Page 36 of Knuckle's Dispute

“I have a son, Mal.His name is Kaden and he’s the most amazin’ little person I’ve ever met in my life.He’s such a good baby and Janessa is the best mom to him.We still have things to work out between the two of us, but I think we’re on the right track.I’m essentially livin’ with them and helpin’ her raise our son together,” I answer her honestly as my sister starts laughing her ass off.

“The man who never wanted to have children of his own is now owning up to being a dad?You’re actually changing diapers, feeding him, and doing everything else a dad does?”Mallory asks, laughter in her voice as she leans forward in her seat.

“I am.Janessa’s been goin’ through some heavy shit and a few days ago I took care of Kaden all on my own while she slept.She was exhausted beyond anythin’ I’ve ever witnessed before and it truly scared me.Mal, I’m fallin’ in love with her.I already knew there was somethin’ between the two of us when I spent however many months not bein’ able to fuck anyone else.My Little Fighter is slowly makin’ me want to have her as my ol’ lady and I’m realizin’ what love is for the first time in my life.She’s not even tryin’ to do it either,” I state, knowing deep in my soul this is the truth of how I feel about Janessa and what’s going on between the two of us.

“I’m happy for you, Micah.You deserve to be loved by a good woman who isn’t gonna break your heart or fuck you over.Someone who will be there when you get lost in your head and can’t find a way out and won’t run off when things get real or too hard between you.Does she know about your past?”Mal asks me, her words tapering off because she hates bringing up the past with me after the hell we lived through together.

“She knows most of it.Maybe not all the finer details, but she knows enough to fill in the blanks of what I was put through as a kid.She knows about Rose and about her tryin’ to set me on fire.Of how I lived on the streets for years until Rooster found me.Janessa is the only one besides Tease who knows the truth of my life.Well at least in more detail than most of the others in the club.Only the guys truly know what I’ve been through while the women and Prospects are kept in the dark.Marie is the only female to know anythin’ about me.That’s only because she was there in the beginnin’ when Rooster brought me into the club,” I tell Mallory as she wipes away a few tears that escaped as she thinks of our past.

“Good, Micah.If Janessa knows about your past, it means you truly care about her.You’re not the most open person and don’t share anything of yourself for any reason.I’m glad you’ve chosen to open up to this girl.It tells me all I need to know about her.So, when am I gonna get a chance to meet her and my nephew?”Mallory questions me, the smile back on her face as she sits back while the waiter delivers our food and we quit our conversation for a minute.

“I can show you pictures of the baby now.I’ve got a ton on my phone of him.Unfortunately, I can’t let you meet Janessa and him right now.There’s a situation she’s involved in and it needs to be resolved before we can meet up.The risk of somethin’ happenin’ to you is too high and neither one of us will bring danger to you,” I tell my sister honestly as her mouth opens in shock.“I’m not gonna go into detail, but Little Fighter has an ex who is a vicious monster.He hospitalized her more than once and attempted other things.We need to get it taken care of before she’ll travel too far from the compound.”

“Okay.Is she okay?Does she need anything?”Mallory asks me and this is why she’s the sister I claim even if she’s not mine by blood.

“She’s as okay as she can be given the situation.I’ve been workin’ with her on self-defense and she’s started workin’ out on her own.Janessa’s a quick study and has picked it all up very quickly.She’s also gonna start trainin’ to shoot a weapon.Her brothers are gonna help me with that.Janessa thinks it’s a way for me to bond with her brothers since they aren’t too fond of me right now.I can’t blame them and would feel the same way if someone treated you the way I was with her.So, now it’s time for me to make it up to all of them.Enough talk about all this shit.I wanna hear about my nephews and that husband of yours,” I tell her, handing over my phone and showing her all the pictures I’ve taken since learning Kaden is my son.

Mallory scrolls through my phone as we eat our lunch.She laughs and talks about Janessa in the pictures she sees of her.My sister even steals my photos and sends them to her phone so she has them to show her husband and the boys when she gets back home.I don’t care and she knows it.We enjoy our meal together and plan a meet-up between our two families in the future when we’re out of danger and can enjoy our time in peace.I’m thinking we go to a beach house and spend a few days enjoying the sun, sand, and great company.Mallory is always down to go to the beach.It’s the one thing she always wanted to do when we were in foster care.Now, she goes as often as possible and shares her love of the water with her children and husband.

“Give Janessa my love and tell her I can’t wait to meet her and my nephew.If you give her my number, she can call or message me anytime she wants,” Mallory says as I walk her to her SUV and help her in the driver’s seat.

“I will.It might take her a bit to reach out because I’m not sure how she is with new people when they aren’t a client of hers.Try to be patient,” I warn my sister as she looks up at me with a smile.

“I’ll behave myself, Micah.I promise,” she says, starting her engine and waving bye as she takes off toward home so she can be there when her kids get out of school.

Shaking my head, I walk to my bike and straddle it while turning my hat around backwards to fit under my helmet.Starting the engine, I don’t bother revving it when there are so many people around.I don’t want to scare the little kids as they watch me with awe-filled eyes.Pulling away from the curb, I make my way back home to Frostford so I can get with my girl and son.The need to see them is overwhelming and I don’t know why.

***

Just outside of town, I get a feeling deep in my gut that something’s wrong.I start watching my surroundings even more than normal and don’t see anything out of the ordinary at first.I haven’t been followed because we’re all trained to spot someone tailing us from the very second they start.This bitch isn’t our normal kind of vehicle that follows us around.Instead of an SUV or bike following me, the person is in a rusted out piece of shit car and they’re following me every move I make.Knowing I have to get out of town and away from all the innocent people on the road, I make my way to the backroads not many people travel because they’re in such disrepair.

The car continues to follow me and just as I go to ride around a corner faster than I’d like, I feel a piercing pain in my shoulder.My arm jerks off the handle of my bike and I can’t stop myself from going down.Another shot hits me lower in the arm with the angle of my bike, I know my head was the intended target.My bike and I slide several feet before I crash into a guardrail and come to a sudden stop.This is pain unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before in my life and I’ve gone down more than once in the past.

It doesn’t take long for me to hear the car that was following me come to a stop not far from where I’m laying on the side of the road.I try to keep my eyes open to take in every single detail of what’s going on around me.Instead, each sound becomes a blur and the blackness clouding my vision consumes me.I pass out before I can figure out who’s come for me and what’s going to happen next.My last thoughts are of Janessa and Kaden and how much I truly love them.It’s a shame I won’t get to tell them how I feel and what I want our future to look like.

Chapter Eighteen

---