Phoenix’s Plight by Tiffany Casper

 

“The things we regret.”

- Heathen

 

Chapter 14

Heathen

I’m pregnant.

Those two words had hit him like a battering ram.

He was nothing but a monster. He never wanted kids. He never wanted to touch something so pure with his filthy hands that had touched the lives of filth and death.

And his hands had caused it all.

His demons haunted him the entire ride. He rode three hours around and around and debated what he was about to do.

After his ride, he sat on his bike in her driveway and contemplated the decision he was about to make. No, he wasn’t making this decision because she was carrying his baby. He had been leaning toward this decision over the past couple of months. Well, more like over the last year.

Hell, she was the only person who had ever said ‘I love you’ to him, and she was the only person to ever receive it from him.

He didn’t want to have to explain himself to anyone. He didn’t want anyone to have any claws in him.

However, it had made him realize that June had her claws in him from the very first moment he laid eyes on her in that coffee shop, why he had stopped there, he hadn’t known, but he did know that it had been fate.

She was his weakness, and she held all of the power over him. She just didn’t know it either.

Never in his life had he had any regrets. He held true in all of his decisions, except when he walked out of her house after she told him she was pregnant. He should have just gone to one of her rooms and closed the door.

Hell, what he should have done was kneeled at her feet and prayed that she would allow him to be a part of her child’s life.

And if she didn’t, then he would remain in the shadows, looking after them with everything in him.

June was his life. Without her in it, he would just be an empty shell of a man.

“Fuck it.” Tossing his smoke, he used his boot to snuff out the end and made his way to her front door.

What he had seen caused him to pull his piece as he surveyed the whole area.

Her front door was always closed and locked. It didn’t matter if she was at home or not, she always kept her door locked. So, the fact that her door was opened a crack had all of his senses standing at attention.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he sent a text to Gage, gave him her address, and told them to get here ASAP.

Pushing the door open with the toe of his boot, he crept slowly into her living room.

The tissue he figured she had been using was laying on the floor in front of her microfiber couch.

The dishes from their dinner were still in the microwave because it had just beeped. That had his eyes narrowing. She never went to bed without doing the dishes unless he was there to do them before he left her.

Creeping into her garage, he saw that her Jeep was still in her spot.

That left two other rooms he had to clear, and he dreaded what he would find.

The moment he looked left, he found her purse was hanging on the hook by the door as were her keys.

He inhaled a breath as he made his way into her guest bedroom. She had crafted stupid shit at first, he thought, but when he saw her doing the whole process a couple of months ago, he understood. Those tumblers she made were badass.

Not finding her, he made his way to her bedroom and hesitated. God help him if she was in there hurt.

He would be unleashing the monster that was now fighting to be free. He needed her to keep him calm.

But she wasn’t in there. She wasn’t in her bathroom, or her closet.

Something told him to check the back door. It was standing wide fucking open.

The monster became unleashed as he let out a roar.

That roar was louder than the rumbling of motorcycles he heard.

He never called on them to handle anything, but he knew this was fucking bad. He didn’t mind going to wherever she was with guns blazing, but he had to be smart. It wasn’t just his life that would be forfeited.

It was her life and their child’s life that was at stake. He would be six feet under before he allowed anything to happen to either one of them.

Right now, though, he was regretting texting them.

He stormed to the front door and stared at his brothers.

The moment Powers had his helmet off, Heathen could tell that he knew his monster was unleashed.

No doubt his eyes were already black, his veins were pumping double time, and he was seeing black and white. There was no gray area.

“She’s been taken,” Heathen said through gritted teeth.

“Track her through her bracelet,” Powers murmured as he looked at Linc.

Call him insecure. Call him old-fashioned. Call him protective. Hell, call him a stalker. He didn’t give a flying fuck.

She was fucking his.

He would do whatever was necessary for that woman, and that included making sure he could get to her when he needed.

“I’m tracking her,” Linc said as he pulled out the tablet he carried with him.

“Any clue who would take her?” Powers asked.

“No. She has no enemies, only a couple of so-called friends.” Heathen had to bite that last little bit out.

The girls at the clubhouse had treated her so much better than any other individual.

“The only person I can think of would be the President of Joker MC.” Heathen still didn’t know why the man had always gunned for him.

He had made sure that he steered clear of that MC. He had taken measures to ensure June’s safety. He had always arrived and parked his bike behind her house.

But the moment their situation changed, he allowed it to be known that he was there and that she was his.

However, what she also had were his brothers and his club. She had earned that right when she had come to him and calmed him down. They hadn’t seen anyone else who had been able to do that.

And she had the girls.

“Text Lil. Have her and Whitney and Laura be ready. No telling what we’re going to find. She’s going to need them.” Heathen had left out Shiloh. Shiloh wasn’t a part of the club per se, but she was friends with June.

When June told him that Shiloh had done her tattoos, he knew. He saw the work that Shiloh had done on June, and June spoke highly of her friend.

“Hell, man, everyone else, they understood why we took the precautions we did,” Powers stated aloud.

“That’s the only one I would name,” Cam said in agreement.

Heathen paced the hardwood floors. He knew she was going to be pissed when she saw the marks that his boots were leaving, but he would take care of that later.

Multiple things were running through his mind. He hadn’t told her about the house that he had been working on. He hadn’t told her that he’d done things with her in mind, like installing a clawfoot bathtub for her. Or the double vanity so she could have a place to sit and do her hair. He hadn’t told her about how he had his kitchen done, then gutted out the whole thing and redid it so she would have a kitchen she loved.

Things like a craft room with built-in storage for her.

Things like making sure the cabinets were easier for her to reach. Not for his height. He’d have to bend down to reach a few things, but for her, they would be the right height.

Also, things like trying to see what pieces of her furniture would go with what he already had. He imagined seeing her things hung up beside his, her smaller shoes sitting beside his much bigger ones.

He hoped they found her unharmed. Because if they didn’t, he was going all out on the motherfuckers and he would be burning the town down.

“Got her,” Linc stated.

Everyone gathered around his tablet.

Heathen hesitantly asked, “Where?”

“Y’all are not going to believe this shit,” Linc said as he looked at us with shock written all over his features.

The moment they had gathered even closer around Linc’s tablet, he opened up the video surveillance they had on the warehouse located ten minutes from the clubhouse.

There sat June, surrounded by six members of Jokers MC. The same MC that had tried to kill Heathen for some unknown reason.

“I’m going to murder every fucking last one of them,” Heathen growled out.

“I’ll help,” Skinner said so low and so raspy, Heathen had a little trouble hearing him, but he had.

Nodding to the man, he accepted his help.

“Fucking Christ,” Gage swore as he pointed at a figure circling June.

“Jenny,” Savage said aloud.

“Bitch is done,” Heathen stated darkly.

He didn’t want to kill a woman, but she brought them to his woman. To his ole’ lady.

Rachel had given him her property kutte two days ago. He had been waiting for the right moment to give it to her. He shouldn’t have hesitated.

He hadn’t realized that he said that aloud, not until Powers said, “No, you haven’t given her the property kutte yet, but she’s ours. Same as Lil.” Powers nodded.

“Whatever you need, brother,” Gage said.

The others in her living room nodded their agreement.

“Let’s go get my ole’ lady,” Heathen said to them, and they all filed out, ready to go bring the devil to their door.

On the ride to the warehouse, he went through in his mind everything he was going to do to the sons of bitches.

Oh, how it would be bittersweet.