Page 96 of Broken

Chapter Twenty-One

Lockdown was not going away, however, there would becertain privileges. Business still had to keep moving, so Warden made surethere were men covering the diner. Petal knew they had plenty of otherbusinesses to take care of, but she and Rosalie were able to reopen the diner,which was great. Their old customers were more than happy to be back. Tanyawent back to the DIY store and kept working for them full time as well.

The club was doing what the club did best, but shealso knew they were doing it with caution.

At the end of every day, they had to return to theclubhouse, no exceptions. Tanya tried to argue that her life wasn’t part of theclub, but after hearing that phone call, Petal knew there was no way anyoneassociated with the club would be okay.

Fritz, the guy she helped transport to thehospital, finally made it home. Not that she saw him that often. She didn’tknow what he did with his spare time, but it wasn’t to join in with most of theclub activities.

On the day he arrived home, she saw how everyonelooked. Every member of the club looked guilty. They blamed themselves forsomething they had no control over, and she felt bad for that. She wished therewas something she could say or do to make it right, but there was absolutelynothing.

Petal wasn’t sure how much time had passed withthem going about their daily lives. She had a horrible feeling Daemon’s brotherwas enjoying this far too much. Rosalie’s panic attacks kept coming. They wentto visit Gabrielle just the other day, and it was like the whole world camecrashing down on her best friend. They knew the worst wasn’t over.

In other good news, Colt’s house had been giventhe green light to be rebuilt, and that was what the club was focusing on. Theywere helping Colt build that house.

She and Dirty were engaged and the club had acelebration for the news. They hadn’t talked about a wedding nor what was goingto happen after.

“Are you okay?” Tanya asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Petal said.

The last of the customers had already left, and inher pocket was a very precious stick. A pregnancy test stick. A positivepregnancy test kit. It didn’t come as a surprise to her that she was pregnant.She and Dirty hadn’t exactly been careful when it came to sex, and seeing aslast time she’d gotten pregnant by accident, this one didn’t quite feel like anaccident. This one felt like it was on purpose.

Tanya had been acting rather strangely today. Shewas constantly looking at the clock. The club had been doing their best to takecare of Leanna. She was already heading back to school, and it would seem thelittle girl loved to have the bikers come and pick her up. She tried to allowTanya as much time off as possible, but if it wasn’t the busyness of the diner,she was then working at the DIY store.

Life was moving by so fast. Petal couldn’t evenremember how long lockdown had been. Well, partial lockdown.

Daemon’s brother hadn’t attacked for a few weeks. Everyoneknew it was just a matter of time. Fritz didn’t have any other informationabout Daemon and his brother’s past. Not about Diablo. Everything was based onrumor and his connections to the mafia, which again formed a big blank.

“How are you?” she asked.

“Oh, you know, tired. Always so freaking tired,”Tanya said. “Not going to lie, miss my house and miss my space. That wassomething I never thought possible.”

Petal nodded. It was dark outside.

She spotted the two bikes and already knew theywere going to be Horror and Brow. The men changed depending on the time of day.Today was an early day. It was Sunday, and the diner still opened as they had alot of people who wanted to eat and not cook.

She was stalling. That pregnancy test stick wasmaking her feel so sick. Really sick. Sicker than she would have liked toadmit. She felt tense, clammy.

“I guess we better head back.”

“I know you said you’re all right, but I’ve got toask if you’re sure?”

Petal laughed. “Yeah, yeah, just … bad memories isall. Come on, let’s head out.”

She watched as Tanya glanced down at her watch.

“What about you? Are you sure everything is okay?”

“Yep, yep, totally fine. This watch has been onthe blink for some time and I just like to keep checking it.”

Petal didn’t believe her, but they left the dinertogether and locked the doors. She always felt each time she locked up theplace, there was going to come a day when it would be burned to the ground,much like Colt’s home. She tried not to get too attached but that was alsodifficult.

She knew Colt and Rosalie missed their home, andRosalie was fast getting close to her due date as well. Her best friend lookedamazing, but the stress of Diablo was starting to wear her down. The doctor hadto be called several times, and she knew it wasn’t good for the baby or for Mommy.

She waved at the men and climbed into the car. Sheturned over the ignition as Tanya climbed in beside her.

The drive back to the clubhouse was a quiet one.Petal was too focused on that pregnancy test stick. The sickness swirled in hergut. What if Dirty didn’t want to have kids? What if his proposal had all beena lie? Kids were a big deal, especially during lockdown. Was this all movingtoo fast?

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