"Kat, I gotta tell you something before that shrink gets in here. I should have told you before, but I was just trying to give you some time." Happy's hand was running up and down my arm, creating goosebumps and tingles. I nodded and kept my eyes on the hand that was over my own.
"They did some tests yesterday to make sure that fucker didn't rape you." I felt all the blood drain from my face. Had he gotten that far before Happy got there? Suddenly, I felt dirty. Happy shook his head and kissed my knuckles so lightly I may have missed it if I didn't see it.
"You're okay, Kat. He didn't get that far before we got there. Fuck, I don't know why I can't just tell you." I bit my lip and felt my heart crumbling as his eyes started glistening with tears. This was the closest to crying I'd ever witnessed from him.
"Happy, I love you. Whatever it is, we'll get through it together okay?" I took his head in my hands and pulled him into a kiss. I could feel his lip trembling against mine. The kiss was brief but sweet. Happy nodded and pulled back to look at me.
"You were pregnant, Katerina." His voice was back to his normal rasp but I could tell there was a dam holding back all of the emotions he was trying to deny. I blinked a couple times as his words started to sink in.
"I'm not anymore?" My voice betrayed me and cracked under the pressure. My eyes fell to the hand he had resting on my stomach and I felt sick. We had just talked about not wanting kids on the way to Maria's house. I was sure about not wanting to have a baby and it turns out I was pregnant during that conversation.
"Katerina." Happy brought my chin up to look at him after a few minutes of silence. His eyes were as dark as usual but I could see sadness there.
"This is my fault." My vision blurred as tears poured down my cheeks and violent sobs rocked my entire body. The sobbing made my body hurt, but it was nowhere close to what my heart was feeling.
"It's not your fault, Katerina. Even if you would have known before, you didn't do anything wrong. That shit is on the fucker waiting to die a slow and painful death." His eyes shifted to dark and cold. I nodded and buried my face in his neck. This was one of those times that I needed to be a strong old lady for my man. He had enough on his plate without me being an emotional wreck.
The session with the counselor didn't go to well. She kept asking questions about how I felt and it made it that much harder to keep a strong outer shell. Towards the end, both of my leading men were irritable and jumpy. Harley started growling and staring the counselor down while Happy snapped at her for asking the same question in three different ways when I didn't give her the answer she was looking for.
Happy and I were sitting on opposite ends of the bed with a game of cards going on between us. He was doing his best to teach me how to bluff a hand in poker, but I couldn't keep a straight face. It was something simple but it kept my mind off of everything I'd learned in the past two hours. He called my bluff again with a smirk.
"Katerina!" My eyes snapped up as my younger sister rushed into the room. Harley sat up and watched Kiara carefully, clearly concerned with the amount of energy she was bringing into the room. Happy stood up and moved to calm our dog down.
"Kiara! I can't believe you're actually here! Sorry I'm not exactly throwing you a party right now." She laughed and shook her caramel colored hair around in protest. It had been too long since I last saw her.
"Ya, it's been quite a while, hasn't it? I missed ya, Shelia!" She hugged me and kissed both of my cheeks. I returned the favor and felt my mood lift a little.
"Kiara, this is my fiancé Happy. Happy, this is Kiara." I was curious to see how they would get along since their personalities were so different. Happy nodded with a small smile as Kiara waved with a huge grin.
"Heard a lot about you. Who's Shelia?" Happy was to the point, obviously curious why Kiara had called me that. She and I both laughed and I shook my head slowly.
"She hasn't lived here, Hap. In Australia, Shelia is what we call hot women." I smiled as Happy raised a brow and nodded slowly, unsure what to think about the strange new language. He was in for a surprise when it came to Kiara's slang and phrases.
"Sorry I don't sound like a bloody Yank, Katerina. I like him better than that galah Declan. When are ya getting out a here?" She flopped down on the couch next to Harley and hugged him around the neck. He looked uncomfortable for a minute, but eventually relaxed.
"I don't know yet, doll. I lost a lot of blood and they want to watch me for a little while. Was the ride here okay?" She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.
"Tha bloke ya sent ta fetch me looks like 'es got a few kangaroos loose in tha top paddock, Kat. Plane ride was fine." Happy shook his head and rubbed his palm over the stubble growing out of his scalp.
"Juice isn't dense, Kiara. He's just a goof." Happy walked over and kissed me on the forehead.
"I'm gonna go take care of that thing, baby. Call me if you need me." I bit my bottom lip and nodded. Happy returned my nod, said goodbye to Kiara and headed out of the room. He paused to talk to Juice outside of the room before disappearing down the hall.
SOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOASOA SOASOASOASOASOASOASOA
"You sure you want to do this right now, Hap? The fucker can wait." Tig climbed off his bike and looked over at me as I took my helmet off. I stared at the warehouse we were about to go into and nodded. This had to get done or it was going to keep eating away at the back of my mind. Katerina was obviously faking being okay and the sooner this fuck was dead, the sooner we could get past this shit.
"Yeah, I'm sure." I walked into the warehouse and my mind cleared. All of my focus was on the task at hand. A ripple of energy coursed through my veins when my eyes landed on the man chained to a metal column. He was staring right at me with a terrified look in his dilated eyes.
"Need me to do anything?" Tig had a grin on his face as he looked from Wright to the tools I was laying out on a table. My backpack was almost empty when I finally shook my head.
"Nah, just watch my phone." I passed it over to him before picking up the vegetable peeler. I tapped it on the heel of my hand, trying to decide if I wanted to start off with it or pliers. Wright made some type of noise through his gag and I decided on the vegetable peeler.
"I'm going to kill you, eventually. First there's a long list of shit you're going to bleed for." I couldn't hold back a laugh while Wright's jeans darkened as he pissed himself. He whimpered and shook his head wildly as I brought my knife out and cut his shirt off.
"This is for touching Katerina back in Stockton." The memories of him grabbing her wrist flashed in my mind as I pressed the peeler into his chest and drug it down his skin. His whole body tensed as he arched his back and screamed through the gag. His blood was already flowing over my hand.
"I didn't know if this thing would actually work. Pretty cool." I shrugged and turned the peeler over in my hand and looked at the trail of peeled skin on his chest.
"That's a whole other level of gross." Tig said with a laugh as I returned to the tool table. I glanced back at Wright and shrugged.
"Never used it before. Think I might go through the whole bag." Tig's brow raised as he took a drag from his cigarette. I had at least sixty different tools and toys in my bag, not counting the combinations I could come up with.
Three hours passed and I was covered in Wright's blood. He was slumped down against the column and breathing shallowly. Tig had already started cleaning what tools I'd used with bleach. My job was almost done, but it was time to face the second worst discretion on my list. I closed my eyes and took my knife off my belt. It was the ka-bar that Katerina had gotten me for Christmas.
"You tired brother? I can finish this shit." Tig tossed a now clean set of brass knuckles into the bag. I shook my head and took a deep breath.
"No." I headed back over to what was left of the man that had tortured my fiancé close to death and had killed our unborn child. It didn't matter if either of us had known about or wanted a kid. That was our baby, regardless of whatever medical bullshit Tara said about it being viable at that age. This fucker took the choice to keep it or not away from us.
I cut the bandanna that was gagging him and bent down so that I was eye level with his heavily hooded eyes. When he didn't look at me, I slapped his face, spraying blood off into the floor. He groaned and his eyes opened just enough to see me.
"You're going to hell." He spat at me with as much hatred as he could muster. I nodded and grabbed a handful of hair at the back of his head.
"Don't worry, we'll pick up where we left off when I get there." I pulled his head back so that his throat was fully exposed and drove the ka-bar through the side of his neck. I didn't pull it out so that he would live long enough to feel the pain. The life in his eyes started to fade further and further away.
I unloaded a magazine of hollow-point .45mm bullets into his body: one bullet in each knee, one bullet in each thigh, two in the stomach, one in each shoulder and finally two in the head. My ears were ringing loudly even after the echoing of the ten bullets faded away. I put my Glock 21 down on the table to let it cool off before holstering it back in my waistband. Tig clapped a hand on my shoulder and nodded silently.
"I'll get the prospects to come clean this up, brother." I shook my head and leaned on the table, looking back at Wright's lifeless body.
"Nah, I got it. Speaking of prospects though, you seen that fucker Miles?" I turned my gaze to Tig and he swallowed hard. The prospect had been smart enough to keep out of my sight ever since Katerina got grabbed. Now that I was done with Wright, I had to make sure Miles paid for leaving my old lady alone.
"He's been laying low, Hap. He knows he fucked up." I laughed and lit up a cigarette.
"Yeah, he ain't getting my vote, brother. Won't ever see that bottom rocker." I said with a shake of my head. Tig nodded slowly. My phone started vibrating and Katerina's name lit up on the screen. I wiped the blood off of my hand with a rag and flipped the phone open.
"Hey baby, everything okay?" I took a long drag off the cigarette and blew the smoke out through my nose as Tig crossed the room to get my knife out of the dead guy's throat.
"Yeah, I was just checking on you. Kiara went to go get me something to eat." I nodded and looked at the screen to check the time. I'd been gone for almost five hours already. The sound of her voice pulled me out of the rapturous mood I was in.
"I'm good, Kat. I'll be back in an hour, maybe less. I love you, Katerina Recker." I took the bleached knife from Tig and nodded a silent thank you. He pointed over at the body and raised his brow. I wiggled the phone in my hand and nodded. Tig got the message and got on his own phone to call in prospects to clean this shit up. I'd planned on burning the fucker, but I wanted to get back to the hospital more.
"I love you too, Happy. Take your time. Harley needs food if you wouldn't mind going by the house and getting some." She sounded tired and I knew her tough girl act wouldn't last much longer.
"Yeah, I got it. I need to take a shower too. I'll be there soon." I stood up and finished packing the bag.
"Okay, Happy. Be careful." I promised and snapped the phone shut. Tig gave me a weak smile as he lit up another cigarette. I hitched a shoulder and zipped the bag before swinging over my back. He knew something was wrong, but I wasn't ready to tell anybody about the baby. I wasn't really sure if I'd ever tell them about it.