The Darkest Of Light (The Kings of Retribution MC)

"Cariño Sweetheart?" Gabriel’s deep voice addresses cautiously.

My sister is staring at me then gasps and covers her mouth the moment I pull on my coat again, doing nothing to hide my pregnant belly. Gabriel’s eyes drift to what has Bella’s attention and I feel my heart race even faster.

"What the fuck?" he growls. "You sure didn’t waste any time spreading your legs for that ball player, letting him knock you up." He accuses me, his tone filled with rage.

My shock mirrors my sister’s and without hesitation my palm connects with Gabriel’s cheek slapping him. The sound of my hand against his flesh echoes off the clubhouse walls. And a second later Bella’s connects with the other side. How can he say such a thing? Does he really believe I would be so easy? That I would quickly sleep with someone else after being with him?

Grabbing my hand, my sister leads me through the crowd of bikers and up the stairs to my room I always used when I stayed here. Closing the door, she sits me down on the bed.

"Alba, what is going on? Talk to me. I knew you were keeping something from me and I suspected it had something to do with Gabriel, but I never thought for one minute you were pregnant with his baby," she says calmly, but with hurt in her voice. The fact that she didn’t ask who the father was and assumed it was Gabriel shows me just how attentive she has really been.

"I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I was two months along. And after Gabriel told me in not so many words I was nothing to him, I couldn’t say anything."

She stops pacing and sits down next to me on the bed.

"It hurts my feelings that you didn’t feel you could confide in me."

"It’s not that I couldn’t. I chose not to. I didn’t want to disappoint you."

"You could never disappoint me, Alba. You have to live life for yourself and make your own choices. I’m 100% behind you, no matter what. Don’t you know that?" My sister asks, "But I get the feeling something happened and that’s why you showed up here a few days earlier than expected crying. What’s going on?"

Defeated, I tell Bella everything. Every detail leading up to what happened this evening. My sister can no longer hold back her emotions. Leaning over she holds me and I welcome it.

"I’m going to be an auntie," she sniffles.

Hearing Gabriel’s voice booming through the clubhouse catches our attention. It’s muffled, but I know it’s his. Oh my god, I completely forgot about Leah.

"Bella, my friend Leah brought me. She’s down there right now and those men are probably scaring her to death."

Wiping her eyes on her sleeve she walks out the door and ten minutes later she’s walking back in with a very freaked out Leah in tow.

Chapter Fourteen

Gabriel

On Tuesday night I’m sitting in the clubhouse surrounded by my family. I sit quietly in the corner nursing my beer listening to the conversation flow. Leyna is lounging on the sofa and across from her, Logan is kicked back with a beer in one hand and the other resting on Bella’s hip while she sits on his lap.

The past five months have been quiet around the club. Which is a big fuckin’ change from this time last year. Getting out of gun running will do that. Logan’s father has been nothing but supportive in the club’s decision to go legit. The shop and the garage have been doing well. Are we feeling the pinch with the loss of cash flow from not running guns? Yes. But it also feels fuckin’ good to not deal with the bullshit that comes with it. Several of the older members were not entirely on board with the club’s decision. They are set in their ways as to how the club should be, but in the end the vote was unanimous.

Then a month ago, Logan’s brother, Nikolai, came to Jake with a proposition. He wanted to start a construction business. Last year, Nikolai stayed in Polson while Demetri went back to Russia. Logan had a friend hook his brother up with a construction job. Nikolai wanted to start making his own way. He even moved into the clubhouse. He is not a King, but he is family. Turns out he has a knack for working construction and has been saving up his money. Nikolai asked Jake if the club would be interested in going into business together, 50/50. Prez brought the proposition up in church and it took all of five minutes for everyone to agree. The club will put up half the money, and Reid has volunteered to work side by side with Nikolai. As Road Captain, Reid stayed busy planning all our runs, but as of lately has been without much to do, so he jumped at the chance. I respect the hell out of Logan’s brother. He refuses to use his father’s money. He wants to pave his own way in life.

The club even offered my sister a job. We would be in need of a receptionist for our new company. Leyna jumped at the chance. Her being able to speak both Spanish and English will come in handy since about sixty percent of the men hired so far speak Spanish. Leyna has even convinced some of the brothers to learn how to speak Spanish. Except for Quinn.

My sister has refused to teach him anymore once she figured out, he was using the Spanish he was learning to hit on Sofia’s Spanish teacher. Explains why he had been so eager to pick her up from school most days. One day, Sofia came home from school and told Bella how Quinn was embarrassing her at school by flirting with her teacher when he came to pick her up. So, Bella went to Leyna and they hashed out a plan to get Quinn. Let’s just say the next time he picked Sofia up from school he came back to the clubhouse with a scowl and a very noticeable hand print across the left side of his face. All three girls busted out laughing.

"Not cool Leyna, not cool at all." Quinn declared.

Later that day I asked my sister what she had him say to the teacher, and her response was.

"Let’s just say a woman does not like being told she has a fat ass." My baby sister is a little spitfire. Don’t ever let her looks mislead you. You fuck up and she’ll hand you your ass. She has laid into me on more than one occasion since she’s been here. Every one of those times has been about Alba. She wasn’t shy at telling me how bad I fucked up. My stomach still clenches at the thought of how I treated Alba the morning after I’d made love to her.

"Our mother did not raise you that way, and she would be disappointed in you, hermano brother. I suggest you get your shit together and go get your woman."

And that’s what I plan to do. Three weeks ago I found a house, made an offer and I close next week. When I do get my girl back, we won’t be staying at the clubhouse. Alba deserves a home of her own and that’s what she’s going to get. My plan was to talk to her at Thanksgiving, but Alba made up some bullshit excuse not to come home. If she doesn’t bring her ass home this weekend, I’ll be making a trip to Bozeman.

"Hey, big guy. What are you deep in thought about over there?" Bella asks from across the room bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Nothin’," I grunt. Giving me a warm smile, she turns her attention back to Logan. Bella is sweet and doesn’t take offense to my lack of words. A few minutes later the door to the clubhouse opens, bringing in a cold draft.