Chapter Nine

ALIANA

Once Axyl had left for church, I herded the boys into the kitchen. My stomach was growling, a constant state of affairs these days.

“What do you guys feel like eating?” I asked them. “How about grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup?”

“I love cheese sammiches!” Danny declared. His enthusiasm made me chuckle.

“And you, Murdock? Are you a fan of cheese sammiches?”

“Sounds good to me. Can we watch a movie too?” He asked.

“Of course! What movie are you thinking?” I asked, gathering the ingredients for our lunch.

“Avengers!” Danny piped up. “I like Hulk. He’s like daddy.”

“Hulk isn’t Dad, Danny. Captain America is the best superhero! He’s more like dad!” Murdock argued.

“No way!” Danny shot back.

“Okay, boys, want to know who my favorite is?” I asked, and they both nodded eagerly.

“Well, apart from your daddy, my favorite superhero has to be Thor. Now, why don’t you two go set up the movie in the living room, and I’ll bring the food in a bit.”

Once the boys had scampered off, I finished up the soup and sandwiches and carried our lunch into the living room. “Alright, boys. Are you ready?”

“Yes!” Danny shouted.

“We put in the Avengers. The first one,” Murdock informed me.

“Perfect. Here’s your food.” I handed them their plates and hit play on the movie. Before we knew it, our plates were empty, we were forty-five minutes into the movie, and Axyl was joining us.

“Hey, baby girl,” he greeted me, kissing my temple. “We need to talk.”

“Okay. Boys, your daddy and I need to have a chat. We’ll be right back. Please behave.” I told them before following Axyl out of the room.

“You’re really good with them,” he observed.

“They’re wonderful boys. I’m just grateful I get to be part of their lives. I was there for the first few years of Murdock’s life, and we became close, but now I get to start fresh, and they’ll have sisters soon.

They may not be my biological children, but I will love them as if they were,” I replied as we entered our room.

“I know you will, and that’s another reason why I love you. Now, there’s something you need to know. We’re moving you and the boys to a safe house.

“Someone has informed Alexander about the babies, and we want to ensure your safety,” Axyl said, and I felt my breath catch in my throat.

“What do you mean he knows?! How could he know? This can’t be happening.” I was struggling to breathe. I couldn’t believe he knew. How the hell did he find out?

“Hey. Aliana, it’ll be okay. We’re taking precautions to keep you, our daughters, and the boys safe. Don’t stress. Please. It’s not good for the babies.

“I could have just told you that we were moving you to the safe house and not tell you why. Now, let’s get back to the boys.” I just nodded and let him lead us back to the living room.

When we returned to the living room, the boys were lying on their stomachs, engrossed in the movie. Axyl and I settled on the couch and I curled up against his side, my hand resting on my stomach. “It’ll be okay, baby. I promise.”

“I know, I’m just worried. It’s been three months and we haven’t heard anything from him. Then, suddenly, we have to uproot our lives because of some damn rat. Do you know who it is?” I asked.

“We have our suspicions. No, I can’t tell you. Club business.” Axyl replied. Of course, it’s fucking club business. The one thing that I absolutely hate about this club is that women aren’t allowed to know what’s going on.

I understand, sometimes, but other times, like right now, I would love to know what’s happening. Then again, it’s better if we’re only told what we need to know. That way we have plausible deniability.

It’s safer for us to only know what we need to. If we don’t know too much in case someone gets kidnapped for information.

“Fine. It’d be nice to know who it is. I don’t know, maybe because it involves my life, but club business is club business.” I retorted sarcastically.

“Ali. Baby, come on. You know how all this works. Just trust me and the club.”

“I said fine, Axyl. Drop it. I’m not in the mood. I just want to spend time with you and the boys and not think about anything else.” I explained.

“Okay. I get it.” He said, kissing my head. “After the movie, we’ll get everything packed. We leave tonight.”

“I love you, Ax.” I whispered before turning back to the movie, soaking in the comfort that Axyl provided, even when I didn’t think I needed it.

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, I was being prodded awake by tiny fingers.

“Ali. Wake up.” Danny said, continuing to poke my face. I groaned and heard Axyl laughing beside me. “Daddy told me to. Ali. We’re going on a trip.”

If I could be woken up like this every morning, I wouldn’t complain. He kept poking my face and I grabbed him and started tickling him. His giggles filled the room.

“You think you can wake me up and get away with it?” I teased.

“Daddy told me to.” He managed to say through his laughter.

“Oh, really? Well, I guess we’ll just have to get back at daddy then,” I respond. “Murdock, you up for helping your brother and me teach your dad a lesson?”

“Yeah!” He shouts, bounding over to the couch.

“Hey, now…let’s not do anything hasty. I was just joking around,” Axyl tries to soothe us.

“Attack!” Danny yells, and we launch into action. Murdock leaps onto Axyl’s lap, ‘tickling’ him, while Danny clambers onto his shoulders to ‘tickle’ his neck. I join in with a wet willy.

“Okay! Okay! I surrender! We need to get ready for our trip.” We all stop, and the boys climb down. My mood instantly drops, knowing the reason for this trip. That jerk just can’t leave well enough alone.

He always has to ruin everything.

“That’ll teach you not to mess with me,” I say, smirking. “We need to pack.” Axyl just rolls his eyes, and we head to our rooms to pack. It doesn’t take me long. I just pack some loungewear. I need to buy new clothes.

With my belly growing, my clothes don’t fit well anymore. I walk out to the main hall, set my bag down, and go to find my brother and father.

“Knew I’d find you here,” I say. “You’re always in the garage when you’re deep in thought. Want to talk about it?”

They always tinker with their bikes when they’re trying to work something out. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener.”

“No need, sweet pea. We’ll figure it out. We just want you and the babies safe. Don’t worry. We’ll work it out the best way we can.

“I know you didn’t want this life, and that’s why you left, but I’m glad you’re back. I missed you,” my dad says.

“I missed you too, daddy. It’s not that I didn’t want this life, I just needed a break. But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m right where I want to be.

“Except for my ex trying to kill me and my babies. I really left because I couldn’t stand seeing Axyl with her, and I wanted to finish my degree,” I say.

“Well, now you have the man you’ve loved for a long time, and I have my family back together.

“Plus, two little girls who are going to be protected and spoiled rotten,” he says, pulling me into a hug.

“And when they start dating, the boy will have to get past Uncle Westyn.”

“And their father. I’m not letting my baby girls date. Ever,” Axyl chimes in. Westyn and my dad laugh. “You ready, love? We need to get going.”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” I give my dad and brother one last hug and head out to the car with Axyl and the boys. Two of the guys are coming with us. “How long until we get there?” I ask.

“We have about a five-hour drive,” Axyl answers. Axyl’s driving, with Reaper in the passenger seat. I’m sandwiched between the boys in the middle of the SUV, and Trigger is behind us.

The boys fall asleep quickly, and I’m not far behind them. Might as well rest if I’m going to be stuck in a car for five hours.