Keeping the Biker's Oath (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 5) Read online

  I smiled up at him. “Hey.”

  “Congratulations on the twins,” Ace said. “You feelin’ good?”

  “Thanks, and so far, yes. Today’s been a really good day,” I said. “I’m hoping that means the morning sickness is over.”

  He smiled. “I remember those days. Cass hated life for a good four months with ours.”

  “What did I do?” she asked, bringing a large platter over to Ace.

  “Hated life for the first four months of your pregnancies.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Oh, god, yeah. It sucked. But then the heavens opened, and it was glorious the rest of the way through. Of course, I ate everything in sight, but lucky for me, my man likes a woman with a big ass.”

  Ace laughed, pulling her against him and kissing her. “That I do.”

  I rolled my eyes. Cassidy was a dancer. Primarily ballet, so the day that woman got a big butt would be the day the sky would fall.

  “The kids just got here. Do you want the corn out here now?” Cassidy asked.

  “Yeah, babe, that’d be great.”

  Cassidy leaned her head in the door and called for Maverick, who dragged a huge bucket with fresh corn outside. His wife, Lily, and little girl Charleston followed.

  “Hi guys,” Lily said, hugging me and Doc. “Welcome.”

  “Thanks, honey,” I said.

  Charley climbed onto my lap and patted my belly gently. “Baby?”

  “Yep,” I said.

  “Hi, baby.” She hugged my belly, and everyone cooed with love. She was the sweetest little girl on the planet.

  “Doc!” Hatch bellowed. “Poppy’s water just broke.”

  I set Charley on her feet as Doc jumped up from the table and rushed inside. “Where is she?”

  “In our room,” Hatch said.

  “Did you call 9-1-1?” Doc asked.

  “Yeah, but she says she feels like she needs to push.”

  “Okay, you got gloves? Clean towels, sterilized scissors, anything?”

  “I know we got gloves and towels. I’ll see what else I can find.”

  I followed Doc and Hatch upstairs and into Hatch’s bedroom, where Poppy was on all fours, groaning in obvious agony.

  “Okay, sweetheart, you ready to have your baby?” Doc asked.

  She shook her head. “No! I want a goddamn epidural. I was promised drugs!”

  Hatch returned with a box of gloves, and then hightailed it back out of the room and Doc and I washed our hands, then donned the gloves.

  “Let’s get you more comfortable,” Doc said. “I’m going to check you and it’s not gonna be fun.”

  “Can you wait for the epidural?” she begged.

  “You’re too far along for drugs now, Poppy,” Doc said. “I would bet you’re going to have this baby before the ambulance even gets here.”

  Devon looked panic stricken, so I suggested he sit behind Poppy and let her use him as an anchor. “She’ll need to press back against you,” I said. “You can keep her locked into position.”

  Maisie brought towels and Doc positioned them under Poppy, then grabbed the chair by the window and sat in front of her. “Okay, Poppy, the head’s already crowning, so this baby’s coming.”

  “No! He has to go back. I did not approve this!” she snapped.

  I bit back a laugh and took one of her legs while Maisie took the other. “Okay, honey, deep breath, let it out slow,” I directed. “That’s good. Now another one. When the next contraction comes, push with all your might, okay?”

  “Dev,” she rasped, sounding scared as she grabbed his arms.

  “Right here, baby. I got you,” he promised. “You can do it.”

  She let out a squeal and then grunted as she pushed through the contraction.

  “Great job, Poppy,” Doc encouraged. “His head’s out. Another good push for the shoulders, okay? Push hard, sweetheart.”

  And she did. Three more pushes and her little boy came into the world with a feisty bellow and a full head of blond hair. Doc set him on her chest, and I helped clean him up as I stimulated him to keep breathing. Payton had found a snot sucker still in its packaging, so I did my best to clean out his mouth and nose, but he’d need a much more thorough examination at the hospital.

  “Bus is here,” Hatch called through the door, and the EMTs walked in with a gurney, loaded Poppy and the baby onto it as Doc filled them in on everything he’d done so far, then they took the little family away.

  “We’re right behind you, love,” Maisie promised, falling against her husband as he sniffed back tears. “That was amazing.”

  “Our baby just had a baby, Sunshine,” Hatch said, stroking her hair.

  Doc and I stepped into the bathroom and cleaned up and then I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. “You’re kind of amazing. Have I told you that lately?”

  “Me? The way you went straight into assist mode was incredible. It was like you knew what I needed before I even asked.”

  I chuckled. “I’ve been through a few urgent situations with you, honey. I would hope I’ve picked up a few things by now.”

  He kissed me. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  We stepped back into the bedroom to find Payton and Cassidy stripping the bed, and I moved to help but they shooed me away.

  “Go have fun,” Payton ordered, pulling me in for a hug. “Jesus, you’ve done more than enough work tonight. Thank you.” She hugged Doc. “Both of you.”

  Doc chuckled. “Don’t get to bring new life into the world a whole lot nowadays, so this was a treat.”

  We headed back to the party and it was a subdued affair until the happy news arrived that Poppy and baby, Niall Connor, were both healthy. Their son weighed in at seven pounds, six ounces, and he was nineteen inches long, so if he’d made it all the way to the due date, which wasn’t for another two weeks, he would have been a big boy.

  The rest of the night turned into much more of a celebratory family night and the majority of the group got different levels of wasted throughout the night.

  Because Hatch and Maisie were at the hospital, Flea took us home, then went to join Grace who was already at the hospital with Poppy.

  As much as I was missing home, I had to admit, I was going to be sad to leave this side of my ‘family’ in two days.

  Olivia

  SUNDAY AFTERNOON, WE flew home, meeting Milky at the curb who loaded our bags into the truck. I climbed into the back while he and Doc talked for a second, and pulled out my phone. They finally joined me, and we headed out of the airport. I texted Jasmine, letting her know I’d meet her at the club later and then went through my emails. I needed to shower and eat, not necessarily in that order, but I couldn’t wait to see my girls. It had been a long week.

  “You still good for the family night?” Milky asked.

  “Yeah,” Doc said. “You up for it, Liv?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I just need an hour to sleep and I should be good to—”

  A loud crash-bang stunned me as the truck was slammed to the side and glass flew everywhere.

  “Hold on!” Doc yelled, not that he had to tell me to do that. I was already gripping the oh shit handle like it was my only lifeline.

  The truck was still sliding, and I saw the median rushing toward us at a breakneck speed. “What the hell is going on?” I screamed.

  “Goddammit!” Doc bellowed.

  “They’re gonna fuckin’ crush us!” Milky snapped, and he suddenly had his gun out and aimed at whoever was driving the other car.

  “Liv, get down,” Doc ordered, and I folded my body as small as I could in the back seat just as gunfire exploded.

  Everything happened so fast, I had no time to think, let alone react, and I found myself hauled out of the back of the truck and my hands zip-tied behind my back.

  I glanced around trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and that was when I saw Doc, unconscious, his face bruised and beaten to shit, and blood pouring from an o
bvious gunshot wound in his arm. Milky was nowhere to be seen.

  “Doc!” I screamed.

  “Shut the fuck up, bitch,” a rough voice growled.

  I glanced behind me and my blood ran cold. “Sugar Bear.”

  His eyes widened and he smiled slowly. “I see my reputation precedes me.”

  “I’m surprised you’re doing your own dirty work. Don’t you typically send men with more balls than you?”

  This comment earned me an open-handed slap across the face and his ring cut the corner of my mouth. I tasted blood and tried to wipe it off on my shoulder.

  “I’d suggest you keep your mouth shut, or I’ll shut it for you permanently.”

  “Well, you just proved my point,” I continued, because, you know, I’m fucking insane when I’m pissed off. “You hit a pregnant woman whose hands are tied behind her back. That makes you a pussy in my book. And when my man finds out what you’ve done, he will rain down a world of hurt on you, the likes of which you’ve never seen. And if anything happens to Doc, you’re gonna regret the day you were born,” I threatened.

  I was surprised my voice sounded strong, my heart was racing so fast and I felt like I was going to puke.

  “I’ll take her, Bear,” another man offered.

  This one I didn’t recognize, but he looked young and I tried to keep the relief out of my expression when Sugar Bear handed me off to him.

  Within minutes, I was chucked, albeit gently, into the back of a windowless van, and driven away from the accident site, and my man. I wasn’t sure exactly where we were because they’d blindfolded me. This did not help my morning sickness.

  “I’m going to be sick,” I warned.

  “Swallow it,” a rough voice said from my right.

  “You’re telling a pregnant woman to swallow puke?” I asked.

  “Bitch—”

  I made sure I aimed his way and puked all over him.

  “Goddammit! You fuckin’ cunt!”

  “You hurt her, Bear’ll rip your dick off,” the young recruit warned. “He said he’s the only one who can touch her.”

  “If you take my blindfold off,” I said. “I’ll be less likely to have motion sickness.”

  “Not fuckin’ happenin’,” he growled, but I heard shifting and I had a feeling he was moving away from me.

  I was trying to force down my panic because it would not serve me to freak out right now. My babies needed me, and I needed to survive and keep them safe. One good thing about the blindfold is that it soaked up my terrified tears.

  I had no idea how badly Doc was hurt, or if he was even still alive. I shook my head. I couldn’t think that way. From my initial glance over him, he was beat up, but his white T-shirt was still white along his chest and torso, and the only blood was coming from his arm and around his face. I had to trust that he’d figure a way out of his predicament and I’d figure a way out of mine. I just needed my hands freed.

  * * *

  Doc

  A familiar burning sensation in my arm dragged me out of oblivion, but I was lucid enough to control my breathing and try to continue to fake unconsciousness. Jesus, my arm hurt like a motherfucker, but I needed to ignore the pain for the moment and figure out what the hell was going on.

  “I thought women and children were off-limits.”

  I recognized the voice of Porkchop. He had a slight lisp and was overweight, hence the nickname. He may have been seen as Porky Pig, but he was smart as a whip and mean, so it was generally a good idea to stay clear.

  “Can’t help it if Doc won’t let her out of his sight,” Sugar Bear said. “Collateral damage. Never got what he saw in that crazy cunt. Jesus, she’s unhinged.”

  Porkchop chuckled. “Yeah, brother. Olivia’s the kind of chick, that’d set your clothes on fire if you pissed her off.”

  “Hell, I’ve dated women like that.”

  “Yeah, but she’d set your shit on fire while you’re still wearing it.”

  As much as I wanted to tear their throats out for talking about my woman like that, I also couldn’t help but note their accurate description. But, of course, they’d think that. She was a strong woman. Most people see a strong woman and label her a bitch immediately. What they didn’t see was the size of Liv’s heart, the love she showed for her family and friends, and the lengths she’d go to protect those she loved.

  But they didn’t need to see that. She was the old lady of the president of an MC. It was good that she made them think she was unhinged.

  They continued to talk about nothing of consequence and I continued to listen. I didn’t hear anyone else, but I didn’t know where we were, so I continued to play ‘dead’ until I felt safe enough to figure out my surroundings.

  * * *

  Olivia

  I felt the van come to a stop and then I was dragged out and guided who the fuck knows where. I did my best to stay upright as I tripped my way next to the biker who led me. “Can you slow down just a little?” I asked. “I have no idea where I’m going, and you seem to have forgotten I’m blindfolded.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” he growled, but he did slow his pace.

  Okay, I was back with the young guy. He was a recruit, which was strange, because he seemed out of place. He was more like a college kid trying to act tough.

  We stopped moving and my blindfold was tugged down my face. I blinked, trying to get a sense of where I was, but I was in a dark hallway, in front of a nondescript door. The young recruit unlocked the door and shoved me inside.

  “Joey!”

  “Oh my god, Bonnie?” I sneered.

  She ignored me as she rushed to Joey. Her hands were secured behind her back and her face was beat to shit. “Where’s Snapper? Get me out of here.”

  “Can’t Bonnie,” he said. “Orders.”

  “But I told him where—” She cut off her words and glanced at me.

  “You told him what?” I ground out.

  She didn’t answer me, so I turned to the recruit.

  “Joey? Are you Tammy’s little brother?”

  He frowned at me, but neither confirmed nor denied.

  “The same little brother that my VP’s woman helped keep out of prison?” I could see a flash of guilt in his eyes and knew I’d hit pay dirt. “Well, that’s a wonderful thank you, Joey. And don’t think it won’t go unwelcomed. You thought prison was your biggest fear? Just wait until the wrath of Lyric Marxx comes a calling, you little shit.”

  He scurried out of the room, pulling the door shut with a slam, and I faced Bonnie. “Did you have something to do with this?”

  She dropped her head.

  “How the fuck would you know where we were?” I spat out.

  “Linda and I had coffee this morning. She mentioned Milky was picking you up from the airport.”

  I sighed. Well, shit. Linda was just dumb enough to let that slip.

  “And you figured if you told Snapper where to grab Doc, what? He’d make you his old lady?”

  She shrugged.

  I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, Bonnie, I thought you were smarter than that. You’re nothing but gash to them. You were nothing but gash to the Dogs as well, but at least they treated you with respect.”

  “You’re such a smug, superior bitch, Liv, aren’t you? You always get everything you ask for, no one ever says no to you, and it doesn’t matter that you’re crazy, or treat people like shit, everyone does whatever the fuck you say.”

  “I treat people in kind, Bonnie. So, you may feel that way because you’re a dumb cunt who can’t find her way out of a paper bag. And when someone tries to steal my man, I tend to get a little testy about it.” I nodded toward her face. “But, hey, looks like Snapper improved your nose. Maybe you can find a better-looking man now.”

  She let out a feral squeal and made a run for me, but at the last second, I pivoted and stuck my foot out, tripping her. She had no way to break her fall with her hands tied behind her back, so she went down hard. Groaning, she rolled to her side as
blood poured from her mouth.

  “Stay down, Bonnie. Seriously. I’m not in the mood to hurt you more, but I will if I have to.”

  She closed her eyes and nodded, and I went about looking for something to get these damn zip-ties off my hands.

  * * *

  Jasmine

  I carried Sebastian into the club and found Alamo in Rabbit’s office. “Any luck?”

  “I told you to stay put, Firefly,” he admonished, taking Baz from me.

  “One of my best friends is missing and you want me to stay at home? Uh, no.” I set my stuff on the floor and bit my lip. “Did you trace her necklace?”

  Rabbit nodded. “She hasn’t activated it.”

  Olivia had bought all of the official old ladies necklaces with imbedded tracking devices. She got the idea from Ronnie, but figured necklaces were worn more by us than bracelets, so they made more sense. We still had to press an almost invisible button to activate them, though. She was afraid our men might ‘take liberties,’ and track us when we wanted some autonomy, so she’d made it so they weren’t ‘live’ at all times.

  “What do you mean, she hasn’t activated it?” I snapped, bursting into tears. “That means she’s dead, because that’s the only reason I wouldn’t activate mine.”

  “Mama,” Sebastian cried, reaching for me.

  Alamo handed him back to me and I held him close. “I’m okay, Baz.”

  He hugged my neck as Alamo wrapped his arms around both of us. “Don’t go there, baby. We’re gonna find them. This was why I wanted you to stay home. Where you wouldn’t worry.”

  “I’d worry more there. Besides, you’re going to lock us down anyway. This is war, so I packed enough for all of us for a week.”

  He smiled, kissing me gently. “Jesus, you’re amazing.”

  “I know.”

  He chuckled and gave my bottom a pat. “Why don’t you go find Lyric? She and Sterling got here about ten minutes ago.”

  I nodded. “Find them, Mo.”

  “I will, Firefly. I promise.”

  He kissed me again, and I carried Sebastian out into the great room where Lyric was setting Sterling into a bassinet. Doom kissed her and headed my way, giving me a chin lift as he walked past and down the hallway.