Romance: Motorcycle Club Romance: Outlaw Biker's Baby (Contemporary Alpha Male MC Biker Romance) (Bad Boy MC Biker Pregnancy Romance) (24 page)

''All day,
everyday
?'' Janice asked, horrified.

''Do you want to keep your
job,
Janice?'' Janice nodded. ''Well, in that
case,
do what I ask you. You know I've been
very good
to you, you should try to remember that.''

*****

I need to pee, Janice thought. She got out of the car and went into the alleyway next to Wild Bill's. She'd managed to
pee
there
everyday
for the last three days without
being seen
.

Janice didn't see the man, but she felt the slap across her face. ''Why are you looking for me? Who are you? Tell me or by God I'll stick this piece of steel into you.''

Janice stood with her jeans halfway down her thighs and whimpered. It was indeed the same man that she'd seen with Britney. ''Sorry, but I'm not following you,'' she said as she rubbed the place he had slapped her. ''I just came in here to pee. If it's......''

''Who are you? Last time
I'm
asking?''

''Janice.''

''You've been sitting in your car for three days and asking about me in Wild Bills. Why?''

Keke had told Janice that the last thing you do is reveal you clients name.
In fact,
Keke had told her that you die before you do so. ''It's to do with Britney.''

''I don't know anybody called Britney.''

Janice assumed he was having an affair with Britney. “Yes, you do. I saw you together. I'm a friend of hers,'' she lied.

''You're one step away from being murdered so tell me the truth. Why are you following me?''

''I
told you
. I'm a friend of
hers,
and she
told me
about you. She wasn't sure she could trust
you,
so she asked me to keep an eye on you.''

He didn't want another victim on his hands, especially one that he would have to kill on the spur of the moment. She also looked like the kind of woman who would go away and keep quiet if he threatened her hard enough. ''Piss off and leave me alone. If I ever see you again, I will murder you in the most savage manner possible.'' He let go of her and walked away. Janice collapsed onto the ground and forgot she needed to pee.

*****

When Jessie saw Keke pull up outside the diner, she went to the table and took away the sugar. ''The usual Keke?''

''No, can you bring me a plate of ice cream and some chopped onions.''

''What?''

''Ice cream and a plate of chopped onions.'' I hope the father is the nice looking guy in the Ferrari, Jessie thought.

When Dan
arrived,
he was wearing an Armani suit and open white shirt. As he walked towards her, Keke cleared her throat nervously. Without saying anything, he handed her an envelope. She opened it and gasped. ''No Dan, not like this.'' She handed the paper back to him.

''Then how?'' he asked. She looked at him and noticed how weary he looked. She took his
hand,
but he pulled it away.

''When I called you and asked you to come and see me, I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things. First, Britney.'' What does it matter now, he thought.

''We have witnessed Britney meeting a man in a park downtown. Janice was following him. He caught her and shook her up quite badly. He's up to no good.'' Dan looked confused when Jessie arrived with the strange mixture of foods. ''We can't say whether it's an affair or not, but she met a man. I need a bit more time
to
get to the bottom of it, but I think
you, at least,
have a case for postponing the wedding until we find out more.''

''I have decided to go ahead with the marriage.''
It could have been so different, he thought.
When he sighed, Keke took hold of his hand again. Again he tried to pull back, but she held onto him desperately. ''What do you want, Keke?'' he said, almost angrily.

''I don't want a check for three million dollars, that's for sure. I understand when you came here, you came prepared to support me, but that's not the way I want it.''

''Jesus, how do you want it?'' he said no less angrily. ''It seems
to me
, you want it all your
own
way. You dumped me, now I'm offering you financial security for the rest of you
life
to look after you and the baby, and you throw it back at me. I don't understand.''

''Because I have made a terrible mistake,'' she said, tears in her eyes. ''I love you so
much,
and I am so sorry for what I did to you. I was hasty and didn't think it through properly. I just reacted on the spur of the moment to a problem that I've known before in my life. I have every faith in you, and I want you and me to bring our child up together, under the same roof, and in the same bed. ''Keke pulled him over the table and kissed him. ''What do you say?'' She looked at him as his expression changed. The tiredness in his face
went,
and the sparkle in his eyes returned.

''Do you know how hard it has been, thinking I would have to live my life without you. Without seeing my child every day?
Of course,
the answer is yes.''

Jessie watched as Dan stood up, walked to Keke's side of the table and got onto one knee. When she saw Keke nod, she broke out into applause.

*****

Britney got out of the car outside Jason's house. In her bag was ten kilos of the best cocaine money could buy.

''I warned you, if you talked, you would die instead of your fiancee. Those are my rules,'' Steve said as Britney appeared in the middle of the cross hairs of his
long-range
assassins rifle.

*****

THE END

The plane from Moscow to JFK was three hours late due to heavy snow in Russia. Nicki had tried to call Nathan from Moscow but hadn't managed to get hold of him. She just hoped he'd waited for her.
If not,
she
'd have to get a
taxi,
and she only had a purse full of worthless
rubels
.

When she'd cleared US customs and reclaimed her bag, she walked out into the arrivals lounge. There were a lot of people waiting to pick up family and friends. She couldn't see Nathan. Whenever he'd picked her up at the airport before, he'd stood where he could see her. Today he wasn't in the usual place.  She walked to the left, put her
heavy
bag on the floor and reached inside her jacket for her
cellphone
. She let it ring a few times. No reply. Darn it, not only would she have to get a taxi but she also would miss the opportunity to talk to him.

''Nicki over here,'' Nathan shouted. ''I tracked the flight on the net and saw the delay so only set off when they gave a landing time.
I didn't realize the traffic would be so bad.
Sorry.''

That was Nathan she thought. Always apologizing for something that wasn't his fault. ''Hello,'' she said as he hugged her. Don't let him hold you for too long, it would be unfair.

''Let me have a look at you,'' he said, holding her at arm’s length. ''Still the same beautiful Nicki. Perfectly dressed and not a hair out of place even after such a long flight.''

“And you've lost weight. Have you been eating properly?''

''How can a man eat
properly
when he is love sick,'' he said as he picked up her bag. ''Jesus what have you got in here, a real elephant?''

''Just a few small one's to add to my collection.''

'I've never understood why you collect elephants,'' he admitted as they walked toward the parking area.

Correct all along, he never listens to me. ''I've told you a few times. Because my South African dad always told me the tale
about
how the little elephant got a long trunk. I have been fascinated by them ever since.'' She could see he wasn't listening again. He was looking for the parking ticket. He tutted and put her bag down as he searched
though
every pocket.

''You haven't bothered to clean out the car then?'' she said as she squeezed her long legs between empty coke cans and pizza boxes. Surely if
you were
going to collect the woman you love from the airport, after she'd been away for a year, you would make a bit of an effort.

The Fiat screeched into
life,
and Nathan reversed out of the parking lot, almost hitting the car next to them. ''So how was it
really
? I mean you told me you enjoyed it, but can someone
really
enjoy a year in Moscow? It's full of
commies
for a start.''

Nicki
looked at all the dead flies on the windshield and considered her answer. ''I did enjoy it. And it's not full of
commies
. It was the chance of a
lifetime
. A lot of people applied for that exchange
place to
Moscow State University. I was the lucky one who got it, so I decided to make the best of it.''

She pulled down the sun visor and looked at herself in the vanity mirror. Nathan was right. Her
makeup
had withstood the grueling flight, her lips were still bright
red,
and her eyes bore no smudges. She'd gotten a new
hairdo
in
Moscow;
she was sure Nathan hadn't noticed. She liked it.
Natasha
the lovely girl who'd cut
it
was fascinated by black
people's
hair. She'd never had a black woman in her chair before. It looks
wiry,
she'd remarked, but quickly changed her mind when she touched it. Now Nicki wore it long and thrown to one side in sweeping curls. 

''Jesus, asshole,'' Nathan shouted as he almost ran into a taxi
that
had stopped to turn left.

''Nathe,'' Nicki
murmured
. I'm going to hate myself, she thought. ''I want to talk to you.'' She looked across at him. He was tall and dark and had a strong looking face, the kind that women trusted. He would soon find some else. Someone more suitable. Someone who didn't mind dirty cars, and a boyfriend who doesn't listen. ''Nathe, thanks for giving me a lift home. It's
really
nice
of  you.''

''Nice? Did you think after a year that I wouldn't come and collect my girlfriend from the airport?''

They'd been together for four years, ever since Nicki had started her course in journalism at NYU. It was the first time she'd been away from her
parents,
and she'd been nervous.
She was brought up in a small town in Alabama, and at the time; New York had seemed so intimidating.
Now she had to admit that when she'd met Nathan, she had clung onto him for her
own
sake. Not because
she
loved him, but because he was a New Yorker and made her feel at ease with the Big Apple. Now she was going to have to pay for stringing him along all this time. Why had she just let it drift?

''Well, it is
nice
of you.'' Come on girl, out with it, she told herself trying to find the right words. ''Nathe I don't want to be with you
any more
. I want to be your
friend,
but I don't want a sexual relationship with you anymore.''

''What?'' he said as he swerved
round
another taxi.

''You never listen to a word I say,'' she shouted in frustration.

''Sorry, what were you saying?''

She took a deep breath and began again. ''Nathe you're sweet, but I want  to finish our relationship.''

''What?'' She was fearful he hadn't heard her again, but he had. ''What the hell are you talking about, finish?''

''I want to be friendly with you, but not your girlfriend anymore. I've thought
a lot about it while I was in Moscow,
and we're not compatible. You could find someone much better suited to you. You're only
twenty-four,
and you've got a great job at the Times. You're bound to find
Mrs.
Right.''

''Nicki,'' he exclaimed. She closed her
eyes;
sure he was going to run into the car in front. ''No Nicki, you've got it wrong. I don't want anybody else. I want you.
Jesus,
I love you.''

It was the first time he'd said that, and it made it all the more difficult. ''You think you love
me,
Nathe. But
really
you only have time for one person. Yourself.''

''Will you stop talking BS. You're my
girl,
and that's it.'' He looked at her.  She looked hotter than ever with her new hair.  She had also lost weight, not that she needed to. Now she was
slender,
and it made her look taller than the five eight she always claimed she was. All he wanted to do was get her back to her apartment and go to bed with her. He longed to feel her long legs around him and her soft lips on his. He'd often masturbated to a picture of her when she was away. Not a blunt picture of her in some pornographic pose, but a simple picture of her face, smiling into the camera he'd taken with them on a trip to the beach.

''No Nathe. I've made up my mind. Please respect that.''

''So what's
happened,
Nicki? Have you fallen in love with some heartless
communist?
They're all communists you know. Spineless alcoholics all of them.''

What he was saying wasn't true. She'd met a lot of very nice people in Russia during her exchange year. None of them were
communists,
and apart from the odd drunken birthday celebration, she'd never seen any of them drinking alcohol. She'd gone there with an open mind. Sure it was
a totally different culture,
and it had taken a lot of getting used to, but she'd
really
enjoyed the experience. ''No I haven't fallen in love with anyone. I just don't think you and I are compatible enough to take it any further than we already have.''

''Well thanks a lot. Thanks for ruining my day and my life. What a bitch. You know you've always thought you were better than anybody else.'' He glanced across at her with hurt engraved all over his face. 

Surely he'd suspected
something,
though. She hadn't exactly been nice to him when they'd talked on Skype. And she'd never called him. He'd even complained that he always had to call her. ''I'm sorry
Nathe,
but that's it. I can't be with you anymore.''
Her words sounded so final, she thought.
If only,
there was a better way, a less cruel way. She'd agonized over it for days but every time she'd come to the same conclusion. There was no kind way to dump someone.

''And what the hell are you going to do with you
life,
Nicki?
Yours
graduating in four weeks and you still haven't applied for any jobs. It's not easy finding work so you'd better get on with it.'' There was
a cold
father like sound to his voice.

''I've told you a few times. I'm going to be a freelance journalist.''

''Yeah right. As if an editor would buy a story from a rookie
journalist
.
You've been told so many times by me, by your professor and by all your peers, you need to get a job on a newspaper.
Learn your craft and then, only then, might you have a chance
at
being a freelancer.''

He was right, but only to a certain
extent,
she told herself. She was graduating from a great school of journalism. Then she had to write some great stories. As a young
rookie,
she knew it would be difficult, but she was
daring,
and she intended to get exciting, even
dangerous
stories that would sell themselves. Stories of hardship, crime, war and death were all on her list, and she knew
exactly
where she was going to start. ''But that's what I want to do. It's my life and my business, and nobody else can tell me what to do.''

''Like I said. You think you are better than anyone else. Everyone's telling you it can't
be done
successfully, but oh no, madam won't listen.
Well,
I tell you what, when I drop you off at your apartment, you can darn well go to hell. I don't want to see you anymore either. And I might add, my experience with you has been nothing short of unpleasant. You're
self-centered
, conceited, arrogant, and a whole lot more.''

Nicki put the key in the door to the apartment and opened it. She grunted as she put her bag down in the hallway. When she closed the door, she leaned back against it and closed her eyes. Home. Finally home.

The food in the plane had been exceptionally
salty,
and she needed water. She turned on the kitchen light and smiled. There was a large, 'Welcome Home,' banner tied
along
the curtain rail and a bottle of sparkling white
wine
on the table. Sarah and Lela, her housemates, had intended to drink it with her. Not surprisingly they had gone to bed. It was three am.

*****

Nicki woke to someone knocking on her bedroom door. She opened her eyes and immediately shut them again as the sharp winter sunlight tore into them. Why do I never
shut
the curtains properly, she asked herself.

''I'm awake. You can come in.''

It was Lela. Lela had started college at the same time as Nicki. They'd found they had lots in common, not least because they were both black and
both are
starting out in journalism. After six months they'd decided to leave the halls of residence and get an apartment together.

''Hi, welcome home,'' she said as she tripped over the bag Nicki had left unopened on the floor. She fell onto the bed and gave Nicki a kiss and a hug. ''So how was it? We waited up for you, but sleep got the better of us.''

''It was a fantastic experience. You know Russia is such a paradox. The people are so polite and friendly, yet if you listen to the rhetoric coming from the politicians that represent them, you wouldn't think so.''

Lela looked around the room. Nicki had the largest bedroom in the
three-bedroom
apartment, and it was stuffed full of elephants.
Elephants
in all colors and sizes. She even had a pink elephant on the pillow next to her. ''So how many elephants did you bring back with you?''