Page 1 of Death's Devotion
Chapter One
A MONTH HAS passed since the day I was called into the Knight’s Rebellion clubhouse to share my story with them. I was fully prepared to get the hell out of Braedon and never look back. I’d miss Jaelyn, of course, but there’s nothing I can do about it. Vince isn’t a good man and there’s no reason I’m about to let him get near Jae when she’s got everything to live for and her happiness means more to me than almost anything else. Brent is the only one who truly matters in my world and I’ll forever do what it takes to ensure he’s safe, protected, and knows he’s loved and the center of my world. Instead, I was given a better place to live and have been busting my ass at the storefront to prove how willing I am to make things work here. Though, running is never off the table. I’ve simply got to replenish my money enough to get back on the road. By the time I’m ready to leave, Jae will have had her babies and be able to return to work. She won’t miss me not being there.
Over the last month, the guys from the club have all taken turns watching over me when I’m at the row house they’ve put me up in or when I go out in town. Especially when I go out in town. I don’t even know everyone’s name who follows me around as if I’m about to do something truly horrible. The feeling of always having eyes on me is overwhelming most days. Death is honestly the only one I can remember and it’s because of the one night we spent together. Not even a night really. Actually it was more like a few hours of his time. Just a blip on his radar for the time it took for him to get off and then nothing more from him. It’s honestly for the best if I’m being honest. There’s just too much going on in my life for me to worry about a man.
Brent grows and changes every single day. He’ll be turning one soon and part of me can’t wait to celebrate his birthday while the rest of me wants him to stay a baby forever. Someone so innocent and pure the evilness of the world doesn’t ever touch him. That’s not how life works, and I know this. However, I don’t see myself having more children so I will always wish for him to remain the purest version of himself as he is now. My son is a good baby who barely cries. The only time he does is when he’s hungry or needs his diaper changed. Brent loves his tummy time and I make sure to get on the floor with him and play a few times throughout the day when I’m not at Rebellious Sweets and Catering.
Jae and I finally managed to settle on a name for our business. That’s the one thing that’s taken us the longest thing to settle on. She brought it up to me when she told me the idea of me going into business with her. However, as work got done on the storefront and we had to think about ordering our sign, we sat down and talked about coming up with other names for it. Nothing really stuck though. We wanted to include some part of the club since they’ve been a tremendous help with getting everything done and investing in the startup for Rebellious Sweets and Catering. So, we just finally settled on her original name for it. While I’m thankful Jaelyn’s including me in this venture with her, I’ll always know it’s hers and hers alone. I might be able to provide the catering aspect of things, but this is her baby and will always be hers no matter if I remain here or not. I’m truly excited for my friend and want this to be a complete success for her.
This is the only reason I’m staying here in Braedon still. Jaelyn could be taken out of work any day now. We’re going to be opening the store in less than two weeks’ time and someone needs to be here to ensure the grand opening goes off without a hitch and the store succeeds. If that means I’m the person to make sure Rebellious Sweets and Catering soars from the second we open the doors, then that’s what I’ll do. As soon as Jae’s on her feet and can come back to work, that’s when I’ll leave. It will be way past time for me to move on with Brent no matter what the guys from the club say. See, I’ve been formulating a plan and it will soon be time to put it in motion.
There’s only one dark cloud hanging over me. Well, besides not being able to get the man who shall remain nameless out of my head. I’ve managed to catch some sort of bug. Every day for over a week now I’ve been getting sick as hell. I’m so rundown it takes every ounce of energy I can muster just to get out of bed to take care of my son. When I’m up, I spend more time in front of the toilet than almost anywhere else. So far, no one’s caught on and I’m grateful to know I’m in this hell without anyone knowing about it. Even the guys following me haven’t caught on. Neither has Jae when we’re at the store and working hard as fuck to put all the finishing touches on everything. Or putting so many damn orders away.
Anyway, back to my plan. The guys let it slip a few days ago who one of my ex’s enemies are. A man by the name of Sal. He’s part of the Rossi family and hates Vince and his father with a passion not many would show around mixed company from what I hear. So, my plan is to go to him with any information I have on my ex to see if he can hide me away somewhere. There’s one thing I haven’t told the guys here in the club. It’s more for their protection than anything else. See, Vince is a stickler for his routine. A mistake most would say. I know where he is every single day without fail. It’s why it was so easy to catch him cheating on me with numerous women. The women might change, but the times and locations never do. Though, bringing those girls into our house was a new thing. His regular place must have been closed or too busy for him to go there. So, I’ll make sure this Sal guy knows his routine and the best way to catch him. From there, I truly don’t give a shit what happens to Vince. Or his father.
I was never once accepted into the family. Mr. LaRusso believed I was beneath them because I wanted to get my education and could never do right by his son. I was nothing more than a piece of ass in the elder LaRusso’s eyes. More than likely in Vince’s as well. The one time I saw Vince’s mother, she was so out of it, I’m surprised she could stand on her own two feet. Mr. LaRusso didn’t treat her very well either. I guess that’s not surprising considering the way I was treated by his son. Like father, like son is the saying that comes to mind.
Getting off the couch as I hear a knock on the door of the house I’m in on the compound, my stomach instantly roils and I have to dash to the bathroom instead of answering the door. Thankfully Brent is still taking his nap before I have to head to the store to work on putting more orders away so we can get ready to open. Jaelyn is also working on the candies and cookies with the other baked goods she’ll be making for our grand opening. I’ve also been working on a menu so everyone can sample the quality of food they’ll get by having us cater an event for them. Jae’s also been showing me all of her recipes and how to make everything for when she’s out of work. Today I believe we’re going to start working on preparing candy so we can put it in the freezer until the night before opening the doors to thaw out.
“Kelsey!” I hear a deep, smooth voice call out my name. The voice that can only belong to one man. Death.
I can’t answer him as my stomach rolls again and I can’t stop getting sick. Since Death is already in the house, it won’t take him very long to find me in the bathroom. I didn’t even have time to close the door behind me before losing my breakfast.
“Kelsey, what the fuck is wrong with you?” Death questions, stepping in the small bathroom, making it feel even smaller than normal.
“I don’t know,” I grumble out, my voice barely there as I begin to get sick again.
My hair is pulled back from my face and lifted off my neck by Death as tears roll down my face. Death doesn’t offer me any reassuring words or anything else as he simply holds my hair out of the way. I really don’t know what’s going on with me right now. I don’t have a fever or body aches. Just getting sick, having no energy, and my boobs hurting more than ever before. If I were a betting woman, I’d wager I’m pregnant. However, other than being with Death, I haven’t had sex in so long I’m surprised cobwebs aren’t growing down there.
Finally, I manage to sit back away from the toilet and not have my stomach roll once again. Sweat covers me, making strands of hair stick to my forehead and roll down my face to mix with the tears coursing down over my skin. I’m a fucking mess and will need to shower again before heading into work. Hopefully I can get one in shortly while Brent is still sleeping. I’ll have to get him up soon as well. Make sure he’s fed and ready to go in with me. Standing from the toilet, I head for the sink so I can brush my teeth.
Jaelyn and I have a playpen in the store so Brent can be there with me. With my past, I don’t really trust anyone to watch over him. Other than Jae and Bronwan. Since Jae’s in the shop with me, it makes sense for him to be there with us. She doesn’t seem to mind either which is really good for me. Bronwan has watched him a few times when we’ve worked later in the day than we anticipated. She’s taken him back to the compound so he’s behind the gate and away from anyone being able to get to him. It makes me nervous when he’s not with me, but I have to give this shop my attention as well as him. Especially as we get ready to open the doors to customers.
“Care to tell me what’s goin’ on here, Kelsey?” Death questions me as I finish brushing my teeth.
“I got sick. Not a big deal or your concern, Death. I’m not contagious or anything so there’s no reason for me not to go to work. If I thought for a second I’d get Jaelyn sick, I’d stay home and not go anywhere around her,” I assure the gruff man who seems to hate me more than anything else.
“Not sayin’ anythin’ about Jae right now, Kels. Askin’ you what the fuck is wrong with you to have you throwin’ up like that,” he states, folding his arms over his chest causing his muscles to flex and bulge from the movement.
“Again, not your concern, Death. You’re here to follow me to the shop in a little while and that’s it. I’ll be fine. Now, I have to take a shower and get ready before waking my son up. Did you need something else?” I return, trying to keep my eyes from the man before me.
“I did actually,” he says, following me from the bathroom and back to the living room where I take a seat on the couch and wait for him to continue speaking. “You said something about Vince stealin’ money from you a few months ago. I’ve been thinkin’ about it ever since. How much money are we talkin’ here because you don’t have shit to your name and there’s no way in hell you haven’t worked while gettin’ away from him all this time. How are you pullin’ all this shit off?”
“The first is really none of your business. That money is my business and mine alone. Part of it was put in a trust from my parents, I’ve got one from my grandma, and the large sum from my parent’s life insurance policy. That’s all I’m about to tell you because the only person I’d ever talk about this with is any man I choose to share my life with,” I tell him, really not understanding why he’s asking me about the money after months of me being here. “You’re right, I did work while moving around while being pregnant and then having my son. It’s easy to find work that pays under the table when they see you’re a struggling single mom to be. People were willing to work with me and help me when I needed it.
“I saved what money I could and hid it. While I was pregnant, I slept in my car and ate what I could to remain healthy while I was pregnant. After I had Brent, it was harder to come by work when I didn’t have anyone to watch him, but I found a few places to work and things to do to make money. I’ve never once stolen from anyone in my life or done something illegal to make money. My son is taken care of and I’ll do anything for him. Including remaining on the run no matter how far I have to go. Vince willneverget his hands on my son if I can help it. I’ll gladly give my life for his and hope Vince doesn’t want him. Or that I can find a family to take him in and keep him hidden when something does eventually happen to me. It’s just a matter of time before Vince discovers where I am,” I answer him honestly, not really caring what Death thinks of me or what I’ve done to remain away from the fucker who hurt me more than anyone else ever before in my life.
“That why your bags are packed again? The only stuff you got out is your son’s. Are you plannin’ on runnin’ away again, Kels?” he questions, a look on his face I can’t quite interpret.
“It doesn’t really matter what I do, does it Death? I’ll hold up my end of the deal when it comes to Rebellious Sweets and Catering. After Jae has the babies, it doesn’t really matter if I stay or leave. I’ll make sure the company is a success while she’s gone and she’ll handle everything else from there. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do. I’ll be ready to leave in about an hour or so,” I tell him, standing from the couch as I sway on my feet for a second.
Death is instantly at my side. He holds my arm until he’s sure I’m steady and won’t crash to the floor at my feet. I have no clue why he seems to almost care in this moment, because he can’t stand being around me. I’m not going to say I’m not grateful he stopped me from falling though.
“Have you seen anyone about this, Kelsey?” he asks, full of questions today.
“Nope. I will if it doesn’t go away soon. Like I said, I’d never do anything to hurt Jaelyn or her unborn children. So, if you’d please wait outside for me to take care of what I have to, I’ll see you soon,” I tell him, pulling my arm from his hold as he continues to stare at me.
Grabbing the monitor off the stand next to the couch, I head for the bathroom. Hopefully Death will be waiting outside for me because I’m not risking walking into my bedroom to grab clothing right now. Brent could wake up and it means not taking a shower before heading to work. It’s something I need. Again. I turn on the water and let it heat up before stripping out of my shorts and large tee-shirt. Something I just threw on after showering earlier this morning.
