Mia was mine.
Which meant she was family.
And we protected our own.
McGraw probably knew we were full of shit, but couldn’t prove we were guilty without any fucking evidence. If there was one thing our MC knew how to do well, it was cover our tracks. Our only saving grace was the fact that Mia didn’t tell her parents she was coming over to our house that evening. Before anyone realized Mia was missing, a few brothers waited till dusk and drove her Jeep to the nearest train station. Leaving it in the overnight, unguarded parking lot. The same tracks I spent most of my adolescence at, daydreaming of running away.
The irony was not fucking lost on me.
I hoped that staging her car at the station would provide her family with some peace of mind. That maybe Mia didn’t get kidnapped, but she ran away on her own. The brothers were extra cautious, making sure they didn’t leave behind any fingerprints or DNA behind that could jeopardize our club. Destroying her cell phone so it couldn’t be tracked, discarding anything that pointed fingers to Devil’s Rejects. Our involvement with her disappearance needed to stay non-existent.
It didn’t matter, though, none of it did. Her old man and his boys were tearing apart Oak Island trying to find her. Not that I could blame them, I would have been doing the same fucking shit if I hadn’t found her first.
I heard Mia’s soft, subtle footsteps descending down the hall. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked as shit when she knocked on my bedroom door. Opening it shortly after. I didn’t pay her any mind, staring at the muted television while she watched me from the doorframe. Staying as far away from me as possible.
I wanted to touch her, pull her into my lap, and never fucking let her go. But I allowed her the distance for the time being, knowing she was pissed at me. Her guard securely in place for the first time since I met her, where it should have been all along. Instead, she was now tainted by my life, exactly the way I never wanted her to be.
It was too late for that now and there was no going back for either of us. This was our life.
I took a few more swigs from the bottle of Jack and placed it back on the nightstand, gearing to stitch up my leg. Grabbing the first aid kit the doc left behind for us, I threaded the nylon through the needle hole. Taking a lighter to the end to sterilize it.
Mia gasped when I punctured my injured skin, causing me to look back up at her with a questioning regard. She bit her lip for a few seconds, clearly struggling with an internal battle, evident on her face. She suddenly moved one foot in front of the other, making her way over to me in three strides. Wanting to get to me as quickly as possible, just in case she changed her mind.
“You’re doing it all wrong,” she muttered, sitting beside me on the bed, taking the needle out of my hand.
“You know a lot about stitchin’ up stab wounds, Pippin?” I teased, reaching up to lazily twirl a strand of hair around my finger.
She rolled her eyes, pulling her head away. “My papa is a doctor. I’ve seen him stitch up Mason and Bo in our house, more times than I care to remember.”
I nodded, leaning back against the headboard. Thankful as fuck I didn’t have to do this on my own.
Her face frowned, thinking about her family. She was too wound up before, needing answers from me on what was going on, to remember them. It was funny what the mind was capable of doing when put under a strenuous situation. Mia was no different.
I swept the hair away from her face, grabbing hold of her chin to look at me.
Her breathing hitched. “They don’t know where I am, do they?” she whispered loud enough for me to hear. A pained expression crossed her face.
I shook my head no.
She grimaced, even though my response was expected.
“It’s for your own good. And theirs,” I coaxed, knowing it wouldn’t do any damn good.
“They must be freaking out. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through. My momma has to be worried sick. Mason is deployed with no word on his safety, and now this. Her poor heart is breaking, Creed.”
I just sat there, looking at her not knowing what else to say.
“Can I call—”
“No,” I interrupted, already knowing what she was going to ask. I’d been expecting it all fucking night.
“I won’t tell them where I—”
“No.”
“Please, Creed. Just so they know I’m oka—”
“Mia!” I snapped in a harsh tone. “No!”
She scowled, grabbing the bottle of peroxide from the first aid kit, preparing the cotton swab to clean and disinfect my wound. “This is going to hurt,” she stated in an irritated tone.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Can’t hurt any more than you stabbin’ me.” Before I knew what was happening, the little minx poured the peroxide on my gash, instead. “Motherfucker!” I roared, throwing my head back, clenching my fists in the sheets.
“Thought you said it wouldn’t hurt more than me stabbing you in the leg. What did we learn, Creed? Hmmm... That you’re not always right? So maybe I can call my par—”
“When ya gonna get it through your thick fuckin’ head, huh? You’re a smart girl, Pippin. Shouldn’t haveta spell it out for ya. Callin’ your parents will only get you killed. I’m tryin’ to save your life. Not fuckin’ end it. All this questionin’ ends here!”
Patience was never one of my goddamn virtues and it wasn’t about to start now. This was one of the reasons we kept her sedated and blindfolded, while we brought her up here in the middle of nowhere. No one could get to this place unless they knew the woods just outside the door. You needed a side-by-side vehicle just to get here. As much as I hated having her unconscious, I didn’t trust her enough to not call her family and tell them where she was. I couldn’t blame her for that. Anyone would call home the first chance they got.
“This is far from over,” she mumbled under her breath, sticking the needle into my leg a little harder than necessary.
I groaned, grabbing the bottle of Jack from the nightstand, chugging it down till I no longer felt the searing burn from my nerve endings. Letting out a grumbling sound from deep within my throat, I threw the empty bottle on the floor next to me, watching it shatter on impact. Gesturing to my leg for her to finish stitching me up.
It all happened so damn fast. One minute she was tying off my stitch and the next my phone pinged with a new text message. Both our eyes simultaneously darted to my phone that was lying in the middle of the bed, like it was wired with explosives, ready to fucking detonate.
Without giving it a second thought, she lunged over my leg, scraping my wound to grab the phone. Snatching it before I could, clutching it tightly in her greedy little hands. She propelled off the edge of the bed so fucking fast as if her body was set on fire. Taking off toward the adjacent bathroom in the corner of my room.
She never had a chance.
I caught her by the back of her sweater as she rounded the bed, thrusting her backward with my staggering hold. There was no way I could grab a hold of her securely without hurting her or the baby, and she knew it. My arm wrapped around her upper ribcage, tugging her into my lap, trying like hell to reach the phone. She twisted and turned, huffing and puffing until she weaseled her way out of her sweater. Hauling ass into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I heard the lock snap into place seconds after.
“Fuckin’ A,” I clenched out. Throwing my injured leg off the bed, I stood, making my way over to the door. “Mia! Open the fuckin’ door!” I pounded my fists on the wood.
There was a jarring commotion, followed by a loud scraping noise, coming from the bathroom. I knew she was barricading herself in, moving furniture up against the door to keep me out.
“Mia! Open it or I will!”
“NO!” she screamed, not backing down. “I’m calling my parents! I can’t do this to them! I can’t believe you’re making me! This is all your fault! Now go away!” Her voice echoed away from the door like she was standing in
the shower, far away from me.
“Jesus Christ!” I took a step back, ramming my foot against the door. Forcefully kicking it open, breaking it off the hinges and taking the frame along with it. Causing pieces of the linen cabinet she blocked the door with, to smash right along with it.
Her eyes widened in shock. I didn’t fucking hesitate, stomping over to her in three, hard strides. Making her retract until her back hit the shower wall. I loomed over her small frame with a menacing regard, getting right up in her face. Her bright blue eyes wide and anxious.
Here I was trying to save her life and keep her safe, and she was about to jeopardize everything. The thought alone made my blood boil, frustration erupting from deep within my core. My hands balled into fists, my chest heaved, reaching my breaking point very fucking quickly. I was at my wits end. I couldn’t go to war with everyone, plus her. Fighting a battle with a full-grown woman constantly throwing tantrums when she didn’t get her way.
We had to be on the same page.
No more fighting.
I needed to get my point across, and it needed to happen right fucking now.
“Didn’t I tell you to open the fuckin’ door?”
“I-I-I—” she sputtered, her demeanor quickly changing.
“Didn’t I just say you couldn’t call your fuckin’ parents?”
“Y-yy-ees...” She nodded, offering me my phone back. I crudely knocked her hand away, sending the device crashing to the tile floor.
I didn’t waver, I grabbed her upper arm and held her in place. This would be the second time I ever manhandled her this way. I wasn’t trying to scare her. I needed her to listen and understand. This was not a fucking game. This was about her surviving through a shit storm. Our way of life was cruel, I’d lived it my entire life. Mia, on the other hand, was privileged, a fuckin’ princess that had no clue and needed a reality check. It was my duty to protect her from unseen enemies, and rules had to be fucking obeyed. She was testing me, making me have to put her in her goddamn place.
Bottom line, she needed to fucking listen to me.
“You don’t run away from me. Ever!”
She jolted. “You’re scaring me.” Her lips started to tremble.
“Is that right?” I rasped, leaning down close to her lips. “This ain’t nothin’ compared to what our enemies would do if they found you. They’d rape you. Beat you, and then fuckin’ kill you when they had enough. That what you want?”
“No,” she breathed out, tears forming in her eyes.
“I ain’t got time for your childish, bullshit. I’m tryin’ to protect you, Mia. What part of that is so goddamn hard for you to understand?”
“I just want to tell them I’m oka—”
My fist slammed into the shower wall behind her, causing her to duck and scream. Tile cracked beneath my knuckles. “Fuck!” I growled, backing away from her, knowing I was doing exactly what I said I wouldn’t.
I was scaring her and that wasn’t my intention, I was fucking this up real quick.
How the fuck do I get her to respect my rules and trust me?
I shook my head, disappointed mostly with myself.
“Just go, Mia. Just go to your room and stay there, yeah? You think you can fuckin’ do that?”
She didn’t have to be told twice. She cautiously made her way around me before running from the room, crying. I resisted the urge to go after her and pull her into my arms. Apologize for my behavior.
I let her go.
Even though...
It was the last thing I wanted to fucking do.
I ran back to my room down the hall from Creed’s, slamming the thick wood behind me. Leaning my back against it, I slid down to the floor as I pulled my knees into my chest. Letting all the emotions from the past week drain out of my exhausted body. Questioning everything I had ever felt.
When did my life come to this? How could I be so blind?
I missed my mom and dad, my brothers, my home. Mine and Creed’s relationship before the MC came in between us. I don’t know how long I sat there, letting my thoughts race before I crawled over to the bed in the center of the room. Not bothering to change my clothes, I hid under the sheets, letting the tears flow freely. Crying myself to sleep.
My body stirred when I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist later in the night. Pulling me against him, engulfing me with nothing but his warmth and scent.
“Stop,” Creed ordered in a low tone near my ear when I tried to move away. “Please,” he added when I continued to squirm.
I stilled, going lax against his hold. He placed his other arm under my pillow, holding me as close to him as possible.
“Babe, I fucked up. I’m sorry.”
I didn’t say a word. A part of me was convinced I was dreaming.
“I love you, Pippin. I’ve loved you before I even knew I fuckin’ loved you,” he paused to let his words sink in. “When I went back down to the basement to get you, and you weren’t there. I thought... I mean... it was... shit... I’m no good at this.”
I turned around in his arms to face him, looking deep into his eyes through the dim light of the moon. “You thought what?”
“I thought I’d lost you. Ain’t ever been so scared in all my life. I know I’m all wrong for you. I know you deserve better. I know there a million reasons why we shouldn’t be together, but it don’t matter anymore. You’re fuckin’ mine. You been mine since you gave me that first patch, bouncin’ around, wearin’ pigtails, actin’ like you grown,” he laughed with a gleam in his eyes, remembering me as a child. “Even back then you were a pain in the ass. The baby girl who filled my heart with hope and love. Got me through the fuckin’ war with your letters, knowin’ someone back home was thinkin’ ‘bout me. Worryin’ ‘bout me, prayin’ for me. Lovin’ me.”
I smirked, my anger gradually dissipating while hearing his confession.
“Everything that ever mattered to me don’t matter no more. Devil’s Rejects, my brothers, my fuckin’ life. I’d do whatever it takes to protect you. Ya feel me?”
“Yes.”
“I know what I’m doin’. I know it may not seem that way, but I need you to trust me. Yeah?”
“Okay.”
“I promise I’m doin’ my part on gettin’ you home... safely.”
I snuggled closer to him. “I trust you, but I’ll have your balls if you don’t find a way... fast,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood. Sensing he was uncomfortable with expressing his feelings. As if it was the first time he’d ever done so.
“You can start right now.” He rubbed his dick against my leg, making me laugh.
“I love you, too.”
He kissed my forehead, letting his lips linger. “Now that. That I always knew.”
It had been three weeks since Mia woke up at the safe house in the woods. Getting settled in to a new routine, knowing she may be there a while. Giving Noah and me a list of essentials she’d need us to bring back, including clothes, books on pregnancy, chick-flicks, a guitar and a supply of her favorite ice cream and pickles. Spending her days following Doc’s orders, staying in bed, watching mindless movies and reading to the baby girl in her stomach. Saying some shit about giving her a head start in literacy. I knew it was because she wanted her to be educated, unlike Noah and me.
Doc came by at least once a week to check on her and the baby. Bringing a portable ultrasound machine so Mia could see that her unborn child truly was okay and that her own body was also healing, well. He even cleared her to resume sexual activity, which was music to my fucking ears.
Mia was still worried about baby girl, and it seemed to get worse as the days went by. On one of the visits from Doc, I pulled him aside and asked him if there was anything I could do to ease her worry. He said he could leave a Doppler, a handheld device with a little wand that Mia could use anytime she wanted. Not only to check the baby’s heart rate but hear it, too.
I surprised her with it one night while we were lying in bed relaxing.
r /> “Babe, pull ‘em panties down, lift your shirt, and close your eyes.”
She turned her head, giving me a questioning look. “Again? You’re insatiable.”
“Ain’t gonna tell ya again, Pippin.”
She slipped her panties down and lifted her tank. “I am yours to do with as you please.”
“Now be a good girl and close ‘em eyes.”
When she did, I reached over, opening the drawer in the nightstand and took out the monitor and gel. Squeezing a small amount on the wand.
“Are you up to no good?”
“Always,” I chuckled, placing the tip of the probe on the lower right area of her stomach. Spreading the gel out, making her jump from the cold contact.
“Are you putting lotion on me?”
“Shhh... listen.”
Seconds later, baby girl’s heartbeat filled the room after I located it. Just like Doc had shown me. Mia’s eyes fluttered open as soon as she realized what was going on. Bursting into tears when the strong beat sounded. Not going to lie, it was the most amazing sound I’d ever heard. I hadn’t met baby girl, yet, but she had already melted and owned my fucking heart.
“Oh my God, Creed. How... I mean... when...” She couldn’t get the words out, sobbing so hard. A constant stream of tears falling to the sheets beneath her.
“I know how worried you’ve been. I asked Doc the last time he was here, what I could do to ease that. He left me this Doppler and said the best thing for you is to hear your baby’s heart beatin’ whenever you wanted. Some shit about it bein’ soothin’ for the mother. He showed me how to use it and here we are.”
“This is the best gift anyone has ever given me. I can’t even begin to tell you how much this means to me. I love you so much.
“I fuckin’ love you. Now dry those tears, listen to our baby girl growing inside you. That there is a Jameson heart. Strong and unbreakable. She’s already proven that once,” I reminded, leaning over and placing a kiss on her forehead. Reminding her that I would always do anything for her.