I’ll admit I believe we need to renovate the area. Everything seems the same. Crumbling, in need of repair. Fuck me, now’s not the time to be thinking about business.
Wolfe and his wife—fuck, what was her name—walk to the left of us. As we move along the driveway, a clicking sounds through the night.
Ayres looks down and shines his cellphone light toward the ground. “Oh, fuck.” His foot is on something in the ground, and I wonder for a moment if he set off an alarm of some sort. I’m about to ask Wolfe when Hypnos hits the ground.
“Get down!” Hypnos yells. I pause and look at him. Ayres gets down and Jameson falls to the ground, pulling his wife into him. That’s when I hear it. The ticking of a clock.
“Fuck.” I jump onto the grassy lawn right as the house explodes. The earth rattles from the force of the explosion.
After the blast, I must get my bearings. It’s quite hard with ringing in my ears. I shake my head to clear the dizziness, which is stupid because it makes me even more dizzy. I look over at everyone and they are not hurt.
“What the fuck is going on?” Ayres asks. The confusion on his face is exactly how I feel. Hypnos is shaking, but standing, brushing the dirt from the ground off him.
I look at Wolfe and start seething. He and his wife stand up along with the rest of us. “Who, the fuck is blowing up houses in my territory?”
My anger explodes. I grab his leather cut and yank him around to face me. “Well, you fucktard, this happens when you don’t have control over your damn territory. This is what I’ve been trying to get out here to investigate. Instead, now I’ve got a blown-up fucking house that probably had clues to whereourwoman is being held. It’s worthless now.”
Hypnos is shaking as Ayres grabs his arm, guiding him toward the SUV. I’m so pissed off, I look about, trying to find the prickly little mother fucker who did this. I bet it’s Haydes. The no-good bastard. The only thing I don’t know is if the bastard is working with Wolfe.
“Get in the vehicle now,” I demand my brothers. I get into the driver’s seat and roll down the window as I start the car. “Call your crew to come get your ass. I’m not taking you back to the bar. Remember this: Next time I come to you, calmly, and ask for your help, you better fucking comply. You better believe I will tear the mother fucking treaty up and blow you all to hell. This was your one time. You better fucking learn from this. If you come after us, you will die.”
I drive off and fucking gravel flings every which way. As I’m driving, a video message pops up on the dash monitor. This time, it’s Charlotte sitting on the floor rocking. Her beautiful hair is curly and flowing down her back. She’s turned so we can see her back. It’s healed mostly, and our name is there. Pride rises in me. It still has a few places that have scabs over them. I don’t know why but seeing her calms me down. At least she is alive and not rotting somewhere.
“If I am pregnant, I don’t want it to be Haydes,” she whispers into the air.
“What the fuck did she just say?” Ayres turns to me, and Hypnos sits in the back, stone silent.Did she say she’s pregnant?
My heart is racing, and my hands shake as I turn the car into the nearest parking lot. We all look at the screen as it pans to the front of her. She’s holding a pregnancy test.
“What… what…” Hypnos is trying to speak, and I think I know what he’s trying to say. I feel the same way. Is our little girl pregnant? And if so, what the hell do we do with a baby? I gulp and think back to when we first grabbed her. We told her we would make her into a baby machine. But fuck, am I prepared to have a baby?
She holds the stick up and looks at it. Her head falls forward, and we hear her sobbing. The screen goes blank again, and I feel the world spinning.
Fuck me.
Charlotte has been throwingup constantly, and my patience is wearing thin. I know it’s wrong of me to be angry at her for being sick, but then I came to my senses. Fuck, she’s probably pregnant. Did I tape her taking the test? Yes, I did. I wanted those sons of bitches to know she’s pregnant.
“Charlotte?” I knock on the door. She doesn’t respond, and I push the door open. She’s still on the floor, head down, and sobbing quietly. At least she put on some clothes. It seems to make her feel better when she isn’t naked. Although, I’d rather keep her beauty unhidden from my view. I wouldn’t be like those three psychos, though.
She turns and stands up. “Little bird, tell me.” She ignores me once again. “Don’t make me get violent. Tell me the results.”
Her hands shake as she hands me the test. “Oh, little bird. This is good news. We are going to be a family. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
Charlotte finally looks at me. Daggers are in her eyes. “Go away, please. I just want to rest.”
My anger rises, but I smile. “No, now come on. I’m going to let you out of this room. You need some pampering time.”
My little bird has been better ever since the first time I fucked her. She hates me, and I can see it written all over her. But she hasn’t tried to fight me anymore. I think she has come to terms with being stuck in this house with me.
“Without the leash?” For once, she looks hopeful.
“Yes, without the leash, little bird.” I don’t tell her I have shackles in every part of this house. If she doesn’t give me a problem, I will let her have her freedom. Well, within the confines of the house, of course.
We walk into the living room, and I wrap her in a blanket so that she’s warm. “You can turn on the television, little bird.”
I walk into the kitchen and make hot chocolate for her. It’s always been a favorite drink of hers. “Here you go, little bird. Hot chocolate with one cinnamon stick, one peppermint stick, and gobs of whipped cream.”
She smiles at me and, for the first time since I took her, she looks at me with happiness. I know it’s for the hot chocolate and not me, still, but my heart dances wild with contentment.
