Part 9 (1/2)
Pressure seemed to push on her from all sides as her dad started to pull her forward. Her plan immediately firmed in her mind. It was up to her to put it into practise. It was now or never. She swung her good arm forward and plunged the knife into the side of his neck, while she twisted her body away from him towards her cell, getting out of the line of fire. Blood squirted and gushed from the neck wound all over her as she heard shots fired. She dropped to the ground, curling her body around her sons. A thud near her caused her head to turn to the slumped body of her Dad. His eyes open, unseeing, blood coating every inch of him and pooling around his body. She couldn't feel anything. She expected remorse or horror at what she had done and at what she was seeing but all she felt was exhausted.
Her body was pulled up from the cold floor and and embraced in large strong arms. Duke's scents swamped her and she let herself sink into his warmth.
”I've got you, baby. I love you.” He rocked her tightly in his arms, quietly repeating the same phrase over and over in her ear.
She used all her remaining strength to cling to him. She never wanted to let go ever again. His breath was sawing in and out of his chest rapidly and she rested her head over his heart, listening to the thumping rhythm. She heard Slam talking to someone else outside the corridor and Razor dragging her Dad's body away. A whimper drew her attention and she all of a sudden remembered Bianca. She tried to pull away from Duke's hold, he wasn't letting go. He held her so tight, she couldn't struggle against his strength. He picked her up and started to walk along the corridor.
”Duke, let me go. There's someone else in there! Bianca's in the cell next to mine.”
Duke paused and shouted instructions to the Musketeers to collect Bianca. Knowing Bianca would be rescued, Nicole relaxed, wound her good arm securely around Duke's neck and buried her face in his shoulder, soaking his s.h.i.+rt with her tears. She was home at last. Her babies started to kick like crazy, looked like they knew it too.
Duke Nicole was back in his arms. His body finally felt settled but his mind still raced with all that could of happened, it spun with the possibilities. He kept replaying Nicole thrusting the knife into Nole's throat. His heart had stopped and his brain had struggled to register what it was seeing. What had his baby gone through to make stabbing her father an option? Nicole wouldn't normally hurt a fly. To have turned on her father, something inside her must have finally broke. He hated that that was how it had gone down. Duke should have rescued her but instead she'd rescued herself. If she lost one minute of sleep over that pathetic f.u.c.ker, he would lose it.
He felt like he'd let her down over and over again. How was he ever going to make this up to her? He pulled her even tighter into his chest, using her as a blanket, the only one that could warm the cold feeling he had that was eating him up inside. He relished his son's kicking against him as he stood in the relative quiet of the reception area as his brothers sorted the bodies outside. Nicole didn't need to see that.
His body felt wired. He knew he wouldn't settle until he knew Nicole and their boys were alright and healthy. He closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair. Nicole's sweet smell calmed his heart. He felt her breath steady against his neck. She had fallen asleep. He wanted to wake her and hear her rea.s.surances that she was okay but he couldn't bring himself to do it. She looked so peaceful. They had all the time in the world to talk, so he let her sleep, loving that she still trusted him enough to keep her safe and protected after everything that had happened.
He walked outside, Razor and Slam came to stand by him. They never said a word, just gave their silent support and it was just what he needed right then. He was lucky that he'd never have to stand alone. He knew Nicole loved Razor and Slam like the brothers she'd never had and would be happy that they were nearby. They were waiting for the clubs truck to pick them up.
Just then, Duke saw Bones emerge out of the warehouse carrying a pet.i.te blonde woman. She looked tiny in his arms, this must be Bianca who Nicole had mentioned. She looked beat up. Even from all the way over here, Duke could see cuts and heavy bruising marring her face. Hollywood went to talk to him but Bones quickly backed away, while Digger and King blocked him from getting any closer. Their faces were fierce and determined. He looked at Razor and Slam, they both shrugged. Obviously they didn't know what was going on either.
While everyone else watched that event unfold, Duke studied Nicole. She was as beautiful as ever but from the dark smudges under her eyes, he knew she was worn out and had been through too much. He was going to give her a hot bath and then hold her tight against him in their bed for as long as he could keep her there. First, Slam would have treat her gunshot wound. He could see the heavily soiled bandage haphazardly wrapped around the top of her arm. He lifted her slightly and pressed light kisses all over her face. In her sleep, she hummed and snuggled into him, burying her face in his neck. G.o.d, he loved her.
The two trucks pulled up and four brothers got out. One to ride his bike back for him and three to ride the ones they'd acquired from the dead Riot brothers. He glanced at the bodies being loaded into the second truck as he climbed into the first, making sure not to move about too much, then settled Nicole on his lap. He didn't want to jar her awake. A commotion outside the truck woke her anyway and now Duke was p.i.s.sed.
He stuck his head out to see what the f.u.c.k was going on. He watched as Bianca started to wail loudly. She seemed terrified to get in the truck and was clinging onto both King and Bones. He could see her knuckles turn white with her straining effort. Prez was shouting that they needed to move out - now. Duke vehemently agreed. Eventually, all three Musketeers got in the truck, each keeping a hand on Bianca. They sure were possessive over the girl and she was gripping onto them like a life line.
His attention quickly turned back to the woman in his arms, who was stroking the stubble on his jaw and cheeks watching the events unfold. It felt so good to have her hands back on him. He closed his eyes and absorbed the sensation, reminding himself that he hadn't lost her. Opening his eyes, he let his gaze roam over the delicate features of her face. Her stunning green eyes still shone bright through all the dirt and grime that soiled her skin. He lowered his head to kiss her. Her soft lips yielding under his was one of the best feelings he ever experienced. It soon turned heated when Nicole thrust her tongue past his lips, into his mouth. He responded in kind and embraced their connection again. He could never get enough of her. His d.i.c.k started to respond, now wasn't the time, so he reluctantly broke their kiss and instantly mourned the loss.
”I love you, Duke. I knew you'd find me.” She whispered against his neck. He let himself sink into the contentment of hearing her say the best words he'd ever heard.
Chapter sixteen.
Nicole It had been four weeks since her kidnapping and Nicole was now on permanent bed rest, much to Duke's amus.e.m.e.nt and delight. Before her doctor insisting on bed rest, Duke had shadowed her every move upon returning to the compound. He made sure to be in front of her when going down the stairs and behind whenever she went up. That was okay, but everything else soon became irritating, graduating to rage inducing the more he persisted. Even worse, if he wasn't there, one of the brothers would be and despite her requests for s.p.a.ce, they never veered from the task Duke set them. She loved having him nearby but she'd didn't want him attached to her twenty four hours a day, especially when she was using the bathroom. Her complaints fell on deaf ears, so in the end she took to imagining he wasn't there.
Her b.u.mp was so big that she was never comfortable and everyones consoling comments were grating on her nerves. Duke was being sweet, considering he was taking the brunt of her frustrations. She still had nightmares about being trapped in that cell, but as time went by they were getting better and far less frequent. She tried not to wake Duke when she had one, he got so angry when he knew she'd had a nightmare. He still blamed himself for not doing more, even though he did all he could.
The mess with Riot MC was still going on with small incidents here and there, yet nothing serious happened. It appeared that some of the Riot members had gone rogue and Fallen were trying to hunt them down. A rogue biker with vengeance in mind was not to be taken lightly. Duke wouldn't tell her anything, he just told her not to worry and ignored the indignant look she threw at him. Any information she got was from Shel and Jewel, and she suspected they knew more than they were letting on too.
Lying in bed, she took her eyes away from the large flat screen TV that Duke had installed at the foot of their bed to keep her entertained and looked at the new, improved layout of their bedroom. The whole apartment had been cleaned top to bottom and repainted. Of course, she was holed up in Slam's room while they worked as Duke was uber paranoid about toxic fumes, even though every paint he'd purchased was advertised to be safe. There was a large wooden sleigh crib, stained dark blue, pushed against the wall to the right of their bed. On the left, a new counter and cupboards had been fitted. This was for all the baby stuff and they had a lot of it.
A single baby took up a lot of s.p.a.ce but Nicole and Duke were on a whole other level. They had three of everything. Swings, Moses baskets, bouncers, play mats, car seats and three times the diapers to store. Bottles lined the top with three separate bottle warmers and sterilisers waiting to be used. The crib was a gift from Razor and was gorgeous. She couldn't wait to see the boys asleep in it. Its liners were a light blue cotton and the mobiles that hung above it had little motorcycles and footb.a.l.l.s hanging from them. Luckily, Shel and Jewel had helped her add soft touches or her boys would be surrounded with leather and chrome studs, if the men around here had their way. They only needed one crib for now as the doctor told them that multiple babies are much more settled if they sleep together, they miss each other if they don't. She thought that was adorable. Duke was more pleased that he wouldn't have to knock down the wall separating the bedroom from the family room to make s.p.a.ce for more cribs.
Nicole adjusted the pillows behind her back, it was really protesting today, twinging like h.e.l.l. She put it down to being excited and restless. Duke should be back any minute from a run, it would be his last for a while. For that, she was very thankful. She couldn't help but worry when he was gone. It had only been three days but she missed him like crazy, even with his thirty or so calls a day.
She heard the rumble of tail pipes in the distance. She wanted to leap from the bed and welcome Duke home, but if she was getting out of bed for anything right now, it would be to pee. Slam had even offered to give her a catheter, she was up and down that much. A few days ago Duke had joked that he had to keep switching up his arms when pulling her out of bed, he was afraid that one would get significantly bigger than the other if he didn't. He said he 'hadn't had to worry about that since he was teenager' and wiggled his eyebrows. Nicole pretended to gag when he said that. Sure enough they both ended up laughing for several minutes, which just made her need to pee more urgent.
The door to the apartment opened. A huge smile spread on her face. It dropped when she saw Razor instead of Duke.
”Well, sister-in-law, it's nice to see you too.” He smirked.
”Sorry, I thought you might be Duke. I just heard them pull in. You know I'm always glad to see you.”
”Yeah, he should be up any minute. There was some damage to the gate, they're just checking it out first.” He sat beside her on the bed and started flipping through the TV channels.
”Hey, you shouldn't be calling me sister-in-law. I'm an old lady not a wife.”
”Yet. Probably should get my nephews out before you start shopping for a dress though.” He patted her gigantic b.u.mp.
Nicole flushed with pleasure at the idea of marrying Duke. Maybe this was a good sign that it would happen. She wondered if Duke had spoken to him about it. She didn't want a different last name than her sons. She knew that she had Duke for life without a wedding, but a big part of her still wanted her day. Everything would be perfect then. If it never happened, she would still be happy. Her life was already a thousand times better than she ever imagined it would be.
”You ever think you'll get hitched, Razor?” He'd gotten pretty protective of one of the dancers, Chloe, from Riot's strip joint. He'd met her when they were searching for her after being kidnapped. Apparently, Razor rescued Chloe from some awful situation but he refused to talk about it and always changed the subject if it was brought up.
”Nah. There's that saying. What is it again? Oh yeah. A woman marries a man in the hopes that he will change, but he doesn't. A man marries a woman in the hopes that she'll never change, but she does. That s.h.i.+t ain't for me.” Nicole rolled her eyes.
”You just wait. One of these days the right lady will come along and you'll be eating those words.” Now Razor rolled his eyes.
”I wouldn't hold your breath, Nic.”
Suddenly, the distinctive pop of gunfire rolled through the air. Razor sprung up from beside her and bolted for the apartment door. Every part of her was pressing to follow him. She wanted to scream. Duke was out there. She started taking deep breaths to calm herself down. It would take more than a few bullets to stop Duke from coming back to her. Now, only if she really believed that. A crippling pain charged through her abdomen and back like lightning. Nicole braced herself against the pain just as she felt something burst. Water flooded the bed from between her legs. Her waters had broke. She let out a mighty scream as the pain got worse.
Duke Duke had just pulled into the lot at the side of the compound. He was desperate to see his Nicole. It had only been three days but it was three days too long. Hanging his helmet on his bike bars, he quickly walked over to Prez and Hollywood, who like him were heading towards the compound's gate. It had taken an age to open and new scratches indicated that it had been tampered with. He dropped to the ground behind a low wall as a bullet pinged off the gate. It had been far too close for comfort. The brothers around him dove for cover. f.u.c.k, they were being shot at. The gate must have been a set up to draw them out. He was p.i.s.sed that it had worked.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother run out from the main building. f.u.c.ker should be with Nicole. He spotted one of the shooters, took aim and only managed to tag his arm before having to take cover again. The sound of guns firing around him was almost deafening. He couldn't find a target. Every fibre of his being roared to take these f.u.c.kers out. The wall he was behind was at an odd angle and was obscuring his view. He had to move which was seriously risky surrounded by all this gun fire.
He spotted Slam, elbow crawling across the yard towards a partially hidden, frantic, Jewel. Someone must have been hit and made it into the building. He didn't allow his mind to wander to who it could be. It was at times like this he wished he had taken that arms deal a while back with a disgruntled soldier. He didn't as the club didn't deal in weapons but a grenade would have come in pretty handy right about now.
After a few minutes, the gun fire became more sporadic before it stopped all together. He slowly rose from his position and saw his brothers doing the same. He did a visual check and only two brothers seemed to be wounded. Given the circ.u.mstance, that wasn't too bad but still p.i.s.sed him off. They looked to be only flesh wounds. Slam would be able to handle them. He helped Hollywood carry one of the heavily injured Riot rogues to an outhouse before jogging to the main building. He was going to need a shot from the bar before he saw Nicole. He was too on edge. That idea flew from his mind when he heard a blood curdling scream echo down the hallway as he entered. He sprinted to his apartment, knowing instinctively that it was Nicole.
He stormed through his apartment to the bedroom and stopped in his tracks at the sight that greeted him. Nicole was propped up in the middle of the bed, her legs apart and knees pulled up. She was bright red and panting while sweat poured from her forehead. Slam was between her legs, Shel was to Nicole's right having the s.h.i.+t squeezed out of her hand and Jewel was frozen near the bathroom door, as pale as the towels she was holding. His brain seemed to kick in before anyone had noticed he was there. Nicole was in labour. He needed to get her to a hospital and fast. The c-section wasn't scheduled for another two weeks. Nicole and the babies were in danger. Duke ran to her side.
”Baby, I'm here. Breathe. Everything's going to be ok. I'm gonna get you to a hospital.” Nicole was frantically nodding at him, then started grunting and moaning. Her chin was tucked into her chest and the grip she had on his hand astounded him. He would never have thought she had that kind of strength.
”There's gonna be no time for that, Duke. The first baby is crowning. On your next contraction, Nic, give me a big push.” Slam sounded calm and in control but the way he was sweating contradicted that.
Duke wanted to give in to his panic. Seeing Nicole in pain was horrendous and he couldn't even help her. This situation, for a man, was the definition of helplessness. She smiled at him and it spread across her face as a grimace. She was trying to comfort him. For f.u.c.ks sake, he needed to pull himself together.