AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Now, there is the million-dollar question. What do I want?” My eyes narrow at him. He smirks and continues, “What I want is for my son to follow my rules and stay away from you. I want him to come back to Vegas and marry the girl I have picked for him. You, my dear, are in my way.” He pins me with a look so evil, I flinch. “Quite frankly, you and my grandson are a problem. One I will have to deal with if Xander doesn’t stick to my plans.” He says all this as if he is talking about the weather.
I swallow hard and instinctively hold my son tighter. Opening my mouth to speak, I snap it closed when a harsh voice speaks. “Get the fuck away from them,” Bishop growls. His eyes rake over me and Baron before going back to his father. His stance is protective, like he is ready for a fight, and I notice the cups of coffee and the brown paper bag in his hands. He must have gone out to get breakfast.
Calvin turns his head slightly, his eyes lighting up with malice as he stares at Bishop. “Nice of you to join us, son. I was just getting acquainted with my grandson and his mother.”
“No, you were not. You were threatening me,” I snap.
Bishop’s face turns violent. Angry. Dropping the bag and coffee to a side table, he straightens and closes the distance between us. Wrapping his arms around my waist he pulls me in close. All the while, Calvin watches us with hawk-like eyes, not missing anything. He is a smart man. He sees the possessiveness Bishop exudes. “Get out,” he snaps, his jaw clenched.
Calvin smirks, shaking his head with a tsk. “You need to come home and fulfill your duty, Xander. I allowed you to come here to end things. But it seems you had no intention of doing so. I had a couple of my men follow you. They reported the incident from New Year’s Eve back to me. I knew you were not going to let the girl go.” He tsks again. “Never reveal your weaknesses.”
Instead of answering, Bishop repeats his words. “Get. Out.”
Calvin sighs, conceding, but I know this is far from over. He won’t stop. Not until he gets what he wants, which is Bishop marrying that other woman. “Very well. I am staying at the brotherhood’s hotel. I expect you to be there this afternoon.” It’s not a question; it’s a demand. Eyeing me and Baron once more, Calvin shakes his head, then spins on his heel and leaves.
A breath I didn’t know I was holding whooshes out of me. Bishop turns to face me, his eyes tracking my face. For what, I am not sure. “Are you okay? Is Baron okay?” The concern in his voice makes tears spring to my eyes.
I nod. Although I am a little shaken up from the unexpected intrusion, I am fine. “He won’t stop.” Even in my limited interaction with Calvin, it’s easy to see that. Bishop frowns, so I clarify. “He told me that I am the problem. He wants you to marry that girl.” My throat thickens with emotion as I say the words. I don’t want Bishop to marry someone else. But what choice do we have? “Maybe you should do as he says. I won’t stop you from seeing Baron,” I choke out, holding my son tighter. The thought of Bishop playing happy families with our son and another woman is enough to make my knees buckle, but I stand strong. Sometimes in life, we don’t always get what we want. Sometimes, we must do things that we don’t want for the greater good.
Bishop grabs my hips, pulling me and Baron into him. “Stop. That will never happen. I am not marrying that girl. I belong to you like you belong to me. I will deal with my father. He crossed a line by coming here today. It was a calculated move. A game. He wants me to know that he can get to you anytime he wants. He feels that I am stepping out of line and is trying to put me back in the place he believes I belong. I will play his games to keep you both safe, but make no mistake; it is just that. A game. As long as I have air in my lungs, I will fight for us. For you. For our son.” His palms move to cup my belly. “And the little one I hopefully put in you last night.”
I stare at him. Really look at him. I see it in his eyes. The honesty. The certainty. Bishop will not have it any other way. It’s me or nothing. Our family or nothing. In that moment, something breaks inside me. I don’t know if it’s the tenderness of this moment or the fact his father just threatened me, but I blurt out the words I never thought I would say to this man ever again. “I love you.”
A beautiful smile spreads over his whole face. Happiness radiates from him. He leans down, pressing a kiss to my lips and then one to Baron’s forehead. “I love you. Both of you. So much.” With those words now out there, I know. Ijustknow. Everything is going to be okay.
* * *
After eating the pastries and drinking the coffee that Bishop went out to get this morning, we take a walk to what I consider mine and Bishop’s place, Carl Schurz Park. “This is where your daddy fell in love with your mama,” Bishop coos to our son as we head toward our bench. I stare at his side profile, his sharp jawline, his nose, the unique blue of his eyes. The man is perfect in every sense of the word. Staring down at me, his whole being radiates so much love, it’s so palpable, I almost choke on it. “What are you looking at princess?” His voice is amused.
I smile. “Nothing. I just love the way you are with him.”
Bishop shakes his head, a smile tipping his lips. Lips that bring me so much pleasure… “I’m his dad, baby. What did you expect?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. You forget this is all still new to me. At one point, I thought you would never know him. That I would never see you again.” The pain of that memory slashes through me.
Bishop grabs my hand, squeezing. “I would have always come back to you princess. Whether or not our boy existed, there is no doubt in my mind that I would have come back to you.”
Arriving at our bench, Bishop pushes Baron in position so that he is facing us, and we take a seat. “What makes you so sure?” He frowns at my question. “I mean, what if you had never seen the pictures? Do you really think you would have come back for me?”
He smiles, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me in close. Dropping a kiss to my forehead, he says, “There is no doubt in my mind, princess. I loved you then, and I love you now. We are soulmates. We belong together. No matter how much distance is between us or how much time apart, I can say with the utmost certainty, we would have ended up together. We would be a family. I know it’s not been easy for you, but it wasn’t easy for me either.” He blows out a breath. “As much as I wish things had been different so that I could have been with you every step of the way during your pregnancy, I have to believe everything happened exactly as they were supposed to,” he finishes. Tears prick my eyes, one falling before I can stop it. Bishop notices, his hand darting up and swiping it away. “Don’t cry, baby. I hate to see your tears.”
“I am just overwhelmed. By everything. You. Your father. My feelings for you. It hurt so bad when you left before. I don’t want to ever feel like that again.”
Cupping my cheeks, he presses a kiss to my lips. “You won’t, princess. I promise.”
Shifting out of his hold, I look at Baron, who is quietly sitting in his stroller, drinking juice from his bottle. His gaze shifts between us as he pulls the bottle from his mouth, and a smile takes over his whole face as if he knows his parents are finally in a good place. My heart squeezes, full of so much love as I sit in the park with my little family.
I know there are more obstacles to overcome, but whatever is thrown our way, I know we can deal with it.
As a family.
Together.
ChapterTwenty-Two
BISHOP
I stride down the hall toward the penthouse suite of Hotel Five—the brotherhood-owned hotel. My blood simmers in my veins, and I don’t think I have been angrier than I am right now. I have been silently raging ever since the moment I stepped foot into my hotel room and saw Calvin with my princess and son. It took everything in me not to kill him right there and then. Took everything in me to pretend that everything was okay while I spent the morning with my little family.
