Page 58 of Knocked Up by Her Daddy's Friends

“Good to see you up, old friend. Trust you to take all the glory and rescue the girl while Angel and I are shooting bad guys,” Gunner jokes to Drifter fondly.

At that moment, the door opens and Angel and Buzz walk through the door.

“You’re awake!” Buzz exclaims, rushing over to hug me and Drifter in turn.

Angel hovers near the doorway, watching us all warily.

“Thank you all for saving me,” I say, looking at each of them in turn, only Angel doesn’t quite meet my gaze. “How did you find me? Why did you come? I thought you all hated me for lying to you about Bill. I swear to you though I was never working with him, you have to believe me. I only wanted to find out what he was up to and write an exposé,” I implore him.

I can’t bear the thought of getting them back, only for them to leave me again. Perhaps they only saved me out of obligation, or to win against Bill and the Demon Riders. I don’t think I could handle losing them again.

“I know. We believe you,” Buzz assures me, and my racing heart settles a little.

“Your friends came to us after you’d been taken from the club. Told us in no uncertain terms we were being idiots for not listening to you and that it was our fault you’d been taken and that we needed to get you back,” Gunner explains with a smile.

“They did?” I ask incredulously, trying to imagine the girls squaring up to a bunch of bikers.

Drifter nods. “They did. They were very convincing. I believe your friend Meghan called Angel a pigheaded dickwad,” he says with laughter in his eyes.

I let out a giddy giggle, “She didn’t!”

“Oh, she did alright. But they made us see sense, and realize we haven’t been fair to you, we should have let you explain,” Buzz says, shooting a pointed glance in Angel’s direction.

“They love you very much,” Gunner adds.

“I love them too,” I say softly with a smile, thinking of how lucky I am to have such great friends. “So Veronica really was trying to help. Why? How does she fit in?” I ask.

“She was. That’s a long story, I’m sure she can tell you her reasons once she’s awake,” Buzz replies, glancing over to where she’s sleeping.

I pause for a moment before looking at them all, “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you all the truth earlier. If I had none of this would have happened.”

Angel sighs and approaches me, looking at me deeply before he speaks, carefully choosing his words. “True. What would likely have happened is that I would have sent you packing before any of us got a chance to truly know you. Bill would still have killed Brewer, possibly even you if you refused to sign over your land or were bad for his image. We wouldn’t have known you well enough or been involved enough to save you. You’d be dead. And we would have lost the only woman we’ve ever loved. You and our chance of having a family.”

“You know about the baby?” I gasp.

They all nod. “We overheard Brute telling Veronica about it on the phone. That’s how we found you. She convinced him to let her come over and make you take a test,” Angel replies.

“Is… is the baby?” I start, unable to finish the question for fear the answer is no, that the baby is gone.

“The babies are fine,” Angel replies, the doctor performed an ultrasound.

“Babies?” I ask, confused, wondering if I’d misheard.

Angel nods. “Yep. We’re having twins.”

Chapter 31

Angel

Forgiving Skye was easy. It was staying mad at her that was hard. I didn’t want to admit what the rest of the guys had already accepted about themselves. I had fallen in love with Skye. So, when I thought her actions and her feelings for me were all a lie, a manipulation, I was devastated and hurt but I covered it up with anger.

I agreed to save her only for my friends and because Gunner made a good point, we couldn’t let the Demon Riders get away with such a blatant attack. However, I was still convinced that Skye was in on it, that someone as good as her, as beautiful, kind, and loving couldn’t possibly fall for someone like me. So I convinced myself that it had to have been an act. I didn’t even let myself think about the possibility of her being pregnant. I convinced myself it had to be another lie. A ruse to lure us there.

Taking the Demon Riders out had been easy, cathartic even. There weren’t too many men to take out. They weren’t expecting an attack, and the women fled, screaming half-naked down the street the second the shooting started. I stubbornly refused to think of the danger Skye was in and what those bastards might have done to her. I told myself that just because we were there to save her, didn’t mean I loved her.

But as the last man fell, and the house was empty, save for the burning inferno of the downstairs living area. My heart started to pound in my chest as I realized that, if Skye was there at all, we were too late, because surely no one could survive that. As I rounded the corner at the back of the house looking for the others and my eyes fell on Skye and Drifter, covered in black grime and unconscious, my heart stopped. I thought I was too late.

I thought I’d lost one of my best friends and the woman we all love.

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