Biker Baby (Kings of Mayhem MC 3)

Darkness engulfed us as he turned off the lamp on the bedside table. He smelled soapy and warm, and I couldn’t lie, him lying next to me was comforting and nice.

“What you did today was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me,” I whispered. “Thank you, Caleb.”

“You’re welcome.”

I felt him shift next to me.

“Was this just a ploy to get into bed with me?” I asked in the darkness.

I couldn’t see him, but I could feel him grinning.

“It worked, didn’t it?”

CALEB

A noise woke me a little after 2 AM.

And for a moment I had no idea where I was. But as the cobwebs of sleep slowly cleared, I realized I was in bed with Honey and she was curled up behind me, her long legs tangled around mine. She was warm and soft, and I had a raging wood throbbing in my shorts.

My phone vibrated on the bedside table next to me and I realized it was what woke me. I reached for it.

It was Cade.

“Get over to Mom’s now,” he rasped. “She just got a call. It’s Chance. He’s been injured.”

I sat up. “What happened?”

Ice ran through my veins.

“His unit was caught in an explosion. They’re not sure if there are any survivors.”

My brother’s words were like a sword running through me.

“What do you fucking mean, Cade? What the fuck?”

Honey stirred and woke up, blinking her eyes and looking up at me from the pillow.

“Just get over here. Mom’s on the phone with the military now. We’ll know more by the time you get here.”

Cade hung up.

“What’s wrong?” Honey asked, slowly sitting up. “Are you okay?”

No. I was fucking far from okay. I was stunned. Nausea pulsed in my stomach and fear crept up my spine. I ripped off the bed covers and reached for my black pants on the chair next to the bed.

“Caleb?”

“It’s Chance. He’s been injured or . . . ” I shook my head. No. I wasn’t going to go there. My older brother was not about to become another fallen hero. “I’ve got to get over to my mom’s.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No. You sleep. I will call you when I know something.”

But Honey was already climbing out of bed. She came to me and took me by the hands.

“You need to stop. Okay? Catch a breath before you drive over to your mom’s.” Her big blue eyes were full of concern. “Let me come with you. And whatever happens, I’ll be there for you, okay.”

Honey was the calm to my storm and I loved her for it.

She moved away from me, and for a moment, I did what she said. I paused and took a breath. And I watched her slip out of her pajamas, her sexy body six months pregnant with our baby, her breasts swollen, her belly round, and in my chest my heart filled with an immeasurable love for her. Slowly, my racing heart began to calm and the tingle of foreboding at the base of my spine was slightly tempered, although not completely gone.

I crossed the room to her.

“Stay here and sleep.” My voice was husky because I was tired and anxious about Chance. But also because being this close to her, I longed to touch her, hold her and feel the calming thump of her heart against mine. I slid my hands over her belly where our baby was growing. “You need to rest.”

She looked at me, her eyes searching my face, and then she nodded. “Okay, but you call me when you need to.”

My hands lingered on her for a moment longer. “I will.”

In five minutes, I was gone, riding into the darkness and toward something I had to accept may change everything forever. A numbness spread through my chest as I pushed the Harley farther into the night, memories of my eldest brother playing in my head. Of us as kids. Of him teaching me to ride my first bike when I was four. Of him showing me how to bait a hook and cast a fishing line, of the hours we spent down at his favorite fishing spot on the river. Of him yelling at me for borrowing his Tom Glavine baseball card, only for him to come into my room later that night and slip it into my hand while I slept because the next day I was going in for my first operation on my ears.

My jaw ticked and I bit my teeth together. With a jerk of my wrist I roared faster through the deserted streets of Destiny.

Growing up, I spent more time with Chance than anyone. Cade was always with Indy but Chance was a loner, preferring the quiet solitude of home where he could play his guitar, or fish down by the river. When he was in high school, I guess you could say he got popular. Girls were always calling our house. And he was always going off to parties. But no matter how popular or busy he became, he still had time for his kid brother.