Page 135 of Break Out

“My dad’s the Jacksonville president.”

“Does he know you’re pregnant?” Josie asked.

I nodded.

Knuckles smiled and set my phone on a nearby card table. He pulled out his phone. It wasn’t in a protective case, and I’d never been so happy to see an Apple icon. As long as Knuckles had his Bluetooth enabled, my AirTag would send a signal to my network… but who knew how tech savvy Knuckles was?

He tapped his phone screen, and put it to his ear. After a moment, he said, “I hear you got a bitch pregnant.”

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I listened to his demands. When he mentioned not feeding me and how babies needed their food, my eyes flew open. Knuckles had his back to me, but Mug noticed my alarm and chuckled.

Knuckles hung up on Steel, and switched back to my phone. He had to point it at me to unlock it again. After tapping the screen a few times, he held it flat. Then, I heard a phone ringing over the speaker as he paced to the other side of the small room.

“Simone! Where are you?” Dad demanded. The sheer worry in his voice wrenched my heart.

“Thought your name was Jade,” Mug said.

“Did your mother name you Mug?” I muttered.

Mug stepped toward me. “Bitch, I oughta backhand you.”

Knuckles turned and glared at Mug, but spoke into the phone. “She ain’t gonna tell you that, Volt. You shoulda taught her how to take care of herself.”

“Let her go,” Dad said, his voice lethal.

“Oh, I’ll let her go… after Steel pays and you pay, too.”

Dad failed to hide his sigh. “How much?”

“Since she’s pregnant, I figure you can pay double. Three and a half million.”

“That kind of cash takes time.”

“Too bad,” Knuckles said.

“She’s pregnant. Whatever you used to attack her… she needs a doctor.”

Knuckles aimed a lascivious grin at me. “Good point. We have a club doctor, he’ll love examining her.”

“At a hospital, motherfucker!” Dad yelled.

“Time’s wasting, Volt. Better call your mother chapter and your Vegas brothers to get you some money.”

My stomach had lurched at how much he’d asked for from Steel. Demanding twice as much from Dad, I hated this man anew.

He ended the call and messed with my phone some more. “Need to send some of these pics to Pump. This friend of yours can’t be more than eighteen.”

I fought against an eye roll and prayed he didn’t do that. My hunch was that he was looking at pictures of Jasmine, though it could have been Alexandra since she was a young-looking twenty. Either way, neither one of them deserved to be on the radar of an asshole like Pump.

A metalic-sounding pop from outside captured everyone’s attention.

Knuckles widened his eyes at Mug. “Were you followed?”

Mug looked affronted. “No. Not a damn person knew we were there besides the moron prospect at their gate. I knocked him out cold. We were in and out.”

Knuckles narrowed his eyes. “You got in and out of their clubhouse without being seen?”

A coy smile quirked Josie’s lips. “She came outside and made it so much easier for us.”

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