Chapter 27
I sat in Happy's chair at the opposite end of the table from Clay. I'd been inside the room before and I could even remember the ornate table being delivered when I was a little girl. The room hadn't changed much since then. Happy stood behind me, his hands braced on the back of the chair. The room was silent, something I imagined didn't happen much with the rowdy group. I started picking at the nail polish on my thumb, just waiting for someone else to say something. I was all talked out. They knew everything now. Jax had his forearms flat on the table and his head hanging down and Clay was just staring at his own hands that were on the table in front of him. I dropped my eyes to my own hands and continued to pick at my nail polish nervously.
"Alexis, you should have told us sooner." Clay said. I looked up and he was still looking at his hands. His words weren't angry or chastising. If anything, he sounded sad. I wasn't used to any kind of compassion from Clay. "Does your mother know?"
"No. No one knew until about an hour ago. I didn't see any good in anyone knowing it was more than one person." I said. I felt Happy shift behind me. I knew he was angry that I hadn't told him everything from the beginning. I wasn't lying to Clay though. I really didn't see the use in making a bad situation worse for the people that didn't have to go through it. I bit the inside of my cheek. There was still one thing they didn't know. I glanced up at Happy before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. He furrowed his brow a little. He knew something was wrong. "There's something else."
"Lexie." Happy growled. I frowned and looked over at Jax who had turned his head to look me dead in the eyes. I never wanted them to know about the message I was told to deliver. I didn't want a single one of them to feel any type of guilt or responsibility for what the men had done. I knew these men better than that though. I knew that despite the rough and tumble exteriors, they were good men with big hearts. I had to tell them though. Not knowing about the threat would mean that I sent them in without all of the information.
"The one with the tattoo, he said to tell you to stop doing business with color or they would do it again." I didn't know the room could become any quieter. Happy stepped back from the chair but I was to ashamed to look back at him. I knew he was angry, I just wasn't sure which he was more angry about at the moment, what I'd said or that I hadn't said it sooner. Jax was the first one to break the silence by slamming his fist onto table. I jumped reflexively, even though I saw it coming.
"This changes things. We can't sit back and let those bastards get away with hurting us. They've gotten away with it long enough." Clay announced. I frowned and stood up, turning to look at everyone in the room until I finally landed on Happy. His fists were clenched and the veins in his neck and arms were bulging out. It took a moment but he finally met my eyes.
"I'm going to wait out there." I said, pointing towards the double doors. He nodded and walked me to the door. I turned back to say something, to find some type of apology that would make up for the omission. "Happy."
"Don't leave the building, Lexie." He put his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me to him. His kiss was hard and possessive. When he pulled back to go back into church, my lips felt bruised and swollen. I sighed and walked around, too anxious to just sit and wait. I started towards the front door and made my way around the large bar room just looking at pictures and memorabilia. The voices behind the closed double doors would grow loud and then calm back down. Eventually, after looking at everything and drinking a bottle of water, I sat down on the cleaner looking couch and closed my eyes.
"Lexie." I woke up to the sound of Happy gently saying my name. I rubbed my eyes with the back of my hands and sat up. He lifted a corner of his mouth in an attempt at a half smile but it wasn't fooling me. "Let's go home."
"What happened?" I said, not ready to leave without knowing anything. He shook his head and offered me his hand. "Happy."
"It's complicated, Alexis. Nothing's going to happen tonight. We can talk about it tomorrow." His voice was flat and I could tell he was stressed. I didn't want to push him any further than I already had, so I gave him my hand and headed out to the car with him. He stopped a few feet from the passenger door and tightened his hold on my hand a little. I stopped and looked back at him. "You should have told me, Lexie."
"I'm sorry. I never wanted to bring it up. I wanted this to go away." I said, running my thumb over his knuckles. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "Say something."
"I should have let you go back to Georgia. This never would have happened if you went back." My shoulders dropped and I bit my bottom lip.
"If I went back to Georgia then it wouldn't have happened, sure. Moving back is still worth it, Happy. I'm happy here. I'm happy with you." I paused and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me. "Happy, if I could go back and choose between staying in Georgia and coming back and everything happening the same way, we would still be here. I wouldn't change my mind."
"Then you're an idiot." Happy growled. I shrugged my shoulders and he finally relaxed a little. He pressed his lips to my forehead and kept them there for a moment. When he pulled back, he gave me a small smile. "I love you, Alexis."
"Even if I'm an idiot?" I asked with a little grin. His smile grew a little and he gave me a nod. "Let's go home. I'll let you make up your name calling to me."
"Did your feelings get hurt, little girl?" Happy asked with a chuckle. I shot him a middle finger as he closed the car door for me. I knew that there would be some rough times ahead with the club so I was savoring the last few hours of pseudo-peace that we had.
We were both exhausted so we ended up cuddling in the bed until we both fell asleep. When I woke up, I felt rested and calm despite knowing that things were going to get worse before they got better. Happy was still asleep beside me, his arm lying across my stomach. I didn't move, not willing to interrupt the calm. A while later, Happy moved his palm onto my stomach. His eyes were still closed but I could tell he was awake.
"You're getting fat." Happy muttered. I looked over to see him smiling, eyes still closed. I stuck my tongue out at him, even though he couldn't see it. I knew he was playing but I was in fact starting to get a baby bump. He started making little circles on my bare stomach. "It's a girl."
"Oh? What's her name going to be?" I said with a little laugh. He shrugged his shoulder and kept making circles. "I guess the announcement will need to wait."
"I'm sorry." Happy said, finally opening his eyes. I gave him a small smile and put my hand on top of his. "We'll get down to Bakersfield to tell Ma as soon as we can. We can tell everyone else Sunday."
"No, Hap. I want to tell your Mom before the club knows." I said. I knew it didn't really matter, not in the grand scheme of things. I just knew she would be so excited. Happy nodded his head as he slowly sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "What's going to happen about last night?"
"We're going to make them pay." He said, grabbing a shirt and pulling it over his head. I pursed my lips, wondering if he was going to give me more than that. "Jax wants to watch them, see when they're most vulnerable. Don't want to walk in blind. I've got a woman and child to come home to."
"You do." I confirmed with a smile. He smirked and holstered his Glock in his waistband before leaning down to give me a kiss. I cupped his face in my hands and deepened the kiss for a second. He pulled away with a groan. "I know you have to go, babe."
"Take it easy today." He said, holstering his other Glock behind his back. I nodded, I was only working a half day and most of it was going to be finishing charts. I didn't have any surgeries scheduled. After Happy left, I took a shower and got dressed for work. I made sure to grab my phone charger since I forgot to charge the phone last night.
I was almost done with my charts when my cellphone started ringing. I picked it up and could hear yelling and sirens in the background. I sat straight up, automatically on alert.
"Happy! What's going on? What happened?" I yelled, terrified of the unknown. I shoved away from the desk and hurried towards the ER. I knew that whatever happened, the ambulance would get to the hospital before I could get to wherever he was.
"Lexie! A car blew up. Chibs is hurt bad. They're putting him on the ambulance now." Happy yelled. I assumed his ears were ringing because he was yelling a lot louder than he needed to. I nodded hurried to get ready. The ER was short staffed because they had been slow earlier in the day and sent several nurses and doctors home.
"Is everyone else okay?" I asked. I knew there was a chance he couldn't hear me from the blast. He didn't answer and the line went dead. I felt my heart start to race as my mind jumped to the worst case scenario. Was this my fault because I didn't say something sooner? Was Chibs hurt or dying because of me? The sound of the ambulance sirens approaching stopped any thoughts besides those of helping Chibs. Why didn't matter as much as helping him did.
"Talk to me." I told the EMT's as they rushed Chibs into the emergency room. They went down the list of his vitals during the ride over and the injuries he'd sustained. He'd lost a lot of blood so the first thing I did was order several units of blood for him. His skull was fractured and he was unconscious. I didn't know his entire medical history but I knew that he drank and smoked. Neither were good for his heart and he needed all the help he could get.
Four hours later, I walked out of the operating room. My brow was covered in sweat and my muscles felt like jello. I was exhausted but I'd done the best I could. It was still touch and go but I had faith that he was going to be okay. I knew that he was a stubborn Scotsmen. If anyone could make it, he could.
"How is he?" Tara asked, following me down towards the locker room. I had blood on my scrub top and I didn't want to go out to the waiting room like that. I pulled my top off and tossed it into the laundry bin.
"He should be okay. I'm keeping him sedated through the night to relieve some swelling. As long as he doesn't have any setbacks I think he'll make a full recovery." I pulled on a fresh top and followed her back down the hallway towards the waiting room where I knew an entire club was sitting and waiting for news. Sure enough, they were all there. Juice was leaning on a wall, chewing on the side of his nail. Jax was pacing, Clay was holding my Mom and Happy was slouched down in a chair. Everyone else was sitting or standing around, filling the room up almost completely. Tig saw me first and rushed over.
"How is he?" Tig asked quickly. Everyone gathered close as I gave a run down of his injuries and prognosis. Everyone seemed relieved when I quit speaking in medical lingo and just told them that he should be fine. I started to feel a little dizzy and braced myself on the wall. Happy moved closer and didn't take his eyes off of me. "What about you? You okay? You look pale."
"I'm good." I lied. In truth, I was getting more dizzy and lightheaded. I didn't feel well at all. I closed my eyes for an extended blink but ended up losing my balance. Happy caught me quickly and pulled me back up on my feet. "Maybe I should sit down."
"I'm going to get a blood pressure cuff. Don't move." Tara said. I waved her on in a silent promise not to move. Happy lowered me down into a chair as Mom hurried over and started fussing over me.
"Have you eaten? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" I closed my eyes and let my head rest on the back of the chair. She'd just told everyone about the baby in a most ungraceful way. I sighed and kept my eyes closed.
"Yes, I ate. Thanks for telling everyone about the baby though." I grumbled. Happy pushed loose hairs out of my face, I could recognize his calloused, ringed hands.
"I just want to make sure you're both okay. You've had plenty of time to announce it." She fussed. I huffed and rolled my head to the right as Tara sat down. She wrapped the cuff around my arm so I forced myself to sit up and uncross my legs. "Is she okay?"
"You're blood pressure is a little higher than it should be, Lexie. Was it normal, um, last time you checked it?" I could tell she was avoiding any mention of the baby or my pregnancy.
"Mom already spilled the beans on the baby." I said, shooting her a quick glare. "It was within normal levels at the ultrasound."
"It's not too bad. Go home and get some rest. I'll go with you if Gemma can watch Abel." Tara looked back at Gemma with raised brows. She nodded quickly.
"Of course. Alexis, I'm sorry." I heard some genuine tone to that, so I decided to forgive her. I knew she didn't mean to ruin the announcement.
"It's okay." I muttered. I was feeling less dizzy but the lightheaded feeling was still there. Happy gave me a hand up. "I've got to go talk to the nurses so they watch Chibs."
"No, you don't. Tara can go talk to them. I'm taking you out to the car." Happy said, turning me away from the hall I needed to go down. I thought about protesting but knew it wouldn't do any good. "Don't leave the clubhouse."
"The clubhouse? Happy. I need to relax not be on lockdown at the clubhouse." I said, looking up at him with a scowl.
"Alexis, somebody just blew a car up on our lot. We're on lockdown." Happy said sternly. I shook my head.
"Exactly, it happened on the lot. I wouldn't be any safer there than I would at home." I said, hoping he saw reason. He groaned and looked up into the dusky night sky.
"Fine. Both of you need to stay inside. The prospect is going to be inside with you. Okay, Lexie?" Happy said, looking me in the eye. I nodded, understanding that he was completely serious. I took a deep breath and rested my head against the seat of the car. Happy squatted down and rubbed my knee. "Nothing can happen to you two, Lexie."
"We're going to be fine. I promise." I said, running my hand over the short hair that was starting to come in over his scalp. He nodded and gave my knee a little squeeze as Tara got into the driver's seat of my car. "Call me if you move on anything or something happens."
"I will." He said with a nod. He looked over at Tara. "Keep me posted and make sure she rests."
"Of course." Tara said with a smile. Happy gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then closed the door. "He's great with you."
"Yeah. He is." I said, feeling lucky despite how shitty I felt. I turned moved the air conditioning blowers towards me so I could cool off some. "Thanks for taking care of me, Tara. I know you're busy with Abel."
"Lexie, you're the closest thing I'll ever have to a sister. Besides, Abel needs a cousin to play with." Tara laughed. I smiled and nodded, running my hand over my stomach. "Jax showed me your dad's manuscript."
"What? How? I thought he lost it." I said, wondering how he'd gotten it back from Mom. Tara nodded and turned into the driveway.
"Piney had a copy and gave it to Jax. Jax said he's going to fix the club. Do you think it's even possible?" Tara asked. I took a deep breath and lifted a shoulder. I wanted it to be possible for the sake of my child and Abel.
"I hope so. If anyone can do it, Jax can." I said, hoping to reassure her. She turned the engine off and unlocked the car doors. "I can make it to the door. I feel a little better."
We went inside along with Half-sack. He stayed in the living room while Tara and I went down the hall to the master bedroom. I toed my shoes off and changed into one of Happy's shirts before climbing into his side of the bed. I patted my side, inviting Tara to sit with me. She laughed and toed her shoes off before climbing onto the bed.
"We haven't done this in forever." Tara laughed. She was right, we hadn't shared a bed since we were teenagers. We used to have sleep-overs at least once a week. "This bed is so comfortable."
"I know. Why do you think I never want to leave it." I laughed. Tara giggled and I raised my brow at her.
"Oh, I don't know. It couldn't have anything to do with the father of your child." She teased. I gave her a wicked grin and nodded. She definitely had a point.
"Well, that's obvious." I admitted. "How are you and Jax doing? Any more problems with Ima or anything?"
"Not yet. He seems to be trying to make it up to me. I'm just glad you got me to say something to him before anything happened." She said with a sigh of relief. I was glad she had listened. "You never worry about Happy on the road or at Cara Cara?"
"Nah. Doesn't even cross my mind. He knows it's a deal breaker and I trust him." I explained. Tara's smile seemed to get a little sad. I knew there were still trust issues between she and Jax. It was my hope that they would work through them eventually.
We talked for a while longer before ordering a pizza. It was getting late and I was starting to wonder if Happy was going to come home for the night or stay at the clubhouse. I was feeling better, besides being fairly exhausted, so I eventually convinced Tara to go home. Half-sack was hesitant to give her a ride home so I let her take my car instead.
"You're supposed to be watching the house, shit-head." Happy's voice boomed from down the hallway. I rolled out of the bed and walked into the living room. Half-sack was still rubbing his eyes as Happy took his kutte off and hung it by the door. "Lexie, you trying to get this kid killed?"
"No. I'm trying to get my man to bed." I said, standing in nothing but his t-shirt and panties. He shook his head and pointed back down the hall where I'd come from. I crossed my arms over my chest and stood my ground. "Happy Lowman, you're escorting me to bed."
"Stop snickering and get out of here." Happy snapped at the prospect who was snickering. I pouted my lips and Happy shook his head. "Keep pouting like that, baby. It's getting me hard."
"Uh, okay. Bye." Half-sack said, rushing out of the house. Happy locked the door behind him and turned to look at me. I smirked and turned on my heel, swaying my hips and pulling the shirt off as I walked back to the bedroom. He was right on my heels.
"Feeling better, huh?" He asked, pinning me down onto the bed. I nodded and ran my finger along the inside of the chain around his neck. He leaned down and kissed my neck.
"I think you still have some making up to do." I whispered. He nodded and kissed my chest. I raised my hips and let him pull my panties off. He threw them off the bed with one hand and undid his belt with the other. I felt him fill me and forgot the rest of the world existed. We took it slow and gentle for once and I forgot just how intense it could be. The long, slow thrusts and the deep kisses, it was the closest thing to perfect I'd ever experienced. Afterwards, I laid in his arms and traced my fingers over his tattoos.
"You aren't going to work tomorrow are you?" He asked, kissing my shoulder. I shook my head. I'd decided to take a few days off and go see my doctor before I returned to surgery. I wasn't taking any chances with the baby. "It's going to be a busy day. I don't want you going anywhere unless it's to the clubhouse or Jax's. Okay?"
"Okay, baby. When you say busy you mean," I let my question drop off and I felt him nod behind me. I nodded, a nervous feeling settling into the bottom of my stomach. Busy meant dangerous. Busy meant payback.
