you were also goin’ to hit a woman who’s pregnant. That’s definitely not somethin’ we condone.”
“You can’t do this to me. He’ll kill me!” she shrieks, looking frantically around the room.
“Who will?” Killer asks, his voice low and deadly as we all wait for her answer.
“Neil will. He sent me in here to get you away from Gwen. I didn’t want to do it, but he’s got my baby sister. I need to save her,” she pleads with the men. “I’m so sorry. And I truly didn’t realize you were pregnant. I haven’t been paying attention like I should have. If you send me out of here, you may as well kill me now. My parents have filed a missing person’s report, but the cops can’t do anything either. They’re looking for him but it’s like he vanished into thin air with my sister, Rosa.”
“Neil did this?” Killer questions to make sure we’re hearing her right.
She nods her head, tears rolling down her face unchecked and dropping to the floor in front of her. I believe her. There’s no reason she’d hear Neil’s name because we don’t speak about it in the open. No one does. The truth behind her words are clearly showing on her face as she gazes around the room.
“He wants you to get Killer away from Gwen so he can nab her?” Slim asks, putting what we’re all thinking out in the open.
“Yeah. He thinks it will be easier. Neil doesn’t know you’re pregnant either. If he finds out, he’ll make sure you lose the baby,” she answers once more.
“Fox look into it. What’s your last name?” Playboy asks as Fox pulls out his phone.
“Ramirez.”
We all wait while Fox messes around on his phone for a few minutes. I’m holding my breath as we wait for him to get the answer. This woman is either telling the truth or a very good actress. I’m betting on the first scenario.
“She’s not lyin’,” he finally tells us all. “We need to use her and keep her safe here for now.”
“Are you supposed to check in with him?” Slim asks, while I take the seat she vacated.
“No. He’ll call me in the next few days so I can let him know how things are progressing,” she answers.
“What’s your name?” I finally ask her. “Your real name?”
“It’s Maria,” she replies. “I’ll do anything I can to save my sister and help you out.”
“We’re gonna eat and have church,” Slim tells her. “For now, we’re gonna put you in one of the rooms. You won’t be able to get out. If you’ve got a phone or anythin’ else on you, hand it over now.”
Maria reaches in her back pocket and removes a phone. While Rich and Playboy check her over to make sure there’s nothing else on her, I make her a plate of food. I won’t have her locked in a room while the guys eat and then talk without something to eat. Handing it over to her, a few tears spill over her lashes once more. She offers me a smile before letting the guys remove her from the room.
The rest of us all sit down and eat. Instead of being carefree, our dinner is full of tension and anger. That’s two people Neil has been able to plant in the clubhouse. I know the guys are pissed as fuck about that, but they’ll have to get over it. If they go into their meeting blaming one another, they won’t be able to see the bigger picture. At least that’s my line of reasoning when I think about everything.