“Perfect!” She clapped happily. “Thank you for making this so easy.”
“Happy to help,” I told her, feeling a rush of relief when we left the den of happily ever after. We hopped back in the van, and Talon’s groan told me she’d been on her feet for far too long. “All right, let’s get you two home. Do you know what you’re having?”
She grinned and rubbed her belly. “No, but we find out at our next appointment. I hope for a girl because I have no real experience with boys or men for that matter.”
“No kidding.” I had even less experience than Talon, so I understood her reservations.
“As long as he or she is healthy, I’m happy.” She grinned. “Mick wants a boy because he’s terrified of having a little girl.”
“Considering what happened to me, I can’t blame him.”
“Shit, Minx, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s just I get why he’d be scared. You know Magnus used to say when you have a boy you just have to worry about one dick, but when you have a girl you have to worry about all the dicks.”
Talon’s body shook with laughter. “I hadn’t thought of it like that, but now I don’t think I’ll be able to think about it any other way.” She wiped tears and continued to laugh. “He was a great guy, wasn’t he?”
“Oh yeah. He knew a lot about life. And he’d passed plenty of lessons on to me.”
Talon’s stomach growled and she picked up her phone, placing an order for us at Jade Dragon. “It’ll be ready for us when we get back to town.” She grinned.
“You have a serious food problem,” I told her, and she just laughed. The woman thought about food all day, and that’s when she wasn’t eating it.
“It’s true, and this pregnancy has given me the perfect excuse. I’ll probably be in hell when I can’t pig out anymore.”
“You’ve still got time. I hear breastfeeding burns tons of calories.”
“Score!” She raised her fist in the air and then screamed, “What the—”
“Fuck,” I finished when I felt the van jerk forward as we were bumped from behind. A quick glance in the mirror and I saw an old sky blue pickup truck throttling toward us at a rapid speed. It looked like Rocky, his greasy brown hair hung around his face like a crackhead. “Hang on, Talon. I need to get away from these assholes, ‘kay?” She nodded, but I could see the fear written on her face, and I knew then and there I wouldn’t let them harm her or that baby.
“Who is it?” She tried to look over her shoulder, but he hit us again. “Ow!”
“Don’t look back, T! Just hang on and protect that baby.” I punched the gas pedal to speed away, the van jerking and groaning as it slowly climbed in speed. “FUCK!” I clutched the steering wheel tighter and glanced in the rearview mirror quickly before checking on Talon. “Call Mick and tell him where we are and to get here quick! We need CAOS to shake these fuckers off our asses!”
Fear laced Talon’s words as she gave Mick the details of Rocky’s threat. “He said they’re on their way and to just stay on the path to Brently.”
“Okay.” I tried to stay calm, stay brave for my friend and her baby, but this latest shit with CAOS was pushing all of my buttons. Between the club mess, the music Talon had blaring on the stereo, and the angry driver catching up to us, I felt nothing but rage. And anxiety. It bubbled deep inside of me, and I knew it would come out. Soon. And it was going to be fuckin’ ugly.
I drove about twenty miles over the speed limit, but it did nothing to deter Rocky. He toyed with us, letting us get away before catching up and rear ending us again.
“Minx!” Talon cried out when he hit us again, only this time it was much harder.
The fucker just wanted to prove he could get to me—to us—any goddamn time he wanted. “Motherfucker!” I screamed at the top of my lungs when the next hit almost caused me to lose control of the van and we skidded toward the shoulder of the road. “Sorry, T.”
“No worries,” she said, white knuckling the grab handle as I gained control of the van.
We’d just crossed into the Brently city limits, and Rocky showed no signs of slowing down. I heard the telltale sound of a gang of motorcycles, and soon I saw the CAOS cuts in my mirror, gaining momentum behind Rocky. Rocky quickly cut down a side street, his tires squealing against the pavement. He obviously didn’t expect CAOS to come to our rescue. The bikes flanked us on all sides, taking us off the highway and escorting us all the way to Talon and Mick’s house. “Safe and sound, chica.”
“Thank you, Minx.” She reached across the gear shift and hugged me tight. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” I sighed and tried to keep a smile on my face, but it felt like a grimace even to me. “I won’t be getting your Jade Dragon, but I’m sure Mick or one of the prospects can pick it up for you.”
Her violet eyes frowned in confusion. “You’re not coming in?”
“Nah. I need some time alone. I’ll call you soon. Promise.”
“You sure?”