Diesel
It's all been settled. I've worked it all out with Pres. He’s still pissed at me for calling him out, but he’s a reasonable man, for the most part. He knows I'm going to take the next two weeks off and head back to Texas. I'm going to work from our location in Texas for a while. I'm going to find Brandy, and I'm going to convince her that we're meant to be together. Now all I have to do is pack and get ready, because I'll be leaving early in the morning.
I'm walking back toward my room when I hear Jason call out to me, "Diesel, you may want to come out here," he says.
Shit, I forgot that he and his old lady, Tara, were moving out today. I should have been out there to tell them bye. I get to the front door and he's looking at me. "What, what is it?" I ask him, unable to read the look on his face.
He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know if I'm supposed to warn you or just let you find out on your own."
I shake my head side to side. "What are you even talking about?"
"Brandy is—" and before he even gets the word out that Brandy's here, I'm pushing past him to go outside.
As soon as I get out the doorway, I see Tara and Brandy talking to one another. I keep walking, not stopping until I can see around Tara. And that's when I see Brandy with her rounded, pregnant belly. She looks exhausted, and when she puts a protective hand over her swollen belly, my knees almost buckle. Jason slaps me on the back. "Pull it together, man. Don't fuck this up."
I nod and walk over to Brandy, putting my hands on her shoulders. There's probably a thousand things that I should be saying to her, but I say the first thing that comes to mind. "I've missed you."
Tears start to run down her face. She looks as if she can barely stand up. She doesn’t resist me when I lean toward her to pick her up and to hold her in my arms. I don’t say anything to Tara and Jason as we walk past them, but I’m sure they’ll understand.
I carry her into the clubhouse, down the hallway, and into my bedroom, not stopping until we're inside and I have the door kicked shut behind me. I sit down in the chair and hold her. This makes me think of that night, not long ago. And I try to push those thoughts from my head. My hand runs through her hair.
"Brandy, are you okay, honey?"
She sniffs but nods her head against me. "Yeah, it's these stupid hormones." She looks at me with wide eyes. "The baby is yours, by the way."
I barely resist rolling my eyes. "I know it is. I was leaving for Texas tomorrow to come find you. Your uncle wouldn't tell me anything when I called, but I knew I had to come and try and find you. I've been fucking miserable without you."
She starts to cry again. "I shouldn't have left like I did. I know I shouldn't have. It about killed me when I found out you’d been shot. The truth is, Diesel—"
I hold my hands up because I know she's exhausted, and we don't need to get into all of this now. And I tell her that.
She shakes her head. "No, I think we've gone way too long without talking. I need to get this all out." I nod my head, and she continues, "The truth is I fell in love with you. When you were shot, it devastated me, knowing that that could happen to you at any time. I may hate what you do for a living, but I also know that as for as long as you'll have me, I need to be with you."
I let out a big breath. "I love you too, honey. Fuck, I love you so much." If we’re going to get it all out, then I might as well tell her everything. "There's things I want to tell you about my job. And if you still want me to quit, I'll do it. That day I was shot—"
She trembles and shakes her head. "I don't even want to talk about it."
I put a calming hand to her chest. "Please listen to me. I need you to know. The day I was shot, there was a boy, a little boy that was kidnapped. There had been a few people that tried to get him out or back away from his father, and they couldn't. His father is a very bad man. I couldn't leave him there."
Her tears start to fall again. "Did you save him? Did you save the little boy?"
I nod. "Yes, and it was when we were leaving that I was shot. What I do is dangerous, I know. But everything I do, I do it with a purpose. I couldn't just leave that boy. And now, having you as my girl, with our baby—"
“Son. We’re having a boy.”
My voice chokes up. “With our son on the way, I promise to not take any unnecessary risks, but if you want me to quit, I’ll quit. I’ll walk away right now and won’t think twice.”
She shakes her head. "I wouldn't expect you to. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry that I left without talking to you. I'm sorry—"
She puts her hand to her belly, and I cover it with my own. "Fuck, don't be sorry about this. This makes me happy. I had hope that that first time I would get you pregnant. I wanted to tie you to me even then. I wanted to find a way to keep you forever."
She throws her arms around my neck and kisses me. I deepen it, and I’m unbuttoning the buttons on her shirt as she pulls back from me. “Diesel, wait, there’s something I need to tell you.”
I moan in frustration because right now, I just want to lie in bed with her in my arms. “What is it?”
“Axle—" she starts, and that has my full attention.
I lean back and search her face. “What about him?”