Page 8 of Knuckle's Dispute

“I’m guessin’ Seth is gonna be with Janessa for the rest of the day.Eric, I want you there with her and Seth.Kurt, you’ll stay here at the clubhouse with your phone on you at all times.Be ready to head out for Janessa at any second.Anythin’ she wants, you fuckin’ get it for her.I don’t give a fuck if that means you have to go out in the middle of the night for somethin’ she’s cravin’.That goes for any of you who isn’t on protection duty,” I tell the guys as they wait for me to finish my orders.

“Anythin’ else you want us to do while we’re at Janessa’s?”Eric asks me as he waits to find out if there are any special directions not known by anyone else.

“Anythin’ happens to her, you give me a call.I want to know every single detail about her no matter how insignificant you think it is,” I state before turning and walking away from them.“Oh, and don’t let anyone close to her.You’re there to protect her and ensure she doesn’t get out of bed.This doesn’t mean you have to be up in her space.Cook, clean, do whatever she asks and keep your fuckin’ eyes open.”

I head into the common room and take a seat at the bar next to Tease.For the first time in his life, he’s not drinking and has a bottle of water in front of him as he looks at me.

“Headin’ to Janessa’s house tonight?”he asks me as I sit down and Karmen hands me a drink without hesitation.

“No, I’m not.She’ll have Eric and Seth there with her.I’m not her bitch and that baby isn’t mine.I don’t give a fuck what anyone believes, Tease.Yeah, I was with Janessa and the condom did break the night we were together.However, that doesn’t mean she’s carryin’ my kid.I don’t know anythin’ about her sexual history and she could’ve been pregnant before we were together.Or she left bein’ with me and found someone else to be with,” I tell my best friend as I turn to face him.

“You’re so full of fuckin’ shit, Micah.You’ve got it bad for Janessa and there’s no hidin’ that from me.I know you too well for you to hide what you’re feelin’.She’s not a damn liar and there’s no way in hell she’s carryin’ someone else’s baby as you claim.Janessa isn’t tryin’ to trap you or anythin’ else you want to make up in your mind.Get your head outta your ass before you lose the best woman you’ve ever met,” he says, shaking his head at me before grabbing his water and heading out.“I’m goin’ to Janessa’s house to watch over a good woman.Don’t talk to me until you can figure your shit out.”

I watch, speechless, as my best friend leaves the common room and doesn’t look back.The door closes behind him as Rooster walks through and takes the seat Tease just vacated.I know I’m about to get a lecture from him and it’s not anythin I want to hear.However, Rooster is gonna say his peace and I’m not about to stop him because of the respect I’ve got for him.Rooster and Marie took me in when they didn’t have to and gave me the best life.A life I only dreamed of when I was younger going from one foster home to the next.Of being treated like shit and beaten on a daily basis.

“Still haven’t pulled your head outta your ass?”Rooster questions me, accepting the beer from Karmen.

“No, I haven’t.There’s no reason for me to pull my head out of my ass.I get you’re all on Team Janessa and I accept that after what she’s done to help the guys of the club.However, it doesn’t mean I’m just gonna blindly accept her words.If you want me to take a paternity test once her child is born, I’ll do it.And I know without a doubt it will come back sayin’ I’m not the baby’s father.Then will you all back the fuck off of me and leave me alone about this situation?”I ask him, not turning to face him as I normally would.

“Oh, you’ll definitely be gettin’ a paternity test done, Micah.You’re not gonna leave Janessa on her own to raise your son or daughter.Marie and I will be steppin’ up to help her with whatever she needs regardless of your decision to be a dad to your child.Micah, I know you’ve had a shitty upbringin’ and that’s the same as the rest of us.However, you can’t let that shit cloud your judgment about a woman and your child.You need to be there for them and ensure you’re the best father you can be.One who shows up no matter what and is there every single day.It’s hard as fuck and there are days you’re gonna fuckin’ hate.I promise you that it will be worth it in the end though.You can break the cycle of your family, even if you know nothin’ about them.Micah, you need to be the man we all know you are and get this nonsense out of your head,” Rooster says, grabbing his beer and leaving me at the bar on my own.

Finally, I turn my body and watch as Rooster makes his way back through the common room and heads for his office.Or Brick’s room.I’m not sure where he’s going right now.And I don’t understand the secrecy about the parents’ names of Janessa’s ex.What the hell did that fucker put her through?

Abandoning my drink, I leave the clubhouse and head for my bike.Everyone here believes Janessa’s baby is mine and they won’t stop coming at me until I can prove to them it’s not.To get away from everyone and this bullshit, I straddle my bike and put my helmet on before starting the engine and revving it a few times.Pulling away from the clubhouse, I don’t have a destination in mind as I ride down the road.I’m speeding, but not pushing my bike the way I normally would when I can’t get out of my own head.If I’m not in the gym beating the fuck out of something, then I’m racing through the streets, pushing the limits of my bike.

Riding through the streets, I find myself heading for Coleson’s.It’s the gym the club helped me open when I became a member of the Dirty Slayers.Growing up in foster care, I was constantly in fights.Not just to protect myself but because I was so fucking angry all the time.I’d pick fights with everyone around me and didn’t give a fuck about my life or what happened to me.Before I met Rooster, I’d met an old man who used to do underground fighting when he was younger and took in strays like me who truly had no sense of purpose.Angry kids who had no direction or the knowledge to use their brains instead of fighting their way through life.He taught me how to truly fight and defend myself.This man was like a father to me in many ways and I was one of the many young men who showed up to his funeral when cancer took him from the world.He’s the reason I dreamed of starting this gym and channeling my anger in more constructive ways.

Parking my bike in the back of the gym, I head inside and ignore everyone around.Jared and Harley are working as trainers today and Ethan appears to be on the front desk.Ethan might actually make a good Prospect for the club.I know he’s expressed interest before and we had more than enough guys.Now, we’ve got three and I have a feeling one of them will be patching in soon.If not more.I’ll have to talk to Rooster and the rest of the guys when we get this shit with Janessa figured out.

Heading straight for the locker room, I change into a pair of shorts and sneakers, leaving my clothes in the locker I keep here.I don’t want to bring a change of clothing with me daily so I quickly commandeered one of the lockers set away from the rest of the room.Brick and a few other guys from the club also have lockers with me.It’s an unspoken rule that no one else comes over here for any reason.

After changing into my workout clothes, I head back to the floor and find Homicide leaning against the sparring ring.I know he’s here for me and I appreciate it.Heading straight for him, I don’t talk as he tosses me a roll of tape and I start taping up my hands.Homicide is already ready to get in the ring and beat the fuck out of me.Still without words, I step in the ring with my brother and we quickly get under way.Homicide doesn’t hold back as he throws one punch after another at me.You’d think he’d be sloppy as fuck with how fast he’s moving without thought, but it’s the exact opposite.Every single move Homicide makes is calculated and you can never guess what he’ll do next.This is how I spend the next several hours—fighting one guy after another.I know most of them want to get their hands on me for the way I’m treating Janessa and my so-called child.

Chapter Four

Janessa

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