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

  I sighed. “I get it. How soon can we deal with this?”

  “I’ll do it for you now and rush it through the lab. I won’t have results until tomorrow, but you can come back anytime and I’ll squeeze you in for your shot.”

  “Okay, Margo, I appreciate it.”

  “Give me a sec.” She left the room, returning quickly with a phlebotomist who took my blood and sent me on my way.

  On the way home, I stopped at the store and picked up a few things, then decided I should probably stay home tonight. The last thing I needed was to see people. Lord, it was all too much.

  * * *

  Doc

  Liv texted me some bullshit excuse about not feeling well and needing to bow out of dinner at Doom and Lyric’s. Her message was way too polite, which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Something was wrong.

  I headed home, saw that her car was parked in her spot, and walked inside, calling her name. No answer. “Liv?”

  There was no answer again, but I noticed discarded boxes on the floor and frowned.

  What the fuck?

  Leaning down, I noticed they were store bought pregnancy test boxes. Now I was really confused. Especially, because there was a trail of them. I decided to follow where they led, counting as I went, ending in our master bedroom. “Olivia?”

  “Goddammit!” she squeaked. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I live here.” I pushed open the bathroom door and tried not to laugh. She sat on the toilet, six pregnancy tests piled up on the vanity next to her and she looked like she was ready to kill someone. “Baby, what the hell is going on?”

  “First Response, Clear Blue, and, ah, PregMate have a conspiracy against me,” she snapped. “Obviously.” I reached for one and she slapped my hand. “Don’t touch them, psycho. I peed on them.”

  “Liv, I’ve licked every part of your pussy, I’m not worried about a little pee.” I picked up a test, then another, and widened my eyes. “You’re pregnant?”

  “I’m still waiting on the Dollar Store one. I might not be.”

  “Sweetness, you’ve taken five. They all say positive. Even if the Dollar Store one comes back negative, I think we can confidently say you’re pregnant.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Or we could wait for the blood test.”

  “What blood test?”

  She sighed. “Well, what had happened was…”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Did Margo discover you were pregnant today when you went for your shot, so she decided to take a blood test to double check?”

  Olivia tapped her nose with her index finger, before flushing the toilet and washing her hands.

  “Wow,” I said, wrapping my hands around her waist from behind. “A baby.”

  “Oh, I’m not having a baby.”

  “Pretty sure you’re havin’ a baby, Liv.”

  “No.”

  I met her eyes in the mirror. “Are you in denial, or are you threatenin’ to make this baby go away?”

  “I would never hurt a baby, asshole,” she snapped, pushing away from me. “I can’t believe you’d think that.”

  “Well, I think you need to wrap your mind around the fact you’re pregnant, sweetness, because this is happening.”

  “Well, I think you need to wrap your mind around getting the fuck out of my house.”

  I grinned. “Our house,” I corrected.

  “Is this the hill you want to die on, Tristan?”

  I laughed. “Come here.”

  She wrapped her arms around my waist and dropped her face to my chest. “I can’t do this.”

  “Yeah, you can,” I said, stroking her back. “We’re gonna rock the fuck outta parenthood, sweetness, you’ll see.”

  “What if something happens?”

  My heart broke in two at the sadness in her voice. “If I have to lock you in the barn until you deliver, I will, but everything’s gonna be fine,” I promised. “You’ll be protected. Always.”

  “I can’t lose another baby, Tristan,” she rasped.

  “Neither can I,” I said. “Which means, we’re gonna make sure this one’s happy and healthy, okay?”

  She met my eyes, gripping my cut. “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  When she nodded, I grinned, kissing her gently. “Which means, I think we need to start looking for a house.”

  She bit her lip. “Can we find something near Doom and Lyric?”

  “Yeah, sweetness, we can look in the most expensive part of Savannah, sure,” I deadpanned.

  She grinned. “Correct answer, husband.”

  “So, shall we go and play with our new nephew?”

  Olivia sighed. “Yes, we probably should, huh? Lyric’s been complaining she doesn’t get to see us enough.”

  I grinned. “Really proud of you, Liv.”

  “Don’t get too excited,” she warned. “The night’s young, they have a brand new blender, and I’m hormonal.”

  I laughed and led her down to her car.

  * * *

  Olivia

  “I feel like I haven’t seen you in a year,” Lyric complained, hugging me as we walked through the front door.

  “I know. I’ll be better about that.” I chuckled, squeezing her gently. “Now that Sterling’s a little bigger, you’ll be able to bring him to the club, too. I feel like things can finally get back to normal.”

  “Yes. And I’m pumping as much as I can, so I can feel free to dump after I drink. Oh my god, I want to drink so bad, I can taste it.”

  Doc grinned, kissing her cheek. “You’re free to have a glass of wine, Lyric, without dumping.”

  “Yeah, well, I want the fucking bottle, Doc, so I should probably pump and dump,” she joked. “Come in. I have lemon drops chilled and waiting.”

  “Ah…um, I’m not drinking,” I hedged.

  Lyric spun to face me and grabbed my arms. “Because…?”

  “Well, what had happened was…”

  “You’re pregnant?”

  I nodded and she let out a squeak, pulling me in for a hug.

  “Everything okay?” Doom asked, appearing before us, carrying Sterling against his chest.

  “Liv’s preggo,” Lyric said.

  “No shit?” he said, his face beaming as he smiled.

  “We want to keep it somewhat quiet,” I said. “Just in case, but, yeah. I took a test today.”

  “Six,” Doc corrected. “She took six.”

  I held my arms out to Doom. “Give me that bundle.”

  Doom chuckled, handing me the baby, and I cradled him close. He didn’t even stir as I held him to my chest, kissing his downy, soft head. “Oh my god, I love that baby smell.”

  “Come on in,” Doom said. “I’ve got steaks on the grill. Alamo and Jasmine are out back.”

  “Where are Quin and Willow?” I asked as we headed into the kitchen.

  “They’re on their way,” Lyric said. “Badger and Dash wanted to stop for beer or something.”

  I waited for Doom and Doc to walk out to the back before I pulled Lyric aside. “Ronnie called about Sunday School. They’re meeting in a week. You in?”

  “Yeah,” Lyric said. “Especially if it means we can deal with this Spiders shit from our side. All this crap is ridiculous.”

  “Right?”

  “What ended up happening with Marvin?”

  I sighed. “Doc won’t tell me the particulars. I think he’s still breathing, but I’m not sure if he’s having to use a colostomy bag or not. All I know is he’s back in custody and Dalton’s assured me personally I’ll be informed immediately if he gets out again. He doesn’t think he will, though.”

  “Can you imagine what would have happened if you’d been home?”

  I shuddered, sitting on the sofa in the family room. “No. God, I don’t even know how he found me. It’s too scary.”

  “Seriously.”

  “We’re going to be looking for a place. Something bigger.”

  Lyric smiled, si
tting beside me on the sofa. “Yeah?”

  “I told Doc I want to look around here.”

  “Oh my god, that would be so cool. I’ll set you up with Clint. He’s an incredible realtor and knows when stuff’s coming on the market before it does.”

  “That would be great. Thanks.”

  “Everything better with Doc?”

  “So much better.”

  Lyric grinned. “Well, next time you want to throw a blender at your man, will you give me time to make popcorn so I can watch?”

  “I’m really sorry about that. It was bad form on my part.”

  “Are you kidding me? I hated that blender. I love my new one. Thank you for that.”

  I grinned. “Well, in the future, I will try to keep my small appliance chucking to the club.”

  Lyric frowned. “Killjoy.”

  I laughed and Sterling gave a little hiccup. “Oh, sorry, little man,” I crooned.

  “You realize if you have a girl, we’re going to have to have a marriage contract,” Lyric said.

  “How cute would that be? It worked out for Maverick and Lily.”

  Lyric grinned. “That’s so true. God, they’re so cute together.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t see Hawk when it first began. Apparently, he was a nervous wreck. So, maybe we don’t tell Doc we’ve made the pact.”

  “My lips are sealed,” she promised, reaching for a notepad and pen. “Now, I have some ideas for your reception. Do you still want to have it here?”

  “I’m kind of thinking we should do a small party here and a bigger one at the club. There could be a hundred people or more.”

  “Are you worried about combining worlds?”

  “Not really. All my friends already know Doc, but are you prepared to have over a hundred people in your gorgeous, million-dollar home?”

  “Honey, it’s just a house.”

  “If anything got broken, I’d feel horrible.”

  She chuckled. “Well, are Doc and the guys going to be okay opening the barn up to strangers?”

  “Yeah, they open it up for Christmas every year for the kids. It’s actually a great venue for a party.”

  Lyric grinned. “Perfect. We’ll make it biker chic.”

  Sterling started to fuss, so Lyric settled him at her breast and fed him before settling him in his bassinet to sleep. “He’ll probably be good for a few hours.”

  “You don’t want him somewhere quiet?” I asked. The bassinet was in the family room, in a shaded, quiet spot, but still within sight.

  “No, we decided we want him to get used to sleeping when it’s noisy. Doom said it worked wonders with Ezra. He’d sleep through anything, so I’m going to take his lead on this one.”

  I smiled. “You’re a good woman, Lyric.”

  “I didn’t say I was taking his lead on everything. Don’t go sainting me just yet.”

  I chuckled and followed her into the kitchen just as our small group walked in from the back yard, Doom carrying a platter full of steaks. Willow, Quin, and their families arrived a few minutes later and we spent the next few minutes getting the kids settled with food.

  “Auntie Liv?” Kinsey called from the table.

  “Yeah?”

  “I saved you a seat.”

  “Aw, thanks, sweetie, I’ll be right there.” I grinned as Doc handed me a plate. “Sorry, honey, looks like you’re on your own.”

  He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “I guess I’ll just have to deal.”

  I sat beside Kinsey and she spent the rest of our meal regaling me with all sorts of stories that her six-year-old mind came up with. I loved every second of it.

  * * *

  Doc

  I slammed the gavel down and called the special meeting to order, waving everyone to their seats. “Okay, calm the fuck down, everyone. Portland’s dealing with a shit ton of issues with the Spiders and it’s getting worse, so we need to talk strategy and figure out if there’s anything we can do from this end. I may send a couple of you out there for a few weeks as well, but that’ll be a last-resort type thing.”

  “What’s goin’ on?” Badger asked.

  “Doozer’s heart was delivered to the Burning Saints, wrapped in his cut.”

  “What the fuck?” Dash snapped.

  We’d all met Doozer when the clubs had converged on the Howlers’ compound in Colorado a few years ago.

  “What do you want us to do, Doc?” Badger asked.

  “I want you to be on high alert. Hatch is keeping up with the Saints and what they might need, but for the moment, we’re in a holding pattern.”

  “Why can’t we go on the offensive?” Otter asked.

  “Because I’m not interested in war right now, brother,” I said. “If it comes to that, we’ll be ready, but for now, we watch and prepare.”

  There were a few grumbles around the room, but in the end, my word was law, so my brothers nodded their agreement.

  “Okay, let’s drink. I need a few.”

  I dismissed the meeting and we headed out to the great room bar.

  Olivia

  “YOUR HOUSE IS gorgeous,” I said as I hugged Ronnie after being led through the foyer and into the huge country kitchen.

  Ronnie was Zaius’s old lady, the president of the Burning Saints Savannah chapter, and they owned the huge farmhouse where Sunday School was held twice a month. We all knew each other, kind of. Our clubs weren’t classified as one-percenters, meaning we operated within the law, so we often comingled when there were community events, like the kids’ Christmas party and whenever the Bikers for Kids needed backup. They were an international club that supported bullied and abused kids in all sorts of situations and our clubs often helped house, feed, and ride with them whenever they needed it.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I’m glad you ladies could make it.”

  Jasmine and Willow followed me, but Quin would be coming later with Lyric.

  “Do your men know what you’re here for?” Ronnie asked.

  “No way in hell,” I retorted.

  “They just think you graciously invited us over for tea,” Jasmine said.

  “Yeah, we’re fuckin’ friendly like that,” Jules, Wingman’s wife, said.

  “This is Carmen,” Ronnie said, and a gorgeous Hispanic woman smiled, making her way to us.

  “She just recently decided Squirrel belonged to her,” Ronnie said.

  “Bitch, please, that man locked onto her the second he saw her. She didn’t have a chance,” Jules countered.

  Carmen rolled her eyes. “I’m still deciding if I’m going to keep him. He’s on very thin glass.”

  “Ice, honey,” Ronnie corrected.

  “Ice glass?”

  “Thin ice.”

  “Oh,” she breathed. “Si. That makes more sense. We don’t have much ice in Cuba…or Florida.”

  Ronnie handed me a glass of sweet tea. “I understand you had to get rid of a rat problem.”

  “I did?”

  “Bonnie?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Oh, right. She was a huge problem.”

  “Well, she’s switched sides. In fact, she’s gotten caught in a spider’s web.”

  “No shit?” I said. “Which Spider?”

  “Snapper.”

  “Oh my god,” I breathed out.

  “He’s mean as hell,” Jasmine said. “And ugly.”

  “Yeah, I thought Sugar Bear was as evil as they came, until I saw some of the shit Snapper pulled last year,” Ronnie said. “I’m not sure Tammy knew what she was getting into when she became property of Sugar, and Bonnie’s as dumb as they come, so she sure as hell has no idea about Snapper.”

  I felt a pang of guilt but stuffed it deep down inside. I refused to feel bad for her. She was a cuntwaffle who came after my man. She deserved what she got.

  “You and Tammy are friends, right?” I asked, sitting in one of the chairs by the window.

  “We were,” Ronnie said, sitting across from me. “Before she decided to l
ose her ever-blessed mind and open her legs for that monster. I warned her. But you can’t fix stupid and after picking her bleeding, broken ass up off the floor for the third time last year, I couldn’t do it no more. Jesus.”

  “It’s so hard to break the cycle of brainwashing,” I said. “Not that you did the wrong thing, by any stretch of the imagination. You have to protect your own family, stop your own trauma from happening, but she’s also in a cycle of trauma that probably can’t be broken without drastic measures.”

  “Like him killin’ her.”

  “Possibly,” I said.

  “Well, it’s sad, and I spent a lotta years cryin’ for her, but I can’t no more. My man and my babies have to come first.”

  “I hear you,” I said. “I think that’s the smart call.”

  “Oh my lawd, it’s a baby!” Jules cried, and I knew Lyric and Quin must have arrived with Sterling.

  “I hope it’s okay that I brought him,” Lyric said. “I’m still kind of attached.”

  “Aw, honey, babies are always welcome,” Ronnie said, hugging her. “It’s nice to meet you. Never thought Doom’d find his happy. About time.”

  Lyric smiled. “Thanks. He’s pretty much the best human I’ve ever known.”

  “I hear that.”

  “Come on in. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll get you some tea.”

  “Thank you.”

  Sterling was awake, so Lyric lifted him out of his car seat and let him get passed around.

  “Typical baby biker,” I said. “Total flirt.”

  Lyric laughed. “God, I know. He so knows what he’s doing, too. Look at his grin.”

  My hands went to my belly and I smiled. The blood tests had come back as positive, unsurprisingly, so all systems were go with our baby arriving in just under eight months.

  Lyric’s hand covered mine and I met her eyes, which were suddenly teary. “Don’t you dare,” I warned.

  “I’m just happy,” she said.

  “Well, stop it,” I hissed. “I’m hormonal enough as it is.”

  Sterling let out a scream and Ronnie carried him to Lyric who settled him at her breast while the rest of the women got settled.

  “Okay, it’s a small group today, so let’s get started,” Ronnie said. “As y’all know, Taz is heading out to Portland to help with all this bullshit.”