“Okay, will do. Also, we’ve got a few problems at the shack.”
“Where it rains it pours. What could be the fucking problem at the shack?” he asked. He didn’t see why there had to be a problem. A bunch of people fucked for the camera. Not a whole lot of drama or death.
“It would appear someone has given the actors bad food. Vomit and shit are all over the place. We’ve had to close the place down. I’ve got a cleaning crew working on it. Billy the cameraman doesn’t understand it as they don’t have any food on set. They don’t even celebrate a good clean wrap. His words, not mine.”
“You think someone poisoned them?” Smokey asked.
“It would make sense. We hit out at Creed, he’s going to hit out at us.”
They earned a good living off those porn films alone. The dirtier the men and women were willing to go, the higher the paycheck.
“I want everyone tested. I want to know why they were sick. Then I want to know what they were sick with.”
“Already on it. Until we know what went on, it’s shut down. Also, Santigo called, he’s got another run.”
“We did one for him less than a month ago.”
“I know, but it’s up to you to handle that business,” Hunter said.
“Fuck, fine. I’ll deal with it. Make sure you send a check to the hospital for Ava’s medical bills. I don’t want her to worry about anything.”
“The woman’s loaded.”
“I’m taking care of it.” He wanted to contribute more to this than his sperm. He honestly didn’t know what kind of dad he was going to be.
Chapter Sixteen
“Your baby’s a cutie,” Harlow said.
Ava laughed. “You can’t tell all of that from a picture.”
“I can’t tell, but you know I’m blessed with being able to read people.” Harlow took the ultrasound photo and touched it. “Yep, he’s going to be a cutie, and all the girls are going to swoon.”
Ava took the photo back. “Not that I disagree, because I don’t, but I really hope you’re right. Not that it matters if he’s not a cutie. I just want him to be happy and healthy.” Ava touched her stomach. It was starting to show a more roundness. The sickness was still part of her daily life as well. The mornings sucked big time, and each time she stared down at the toilet bowl with no one to rub her back as she vomited, it only served to remind her she was all alone.
“Hey, where did you go?” Harlow asked, shaking her hand back and forth in front of her face.
“I didn’t go anywhere.” She snorted. “Don’t worry. I’m still very much here.”
“What made you sad?”
Ava shrugged. “A lot of things.”
“Does this have to do with the baby daddy?” Harlow asked.
“A little.”
“What is the deal with you guys? Don’t get me wrong, I heard all the gossip. How the town believed you’d been blacklisted and all that fun stuff, but you’re still here. Anyone blacklisted by the Bastards don’t tend to stick around for long, and it doesn’t look to me like there’s much of a problem with him.”
Ava waited. Harlow had a tendency to keep on talking. She just ran on and on and on. She didn’t mind it. Harlow filled in the silence that only enforced the truth of how lonely and isolated she felt. There were times she could pretend her life wasn’t empty, but this wasn’t one of those times.
“Have you even seen the way Smokey acts around you?”
Ava heard the oven beeping in the background and shook her head before answering. “No, I don’t.”
Harlow moved to the doorway. They didn’t have any customers yet.
Going to the oven, she checked over the cookies and was somewhat impressed. Harlow had asked her to attempt a vegan cookie recipe. She had tried it, and now she was surprised. The next true test would be in the tasting.
“It’s okay. I keep an eye on everything for the two of us. Smokey can’t take his eyes off you. He’s like a lost little puppy. I’m not joking about this. If you watched him, you’d know he’s obsessed with you.”
Ava snorted. “I know for a fact that’s not true.”
“Why?”
She thought about the bruises, the beating. The aches she still got in her hand. The doctor had said that was all normal, but she couldn’t help but feel something was missing from her life. Even though Harlow had a brother in the Hell’s Bastards MC, she couldn’t bring herself to talk to her about it. It didn’t feel right. What happened between her and Smokey, along with the club, was secret. She wasn’t going to abuse Smokey’s trust even though he’d completely obliterated hers.
“Does this have to do with all the bruises you got? Is Smokey beating you?”
“Of course not.”
“No, I just follow her around like a lost little puppy,” Smokey said, making them both jump as he suddenly appeared behind Harlow, who had turned deathly white.