Page 28 of Biker's Hostage

“Then what is it like?” he asked, taking a step toward me. It was almost a dare, a dare to come out and tell him what was really in my head when I felt like I couldn’t admit to a word of it. I felt like he would flip his shit on me if he had any idea.

“I just... I think you should give him a chance,” I continued, the words spilling from my mouth without a second thought. “He’s been through a lot. And he wouldn’t have done this if he hadn’t lost his brother. The Dogs, they killed him, he worked for Lombardi—”

“He’s associated with that asshole?” my dad cut me off. “No wonder he kidnapped you. I know what those fuckers are like...”

“No, no, it’s not like that.” I quickly shook my head. “He’s... his brother was a part of it, but that’s it. He never was. He never would be. He was such a mess after he lost the last of his family. He had to become this…this person to survive everything he’s been through, but there’s more to him than that. He’s shown me there’s more to him than that. He’s got kindness in him, decency. He took care of me when he didn’t have to—”

“No family?” he muttered. “Then nobody’s going to miss him—”

“He has family!” I exploded. “He’s got me. And... and the baby.”

Oh fuck. As soon as I said those words, I knew I should have thought better. They hung in the air between us, and I wished I could snatch them back, cram them somewhere my father would never find them.

Shit, shit, shit!

His eyes darkened, his jaw tightening as he wrapped his head around what I’d just said.

“The baby?” he demanded, placing the gun down on the table. I hesitated, then nodded. No point denying it now. If I was going to keep this kid, then he was going to find out about it one way or another, and it was better that I was straight with him. I wanted him to be part of this child’s life, even though I could tell that was going to be tough for him in light of what he had just discovered.

“Yeah, the baby,” I confessed, planting my hands on my stomach and then glancing back up at him. “I... I’m pregnant, Dad.”

“With his child?” he spat back at me. I nodded. I realized, as I stood there before him, that I was trembling.

“He raped you?” he demanded.

“No, no, it wasn’t like that,” I assured him. “I... I wanted it, Dad. I wanted him. I...”

“He brainwashed you,” he snarled back. “He used you and brainwashed you and—”

“No, he didn’t! Why can’t you see that I’m a grown woman, Dad, and I can make my own decisions! I liked him, and we were... together, and I don’t want him to get hurt or killed because I want him to be there for our baby!”

“You really think a man like that could ever be a father to your child?” he snapped.

“You were.”

He stopped dead.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that there are a lot of people out there who would never have thought you were capable of taking care of a child,” I continued, voice shaking. I knew this was a risky approach, but that was fine by me. I knew I was going to have to take some risks if I was going to get through to him. I couldn’t lose Zane. I couldn’t.

“With you being part of the Dogs, all the shit you’ve had to do to make a living for us,” I went on, “people would have thought you couldn’t be a father. But you were. And a good one, at that. You don’t think he deserves to have the same chance?”

I couldn’t read the expression on his face in that moment. I didn’t even know if I wanted to. Had I gotten through to him? Had it been enough...?

He turned on his heel and stormed toward the door.

“Dad, where are you going?” I called after him.

He stopped and, without turning around, replied. “To speak to Zane.”

And, with that, he pulled the door shut and locked it behind him, leaving me trapped in the apartment, helpless to rescue the man I loved.

I planted my hands against the wood of the door, but I knew crying out for help wouldn’t have done anything. Whatever choice he made, it was done now.

And I couldn’t do anything to convince him otherwise. I just had to pray that he would see where I was coming from before it was too late.

Chapter Twenty – Zane

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