... and Forever (Next Generation: Chaos Bleeds 1)

“He has?” Nerves flooded her body.

“Tabitha, you’ll be the president’s old lady. I’m sure you’ve seen how it goes with me, Angel, even your mom. We have our spot within the club. Like now, any crap that goes down, if it gets ugly, they’ll come to me. If it’s an argument about something, or to ask my advice, they will come to me, and I don’t mind. At first, I was a little out of it because why the hell would they come to me? I’d never understood it, but they do. I get it. I’m their family. I’m their president’s old lady. It’s a lot to take. I don’t completely know what Devil is doing but I know every single time he leaves me, there’s always a risk he might not come back to me. That’s something you’re going to have to deal with. It’s tough. It always is.”

“Do you think I’m capable of being what he needs?”

“This isn’t about what Simon needs,” Lexie said. “You and I both know you’re everything that boy needs. He can’t see anyone else but you in his life, and that is a good thing. It’s intense, and I don’t imagine it’s going to be easy for you, but I do believe you’re going to make it work together. Being the main old lady, the one they come to. It’s not easy. You’ve got to be strong, make tough decisions, and sometimes even be someone they don’t like. Do I think you’ve got what it takes? Hell, yeah. You know why?”

Tabitha shook her head.

“Because you’re strong. You’ve overcome so much. No one can take that away from you. It’ll be odd at first, even difficult, but give it time, and you’ll see exactly what I mean.” Lexie touched her shoulder. “Now, how about we get dinner ready, the kids washed, and we have a movie night?”

“I’d like that.”

****

Moving into the house was easy. Simon didn’t allow Tabby to do a single thing on the day of. All she had to do was tell them where she wanted everything to go, to sit and look beautiful. Of course, she didn’t sit. She moved around, ordering furniture exactly where it needed to go. At several points, Devil advised him that she was nesting, getting ready for their new arrival.

Nathan loved his room and had already decorated it, putting his posters on the wall. Tabby had already picked out the paint but Simon had ordered her not to decorate. Any painting she needed to do, she had to wait for him. The guys would stop by and help out, and he was able to get the whole house painted exactly how Tabby liked within a month.

From that month, they’d gone furniture shopping. Whenever he had a spare moment, he was making their house perfect and taking moments when Nathan was at school to have sex with his wife.

She wore his ring once again, and he wore hers. They were bound together once more.

She went from the seventh month, to eighth, and now she was in her ninth month. They’d already had a quick hospital trip as she thought she was having contractions, but it had turned out to be something Hicks. He couldn’t remember the name. Devil had handed him a bunch of pregnancy books but between being with Tabby, prospecting, and parenting, he hadn’t gotten the time to read them.

Pulling out his cell phone, he checked to see if he had any missed messages.

“Why do you keep checking that thing?” Pa asked.

They’d both been put on a stakeout of a man who’d been reported as being a wife beater. The Billionaires had gotten a call from a young girl sounding terrified. It could have been a prank call, but the mother had turned up over a dozen times at the emergency room. The Billionaires were trying to reach out, to offer help to the young woman, to let her know she wasn’t alone and had options. Until they could go for full extraction, they were on guard duty.

Felix and Twig had been on the case before. Now it was him and Pa. Teddy and Knight would take the next shift.

“It’s nothing.”

“Dude, we’re going to be here all night.”

“Hearing you say dude is plain weird, man. Isn’t that a little young for you?” Simon asked, shoving his cell phone into his pocket.

“Dude, I’m not that old, dude.”

Simon burst out laughing. “True, you’re not too old.” He lifted his arms above his head, trying to work out the kinks. “I hate it when we have to do this.”

“I hate that we have to do this,” Pa said. “That piece of shit has got a wife. A child. What’s he doing, he’s screwing prostitutes, drinking, gambling. I mean, if this kid wasn’t playing around, then when he gets home, he’s going to beat his wife. What do we do if she doesn’t reach out?”