Page 22 of The Queen of Nightmares

“But it’s so pretty,” she practically fucking cooed at it. I snorted.

“Alright, I’m glad you like it. But we need to head to the clubhouse. I called everyone to Church in about fifteen minutes. I don’t think it’s a good idea for the President to be late to his own meeting.”

She gave a long, put-out sigh. I thought she was going to kiss the fucking gun for a second but seemed to refrain at the last second. Instead, she looked up at me with hopeful eyes. “Can I bring it with me?”

“I want you to take the fuckin’ thing everywhere with you. But you don’t have anything to carry it in yet. I’ll get you a shoulder holster so you can keep it by your side. Your little sweater things will cover it.”

She looked puzzled for a second before she let out a cute as fuck giggle. “Oh! You mean cardigan.”

I rolled my eyes, took the small purple Sig from her hand, checked the safety out of habit, and set it on the counter. “Whatever. Let’s go.”

I tugged her into my body, giving her a swift kiss, then walked her to the door where her jacket was waiting. It had started snowing again since our morning shooting practice, so I held her boots out. “Sit.”

“I’m not a dog. No offense, Zero,” she grumbled but sat on the bench, letting me slide her boots over her tiny feet. Zero sat next to us, his tail thumping the floor.

Once I had her bundled up, I set the alarm and led her to the garage, Zero following on our heels.

“We aren’t taking the bike?”

I shook my head. “Not in this weather. We won’t be able to ride again for the next three months or so. Now that winter has started to really set in, it will be icy more often than not. Too dangerous for a motorcycle. Not to mention, the cold wind fucking hurts, and I don’t want frostbite to take my nose off. Even wearing a balaclava can’t keep the icy wind out at these temps.”

As soon as we stepped into the garage, my girl’s jaw dropped. Yeah, my truck was pretty fucking massive. It was all black with shiny chrome that I had the prospects keep polished whether I was going to be driving it or not. But it probably wasn’t the large truck that she would need a boost to get into that had her in awe. I took in the intricately painted emblem of the Devil’s Nightmare on the hood. Even I had to admire the detailed paint job.

“Wow,” she breathed as she took a step forward to get a better look. “That’s amazing artwork.”

I grunted my agreement, then took her arm to lead her to the passenger side. “One of the town’s people has a business doing custom art. They did all the brother’s work on their bikes, too.”

She side-eyed me. “Let me guess—you bankrolled them to get them started.”

I just shrugged, not denying it. It wasn’t something I talked about or advertised. I may have helped a lot of people get their businesses up and running, but it was their hard work that kept it solid. Those people were successful because of what they did and how well they did it. My only hand in it was giving them the start-up capital.

I jumped into the cab behind the wheel, double-checking to make sure Sally was buckled before starting the truck and pulling out of the garage, hitting the button to close it as soon as I was clear. Zero had already run back into the house through his dog door to get back into the warmth of the house. I glanced at the dash, noting the time. I should make the meeting. Others would arrive before I got there, but I wouldn’t be late.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Sally running her hand over her belly with a thoughtful look. I reached over and took her free hand in mine, lacing our fingers together and resting our joined hands on the seat between us. I frowned at the distance, making a mental note to seat her next to me on the bench seat from now on. I didn’t like that she would no longer be pressed up against me the way she was on the back of my bike. Then I thought of her growing our child in her womb. I supposed there wouldn’t be any more riding for her even after winter was over. Her belly would be too large to ride, and the thought that it wouldn’t be safe for the two of them and what kind of injuries it could cause if we were to get into an accident was enough to have me gripping the steering wheel so hard it creaked.

“What’s wrong, little Queen? Is it the baby?” I tried to keep the anxiousness out of my tone, but I was sure it had slipped through by the way she shook her head, giving me a reassuring smile.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just… I could swear my belly feels rounder. Like, I didn’t notice it earlier today. But now, sitting here, I think it might have grown.”

My heart rate picked up at the thought of visible proof that she was carrying my baby. I untangled our fingers to reach over. She moved her own hand aside to allow me to run my hand over her belly. It did seem to be a little more rounded than I remember. I swallowed hard and had to clear my throat before speaking.

“I think you’re right, baby.”

She grinned over at me, placing her hand on top of mine. “It’s starting to seem so real.”

I growled. “Itisreal. That’s my baby in there. I have pictures to prove it.” I thought of the strip of grainy black and white photos tucked safely away in my cut pocket under the leather jacket I was wearing.

“I know that,” she laughed. “It’s just that actually feeling it makes it undeniable. I don’t know,” she shrugged a shoulder while caressing my hand that I didn’t want to move yet. “I just like feeling it instead of just knowing it. Pretty soon, we’ll be able to feel it move.” She sounded excited at the thought. I could picture it in my mind now that she said it. I didn’t know what it would feel like since I had never felt a woman’s pregnant belly before, but I couldn’t wait to find out. I would never admit it out loud to anyone, but it terrified as much as it excited me.

I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, parking in the designated spot for the President along with the rows of other vehicles that bikers liked to refer to as cages. My men were going to be a bit grumpy now that it had grown far too cold to ride our bikes. It was always that way for the first few days. Once spring hit and everyone pulled their bikes out of storage, it would be the exact opposite. They would all act like little boys who’d gotten their birthday wish.

After parking, I got out and went around to the passenger side to lift Sally down. I waited, with my hands gripping her arms firmly, to make sure she had her footing on the icy gravel. “Watch your step.” I eyed the rocks, wondering if I should have the lot paved. In the meantime, one of the prospects needed to salt the fucking ground. I wouldn’t have my girl slipping and hurting herself.

We walked to the front door together as I eyed the ground warily. I gripped the heavy door, glad we would finally get out of the cold. “Do you want to wait in here or in my office?”

Sally looked around and smiled, spotting a few of the club girls. “I’ll wait here.” She lifted on her toes to kiss under my chin. Every time she did that, I got that tight feeling in my chest. Once she dropped back to her feet, I wrapped my fingers around her slender neck, feeling her steady heartbeat.

“Don’t leave. I won’t be long.” The kiss I pressed to her lips was hard and fast before I let her go, striding away. If I didn’t leave quickly, I’d be tempted to stay. I hated not having her by my side, especially with all the danger that seemed to surround her right now.

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