Page 36 of One Night with the Biker

God!

Would they kill me?

I just didn’t know and I couldn’t care. If Roman, or God forbidBoom Boom, discovered my secret I was dead anyway. My brother might not actually kill me, but I would be deadtohim.

“Ains, it’s okay.” Nova’s soothing voice washed over me as I sped away from the Bloody Scorpions clubhouse.

Time wasn’t my friend. It was closing in on me to find a solution to the situation I’d gotten myself into. Nova had invited me over to her place, located on a back lot on club grounds. We were supposed to spend a girls’ weekend filled with ice cream, pizza, manicures, and Rom-Coms once the football game ended. I was a fanatic. Nova hated organized sports.

As I listened to her talk about Louisiana and her annoyance that he’d ghosted her, I’d thought about Reese. A regular occurrence, especially considering my current state. I’d blurted the truth to Nova, remembering she was the only girl who I truly trusted with my deepest secrets.

Immediately, she’d agreed with me that Reese deserved to know the truth and insisted we go to the Royal Bastards’ clubhouse with all due haste.

“If you go through with your plan, it’s a whole process,” she’d said breezily. “You’ll need to have counseling, then schedule the procedure, then recovery. You havetwo fucking weeks, Ainsley. Then, Roman will be home. It’s best to have all your facts ASAP. If Reese is willing to do right and stand by you, then fuck Roman.”

I’d snapped my brows together.

“I don’t mean it in a bad way, Ains. But you’re twenty-one. A grown woman. I mean, is getting knocked up by Roman’s op a shitty way to repay his dedication to you? Def, but it is what it is.”

“You aren’t helping my guilt,” I’d grouched.

She shrugged. “I’m not trying to make you feel guilty. Facts are facts.”

“You helped me with that stupid rhythm method calendar, Nova.”

“Oh. Right. I must’ve gotten it wrong.”

“Obviously, you did.”

“You’re so fucking spoiled, Ainsley.” She’d rolled her eyes and plopped down on the edge of her bed. “Always relying on Roman or me to help you figure out shit. Must be nice having a big brother who’d die to protect you.”

“I can do without your bitchiness, Nova. You said you used the rhythm method because of problems with birth control. Remember? That’s why you suggested I don’t take pills.”

She’d snapped her fingers. “Right. I did say that. I suppose you took my advice about condoms, too?”

“Yeah.”

In short order, she demanded we get going. I tried to talk her out of accompanying me, even though her insistence I needed moral support reminded me why we’d been friends for so long.

Before we left, I made one last attempt at finding another way to contact Reese, hoping we didn’t have to breech that fortress. When I begged her to give me her phone so I could call Reese, she’d declined. Another solution I had was for her to call Louisiana, then hand the phone to me and I’d beghimto call Reese.

She shot down each idea I had. She didn’t think Louisiana would answer because he’d been pulling away from her for weeks now.

“I’d prefer to go to the 8thcircle of hell, then to go to that clubhouse,” she’d said woefully. “Lou Lou will swear it’s because I want him and won’t believe it’s for moral support for my bestest friend in the whole wide world.”

Her use of our childhood term warmed me.

Then, she’d hit me with another argument. According to her, Boom Boom searched her phone now, something I knew based on what he’d asked me that day at the clubhouse. Even if she deleted the number once I called, they’d still appear on a bill if he requested a detailed statement. Although I couldn’t argue her logic, especially after what I’d witnessed, I wondered how she’d explained away all the previous calls between her and Louisiana.

“Daddy wouldn’t have time to look over all those records,” she’d said, waving a dismissive hand.

That tracked with Boom Boom saying he’d only looked at the call logs for the month. We never talked about the scene in the clubhouse. A week after that horror, she came over. Ourrespective bruises were fading. Still, it surprised me when she smiled and greeted me as if nothing happened.

I’d followed her lead. Between the two of us, Boom Boom had been the most reprehensible to her. I didn’t want to push the issue and traumatize her further. We talked on the phone every day and she visited once a week.

After Boom Boom’s visit to the house, my brother’s hostility toward me had receded. Before he left a month ago, I would sometimes catch him staring at me and I wondered if he’d somehow discovered my date with Reese Sinclair. Roman’s departure pissed me off for a couple reasons. I wouldn’t have given up my apartment if I knew he had a run to go on. The bigger issue was Boom Boom and Wizard, who’d ordered my brother to accompany them towherever. They’d made special accommodations and had someone drive Roman in a van.

If he didn’t video chat with me daily, I would suspect something was up.

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