“So Jesse and I are free and clear?” I asked.
“Yes, I would say so, Chey. They honestly don’t have a leg to stand on legally. Of course, they could push this into court, but that footage is plenty proof Celt didn’t want a child. Even assaulting you to ensure you miscarried, which you did with Jesse’s twin. A judge won’t go lightly on that!” Darren assured me. I reached out a hand and shook Darren’s as I got to my feet.
Jesse would be waiting for me at the motel, and he would be nervous and worried. My priority was to reassure my son that the animal who had donated his sperm wouldn’t get custody. Lost in my thoughts, I made my way to the elevators and stepped inside as the door opened. As the doors closed, I looked up from where I’d been staring at my shoes and met Celt’s broken gaze. My shoulders stiffened defensively, and I saw Chance grip Celt’s shoulder.
The two lawyers appeared surprised to see me and sent warning glances at Chance and Celt. Bear stood in the corner, unable to meet my gaze. My spine tingled uncomfortably as eyes bored into me. The awkward silence filled the small space, and I refused to face them and stared at the doors. As soon as they opened into the underground carpark, I hurried towards the limo, waiting.
“Chey!” Celt called, but I didn’t miss a step. Dave appeared from nowhere and took my side as footsteps rushed after me. A hand reached out for my arm, and Dave slapped it away and put himself between Celt and me. I peeked around Dave’s large frame as Celt stood there, rubbing fingers over his chin.
“Back off, jackass,” Dave warned as Mick leapt from the limo to support his boss.
“Chey, I just want to say…. I didn’t know… shit, I was off my fuckin’ head that night. Chey, believe me. I never wished to hurt you.” Celt stumbled over his words as a snort of disbelief left me.
“Sure, asshole, you just wanted to use Chey as a punching bag,” Dave gritted out through clenched teeth.
“That man on that video wasn’t me,” Celt denied.
“Yeah? He looked a fuck load like you,” Mick retorted.
“I’m dropping the case. You’re right; Jesse doesn’t deserve me as a father. I am sorry, Chey, can’t believe I raised a hand to you,” Celt whispered. Anger swept through me; Celt was acting a martyr. He wasn’t the victim, neither was I. The unborn child I’d lost was the casualty. Truth was, I should never have trusted Celt and told him I was pregnant. That night I had forgotten that he was Hellfire through and through.
“Stay away from my son and me,” I hissed and scrambled towards the limo.
“Chey, you’ve nothing to fear from Hellfire or me,” Celt called as I slammed the car door shut.
“No, Chey ain’t,” Dave ground out and turned on his heel. Mick watched his back as he followed, and they climbed into the vehicle, and we sped away without a backwards glance.
???
“Hey, the house will be ready by next Friday. Just in time for Kye to leave the hospital,” Saint said, approaching me in Nana’s living room.
“That’s great news, on both accounts,” I smiled happily. It had been two days since my meeting with Hellfire and the lawyers, and we’d huddled up in the motel. The fans still milled outside, and guards remained in place. It would be easier when we moved to the house with all the security systems and high walls. We only left to visit Kye. It was annoying that we were under siege by the public and press, but we couldn’t do much else.
Harry’s exclusive with Kye had rocked our fan base, and many more turned up. The article had been written so brilliantly Harry informed us he’d several interviews lined up for himself. Annoyed they couldn’t get comments or reactions from the band, the talk shows had queued to interview Harry, who was being called the band’s reporter. I was happy enough for him. Harry had earned my respect, even though we remained at loggerheads.
“Yeah, we can finally leave the fishbowl,” Saint agreed, and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders.
“It feels like living in a goldfish bowl,” I giggled. It also meant that Kye could recover from his ordeal in peace and quiet. The doctor was keeping him in for now. Kye’s entire body had taken a beating, and he wasn’t recovering, as the doctors hoped. We were worried, but Kye was in the right place with the best medical care.
“Will the studio be ready too?” Bridge asked as he glanced up from the tv.
“Yes, Ken is checking on it, and the soundman’s arriving the week after. Ken’s excited about the new album and is hoping we can get cracking,” Zyaire said, entering and sinking into a chair. A grin lit my lips as Zyaire rubbed his belly happily. Nana was overjoyed having us back; she loved cooking and feeding the guys up. She was even making home-cooked meals for Kye, denouncing hospital slop as one of the reasons Kye wasn’t regaining his health as quickly.
For his part, Kye was in seventh heaven with Nana’s baking, and so was everyone else. Jesse was filling out his lanky frame. Not that Jesse watched his calories by any means, but Nana’s wholesome cooking was working wonders on his figure. I could tell Jesse would be built like his father, which made me worry about future girlfriends. Jesse was going to be a heart-breaking lady-killer.
“Mom? Can I go?” Jesse asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Huh?”
“There’s a comic shop down the road; Mick said he’d take me,” Jesse repeated, looking frustrated.
“Oh sure, tell you what, I’ll come too. I need air,” I replied, and Jesse grinned. He loved our little shopping outings. We hid under large glasses and baseball caps, and in the winter, we even wore scarves tied around our lower faces.
“Hurry up, Mom, I’m hoping they’ve got some I don’t have yet,” Jesse crowed as I rose to my feet and snagged Bridge’s cap. Bridge sent me a dark glare, and I giggled before yanking on a hoodie.
“We’ll leave the back way. People have watched us coming and going from the front. Maybe it will be clearer,” I said as Mick approached. He’d tried to tone his obvious, ‘I’m a bodyguard,’ look down, but hadn’t succeeded.
“Yeah, I’ve got a car. Let’s go,” Mick answered with a grin as Jesse bounced around like an excited puppy. We followed Mick to the non-descript car and piled in. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone here. Our comings and goings from the front of the motel had worked. Mick drove a couple of streets down and parked before telling us to wait. Mick checked out the store for a few minutes before allowing us to enter.